Boys will be boys...

So this morning the kids were out weeding in the garden and I was inside cleaning. Taylor knocked on the door, and I went to see what he needed. He asked, "Mom, Parker said he'd give me all his money except his missionary money if I would eat a worm. Is that ok?" I guess this question is what I get for reading the boys, "How To Eat Fried Worms," a favorite book of mine when I was little. Of course, my immediate thought was, "No way! That's totally disgusting!" But then I thought that Jeremy would get some kind of sick pleasure out of the whole thing, so I told Taylor it was up to his dad. I called Jer at work and asked what he thought of it. Jer's immediate response was, "Tell him Parker doesn't have to pay him anything, but I'll pay him $10 if he'll wait and eat it when I get home!" So now the boys have the worm in a little jar, waiting for Daddy to get home. Gag me. I'll keep you posted...

By the way, if you know of any danger in this, I'd appreciate knowing it before 5:00 this afternoon... (:

I WHAT???

The girls' parties went well on Saturday-Christi does a GREAT job with stuff like that. In between the parties, we had a little incident. There was a disagreement, and Parker ended up getting kicked in the face by Graci. It really hurt him, and he had a lot of tears for awhile. I was holding him and comforting him when Jesi came up. We were sitting on the floor, so Jesi looked down at him and, in an effort to empathize, said (with a very serious face, I might add): "When I was a little boy, my Daddy hit me in the face." "WHAT!" I exclaimed. "I never hit you in the face!" She stared me down and said, "I not talking to you. I talking to Parker."

That girl!

Our Summer

So I just uploaded 250 pictures from the digital camera. Basically our summer in a nutshell. For your viewing pleasure, I've put about 120 of them into the slideshow below. Hope you like it. (I must give credit to my sister, Jennifer, who took all the pictures in Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.)

Tonight we went to a get-to-know-you event for the kids new school. They had several of the huge inflatable slides, jumping toys, etc. Of course the kids were delighted. The boys took off on their own and had a blast. Graci was wonderful with Jessica. She let Jessica choose what toys the would go on all night. Afterwards, she told Jesi that tonight had been Jessica's "Graci Date." (Once a week, one of the kids gets a one-on-one with either mom or dad. We call these Mommy Dates or Daddy Dates.) Graci is truly an amazing kid.

Well, it's ridiculously late. While I've been learning how to put together a slide show, Christi has created an enchanting Chinese atmosphere in our living room for Graci's birthday party tomorrow. We actually have two parties tomorrow: Jesi at 10:00 and then Graci at 2:00. Yes, our lives are crazy. But I'm realizing more and more just how much this is what life is all about. I'm getting to the point where putting the kids to bed is not something I have to do before I can begin enjoying the evening. Instead, I'm finding the joy in spending that half hour (or hour and a half!) with them. They are amazing little people!

Jeremy

Good Kids

Once a month our church publishes 3 magazines. One is for adults, one for teens, and one for children. The magazine for children is called: "The Friend." We subscribe to these magazines. The other day, they came in the mail, and Parker immediately said, "Can I just sit down and read The Friend for awhile?"

Talk about making a parents day! He was excited to read this magazine filled with uplifting and spiritually educational stories. It's great that he can hit home runs in baseball, but this is the stuff that really counts! (Note the gratuitous mention of his athletic prowess in this story:) What can I say, I'm a proud papa!)

Happy 5th Birthday, Jessica!

Yesterday, our Jesi turned five years old. She had a wonderful day, starting with her breakfast in bed-- cinnamon toast crunch, sausage, an apple, and chocolate milk. All the kids LOVE picking their birthday breakfasts. Graci played with Jessica all day-- they are so inseparable!! The boys have been at a sports camp at BYU and are staying the nights with Uncle Matthew and Aunt Megan. Last night, Megan brought them here so they could be here for some of Jesi's special day. The boys have only been gone since Monday morning-- but you would think it had been much longer than that the way they were all so excited to see each other. Parker swung all the girls around and they were all jumping up and down. Elli flipped out-- she was so excited to have the boys home. It was so cute and made me realize how much they all love each other-- such a blessing.

Anyway, it was a great night. Jessica picked corn dogs, french fries, and plums for dinner--- interesting... The girls are both having their parties on Saturday, so they are very excited and talk about it constantly.

Jessica, you are such an amazing little girl. You light up our lives every single day. We are so grateful for your "sparkly" personality, the dozens and dozens of dress-ups you go through each week, your infectious little giggle, your determination to succeed, your sweet "deliveries", all of your "parties" and "decorations," and the pure magic you bring to our home. Words can't tell you how much you are loved. Happy Birthday, princess Jesi!

If only...

The other day, Jeremy was in bed with his sore back and completely overwhelmed with life. He asked me, "Hon, don't you have a pair of red shoes in the closet?" I said that I did, and he then asked me if I could put them on, click my heels three times, and say, "There's no place like Hawaii..."

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday, darling Graci!!!! Graci turned ten years old today. She has been so excited for her birthday to come and to get spoiled. In China, she didn’t have presents or a party on her birthday, so she thinks America birthdays are “sweet!” She loved having breakfast in bed, opening presents, eating KFC for lunch and Chinese for dinner, and delivering her birthday invitations—party is Saturday. She has come a VERY LONG WAY in the 8+ months that she has been in our home. Her zeal for life, courage, faith, and resilience are such an example to our family. Happy Birthday—we love you Gracelin Kate Green!!

oops!

I've been messing around with the layout and somehow my background shrunk!!  Hopefully I can figure this out...

Held Hostage

Christi is making me do this. She said she won't watch I Love Lucy with me unless I sit down and write on this newly created Green Family Blog. So here I am, being held hostage as it were.

Once a year, most of the congregations in our church (each congregation is called a ward-those of you who know me may think this may have something to do with mental capacities, but it really doesn't). Anyway, once a year most wards hold a "Father and Sons Camp Out." It's a great time for boys to get away with their dads. We've gone every year since Taylor was 1, and it's become one of the boys favorite things to do. They look forward to it each summer with great anticipation.

So this year was a little unique! We left our home on Friday and headed south to Payson (about 1.5 hours) to go the camp out. One of the games our kids like to play as we drive is: Fortunately/Unfortunately, so I'll give you the story in that format...:)

Fortunately this was the weekend of the father and sons camp out!

Unfortunately, we left about an hour and a half later than we had planned.

Fortunately, it was still early enough that we would be able to have enough light to enjoy the lake once we got there.

Unfortunately, there was some sort of roadside incident near Provo which cost us close to 30 minutes.

Fortunately, the boys had brought enough books, leapster games, etc, to keep them busy the entire time. (By the way, much of this stuff for Taylor was focused on his Cub Scout advancement. I'm proud to say he has now earned his Wolf badge and five arrows!)

Unfortunately, we saw a forest fire up ahead!

Fortunately, it looked very far away.

Unfortunately, when got to our exit, we realized the fire was very near the canyon we were headed to.

Fortunately, the smoke wasn't thick enough to cut off our vision, and we could still see the road.

Unfortunately, we weren't smart enough to turn around and go back home, or at least to another campsite.

Fortunately, our final destination was far enough up the canyon that the air was clear, and all looked to be well.

Unfortunately, there were not too many great sites to pitch a tent.

Fortunately, we were some of the first people there, so we got to choose a great site, with lots of shade for the morning. We were so excited!

Unfortunately, as we set up our tent, we realized that the zipper was broken. We struggled and pulled and cajoled the stubborn thing, but it did not want to zip correctly.

Fortunately we were able to take our minds off of this with a short drive down to Payson lake.

Unfortunately, poor Parker lost his footing and fell in the lake (ok, maybe dad had something to do with that!)

Fortunately, the water was great and several of us decided to go swimming.

Unfortunately, Taylor decided he did NOT want to go swimming.

Fortunately, Dad is much stronger that Taylor and was able to help him see how fun swimming would be. (I put him on my shoulders, carried him about 20 feet in to the lake, taking care not to get him wet, and then said: "OK, it's up to you. I'm not going to make you get in. If you just want to go back to shore, go ahead!:))

Unfortunately, when I put Taylor into the lake, I totally messed up my back! I couldn't (and still can't) walk or stand up straight. I was practically useless, and the camp out had just started!

Fortunately, the boys are old enough to help quite a bit, and we were able to get dinner in spite of my pathetic condition

Unfortunately, the boys were too tired to play Monopoly in the tent that night

Fortunately, they were awake enough to read a chapter of "The Last Battle" by C.S. Lewis before they fell asleep.

Unfortunately, my back hurt too much for me to fall asleep very quickly

Fortunately, by around 11:45 pm, I finally conked out.

Unfortunately, at 12:00 am, I was awakened by a church leader who was letting all of us know that the forest rangers said we had to evacuate the camp due to forest fire danger!!!

Fortunately, after several minutes of prodding and pushing and calling their names and asking for help quite loudly, I was able to awaken Parker. (Taylor sleeps very deeply, and it was several more minutes before he woke up.)

Unfortunately, as soon as Parker realized what was happening, he started bawling uncontrollably, convinced we were about to be consumed by fire.

Fortunately, with the help of some fellow campers, we were able to get our camp broken down and loaded into the car in spite of my back pains and Parker's fears.

Unfortunately, we were told we could not go back down the canyon the same way we came. Instead, we had to go through the full Mt. Nebo scenic loop, adding at least an hour to our drive time.

Fortunately, we made it home safely

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) there will not be another father and sons camp out until next year:)

Jeremy

It's time!

I've thought for quite some time that I need to begin a family blog.  Elli and Graci's websites were an amazing way to share our adoption journeys.  Now that we're home and settled in as a family, I'm going to give the blogging world a try.  I'm hoping that it will be an easier way for friends to keep up with us, as many were unaware that we were posting updates on Graci's site.   I am not "blogging savvy." so I put off the process for a long time.  Well, tonight the boys are at the father/sons campout, and after I tucked the girls in I thought I would take 30 minutes or so and set up a blog.  Three hours later, here I am!   I'm not even sure if I like the results, but it will have to do, as I cannot keep my eyes open one minute longer!  Now if I can just take the time to blog every day...