So blessed to have my Mom...

My Mom was the best. God blessed my brother and I

so much by giving us to her to love. Cleo Jane Snider

Staton passed away on Monday night, June 14, at 9:02 pm.

Our hearts hurt in that Mom is no longer here with us

in this world. But we rejoice in knowing that Mom has

joined Dad, her mother and father, sisters and brothers,

in God's eternal glory. I selfishly grieve for her loss, but

rejoice in knowing that she has a new body, no more pain

or suffering, and that she has seen Jesus face to face! How

glorious! Mom has gotten her long-deserved reward.

My beautiful, little Mom. She had a great big heart and

loved so many family and friends. And she was loved

greatly by so many in return.

Four generations of girls! This picture of Mom, Jenny,

Addi and I was taken at Kristen's bridal tea.

Jenny, Maddox and Addi visited Mom and Dad in January

before returning overseas. Mom was struggling to get over

pneumonia at that time.

Mamaw and Turner - a special time with a precious little boy!

Mom and 3 of her men, Adam, Kit and Matt! Easter 2009.

Mom and Mary Ann - Easter 2009

Mom and Mary Ann at the Gaither Concert - April 2009

May 2009 - Mother's Day - Mom, Sherman and Mary Ann

We miss you Mom...Mamaw...Aunt Cleo...and we love you

very much.

Cyrus Update Pictures

Cyrus is growing and growing. We cannot believe how
long he is. He eats so well and is a sweet baby. It is hard
to believe that he is now 3 weeks old. Another week and
he will be one month old!

Here is Cyrus's temporary bed. He's growing so fast that
soon he will outgrow the bassinet. But it is a sweet bed
for him to use now.

Here is our precious baby boy in his bed.

Cyrus's eyes continue to change. At birth, they were a

deep blue, then sometimes now, they are brown with gray.

Then they will look dark blue again.

So sweet!

See how long Cyrus is?

Exercising on the floor

But then he got tired of the floor and wanted to be picked

up and held! Cyrus let us hear his voice!

A Turkish Celebration...Interesting!

Last evening, we started hearing really loud

music. There is a school up the hill from The

Depp's apartment. As we looked out the living

room window, we could see that there was

some type of celebration occuring. There were

the red and white Turkish flags flying, balloons,

and a band. The band played traditional Turkish

music and it could be heard throughout the

neighborhood! There were dancers too. The

video below will share the sound, but I couldn't

zoom in but so far. I'm just sharing a little of the

Turkish culture.

Missing Turner...

We are loving our time here in Istanbul with the Depp
part of our family. Time with Addi, Maddox and Cyrus
is priceless. But we have missed our little American boy,
Turner! I know that Matt, Kristen and Turner have
had a great time with Kristen's family at the Outer Banks
this past week. We look forward to seeing all the pictures
and videos!

Here's our sweet boy! We love that he has developed
a cute personality, clapping and waving his hands.

Grandad, Grand and Turner...just before leaving for our
flight to Istanbul. We love this little boy!

Videos from the Boat Tour

Cyrus was awake on the boat going to the ruins. Here

he is doing his exercises!

View #1 from the ruins.

The Ruins view #2

The Ruins View #3

Views along the boat ride heading back down the Bosphorus.

Pancakes, Strawberries and The Mall!

Addi did a great job of building some fine structures

with the legos on Thursday night!


She's very proud of her work too!



Jenny had the fine help of Maddox as she made pancakes

for our supper on Thursday evening. We had strawberries

and apples along with homemade syrup as toppers. Mmmm!



On Friday morning, Gran had the pleasure of holding

Cyrus while Jenny, Addi and Maddox finished getting

ready for our outing of the day.



Cyrus had on his gator car outfit! We walked to the playground

first so that Addi and Maddox could swing and slide. Then

we took a taxi to the mall. We bought a few groceries and had

lunch. Addi, Maddox and Gran had a great time riding the

various rides!


Addi on a magical horse!



Maddox loved the motorcycle! It said "CHIPS" on the

front, just like the old TV show!


Addi looked so cool in the red sports car.



Maddox loved the yellow sports car.


Both loved the train ride!

Addi and Maddox enjoyed riding another train.

Grandad Flies Home...

Tues. night, June 2, after our boat tour, Kit made sure to
spend plenty of time playing with Addi and Maddox. It
was his last night in Istanbul as he was flying home the
next day.

Addi and Grandad built a 'garage' with legos.

Maddox, Addi and Grandad having fun.

Grandad, Addi and Maddox in action!

Cyrus enjoyed his bath!

Early the next morning at 6:15am, we rode in a taxi to

take Grandad to the airport to fly home.

We rode over one of the bridges that crosses the

Bosphorus in order to get to the airport.

A view from the bridge

We had some extra time as we waited for the posting of the

check-in area for Grandad's flight. He used the extra

time to hold baby Cyrus. Maddox was not happy that

Grandad had to leave.

Grandad and Cyrus...last moments together until The Depps

come home for stateside in early Dec.

Cyrus slept through most of his first trip to an airport.

Addi and Maddox waiting...

Jenny and Addi waiting too. Soon Grandad's flight was on

the board, so we all went with him so he could check in at the

correct counter. Once he checked in his luggage and got his

boarding passes, he was ready to go through passport security

and to his gate. We said our goodbyes with Jenny and I tearing

up. Grandad got kisses and hugs from all of us, althought

Maddox would not tell him goodbye. He didn't understand

why Grandad had to leave. We wavedand waved after

Grandad got through security, until we couldn't see him anymore.

It was lonely without him. The next day, we got a call from

him saying that all flights were on time and everything went

smoothly. He arrived home safe and sound. Grandad, we miss you!

Maddox has asked about you for three days now! We are glad

that you could skype us and that we could talk to you.

The Bosphorus Boat Tour and Old Fortress Ruins

Tuesday - June 2, we took off for another family adventure
in Istanbul! We went on a river cruise up the Bosphorus
Strait toward the Black Sea.

Here we are walking toward our boat at the port.

A scenic view of the water and the many boats.

There are always many boats of all kinds to see.

Aboard the river tour boat, Addi is looking at the many

boats of all sizes.

Maddox is studying the boats too.

There are many old buildings along the strait to view.

Another mosque in the background

Kit, Jenny, Cyrus and Matt

This is Addi's dog, Bolt. Named after the famous Bolt in

the movie.

This is Maddox's Boo Boo the Baby Cow.

This is an old palace located along the waterfront.

I've only read about these and now I've actually seen one.

Too bad we didn't have time to go and explore it.

This is one of two bridges that connect the European and

Asian sides of the city.

A palacial home along the waterfront.

Another view with a tower

More beautiful homes and apartments

The boat stopped several times along the route at small

villages to drop off or pick up other passengers. This

home was a beautiful stand-out at this stop.

More beautiful homes...

Jenny and Addi looking at the view

Jenny and Mary Ann

An English gentleman offered to take our picture. Jenny,

Mary Ann and Kit posing for this shot.

We were nearing the Black Sea. Here you can see how

close both land areas are, and beyond is the Black Sea.

A boat entering the Bospherus Strait coming from the

Black Sea.

There are many villages along the water route. Most of

the buildings in Istanbul have the terra cotta tiled roofs,

similar to the roofs in the SW part of the USA.

Addi in an unhappy moment.

Matt, Cyrus and Maddox. Maddox is taking a picture

with the camera. Addi and Maddox enjoyed using both

of our cameras for various shots and some pics taken

were really good!

Cyrus...turn this way for your picture!!! Here Cyrus is

enjoying some exercise time. He loves moving his arms

and legs. He makes such cute noises too!

Jenny, Matt and Maddox

Cyrus still has a head of black hair! His eyes are dark

blue sometimes and dark brown at others. We have no

idea what color they will be eventually!

You can barely see the ruins of an old palace fortress to

the left of the red Turkish flag in this shot.

We arrived in this small village for a lunch stop. Those who

chose to could hike up the mountain side to see the ruins of

an old fortress.

There were many small outdoor restaurants to choose from

for lunch. Many were grilling all kinds of fish delights. But

Matt and Kit do not eat fish, so we moved along until we

finally found this cafe.

Kit sat patiently waiting on his chicken dish.

Before lunch, the children enjoyed watching this kitten

curl up and get comfortable for his nap.

After lunch, we started our hike to the top to see the ruins.

This store caught my eye with the wooden children, like

Pinnochio sitting in the upstairs window.

As we traveled up, following the road, there were homes

and great views of the Bosphorus.

We walked past part of the fortress ruins here.

The road ended and we had to climb up many steps. Along

the way were several restaurants with great views. But I

was thankful that we had eaten before climbing up this

mountain!

Another beautiful view...

Here are the ruins of the old fortress built by Sultan Sehmet

for protecting the city of Istanbul a long time ago. You could

climb up to the top, but we didn't because of the children

and the old lady who came along!

An incredible blue view!

Another view of the ruins

The Depp Family - Addi, Maddox, Cyrus, Jenny and Matt

We took a break in the shade of the tower of the ruins.

Another view from the backside of the ruins

The opening of the Bosphorus leading into the Black Sea

from atop the mountain at the ruins.

We started our walk back down from the top. This shows

part of the old wall around the fortress.

A great view as we began our descent.

One last shot before heading down

An opening in the old wall

Back on the boat, we had a great view of the little village

here we had lunch and the ruins at the top of the mountain.

A last look from our boat toward the Black Sea.

Maddox pretending to slide on the boat.

Addi posing for her shot on the pretend slide.

We were all very tired. Jenny and Cyrus napping together.

Cyrus was such a great little traveler!

Another old palace along the waterfront.