Spring Break in California!!

Easter Sunday

Our Easter Sunday was spent driving in to Anaheim from Las Vegas. (We only had to drive to Las Vegas on Saturday, so that was an easy day. Mike and the boys went to their Priesthood meeting for church with Mike's cousin Brad and his boys.) We all loved the room at California and were excited to get settled in and head to the pool.

The Earthquake

It was kind of an exciting afternoon on Sunday. We were there for the earthquake! It was 7.2 just over the border in Mexico. Me and the kids were heading back up to our room from the pool and were wondering why the elevator wouldn't work. We went and asked the front desk and they told us there was an earthquake! Kirk and Olivia had noticed while we waited for the elevator that they felt like the earth was moving or something weird, but Zach, Grace, Eliza and I didn't notice.

Mike, however, was on the 8th floor and definitely felt it swaying! We heard some rides were shut down at Disney too. Overall, it was an exciting event to be in the middle of, but Zach and I wished we would've noticed something!

After that, we all relaxed and listened to some of Conference before heading to bed.

Next: Disneyland!!

Girls in our Sunday best...

(Sorry, the "photographer" was impatient to eat lunch, so I was lucky to have one picture actually turn out. I did ask him to take lots since I know, someone always has there eyes shut. This time it was me!! I'll only give one hint as to his identity: he's really tall:)

Earl family is getting active!

Olivia at Park City

Grace practicing with her ballroom class

It has been fun to try some new things lately, like skiing for Olivia and snowboarding for Zach. Olivia LOVED it and still wants to be Lindsey Vahn. Zach says he would rather stick with skiing than snowboarding, but he did pretty good.

I 've started pushing our family to get more active. I noticed that we were getting a little out of shape and I pointed out to everyone how much walking we'll be doing soon on our trip to Disneyland. This has given us a good reason to start getting more fit.

We've started playing racquetball, swimming and Zumba (me), at the local rec center for family night. It's a fun activity and it gives us a chance to do something fun the whole family enjoys. We've been meeting the Earl cousins there and the kids have fun playing racquetball and swimming. Mike and Doug used to play racquetball, so they have been helping the kids learn. Cheryl likes Zumba, so I've gone a couple times to that class. It is pretty tough after my winter of hibernating, but I try to keep up and not emberass myself too much!

Other things we are doing are the Irish/tap dance class that Olivia, Eliza and I are taking. Yes, I'm in the class with them! It's been very fun and with 3 girls, two of them mine, it feels like a mother/daughter class. It is a great workout and if I can get back in shape, it won't kill me like it is right now!

The weather is finally getting warmer, so we've also started biking part of the time to school (especially Olivia). Grace is still learning, so she's not quite ready to ride without training wheels. Eliza loves to ride in the bike trailer part of the time and then I put her scooter in the back for some of the spots that I don't want to pull her on.

AND, I've invited some of my neighbor friends to start walking the track that encircles a park by the girl's elementary school. This morning we did a brisk walk for about 40 minutes, but with lively conversation, it only felt like half that time!

This sounds like a lot, but really I'm hoping to do something every day and some of our activities are only once a week, so the walking and biking are more of our daily exercise.

If we can find the time, anyone can! It's just deciding to do something and then making it happen!

Happy 16th Birthday Kirk!

Thursday, March 11th

Kirk asked me to make a Tres Leche cake. It was good, but the chocolate cake I made when the family came over last Sunday was REALLY good. (Adding extra melted dark chocolate to our favorite birthday cake recipe was a great idea!)

We went out for dinner at one of the best Italian places around. The kids all love the pasta bar and the salad bar is awesome! Zach even had a little pizza to take home with his. Pasta is one of Kirk's favorite foods and it actually fills him up, so that's good too!

Kirk is a "bright" light in our home. I'm so proud of him and the good choices he's made in his life and I know he'll continue to do his best. It's so nice to see him being kind and patient to his little sisters and being a good example to us all. Sunday at church, he was made a Priest and will be helping to bless the sacrament next week.

I love how he continues to learn about different countries and cultures. After he won for state 2 years ago, I didn't know if he'd lose interest in geography, but he's always bringing home books from the library on every country you can imagine. He loves to learn and he remembers what he learns! I wish I had his memory!

Kirk is finishing up his Eagle for Boy Scouts and is in drivers ed class at school. After that, he'll take his drivers test and we'll have another person in the house to help with the running. That will be so nice!

We love you Kirk!!

Our week so far...

Monday night we made wantons and Doug and Cheryl's family brought noodles. We had a great dinner together. Kirk and Zach really love the wantons and they helped tremendously. Grace also wanted to help so I taught her how to fill them and she loved it!
Olivia's georgous hair! It looked so pretty that day, I just had to take a picture before it got messed up.

Eliza lost one of her front teeth on Thursday! This is her third tooth to come out and she has another that is ready to come out anytime.

Happy Chinese New Year...

and Valentines Day...and President's Day. Three holidays in two days! I had strepthroat Sunday, so it wasn't quite the fun holiday I was expecting. We had our big CNY party with the local China adoption families the week before, so we had already had a nice party. Thank goodness!

Mike's sister Larayne and husband Steve came to town for a few days. We all went to eat Friday night and then the rest of the family went over to Mike's mom's Sunday night for some games and snacks. I stayed home and suffered while watching the Olympics.

I went to the doctor Monday and had a shot, which took the pain down a notch, but I still felt pretty awful. Thankfully, Mike and the kids all pitched in to help out with meals and clean-up, so it wasn't too bad.

I got a haircut last week. This was pretty drastic for me since I usually like to take a couple of haircuts to get to a shorter cut. There was a big pile of hair afterwards! But I knew it was time to change the longer hair style I've had the last year or so. It is so much easier!

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

Why adopt from China?

One of Eliza's pictures from the orphanage

Grace and her friend in Hanzhong
What made you decide to adopt from China?

After adopting two girls from China, with great success I might add, I'm surprised that people still ask these questions. Imagine someone asking an expectant mother, or a mother of young children, why she chose to have them. It does seem to be a rather personal question to ask people. But, as I think about it, I think it is because not everyone sees the possibilities before them. Many people wouldn't have even entertained the notion of adoption, much less from another country!

I know for us, we had talked about adoption many years before we actually adopted. Maybe the idea had to grow on us for a while until the time was right. I know I felt that after our first three children were born and waiting a few more years for another to arrive, someone was still missing. With our fertility issues, it was evident that those missing family members weren't coming easily! I'm not sure what exactly happened, but it seemed that adoption kept coming up as we met people who had adopted, in particular from China. My own brother had recently adopted a darling baby from China when we were going through this stage. I would just keep running into people who'd adopted and it started me thinking that maybe we could too. Mike also was pretty close to several people who'd adopted and so it didn't seem to strange of an idea to him either.

Now, this sounds very easy, but there were many prayers given and thought taken about what was right for our family. It is definitely a leap of faith, but you know when it is right! Then there is that whole timing issue. You may know it's right, but sometimes it takes longer than you thought or a completely different path than you expected!

I think that there are many people out there who really could adopt but just don't think about it seriously. So many children need families and would bless the lives of their new families immensely. I know I can't imagine our life without our dear girls from China. As many others have said, "Why China? Because that is where my daughter is!"

First Presidency Statement on Haiti - LDS Newsroom

First Presidency Statement on Haiti - LDS Newsroom

I know we have all been watching the disaster in Haiti and wishing we could do something to help. There are several humanitarian organizations helping and many are doing so much good. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one of the first responders many times in a disaster. 100% of the donations will help those in Haiti. If many people give even a little bit, it will make a difference!

I also appreciate our leaders asking us to remember the people of Haiti in our prayers. Something we can definitely all do!

Our Favorite Cookie Recipe

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1 ½ C Flour (I use wheat flour for at least half)

1 C Sugar

½ tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

¼ tsp Nutmeg

¾ tsp Cinnamon

3/4 C Shortening (can substitute olive oil for up to half)

1 Egg

1 C Bananas (about 2-3, very ripe)

1 3/4 C Oatmeal (old fashioned or quick)

1/2 C Chocolate chips, or Nuts

Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add egg and bananas. Mix well. Add oatmeal and nuts or choc. chips. Bake at 375’ for 12 to 14 minutes or golden brown.

*We usually double this recipe to make a good sized batch. I use the winter white wheat which isn't as strong flavored as hard red wheat. We have a grinder and I make it very fine for baking.

I thought I'd share this family favorite after several people have asked for it. It is always a great way to use up your ripe bananas. (Especially if you save a few just to make these!)

My new hobby...

I just have to share something that is so interesting to me. It's called "indexing". It is my new favorite hobby. What's great about it is that it is a real service to others and very enjoyable. If you love to learn about history, people and places it might be something you would love too.

How it works: historical and genealogical records from around the world are gathered and converted into digital images that are stored online.

Then, indexing volunteers pull those images up on their home computer and transcribe the information making a searchable online database that anyone can use free!

What I've learned by becoming an indexing volunteer:

From marriage records I learned about people who were married in Arkansas and Illinois. As I put in their information some tidbits would start me thinking; such as the time I put in one with a gentlemen "traveling salesmen" who married a much younger lady with no parents. Another time I indexed a census from Arizona in 1910. As I entered the information I noticed many people had immigrated just a few years before the census was taken. Why? They came to work in the copper mines or on farms. I never would have known this! I love history, so it's been so fun to learn about life in the early 1900's.

If you want to be a volunteer go to http://indexing.familysearch.org.

It's something anyone with a computer can do and very satisfying. If you need help, just ask me! I've done all types of indexing and logged over 1,000 records, so chances are I probably have worked on any project type that you choose (as long as it's in English anyway!).

First pictures of 2010...

This year's New Year picture

You can really see the difference from a year ago (check the side bar). I let them choose the jammies they wanted to wear this time, so they didn't all match. Oh well, it is still cute and I didn't make anybody go crazy making it look perfect!
Olivia playing with this adorable bunny playset that Hinata sent. She loves it! Maybe she'll even let someone else touch it soon!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We bid farewell to 2009 and look forward to a great new year, 2010!

It was wonderful to be home this Christmas, although we have been remembering fondly the experiences we had last year in Beijing, Xi'an and Guangzhou. We keep saying "Remember where we were a year ago today? Or, "Can you believe that we were in Beijing last year?"

It's really amazing to think of all the changes we've gone through in the last year. And not just Grace has grown and changed, but everyone! Especially Zachary, who was way shorter when we were in China. I think he's grown 5 or 6 inches this year!

Grace is very aware of this being her "first Christmas in America"! She really has loved the holidays and all the celebrations. Of course all the presents we really exciting too.

She loves her new Snow White Doll!

One Year Ago Today in Xi'an...

Grace officially joined our family! We have so many amazing memories of our trip. It was not easy, but yes, so worth it!! Grace's smiling face should be proof of that.

Grace was full of smiles after the initial shock was over.

Looking over her photo album we had sent earlier.

This is Grace at the first moment of meeting us. (She was NOT happy. I think mostly it was fear...of the unknown and of leaving all she knew behind.)

And now, a year later...

She may have grown a lot and changed a lot but she's still smiling and beautiful!!

Thank You Everyone!

(The video is Grace singing in January at school shortly after we came home.)

DONATION UPDATE:

We've had quite a few people make a donation to help with adoption expenses for the Mallory family. They just received their TA a few days ago and are making plans to travel around New Years! It's so exciting to have Grace's songs helping another family adopting from China.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the sidebar to the right and listen to one of the songs we have recorded.

Grace and Eliza with Santa at Eliza's pre-school Christmas party. What does Grace want? "something princess"!

THANK YOU TO HINATA AND FAMILY!

We were surprised and delighted to receive a package from Hinata and family on Zachary's birthday! The beautiful wrapped gifts are in the picture under our Christmas tree.

"Ring Christmas Bells"

Brian Stokes Mitchell sang "The Impossible Dream" last year in Salt Lake City. He was absolutely amazing! He also sang several other Broadway and Patriotic songs. One of the best concerts I've ever been to (O.C. Tanner Gift of Music, 2008).

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My favorite new Christmas album features him and Edward Herrmann, with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Several of the songs from above were included on the DVD. It can be ordered, or downloaded, at DeseretBook.com

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Edward Herrmann reads the story of Longfellow and why he wrote the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". It is sure to bring you to tears, or at least give you goose bumps! It is a wonderful DVD to see at Christmas time. It also has him give a scriptural reading from Luke that is perfectly done.

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You can look any of these up on youtube under Brian Stokes Mitchell or Mormon Tabernacle Choir.