Random

*Tonight we got to Skype with Sophi's new BFF forever, Tisha Unarmed.  Tisha is even cuter on Skype than in her youtube videos.  I feel like we won the jackpot in getting to know her.  She was darling and gracious and so sweet with Sophi.  Love her!

*As it turns out, Taylor is a solo stinker.  Parker had nothing to do with the prank-- he just wanted to call me to tell me he made the team and Taylor made him promise not to tell me that he (Taylor) made the team.  In fact, Parker was so worried about me being sad that he called during lunch to tell about Taylor's prank-- this was right after I had blogged.  Needless to say, Parker didn't end up scrubbing toilets.  (:

*Xander and Jesi have been LOVING the snow.  They have always been great snow buddies.  They didn't have school on Friday and had been playing outside.  I walked into the kitchen and found them making "snow sundaes."  These were all X's idea, and I must say they were quite yummy!

*Jesi made a snowman by herself and when I came out to see it, asked me if I noticed anything special about it.  Ummm??  She helped me out-- "There is a "J" and "E" for Jacob and Emily!"  Not quite sure what made her think of doing that, but it made me happy.  (:

*Parker also has fun in the snow:

*Jeremy has been growing out his beard since his camping trip with the boys.  I LOVE when he doesn't shave, but he usually only lasts a week or two.  This time he still hasn't shaved after three weeks (per my request) and it's been fun!  He was just asked to be a shepherd for the stake nativity, so that gives him a great excuse to keep it for awhile.  Last week, Jesi randomly went and got the pink hairspray from Halloween and came up behind him and sprayed his hair.  Again, not quite sure what made her think of that!  I was afraid Jer wasn't going to be happy with her, but instead he took the bottle from her and sprayed his beard as well.  Good Daddy!  Well, my uncles and cousins own Ogden's Superstore and they are doing a facebook promotion where you can post a picture of your guy in a beard for "No Shave November."  The picture with the most likes wins a little vacation.   I could really, really go for one of those, so I posted his pic.  (: Then I posted it to my page with what I thought was a link to their page and asked people to like it.  Apparently I'm not facebook savvy at all, because he has like 30 plus likes on our page, but only 10 on the Ogden's page where it counts.  I thought when you liked it one place, the like went on the other page as well.  Yeah... like I said, facebook idiot.   Still, it's a winning picture to me.  (:

*Lexi is obsessed with Andrea Bocelli lately.  She talks about him every day.  When we were skyping with Tisha, Lexi walked up to the computer and said, "Hi.  I'm Lexi and I'm blind like Andrea Bocelli."  (:  Every day she asks me if she can meet him.  I keep saying, "Maybe someday."  I guess I need to come up with a better answer-- she doesn't seem to be settling for that one!  I am so glad that she has a role model that she feels a bond with.

*Puzzle Them Home is having a fundraiser on November 17th at Copper Tanning in Herriman.  My sweet friends have put so much time into it-- please consider coming if you are in the area!  You can read about it on the Puzzle Them Home facebook page HERE.

*Our laundry fairies have been doubling as cookie fairies lately and, lucky for us, they happen to make the world's best chocolate chip cookies.  After eating WAY more than my fair share this weekend and also consuming a ton of Jeremy's yummy Thai dinner tonight, I decided I am going on a diet tomorrow.  Like my mom, I decide this pretty much every Sunday night-- but this time I mean it.  Hold me to it.  Go ahead, comment and ask me if I'm being a pig or not.  (;

*Jessica was star of the week a couple of weeks ago.  She did her poster all by herself then asked me to print some pictures for it.  It was so cute, and when she crumpled it up and threw it in the trash after the week was over, I had to pull it out and take pics.

*We are possibly going to be involved in an amazing documentary about China adoption.  Graci would be a focus of the story (think she'd like that?!) and it looks like a beautiful project.  Will keep you posted.  (:

*  Elli has been singing her little heart out lately.  Earlier today, I was thinking about Puzzle Them Home and how we needed miracles for it to work, and she randomly started singing the words "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty.  There's nothing my God cannot do" from her Sunday school CD.  Good reminder for me.  I love that girl, and don't find it coincidence that she knew I needed that song.  She's very close to the Spirit despite her inability to communicate like a typical child.

*Today I sat down per my friend's advice and wrote a list of everything I need to be working on this week in addition to the normal day-to-day stuff like taking care of kids, swim lessons, dance, basketball, church stuff, homework, housework, meals-- the normal stuff that I already struggle to accomplish. I don't have the list in front of me, but these are some of the things off the top of my head:

Go through all the hand-me-down clothes boxes to see what might fit Cali

pack a suitcase for Cali

Go through Christmas gifts (ones we've already purchased on sale throughout the year) and figure out what we still need to buy

Christmas shop (you know-- that one looks so short and easy-- ha!)

buy a mattress

Deep clean the girls' room and somehow make room for Cali's stuff (this one feels insurmountable)

Deep clean the whole house in preparation for China (yeah, right)

architect meeting

science fair projects-- ugh

five dentist appointments
appointment with Xander to get measured for a compression sock

dinner for a family in my neighborhood (whose trials are far worse than mine right now)

buy gifts for China trip (for the nannies, notaries, guides, families, foster families, etc.)

shop for things to occupy girls on the airplane

paperwork for Elli

breathe

I am not kidding that breathe was on the list.  I had to write that after I felt myself going into panic attack mode while writing the list.  This is such a busy time of year anyway, and to add everything that goes along with an adoption trip to it is just a wee. bit. stressful.  Oh, and I guess I should add exercise to the list to go along with my diet.

Um, yeah.  I just got overwhelmed again.

Breathe.