Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve is all kinds of fun in the Green home. We begin the “festivities” around 5:00 by picking up Arby’s (that started one year when I didn’t have time to cook a nice dinner and we have happily kept it up since) and driving to Thanksgiving Point to see the Christmas lights. After coming home, we dress up and act out the Bible story. The kids were so excited this year to have Sophi be “baby Jesus.” We open one gift (always pjs) and then we do “grand bags.” Grand bags are probably very unique to our family! It started with Allen (Jeremy’s dad) and has trickled down to our family. When the kids were little and we traveled to Oregon for Christmas, Allen would always do a “grab bag” for each of us, but the kids called them “grand bags” since they were from grandpa. The name stuck, even though Jeremy now fills their bags. A grand bag is like a second Christmas (or first, I guess) in a bag. It is filled with one’s favorite cereal, drinks, and goodies—none of which have to be shared (which is a big thing in this family!) It also holds other little treasures that Jeremy puts lots of thought into. I even get a grand bag! (: We then sip hot chocolate and listen to an audio version of “The Christmas Carol.”








Jeremy and I were up late into the night on Christmas Eve. It may have had something to do with the wonderful doll house that Santa brought for the girls. (: Our kids were kind enough to let us sleep in a bit on Christmas morning, and they were almost out of their minds when we finally rolled out of bed close to 9:00. We made them come up the stairs in “shifts” so we could get video of everyone’s reactions. In our family, Santa brings each child three gifts, symbolizing the three gifts brought by the wisemen. Taylor and Parker were ecstatic to find that Santa had brought them DS’s. They think they were the last kids in town to own one. (Maybe Santa finally found screaming deal in China, making it possible.) It was so much fun to see the joy on their faces!! Parker also got a helicopter and a ripstick, and Taylor a new Tennessee sweatshirt and scooter. Graci got her much-wished-for Password Journal and tiger webkinz, along with the Barbie house that Santa brought for her and Jesi. They love playing Barbies together! Jesi got a cooking set and a pink Zhu Zhu pet. Xander scored big with a new bike, spy kit, and nerf gun, and all the little girls got new musical toys. We’ll call this their “second Christmas” (the grand bags being the first.)

(Some of these posted out of order, and I'm not going to take the time to fix them...)

















After seeing what Santa brought, we got things cleaned up a bit for Channel 2 news, which came to video a short segment on the adoptions. Then we started their “third Christmas” aka “gifts from each other.” Our kids save money for months to buy Christmas gifts for each other. We double their allowance (that they earn from completing their chores) during the month of November to help them out. This is where so much of the real Christmas joy comes in—watching them GIVE. There were so many thoughtful gifts given. One of my favorites came from Graci and Jesi. At one of Graci’s doctor appointments at Primary Children’s, I saw a vase that was filled with folded origami birds. I commented on how much I loved it. Well, my Graci remembered, and she and Jesi spent hours making one for me!

















After all the gifts were opened, we had our “fourth Christmas.” Both Grandma Larsen and Grandma and Grandpa Green had sent money for each of us for Christmas. Instead of buying each child something (heaven knows they had enough presents!) we pooled all of the money together and bought a new TV! It is our first big screen, first flat screen, and first HDTV all rolled into one. The kids were DYING! (They also think we’re the last family in town to own a flat screen.) I’m not sure who was more excited—the kids, or Jeremy. (:

Our “fifth Christmas” happened yesterday, when my parents came to celebrate with us. They spoiled us all!












As you can see, our kids scored big this year! And if they ever deserved it, it would be this year. They have been through a lot and made lots of sacrifices to get to where we are today. Of course, even with all of those “Christmases,” it goes without saying that our best Christmas gift this year is having Lexi and Sophi home with us. They continue to capture our hearts. We are completely in love with them, and have so enjoyed having time off of school to have all of the kids here at home. It’s CRAZY, for sure, but beautiful beyond words! And of course, the birth of the Savior is what brought it all about. All glory to Him.

Merry Christmas to us! (:

And Merry Christmas to you! Jeremy still thinks we’re going to get our Christmas cards off, but just in case we don’t (wink, wink) we want to say we love you and are so grateful for good friends and family! They didn’t include it in the video, (they only took a few of the things we said) but you should know we went on and on about the support and love given to us by our neighbors, friends, and family. We couldn’t do this without you. We love you!

--Christianne

Happy Birthday, Alexis Li!

Lexi turned six on December 28th. We had a low-key birthday, since we had just celebrated Christmas and everything is still so new to her. We had a family "party" with cake and ice-cream, and played the kind of games Lexi loves, like "Ring Around the Rosies." Somehow, however, we got through the whole day without taking pictures. Oops. Maybe that's because we're a little whacked out around here with all the adjusting and chaos. (:

Lexi has such a sweet temperament. She is very smart and I CANNOT WAIT for the day where she can communicate to us in English and I can get inside her cute little head! She has the most beautiful smile that lights up a room, and we love how one of her eyebrows goes up each time she smiles. (: Lexi is a good eater, and has learned how to say "mmmm...yummy!" She has also picked up the phrase, "just a minute!" (Wonder where she got that...) She lost her first tooth yesterday and didn't cry a bit when Mommy pulled it out. She especially loves her big brothers and wants to know where they are at all times.

She is such a darling little girl, and we are so blessed to call her ours!

Happy Birthday, dear Lexi!

Love,
Mom

M is for manliness!

Christi and I love to laugh. We love watching comedies together. Unfortunately, most of the sit-coms currently on TV are laced (or drenched) with profanity and vulgar jokes, so we enjoy old movies and classic sit-coms. We own every episode of "I Love Lucy," we recently finished watching "Dick Van Dyke," and we are now watching a show from the 70's...

Last night I played in a church basketball game. I was once an above average basketball player. Now I am 38 and huff and puff as I run up and down the floor. But once in awhile I can get in a rhythm. Last night, Taylor and Parker came to watch me play. After each quarter, they would run out on the court and update me on my stats. "Dad, you've scored 6 points. That's one third of your team's score!" So I had a really good 2nd half last night. I went 7-9 with three 3-pointers including a go-ahead 3 with 20 seconds left. It was the only time we were in the lead all night, and the score stood. We won. The boys rushed the court afterwards. "Dad, you scored over half your team's points and you hit the game-winner!!!" "Aw, shucks boys. I just got lucky. It was a team effort." etc. But I must admit I did feel kinda manly. After all, I was probably the oldest guy there and Taylor had declared me the MVP of the game.

Afterwards, as the players were recuperating and talking, several guys talked about what they were going to do when they got home. Watch Sportscenter. Eat a big, manly meal. Watch the end of the Nebraska-Washington football game. I couldn't quite bring myself to let them know how excited I was to get home, relax with my wife and watch...Mary Tyler Moore!

Jer

PS. I was going to call my mom and tell her what a great game I had (since she's the only one who might care), but that drops so far off the masculinity scale that she'll just have to read it here:)

Problem semi-solved.

It's amazing how one little phone call from the guy you love, asking if you'd like to meet for dinner instead of cooking, can make the world seem so much brighter.

Our first "date" in several weeks. (:

Now to get out of these pj's I've been in all day...

--Christianne

It's simple, really...

I need an Alice.

(Think, "The Brady Bunch")

You know, someone who would just shop, cook, clean, launder, and basically spread sunshine.

Leaving me time to play, play, play with the kids, complete all of those wonderful science fair projects, read storybooks, build Legos, teach Braille, fix hair-- you know, the FUN parts.

I'm pretty sure that would solve my problem of bursting into tears before 8:00 a.m. (You know something needs to change in your life when that happens.)

Yes, an Alice would do nicely.

Is that too much to ask?

--Christianne

(:

Mormon Times

My mom just pointed out to me that our video clip from Sunday is now online. I liked this version the best because it included a spiritual perspective. You can view it by going to mormontimes.com and clicking on the "tv" tab, or by clicking directly on this link. Megan, did you notice you're in the video bringing in dinner for us? (: It was delicious!

Also, we had a beautiful Christmas, which I'll post more about later. But just in case our "friends" are reading, I wanted to take a minute now to thank them for the anonymous bag of gifts that was left on our porch on Christmas Eve. We felt so loved! Thank you, and what was brought supplemented what we had PERFECTLY.

--Christianne

Hugs for Sophi

(With a subtle shout out to my brother, Tyler:)

Sophi gives the BEST hugs! Hard to believe with no arms, but it's true. When she's in a hug-giving mood (which is fairly often) she nestles her little torso into your body and her head into the crook of your neck. She has now picked up on our response. We often say "oooohhhhh" when she does it, so now she snuggles in and says "oooohhhhh." I love it!!!

Jer

Just Blind...

I love Elli with all my heart. Early this year at an IEP, it really hit me that far more than her blindness, it was her cognitive deficits that were challenging to deal with. As we considered adopting Lexi, the fact that she was "just blind" made it a more feasible possibility to bring her into our home. As we have gone through our adoption journey his year, I have often wondered what it would be like to have a child that was "just blind."

It is wonderful! I can't tell you how exciting it is to work with our little Lexi and see her grasp concepts and ideas so quickly. Prior to this, my only real experience with a blind person was with Elli, and so my expectations with Lexi were somewhat tied to what Elli has been able to do. But our sweet little Lexi is so capable! It is fun to see her learn new things. I get the impression that while she was in China a lot of things were done FOR her. She can go to the bathroom, get dressed, wash her hands, and do lots of things with some help. But I think she is going to learn to be more independent very quickly. As we have worked with her, it is easy to see that she is a very intelligent girl with the ability to pick up on things. Just little things like getting dressed all by herself or holding a PB&J sandwich the right way and being able to take a drink in between bites if she wants to. It is such a ioyous experience to see her progress so quickly. I look forward to seeing how her beautiful spirit blossoms and grows over the next several years. I love you Lexi!

Love,

Dad

Christmas is coming!

First of all, thank you for all of the kind and supportive comments about our news story. (: We appreciate each one. I was very relieved when I finally saw the clip. The funny thing was that after all the talk and excitement the kids had about it all day yesterday, I ended up being the only one awake when it aired! Everyone else was exhausted and in bed, and had to watch in on DVR this morning. Ha, ha. I'm sure most of you have already seen it, but for those who are still asking, I've copied and pasted it below. You'll have to scroll down and pause the blog music first.

I'm starting to hyperventilate about Christmas Eve being TOMORROW. Still have some shopping to do. Still have some wrapping to do. Still have several things to prepare. Can't seem to even find a minute to use the bathroom, so wondering how it's all going to get done...

Girls are doing FABULOUS. (Well, except for Lexi falling down the stairs twice today and Sophi getting a bloody nose from a faceplant within minutes of getting bitten on the leg by Elli. Not to worry-- they were soon all smiles.)

Jeremy continues to win the "husband of the year" award, as he was up most of the night with various children while he let me sleep! Finally, I feel like I can function semi-normally. (:

Hope all is going well with your holiday preparations! Love to all.

--Christianne

Video Courtesy of KSL.com