Jessica Anne

Our darling Jessica is growing up way too fast!  Luckily for us, though she is mature, responsible, and definitely having fun with the newfound privileges associated with being 12, she has retained so much of her innocent, girly self.  I adore that she still enjoys barbies and American girl dolls and playing dress up and make believe.  Her childlike nature makes her such a fun sister, and I will often have several sweet girls playing dress up and theater and fun made-up games on Jesi's initiative.  

Jessica is very creative.  I don't know how many of you know this, but we actually have an 11th child living with us.  Her name is "Messy" or "Messy Jesi."  We don't see her very often, but every once in awhile she comes out and makes a short appearance, always at completely random times.   Messy has an abundance of crazy hairdos and outfits that we all find very humorous.  We love having Messy in our family.  (:

Jessica was able to go to Girls Camp this summer for the first time.   In fact, she turned 12 during the camp!  I have never had such a hard time letting one of my children go away.  I think I feel extra protective of Jessica precisely because of that innocence I spoke of.  She is so special.  I was so grateful for a sweet Beehive leader who told me as they were leaving that she was going to especially watch out for Jesi and take extra good care of her.  (:  As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about.  The girls in our ward are wonderful and took Jessica right in.  I was especially grateful for Cali's friend, Kaytlin, who went the extra mile to make Jesi feel important and loved.

If I thought sending her off to Girls Camp was hard, I was in for a treat (ha!) when just a couple of weeks afterward it was time for Jesi to begin jr. high.  I went to back-to-school night with her and found that of her 8 classes, she only had three with friends.  Pretty sure I was more upset about that than she was!  It about killed me to say goodbye to her that first morning, but she came home happy and content and has done great ever since.  One thing that many people don't know about Jessica is that she has Ehler's Danlos Syndrome and another genetic abnormality which affects her in many ways. When Jes was little, she had early intervention services for speech, physical and occupational therapy.  When she began school, she was on an IEP.  Since then, she has come so far!  She works so hard in school and is likely one of the most organized kids there!  Her grades are fantastic and we just couldn't be more happy at the way she is succeeding in school.  I'm also so proud that she has reached out and made some new friends this year-- I know that can be hard to do!

Jessica Anne, you have our heart!  You've had Dad wrapped around your little finger since you were tiny and he is still tightly holding on.  We adore your big, bright smile and unique personality.  We love the sweet, innocent way your amazing brain works.  We smile at the way you have to lay out your next day's outfit (down to the earrings!) and be tucked in before you are able to sleep at night. We appreciate how you are almost always the first one to get your chores done. We think you are gorgeous and smart and driven and talented and courageous and absolutely perfect.  We know you have faced hard challenges in your life and we are so proud of the grace with which you handle them.  We love you, sweet Jesi!

Messy

Again

And another...

Playing one of their creative games

Awww!  Just came across this.  She has always been a Daddy's girl.

Dance recital

Not Jesi's best picture but I loved it of my mom, so I had to add it!

So much fun camping in a teepee

Have you ever tried curling hair with socks?  I tie Jesi's hair in Jeremy's socks the night before and this is what it looks like!  It's so beautiful and only takes a couple of minutes!!

A tea party Jesi made for all the girls

Jesi's best friend Rylie moved from Utah a few years ago but they have always stayed in touch.  This summer, she came to visit and Jessica had SO much fun with her!  

First day of jr. high and does the "Mom, PLEASE don't take a picture of me here!" look perfectly.

At her 12th birthday party.  P.J.'s., pizza, games and the new Cinderella movie with 14 adorable 11 and 12 year-olds.
So fun!

Parker Matthew

Parker, Parker, Parker.  What can I say? We have one AMAZING son!  So talented, fun, handsome, super smart, hard-working, athletic, spiritual, funny, and sweet.   His vibrant hair matches his big personality.  This guy is going places!!!!

Parker had a great summer.  For the first time, he went away on his own for five days to attend AFY (Adventures for Youth) and had the time of his life.  He came home with wonderful stories and testimony and new-found friends.  It was such an incredible experience for him.  He also attended BYU basketball camp, high adventure, youth conference and some fun bball tournaments.  He works hard to earn the money for these neat opportunities and we're so glad he has had them!

It has been awesome to watch Parker grow and mature into such a handsome young man.  He's always been a social butterfly and watching him as a teenager is just plain fun.  He's survived his first broken heart, has a million girls that like him (and he likes them!) and is such a good friend.  Everyone likes Parker.  If you really want to get a sense of the kind of guy he is, you can watch this video.  Sophi wanted him to write her a song, and he delivered in such a special way.  He has always been the most incredible, thoughtful brother.  Parker, you are amazing!  We love you so much!!!!

Youth conference

Parker carried his team to the championships!

Jr. High champs in their division!

Super league

Our annual get-away date!  Two nights just with these two handsome guys= one lucky mom!

Holding his niece, Violet.  We're loving the red hair!!!

Off to Lone Peak!

More bball tournaments-- first place!

Off to Homecoming!  I love that here, the kids don't feel like they need to take dates to go to big school dances.
 So much fun!

Calais Rose

In many ways, it feels like Cali has been in our family forever.  In others, it feels like just yesterday we were seeing her cute face for the first time.  We are so proud of how well Cali is doing.   She has the most darling group of friends that love her and look out for her.  Kaytlin, Kara, Anna, Lily, Karolina, Abby, Candice (and many others)-- we LOVE you!  We are so glad Cali has you in her life!  

Cali's giggle lights up her whole face.  It is so much fun to see her comfortable in our home and with our family.  She loves to tease and be funny and has a special relationship with her dad.  (:  She has the softest voice and sweetest disposition (most of the time (; anyway) but has plenty of spice in her too.  She likes drawing, keeping in touch with her friends in China, books about princesses, being with her friends, shopping, listening to music, spicy food, singing and boys.  (Though she might not admit the latter to just anyone.)  She's a pretty typical teenager in most ways, which is incredible considering the trials life has offered her thus far.

One of Cali's hardest trials is school.  Because Cali didn't receive a great deal of formal education in China, she is struggling not only with language issues and all that entails, but also a lack of understanding of the basics in many subjects.  She is smart and works to keep on top of her grades, but is at a major disadvantage compared to that of her peers.  We've learned that schools don't always know the best and most effective way to help kids like her and we are constantly trying to be her advocate so that she can receive the best education possible.  Not gonna lie, that's kind of exhausting.  We've found that some teachers "get it" and some just don't.  We've found in talking to other adoptive parents that it is pretty universally one of the hardest aspects of older child adoption.

Cali recently had an appointment at Shriner's that showed her scoliosis is getting worse.  This is both painful and problematic.  We're weighing the pros/cons of surgery soon vs. waiting and will likely be able to make a better decision at her next appointment.    Jeremy said that actually seeing her spine on x-ray kind of took his breath away.  It's amazing that she lives with what she does without complaining a lot.   She's a tough girl and such an example of triumphing through hard things.  We love you, angel Cali!  

Kaytlin and Cali at youth conference.

A sure way to Cali's heart-- pick her up some noodles and milk from the Chinese market.

Jeremy took Cali and Graci to a special Chinese performance in SLC-- they loved it! 

Daddy date to Lagoon

Best friends

Conner Allen

I couldn't be more happy with how well Conner has been doing the last couple of months.  Older child adoption is tough.  (huge understatement)  People tend to generally think about how wonderful it is for the child to finally be in a family, but they don't realize that the truth of it is, you are taking them from EVERYTHING familiar-- friends, school, language, culture, food-- and doing so at a most delicate and difficult age.  We generally don't share specifics of the hard parts of adoption to respect the privacy of our kids, but just trust me-- it is not easy for them or for the family.  

Conner is an absolutely incredible young man.  He has been so throughout the year that we've had him in our home despite all of the challenges he has faced.  The last couple of months have been very exciting.  We are seeing more joy, more belonging, and more acceptance of his new life.  He is enjoying school, church and family activities more than he has in the past.  We know this is due in large part to his increased understanding of English, but I also believe he is genuinely finding peace and happiness as a member of our family and community.

Conner turned 15 this summer.  He's never had a birthday party (last year, he had just arrived here so we opted out of a friend party) and so he was VERY excited to finally have one!  He was so worried that he wouldn't have very many people come, so I enlisted the help of my other kids his age and they reached out to their friends as well.  We ended up with around 30 wonderful teenagers here to celebrate with him!  Conner felt so special and had such a good time.  We played lots of fun minute-to-win-it games, hung out outside, roasted s'mores, opened gifts and watched "Princess Bride."  I was so happy and grateful for all of the good kids that came and shared that night with us!

Conner also enjoyed several "camps" this summer with other visually impaired/blind friends.  I love to see him in this element, as he is so comfortable around other kids like him.  We're so grateful for such good programs for him to attend.  I also cannot express enough how grateful we are for our local church leaders who have rallied around Conner and looked out for him in many special ways.  

Conner is funny, sweet, talented, sensitive and very smart.  He's so kind to his siblings and especially sweet with Elli.  He loves Molly and greets her every day with "Hi, my dog!"  He's always saying clever things that make us smile and is getting more and more willing to participate in activities.  I am so proud of how far he has come in the last year, how well he endures his trials and how happy he makes those around him.  I love you, sweet Conner!

As I went through our photos, I realized I need to take more of Conner!  We tend to do mostly video with him since he can't see photos but can listen to video.  Many of these photos are a little dated...

Color Run Fun!

 

Conner really enjoyed having Graci's China family here!

Braille Challenge

With the missionaries at Temple Square.  Sister Jin invited Conner to go to General Conference with them.

Accompanying the school orchestra

Conner performs "Fur Elise" at his middle school concert

Conner's birthday party.  This is before another 15 kids came-- so happy for a good turnout!

Priorities

Graci and I were driving to the orthodontist today and we started talking about our trip to Bryce Canyon.  I asked, "Do you like camping?"

She replied, "Yes, but I would like a transporter."  (She means a Star Trek-like, instantaneous travel machine.)

Me:  "Oh, so you don't like the long drive."

Grace:  "No.  I just don't like packing clothes in a suitcase."

Me:  " So a four and a half hour drive is no problem.  You want a transporter just so you don't have to pack a suitcase?"

Graci (and I can practically see her skin crawling at the unbelievably repulsive thought of suitcase packing):  "Yeah, cuz you have to fold your clothes in the suitcase and then they're all wrinkled when you get there and you have to pack stuff that's a waste of time like sunscreen and bug spray and  you tell me I have to pack it and I never use it.  (Shudders)  Oooooh!"

That's our Graci:)

-Jer