Anxiously waiting...
...and waiting.
There's the van.
Here comes Lexi!
Precious first moments:)
Here comes Sophi!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Pictures!!!
Ready to go get the girls!!!
Anxiously waiting...
...and waiting.
There's the van.
Here comes Lexi!
Precious first moments:)
Here comes Sophi!
Anxiously waiting...
...and waiting.
There's the van.
Here comes Lexi!
Precious first moments:)
Here comes Sophi!
We Have Them!!!
Where to begin? Wow what a day. What a sacred, blessed, exhausting, unbelievable, precious, unforgettable day. We have them! These two darlings we have worked for for so long are now ours.
This is the biggest adoption group (by far) that we have ever been a part of. There are 12 families. So today at the building where we all received our children, it was a bit chaotic. But it was way better than I expected. Most of the kids were happy (or at least not crying). Our two girls were part of the last group to arrive. So for an hour and a half we were able to watch other families receive their children. We helped video and take pictures. Christi was the lookout for vans/cars coming with one or two more kids. My dad was overwhelmed. Before we even got Sophi and Lexi, he came over to Christi and asked, “Why didn’t you prepare me for this?” He had envisioned a pretty sterile transfer of a child from one person to another. He was not prepared for the fact that when a child becomes part its forever family, the Holy Ghost is present, impressing on those who are there that this is an eternal and important moment. My dad knew that the spirit was strong when a child was born into the world. He was not prepared for the overwhelming spirit that is present when a child is adopted and meets his or her parents for the first time. When there are 12 such meetings at once, it is an amazing day!
At our request, we received our daughters about 10 minutes apart. Lexi was the first to come in. We saw her get out of the car and be escorted up the stairs by the orphanage staff. She shuffled her feet and had to be pushed in the room. Right inside the door we greeted her and led her to a nearby couch. Since we first decided to adopt Graci, I have spent hours studying Chinese. I am nowhere near fluent, but I can say enough to really help during the first few weeks of an adoption. The first ten minutes of our time with Lexi today made every second I have spent studying Chinese worth the effort. I was able to hold her hand and say: “I am your daddy.” Then I would put Christi’s hand in Lexi’s and say “This is your mommy.” I did the same with the girls. I told her I loved her. It sounds so simple, but I really felt like my ability to say these things in words she could understand helped to build a bridge and enable her to love our family much faster.
I cannot tell you how completely and immediately Lexi melted my heart. This is one special little girl. She has an innate goodness and sweetness about her. She was almost completely quiet at first, but has really opened up throughout the rest of the day. I can’t tell you how happy she makes me and all of us. Several times throughout the day I put her hand up to my face and said, “Ba ba” (Daddy). After I had been out for awhile, I came back to the room. Again I took Lexi’s hand and rubbed my cheek with it and said “Ba ba.” This time she responded. She said, “Ba ba, Wo ay nii.” That means, “Daddy, I love you.”!!! I was exstatic. Lexi is beautiful and wonderful. I can’t wait for as many of you as possible to meet her.
Ten minutes later, Sophi was brought into the room. She was a little less patient with the whole “I’m about to rip you away from everything you’ve ever known” routine. She fussed a bit at first, but quickly figured out that Christi and Graci had Cheerios and Cheerios are good. By this time I was rocking Lexi and singing to her, so I didn’t hold Sophi right off the bat. When I did hold her, she warmed right up to me. At this point, she seems equally happy with Christi, my dad or me. She doesn’t seem to like children as much as adults, but she can be good with them.
Sophi is also just precious. She has a pretty stoic expression most of the time, but from time to time she will light up a room with her smile. When one of us looks over at her after not having looked at her for a bit of time, she will give us this 1-2 second grin that makes her entire face smile. It is so cute! Christi got Sophi to walk a few steps tonight. That’s exciting!!!
All in all, today couldn’t have gone a whole lot better. Both girls are adjusting to being here and having some genuine fun. There wasn’t too much crying and Sophi and Lexi both seem to like each of us. We are truly, truly blessed. I wanted to add pictures tonight, but I have literally fallen asleep three times in the last 45 seconds. I NEED some sleep. Pictures will come soon, I promise!!!
Jeremy
This is the biggest adoption group (by far) that we have ever been a part of. There are 12 families. So today at the building where we all received our children, it was a bit chaotic. But it was way better than I expected. Most of the kids were happy (or at least not crying). Our two girls were part of the last group to arrive. So for an hour and a half we were able to watch other families receive their children. We helped video and take pictures. Christi was the lookout for vans/cars coming with one or two more kids. My dad was overwhelmed. Before we even got Sophi and Lexi, he came over to Christi and asked, “Why didn’t you prepare me for this?” He had envisioned a pretty sterile transfer of a child from one person to another. He was not prepared for the fact that when a child becomes part its forever family, the Holy Ghost is present, impressing on those who are there that this is an eternal and important moment. My dad knew that the spirit was strong when a child was born into the world. He was not prepared for the overwhelming spirit that is present when a child is adopted and meets his or her parents for the first time. When there are 12 such meetings at once, it is an amazing day!
At our request, we received our daughters about 10 minutes apart. Lexi was the first to come in. We saw her get out of the car and be escorted up the stairs by the orphanage staff. She shuffled her feet and had to be pushed in the room. Right inside the door we greeted her and led her to a nearby couch. Since we first decided to adopt Graci, I have spent hours studying Chinese. I am nowhere near fluent, but I can say enough to really help during the first few weeks of an adoption. The first ten minutes of our time with Lexi today made every second I have spent studying Chinese worth the effort. I was able to hold her hand and say: “I am your daddy.” Then I would put Christi’s hand in Lexi’s and say “This is your mommy.” I did the same with the girls. I told her I loved her. It sounds so simple, but I really felt like my ability to say these things in words she could understand helped to build a bridge and enable her to love our family much faster.
I cannot tell you how completely and immediately Lexi melted my heart. This is one special little girl. She has an innate goodness and sweetness about her. She was almost completely quiet at first, but has really opened up throughout the rest of the day. I can’t tell you how happy she makes me and all of us. Several times throughout the day I put her hand up to my face and said, “Ba ba” (Daddy). After I had been out for awhile, I came back to the room. Again I took Lexi’s hand and rubbed my cheek with it and said “Ba ba.” This time she responded. She said, “Ba ba, Wo ay nii.” That means, “Daddy, I love you.”!!! I was exstatic. Lexi is beautiful and wonderful. I can’t wait for as many of you as possible to meet her.
Ten minutes later, Sophi was brought into the room. She was a little less patient with the whole “I’m about to rip you away from everything you’ve ever known” routine. She fussed a bit at first, but quickly figured out that Christi and Graci had Cheerios and Cheerios are good. By this time I was rocking Lexi and singing to her, so I didn’t hold Sophi right off the bat. When I did hold her, she warmed right up to me. At this point, she seems equally happy with Christi, my dad or me. She doesn’t seem to like children as much as adults, but she can be good with them.
Sophi is also just precious. She has a pretty stoic expression most of the time, but from time to time she will light up a room with her smile. When one of us looks over at her after not having looked at her for a bit of time, she will give us this 1-2 second grin that makes her entire face smile. It is so cute! Christi got Sophi to walk a few steps tonight. That’s exciting!!!
All in all, today couldn’t have gone a whole lot better. Both girls are adjusting to being here and having some genuine fun. There wasn’t too much crying and Sophi and Lexi both seem to like each of us. We are truly, truly blessed. I wanted to add pictures tonight, but I have literally fallen asleep three times in the last 45 seconds. I NEED some sleep. Pictures will come soon, I promise!!!
Jeremy
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Hi Everyone, This is Christi's mom. We just had a phone call from China. The kids here were so excited. They have been so anxious to actually talk to them. Christi wanted to post a link her friend sent her for all to watch. Click here for link. Then click here2 for a really neat interview with the actor in the first video. THANK YOU EVERYONE for all your support!!!!!!
Gotcha Morning...
It’s Monday morning, and in less than two hours we will be holding Lexi and Sophi in our arms! It is a very exciting, terrifying, surreal feeling. Walking into our room late last night and seeing a crib here made me want to jump up and down and go and hide at the same time! Two at once!!! How did we get so blessed???
The jet lag has not been fun, and last night was quite the experience, being how we were sooooo very tired and yet had so much on our mind that we couldn’t sleep much. I kept dreaming that I was late to meet the group and I didn’t have the gifts for the orphanage ready and worst of all, I didn’t have make-up on. LOL. When I finally woke up for good, Jeremy rolled over and said, “Are you going into labor, honey?” The excitement was palpable, even in our exhausted state.
I can’t wait to find time to tell about all our experiences with Graci’s sweet foster family. We have LOTS of fun pictures to share, but the computer connection is slow and I’m sure we’re going to be crazy busy for the next couple of days.
We will of course share news of today as soon as we are able. (: We’d love your prayers for us and for our two new girlies, who have no idea what’s about to hit them. We have prayed specifically that they will feel the Holy Ghost comfort them and let them feel peace. We hope for the same for us!
Taylor, Parker, Xander, and Elli—love you to pieces. Wish you were here! Can’t wait to bring your sisters home and enjoy our best Christmas ever! Be good for Grandma and Grandpa and know that you are in our minds and hearts all day.
To all those who have helped us get to this point—all our love and gratitude. We couldn’t take on something like this without the support of such good family and friends. Thank-you.
Love,
Christianne
The jet lag has not been fun, and last night was quite the experience, being how we were sooooo very tired and yet had so much on our mind that we couldn’t sleep much. I kept dreaming that I was late to meet the group and I didn’t have the gifts for the orphanage ready and worst of all, I didn’t have make-up on. LOL. When I finally woke up for good, Jeremy rolled over and said, “Are you going into labor, honey?” The excitement was palpable, even in our exhausted state.
I can’t wait to find time to tell about all our experiences with Graci’s sweet foster family. We have LOTS of fun pictures to share, but the computer connection is slow and I’m sure we’re going to be crazy busy for the next couple of days.
We will of course share news of today as soon as we are able. (: We’d love your prayers for us and for our two new girlies, who have no idea what’s about to hit them. We have prayed specifically that they will feel the Holy Ghost comfort them and let them feel peace. We hope for the same for us!
Taylor, Parker, Xander, and Elli—love you to pieces. Wish you were here! Can’t wait to bring your sisters home and enjoy our best Christmas ever! Be good for Grandma and Grandpa and know that you are in our minds and hearts all day.
To all those who have helped us get to this point—all our love and gratitude. We couldn’t take on something like this without the support of such good family and friends. Thank-you.
Love,
Christianne
Saturday, December 4, 2010
10 AM Sunday morning
OK. We're starting to get accustomed to the time change. Yesterday was a great day with Graci's China family. It is so sweet to see just how much they love Graci. Their faces lit up when they saw her at the airport. They are so attentive to her (and our) needs. They are so generous, constantly giving us gifts and providing all of our meals and lodging. China Mama made more of the beautiful hand-knit sweaters for Graci and Jesi.
In March of 2011, Graci's China brother is getting married to a beautiful girl named Ting Ting. Jesi absolutely loves Ting Ting, and is her constant little shadow while she's here. We saw their "pre-wedding" pictures. These were hands down the best wedding pics we've ever seen. For about $350.00 US, you get a full day photo shoot with 10 different outfits, professional make up and hair, and then they put together a professional, photo shopped portfolio in 3 separate books that make you look like professional models. Christi and I want to come back just to do a photo shoot someday.
We were able to visit both sets of Graci's grandparents and lots of aunts and uncles. This was the first time we had met several of them. Their joy at seeing their little "Ling Ling" again was very apparent.
Last night at about 8 pm, their family was still going strong but the 5 of us were about loopy from exhaustion. We finally said we had to get back to the hotel, and we were all asleep in minutes once we got there. Had a long sleep last night, and now we're feeling a lot better!
So far, I have only had time to post from my phone. Tomorrow we should have time to get the computer going and add some pics!
In March of 2011, Graci's China brother is getting married to a beautiful girl named Ting Ting. Jesi absolutely loves Ting Ting, and is her constant little shadow while she's here. We saw their "pre-wedding" pictures. These were hands down the best wedding pics we've ever seen. For about $350.00 US, you get a full day photo shoot with 10 different outfits, professional make up and hair, and then they put together a professional, photo shopped portfolio in 3 separate books that make you look like professional models. Christi and I want to come back just to do a photo shoot someday.
We were able to visit both sets of Graci's grandparents and lots of aunts and uncles. This was the first time we had met several of them. Their joy at seeing their little "Ling Ling" again was very apparent.
Last night at about 8 pm, their family was still going strong but the 5 of us were about loopy from exhaustion. We finally said we had to get back to the hotel, and we were all asleep in minutes once we got there. Had a long sleep last night, and now we're feeling a lot better!
So far, I have only had time to post from my phone. Tomorrow we should have time to get the computer going and add some pics!
Friday, December 3, 2010
We are exhausted!
We made it! We got into Graci's home town of Hangzhou at about midnight here, 9am at home. Our internal clocks are pretty messed up at this point.
Graci's foster family was so excited to see her and she was excited, too. They are such sweet people. We feel really grateful that they are still able to be a part of Graci's life.
Well, good night. More to come soon.
Jer
Graci's foster family was so excited to see her and she was excited, too. They are such sweet people. We feel really grateful that they are still able to be a part of Graci's life.
Well, good night. More to come soon.
Jer
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Thanks to...
...Boyd and Shelly Stewart (and Boyd's mom!) for this fantastic MacBook (laptop) we're using to blog while on our trip. Boyd - I just checked out your blog for the first time in awhile and realized what a Star Wars geek you are. Very cool!
...Grandma and Grandpa Nelson for so many, many things. Thanks for the help tending the kids. Thanks for the financial help. Thanks for coming to basketball and baseball games all the way from Ferron. Thanks for making me feel like I am more like a son than a son-in-law. And mostly thanks for your wonderful, fantastic daughter.
...Grandpa Green for helping us out on this double the fun, double the challenges adoption trip:) Thanks for being such a great grandpa that Jesi and Graci squealed with joy and jumped into your arms when they first saw you here in the San Francisco airport.
...Grandma Green for letting your hubby leave you for over two weeks and help us on our journey.
...Jen for getting up early in the morning to take Dad to the airport.
...Matt for helping me coach Taylor and Parker's basketball team-traveling 50 minutes one way 2-3 times a week for practices and games. (And for having a WEALTH of basketball knowledge. I can provide enthusiasm, but he provides the know-how!) And to Matt and Megan for offering to let us use their Netbook. How generous! Since we ended up with this Mac, your mom and dad have the Netbook:)
...Taylor, Parker, Tanner, Dawson, Darian, Kobe and Colton, for sending me off with a win in our first superleague basketball game. 22-19. Taylor scored 5 points in the 4th quarter!!! I get really passionate about coaching, and a win the night before this trip was much more fun than a loss would have been!!!
...Robyn Hagen, Antje Lee and Grandma Nelson for altering coats and jammies for Sophi so she doesn't have some useless clothing arms flopping around as she goes to bed or goes out in the cold:)
...The McKinnons, Cherrys, and Rawlins for making "candy leis" for the kids in the orphanage. What a lot of time and energy to sacrifice for us and for those kids in China!!!
...Mr Larsen at the Utah State Tax Commission for providing me the opportunity to remember all of the expenses we incurred in conjunction with adopting Elli and Graci:)
...Mary Schellenberg for the many times she has called and volunteered to take Elli for awhile of bring dinner or do whatever we might need. Special thanks for changing one of Elli's "up the front and the back" diapers yesterday - with no complaints!
...To our many friends and neighbors who have helped organize, clean, tend kids, and do whatever was necessary to help us get ready for this amazing journey.
...To all of you, near and far, who have expressed support, excitement, love, concern, joy and anticipation for us and our new additions. Thank you for making us feel so loved. We hope you will enjoy following our journey over the next couple of weeks.
Finally, thanks to our Heavenly Father for laying out this beautiful plan for our family. I would never have had the foresight, vision, patience, understanding or even the capability to do this on my own. But He has led us down a unique but perfect road for us. I am continually amazed by His goodness and greatness.
Jer
...Grandma and Grandpa Nelson for so many, many things. Thanks for the help tending the kids. Thanks for the financial help. Thanks for coming to basketball and baseball games all the way from Ferron. Thanks for making me feel like I am more like a son than a son-in-law. And mostly thanks for your wonderful, fantastic daughter.
...Grandpa Green for helping us out on this double the fun, double the challenges adoption trip:) Thanks for being such a great grandpa that Jesi and Graci squealed with joy and jumped into your arms when they first saw you here in the San Francisco airport.
...Grandma Green for letting your hubby leave you for over two weeks and help us on our journey.
...Jen for getting up early in the morning to take Dad to the airport.
...Matt for helping me coach Taylor and Parker's basketball team-traveling 50 minutes one way 2-3 times a week for practices and games. (And for having a WEALTH of basketball knowledge. I can provide enthusiasm, but he provides the know-how!) And to Matt and Megan for offering to let us use their Netbook. How generous! Since we ended up with this Mac, your mom and dad have the Netbook:)
...Taylor, Parker, Tanner, Dawson, Darian, Kobe and Colton, for sending me off with a win in our first superleague basketball game. 22-19. Taylor scored 5 points in the 4th quarter!!! I get really passionate about coaching, and a win the night before this trip was much more fun than a loss would have been!!!
...Robyn Hagen, Antje Lee and Grandma Nelson for altering coats and jammies for Sophi so she doesn't have some useless clothing arms flopping around as she goes to bed or goes out in the cold:)
...The McKinnons, Cherrys, and Rawlins for making "candy leis" for the kids in the orphanage. What a lot of time and energy to sacrifice for us and for those kids in China!!!
...Mr Larsen at the Utah State Tax Commission for providing me the opportunity to remember all of the expenses we incurred in conjunction with adopting Elli and Graci:)
...Mary Schellenberg for the many times she has called and volunteered to take Elli for awhile of bring dinner or do whatever we might need. Special thanks for changing one of Elli's "up the front and the back" diapers yesterday - with no complaints!
...To our many friends and neighbors who have helped organize, clean, tend kids, and do whatever was necessary to help us get ready for this amazing journey.
...To all of you, near and far, who have expressed support, excitement, love, concern, joy and anticipation for us and our new additions. Thank you for making us feel so loved. We hope you will enjoy following our journey over the next couple of weeks.
Finally, thanks to our Heavenly Father for laying out this beautiful plan for our family. I would never have had the foresight, vision, patience, understanding or even the capability to do this on my own. But He has led us down a unique but perfect road for us. I am continually amazed by His goodness and greatness.
Jer
Monday, November 29, 2010
Help?
Yahoo! We will have them in our arms exactly a week from now. Hard to believe it's finally here:)
I have a big and totally last minute request. Does anyone happen to have a spare laptop computer we could take with us? The main reason we need one is because the one I have right now won't support Skype. I know it's a big request, but it worked last time:)
Jeremy
I have a big and totally last minute request. Does anyone happen to have a spare laptop computer we could take with us? The main reason we need one is because the one I have right now won't support Skype. I know it's a big request, but it worked last time:)
Jeremy
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Gotta Love It!
Christi and the kids are in Ferron with her parents. I am here alone. I miss my family. Why did I not go to Ferron with them? Because the Utah State Tax Commission thought it would be in their best interest to audit my taxes from 2007. This means I have to copy every receipt from both Elli's and Graci's adoptions. I don't even know how the auditor will treat receipts from China. Most are not very professional. I spent several hours on the project today, and just finished with Elli's receipts. Tomorrow I'll tackle Graci's. I am not very enamored with my state right now. Actually, I love the state, it's the government that makes me want to cry:( Of course this was perfect timing, seeing as I don't really have very much going on over the next couple of weeks!
Hope your Saturday is more fun than mine...
Jer
Hope your Saturday is more fun than mine...
Jer
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Halloween
It looks much more like Christmas outside than Halloween, but I need to catch up!
I was fortunate enough (ha, ha) this year to have several occasions to dress up the kiddos. Before Halloween Day ever hit, we had dressed up for a family Halloween party, the school's fall festival, Make-a-Wish trick-or-treat night, mutual night, Elli's kindergarten, and dance classes. We forgot about dressing up for pack meeting, darn it. (; I think over the course of the week, we wore 26 different costumes, if I'm remembering correctly. Yikes!
Halloween night was actually quite fun. It was rainy and a bit cold, but it cleared up enough to go trick-or-treating. Our big kids decided they were indeed big this year, and opted to go with friends. Ah, the cutting of the apron strings begins. As much as I missed them, I must say it was great to just have "the littles." No worrying about our slow pace, no trying to get to as many homes as possible-- just laid back trick-or-treating. Elli was especially fun. She got the hang of it very quickly. She might be a slow learner, but not when it involves candy! She walked up to every single door (with assistance) and said "trick-or-treat." Besides her constantly trying to eat candy with wrappers on, it was a success! Xander and Jesi were so much fun to watch. They are such little buddies and everything is so exciting and adventurous to them. I love it.
We have a very fun neighborhood to trick-or-treat in. One house on our street always grills hot dogs (for parents, too!) and they were even out there in the rain with a big tarp. Another house does a spook alley in their garage, and yet another (good friends of ours) serves hot chocolate and homemade cookies. I'd say that's above average trick-or-treating!
Somehow Elli escaped getting her picture taken that night. I think maybe she wasn't ready when we were taking everyone elses? I don't remember... ): She was a very cute Rainbow Brite.
Next year we'll have EIGHT to dress up--this year will seem like a cake walk!!!!
Tennessee Fan
The Invisible Man
Jer and I wore our pjs. Notice his one-piece with a flap in back. (:
Xander had been several superheroes throughout the week, so I assumed that's what he'd be on Halloween. About 10 minutes before we left to go trick-or-treating, he declared he was going to be a ghost. Luckily, it was a costume I happened to have handy...
Jesi had known for months she wanted to be a "queen cheetah." I don't know where she came up with that, but it turned out cute-- and she planned her costume all by herself. (:
The clan, minus a few. Graci left to go to her friend's house before we took individual pics of her.
Happy Halloween!
I was fortunate enough (ha, ha) this year to have several occasions to dress up the kiddos. Before Halloween Day ever hit, we had dressed up for a family Halloween party, the school's fall festival, Make-a-Wish trick-or-treat night, mutual night, Elli's kindergarten, and dance classes. We forgot about dressing up for pack meeting, darn it. (; I think over the course of the week, we wore 26 different costumes, if I'm remembering correctly. Yikes!
Halloween night was actually quite fun. It was rainy and a bit cold, but it cleared up enough to go trick-or-treating. Our big kids decided they were indeed big this year, and opted to go with friends. Ah, the cutting of the apron strings begins. As much as I missed them, I must say it was great to just have "the littles." No worrying about our slow pace, no trying to get to as many homes as possible-- just laid back trick-or-treating. Elli was especially fun. She got the hang of it very quickly. She might be a slow learner, but not when it involves candy! She walked up to every single door (with assistance) and said "trick-or-treat." Besides her constantly trying to eat candy with wrappers on, it was a success! Xander and Jesi were so much fun to watch. They are such little buddies and everything is so exciting and adventurous to them. I love it.
We have a very fun neighborhood to trick-or-treat in. One house on our street always grills hot dogs (for parents, too!) and they were even out there in the rain with a big tarp. Another house does a spook alley in their garage, and yet another (good friends of ours) serves hot chocolate and homemade cookies. I'd say that's above average trick-or-treating!
Somehow Elli escaped getting her picture taken that night. I think maybe she wasn't ready when we were taking everyone elses? I don't remember... ): She was a very cute Rainbow Brite.
Next year we'll have EIGHT to dress up--this year will seem like a cake walk!!!!
Tennessee Fan
The Invisible Man
Jer and I wore our pjs. Notice his one-piece with a flap in back. (:
Xander had been several superheroes throughout the week, so I assumed that's what he'd be on Halloween. About 10 minutes before we left to go trick-or-treating, he declared he was going to be a ghost. Luckily, it was a costume I happened to have handy...
Jesi had known for months she wanted to be a "queen cheetah." I don't know where she came up with that, but it turned out cute-- and she planned her costume all by herself. (:
The clan, minus a few. Graci left to go to her friend's house before we took individual pics of her.
Happy Halloween!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Rain, rain, go away.
I am sick. Sick, sick, sick. Have been for a few days, but it seems to be getting worse instead of better. Today I took some Mucinex (it’s an expectorant) and it really got me coughing. Like, for over an hour straight. My stomach was in spasms afterward.
Wouldn’t be that big of deal if we weren’t leaving for China NEXT WEEK. I have a thousand and one things to do to get ready and all I feel like is lying in bed and drinking OJ. My house is getting messier instead of cleaner. Argh.
Anyway… I said a post a day, so here I am. So much to write about—so many events to catch up on, but I’ll just pick one. Parker’s birthday post reminded me of it. We’ll call it “the party you wished you weren’t invited to.”
Let me explain…
In a family our size, we have lots of birthdays. That means lots of parties for me to plan. We've always had parties at home (going somewhere or renting things is so expensive) and so they take a lot of effort. I’ve begun to simplify in the last couple of years. Parker has taken friends to the dollar theater for two years in a row-- easiest party ever. And last August, we had a combined party for Taylor, Jessica, and Graci. Their birthdays are within a month, and we were getting ready to travel to China (for Xander) so we were especially busy. We were able to rent an enormous blow-up movie screen for half price and set it up in our backyard. I figured we could splurge since we were combining parties. We played fun games in groups of older kids and younger kids, divided into three groups to open presents, then combined together to have ice-cream sandwiches and popcorn while watching a movie outside on blankets and lawn chairs. It was perfect. Beautiful weather, tons of happy kids. Three birthdays in one night. Score.
We decided it was worthy of a repeat this year. Each of the three birthday kids invited around 15-20 kids. Yes, that’s a LOT of kids—but since the party was going to be in the backyard, it seemed fine.
Until the dark clouds started moving in.
Yes, after setting up the giant screen, it began to rain. And rain. And rain. Kids started showing up at the house. Jeremy and I were both in a bit of a panic mode, but there was nothing we could do. Sadly, I had not worried about getting my house all ready and clean, because I thought we’d be outside the whole time. I had to send all of the big kids (Graci’s and Taylor’s friends) downstairs to our messy family room (play room) to play games with Jeremy and I kept the littles upstairs. The problem was, not only were we severely crowded, all of the games we had planned were outdoor games. Requiring lots of space.
What could we do but laugh? Well, I’ll tell you. We could feel stressed and ornery. That’s kind of what happened. Except, I’m proud to say—I did keep a smile (albeit sometimes fake) on my face the whole time. That was in part due to the fact that Jessica had invited her favorite babysitters, who stayed upstairs with me and helped out. Downstairs was a little rougher. One of Graci’s friends got so overwhelmed by the amount of kids in a small space that she went to Graci’s room and burst into tears. It was that bad.
When it came time for the movie, we gathered everyone into the family room downstairs and projected it onto the wall. I could see the terror on Jer’s face when I passed out ice-cream sandwiches, popcorn, and m&ms to all the kiddos.
It was so crowded that several of the kids wandered upstairs and I ended up playing games with them in the kitchen. Which was actually quite fun, and at least I didn’t have to stay downstairs and breathe the smell of 50 children in a small space.
I hereby vow NEVER to combine three parties into one again, unless I am CERTAIN that the weather predicts blue skies.
Luckily, our kids thanked us for the party and seemed quite happy about the whole thing. After all, they had friends and presents—all that matters, right?
Wouldn’t be that big of deal if we weren’t leaving for China NEXT WEEK. I have a thousand and one things to do to get ready and all I feel like is lying in bed and drinking OJ. My house is getting messier instead of cleaner. Argh.
Anyway… I said a post a day, so here I am. So much to write about—so many events to catch up on, but I’ll just pick one. Parker’s birthday post reminded me of it. We’ll call it “the party you wished you weren’t invited to.”
Let me explain…
In a family our size, we have lots of birthdays. That means lots of parties for me to plan. We've always had parties at home (going somewhere or renting things is so expensive) and so they take a lot of effort. I’ve begun to simplify in the last couple of years. Parker has taken friends to the dollar theater for two years in a row-- easiest party ever. And last August, we had a combined party for Taylor, Jessica, and Graci. Their birthdays are within a month, and we were getting ready to travel to China (for Xander) so we were especially busy. We were able to rent an enormous blow-up movie screen for half price and set it up in our backyard. I figured we could splurge since we were combining parties. We played fun games in groups of older kids and younger kids, divided into three groups to open presents, then combined together to have ice-cream sandwiches and popcorn while watching a movie outside on blankets and lawn chairs. It was perfect. Beautiful weather, tons of happy kids. Three birthdays in one night. Score.
We decided it was worthy of a repeat this year. Each of the three birthday kids invited around 15-20 kids. Yes, that’s a LOT of kids—but since the party was going to be in the backyard, it seemed fine.
Until the dark clouds started moving in.
Yes, after setting up the giant screen, it began to rain. And rain. And rain. Kids started showing up at the house. Jeremy and I were both in a bit of a panic mode, but there was nothing we could do. Sadly, I had not worried about getting my house all ready and clean, because I thought we’d be outside the whole time. I had to send all of the big kids (Graci’s and Taylor’s friends) downstairs to our messy family room (play room) to play games with Jeremy and I kept the littles upstairs. The problem was, not only were we severely crowded, all of the games we had planned were outdoor games. Requiring lots of space.
What could we do but laugh? Well, I’ll tell you. We could feel stressed and ornery. That’s kind of what happened. Except, I’m proud to say—I did keep a smile (albeit sometimes fake) on my face the whole time. That was in part due to the fact that Jessica had invited her favorite babysitters, who stayed upstairs with me and helped out. Downstairs was a little rougher. One of Graci’s friends got so overwhelmed by the amount of kids in a small space that she went to Graci’s room and burst into tears. It was that bad.
When it came time for the movie, we gathered everyone into the family room downstairs and projected it onto the wall. I could see the terror on Jer’s face when I passed out ice-cream sandwiches, popcorn, and m&ms to all the kiddos.
It was so crowded that several of the kids wandered upstairs and I ended up playing games with them in the kitchen. Which was actually quite fun, and at least I didn’t have to stay downstairs and breathe the smell of 50 children in a small space.
I hereby vow NEVER to combine three parties into one again, unless I am CERTAIN that the weather predicts blue skies.
Luckily, our kids thanked us for the party and seemed quite happy about the whole thing. After all, they had friends and presents—all that matters, right?
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Happy Gotcha Day, Ling Ling!
Our first glance of you!
Our Dear Graci Kate,
Three years ago today, you walked into a room and turned our lives upside down! We were mesmerized with your sparkling eyes, beautiful smile, confident walk and air of strength. What we didn’t know at the time was that you were hurting and scared and torn between two families who loved you. We didn’t know what you had gone through that day, saying goodbye to your “China family” who adored you and had taken care of you for four years. We didn’t know your fears, your desires, and what made you tick.
Here we are, three years later and so deeply in love with you! We know what makes you laugh, we know what makes you cry. We know when you hurt, we know when you are bursting with joy. We know your strengths and your weaknesses. We know your dozens of cute little quirks. (; We know how you look all made-up and how you look first thing in the morning— and you are perfectly gorgeous either way!
We are so grateful to KNOW you.
Happy “Gotcha Day,” our sweet little girl. You have enriched our lives in ways we can’t express. You are a beacon of courage, beauty, and grace. Your name fits you so well.
We love you.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Happy Birthday, Parker!
I am soooo behind on posts! My goal is to write every day until we leave for China and try to catch up a bit-- we'll see how that goes!
Our amazing Parker turned 10 on November 15. We celebrated the Saturday before by taking him and 15 of his friends (including Graci, Taylor, Jesi, and X) to the dollar theater to see "Despicable Me." Great show. Tons of fun.
Parker is always aware of the needs of others around him. He is thoughtful, considerate, funny, smart, super athletic, cuddly, stylish, loyal, sweet, and good at everything he does. He is the kind of son that a parent dreams of having. Really, they don't come better than Parker. He leaves me feeling blessed every single day.
Yesterday I had to meet Jeremy for something, and I told the kids I would be back within an hour. After Jeremy and I were finished with what we had to do, he turned and said, "How about we don't go home? How about we go on a date instead?" We called the kids to ask how they felt about that. After getting the go-ahead, Parker said, "Mom, I'm glad you get to spend some time with Dad and have fun together." Those are the kind of comments that he makes all the time-- he's just a selfless little guy.
Happy 10th Birthday, my sweet son! You make me one happy mom!
Parker requested the following for his birthday breakfast in bed:
Sausage
Bacon
Fried egg sandwich
Mangos
Rasberries
Quite the palate, my young son:)
Our amazing Parker turned 10 on November 15. We celebrated the Saturday before by taking him and 15 of his friends (including Graci, Taylor, Jesi, and X) to the dollar theater to see "Despicable Me." Great show. Tons of fun.
Parker is always aware of the needs of others around him. He is thoughtful, considerate, funny, smart, super athletic, cuddly, stylish, loyal, sweet, and good at everything he does. He is the kind of son that a parent dreams of having. Really, they don't come better than Parker. He leaves me feeling blessed every single day.
Yesterday I had to meet Jeremy for something, and I told the kids I would be back within an hour. After Jeremy and I were finished with what we had to do, he turned and said, "How about we don't go home? How about we go on a date instead?" We called the kids to ask how they felt about that. After getting the go-ahead, Parker said, "Mom, I'm glad you get to spend some time with Dad and have fun together." Those are the kind of comments that he makes all the time-- he's just a selfless little guy.
Happy 10th Birthday, my sweet son! You make me one happy mom!
Parker requested the following for his birthday breakfast in bed:
Sausage
Bacon
Fried egg sandwich
Mangos
Rasberries
Quite the palate, my young son:)
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