First Day of School.....

It's crazy to realize that it's already fall. With the kids going back to school and summer winding down, I just can't believe how fast they grow. Sometimes I wish I was the homeschooling mother. They spend way too much time in school. I feel a little deprived....but I won't flatter myself into actually thinking they would want to spend all day with me anyway. They have been in school two days and of course the little ones love it!



J.D. and Nick think it's great and they love their teachers. J.D. also really thinks eating lunch at school is cool. It was hard to send him to first grade but he's loving it and he even got an extra snack at school because he was the only one who said Thank You! Way to go bud! I can't believe Nick is in 3rd grade. Every time I filled out paperwork, I would have to say to myself "what grade is Nick in? is it really 3rd?" He's way too little to be learning cursive and times tables right???? Crazy.

Abi started a new school this year, Cedar Ridge, which means she is in middle school. That's an absolutely crazy idea too. Maybe this is all a dream and they are all still in preschool and running around the house in diapers. It's nice because Josh and Abi now are on the same bus again...at least in the morning. She is loving having 7 different classes and having a locker. We decorated it all cute the day before school (girls are clearly more fun in this regard) and made sure she could find all her classes. She found out she has some of her good friends in class with her and that made her a little less nervous. She is wondering where the prestigious "a la carte" lunch line is though. I told her maybe they just didn't have it set up for the first two days of school. She's hoping to see it next week.

Josh is off to a good start. He's not exactly thrilled to be back in school but he's got a good attitude and is going to keep working hard like always. The highlight for him is of course the golf team. He's really loving being a part of something. And of course he keeps telling us he needs a new club of some sort (don't ask me, I don't really know), but Russel keeps telling him his club is just great, etc. So I told Josh maybe for Christmas he could get the "R9" or whatever it is. He and his dad were at the golf course this morning and of course Dad is a little softie at times. On the way home they called to tell me that Josh is now the proud owner of an "R9 460." What???? But of course they had the golf pro hit the ball with Josh's club and then with the R9 and it clearly went an extra 50 yards so Josh has been right all along....he can hit better with the "R9." :) What awful parents he has that made him use a subpar club for all these months. It's a good thing we got that problem remedied.

With the kids going back to school, i wondered about how Meili would do. The kids have really spent almost every second together since being home and I wondered what her adjustment would be like. She slept late that morning and was not able to see the kids leave for school. When I got her up, much to my surprise, she wasn't frantically searching for the kids. She mentioned one of the kids names a little later on and I just simply said that Josh, Abi, Nick, and J.D. went to school. She nodded her cute little head up and down like she perfectly understood what that meant. We had a great morning and then met Daddy for lunch....which is becoming her favorite part of the day. When we got home we played outside for a bit while we waited for Abi's bus. When the bus passed our house, I said "look there's Abi's bus." We walked down to the corner and could see Abi just starting up the hill. As soon as Meili saw Abi, she took off running for her. I got emotional watching the two of them. Abi dropped her bag and scooped Meili up in her arms. Two sisters entwined in love. It was a moment Abi has waited for, for many years. She often says "mom, I can't believe it, I got the perfect sister in the whole world." I wholeheartedly agree.....as did Meili. They are perfect sisters and friends. Our two sweethearts. And as Grandpa calls them "his angels."

Since I have no pictures of Meili on the first day of school, I thought I'd include some pictures from our swimming day at grandma and grandpa's before school started.

Bear Lake with the family...

Today we spent some of the day at Bear Lake. We wanted to have one more fun day with Meili before the kids disappear during the day (school). We all had a blast, even little miss Meili. Abi brought along Hannah, one of her friends. We had some awesome raspberry shakes from Merlin's, add in some greasy french fries, and we were set to chill (in) and at Bear Lake. For anyone not familiar with Bear Lake, it is known for its chilly water temperature and unpredictable weather. However, today was perfect. Nobody sunburned or got food poisoned (yet). The kids sure are getting along well and definitely are loving mei mei! Just so it is clear and I am not accused of forcing Meili to plunge into the depths of the lake, she truly enjoyed most of the activities today, especially going under water. She did have a problem not wanting to leave when it was time. She loves to enjoy the moment. We sure are enjoying many special ones with her and the rest of the crew. We continue to receive emails from those in China who love Meili dearly. We sure love to hear from them as often as they write. We will try to let them experience as much of Meili's life here as we possibly can. We love you all.

It's Official.....She Loves Her Daddy!!

Need we say more?

First Family Picture :)

Here's our first official family photo! :)

Welcome Home Meili....

We are finally home and it feel so amazing to be here and back together as a family. We had an incredible journey in China and feel so blessed to be able to start another chapter in our lives. The flight home was long (over 20 hours) and Meili slept maybe 3 hours of the flight....if even that....and I got zilch sleep. Russel probably got about 3 hours. We then had about 8 hours before going to bed that night. We couldn't believe Meili and how well she handled everything on such little sleep. We arrived at the airport in SLC and were just so grateful to be done with the airplanes. We told Meili as we got on the last flight in Seattle that we just had 1 more airplane. She did amazingly well. She had her moments where she cried....one time she cried for about 25 minutes until we figured out she just needed a drink. But for the most part, we thought she did great! As we came down the escalator into the baggage claim area, we caught a glimpse of the kids holding up signs and wearing their shirts with Meili's picture. It was an emotional moment. Abi came running up the stairs to us and we all started crying. I'm not sure Meili really knew what was going on. I kept telling her to look on the kids shirts and see who was on them. I think by the time we got down the escalator she had a pretty good idea that we were finally home and that her brothers and sister were here to meet her. Grandma and Grandpa Hansen were there and Aunt Gina with little Brookey. It was awesome!! Gina even brought a stroller for Meili to be in while we got the luggage and walked to the car. Her husband thought she was silly to bring me a stroller for such a short walk but man I was grateful. Meili even let Josh push her. She was pretty shy at the airport and we told the kids to not overwhelm her and just let her have some space......that didn't work all that well but she didn't seem to mind. We put her in the carseat which she acted like a pro in. No fits or fussing. As we reached grandma's, we saw balloons hanging from the mailbox and a beautiful Welcome Home Meili sign on the front porch. It felt so good to be home. By the time we got in the door, Meili hit the ground running with the kids. She was jumping up and down, playing, chasing, laughing, etc. It was wonderful.....in fact I even got to catch an hour nap while she played....I don't think she even came to check up on me or see where I was. It was awesome to see all the kids just loving every second of being together.

We played at Grandma's for awhile and then left for Logan around 8:00 p.m. and Meili crashed hard just as we were coming into Cache Valley. As we arrived home, we were greeted by more balloons on our mailbox put there by a dear friend. It was wonderful to feel the love and support and oh so awesome to be home!!! We got Meili out of her carseat and into the house and she was off for the races again. Her cute silly personality was coming out strong again....even with no sleep. She was running around the house, exploring every room and having such a good time. At around 11:00, we finally got her settled down a little and got her ready for bed. We took her into her bedroom and then showed her all the kids bedrooms and where they were sleeping (which are all very close together). I wondered about how she would react to sleeping in her own room, etc. She put up a little fuss and kept pointing to Abi's room but then she laid right down and went to sleep and didn't wake up for 13 hours.....at which point I couldn't handle the kids begging anymore and I let them go in and wake her up.

It's been amazing to have her home with us and see the love between the children. Of course they fight over her every second and at lunch yesterday there were four sets of hands trying to offer her bites of food but school is starting next week so we are just cherishing every moment we have until then. She is just loving the kids and sometimes I wonder if she thinks Abi is her second mother. Things are crazy and overwhelming right now but we are just trying to enjoy every moment we can as a family. Just the little things.....family dinner, family prayers, summer nights with the kids playing, a giggle, a kiss, a sweet embrace.....that's what it's all about. We couldn't be more grateful for our little family and the joy they bring to us. Meili seems very happy and for that we are truly grateful. We love her little spirit and can't imagine life without her. Thank you all for your love and support, it has strengthened us and lifted us. We thank our Heavenly Father everyday for giving us the opportunity to love and care for this little angel. I want to share a quote I read this week. It sums up how we feel and what we have experienced and seen over the last several months. "We do not know the future, but our Father in Heaven does, and He will lead and guide us if we let Him. When we are in tune with the Spirit, we will see many small miracles happen in our lives...." (Ronald T. Halverson). We are so grateful for our knowledge and love of our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ has brought us true happiness and we will forever be grateful that he led us to our sweet little girl. Our lives will never be the same.

Farewell China...

As long as this trip has felt, it finally is coming to a close really fast.  Julie is currently finishing up last little packing details, Meili is snoring (not really, but she sure sleeps cute), and I am being lazy at the computer (I guess....Julie just knows what needs to go where!).  Today was so much fun with Meili and Julie.  We started out the day at Hong Kong Disney.  Yes, we did do what we were told not to.....we went to Disney.  Meili loved it.  She has no boundaries so total strangers are not a problem to her.  She seemed to be quite comfortable with the few kiddy rides we took her on.  It was well worth it to spend time that way on our last day in China

We then took a taxi to a mall near the Hong Kong Temple.  We did a little last minute shopping and then wandered in the general direction of the Temple.  It was cool to see Angel Moroni from the mall food court windows just like Lou Litchfield (sorry, now with a married name) said.  It is such a beautiful Temple in the middle of everything.  We enjoyed our few moments walking the small grounds and visiting with some couples coming out of the Temple.  We met a mission couple from Sandy, Utah, the Wilson's.  They were very nice and took our picture so we all could be in it.  After that we played in a park across the street and let Meili have her time unwinding.

We walked back to the Mall after the Temple.  Julie has carried Meili miles and miles on this trip.  She was about worn out when we finally got back to the mall.  Luckily we were able to get a stroller at the mall to spend a few more hours before we needed to get back to the hotel.  Meili is so cute with people she catches glances from.  She mostly waves, sometimes glares, and when she has had enough she lets us all know to back off.  Julie has been able to communicate with her very efficiently.  They are fun to watch.

Well, this trip has been all that we thought and hoped for and some more very sweet special moments we will cherish and hopefully recall.  We have met many wonderful people and have been touched by their personal journeys.  We would be ungrateful if we didn't thank the beautiful women at Beautiful Harbor for taking such special care of our little YuanYuan, Meili.  Lisa, Meilin, Grape, and others we love you dearly and know you are being blessed for the kindness you extend to these little ones in need of love.  It is a special mission you have chosen, God bless you.  President Gordon B. Hinckley said,"Love is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is not found only at the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arched across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, and neighbors! Love, like faith, is a gift of God. It is also the most enduring and most powerful virtue."  These women have shown us literally the fruit of LOVE.....We love you, ladies.  Our eternal family thanks you.

We are ready to bring Meili home and can't wait for her to meet her siblings and extended family and friends.  We have felt your love and prayers.  We have been sustained in our time of need.  We thank our Heavenly Father for answering our prayers in His own way and time.  We thank those of you who showed us by example that you need to do what you know you need to do...once your eyes are opened to what God wants you to do, a way will be prepared.  We have seen many small miracles in bringing Meili into our home and family.  We also have listened to others share similar stories.  Our journey is just beginning, just beginning.  Be careful what you pray for!!  We hope this blog finds you all well back home.  

Meili, we hope you will love us as we love you.  We are forcing a big change in your life.  Just know when you are older that we did it out of love.  That we did it so that you would know how you should be loved, in the most basic unit God has designed for us to learn and grow and become better and better....the Family.  There is a power in family that if we do our part we will learn sacred values and principles that will change us and prepare us for more understanding.  So when you are older and much wiser than us, we pray that you will look back on this decision that we have given chance to happen and know we did it out of LOVE.  God opened our eyes to your little life and touched our hearts with your sweet spirit and led us to you.  We don't understand it all, but we know that this is what we were to do at this moment in time.  You were loved in China and you were well taken care of, but it wasn't the end of your journey.  The women who loved you in China would say the same thing.  I have watched you ever so closely while you have been with us.  You are so special.  Sometimes you look in the mirror or at your reflection as if you understand more than we think, or also like you are searching for something.  So as we bring you into our family and someday you ask yourself why did this happen to me just remember simply the answer is because you are loved.  Remember you are special to not only us but to your Father in Heaven, who loves you.  You will hopefully feel this love from us in your life and we hope and pray that you will find God in your life and reach for him.  For it is only through his eyes that you will be able to understand this journey you have been on.  God can open our eyes and give us better understanding.  We pledge our devotion to you as a member of our family that we will love you and help you with all the energy and resources we have....we will also be looking to Heaven for those smaller details we will have overlooked.  Be brave little one.  Welcome home, finally.  You are great in our eyes and His.  We love you.  Your MOM and DAD (swak).  

Great job Julie.  I'm so proud of you.  I love you sweetheart.