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Country of Residence: United States, Pennsylvania
Living Arrangement: Two-story house--5 bedrooms
Vehicle: Yellow Nissan Altima
LN: Stewart
DH: Shaun Daniel (doctor)(dark brown hair, blue eyes)(41)
DW: Stephanie Maybelle "Steph" (stay-at-home mom)(light brown hair, green eyes)(41)
DS: Maxime Quentin "Max" (wavy dark brown hair, brown eyes)(12)
AD: Vera Jyrgal (straight brown hair, brown eyes)(from Kyrgyzstan)(12)
DD: Ginou Solange "Ginny" (wavy light brown hair, blue eyes)(11)
AD: Hansol Adilet "Hanni" (straight black hair, brown eyes)(from Kyrgyzstan)(11)
DD: Alexandra Roseraie "Lexa" (wavy brown hair, blue eyes)(6)
DS: Julien River (wavy brown hair, blue eyes)(3)
Cow: Enpe (brown)(4)**left in Haiti**
Hedgehog: Eulalie "Eula" (2)
Pygmy Goat: Anakin (silver/black)(3)

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Shaun and Stephanie Stewart were married last year after Shaun graduated from medical school. He decided he wanted to make a difference in a third world country and signed on with Doctors Without Borders. Shaun was assigned to Haiti, where he and his wife have set up semi-permanent residence. Steph is working for an online advertising company part-time, so she can do a lot of work from home. She also helps make sure Shaun and the other doctors have all the supplies that they need. She has some contacts in the US who donate supplies on a regular basis.

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Year 1: Pet, farm animal
Shaun and Steph have been in Haiti for just over a year now. They have pretty well settled into a routine. Steph works from home most mornings, and Shaun works long hours in the emergency clinic in Port-au-Prince. Last month, as a gift for treating them, one of the Haitian families gave Shaun a small bull cow they had. Steph has adopted it as a pet, and named it Enpe, the word for little. Enpe is completely brown and surprisingly friendly. Shaun spent some time a few weekends ago building a small wooden corral for Enpe, and he has become quite the attraction among the local children.

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Year 2: Job, laid off
The past year has been a little rocky for the Stewart family. The Haitian people don't always have enough to pay Shaun for his medical work, and although he receives a salary, it isn't a lot. In addition, Stephanie recently lost her job because the company she worked for went bankrupt. She has spent her extra time learning some of the local secrets to living from the town's women, and has found herself falling in love with the Haitian people, just as Shaun already has done.

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Year 3: birth: boy, wavy dark brown hair, brown eyes: induced labor; NB
Shaun and Steph have welcomed a little boy into their family! Their son, Maxime Quentin Stewart, was born on September 16th, a week and a half after his due date. Shaun had Steph admitted to the hospital, and doctors there induced her labor. Maxime was a healthy 9-pound, 21-inch baby. Shaun was elated to be a father, but he's thinking that Haiti is maybe not the best place to raise a child. Steph, on the other hand, believes that an foreign country is the perfect place to raise a child, so they have a taste of what life is like in other places. She does agree though, that returning to the US should happen some day.

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Year 4: birth: girl, wavy light brown hair, blue eyes; induced labor; CI
Ginou Solange is the newest addition to the Stewart family. Ginny, as she is already being called, was born on June 1st, ten days after her due date. Once again, Steph was admitted to the hospital and induced after being on bedrest for most of the pregnancy. Max is happy with his new little sister, but thinks he should be able to play more with her. Their apartment in Port-au-Prince is getting a little cramped with two little ones, but Steph enjoys Haiti, and Shaun is doing good work as a doctor.

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Year 5: family affair, you move
A few months after Ginny was born, both she and Max contracted Typhoid fever, despite having been vaccinated. Both children recovered without complication, but Shaun put in for a transfer afterward. Doctors without Borders granted his transfer request, and the Stewart family moved to France. Since they spoke Creole in Haiti, the transition to French wasn't too difficult. Both Max and Ginny have taken to their new country, and they are having a good time in their new three bedroom flat. Unfortunately, cows weren't allowed to be transported from Haiti to France, so Shaun gave Enpe to one of the neighbor families with six children, so that they could use him for meat. Steph was upset to see her little cow go, but knows he provided nutrition for an entire family.

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Year 6: job, promotion
This year, Shaun received a promotion. Since moving to France, he's been working at a pediatric clinic. A few months ago, the chief of surgery at the clinic resigned, and Shaun got the position. It comes with a pay raise, and with it, Steph has decided to officially become a stay-at-home mom. She doesn't visit the clinic often anymore, and instead spends her time with the children going to parks and zoos and playgrounds.

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Year 7: adoption: Asia, girl, 3 or 4
Shaun, Steph, and their kids were well settled in France when they received a phone call from one of Shaun's colleagues working in Kyrgyzstan. He had a little girl there named Hansol who was recently orphaned and needed a family. She was only two years old, but had moderate mental retardation, so being adopted by a Kyrgyz family was unlikely. Shaun and Steph discussed adoption, and decided that they could give the little girl a home. After going through all the appropriate channels, Hanni had turned three. She was elated to see the Stewart family, and has quickly become an integral part of their lives. Ginny loves having a "little sister", and Max defends her from anyone who would make fun of her.

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Year 8: random: adoption: Asia, girl, 5
Just a year after adopting Hanni, the Stewart family adopted another little girl from Kyrgyzstan. Shaun's colleague called him three and a half months after Hanni joined them, and said that he had another little girl who'd shown up recently at the clinic. Her parents simply left her there and never returned. Her name is Vera Jyrgal. She just turned five, but suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Her outward appearance is just like any other child, but she functions at the level of an eighteen-month-old. Since Steph stays home with the kids, adding Vera to the mix wasn't a problem. In fact, she has made a welcome addition to the family, and Hanni is very close to her. Max began Kindergarten this year, in France, and he is enjoying it immensely. Ginny is looking forward to following him next year.

Year 9: birth: girl, wavy brown hair, blue eyes, premature, DR
After five years, Shaun and Steph weren't really expecting to have any more children. After all, they are in their mid-thirties now. However, they were delightlfully surprised when Steph found out she was expecting again. Their daughter, Alexandra Roseraie, was born three weeks early. That surprised everyone, considering that both of Steph's other biological children had to be induced. She attributes it to being older. At any rate, Lexa came home after two weeks in the hospital and quickly won her brothers and sisters over. Shaun is continuing his work with Doctors without Borders, and is happy to be making a difference in people's lives. When the kids get older, he'd like to return to Haiti and open a pediatric clinic there.

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Year 10: family affair: you move
After ten years living outside of the United States, and after much pestering from grandparents, Shaun and Steph have decided to move their family back to the United States. Shaun took a job as a general practitioner in Eastern Pennsylvania, where both sides of the family live. The transition to the States has been a little difficult for everyone. Shaun and Steph have found that living in other countries has given them a different perspective on things in the US than they had when they left. And, although Shaun and Steph tried to integrate English into their everyday lives, their children are most fluent in French. The kids do know English, on a conversational level, but they prefer to converse in French which frustrates their teachers to no end. Both Vera and Hanni are receiving special services at school, and Max and Ginny attend regular classrooms. They love to frustrate the other kids on the playground by speaking in French, and Steph has already had to attend several parent-teacher conferences about their behavior. Lexa, on the other hand, has adjusted very well to her new surroundings. She babbles in both French and English, and is doted on unceasingly by all of her grandparents.

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Year 11: travel: national park
Since the last year has been difficult for everybody, Shaun decided they needed a family vacation. They all went to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. The kids all loved it--they got to spend time with Mom and Dad plus see the giant fissure in the Earth.

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Year 12: birth: boy, wavy brown hair, blue eyes, premature, HT
Another baby joined the family this year--Julien River Stewart was born a week early, on January 24th. Fortunately for Steph, the kids are all doing well this year. They seem to have acclimated to the United States, and everyone had a good year in school. At almost forty, her doctor (and husband too) warned her that a pregnancy could be dangerous; however, Julien was born healthy and Steph didn't experience any complications. She and Shaun are agreed though--they're done having kids. Any more children will be completely accidental (although welcome).

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Year 13: pet, exotic animal
For the past year, all four of the older kids have been begging for a pet. Not wanting to deal with a dog or a cat, Shaun did some research on the internet and bought the kids a hedgehog for Christmas. To prevent them from fighting over what to name the creature, Shaun and Steph came up with a name beforehand and are calling the hedgehog Eulalie, or Eula for short. Max, Ginny, Vera, and Hanni love playing with Eula, and Eula appears to be a very friendly hedgehog.

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Year 14: pet, farm animal
Of course, after buying Eula, the kids decided to do some searching on their own. Max proposed getting a small pygmy goat to keep in the backyard. He and Ginny made a good pitch to their parents about the benefits of owning a goat. After promising to care for it, Shaun and Steph gave in and bought the kids a small silver/black goat. Since it was Max's idea to get a goat, he was allowed to name it. He's been on a Star Wars kick recently, and named the goat Anakin, after the a main character. True to their word, Max and Ginny care for Anakin almost completely. Vera and Hanni like to play with him, but have taken charge of Eula's care.

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Year 15: job, business trip
This year was pretty quiet for the Stewart family. About midway through March, Shaun took a trip to a medical conference in London. He had a great time at the four-day-long conference, but was glad to return home. Steph was glad too. After almost a week of taking care of six kids, a hedgehog, and a goat, she was ready for Shaun to get home. The family is doing well, and everyone has adjusted well to living in the US.