We Can Do It! Family

Mystery, Magic and Logic!?

2008-05-08T09:22:00.004-06:00

I guess I'm just too simple to understand the "ins and outs" of the technical world! So...it seems like "magic" to find my video, which was posted weeks ago, is now working! It is definately a "mystery" to me.

I'm certain there is some egg-head (like a brother or two of mine) who could explain to me the reason my video is now working! But, the "logical" reason for its "timely" debut is it just took four weeks to load. What does that mean. Is my computer that old?

Really, save me from the answer (if you have one) currently my brain, heart and everything in-between feels ready to explode because I have way more complicated problems to solve than this one. Oh.....and I'm training for a half-marathon so that could be part of the heart exploding feeling, not to mention the "in-between" parts like my legs and feet! (Are those parts in-between my heart and brain? Oh well, you know what I mean!)

So....now that you can *SEE* the video... you will know Marisa DID NOT GET BRACES! Instead she got a sore backside! Poor girl.

brace yourself...

2008-04-02T13:33:00.008-06:00

this is why Marisa isn't smiling much in the previous pictures at the Canyons.

slowly catching up...

2008-04-02T12:00:00.004-06:00

...I have had a difficult time keeping up with blogging. I guess we are just too busy living!

So, since I've been gone....

We celebrated Michael's "13th" BIRTHDAY! We had cake and presents on his actual day...and then we all went skiing/snowboarding at the Canyons! Here are a few pictures...

some more...

2008-02-24T20:12:00.003-07:00

As promised....

2008-02-24T19:32:00.008-07:00

...some pictures from the past few months.

I'm back!

2008-02-24T18:09:00.004-07:00

I'm going to try to keep up with my blog again. Things that have happened since my last post.

Thanksgiving! We traveled to California and had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Parkin et al. We went to the beach - rented one of those dorky 4 person bicycles (two of them), saw "Wicked" at the Pantages Theatre and ate way too much because Grandma is such a good cook!

December came and we had a fantastic Christmas celebration at home! Uncle Scott and his girlfriend Cherie spent Christmas week with us and we had so much fun with them. The kids got everything the hoped for (I think) and Mark and I gave each other a CRUISE to the Caribbean in February! December also brought another houseguest.....Richard from Haiti. He arrived the day Scott and Cherie left. Richard was accepted into BYU's English Language program. He stayed with us until January 26th. He is now living in his own place close to BYU.

January came and we celebrated Katiana's "14th" birthday! We had a party at the bowling alley complete with "cookies and cream" ice cream cake! She even had a fellow bowler ask if he could BUY a piece of her cake for $5 buck! I think it was a successful birhtday party!

February came and went in a blink! Katiana was baptized on February 1! This was a wonderful day for all of us. She was absolutely radiant! Grandma and Grandpa came to tend our children while we (Mark and I) ran away to the Caribbean for a little sunshine! We had a fabulous time. We were able to visit: Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Kitts/Nevis, Tortola/Virgin Gorda and San Juan. I love the Caribbean. I love its beauty and its beautiful people. I might live there someday! We came home to more snow then we left. The day after we came home we took Katiana to the temple to be sealed to us forever! It was a beautiful day. Dad was able to perform his first temple sealing and our family was beautiful all dressed in white. We waited a long time for this day. Dad pointed out as he talked with all of us that we had waited 30 months. It was so rewarding to accomplish this important event for all of us. It brought a sense of relief and a sense of excitement to see our family change with the addition of beautiful Katiana. I didn't cry as much as I thought I would.....perhaps because I just felt so happy after all the struggle to get her home -- GOOD DID WIN over evil! She is a member of our family now eternally!

I will post some pictures from the past few months. I love you all!
tash

a mouse in the house...

2007-11-08T14:25:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm admitting we found a mouse in our house last week! Three years with no *signs* of mice....and 10:30 p.m., watching the news, I see a *flash* of something, run along the wall in my family room. So, I turned my attention to the magazines on the floor right there and sure enough right before my eyes the little critter ran back from were it came!

Something about *knowing* there is a mouse in the house creeps me out! Last time this happened Mark ended up going to the grocery store right then and there to purchase a mouse trap! (Of course, wild broom flailing was involved too)

This time I left the broom in the pantry and just kicked the house plant container where I thought the little guy was hiding, did a little creepy dance and returned to the couch disgusted we had a mouse in the house!

Funny thing.....next morning as we were going through the usual routine of getting the children out the door to school.....Zac was putting on his shoes in the mud room with me saying "come here so I can squirt your hair"....and as he jammed his foot into one shoe he pulled it off quickly and sad "something fuzzy is in my shoe!" I went over and to my surprise a little mouse, on his back, looking dead was in his shoe! Of course this is when I did the creepy dance again and THEN...I realized the fuzzy little critters whiskers begin to slowly twitch! THAT IS WHEN THE really good creepy dance came out with me holding Zac's shoe and Katiana laughing and Dad and Zac completely amused ....and me screaming "what should I do with it?!" I quick, ran into the garage and thought (outloud) *put it in the trash can*......to which Zac protested with his sweet, sensitive heart "you can't just throw it away". I explained that it was a field mouse and I was just putting him in the trash can until I could take it across the street and let it go find a new home where it belonged! AND yes, I did take the mouse across the street to the "new house"!

We are still trying to figure out how Zac picked up his shoes and walked from the family room to the mud room without the mouse jumping out. Mark has a theory about it. He thinks the mouse was in a "stink induced coma" or "high on stink" is what I think he said......hee, hee, hee.......serves him right!

I did it!

2007-10-25T13:26:00.000-06:00

...I went running yesterday! After a several week disruption in my *routine* (my definition of *routine* = try to run 3 times each week -- heaven forbid I commit to certain days....if I can just get out ANY 3 days I am successful!!!). It was a good run! The air was crisp and it made me feel alive! Louie was happy to tag along and being the good dog he is.....he took care of his business at just the moment I felt overly winded! good dog!

So, I'm happy. Now I have to stand up from this computer and go run TODAY before Zac gets home!

Au Revoir!

picture of my dining room ceiling...

2007-10-23T12:35:00.000-06:00

...mom, sorry this is a day late....maybe you can still use it. Here it is - our dining room ceiling! LOVE YOU!!! Have fun remodeling!

What are sisters for?

2007-10-17T19:31:00.000-06:00

Well, for starters....they are VERY helpful in spending your money! OF COURSE, they ALWAYS agree and HELP JUSTIFY spending your money...ESPECIALLY if shoes are involved! AND...WE (sisters that is) WOULD NEVER miss the opportunity to HELP ASSIST our brother-in-law in SPENDING HIS MONEY on OUR SISTER!!! RIGHT?

So.....Jeni, I hope you can find a frame for less money than the beautiful picture you just rec'd!!! Of course, I can always HELP you find something in my neck of the woods if it comes to that!!!

A difference of opinion!

2007-09-03T12:03:00.006-06:00

So, here I am in my sweet birthday running glasses that have an MP3 player built into them! and...I just returned home from a nice morning run on the trail above my house...and Louie actually RAN ahead of me today because he saw horses he had to catch up to. AND.....I came home to my husband chopping my petunias!

We MOST DEFINATELY have a difference of opinion about this.

You see, wave petunias are KNOWN for their TRAILING habit and they were carelessly trailing beyond the boundaries of their *space* which I think is BEAUTIFUL!!! BUT my DH thinks they are completely out of control and so he takes the weed wacker to them! I called him a petunia murderer......and we both went on our merry way. Of course, for me that meant downloading these pictures and updating my blog that has fallen behind....and for Mark.....finishing the yard and undoubtedly killing more plants elsewhere! Oh...and now, I'm off for a quick swim and last minute errands and packing because we are going to HAITI TOMORROW........YEAH!

Some good ol' fashion fun!

2007-09-03T12:03:00.005-06:00

How about that pie eating contest!!! And a little tug-of-war contest at the QuicKutz summer picnic!

House....

2007-09-03T12:03:00.004-06:00

House....Yard....digging as deep as they can for a sample of the earth below us. 38 feet down they went.....hmmmm.....someday this mess will end...

2007-09-03T12:03:00.003-06:00

Mark went to the Salt Flats for the first time with a couple of work buddies. I think he had a great time...HOT HOT HOT....and he met an interesting, Volvo loving man from Sweden. He told Mark he had never seen a volvo at the Salt Flats! Next time you see Mark have him do his impression of this man. Funny! Apparently this man comes to Utah every year for the races!

Some more catching up...

2007-09-03T12:03:00.002-06:00

Steven turned 18!!! We went to see the new Bourne movie and went to Outback restaurant for dinner! And he is styling now in some new sunglasses and ready for snowboarding with a new pair of boots!!!
Happy Birthday Steven.....

Catching up some more...

2007-09-03T12:03:00.001-06:00

Michael went right to Scout Camp the day after we got home from California! I think he had fun....and I think the camp survived too.

Catching up...

2007-09-03T12:03:00.000-06:00

Leaving California and family...boo hoo

We sure had a fun time with everyone!

We have tickets to Haiti!!!

2007-08-27T17:23:00.000-06:00

It is 5:30 p.m. and I spent the entire day buying our plane tickets to Haiti! The details would bore you so I will just say... Pachelbel's Canon in D will never sound the same after spending 45 minutes hearing it over and over and over as Cheaptickets convinced American Airlines that the Delta portion of our flights were real. Don't ask.

THE GOOD NEWS.... we are going to Haiti, Tuesday, September 4 and will be home Friday, September 14 WITH "K"!!!!

YEAH!!! Hopefully....things will go smoothly. Please pray with us for this.
Love you all!
tash

Hixon Hikers...

2007-08-13T10:48:00.000-06:00

2007 Hike into the Hilton Lakes with Grandpa. "S" and "M" went and seemed to really enjoy their time on the hike this year!

I love this picture of "M". "M" had a two day break from camping - one day to go to church and one day to drive home and he was off to Scout camp! He is such an easy going kid who just rolls with whatever comes along!

Click on this set of pictures of "S" free climbing this rock... notice the horizon! The kid has monkey blood for sure! Good thing I didn't go along cause stuff like this causes my heart to skip a beat or two! Of course, because he survived it and I now have some cool pictures it makes me smile! The mom in me is always watching my kids *stunts* with one eye closed!

some California fun...

2007-08-12T17:59:00.001-06:00

"Z" mastering the skim board on our last day at the beach! Someone feed that boy!

This day at the beach "M" whose name means "of the sea" was initiated by a stingray! It gave her a nice little quarter inch cut on her ankle as it filled her with poison. I guess they don't like being *stepped* on! She insists it felt "squishy" not slimy. Unfortunately one week later she has developed an infection and if the medication doesn't improve things by tomorrow morning she will have to go to the hospital for an IV to fight off the infection.

Two days after the stingray incident "M" is back at the beach! She had private surfing lessons from her dad and her uncle Scott. Both say she is a natural! Yep, that is my pretty little tom-boy! ahem....we won't discuss my attempt at surfing...if you have enough money, Mark has a video of the disaster.

Hot Babe...

2007-07-19T17:24:00.000-06:00

"I'm too sexy for my glasses, too sexy..." Oh yeah! Look at little L in her "sexy momma" glasses from Aunt J!!! They are so hot....Gavin had to give 'em a try too!

HEAT WAVE...

2007-07-19T11:32:00.000-06:00

M & N keeping cool and keeping Louie busy!!!

Look at those handsome boys.....oh, AND smart! They know how to survive the annual Utah July HEAT WAVE!!!

FINALLY!!!

2007-07-16T17:27:00.000-06:00

YES! Katiana only needs her passport PRINTED and she can come home!!! Of course, we will have to arrange our travel, interview with the Department of Homeland Security IN HAITI and hope they don't require any DNA testing! FINALLY, we have made it to the home stretch and we can see the finish line!!!
Yeah, we are all sooooo excited!

bark!, bark! bark!, rrrrrrrr! bark!, bark! bark!

2007-07-09T01:50:00.000-06:00

Must get water shooting device out of the water hole! bark! bark! bark!, rrrrrr bark! bark! bark!, bark! bark!.......Maggie come help me......bark! bark! bark!, rrrrrr, bark! bark! bark!.......oh you are such a princess! Just get over it and get over here and help me stop this water shooting device from floating in the water hole! bark! bark! bark!, bark! bark! bark! Ahhhhh, finally, got it......now I must kill it! rrrrrrr, bark! bark! bark!
Louie

Why me?

2007-07-09T01:36:00.000-06:00

Why me? How did I land here? This family I got is CRAZY....check out the other four legs I have to share my family with...he is just a big pain in my *you know what*! I have to show him I'm the boss.....and he goes and pulls tricks like that (next post). I can chase him up the hill, I can chase him out of the room when he gets too close to my favorite person, I can scare of the big bad dogs and people that walk on our sidewalk and I can do tricks for treats as good as he can.....but I WON'T get wet! Swimming is for lower class muts! yeah that's it, MUTS! I will NOT lower myself to such forms of humiliation... barking at toys floating in big bathtubs! I don't care if those toys can shoot water at you! What a dufus! Why, oh why, oh why ME?
Maggie

4th of July pool fun...

2007-07-09T01:18:00.001-06:00

Z and JP....Z loves his little cousins!
SP having fun playing with the big kids toy! This little toy is designed to pull you around *under* the water. SP's arms aren't long enough to get the blower out of his face and combined with the fact that he was wearing a floatation suit it remained partially out of the water making quite a splash! Of course, this didn't slow him down a bit! It was a bit of a problem when he aimed it down.....yep, he came up a sputtering because he hasn't quite figured out how to hold his breath yet.

Happy...

2007-07-09T01:18:00.000-06:00

flowers just make me happy!

2007-06-29T23:40:00.000-06:00

S spent his senior year in a building construction class. The class worked with a general contractor/teacher and built a house from the ground up. S was assigned the master bedroom once the house was framed up. here he is showing us the work he did!

S is showing off the kitchen cabinets to his dad.

S with his teacher.

this picture explains his nickname *lurch boy* :)

teenage bedroom...

2007-06-29T23:29:00.000-06:00

lurch boy asleep.....
lurch boy awake! posters, posters, posters!!!

Coke a cola clock........and his sister M. She makes his room *pretty*!!!

Grown UP!

2007-06-29T23:08:00.002-06:00

2007 snowboarding season. S just got an early b-day present - a new pair of snowboarding boots!

I love this picture of S He is so tall and handsome.....

the black look...

2007-06-29T23:08:00.000-06:00

here it is...... the black look caught on film.

Maggie

2007-06-29T22:55:00.000-06:00

Maggie *little dog with big attitude*

...INCONCEIVABLE!!!

2007-06-11T15:26:00.001-06:00

"UNBELIEVABLE" is the other word coursing through my blood at the moment! These two words are the only way to describe Haitian adoption! Here is my "nice" letter to the Ambassador of Haiti who has an office in Washington DC. I just sent it.

June 10, 2007

His Excellency Raymond A. Joseph
Ambassador of Haiti

Dear Mr. Joseph,

I am writing to you on Haiti’s National Children’s day because I think you may be the person to initiate some positive change for the children of Haiti. My family has been waiting for twenty months to bring home our daughter from Haiti. K J is currently living at the Holt Fontana Village. She is 13 years old. She came to the Holt Fontana orphanage around the age of 10. Before that she lived with Christian Missionaries running a school for children in Haiti. They had a small orphanage but were not set up to do adoptions. She came to the missionaries when she was 4 years old. Her birth parents are very poor and struggled to feed and provide for her basic needs.

In June of 2005 my husband and I felt strongly that we should add to our family through the miracle of adoption. We have been blessed in many ways and desired to share our blessings with a child in need. We began to research adoption and in the process we found K J. The experience we had when we saw her photo and read about her is difficult to explain. We were very moved by the feelings we had towards this young girl which caused us to contact Holt International and discuss with them the requirements to adopt her. We began the process immediately to do our homestudy and gather all the required documents. This took us three months of diligent work, visiting with a social worker about our history, setting up Doctor’s appointments, getting letters from the local Police department, interviewing with a Psychologist among many other details that are in our dossier. It took time and money and we worked as quickly as we could hoping to have K home as soon as possible. At the time she was 11 years old which is a tender age for children transitioning into teenagers. Our dossier arrived in Haiti on October 5, 2005. Today is June 10, 2007 tomorrow is the two year anniversary of the day we found K and had the amazing experience that led us to adopt her.

In the middle of our wait, last May 2006 we traveled to Haiti to meet K. She is a delightful young lady and we had a wonderful week bonding with her. She is very ready to have a family of her own. She has waited for a long time as well. Many say she is lucky. We say our family is lucky to have her join us. She will bring a special spirit to our family that only she can bring. We are all anxious for her to be with us. My biggest concern is the effects the long wait is having on her. Next I am saddened that Haitian adoptions move so slowly and the impact that has on the orphanages in Haiti. Really, it is the children who can not get into the orphanages that should be Haiti’s concern. Many of them are living with too little and suffering from disease and malnutrition.

On this day of celebrating Haiti’s children, will you please help us streamline the process for adoption? I’m not asking for it to be easy, I’m asking for it to be accomplished in a more reasonable timeframe. Everyone involved in adoption is working to better the lives of children and all are adversely affected by the long wait. As a mother my heart adopted K the moment our adoption agency officially matched her with us. It has been one of the most trying and difficult experiences of my life waiting for her to join our family. It has been a blessing to have some time to prepare for the unique needs she will have as an older child adoptee. We have done all that we can to prepare and now we are all just simply waiting for her passport. It is difficult to understand why the process should take two years. I know things have been changing in Haiti with the election of President Preval. I sincerely hope this will bring continued stability for all of Haiti. Unfortunately the changes have been the cause of our file moving so slowly. Our file #---- was released from IBESR on September 12, 2006. We are now 9 months waiting post IBESR. Our file was held up with the changes made at the Civil court as well as the unfortunate event of the court being vandalized. We have now been waiting for 9 weeks for her passport which we believe is still in the MOI office. Isn’t there some process to expedite cases that have been held up like ours? If there isn’t I would ask you to consider using your position to influence those you can in Haiti to find ways to expedite adoption files that have been in process beyond a reasonable timeframe. I know that this may not help her get home to us any sooner but if we can set the proper changes in motion perhaps others adopting will not struggle through a two year process as we have.

Thank you for your consideration. I hope Haiti will soon be in a position to invest more into strengthening the families of Haiti. As parents find opportunities for work families will stay together helping children. If the process of adoption could be streamlined more people would be willing to adopt the orphans who are without families. I have met people living in Haiti who left Haiti to gain an education and now have returned to try and make a difference. I believe many of the children adopted from Haiti will someday return to do the same. Please be an advocate for the children of Haiti. The children are always the future strength of any country. Please help them and if you can please help us get K home. Please feel free to contact me at --- at anytime.

Sincerely,
Natasha Hixon

So that was the nice version of what I am feeling. I will leave it at that! I hit a brick wall on Friday.......when I found out that even our wonderful DHS is now adding time to our wait. Apparently they don't like the WORD "unconditional" in the relinquishment letter the birthparents signed......they want it to say "irrevocable" instead. Of course Haiti wants it to say "unconditional" and all I can say is INCONCEIVABLE!!!

I'm putting up a good front - this is taking a toll on me. Thank goodness for good people around me who sense my struggle. Yesterday a friend handed me a copy of a talk from Elder Richard G. Scott "The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing" you could search for it at www.lds.org if you would like to read it. YES.....we are being tested......house, work, adoptions......not to be ungrateful.....many blessings too.....money to pay bills, good kids making good choices and HEALTH, FREEDOM, FAMILY AND FRIENDS! I digress. Back to the talk....he quotes Brigham Young "God never bestows upon his people, or upon an individual, superior blessings without a severe trial to prove them."

Superior blessings.......yes three additional, beautiful children who will eternally be part of our family. When I put things into an eternal perspective I realize WHY this is such a challenge. I recognize the evil forces whirling about trying to frustrate the Lord's plan for all of us. STILL this doesn't mean I am perfect and it is easy. I'm struggling.

The struggle also includes the inability of others to understand. This has been one of the loneliest roads I have ever travelled. As a mother - I know no other way to explain the struggle than to simply say my heart adopted K, M & R the moment we committed to bringing them home. They simply are my children. The circumstances allow for unhealthy amounts of anxiety - only calmed by my friends who have been there and on my knees. Now, TODAY, is the day we found K TWO YEARS AGO. INCONCEIVABLE .... UNBELIEVABLE.... I am writing this! Still WAITING!

Perhaps I can run away by "cruise ship" for a couple of weeks to start thinking clearly again.....
Natasha

a bit out of order...

2007-05-13T14:52:00.000-06:00

Well I tried to keep the photos in order....but they got a bit out of order. When I try to re-arrange the photos I get all messed up.....so I will just say - the photos of R in the Spiderman shirt and M in the blue and yellow dress are from July and the pictures that are my fravorite from our trip to Haiti in May '06 are the next two up. Also.....did you know you can click on the photo and see it full size..... :)
Enjoy!

a series of photos....

2007-05-11T17:59:00.001-06:00

Here is a series of pictures taken of M and R over the last 18 months. Hopefully I got them in order. The first few are our referral pictures of them. I love these pictures! They bring back memories of a very special and spiritual time in my life. I really needed to see photos of them smiling so I asked if they had any pictures of them smiling....and I was sent these photos(dressed in yellow - We received these pictures 6 weeks before we traveled to Haiti to meet them.) Not exactly smiling! In fact R was crying. Later I found out he was crying because they hurried him away from his breakfast to take pictures before the adoption coordinator left for the airport. Don't mess with him and his food! And that goes for M too (we learned that while in Haiti!) The next two photos are my favorite pictures from our trip in May '06. We finally got our "happy" pictures of them. Next are photos taken in July '06 - this time they knew the photos were for us and they both had a new and happier look. I like to think belonging to a family changed their disposition for better. Oh, one of my favorite photos....M and her hair! This captures her sweet and fun personality.... then how beautiful she is wrapped up in the bright towels after swimming. R's sweetness was captured in his photo too. And the other photo....just happy to be eating! He sure knows how to eat! These are 4 of my favorite pictures from my trip back to Haiti in September '06. Next are a couple of pic's from January '07. Then we received a few surprise pictures from March '07 and finally our latest pictures from May '07. Notice they are wearing the same clothes but you can tell the photos apart by their hair. M's hair was styled differently and R *had* hair in March ;)

Boy have they changed! A good change. Now we just need to get them home and growing! Neither have changed much in weight and height over the last year.

We pray for our children in Haiti everyday - and we live for the updates and photos that come every three months. With each new update we read about their progress but mostly we *see* amazing progress to their sweet little spirits patiently waiting to belong and be with their family! As for us... we are trying -- to be patient.

Haiti pictures....

2007-05-11T17:59:00.000-06:00

Here is our latest picture of Katiana! Look how she has grown! The picture of her in her blue school uniform is from September '06. Next is the picture we took of her on our last day in Haiti, exactly one year ago. The next two photos are the first pictures we saw of her - almost two years ago! June 11th will be our two year anniversary of finding her and beginning the work to bring her home. We hope she comes home soon.

Spring "testing the waters" tradition....

2007-05-10T10:36:00.000-06:00

All that is needed is a couple of really cute guinea pigs...oops, I mean boys! Every spring....Z volunteers. This year M joined in. The air was warm this day in April...but the water was a bit chilly at 60 degrees. Look closely at the picture of M jumping in the pool. Check out the dog? He has gone mad!

camera fun...

2007-05-10T10:05:00.000-06:00

Zac had a little fun with the camera one day.....
I think this one is so unique it could possibly win a contest! I love the fun imagination of children....

a touching video....

2007-05-09T12:59:00.000-06:00

Apparently American Idol did a special on "giving back" a week or two ago. They went to Africa and raised some amazing amount of money 70 million? I think. WOW! Here is a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaZdYJl7WTo that you should watch. It is very touching.

tash

FRUSTRATION City...

2007-05-01T22:40:00.000-06:00

Here is an example of WHY adopting from Haiti takes soooo long! (this is a post from an orphanage director describing -another change- to the Haitian adoption process.......the story of OUR adoption has had *stuff* like this with each step :(

HI everyone,

I am posting a message from Dixie which is located on the gla website:

UPDATE April 26, 2007

We are unable to give new proposals as quickly as we always have done them. We
used to give a proposal to a family within 1 month of their dossier arriving in Haiti. Today, it is taking 3 to 5 months for a proposal. Due to some delays with adoptions, we have not been able to send children to their forever families for a couple months. This means that we have no beds to take new children into the orphanage. We have to turn them away.

We have 32 children waiting for passports. The Ministry of Interior, responsible
for approving the passports, has added a step in the process. They did not tell
anyone that they were adding this step; however, no adoption passports have been
approved since January. Finally in early April, we were told that the lawyer needs to fill out a form. They have since changed their mind, and now anyone from the
orphanage can go to the Ministry of Interior and fill out this special form asking
for the child's passport.

The form is very long, asking for a lot of information about each adoptive parent.
LaDawn spent one whole day this week just finding the information for the forms, so
that Terriot can go and fill them out. Of course, when he arrived with 32 forms, they would not receive him and gave him an appointment for Friday, the 27th. They told him they could not do all of them in one day, and he would need to come back three days next week to get them all filled out. They will not give us the forms so we can fill them out in advance. Rather, we must fill them out sitting with the person in charge of doing the form.

We are praying that once we have filled out and submitted these forms, that
the passports will be approved quickly and we can get some children home and beds
opened up!

Parquet is better, but still not going quite as smoothly as we would like. We have
heard that they are adding lawyers (commissioners) to approve the dossiers. They
added one person already and immediately we received a dossier that said the
parents could not adopt because of a problem! It was sent back to Parquet and a
commissioner that had been there longer fixed it. However, we fear there might be
more problems until the new Haitian Adoption Law is legalized.

Now, having said all of the above, we did take in 4 children this week. Two are
newborn babies that we felt needed to be taken in now. Please pray with us that we
can get passports quickly and children out of Haiti to their forever families. Pray that we can find beds for the children coming in to the orphanage. For those of you
waiting for a proposal, I look at your dossiers every day. I have not forgotten any of you! Hopefully, I can start giving out some proposals in the next week or two.

And Life in Haiti goes on...

THIS JUST FRYS ME! I'm on one at the moment so I will leave it at that!

SMAD!

2007-04-24T23:35:00.000-06:00

Today I was SMAD!

SMAD is a mix of two emotions..... sad and mad. I feel this one often. This happens when I waffle back and forth between sad and mad about something that happened or a comment that someone made.

Sad, because fundraising for a good cause leads you to see the best in some people AND it brings out the mediocre and even the worst in others. This also makes me MAD! Truly, I have a new appreciation for people who work so hard to motivate others to do good. I have been touched by the hearts of many who have embraced our efforts to make a difference in Haiti. Many have ordered one and some have ordered up to 200 cookbooks. The quantity doesn't matter as much as the attitude.

It has been challenging to communicate our Haiti experience. We traveled to Haiti one year ago and we still feel the urgency to DO SOMETHING! ......the moment I heard the orphanage had a list of children waiting to be cared for - I knew we had to do something. Transferring that urgency to others has been challenging to say the least. Some "get it" immediately. Why? Probably because life has provided them with experiences that allow understanding. Others "miss it" completely. Sad.

When Peter took us through the jungle in Haiti, we saw things that I had only seen in National Geographic. I witnessed the struggle for life. I saw children -- skinny and malnourished, smiling and curious, living life with way too little. These are the children on the waiting list. NOT because their parents don't love them....just the opposite! They love them so much they are willing to give them up so they can have food. FOOD!

I really should sleep now. This is sounding a little depressing and so much of our experience... in fact, MOST of our Haiti experience was exciting! We witnessed people, working together, determined to make change. I have five new people on my list of those who inspire me - all of them I met in Haiti last year. In two weeks I met five people who had dedicated their lives to serving children -- the children we met in the jungle, the little boy at the clinic and the little four year old girl who only weighed 18 pounds. Sadly I don't have a picture of this beautiful child. These children motivate me to keep going, to be a better steward of that which I have been blessed with, to give what I can - to work at understanding what the Lord would have me do.

We have sold 1400 cookbooks. 600 more to go. My goal - 2000 sold by the end of May! Then I hope Holt will run with it through the summer and sell another 2000. Look for the story at the end of the year. I think it will be a bit more cheerful than this one.

tash

A funny thing happened at church today...

2007-04-15T16:57:00.000-06:00

During Sacrament meeting the little boy in the row in front of us vomited! Yes, that’s right….vomited. (YES Amy….. it was “child’s vomit”!?!) The little boy actually belonged to the couple speaking! So his grandma and grandpa got more than they bargained for today! His parents didn’t have a clue what was going on (thank goodness!)

Well, my instinct was to ignore the situation. At least for the time being, really, what could be done? Then my sweet Marisa leaned over to me and said, “Should I go get some paper towels?” “Of course”, I answered wanting to encourage her inspiration to help. So off she went returning with a wad of paper towels………what was she really going to do with that wad of paper? So I leaned up to survey the damage and suggested she first wipe of the hymn book. Then she wiped up what she could. I knew the only way to properly clean the cloth on the bench was to get my carpet cleaner. So Steven and I left for home. We came back just as the little boy’s father was finishing up his talk. After the meeting we checked with the first counselor about using our carpet cleaner in the chapel and then we began work to clean up the mess.

Many people expressed their gratitude to us for jumping in and cleaning things up as they noticed people leave quickly from the area following the closing prayer. Thanks to Marisa we had the opportunity to serve our Heavenly Father in his house today…..in an interesting, yet special way.

Here is the funny part. Last week was fast and testimony meeting. A family blessed their baby. There was only time for 4 people to bear their testimonies (because three of the four people were long winded and shared details we didn’t need to hear about). Details sometimes cause people to share too much about their trials in an effort to help an audience understand how it relates to their testimony. WELL, this day, one of the testimonies included details of vomiting every 45 minutes…..ugh. I made the mistake of voicing my opinion to my husband that I didn’t think testimony meeting was the place to hear the word VOMIT!

Ha, ha, ha…….so on my way home from church today – I laughed with Mark about the Lord’s sense of humor……even funnier, I led our family into the chapel today and we had a choice; to sit in the row behind this family or to sit next to them... which would have put ME in the line of fire! Thank goodness I picked wisely!

To wait... or not to wait?

2007-04-13T20:52:00.000-06:00

TODAY....we rec'd our I171-H form which gives us approval to adopt orphan children abroad. We had this form already but it expired on March 13, 2007. On March 1 we started over and now we once again have our governments blessing to adopt our children from Haiti.

Our file just entered the Haitian passport office last week. Our friends who brought their little boy home in December had Senator Hatch's office contact the U.S. Embassy in Haiti who works closely with the Haitian Consulate to persuade them to move a little quicker on their childs passport. It seemed to work - of course, they had been stuck in the Haitian passport office for several weeks.

So we need to gauge whether making a phone call after our file just made it to the passport office is the right thing to do. OR....do we wait another couple of weeks before we pull these strings.

hmmm....

GOOD NEWS!!!

2007-04-05T13:06:00.000-06:00

K's file made it!!! IT IS IN THE PASSPORT OFFICE in Haiti! Yeah!!! This is the final step before we get our appointment with DHS. The next news will be the call to GO TO HAITI for our appointment to bring her home! This picture from last year is of Me showing K & M my passport! FINALLY!

Tears of joy....!

2007-04-05T12:54:00.000-06:00

Q: How is it that four little pictures can just MAKE MY DAY?! A: When they come as a surprise and they are of two of the cutest little people I know! Q: Why do they come with such power to make me cry? A: Because they look so happy and beautiful and every time I receive new pictures of my children waiting in Haiti, I am overcome with this feeling of joy! Every time we get good news or new pictures I experience again, the sweet confirmation that they are our children! We love them so much and miss them! It brings so much comfort knowing all three of them are being cared for while we are apart. For K at the Holt Fontana Village and M & R living with the Mardy's at Foyer. THEY are being cared for and it shows in their beautiful smiles!

A little choked up....

2007-03-17T00:36:00.000-06:00

It is late and I'm not sure I can find words to describe this little picture. This is R. Like so many of his pictures - his life seems written in his expressions. Ironically, he doesn't care much for having his picture taken. Tonight, someone (I think it was Marisa) put this picture up as our screensaver on the computer.

It is late and I decided to make one last effort to find a little news about why our file has been stuck, with all of Foyer's files in IBESR. It has been another ridiculous Haiti drama we have been hearing reports about for the last 6 weeks. Anyway, as I turned on the monitor and up came this beautiful picture of R, I got all choked up. I hadn't seen this picture as big as my monitor before. In his eyes, I could barely make out a reflection of me with the camera. In his eyes, I see a little boy with hope and way too many worries. What a beautiful child, patiently waiting for that which his spirit knows is missing. A smart boy. A sensitive boy. A happy boy and a thoughtful boy. I've seen all of these things in this little boys pictures - yes, even the little boy who would rather not have his picture taken.

Every day.....I pray for him. I pray for Marie. I pray for Katiana. I pray they will really find their place as members of our family. I pray that all of us will find our new place. And I look forward to the pictures of the future. Of every one of us!

Catching Up.....

2007-03-14T12:01:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been a while since I posted last.....and by the looks of it, I'm about the only one who reads these anyway ;). So, I post to keep a record first and if my friends and family stop in.....I hope they would post a comment back every now and then. So, January 23 seems like a long time ago. Since then, we had the good fortune of going on a cruise to the Caribbean. WOW! We were able to explore the bay at Cinnamon Bay on St. John's, we swam in an amazing gorge/waterfall on the beautiful little island of Dominca, we snorkeled and boogie boarded in Barbados (my back still hurts from the beating I took "trying" to boogie board) On St. Lucia we got car sick on the winding road to a most amazing waterfall and garden that made it worth it! And on the island of Antigua, we went on a catamaran to our snorkel destination and then to a beach where we collected sea glass and shells. It was fast and full of adventure leaving little time to relax..... I would do it again in a heartbeat....but who wouldn't welcome a little Caribbean sun in February? BIG THANKS to Mom and Dad for keeping things in order....and improving the order of things at the Hixon house while we were gone! We came home to find, in one week, Dad had my two youngest setting their own alarm clocks and getting up EARLY each day! However, even DAD would need more than a week to get Marisa and me to wake up earlier :) I'm convinced we both need an alarm clock that mimics Dad banging on the door while saying "Tash, GET UP!....at least that always launched me out of bed during my early morning seminary days!

Miracle of Miracles....

2007-01-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

I have the "Miracle of Miracles" song from Fiddler on the Roof stuck in my head today. FOR A REASON! This morning I was feeling very frustrated about the lack of attention our adoption file for KJ seemed to be getting by *anyone* in Haiti. Because we are going out of town and before we know it.....it will be the middle of February - I just couldn't stand the idea of returning home to the same status of our file rotting in the Haitian Civil Court!

SO, I planned to do something about it! Of course, all I CAN do is SCREAM, throw rocks and tantrums and unleash my frustration on everyone around me....but today, my letter was addressed to Mike at Holt International. Here is the letter.....

Mike-
I need, and hope, to hear the attorney working for Holt has accomplished something towards getting our file out of civil court. It is becoming very discouraging. It has almost been a month since the Dec. 27 birth parent meeting that went south. My opinion is, a good attorney would be able to communicate the major blunder on the civil courts part and, tell them that Katiana is turning 13 and has been living as an orphan since she was four and then get her file the H#$% out of that court! (forgive my language) Having grown up with a father as an attorney I have an advantage - still, it is so past anything reasonable for our file to still be held in this court. Please tell me the attorney Holt has hired understands from Holt he should be pushing hard. Pushing hard, to me, would be the attorney making an effort each day to get this turned around. Between you and me, I feel like the adoption files the attorney is working on are not his priority. Just a hunch, but I'm feeling so frustrated that our family and Katiana have to live with daily anxiety about our future and currently the system won't even allow the orphanage directors to advocate for the files in the civil court. So now, Monsour's hands are tied not being able to talk directly with the people in charge at the court. I know you can call me back and tell me that the attorney is working hard - but it doesn't explain the weeks in between with no news and no progress. I need to hear he is doing more than picking up the phone once a week. I'm sure that isn't fair, but when I only hear vague and general details of his efforts it leaves me feeling it isn't his priority. I need to know he has heard from Holt that this file has to get moving and we need him to push hard.

Again, I understand we are dealing with a pretty backwards country with many problems. I still think if the attorney makes it HIS priority he could get our file moving. I also understand the court delayed for 3 months before they decided that they wanted birth parent interviews and the timing of this decision came close to the holidays. We are now approaching February and I just can not even imagine another week going by without any kind of progress.

Again, I think a good attorney would know these details and would present this "case" -pushing to have our file signed out. It shouldn't matter how backwards things are in Haiti - humans understand *reason* and I'm not getting a strong impression that the attorney is using any *reason* to persuade the civil court in signing our file.

I don't know the details of the other files but I hope they would be treated individually with appropriate pressure being used with the court, instead of looking at them as a group of 4 files. If all the files have been stuck as long as ours, than by all means, the attorney should be making the same case for all of us. I hope he isn't letting our file delay because the other 3 files have been in the court for a more "reasonable" timeframe.

Sorry to be so cheerful. :) We are doing all we can to prepare for her homecoming but to have our file SIT for 4 1/2 months, for what should have been a much shorter process, is just hard to deal with.

Thanks for any help you can give towards lighting a fire.

Natasha

p.s. Are we dealing with bribes too? I do wonder sometimes if our file is being held like it is because of that. I would never agree to a bribe and I know Holt wouldn't either. I just need very clear communication about what is going on. Thanks.

oh, and please know - I respect and appreciate you, Holt and Monsour immensely - and my pointed e-mail comes from the frustration that has been building from enduring a Haitian adoption. I'm certain these memories will quickly fade when we finally get Katiana home.

WELL.........I ran a spell check and fixed a couple of words and was about to push send when the PHONE RANG........it was Holt! It was Mike! and he said "How would you like some good news!" Yes! Our file came out of the (not so) Civil Court!!! So, today I experienced a wonderful little miracle and the bigger miracle.....the Lord's timing! It wasn't coincidence that the phone rang at that moment! No it wasn't coincidence at all!
love,
tash

a little news....

2007-01-22T00:59:00.000-07:00

Below is an e-mail I received from Crystal who works for Foyer de Sion. She goes to Haiti every 3 months with a group of volunteers and adoptive parents. This is what she had to say about MV and R.

"MV... Ah, what a beauty you have! She is so sweet. She sat by me for part of Sacrament meeting. She tried to get in the van with us after church and we literally had to pry her fingers off the door of the van. :~( Made me sad.....
On the other hand....she was SO thrilled and excited to get your gift! Her face broke into smiles and she just didn't stop. She had trouble opening the bag, so Richard helped her with that. She was happy to see your photos and she seemed SO relieved when I gave her a gift....as though she was judging whether or not she really had a family.... I am SO glad that you sent the gifts!

The scale at the orphanage was broken so we were only able to get heights this time....M was 42.25 inches tall and R was 36.75 inches tall.

R...shy as always...sat on the end of the bench at church, but....he made eye contact and would smile shyly before turning his head away or quickly ducking. And...look at the photos!!! He SMILED!!!! Made my day!!!"

Yes, they are cute and they seem pretty happy. What a strange world we live in! That thought will have to wait for another day......Au Revoir, Bon Nuit!
tash

Happy Pictures...

2007-01-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

Foyer de Sion had a parent trip last week which sadly we missed. We did get some new pictures of MV and R with a little update about how they are doing. The pictures speak for themselves. Take a look :)

I will cut and paste the e-mail about them into the next post.
love! tash

We Can Do It! Family

2007-01-15T23:45:00.003-07:00

Here we are! This was taken in the "brrrrr--cold" beautiful outdoors of December 2006. We have a wonderful neighbor who came over to snap a few shots for us....and she suggested this photo on the stairs. I love it!

Because she did such a good job, we hope she will continue this tradition in snapping our photo each year *just in time* for Christmas cards. Good neighbors are a blessing -- and we have many!

tash

Another photo.....

2007-01-15T23:45:00.002-07:00

This is the latest photo we have of MV and R in Haiti.

MV has decided to smile at the camera since we met her last May.

R on the other hand, is more like his grandpa--he doesn't like the camera *AND* I think he is annoyed that Charlemagne has his hand on his head! I can just hear him now.....quietly whining "ki tem" (translated--go away leave me alone) hee, hee, hee
Bon nuit.....
tash

Hallelujah......I did it!

2007-01-15T23:45:00.001-07:00

Well, maybe I'm turning a bit nerdy. did I just say that? I actually figured out how to drop a photo into my blog! This photo was taken last September of KJ in Haiti. I love her school uniform. She is beautiful!

Good night.
tash

A Photo.....maybe

2007-01-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

Testing to see if I know how to drop a photo in.......

Full Circle

2007-01-11T01:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it is 1:35 in the morning, so this could be a very interesting post. It will probably be full of spelling and grammar errors and a few incomplete sentences! To top it off...my head is pounding with a head-ache! But I felt a need to preserve this interesting day.....

Our adoption. We began when we found KJ in Haiti in June of 2005. Not one day has gone by without some time spent thinking about her and the future of our family. Anxiety of the unknown has been a constant companion. Anxiety is defined as -- a disturbance of mind regarding some uncertain event. I would add, we are excited! We met KJ, MV and R last May. Yep, we are adopting three amazing kids from Haiti!

HAITI! Somedays that is a bad word in our house! Like today. We got *another* phone call from our agency. Every time I see their number on my caller ID, I hope it is FINALLY some good news. Well, for four months now......it has only been bad news. Today, another call, more bad news. This time, it appears evil forces are in motion. At least, after the call, I looked over at Mark, smiled a smug one and said "I just know the rewards will be sweet when she finally makes it home!" I should have been upset.....the call was to tell me the Civil Court had been vandalized and therefore it was closed. So, after four months our file is still being held hostage by the court, which by the way, before we entered was taking 3 to 4 weeks. The previous bad news call, was to tell me that the orphanage director had an appointment with the court for KJ's birth parents (because they finally decided after three months they wanted to interview the birth parents before they would release our file) to meet with the assistant Director at the court. This was on Wednesday, December 27. WELL, the RAT (asst. dir.) decided to go on vacation instead of keeping his appointment! UGH!

Full Circle.......because, TODAY for the first time.......I felt peace (after unleashing my frustration to Mike at Holt) THAT she really would come home and it really didn't matter when (to some degree). I just came full circle back to the beginning of this process, when it was so clear to me that she belonged with our family and it didn't matter WHAT problems we would encounter or HOW LONG it would take! SO, Lucifer, the dragon and slimy snake he is......can stir things up all day long, and in the end......it doesn't matter - my kids from Haiti will come home at just the right time......and all the anxiety we are all feeling, will be to our benefit in the end! YES, we will win this war! And YES, the effort in enduring will come with sweet rewards. I know this!

Now I need to go take a pill and go to bed.......my head is still pounding!

Au Revoir, Bon Nuit.
tash

Christmas Eve.....

2006-12-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it is 10:30 and I'm killing time. Santa can't visit our house for at least another hour!

What a month! I think I deserve a really cool cape.....ya know, maybe it would have a big red "S" on it ......or a "wonder woman" logo........hmmm. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who deserves a cape.

We just delivered our last gift (other than the 4 gifts Mark needs to deliver next week......oh, yeah, he needs to buy them first too.)

Uncle Scott arrived at 1:15 today. He was on a flight scheduled for yesterday but it was cancelled. So, a day late but happy still the same! The kids were coached by Mark....... that is, Z.R. and M.A. were coached by Mark to wish him a "Ear-y Christmas the minute he walked thru the door and then stick a wet finger in his ear!? I guess Mark wanted him to remember the year he came to our house for Christmas!

Our Sunday program was very nice today! M and I sang in the choir. Before church, Z.R. and M.A. helped me deliver 40 bags of clementines to our neighbor friends.......it took us a full hour to drive one mile! We live in a pretty tight neighborhood. Poor M.A. got most of the uphill houses to deliver - but he didn't complain........so full of energy they are!

Dinner was nice. Honey Ham, potatoe casserole, corn and the best......HOMEMADE rolls! And this time they turned out wonderful! Yum!
Well, time to go........ MERRY CHRISTMAS!

tash

50th Anniversary!

2006-12-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight Mark and I went to Kelley's house for Aunt Julie and Uncle Brent's 50th Wedding Anniversary! Wow - 50 years is a long time!

It was a very nice party and at one point I looked around the room and felt like we were in Costa Mesa. Many of the people that came were from our home ward in Costa Mesa.

It was also fun to see Aunt Julie and Uncle Brent's whole family. Richard, Mark, Craig and Kelley! It has been a while since I have seen all of them in one place.

Aunt Julie and Uncle Brent look very happy. I think they have enjoyed living in Utah.

Au Revoir
tash
AMY - How do you spell that? (Good-bye in French?)

Blog Name

2006-12-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well, WE CAN DO IT are the letters of four little words that hung on our closet door during the time we were dreaming of and building the beginnings of a crazy little idea called QuicKutz!

Mark and I kind of adopted this little phrase as our motto and it was a nice daily reminder that we really could do it!

Six years later, life is still full of dreams, adventures, opportunities, challenges, etc. So, We Can Do It! Family seemed like a fitting name for us. We Can Do that which we really believe in.
be-lieve -to accept as true or real.

You must first recognize truth and accept it before you can make it real.

tash

Why Blog?

2006-12-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm breaking down and giving in to a blog spot for our family. I guess because it feels like a good way to share information about our crazy day to day stuff without forcing it on anyone by sending an e-mail. So......if you find us entertaining and like to hear about the silly and the sad, the wildly preposterous and occasional calm happenings in our household - check in occasionally. Life. Never a dull moment.
tash