The Larsen's Families Are Forever

Three Years

2009-10-08T12:19:00.007-05:00

Ashlynn has been home with us for 3 years. It seems strange, it feels like she has been with us forever. It has been so awesome to see her blossom into the sweet little girls she is.

She fooled us though, we were able to visit her 2 times in Haiti, each visit lasted about a week. She would never smile, talk, laugh, or look us in the eye. The only time I ever seen a little hint of a smile is when I was kissing her neck, it must have tickled her because she let out a quite little laugh and a small smile, and then it was gone.

After being home for less than 2 days, she was a totally different child. She would smile, laugh, play, dance, want to be snuggled and kissed. She still does all of these things, plus she talks nonstop. This is Ashlynn's referral picture. When we looked at this picture of her we knew that she was ours!!

When you are going through an adoption you look so forward to any new information and new photos!! Here are a few more of her in Haiti.

In October of 2005, Bart, Lindsey and I went to Haiti to meet Ashlynn (Mitchelina).

I remember how excited I was to be able hold her, and kiss her checks. She was so tiny, so much smaller than I expected her to be. We stayed with her for a week. We were able to take her to the hotel with us, and have her with us all the time. It was so great!!! But then it can time to say good bye. How does a mother leave her child, and go home. That was one of the hardest things I have had to do. I cried like a baby, and ached to hold her in my arms.

It took us 18 months to get Ashlynn home. This is Ashlynn on the airplane leaving Haiti.

It is hard to believe that this is the same little girl, after only a few months home.

And here she is today. What a beautiful, sweet, smart, and sometimes stubborn little girl. I'm so blessed to be able to be her mom. I love this girl so much!!!!

Back To School

2009-08-19T10:22:00.003-05:00

Our children start school today. I can't believe how fast the summer went!
I have such mixed emotions about sending Hannah to kindergarten. In one breath I think, she is used to attending school, but on the other hand she has only been home for just over a month and a half. I wish we had a little more time with her adjusting to life in good old Hamer. I guess the good thing is that she will only go half a day, and then I will be able to spend some good one on one time with her.

Ashlynn will be in 1st grade! She wasn't at all excited for school to start. Her and Hannah have had such a great time playing together. As a mother I worry.... I worry about her being in school all day..... I worry about her eating her school lunch, she is such a picky eater. I may end up making her a lunch to take to school. I don't look forward to that. She is a smart girl and will do great. Both her and Hannah had their hair done for school. Aren't they both so cute!

Alyssa will be in the 6th grade. She is growing up so fast. She was excited and nervous to go back to school, she will have a strick teacher who expects alot from her students, but she's up for the challenge.

Bryce will be a senior this year. Where did that time go!!! He loves, loves, loves school. He is very smart, and is not at all humble about it. He will have a busy year, he is student body president, and is a national officer for BPA, plus he is a 4.0 student.

Since our children first started school I have always taken their pictures on the first day of school. I think they are pretty darn good looking, if I do say so myself.

Introducing Hannah Precious Larsen

2009-07-20T08:43:00.008-05:00

What an amazing little girl!! We are so glad to finally have her home!!!

We have had a busy three weeks, but it has been so much fun.

Here are a few pictures of activities over the past few weeks.

Our plane ride home!!

After 3 1/2 weeks in Ghana I was so excited.

Hannah, Ashlynn, and Brynlee in their matching pj's.

Hannah's first helicopter ride with Dad, she loved it!!

Bubble Baths!!!!

All American Girls.....well sort of

Hannah and Ashlynn started swimming lessons on July 6th. They lasted 2 weeks. Both girls did amazing. They both love being in the water, they are like little fish.

WE ARE FINALLY HOME!!!

2009-07-02T10:29:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to update everyone. We flew into Salt Lake last night, with two very sweet little girls, Precious and Sandra. They did so great on both flights, and were very excited and some what shy to see their families. I will post more later on my adventure in Ghana later. I just wanted to share the GOOD news.

Guess Where I'm Going????

2009-06-03T09:56:00.004-05:00

I'll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don't count.

If your guess was GHANA, you win!!

Our adoption is finally done!! Kingsley has our decree in his hand!!!!

It still seems too good to be true. But we have a daughter waiting for us in Ghana.

I will be leaving on Sunday morning. I can't wait to get my arms around our sweet little Precious. I can't express how much I appreciate Kingsley, he has worked so hard to get this adoption done. At times it seemed it would never happen, but Heavenly Father had a plan. The first time I looked at this picture of Precious, I knew she was ours.

It has been 8 months, an emotional roller coaster ride with highs and lows. But I always knew it would happen, and she would be part of our family. As Kingleys always says, God is good. He is very good.

Someone Needs Your Star

2009-05-18T14:47:00.005-05:00

I love this song!!! My daughter Lindsey had me listen to it on Saturday, she said it made her think of the children at Luckyhill. So I decided to put some pictures to the music. The song is by Jenny Phillips. I hope you all enjoy.

Update???

2009-05-09T12:02:00.002-05:00

I was just talking with Bryce, saying that I needed to update my blog, but I don't know what to write about. His comment was "Mom, you don't have to blog only about Precious. You could blog about me!!" So here is a post about Bryce.

Such a cute baby, don't you think?

Bryce is a very sound sleeper, a bomb could go off and he wouldn't even flinch. That's why he wet the bed until he was 15 years old. Ha Ha! Just kidding.

I hope that doesn't embarrass you too much Bryce.

No Comment!!!

Be careful what you ask for Bryce.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

2009-04-27T18:29:00.002-05:00

On Sunday April 5th Kingsley, the school and orphange director, had a birthday!!!

It was so fun to what the children singing to him.

He was teasing me because I am older that he is. But in my defense only by about 6 months. Actually I was feeling very old, he and Gloria were amazed that I'm a grandma.

Like a true lady, I will not post my age, and no you can't ask Kingsley how old he is either!!

Pictures of Precious

2009-04-23T18:17:00.005-05:00

I am missing this little girl soooo much. So I thought I would post some pictures of our little Precious. Is she a beauty or what???

I also had the awesome opportunity to meet Patience, she is Precious's mother. We were able to go to her home, where she showed us pictures of Precious when she was a baby. This brought me to tears. I would have never in a million years thought I would see pictures of Precious as a baby.

She is so dang cute!!!

I can't wait to get this sweet little girl home!!!!

Where To Begin

2009-04-15T09:09:00.003-05:00

We (Cheryl and I) arrived in Ghana on Wednesday, April 1st. My April fools joke was........no adoption decree. Which means that Precious isn't officially a Larsen yet. I was upset but hopeful that Kingsley would be able to get our decree within the next few days, so that I could still file our I600 while I was in Ghana. But as fate would have it, it wasn't meant to be.

I was however able to spend a lot of time with Precious, meet her mother, see Cheryl meet her girls, watch first hand just how hard Kingsley works, and fall in love with all the children at Luckyhill.

As for our adoption, we ran into a small snag. I won't go into detail, but it is going to take us a little longer before we can bring our sweet Precious home. I have faith that things will work out, and that she will come home.

A Desperate Plea for a Desperate Child
The following is an email that Kingsley the director of the orphanage where Precious is staying sent.

Hello,This is the photos of William, He was burnt some few weeks ago, and his condition is very critical, he can not walk or place feets on the ground. I have sent him to the hospital but still there's no improvement.Kingsley.

Please be aware that the pictures below are of Williams feet, they are graphic

His name is William. He was running and playing, and ran into a field where grass had been burning. Obviously, the fire was still smouldering.They ran out of pain medication, and can only afford to change the bandages every 3 days. If you can spare anything, please click here and donate to Luckyhill through paypal so this child can receive proper medical care. He's about 9 years old, and such a sweet boy.

GREAT, WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC NEWS

2009-03-27T11:26:00.003-06:00

Precious is officially a LARSEN!!!!

Is that not the very best news ever?

Now I can book my plane tickets and go to Ghana. I will be leaving on Tuesday morning, arrive in Accra Wednesday morning, and file our I600 paper work Wednesday after noon. While that is being approved I will be working on getting her a visa.

My sister in law Cheryl is also going to go to Ghana with me. I so excited for her to meet her 3 girls. My brother Brant and Cheryl are going to adopt Precious's 3 older sisters. She will be able to hand deliver her dossier (all the paper work required to adopt) to Kingsley. I'm so glad she will be there with me. I was a little nervous being there by myself. We hope to do some sight seeing with the girls, and hopefully we can meet with their birth mother.

Great things are happening, I am so blessed!!

This picture is of Precious and her sisters.

Sandra, Dorthy, Paulina, and Precious. Aren't they all so beautiful.

I'm Going To Ghana

2009-03-20T17:27:00.002-06:00

Okay so here our adoption update. I have hesitated posting because nothing has been happening, at least with getting Precious home.
I hope to be leaving around the 29th. Kingsley promises that everything will be ready to file our I 600 while I'm there, hopefully get Precious a visa, and bring her home. I will be traveling by myself. I'm kind of nervous about being in Ghana without my family, but I'm also so excited to see our little girl. The Pearson family will be in Ghana at the same time, so that makes me feel a lot better.
Again, I ask for your prayers that everything will go smoothly with the paper work, that we will be safe, and that Precious can finally come home.

Adoption Update

2009-03-09T21:26:00.003-06:00

We are scheduled for another court date Thursday, March 12th. We are praying for everything to go smoothly, and that we get an adoption decree. I will then go to Ghana and file our I 600.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Precious will be home by the first part of April. I miss her so much!!!

Here is another picture of our little sweetie.

Precious Lives Up To Her Name

2009-02-25T09:46:00.013-06:00

It is hard to put into words what it was like meeting Precious for the first time. When we arrived at the school, we were welcomed by a sea of smiling faces.

We looked around for Precious, but could not find her. Kingsley said that she would be coming soon. So we waited, and loved on the other children. Finally our little Precious was standing right in front of us. I'm sure she was very over whelmed by us.

We scooped her up and I don't think we put her down the entire time we were with her. She is such a beautiful girl. I'm sure you will all agree. I was really suprised to see her hair with yarn extensions. So cute!!! She seems healthy and happy. We had such a great time with her.

Here are just a few pictures of our little Precious.

She really enjoyed playing at the beach or as she would say "in the sea water".

Is she not the cutest little girl you have ever seen. I miss her, and can't wait until she is home!!

We love you Precious.

GOING TO GHANA

2009-02-11T18:34:00.002-06:00

We are so excited!!! We (Bart, Karen, Brock, Bryce, and Alyssa) are going to leave for Ghana on Sunday!!!
We found out some interesting news about our little Precious. It seems she has 3, yes 3 older sisters. We thought she was an only child. So needless to say this was a surprise for us. We also found out that the chief came to the school/orphanage (Luckyhill). He said he would not allow the adoption of Precious unless we promised to help find a family for at least one of her sisters. So our court date has been postponed until Tuesday the 17th. And the hunt is on for a family.
We decided, okay I decided, that we should go to Ghana. Our plan is to hopefully get an adoption decree on Tuesday, and then file our I600 paper work in Ghana before we come back home on the 23rd . We won't be able to bring Precious home with us, but hopefully very soon. I can't wait to meet her!!!! So that's the update on our adoption.

Third Times The Charm

2009-02-06T14:17:00.004-06:00

If you remember, I posted we were supposed to have our court date in Ghana on Jan. 30. We had to reschedule because some people showed up late, and the session had already begun. So our court date was set for today. But this time the judge didn't show up, he had a death in his family. So needless to say....no judge...no adoption decree. Our court date has been rescheduled for Tuesday Feb. 10. We could really use your prayers that things will go well on Tuesday.

As soon as we hear that we have an adoption decree we plan on traveling to Ghana to file our I600 paper work. Bart and I, Brock, Bryce and Alyssa are planning on going, we won't be able to bring Precious home with us. But we are excited about going to meet her, I can't wait to hold her and kiss her sweet cheeks. We will also doing some sight seeing, and help at the school/orphanage. We are all very anxious to go.

On the brighter side of things we did receive some new pictures of Precious last week. I can't believe how much her hair has grown. Looks like it should be fun to braid.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROCK

2009-02-04T08:00:00.005-06:00

I can't believe our first baby is 21 years old. Where did the time go???

He was a beautiful baby weighing in at 7 lbs. 9 oz.

He has grown into a handsome young man....if I do say so myself.

We have been so blessed to be Brocks parents. He is an amazing young man.

We Love You Brock

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRECIOUS

2009-02-03T14:52:00.004-06:00

Precious had a birthday on Saturday. She turned 5 years old.

We had a little party without her, with decorations, balloons, and a cake.

We even send her some balloons is the wind .... I hope she got them. ; )

UPDATE ON PRECIOUS

2009-01-22T09:19:00.003-06:00

I am so excited!!! Great things are happening in Ghana.

First off, Stephanie who is also adopting from Luckyhill, left for Ghana on Sunday. Her plan is to stay in Ghana and be with her boys until their adoption is competed and the boys can come home. The blessing for us is, she will be able to spend some time with Precious too. From what I have heard she has some video of Precious for us. But when she went to the internet cafe, the internet wasn't working. Go figure. She has talked with her husband, and this is the information that he has passed on to us.

**Precious was described as a wall flower, very shy, but she smiles a lot. She does come up to Stephanie and holds her hand, then she will look away before she speaks to her. She has already given away one of her bracelets (although I am not sure which one), but the one that she had is a little too big for her.**

I sent a little dress and 2 bracelets, they fit Ashlynn, but apparently they don't fit Precious.

The other exciting news is......We should be finished with the court process by the end of next week!!!! This means that Precious will be offically ours!!!! It also means we will be traveling to Ghana soon, to be able to meet our little Precious for the first time!!!!

So I ask that you will please, please, include us in your prayers. PRAY that our case passes court with flying colors, and that Precious will get her passport.

I will keep you posted!!!

Ashlynn & Brynlee

2009-01-10T10:01:00.006-06:00

I just had to post a couple of pictures of Ashlynn & Brynlee. Bart's sister Cama is so amazingly talented!!! She is always so willing to take pictures for us when ever we ask (no matter how busy she is). These are of the girls in their blessing dresses. Pretty darn sweet if I do say so myself.

Precious

2008-12-27T09:48:00.002-06:00

Just a little update on Precious. We learned that her birthday is January 31, 2004. That means she will be turning 5 years old in January. It also means that we will have twins.....at least for a few months of the year. Ashlynn's birthday is in June. So from January to June we will have twins. One from Haiti and one from Ghana. I always thought having twins would be fun.

Christmas Pajamas

2008-12-27T09:30:00.006-06:00

For the last 3 Christmas Eves, I have given our family pajamas. I love it!!! The boys for some reason don't share my excitement. I have posted pictures, it's fun to see how much we change in a years time.

For Time And All Eternity

2008-12-21T18:41:00.004-06:00

Words can't express what an amazing day yesterday was.
We had the awesome opportunity of having Ashlynn sealed to our family in the Rexburg Temple. And that is only half of the great news. Lindsey, Mitch & Brynlee also became an Eternal Family.
Bart & I were so blessed to have all of our children together for Ashlynn's sealing.
After the sealing, we were invited to stand in front of the mirrors. The sealer told us we aren't allowed to take pictures in the Temple, but we could take mental pictures. It was a beautiful picture to see our family standing in the Temple together, on our way to becoming an Eternal Family. That is a moment I will never forget. Ashlynn looked so beautiful dressed in her little white dress. She is such a sweet little girl.
We couldn't be more pleased with Mitch and Lindsey. They have came along way in a years time. When Brynlee stood at the alter, she was so precious. She stood so still and was very content through the whole thing. I'm sure she was wondering what was going on though. What a little angel.
All in all it was a great day! We are so blessed.
I can't wait until little miss Precious comes home, so we can do it all over.

FIRST POST

2008-11-24T10:16:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone!!
I started to put this blog together awhile ago. But this is our 1st official post.
The reason for starting a blog, is to hopefully keep everyone caught up on what is happening with the Larsen Family. I hope you will check back often.