Meetchya Day Anniversay

 January 30th 2011 was the day that we met Andy and Hana face to face for the first time in the orphanage.  So we just celebrated our 4 year Meetchya Day Anniversary!  I made this side by side comparison photo of them then and now.  I can't tell you how blown away I am at the growth and change we have seen in these two.  I hope this doesn't sound bad, but I feel as though Andy is my greatest source of pride in my life thus far.  Andy came here so beaten down in his life to the point of almost no return.  Many times over the last four years we have cried (sobbed even,)  prayed, worried, and wondered whether he was going to be able to pull through it or not.  It has been one of the most difficult things we have gone through.  He still has a long ways to go.  And as dramatic as I describe it, believe me, it was much more dramatic than that.  

Nobody but him, Steve and I, and God know the incredible growth and change this young man has worked through.  And it has become my greatest sense of accomplishment.  I don't think we are out of the woods with him yet.  But we have a great deal of hope and expectations for him. 

Now I don't want to minimize our sweet Hana.  She just came here ready to go and carry on after what she had gone through.  Although we know her life prior to us was not nearly as painful as Andy's.  She was younger and more resilient too.  We love all of our children so very much.  They each just have their own stories and trials and triumphs.  And we are proud of them all. 

Sweetness

When I drop Charity off at kindergarten, Hana is always outside at recess.  Today I noticed Hana looked upset.  She ran to me and burst into tears.  Charity listened as Hana told me about a girl being mean to her.  I squeezed and kissed her, calmed her down, then sent her on her way.    I looked back and saw the two of them walking together and Charity trying to make her big sis feel better.  I LOVE moments like this!

They kept walking and then Hana put her arm around Charity.❤️

Charity

We went skating the other day.  I only got these two very blurry, but cute phots of Charity.

Making history

I filled up the van with gas the other day.  The original cost/gallon was 1.72.  That is the cheapest I have seen for a very long time.  But I also had points to bring down the cost to .67/gallon.  That is the cheapest gas I think I've gotten in my lifetime.  I remember when I turned 16 and started having to buy gas, the price was about .90/gallon.

Jonah Charity cleaning garage

I asked Jonah to go out and clean the oil off the garage floor and to
sweep it.  A little later I heard a lot of commotion out there, so I
went out to see what was going on.  Jimi Hendrix was blaring and Jonah
had recruited Charity to help.  She had hilariously dressed up for the
occasion.  I just got a kick out of the whole situation.

Hana

We went with a new kind of hair for Hana this time around.  I think she looks so cute.

Becca

Becca worked hard to earn a Nook.  She finally got it.  The day she got it,

she was anxious to play on it.  But when we wanted her to go to bed, and take the Nook, she got upset and cried.  It didn't take long for her to come back with this note.

Pierced Ears

Celeste decided finally that she wanted her ears pierced.  So I took all the kids with me to watch.  She was very brave.

In the zone.

All done and smiling.

When Becca saw Celeste do so well, she decided she'd do it too.  She was very scared, but started out with happy excitement.

Then her expression changed as they did the piercing.

When it was done, she was hurting and fighting back tears.  As soon as we left, the tears flowed.  :(

Cessi

"Cessi" is the nickname that we've adopted for Celeste over the last year.  (Pronounced : Sessy.)  The babies started calling her this and it just caught on.

Anyhow, this cute girl got a big deal haircut.  

She has been growing her hair out for a year.  It got long!

After taking a shower and going to bed with unbrushed, wet hair, she awoke to Mia Thromopolis hair prior to becoming a princess.  It was WILD!!!!  We tried to brush through it to no avail.  So she immediately decided to throw in the towel and get it chopped.

Fashionista

Charity wearing her favorite outfit these days:  swimsuit, riding boots, and Christmas bow.  

She always wants to wear this, but as it's Winter, she can't go out like this.  She has a solution for that though.  She wears this under her clothes and once we get home, she sheds down to this.

Selfies

When we got home from the Bean Museum, Celeste texted me all of these hilarious selfies she and Eden and Jonah took.❤️

FFD

I didn't manage to get a photo of everyone, that's always a challenge.

First we went to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Malawi Pizza.  These guys really are the Three Amigos.  I love how much they love being together and how much fun they have.

Then went to the Bean Museum.  

Even our teens still manage to enjoy museums.  

Then ice cream at BYU Creamery.  These two sampling each other's ice cream.

Andy basketball

I like these photos I got of Andy warming up for his game.  He has improved a lot the last couple of months.

Austin

Steve and I went to Austin.  We left Saturday and I came back yesterday, (Tuesday.)  Steve is coming home Thursday night.  Steve's company sent him to Austin to train the guys at Dell how to support the Sandisk flashdrives.  He was really nervous about this.  Really, really nervous.  He is not the kind of guy to get excited to stand up in front of people and give an important presentation.  But from what I hear, he did a great job.  I was lucky to get to come along with him.  We had a nice time together and it was a nice break for me.  At the same time, we were able to look around and examine the idea of possibly relocating our family there.  I had found a realtor who was great and showed me all around different areas and neighborhoods and suburbs of Austin.  So I got a pretty good idea of what areas are good and not.  We liked it there and could see our family enjoying it there.  We don't know if we'll do it yet, but it is definitely a good possibility.  

The photo above is just before I said goodbye to him.  He was on his way out to do the training and I think he looked so handsome.  :)

My Chaos

Today was another hectic day.  What day isn't?!  It started with laundry, cleaning, and making a couple of pans of lasagna for dinner tonight, (while taking care of Charity and Sam.)  After lunch I took Charity to kindergarten and put Sam down for a nap.  While he slept, I spent 2 hours working on my new math class that started this week.  Then the kids got home from school and it was, as always, chaos as everyone raided the kitchen and began homework.  It's during this time that I always frantically try to answer a dozen questions and requests at once.  This was also the moment Jonah and Eden let me know that they needed to cook 10 seperate recipes to be turned in to their foods class by Friday or they would fail.  (They were telling me this today.  ie:  Wednesday afternoon.)  They knew about this all term, but waited until today to tell me about this project.  I knew with tomorrow being my ballet day where I teach 3 classes and take 1 class, there would not be time to do this except for squeezing it in today.  Anyhow, I found this out 5 minutes before all of the Activity Day Girls were to arrive at the house for an activity I was in charge of.  So I hurried and got on the computer and printed up 10 recipes.  I told Jonah to have my grocery list ready by the time the activity was over.  I had already gone grocery shopping yesterday, so I resented having to go again.  Then the Activity Day girls arrived.  I taught them how to make their own homemade pizzas and they loved those. Then we made these time capsule letters.  Charity and Sam went nuts during the activity.  NUTS!  What is it about having guests over that turns your children into possessed demons?  As soon as Activity Days was over, I threw the lasagna in the oven and told the kids I was making a mad dash for the store for Jonah and Eden's cooking project.  But before I left, Andy and Becca asked me to buy things for their Science projects which are also due soon.  Yikes, Science Fair :/ (Jonah and Eden also have Science projects to wrap up.)  I add Becca and Andy's supplies to the list and rush out the door.  When I get back, Steve is home and we all sit down to dinner.  As soon as dinner is done, Jonah, Eden and I spend two intense hours trying to quickly make 10 different recipes and document it for the teacher with 60+ photos to prove their work.

I send the photos to Walgreens online and hurry and clean up the disaster that was left in the wake.  

I run to Walgreens and pick up the photos.  Then I run to the gym and do a hard workout of weight training and a speed run.  I pick Andy up from his basketball practice at 10pm, then head home.  I showered and got to bed.  And that is where I am now.  It's 12am.  I am beside my sweetheart as he snores and I am entirely too wound up to sleep.  So here I am blogging from my phone.

Yep, just another typical day.  Phew!

Chuck E. Cheese's

We went to Chuck E. Cheese's today for Jesse's birthday.  It's funny, my teenagers had the most fun of all.  It was entertaining watching them.

Steve is great!

I tell ya, I married a winner!  Not only does Steve put up with all my crap, he does it happily and is an awesome dad on top of that.

Today I awoke feeling under the weather. We had planned to take the kids ice skating this afternoon.  Steve stepped up and told me to stay in bed while he took the crew.  And he even sent me a photo while he was there with sweet texts.

Then tonight he took Andy to a Utah Jazz game.  And he thought to send me photos of this too.  I love this guy!

First Race of 2015

 

I had set a goal for 2015 to participate in at least 1 marathon, 5 half marathons, and 2 triathlons.  That is less than the amount I did in 2014, but I take goal setting so seriously, that I wanted to make sure it was a goal I should really have no reason to not complete.   Plus, I had other goals more important to me to worry about.  Anyhow, I am excited to already have a half marathon under my belt on the first day of the year.  It was an indoor race and really laid back.  In fact, you could run or walk whatever distance you wanted and they just kept track of your laps for you and had the drinks and support.  I had decided to do a half marathon prior to, but waking up this morning dog tired, I have to say, I felt lucky I had the determination to even get my bottom out of bed.  Fortunately, Steve came with me and that really helped.  He ran a 5k.  We had a good time. 

Girls Date

On Tuesday I took the four oldest girls out on a fun date.  We went to lunch at Olive Garden, then to see Ballet West's the Nutcracker.  It was awesome.  One thing I want to remember and mention about this date is in regards to Eden.  This girl oozes friendliness.  She wants everyone to feel happy and good about themselves.  I can't take that girl anywhere without her telling at least a few strangers that she loves their hair, their outfit, whatever.  While we were at Olive Garden, she was classic Eden.  As soon as our waiter came, she took note of his name and made a point to call him by it as much as possible.  She kept showering him with words of appreciation and compliments.  That girl is so great. 

About Jonah

I wanted to post this video.  It seems really random and that there is no point to it.  This is mostly for me.
Jonah is a bit of a strange kid.  He's quirky and he owns it.  I don't talk about this much, but he is bipolar.  And this spills over into his personality.  Some days, (a lot of them lately,) he just wants to be alone and in his room and hide away.  He can really turn inward and want to be removed from everything.  Because of this, he usually hates to get his picture taken and video taken of him.  So I just don't have much of him because he will often get mad if I try to.  And then he has this other part of him that is very outward and silly and fun.   Unfortunately I don't get to see this side of him enough.  He will do it at school more or for friends, or for drama at school.  Sometimes when he is like that for just the family, and I want to capture it, his mood will immediately change.  Anyhow, this video is one that was important to me because it is a rare occasion where he is in a good mood, is enjoying himself, and so I whipped out the camera and he didn't care!  I was happy to capture the moment!  Yesterday I took the kids to the movies and out to lunch.  And he was so happy the entire time.  And he actually let me document it.  :)  Happy mom :)