Thomas

So I have a thousand and one things to write about, but I’ve felt impressed to share something that has really had an impact on the way I view others—specifically those in my family. I wish I were a better writer and could really explain what is in my heart, because this insight really has changed my life.

When I was at Education Week a few weeks ago, there was a speaker who was teaching about using the scriptures as a marriage manual. He asked us the question, “When you think of the apostle Thomas, what adjective would you put in front of his name?” You could hear a chorus throughout the room of “Doubting, doubtful, unbelieving…”

Thomas, of course, gained his reputation for being doubting when the Savior was resurrected. He was not with the initial disciples who saw Jesus, and when they told him of his resurrection, he replied, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” When Christ did later show himself to Thomas, he gently chastened him, saying, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed.”

I will admit that this is the one story of Thomas that I recalled from the Bible. The instructor went on to remind us of another story about Thomas. It is found in John, chapter 11. After receiving word of Lazarus, and knowing he was dead, the Savior asked his disciples to come with him back to Bethany. The disciples were worried for Jesus’ safety, and I imagine were also overwhelmed with the length of the trip. Then comes verse 16: “Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Why is Thomas remembered as Thomas the unbelieving and not Thomas the loyal? Two stories in the bible, and which do we remember? Which has been his legacy?

I imagine that Thomas must have been an amazingly spiritual man to be chosen as an apostle of Christ. Indeed, after the resurrection he dedicated his life to the preaching of the gospel, and fervently proclaimed his message that Christ was his Lord, and his God. Tradition is that he died a martyr. He was loyal to the core.

What word do you think truly embodies the real Thomas? Doubting? Loyal? Why in that whole room of people listening to this lecture did no one mention anything positive about Thomas?

I choose to believe that Thomas is like so many of us. His faith was not perfect. He was human, and he made mistakes. But I think the real Thomas, the true Thomas, was Thomas at his best!! And that because of Christ, he can someday be perfected and be his best self at all times.

Our instructor asked us how we view the people closest to us. Do we think of them at their best, or them at their mediocre or downright ugly times?!

Jeremy, at his best, is an AMAZING man. He is a spiritual giant, a leader in our home, a thoughtful husband and compassionate daddy. He is a wonderful son and son-in-law, a caring brother, a hard and dedicated worker. He is the truest friend and kindest neighbor. He is fiercely loyal to his testimony of the gospel and not afraid to share it. He is wise and loving and sweet and fun.

Graci, at her best, is an AMAZING girl. She is kind-hearted and thoughtful. She is grateful and respectful and obedient. She has the strength of an ox and the courage of a lion. She is the perfect daughter and sister. She can make my heart sing.

I could go on with every member of my family. Are they at their best all the time? NOT EVEN CLOSE! (And neither am I). But the insight that I gained from the story of Thomas, is to look at every one that is dear to me and see them for what they are when they are at their best. That is who they really are—and who they have the potential to be at all times.

I am just positive that the Lord has a deep love for His beloved Thomas. I am quite sure that He knows that Thomas WANTED to be believing and obedient and perfect—but that he was human and sometimes struggled. I believe that Thomas has been perfected through Christ—and that if we can make it through this crazy mortal life, we all have the potential to be our best selves ALL OF THE TIME.

So, look at each member of your family. Take your spouse and really consider who they are when they are at their best. Take your children in your arms and think about who they are when they are at their best. And hopefully, you will find yourselves realizing the greatness that is in your family. The greatness that through Christ, we can attain on a permanent basis.

That’s all. Thanks for listening! (:

Curlers

I bought some foam curlers to try in Elli's hair, but she wouldn't have a thing to do with them. Jesi and Graci, however, were enthralled with the idea. I was so excited because Jesi won't go near a curling iron, and since I've never thought of foam curlers, we've never seen her hair curly. Anyway, somehow I got pictures of Graci with her curly hair, but not Jesi. I'll have to do it again so you can see how darling Jessica looked. The cutest part was seeing the boys' reaction. They were seriously oohing and ahhing at their sisters. Parker has asked me several times since, "Mom, didn't the girls look so so cute with their curly hair?" (:

Jesi's party

Jessica is the most imaginative little soul around. I've talked about her "recipes" and dress-ups and "schools." I was on the computer the other morning and thought she was watching a show. Then she came in and announced that it was time to come to the party! She said, "Here is the delivery! It is your invitation!" and handed me a paper with a bunch of letters on it. I followed her into her room where she had our "party food" all laid out in a row. There was enough food there to snack on for a week, and I had just had breakfast, but she insisted that we eat it all! I tried my hardest to play along-- but there is only so many goldfish crackers one can eat on a full stomach. She burst into tears when I told her I was done, saying, "but Mom! I made this party for you! You have to eat ALL THE FOOD!!" Now I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but there were like five packages of fruit snacks, 10 pieces of turkey, fruit loop straws (UCK!) mango chips (sounded good when I bought them, but trust me-- these are not worth the money), and piles of pretzels, carrots, and goldfish. I do have a theory that God negates calories we eat when trying to please our kids, so I managed to choke down a little more food until she became distracted enough that I could hide the rest. (:

Anyway, as I have mentioned, Jesi has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger. He loves that she likes to create, and is always reminding me how cute it is and to let her have her parties and make her recipes. Well, I took this picture so the next time we talk about our grocery budget, I can use this as evidence that I need a raise. (; And also so that he can see why I can never stay on top of the dishes-- I swear this girl dirties an entire dishwasher full of dishes EVERY DAY!

Notice Jesi's "night hat." She insists in wearing it to bed. Where does she get these things?

Oh how we love her!!

My Daddy's Going to Jail

Jer and I took the boys on an overnight hiking trip last weekend. It was FABULOUS, but I'll save that for another post... Well, on our way there we stopped to get a shake. After Jer ordered, he realized that he had left his wallet at home. We were in a huge hurry to get started on the hike and didn't have time to go home. Jer pulled into the front of a Walmart, parked illegally by the front of the store, and ran in to get some cash from the bank there. The boys were FLIPPING OUT that their dad had parked in a no parking zone. They were seriously almost in tears and begging me to move the car. I assured them that it was ok- that we were just there for a minute-- and that if anyone came I would move the car. I think they were thoroughly disgusted with both of us for not moving. I guess that's a good thing-- they are very into following the rules. Anyway, I forgot about the whole thing until today, when Taylor came home with this letter in his backpack:

Dear Dad,

In our class we are talking about laws. I'm going to talk to you about why it is wrong to park elegaly. When you parked in front of the store everyone else saw you doing it and might think it is ok and if other people saw then everyone would start parking there and nobody would be able to go in and out and people could get arrested and they would think it would be ok and the store might go out of business and then people might have to pay more at another store or pay to drive farther. Follow the laws.
love,
Taylor

I couldn't stop smiling from this letter. Who would have known that we almost put Walmart out of business!! (:

And not to leave out our other darling son, I'll share the paper that I just found on the floor. It was written in Parker's cute handwriting and had just seven words on it that made me laugh out loud:

My mishon

1. capcher spy kids
2. kill them

(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:

Perspective

A couple of days ago, Taylor brought home a school assignment. The assignment was for him to complete a paper that started with: "My family is..." This is his paper, word for word and with his spelling:

My family is...strange because I have two adopted sisters and a brother and sister who died in my mom's stomach. Plus I have a sister whos brain doesn't work and one of my adopeted sisters is blind and the other has heart problems. I'm the fourth oldest in my family. I have two brothers and four sisters. I do lots of things with my family, vacations, playing games, bike riding and most importanty being together. My number one absolutely favorite thing about my family is that we are really unike [unique]. By Taylor Green

Truly, we are unique. It's amazing how wonderful that can be.

Graci is getting nervous about her surgery next week. We just hope she does as well as last time. Thanks for all of your interest, love and prayers!

Jeremy

Elli in the pool

Birthday Fun!!!

I’m finally posting pics of the girls’ birthday parties! We had so much fun!!! Sadly, I didn’t take the camera with for Elli’s birthday celebration. We went to a place that was filled with inflatable slides and toys—she loved it!! I did take pics of her eating her birthday cake. She FLIPS OUT when she hears the words “chocolate” or “cake,” and when they’re together, well… that’s a girl in heaven!!! When I told her that we were having chocolate cake, she just clenched her fists and giggled and said “chocolate cake!” over and over. It was the cutest. (:

Kindergarten!

Our darling Jessica started kindergarten last week. KINDERGARTEN!!! How did that happen? I still cannot believe that she is that old!!! I must say that I am so glad that Utah doesn't have mandatory full day kindergarten like Tennessee. I think two and a half hours is perfect for a five year old!

Jessica is such a special little girl. When she was a baby, we began to notice some things that weren’t quite normal-- all of her milestones were met very late, she had poor muscle tone, wasn’t verbal, had frontal bossing of the forehead—just lots of things that we were concerned about. At eighteen months old, she qualified for help with the Tennessee Early Intervention System. Her delays made it possible for her to get occupational, speech, and physical therapy. We have watched her work hard and grow in so many ways. She has had excellent teachers in the special education preschools that she has been put in, and has truly amazed us at how far she has come. At this point, her diagnosis is "a genetic abnormality of some sort." Her symptoms seem to mirror those of William's Syndrome-- almost exactly. Her geneticist said we could just call it "Jessica's Syndrome." (: As Aunt Jenny put it, "Well, whatever she has, we should all have it!" That's a testament to her sweet, endearing, "sparkly" (her favorite word) self!

Because of Jesi’s delays and her August birthday, we originally planned to hold her out of kindergarten this year. We didn’t want her to be challenged even more by being the youngest in her class. Then we realized that she wouldn’t qualify for her special preschool because she was five—so the only way to get her services (like speech) would be to put her in kindergarten. By this time, the kindergarten classes at the new school (where the other kids are going) were full, so she had to enroll at the old school. What does that mean? It means I have kids at THREE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS this year! (Elli still goes to the special education preschool). Am I going just a little bit crazy? YES!

I must say that Jessica has amazed me at how well she is doing in kindergarten. She LOVES her teacher, and the worksheets she brings home are done very well. She has one little church friend that is in her class. His name is Elliott, and she just adores him. Apparently, he feels the same way about her, because his mom told me when asked what the best thing about kindergarten was, he replied, “Jesi!”

Luckily, Jesi lives in her own little world enough to not notice that she struggles with things that come easier for others. I doubt that she realizes she is behind. She is coming along, and we’re just hoping that sometime this year the reading thing will click with her. Right now, she cannot seem to get the concept of letters corresponding to sounds. In fact, the other day Jeremy asked her what sound “c” made. She responded with a high-pitched, “OOOOOOH!” We got a kick out of that one!!!

Our hope is that this year can be a great learning year for Jessica, after which we can transfer her over to the new charter school with her siblings and repeat kindergarten. That way, she won’t have the stigma of repeating (it will be all new kids) and she can hopefully be matched up better with her peers.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE you, Jessica!!! We hope you LOVE LOVE LOVE kindergarten!!!





Jesi and Elliott

Thank heaven for dads!

Parker and I were cuddling in bed yesterday and having a good talk. He LOVES to climb in bed with me, and I love it even more!! Anyway, at one point he said, "Mom, it's a good thing we have both moms and dads, because they teach us different things." I said, "Oh, yeah?" He replied, as seriously as can be, "Yeah, like Daddy teaches us how to put things in our noses and you teach us how to clean." I couldn't hold the laugh in, and to that, he quickly responded, "Oh, and you also teach us how to be good!" (:

First Day of School!

Today our oldest three started the new school year!! (Jesi and Elli started last week and I'll write about that next). They are going to a new charter school that we are VERY excited about!!! We had back to school night last week and we met their fabulous teachers and had a tour of the brand new building. They have to wear school uniforms-- tops are red, white, light or navy blue, and bottoms are khaki, tan, navy or black. I love it-- it makes getting ready so much easier because everything coordinates so well. And you don't have to worry about trends or anything being immodest. This morning found them so excited and nervous! I can't wait to pick them up and see how everything went!! Graci said she woke up six times last night because she was so nervous! (: We feel so blessed to have them in this school!

Happy Birthday, Elli!

Yes, we have another August birthday! Elizabeth Mei turned four years old yesterday!!! We are planning to celebrate tomorrow and will post more about it. As I was going through our pictures to pick some for her slideshow I was overwhelmed at how far she has come since we brought her home not even a year and a half ago. Her progress has been very slow, so sometimes it's hard to see it-- but she has changed so much! Though Elli's life is completely dark (at least her vision is), she lights up our lives in a way I can't explain. She is such a blessing to our family. I feel like she is water to me-- like I have to drink and drink of her every day. I cannot get enough of her tight monkey hugs and screeches of joy when I come into the room. She is a miracle. I will not hide the fact that it can be very hard to deal with her blindness and severe delays. I would give the world just to have a conversation with her. But in spite of that, or maybe because of it, my love for her runs so deep. I teach her cute little class at church-- 12 little "Sunbeams" that are each so special and unique. I love them all, but I truly do look around at each of them and then see my Elli sitting in the corner, babbling or singing at the top of her lungs or jumping in her chair or screaming and I truly think, "How in the world did I get her?" How am I so blessed to call her mine? She is truly my favorite little thing on the planet. Happy Birthday, angel Elli! Your mommy loves you.

P.S. I loved the daisies on the slideshow, but if they get obnoxious, you can click on "view all images" to see the pics without the daisies.

So that's where...

Tonight I was tucking Jessica in. We were all done with the normal rituals and she reached up and gave me a huge hug. "you're my best Daddy ever!" she said. I told her she was my best Jesi ever. The she said she had the best Mommy ever, too. She asked me who was my best Mommy ever. I said, "Grandma Rose." Then she asked who was my best Daddy ever. I said "Grandpa Green." She kept asking questions until she got to this one: "And who lives in Heaven?" My first answer was, "Tiffany" (my deceased sister). That wasn't what she was looking for, so I tried again. "Heavenly Father and Jesus?" "No," she said. "Jesus lives somewhere else." "OK," I said. "Heavenly Father lives in heaven." "Yes," Jesi replied. "Jesus lives in California." We're moving there next week:)

Late night ramblings...

A couple of weeks ago, Graci went in for a heart cath to see how everything was coming along. The doctors were very pleased with what they saw and decided she is ready for her second open heart surgery. The scheduling department finally contacted us yesterday and gave us the big date-- September 18. We are of course nervous, but excited to get it done. If all goes as hoped for with this surgery, Graci will be home free for eight years, at which point they will have to replace her valves. So, as you can imagine, it will be a huge weight off of our shoulders to get through this next surgery!!! We are of course grateful for any prayers in her behalf. She is very scared and keeps asking me questions about it. I can't really play it down at all, because she's been through it before and knows how awful it is. She is especially dreading having the ventilator in her throat and not being able to drink. That was miserable for her last time-- and for us (I think I cried about it as much as she did). UGH.

This week has been crazy. All of the kids have had their school assessments (they will be in three different schools), Elli had her preschool open house, we've had two Lagoon trips, we've had a family dinner/outing with Jeremy's workforce, I've gone to Education Week at BYU (I went to classes all day on Monday)... the list goes on. Even as I am typing this, Jeremy is on a plane to San Diego. Yesterday, his best friend (former mission companion and roommate) called him with the news that he was getting married on Saturday. As in, two days from the time he was calling. He and his girlfriend have been dating off and on for 7 years and had decided to get married a few months ago, but were having a hard time with scheduling it. Apparently, they decided this week that Saturday was the day!! It seems a little anti-climatic after dating such a long time-- you would think that by now a huge, lavish wedding would have been planned. But who am I to talk???? As most of you know, Jer and I called off our "first wedding" just hours before the ceremony was to take place. So we know something about the ups and downs and perils of engagement. (: Oh how happy I am to be out of that phase of my life!!!! It feels so amazing to be secure in that decision and to know that whatever else happens, I will be spending the rest of my life with Jeremy. He really is my match made in heaven.

I don't know if I have posted about this before, but Jeremy began the most wonderful tradition for our family when the boys were just toddlers-- "Daddy Dates." One day of the week, he takes one of the kids on an individual date. It could be something fancy, or just a trip to the park. This year, he decided to share the joys of these dates with me by letting me have "Mommy Dates" as well. I cannot tell you what a wonderful thing this has been for our family. Every fifth week, each of the kids get to go on a date with Mommy or Daddy, and they look forward to it with great anticipation. Well, Jeremy just got through his last rounds of daddy dates and it was my turn. We bought Lagoon season passports this year, and so of course all of the kids wanted to do that for their dates. This was the last week that Lagoon would be open for the summer, so I went on two dates-- Tuesday with Taylor and yesterday with Parker. To be truthful, I wasn't as excited as I should have been. We've already been to Lagoon as a family, I've been with Jeremy, and he has taken each of the kids there individually on their daddy dates (during which I was in charge of the remaining four kids). I felt "Lagooned out." But I had sooooo much fun with my boys this week!!! The weather was perfect, and the lines were short. We had a blast. The best part, however, was the ride to and from Lagoon-- where we had some great conversations. It is so much fun to get into their sweet little heads. I would repeat all of the cute things they said, but I guess they probably wouldn't want me to. I will tell you of one short conversation with Parker.

Mom: "So are the kids at your school mostly nice kids? Do you hear a lot of bad things at school?"

Parker: "Well, there are a few kids that say those two really bad words."

Mom: "Oh yeah? What words?"

Parker (as serious as can be): "Shut up."

Oh that those could be the worst words he ever hears at school!!!! I love how innocent my kids are. I wish I could protect their sweet little minds and hearts forever.

Well the hour is late, and the kids get up early! What I would give for an extra few hours of nighttime!

--Christianne

I wimped out

Taylor was all set to eat the worm...and Dad wimped out. I was just looking at the poor worm. It hadn't done us any harm. It was just doing it's job aerating our garden. And we were going to kill it. For no reason other than our entertainment. Fishing is a different story. We're using the worm to procure food for our family. But to kill it just so we could have the sick pleasure of watching another human being ingest such disgusting fare? It didn't feel right.

Taylor mostly agreed:)

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..."