It's been a few weeks since I have posted. Lots has been going on. I spent some time at home in Utah. I had to go home to finish my Residence Visa for living in China. It had also been two months since I had seen the family except for Alauna and Mikayla. It was so good to be home. I was able to be home for Brannon's birthday which was great. We had a great time. He just wanted to spend time with his mom and dad. We asked if he wanted to have a party with his friends and all he wanted was dinner and a movie with his mom and dad. We went to Rodizio Grill and then saw The Pirates movie. It was a ton of fun. Brannon also had his tonsils out when I was home. He did great with the surgery. His tonsils were so big is was affecting him in many ways. The doctor showed us the tonsils and said they were five times larger than normal tonsils. We have pictures of them, but I will spare you all.
I was in China for Mothers Day. It was tough to be away for Mothers Day. It was tough not to be there with Alauna and my Mom. I have an amazing mom and the most incredible wife. Being away on Mothers Day gave me a lot of time to reflect. I thought about many of the mothers that have influenced my life. I have been blessed to have a strong heritage of many Women of Faith. Women who understand the power and influence they have in the lives of others. Women who don't always know what the future holds, but still presses forward. Women who understand that there is a God in Heaven and put their faith in Him. I first thought of my own mother. I am grateful for all the support and love she has given me. I have many great memories of my mom growing up. She passed on her love of gardening and working in the yard. She also taught me how to make a killer lasagna. There were many times she made lasagna for me while in college when I was dating. I tried to pass off the lasagna as my own, but it was obvious I didn't make it. I am now proud to say I make a pretty good lasagna. I also thought of Eliza Ann Haven. She was an earlier pioneer that walked across the plains from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1847. She walked for a better life driven by her faith. I thought of my grandmother Leah Westover. She spend many years in a tuberculosis hospital. She never let her illness affect her positive outlook on life or her love of her husband. I love to read a some of the letters exchanged between my grandmother and grandfather while they were apart. They knew that life was not easy but they never let this dim their spirits or their faith. If fact, it strengthened it. I thought of my Grandma Beeston. She is a determined and driven lady. Regardless of difficulties around her, she worked tirelessly to raise her children and later be a positive influence in her grandchildren's lives. I also thought of my Aunt Janet. She battle cancer for many years. I was a young boy when she passed, but her example has stuck with me even until today. I have a distinct memory of her being sick but not letting that slow her down or affect her positive attitude. Watching her was one of my earliest memories of someone experience an extreme hardship and not letting that hardship change their eternal outlook on life. That example is still resonates with me today. I also thought mostly about my own wife, Alauna. I thought of the endless sacrifices she has made for myself and our children. There are many times in our life together that Alauna was face with great difficulties or challenges and regardless of the situation she always did what she needed to do. Many times it was with great difficulties or personal sacrifice on her part. She has often questioned her own strength to accept these challenges, but has always done what she needed to do with much faith and grace. She is truly a woman of faith. She is also raising a future generation or women of faith. I am so blessed to have Alauna, my mom and many other mothers in my life.
My sister Karen has been on my mind lately. She recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. That was a tough message to hear. Karen has had other illnesses in her life and has handled them remarkably. I have no doubt that she will fight cancer and beat cancer with the same resolve she has had as she has face other issues in her life. I believe that resolve comes in large part because of the examples of many in our lives that have come before us. It also comes from a faith in God and Jesus Christ that life is eternal and families are eternal as well. I hope that my kids will see Karen's example as she fights cancer and it will have a lasting impact on them that with faith and perseverance all things are possible.
I have moved into our house. It has been great to be in our house, but it is a bit lonely at night in the house without the family. I have made a couple of shopping trips to Ikea, Metro (like Costco), Suguo(superstore) to stock up on necessary household items. I still have a bit of cleaning, organizing, and putting things away before the family gets here but things are coming together. I have the driver arranged, the Ayi arranged, the schools arranged and am ready for the family to get here. I will leave May 26th and be in Utah when they come to pack up and clean the house. We leave the evening of June 6th and land the morning of June 8th in Nanjing. We have the drivers arranged to pick us up at the Shanghai Airport and then we'll take the four hour car ride to Nanjing. We'll have a Van for people and vans for luggage. We will have about 24 suitcases, 8 backpacks, a car seat and a port-a-crib. It's quite the undertaking to move eight people from Highland Utah to Nanjing China. Alauna has been amazing getting everything ready to go in Highland.
I had the power go out in the kitchen and the kitchen sink backed up all the same afternoon. I had repairmen here for 4-5 hours and they couldn't fix the power. They came back the next day and within a couple of hours had the power back on. The water heater was on the kitchen circuit and so I had a cold shower. I was so grateful that it happened before the family got here. I'm glad I was able to get some of the kinks worked out. To fix the sink they had to remove the pipes under the sink and run a snake down the drain pipe. They got it cleaned out but made a mess in the kitchen and unleashed and incredible stink pocket. In China there is a phenomenon know as "stink pocket". You will be walking down the street and out of nowhere you get hit straight in the face with an incredibly overwhelming and foul smell. It is bad enough to get it when your on the street. It's even worse when it's in your own kitchen. I was able to get the kitchen clean and get the stink pocket out of our house.
I am entering my last week of being alone in China. I am so looking forward to having the entire family here. It will an amazing experience to be in China as a family.
Take care.
Boyd
