Christmas comes early when adopted special needs girls from China arrive at their new Herriman home

HERRIMAN — Lexi and Sophi traveled thousands of miles to be part of the Green family's live nativity this year.

In fact, their parents Jeremy and Christianne Green traveled to China to bring them home. They are the fourth and fifth special needs children adopted by the Herriman couple. Sophi, 2, was born without arms and has no fibula in her right leg. Lexi, 4, is blind.

As the family prepares to observe yule traditions, such as

driving through the elaborate light displays at Thanksgiving Point on Christmas Eve followed by a meal at Arby's, the actual holiday may be somewhat anticlimactic for Jeremy and Christianne.

Christmas came early when the couple brought home their new additions last week. Christianne said the enormity of the events hit her when the family piled into its van Friday evening at Salt Lake City International Airport after the couple's 30-hour trip from China.

"I was overwhelmed and exhausted. We hadn't slept the entire time. My favorite moment was when we got into the van, turning around and seeing all eight of our kids buckled in. I thought, 'We're all here.' It just felt so good," Christianne said.

The Greens were accompanied on the trip by their daughter Graci, who traveled to China to welcome her new sisters and to visit the foster parents who cared for her before she was adopted by the Greens in November 2007. She speaks Mandarin and interprets for her Chinese siblings.

Jeremy's father, Allen, also made the trip.

"It was a very happy experience but you miss the kids that are at home," Jeremy said.

"Adoption is a very spiritual experience, and it's very exciting, much like it is when you give birth. It's also very exhausting."

The family's immediate goals are to recover from jet lag and attempt to get their brood on the same schedule. "When you take a child from China and change everything around them, there's a huge adjustment period," Jeremy said.

Caseworker Suzanne Stott of Families for Children, which handled the adoption, says the Greens are up to the challenge.