And here the long-awaited actual PICTURES of Xander home with our family!! We don't have many (remember the camera issues) but we do have some cute ones!! This kid is so amazing. I am in awe of how well he has adjusted to our family, and everyone that is around him says the same thing. It is as if we've always had him. He was so made for us-- and we think we were made for him! He is one very happy kid, just SOAKING UP having a family. He gives me so many hugs and high fives and smiles that I can't help but be happy when I'm around him!! He is picking up English like a champ. One day, I told him, "Xander, I love you THIS MUCH!" holding my arms out wide. He got a twinkle in his eye and replied, "I love you THIS MUCH" and put his thumb and finger together to show a tiny amount. I of course tackled him with tickles, and thus began his favorite new game. He now tells me several times a day that he loves me the tiniest bit and starts to giggle and run for his life. (:
My boys!!!
The family, minus Jeremy, looking a bit frazzled after three hours of church.
This is what happens when two very girly girls are given a brother to take care of while I'm cooking...
Enjoying his sisters...
The family at Cornbelly's-- the world's best fall festival!
The kids with Thurl Bailey (former Utah Jazz player). Xander got a little freaked out by how big he was!
And, last but not least, and having nothing to do with Xander... I asked Taylor to go out and pick us some carrots from the garden. He came back with this puppy!
We all got the giggles over it!! It was a beast to peel, but tasted great! Taylor was gone when I went to take the pic, so Parker is posing with it.
This post is late because of camera issues!! Our missing camera mysteriously showed up right where it belonged the day before Elli's birthday (Sep 9). I was so excited to be able to take some pictures!!! The next day, when I went to blog about her birthday, the camera was again missing. Our little Xander claimed he didn't know where it was, but when it was found a couple of weeks later, it had about 60 pictures on it, many of which had his cute toes at the bottom. Hmmmm. He has since been directed NOT to touch the camera-- so we'll see how long we can keep track of it now. (:
Elli's birthday was nothing spectacular-- just cake (made by Jessica) and presents. However, SHE is spectacular, and I am getting ready for a much-needed post about her on her website. Check back tomorrow, and I'm giving you permission to hound me if I haven't posted. (:
We love you, Elli-Belly! Can't believe you are FIVE!!!!
Several months ago we went to pick out new glasses for Jessica. She marched straight up to a pair of bright pink ones and said, "I want these!" I thought they were a bit much, so I re-directed her to some wire-framed, less PINK ones. When she lost those a few weeks ago, we returned to the eyeglasses store. Again, Jesi marched straight up to the pair of bright pink ones and declared they were the ones for her!! This time I decided to ask the store attendants what they thought. They told me that those bright pink glasses were the hippest ones in the store and agreed with Jessica that she just HAD to have them! These guys seemed to know what they were saying, and having the reassurance that they were indeed stylish, I gave in to one very happy girl.
I'm so glad I did-- now over the initial "wow, those are PINK," I'm in love...
1. He loves the Lord 2. He takes one of our children on a “Daddy Date” once a week 3. He sends me flowers 4. He isn’t a picky eater and will be just as grateful for grilled cheese sandwiches as a steak dinner 5. He loves Disneyworld more than the kids! 6. He dresses up like Johnny Appleseed (complete with a beard and a pot on his head) and visits our kindergartner’s class in the fall. He sings the Johnny Appleseed song, gives out apple suckers, and mesmerizes the children! Jessica just had his visit this week, and she was so so excited! 7. He dresses up like “Zero the Hero” (complete with mask, cape, and spanish accent) and visits our kindergartner’s class in the spring on the 100th day of school. He hands out doughnut holes, holds all kinds of “100” contests, and mesmerizes the kids even more! 8. He has by far the most handsome, perfect hands I've ever seen. And I LOVE holding them! 9. He watches “I Love Lucy” with me, and loves it just as much as I do! 10. He also watches “chick flicks” with me and is even known to cry more than me 11. Lest I totally embarrass him, he also watches action/adventure movies! I love how excited he can get over a show! 12. He performs “Great Balls of Fire” (piano and vocal) as well as anyone in the world 13. He doesn’t yell at the kids 14. He leads our family each morning and night in family prayer 15. He also leads us in couple prayer twice a day—and never leaves for work without praying with me 16. He is very very generous with our finances 17. He assures me every year that the kids do NOT need lots of presents for Christmas, and then completely changes his mind as soon as Black Friday comes around, and shops like crazy for them! 18. He is the perfect cuddler 19. And kisser 20. In my entire life, I have yet to mow a lawn. (I guess I should also thank my dad for that)! 21. He loves hiking and the outdoors 22. His idea of a “guys night out” is taking his boys and going camping! 23. He has a huge heart for orphans 24. He is the world’s best apologizer (and no, it is not because he’s had lots of practice) 25. He loves sports (I don’t know what I would have done if I had married someone who didn’t like to watch college football) 26. He gently reminds me when I need to be more patient with the kids 27. What other Dad in the world would take FIVE children on a seven day road trip so his wife could have a break?!! 28. He always, always smells good. Even in the morning—I love his smell! 29. He loves to take me home to Ferron 30. He coaches our kids in sports 31. He stays up late playing board games with me. 32. He gives perfect foot rubs 33. He will often send me off to take a hot bath when he can tell I need it 34. He gets me 35. He makes me feel beautiful 36. He is, as I’m typing this, putting in a new tile floor for me—YAY! 37. He is my very, very best friend. Ever.
I will note that I didn't have to even pause and think as I wrote these-- and I could write a thousand more. Happy 37th, hon! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, funny, sweet, talented, loving husband and father for my kids. I love you, Jer! I hope this coming year is your best ever!!!!
PS Happy Birthday, Jen!! Wish you lived closer so we could celebrate!!
Christi and I (and some of our extended family) often comment on the charmed life I lead. It's really true. (Somewhere in my youth or childhood...I must have done something good...although I would be hard pressed to pinpoint what it was!?!) Anyway, here are a few examples of the way things work out for me. If I'm running late to catch an airplane, the airplane will (often, but not always:) be delayed. I got laid off effective April and found a great new job in March (and got a nice severance from Pfizer). The company I worked for paid $10,000 toward each of our adoptions (the final $10,000 being paid after I was laid off!!!) The prospects for our importing business have gone from good to better to ridiculous over the past year and a half. And of course, most important of all, I somehow conned the cutest EFY counselor on campus to marry me 11 years ago! So we often comment on how someone up there is looking out for me. (Poor Christi got stuck with me, so the charm level is somewhat less in her life, but we both agree we really do have things great:)
That's not to say we don't have our challenges. In fact, we often have some pretty big ones. But we work together and we make the best of things. Overall, It's a Wonderful Life (I'm going to see how many movie references I can put into this thing. By the way, for those of you young folks who've never seen Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life," it is perhaps the best movie ever made. I love it, anyway.)
So let me just share a few things that have happened over the past week that are some of the small, but funny, challenges we've had. Last Friday night, Taylor, Parker and I flew to Tennessee to visit some of our many friends there. (You guessed it: the stress level in my life decreased substantially when I found out the flight was delayed 15 minutes:) Anyway, we spent a wonderful weekend there catching up with a lot of people. It was great. The schedule for Monday was this: Christi would drive up to the airport around 10:45 am to get the boys from me. We would have about 90 minutes to sit in the car, eat lunch, talk, and hold Xander before I had to go back into the airport and catch a flight to Las Vegas for a business meeting. (Why in the world would a company plan a business meeting in Las Vegas? But I digress...) When I talked to Christi on Sunday night to verify the plans for pick up, she realized that Elli's school bus would be coming around 11:00 and she had to pick Jesi up from school at 11:20. This was going to cut into our time at the airport, but that was ok.
The next morning, Jesi was feeling really sick, so she didn't go to school. As soon as Christi got Elli on the school bus, she was able to leave to come get us. When they were just a few minutes out from the airport, Jesi says to Christi, "Mom, I have to grow up!" (That's how she says "throw up.") Christi tried to get over to the side of the road so she could find a bag or something for Jesi to "grow up" in, but, alas, it was not to be. Vomit all over Jesi and her carseat. So when she showed up to the airport a few minutes later, poor Jesi is covered in gunk. Fortunately (hey, I said we lead a charmed life) Christi had purchased a new pack of wet wipes the night before and they were still in the car. Christi got Jesi all cleaned up. Although we didn't have a change of clothes, Christi was wearing a cardigan type sweater over her white shirt and was able to wrap Jess in that. (Jesi looked rather cute wearing nothing but her undies and a sweater that, on her, was really low cut--as in down to her belly button:) We get Jesi buckled into another seat (we have plenty of those in our vehicle!) and just as we got her settled, she says, "I have to go to the bathroom very bad." Of course you do, dear.
Her shoes and socks had come off in the clean up efforts, so Christi carried her into the airport bathroom while I stayed with the other kids in the car. By they way, we were still parked in the loading zone at the terminal. Fortunately it was a slow time of day, and no one made us leave. Jesi came back and we all sat in the car and ate the (cold by now) pizza that Christi had brought since I wasn't coming home for lunch. At one point, Christi leaned over the open pizza box in her lap to get the bottle of Sprite from near her feet, and of course she ended up with pizza grease all over the front of her shirt:) As we were eating, Xander yelled out from the back seat his Chinese version of "I have to go to the bathroom." Of course you do, son. So I took him to the bathroom. End result? We had about 15 minutes to enjoy each others' company before I took off for another 4 days.
So I've been in Vegas all week. I don't drink. I don't gamble. I'm a happily married man. That doesn't leave you much to do in this town. But last night, a few of us decided to go to a Cirque du Soleil show. It's called "O". It's the one with a pool for a stage and is quite amazing and very wierd. Prior to the show, we went to a restaurant and had dinner. As we got to the theater, I started feeling sharp pains in my stomach. About 20 minutes in, I knew I better head to the bathroom. WARNING: the rest of this paragraph is a bit graphic. Read at your own risk! I knew I needed to throw up, but it wouldn't come. After about 20 minutes of praying that I would puke, I finally resorted to the "gag myself" method, and oh, did the floodgates open! Something I ate did NOT agree with me. So, picture a poor guy, stuck in a theater bathroom (missing a very expensive show, by the way, which at the time was the least of my worries), and heaving in front of a toilet that is now filled with a very nasty, opaque millieu. Then picture the poor guy as he heaves once more...and his cell phone slips out of his pocket into the brink!!! (Which, by the way, is why I haven't called you to wish you happy birthday this morning, sweet Christianne. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!) I made the decision in a split second and retrieved said phone. Of course having eaten much and feeling so sick to my stomach, I had undone my belt and the top of my pants. So I'm stumbling out of the stall with a puke-covered phone in one hand, holding my pants up with the other hand and reeling like I had been drinking as I go to the sinks. Fortunately, I was the only one there, but I'm sure it would have made a funny picture.
After returning home, I had a few more gut wrenching episodes in the bathroom, including one in which I didn't quite make it to the toilet and threw up in the sink. I got it mostly unclogged, but still had to call maintenance for help. (What's the problem sir? Uh, well, you see, I um, lost my cookies in the sink and, um, I need you to unclog it. Sorry!) This morning I feel somewhat better, but am still pretty queasy. I guess this is one way to lose a little weight.
So, the moral of the story? Vegas' new theme is at least somewhat true for me: "What I ate in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"
Have a great day, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Christi. Congratulations on reaching 29, dear!
As a postscript to previous entry: I would suffer the stress of trying to clean a very messy house EVERY DAY in return for the amazing dinner that followed! At the suggestion of my dear friend Heather (you're my HERO), we went to "The Roof" restaurant-- which is housed on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The view is incredible-- looking out over the Salt Lake temple and surrounding valley. The food is possibly even more incredible!! It's a buffet like you've never experienced-- every single dish was perfectly scrumptious. There were at least twenty amazing desserts!! If it wasn't so expensive, it would be my new very favorite restaurant. Everyone should go there at least once in their lifetime, and they should all have a big bowl of their potato bacon soup-- mmmmmmm. (: So no need to feel sorry for me for the cleaning stress, (though I wouldn't cry if we did get that raise and cleaning woman Teri mentioned). (:(: Oh, and by the way, sweet Teri-- it is SIX, count them-- SIX children we are cleaning after! (:
We had such a great Labor Day weekend in Ferron. I had a bad cold, and if there's anywhere you want to be sick, it's at my parent's house. They really take care of us!!! We had the perfect combination of sleeping in while Mom and Dad got up with the kids (THANK-YOU), staying up late talking and watching hilarious Tim Hawkins clips, going swimming, church, relaxing, hanging out at Millsite (beautiful reservoir), visiting, playing Scrabble, and most importantly, eating Grub Box fries. (: We love Ferron. It is the most peaceful place-- everything seems to slow down there. Sigh.
Now we are back to school, homework, house, yard, garden, projects, church stuff, scouts, sports-- you get the picture. And you know what-- this is great too!!! I really do have such a fun, wonderful life!!!! Xander continues to amaze us with his adaptability-- we just feel like he's always been here! He is so so so very cute and very LOVED!
--Christianne
PS-- We can't find our camera. This is no surprise, as all sorts of things have gone missing, and then been found again in various odd places (cell phones in fridges, scissors in sock drawers-- you get the drift). Most times Xander will know exactly where to find the missing items (go figure), but he claims he doesn't know where the camera is. Just explaining why there are no pictures attached to our recent posts.
***** Jeremy's boss's boss is coming over tonight to meet the family before taking Jeremy and me out to dinner. Let's just say our house needs some serious help in order to be presentable. So this morning as Jeremy and I knelt to say our couple prayer, I (only half-jokingly) prayed for a magic cleaning fairy to come and sprinkle her pixie dust throughout our home.
When the prayer was over, Jeremy got up, went over to our dresser, swiped his finger across it and said, "bummer."
"What?" I asked.
"She only sprinkled dust." *****
***** Jeremy and I spent the majority of the evening last night tweezing roughly 300 (no, I'm not exaggerating) tiny slivers out of Jessica's feet and toes from the new bark dust we put under our swingset. Um, ouch?!!! *****
***** Xander tells me "I love you!" about 40 times a day. I like to think it's because he really does-- not because it's the only English phrase he knows. *****
***** The same Xander that loves me so much has gotten into every drawer, every nook, and every cupboard in the house (just this morning) and made various messes, spills, and "creations" with the found items. And, I know I should be somehow happy about this, he will not watch TV. Which means no glorious moments of "mess-free" Xander. *****
***** Being as how the cleaning fairy sprinkled the wrong kind of dust, I really, really shouldn't be online right now. *****
***** But I'm scared of my own house. *****
***** AGHHHHHH!!!!! *****
***** But boy do I love my little guy! *****
***** Oh, and just so I'm sure you understand, the dust is the least of my problems. It's more the piles of dirty clothes, toys, dishes, etc. that I'm a little concerned about. *****
***** I wish I could fast forward to 6:30 p.m., when I'll be enjoying a nice dinner regardless of how the house turns out. *****
***** It will come, right???? *****
***** That is, the evening-- not the fairy. I've come to grips with the fact that Tinkerbell will not be visiting. *****
We rarely make political statements here, but this excellent video was deserving. Combine my conservative views and love of cleverly crafted songs and you have a real winner here! Enjoy:) Courtesy of one of our favorite commentors-Terynn. (I recommend double clicking and viewing it on youtube. Otherwise about 25% of it is cut off.)
We've been home over a week! Jet lag has subsided. Life is good:)
I just cannot tell you how wonderful Xander is! All of our children are wonderful. Each member of our family has blessed our lives and added a richness to our home. But along with the blessings that have come, our previous adoptions have added a lot of challenges and stress to our lives. This is a normal thing, and many, perhaps most, adoptive parents experience these challenges. But I can honestly say that with Xander, there are almost NO challenges! He is amazing. Several months ago my mom shared some feelings she had about Xander. She said that she felt he was going to be a huge blessing to us in different ways from our other children. She felt like he was going to be a great comfort to us and help us in some of the challenges we were having. This has absolutely been the case. He is SO sweet. He is SO loving. He is SO helpful. He is SO kind. He is SO generous. He is SO obedient. He is SO amazing. He is SO cute!!!!!!!! I LOVE this little bug so much. I believe he is also very good for our Graci. She clearly loves him and has been touched by his sweet spirit. She can be very tender with him and helpful and protective of him as well. Xander is a precious gift from God.
Last Monday the three older kids started school. Jesi and Xander have become great little friends. They are extremely cute together. (They do have a tendency to follow Christi around and make it almost impossible for her to get any alone time. The other day I walked into the boys' bedroom. Christi had given up trying to read the scriptures in solitude and was lying (Jen: is it lying or laying?) on the lower bunk reading the Book of Mormon. Xander was on the top bunk and Jesi was on the floor. They were in hysterics, throwing stuffed animals back and forth to each other and making tons of noise. I commented to Christi that now would be a good time to escape to another room. "It wouldn't do any good," she said. "They'd find me in less than a minute!") So they do tend to be a bit clingy:)
Xander loves to pick up the older kids from school. Several times a day he'll go over to the key rack, point to the car keys and say "ge-ge! ge-ge!" (big brothers! big brothers!) He's adjusting very well, but can still have some moments of confusion and sadness. Last night, Christi and I were going to a wedding reception and wanted to take him with us. We dressed him up in the cutest traditional Chinese outfit and got him in the car. He was very subdued on the way there, unlike his normal self. To figure out what was up, I asked him if he knew where we were going. He quietly said "fei-ji" (airplane). As we had been walking out to the car, Christi had pointed out an airplane to him, and he thought we we getting on an airplane. Who knows where he thought we were going. Did he think we were taking him back to China? I don't know, but when I explained that we were not getting on an airplane, but were just visiting some friends of ours, he immediately got a big smile on his face and was bright and happy the rest of the evening. This morning, we turned on the video of our trip to China. When the clip of us meeting him for the first time came on, Xander started to howl! He was inconsolable for quite some time. Ironically, in the clip he was giddy with happiness! Again, who knows what was going through his poor little head:(
Today we took him to church for the first time. He was so good! I'm sure he hadn't been going to church in China, but he must have had some experience with being part of a congregation/audience listening to a speaker. He kept pointing to the speaker, then looking over at us and putting his finger to his lips and saying "shhhh." How cute. I sat with him through sunday school, and he was very good until towards the end when the song leader said "Now we're going to sing a welcome song to a new member of our congregation...Xander." She, of course, said this with a big welcoming smile on her face. But he burst into tears and was crying through almost the entire song." He is very resilient, and once he realizes that mom or dad is with him, he rebounds quickly:)
This morning, Parker came in and said: "My best friend likes Hannah Montanna, too! We were both just too embarrassed to admit it." OK, let's hear the story behind that one, Park! Apparently Parker's friend had done something that was common to a character on Hannah Montanna. Parker noticed it and asked where his friend had learned to do that. His friend kind of hemmed and hawed until he finally spit out, "They do it on Hannah Montanna." Parker was ecstatic! "You mean you like Hannah Montanna, too?" he asked. Apparently they have even more in common than they thought they did.
Jesi continues to charm. Elli is up and down. Taylor is our rock. And Graci is...still developing socially. But we love her tons:)
Hey everyone, just a quick post to let you know we made it safely home. As seems appropriate this trip, our flight from China was late and we missed our connection in LA. Instead of arriving home Friday night, we got here Saturday morning. We're EXHAUSTED!!! The boys and Xander love each other tons. It's way cute to see them together. Xander is very curious, getting into a lot of things, including many toys/games/etc. that belong to individual kids, but everyone is being very patient with him. We'll post more later, but I just wanted everyone to know we're safe:)
I’ve been singing it all night long! We cannot wait to get our hands on our three other kids—we’ve been missing them so much! We’re also missing American bathrooms (complete with toilet paper), ice-cold drinks, our favorite foods, cool summer evenings, church, extended family, and blue skies!
HOWEVER, we are really going to miss China!! We love it here. We particularly love Guangzhou—it’s a little piece of heaven on earth watching all of these children join their forever families. It’s also wonderful to have a little break from normal responsibilities, and I must say we’re more than a bit scared to come home and face them! We know from experience what jet-lag is like, and to combine it with work, 5 kids starting school, 1 kid at home who will surely be into EVERYTHING, laundry, housework, cooking, and adjusting to our new family seems daunting. We are grateful for Teri’s specific prayers that we will have strength beyond our own over the next little while. (:
Our Xander continues to be such a joy. We love him so much and can’t wait to see him in his new surroundings! He is excited to come to America, but I wonder what that means to him. How can he have any idea how much his life is about to change? Over the last several days I noticed he would always longingly watch any little kid he saw on a bike. Yesterday, he was just staring at one little boy’s tricycle, and I had Graci tell him that in America, he would have a bike. His eyes got big and he started clapping and cheering. It was so precious!
Today we traveled to the American Consulate to take the oath that everything in our paperwork was true. There were 50 other families there taking the same oath. Xander then received his visa to go to America, and he will become an official US Citizen upon arrival in LA! Pretty amazing.
Well, we leave tomorrow evening. This is likely our last post before arriving home at midnight on Friday. Hopefully the next thing you see on here is pictures of all the kids together—woo-hoo!!!
Thanks again for all of your support and love during this journey to Alexander—oh, and I keep forgetting to mention—his name is actually Alexander Philip Green. We had gone back and forth between Chase and Philip, and finally decided on Philip, in honor of my grandpa and dad. He couldn’t have better men as namesakes, and we hope he will follow closely in their footsteps. My dad is a particularly amazing man in every way. We love him so much! And a sidenote-- “Philip” means “lover of horses.” I think this suits Xander well, as he is drawn to every horse figurine that we see in the shops. It will be fun to take him on the farm and see some real horses! :):):)
The title of this post pretty much describes what we’ve been doing for the past few days. I really quite enjoy Guangzhou. I love the association of so many people with big hearts here to adopt kids. I love the shopping. I love the fact that I really don’t have anything to do while I’m here other than wait for Xander’s visa to be processed. We just hang out at the hotel, shop, swim, enjoy each other’s company, shop, eat, wander around the streets and shop. There are so many little shops around this area. They sell some really cool stuff. One of my favorite parts is bargaining. For example, today I was looking at some North Face knock-off hiking backpacks. Real ones would probably go for $150 in the states. The lady started at $55.00 for a big one and $28.00 for a small one. I ended up getting two big ones and two small ones for a total of $92.00 :) I’m pretty good at it. Two years in Thailand and an ornery streak give me the background and the personality to get some pretty deep discounts.
We also sweat a lot here. It was 97 degrees here today and about 75% humidity. I tend to take a couple of showers a day. At least there’s great air conditioning in the hotel. You have to feel bad for the shopkeepers here. None of them own the shops they’re working in, and the owners will only let the employees turn on the air conditioning when there’s a customer in the shop. So I guess I can look at it like this. The longer I stand there trying to get my cost down, the longer the employee gets to enjoy the cool air. I never realized what a nice guy I was!
Hope you like the pics. Xander Commander is a nickname that one of the other dads in our travel group has given the X-man, and I kind of like it:) The red couch pictures are a tradition for adoptive families here. It is in the White Swan hotel-the place that most adoptive families stay while in Guangzhou. (We’re on the cheap side of the tracks over at the Victory, but honestly, we’re so glad we chose this hotel. We got two rooms together, which we couldn’t have afforded at the White Swan, and it makes evenings quite relaxing.) Xander with the swords is in front of one of the shops I referred to. You can see some of their various and sundry items in the background. Jesi LOVES to pose for the camera (or just for you, if you’re willing to pay attention:) and Christi loves to take pictures of her kids. So we’ve included just a small portion of the pics she took.
Last night we took a cruise on the Pearl River. It included dinner and some entertainment. The entertainment was a clown who juggled and spun things on her hand. Not terribly exciting, but Graci did get called up from the audience. The clown held Graci’s finger up and spun a soccer ball on it. Graci was nervous, but excited to be part of the show.
All in all, things are going GREAT. We are still so in love with Xander. There continue to be opportunities for learning and some boundary issues, but we really can’t believe how much he is fitting in to our family. He seems extremely happy to have a mom and dad. He loves to play. He’s absolutely adorable. We’ll be home on Saturday-call us and you can come meet him:)
I’ll leave you with this romantic note. Christi and I are going to watch an episode of I Love Lucy as soon as I’m done with this post. She ran down to 7-11 to buy us each a candy bar for the show. She got a Snickers for her and a Dove bar for me. She just opened her Snickers and leaned over and offered me the first bite. She said, “That’s so I can have a bite of yours…not because I love you.” Hey, I’m still the luckiest man alive!
Oh, so many cute moments in the last week! With each picture being worth a thousand words, I’ll let the slide show be most of the post. But here are a few comments.
The pedal boat ride was in Zhengzhou. I took the kids out for a walk to give Christi a break. We came across a beautiful park with a lake. The park was several blocks wide and long. After the boat ride, we wandered around. This was also where the birds were. (By the way, Graci informed me that they were good eating.) By the time we started to head home, it was getting dark. We finally made it out to a street, and I was completely lost. It was after dark, and here I am in China with three little kids. I knew I couldn’t be too far from the hotel, but I wasn’t sure which way to go. I had brought along our hotel key card specifically for this contingency. So I hailed a cab. I showed the driver the hotel key, but it was clear that without glasses, there was no way this guy could read the name of the hotel on it. Makes you wonder how much he sees as he’s driving his taxi?!? The second driver was a woman and she took pity on my urchins and me. She drove us back to the hotel-it took about 45 seconds (sheepish grin on my face). I tipped her wellJ
Xan-man loves to swim! The hotel in Zhengzhou required swim caps for all swimmers, and Xander looked particularly cute in his. He’s like a little fish, and keeps begging to go swimming here in Guangzhou, but we’ve been instructed to wait until after his TB test is read. That’s this afternoon, thank goodness!
Graci has been so cute with Xander. She is very anti-kissing in general, but for some reason, she has no hesitation kissing X-man. She loves to carry him around, take care of him, help him when he needs something, etc. She’s being a great big sister. It’s fun to see her be so nurturing.
Jesi has fixed several “tea parties” for us. This is a re-creation of the “tea parties” fixed for her by her Grandma Rose. They generally included such dainties as stale fruit loops, humitidy-sogged-crackers, and this nasty/funky jello-chunky-drink stuff. (To clarify, Grandma Rose’s tea parties have much more delectable items on the menu.) Jesi likes to stand by the side of the table, directing our eating and ensuring that we consume everything that has been served to us. (Fortunately, she is easily distracted, and some of the stuff ends up in the garbage.)
The matching shirts have been around since Taylor and Parker were about 2 and 3. There are actually two of the smaller sized shirts. The older boys LOVED to wear them with Dad. Xander was pretty excited, too.
Not too much longer ‘til we come home! We’re looking forward to some normalcy-if you can call anything about our family normal:)
Jer and I are in heaven. I am sitting here BY MYSELF at the computer while he is out BY HIMSELF purchasing necessities for the night (chocolate, cold drinks, and chocolate). How are we by ourselves??? Well, we originally booked a suite here at the Victory. We stayed in it last night, and awoke bright and early to the sounds of construction going on right outside our room. We knew immediately that the noise was not going to work for us, so we asked about trading rooms. Turns out the only other available suites were on the smoking floor. Instead, we got two adjoining rooms and we LOVE it! The kids were so excited to have their “own room,” and we are even more excited for ours! We leave the connecting doors open all of the time, but are enjoying the space and little moments of peace and quiet. (:
Our sweet Xu Chu is still just perfect! He is a blast—full of fun and personality, with the right blend of sweetness and seriousness too. We continue to fall more in love with him each day. This morning Jeremy took him for his physical. Because we are a Hague family (this is not worth explaining), poor Xander had to get SIX shots and a TB test. I think that’s pretty over-the-top, considering he has already had his immunizations. The whole Hague thing can really get me going. Right now there is a family that had to leave their child (newly adopted) in China because she tested positive for TB, even though she passed the sputum tests and was therefore deemed not contagious by a whole panel of doctors. The child will have to stay here for at least 2 months, going through tests EVERY DAY. The parents were unable to stay here with her as they both have jobs and more children at home. It is such a tragedy. So there is a little part of me that is worried he won’t pass his TB test—what a mess that could be. We’ll find out Monday.
Besides the physical, we haven’t had much going on today. Jeremy did more paperwork with our guide while I stayed with the kiddos. We went to Lucy’s for dinner—yummy—and took a stroll along the water. I love Guangzhou. The area our hotel is located on (Shaiman Island) really caters to adoptive families and has all kinds of little shops. It’s great. The only negative thing is the heat and humidity. We are all sweaty messes by the time we walk a block. The evenings aren’t as bad, so we try to venture out more then.
Earlier today I was playing with Xander in the bed—wrestling and being silly. He was all wound up and giggling a ton. I got up for just a couple of minutes to check my e-mail, and when I turned around, he was all cozied up in the bed, fast asleep. He slept over two hours before I woke him up. I think the doctor’s visit had been a bit traumatic for him.
Tonight Jeremy told him that in 6 days we were going to America and he was going to see his brothers. Xander TOTALLY lit up and starting clapping and grinning. We talk to them pretty much every day (thank-you Skype) and he loves seeing them. I can’t wait to have them together!! Graci and Jesi have been so so cute with him, and he with them. I am surprised that we haven’t really had sibling issues yet—YAY!
Well, Jeremy’s back with our treats, and I am therefore done! (: Goodnight to all!
--Christi
P.S. I can’t find the USB cord to download our pictures—but we’ll find it tomorrow and post some for sure—we have some super fun ones! Holly, there should be quite a few pictures on our blog—even of Gotcha Day, so try looking again! (:
Editor's note - Holly - the pictures are there - just keep scrolling down!! I'm a tad frustrated with blogger and image limitations - but hey, it's an imperfect world!
Anyone that has been on an adoption journey (at least anyone that’s not super-human) knows that it is exhausting. Mentally, physically, emotionally. The time change alone really throws you for a loop, and then you add the nature of the trip—let’s just say that sometimes it’s hard to even keep your eyes open. It is the most taxing time of our lives. So it’s no wonder that for a short time this morning, Jeremy got just a tad bit overwhelmed. It is VERY hot and humid outside (my normally straight hair is a curly mess), cute little Xander is testing his boundaries, Jessica is a bit exhausted and therefore not being a good listener, and Graci is just being Graci (interpret that as you wish). As we were eating lunch today, Graci leaned over to me and said, “I think we should call Daddy ‘Grumpy Mr.’” To his credit, he heard this and responded with something close to a laugh. It kind of took the edge off, and he has come around to his normal self. In fact, he just now voluntarily took the kids on a nice, long (HOT) walk so I could have some time to blog—we are much too tired to write once the kids are in bed. Still, if any of you out there want to give “Grumpy Mr.” some encouragement, and a reminder that his best friends (Taylor and Parker), his nice, king-sized bed, and his beautiful backyard really DO exist and are awaiting him at home, I’m sure it would be much appreciated. (:
As tough as it all can be, Jer and I both agree that it is so much easier this time around. Our last trip to China was very difficult in many ways. Graci had such a hard time adjusting to our family. She was unique in that she had a very loving foster family who loved her as their own, she had many friends at school, and had been very, very happy before being thrown on the biggest roller-coaster of her life by joining our family! It was a bit of a ride for everyone! We learned a lot that has helped us with this trip. Our expectations for Xander have been low, so we are pleasantly surprised that he does listen and obey some of the time! We have learned to cut him lots of slack, while sticking to our guns on a few important things (like hitting). He is doing GREAT! I am so proud of how well he is adjusting. I cannot imagine what it is like for him to all of a sudden become part of a family—and to have that family speak a different language! I think it has made a difference that he has come from an orphanage instead of a foster family. Though we would have loved for him to have had the love and care of a foster family, he hasn’t had to go through the same kind of grieving as Graci did . He has had some moments of quiet sadness and some of obstinance and frustration, but is mostly just HAPPY! It is so fulfilling to watch him giggle as he wrestles with Jeremy, jump up and down when we tell him we’re going to the pool (the first time we went he was quite scared), cuddle us as he is waking up in the morning, laugh as we let him jump on the bed… there are just too many things to list!
We just LOVE him.
He is so so wonderful. He can be a little stinker, yes, but I think so much of that will go away with time and language. Mostly he is so loving and charming. He learned the word “please” today and has found that he can use that to his advantage! There was some chocolate that I had given him, and told him that he could just have one. He went and got a second one, walked over and scrunched his face into his best grin and said, “Please?!” in his cutest little voice. Of course it worked, and Jeremy teased me for giving in. The next time he walked over and did the same thing to Jeremy, who couldn’t help but start laughing and give in as well—he’s just so darn cute! Jeremy has said at least three times, “I feel like we won the lottery!” Oh, and Jer’s new nickname for him—“X-man.” (:
A few facts about Xander:
He likes to dip his waffles in soy sauce, his Pringles in soup, and his watermelon in sweet-and-sour. He loves to brush my hair and blow on my tummy. He will put his head under water for a good five seconds and then burst out of the water with big eyes and a huge laugh! He always puts his shoes on to go to the bathroom in our hotel room. He is very good to let me brush his teeth. He knows he is charming. He has a super-cute, LOUD voice. He likes to be carried ALL OF THE TIME (this is the source of many of his melt-downs, as we can’t always comply). He sleeps with his bottom lip sunk in under his teeth. He loves to drink, but surprisingly stays dry all night without waking up to go to the bathroom. He has super soft skin. He smells good (polar opposite from when we first got Elli—took weeks to get her smelling good:)), he doesn’t let his legs/feet slow him down, he can be very good at sharing, he can be very bad at sharing, he is very independent (sorry, Taylor, but he cuts his food up better than you do!), we think he is ambidextrous, he has GREAT teeth by China standards, he’s trying hard to learn English, he LOVES gum (if you want to be his friend for life, give him his own pack), he gives the sweetest little kisses, and he truly seems so love us. (: This morning, Xander was going around singing, “Wo ai ni Baba” (I love you Daddy), “Wo ai ni Mama,” “Wo ai ni Jie Jie (big sister) “Wo ai ni Ge Ge” (big brother). He was just singing it to himself, over and over as he wandered around the room. It just melted my heart.
While we are enjoying our time here, we really can’t wait to get home to our other kids and be a complete family. And while we truly love China, we’re missing Utah’s mountains, blue sky, and cool summer evenings! Tomorrow afternoon we’ll fly to Guangzhou to complete the adoption proceedings and get Xander’s visa. We’re staying at the Victory and we’ll be there for a week, arriving home at midnight next Friday—YAY! I need some Elli, Taylor and Parker hugs!!!!!
Again, thanks for all of your love and support! We can’t wait to show off this little guy!
Christi’s favorite phrase of late is: “Of course it is.” or “Of course he did.” or “Of course…” you fill in the blank. This is a reference to the general craziness of our lives. For example, today there were several occasions when the “Of course he did.” phrase would have been quite appropriate. “Xander knocked over a glass and it shattered on the carpet!” “Of course he did.” “Xander spilled his Sprite all over the floor.” “Of course he did.” “Xander found the chocolate and smeared it on the white bedspread.” “Of course he did.” You get the idea. This is actually quite a fun phrase and can be used in a variety of ways. “Christi, I forgot to tell you that I’m out of clean white shirts.” “Of course you did.” “Mommy, the toilet paper’s all gone!” “Of course it is.” “Christi, our dessert cost as much as our entire dinner.” “Of course it did!” (More on that below.) We officially give all of you permission to use this as you see fit:)
We are so in love this little guy. He’s our little Tasmanian Devil, ever curious and ever exploring, but he’s absolutely impossible not to love. He has THE MOST charming smile I’ve ever seen. It totally makes my day every time I see it. He wrinkles up his little nose. His eyes pretty much completely disappear. And he just lights up the world. We are both SO in love.
Xander loves swimming. The first time we went, he was very quiet and nervous as we walked into the pool. It didn’t take long for him to warm up, and the next time we took him, he went running in with a huge smile on his face. The swimming pool has circular life preservers that the kids can use as floaties. All three of them are loving it. They put their heads and arms through them and paddle all around the huge pool. Xander also loves it when I throw him up into the air. He counts with me, “One, two, three” and up he goes.
I think Christi mentioned that he’s a lot smaller than we had envisioned. It’s a sweet, sad thing to observe him. From the waist up, he looks like the skinniest little guy. He looks like he should be very light. But from the waist down, he is very different. His legs are both enlarged. One leg is way larger than the other. Both feet are also enlarged. I had thought the masses on his legs would feel a lot more solid. They almost feel like jello. They are filled with some kind of fluid, probably blood, and weigh much more than you would think from looking at him. But in spite of his physical abnormalities, he has the brightest outlook on life. He is constantly smiling. Despite the weight of his legs causing him to walk and run awkwardly, he walks and runs often and always does so in high spirits. He is truly a little ray of sunshine in our lives.
Today was fun. It was a day with no specific plans, so we ate a late breakfast, went to the hotel playroom, went swimming and just enjoyed ourselves around the hotel. Yesterday, Graci heard our conversation about forgetting it was our anniversary. She immediately hatched a plan. She insisted that we not go out for lunch today. Instead, she had us stay in our room. She asked me if I had a suit. I didn’t, so she made me wear the dressiest outfit I had with me. She did the same with Christi. Once we were dressed, we both had to sit on separate beds and keep our eyes closed so we couldn’t see each other or see what Graci and Jesi were preparing. It was the cutest thing. The used a towel for a tablecloth on the small table in our hotel room. They set a little lunch for us with the snacks we had here. Each setting had an apple and several grapes. There were also several small oranges on the table. At first I thought they were for us to eat, but Graci pointed out that they were in the shape of an 11-for 11 year of marriage. After we opened our eyes and saw everything, Graci said, “Now you can talk about love!” and she ran away giggling. How cute:) As we ate, the girls first served as our waitresses, then they danced and sang to entertain us. We have such good kids!
Tonight we went out for dinner. There’s a GREAT restaurant next door. We’ve eaten there twice and love it. We had a nice dinner. The total for he 5 of us came to $24.00. Very reasonable. Then on the way out, we noticed a freezer with ice cream for sale. We each ordered a small ice cream, and it came to $23.50! The girl who sold it to us noticed my eyes bug out of my head and she let me know that the two Haagen Daas ice creams we had ordered were $9.00 each!!! Are you kidding me? These were ½ cup servings. For $9.00??? They were even freezer burnt. Caveat Emptor! We will make sure we ask the price of things before we buy next time.
Well, it’s late and we are exhausted. We’ll post some more pictures tomorrow. Thanks for all of your comments, love and support. By the way, some of you have asked how we’re posting when blogger is blocked in China. Our friend, Dave Ausdenmoore, is posting for us. We just send him emails and pictures. Thanks, Aus!
Jeremy
PS. In the five minutes that have passed since I finished this post, Christi sat on a cup of Chinese jello that Xander had hidden under her pillow. Of course she did…
When we fell in love 24 years ago, we started down a path that has been challenging, exhausting, and breathtakingly beautiful. Here we chronicle the blessings and stressings of parenting some pretty amazing children. We think they're the perfect travel companions as we look forward to the next fork in the road. Welcome to our journey.
Our oldest by birth, he's the voracious reader, BYU fan, spiritual giant, sports nut, 4.0 student, huge-hearted ray of sunshine!
Parker Matthew--22
The red-headed social butterfly, he's our all-star athlete, top student, outdoor-loving, spunky second-born, with a heart of pure gold!
Jessica Anne "Jesi"--19
Our little princess with the big smile, Jesi loves fashion, friends, hanging with her siblings, and vacations. She sparkles!
Jacob Michael-- 6/8/2004
Little one of heavenly birth, born too soon to bloom on earth. You have taught us so much--we love you, Jacob!
Emily Anne "Emmy"--9/28/2005
Emily's exquisite little hands and feet have left their mark in this world. Her body was tiny, but her spirit enormous. We miss her!
Elizabeth Mei "Elli"--18
Elli's world may be dark, but she's the light of our lives! Lover of music, chocolate, and new toys, she fights a courageous battle with autism while bringing joy to all who know her!!
Gracelin Kate "Graci"--24
Showing true grace throughout her battles with heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, our Gracester is loved by everyone! She's smart, gorgeous, friendly, and has faith to move mountains!
Alexander Philip "Xander"--18
With a spunk and smile that could outmatch anyone's, our Xander has not let Cloves Syndrome get the best of him. He's a talented chef, a caring friend to MANY, our best helper, and is full of teenage humor.
Alexis Li "Lexi"--18
Meet the friendliest girl on the planet! Blind from birth, Lexi amazes all of us with her braille skills, determination, talents, but mosly by the way she spends her days SMILING. She is an angel in every way. We are thrilled to have our darling daughter home six years from China!!
Sophia Breanne "Sophi"--14
Her eyes called out to us from half-way around the world. Little Sophi is growing up and we would do anything to freeze her in time! She's beautiful, smart, and coy and can do amazing things with her toes! She has inspired people all around the world and we can't believe she is ours. Sophi = perfection.
Calais Rose "Cali"--22
Charming Cali joined our family in December of 2012. This girl is beautiful both inside and out. Born with spina bifida, Cali is confined to a wheelchair, but that does not keep her from enjoying life to the fullest. She is smart, opinionated, strong, and lovely in every way. She is a light in our family and a magnet for handsome young men!
Conner Allen-- 22
Meet our newest addition! Home nine years from China, Conner makes us wonder what we ever did without him. Blind from birth, he will blow you away with his incredible talent on the piano. He is sweet, witty, girl-crazy, kind and finally, OURS! We love you, Conner!
The Dog
Baxter-- 3 years
She begged and pleaded and wrote letter after letter telling us why she NEEDED a dog, and Sophi finally got her wish! Meet Baxter, the cutest mini-audssiedoodle on the planet.
