Amazing Xander

Xander came into our lives with so much joy! Unlike all of our other adoptions, there really was no transition period. When we walked into the room where he was waiting for us in Zhejiang, China, he threw his arms up for a hug and yelled out, "Mama! Baba!" And that was it. He was ours. Completely and 100% committed to us. And us to him. And what an amazing young man he has become. As we were on that adoption trip with several other families, Christi and I just kept telling each other that we had won the jackpot. This little guy had charisma and an infectious exuberance and love and smiles and just glowed. We told each other that we had a future student body president on our hands. Sure enough, Xander was just voted to Student Council for his sophomore year.

Xander has become my buddy, joining me on so many fun adventures or watching shows together or playing H-O-R-S-E in the backyard. He has become a chef extraordinaire. You should try his fancy trout or his onion rings and fried pickles! He is so aware of his family members and ready to serve them as he sees needs arise. Xander is such an amazing part of our family. We are SO grateful to have him!

-Jer

Our first pictures of Xander:

Meeting him for the first time:)

Still in China:

Sibling love

Started with this...

Created this...

Dragonfly Canyon

Top of the first 200 foot rappel in Moonflower

Just a bit nervous...

Birch Hollow

Canyoneering Heroes!

The last week of May, a group of seven of us took on Granary Canyon in Moab. 13 rappels, 13 hours, 6 miles all culminating in a 330-foot rappel overlooking the Colorado River. AMAZING trip! So fun. So much fun to spend the day with Christi, Taylor, Parker, Christi's brothers Matthew and Danny and Danny's [now] fiancé Krystal. Great trip with a great group. Enjoy some pics and video:)

The last video of Christ doing the entire big rappel is a bit long, but it gives a good perspective on what it's like.

-Jer

This may be my favorite pic. Love the teamwork!

Are you kidding me?!?

Parker volunteered to go first on the big drop. What a man!

Taylor's view as he drops down.

Notice the tiny speck of a person against the skyline at the top of the cliff.

We made it!!!

Sophi Shines On!

Four years ago, Barcroft Media made a beautiful video about our sweet Sophi. Barcroft has rebranded themselves as "truly." In April, they reached out to us about doing an update video. Since it was during quarantine, they asked Taylor to do all of the camera work. Great job Taylor! Here is the new video and below that is the original video from 2016.

Brutal Honesty

I have struggled to stay at a healthy, comfortable weight most of my adult life. For the most part, I have stayed in a range that has allowed me to do many of the activities I enjoy: hiking, camping, canyoneering, lots of outdoor stuff. But my weight has definitely inhibited my ability to do some of these things as well or as comfortably as I would like to. I stopped playing pick up basketball and skiing largely because of my weight. Over the years, being overweight has also made buying clothes a chore rather than something fun. It can be challenging to find clothing I feel good wearing. Because of this, I have never been fond of gifts of clothing from others. Christi has learned this the hard way, as I have not shown much gratitude (translation: I've been very grouchy!) when she buys shirts for me. So she doesn't buy them very often.

Recently I have lost enough weight that it is noticeable. Thinking that now I would love it if she bought me clothes (insert eye roll here), Christi came home with a shirt for me the other day. I tried it on and didn't really like the way it fit. She insisted it looked great on me, but I wasn't sold. So she gave it to Taylor. Yesterday Taylor was wearing the shirt. As he walked in our room, Christi said to me, "I can't believe you don't like that shirt!" I replied, "I don't like it on ME. It looks great on Taylor." Taylor who is about 10% body fat. Taylor who has been working a landscaping job for the last month and a half and has developed more muscles than he's ever had before. But she wanted me to try it on again, so I did. I looked in the mirror and pointed out the ways it didn't look good on me. "It just looks so much better on Taylor!" I said. At this point Tay chimed in: "Well dad, to be brutally honest, pretty much all of your shirts would look better on me." We all cracked up. He continued: "And to be fair, pretty much all of my shirts would look better on Chris Hemsworth."

Point well taken, son. I should probably be a little less picky about how I look in a given shirt, especially if my sweet wife took the time to pick it out and she likes it on me.

-Jeremy

Sweet Cali

Life takes such convoluted paths. When I think of some of the challenges our adopted children have faced, I sometimes weep. Five of the seven were abandoned at birth. Graci was abandoned at age 5. Cali's biological father passed away in a mining accident and she was abandoned by her biological mother, but she was still able to live for a time with her paternal grandmother. Due to the rural, inaccessible area where her grandma lived, once Cali was in a wheelchair, it was no longer feasible for her to live there. At this point, she moved to an orphanage that was about a 2-hour drive away. She continued to have some contact with her grandma and her aunt. We met both of these wonderful women when we went to adopt Cali and also when we went back to adopt Conner. Cali had the chance to travel again to China on her own last summer and see them again. It is such a blessing to live in a time of free and instant communication. She still loves her family in China and keeps in touch with them. A few days ago I came across these pictures that were given to us when we first adopted Cali. So precious!!! We love you Cali:)

Love,

Dad

Cali with her grandma.

Cali with her biological parents.

Road Trip

Sophi is the world's best traveler. No matter what the scenery looks like, she loves it! We recently had a daddy date road trip to Cedar City, about 3 hours south. We had so much fun talking, taking turns choosing songs to listen to, and observing our surroundings. We had dinner, watched Spies in Disguise at the theater and swam in the hotel pool. We saw 3 hawks on the way down. We thought we saw a fourth sitting on a fencepost right by the highway, but as we got closer we could see it was actually a golden eagle. So cool! On the way back, we stopped to visit Grandma Larsen in Richfield. We also saw the largest herd of deer I've ever seen. They were grazing near the freeway. We pulled over to have a better look and I counted at least 112. Such a fun trip with a fun kid and with lots of great wildlife. Love you Soph!!!

-Dad

Loving the ride! (At least for awhile;)

We stopped to view some pioneer era charcoal pits. They stacked wood in here wall to wall and  burned it  until it turned into charcoal.

Sound asleep!

Our golden eagle. First on the post, then flying away!

Tuckered out after a long day! Cutest sleep position ever:)

Nutella waffles are just to good to eat with only one fork!!!

No Quarantine Necessary!

Sophi went to school last week and a boy in her 5th grade class asked: "Are you Chinese?"

Sophi: "Yes."

The boy, after taking a step backwards: "Do you have that virus???"

😂😂😂

One super-cute, virus-free, Chinese angel!

The Hearts of the Children

Dear Joseph or Victoria or Claire or Braxton or Xander, Jr., (I'm sure there will be quite a few of you!):

This is your grandpa! I had a really beautiful epiphany this morning and I want to share it with you. It started last night. I took several of your parents (Sophi, Lexi, Calais, Graci and Conner) to a Chinese New Year dinner. It is a wonderful tradition that began last year. A non-profit called the Utah Chinese Civic Center wanted to provide a venue for local children who had been adopted from China to connect with their culture. They had heard specifically about our family and called your grandma to ask if we would be interested in coming to a Chinese New Year feast and if we knew other families who would also be interested. Grandma Christi reached out to several friends directly and also posted on Facebook and the inaugural dinner had 13 families attend. This year, that number increased to 21 families who, like ours, have been blessed to bring wonderful children from China into their homes. After the dinner last night, there were several moms that came up to me and commented on how much our family meant to them. They had seen us in Find Me, or had read our blog, or had just noticed something that one or more of their children had in common with ours. One particular mom mentioned how much her girls love reading about our kids on the blog. As has happened on previous occasions, I felt a bit guilty for not posting more regularly. Grandma Christi and I have seen so many people blessed by observing our kids (your parents!). In fact, one of the great unforeseen blessings that adoption has brought to me is this: our kids bless other peoples' lives pretty much every time they go anywhere. It is a wonderful thing to observe and be a part of.

So last night I determined to write more frequently on our blog. I wanted to share our amazing kids with anyone who might benefit from reading about them. This morning I woke up way too early for a Saturday. (The older you become, the harder it is to get good sleep-enjoy it while you're young!!!) The good part about getting up early is that you have the house to yourself for awhile. I wandered into the living room and opened the shades. I enjoyed the sunrise over the beautiful mountains to the east. Then I took some time to pray and read the scriptures. As I was pondering, I was hit with the most beautiful thought: YOU are my most important readers! And I don't even know you yet!!! The thought filled my heart with joy. A few years ago, Parker and I were working on his genealogy merit badge. The 1940 census information had recently been made public and we found the page with information about my maternal grandparents, Roy and Elita Lind. I was amazed at the emotions that filled my heart as I found the line for Grandpa Lind. Living at 4335 NE 68th in Portland, OR, they owned their $1,700 home. He worked full-time as a local truck driver making less than $1.00/hour. In 1940 they had two children: Joyce, my aunt who passed away when she was 16, and Stephen, my uncle who I have had many fun interactions with. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of my Grandpa as a 25-year-old trying to make ends meet for his growing family.

And so, sweet grandchildren (and children and great-grandchildren), I am thinking of you this morning. I am looking forward to meeting all of you someday. Hopefully in this life, but meeting in the next life will also be amazing! I hope that as you read this blog you will find wonderful glimpses into your parents' lives. Funny stories. Inspirational moments. A greater understanding of some of the difficult trials they went through. And hopefully, your understanding of your grandpa's life when he was 35 and 45 and 55 will be more expansive than a few lines on a census.  I love you all!

Grandpa Jeremy

What I love about this picture is how perfectly it captures my favorite side of Graci: her ability to fill everyone around her with exuberant joy!

Lots of wonderful friends at this event!

Conard and Ilah Green family begin on line 70. 7118 SE 72nd Ave, Portland, OR

Roy and Elita Lind family begin on line 28. 4335 NE 68th, Portland, OR

Feeling Manly!

This morning my company car had a completely flat tire. Since I'm still recovering from shoulder surgery and the car has emergency roadside coverage, I called and set it up so they would come and put the spare on for me. Why not let some guy take care of it? I don't want to mess up my shoulder. When the technician arrived, it was a woman. I sheepishly thanked her for changing the tire, walked back into the house, and was greeted by my sweet wife asking, "Did you give her your man card?" 😳😆😛

-Jer

An Arm and a Leg

Changing the sheets on a bunk bed is an arduous process. Generally the kids will ask me for assistance when it comes time to put the fitted sheet back on. Tonight, Calais came to me and asked if I would put the sheet on for her. "You bet!" So I went in to take care of it. She was waiting in her wheelchair a couple of feet behind me. For those of you who don't know, I had shoulder surgery on October 15. While I am definitely recovering, it is a very slow process and my range of motion is still quite limited. So I'm sprawled across her bed, trying to pull up the corner of the mattress with my strong arm and stretch out the corner of the sheet with my recovering arm. I just can't do it. The arm won't reach. In frustration I say, "This is really hard 'cuz my arm doesn't work!" Pause. Pause. Cali, in her sweet little voice with her slightly broken English, "Well, my legs doesn't work." Doh! She definitely recognized the humor in her remark, but she was also reminding me to suck it up!

-Jeremy

Reflections

I love this beautiful performance. Most of the time our kids with special needs are so strong and independent and capable and able to take on everything life throws at them. But once in awhile tears come as they pour out their hearts to us with the struggles and the pain. Oh how I love them. I am grateful for my strong belief in the resurrection and all that means to our family.

Cool Asians

As a parent of a diverse group of kids, I find great joy in watching them find role models that they can relate to. Lexi and Conner loved meeting Blessing Offer at one of their USDB camps. Sophi has had the opportunity to meet Tisha Unarmed, Jessica Cox and others with limb discrepancies. Parker saw Ed Sheeran in concert 😂. Lately, Sophi has really honed in on her identity as an Asian. Last night we were watching America's got talent as a family. I absolutely love this show. I love the diversity of talents and the diversity of the performers. When one particular act came on stage, Sophi said, "Hey look-they're Asian!"  Then the performance began and they were A.Maz.Zing! At one point during their act, I was blown away and said out loud, "I don't even know what I just saw!" Sassy little Sophi said, "Um, you saw a bunch of Asians doing cool things!!!" Parker quickly responded with, "No biggie. Dad sees that every day."

I love my family!!!

Here's the AGT act: