It's a Small World

When you hear the song "It's a Small World" in China, you know the street sweeper truck is coming and that you'd better move if you don't want to get wet.  When you hear a similar tune in Taiwan, it means that the garbage truck is coming, and you only have a few more minutes to take your trash (rubbish) out.  In America, this tune means that the ice cream truck is coming. (One of the many reasons I love America.) But, no matter where you are in the world, this tune is associated with Disney and all of the magic and beauty of cultures around the world. During our time in China, I truly learned the meaning of "It's a Small World after all".

We were fortunate enough to get to do some traveling at Christmas time, just before the craziness of our move settled in.  We traveled to Taiwan and Thailand.  It was amazing how many people we ran into that we have connections with. While in Taiwan, we had the opportunity to meet and get to spend time with my sister-in-law's cousins.  We also met up with a family that had recently relocated from Shanghai to Taiwan.  I won't bore you anymore, but the list goes on and on with the people we ran into in Taiwan.  Truly a small world.  We had the same type of experience as we traveled to Thailand and ended up running into a family from Nanjing International School in the hotel lobby where we were both staying. It's amazing just how small this big world is.

As we recently relocated our family to America, Minnesota to be specific, we've found connections once again.  This was not a planned move, but it was the right move. Best Buy sold the company they owned in China, and relocated us in just a little over a month's time. In the few short weeks that we have been here, we have already received numerous blessings and confirmations that this is where we are supposed to be right now.

This has been an extremely crazy time, not only are we in the middle of a move with 7 children and living in a hotel, but we are also preparing to send our oldest daughter on a mission for our church on March 25th.  I have no idea how we would've completed this move without her help.  The Lord was very mindful of us as He assigned a departure date for Mikayla.  The Lord was also very mindful of Mikayla and the people here in Minnesota.  I have seen amazing things happen for Mikayla in the time that we have been living here. One of the most exciting opportunities that she has had is that she met a missionary from Taiwan (where she will be serving) and has gotten to help teach a recently converted family from mainland China.  

I can't believe that Mikayla will be leaving us for 18 months in less than a week.  I'm not sure that I'm ready to let her go, but I know it's the right thing to do. I had a difficult time leaving her in America for University this last fall as we headed back to China.  When she received her mission call, I felt great comfort knowing that finally she would be closer to us as she served in Taiwan and we lived in China, but this was not the Lord's ultimate plan.  The Lord needs us in Minnesota right now, and He has done all that He can to comfort me thru this transition.  The Lord gave me the opportunity to go to Taiwan and see where Mikayla will be serving and the people she will be serving with.  He has let Mikayla experience where we will be living while she is in Taiwan. He has given me the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Mikayla during this move and to see what an amazing woman she has become and how prepared she is to serve.  This has definitely not been the typical mission preparation time. In fact, Mikayla has given 3 mission farewell talks because she has lived in 3 wards/branches since she received her mission call. It might not be typical, but it's all working out.

It truly is a "small world" for which I'm grateful because this means that I will have the opportunity to see all of my amazing friends from around the world once again.  Who would've thought that a few years ago I would now be blogging about my friends from around the world?  Certainly not me.  In China, I was able to meet and become friends with people that lived less than an hour from me in Utah to people that are from the other side of the world.  (So, crazy that we had to go clear to China to meet our Davis County friends.) I feel so blessed and am eternally grateful for the friendships that I have with so many wonderful people. "It's a Small World after all", and I'm so glad that I get to be a part of it.

Alauna

I'll Go Where You Want me to Go.

I’ll go where you want me to go.  These are the words of a popular hymn in our church.  This hymn is typically sung as missionaries prepare to leave for a place that they did not choose, but was assigned by inspiration from the brethren at the church headquarters.  

The words to this hymn have been going through my head over and over.  Maybe because we are on the move again, and again not by our choosing.  When we came to China I was the only one that was 100% excited about it.  We prayed about it as a family and each person felt it was the right thing to do, but they still were not excited about it.  

Now after many tears the past few days we are spending our last night in China.  No one wants to leave.  We love it here, we are thriving here, we have built deep relationships here.  But if we truly believe the words to this hymn that we have collectively sung hundreds if not thousands of times then we need to go.

And so tonight is our last night in China and tomorrow at 4am we will wake up and begin the journey of thousands of miles with 27 suitcases, 9 backpacks, 2 car seats, a stroller and a port-a-crib in tow.  About 25 hours later we will be heading to our new home in Chaska, Minnesota (Temp housing until the end of March and then move into our new house).

  

In church and the scriptures we are taught that faith requires action, and through that action we will receive a witness and our faith becomes stronger.  We are moving to the Minneapolis area because we feel like it is where our family needs to be at this time.  So amid all the craziness and madness of moving a family of nine half way around the world we have an incredible feeling of peace.  We are doing what we need to be doing.  We have been immensely blessed for moving to China, and I have no doubt that we will continued to be blessed in our new adventures in Minnesota.  

I realized that we have not blogged for almost a year.  The past few days as I have had some quiet time I have had idea after idea for blog posts come to my mind.  (These posts will come in the near future.)  Mostly, for our own benefit to remember the amazing experience that we have had here in China and to remember how much our lives have been blessed by listening to the promptings of the Spirit we had as a family to move to China.  

As our family prepared to come to China I told our kids it would be the most difficult thing and the best thing our family had ever done.  Both of these statements are true.  And for this, I am forever grateful.  

Boyd 

For Mothers Day Alauna wanted to take a photo of the family and one with her and our 7 kids.  We grabbed the tripod, the camera and headed to the back yard to take a couple of photos.  With seven kids not many things are very easy.  This simple picture was no exception.  :)  I just started snapping pictures as the craziness unfolded.  While life may be a bit crazy it is always worth a laugh.  I have looked through these pictures dozens of times and I laugh every single time.  Our family may keep you on your toes, but we will always provide a laugh or two.  I can't imagine life any other way.  

Trevon is Baptized in China

Sunday March 9, 2014 was an awesome day.  Trevon got baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He was baptized is a swimming pool at the Frasier Apartments.  Jerry and Yvonne Yu live there and they are able to arrange the baptism being held there.  It was such a blessing, for me to be able to baptize him and confirm him.  He is such a good boy and it was a really special day. 

It was a very long day.  Alauna and I were up late on Saturday night getting things ready.  By the time we got to bed it was after midnight and then we woke up at 5:30 to make sure we were ready to leave by 7 to get to the baptism on time.  We had three college students staying with us for the weekend and also Alauna’s cousin David and Jenny Benson and their son Charlie.  It was so nice to have David and his family with us that weekend.  We had Craig and Sue Peterson as well as Tracy Crump meet us at our house to help get everyone to the baptism. 

The pool was about 40 minutes away from our house and we had the baptism service before our regular Sunday service so it made for an early start.  Our branch has not had a lot of children baptized in it so they did not have any white clothing.  So Trevon had a pair of white pants and a white shirt tailor made for his baptism.  He looked so good.  He also got a new suit made as well and looked handsome.

It’s always tough to be away from family and friends when we have special events.  This was no exception.  It was very nice to David, Jenny and Charlie here.  It was also very overwhelming with the amount of support received from our Nanjing Branch Family.  We had almost 60 people at the baptism from our church.  It took most of the people 30-60 minutes to get to the baptism.  We felt very loved and supported by everyone. 

The baptism was a great experience.  The pool was a lap pool and when we climbed in it was a bit deep.  Trevon could barely touch the bottom.  I was holding him up to keep his head above water.  The other side of the pool as a bit more shallow so we walked over to the other side lifting up and going under the lane markers as we went.  The other side was only slightly shallower and Trevy had to stand on his tiptoes to keep his head above water.  Trevon was probably the easiest to make sure he was complete immersed because he was already 90% underwater.  It is always such a special experience to be able to baptize our children and see them come out of the water clean and pure. 

After the baptism Trevon and I were in the dressing room and had a special moment.  We discussed about how at that moment he was perfect.  That all his mistakes and sins had been forgiven because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  We also talked about how even though he wanted to stay perfect he would make mistakes but through repentance he could be forgiven.  We also talked about after he receives the Gift of the Holy Ghost he would have a constant companion to help him make good decisions and help keep him safe.

After we changed we went back to the clubhouse where everyone was congregated.  While we were changing Alauna had everyone write his or her thoughts for Trevon on a postcard.  It was so nice for Trevon to have these postcards with all these thoughts written for him.  That night after everything settled down Trevon and I spent time reading every card.  He loved it.  It was so nice to have all that support written for him.  It will be something he will cherish forever.  We confirmed him and gave him the Holy Ghost.  Greg Ferney, Craig Peterson, Jasper Toomba, Jerry Yu and David Benson helped me to confirm him. 

That afternoon we had an open house at our house for Trevon.  We had about 50 people come over and had a great meal of BBQ pork (crockpot not smoker), salads, fruits, chips and some great deserts.  We had a lot of support from a lot of people to have enough food for everyone.  It was so nice to have everyone come over celebrate with Trevon and just relax and enjoy time together. 

It was an amazing day.  We are so proud of Trevon and his decision to be baptized and follow the Savior.  We pray he continues to make good decisions and grow and develop.  He is such a good kid.  At the end of the day we were exhausted and so happy.  I tried to write this blog that night after everything settled down and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  I fell asleep after just a few sentences.  It is not always easy being in China, but this day was a perfect day. 

Life's little miracles

Today is a difficult day for me.  It has been 7 years since my mom passed away, and I miss her every day.  There have been so many times that I have wanted to talk to her about the difficulties of China and raising 7 children.  There have been so many times that I've wanted to share the joy of one of my childrens' accomplishments.  Today I want to reflect on some of the miracles that the Lord has given to me to help me through the loss of my mom.
My mom felt she would pass away in February.  Her mom and dad both passed away in their birth months.  My mom's birthday is February 2nd.  As the end of February approached, and my mom was still with us, we all hoped we would have one more year with her.  But now as I look back, the Lord let my mom stay with us as long as He could.  He let her stay with us until the very end of the month.  He could have so easily taken her sooner, but He allowed us to have every possible moment with her.  It was not an easy month for her.  She was in extreme pain, but with the Lord's help, she fought to stay with us as long as she possibly could.
Boyd has asked me several (billion) times over the past years if I would consider moving to China.  My response was always "NO!!!!".  Part of the reason for my answer, besides the fact that I'm a scaredy cat and a home body, is that I couldn't leave my mom and dad.  I couldn't leave my mom when she was so sick, and then once she passed, I couldn't leave my dad alone.  I knew my sisters would take good care of my dad, but I still couldn't leave him.
Finally, I told Boyd "yes" to China.  I struggled with the idea of moving to China, but I knew the Lord had a plan and a purpose in sending us here.  I still was uncertain of leaving my dad though, and I prayed that he would be taken care of.  The Lord sent Marilyn to take care of my dad.  He sent one of his choice daughters, that loves my dad with all of her heart.  It has not always been an easy journey, for everyone involved.  (How can it be when you have 3 emotional girls involved who miss their mom with all of their hearts?)  I know it's the right journey though.  Marilyn makes my dad happy again.
I pray that my sisters will find comfort and peace on this difficult day.  They are amazing women that always astonish me with their strength and wisdom.  They are wonderful mothers, wives and especially sisters.  I'm extremely blessed to have them in my life.  They are certainly one of the most important miracles in my life.  The Lord knew I would need them by my side to help me through all of lives trials. I love how they always remind me of my loving mother through things they do or say.  I love you Lisa and Laurie!!  Thank you for being my best friends!
I know the Lord is always there for us.  Our path will not be easy, nor would we want it to be.  Without trials, our lives would be empty.  We cannot feel extreme joy without knowing extreme pain.  We cannot feel extreme happiness without feeling extreme sorrow.  The Lord has a plan for each of us, and if we work hard to follow and obey Him, we will be blessed, maybe not in the way we'd like, but certainly in the way that is right.
Alauna

Made in China...Baby Liam is here.

This post has been a long time coming.  On June 6th, we were blessed to have Liam Benson Westover join our family.  He was born heathly and was 3.69kg and 52cm long.  We are so glad he is here with us.

Having a baby in China was definately a different experience.  In the end it was a very positive experience but there were a lot of unknowns along the way.  We knew that there was one more little one to join our family.  Even after moving to China we continued to feel that there was one more.  It took a lot of faith and courage on Alauna's part to have a baby here.  Even though there are billions of babies that have been born here in China there was a lot of unknown as we decided to have another baby.

We went to our doctor at the local ISOS clinic in Nanjing.  After we told the doctor that we were expecting and confirmed it with a test the first question we ask was if we wanted the baby.  Of Course! we wanted the baby.  Her next comments gave us a glimpse of what we could expect.  She asked if we could go to the US to deliver the baby.  If not the US then Hong Kong and if not Hong Kong then Shanghai, but she advised and strongly encouraged us NOT to deliver the baby in Nanjing.  We were a bit uncertain about her strong thoughts on having the baby in Nanjing, as we have multiple friends that have had babies in Nanjing.  After further discussions with her we realized that her concern was less about the delivery and more about if there were complications after the delivery.  After feeling like we understood the risks we decided that we would have the baby in Shanghai.

We set up an appointment with Dr. Angela Thompson at Shanghai United Family Hospital.  We made the first of many trips to Shanghai to meet with her.  We were pleasantly surprised when we met her.  She went to medical school at the University of Utah and even though we just met her it was nice that we had something in common.   She was really good with sharing the risks and what we could do to mitigate the risks.  She understood the frustrations and challenges with having a baby in China and I think overall she did a great job preparing us for having a baby in China.

One area that we did not agree with here was the timing of moving to Shanghai.  She wanted Alauna there at week 36-37.  With 6 kids at home that was going to be very difficult for Alauna to be in Shanghai for a month on her own before the baby came.  We did agree that Alauna would be induced a week early so that would help a bit.  The reason she wanted us there was in case Alauna went into labor early.  Once she went into labor there was no chance of making it to Shanghai.  We were not going to be getting on a train with Alauna in labor so if it happened early she would have the baby in Nanjing.  We decided that Alauna would go two weeks early and spend a week by herself and then I would come the week the baby was due.  After thinking more on this, Alauna didn't feel comfortable with the idea of being in Shanghai alone 8.5 months pregnant.  If she had issues, she wanted me there.  She did not want to be in labor trying to get a cab or walking to the hospital.  So we decided that we would go to Shanghai the week before Liam was due. We were scheduled for induction on Thursday June 6th.  We went the weekend before he was due.

One of the reasons we struggled with Alauna going to Shanghai so early was figuring what we would do with the other kids while Alauna was in Shanghai and I was at work.  Fortunately we were able to have Priscilla Smith Westover (Boyd's sister-in-law) come stay with us for 3 weeks.  That was a huge blessing to have her come and be with the kids while we went to Shanghai.  When Alauna, Declan and I went to Shanghai to pick her up we all planned on going to the airport to get her and then go back to the hotel together.  Alauna wasn't feeling well so we decided we would go check in and drop Alauna and Declan off at the hotel and I would go get Priscilla.  We walked to the taxi line to get a cab to get to the hotel.  The line was super long.  At least an hour plus wait.  So we decided we would use one of private cars that are always at the airport or train stations.  They are convenient because you don't have to wait, but you pay for it.  We spent about 15 min in the taxi line negotiating with the lady.  She is trying to get us to pay 3-4 times what a cab would cost by selling convenience and not having to wait.  We are trying to make her think we weren't in a hurry and willing to wait the hour plus for a cab.  Finally after much negotiation we settled on a price to get to the hotel.  We left the taxi line and followed her to the car.   She wasn't the driver, just the negotiator.  The driver was outside.  They took us to the exit to meet up with the driver.  The only problem was that the exit was blocked with large garbage cans that were lying down on their side and chained together.  I guess the train station didn't want people using this exit.  We climbed over the garbage cans (remember that Alauna is 38 weeks pregnant) and made it to the car.  We got Alauna and Declan checked into the hotel and I had the same driver take me to the airport and wait for me there to bring me back.  I got to the airport right as Priscilla came out of the exit from customs.  It was perfect timing.

We spent the next day with Priscilla in Shanghai and then headed back to Nanjing.  We spent the next few days in Nanjing and then we headed to Shanghai.  Liam was due on Thursday and we went to Shanghai the Saturday before.  We saw the doctor on that Saturday and everything was looking good.  Liam had been breech on our previous visits and he was now turned so we just had to wait until he decided to come or Alauna was induced in a few days.  Alauna and I stayed in Shanghai and took advantage of the time with no kids.  It was great.  It was a mini vacation before Liam came. We watched a lot of movies, and ate a lot of good food.  We went to quite a few sites during that time.  We went to the top of Shanghai World Financial center.  It was awesome.  It is over 1500 feet up.  It was a lot of fun.  We also saw the Jade Buddha in Shanghai and the Shanghai Circus World Acrobats.  The acrobats were amazing.  I loved watching them.  Their show kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.  It was a great time.

June 6th came without Liam coming on his own.  So we walked (no taxi) to the hospital.  We got checked in and went to the labor and delivery room.  I was surprised and amazed at the size of the room.  I think out of the seven kids this was the biggest labor and delivery room we have had.  It was nice to have such a big room.  The hospital assigned us a nurse/midwife.  This seemed normal.  With all our other kids we typically had a nurse that looked after us.  The difference here was that she did not leave the room.  We arrived in the morning around 8am and Liam was born at 8:55pm and she didn't leave the room except for about 15-20 minutes to go get something to eat.  She even asked us if it was OK if she left to go eat.  She mostly let us be.  She would check Alauna's vitals as needed.  When baby Liam was getting close to coming the doctor came in and everything was going smoothly.  The nurse was very assertive and she was trying to take control and do it her way.  The doctor and her battled it out and finally the nurse let the doctor take the lead.  When Liam was finally born, his umbilical cord was tied in a knot, wrapped around his neck, his arm and his body.  He was quite the little acrobat before he was born.  The doctor said it was pretty rare that the umbilical cord was tied in a knot and told us to make sure we got a picture of it.

When Liam was 2 days old we had his "baby hospital photos" taken.  In China, this was passport photos.  Your eyes have to be open on a passport photo.  This is not an easy task with a 2 day old baby.

We had Liam on a Thursday night, and we were not allowed to leave the hospital until Sunday night because they wanted to make sure Liam had all of his tests and shots done before we left.  One of the shots couldn't be done until he was 72 hours old.  They waited until he was exactly 72 hours old and then finally let us go.  So, we were finally able to leave the hospital around 9:30 pm on Sunday,  As we walked out of the hospital (no wheelchair), we tried to find a taxi.  We were loaded down with a new baby, suitcase, car seat/stroller, flowers, and other things from the hospital.  We couldn't find a taxi, so we started walking.  We kept trying to get a taxi, but they were already all full.  So, we walked to the hotel.  It was crazy to walk to and from the hospital with our seventh child.  In America, you can't even walk to your car.  You are taken to your car in a wheelchair.  There is no way you'd be allowed to walk "home".

On Monday, we took Liam's "hospital photos" to the American Embassy and applied for Liam's passport.  We also got an American birth certificate for Liam.  So, he has a Chinese and an American birth certificate.  We also took the train back to Nanjing on Monday.  We were careful to keep him covered on the train because the people in China love babies and always want to touch them and hold them.  This was the first time the kids got to see Liam.  It was weird not having the kids come to the hospital to see their new brother.  It was so much fun seeing how excited the kids were to meet their new brother and to see how much they already loved him.  It was especially fun to watch our sweet little Declan get so excited to be a big brother.  He just wanted to hold Liam and love him.  It was like watching your kids on Christmas morning or enjoying a day at Disneyland.

Every time we have a baby I am amazed by Alauna.  This time was no exception.  It was something that I can not use words to describe.  I have always know that Alauna is an amazing woman.  This time, however, I saw something in Alauna that I have never seen.  It was a look in her eye that I will never forget.  It was a look of fear, a look of exhaustion, a look of pain.  It was a look of confidence, determination, and unconquerable spirit.  I have always known that Alauna is an amazing woman and while she often doubted herself there was nothing she couldn't do.  This moment confirmed that to me.  That look on her face told me that there was nothing she couldn't do.  There have been many amazing women in history and I would put Alauna at the top of the list.  I am so blessed to have Alauna as my wife.  She is an amazing mother as well.  We are very blessed to have our seven children.  

We have loved having Liam in our family.  He is such a happy baby.  He is growing and loves to smile.  He loves being part of our family and you can tell that he can't wait to get up and run around with his older brothers.

Boyd and Alauna

We saw these guys and asked what they were doing.  
They said they worked in a Steak Resturant.
We decided to give it a try.  It was the weirdest thing ever.
It was like an old time Western set in China with one steak
on the menu.  It was $100 USD.  We said we had to go
and ended up eating BBQ that night.  

Beijing duck on LaoWai Street.  I love Beijing Duck. 

This was at the Jade Buddha.  These ladies talked to Alauna
giving her advice and asking her advice for about 20 min.
They wanted a pic with their hands on her belly for good luck.
They were in complete amazement that she was going to be the
mother of 7 kids.  This was just a day or two before Liam was
born.  I'm also amazed by Alauna.  

Alauna looking beautiful as always at the Yu Gardens. 

Nothing like a little foot massage.  The people giving the
foot massages were also husband and wife.  

Guacamole made tableside.  

Alauna looking beautiful at 1500 feet in the air.  

I love these two.  They worked so hard.  

Baby Liam 

Our baby is now a big brother.  Declan Loves
being a big brother. 

Brannon and Liam

Trevon and Liam

Tiana and Liam. 

Marissa and Liam.  Not sure why we don't have
a pic of Mikayla and Liam.  I need to find one.