It's A Wonderful Life

I just want to wish two of my children a Happy Birthday. One we had the honor to celebrate with and the other we desperately wish we could have in our arms. Happy Birthday Emma!!! Happy Birthday Gideon!!!

This morning at 7:30 I got a phone call. When it showed up as the USCIS I got butterfly's in my stomach. I was so excited. That didn't last too long however. Our officer was calling back from my previous messages. She informed me that she has still not received the paperwork and that she couldn't find it in the system. The conversation went on from there. To paraphrase, she had no idea where the paperwork was and figured it was not even in the lockbox. I gave her our receipt number and from there she looked several other places in the system and found something. She was going to get the Supervisor to try and get the package so they could get the approval out in the overnight mail today. When that was done she would email us to let us know. Our officer was very nice and gave me hope that things would get done today. I checked email A LOT and nothing. The average case takes 7-10 days to get to the officers desk. An expedited case is supposed to hit the officers desk in 3 d...

Not much to say today. Or a lot to say but I don't want to pull anyone down. The last few days have really been a struggle waiting and knowing our son needs to come home. There is nothing we can do to speed things up. No one to talk to and no where to turn for help. This is when we see what kind of faith we have. The struggle has been exhausting. It seems I get nothing done physically because all of my efforts go to trying to stay positive. I am mostly winning that battle but it's hard. I keep reminding myself that one day I will look back and the difficulties will fade in my memory but for today they are real and hard. Maybe tomorrow I will be able to look at my list of things to do and get one done. The emotional and spiritual work that is being done is good work just not something I can look at at the end of the day and feel accomplished. Exercising faith takes much effort and there is a lot of faith to be had. Faith that the money will come. Faith that the paperwork wi...

I have been trying to get a hold of our USCIS officer for two days to get an update on our progress. I left messages and then decided to call our agency to see what they knew. I guess they had been in contact with our officer and she is still waiting for the package to get to her. The USCIS received our application on February 13 and it takes 7-10 days for the officer to receive it. It seems that our officer should have the paperwork no later than tomorrow. This is a pretty cumbersome process. Red Tape stinks!! We're praying for speed with the paperwork, miracles with Gideon's heart and the Lord to bless us with the next set of fees that are due today. Our God is  the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He does preform miracles and we must believe that we will be recipients of them. This has been a spiritual journey. One that has taught us much about ourselves, our God and our abilities and desire to obey. We are being purified daily and I am grateful for that. I just ...

Hyrum, "I love you Mom. You my favorite one!" I happen to be the only one. :)

Creed came home Friday afternoon and asked if he could go to Prom. When he told me who he wanted to ask I told him he needed to ask that day or she would be taken. So in a matter of about 2 minutes he had his invite prepared. "I hope you CHEWS to go to prom with me" Attached to a vase of colorful gumballs. He then wrote his name on the gumballs so that she had to figure out who it was. While he was at the temple I dropped the invitation off at the girls home. She wasn't there because I had brought her to the temple with Creed and the other kids. I knew I was safe. Saturday we get a hurried knock on the door. At the step was her reply. Notice the half full jar of gumballs. We were able to make the invite so fast  because the gumballs are always there.  I love gumballs, they make me smile. :)

This story involves two children. The first, Hyrum. He has always told me that he loves me. For the last little while he has now added to that. "I love you sooo much. You so nice."  I hear this A LOT throughout the day. It really makes me feel good. I have to step back from myself and acknowledge that I really am not as mean as some of the children try to make me out to be. You see, my children know my weak points and being a good mom is one of them. Anyone that is a parent can just imagine how this can be used against me. :) Now the second child, will not be named, has a respect problem. Meaning, we're still praying this will develop in their life. Picture mom and dad being gone and a child that has no respect. Add in the older sibling and babysitter who, by the way, love authority. Not a pretty picture. Doug and I had to go to a meeting this evening and came home to find that the second, or non-respectful child, caused problems when it came time for d...

We Got It!!                    Our new LSC has been signed, emailed, and is on it's way to the USCIS. Hopefully we will get our I-800 approval in the next couple of days.  Please pray for renewed speed. No new info on Gideon. Bummer

Bria loves to draw! She uses probably 10-15 papers a day. She not only draws on paper but has now started drawing on lots of things. Sadly I have had to take pencils and pens away from her for a short period of time but she always gets them back. Today she asked if she could draw. Soon she came to me with a "present". Bria drew this by herself and even wrote my name. She is doing so well!! By, Bria age 4.4

We have been told that our new LSC has been issued and should be here today or tomorrow. That is much faster than I expected!  I really thought we would be another week before we would see anything. We have also been told that we can scan our signed LSC and email it to our USCIS worker because of the rush and then the delay. If you are in an adoption and are thinking this is a way to speed things up, don't get your hopes up. This was a very special circumstance. Myriam is now expecting travel in April. I looked at the Trade Fair schedule for Guangzhou and the next Trade Fair is April 15th. With our last adoption we ended up in China for an extra week because of a holiday but if we had waited it out we would have had to wait 6 weeks for travel because of the fall trade show. Everything get more expensive and the agencies don't like doing business with families in China those weeks. Well, now here we are again with the same concern. How do things always happen? No new update...

Days before the wedding Ressa needed to wash her wedding dress. Because she worked at a Bridal Shop she knew the tricks, there really aren't any so don't waste your money on dry cleaning. She took the dress to my big beautiful pink tub, Haha, and washed the dress in there. Hyrum came in ans sked what she was doing. He loves to be in the middle of everything. He sat on the side of the tub for a minute and very quickly asked if he could help. Ressa was so sweet about it and gladly accepted his help. He had such fun! He got in there and washed just like Ressa. A while later Bria came in and saw the fun and just climbed in. She really got into it. They were all so cute to watch. Ressa made good memories that day and deepened her connection with her brother and sister.  Just before starting to wash the dress Jason called and asked Ressa what she was doing . She told him she was washing her dress. He asked how and she said in the bathtub. He was so confused and said.  ...

Last Sunday Tyler and Jessica came over so they could say good bye to Ressa and Jason. Well, that's why we thought they came over. We had a good evening together and when it came time for prayer Tyler said, "We wanted to tell everyone something while you are all here. Jessica is pregnant!" Jessica is doing great. No  sickness as of yet and not extremely tired. They are expecting the beginning of October. We pray for health and a good pregnancy. What exciting times. This will make Grand Walker number 2. I am guessing that from here on out we will be adding children to the family on a regular basis. With 3 married and one looking for a great partner, we will have a continuous increase in our posterity. We knew this time would come. 20 years ago we had no idea this would come so soon. Somehow we don't believe that we will get older. Thank Heavens there are many good things that come with our progression in life. I love Grand kids! I only have one but if they are all a...

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. We don't typically do anything for Valentine's Day because our Anniversary is the end of January and Valentine's Day just seems too canned and commercial. I really do have a rebellious spirit and so, by nature, I somewhat boycotted Valentine's Day. Yesterday I felt like I needed to do something for the children and Doug to remind them that  I loved them. So I took advantage of the holiday. I made Doug his favorite dessert, or is used to be.:) For the kids I made simple valentine's and stapled ring pops and candies to them. The reaction and thanks were worth every minute of effort. The children felt special and loved. The best reaction I got was Bria. She took her Valentine, looked at me with big eyes and said "Me?' I responded "Yes, that's for you". She said "Why?" With one more reminder that she still needs lots of validation I said, "Because I love you and Daddy loves you." I ...

Yesterday we dropped Jason and Ressa off at the airport for the experience of a lifetime. They are going to teach english in an elementary school in a town in China. If you want to follow their journey this is their blog address.      To live will be an awfully big adventure    They are on their way to Hong Kong first to visit with Jason's Uncle and Aunt. They will spend  a few days there seeing the sights then on to China.We are so excited for them but will really miss them. Ressa has never been far from home. Even when she went to college it was a long time if we didn't see her for two weeks. We would talk on the phone several times a week. They found out yesterday afternoon that their apartment may not have internet so Skyping regularly may not work either. We got the pictures back from the wedding. There are some really good ones. Here is just a sampling. Ressa and Jason, Brigham City Temple Jason what posing for his parent...

A very timely quote to come through email as pressures mount and the Influenza rages in our home. "The Lord is in all of our lives. He loves us. He wants to bless us. He wants us to seek His help. As He guides us and directs us and as He hears and answers our prayers, we will find the happiness here and now that He desires for us." —Thomas S. Monson He does guide and direct us. He does hear and answer our prayers. I am so grateful for these blessings and so many more. I am especially grateful for an understanding of why I am here and what the Lord desires for me. Without that knowledge I would be lost in the darkness. Without His loving help I would have no hope.

About 10 minutes after publishing the last post I got a call from our agency. It was good news. DHL arrived at 5:15 their time, about 2 hours late. Our LSC arrived!  30 minutes later another call from Myriam. This was not so good. Gideon's birth date was wrong on the LSC. That is very VERY bad news. We will most likely not get our I800 approval with this mistake. Myriam will try but I'm not holding my breath. This will most definitely pose a problem in China when we go to the consulate. Because of this we will have to have a new LSC issued. How long will that take? Who knows. We can't even do anything until the 19th of February. Here's hoping for another miracle. God must have something good in store!!!

Well, our LSC did not come in the DHL package our agency got yesterday and no DHL today, like they were told. Unfortunately, all offices in China are closed for a week for Chinese New Year. If the agency doesn't get a package on Monday then we won't see the LSC until the 21st at the earliest. So much for promises and trusting what they say. Myriam, the owner of Agape Adoptions, is much more frustrated with this than I am. I just have to leave it all in the Lord's hands. I don't know His purposes in these delays but He knows all and I must be patient. That doesn't mean I will get much done though. My faith isn't quite that strong yet. :) There is another little boy that needs many prayers right now. If you remember I posted about a boy named Leo . He just turned 5 and has a sever heart condition. He was scheduled to get surgery in another country but got pneumonia.  About 2 weeks later he was admitted in the hospital. I'm not sure how long he was there but...

This was originally posted on  aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com I chose to cut and paste this post knowing that some will be more likely to read it without having to click through to another blog. This blogger speaks truth that we all need to hear, including those that already serve.  Elder Dallin Oaks spoke in the October 2012 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and pleaded for all to "Protect The Children". Please take the time to read that talk as well. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013 Was God Just Kidding? This post has been mulling in my heart for a really, really long time.  I have prayed.  If you are 'not in the mood', then please just skip it.   If you decide to read, proceed with caution and remember that what I share, I share in love and through deep conviction in my  own  heart.  ******************** Remember Lisa {Karl's aunt who instigated the blind date between A...

A belated post. This took place about 3 weeks ago. I was waiting for the pictures to appear but I still can't find them so here is the story without pictures. We got more snow today and the temperatures have dropped again. It is 14 degrees at 1:45 pm. A little on the cold side!! I know all you people in colder areas think I'm a wimp  Well let me tell you, I AM. I hate the cold and would prefer to live somewhere perpetually sunny, Fiji. :) One positive that comes with the snow is the fun. Yes, I have already posted about sledding behind the four wheeler but this time Hyrum and Bria did it all by themselves. Marshall came in and insisted that I go outside because Hyrum wanted to tell me something. For a split second I thought "Can't he come in and tell me?" I put my coat on and went outside. Hyrum was ecstatic!   He said "Mom, I went by my self!"  I had him go on again and took some pictures. There was no way to capture the excitement...

I stole this picture from Facebook. Sorry Kristen. Our photographer and niece posted  a few last night. I can't wait until the rest of them come back.                                                What a great crew !! Now we just need Gideon home.

We just got word that our LSC was issued today. The LSC is the letter that officially offers the child for adoption to us. We will sign it acknowledging that we accept the referral. We should get the document in the mail on Thursday. Great news!!!  I really needed good news today. :) We were hoping that this would come through before the end of the week. It is the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations so starting Monday of next week all offices in China will be closed for 10 days. We now can do all of the US side of the paperwork and miss having down time during the holiday. Hopefully everything will be ready to submit to the consulate in China at the end of the holiday. It is starting to look very likely that we will be in China in March. YEAH!! No new info on Gideon. That probably means he is still in the hospital. We are absolutely going to need oxygen for him on the way home. We found out that Cathay Pacific will allow O2 concentrators and they can also provide ox...

Not to long ago our daughter Hannah, 12, was asked by a friend how many kids she wanted. Her reply, "Not too many, it would be hard to take care of them financially. Probably about 10." That's my child!!