We have Liddia!

Words cannot describe the range of emotions we have felt over the past hours.

We flew to Urumqi on Thursday April 31st and arrived around 2:00 pm. Our guide Jenny met us at the airport and told us we would meet our daughter at 3:00! Wow, that is fast, we were emotionally prepared to meet her on Friday. We didn't feel ready.

It never works out exactly as you picture it in your mind. We had a lot of time to imagine what this day would be like. We imagined a quiet, private, serene setting--appropriate for such an important event.

Well, it was a bit different than that. We met her in a photo studio. Yes, that is right, a photo studio. It isn't how we imagined it, but oh well. For our guide it was practical. We needed a family picture for the government paperwork, and she was anxious to get it done, so meeting at the studio saved time!

It all worked out fine. There was a small upper room that we met in for a few minutes and got acquainted. Then they had us take a family photo before we went to the government office to be interviewed and fill out paperwork. After that we went to the notary office to have all the paperwork officially notarized. It took a long time.

Liddia is very outgoing, not shy at all. It is really early to tell, but she has taken to Rachelle very well. Hopefully a secure bond has started, I think so.

Liddia is a talker! Sure wish we knew what she was saying! She seems very happy and content. Not scared and timid like I thought she would be at first. The orphanage director came to the office while we were there. She said Liddia is very well liked by the other kids and has a lot of friends. She has quite a sweet personality.

We have to do more government visits and paperwork, so off we go. It is now Friday morning.

Last Day In Beijing

It has been a fun two days in Beijing and now we are packing for Urmqi! It has been a fun two days in Beijing. Tomorrow we fly to Urumqi to finally get Liddia! We are both excited and nervous. Actually as we are starting to pack I have felt more terrified than anything. Coming to China has always been someday in the future not right now! I have always kind of taken the Scarlett O'Hara approach, I'll think about it tomorrow. Well tomorrow is coming fast. And frankly my dear I'm scared out of my mind. We probably won't meet Lidda for two more days. But it is possible that it could be tomorrow! We will soon find out while you are all having a good nights rest and we are on yet another airplane. I just have to share a quick story about our dinner last night. Brendon is adventuresome and wanted to try authentic Beijing food. Who can blame him, we are only here once. I was very tired by this time, it being some crazy hour like 3 in the morning at home, and I had just endured the never ending city, I mean Forbidden City. So reluctantly I drag my tired feet, and half dazed self out into the streets of Beijing to try and find a place to eat. The only problem was how were we going to order, or even know what we had ordered? So after asking several restaurants if any one there spoke English we finally found one with a waitress willing to try. We sat down to look at the menu and I knew right away this was a bad idea. By this time I was done, I was ready to go back to the hotel. We stumbled through ordering by pointing at pictures of things that looked remotely familiar. Well, the sea food platter was most interesting. We didn't know exactly what it was but it had tentacles! Brendon thought he was funny by taking this picture in my tired and hungry state. It wasn't very funny at the time. But what was funny is Brendon trying desperately to convince me that the seafood platter was the best thing ever. When we finally got back to the hotel he admitted it was pretty disgusting. Then he grabbed a energy bar from the suit case!

The Great Wall of China, Birds Nest, and Emperor's Tombs

Today, Spencer, Drew, and Max visited some pretty interesting places in China.

The most interesting and famous place we visited today was the Great Wall of China. The wall was built to protect the northern border of the Chinese empire. Parts of this wall were built 200 years BC! That is a long time ago!

The wall is 5,500 miles long, approximately 20 feet high and 16 feet wide in most places. Entire on again, off again construction took centuries.

An interesting myth about the Great Wall is that it can be seen from the moon, which is not true.

We visited Olympic Stadium built for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is known as the 'Birds Nest'. It cost over $420 million to build and can hold 80,000 people. Unfortunately it isn't used much now.

Lastly, we visited the tombs of emperors that lived during China's Ming Dynasty. It is amazing the work and detail that went into these tombs. The emperors designed these themselves and seemed to spare no expense.

Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City

We are posting information about the interesting places we visit in China for our boys school classes. We hope that this will be educational and a fun way to learn about China. This post is for the boys classes.

Today the boys (in spirit) visited Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing China! It is named after Tiananmen Gate, which means gate of heaven's pacification. It is the largest city square the world and is of great cultural significance in China. It is also the site of several important events in Chinese history.

If you look closely behind the boys you can see the picture of Mao Zedong above the Tenanamen Gate. Mao was a Chinese revolutionary and established the Peoples Republic of China in 1949. He held power in China until his death in 1976.

In 1989 there were protests in Tenanamen Square let by students and intellectuals. These were mainly non violent protests led by Beijing students to encourage continued economic reform and liberalization. It eventually evolved into a mass movement for political reform. The movement lasted seven weeks The government steped in to stop the protests on June 4, 1989. Tanks and troops of the People's Liberation Army moved into the streets of Beijing, using live fire while proceeding to Tiananmen Square to clear the area of protestors.

The boys also visited The Forbidden city. This is a huge complex where for almost 500 years China's emperors and their families lived. It has many beautiful brightly colored and ornate buildings where emperors did their work and met with forign dignitaries.

Not For the Faint of Heart

Sorry this post is so long. If you want to just skip to the good part, we made it to Beijing, but not before some pretty intense moments.

Here's the story: As mentioned, our friend and former home teacher Dave Richens, helped us get to China using his employee companion passes on United Airlines. It saved us a lot of money and was very generous of him. Since we are flying stand-by, it has also been an adventure. We decided the cost difference was worth it, even though some would call us crazy.

Dave has taken very good care of us, closely watching the flights. Since it is spring break, a lot of people are travelling and the planes are full. Well, he called Saturday afternoon about 1:00. He told us the flight we were planning on for the next morning at 5:50 am was filling up and he was concerned we wouldn’t get on.
He gave us some options and the best one seemed to be to try for a flight that left that evening. That meant we had to leave in 1 ½ hours! That threw us into emergency mode, it was quite an abrupt change, but better than being stuck in the airport and not making it to Beijing on time.

Amazingly, we were ready. Rachelle had prepared so well that we were pretty much packed and ready to go. We were still frantic tying up loose ends, but it was possible.

I even had time to give the boys and Rachelle blessings before we left. There were a few tears as we left, from both kids and parents. We wanted a little more time to say goodbye for 3 weeks. We were also planning to go to Spencer and Drew’s first flag football game at 2:00 on Saturday. I feel bad about missing that.

Spencer played quarterback. The report we got later is that they were awesome. They won the game something like 32 to 12, and Spencer did great in his debut as QB!

Back to the story, Dave was waiting for us at the airport with beads of perspiration on his forehead because we were cutting it so close.

Well the Chicago flight that Dave hoped we could get on was full, and we didn't get on, but our luggage did!
The other option through Denver was also full, but the flight to San Francisco, that originally looked overbooked, had available seats, so we went.

As we left he promised to do all he could to get our luggage to SF on the next flight. He even talked to a supervisor to make sure it would happen. Unfortunately they didn’t follow through. Long story short, our bags were supposed to get to SF at 10:00 am so we could claim them, then check them into our noon flight to Beijing.

When we got to the airport we found out that only one of our bags made it on that flight, the other two went through Denver and wouldn’t be here until about 11:00. Yikes!
Would we have time to claim them, run to United International, check our luggage, go through security, and run to our gate and catch the flight?? I started to sweat.

What should we do? I got advice from the ticket agents and all they could tell me is “you can try”. I didn’t even know if it was possible, but as I listened for any kind of inspiration I felt it would work out, so we put our faith to work.

As we waited at the baggage claim carrousel I got increasingly nervous. As Murphy would have it, our bags, marked priority, came out last. The seconds ticked away and my adrenaline was pumping. I tried not to think about the fact that this was the only plane out of SF to Beijing today, and if we didn't make it...
When the first bag came out I took it and ran to the international ticket counter with instructions for Rachelle to follow as soon as the second one appeared.

Just as I was finished checking the first bag, Rachelle ran up, we got both bags checked, whew.
Now on to security. By now it was boarding time, oh no, look at the line. Thank goodness they let us go through the priority line. We even told a few people on front of us our predicament, and the let us go ahead. If you can believe it, I was selected for the full body scan and a pat down. After getting dressed again, (shoes, belt, watch, etc.) we were off running (me sprinting, Rachelle running) to gate 96.
It was a little confusing to get to the gate because it was down an escalator. As I got near the escalator, I hear over the PA “this is the final call for flight 889 to Beijing…” So I head down the escalators , “whoa, I better find Rachelle!” (remember me sprinting, Rachelle running). For a split second I thought I lost her. As we breathlessly get to the gate the nice lady tells us, next time we really should give ourselves more time! Believe me, we will!

I was never so greatful to walk down a boarding ramp.
As we got to our seats and sat down I was just so grateful it all had worked out, we made it. And, we are in business class!

The impression was that it will all work out, and it did.

What a rush, those adrenaline junkies that do crazy things just for the rush ain’t got nothing on us!

Through it all Rachelle was amazingly calm. As we were leaving one of the many ticket counters we visited she said, “Thank you so much. And I hope no one treats you bad today.” He said, “well thank you!” not quite knowing how to respond.

That is the kind of woman I married. I am a lucky man.

The Lord does notice us...

Spencer W. Kimball said, "The Lord does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs."

So many people have helped us with this journey. The Lord has truly met our needs through them. Here are just a few of the people that have helped us along the way.

Most recently, a very dear friend Dave Richens has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help us get to China. He was so kind to offer employee companion passes. This was such a financial blessing to us. He went to work early to help us...as it turned out, we really needed him and we wouldn't have made it without him. (More about our funny luggage issue at the bottom.)

My brother Mitch and sister-in-law Amanda have made great sacrifices to come from Ohio to Utah and take on the colossal task of caring for 5 boys for 3 weeks, along with one of their own! I don't think they know what they got themselves into (don't tell them yet). They are wonderful, and we trust them immensely and our boys are very excited to hang out with them. Having them with the boys has put our mind at ease.

My mother-in-law Sonia has been a constant emotional support and encouragement for Rachelle and helping us with whatever we have needed along the way.

My mom and dad, who have also supported us in every way imaginable, yesterday dropped everything at a moment’s notice to take us to the airport when we realized it was necessary to take an earlier flight. (Side note...my wife is incredibly organized. She had everying ready so when Dave called a 1:00 PM Sat and said because of the flight circumstances it didn't look good leaving Sun as planned. He asked if we could leave in 1 1/2 hrs by 2:30...we actually did it. She is amazing!)

My brother Nordell who is a medical doctor has helped us with the physicals and endless medical consults as we received health information from the adoption agency. Including just yesterday to call in a last minute prescription to battle a sinus infection.

By boss Georges Bonnet who helped us after we learned that Wei Zhong Ou, our first China daughter passed away. He facilitated the wonderful knowledge that she could be sealed to our family for eternity, and then performed the sealing in the SL Temple.

My co-worker Marc Ferguson who was kind enough to supply us with movies and audio books to keep us occupied for the over 40 hours we will be on an airplane before we are through.

My brother Dev and sister-in-law Dixie who planned a going away party that we couldn't attend because we had to leave early. As well as their wonderful example as adoptive parents themselves.

If I keep going, this post will be way too long. I could mention so many words of encouragement and little acts of kindness. Thank you all for all you have done. Sorry I can't mention you all.

Now about our luggage. This is kind of funny, I am sitting here in my skivvies writing this because I only have one set of clothes at this point...everything else went to Chicago, we are in San Francisco awaiting a noon flight to Beijing. I am sure it will all work out. We are hoping our luggage makes it to SF by 10 so we can take it with us to Beijing. But if not...oh well we have the clothes we are wearing, right?

(Last minute update...Dave just called and said our luggage made it on the flight and should be here by 10! YEAH OUR OWN TOOTH BRUSHES!!!)

From Excelsior To China!

Taking the boyz with us!

We have shrunk three of our kids and are putting them in our suitcase and will be pulling them out to take pictures of them in the different places in China. These posts are for their school classes. We hope that this will give them an interesting first hand look at a place they have only read about in their history books. It should be fun for them and for us.

Would you like to take an adventure with us to China? My boyz would too! So we are packing them in our suitcase with us! We are leaving Sunday March 27 and flying for 18 hours to arrive in Beijing China. Do you remember when China hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008? That is our first stop. We will see the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City among other sites.

When you read this on Monday morning we will have only been in China for a few hours and getting ready for bed. Crazy hu?

Our Journey will take us almost in a complete circle around China. If you look at the map. We start in Beijing, then we go to Urumqi, then Guangzhou, and our last stop will be in Hong Kong.

Click on the Map to get a closer view!

Here are some interesting facts about China. Some you may already know from your studies at Excelsior.

*The Great Wall of China was started over two and a half thousand years ago and is more than 5,000 km long.

*One-fifth of the world's population lives in China.

*Chinese people live in modern buildings in the towns, farmhouses in rural areas; houses made of bamboo and even caves in the mountains and sampans (houseboats) on the rivers and in harbours.

*Chinese wildlife includes tigers, leopards, snow leopards, monkeys, yaks and giant pandas. The bird life includes peacocks, parrots, cranes and storks.

*Bamboo is a very fast growing plant which can grow up to one metre a day. Its eaten by Pandas.

*Thousands of years ago the Chinese had developed a calendar, writing, the wheel and a thriving silk industry and was advanced in astronomy and mathematics. It was the first to invent gunpowder hich was used for fireworks.

*China is particularly famous for its ceramics - in fact, guess where our word for "china" plates comes from!!!

*Chess is also a favourite pastime. Other popular board games are Go and Mahjong.

*The most important celebration is the Chinese New Year. This is the biggest national holiday and shops and offices are closed for three days. As well as the traditional festivals, the Chinese commemorate the founding of the Chinese Communist Party and there a number of special celebration days such as a teachers' day.

Gratitude Doesn't Seem To Describe It

Last night as I was going to bed I became overwhelmed with gratitude for the many blessings we have. We have been blessed beyond measure during this amazing journey. We can look back and see how the hand of the Lord has been at every turn, every stop light, every hill, and every mile post. There is no doubt that our little girl born thousands of miles away in a country that is unknown to us, is known by our Heavenly Father. It amazes me how every detail has been made perfect for us.

My gratitude extends to our family and friends who have been so supportive of us throughout this process and beyond. It means the world to us. You have all been angles to us in your own way. Each of you have in some way helped lift us up and encourageing us to keep moving forward. WE FEEL SO LOVED!

There have been so many miracles that have happened right before our eyes and the word grateful just doesn’t seem adequate to describe the swelling of my heart or the tears in my eyes. I just want to be sure that everyone knows that this has happened because of the love Heavenly Father has for all His children.

This has become my favorite scripture I hope you all can see the similarities in what we are feeling.

Alma 26:35-37

35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

36 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land.

37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

I just can’t say it any better than that! God is Good!!!

Now I better get my to do list done!  Less than one week to go till we are on a plane.  (You can't see it but I'm doing a happy dance right now.)

We Are Going To China Baby!!!!!

We received our dates for travel.  We leave March 27, meet Liddia abt. March 29, and fly home April 16.  It is 20 days away from our boyz and I am freaking out about that, but I know they are in good hands.  Mitch and Amanda  you are life savors. 

Children's Sociable 2011

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We have TA!!!!!

We heard this morning that we have Travel Approval.  Yeah!!!  We should know in a couple of days our travel dates.  Let's hope they stick with leaving on the 23rd.  That is one week baby!!! 

Roller Coster Ride To China

We received word last Friday that our long awaited Travel Approval was coming.  Then on Saturday we learned we could be traveling as soon as March 23, but we still had to wait on TA to be sure.  Well....  TA they thought would come possible Monday or Tuesday.  Well, both days have come and gone and still no TA.  We are just on a crazy roller coaster ride for awhile.  That is okay though because we know who is REALLY in charge here and He is just making sure everything is in order.  I trust that.  But either way we travel next week or the next.  We are inching our way closer and closer.  I'm just enjoying the ride!!!

Best Decision I Ever Made!!

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Not Even For A Scooby Snack???




Maxine and Benina make pretty cute girls!!



Notice the gun!   He had to boy it up somehow!

Okay my husband is going to kill me when he finds this out!!!

I needed Ben to try on some of Liddia's things because I was worried about how they would fit her.  Ben is only an inch shorter than Liddia so I naturally thought this was a good idea.  At first Ben wanted nothing to do with it.  To say he was mad was an understatement.  He is only two, how dose he know it is his sisters dress?  After a bribe with a treat or two he finally gave in.  The funny part of this is that he HAD to have his gun or he was not going to have a thing to do with it.  I guess he had to hold onto his manliness some how right?  It is funny he is such a boy.  Bribe him with food and give him his gun and it's all okay. 

When Max got home he couldn't believe what I did to his brother and said "I would never do that."  Oh Really?  Not even for a treat?  Well, you see how long he hung on to his conviction!  My boys make life so fun!

All of this girl stuff is so foreign to all of us.  Even me!  I think over the years I have become part boy.  So all of this frilly stuff kind of freaks me out.  In a good way though.  Still no word about Travel Approval hopefully next week.  Keep us in your prayers.

Ladybug....Ladybug...

Please look past the chocolate splatters from  the unknown "someone"

I was noticing how "someone" had splattered our ceiling with chocolate pudding yesterday and thought I saw a big glob of something.  Ohhh  I was getting frustrated with the apparent mixer bandit until I saw that the glob was really a lady bug.  What is the big deal?  Well ladybugs are known as a symbol of good luck in the Chinese community. In China adoption, it is considered a sign that travel is imminent when the adoptive parent sees one.


Sooooo....   I hope this is a good sign.  I mean really who sees lady bugs on their ceiling the first part of March with snow on the ground! 

My Biggest Blessings

I feel like I’m 9 months pregnant waiting for the Dr. to tell me he will induce me. I’m exhausted both emotionally and physically. This waiting can be draining. I just want a phone call telling us we can buy airplane tickets. So instead of waiting, I decided to focus on my blessings, which I have so many.

My biggest blessings are my six boyz. Yes six! I’m including Brendon as one of my boyz. I love him! He is my best friend who understands me. He trusts my judgment, even when I don’t. He knows me inside and out and still loves me. He is my hero, my example, and my sweet heart. His is an amazing dad and I am so lucky he choose me!


My baby boy has me wrapped around his finger. He is full of so much love and is overflowing with laughter. He thinks I’m pretty cool, and I’m enjoying it while it lasts. He is becoming more and more into a little boy, but he will always be my sweet baby.

Max is my super hero who has an imagination that is second to none. I love to look out our back window and watch him in the heat of a battle with a dragon, or flying to the rescue on his horse swing. He is such a great big brother who sings to Ben when he is hurt and makes up dances for his cousin Luke for his birthday. He makes me smile and laugh every day.

Drew is my boy who has the heart of a lion. He is tough as nails, but sees others needs (especially mine), tries to help or hug or joke to make it better. He is as loyal as they come and is a true friend. I love his sparkly eyes and his laugh. He has a sweet testimony and tries to do his best to follow the Savior. I love that he never forgets to pray for his sister or anyone else who is on our current prayer list.

Spencer is my wonderful boy. When he was very little he would say “I’m a bad boy” and I would have him repeat “I’m a wonderful boy” as many times as he could. He is wonderful; he puts all his effort into all that he does whether that is in sports or school. I love to watch him handle a football and run into the end zone for a touchdown. He loves people and is friends with everyone. The other day at school got into a bit of trouble and his teacher tried to move him somewhere else. She stopped and said “I can’t find a place for you anywhere you are friends with everyone. It is so true!

Ethan, is my oldest son and my trusty right hand man. He is a superior snowboarder, a follower of Christ, and an excellent example to his younger brothers. He is so fun to be around and talk to. I love to surprise him with an ambush from a dart gun, and tackle him in the living room when he isn’t expecting it. He says “mom I don’t think moms are supposed to do that, but I’m glad you do.” It melts my heart. He still thinks I’m okay at 13.


All I can say is ….. It really is a wonderful life. I am so blessed.

This is worth watching

Our Special Blanket

 My boyz Spencer and Drew have a great friend Jayden.  We think the world of him and his family.  They are the kind of family that make life in the neighborhood great.  Over Christmas we were door bell ditched with a amazing surprise left behind.  It was this beautiful blanket.  I love this blanket not just because it is so adorable, but because I know the love it was made with.  Jayden's mom has a sister that was adopted from Korea and knows the amazing journey that adoption can take a family.  She is an amazing women with a heart of gold.  My boyz love to go to their home because she is so kind to them.  We plan on taking this special blanket to China with us and use it as her cuddle blanket, because we know how much love was put into it. 

Ben had to be in a picture

I know the time to get our travel approval is getting close.  After four years and many ups and downs  we will be right there to get her just as soon as God allows.    It will not be to much longer now till we can hold our sweet little girl and kiss her lovable cheeks and finally tell her how much we love her.

It's Sociable Time

In our small town they have what is called the "Old Folks Sociable"  it is a time to honor those who have lived life and give of their knowledge and experience.  It has been going on for over 100 years.  I just love the tradition of our little town.  Along with this is the "Children's Sociable"  the kids are required to audition for the chance to perform for all the schools and an evening performance for the town.  It is a VERY BIG DEAL!! 
Well this year I thought the boys would  pass, but I got a big "No way"!! As soon as their Aunt Dixie called for help they were in, plus Ethan got his friends involved too.  Dixie put Drew in as Elvis and the rest of the gang danced 50's style to Blue Suede Shoes.  It has been a fun experience for them and they love being with their cousins.  Enjoy the show!!!  Oh did I mention that THEY MADE IT!!  They will be performing on the 19th of March.

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