Happy Birthday to Jack

It seems we have been talking about Jack's birthday for months now, probably since Lily's six months ago. Finally the big day arrived yesterday and all he could say was that he was now five like Lily. When he walked into our room he was beaming he was so excited. We opened the presents first thing and then headed to Old European Breakfast for what ended up being lunch. From there we headed straight to the cabin where we spent a glorious day on the lake. It was our first true hot day of the summer and we loved it. The day ended with cake on the deck as we were heading home. It was such a simple celebration but Jack was so happy. I can remember three years ago on his 2nd birthday knowing we were going to adopt him but not having him yet. It was so hard to think of him all alone on his big day. I'm so glad that he's with us now.

Here are five great things about Jack:

1. He loves to sing. He will sing along with anything--church songs, movie soundtracks, the theme song from Arthur. I'm always surprised by how well he knows the lyrics.


2. He is super snuggly, but only at bedtime. Jason and I always fight over who puts him to bed because we want the good lovin.


3. He loves the Book of Mormon and loves to analyze the stories. His favorite is the tree of life which I think is appropriate for his personality. He is fascinated by the rod and the river that runs along it. We discuss this often. I really hope he can hold onto that rod.
4. He is a boy of action. He always wants to know where we are going and what we will be doing next.


5. He's got some major attitude which can annoy me one minute and literally charm the socks right off me the next. I happen to think he's the cutest little boy ever.

Summer-Week 2

So, after my blissful first week of summer I experienced the craziness of week 2. We have been busy with swimming lessons for Lily and Jack, tennis lessons for Eli and Jonah and Vacation Bible School for Emma and Anna. Each of these activities took place in the morning but all had staggered start and stop times so I was on the go from 8:00-12:30. I definitely prefer our lounging ways to the craziness. I'm just glad everything landed on the same week.

We also managed a quick trip to the airport to greet our friend who just came home from his mission. I love scenes like this and always get choked up when I see missionaries in airports. We even got to experience this scene in Brazil when we were on a flight with a Brazilian elder who was heading home.

The sign the kids made. It kept them busy all afternoon.

The proud father waiting for his boy.

Reunited mother and son!

Titanic

Yesterday we were ending a great day at the lake by taking the kids out on the tube. We were cruising along when all of the sudden we hit something. There was tons of debris in the lake and we'd been dodging stuff all day. I looked behind us and there was a three pronged big piece of wood bobbing in the lake behind us. The boat started making funny noises and Jason stopped momentarily and it was at that moment I looked down and saw water gushing in at my feet. I instantly knew something was wrong but couldn't accept that we were taking on water. Jason opened the engine compartment and it was full to the brim with water. By that time the bottom of the floor was covered with water and I screamed at Jason to head to shore. Within seconds my feet were covered with water and Jason was flooring it. He could only get the boat to go about ten miles per hour. The boat continued to fill and our back end was so heavy it was dipping way down in the water. We all moved to the front and our friend Andrew threw Carolyn and me life jackets. Then the water began gushing into the bow of the boat. I looked toward the back of the boat and the rear seat was floating off the floor and all of our sunscreen, water bottles and waterski gloves were floating in the water in the boat. Even my flipflops floated off my feet. A couple of the little kids were crying and Carolyn was saying prayers with her kids and I was praying with mine. It was a surreal experience to look at the three kids on the tube who knew nothing was wrong and watch the boat getting lower in the water as more water gushed in at an alarming rate. We were so close to the dock but the boat was crawling at this point. It was the end of the day so there were a few boats waiting to pull out. We yelled at them to make room for us. The nicest guy helped pull the boat in because at this point it was so heavy that Jason couldn't steer. Jason ran from the boat to get our trailer and we held the boat at the dock. After we pulled the boat out the water just poured out the bottom of the boat and we were finally able to see what had happened. The log had punctured a hole about 6 inches by 6 inches in the bottom of the boat. We have never experienced anything like this! When it was all over we were so relieved that no one was hurt. We always say a prayer in the car as we head to the lake. As we prayed yesterday morning I had a nagging feeling and felt uneasy. There were about a hundred scenarios that were worse than the one we experienced. It was great to get back in the car at the end of the day and offer a prayer of gratitude that we were safe. Of course I didn't have my camera with me but luckily Allie snapped this picture with Carolyn's cell phone. This is after we pulled the boat out and the water was draining out. By the time we were done you would have never known anything had happened. It all drained out as fast as it came in which is really a scary thought. Here are some other pictures just to prove that the rest of the day was great.

Emma and Jason

Still the reigning queen of the lake!

Three chilly girls who spent a lot of time swimming in the frigid water.

Jonah taking a turn on the wakeboard

Adam Z. had a great time playing in the sand. This is a fun sand castle his older brother and sister built.

We're really hoping that the fiberglass guy isn't too busy and we can be back out on the water before our short summer is over.

The Summer is Flying!

Here we are and the summer is flying by. I can't believe the first week is already almost over. The best part of summer is the return of Carrie my babysitter. I love this girl and luckily she opted out of girl's camp this year and was here to help me in my hour of need. I truly don't know what I would have done without her. On Monday I had my 2nd outpatient procedure for my lovely varicose veins and Carrie was here to hold down the fort. She has been her every day since and I've been able to rest up with her taking care of the kids.

I am trying to keep the kids on a schedule and so far it's working out great. We are reading lots of great books and just trying to relax. Next week the boys are taking tennis and archery lessons and the little kids will be doing swimming lessons. We plan to spend as much time at the lake as possible. This week while Carrie watched the little kids I had a cooking lesson for the three oldest. They made chicken enchiladas and chocolate chip cookies and then we delivered them to a woman in our ward who was due anyday to have her 3rd child. Next week they will have their 2nd cooking class and we will again deliver the meal to this same woman. Here's Emma the next day at the Ronald McDonald house. She was able to make the cookies all by herself.





Today we did a field trip downtown and rode the carosuel. After that we met friends at our new neighborhood waterpark. I told the kids we would do a field trip every week and they are so excited. I'm really surprised that the boys are going along with all my plans but they seem to love it. I'm glad they are still so loving.

Notice Jack and his energetic ways

Jonah at the world famous red wagon slide

Notice how the pool is empty? It had to be evacuated due to an unfortunate potty accident. I was so relieved it was not one of my kids.
The kids love this place. I personally think they charge too much for admission (it's actually pretty affordable but just adds up when paying for all of us). I prefer cheap (i.e. free) entertainment.

Oh My Hail!

The water gushing off our roof
The ground covered with hail
The view out the window

I just have to document what happened on June 11, only one day after we got home from Brazil. We were snuggling the kids getting ready to tuck them in when we noticed a big, black cloud approaching from the west. It just kept getting darker and darker and they sky was so pretty. I finished tucking in the girls and Jason was still snuggling with Jack. It was time to pick up Eli from YM so I backed out of the garage and as soon as I was out I heard the most horrendous sound on the roof of the car. Nickel size hail was coming down fast and furious. I thought the car was going to get ruined so I pulled back in and did something I never do: I let all the kids out of bed to witness this force of mother nature. We were all amazed. I had to let the storm ride out before I ventured back to the church to get Eli. He was the only one left when I arrived. As I drove down our hill the hail had stopped and there was the most beautiful rainbow. I wish I would have had my camera to capture it.

Missionary Companions

One of the best parts of our trip to Brazil was hanging out with Jason's missionary companions. Three of them came from the U.S. for the dedication and it was a nonstop party while we were together. We met up with Greg and his mom in the Sao Paulo airport and she and I instantly bonded as the Portuguese was flying everywhere around us. We all stayed in the same hotel in Curitiba which was so fun. We shared a room with Brien and his wife Amy and when Glen arrived at 1 am on our first night there he crashed in our room as well. These guys talked nonstop about their mission adventures. All of them are sucessful in all areas of life and we loved just hanging out with them. On Friday we took a two hour train ride from Curitiba to Paranagua. It is very scenic and goes through beautiful mountains. They had these great seats that face each other and we talked non-stop the whole way.

Later, there was a reunion for all of the missionaries who had served under Jason's mission president. This man was beyond amazing. Jason took me to meet he and his wife right after we were engaged and I instantly adored him. He is one of those people who you instantly feel good around just because he is so good. He was always so encouraging to Jason. Several years after the mission President Covington went into cardiac arrest and was dead for 25 minutes. They were able to bring him back but he lost a lot of his memory. I can remember going to visit him and he had labels on all the family photos to help him remember the names of his grandchildren. Four years later he died from Melanoma. This reunion was a bittersweet moment because his absence was deeply felt. There were at least 40 missionaries who attended from the U.S. and all over Brazil. All of these guys are beyond successful and they each spoke so tenderly of their love for their mission president and the influence he had on their lives. The majority of them have already been bishops and several were stake presidents or in the stake presidency. It was so amazing that as they all were missing their mission president they were a legacy to his life to see the success of these missionaries who have been home only 16 years.

We got the chance to spend quite a bit of time with several of Jason's Brazilian companions. I can't believe how much I loved hanging out with these guys even though I couldn't understand much of what they said. Their wives were all awesome and I could tell we would be chatting non-stop if only we could. Many of them said that Jason was their favorite companion because he was always so calm and laid back. One of them said how he always wanted to argue with Jason but he would never argue back. I had to laugh at that one because it's so true. It was great for me to see the love they all had for Jason. They were so happy to see him and wanted to spend more time with us than was possible.

I came away having learned so much:

• Life is short--we have to do what is best and essential first. There is so much time that we can waste doing frivolous things but we need to do that which will have a lasting influence.


Glen with Sister Covington, the mission president's wife. What a legacy all these missionaries are to her late husband.

The church is truly worldwide and knows no cultural barriers. This is such a miracle.



The couple on the left had us over for dinner after the temple dedication. I loved that their scriptures were stacked up by the tv just like where we keep ours.

There are people that we may only know for a small moment in time but our relationships with them have eternal consequence.




Serving a mission is the beginning of a lifetime of great experiences. It shouldn't be the best time of one's life but the beginning of great things to come. We came back wanting to help all the boys we know serve a mission.

Curitiba, Brazil Temple

(Photo from church website)

In 2002 the church announced a temple to be built in Curitiba, Brazil. Jason was so excited since this is where he served his mission from 1990-1992. Years passed and the construction of the temple was slow-going but we kept up with the progress and planned to go. Last summer when President Faust died I was struck by something President Hinckley said at his funeral. He spoke of President Faust's love for Brazil where he too had served as a missionary (one of the first in 1938). President Hinckley spoke of how President Faust had looked forward to attending the dedication with President Hinckley and now that would not happen. As I heard those words I realized that visiting Brazil would be a once in a lifetime experience. In the few days we were in Curitiba we visited the temple several times. I was disappointed that the temple open house had ended by the time we arrived but we were still able to give ourselves a self-guided tour since the doors were open as workers completed all the last minute work prior to the dedication. The interior blew me away. The lighting and artwork were particularly stunning.

My favorite view was from the back of the temple. These trees are all over Curitiba and are native to this part of the world. They are protected by law and cannot be removed. The location of the temple had to be adjusted to adapt to the location of this tree. I think it is absolutely stunning.

This detail work was everywhere throughout the temple--on the reception desk, the end of each row in the ordinance rooms, etc. I loved it.I couldn't get enough of the gorgeous Angel Moroni. It looked huge and was so brilliant. I also couldn't get enough of the trees. This is how the temple looked just days before the dedication. There were so many people at work. A whole team of church employees arrived from SLC on the same day we did to do all the finishing touches.

I never cease to be amazed at the miracle and beauty of our temples. Truly the house of the Lord. It was so exciting to watch the church members in Curitiba and see how grateful they were to have the blessing of a temple in their lives. Their closest temple is about 6 hours away so this is a huge blessing to them. I can still remember when our own temple was announced 9 years ago and how excited we were. As we walked through our self-guided tour I saw women from the area cleaning the temple. I was instantly transported back to my own temple, remembering how I too had carefully wiped down the gold leafing in the celestial room and marveled at the beauty of the chandeliers and the windows. Over 40,000 people visited the open house and over 2000 requested more information on the church. What a great time to be a missionary in Curitiba.

Reunited

And it feels so good. This morning I was awoken by the most beautiful boy ever. Jack was the first one to wake up and wander into our room at about 6:00 am. We've never left him before and he handled it like a champ. So much better than I expected. The look on his face when he saw me was pure delight and we enjoyed some yummy snuggles for about an hour before Jonah made his way into the room. It's funny that the first three kids up were the boys. All so excited that we were home. After Eli came in it was Anna and then Emma. We were all up and going when Lily walked into my room and jumped into my arms. It's good to get away but it's always better to come home.