LOA!

After 56 days our LOA has arrived! Our agency received our letter this morning. They are Fed Ex'ing the paper work and we will have the document tomorrow. I am so pleased!

Tomorrow we get the document, then we can submit our I-800 application to US immigration. They will have our application by Friday Nov. 1. The current processing times are about 3 weeks. Once we have Immigration approval then it is 4-6 weeks for Travel Approval. Once we have TA we can buy our tickets and travel, usually 2 weeks later.

Let's do a little math. . . We could travel in 9-11 weeks. That would make departure to China around Jan. 3 - Jan. 17.  If the time in China gets too close to Chinese New Year (Jan. 30) our departure will most likely be push back to mid-February.

Now that we have our LOA we can finally send a package to Ella.  Her nannies told us her favorite toys are stuffed animals, dolls and a trike. We sent her a pink plush teddy bear, a plush doll, Hello Kitty coloring book, a dress, bag of dum-dums, photo book of our family and a disposable camera for the nannies to take some photos.

I am sure all the items will be community property, which is perfect. Every child there deserves something fun and special. I just hope Ella can have the photo book and understand what it means and can wrap her head around having a family. I also hope the nannies can take some photos of Ella. We sent a camera for Jacob. Jacob's pictures were less then stellar once we got home and had them developed, but it is worth asking.

Could not have hoped for better news today!

Ella!

Guess what was in my inbox this morning? Two pictures of Ella!

Wow! Hasn't she grown? She is about 36 inches tall (Jacob is 37 inches) and she weighs 25 pounds (Jacob is 29 pounds). We were really pleased to see she is wearing some braces for her feet/legs. When we got her referral they said they had not addressed her limb difference/ hip dysplasia. It looks like they are taking steps to improve her mobility. We also got some good news about her seizures. She is no longer on any medication and she has not had a seizure in over a year.

How I wish we could be with her now. Waiting seems so pointless. Maybe we'll get out LOA today.

Backsplash!

After 7 1/2 years in our house. . . I finally get. . . a backsplash!I could just die with excitement. When we built our home, getting a backsplash in the kitchen was cost prohibitive. We would rather spend that money on other upgrades. Any way, here we are. We got a killer deal on the tile. (Thank you Costco and Aunt Nae's Costco card.) The labor was about 1/2 the going rate. The installer takes jobs on the side from his full-time job. After one Friday evening and a Saturday: Voila! Transformation!

The tile is travertine, marble and glass. It looks great in the kitchen. I told Dave I wanted to sleep on the kitchen counter tonight so I could admire it. Keeping the kitchen area clean will be so much easier.

Salome

I love date night . . . love it! Last night Dave took me to the opera. We saw Salome. I had never seen it before and loved the creative approach the director took in the unique venue.  The theatre building that houses the Utah Opera is under renovation, so we went to the symphony's home for the performance.  Before dinner we went to "The Roof" for dinner. The first time I went there was on our second anniversary.  We have been a handful of times since. It was a perfect evening.

Our regular babysitter had to cancel about a week before for an unforeseen family commitment. Thank you Grandma and Aunt Janelle for stepping in so we could go! Not very many date nights left in my future. Once Ella is home it will pretty much be cocoon central around here and we will not be leaving Ella with anyone for quite some time. So, I enjoyed the evening all the more :)

Thank you sweetheart for getting me "two tickets to that thing you love."

Happy Birthday Ella

Happy Birthday Dearest Ella.

We had a great day as we celebrated Ella! We made cupcakes and the boys were very happy to decorate. We had lemon cupcakes with a lemon butter cream frosting. When I went to color the frosting pink, I was all out of red food coloring! Then I remembered Jacob's red fire truck cake, oh yeah . . . that would do it.  I texted a neighbor and thank goodness, she had some I could borrow.

We also had some birthday presents for Ella. We got her a tea set and pixie-tree house for her when she comes home. We also have a doll and coloring book we will mail to her as part of a care package. Finally, there is a little piece of luggage that I will bring to China with me. It is super cute and she can have all her little things in it for our traveling home.

Yesterday was a hard day for me. Honestly, I was just choking back emotion as I was shopping for birthday presents. She should be here. It is just hard to know that on her birthday she probably wont even know it; no cake, no presents, no one making a fuss over her. It breaks my heart, we have missed her first three years, three very important and foundational years. I just wish for her birthday we would have gotten her LOA. At least we are one day closer.

Happy Birthday Ella Xiu! We love you!

10302207704 from Karla S on Vimeo.

Pumpkin Patch

We had so much fun at the pumpkin patch. The boys got to wear their costumes and choose their pumpkins for carving. 

We ended up with 5 pumpkins, one for each of our children. Spencer and Jacob chose the biggest (of course), Ella's is white (I have never carved a white pumpkin, so I hope it works) and Dave chose a great one for Luke. . . we also got a tiny pumpkin for our Japanese child.

At the farm they had a corn maze, tractor and also hay wagon rides and face painting. It was crazy busy (we accidentally chose the day they had free hot dogs & drinks) and the place was crawling with people. Next year we will skip the fan-fare day and come when it is less crowded.

The boys had a great time. Dave and I did too. It is fun to imagine what next year and our five children will be like when we pick pumpkins :)

Enjoy some photos :)

Fun week

Okay, I am totally crazy in love with my boys. This week Jacob has been obsessed with his "Froggy Goes to Bed" book. I was kind of happy to see it go back to the library :) Luke was also very into books this week, reading them, eating them. . .you know your  average 16 month old activity. He also put his pants on his head and thought he was hilarious.  We also had some fun outside, but it is getting colder, so not many nice days left. Today we head to the pumpkin patch to choose our pumpkins and have some fun. I'll be sure and post photos.

Magic Trash Day

Very excited about trash!

One day a year our city provides these over sized trash containers for residents to use.  Here is the catch, it is gone in 24 hours. So, once a year we have a chance to clean out all the junk. I love to clean out all the junk, I am not a pack rat and would rather declutter then do almost any other household chore.  As soon as I saw the container I headed to the basement to find some things that have been hanging around too long.

As you can see we got rid of an assortment of junk; a big box of fabric from my college days, trophy from 1997, old notebooks and manuals for VCRs, transparencies (to be used with overhead projectors people!), broken lamps, laminated visual aids from speeches I gave in 1992, broken baby-gate (broken last week. . . Spencer & Jacob). . . It just feels so good.

Now, if only I can get Dave to sift through some of those boxes of cords, speakers, wires and technical treasures from  2001.

Love my boys

I love my boys. It is so fun to see them grow and change. Sometimes I forget how much they have grown and changed. Today, Jacob is wearing one of Spencer's old shirts he wore at age 3. My goodness, they are both so handsome! Do you think in a couple of years Luke will be wearing this shirt? Note however, none of Spencer's jeans/khakis made it as hand-e-downs.

A great weekend!

I love general conference weekend. The talks were so inspiring. It seemed several focused on the family and how important it is. It also seemed to focus on all the attacks on the family unit with fatherlessness, women abdicating nurturing roles and same gender marriage.  Family is so close to my heart. I see families and even the ideal of "family" being tossed aside. I worry for my children and what kind of world they will grow up in. I worry about what the world will tell them is acceptable and even "normal." I want so much more for them them then what the world has to offer. The world is ever changing, but the gospel "is an ever-fixed mark. That looks on tempests and is never shaken. . ."

I want my children to know they can be righteous and make righteous choices. I want them to have their own internal and eternal compass to guide them in the paths of true joy. I only get them for a few years, then for the rest of their life I have to trust the lessons they learned are deeply rooted. As a mom I want them to develop Christ-like qualities. I want them to be compassionate and courageous, kind and powerful, and to have a fire in their souls for the living waters only the Savior can offer.

How I adore the words and council of our prophet and leaders. Their words really resonated with me. Here are some things I took away from the sermons this weekend.

• Being a mother and nurturing my young children is the most important thing I can do right now.
• I need to be a good teacher and think of how to share ideas in meaningful ways to my children and my Sunday school class. "When the quiet promptings of the Holy Ghost come, you must have the courage to . . . go where those promptings take you. When you do this the lesson you deliver is no longer your lesson, but becomes the Savior's lesson." Elder David M. McConkie
• It is okay to feel sad and overwhelmed at times.  The Lord loves us so much and doesn't want to see us suffer but we can overcome it with His help. Be willing to look at all avenues to deal with depression and sadness. Remember to "Be still" and know who is in charge.
• I am so grateful for the priesthood. I am so grateful Dave honors his priesthood. I want my boys to be like their dad.
• Be aware of "Intellectual Bondage" and other subtle things that can block the spirit's influence. 
• I need to read the scriptures daily. Daily. There is so much power and peace.
• Be willing to love and serve others with my whole heart.
• Even if sin is "legal," it is still sin.
• I need to make sure I protect my time with my family.

Finally my personal testimony must be my priority, it will protect me.  Prayer, scripture study and serving others must be a daily habit. "May you constantly nourish your testimonies of the gospel that they may be a protection to you against the buffetings of the adversary." Thomas S Monson

I had a great time with my boys. Here are some photos from making doughnuts for priesthood session and watching the general sessions. I feel inspired and filled with love for my children and husband. Next Conference Ella will be home :)

I love conference!

I love conference.  The coloring pages make it fun for boys too. 

Missing someone

Can't wait to see this smile in person. I hope she will smile for me soon.