Well, we are really doing it–FINALLY. And we are very excited. Most of our adoption posts can be found at www.adoption.ourlittlemcfamily.com or just click on our adoption link from this page. We have a semi-referral for a sibling group of four (boy, girl, girl, boy–ages four to seven) and have submitted our letter of intent to the Colombian government. We’re just waiting to see if they accept it or not. We don’t anticipate any problems, but you just never know….especially when it comes to adoption. Our plan is to keep a regular journal on the adoption blog, but we will still post any major events or news here. We would be remiss at this point if we did not express our gratitude and gratefulness toward our friends and family. The support, excitement, and love we have received overwhelms us. Continue to follow our journey….you won’t be disappointed.
Brian Head, UT–WIIIIIII
Ahhhh, Brian Head! Not as much snow at Thanksgiving, but beautiful nevertheless. We had a wonderful Turkey day in Las Vegas with Adam’s family. Debbi makes the most amazing rolls!!! It was good to see everyone and play games. We made our way back to Utah on Friday to spend the weekend with our dear friends, Robert and Jaime Lea. There was much cocoa, games, scrapping, and WIIIIIIING to be had—see below. Maybe a little too much wiiiiiing by the boys, but they had a blast.
As usual, we love spending time with friends. We are so blessed to have so many good friends….truly blessed. My only wish is that we lived close enough to all our friends so that we could spend more time with each of them. Jaime’s blog entry is much more extensive, with some other great photos–www.famleafour.blogspot.com We love you Jaime and Rob–miss you already!!!
Columbia River Gorge, Saturday
Saturday was absolutely spectacular. Jessica did an amazing job at outlining our entire trip. You should check her blog out for the full details–www.gorgeusfamily.blogspot.com–The short of it is that we spend the day visiting waterfalls, hiking, and talking talking talking. We had good food and great conversations throughout the entire day. Since the boys let Jes, Amy, and I go in one car together there was a chance to have girl conversation, which can only be appreciated by women with really great girlfriends. You know who you are!!! The picture above is one that Adam snapped of Multnomah Falls, one of my favorite destinations en route to Portland.
The pics below were from our hike, which, by the way, was much steeper than we were led to believe. Thanks for tricking us into our daily exercise Dan! I needed it. And I should be used to it by now…Adam’s favorite saying while hiking has always been “just over the next hill.” Oh, how I dislike that saying. :) Amy missed her kids like crazy, but was glad to have a little peace and relaxation for her birthday. We were so glad she made the sacrifice to fly out, and to bring Steffan of course.
I love these girls with all my heart. There is something very special about a girlfriend. I am so grateful that God saw the wisdom in making friendships eternal. The six of us had a FABULOUS time on Saturday. The gorge truly is gorgeous!!!
Columbia River Gorge, Friday
There is so much to write about (well, mostly pictures to show) our recent excursions to Oregon/Washington… I thought I would do it in three installments. The ultimate purpose of our trip was to get together with my friends Jessica and Amy and their husbands. It’s been a rough year in many respects, and we wanted to get together and have a good time. However, we had a little time to ourselves before the festivities began. Adam and I spent the first day biking and hiking a little at Starvation Creek State Park, on the Oregon side. It was damp and chilly and breathtaking. I can’t believe we didn’t get any pictures on our bikes–duh! The funniest part about Friday was that I lost the car keys as I was riding my bike back to the truck. Adam had gone ahead to visit one more waterfall, so I was on my own and somehow dropped the keys. This is the first time I had been on a bike in years and I was totally out of shape!!! My husband was so sweet. He followed behind me the whole way. I made him go ahead of me when we reached the crest of the hill. I knew he was dying to go super fast and I finally convinced him I would be OK. Anyway, I had to hike back up the trail to find the key ring. Luckily, I found the keys and made it back to the truck all before Adam saw what I was doing. :)
All of the above images were taken at Starvation Creek. It was GORGEOUS! I also surprised my husband with a stay at Skamania Lodge five minutes down the road from Jessica and Dan’s house. I knew he would love the setting, and he did. It’s a real lodge with a huge wood burning fireplace in the great room. It has hiking and biking trails, as well as a golf course, on the property. And best of all, it’s set in the woods, which he loves. We had a nice time. Jes and Dan came over and at dinner with us that night. The lodge has a fantastic buffet every Friday evening. And it was packed…I think people come in from Portland and the surrounding area for this event.
Friday was perfect. But I couldn’t wait for Saturday. That’s when the real purpose of our trip was to begin!!!
A Long Way Gone
If I could recommend one book from this year, it would be A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. This is the most recent story Adam and I have finished together. We love to read together when traveling–and we seem to have lots of travel time lately.
 This is a true story of a young boy in a war torn country…a story of sadness and despair…a story of hope and goodness. If I was still teaching, I would read most of it to my students–it’s that powerful. This book is worth the purchase.
Friendship, Take 1…Julesie
This is my good friend Juliana. Isn’t she beautiful? This is the first installment of weekly tributes to my best friends. I thought that Jules would be the perfect friend to start with. She embodies all things wonderful about friendship. She is thoughtful, kind, and warm. She is super smart and has a sparkling personality. (Are you blushing yet Jules?) She is a total word snob!She is driven and ambitious–just graduated with her master’s degree and is starting a doctoral program as we speak! But the thing I like the best about my friend is that she has a brooding spirit about her. Jules thinks deeply and struggles to know what is true and real in her life. She is methodical and pragmatic. I love that about her. And she values  those things in others!
Our friendship is a funny one because it was formed in a few short months and has traveled over three continents and seven years. Jules is the BEST travel buddy ever! We’ve only spent but about four or five months in each other’s tangible company. However, the time we’ve spent together in Asia, Africa, and the U.S. has been life-changing for me…she seems to pop in at pivotal moments.
It all started in Taiwan–see pics (don’t we look young, Jules?). I had just graduated from BYU and was off to teach English with 18 strangers. Funny thing is four of those eighteen continue to be treasured friends of mine today. Anyway, we backpacked the country for two weeks, team-taught munchkins together, and had many wonderful discussions about life and God while at IVY Private School. Remember the Brittany Spears’ Dance??? Ughhhh!!!
Fast forward three years to Zambia….Jules was on a Peace Corps assignment in Africa. I had only seen her one time since Taiwan, and was dying to travel with her again. Plus, Africa was the coolest possible place I could think of for a reunion. I spent five glorious weeks in Juli’s village and travelling with her. We even made our way into Botswana for a couple of days for a safari. Anyway, The pic above is of Jules cleaning her fish for a meal when I was there. She took pity on her neighbor’s cat and would feed it raw eggs etc…but tried not to let the villagers notice because they were starving as much as the cat was. My favorite part of the trip, though, was our excursion to Victoria Falls–see scrap pages below. It was absolutely breathtaking, and I can’t think of anyone I would have rather shared it with.
Well, Jules wasn’t able to make it to my wedding in 2004 because her sweet grandmother passed away–but she sent me my most prized wedding gift (no joke). She hand painted two African themed works of art for us and framed them. I cried and sniffled when I opened her gift. Only my new husband knew what that meant to me. Thanks Julesie! I don’t think anyone could’ve guessed that I would be attending her wedding the next fall (2005)!!!!
How pathetic that this is the only image I have of the two of us at her wedding. And I WAS the photographer. Sad, sad, sad. But I did get many beautiful pictures of Jules and Dan–her sweet husband. It meant a lot to me that I could share this wonderful moment in her life. And I got to visit her family–they are always a joy and delight to be around.
Jules, you are one of my dearest friends. I treasure our adventures and our discussions. I am so blessed to know you and to call you my friend. You bring so much joy into the lives of others. I miss you so much. It is good to be reminded of the strength friendship brings and the need to nurture it!!!!!Â
A Princess, a Turtle, and a Haircut!!!
Last night (Halloween) was wonderful. But before all that–I finally got my hair cut. This is the only picture I have so far, but you get the idea. It’s just to my shoulders with lots of fun layers and lots of fun new colors. Washing my hair today was like a dream. Goodbye old hair–you were weighing me down!!!
Anyhow, Brooklynn dressed as Princess Aurora and Spencer dressed as a turtle. We had Brian’s family over for pumpkin chili and trick-or-treating. The kids had a blast. The food was great. Brookie couldn’t wait to get out trick-or-treating. She even had on purple tights with black sparkling spiders–super cute.
As you can tell–Spencer loved his turtle outfit. He kept flipping onto his side and back with no way to get on his tummy….just like a real turtle. It was so funny. And the picture below is of Brooklynn in front of her palace. This is definitely her domain around here.
Pumkin Carving at it’s Best
We had a pumkin carving night last week. (I know, I’m a little behind) Spencer wore his sister’s hat and onesie from when she was a baby. They were both perfect fits. Brook, Brian, and Adam all carved jack-o-lanterns while I took pictures. Jaimee had Spencer Patrol.
We had pumkin pie after, which was the perfect ending to pumpkin filled night.
Zhangjiagang, China
Well, here’s where I am right now. I’m staying at the Guomao Hotel; if you ever come to ZJG, try to avoid this hotel. Not to say that there are better options (maybe the Jinling is better), because you won’t find American service in a Chinese hotel. There may be exceptions in some of the multinational chains in Shanghai or Beijing, but that would be atypical.
An example:
<rant>
My room is too hot. The windows face south and the sun had warmed the room considerably. I have already complained two days ago that the AC isn’t working and the room is too hot. I was assured it would be fixed, no problem. I got back to my room yesterday around noon and it was very hot. The air conditioning is set to the lowest possible setting, but is not working. I call the front desk and am told someone will be up immediately to check it out. The girl from housekeeping did arrive after 3 more calls. Argh!
Our conversation (slightly edited for brevity and effect):
Me: My room is boiling hot! Please fix the AC!
Housekeeper: No, it feels great.
Me: No, really it is too hot. Why doesn’t the AC work?
Housekeeper: (Fiddles with thermostat) It really is fine. See, the thermostat is set to cold – so it is cold. See?
Me: The thermostat has been set to cold all day and the room is still hot.
Housekeeper: (Calls front desk) OK, it will be on in 5 minutes. Then it will be nice and cool.
Me: You PROMISE it will be on in 5 minutes?
Housekeeper: Oh yes, it will be cold as an igloo in winter!
Me: We’ll see.
Several minutes pass and nothing changes. I need to leave and decide to talk to the assistant manager on the way out.
Me: Hi, my room is too hot, and despite several calls, nothing has been done.
Manager: I’m sure the AC will be working soon. Besides, it is very cool outside. Why do you need AC?
Me: My room is NOT cool! I feel like a turkey on Thanksgiving morning!
Manager: I’m sorry, I don’t understand your American holiday reference.
Me: Whatever! When will my AC be fixed?
Manager: Umm, well, actually, we don’t turn the AC on because it’s sooooo nice and cool outside. Gee whiz, why don’t you know that.
Me: Why did you tell me it would soon be fixed then?
Manager: Well, it’s a company policy.
Me: To tell me that the AC will be fixed when you have no intention of fixing it?
Manager: Actually, it’s a government policy.
Me: It’s a government policy to tell me that the AC will be fixed when you have no intention of fixing it?
Manager: Well, ummm. (Hoping the annoying American will leave) That’s that. Sorry. Enjoy your stay at the Guomao!
Me: Grumble, grumble.
</rant>
Cowiche Canyon
We’re in Washington for the blessing of our two new nephews this weekend and found a fun spot to go mountain biking. It’s called Cowiche Canyon — the mesa above the canyon is criss-crossed with single and doubletrack. The trail in the canyon below was a railroad line in a former life. The tracks have been removed and turned into a trail for hikers, bikers, and equestrians (all of whom we saw). It was a little over 8 miles on the loop we chose; I brought the GPS and here’s the elevation profile and an overview of the trail in Google Earth.