Ben and Alyssa's Adoption Page

Snoop, peace, and hard work

2012-02-05T13:18:00.003-07:00

Some of you may be wondering, "Who or what is Snoop?" Well, Snoop Birdie Bird is the name of our new addition to our family. I decided to make an impulse buy at PetSmart and got a white and blue parakeet for Ben. An early Valentines Day present I suppose. Snoop has been a lot of fun to have in our home. He, or she, loves to chirp when we play music. My nieces and nephews just love the bird and ask to see Birdie Bird every time they come over. Snoop is certainly nice company to have around.

Even more exciting than the news of our bird is . . . dun du na na . . . our homestudy is finally done and we are just about ready to send our paperwork to USCIS. So, things are moving along. Our next goal is to get our dossier together. I am starting to get everything we need together. There is a lot to do and it is fairly confusing and needs to be done exactly right. I feel as though I am being driven to get everything done though. I sent a package to Ting Ting with clothes, a couple small books, a blanket, a teddy bear, and some headbands that I knitted. At times it is hard to let myself get really excited because getting Ting Ting seems so far away but I just have to have faith and let my excitement get me through all the hard work and confusion of the adoption process.

While we are waiting and working on adoption Ben and I are also making use of our time doing a few home projects as well. I stained the cabinets and toilet seats in two bathrooms. Yes, toilet seats. They are wooden toilet seats. Also, Ben and I finally, after 3 years, put up the door to our downstairs bathroom.

Ben and Snoop Birdie Bird!

Christmas and New Years!

2012-01-08T14:28:00.005-07:00

It has been a crazy winter. After Ben and I got back from Nick and Julia's wedding it was just about time for Christmas. All of my siblings and their spouses and children were in town. My aunt Karen and her children, Danny and Kinsey, came from New York. We played lots of games. Anything from cards to long strategy board games. We had several different family parties. For part of my immediate family Christmas parties we had a talent show. It was great to see everyones different talents. One of the most exciting presents I got was a video of Ting Ting. She seems like such a happy child. In a week or two our homestudy should be done and ready to be sent for approval to USCIS while we continue working on getting all the documents gathered for the dossier. My parents just spent a week in the MTC for training. They leave for Japan tomorrow. I am excited for them. They will surely be missed but I know they will be doing marvelous things on their mission in Japan.

These are some pictures of the talent show my immediate family had at our Christmas party.

Nick and Julia's Marriage

2011-12-18T16:07:00.002-07:00

Ben and I are currently in St. George for Ben's brother's wedding. It has been a great weekend. A great time to think about the covenants that Ben and I made at our own sealing and a time to think about the future sealing we are working towards with our own children.

Ben and I received our certification of completion for our adoption training. It's great to finally be finished with the adoption manual. It just about covered everything I learned in my Family Consumer Science classes.

The waiting game

2011-12-11T18:13:00.002-07:00

So Ben and I both have our questions finished for our training. We are waiting for approval on our questions that will go in our homestudy. Then our homestudy will have to get finished and approved. Basically it is now a big waiting game. A good time to keep ourselves busy and enjoy our time together. I was able to babysit my neighbor's children the other day. I enjoyed reading to them and watching them. Ben and I also had a lot of fun delivering cinnamon rolls and Christmas cookies yesterday to a bunch of the ward members, may of whom are widows or elderly. We spent an average of about 45 minutes at each house. We even got to play Boggle with one of the widows. It was an all day affair delivering Christmas gifts. One of the ladies we delivered gifts to told us about her experience with infertility when she was younger. She said that she felt a special closeness to me when she found out about our infertility problems. That was a really neat experience to visit with and get to know the members of the ward.

2011-12-04T12:28:00.002-07:00

Ben and are still working hard on getting all of the paperwork and information collected. We just about have everything done for the homestudy and were told that it would take possible to the middle of January to be completed. I just finished answering the questions to the manual. I learned so much from my reading. I think you could get a degree in family consumer science and human development from learning all the information in the packet because it is basically what I learned when I got my degree. There were some really great applications and important things to consider that were specifically geared toward international adoption in the manual that I really liked though. Things such as easing your child into public settings and new stimuli. After our homestudy is complete it will be sent to USCIS to be reviewed. It takes about 2 months for them to review and approve it I have heard. Then, it goes to three different agencies to be reviewed. Finally, it can go with the stuff for the dossier and be sent to China to be approved. Pretty much everything in the dossier will have to be notorized or certified.

Beginning again

2011-11-04T22:40:00.005-06:00

I have decided that I am going to make my entries more journal like. They will be more my feelings and thoughts that I have during each week during the adoption process. Ben and I have recently started a new chapter in the adoption process. We are currently pursuing international adoption through a reputable company in Utah. Because the requirements for international adoption are a lot more strict we have to pretty much start the whole process over. The documents, homestudy, and background checks we have previously done for other adoption agencies will not work for international adoption. Through much deliberation and exploration of different options we both feel that this is the right decision for us right now. We are going to go through a special needs program with China. This means that the child will be either over 3 or have some type of special need. This can mean emotional if they are older and attached to family or others that have taken care of them, it can also mean something as minor as a skin pigmentation, a child who has been operated on for spina bifida, or something as major as HIV. We are now in the process of looking at profiles that are sent to us and deciding which child is right for us. There is certainly a lot to consider and research when looking at each profile. The more I see the more I realize how important it will be to be in tune with the spirit and to include the Lord in the decision. There are so many children and I don't know that I could make the decision without the support of others. As we work through all the mounds of paperwork and dive into the plethora of profiles I realize more and more how lucky I am to have support from family and friends that are willing to help with recommendations and encourage us in so many ways. One of the requirements for international adoption is 10 hours of education on adoption related topics. We are reading 2 manuals that are both over 100 pages long that we are required to study and answer questions on. It can seem overwhelming when learning about the risks to adoption, especially international adoption, and the lists of things to do, but I know that what we are doing is truly what God's eternal plan is about, families, and he will always provide a way for us to accomplish that plan.

Kind of as a side note, we also try not to get to overwhelmed and take small trips every once in a while and definitely have fun together and with family and friends. This last weekend we took a trip to San Francisco and enjoyed watching Anika get first all-around in her gymnastics meet, celebrating Ty's birthday, and going to Alcatraz on Halloween. By the way, we got ourselves an awesome prisoner cap there.

Outings of Plenty

2011-09-11T20:47:00.005-06:00

Spending time with my nieces and nephews is always an adventure. Ben and I went to a dinosaur museum with my brother-in-law Eric, my niece McKell, my nephew Trey, and my niece Ramona. The exhibits were spectacular and there were a lot of fun things for the kids to do like digging for bones, a water play area, and interactive computer games. One of my favorite pictures we took was when I told McKell and Trey to act scared of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

This weekend Ben and I went to a Greek Festival. Our bank gave us free entrance tickets. We had souvlaki (grilled pork) gyros, stifado (a Greek stew) and Greek salad, all of which were very good. We bought some Greek bread and an oil and vinegar container. The dancers there were fun to watch and we visited the Greek Orthodox Church and admired the ornate stained glass that depicted Christ's life.

Zoo fun!

2011-07-31T16:25:00.005-06:00

Ben and I cherish wandering the zoo and watching animals. We have a park and a pond nearby that tends to attract ducks. Sometimes they come and visit our lawn and other neighboring lawns. It is entertaining to watch them waddle and act like they own the place. Ben and I went to a zoo recently and enjoyed seeing some of our favorite furry and crazy haired friends--one of our favorites being the grey crowned crane, which we affectionately call the Einstein bird. There were also several turtles and some rapscallionous chipmunks that scampered all over their cage.

Summer fun

2011-07-10T20:44:00.003-06:00

I have always felt that summer is a cheerful time of year. I love the celebrations and being outside. I love the fact that I can ride my bike to work, have a vegetable garden, and hike. Our garden is growing nicely. We pick strawberries just about every day. A few weeks ago I got some good exercise hiking to some caves with several family members. I love being outdoors to exercise. Ben and I have also done a little traveling since the last time I wrote. We went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado and hiked, went to some botanical gardens, saw a museum, and enjoyed ourselves in the hot springs. Oh yeah, we also did a little shopping. We had to get ourselves a sheriff's hat to remind us of the area. Then, a week ago, we went to visit Ben's parents. We got to swim, go out for sushi for my birthday, and just have fun with Ben's family. I also went out for sushi with my family when we got back. Sushi is definitely one of my favorite foods.

This doesn't have to do with summer but it is exciting news in my family since the last time I wrote. My parents received their mission call to the Sendai, Japan mission. I am sure they will be of great assistance there.

The Joy of Work

2011-05-23T14:46:00.002-06:00

Sometimes it doesn't seem like work is exciting and is often very mentally and physically draining. Strangely enough, I have found that even though work is tough I am unusually miserable without it and much more pleasant with it. I tend to have a lot more self confidence and satisfaction in life when I am hard at work or have just accomplished something that was hard work. Whenever there has been a moment of sunshine lately Ben and I try to make the best of it and work on our yard. We weeded and put ground cover in a spot that has been a large weedy area in the front of our house and planted our vegetable garden. We have a long ways to go on our yard but that is one step closer. Excited cannot begin to describe the joy I get when I have a vegetable garden. We planted tomatoes, radishes, peas, tomatillos, hot peppers, bell peppers, eggplant, and we have strawberries, herbs, and artichokes. There is nothing that tastes better to me than the taste of fresh garden vegetables.

Easter

2011-04-26T13:47:00.007-06:00

I love Spring, especially Easter. It always reminds me of the many blessings God has given me. All the beautiful flowers and new life all around brighten my day. This year Ben and I were able to spend some quality time with some of my extended family for Easter. There were probably 40 or 50 of us gathered together in the gym of an LDS church. We ate dinner, had a kids and an adult Easter egg hunt, played some Easter games, and just enjoyed chatting with each other. On Sunday, Ben and I participated in the church choir. The choir sang, "He is Risen." I played my flute and sang with the choir and Ben played the piano accompaniment. It was a wonderful spiritual reminder to me that Christ lives and because he suffered through the Atonement I also can live again with my Heavenly Father.

The Easter Cake Walk

Ben and I with our Easter Egg Hunt spoils

My grandma and her brother hunting for Easter Eggs.

The Children's Easter Egg Hunt

The family enjoying dinner together

Music

2011-04-10T11:08:00.002-06:00

Music has been a big part of our lives. Ben and several of his brothers learned to play the piano when they were young. Right now he is teaching my nephew Brayden and niece McKell to play. Every once in a while he also enjoys playing the tin whistle. Ben's mom often played classical music albums when he was young, and he gained an appreciation for it. We hope to encourage an appreciation in our own children someday.

As for me, I learned a little piano when I was younger but I mostly play the flute. I was in band in high school and college and am now teaching flute lessons to eight students. I plan on being a stay-at-home mom and continuing to teach lessons from my home. I also have a goal to play in a community orchestra.

One of my favorite songs to play with ben is the Pink Panther theme song. One time we played it for a talent show and Ben dressed up as the Pink Panther and I was Inspector Clouseau. There were many shenanigans that night!

Us playing music together

Ben teaching lessons to Brayden and Mckell

Love of food and nutrition

2011-04-03T22:06:00.004-06:00

Some of my fondest memories as a child were helping my mother cook. I remember rolling out the dough for tortillas, grating cheese, and peeling vegetables. I also remember making every kid's favorite, Ramen noodles, with my younger sister. As a youth I was involved in making food for 4H. A few mothers from the area got together and took turns teaching a group of us different cooking skills. I studied dietetics and culinary arts in college for a couple of years as well.

My favorite food to make is gyoza, Japanese potstickers. Sometimes I even make the pasta skins from scratch. Ben and I have a lot of fun trying different foods and recipes. I just received two new cookbooks from my aunt for Christmas. One has New Orleans Cajun style recipes and the other is an Italian cookbook. We try not to have the same nationality of food twice in the same week. A typical week might include teriyaki chicken; Swedish meatballs; Egyptian shawarmas (chicken pitas with cucumber sauce and hummus); Cajun gumbo; and enchiladas.

We love making food with our nieces and nephews when they're around. For example, when our niece McKell sleeps over at our house, we just have to make her favorite breakfast, deviled eggs. No doubt we'll have some good times cooking with our own children!

Making gyoza with my niece

JACL Fundarama

2011-03-27T16:37:00.007-06:00

Every year Japanese American Citizen League, JACL, chapter in our area has an annual JACL Fundarama. The Fundarama is an event that my whole family enjoys. We get together and have dinner, buy Japanese and American baked goods from the bake sale, play BINGO, enter the raffle, and the children get to earn prizes by playing the kid's games. Every year there is a reminder of my grandpa at the Fundarama. My grandpa was very good at making all sorts of things with wood. He made one of the dressers in my room, cabinets, and the raffle cage in the picture below. This year Ben and I came home with sponges, a stalk of celery, and a candle from BINGO and went away having had a great time with the family. Two of the prizes were even just from people feeling sorry for us for not winning. It was not our lucky night for BINGO or raffle I guess.

My nephew's and neice playing the children's games

The raffle cage my grandpa made

The Holy Temple

2011-02-20T21:33:00.002-07:00

I love the temple. I just recently became a temple worker and love it. Even though it seems like a lot of time to volunteer two days a week I feel the blessing gained are of immeasurable worth. The temple is such a peaceful place where an eternal perspective is found. It is reassuring to know that God has a plan for each and every one of us. His plan becomes so clear through temple attendance. I have felt God's love so strong in the temple. He truely wants to bless us if we will just be obedient to his laws and the covenants we make with Him.

Holiday Traditions

2011-01-13T08:20:00.004-07:00

Christmas and New Years were full of the traditions that I know and love. The scriptures speak a lot about traditions. Children following in the traditions of their fathers for good or bad. I am grateful to my parents that brought me up with good traditions. For a long time my family has had a tradition of doing a service project as a family during Christmas. One time we did an Angel tree and another time we did Sub for Santa. This year we made cookies and caroled to some of the older widows in my parents ward. We also made quilts for a young widow mother and her 6 children out of the husband/father's shirts. Ben and I started a tradition a few years ago that we make a thankful chain and put it around our tree. It is amazing how many things there are to be thankful for. Ben's family has a tradition of eating clam chowder and reading children's Christmas stories on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately we were not able to join in because we arrived there on Christmas day due to me having to go in to work on Christmas. We were able to spend the whole week after Christmas with his family though. All of his brothers and their wives, Ben's parents, and our nephew Hector were there. It's been a while since we were all together. We took a lot of family pictures. The last tradition I am going to mention is my family's New Years party. We all get together and enjoy a veritable feast of traditional Japanese foods. Sushi, sashimi, good health beans, noodles, crab, Japanese vegetables, and much more. I think it kind of stresses my grandma out because she ends up preparing a lot of it but it's always my family's favorite meal.

My sister-in-law Beth and her baby Hector

The boys - Ben's dad, brothers, and nephew

Halloween 2010

2010-11-08T14:35:00.003-07:00

Ben and I love dressing up for Halloween. I am a frugal person and don't spend a lot of money on costumes. I mostly gather what I can and make our costumes. This year Ben and I decided to be the Hamburglar and a hamburger and fries. I enjoy sewing and being artistic. Ben and I had several of the pieces already: our hats, a jail shirt, and material. My mother was able to get a few things from her work for me such as the foam for the fries and the box I made the fry box out of. I went to a thrift store to get the red tie and got to work putting the costumes together. Ben and I spent Halloween night at my parents. We played Ticket to Ride and passed out candy to the Trick or Treaters. With us in our crazy costumes and my parents dressed up as pirates we were a silly sight to behold. I am sure the Trick or Treaters enjoyed watching us scramble to the door all decked out for Halloween.

Finding Peace

2010-10-20T15:47:00.000-06:00

I believe that it is important for everyone to find peace in life. I have found several things that give me peace. I have peace of mind knowing that there is a God and that he watches over me and those I love. I have found peace in knowing that I have self worth. I have found peace in a lot of music (which is why I love to play my flute). I have found peace in nature and through observing God's creations.

I thought about this as I was riding my bike to and from work today. My job is about a 30 minute bike ride away. I won't get to ride my bike much longer but I am enjoying it while the weather still permits. As I rode to work today I noticed the wonderful fall colors and noisy insects. I even saw a beaver swimming down a river. I had a rough day at work and the bike ride was very calming for me.

Fishing and Garage Sales

2010-09-19T15:20:00.000-06:00

I have been fishing since before I can remember. I love spending time relaxing in nature and the taste of fresh trout. During the last couple of weeks I was able to go fishing three times. I caught some rainbow, brown, and cutthroat trout. One of the trips was our present to my nephew for his birthday. I have never seen anyone so into fishing. He probably knows more than I do about different types of fish and he is only 6 years old. Ben found a golden currant bush while we were fishing. We picked a bunch and I made some currant muffins the next morning. They were tasty.

The other thing I have been doing a lot of lately is garage sales. Once a year my family will have a big garage sale. This year we couldn't all get together to have one garage sale on the same day so we ended up having two garage sales. A couple of weeks ago two of my older sisters, my sister-in-law, and I had a garage sale. I spent a lot of time cleaning out our shed that we hardly touched since we moved into the house. The previous owner left a bunch of random tools and hardware items there and we just now got to really cleaning it out and organizing it. We sold a bunch of the hardware items, a mantel, games, and bikes. It was so nice to get rid of all the clutter in the house. I sold most of my stuff at that garage sale. The next week my mom had a garage sale that included her stuff and the leftover stuff from the garage sale the week before. I could not believe how much stuff my mom had. I spent several hours helping her organize and price her stuff for the garage sale. I am a big garage sale fan. I go to garage sales with my sisters or my mom almost every week during the summer. I've gotten very inexpensive furniture, decorations, and gifts from garage sales. In case you were wondering, the gifts I get are new and in the package.

The last thing that has been going on recently is that we have been watching my nephew's gerbils, Scamper and Gilbert, while he is on vacation. Ben and I can't seem to understand what the draw is with the wheel. They could run on the wheel for hours and not get bored of it. Scamper will sometimes get into this groove where he will chew or run on the wheel for a while, scamper to the food dish and scatter the food, and then return to the wheel and run some more. After watching the gerbils Ben and I are thinking about getting a pet of our own. Probably not a gerbil but maybe a bird or a reptile.

The Lord's hand in all things

2010-08-15T21:02:00.001-06:00

This is a test. This is only a test. Sometimes, I feel like I have to repeat the words that I used to hear on the local public broadcasting station as I go through trials. This life is a test. It is only a test. I have had to tell myself those words a lot this week. I know that the Lord has a plan and he will provide a way. I can feel that right now is one of those times where I have been in the light and need to step into the dark and trust the Lord to light my way. My last day working at the daycare will be the end of the month. I will miss the children immensely but I feel that this change is for the best. I plan to teach more flute lessons and look for a new job. At least I have kept myself busy this week. Ben and I cleaned out the hornet-infested shed full of random nails, tools, and other stuff that the previous owner left. We took everything out and now have to sweep out the shed and organize everything we want to put in there. I am ready to have a garage sale to get rid of all our extra stuff we don't need. I organized my sewing and scrapbooking area that we moved downstairs.

Yesterday, Ben and I went to my work party for lunch, my cousin's wedding reception, and a swimming party at night. Ben and I were in charge of watching my brother's three children at the pool. I had a lot of fun, but watching them sure kept us busy. Besides going to all those events, we somehow were able to practice a musical number for church. I played the flute and Ben accompanied me on the piano. The musical number turned out really well. We played "In Humility Our Savior." Some people from the ward told us it was the most uplifting musical number they'd ever heard!

The kids from the daycare saying hi to Puddles, the Make A Wish Duck.

Family Reunion

2010-07-25T21:34:00.000-06:00

Ben and I just returned from a week long family reunion for my side of the family. We spent the week in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Neither of us had ever been to Oregon. I knew most of the relatives that were there and enjoyed meeting the ones I didn't know. We played get-to-know you games like Let's Make a Deal, Minute to Win It, Bingo, and lots of card games. When my family gets together we almost always play cards. I had no idea there were so many things to do near Klamath Falls. We went to Crater Lake, the fish hatchery, a wildlife refuge, and Lava Beds National Monument. We also went river rafting as a group of about 40. Everyone seemed to love it though. We had good-natured water wars between the rafts and canoes. Not one person was dry when we arrived at the end. There was a grand total of 65 people that attended the reunion. Not all of them were there the entire time but I would describe the group as a crazy mass made up predominantly of Japanese Americans. Ben and I had to get our usual vacation memento, a hat. At Crater Lake we found ourselves a ranger hat and a pin to identify it as coming from Crater Lake. The caves at Lava Beds National Monument were all so different. I felt like a real spelunker in Valentine Cave. One of the best things about this whole trip was that we decided to go through Boise on the way up to Klamath Falls and see a bunch of friends. We went to the farmers market, the zoo, and ate dinner with friends we hadn't seen in two years. We had a great time but I always enjoy getting back from vacation.

Me spelunking!

Us at Crater Lake

The fish hatchery

A great 5 years

2010-06-06T18:36:00.000-06:00

Ben on the Alpine Coaster
Me on the hike to Timpanogos Caves

Me in one of our trees in the backyard

Ben and I just had our 5th year anniversary on June third. The last five years have been filled with love, shenanigans, and trials. I am grateful for Ben's patience and willingness to work through trials. I love his humor and his love for knowledge. Ben and I celebrate each anniversary with a fun activity. One year we went to a historic farm and milked cows, churned butter, and threw tomahawks. Another year we went to a Greek festival. Last year we didn't didn't do any kind of activity so this year we hiked to the Timpanogos caves one day and went to Park City another day. Ben and I love to hike. As we hiked we identified plants and rocks and looked for animals. Last year I won a bunch of gift certificates. One was for a horseback ride in Park City and another was for the Park City Ski Resort, which has the Alpine Slide, Alpine Coaster, miniature golf, and a few other activities. Ben and I decided to use those and spend a day in Park City. The lady who we set the horseback ride up with forgot and didn't have any staff there. She felt really bad and invited us to do the horseback ride and come to a barbeque and country western dance another day. Of the the three things we did, the Alpine Slide, Alpine Coaster, and miniature golf, our favorite was the Alpine Coaster. There was a chance of falling out of the Alpine Slide sled if we went too fast but we were able to go as fast as we wanted on the Alpine Coaster. We also decided that since we were in Park City we should see the historic area. There were a lot of fun shops. We went into a chocolate shop and couldn't resist getting a frozen banana because they always remind me of when my family would take the ferry to Balboa in California and each get a frozen banana. While we were in Park City we also ate at an Asian fusion restaurant and got tacos, a hamburger, and sushi. They all had an Asian taste to them but we thought it was fun that we could get all three items in one restaurant.

A Healthy Balance

2010-05-25T11:40:00.000-06:00

Finding a healthy balance is a tricky thing to accomplish. Because Ben's work contributed $100 towards a gym membership Ben and I recently got ourselves a membership to a local recreation center. Swimming, biking, and the rowing machine are my favorite exercises. Having a membership has been a definite motivator for me to exercise and take care of the physical well-being aspect of my life. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with the children at the daycare I work at. It is important that I have that energy every day. On Monday my husband and I have a hike planned. I love hiking with Ben. It is fun to be out in nature and Ben knows so much about animals and plants. He tells me all sorts of fun facts.

The joys of family

2010-04-13T17:00:00.000-06:00

My family is a huge part of my life. This last week my oldest sister was in town with her children. Ben and I didn't spend one dinner at our house the entire time because we were always doing something with my family. Part of that was because my nephew was baptized on Saturday but it is still pretty common for us to get together for dinner. My oldest sister lives in California, two of my sisters and their families live close to me, my brother and his family are currently living with my parents who also live close to me, and my youngest sister and her family live in Missouri. All of us, except my oldest and youngest sister get together every Sunday and have dinner. Sometimes my cousins and grandma join us at my parents as well. We watch the Amazing Race and play games. My niece and nephews get to play with each other. Watching them play reminds me of when I would play with my cousins on Sundays as a little kid. It gets to be a pretty big group but it is all worth it for the relationship we have. My sisters and I will often go shopping and run errands together. We all have our talents and friends as well but enjoy each others company. I was raised in a strong family and am excited to have one of my own.

Extreme change!

2010-03-28T18:05:00.000-06:00

Ben and I at SeaWorld with a new hat for our hat collection
Shamu!

I am currently working at Children's Academy Preschool as a teacher and Ben just got a job with Corda as a technical writer. He starts Wednesday. Hooray! I love teaching at the Preschool/daycare. Everyday is different and there is never a dull moment. I like to make origami for the older children. One of the kids asks me for something new just about every time he sees me. Ben and I also just got back from a lovely trip to Disneyland and SeaWorld. Both were great. Ben had never been to SeaWorld before. He loved seeing all the aquatic life there. The sea lion and otter show was our favorite. Ben dreams of an otter fetching a can of soda for him now. Just kidding. He did think the part of the show where the otter retrieved a can of soda was cool though. We got on to every ride we wanted to at Disneyland. The lines were short, so we were able to spend more time on rides than in line.

Birthdays galore!

2009-10-11T17:03:00.000-06:00

At my mother's surprise birthday party
Me at the aquarium

Several members of my family have birthdays around this time of year. On Monday we celebrated my nephew Trey's second birthday. He is all boy. He loves balls, trucks, and dinosaurs. His favorite is balls though. He could sit and watch people playing ball for very long periods of time. He is also a good ball thrower. Trey is a very coordinated boy. You can be clear across the room and he could hit you right in the chest with a ball. He also does somersaults and drop throws a baseball and hits it. He loved the t-ball set he received and the light-up bouncy ball. We also celebrated my mother's 60th birthday. We gave her a surprise birthday party with cousins, second cousins, my mom's coworkers, roommates, and neighbors. Ben is finishing up one of his classes this week. My sister is visiting from Missouri with her daughter Eden. That has been a lot of fun. We went to an aquatic center and saw all kinds of fish, some birds, spiders, and other sea animals.

Building faith

2009-10-04T14:33:00.000-06:00

I like the new primary song, "I Am a Builder." The song speaks mostly of building the family but I feel that we can all be builders of more than even just our families. Many obstacles and setbacks can slow and discourage builders. For instance, lately I have been sick with a horrible cough and congestion. Ben and I have also gone through unsurity of work. The wonderful thing about being a builder for the Lord is that he sees the big picture and can get us on the track we need to be on. Building for the Lord is not about having everything go perfectly but about perfecting and building ourselves as well as His kingdom. We can keep ourselves in line with the Lord's plan if we read the scriptures, pray, and listen to the words of the prophets and apostles. Listening to conference has been a great opportunity to realign my goals with God's. It was inspiring to me to hear from the prophet the importance of service. It is often easy to say, "I don't have time to serve," or "I don't have the money to give," but the Lord creates a way for our needs to be met.

To tell you a little bit more about what has been going on lately: I have been sick and working through SOS, and teaching flute lessons. Ben has been working hard on his classwork. He has a wildland shrubs class that he has collecting plant specimens for. He just got back from a three day plant classifying and collecting trip. We recently celebrated Ben's birthday with a picnic in the park with my family.

For all those that are reading this: May you always be a builder of the Lord's kingdom.

Life updates.

2009-09-16T20:41:00.001-06:00

A lot has happened since the last post. My brother-in-law, Holden, got married. My husband is now back in school getting his teaching degree in biology. I am now working as a medical records retrieval agent. I also teach flute lessons now. This is perfect for me, because I am passionate about music and love teaching children. We just got the internet in our new house. Hopefully, this will mean more postings on the blog. I feel like this is a good time to express my feelings for my husband Ben. Ben is a sweetie and I love his excitement for learning. I appreciate how he always expresses his love for me through his actions and words. I enjoy the time I spend with him playing games, playing flute and piano duets, and running errands. I admire his willingness to forgive and love him dearly.

Malarky at Lake Tahoe

2009-07-05T15:20:00.000-06:00

Lake Tahoe

So, my family all went on a week long family vacation to Lake Tahoe. All my sisters went along with their children. My grandma and two of her siblings plus their families also joined in on the fun. It got pretty crazy if you can imagine. It was especially crazy when all of us would get together for dinner in one hotel room to eat. Some of the highlights were swimming and frolicking in the lake, hiking to Vikingsholm, and playing games with family. My family also spent a day at Virginia City. We went on tram and train rides and visited all the shops. My sisters bought me a nice leather jacket that was that was on sale for my birthday. Two days after Ben and I got back from Tahoe was my birthday. He made me a big oatmeal raisin cookie, my favorite kind of cookie. As far as celebrating the holiday, on Friday, my family set off some fireworks. Yesterday, I went to some fireworks with my sister Becca, her husband Shawn, their two children, and two of my oldest sister Emily's children. Ben decided to stay home because he felt ill all day. Unfortunately he didn't have such a great fourth of July. I have always enjoyed the Fourth of July. It is a great time to reflect upon the many blessings and freedoms we have. I took a U.S. history class last semester and it became quite apparent to me that God had his hand in making this land a free land. Just as the prophets in the Book of Mormon have said, all things testify of God.

The tram ride at Virginia City

My birthday cookie

Nothing like home.

2009-05-31T21:48:00.000-06:00

It is hard to believe what has been done to make our house a home. My brother-in-laws have been so helpful. The tile is all finished and the grout is sealed. The carpet is in and the furniture is all moved in. We have boxes to unpack and a few things to fix in the master bathroom but it is looking more and more like a home all the time. It is rewarding to see the outcome of putting in a hard month and a half of work into fixing up the house. My father-in-law was so impressed with all the changes that were made. He could hardly believe it was the same house. My in-laws have been remodeling their master bedroom and oddly enough they randomly chose the same carpet that we put in our house.

On Memorial Day weekend Ben and I drove with his brothers, Nick and Holden, to Idaho Falls. We went to visit family mostly. We saw his grampa and aunt as well as an aunt and uncle that he hasn't seen for a while. We also went to visit three different cemeteries where some of his family is buried. In addition, we went to visit my great aunt and uncle and my second cousins that live in Idaho Falls. One of Ben's family's traditions is to go to either Smitty's or Scotty's to eat. We were able to go to Scotty's the night we got there. It's a lovely little burger joint that I had never been to before. Ben's family also loves to go to see the big pop cans. There are some towers by a gas station in a town near Idaho Falls that are painted like soda pop cans. It's a place that they often stopped at to get gas. Ben tells me all sorts of stories about his childhood in Idaho Falls. He would explore the barn, potato cellar, and horse corrals around his house, take library trips, and he loves Chesbro's Music. Chesbro's Music is a music store that has a lot of sheet music. Last time we went there we bought the sheet music to the Pink Panther for flute and piano. Ben and I played it once at a ward talent show. He dressed up as the Pink Panther and I dressed up like Inspector Clouseau.

Finals are over!

2009-05-10T14:44:00.000-06:00

I survived finals and think I actually did pretty well. Yay! Now, to celebrate I am going to start a summer class this week. I'm actually pretty excited for my classes this summer. I'm taking classes like infant and childhood, family violence, and maximizing potential. I worked Wednesday and Friday this week. As a relay operator for the deaf I hear all sorts of interesting conversations. In between calls I get to read, surf the Internet, or do most anything I want to in my cubicle. It was nice reading what I wanted to read instead of studying this week. I started reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. So far it is a good book. We, of course, also worked on the house some more this week. We put all the backer board down, started putting down tile, and put sub-floor down in one of the bathrooms that needed it. On Friday and Saturday my family had a garage sale. We sold a bunch of stuff from the house that was left there by the previous owners. My family has a garage sale every year. We also enjoy going to garage sales. We have found some really good deals.

This is an aerial picture of the start of the tiling in the kitchen.

Reaching new heights

2009-05-03T14:44:00.000-06:00

The update on the house is that we are finished painting. We just have to go around and do touch-ups. Ben and my brother-in-law Tyson finished up the really high parts on the vaulted ceiling and high walls. We have some pictures of Ben and Tyson risking their lives to paint. Yesterday Ben, Tyson, my dad, and my brother-in-law Shawn put in laminate flooring in the living room and started putting down backer board in the kitchen so that later we can tile. My sister Becca, Ben, and I stained the new banister and I started sealing it. I only have two days of finals. Then, I get a few days of extra time to work on the house and it's back to school for a one week summer class. I will be sporadically taking classes throughout the summer in order to finish her Bachelors degree. We just went to our new ward today and the people seem very friendly. We are excited to be a part of the neighbood.

Ben reaching new heights.

Ben and Tyson using teamwork to paint.

More painting in high places.

This is the yellow room that was in the previous post after being painted.

All covered in paint!

2009-04-26T10:05:00.000-06:00

Here is an update on the house. It has been a long process but we are making some progress. After studying for school and working Ben and I spend the rest of our free time working on the house mostly. With help from family and friends we have most of the painting done, a fireplace taken out of a wall, carpet and linoleum ripped out, a double door replaced, and several other projects done. We are especially excited about our half avacado green, half white room. Well, Alyssa is at least. And, not only did we get a bunch of rooms and a hallway painted, we even painted ourselves as you can see in the pictures. Alyssa has finals coming up and is busy getting ready for that. We also just taught our last primary lesson to our CTR class in our old ward. We are going to our new ward next week.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T11:43:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! It's Easter. Ben and I love this time of year because it is the beginnings of new life. We were excited to go to our new house the other day and see some tulips and Alyssums, one of Alyssa's favorites, growing in our front yard. Easter is also a wonderful time to reflect on the greatest gift, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Another added bonus tradition that Alyssa's family has that we love is creamed eggs for breakfast. We take the eggs that we have dyed and make a cream sauce with some of them. The sauce goes on toast or English muffins.

House update

2009-04-05T10:45:00.000-06:00

We are now excited homeowners of a multilevel house in a beautiful area. It is in walking distance to a fishing pond, which is a real plus for us because we love fish and fishing. Alyssa has many memories of fishing with her grandpa in Strawberry Reservoir on his houseboat; stream fishing in the canyons; and ocean fishing in Southern California, where her father grew up. We have been spending our spare time, or nonspare time, working on fixing the house up. We tore out a fireplace, ripped out the carpet and linoleum flooring, took off a wallpaper border, and empied out all the the miscellaneous "treasures" left by the owners. We bought a short sale house, so the house came as is. This means that anything left by the owners now belongs to us, and believe me, there was a lot of stuff, including a snowboard, all sorts of tools, several 4x4 landscaping timbers, bongo drums, a nice telescope, and a few hats for our hat collection. I will let our pictures tell some of the story of the house improvements though.

Crazy Shenanigans!

2009-03-19T15:51:00.000-06:00

This last weekend we went to two birthday parties. One was for Alyssa's cousin's one year old child. It was a swimming party. The other was a party for Alyssa's nephew who turned seven. He decided he wanted to celebrate at Chuck E. Cheeses. It was fun to hang out with family and play. We even had a sketch portrait taken of us. St. Patrick's Day is always celebrated at our house, our last name being Green and all. We both made sure to wear green and we watched our all time favorite St. Patrick's Day movie, Darby O' Gill and the Little People. So, the big news this week is that the offer we put on a house was accepted. We decided a week or two ago to start looking at houses. Ben and I have been saving and thinking about buying a house off and on the past couple of years. We finally decided that this was the time and we found a great house in a wonderful area a few houses away from the park and a fishing pond. The house is a fixer upper but we are very excited to make it our very own.

An Introduction

2009-03-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We are Ben and Alyssa. We have been married for three and a half years and are working on adopting. We created this site to give people an introduction to us. We have posted a bunch of photos on this site in order to show a little bit about us and our interests. We will also continue to post details of what we are up to and to add pictures as time goes on. Thanks for checking out our blog!