All I Want For Christmas...

Last night we went to a BBQ for Daniel's work. Argentinian BBQ. YUM! They rented 3 bouncy thingys for the kids and that's all my kids did. At one point Sam came to me with a tear in his eye, hands that were shaking and a napkin in his mouth with blood on it. He had lost the other front tooth. Remember what happened to the first front tooth...refer to this post if you forgot. He had been bouncing on one of the bouncy thingys and his tooth got stuck in the netting on top of the slide part that is there to keep the kids from bouncing. A lot of good that did.
So as we are driving home late last night, Sam says, "All I want for Christmas is 3 Godzilla movies, a Godzilla toy, another Godzilla toy, another Godzilla toy, 2 more Godzilla movies and my two front teeth!" Got it, Godzillas and teeth. Oh, and no more bouncy things or nets.

On another note. I figure I should explain something I wrote in this post. Considering my mother in law doesn't smell like moth balls, I thought I should give some background. I didn't meet Daniel's parents until I was about 4 months pregnant with Isaac. They had been serving a mission in Vietnam. While they were gone, everything they owned had been packed away in moth balls. So every time I went into their house while they were away, that's all I could smell. She wasn't even home, but when I smell moth balls, it reminds me of my mother in law. You should meet her. She's a very nice lady. What's really weird is that Daniel's brother Stephen and his family were living there while his parents were gone. I don't have a moth ball connection to any of them.

Maybe I'm the weird one after all. But at least I don't get my teeth knocked out on trampolines and other bouncy thingys.

The Sarajune Project

Now I realize I've called this string of musings several things...The Sarajune Project, Sarajune Project, Sarajune Chronicles, The Sarajune Chronicles. Seems a little funny that I can't keep the same title. What's a girl to do? So I'm gonna go back to my original title of The Sarajune Project. Thanks for reading!

Tomorrow is a red letter day. Ok, maybe not so much. Over the last few weeks I have been riproaring emotional. Of course there are the obvious reasons for emotion. I mean, I'm a girl, after all. But for some reason this has been a little more than usual. Last weekend I got home from church and just cried into Daniel's shoulder. A little while later, I looked at the big calendar on the wall and looked at the coming week. Then I realized where the emotion was coming from. Saturday, September 13, is our 2 year anniversary of waiting for Sarajune.

Now the wait hasn't been exactly 2 years. We did 9 months of paperwork before that. The anniversary is our LID (Log In Date). So what does that mean? It means our paperwork has been in Beijing at the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) since that date. It is the date that officially started our "wait".

Daniel suggested some ideas to distract me on Saturday. I didn't like some of them because they involved people coming to my house, which I'd have to clean, feeding them dinner, which I'd have to prepare, and niceties, which I'm not ready to give. So we're going to the Dinosaur Park as a family to have lunch and see the 'saurs. It's always more fun when dad gets to come!

I have gotten two particular questions a little more than usual lately. So I figure this is a good place to answer and hopefully explain those!

Why is the wait so long?? and Is there a baby already waiting for you??

To the first question...I don't know.

The wait is just what it is. China used to have the most dependable program of all the international programs. You knew you would have your baby in your arms in a certain amount of time after your LID. Over the last 3 years, the wait has spread and gotten longer. The program is run by the CCAA and they are the ones who make all the decisions. It doesn't matter what agency you are with or what country you are from. The CCAA sends out a number of referrals (pictures and info on your baby) each month. That number is what determines how long the wait is. We are in a very long line. The CCAA just sent referrals for 9 days. That is a good number. When we got Ruthie's referral, they sent a month and a half of days. Right now, 9 days is gigantic! (Compared to the 2-3 days they have been sending)

To the second question...No.

At the rate the CCAA is going, she won't be born for another year or so. As they get closer to our LID in the line, the greater the chance is that she has been born. We won't know who she is until we get our referral.

And yes, we are looking at another 2 years.

With that, I have let the emotion come when it has gotten close to the surface. It's been close a lot lately. But my arms are full of my three gorgeous kids and all the fun and stuff that comes with them! Even though I feel the emptiness of one more child, I am grateful I have my kiddos who are here in my arms already. Sarajune stays tucked away in my heart.

You won't have to ask when our referral comes! You will know. It will be the shouts of joy and the screams of delight that echo throughout the land that will let you know that we have her picture and will be packing to go get her. China. Aahhh. I can't wait to come back to see you!

I'm not really as big of a basket case as you might think, at the moment. Time heals things. And since I've got plenty of time, I will probably be healed of any and all ailments and that would be a good thing. Wish us luck with those 'saurs!

A Day...

Today is a day of remembrance. A day of sorrow. A day of joy. Yes, joy. I have my family. I have a home. I have love in my life. I have been blessed beyond any of my expectations. No matter what others choose or have chosen to do, I know who I am. I know that God is in charge and that He wouldn't just allow anything to happen. What have we learned over the last 7 years?

What have I learned? I have learned that my country means more to me than I was aware. I have learned that with my family around me, I have everything. I have learned that we have agency and that no matter what choices we make, others will be affected. I have learned that we live in the greatest nation on earth and God will only bless this nation if we are worthy of it. I have learned that people still need constant reminders to remember that tragedy is what brought us together. I have learned that no tragedy should make our nation pull together so quickly, we should already be united. I have learned that I am weak in so many aspects. I have learned my strengths as I strive to do what is right. I have learned that so many in this country are willing to give everything for it, still! I have learned that the pride in my heart for my country will not soon die.

Make today a day of reflection. No matter your political stance, who you will vote for or not vote for, no matter what you have felt about war or unrest in the world. Remember what the Lord has said of our great nation, "Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous, it shall be blessed forever." (2 Nephi 1:7)

Refect on where you stand for righteousness' sake. That is what will make our nation great! May God bless America in every way He possibly can because of our righteousness!

Once Upon A Time... Part 13

I need to pause the story and back up a little on this week that just passed. Dan had been doing some research of Diabetes. He was worried about going on in this relationship if this little thing I've got would cause tragedy and woe later on. After all, why continue a relationship if it's not the right one? Was I the right one? He got as much information as one could possibly get without drawing attention to oneself. He finally decided that it didn't matter. I was worth it!

Each of us, on our own time and in our own way, knew by Saturday that this was it. I was his T.O., he was my T.O. We each spent time in the temple, praying and Dan did lots of fasting. (I can't fast) So we both were on the same page but still not saying anything out loud. And especially not saying anything to each other. But Saturday awaits.....

My mom asked if I was going out with Doug again. Um. Doug? You mean Dan? "Oh, I thought his name was Doug!" Nope. Always been Dan. Lovely, lovely Dan. She asked if things were getting serious. This was just our third date coming up. Maybe she sensed what Dan and I had already decided. This is it!

Saturday night came and he came to the door to get me. As soon as I saw him I KNEW he was The One! No denying it! I said goodbye to my parents and we were off. He smelled so good. He looked so good. He was definitely my T.O. He wanted to take me to the Macaroni Grill, a new restaurant. When we got there the wait time was horrendous. We were hungry. So we went to Marie Calandar's instead. As we walked through the parking lot, we were walking close to each other and I wanted to just reach out and hold his hand. I didn't know what to do. Would he think I was way too forward? What if he doesn't even like holding hands? What if he didn't want to hold my hand?

Then we were going inside. Darn. Opportunity gone! But, I knew that I would get to hold his hand sometime. Especially if he were feeling the same way I did! That would be my goal!

We were seated and we just talked. Although this time it got a little more personal. We got on the subject of quirks. You know, the weird little things that we do that maybe no one really sees or knows about. He outlines things with his eyes. Very strange. I do everything in evens. Even stranger. Hmmm. Maybe I'll share that strangeness with you sometime. Not now. There are other things to discuss. We talked for a very long time. Finally it was time to go.

We went to what was the 49th Street Galleria. I think it was the Fun Dome, though. Now it's a pet center. We played Miniature Golf. We talked and talked and Daniel won. I let him. I'm nice like that. I figured I would stroke his ego. Cause I'm really good at miniature golf. Stop snickering!

We played some video games then we decided to go. We went back to my house to talk. Again. We talked for a long time about lots of things. I knew I wanted to talk to him forever. When it was time for him to go, he gave me a hug and said he'd call me Sunday. He did. Then he called me Thursday to plan a date for Saturday. This was definitely what I wanted. Everything felt right. Everything was right.

So what will happen next?? Another date? Then another date? Then another? And on and on? Or will we finally say out loud what we were screaming inside? This was the greatest time of my life. I had only just met Dan 20 days earlier. And I had known for just days that he really was The One! So what will the next weekend bring for us?.....

When do 3 kids feel like 3 bazillion?

Right in the middle of Sacrament Meeting!

That was today's joke, by the way. My kids right now are playing hide the tack. Not hide the penny or hide the stuffed animal. No. Hide the thumbtack. I went in to see what all the excitement was about and Isaac was rolling around on the floor saying, "Hotter, hotter!" So I asked if the tack was somewhere where I could step on it and get hurt? He said No, it's in a spot where he is in complete control. So there you go! Hide the Tack. The new game at our house!

Home Alone.

Ruthie started Preschool on Wednesday. Yay! Ruthie! Today will be her second day. I haven't posted about it because, well, I've been watching Season 4 of The Office and just haven't had a moment to do it! So there! Since I've now watched all the episodes and the deleted scenes and most of the extra stuff, I'll be submerging once again to watch the episodes that have commentaries. This is a very serious hobby of mine.

Anyway! Back to my sweet preschooler. She gets to go 2 hours a day for 3 days a week. Woohoo! She absolutely loves Teacher Vicki and Sophie the dog and Marshmallow the bunny and and and... There's just so much. And that was just the first day.
Isn't she just cute?? So today she gets to go again. So I will be home alone again! Yay for mom!! I will go grocery shopping and then work on sharing time for Sunday without little people of any kind. I might just be able to get used to this! I guess maybe I should also work on my next Once Upon A Time episode, too. Maybe. I still need to watch The Office with the commentaries!

Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me.

Have you noticed all the flies? They come in and claim territory inside the blinds and on door jams. They go through extensive training in fly school and know the fly swatter when you get it out. They quickly fly away as soon as you think, "Oh, fly, just you wait. I'm gettin my pretty purple fly swatter and I'm comin for ya!"

They always come inside the house at the same time every year...canning season. Although I'm not canning this year. And maybe that's why I don't seem to have as many as I usually do. But still. They have come and taken over. I'm blaming the kids.

One of the funnest things I do as an entertainer is swat flies. I run around the house and make flying leaps and get as many of the dirty rotten scoundrels as I can. And we all count them as I swat them. One day I got to 23. That's a lot of flies for one kitchen.

I have a vaulted ceiling in the family room. That makes it really hard to swat flies who go to where the best heat is. Heat rises, ya know. But then again, when they are on the regular, not so high, ceiling, I still can't get at them easily. Did you know that a person who is 5'2" and 1--lbs and who has extrememly short limbs cannot possibly build up the momentum necessary to possibly swat at a fly on the regularly high kitchen ceiling? Didn't think so.

We have been missing a screen door for our back door for a few years now. We actually were doing ok in the fly take over area. Then last Saturday Daniel went to the Man Mall and bought a new screen door. Now all of a sudden we have a bazillion flies in the house. How did that happen?

So that's what I'll be concentrating on today. Fly Swatting. I'm pretty good at it. The poor flies rarely know how their demise came so utterly quickly. Fly heaven has got to be a full place. Which makes me wonder...is there a fly heaven? Or do they really just die and enter into a black abyss where no fly can manage to return from? Hmmm. Sometimes they return.

It is getting colder at night. That's especially helpful because flies slow down when it's cold. But as the day gets warmer, their reflexes speed up. So maybe I should get on this. I'm a goin' fly swattin!

Have a terrific day!