more HI pics

pics of Hawaii

Today we went to Church at the Tabernacle in Honolulu on Beretania street. We have been here other times and we love the beautiful grounds and the feeling there. There are beautiful white doves flying around from tree to tree. Here are some pictures.

Aloha

We made it to Hawaii. As soon as we stepped off the plane we could smell the tropical flowers and feel the warmth of this island and we knew that some relaxation was going to happen here. Dave has been busy going to Perio classes but I have been relaxing up a storm. I went shopping and sent home a box of goodies for the kids and grandkids (3-5 days kids) I have the start of a tan and we went to Leanord's and bought malasadas and found Haupia Ice cream in the grocery store. So much for our pre-hawaii diet :)Oh well, more of me to tan :)

Our last vacation was a year ago when we came here for the American Dental Association conference. What a year this has been. I would have to say that it has been a record year for stress and change in our family. I am so proud of everyone for making it through all we experienced this year. Next year will be great (isn't there traditionally calm following the storm :) (No, Ukraine did not count as a vacation.) Hawaii is nice because it is different enough to feel foreign but American enough to feel like you can relax.

We love our fam and hope you have fun trick or treating and that you get better soon after you get sick from eating too much candy because I am not there to make you ration it.
Aloha
Christy and Dave

PS in case you ever wondered what palm trees look like from above--here ya go.

Sweet

We had a ward party this week and I wanted to blog about Spencer's plate at dinner. He went through the food line with the rest of the family and I was busily looking for a place for us to sit because more people had come than they expected and so we ended up standing. As I was being a negligent Mom, I failed to pay attention to what Spencer dished up for himself for DINNER. See the picture above.
PS I did make him go back and get some soup and I told him he had to share his Dessert plate with others :) Is it any wonder that I call this holiday "Candyween."

New Save a Child group and special guests.

Yesterday I was able to enjoy part of a day at the Save a Child bowling activity. It was great to see the new children from Ukriane and meet some of the new families. This whole adopting from Ukraine idea sure seems to attract some of the greatest people. It is a brave thing to do and I didn't meet anyone that seemed faint at heart :) The children are all beautiful and like Wendy, I was reminded how far our boys have come from when they were hosted a year ago. They are doing well in school. Vitaly now studies on his own for his spelling test and gets high scores. They are reading well and speaking great English. Their confidence is high and sometimes Vitaly gets speaking so fast in English that we get lost in the accent and the words he is trying to say and resay (he is in the habit of saying things a couple different ways in case he is not understood the first time) and we have to ask him to slow down. It is amazing what a grasp a child can get on a difficult language in only 4 months. They are doing well in Gymnastics, Soccor (Vitaly is now joining a new team) and they actually like going to church. They understand more and Vitaly steps right up to do his Priesthood duties. He loves to pass the sacrament. Spencer says the cutest prayers. He says the usual things that Tyler taught them when they first arrived but now adds other heartfelt phrases like "bless the Blake and the James." and "We love you very, very much" and "bless our fam-i-lee" It is cute and his prayers are answered and we are indeed blessed.

We enjoyed a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Riches this past week and also were able to see some cousins who attend BYU and BYU-I and their friends. It was a fun weekend. Grandpa and Grandma got to meet Vitaly and Spencer and Blake for the first time and we played some games and had a great visit and of course my Dad fixed everything he could see for which we are always extremely grateful.

Tomorrow we head to Hawaii so we can get homesick while getting a tan at the same time.
Life is good and all is well.

Grandma Day #2

Wednesday I got to spend the morning with my cute grandsons James and Blake. We got some new toys at Ross's, played and read books, went on a walk to see the cows in our neighborhood and went to McDonalds for lunch. They were worn out and fell asleep in the car. Note the french fries in Blake's hand. What delightful boys. I love them so much!!

recent pictures

Proud and Maddening Moments

This week has given me a lot of reasons to be proud of my children. We started out with a trip to get pictures of Vitaly and Spencer to match the pictures we have of the other kids on the wall. It turned into a full out photo session for all 4 kids that were with me and they had fun and I was stressed (something about trying to keep kids clean and prevent horsing around amidst expensive photographic equipment and waiting, and waiting.... I am sure some other Mom out there gets the picture and has felt the stress.) I will post a few of the pictures. It may be hard to tell but both Vitaly and Spencer have gained 15-20 pounds since they arrived in the US.

Devin performed at the tabernacle in SLC with the All State Choir as part of the Temple Square concert series. We took the family to the concert and it was AMAZING. I have been to MANY concerts in my life and I was truly inspired by this one. Imagine hundreds of really talented youthful voices at least twice as big as the tabernacle choir. It was just like what I imagine the singing in heaven to be like.

Next Alisa and Holly ran a 5K race for Red Ribbon Week and that was cool for me to see my oldest daughter and youngest daughter doing something fun together. There is nothing more rewarding than when your kids love each other and get along. Which brings me to my hardest trial right now: I am having a really, really hard time with Vitaly and Spencer and their resentment toward affection that I show to Scott (our 6 year old son--the youngest) They seem to resent any love that I show to Scott as if somehow my loving Scott means that I don't love them or something. They take it out on Scott behind my back by doing mean things to him (like slamming his head in the door and trying to hurt him a variety of ways and constantly trying to get him in trouble.) This starts a viscious cycle. My mother hen instinct wants to protect my child, who is quite innocent, and I feel resentment toward the other boys and it makes it harder to show love to them which makes it even worse. This coupled with Vitaly's lack of respect for me which seems to be getting worse instead of better. It is a good thing that a vacation is on the horizen because I am about at my limit. I am going to hire a bodyguard for Scott and escape to Hawaii. I hope I come back :) It has been 4 months that I have been Vitaly and Spencer's Mom and the honeymoon period is definately over :) Someone once told me that it is difficult to adopt children that are higher in the pecking order than your current children and I think it truly presents some real challenges. Enough about that. Hopefully it will get better soon.