Christmas Countdown 2015

As always, we are excited to have a countdown to our favorite holiday of the year! If you want to follow along, here is our schedule (adapt as needed for your family):

Day One, Tuesday 12.1.15

Song:  Silent Night (#204)

Scripture: Luke 1:11-17

Reading/Video:  Elder Holland “Christmas Within You” https://www.lds.org/liahona/2012/12/christmas-within-you?lang=eng

Activity: Print Christmas coloring pages and color

Day Two, Wednesday, 12.2.15

Song:  Stars were Gleaming (Children’s #37)

Scripture: Malachi 3:1

Reading/Video:  MOTAB’s The First Noel: https://www.lds.org/topics/christmas/christmas-videos?lang=eng#the-first-noel

Activity:  Make snowflakes and hang around the house

Day Three, Thursday, 12.3.15

Song:  Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful (#202)

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7

Reading/Video:  “A Different Kind of Christmas Tree” https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/christmas/resources/adifferentkind-eng.pdf

Activity:  Hallie to buy a present for Flor

Day Four, Friday, 12.5.15

Song:  Picture a Christmas (Children’s #50)

Scripture: Luke 1:26-33

Reading/Video:  David Archuleta and Motab’s “Silent Night” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNep23JerIk

Activity:  Go to Library and check out Christmas books

Day Five, Saturday, 12.6.15

Song: Who is the Child (Children’s #46)

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-19

Reading/Video:  Matt and Mandy “A Wonderful Christmas” https://www.lds.org/children/videos-music/matt-mandy?lang=eng#a-wonderful-christmas

Activity: BYU Game/Temple Square

Day Six, Sunday, 12.6.15

Song:  The Nativity Song (Children’s #52)

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Reading/Video:  “Thoughtful Gifts” https://www.lds.org/liahona/2011/12/thoughtful-gifts?lang=eng

Activity: Watch the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional

Day Seven, Monday, 12.7.15

Song:  Mary’s Lullaby (Children’s #44)

Scripture: Matthew 1: 20-25

Reading/Video:  “Straw for the Manger” https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/christmas/resources/straw-eng.pdf

Activity:  Write letters to Santa

Day Eight, Tuesday 12.8.15

Song:  Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (#209)

Scripture: Luke 1:39-56

Reading/Video:  The King’s Singers and MOTAB “Angels from the Realms of Glory”

Activity: Mishell to buy a present for Jace

Day Nine, Wednesday, 12.9.15

Song:  Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus (Children’s #36)

Scripture: Luke 2:1-7

Reading/Video:  Christmas Orange Story

Activity: Ogden lights

Day Ten, Thursday, 12.10.15

Song:  Away in a Manger (#206)

Scripture: Luke 2:8-14

 Reading/Video: Natalie Cole and the Motab’s “Hark the Herald Angels Sing!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSE7s3NCr6c

Activity: Flor to buy a present for Mishell

Day Eleven, Friday,  12.11.15

Song:  Joy to the World (#201)

Scripture: Luke 2:15-20

Reading/Video: The King’s Singers and MOTAB “O, Holy Night” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU2TlwcH3h4

Activity:  Ward Party

Day Twelve, Saturday  12.12.15

Song: Angels We have Heard on High (#203)

Scripture: Exodus 13:2

Reading/Video:  Alfie Boe and the MOTAB’s “Bring him Home” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI4jb-Aca9M

Activity: Gingerbread Houses

Day Thirteen, Sunday, 12.13.15

Song:  Once Within a Lowly Stable (Children’s #41)

Scripture: Luke 2:21-24

Reading/Video:  President Monson “The Best Christmas Ever” https://www.lds.org/liahona/2008/12/the-best-christmas-ever?lang=eng

Activity: Stake Nativities

Day Fourteen, Monday, 12.14.15

Song:  Have a Very Merry Christmas (Children’s #51)

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-5

Reading/Video:  David Archuleta and the MOTAB’s “Joy to the World” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4CSJvzGai4

Activity:  Make toast and hot chocolate and listen to Christmas music

Day Fifteen, Tuesday, 12.15.15

Song: The Shepherd’s Carol (Children’s #40)

Scripture: Luke 2:25-35

Reading/Video:  “The Open House” https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/christmas/resources/theopenhouse-eng.pdf

Activity: Jace out to buy a gift for Hallie

Day Sixteen, Wednesday,  12.16.15

Song:  Little Jesus (Children’s #39)

Scripture: Luke 2:36-38

Reading/Video: Brian Stokes Mitchell and MOTAB’s Sleigh Ride https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w2UZAKTOVI

Activity: Watch Santa’s reindeer online

Day Seventeen, Thursday,  12.17.15

Song:  Away in a Manger (Children’s #42)

Scripture: Hosea 11:1

Reading/Video:  A Savior is Born video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_TEOyhy7Bg

Activity:  Mom and Dad to Forgotten Carols, Kids watch a Christmas movie

Day Eighteen, Friday, 12.18.15

Song:  Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains (#212)

Scripture: Matthew 2:13-15

Reading/Video:  Motab’s Carol of the Bells https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-W2Bkz_Rno

Activity: Read all our Christmas books

Day Nineteen, Saturday, 12.19.15

Song:  I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (#214)

Scripture: Matthew 25:40

Reading/Video:  An Angel Foretells Jesus’ Birth to Mary https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/an-angel-foretells-christs-birth-to-mary?lang=eng

Activity:  Visit Santa

Day Twenty, Sunday 12.20.15

Song:  The First Noel (#213)

Scripture: Matthew 2:16-18

Reading/Video: The Wise Men Seek Jesus  https://www.lds.org/topics/christmas/christmas-videos?lang=eng#the-wise-men-seek-jesus

Activity:  Neighbor Gifts

Day Twenty One, Monday, 12.21.15

Song:  When Joseph Went to Bethlehem (Children’s #38)

Scripture: Micah 5:2

Reading/Video:  They Gave Up Their Christmas https://www.lds.org/topics/christmas/christmas-videos?lang=eng#they-gave-up-their-christmas

Activity: Watch a Christmas movie and have hot chocolate

Day Twenty Two, Tuesday, 12.22.15

Song:  Christmas Bells (Children’s #54)

Scripture: Matthew 2:19-23

Reading/Video:  MOTAB’s Hallelujah Christmas https://www.lds.org/topics/christmas/christmas-videos?lang=eng#motab-hallelujah-christmas-2010

Activity:  Thanksgiving Point lights/Sleigh Ride

Day Twenty Three, Wednesday, 12.23.15

Song:  With Wondering Awe (#210)

Scripture: Luke 2:39-40

Reading/Video:  Why We Need a Savior video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly7c9scxB9I

Activity:  Make sugar cookies for Santa

Day Twenty Four, Thursday, 12.24.15

Song:  O Little Town of Bethlehem (#208)

Reading/Video:  Glad Tidings of Great Joy Video: The Birth of Jesus Christ https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/glad-tidings-of-great-joy-the-birth-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

Scripture/Activity: Act out the Nativity

 Merry Christmas!!

Family Pictures 2015

We interrupt this long break on the blog to bring you our family photos this year! I do love a good fall family photo session and since we had a new addition this year, it was at the top of our list to get our pictures taken when we got home. I enlisted the amazing Terra Cooper to take our pictures this year. I met Terra through the adoption community and I have always loved her photography. Since we moved, we are now neighbors-ish, so this was the year!

She did such a fabulous job...I love how the pictures turned out! Here are a few of our favorites.

Ecuador Day 45: OUR LAST!!

YAHOO YAY HURRAY HALLELUJAH WAHOO YIPPEE SKIPPY HOT DANG WOOOO HOO WE ARE HOME!!!

We are a bit excited. Can you tell? I don't know what I will do without daily blog updates, but one thing I can promise you is that I won't be updating the blog daily any more. Back to real life and I can already feel that I'm going to be busy, busy.

As for yesterday, our last day in Ecuador, it was pretty standard, but a great day nonetheless. We met with MJB at the McDonalds in the morning so she could get a recap of how Guayaquil went and to say goodbye. We also finally got to meet the Young family, the other family that was there adopting at the same time! They adopted a sibling group of 3 and already had 3 children, so they have been busy busy with bonding and meeting the needs of their kids. Our meeting was brief, but it was wonderful to get to know them in person a bit. Amy and I have chatted quite a bit on FB and commiserated about the misery that is the Ecuador adoption process.

That afternoon, the kids took solid naps while I cleaned and packed. We then went out to dinner because we had zero food in the house (gave it all away) and came home in time to meet with the missionaries one last time. We walked to the park down the road and had a good visit with them. They taught Mishell about the Spirit and how to feel it. They also asked her questions about her experience at the baptism we went to a few weeks ago. I was very impressed with her answers. She is maturing spiritually and showing a lot of desire to learn and grow.

I just thought this was a cute picture of her!

Why oh why is this crooked? Too lazy to fix..anyway, we had been on the search for the best hot chocolate in Quito when my mom was there and who knew it would be found at good ol' McDonalds? It was really very tasty.

While I was talking to Amy, I turned around and Jace was getting his face painted. He told her he wanted Spiderman, and Spiderman is what he got!

Amy Young and me

I can't believe we never got a picture of MJB this whole time! Here she is with the kids.

Two of the wonderful missionaries who helped us while we were in Quito. They are such wonderful young men. Elder Bahr from Colorado and Elder Gallardo from Argentina.

After our visit with them, we headed home to get ready for Ramiro to come pick us up. We made it to the airport about 9:45 pm for our 11:30 pm flights (WHY OH WHY DO THEY DO THIS?! THAT'S NOT A GOOD TIME FOR ANYONE, FRIENDS!). I was slightly worried for a minute when they took Mishell's passport and disappeared for a good while. They told me it was to check the validity of her visa. Well they did finally return it and said it was fine, but then we got to the counter to check in and the girl there went through the whole thing with us again. She called some number (in the US it appeared as she began to speak English) and wanted to verify that our visa was in fact valid. Oh boy. This took at least an extra 15 more minutes. I was getting super impatient because how many people need to verify that the visa is legit?! Nevermind that huge sealed packet that I was carrying from the Consulate that looked pretty darn official. Anyway. We finally got that figured out and were fine getting on the plane.

That flight took us to Atlanta where we landed at 4:30 Quito time. I slept some on the flight, but not comfortably. The kids did okay. I told them we were going to try to sleep the whole way. Jace went to sleep and I fell asleep for a bit, only to wake up to find Mishell sipping on a drink and watching a show. Hey, newfound freedom to do what she wants in the middle of the night? Yes, please.

We had no problems getting through customs in Atlanta. The process with the heavy duty sealed package was MUCH easier than last time. They took it from me in the regular customs line this time, whereas last time, I had to sit in a scary prison looking room for hours waiting to be called. Good thing it was fast this time, because we did not have hours. I didn't look at how close these flights were, but our next flight to LAX was boarding by the time we got there. We ran to grab some bagels on the way and that was all for meals today until we arrived home.

The second flight was uneventful as well. When we landed in LA, I was sure we had some time to get some food, but I looked at my boarding pass to see that we had only a 1/2 hour until our flight left. And we had to go to new terminal. Oops. So we ran to that flight and were close to the last ones on. We were pretty hungry, but it was a short flight, so we did okay. That is until the end when we were getting ready to land and Mishell got a little airsick. Little might be an understatement. She barfed up a whole lot. Thank goodness for those lovely barfy bags! We landed and she felt a bit better. Devin met us there and shortly after Che' and Jovi came. Angela and Kenna were on their way to see us too, but they were picking up the girls from school and Flor had had a blowout, which delayed them. So instead we met them for lunch at Kneaders in Bountiful. We thought soup would be good for Mishell and I was craving a salad. I know, a salad of all things. They just don't have many good fresh salads or vegetables in Quito.

We spent the afternoon getting unpacked and getting the house in order. Nothing too exciting. Now we have a list a mile long starting tomorrow for getting Mishell settled into her new life. Wish us luck!

Thank you all for following along on our adoption journey, round 2. As always, you have all been such a wonderful support to us and we are forever grateful. XOXOX!

Landing in Utah today!! YAY HOME!

These two have become such good buddies. I hope that bond continues.

Ecuador Day 44: Guayaquil

Sorry for the late update from yesterday. It was a super long day with the trip to Guayaquil. We left the house at 5 am to get to our flights at 6:50 am. The flight there was uneventful. We met the attorney who was helping us, Martitza, at the airport. She is a really nice woman and she speaks fluent English! Nice break for my head. :) 

Here's what I wrote on FB yesterday, just so I don't have to recap again:

I totally feel and appreciate your prayers. I feel like we have had mountains in our path many times during this adoption process and because of all your prayers, fasting, putting our names on the temple roll, etc., they have been moved. (See my blog post about our civil service registry day If you want examples!) Today we had another giant problem that was miraculously solved.

When we got to the consulate this morning for the visa appointment for Mishell, the system showed her old last names even though I had gone on and filled out the form to change her name online on Friday. I even had the confirmation page of the name change. Well, everyone was mystified as to why only the old names were showing. The lady we were working with said she's never seen this problem and said that she was almost certain it would take a day to fix it. She told us to go to lunch and come back and they'd see if it was fixable. We left and I felt completely defeated. I cried in the taxi all the way to lunch (that man thought I was nuts) certain that we'd be staying at least another day in Guayaquil. I had no internet during lunch, but I wanted so badly to at least talk to Devin for some reassurance. But I did the only thing I could and said prayer after prayer. I felt at that moment that I was not praying alone, but I knew many others were joining me.

When we returned to the consulate, I had resigned myself to than fact that we would be staying overnight (though we have tickets back to Quito tonight). When we walked in, a kind man who I took to be the director (clearly from the US while almost everyone else is Ecuadorian) said he'd been working on our case and the system had miraculously updated our case while we were gone with the new names. Mishell's visa was ready a half hour later, at 2:30, earlier than we anticipated even without problems.

I feel immensely grateful for all your support and prayers. We are over the last hurdle and WE GET TO COME HOME TOMORROW!

We are enjoying a few more hours in Guayaquil (beautiful city, but so incredibly humid!) before we head back.

After we finished at the consulate, we did a little sight seeing around the city. We had a taxi driver take us to the Iguana Park because I have heard so much about it. It's really quite gross- iguanas roaming freely throughout the park and these are no small iguanas! We then walked a few blocks to the pier. It was beautiful there. Guayaquil sits in a little inlet from the ocean, so it is flat and hot and humid. Totally different from Quito. It was a really pretty city (in parts), but I definitely prefer my Quito! After we walked along the pier and had ice cream, we took a taxi to the temple. I forgot it was Monday, so it was not open. But we were able to get some pictures outside of it. By this time it was around 5 pm and we were beat, so we took another taxi back to the airport to see if we could get on an earlier flight. Ours didn't leave until 8:30. Unfortunately, we just missed the one going before, so we had to wait until then to go. We were too tired to do much else, so we hung out in the airport for 3 hours. We had dinner there, which was the worst sandwich of my life, but no one's keeping track. We made it to Quito around 9:30 and then Ramiro drove us home. We got here about 10:30 and went straight to bed because we were beat! All in all, a long, but successful day!

Here are a million pictures:

Quito airport has playgrounds inside! How about that?

AND you can throw toilet paper inside the toilet!! HOW ABOUT THAT?! Pretty much nowhere else in Ecuador have I seen a sign saying DO throw it in...it almost always says DO NOT throw it in. Fun stuff.

We had beautiful views of Cotopaxi on our flight out. Gorgeous. Look at all the smoke it's spewing, though...

After the oh-so-fun morning at the consulate. Looking at our soon to be next American citizen!

I took this picture out the window of the taxi while we were driving. Fancy motorcycle guy got in the way. It's the stadium in Guayaquil where their soccer team plays (soccer is big around here, remember)

At the iguana park

Seriously, is that disgusting or what?

Oh hello there, Mr. Gross

Just a little statue in the park with a pretty church behind

I think they like statues in Gauyaquil just as much as in Quito...

No idea what this is, but it was pretty large and looked important.

Right along the pier. There were a lot of fun things to do and see!

Yes, the water appeared mostly brown

Prettiest McDonalds I have ever been to...overlooking the water. We had some ice cream and rested here for a bit. It was lovely.

Terrible selfie

And oh, the temple. So pretty. Can you see the kids?

Another not so hot selfie

Phew! and that's that! Tonight we fly home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!