Merry Christmas!

I made this Nativity video for the Christmas party on my side of the family. It includes all of my parents' grandchildren ages 11 and under...and there's a lot of them!
Enjoy!

Special Week for String Cheese

My oldest child turned EIGHT YEARS OLD on the 15th.  She had been looking forward to it for a very long time.   I'm not going to lie, it had a lot to do with the fact that she has been longing for her very own American Girl Doll for a few years.  Her Grandma Debbie decided that since this was a very special year, she would buy her one.  SC has been poring over her AG Doll magazines for months and months trying to make her decision.  Finally she got her!  And I don't even have a photo...   But I do have these.  Luckily she liked Deedle's idea and opted to have me make the cake for her and to let her decorate it.  She enjoyed using an entire package of m&ms on the top. 

We didn't  have a friend party this year, just a small gathering with a few aunts, uncles, grandparents, and her little cousin, Camberly.  It was a much more relaxed birthday than we've had in the past and I was grateful.  She seemed plenty happy.  She took Hostess Dingdongs to share at school and cupcakes to share at dance.  And...did I mention she got an American Girl Doll among many other gifts?

The next day (Wednesday) was special for her and for all of us.  Chancho's youngest brother, Uncle Tyler (Unky T), received his mission call.  We went over to his house and SC promptly stole the large, white envelope containing his destiny for the next two years.  We are all very excited that he made the decision to go.  He has a very strong testimony of the gospel.  I know he will touch a lot of lives and I know that the mission will change his forever.  Eventually everybody got assembled or connected via skype, I stole the envelope back, and it was time for Tyler to open and read the call.  He has been called to serve in the Tallahassee, Florida mission.  The cool thing about this is that the mission covers the city where he was born and lived until he was almost 4 while his Dad was in the military.  T is an awesome kid, now man I guess, and I love him very much.  One thing I love is the cool faces he makes when having his photo taken.

Tyler is leaving in March and we are all super excited for him but will miss him TERRIBLY!!!

Saturday, the 19th, was the most special event of the week (or life?) for String Cheese.  She became an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  SC has never had a question in her mind about whether or not she would choose to be baptized.  She has had the beginnings of a testimony of the gospel from a very young age and is extremely knowledgeable and spiritual for one so young.  Here she is in the car on the way to the baptism.  She was a little nervous about the actual baptism part--wondering if she would make it all the way under the water, if her dress might float up, etc. etc.  And she wasn't entirely thrilled about the "old fashioned" lace collar on the dress that we borrowed from the church, but mostly she was very excited and happy.

I was excited and happy, too, though a little nervous about how the program would turn out, if people would make it, if the refreshments I was serving would be okay, etc.  To my delight, and, I'm ashamed to say, to my surprise, the whole service was extremely spiritual and had me in tears for much of it.  

This part might be boring, but I want to make sure to capture it all for my journal.  Our Bishop Jensen presided.  Our opening song was from the Primary Children's song book called "Baptism" and Grandma Debbie said the opening prayer.  Unky T gave a very touching talk on baptism.  It was short and sweet but his testimony was powerful and he looked great in his new suit.  SC's cousin, 12 yo Hannah, then sang the most beautiful song.  I love it so much.  ESPECIALLY when she sings it.  I wish so badly I had it recorded.  I think she sounds just like an angel.  It is called "Three White Dresses".  If you don't know the song, you can hear it here.  This is a beautiful version, but Hannah is sweeter (even, or especially, when she gets all choked up in the middle).

After the song, which brought in the spirit even more, my Mom gave a beautiful talk on the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  She had this small wooden box with all of these little items to help SC remember the ways that the Holy Ghost blesses us.  SC loved it.

Then it was time for the actual baptism.  The water was warm.  Chancho did a great job and SC looked like an angel in the water.  I want to save that image in my mind forever.   She only had to be "dunked" once.  I helped her change quickly into her beautiful dress (seen below), then she went back into the room where she was surrounded by men holding the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood of God.  Her father gave her a beautiful blessing, confirming her a member of the church and giving her the best gift she could ever receive, the gift of the Holy Ghost.  And let me tell you, the Holy Ghost was present.  The men in the circle were:  Chancho, Grandpa Gordon, Grandpa Guy, Uncle Tyler, Uncle John, Uncle Rob, Uncle Chris, Cousin Christian, Bishop Jensen, Isson Joseph, and Max Laforet.  (If I forgot anybody and you were there, will you remind me in a comment?).

After the confirmation, a few words were said by Jamie Pierce, a member of the Primary Presidency.  She is super sweet and she said that on the very first Sunday in our ward (about 5.5 years ago) she saw this tall lady with two little blonde daughters and the 2 year old was wearing a princess dress, heels, and was running along the church bench.  Yes.  That was me.  Yikes.  Anyway, she said she could tell that little girl had a very strong spirit and that as she's gotten to know that little Princess, she has found it to be true.  She reminded SC that she truly is a Princess because she is the daughter of a King, our Heavenly Father.  And I was crying again.

Then the Bishop said some nice words and it was time for the closing song ("When I Am Baptized") and closing prayer by my father, Grandpa Gordy.

I could go on and on about the day but this post is super long and its actually Christmas day and I'm not even close to ready to blog about Christmas yet.  Whew.  I'll mention that it was very special to have so many family members come to the baptism, despite very hectic schedules that everybody has on the last Saturday before Christmas.  I'm especially grateful that the Joseph family drove 1.5 hours from Orem to be there. They came over to our house to talk about Haitian Roots and to have time for the kids to play together before they move to Florida next week.  If you recall...the Josephs happen to have a certain son named Brian...and...yes, he did pick SC up and carry her for a time (as she explained, "like when a man carries his wife through the door when they get married") and kissed her on her cheek.  She liked all of this attention because she still tells me that she thinks they are "meant to be".  Apparently he thinks so as well.  But can you believe I didn't get a picture of them together?  Argh.  She was impressed that he could carry her (why exactly was he carrying her???  I have no idea) because it showed that he is strong and she really wants "a man that is really strong.  I want him to be taller than me, too, but, if not, he has to be really strong."

Is this not the cutest card you've ever seen?  I took some pics of SC and emailed them to my sister, Meg, and she created this masterpiece.  Then my friends printed it for me on this fabulous pearlized cardstock.  I'm in love with it!

Nearly lost in the excitement of the day was my 9th wedding anniversary.  Neither of us were too upset.  We both felt that the baptism and everything else of the craziness of the week and December in general was about enough to fill our plates.  But we did sneak off to fill our bellies at Temari that evening.  I love my Chancho so very much and fell even more in love with him when I watched him baptize and confirm our daughter than I ever could have with chocolates and roses.

Saying Prayers

And he commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.  3 Nephi 20:1

String Cheese comes in the front door with a flurry of snow and excitement.

"Mom!  Come quick!" she shouts.  "You've got to see this!  It's not something I've ever seen in the wintertime!"

This week some friends of mine are going through a terrible ordeal.  It has affected me, my family, and friends very profoundly as we pray for the situation to have a positive outcome.  I welcome a little excitement and a diversion of my thoughts, so I quickly throw on some shoes, wrap Finn in a blanket, and follow SC back outside with my camera.

Heavenly Father forgive me for interrupting my prayers for little Gardy...I need to think of something else for a minute.

"Look!"  she says as she points to these tracks she found in the snow as she walked home from the bus stop.

"Hm!  Some kind of bird!"  I say.  "I wonder if its hurt.  Probably looking for some food.  Why hasn't it flown to warmer weather?"

Please bless that Gardy is not hungry.  Please help him to get to safety.

We follow the tracks and find "lift off".  Then we spot the tracks again a moment later.

We follow the tracks for awhile longer, wondering what kind of bird is around and what its trying to find to eat.  And why is it walking in the snow?  Is its wing hurt?

Please don't let Gardy be hurt.  Please surround him with ministering angels.  Please help him not to feel lost and alone.  
 
We lose the tracks as we go over the driveway next to our house.  The snow is packed solid from the trucks that cross it.
"Mom!  Over here!  More tracks!"  SC shouts.

Please let there be some good news soon.  

Sure enough.  It looks like maybe the bird is leaning to one side.  If its hurt I really want to help it.

Oh, Heavenly Father, please don't let Gardy be hurt.  Please please please. 
 
Deedle is down by the fence now and she shouts, "Grapes!  I think it tried to eat some grapes!"

Finn is smiling big behind his blanket.  He's been couped up inside all day.  We tromp through the snow to join the girls.  Its colder this week than any December I can remember.

It sure different weather in Haiti.  Always so hot.  I hope Gardy has plenty to drink.  I hope they're not giving him dirty water that will make him sick.  Please bless that Gardy can be snuggled in his parents arms tonight! 

I see that some of the grapes are pecked.  Do hungry birds like grapes  in winter ?  Where are you little bird?  I will help you.

Lord, is there nothing more we can do for Gardy?  I feel so helpless.  
 
Wait a minute...
"Girls,"  I whisper, "Look over there...through our fence."

It's Mrs. Quail!  No wonder!  Quails love to walk around and only fly when absolutely necessary.

Oh please oh please oh please let him be found.  And let him be healthy.  Please please help him.
 

"There it is! I'm going to the backyard!"  SC is off and running back, through the house, and out the back door into the back yard.  She thinks she's found a bird for us to save. She's even got a bucket to put her in.

But I think the quail is not hurt.  She likes walking in the snow.  But she could probably use some food.  The bird feeder is empty.  I didn't even know any birds were around in this cold we've been having.

Please let there be good news soon!  Please let me hear the news that Gardy is in his mama's arms.  Perhaps a little hungry but okay.  Please, Heavenly Father!

String Cheese and Deedle help me to fill it up then SC takes it over to the quail. 

Heavenly Father, why are some so blessed to live in a safe place, surrounded by nice things, comforts, food, love, and others must suffer?  Please help me, who has been blessed so abundantly, to help more, to do more, to be more like Thee.
 

Mrs. Quail flies up into a nearby tree, but we leave her the bird feeder and lots of seed on the ground for her to enjoy at her leisure.  We haven't done much, but hopefully this will help her out a little.  The adventure is over and we're all cold.  Time to go inside.

Thanks for the diversion, Heavenly Father, now I will get back to saying those prayers in my mind and in my heart.  Here goes another, "Please PLEASE please PLEASE please PLEASE please PLEASE let Gardy be returned safely to his parents tonight!"

Thankful

I think this is about the longest I have gone with out doing a post on my blog.  There are many things I have wanted to blog about, I just have not made the time.  One of those, of course, was Thanksgiving.  We had a very wonderful and pretty much ideal Thanksgiving spent with family, good food, and relaxing.   I asked the kids to tell me some of the things for which they are most grateful.

String Cheese said:  My whole entire family, myself, and Jesus; my talents; that Jesus created this Earth; that I have a house; that I'm not an orphan; my clothes; very very thankful for all our prophets, and also the presidents of our country; the pilgrims and the Indians who were friendly to them; and the pioneers who crossed the plains.

Deedle said:  Food to eat; my clothes; myself; our brains; holidays; my house; my warm bed and warm blankets; the mountains; and nighttime.

Loumy said:  My toys; healthy food so we don't die; Heavenly Father so He can make us have our bodies; I'm glad you adopted me so I wouldn't die; my sisters; my brothers; my mom and dad; my friends; legs and arms and heads; stoplights; and headlights (he was giving me the list in the car, if you couldn't guess).

I am grateful for many things.  Right now I am particularly mindful and grateful for my good health.  It is such a blessing to be strong, capable, emotionally stable, and free from pain.   The photo below was taken 4 years ago at this time.  Loumy had just been sealed to us.  I was so happy.  You can't tell very well that I am still very yellow-skinned and -eyed from my months of colistatic jaundice after being hospitalized with Hep A.  I still could not eat much of anything other than saltines or chicken broth with out being in severe pain.  I lost my hair within a few weeks of this photo being taken.  Around that time I also began to spiral down into a deep and terrifying depression which was not controlled for about another year. 

 Four weeks ago I had strep throat that lasted an entire week.  I was good for seven days and then was hit with a stomach virus that wiped me out for another week.  My mom and sisters came and helped me out with Miles because for a few days I could hardly move out of bed and was getting dehydrated.  It brought back all kinds of frightening memories of the months of lying in bed in excruciating pain, unable to care for my home or my children.  I am grateful for all of the things I learned from going through those experiences, but ::whew:: am I HAPPY AND THANKFUL to be healthy and strong right now.  Thank you thank you thank you Heavenly Father!

And speaking of health, I am extra grateful for the blessings all of my children have had this year, but especially the health and strength that this little one has been blessed with.  What an extraordinary amount of blessings in just eight months time:

Along the same lines, still, I am grateful that Chancho's annual Thanksgiving football game with his brothers and friends did NOT end how it usually does.  They actually just finally decided they'd played along enough, rather than having to quit because somebody needed to be taken to the emergency room for a blown out knee or something like that.

Jessica's Design

Because I really want to post about this and I don't have time, please read this post instead and vote for my niece!

Deedle and the Coming of Christmas

I used to get annoyed when I saw people putting up Christmas lights or hear Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I would think, "What's the rush? Can't a girl just appreciate each holiday as they come?" But as I've grown older, my feelings have begun to change. Time just goes too fast. 25 days is not long enough to enjoy the Christmas spirit. And, although I'm not putting up my tree or turning on the lights outside just yet, I am definitely happy about the Christmas music that 106.5FM is already starting to play.

Chancho received some gift certificates to Chili's from his work so we decided to go out to eat as a family on Saturday night. It was already dark and Chancho turned on the radio. It was Christmas music, the first I've heard this year. The kids started getting all excited. The air was cool and it just all felt so right. String Cheese asked, "Is it okay to start listening to this before we even have Thanksgiving?" Before I could answer, we were interrupted by Deedle who exclaimed, at the top of her lungs:

"SWEET GEEEEZ!!!"

Chancho and I quickly covered our mouths, stifling our laughter. I have no idea where she came up with that phrase but it seemed to work for the moment because, afterall, she had just seen...a Christmas tree in a home's front window in the first week of November. After recovering, we suggested that perhaps next time she could exclaim something more like, "sweet cheese". Although "Sweet Geez" was one of the funniest things I've ever heard, it sounded a little too much like she might say the Lord's name in vain. Deedle Deedle Deedle. You make me laugh every single day. I love you.

Public Speaking Tips

Two weeks ago I was trying to get ready to go speak to a large group of young women and their parents. I was getting nervous. I had about 14 outfits strewn across my bed and I wasn't feeling totally confident about my topic. Loumy was in my room observing me put on my makeup. I hadn't said that I was nervous and I was still maintaining calm and patience (which is not always the case when I am trying to prepare for a public speaking event). Suddenly my just-five-year-old-extremely perceptive-son said to me, "Mom, I've got some good tips for you if you're nervous and sweaty."

He said it so confidently and in a more mature voice than I've ever heard. I stopped what I was doing and thought, "This is going to be good." So, I sat down on the bed and grabbed the outline of my talk that I was getting ready to give and turned it over to the blank side.

"Do you mind if I write them down?" I asked.

"Sure," he said. "Are you ready?"

Pen in hand, I nodded.

Loumy then proceeded to give me some awesome advice.

"Number one: if you are sweaty, put some water on a thing around your neck. (he waited patiently as I wrote and then proceeded) Number two: You should practice what you're going to say. Number three: if you're nervous, just calm down! Number...is this number three? ("four" I tell him) Number four: if you have a daughter or a son even if they're not with you, you should talk about them, like what they love and stuff."

He again waited thoughtfully until I finished. I looked up at him and he shrugged, "That's all I got. Are those good tips?"

They were fantastic tips. And the best part of him giving me the speaking tips is that it totally put everything back into perspective for me. I suddenly didn't really care about what I wore and I felt calm knowing that no matter how things turned out during my speech, I would be coming home to this little person who loves me unconditionally.I thank God everyday that we found each other, Loumy!

Birthday Boy

Chancho turned 34 last Wednesday. Tia said that I rarely post photos of him on my blog. The main reason for that is because he despises being in front of a camera. When I want family photos taken I do not tell him until about 15 minutes before it is time, then I suddenly say, "Hey, can you put this on because we're leaving to have our family pictures taken." But, since it was his birthday, I took the opportunity to snap some shots of my handsome husband and will share them with you all. We ate at Famous Dave's, opened a few presents, and sang Happy Birthday with candles on a pie.
I am so grateful to have Chancho in my life. I cannot imagine my life with out him. What a lonely, empty, sad world that would be. He is my best friend. He always makes me laugh. He has a kind heart. He always reminds me that I am never in any struggle alone but that we are a team and will be forever. He is a wonderful father. There is nobody that I would rather spend time with than my Chancho. What a miracle and a blessing it is to be married to this man.

Chancho, I love you madly!

November is National Adoption Month

As any of you who read my blog regularly or know me are already aware, adoption is very special to me. November is National Adoption Month and I would like to share a couple of videos that have touched me.

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Halloween Week

WHOO-EE! This is a lot of photos for one blog post!

Festivities began on Thursday night with pumpkin carving. Chancho did the most work for sure. Here he is carving the face on String Cheese's pumpkin. I think String Cheese liked the guts of her pumpkin a little too much! Deedle liked the guts a little bit too little.
Loumy tried to draw a picture of how he wanted his face but then just got out a book and showed us instead.Friday morning Loumy dressed up in his Mace Windu costume for his preschool party. After dropping off Loumy, we raced up to the school (late of course) for Deedle and SC's Halloween parade. Patti held my little skeleton while I took photos of the girls. I also snapped a shot of friend Jenna...... and this cool "old man". I think any parent who would cut their son's hair like this for Halloween must be super cool (I know her and she is).The kids were thrilled to basically have two Halloweens since they partied all day Friday and still had the best-still-to-come on Saturday (the trick-or-treating, of course). The weather was very cold this week, even with some snow. This morning, however, we woke up to sun and a little higher temperatures.

The highlight of Halloween week for me personally was going for a bike ride down on our trail with the entire family! Chancho spent quite a bit of time fixing all of our flat tires and hooking up the trailer for Finn and that type of thing. And if you are wondering whether or not Loumy is riding a girls' bike, he is NOT. It just happens that it used to be his sisters bike and it is purple (just like Mace Windu's light sabre). But it no longer has any girl stickers, rather is now be-decked in Star Wars stickers and is a full-blown Star Wars bike for a BOY. And don't any of you dare tell Loumy otherwise! It was so gorgeous on the trail with the sunshine and the fall leaves and the river...but after about one second I dropped all of the batteries out of my camera and could only find 3 of the 4 so these are the only shots I got.

When we got home, it was FINALLY time to start putting on costumes and makeup. String Cheese would not allow me to do her face white again, but she still looked awesome. The kids were amazingly patient while I took their photos, even though they were super anxious to get their trick-or-treat on.
Deedle, by the way, is an Ice Princess or a Snow Queen. But not an Ice Queen. All month people have been asking her what she is going to be for Halloween and when she told them, "Ice Queen", much to her dismay they would respond, "An Icecream? How cute!" The "icecream" accusation inevitably led to much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. So, I convinced her to call herself "Ice Princess" or "Snow Queen" instead (depending on her mood) and that helped us avoid the "icecream" landmine. I thought the geisha was quite original for SC this year, but at the parade at school I saw 4 of them in second grade alone. Funny how that works. SC didn't care one bit, so I didn't either.

At last the kids were off. Finn and I stayed home to pass out candy while Chancho took the kids around the block. I snapped this shot of one of our neighbors. She always dresses up cool to take her grandkids around for treats.

We finished off the night by going over to Chancho's parents to visit and do a little more trick-or-treating with Uncle Brian (aka Cookie Monster) and Myely-the-amazing-Lobster-dog.
I hope ya'll had as happy of a Halloween as we did!