Three birthdays in a row!

Olivia, Eliza and Zachary's Birthdays are all between the 3rd week of November and the first of December.  It feels like a non-stop party!  Especially considering Thanksgiving and then Christmas right after.  I really love this time of year and it's even more fun with my three birthday girls and boy!


Mike had to travel to New York for work most of the month of November but came back just in time for Olivia's birthday.  Unfortunately, he missed Eliza's but we compensated for that by dragging her birthday out a few extra days.  She took full advantage of the situation of course! 


Olivia's birthday was on a Saturday, so we went to the mall for a little shopping and lunch.  For Eliza's birthday we went to see the Christmas lights at Thanksgiving Point.  Zachary mostly looked forward to a quick lunch at Thai Drift followed by dinner that night at a noodle house.  We are lucky to have so many international restaurants so close to our home!  Zach was in heaven!

Zach chose the noodle house for his birthday meal.  We all loved it!

Those iPhones sure are interesting ;)

Grace, Cami and Grandma at Olivia's birthday party

Why We Miss China!

Three Years Ago in China...

I can't believe it's been three years since our trip to China to adopt Grace! It's easy to remember because we were flying into Beijing on Zachary's birthday, which happens to be tomorrow!

Zachary has grown just a bit since then...now he looks down at me from his lofty 5'9' :) Of course, Kirk at 6'4" towers over me now! We all have so many memories of China and since we've been there twice around Christmas time, those feelings are always strong during December.

Several times over the last week Kirk or Zach would say to me..."I miss China!" A song we heard playing over and over (I Saw Three Ships) or the bitter, dry air will remind of us our time there and makes us wish we could go back soon. Mike was lucky to have a business trip there this summer, so he has some new memories of China.

China to me, and I think our whole family, is more than just an interesting place to travel. It holds dear memories for us of our first moments and days with both Eliza and Grace. Lives have been changed and required not a little bit of courage, bodies healed and grown in miraculous ways, and love has been given and received.

I am so grateful for the direction our lives have taken and to be blessed with my beautiful family!

Now that I'm back to the blog, I hope to add a few more entries from the last few months and a few more memories and pictures of China.

Grace was SO tiny! She looked more like 7 years old than 10! ( Yes, Zach and I just had to have our eyes closed for this picture.)

Jack and Harry

Our two students from Chengdu, China. We hosted them in our home for about 3 weeks in July. We loved having them with us and showing them around our area. It was a sad day when they had to leave, but we are glad to have new friends!

Harry and Jack at Tucanos. I asked Jack what he liked the best and he said "The Meat!"

The boys at church thought Harry and Jack were so cool!

Enjoying the views and gardens at the Provo Temple.

Playing games at cousins house.

Jack and Kirk playing basketball at our house.

Olivia and Eliza shopping with two other students, Vivian and Nancy. They are our new friends too! Eliza especially loved having new girl friends.

Kirk and the four students playing UNO. Our neighbors were hosting the girls at the time and we took them shopping for the day.

We are hosting two students, Jack and Harry, from Chengdu. We've been having a great time taking them to fun activities and eating great food!

Happy Birthday Grace!

Dinner at Chuck A Rama

Party with friends in the afternoon

Grace at girl's camp

First the reunion, then girl's camp...now we've celebrated Grace's 13th birthday. So much fun in the first few weeks of June!

Earl Family Reunion

The best part of the reunion was being together!

Dinner time was great for gathering everyone together.

Eliza and Olivia at the bridge by the lodge.

Pizza night was a hit! Especially with the pizza oven that was on the deck!

Eliza reading to Roni

Playing games

Trying out the boat on the fish pond

Enjoying the pool with cousins

Zach was the rock wall champion!

Playing "sproutball" at the activities center. Cheryl and I played a few games of basketball too. If there wasn't so much good food, I think I would've lost some weight!

Salt Lake City Field Trip

It was a wet and cold spring day for a field trip, but we had fun anyway! We also went to the Pioneer Museum next to the capitol. There were a few delays with so many things to see and do with a big group of 4th graders. Fortunately, the bus pulled into the school about 2 minutes before the bell rang!

Olivia and I at the State Capitol Temple Square fountains and Salt Lake City Temple in background

Olivia and friends in front of the historic Beehive House, home of Brigham Young.

Zachary's choir festival

I was lucky to be a chaperone for Zach's choir for festival today. They are an awesome choir! I loved hearing them and the other choirs sing such beautiful, uplifting songs. There are some really talented choirs and directors in our area. (Zach is in the middle front, closest to the girls in green).

Conference: LDS leaders emphasize service, families, temple work (Gallery Viewer)

ksl.com - LDS leaders emphasize service, families, temple work (Gallery Viewer) (Click on the link to see the pictures.) We had a great conference weekend. (Conference is a semi-annual meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).

Some of my favorite talks were about service and the Church's welfare program that is now 75 years old. Part of the welfare principles are about being self-reliant and serving others. One speaker said that when we feel compassion for others, we need to put that compassion into action. In other words, do something!!

There were so many helpful topics, all of which were uplifting and centered on Christ. You can access any of the talks on LDS.org under the conference section.

Eliza and Asami...

Dear Asami, I don't know if you can get e-mails right now so I thought I'd make this post just for you! How are you doing? We aren't sure if you are able to go to school right now or if you are even in your own home. Are there still problems with gas and food shortages in your city? We are all still praying for you and hope that you and your family are safe and comfortable. We know it is a difficult time for all of you and want you to know that we care! Love, Mom, Dad, Kirk, Zach Grace, Olivia and especially Eliza!!

Carl Bloch: "The Master's Hand"

BYU Art Museum exhibit of Danish artist Carl Bloch. Most are religious and feature stories from the life of Jesus. We were very impressed by the detail and beauty of his work. Most of the paintings were on loan from churches in Denmark and have never been in an exhibit before now. We especially loved the altar pieces, which are huge paintings and are filled with light and emotion. If you are in the area, go see this before May 7th. You won't be disappointed!

"Seeking What's Good"

I love this uplifting song!

Asami, Eliza and friends...

Still finding more pictures of Asami's visit!

Eliza just LOVES Asami. Can you tell from their pictures together? It's no wonder that she did, Asami was very sweet and kind to her. Nao, Asami, Eliza, Haruka and Asuka after their high school day. They came over for a little while and played games. Eliza had a great time, of course!

Wife of LDS apostle reaching out to people of Japan - ksl.com

Wife of LDS apostle reaching out to people of Japan - ksl.com

The best onion rings!

A few more pictures from Asami's visit:

Blowing bubbles on the deck Sunday afternoon.
Zach, chewing his food, and Asami, behind her big hamburger! The onion rings are HUGE and really tasty! We had a fun time with just the four of us at Apollo Burgers. (Me, Mike, Asami and Zachary).

Closing Social Pictures

Asami and her best buddy Eliza
Receiving her certificate from her teacher

All the students at the social after performing their talents. We especially liked Asami's dance and "Peach Boy"!

Only a week ago...

but it seems like so long! I can't believe it was just last Monday that Asami headed off to California. I was rather nervous about her heading back to Japan with all the problems after the tsunami. Fortunately, all went well and after a few anxious days (for me), she made it back home. When you send off someone you care about, you have to hope that you will see them again. We will make sure of that, somehow! Eliza says we have to go see her in Japan :)

Shopping at the supermarket on Saturday

Playing in the front yard

Relaxing and playing on Sunday

Heading to church


Saturday night after the dance

We have so many pictures from Asami's visit. They make me miss her when I look at them!! We all had so much fun. I will keep adding any that I've missed.

Eliza being silly at a toy store after lunch (on Saturday) at the Brazilian Barbecue, Tucanos.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

The wearing, and eating of the green...

I was told by several of the kids that they didn't like corned beef and cabbage, or at least the usual boiled type we cook every year. So, I looked through some recipes on Allrecipes.com and found a couple new ones. They were a hit! Colcannon is a mashed potato dish with bacon and sauteed onions and cabbage. They had a little crunch and lots of flavor. Also, I did a baked version of corned beef with apple cider, beef broth and brown sugar. It was yummy!

Praying for the people of Japan...

Church Update on Response to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

It's a terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to those who lost loved ones and their homes to the tsunami.

Hard to say goodbye!!

Seeing Asami off at 5:30 am.

These were taken before we started crying! We will really miss Asami.

Eliza says: " I wish we can see you again. I can't stop thinking about her." She is sad that Asami had to leave.

Dear Asami,

We had a wonderful time with you, Asami. You are such a sweet, kind and pretty young lady! We agreed that you fit perfectly with our family. You will always be our daughter, and sister. Have a great time in California and let us know when you arrive home safely. We want to hear from you often so we will never forget our time together!

Love,

Your family

(I have many more pictures of the last few days, so I will be working on adding them very soon.
Check back for pictures from Kirk's birthday and more.)