Just Some Stuff

Yeah, I am still on my phone Internet. It's annoying, but whatev. I have no plan of cohesive-ness for this post, hence the title.. Salem and I had an impromptu discussion on Imperialism on our way home from grocery shopping yesterday (whaaat?). That is Salem for you. Then later she begged me to start teaching her a foreign language, "because everywhere we go people around speak other languages and I want to talk to them." I love that. So much. If there is one thing I can claim success at (so far anyway), it is installing a broad worldview in my kids. In other news, Simeon is covered in a weird rash and I am having trouble finding a pediatrician to take my kids! No one is accepting new patients. The doctor we were first assigned to by our insurance ended up being a hospital doctor with no actual practice for us to go to. So, in the meantime I've been letting Bubs running around stark naked and he randomly decided today to not have a single accident! I'll take it! I started a new phonics program with averlin that is amazing ! She is a great reader, but I hate the "whole language"/"look-say" crud that she was exposed to in school and I'm hoping to fully detox her from that ASAP! Jeff is making me be his workout buddy forthis new exercise program he's doing. There were about three days of last week that I could neither bend to pick anything up nor lift my arms more than 2 or 3 inches, which made motherhood a little tricky. I had no idea how often I squat down to wipe messes up from the kitchen floor! Also, in 5 weeks he leaves us for 3 months for that national guard training they were supposed to send him to 2 years ago. I am secretly hoping they'll just keep putting it off indefinitely til his contract is up. But, the 3 months of excellent pay is going toward us living a part of our dream- you know, the dream I haven't revealed yet. I am completely bogged down with planning the kids upcoming curriculum since we only have 40 school days left, though I think we are taking a way more relaxed approach next year. I am currently obsessed with education matters and I swear to myself that someday I will finish my degree and do some large-scale stuff. Hmmm, anything else? Well, yesterday I had a falafel wrap with lemon garlic hummus. Quite possibly one of the best things I've ever eaten. The end.

I (heart) My Crazy Life

So, February did not turn out quite how I thought it would, and to be honest, I like it a whole lot better that way. I don't like some of the things that have happened, but I've appreciated the experiences I've had. I was on a sort of blogging roll earlier this month when my 90 year-old grandfather came down with a serious bout of pneumonia. I drove out to Alabama to help my sister however possible ( she takes care of my grandparents). I had a wonderful time with my sister and was so glad to spend a little time with my grandparents. My grandfather seems to be doing much better. One of the highlights of my trip was driving a little north of my grandparents' home to see some wonderful friends that we have known for almost a decade! They are some of the best people I know and I have learned so much from them. I am going to dedicate a future post to our trip to their farm because I have lots of pictures to share! After I came home from Alabama we got a stupid computer virus and I have yet to figure out how to reconnect to the Internet, so I am currently attempting this blogpost from my phone. Ugh! Since the month is almost over, I want to just quickly list Off some of the things I love that I otherwise would have blogged about: 1. My Savior, Jesus Christ 2. The gospel and the gift of the holy ghost for peace, comfort, guidance, and discernment 3. My incredible husband who understands my heart, does dishes, and rescues me from ticks. 4. My 3 amazing children who are constantly astounding me with their wit, intuitiveness, and love. 5. My sister, who is a total superhero. I love and respect her so much and I am incredibly grateful to live a mere 3 hours away from her. She is so unbelievably selfless, I can only ever hope to be so. 6. My brother Reid and his family. I LoveLoveLove our conversations as far reaching as evolution to farming to genetics to politics. My sister and I agree that getting Reid to laugh out loud is one of our greatest goals when we're together. 7. My baby brother Tim. It makes me tear up a bit writing this because he is leaving to serve a mission in Hong Kong this Tuesday. Tim, the time I spent with you this past fall was some of the most precious time I have ever been blessed with. You are amazing and I aspire to be more like you. I love you and know you will make a perfect missionary. 8. My parents who gave me the most perfect siblings I could have hoped for. And because they continue to love and teach me by their examples. And my in-laws who gave me the best husband ever, who are SUCH good people, who tell me "New jersey stories," and who are such awesome grandparents! 9. On the less personal side, I love spontaneity. 10. I love the charities Rising Star Outreach and Bring Me Hope 11. I love nature 12. Finally, I love that I currently have a dream that is all mine, that is totally unusual, that requires fearlessness, and that I will hopefully be revealing soon! (But not today- sorry!)

Valentine's Weekend Tradition

I am about to sit down and watch the A&E Pride and Prejudice miniseries, which I have done every Valentine's weekend since Jeff was in Basic Training in 2005.  It seems like since he joined the Army I never get him at home for Valentine's Day or really any of the surrounding days either, so I spend the time with Mr. Darcy instead.

I {Heart} This Story

The Starfish Story (adapted)
Original Story by: Loren Eisley

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, "What are you doing?"
The youth replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back, they'll die." 
"Son," the man said, "Don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can't make a difference!"
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, "I made a difference for that one."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I remember near the end of 2010 I was in a sociology class and a beginning education class.  If you want to hear some really depressing statistics take either of those classes on its own.  If you want to feel defeated and like the world is a hopeless place, then take them together.  I remember feeling so small.  I felt so defeated before I had even begun to try to make a difference, which led me to wonder what the point of even trying was.  I felt like the confused prince in the movie "Ever After," with Drew Barrymore.  At one point he said, "I thought if I cared about something, I'd have to care about everything, and I'd go stark, raving mad!"  I was just about at the stark, raving mad point because I did (and still kind of do) care about everything. 
I remembered the boy saving starfish one by one, and I thought about how our good deeds and kind actions to whomever we can extend them mean so much. It calmed me down and helped me to get a better grasp on my job in this world of endless opportunities for service.

I ♥ this story.

I {Heart} Real Life

There are moments when life is a complete fantasy.  (Imagine the following in slow motion with piano music in the background) The sun shines into my spotless house.  I walk out of the kitchen from baking something yummy to find my three beautiful children with perfectly clean faces playing make believe together after a day of well-done homeschool work.  Jeff walks in the front door from work holding flowers and we all rush to him with hugs and kisses.

Most moments in life though are totally and completely real.  Take today for instance.  The sun was shining into my really messy house.  I walk out of the kitchen from cleaning peanut butter off the floor to see a pile of clean laundry 2 leagues deep on the couch, Averlin and Simeon are playing nicely together, though I notice that Simeon has ditched his diaper, so yeah... he's totally naked from the waist down, and Averlin still has remnants of lunch on her cheeks.  We've only done half of our schoolwork for the day and I'm still wearing sweatpants.  Jeff may or may not make it home for a few minutes in between jobs today.

Not the most glamorous moment.  Definitely not something you'd see in a photo layout for a magazine, but I saw the look of contentedness and friendship between the little ones and I couldn't help but smile to myself.  I ♥ real life.

I {Heart} These Chinese Kids

This is kind of a long post due to videos, but I hope that you will find a minute to read it all the way through and to watch the videos of my newest siblings.  If your kids are up and would otherwise pull you away from the computer, have them watch it with you.  It is worth it!


I have a soft place in my ♥ for children.  All children.  But besides the joy that I have received through my own children, my heart has been especially touched by these 5 Chinese kids that I am so blessed to call my siblings.  That's right. 5 of them:

First, the one who started it all:  my beautiful sister Kristin who came to our family at age 10, and who will be 17 this year!  I can't even begin to believe that!  Kristin was abandoned on a train at age 6.  She had severe scoliosis, which was corrected through some challenging surgery after her adoption. She is an incredible example of determination, love, acceptance, and optimism.  Kristin makes me laugh with her cute giggle and she is my girls' most favorite friend in the world!  This past weekend she went on her first date to a formal church dance and she looked positively radiant. (I have no idea who her date was and I hope he doesn't mind his pic on mah blog!)

Next, Cole joined our family at age 2, and is now about to turn 7.  Cole is spunky and hilarious.  He is an incredible artist and he doesn't let his physical challenges get in the way of a full and wonderful life.  Cole was born with club feet and amniotic banding, which left him with fewer fingers and toes than most have.  He is strong, healthy and active, and I think he is a super cool kid.

Next came Emma at age 3.  Emma has some developmental delays, but is sweet and fun.  She loves tagging along with the other kids when they are all together and Averlin has taught her the finer art of "dress up."  Emma's progress since adoption has been absolutely remarkable.  Truly I can't do it justice to try to explain, but the love and attention she has received from my parents has turned her into a completely different child.  I thought I had an individual pic of Emma, but I can't find it, so the group shot will have to do. :(

This is Lia.  Lia is still in China, but will become my sister officially this spring.  She is so beautiful and I cannot wait to meet her!!




Next is Sean.  Sean is also still in China living at the same orphanage as Lia, and he will become my brother also this spring.  I adore his shy smile after he recites his poem:




Finally, the following is a video from a family who volunteered at a summer camp for Chinese orphans last summer.  Both Lia and Sean are in the video.  I will be talking more about the group that hosts the summer camps in another post, but this is such a neat video, I hope you will take the time to watch it. (Maybe have a few tissues close by.  I can't even get through the first minute without some sniffles, but that might just be because this is so close to my heart).

I ♥ These Kinds of Moments

I love the little moments in life. Like when:

... I find a very "room temperature" stick of butter in the Barbie car, and I wonder how long it's been there, and it just strikes me as really really funny.

...I walk into my bedroom and see this, and even though I roll my eyes at the video game part, I love this moment.

...the kids are playing together, and, well, they're just cute.

I ♥ the little moments.