Trip of a lifetime!

As Jeremy said, I'm in a new stage of life!  Now that I have a little more flexibility with my time, I've set some goals for myself-- the first of which is to resume blogging.  (:  My kids have been after me to do so for a long time and I'm excited to see their reaction when they sit down and see an actual blog post from me!  The hard part about starting again after such a long break is knowing where to start!  I have so many things I want to journal about and as I went through photos, I realized I have missed recording so many memorable things!    

I finally decided to start with something AMAZING.  (:  Something I will always treasure as one of the best weeks of my life.

My parents are the most wonderful, selfless people.   Somehow on teachers' salaries, they managed to give us EVERYTHING we wanted.  They still serve all of their kids in so many ways.  When my mom retired last year (2014), we wanted to do something big to show them how much we appreciated them.  As siblings, we decided to gift my parents with something they have always dreamed about-- a cruise with their kids!  My mom especially has talked for years about how much she would love to cruise with the kids and how it would never be able to work because of money, all the grandkids, etc.  We threw a surprise retirement party and my sister put together an amazing scrapbook for my mom with notes and cards from former students and coworkers. At the end of the scrapbook were pages with the cruise tickets and itinerary. Watching their faces as they got to those pages was priceless!   

We spent the next 10 months getting excited for our first ever vacation as adult siblings and parents!   Usually we have 15,000 kids floating around (who are very loved, by the way) and so we don't get to focus as much on our relationships with each other.  Sadly (and very happily!) my brother, Matthew, and his wife, Megan, found out they were expecting soon after we booked the cruise, so they weren't able to come with us.  We decided that just means that we'll have to do the whole thing again!  (:

Megan with baby Violet-- isn't she exquisite?!  Love her so much!  Definitely worth missing a cruise for!  (:

Our cruise was in April and it landed us in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Haiti, and Cozumel.  It was INCREDIBLE in every way!  Perfection all around.   I'll let the pictures tell the story.  Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the love and devotion you have shown all of us.  WE LOVE YOU!  

And... where were all our kids while we played in the Caribbean for a week??  It takes a very special person to actually VOLUNTEER to come and hold down the fort.  THANK YOU,  Jennifer, for making this trip possible.  We love you.  The kids love you.  Blessed be the name of Aunt Jenny!!  (:

Getting ready to surprise Mom!

She really had no idea!

She gets to the cruise page!  (:

Eleven months later...

At church in Florida before the ship set sail.

Jeremy, Me, brother Danny, Breanna, sister Leslie, Jeremy, Mom, Dad, sister Becky, Chris-- one of my favorite parts of the cruise was meeting together each night to have dinner.  So fun to have so much adult conversation in one week!!!!!

Haiti

We loved just floating on the mats in the beautiful, warm water

Me and Les

Best parents in the world!

Jamaica!

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Meanwhile back at home...

On our private boat to see swim with stingrays on Grand Cayman

Getting ready to scuba in Cozumel

Cozumel has the BEST guacamole!

Me and my cute mom!

Last day!  Trying to savor every minute!

Well Deserved

Dear Christianne:

For 16 years you have been a mother.  You put your heart and soul into that career choice.  You've sacrificed so much and worked so hard.  You have gone above and beyond, shouldering unique and difficult challenges that few would be willing to accept.  You are an amazing example of love and selflessness to your children and to those around you.  I am so proud of you and so humbled to be your husband.  Thank you for all you do.

Today you entered a new chapter of your life.  All 10 kids are now going to school for the full day.  I hope you take some well-deserved rests and find some opportunities to spread your wings and focus on you.  You deserve it.

Love,

Jer

PS.  On a lighter note, in reference to my comment about how humbled I am to be your husband...
Today Cali and I were at the doctor's office.  While we were in the waiting room, she helped me set up an Instagram account.  ( I figure I ought to be following our kids if they are posting things for the world to see:).  The two of us were looking through my phone for a profile picture for me. We perused our pics of our cruise in April.  I found a few that looked pretty good, but the angle caught my thinning pate a little too mercilessly.  I whined to Cali, "I'm so bald!"  She replied with obvious amazement at my good fortune in a spouse, "Yes.  And mom's so pretty!"  Not sure how I landed my sweet Christianne ;)

Coming to America!

Graci's wonderful foster family has become part of our extended family.  So much so that we just refer to them as our "China Family."  We have been back on four adoption trips since we got Graci and each time we have scheduled two days in Hangzhou (Graci's hometown) to visit them.  Every time we go, her China parents, China brother and his wife, China aunts and uncles and grandparents and even some of her China friends take time off of work and spend those two days completely devoted to Graci and whoever else from our family is with us.  Over the years, Jessica, Taylor, Parker, Cali, Conner and my dad have all had the chance to visit this wonderful family.

Several times we have extended the invitation for them to come and visit us in America.  We are so excited that this coming Friday, they are arriving in Salt Lake to stay with us for a week.  Sadly, the whole family couldn't come, but we will be delighted to have China Mama and China Dad here to visit.  Also, Sara, our interpreter on our trip to adopt Graci and now a family friend, will be coming with her husband and daughter.  Sara and her family will be with us until Wednesday, and China Mom and Dad will be here until Saturday.

We are truly excited, but also a bit overwhelmed.  This is their first, and likely only, trip to America.  China Mom and Dad will spend their entire trip with our family, so we want to make sure they have the opportunity to see some noteworthy things while they are here.  We will take them to temple square.  We're planning on a rafting trip down the Provo river.  They want to see Graci's school and do some shopping.  Hopefully we'll be able to play some games and have time to just hang out.  And of course, coming to Utah, we have to take them to a national park!  So we're taking them camping at Bryce Canyon.  We have no idea how that's going to go over.  No idea if they've even heard of camping.  But really, is there a more American experience that going camping at a national park?

Graci is a bit nervous about the food we will serve them.  First of all, there is a huge difference in the food they are used to and the food we eat on a regular basis.  But beyond that, there is the matter of the number of dishes served.  Whenever we eat with them in China, there are at least 20 different dishes to choose from.  Each dish is served in a relatively small amount and all of them are placed on a lazy susan that rotates around the table for everyone to choose from.  Graci wonders, "Are you really going to serve them just lasagna, salad and garlic bread?

It will be a fun experience to have them get a taste of American culture.  We hope they will have a great time and we can avoid any egregious faux pas'!  We will gladly accept any prayers said in our behalf as we host these wonderful people ;).

-Jeremy

Cute Quotes

Sophi has never seen Disney's "Tarzan," and she asked Christi about it.  Christi explained that Tarzan and his parents lived in the jungle, but Tarzan's parents died.  After that, a mommy ape came and adopted Tarzan and took care of him.

Sophi:  "Oh, like we were adopted."

Xander:  "But with a lot less paperwork!"

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Cali, Graci and I were on a daddy date yesterday at Lagoon.  We noticed a girl working there who had a leg discrepancy.  She did just fine, but, much like Sophi, her body went up and down a bit as she walked.  After we got home, I was putting Sophi's shoes on.  One of them has about a 5-inch lift to help her walk evenly.  

Me:  "Sophi, today we saw a girl at Lagoon whose legs are like yours!  One is longer than the other."

Sophi:  "Does she have arms?

Me:  "Yes, but her legs are like yours."

Sophi:  "Oh.  She uses her toes to do everything?"

Me:  "No..."

Sophi (interrupting me):  "She can do the splits?"

Me:  "No.  When she stands, she has to bend one leg or stand on her tippy toes on the other leg."

Sophi:  "Oh."

I love to get little glimpses into my kids minds, especially the younger ones.  It's cute to see what popped into Sophi's head when I told her I met someone like her.

After I got Sophi's shoes on, she and I went on a walk.  I pushed Elli in the stroller and Molly came along, but Sophi and I were able to have a great conversation.  She is such an incredible little girl.  She talked mostly about her plans for the future.  She wants to go to every school in the world because she loves learning things, particularly things about animals.  (By every school, she means elementary, jr. high, high school and college:)  She wants to be a mom and a doctor and several other things.  I am excited to see how her life unfolds.  

Taylor and Parker were outside as we started on our walk, and Sophi went up and gave Parker a great big hug.  I was struck by how tremendously blessed our family is to have Sophi in our midst.  And how lucky Sophi is to have such wonderful older siblings.  

"As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man who hath his quiver full of them."   Psalms 127: 4-5

-Jeremy

Happy Anniversary

On Tuesday, August 11, Christi and I celebrated our wedding anniversary.  It's pretty hard to believe that this incredible girl has been by my side for 17 years.  Time flies when you're having fun:)

Floating the Martha Brae river in Jamaica

Thank you so much, sweetheart, for all you have done and continue to do for me and for our our family.  I love you!

-Jer

PS.  Happy Gotcha Day, Xander!!!  Thanks for six fabulous years in our family!!!!!
PPS.  Happy Birthday, Tiff.  You remain in our hearts always!