Random

*Tonight we got to Skype with Sophi's new BFF forever, Tisha Unarmed.  Tisha is even cuter on Skype than in her youtube videos.  I feel like we won the jackpot in getting to know her.  She was darling and gracious and so sweet with Sophi.  Love her!

*As it turns out, Taylor is a solo stinker.  Parker had nothing to do with the prank-- he just wanted to call me to tell me he made the team and Taylor made him promise not to tell me that he (Taylor) made the team.  In fact, Parker was so worried about me being sad that he called during lunch to tell about Taylor's prank-- this was right after I had blogged.  Needless to say, Parker didn't end up scrubbing toilets.  (:

*Xander and Jesi have been LOVING the snow.  They have always been great snow buddies.  They didn't have school on Friday and had been playing outside.  I walked into the kitchen and found them making "snow sundaes."  These were all X's idea, and I must say they were quite yummy!

*Jesi made a snowman by herself and when I came out to see it, asked me if I noticed anything special about it.  Ummm??  She helped me out-- "There is a "J" and "E" for Jacob and Emily!"  Not quite sure what made her think of doing that, but it made me happy.  (:

*Parker also has fun in the snow:

*Jeremy has been growing out his beard since his camping trip with the boys.  I LOVE when he doesn't shave, but he usually only lasts a week or two.  This time he still hasn't shaved after three weeks (per my request) and it's been fun!  He was just asked to be a shepherd for the stake nativity, so that gives him a great excuse to keep it for awhile.  Last week, Jesi randomly went and got the pink hairspray from Halloween and came up behind him and sprayed his hair.  Again, not quite sure what made her think of that!  I was afraid Jer wasn't going to be happy with her, but instead he took the bottle from her and sprayed his beard as well.  Good Daddy!  Well, my uncles and cousins own Ogden's Superstore and they are doing a facebook promotion where you can post a picture of your guy in a beard for "No Shave November."  The picture with the most likes wins a little vacation.   I could really, really go for one of those, so I posted his pic.  (: Then I posted it to my page with what I thought was a link to their page and asked people to like it.  Apparently I'm not facebook savvy at all, because he has like 30 plus likes on our page, but only 10 on the Ogden's page where it counts.  I thought when you liked it one place, the like went on the other page as well.  Yeah... like I said, facebook idiot.   Still, it's a winning picture to me.  (:

*Lexi is obsessed with Andrea Bocelli lately.  She talks about him every day.  When we were skyping with Tisha, Lexi walked up to the computer and said, "Hi.  I'm Lexi and I'm blind like Andrea Bocelli."  (:  Every day she asks me if she can meet him.  I keep saying, "Maybe someday."  I guess I need to come up with a better answer-- she doesn't seem to be settling for that one!  I am so glad that she has a role model that she feels a bond with.

*Puzzle Them Home is having a fundraiser on November 17th at Copper Tanning in Herriman.  My sweet friends have put so much time into it-- please consider coming if you are in the area!  You can read about it on the Puzzle Them Home facebook page HERE.

*Our laundry fairies have been doubling as cookie fairies lately and, lucky for us, they happen to make the world's best chocolate chip cookies.  After eating WAY more than my fair share this weekend and also consuming a ton of Jeremy's yummy Thai dinner tonight, I decided I am going on a diet tomorrow.  Like my mom, I decide this pretty much every Sunday night-- but this time I mean it.  Hold me to it.  Go ahead, comment and ask me if I'm being a pig or not.  (;

*Jessica was star of the week a couple of weeks ago.  She did her poster all by herself then asked me to print some pictures for it.  It was so cute, and when she crumpled it up and threw it in the trash after the week was over, I had to pull it out and take pics.

*We are possibly going to be involved in an amazing documentary about China adoption.  Graci would be a focus of the story (think she'd like that?!) and it looks like a beautiful project.  Will keep you posted.  (:

*  Elli has been singing her little heart out lately.  Earlier today, I was thinking about Puzzle Them Home and how we needed miracles for it to work, and she randomly started singing the words "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty.  There's nothing my God cannot do" from her Sunday school CD.  Good reminder for me.  I love that girl, and don't find it coincidence that she knew I needed that song.  She's very close to the Spirit despite her inability to communicate like a typical child.

*Today I sat down per my friend's advice and wrote a list of everything I need to be working on this week in addition to the normal day-to-day stuff like taking care of kids, swim lessons, dance, basketball, church stuff, homework, housework, meals-- the normal stuff that I already struggle to accomplish. I don't have the list in front of me, but these are some of the things off the top of my head:

Go through all the hand-me-down clothes boxes to see what might fit Cali

pack a suitcase for Cali

Go through Christmas gifts (ones we've already purchased on sale throughout the year) and figure out what we still need to buy

Christmas shop (you know-- that one looks so short and easy-- ha!)

buy a mattress

Deep clean the girls' room and somehow make room for Cali's stuff (this one feels insurmountable)

Deep clean the whole house in preparation for China (yeah, right)

architect meeting

science fair projects-- ugh

five dentist appointments
appointment with Xander to get measured for a compression sock

dinner for a family in my neighborhood (whose trials are far worse than mine right now)

buy gifts for China trip (for the nannies, notaries, guides, families, foster families, etc.)

shop for things to occupy girls on the airplane

paperwork for Elli

breathe

I am not kidding that breathe was on the list.  I had to write that after I felt myself going into panic attack mode while writing the list.  This is such a busy time of year anyway, and to add everything that goes along with an adoption trip to it is just a wee. bit. stressful.  Oh, and I guess I should add exercise to the list to go along with my diet.

Um, yeah.  I just got overwhelmed again.

Breathe.

Mother's Day

Christi got up this morning, made breakfast for Sophi and Lex and then went back to bed.  A while later Sophi comes in. 

Sophi:  "Mommy, how do you make breakfast?"

Christi:  "I already made you breakfast."

Sophi:  "No.  I want to make breakfast for you!  What do you want?"

Christi (trying to make it as easy as possible):  "How about a cookie and some orange juice."

Sophi:  "Oh.  I can't make that.  Can you?"

:)

Jer

They are in so much trouble!!!!!

Let me give you some background...

As you well know, Taylor and Parker are basketball nuts.  They live for it.  It is easily their favorite sport, and they spend hours and hours honing their skills.  Taylor's big goal this year was to make the junior high basketball team.  We knew that he could do it, but we also knew that it wasn't at all a for sure thing.  He is only in 7th grade and the team is made up of mostly 8th and 9th graders.

So we prayed.  Every day in family prayer and individual prayers we would ask that Taylor could make the basketball team.  We even included it in a special family fast.  He really, really wanted this.  Monday evening, Jeremy took them to buy new basketball shoes, and Taylor picked his in school colors so they would match his jersey. 

Parker tried out as well.  Being in 6th grade, we thought that there was zero chance he would make it, but we wanted him to get exposure so the coach would have him in mind for next year.

Today was the day.   I've been anxious all week because it was unclear exactly which day the team would be posted, but the boys were told yesterday that it would be posted today for sure.  We sent Taylor with Graci's phone and told him to sneak in the bathroom and call us when he found out.

A couple of hours ago, I got the call.  Taylor spoke in a sad, subdued voice.  "Mom, I didn't make the team."  My heart broke, and I tried to console him, but he just said, "I've gotta go."

I was so, so sad.  I love that kid so much.  He is such a good kid and it had meant so much to him.

Fifteen minutes later I got another call from the same phone.  This time it was Parker.  He also sounded subdued (likely from trying not to get caught with a phone) and said, "Mom, I'm not kidding here.  I made the team."  WHAT??!!!  How could that be?  I couldn't even be happy for him because I knew that Taylor would be DEVASTATED that his younger brother made it and he didn't.  I asked Parker if he was serious (nobody, including him thought that he would get on b/c of his age) and he said, "I promise, Mom.  Can't talk right now.  Bye."

I burst into tears.

I know that sounds harsh-- not being excited for Parker.  I assure you I love him every bit as much as Taylor.  But the unjustness of it all just killed me.  Parker was happy to be on the super league team he is on with his best friends.  He shines-- he's super talented-- and wouldn't have been disappointed not to make the team.  Taylor didn't have a back-up plan.  His team from last year dissipated and he didn't try out for another team, hoping that he would be on the school team.  It had meant so much to him, and now Parker made it instead.  AGH.

I tried calling Jeremy over and over but he didn't answer.  I called my sister, Leslie, and just cried and cried to her on the phone.  In the meantime, Jeremy called me back.  The first thing he said was, "Hon, just so you know-- you are on speaker phone and Jes (his boss) is listening.  (He had just gotten a new phone and was still trying to figure it out.)  So I try to tell Jeremy about the whole thing without crying (I wasn't successful) because his boss was listening.  Jeremy was STUNNED.  He just kept saying, "No, no, no!" over and over.  He was as sick as I was.  We wondered if maybe the coach had mixed up the names.  We wondered if he just really needed a point guard (Parker's an excellent one) and he had enough shooting guards.  I asked him what to do, and we decided I should go check Taylor out of school so he could come home and deal with it all without his friends around.

I drove up to the school and checked him out.  As he came walking outside where I was waiting, his face looked inquisitive.  I put my arm around him and said, "I just thought you might like to get away from school for awhile to deal with everything."

A slow smile crept across his face.

"OHHHHHH.  That's why you checked me out.  Um... Mom?  It was a joke.  I made the team."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!!!!!!!  I had just spent the last half an hour crying my eyes out (I have swollen eyes to prove it) trying to figure out how the world would ever be right again for our Taylor.    And he PRANKED me!

I didn't quite know whether to hug him or punch him in the gut.  So I did both.  (:

He sheepishly said, "So now that I'm checked out, can I go home and watch Sports Center?"

Um, no!  You can go home and clean my kitchen!  And that's exactly what he's doing right now, the little twit.   Parker can have the toilets. (;

I love those two big stinkers!

Oh, and Parker DID make the team!  I'm so very proud of them both!!  (:


 

Go Sophi!

Last week, a producer from Right This Minute contacted us and asked if he could feature Sophi on his show.  They did such a great job!  You can watch the segment HERE:
 
Also, I have had a couple of people leave me comments that I need to check out Tisha Unarmed on youtube.  THANK YOU!!  I finally did, and last night I showed a couple of her videos to Sophi.  I have never seen her so enamored with someone in my life!  She grinned ear to ear and just came alive watching her.  This morning when she woke up, the first thing she said is, "I want to watch more of my Tisha!"  She has been singing about her all morning-- how Soph and Tish are best friends-- and is absolutely smitten with her.  (:  I sent Tisha a message, and believe it or not (I thought with all of her thousands of fans that she wouldn't even see my message) she replied!  She was so sweet about Sophi and I am just so excited to have a mentor that we can learn so much from.  It was amazing for Sophi to find someone that not only was born without arms, but who had a leg discrepancy as well.  I'm sure they will have a special kinship.  (:

Channah

I received an email today from a blog follower requesting my help in sharing a story.  She is trying to raise $1,000 in donations to help a sweet little girl, Channah, find her forever family.  She is asking for people to donate just $1.00 to her "angel tree."  Because November is National Adoption Month, I thought this would be a great post for today!  Please consider helping if you can-- if everyone gives a little, we can make a big difference!


Click HERE to find out more.

Christianne

Letters

Dear UPS:

You want logistics?  Try helping Sophi, Lexi and Elli go trick-or-treating!

Love,
A Tired Dad




Dear  Sophi:

Just because the unmatched sock basket is right next to the dryer and provides a nice step, doesn't mean it's OK for you to climb in.

Love,
A guy who will respond quicker the next time he hears "I need help to get out of here!!!"




Dear Parker, Jake and Cole:

Glad you're not too old to dress up for Halloween.  Love the "I-wore-this-when-I-was-three" costumes, by the way.

Love,
Mr.-I-have-one-Halloween-costume-and-wear-it-every-year.





Dear Family:

Somebody tell Lex that the cowboy hat could be worn a little further up on her head.

Love,
The man with his hands full on the other side of the picture;)



Dear Bathroom Garbage:

True story...I emptied you THIS MORNING!!!

Love,
Wondering why I even try.


Dear Taylor:

In all seriousness,  thanks for being our first-born.  Mom used to call me a Holiday Grinch.  For some reason I would get really uptight on holidays.  Easter had to do with camping in rather cold, dusty conditions.  Mother's Day I felt inadequate to take care of Mom to the level I should, so I just kind of gave up on it altogether.  Christmas I was grinchy during the couple of months building up to it.  I had a hard time watching all of that money go to Walmart, Target, etc.  Then I had a tendency to be grinchy on Christmas Day itself if all of the wrapping paper didn't end up in the wrapping paper box I had prepared.  On birthdays I could get pretty grumpy if the kids crowded too close to you for me to take pictures while you were opening presents.  And then there was Halloween.  For some reason I would always have a meltdown.  Even at age three I expected you to be perfect while trick-or-treating.  If you didn't talk clearly, say thank you, and stay off the grass, I would let you have it.  Ah, the trials and tribulations of being the oldest.  Thank you for your patience with me.  Thank you  for your forgiveness. 

As I took Lexi and Sophi out tonight, I realized that I have come ever so far.  I think I have earned 25 years worth of patience over the last five.  For a solid two years now, holidays have been great.  I love Eastering, regardless of the weather.  Christmas with our bunch is going to be expensive-so accept it!  And Halloween.  Not to toot my own horn, but I am about as patient, sweet and loving as a Dad could be.  It's not that no one really cares if Lexi accidentally steps on their lawn.  Or that people are so mesmerized by Sophi that they don't notice if she says "Trick-or-Treat," let alone "Thank You."  No, it's because I have learned so much about what is important in life.  And you, my son, are important.  I have only five more Halloweens before you move on to bigger and better things.  I have only five more Easters before you go on a mission and then to college.  The time is running out, and I have finally learned to simply enjoy it.  Thanks for putting up with me while I was figuring it all out.  And thanks for helping me see it, so I have many more years with Sophi and Lexi and Elli and Jess to just enjoy the journey.  You are one of my closest friends.  I love you.

Love,

Dad

A fun video...

This was taken Sunday morning-- I thought it would be fun to show you how Soph does some normal, everyday tasks.   We are so blessed to have this girl in our lives.  She teaches us gratitude, perspective, courage and true greatness-- just by living!



PS-- I should tell you the conversation that led me to make this video.  It was with a cute little 5-year-old boy at swim lessons:

Boy:  Wow.  She doesn't have any arms.  That's sad.

Me:  Well, she can do lots of things with her toes and chin and teeth!

Boy:  Yeah... well, she can't feed herself.

Me:  Actually, she does feed herself... every day!

Boy:  Yeah... well she can't use a spoon.

Me:  She's really good with a spoon-- you should see her!

Boy:  Yeah... well she can't brush her own teeth.

Me:  Actually, she does that too, don't you Soph?

Soph:  Mmmhmm.

Boy:  I don't think you're right.

Me:  I guess she'll just have to show you sometime (as I move Sophi away from him-- she's getting quite perturbed).

(;

Prayers

When Sophi says her personal prayers at bedtime, they're usually pretty short.  Last night as I was tucking her in her prayer went on and on and on.  It was probably 10 full minutes!  Some of the things she prayed for were sweet and cute.  Some were completely unintelligible, but I'm sure they had meaning to her.  She prayed for some of the things we're praying for as a family and many others.  I must admit my mind started to wander, but I was quickly drawn out of my daydreaming by the following:  "Please help Heavenly Father to fix Lexi's eyes and to put my arms back on.  Cuz' I was born that way."

Few phrases could be so faithful and so painful at the same time.  This little one has such great faith.  She has no doubt that the day will come that she will receive arms.  And yet she deals with this challenge all day, every day.  She is old enough now that she is very much aware of the way in which she is different from other people and many of the hardships it creates for her.  Occasionally she will say "I can't because I don't have any arms."  Sometimes this is said very matter-of-factly.  At other times it is said with painful resignation and a bleak expression on her face.  These are some of the most poignant experiences I have as a parent.

But most of the time, you couldn't meet a spunkier, more energetic, more happy-with-life individual than our Sophi.  Christi and I were discussing this morning just how happy Sophi is to be part of a family.  More than any of our other children at this age she absolutely relishes mom and dad, brothers and sisters.  She often lists everyone in our family and says how much she loves each of them.  She is truly a constant example of how I should be living my life:  Face reality, shoulder your burdens, and move forward with faith and a smile.  :)

 Jeremy

Gives me chills.

One of my very favorite hymns by one of my very favorite artists:





I can't listen to this without getting teary.  It somehow washes everything that's not important away and just makes you want to do anything and everything to be close to God.

I'm so grateful for people who use their talents in such amazing ways.

Poor Mom...

This week is Red Ribbon Week (otherwise known as "let's see if we can make mornings that much crazier for parents week") at school.  Tuesday was "Rockin' Out to the 80's" day.  I hadn't planned anything the night before and was rushing around trying to find things that looked 80's-ish for all the kids.  I helped Jesi pick an outfit and put her hair in a side ponytail.  I was thinking that she looked pretty cute, but she wasn't so sure.  She looked at herself in the mirror and asked, "How do you know so much about the 80's, Mom?  Are you sure I'm dressed correctly?"  I laughed and said, "Well, honey-- when I was your age, I was living in the 80's."

An honest-to-goodness panic stricken look came across her face.  With wide eyes, she exclaimed, "YOU had to dress like THIS?!"  She was not trying to be funny.

Ha!

A few minutes later, I found a bright headband and told her to put it on.  She put it on and said, "WELL, I guess this is just a little more high-fashion now."

(;

Trombone Musings

Taylor used to practice his trombone in the garage.  It's getting a bit cold for that, so he tries to find a location that is the least noisy for the rest of the family.  Tonight I found him sitting on the toilet in the master bathroom practicing away.  Dedicated kid.  I opened the door and complimented him on how much he's progressing.  We were looking at each other through the mirror.  He looked at me with a meditative expression and said, "You look different in the mirror."  I flexed my muscles, sucked in my gut and put a "Flynn Ryder smolder" on my face.  "Do I look more handsome in the mirror?" I asked. 

"No.  Your bald spot is on the opposite side."

Thanks, T.  I love you, too.

Dad

Communication

I recently noticed a headline on CNN that was something along the lines of, "Will science eventually prove that God doesn't exist?"  I was struck by this.  What kind of arrogance does it take to think that man could disprove the existence of God?  How sad must be the life of someone who is determined to eliminate his own Father in Heaven?  How grateful I am for my testimony that He not only exists, but knows ME.  Little old, unimportant me.  And He loves me.  So much more than the almost overwhelming love I have for my own children.  A perfect love.  He wants what is best for me.  Such a blessing to know these things.

I woke up this morning, as I do every school morning, to my alarm.  The alarm I set is on my smart phone.  How did we ever survive without these electronic swiss army knives?  I've heard the next iPhone will not only wake you up, but will cook your breakfast as well:).  Anyway, I woke up as usual, but then my normal morning routine changed.  Just about every day, I grab my phone to turn off the alarm, then I check my email.  There are usually about 15 emails from overnight.  Most are junk and I immediately delete them.  Once in awhile there is something of importance.  My favorites are comments on our blog;)  But I do this virtually every day.  My first waking moments are filled with checking messages that for the most part are so pointless I delete them without even reading them.

This morning I had a little inspiration.  I'm sure this is not an original thought, but it was important to me and had an immediate impact on my life:  Why am I checking email messages before I check my messages from my Heavenly Father?  And so I did.  I got on my knees and poured out my heart.  And you know what?  I got a message.  We have been struggling to find the best way to deal with an issue one of our children is having.  During my prayer, a very clear impression came to my mind of a unique idea to deal with this issue.  A way I had never considered, but one that I am sure will be most helpful as we work on this together.  I am excited to continue checking my messages from Heavenly Father first thing.  It has made a difference in my day already.  I really am so grateful for Him.  So grateful for prophets throughout history who have sacrificed much to bring us His word.  And so grateful for His son, whose atonement has made it possible for me to return and live with Him again someday.

Jeremy

Super long... sorry!

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I was going to write about how Xander just dumped half of a chocolate cake off of my bed (yeah, don't ask why it was on my bed in the first place) and onto my floor/comforter/pillow and how Elli found reason to have 3 baths today and how as I went to open the spaghetti tonight found that it had already been opened on the other end and therefore spilled all over the kitchen floor.

But instead I think I'll write about what's really on my mind.

Earlier this year, as our Father in Heaven opened our hearts up to beautiful Cali, and soon after to sweet Conner, I found myself wrestling with so many questions.   They all had the same general theme:  “HOW IN THE WORLD ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS?”  I’m actually getting teary just writing this, thinking of the struggle of that decision.  The questions that flood my heart each time we add another child to our family are real and legitimate and good questions to ask.  They should be weighed heavily, and discussed, and prayed about.  They are important questions that I believe God wants us to ask.  In case you are wondering what questions I am talking about, I mentioned many of them here.

It is such a big, heavy decision.  But in the end, though asking these questions is of great importance and can help us in that decision, IN THE END, it comes down to what our Heavenly Father wants for us.  Sometimes the answer is no, sometimes it is yes, and sometimes it is, “Up to you, darling!  Have fun deciding!”  (I personally don't always like that last one.)

In our case, each time we have pursued adoption, I have come to know that it is exactly what the Lord wants us to do.  I am so extremely grateful for this knowledge.  It has been so important as we go through the ups and downs and highs and lows that each new child brings to our family.  Knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, that we are to pursue adopting each child is of infinite worth to me.  The weight that is so heavy as we prayerfully consider these children is immediately lifted when we receive that “yes” answer and accept it.  (And by the way, in case you are wondering, we have received "no" answers concerning adoption as well.)

And so, as we moved forward with Cali’s and Conner’s adoptions, I let go of the things that I had worried about as we sought answers from our Heavenly Father as to whether or not to adopt. 

One of those things was (no surprise here…) having a bigger home.  I stopped worrying about how we would accommodate our new additions and how Cali would get along in a wheelchair here because I knew that it was right to adopt her.  I felt so much peace as I realized that Cali was infinitely better off here, in a home that isn’t equipped for a wheelchair and where we are a tight fit, than in an orphanage without a family.  That realization took a huge weight off my shoulders.  Getting a new home was NOT paramount to adopting her.   Happy dance!!!!!

Still (sheepish smile), I wanted a new home.  (;  And we decided that it was a good thing to pray for—one that we felt would be the best thing for our children and bless our family in very life-changing ways. 

Let me tell you what I hoped would happen with those prayers.  (:  I hoped that God would basically just drop down a home out of the sky and have it land on our property.  I’m not really kidding here.  I wanted it to be that easy.  I wanted Jeremy’s side business to take off in a way that we would make like, a million dollars this year and could build our dream home.  Yes… that would be very ideal!

When we made our Dynamite video, we made it with the sole intention of having a fun way to share our news with family and friends.  I was the one who wrote the line, “Need some room for two more chairs—wish that we knew some millionaires.”  It was of course, meant to be funny, but I will admit that after I wrote it, I had the fun thought of, “Oh, and by the way, God, that would be an acceptable way to get a house too!  Just give us a millionaire.  Perfect.”  (:

Those are the ways I had HOPED that we would perhaps find ourselves getting a new home. 

As it turns out, you don’t always get to set your own terms when it comes to prayer requests…  

Heavenly Father decided that He would do things His own way.  And HIS way is not at all MY way!!!!!   My way is NOT to have a bunch of busy, wonderful mothers who have a thousand other things to do decide to put hours and hours into serving our family.  My way is NOT to have PayPal buttons and requests for donations.  Seriously—UGH!  My way is NOT to have people who have less money than us sacrifice to build us a great big home.  My way is NOT to hear of one of Graci’s friends saving up money to buy a puzzle piece (made me cry humble tears).  My way is NOT to write facebook and blog posts letting people know that “Hey!  Have you heard there is a fundraiser to raise money for ME?!”  Hello-- embarrassing!  My way is not to set up a twitter account with the sole purpose of tracking down my kids’ favorite celebrities and sheepishly asking them to tweet.  My way is NOT to have a tree set up with our pictures on it at community events asking people to learn more about our family.  My way is NOT to be public with this whole new house thing.

Ha.

Yes, He decided to humble me. 

See, I have usually been on the giving end when it comes to money.  We have been blessed to always have enough to share.  We have been the ones sending money to other families who are adopting.  We have been the ones sending anonymous envelopes.  And because we were never in a position of wondering if we would be able to pay the bills, it was FUN and many times easy to share our financial blessings.   It still is!  We are not in a desperate financial situation in any way—we just don’t have the ability to build a home right now.  Still, we are tremendously blessed financially and like being on that “giving” end of things.  (:

I have found that being on this “receiving” end is actually very hard.  PLEASE don’t think I’m complaining—I am so grateful!  But saying, “Thank you—it means so much!” and accepting help is much harder for me than saying, “Thanks, but we’re fine!”  And over and over and over in the past few months I have had to do just that--say, “Thank you,” and accept.  “Thank you” to those wonderful people on the Puzzle Them Home committee who are selflessly giving of their time and talent.  “Thank you” to those who are sharing our story.  “Thank you” to those who have so generously donated financially to the cause.   Knowing that this is the type of service I can NEVER pay back is just plain hard! 

But I have learned a few lessons.  (Perhaps that’s why the house didn’t fall from the sky!)

I have learned that service unifies people in a beautiful way.  These sweet women who have sat around a kitchen table with me numerous times over the last few months have become so dear to me. I simply LOVE them.  Not even because of what they are doing, but because I have gotten to know their hearts and they are just beautiful people.  We have found unity in our purpose of providing a wonderful home for these wonderful kids.  I have developed a love for them and their families that I can’t express, and friendship that will last forever.

I have learned about cheerful giving.  So many people act like this is the most wonderful thing to be able to serve our family.  (:  It is easier to accept help when people give it so sweetly and graciously.  I am committed to becoming more like them.

I have learned that it is ok to ask for help.  (Ok, maybe I am learning…) When Jeremy and I wrote emails to some people on our contact list let them know about the fundraiser, it was seriously so hard to actually push the send button.  It took us several minutes of just sitting there. We had to come to terms with the fact that it would take many people to accomplish this great task.  That we can’t always do things on our own… 

I have learned that I need to let go of worrying about what others may think.  There have been a couple of comments on Facebook that were along the lines of, “Well, if these people can’t meet the needs of the kids on their own then why should they be adopting more?” A fair question, for sure!  I was glad for the opportunity to explain that we can meet their needs—that it would just be much easier in a home that was custom to them.  But then I became very preoccupied with thinking, “Is that what EVERYONE thinks of us?  How many others are questioning why we are adopting and why this fundraiser is happening?  What other questions are being asked?  Are people going to start scrutinizing how we spend our money now that there is a fundraiser going on?  Are people’s views of us going to change?” and the list goes on…  These thoughts have done nothing good for me.  They just occupy time that I should be spending doing good things.  So I am trying hard to let go and think more about what God thinks.

I have learned to trust the Spirit.  When Chrissy first called me to ask if she could do a fundraiser for us, I felt absolutely enveloped by the Holy Ghost.  I felt a confirmation right there and then that the Lord was answering our prayers.  He knows better than anyone what this would mean to us.  I have reminded myself of that when I get overwhelmed or discouraged or embarrassed about the whole thing.

I have learned that I need to stop relying on myself to bless the efforts of those serving us, and rely instead on our Heavenly Father.  It is easy when someone babysits your kids to turn around and babysit theirs.  I obviously can’t build homes for everyone that is helping build one for us!  (:  I feel very humble and insignificant when I can only say “thanks.”  I have to remind myself that the Lord sees the efforts made in our behalf, and that He can bless them far better than I can.

I have learned that our Heavenly Father has such a perfect love for His children that He will let them feel uncomfortable and awkward for awhile if it means bringing them closer to Him and being able to bless them in beautiful ways. 

I have learned that it is therefore ok for me to humbly ask you wonderful readers if you would consider spreading the word if you haven’t already.  That if you happen to have some extra time on your hands and are just perusing the internet, you would consider tracking down some of these very elusive celebrities (; or any others who have the capability of reaching a large number of people!

See… I just did it!  I asked a big favor and I am still breathing.  I’m even smiling.  (:

Even though all I can say is, “thank you.”

(:

 

Keeping me on my toes!

Xander came running into my room about an hour ago, "MOM!  Elli's eating my medicine!"


My heart dropped.  I ran into the living room to find Xander's pill bottle (a very strong antibiotic for his leg infection) on the floor with several pills spilled out.  NINETEEN of them were in Elli's mouth.  They were gel caps, and only one of them had been bitten hard enough that all the powder was out-- the rest were just soggy, but full of powder.

Of course, I called poison control.  We're practically on a first name basis over there.  (;  The last time I called them it was to see if chewing and swallowing large amounts of the powdery material in pull-ups was toxic.  In case you ever need to know that, it's not.  (;  It does, however, create lots of fun bowel issues, which I won't get into here...

Anyway... after discussing things with the sweet lady at poison control and doing meticulous pill counts,  I am fairly certain that Elli is going to be ok.  I've also talked to the pharmacy, who has to contact X's doctor at the hospital to get him to send in a new prescription.  Awesome.  We learned a good lesson about keeping "childproof" pill bottles up high.  For as many times as we've called poison control, I don't believe it's ever been for medicine...  Chewing batteries until they are flat, eating tubes of desitin-- that's more her style. 

Sweet, sweet Elli, please don't scare me like that again.  I'm not up to another trip to the ER so soon.  (:

Tweet Tweet!

"The Dancing Family" is back!  (;  I still laugh when I think of how several little kids call us that because I am soooo not a dancer!

Yes, it is 1:45 a.m. right now.  Oops.  Not sure how that happened...  Actually, yes I am!  We are crazy busy at this house and the only time we had to put this together was after the kids went to bed.  And then there was the debate that distracted us...

Anyway... let me give you a little bit of background on this newest video of ours.  (:  As you well know, some amazing, selfless, wonderful people approached us a few months ago with an idea.  That idea has evolved into the most beautiful service in our behalf.  Seriously, I cannot put into words how I feel about these people and each and every person that has donated, shared, or otherwise participated in Puzzle Them Home.  We are grateful beyond words.

As we have gone to committee meetings, one of the main themes has been, "If we could just get the word out..." and "If we just had a bigger audience..."  We talked about how having someone with a huge following on twitter could make the difference for this project.  One of the ladies on the committee suggested we do another video to spread the word.  And because we have told them we will do anything they ask, we obliged!  (:

(It seems to play best when you click on the YouTube icon and view it over there).



A couple of things... first, pretend not to notice the messes in the background.  Second, the kids picked their own celebrities, and they genuinely love them.  Sophi's been singing "Baby, baby, baby oh!" since she got off the plane from China!  Lexi LOVES Andrea Bocelli and calls him her "blind friend."  She claims she's going to meet him someday and sit on his lap!  Taylor is obsessed with Jimmer (two of our girls just might have a crush on him as well...), Elli is very taken with the Piano Guys, Xander is infatuated with Ty Pennington, Parker loves Tim Tebow's faith on the field, Jessica loves to put on Taylor Swift concerts for us and Graci's favorite sport to watch is gymnastics. 

We would love you forever for sharing this!  We believe that if it somehow "goes viral" and reaches some of these people, we might just find that huge audience we are looking for...

As always, thank you, thank you, thank you!  It is extremely humbling to be on this end of such an amazing act of service.


 

Happy Birthday, Cali!

Cali turned 12 today!!  It is killing me that I couldn't be with her to celebrate.  It seems like there's such a big jump between 11 and 12-- like she has changed from a girl to a young woman and we missed her childhood.  Sigh.

We had anticipated possibly traveling as early as next week, but there has been a glitch in her paperwork (on China's side, not ours) that is holding things up.  So...  it looks like November will be our month.  If life wasn't so full and busy already, I'm sure I would be going out of my mind with anticipation, but as it is, we'll just be grateful for the extra time to get ready!!  (Though of course we would  be on the next plane out if we could!)

We had a beautiful cake and a dozen pink roses (since she turned 12) delivered to her.  I wish I could have seen her face when they arrived...

Our darling Cali Rose, you are loved and cherished!  You are such a beautiful daughter of God, and He watches over you always.  You are prayed over each day and are already such an important part of our family.  You have so many people here who are working and sacrificing to build you a home that will be perfect for you because they too, have been touched by your sweet spirit.

We love, love, love you and can't wait to bring you HOME.   Happy Birthday, Tang Min!

Back to Y Mountain!

Two weekends ago my brother Matt brought his sons Walker and Carter down from Rexburg, ID to go on a hike with Taylor, Parker and me.  We decided to hike to the top of Y Mountain.  It's a rigorous hike, with one particularly steep section that feels like it lasts Forever!  (Especially when you're the weakest link of the group.  Yes, that would be me.  The elderly gentleman panting and puffing all the way to the top.  And shuffling the last mile on the way down cuz' his knees feel like they're on fire.)  But it is absolutely gorgeous in the fall.  Colors exploding, cooler weather.  We had a blast.  Fortunately this time, I didn't have to hike half way back up to rescue a camera:).  I haven't been on a hike with my brother since before I was married, and it was great to be able to get up there with him.  I was impressed with how well his young boys did, too.  Thanks for coming Carter and Walker!!!

Mountaintops are special places.  The grandeur and majesty are beyond compare.  I love living so close to so many of them.

The beginning

Taylor, Parker and Walker on the Y

Bear rock (or mouse rock or frog rock or whatever you think it looks like:)

View from the top

A tribute to Tiff:)

Love my big boys!

For much of the hike up and much of the hike down I committed to myself that I would never do this again.  On the drive back home I was trying to figure out just how soon I get back into my hiking shoes!

Jer

Sophi's Arms

Sophi came into our room this morning and said, "I wish I could see Jesus!"  Christi replied that she wished she could see Jesus, too.  Sophi said "And Jesus would fix my arms."  I asked her what she would do if she had arms.  Her immediate reply:  "Eat with my hands!  And dat's it."

Oh, and if you were wondering if a little girl without arms can cut her own hair...she can:)

Jeremy

Delightful Daughters and Tender Mercies

I got home today after 3 nights in the hospital with Xander.  They took him off of IV antibiotics yesterday and started him on an oral.  Of course within 5 hours of getting him home, he developed a fever again.  When it hit, I was just past security at the airport and about to board a plane to Boise.  I’ll be coming home tomorrow, so Christi said to just go and if she had to take X-man back to the hospital, she’d figure something out.  This is starting to take a toll….

Shortly after I got home I was talking with Parker.  Somehow the subject of Christi came up and I said, “I love mom so much.”  Sophi had been listening and quickly piped up, “Don’t forget me!”  “Don’t forget you?  OK.  I love you, too, Sophi.”  “I love you, too, Dad.  You’re my best friend!”  How cute is that?

Took Lexi, Jess and Sophi to swimming lessons in the couple of hours I had between coming home from the hospital and leaving for the airport.  It’s pretty delightful to watch these three in the water.  I stay right with Soph, but can observe the other two.  Today was the beginning of a new class, with new teachers.  Sophi’s teacher was so cute with her.  He’s a teenage boy, and yet he was so sweet and careful to be aware of her needs.  I love taking them to their lessons.

On the way home I was talking to Jesi about having to leave again.  She asked, “When will you be home?  Thursday?”

 “No.  I’ll be back tomorrow.”

 “Dad, I don’t mean to make you feel bad, but isn’t that a waste of money to go for such a short trip.”

“Well, Jess, my work pays for it, so I don’t really have to worry about that.”

“What do you do for work again?”

“I sell medicine.” 

“How do you sell medicine?”

“I talk to doctors and tell them about how my medicine helps their patients.”

Jess, in an utterly incredulous voice “You talk to doctors???  That’s your work???  How is that work???  How much do you get paid.?!?”

Once I could quit laughing, I tried to explain, but to no avail.  My daughter is convinced that her father does nothing of value when he goes out each day to bring home the bacon.  She’s probably not the only one…J.

Last night I had one of those “tender mercies” experiences.  Xander had ordered dinner, and I was going to the rec center next door to the hospital to work out.  I got changed into my gym clothes, grabbed my bag and left.  I had purposely parked at the top of the parking garage so I could get some exercise as I walked up and down the three flights of stairs.  I left Xander’s room on the third floor, walked down a long hallway, down two flights of stairs to the main level.  I left the building and crossed the street to the parking garage.  I walked up three flights of stairs to the top…and realized I’d left my keys in Xander’s room.  I was just stood there frustrated for awhile.  I didn’t want to go  back and get the keys.  I thought maybe I’d run laps around the parking garage.  As I looked around trying to figure out what to do, I realized I was missing the best opportunity of all.  Primary Children’s Hospital is built in the foothills of Salt Lake City.  Right behind it is part of the Wasatch Front.  Here I was, planning to work out on a stair climber in a gym, when one of my very favorite activities was within a 2-minute walk.  So I started from right there and went on a 2-mile round trip hike up the mountain.  I gained about 900 feet in elevation and was treated to magnificent views.  Some people wouldn’t think much of this experience.  I truly believe this was a tender mercy from a loving Father in Heaven.  He knows how much I love to hike.  Several things had to align for me to experience this last night.  I had to choose to park on the roof of the parking garage (so I could see the mountains from my car).  I’ve never done this before today.  I had to forget my keys.  I had to go to work out early enough that there was still light.  I love to surprise my kids with little things I know will make them excited.  I think Heavenly Father finds a similar joy as he provides these types of experiences for us.

Life is wonderful!  Three days and nights at a hospital help you appreciate the beauty around you when you are home.  You become more attuned to the joy that can be found in the simplest events and exchanges. 

A big huge hug to Christi who continues to hold down the fort while I am gone on business.  I love you, sweetheart.  Good luck.  Hope Xander doesn’t have to go in again.

Jer