Walking to China.

Serving in the Phillippines for the Second Time.

2012-01-20T12:41:00.000+08:00

Our daughter is in the Phillippines for the second time, serving in an orphanage and with displaced people. Yes, it makes my heart swell as I look at this pictures.

Carrying wood beams in the heat of the day.

Building a wall..by hand.

Reading to one of the kids.

Can't wait to see her again next week!

Monkey boy goes to the doctor.

2012-01-07T16:48:00.000+08:00

One of my affectionate names for our little guy is "Monkey Boy." I have no idea why but it seems to suit him. We took him into the orphan/charity clinic for his check-up the other day. This is a center where the doctors are in training and it's pretty fun to go. I've blogged about it here as we go every few months. Or so....
http://walkingtochina.blogspot.com/2011/05/some-more-of-foster-babies.html It's amazing to see the difference in how he was sitting even six months ago,
Here are a few pictures from the check-up. He thoroughly charmed the doctors as they gave him pens and cell phones to play with. He was weighed fully dressed (diaper, onesie, thin long underwear, thick long underwear, corduroy pants, shirt and sweater- hey, it's cold here) so his weight was recorderd a little high. But is is about 27 pounds (90th percentile) and 75th percentile for height. His measurements go on a growth chart that is specific to kids with Down Syndrome. They tend to be shorter and rounder and he fits that to a T.

Talking on the exam room phone. Any phone has a magnetic draw for our little guy. His ayi calls people up and lets him talk to them. He can also pretend text on a cell phone. I often find new phone numbers in my address book. Or a different tone for the ring. Or the ringer off. So if you call me and I don't answer, it's possible that he has accidentally turned off my phone!

Notice that the nice doctors gave him the stethoscope. I'm not sure if he wants to be held, pulled or if they are holding something that he wants. They didn't say a lot of no to him!

Listening to his heart. He watching the other doctor pretty intently.

Paul came along on the visit because I literally can not carry our little guy any more. He is close to 30 pounds and his low muscle tone makes carrying him really hard-it's like carrying a sleeping child. The clinic require a long taxi ride - that means carrying him while walking on a busy street to find a taxi- no way! Later we had to get some blood tests (not a good experience) and I was so glad Paul was there to hold him- I don't think I could have done it.

It was a good visit and I am so thankful for the good medical care available to us.

Things that are making me laugh.

2011-12-28T19:10:00.000+08:00

I've often said that a sense of humor is the unnamed fruit of the spirit. Being able to laugh and just enjoy things is key to so much, especially in living overseas. So in that spirit....here are things that are making me laugh these days.

Did you know we had a little old village woman that lived in our home? Our little guys loves this shawl and loves being wrapped up in it. I don't know if it's a characteristic of Down Syndrome but he loves things with texture that he can touch and feel. This shawl with yarn imported from Uruguay fits the bill perfectly!

Total joy at new books and a new battery operated toothbrush at Christmas. We should all be so thankful!

Maybe Succcss in Service. But not in spelling.

NE China is dry and cold. The saga of trying to find lotion that doesn't have whitening stuff in it, isn't greasy or doesn't require me to cash out a retirement account to buy is a blogspot all its own. In my quest to find lotion, I discovered this scratching cream at a Watson's Drugs. I bought it because, well, how could I not? It was irresistable! Both Elisabeth and I used it in the shower and there was no scratching. The word "sand" is in the characters but this was basically shower gel.

Taken surreptiously in the line at the ATM.

Hi

I bought a new bike.

I want to go to give you a ride home

This weekend.

Awesome misspelling on pirated sweats. I wonder if they also use child labor to make their clothes.

This was on a bag of bread that we got at Ole- an overpriced grocery store in an upscale mall. The bread was fantastic but I think we know what food is.

I passed by these two charming ladies as I walked to the bank. They were dressed exactly alike. They aren't twins, most likely good friends. This isn't unusual here- I once saw a group of about five elderly women all dressed in the same purple hat.

Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine....

The blood and guts of incarnation.

2011-12-26T18:08:00.001+08:00

It's the day after Christmas in China. It's sunny and bright and about 10 fahrenheit-not too bad of a temperature. Paul is out of town visiting a Chinese friend that we knew in America. Elisabeth is sleeping and the little guy is napping. Ah, quiet! How I long for more quiet in my life.
I love Christmas..all of it. I love the lights, the tree, Advent, buying gifts, stockings, chocolate, Christmas carols, St. Nicholas Day...all of it. Since Christmas is an ordinary day in China and there isn't the shopping frenzy that happens post Thanksgiving in the US, our holiday here has been more simple and maybe more focused.
The day before Christmas, I read this rather depressing article. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2011/1222/Christmas-craze-fills-Chinese-malls-if-not-its-churches?cmpid=addthis_facebook#.TvUsoAhdnh0.facebook Here is one of the quotes "Ms. Qu has celebrated Christmas for the last few years, she says “because it’s a fashion and it happens all over the world.” This year she plans to go with her husband and friends to a restaurant and then a karaoke bar on Christmas Eve – a habit that millions of other young Chinese urbanites share"
Somewhat ironically, a little while after reading this article, Elisabeth and I went out shopping for some gifts. We went to a traditional shopping area and then an upscale mall. So I just have to say, dear China (and around the world)....Christmas is not any of the following things...

Christmas is not Santa (even though I am not against him). It is especially not Santa with a large "Merry" and a very small "Christmas."

Christmas is not store window displays...cute though this one was.

It's not elaborate entrances to malls...

Or twisted trees

Mary and Joseph probably didn't think the blood, sweat and tears of giving birth would lead to displays for "Romantic Christmas." I don't know if there was romance in the manger but there was love, wonderful love.

Even cute little girls in Christmas themed dresses can not capture the meaning of Christmas.

No, Christmas is not any of those things. The first verse of "Oh, Holy Night" says

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

O night, O holy night, O night divine

Artist: He Qi

Our souls feel our worth as we know that God became man for us. The incarnation is real and meaningful and gritty. The visit of the angel to a young virgin was stunning and probably scary. The sharing with Elizabeth was real as Mary really knew she was pregnant by then. She needed another woman to share the burden of this unexpected news.

Nativity: Lu Lan

Jesus was born in the usual way-blood, sweat, pain and joy. The amazing writer Sarah Bessey wrote on birth and it's connection to incarnation this powerful essay - Incarnation. Read this beautiful quote and the click on the link below. You won't be sorry.

But we keep it quiet, the mess of the Incarnation, because it’s just not church-y enough and men don’t quite understand and it’s personal, private, there aren’t words for this and it’s a bit too much. It’s too much pain, too much waiting, too much humanity, too much God, too much work, too much joy, too much love and far too messy. With far too little control. And sometimes it does not go the way we thought it was supposed to go and then we are also left with questions, with deep sadness, with longing.

My entire concept of God shifted in that moment, leaving my brain and my life and my theology to catch up with what my soul now knew deep. I could never see God as anything other than through the lens of the Incarnation, of his Father-Mother heart and his birth now. No theologian or counter-circumstance-experience can take away from what I know, what many mothers the world over know in their heart of hearts about loss and birth and raising babies and real transformation: it’s Love and it is sacred and it is human and it all redeems. The very truth that God put on flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood through birth, even – especially – that experience of birth, now showing us what it means to be truly human.http://deeperstory.com/incarnation/

People sometimes ask us

2011-12-20T19:21:00.000+08:00

what the hard things are about living in China. Is it living under a different form of government? Not having a car? Being stared at and called "Foreigner"by people on the streets? Yes to all of these.
Is it the nostril-hair freezing cold? Government controlled heat? Bureaucracy as an art form? Yes, yes, yes.
Or is the incredible challenge of learning Chinese? Saying yes to things you don't really want to do or no to things you do want to do? Yes and yes. Here is an hilarious example of the plethora of mistakes that you can make with one word "ma." http://thecultureblend.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-want-birds-with-that-humbling.html
So yes, all those things are true. But there might be one thing that you haven't considered. Something that is quite serious, especially for women.

One thing that is hard is getting a good hair cut. You know how hard it is to explain to your hair dresser what you want? You know how you never look quite like how you thought you would (as in the picture of the movie star that you brought in?). Well, imagine doing that in Chinese! With people who have never cut foreigner's hair? Chinese hair tends to be thick and straight. Mine is thin and straight. Elisabeth's is curly-she had ringlets as a baby. The texture is completely different. Most hairstylists in our fairly non-Western city have little experience in cutting foreigner hair.

Our little guy goes with his ayi to her neighborhood barber for this stylish cut. We think it's adorable. If he hasn't been to the barber in a while, the barber asks about him.

Paul has a barber and occasionally goes to the barber that cuts hair in the park. Those haven't been his best hair cuts.

I have straight, short hair that is cut in what we call a Mom Bob. Shorter in back, longer in front etc. Before we came to China, I had it cut well, thinking that a stylist could just follow the lines.The first hair cut I had here was by an American Ex-pat who was a professional stylist. But I really wanted to practice language and culture and go to a Chinese salon. My friend Eva went to salon where she paid 15 RMB (less than $3.00) for a cut. So I practiced my hair cut vocabulary with my teacher and rode my bike over to Cool Cuts. I mumbled something about "jian toufa" and took my seat. It was around lunch time and I hadn't eaten. I thought it would be a quick wait and a quick cut. No such thing. After two hours of blaring music and watching metro-sexual menwith green or purple hair stare at themselves in the mirror and primp, I left. I did go back later and got a decent hair cut but the noise and musiccombined with difficult haircut language was just too much for me to handle.

Next we tried a place where another friend had good success. The name of this place is "Camus" and this is where Elisabeth got the Mullet of Despair.

We didn't go back there.

Next, another friend (who has great hair) told us about a place near our local Carre Four. This place was a little more pricey. When you walk in they ask you if you want the 30, 48 or 68 RMB haircut. This doesn't mean what kind of haircut you get. It has to do with the level of experience of the haircutter. We've actually gone and gotten our haircut at the same time and one of us has gotten the 30 RMB hair cut while the other has gotten the 48 kuai haircut. Same process, same amount of time.

One thing that is interesting is that cutting hair in China is very much a man's profession. We have never seen a woman cutting hair. When you walk in, you put all your stuff in a cabinet and it gets locked. Then you get your hair washed by a young man or woman. Then they take you to the stylist (who is the important person) and you try to communicate what you want. The stylist cuts your hair and then your hair gets washed again. Then it is dried again and trimmed. There is no tipping at all.

In China, people get their haircut pretty often. So if you want a haircut, you really have to indicate how much you want cut. In the US, I usually underemphasize how much I want cut. In China, if I don't measure an inch or more with my fingers, I get a little trim.

We had some funny experiences, too. Elisabeth got her hair cut and the guy asked her to pose for pictures with him. She stood up and he grabbed his phone, put his arm around her and took the picture. It happened so quickly that we couldn't really say yes or no and he meant no harm. But if you see Elisabeth in a picture with a Chinese guy with really stylish hair....that's not her boyfriend.

Another time, my hair was cut by one of the top guys. He had blond hair with dark roots. He wore a yellow shirt half buttoned up. He mumbled at me in Chinese for almost the whole haircut, with the occasional "Shi ma?" I stopped listened after a while and just said "Dui" when he said "Shi ma?" "Shi ma" is kind of the equivalent of "right?" or "Do you agree?" "Dui" means "yes" or basically you are giving your assent. Who knows what I was agreeing to or with?

We've been pretty happy there but there were a few things that we didn't like. The people were unfailingly kind and helpful. But there was tons of cigarette smoking and our last few haircuts just weren't that good. My last haircut is one of the worst I've ever gotten. Elisabeth got her hair cut really short last summer in a cute pixie and it needs really precise styling.
So my same friend who told me about the above place told me about a guy named Raymond who actually came to her house and cut her hair. He worked in a shop across the street from her apartment. So we walked over last Sunday and got our hair washed and cut and washed and dried. It was fabulous! Elisabeth got her hair cut by Raymond. Except his name is Ramen like the instant noodles but pronounced with a long A. I got my hair cut by "Gary" and it's one of the best cuts I've had.

Elisabeth's hair looks cute and mine looks flat because I have hat hair since it's 0 degrees and I had to put my hat on when we left the salon. But trust me, it's a good cut.

This picture has nothing to do with haircuts...just our little guy doing his version of jazz hands.

Ice and Ants

2011-12-16T00:26:00.000+08:00

I got back today from the city of Harbin. I did a little work up there but we also had some time to go see the sights.

Harbin is getting ready for their annual ice festival. The actual festival is held outside of town but in the downtown, they were stacking up blocks of ice to make sculptures.

Harbin is one of those places where it is so cold, it doesn't really snow. But the river freezes thickly and they score and cut big blocks of ice out of it for the festival. Along the side of the road, there were trucks lined up with big blocks of ice.

The blocks of ice are moved with big hooks.

A sculpture being worked on.

The ice is huge and heavy and some of it is moved by forklift.

Harbin had a large foreign population in the past, including many Russians. This is St. Sophia's, an old Russian orthodox church. I took this picture at about 5:00 in the evening. The church was beautiful!

The inside has no icons or religious imagery. It's actually a museum of the history of Harbin. It was interesting but I expected to see an Orthodox church.

We went to the pedestrian shopping zone where there was store after store of the same Russian stuff. Same stuff, same price, no bargaining. This says Yiwan Russian Shoppin Commodity A Street Unaerground.

Russian goods and chopsticks store. That's not what the characters say and there were no chopsticks.

It wasn't hard for me to pass on the ground ant snacks.

But this traditional Harbin bread???

Killer! Huge loaf for about $4.00. It weighed a ton.

I have to admit that part of the reason I bought the bread was so I could have this bag for smaller knitting projects.

We've got a few things going on....

2011-12-11T16:49:00.000+08:00

We've got a happy little guy.

Despite my lack of science expertise, I judged the middle school science fair. We went in teams of three teachers. The other teachers asked intelligent science questions using vocabulary like "control" and "hypotheses." I told them their displays looked nice and looked for English mistakes. See above picture.

I rode my bike to the market this morning to get supplies for potato leek soup and salad. For under $5.00 , I got 2 pears, two oranges, grape tomatoes, leeks, potatoes, green onion and lettuce.

Last night was Elisabeth's last Christmas choir concert at the International School.

I took a picture of her in what we call her Morticia dress. I was feeling a little sad and sentimental and said "This is the beginning of the last things....." She said "What are you talking about,Mom? We still have the Spring Concert." Sensible girl.

I was also able to spend time with two special families this week. I didn't take any pictures as I'd like to keep their privacy.

The first family was a Chinese family. They actually have three children- very unusual in this land of the one child policy. Their third child has Down Syndrome. They did not know before they had him that he had Down's. There is very little pre-natal testing here. But they have strong faith and they chose to keep their son. She told me that before she had him, she had never even seen a child with DS. I hope this is the beginning of a good relationship. It's not an easy road for her with no special services or special education.

The second family was an American family. I know this family from an online China adoption board. They came to our city to get their new little daughter. We were able to have dinner and talk a little. Seeing a new family form is a wonderful thing. We were thrilled to be even a small part of it.

We have a touch of the naughties.

2011-12-06T16:19:00.001+08:00

I came home today to our helper standing in the bedroom with a screw driver, hammer and nails. She was lowering the level on the crib because our little guy can now pull himself to a stand and it's "dangerous, really dangerous." Of course, the level right now is so low that I'm not sure I'll be able to get him out!
Yes, we have a touch of the two's here. From the throwing food off his high chair to saying "No" in a perfect Chinese accent, it's been a little naughty around here.

However, disciplining someone who is so delightful and fun isn't easy. Also, how do you get upset with someone who looks so cute in his pajamas?!

Or someone who pats and loves on his elephant?

Or someone who plays cars and makes car noises....total boy!

Or someone who doesn't want to nap and then falls asleep sitting up! Yes....he is very flexible! One of the characteristics of Down Syndrome.

See the puffy pants in his crib?

See the clothes on the bed and the unrepentant look on his face? He got them off the window sill and threw them in his crib and on the floor. They are now farther away from his reach!

It's funny to see how he tests us. Our helper doesn't like him to put his hands in his mouth and she is always telling him no. So as soon as she walks in the door, he looks at her and puts his hand in his mouth. Testing, testing 1 2 3!

For us, he goes for the computer cord. That gets an immediate reaction from us...just what he wants!

One more thing that is cracking me up. When we were in Thailand last year, we bought this beautiful celedon Nativity Set.

I've been looking forward to putting it out all year.

It's really lovely....except for one little thing....

One of the wise men appears to have an executioner's hood on. I'm thinking that's not part of the usual nativity set.

My Perfect Child | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

2011-12-01T15:10:00.001+08:00

My Perfect Child Christianity Today A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Click on the above link for a wonderful article.

Our hearts, minds, spirits and lives have been opened up as a result of fostering our own perfect child. What a great honor to care for him.

i carry your heart

2011-11-28T21:33:00.000+08:00

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

By E. E. Cummings 1894–1962

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Happy No Water After 13:00 Thanksgiving.

2011-11-25T10:18:00.001+08:00

* Before we start on Thanksgiving, a couple of people asked how we dealt with our foster's croup when we didn't have water. The common treatment for croup is steam and no water means no steamy showers. But cold air also works...so when he woke up barking like a seal, we wrapped him up in a warm shawl and took him to our building roof. Except the door was frozen shut. So we took him down six flights of stairs and stood on our icy front stoop under the critical eye of our first floor neighbor/gossip/spy. She went to two of her windows to see what the crazy foreigners were doing. We did that twice that night. The next day we had our water back and we did the steam. Honestly, standing outside on a dark, starry night with bright white snow is better than sweating it out in a small steamy bathroom. Either way, he is less croupy and slowly getting better.
So, Thanksgiving 2011. It was a good one. The night before Thanksgiving, I asked Paul to please get the innards out of the turkey. I was going out with some friends and I wanted it done before I came home. The truth is, I can't stand gizzards and the like. I came home a few hours later to Paul and Elisabeth laughing about their "blogworthy find" and found this in our fridge.

Yes, it's not exactly Butterball, is it?

Time for your close-up, Mr. Tom Turkey! Oh darn, your eyes are closed.

Honestly, if I had reached in and touched that, I would have needed some psychiatric care. It was all I could do to pick it up with a paper towel to take pictures for the blog. Yes, I did it for the blog!

Anyway, the next day I headed off to our sweet friend's apartment and used her full size oven to roast it. Somehow, the international school finds full sized ovens for their staff and they all get them in their apartments. Ovens are just not used here. I was in a van once with one of the cooks ( a Chinese woman) from the international school. Someone asked her where she was going and she said to buy an oven. She was then asked what they would use it for and she said she had no idea!

So..the full sized oven with the turkey in it.

Cooking a turkey in China is a little different. They are skinnier with less juice. I had to brush quite a bit of olive oil on the skin and baste quite a bit. It turned out pretty well.

While I was waiting for the turkey to cook, I had to make a quick run to the store and bank. By quick I mean it took about an hour on my bike. I came across these guys chopping up the ice. China has quite a bit of man power! They work together in dense groups and chop and hack until the ice is gone. These scenes are all over the city as we have quite a bit of ice right now.

One more part of Thanksgiving Day is that we knew that we were going to lose our water at one o'clock. This time there was a notice on the doors. It said when the water was going off but not when it was going back on. So we knew it could be a short time or very long. So we were determined to be prepared.

That's just one bathroom's worth of water! We had jugs in our other bathroom and tubs in the kitchen.

So if you are thinking, wow that's a lot of water. You guys must be really afraid of being thirsty....

Well, no!

This is the water that we drink! The other water is for flushing toilets and washing dishes and hands.

Ironically when we got home around 9:30 last night, the water was back on. So we ended up dumping most of it! But better safe than sorry.

We had a great Thanksgiving with some other ex-pat friends. We ate all the usual stuff- turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie. All was made from scratch- no cans or pre-made crusts here. It was a good day and a day in which we were very thankful. Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends.

Laughing and crying and trying not to be enraged in China.

2011-11-22T16:03:00.000+08:00

I have a funny story to tell...but first, look at this! Someone knows how to draw..or at least has the basic idea!

Of course, he is drawing on one of his books. But he doesn't know how to actually make a mark so it's all good.
So here is our story. Paul got a phone call from a woman we know- MC. She is involved in our son's medical care and she said she wanted to come and see me and our foster son and his ayi. So all good. We really like MC and we thought it would be a great time for our ayi to ask questions from a Chinese medical professional. So good, good, good!
However, on the day she was to come...she didn't come. We waited for over and hour and then called no answer. Then we got through and she said something had come up and she would come tomorrow. I assumed some kind of medical emergency.
So the next day, I came home from teaching expecting MC. However, our other friend HC was there. Apparently she is the one who had called Paul and said she was coming. The names sound somewhat similar and the phone is an enemy to good understanding! Anyway, she was there trying to sell me Mary Kay cosmetics. I've learned the 10 ways to say no without making the other person lose face. I claimed allergy which is not a lie- I am allergic to almost all eye-make-up. She was gracious and didn't push.
So no orphan care conversation..just an attempt to sell make-up. This isn't the first time we've had this kind of mix-up.
Yesterday was a day where I needed to laugh and was reasonably successful at it.
First off,...we just had our first snowfall. Right now it is white and pretty with lots of ice. By the end of winter...it's another story.

Snow is removed here mostly manually. These are city workers shovels-they were all around our city today.

Anyway, we were getting ready to go out to the school bus, when our water went off. Let's just say that the toilets weren't flushed yet and leave it at that. Sometimes the water goes off for a while and then comes back after a few hours. No big deal.

So off we went to the school bus...which was majorly delayed because of a traffic accident because of the ice. The kids were great, snowballs were thrown and we got to school with a replacement bus. It was cold but sunny and everyone lived. When we got to school, the electricity was out for the first two hours but the toilets flushed and all was good.

But when I got home, the water still wasn't on. People were in our home that day and that evening and the toilets were used. We got water to flush but it wasn't enough. That's when I began to be irritated. It was gross. Really gross. We finally went to bed (but spent most of the night up with our little guy who had croup) and finally heard the water go on around 4:00. I begged Paul to get up and flush/plunge and he did. At five, I got up and scrubbed the toilets. At 6:30, we got up and started the day.

The busses were delayed again. This time we put the kids in a bus that had extra seats and taxied the rest out. When we got to the school, there was no electricity or heat. A big snow storm is headed our way and the school wisely decided to send everyone home after a few hours.

I write this not to make China look bad or anything like that. I write this because it's part of the reality of living in another culture. Things are beyond your control. Your limited language makes you misunderstand what people say on the phone. Water gets turned off. We found out later that all the landlords and owners were texted about this. We have a pretty good landlord but he didn't let us know that the water was going off. Most of our friends didn't know either. We have decided that it's time to keep a large container of water in our bathroom. Most Chinese people do. It's just smart.

Most of the time I can laugh or go with the flow. But sometimes it just wears on you.

When I got home today, I heated this for lunch.

We were at the foreign market the other day and this just looked so....like home. Even though we rarely eat it at home. It was a nice reminder today.

After one year and three months....

2011-11-16T19:15:00.001+08:00

we had an almost miracle.

We had a bath that did not involve shrieking, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Every bath since we have gotten our little guy has taken two of us - one to hold him and one to scrub. We hope that this progress is permanent and that taking a bath becomes an enjoyable time for all of us!

Sweet cheeks...

2011-11-14T23:06:00.002+08:00

This cute little girl in the middle is running through a museum in China in a classic Chinese outfit- bundled from head to toe but with split pants with a full view of the sweet cheeks! It may look like a part of the pattern of her pants, but it's really the full smile! Her mother and sister are running with her because she started to squat to go to the bathroom and they felt that the newly redone national museum in Tiananmen Square wouldn't be the proper venue!

Split pants have a certain practical use but I always wonder when I see the kids all bundled up except their ...um....parts. doesn't any Chinese child ever complain that their behinds are cold?

The creatures of Shenyang

2011-11-10T19:30:00.000+08:00

We recently had some friends come to our city so of course we had to take them to the main tourist attraction of Shenyang - the Old Imperial Palace or Gugong. Think of the Forbidden City minus the crowds, ticket prices and size. We've been there several times and I have many pictures. This time, I focused on the creatures-the small details of the palaces and rooms. The creatures are charming and fun and some have symbolism.

Dragons are the symbol of the Emperor- meaning properity and long life. There are dragons all over the palace.

Dragon banners and military uniforms.

The roofs also have creatures- I think this may be an elephant.

A woman riding something, more creatures and a wire to prevent a lightening strike.

There are the guard creatures.

Multi-colored creatures on the roof- plus amazing tile.

Going up the stairs.

Close up detail.

A sign for the human creatures- "Grass blue under the foot is forgiving." Or.."Keep off the grass."

Speaking of creatures, we saw this fur hanging at a store outside the palace. To me, these look like cat furs on some kind of white fur. We went over to ask the man and he said they were the furs of wild cats that were bigger than domestic cats. Maybe, maybe not- it was creepy.

Outside of the palace, something that people might be surprised to see in China- a Christian bookstore name Manna.

Across the street is the scroll shop where they make scrolls with Bible verses- if you look closely you can see that the sign above the door says "God is love" in English. They have some beautiful things.

And when we got home, we were greated by our favorite Shenyang creature.

Little man, little man.

2011-11-04T23:08:00.003+08:00

Little man , little man, look at you now! In Chinese class the other night, we learned the word for "self satisfied" and that it can have a positive meaning. You are self satisfied, clapping for yourself with joy.
I remember when you came, all skin and bones and hyper-vigilent and hungry. I remember that you couldn't lift your head up. I remember the sweetness of you. I think about your parents a lot and I wonder if they remember you. How much they are missing.
Here are the words that you will never read but I pray that they are tucked in your heart. I will always remember you, my darling boy. You are the child of my heart. You will not always remember me but a part of me will always be in your heart. Remember the love, my love. You have mine forever. Remember.\

From Five minute Fridays- Five minutes of unedited, unscripted writing. Today's word: Remember
/

I am two years old today!

2011-11-02T20:24:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby. You are loved.

When you live in a family....

2011-10-31T15:32:00.000+08:00

You get to live with your fun big sister who wore the tiger suit for the ICS volleyball tournament this weekend. A tiger suit that she had especially made!

You get to go to Sunday morning fellowship with your Baba. (Side note- check out our friend's loom. I covet! She had it shipped to China instead of her furniture! How fantastic is that?)

You also get to find out that all the cool dudes wear jeans and chambray shirts. The cool dude on the left is a teacher at the international school. He is from a large family and two of his brothers have Down Syndrome. He has a soft heart towards our little guy.

You can read books....

or read your Baba's text books.

Yes, of course we will read it to you.

You also get to watch your pretty jie jie make homemade graham crackers so that her friend's could come over and have S'Mores.

S'More- China apartment style!

And you get to celebrate the World Championship all the way in China!

Ewww.

2011-10-29T12:08:00.000+08:00

All though we are thrilled with our little guys developmental steps, there are some that are just.....eww.

Yeah.

Teaching the teachers and having fun doing it.

2011-10-25T19:38:00.001+08:00

One of my fun projects right now is doing some teacher training in our school and some of our city schools. I've done one training workship and am working on writing some curriculum. Last Friday I got to go with the coordinator of these trainings to a local public school in our city and teach a one hour English class to 35 4th graders. The purpose was to show the teacher's some new and creative way to teach English. I chose to do Reader's Theatre with the group. Reader's Theatre is a kind of play where the actors get to keep the script when they perform. It's great for reading, vocabulary building and pronunciation practice. Plus it's just plain fun.
So last Friday, the coordinator and I were driven to the school. The school has over 1000 students and is fairly well known in our city. When we got there, many of the kids were outside at recess. We went in and met the principal and sat down for water and fruit in a nice kind of conference room. This was the first time I'd really been inside a Chinese elementary school and it was pretty fascinating. The class sizes are large but not overly large. The classrooms were bright and cheerful and the teachers were kind to their students. It really was a good afternoon.

The outside of the school. It's in the middle of the city.

Play equipment was pretty minimal. A few ping pong tables and exercise equipment. Several children were jumping rope. There was also chess available.

The inside of the class. 36 seats and 35 4th graders. All well behaved - at least while I was there!

This says "Hao, hao xue xi, tian tian xian shang" or "Study hard, every day make progress". I think every child in China knows this proverb.

Complex math problems on the board- sorry for the glare.

When we got there, I handed out scripts to each child. The Reader's Theatre play we were doing was very simple. It was about a girl who wanted to buy new shoes. We then read through it (first me, then they repeated each line. Then we read it together. Then they practiced at their tables.

After they practiced, they performed.

It takes a lot of courage to get up in front of your classmates and read something you have only practiced once or twice! It went well, even though the English levels varied.

My new friends. This little girl on the left in the pink was a sweetie.

More of the 4th graders. The red scarves mean they are part of the Young Pioneers- the Communist Party's youth program.

All line up to go back inside.

It was a rewarding afternoon. It's great to be doing the thing I love- teaching children, teaching teachers and having fun!

What's hanging out in our neighborhood.

2011-10-20T15:28:00.001+08:00

I get home from teaching every day around 2:00. When I got home today, I saw this.

Who knew there was animal sacrifice here?

The da bai cai and cong (big white cabbage and leeks) are all over the place drying but these are also hanging on strings all over the place. I think they are some kind of peel from gourds.

You can also see the quilts in the background- airing things out here is a big thing, especially as the seasons change.

I got on my bike and rode across the university campus to a little shopping place. There is a market with fresh vegetables and meat and a small grocery store. Upstairs is one of my favorite kinds of China places- if you want it, they probably have it. It's just tiny store after tiny store. I had to pick up some pants from the tailor- 3 pairs of pants hemmed for about $2.00.

Then I turned the corner to go and buy envelopes and I had one of these only in China moments. A slightly older woman got up from where she was sitting with her friend and greeted me warmly. She introduced me to her friend as her "hao pengyou" 好朋友." She asked me about Elisabeth and our little guy and asked how he was doing and where was he and so on. We had a fairly lengthy conversation as I bought my envelopes.

Here's the thing. I am not sure who she was. She looked vaguely familiar but I can't place her. She is probably one of my neighbors in our complex. The truth is there are no secrets in China, especially for a foreigner. When we go out with our little guy, we are greeted by all kinds of people who know his name and his story...and we've never told them either! China is a big country but it's really one small village.

Our little guy is growing and growing and his relationship with his jie jie is sweet to watch. Here they are doing core ab. excercises. Who is pulling who?

And finally- we've been working with the little guy on drinking from a cup. We bought a sippy cup that came with these fantastic intructions. I've tried to get a good picture but I just couldn't. Here's what I got.

It says "Before and after each use, be sure to clean it with cold water. Do not boiling it to avoid the print peel zoff. It's not affect the normal function while the print is fade. Keep the juice nipple in a clean and sanitary place away from cockroaches after cleaning, and avoid the direct sunlight. Please replace the nipple three months a time to ensure the baby's health. Don't heat with the microwave. Check the cup frequently, if any broken found, please replace immediately.

No problem on the cockroaches....

My day...not so unusual.

2011-10-18T22:21:00.001+08:00

I woke up this morning at 4:00 to the sound of a very stuffy nosed baby, gagging and trying to breathe. When we put him down last night, I knew we'd be up at least once with him so 4:00 AM didn't seem too bad.
We got him up, suctioned his nose and put him back down to go back to sleep. That is for him to sleep- we knew that our night was over. He fell back asleep about 5:30 and we both got up. That's not all that unusual for us as we have to be out of the door very early.
Also...and this is key- our water was due to be turned off at 8:00. Not just us, our whole complex. We don't know why. We assume it was some work that needed to be done. The first year we were here, we didn't even read the notice. And by "didn't" I mean "couldn't." There is just nothing like having a Master's degree and being illiterate. So our first year here, when the water went off, we were unprepared. Let's just say that when the water goes off, you can't flush your toilet. Do I need to explain more?
The second year it went off, we were also unprepared. More prepared than the first year, but less than we should have been. I think that day we also had no electricity. Good times.
So this year, we were ready. We (and by we, I mean Paul who can actually read Chinese) read the notice. We boiled water last night before and put it in our thermos. China has awesomely big thermoses. Our water guy was due to deliver water today so we would have plenty to drink. Our plan was to both shower before 7 and then fill the tub with water for toilet flushing etc. I also had some vegetables that needed to be scrubbed for the pot roast I was going to make.
So...I got in the shower about 6:40. Around five minute later, as I was going for my second shampoo, the water went off. I started screeching at Paul to start filling buckets with water (I was less worried about the shampoo in my hair than the grossness of unflushed toilets). But no...over an hour earlier than the appointed time, the water went off. Fortunately, I had soapy water in the kitchen sink left over from the doing the dishes, so we could wash the vegetables and we were still able to make the pot roast. I did get the shampoo out of my hair.

We have a wonderful woman who works for us to take care of our little guy. She also loves to bake. So score for us. I asked her to make some rolls to go with the pot roast.

Apparently though, I asked her to make us bagels, not rolls. Still score for us! I even have cream cheese in the freezer.

So after a morning of giving my students grammar tests, I went to Moms in Touch. Moms in Touch is an international prayer group where mom's gather to pray for their schools. Ours is international, of course, so we pray and read the Bible in Korean, Chinese and English. I love it.

Got home around 3:00 to discover all toilets flushed because the water was on. Yay! Hung out with the sweet baby until I got a call from a friend reminding me that I needed to go and pick up butter from her apartment. Butter is rarely found in regular Chinese grocery stores. You can get it from a store that imports (expensive) or from a huge market in the north part of our city. My friend's husband works up there and he picks it up for her and others.

7 cubes of butter for 94.5 RMB or about $15.00. This should last us for quite a while!

A little knitting, some reading (Same Kind of Different as Me) and now we are heading off to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will begin later than 4:00 AM.

Finally- the Great Wall.

2011-10-16T21:48:00.000+08:00

On our last morning in Shan Hai Guan, we took a taxi out to the part of the Great Wall that is in the mountains. Or rather, our hotel called a taxi that overpriced our taxi ride. But what can you do.
First we tried to go up the cable cars but they were closed. It's not unusual for people to take cable cars up. There are portions of the Great Wall all over China that are open to the public and most have cable cars.
So, since they were closed, we decided to walk up.
I have a great fear of heights. When we lived in Europe, it often took all that was in me to climb cathedrals to the top. But if I focus and concentrate, I can do it. Especially if Paul is with me. So we started walking. It's not as hard as it looks because you are going so slowly. You do get passed up by tiny little Chinese women wearing high heels but we have been here long enough that doesn't even injure our egos.

No panic attack yet.

Looking down from almost the top. I stopped walking a little farther than the small house on the left. I was doing well but some nice students came by and starting talking to us. They wanted to take our pictures. I let go of the side, lost my focus and that was that. Paul continued up and took these pictures.

Looking further up.

And further- Paul came back down to me before and didn't go this far.

Guard tower at the top.

The first time we saw the Great Wall was in 2007. We were in van heading out from Beijing with our friend Rudy. He suddenly announced "The Great Wall!" and we looked up and there it was- truly magnificent. The portion of the Great Wall we went to in Shan Hai Guan was very non-commercial and magnificent in it's own way. Definately a place to keep on the list to visit.

This week in China...

2011-10-15T21:09:00.000+08:00

New slippers were bought, to the utter amazement of our little guy.

It was International Day at the International School. Elisabeth carried the Dutch flag.

The bai cai (cabbages) and cong (leeks) are out and drying - a sure sign of fall.

Chicken enchildas were made in a cake pan with tortillas made by a Chinese woman, enchilad sauce bought at an import grocery in Beijing, Edam cheese from New Zealand and Bitey cheddar cheese from Austalia- the only cheese available in the store the day we shopped. The enchiladas were fantastic.

Hats were knit and tried on- come on Winter!

Yes, we still have our sweet baby.

2011-10-13T16:33:00.002+08:00

Lest anyone think we are slackers and vacation all the time (despite the plethora of pictures so far posted and yet to come), that trip began on a Thursday morning and ended on a Saturday night. Life goes on as usual with teaching and teaching and studying Chinese and college applications and so on. Our sweet baby just gets sweeter and sweeter and our hearts ache to think that someday we will need to let go. My wise husband tells me that we need to love him as much as we can while we have him. But I think we will love him forever and our hearts and lives will never be the same.
Every so often (I am sure there is a schedule that I don't understand), we get an e-mail telling us that the orphanage called and that we need to take him in for vaccinations. We've been two or three times now and the people there have been unfailingly kind and friendly. The orphanage is quite a way out of our city and so we hire a driver who will take us there, wait for us and take us back. There is no way to either find a taxi who is willing to drive that far or find another taxi willing to take us back. So we call the faithful driver Ji and he comes and gets us.
For some reason this morning, I had all kinds of anxiety about going to the orphanage. Even though it rarely happens, I've been afraid that they would say that he looks good and should come back. We have to remind ourselves that this child isn't ours- we have no decision making power over his life. He belongs to China and to the orphanage and they have the authority over his life. That sometimes makes me feel a little vulnerable both for me and for him. I know Who is in charge and that He makes all things right in the end. Yet I also know that we live in a broken and fallen world where vulnerable children do not always end up with an ideal outcome.
Anyway, at 8:30 we got in the taxi and headed out. I took our ayi with us as there might be some time that she has to take him out there alone. We made it through heavy traffic and arrived. I've never seen children outside before (I've always been there in winter) but today there were children outside and playing. This both made me happy and tore at my heart. So many children living there. The caregivers were clearly invested in the care of the children-throwing balls and pushing swings. It relieved my heart to see this. I don't know if as a special needs child, this would be the kind of care our little guy would receive. But it still was good to see that the orphanage is a place where children are cared for.

So here is our little guy and his life right now.

Playing in his crib when he should be sleeping.

Looking out the window.

Building with pillows.

Playing with his ring stacking toy....

and successfully getting the ring on!

So today, we were off to the orphanage for a vaccination.

The nurse remembered his name and said how much he had grown. After the vaccination, we had to wait a while to see if there was any fever or reaction. She came and talked to him and asked us a few questions. This really thrilled me as I have never really known if they knew who he was. She remembered when he went out of the orphanage over a year ago and was impressed with his progress.

What's going on? Oh, this looks like it will hurt.

It hurts! But he recovered quickly.

While we were waiting to see if he had any reaction, I went outside and took these pictures.

This is the hospital that has a playground next door. The babies and toddlers were playing there. Many of the building have new paint and murals and they look great.

These children looked like they were about three. They were going to play games with a ball.

The babies and toddlers playing with the ayi's.

The babies and toddler strolling away.

The playground through the window of the clinic.

I always leave the orphanage exhausted- partly because it is a long trip and partly out of the sadness of children not having families to live with. But seeing a fresh and clean place with caregivers who were truly engaged with the children gave me some hope today. I know some of the other realities in orphan care are darker. But this was good for me to see.

Hutongs and the city wall

2011-10-12T21:34:00.000+08:00

The old city of Shan Hai Guan is fascinating. It's a hutong and very different than most of the hutongs we've seen in Beijing. This hutong is mostly a place where people live, work and go to school. There is one long commercial street but for the most part it's a living community.

The doors are one of the most interesting, especially when they are open and you can see in a little.

View into two courtyards.

This is the mosque.

The dentist...we think!

This goat really needed to be milked. We walked by them again later and heard a woman asking the owners if she could buy some goat milk. Talk about fresh!

We saw many pigeons that were released, flew around in a group and then flew back to the coop. We talked to a pigeon owner and Paul asked him what made the pigeons come back. Another man said "Food!"

This is the more commerical section. This couple was pounding peanuts into powder to be made into a kind of peanut cookie. They were pretty good.

We also climbed the city wall (part of the Great Wall) and had unbelievable views of the city and mountains.

There is both an inner and outer city wall. In order to gain access to the city, a visitor would first have to go through the outer wall and guard tower. It was an amazing system of protection.

View of the outer wall and then the Great Wall creeping up the mountain.

We went to several museums in the hutong- one historical, one about the making of the Great Wall and one culture museum. The culture museum was my favorite.

I never get tired of these round entry ways. They are so lovely.

Model of an old school room. I am assuming this was for wealthy people.

Wedding chairs.

Mill stones and grinders. Of course it made me think of the Bible verse about those who lead children astray and that it would be better to have a millstone around their necks than to do that.

Next blog post- why we didn't take the tram up the Great Wall and what it is like to climb a sheer and unever surface and survive.

Where the Great Wall Meets the Sea.

2011-10-11T16:58:00.000+08:00

We left early on Thursday on the fast train to Shan Hai Guan. We've been here for over two years and the fast train continues to amaze me. We don't really live close to the ocean but with the fast train it's less than three hours.

Small trips like this make a big difference for us. We are busy with work, family, projects and just life. Last year we were very homebound as we had a very sick little guy with us. This year, since it's Elisabeth's last year in China and we have a great helper who will watch our little guy, we are trying to see more.

The first place we went after arrival was the place where the Great Wall meets the sea. Our taxi driver took us to the worst museum ever. Worst- all displays of dead people (very bad mannequins) and people dying of torture. Dim displays, horrible effigies. Ever Paul the Museum Enthusiast thought it was bad.

Then we taxied over to where the Great Wall meets the sea. This is place of tremendous historical significance for China. This part of the Great Wall was built in the Ming Dynasty and was destroyed by foreign armies in the earlier part of the last century. It was restored in the 1980's and while it is beautiful, it doesn't have the same rough feel as other parts of the Great Wall. But we still enjoyed it.

There were several displays in the compound of old buildings and the life they lived at the time. I like these kinds of "living" displays as they remind me that history is made up of real people who lead real lives.

There was a large maze- I'm not sure why.

This is the Laolongtou (Old Dragon's Head) as the Great Wall meets the sea.

Looking down on another building- I never get tired of those grey slate roofs.

Looking up from the same building.

Still to come- the city wall, hutongs and the Great Wall in the mountains.

A little English at the Great Wall.

2011-10-10T06:11:00.000+08:00

Sadly we were not among the favoured people and didn't get the favoured ticket price. 20 RMB difference.

I like it! Now let's see some enforcement.

"Your safety is the priority of a happy tour" In English, Chinese and Russian with a picture to make it clear.

Climbing over the Great Wall is unsafe...but climbing on the Great Wall is good.

Yes. we almost took the "cablechairs" up. We felt that we could obey the rules in #2- no swinging or jumping up and down on the way. We also felt that we were not in any of the catagories of number five- not advanced age, mental patients, pregnant or drunkards. I wasn't sure about #6 as I thought I actually would panic if the cablechair "aren't in motion" but if Paul held my hand, I thought I could do it. # 7- No smoking? Well, as we walked up, a guy gave Paul a lighter as a gift but still....no temptation there.

Sadly, the cablechairs weren't open that day and we had to walk - which was actually rather wonderful.

Yes, we need all of them. Every single grass.

"Flowers are smiling and grass is sleeping. please don't disturb them."

Kind of a lovely sentiment.

These are a few of my favorite things....

2011-10-09T08:48:00.000+08:00

Paul and I just got back from a few days at Shan Hai Guan. Shan Hai Guan is where the Great Wall goes into the sea. The old city has a huge wall that is actually part of the Great Wall and you can also take a taxi out of town to climb part of the Great Wall.
Even though Shan Hai Guan is a historically significant place, it's a a place that few foreigners come to. Most go to a resort beach town a few kilometers down the coast. So it's affordable and it was really fun and interesting. The people were super friendly. As we were walking through the city looking for a bank, we asked an older man on a motor scooter where the bank was. He took us all the way to the bank and then introduced us to the security guard as his "American friends" and told us to ask the security guard if we needed anything. The security guard then stood with us to make sure we got the money we needed from the ATM. Really nice!
Before I post the Great Wall pictures and old city pictures, I though I'd post a few of the interesting things that we saw. China continues to captivate us in so many ways. Sometimes it feels like one big picture opportunity.
So...the fun stuff- random pictures of some of the things we saw.

Guard dog on a roof in the hutong.

Paddle boats on a lake- a whale, a spaceshop and something else. That is part of the old city gate in the background and the Great wall goes up the ridge of that mountain. If you look closely, you can see it.

As we were walking along in the hutong, we heard beautiful music. We looked in the window and the people gestured for us to come in. If you look closely, you can see that they are all playing traditional Chinese music-it was a moment of pure magic for me! Just lovely folk music.

Cute kids outside an ice cream shop.

View out of our hotel room in the morning.

If you going to shout out "Hello, hello" to us...you are going to get your picture taken. The red scarves mean they are part of the Young Pioneers-the youth program for the Communist Party.

As we got off the train in Shenyang, we saw this older Buddhist monk and several younger monks. They smiled and were friendly. As we exited the train station, I heard the older monk say "Wai guo ren" (foreigner). It's pretty common to hear people say this as we pass but it cracked me up to hear it from a monk.

Sneak Preview

2011-10-08T23:31:00.000+08:00

We went away this week to Shan Hai Guan (Mountain Sea Pass). While we were there, we saw this beautiful entrance near the Great Wall by the sea. See the little gold plate on the door?

It shows you how to get a wheel chair through the entrance! That would be some tipping back to get through that door!

I considered a new boyfriend. But he had a heart of stone.

We made a different friend together.

More later on the Great Wall, the city wall, the fantastic hutong and more.

No more dependent visa.

2011-10-05T20:11:00.001+08:00

Yes, it's true. Elisabeth turned 18 today (on the same day my mother turned.....Happy Birthday, Mom!) So she has her own student visa as she is officially an adult. All though in China, there is nothing she could do today that she couldn't do yesterday!

When we moved from California to Missouri in 1996, Elisabeth was almost three. I found out that the age cut off for Kindergarten was July 30 and that she wouldn't be starting Kindergarten until she was almost six. At first I was really upset but now I am so greatful. We have had an extra year with our special daughter and we are so glad.

This is the year of college visits, AP tests, SAT's and college applications. It's sad and wonderful at the same time.

On this website http://shelovesmagazine.com/2011/1-corinthians-13-a-parents-paraphrase/ I read this lovely paraphrase of I Corinthians 13 today. As I get ready to release my baby, the words resonated with me really strongly.

Though I have all the right words, but have not love, I might as well be talking to the back of your head.
Though I have all the answers to your every question and have read every parenting book and have all the resources to pave the way for your perfect future but don’t have love, I have nothing.
Though I give you everything I have and sacrifice every ounce of my energy to keep your ever-growing body in clothes that fit and feed you square meals and ensure your teeth are brushed and your emotions are vented and your friendships maintained and oh, maybe even eventually send you off to college – but have not love, it’s useless.
Love is patient as it paces back and forth across the living room late into the night, rocking you to sleep. It endures as you talk my ear off in the car after school. It smiles as you ask for another bedtime story. It drives you to karate and to birthday parties and to the mall to hang with your friends. It sits at the table and encourages you as you try to solve math equations I can’t understand. It is full of grace as you accidently knock the Rice Krispies out of the pantry and across the kitchen floor. Again.
Love isn’t jealous when you would rather trade your homemade sandwich for a friend’s twinkie at recess. Love doesn’t need to prove that I know more .than you do, that I’m the boss of you, that I have it all figured out.
Love doesn’t rub your nose in your mistakes but extends its arms with grace. It doesn’t keep a mental list of how many times you’ve messed up. It doesn’t whine about how much it has to do and how little thanks it gets. Love doesn’t lose its cool over silly things that will be forgotten tomorrow.
Love is crazy for Truth, and celebrates when you discover it.
Love can deal with the tantrums and the mood swings. It trusts God in every season, and it carries on and on into grandparenthood. It’s the screaming cheerleader at your game, the beaming face in the crowd at your recital, and the basketcase on the night before your wedding. It’s the voice on the phone checking in… the porch light on, waiting, at the end of the day.
Love won’t quit.
Colourful toys and baby blankets will eventually be packed up and put away. Field trips, sports days and school dances will come and go.
One day, in the light of eternity, we’ll better understand the depth and complexity of this heartbreaking, beautiful life we share…
But for now we have three tasks to keep us on track: Put all our faith in God, hope wholeheartedly, and love lavishly. And the very best thing we can do is love.

So, Happy Birthday to my darling girl. We will celebrate with you as you discover Truth and walk in it. We are crazy about you.

Giving a workshop and going to a conference.

2011-10-04T22:32:00.000+08:00

On Friday, we dressed this little guy up for the cooler fall weather and sent him off to his beloved ayi's for the week. I then went off to school to teach my classes and then teach a workshop in the afternoon. Our school is an international school with foreign and Chinese teachers. There are many projects going on doing some training of local and fairly local like minded Chinese teachers. I was honored to teach a workshop to about 20 Chinese teachers on "Innovative Vocabulary Acquistion." It was fun talking to the teachers and learning about their lives and teaching situation. One family was even homeschooling their kids, highly unusual in China.

Early Saturday morning, I got up to get on the bus to get on the train with the other international school teachers to the countrywide conference that they have every year.

The conference was just excellent- great teaching, good workshops and quality people. The plenary sessions focused on this idea of the fullness of Christ. The text came from 2 Corinthians and that was read and reread at each main session. There was wonderful worship. For those of us who live in fairly isolated areas, that part was especially poignant. We don't often get to sing with praise bands or even a guitar. I think it refreshed many a weary soul- it did mine.

Paul and Elisabeth came late on Saturday as she had SAT's on Saturday morning. On Sunday afternoon they went into Beijing and I joined them when the conference was over for the day. I had to take an shuttle from the hotel to the Beijing airport. Then I had to take the airport express subway into the city and then get off and get on the regular subway- two switches. This is the first time I've ever done the Beijing subway by myself as usually Paul just tells me where to get on and off! So I was pretty proud of myself.

We did some shopping and had fun. Paul is a great bargainer because he loves to laugh and tease. He got some prices on winter boots and gloves down pretty low.

The workshops that I went to were really varied.The presenters came from all over the world. I went to several on children's literature. One was on the post-modern influence in children's picture books and how to look at the that. I went to a fantastic workshop on presenting poetry to children and another on honoring God in the visual arts.

On Tuesday, Elisabeth got on the train to Tianjin to spend the day with a friend. Paul headed into Beijing to go to more historical sites and then they met up again to have dinner and then head back to the hotel. I stayed at the conference for more workshops and then that night, we had a formal dinner and dinner theatre. Our dinner theatre was a one man show, done by Dr. Kevin Radaker of Anderson University. He specializes in the writing of CS Lewis, Thoreou, Annie Dillard and Wendell Berry. He has a one man drama that he wrote about CS Lewis. So CS Lewis showed up on the stage and did a one hour monologue about his conversion and life. It was unbelievable. It was amazing. Just totally fascinating and inspiring and impressive. We were privileged to see him

On Tuesday, I went to Dr. Radaker's workshop "Teaching the Skill of Argument Through the Non-Fiction of CS Lewis." It was also very, very good but a little above my level of understanding. Still, it's good to be challenged. The whole workshop was challenging to me as a teacher and Christian. I am thankful I was able to go.

When the conference was over, Paul, Elisabeth and headed headed back into Beijing to Jenny Lou's. Jenny Lou's is a grocery store in Beijing where you can buy Western goods. So now we have a Magic Eraser sponge, two boxes of onion soup, a few boxes of corn muffin mix, Cinnamon Toast crunch and cake mix for Elisabeth's birthday tomorrow.

We got back on the train for Shenyang (now five hours instead of four because fast trains are now required to slow down because of an accident that happened a while ago). We hung out on the train with friends and now are finally home.

It's coming...

2011-09-29T16:40:00.000+08:00

It's time to check the internet for the weather report...

because the signs are here.....

that winter is coming.

The footie pajamas are out. Are footie pj's close to the cutest kid clothes ever?

The gourds are...gourding. Quite a few of the elderly people in our complex plant gardens.

This one was huge!

The leaves are turning.

The winter bedding and jackets are being aired out and washed.

Look at the lining on that coat! Yes, it's really necessary.

October is in a few days. Our mattress heaters are on the beds, the flannel night gown is ready and the hunting socks have been found. Winter, bring it on!

Among the things we never thought we do in China,

2011-09-27T17:34:00.000+08:00

included watching ice hockey.
Our friend Mike flew up from Shanghai to play in an ice hockey tournament. He is a super nice young guy and it was fun to have him for dinner and then to go to one of the games on Saturday. We also have a friend who plays on the Shenyang team, so we went to the Shanghai/Shenyang championship game. Here are a few pictures.

The rink. I don't know how to say "Zamboni" in Chinese.

The game begins. Shenyang loses 5 to 3 with one Shanghai goal made by the Shenyang goalie. Whoops.

I think this is our friend but I am not entirely sure. The next morning he showed up with a purple eye, courtesy of a team that drank on the bus on the way to the tournanment.

Paul went down to the rink to hang out with the Shenyang team and get a better view.

It was cold but not too bad,

The Mongolian team...these guys were huge but Mike said they were really nice.

Outside the stadium, the first fake snow of the season. It was warm enough for shorts, though.

Renewing our visas and the nice people along the way.

2011-09-25T13:56:00.001+08:00

Like foreigners in any country, we have to renew our visa's regularly. For us, it's once a year. We come under Paul's visa as he works part time at a university...except that this year only he was in China when visa renewal time came. Plus, Elisabeth turns 18 and can no longer come under his visa. She needs her own since she is now an adult (cough, cough).
So the two of us got tourist visas just to get back in the country. While we were at the San Francisco Consulate, the nice woman said that if she could see our marriage license, she could just give me the dependent visa right there. We had no idea about this and of course our marriage license was in China. So a tourist visa it was.
Elisbath needs an official student visa now and that is a fairly heavy paperwork laden process. I needed to get my dependent visa so last week was visa time! Our visa's expire October 7 and we need them updated to travel during the October 1 holiday week.
On Wednesday afternoon, Paul and I headed up to the PSB (Police Security Bereau). When we got there, they went through our paperwork and told us they needed to see our police registration form. All people in China register with the police when they move or re-enter the country. We had neglected to do that upon our return and now we were regretting it. So back on the bus to our home about 1/2 an hour away.
So Friday, we took Elisabeth out of school to get some of her visa stuff done. First we went to the local police to register. They very nicely ignored the fact that we were late and didn't fine us. Once that was done, we taxied back to the PSB to get my visa done. Once there, they told us that since I had come in under a tourist visa, that I needed to have my physical done again. The woman was super nice and did every thing she could to make it easy for us. She told us not to wait in line when we come back next week and that she would get things done quickly.
By this time it was 12:00 and we were starving. So we went to get lunch even though you are supposed to go to the exam with an empty stomach. Paul went off to teach and Elisabeth and I went to the hospital to get the exam done. We did this the first time two years ago so I knew what to do. Basically, you get in line and give the people your passport and a form. Then you discover that you have forgotten to bring a picture of yourself and go upstairs to get a picture and and make copies of whatever you have forgotten to make copies of. Then back downstairs to start the circuit.
First you take off everything on the top and have an x-ray taken to be sure you don't have TB. Then you go upstairs and have blood taken. It was at this point that Elisabeth turned ghost white and had to lie down. The very nice people gave her some candy and warm water. She didn't faint.
Then you have to give a urine sample. Let me just say that if you have to go to the squatty potty and pee into a small cup, pull up your pants and zip before you try to pour it into the tube that they give you. Also, notice that there is a shelf to put the cup on before you zip or pour. Also bring soap. Lots of it.
After the bodily fluids, you go to get weight, height and blood pressure. Mine was a little high. I think the near fainting and yucky urine episode might have stressed me out a little bit.
Then you get your eyes checked. Elisabeth shamed me by saying the numbers we had to read in Chinese. It wasn't that I couldn't have read them in Chinese..it just didn't occur to me.
Then we had an ultra-sound. I had my gall bladder out many years ago. Gall bladder surgery is rare in China so the woman couldn't quite figure out what was going on. I don't know how to say "gall bladder" in Chinese but she kept saying the same thing over and over again so I said "Mei you" which means "none." Another worker said to me "Gall bladder- cut?" and I said yes. The woman said I had no scar so I lifted up my shirt again to show her my laparscopic scar. She said that she had seen my gall bladder two years ago and I told her she couldn't have. Since my friend went there two years ago and they didn't notice she was five months pregnant on the ultra-sound, I'd say the ultra-sound results are a little sketchy. But the people again were very kind and very admiring of my small scar and American medical care.
Next we had this done.

Electrodes were attached to our bodies and we were asked many questions. No, not really. I'm not really even sure what this was. I think she said ECG but it might have been EKG or who knows. Anyway, that was our last station. We took our stuff downstairs, were told to come back next Tuesday and that was that.
We got in a taxi with the most dangerous taxi driver ever. Lots of squealing brakes and yelling at people he almost hit. However, I did see this peaceful scene.

These old men are sitting in an alley. One is fixing a bike tire, the rest are talking and playing games. I love scenes like this.

Days like today remind me of why I love China. What could have been an unpleasant day was made really bearable by the unfailing kindness of the people involved. We've had our fair share of negative encounters, too. But today was a good day....and we'll be back next week to finish!

The Cha Bu Duo Race.

2011-09-22T17:50:00.001+08:00

Last Saturday was the Second Annual Cha Bu Duo Fun Run/Race. Cha Bu Duo is a Chinese word that means "about" or "around." People gathered to run about 5 or 10 kilometers and get a medal at the end. Participants pay a small entrance fee that all goes to orphan foster care.

The woman about is Katherine - fabulous pediatrician and adovcate for orphans. She started this race last year and organized it again. Sadly she is moving to another country to continue her work with trafficked women and their related health issues. But we hope she is back next year.

This year, the French ran with us. Katherine made a friend whose husband works for Michelin. Several of the Michelin people came out to run. Hearing French spoken in China was wonderful. Hearing Chinese spoken with a French accent was really fun.

Of course, any large crowd of foreigners draws a crowd of staring people.

Paul and friends were the race starters and time keepers. Yes, he is holding a chicken in his hand. That was the starter.

First one in for the 5K- a single foster mom!

Some of us just got to hang out with our little sweeties.

Katherine and Eva-two doctors who are heroes to me. They literally saved our little guys life. Eva is one of the doctors who found him and got him into foster care. Katherine did his initial care and didn't know if he was going into foster care or hospice. The two of them have done countless house calls, phone calls, e-mails, formula to cereal ratio calculations and more for us. Plus, they are super fun. We love them.

The mom contingent. These three women have been or currently are foster parents.

The cute teacher couple- also involved with foster care. That is a foster dad and a foster family in the background.

The male doctor contingent.

All of this to help support foster care for little guys like ours. The money goes to support Chinese family who want to foster, not foreign families who have other resources. It was a totally fun and worthwhile way to spend a Saturday morning.

Look who had a good day.

2011-09-17T22:34:00.000+08:00

Does he look a little like "Help me, mom."

He had a little physical therapy from a visiting physical therapist. She had tons of good suggestions.

Look who fed himself! We are so proud of him! Now he can do bread, cheerios and cut up grapes. It's totally awesome and he is so proud of himself.

Love and Mooncakes

2011-09-13T22:12:00.000+08:00

I took this picture this morning of our helper and our little guy. They are sitting on our sofa as she is reading him a little book in Chinese. There are so many things I could say about this picture. Reading books to children is not a big part of Chinese parenting culture but our helper has embraced it big time. Our little guy loves books and he loves being read to. Our helper sees no limitation in our little guy. The fact that he has Down Syndrome doesn't bother her. She sees his potential and constantly says how intelligent he is. That is how cultures change. Person by person by person. She has loved our little low status special needs guy with her whole heart. Now her whole family does. That is how you change a cultural viewpoint on special needs. Person by person, with love.

Yesterday was the Autumn Moon Festival and that means Mooncakes. Mooncakes are kind of China's equivalent to a fruit cake. You either love them or hate them. This year, the Chinese teacher's at the international school decided to teach the kids how to make moon cakes. It was during my prep time so I ran down to check it out.

Elisabeth was there so I got some good pictures of her.

This is the moon cake mold.

More moon cakes- some not yet cooked.

Close up of the uncooked and some cooked.

Pretty patterns on top. The grapes and pears are traditional fruit for the holiday.

The oven that they were cooked in. Yes, that is a standard sized oven in China. I have one in my kitchen, too. They are small but pretty efficient. It just takes a while to get everything cooked.

From the forest to the mountains.

2011-09-11T18:53:00.001+08:00

I've been away since Wednesday, aside from a brief stop at home on Friday night. Tuesday morning, our little guy got picked up by his ayi and went to her apartment where he will be loved and adored by her, her husband, her daughter, her in-laws, her mother and her sister. It might be quite a disappointment to come back to us! We sent him there because I needed to be gone for five days and in between that and Paul's work schedule, he needed consistent and loving care. So off he went.

On Wednesday I left with the middle school portion of the International School where I teach. Every year, they go on a fall retreat to build unity. It really was so much fun. I don't get to see most of the students since I only really see some of the ESL students. These kids were just super fun to be with and we all had a great time. We played games, did team building exercises, hiked a mountain during the day and went out on a night hike. The place was only about an hour out of our city and it was just really lovely. I achieved one of my language goals as I brought some knitting along and talked to some of the hostel women about knitting in China compared to knitting in the US- different needles and style of knitting. I also got to know the foreign and China staff a little better. I spent most of my time with one of the Chinese office staff that came. She is just a dear sister and I loved getting to know her.

The kids were good sports even though they worked hard. One of the games is called Mission Impossible. It is done in the dark. Basically the teachers go and hide in the dark. The kids gather at one place and they are all given a chopstick. Their goal is to get it to a bucket. If they get a certain amount of chopsticks in the bucket, they win. However, there is no way to win. The teacher's are too many, too fast and too well hidden. As the kids creep towards the goal, the teacher creep out of the darkness and hunt them down. The thing is, the kids love the game even though there is no way to win. The hostel was great for this game-they turned off all of their lights and it was pitch black except for the moon. Fabulous fun.

Below are some of the pictures of the place.

School security policies prohibit posting pictures of the kids anywhere on the internet. However, I can post pictures of these people who were at a wedding reception at the hostel...they paused to stare at the incredible collection of multinational teachers and students. They truly seemed to enjoy watching the kids play games and enjoy themselves.

I can also post these pictures of these very cute little Chinese school kids who were in the area picking apples! They all waved and smiled and said "Hallo!"

The food was to die for and yes, that is a fish head in the middle.

More of the fish head.

This was a kind of Korean style hostel and we slept on Korean style beds...well, let's be honest-they are mats. I shared a room with an American teacher and a Chinese teacher and we all asked for an extra mat. No, we didn't tell the kids.

Beautiful views when we climbed the mountain.

Apple picking.

Zoo is relative term. Combat readiness is really war games- not a military thing. Do not fear!

The lovely outside of the inn. The lanterns were beautiful at night.

One funny story about the retreat- there were dogs there - small dogs. They were really friendly. One morning around 7AM, I was outside with a large group of boys. The dogs gave these city slickers quite the "farm education." There was hooting and hollering and a quick whipping out of digital cameras to take pictures...that we had them delete. It really was very funny.

So after a fun few day, I came home on Friday night, slept in my own bed and got up early to go to Qi Pan Shan for the international women's retreat. A church and organization in the US puts on this retreat every year and underwrites it. It's a blessing just to be able to go away. I shared a room my my good friend and that was good. The speakers were a little mixed but one or two of the speakers really resonated with me. We also had time to walk around the lake and just relax. It was a good two days.

View of the lake from our hotel room.

Fisherman.

Buddhist temple off in the distance. There were several shrines in the area.

What we've been doing this week.

2011-09-09T22:09:00.000+08:00

I just got back to today from the Middle School Fall retreat that was held at Forest Park, near our city. We played and had so much fun. I'll post more about that tomorrow if I have time...because I am leaving for two days in the mountains at the Ex-pat Women's retreat.
So this is what's been going on.

We've been hanging out with friend's at a Labor Day Picnic. Look who is wearing his first pair of real jeans!

The cat has been checking out the baby.

Our helper made us jiaozi and froze it for us. We have tons of jiaozi in our freezer. As it turns out, you can have too much jiaozi.

No more crying at bathtime! Still nervous about sitting by himself in the water.

More hanging out with friend's at the picnic.

There is always something to talk about.

The view out my classroom window.

The view out our front window.

Would you like to see some rather badly shot video?

2011-09-03T11:19:00.002+08:00

Grr...can't get the longer one to upload. sorry

This was shot from the back of the school bus with my little instant camera. We drive through this part of town every day. It really gives you a sense of the "real China." This is a village that has North Korean roots and you can see some Korean stores and places. This village is surrounded by construction of high rises and new building. While you may look at this village and think it's worth tearing down, the thing to remember is that it is a community and the people who live there won't be able to afford to live in the new high rises. I videoed some of the new construction but couldn't get it to upload.

This picture is the view from my classroom window. It's a factory of some sort. The school is in a factory district of our town. The teachers and admin have done a really great job fixing the building up as a school and it's a good place to learn and teach.

I've gone back to work this fall at the international school where my daughter attends. I am teaching a middle school English class with students who are not native speakers. It's fun to be back in the classroom and my students are delightful. One of the sixth grade boys came up to me the other day and said "Teacher, I am gaunt." "Really?" I replied. "Yes, I am ravenous." I think that is pretty good use of our vocabulary words from boy who was very hungry.

Doesn't he look much more like a little boy now? Army crawling and trying to put his fingers in sockets. It's a whole new world for us!

Yes- he can even stand with support.

We've been back in China for several weeks now and re-adjusted pretty well. Elisabeth is working on college applications and getting ready to take the SAT for the second time. I guess that is the recommended way. She turns 18 next month and I'd like to know how that happened!

Remember the skinny baby that used to live here....

2011-08-26T20:35:00.000+08:00

Hanging out in the walker.

Moobs!

Towel wrap.

Quick-someone tell ayi that he needs a bigger tub!

Yes, when you mix love and good food...you get a deliciously chunky little guy.

And let me just say this...

2011-08-23T19:01:00.000+08:00

My day started off with cr@p X 2 diapers. Our little guy woke up at even more dark o-clock than he usually does. I played dead for as long as I could and then got up and whoa! Mega filled, stinky diaper. And then another one an hour later. When I changed the second one, I decided to get him dressed. I sat on our bed and noticed something wet...yes, our dreadful cat peed on our bed. I had heard him scratching around his litter box earlier in the morning and knew this was a possibility. We clean his box every day but occasionally he has an angry fit and pees on our bed. Yes, it's as gross as it sounds. So I stripped the bed and started washing the mattress cover, fitted sheet, top sheet, quilt and quilt cover...all done one at a time in our little washer. Fortunately the woman who watches our little guy while I am working did most of it for me...or I would have come home late this afternoon to yucky cat pee sheets.
I taught this morning and that was fun. The students that I have are cute and now that they are relaxing, I am getting a better grasp of their English level. For the sixth and seventh graders, we are reading The Phantom Tollbooth aloud- super fun book but challenging for them to understand.
Anyway, this afternoon Elisabeth and I had to go to the Consulate to turn in her paperwork for a new passport. Hers expires next Spring but she needs a different visa when she turns 18 in October. Passports usually have to have a year left before expiration before a visa can be given so she needs a new one. Plus when we left San Francisco, the airline ticket agent looked at her passport and asked who it belonged to. That might me a sign that she looks different now than when she was thirteen.
So we taxied up to the American Consulate. Paul and I were there once before to get some documents notarized and I was prepared to sit a while. We crossed the blocked off road to get into the Consulate and showed our passport and appointment slip. We then got the golden ticket to enter the building, gave up our backback and purses but took in money, passports, paperwork and two books to read -Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry for me and Crazy Love by Francis Chan for Elisabeth.
When we got to the office, we went to the window, she went over the paperwork and then we paid $135.00 for the passport. That is not the expedited fee. Then we were told to go and sit and wait. I wondered what we were waiting for. So we waited and waited and waited. My hopes for going to the foreign grocery store with Elisabeth were dashed after the first hour. After an hour and a half, a guy who was ahead of us was called up. He was there to get extra pages put in his passport. He came back from being called up looking disgusted. Apparently he was told that the pages weren't in yet and they were confirming that's what he wanted. Um, yes since that's what he told them when he came in and paid the $82.00 for extra pages. After two hours, we were called up. The nice man said "Oh, so you need a new passport?" Um....as we said two hours ago and paid for....YES! Then we were sent to another window and told "Okay, we'll e-mail you in about two weeks and you can make another appointment to pick it up." Really, another appointment? You actually can have it couriered to you but we couldn't do that. Elisabeth is traveling next week and needs her passport to check into a motel. By agreeing to come back and get it, she could keep her passport. If we had it mailed, she couldn't keep her passport. We'll have to turn in her passport when we go back to pick up her new passport. I hope that when "we" have to go back, "we" doesn't include me.
Really, Consulate. You can do better than that. Don't make people sit for hours for that kind of thing. Get more people, open more windows, develop a better system. Do something.
Anyway, it was bad taxi time when we got out (bad taxi time is shift change and taxi's don't want to stop). After throwing ourselves in front of a taxi, we had a very nice taxi driver who got us home quickly and alive. Rush hour traffic in a big city in China is not for the fearful.
Have I mentioned that after 7 weeks apart, two weeks together, and then 3 weeks apart, Paul is coming home on Thursday. I wonder if I will recognize him.

Back in China for two weeks.

2011-08-20T09:23:00.000+08:00

We've been back in China now for about two weeks. Paul is still in the US and planning on flying here on Tuesday. He will overnight in Seoul and then arrive here Thursday morning. His time in the STL/Columbia area was way too short and he didn't get to see all the people he wanted/needed to see. He had some important things to take care of and that cut into his time quite a bit.
So, it's been two weeks and it all feels normal again. The first year I was here, I carried my camera everywhere so that I could capture that sense of newness and uniqueness. Yesterday, I was in a van coming home from the school, and I saw the following- two women walking under umbrella's in the sun. A woman on a motorbike wearing bright orange skin protectors on her arms. Two men walking on the streets in their pajamas. A group of men in camouflage pants, all with their shirts off- not a good look. Later, when I road my bike to the grocery store, I saw two families from the upscale kindergarten on the corner, holding their children near a tree so that the children could defecate. All of these things were unique and new to me two years ago-now I hardly even notice.
We've had many changes in our life in the last two weeks. I've gone back to teaching. I am teaching three middle school English classes at the international school that Elisabeth ends. They are classes for students whose native language is not English. We use the same curriculum as the regular class-it's just modified somewhat. It's a very different kind of ESL than I usually teach and I am enjoying it. I get up each morning and hang out with the sweet baby. At 7:30 the ayi comes and then I get on the school bus with the kids and go to school. I prep and teach until 1:00 and then go home. It's a good schedule that still allows me to do other things that I need to. The kids are sweet and the other teachers are great.
Elisabeth started her Senior Year. She has 4 AP classes, Chinese, Choir and Model United Nation. She is working hard on college applications and looking for scholarships.
Our little guy has struggled a little with the transition back here. We have struggled, also. He is now very mobile, very curious, very active and very persistent. He is a whole different baby than when we left in June and we have some adjustments to make. He is very, very attached to his ayi-excited to see her when she comes in the morning and sad to see her go. He is relearning to attach to us. Sometimes life for these little guys is just so tough- so many transitions, so many people.
After two weeks, he seems back to his happy, sweet little self. It's amazing to think that we have had him for a year. A year! What a difference.

Oh, my word!

2011-08-10T17:49:00.000+08:00

If you all would just indulge me a picture heavy post, check out our little guy. He has come back this from a summer in a Chinese family with major skills. He sits well, he crawls, he initiates contact. It's amazing. He is almost two and just more on track than ever. He is loud, loud, loud. He is fairly demanding and it's hardly tell whether that is because of being played with non-stop for nine weeks, being almost two or having Down Syndrome. He's been back with us for three days and seem fine. I think it's a little confusing for him as he stays with us but spends his day with his summer ayi (in our home). When she arrived today, he got very excited and waved Zai Jian (goodbye) to me. Yes, it's a little hard on me emotionally. He seems happy to be with us but really loves his ayi right now. It's all good but challenging.

Anyway, the mad skills!

Apparently this is the Chinese version of "show me your nose." He can show you his ears if you ask him to. He pulls them forward and it is uber cute.

This is what he does when we say "Xie Xie" or thank you. It's a kind of putting hands together and moving them up and down. Pretty cute.

He likes to hand us things and doesn't want them back.

Army crawling to the mystery thing on our shelf.

Look at that straight back!

Blurry picture because he is really moving.

Again blurry but because of my bad photography. However, finally someone is playing with the cat toy.

If your say "Chinese name, where are you?" he pats himself on the stomach.

Still loves books- we brought new ones back.

Still shaking his hands.

Still clapping!

Still very much himself.

It's hard to believe that he has been in our life for almost a year. A year ago, he was lying in a hospital bed in the orphanage, hungry and alone. Now, his life is full

of people who love him deeply and fiercely. All glory to the Giver of Life.

And then there was hysteria.

2011-08-08T20:28:00.000+08:00

Our sweet little guy came home today to people he wasn't sure he knew. It's been nine long weeks- a lifetime to a less than two year old. He has been well loved by our friend and her family. Her daughter and husband came too.

I wasn't there when they came because I started working at the international school today. All day I have been waiting for the call that they were there. It came as I was riding the teacher bus home from a prep day. I felt total joy and a little nervous.

When I got home, our friend was holding him and he looked at me a little startled. I wondered if he recognized me but didn't remember. The family started tell me how intelligent he was and showed me all the things they had taught him- he can point to his ears, bow his hands while he says Xie Xie, point to himself when they say "Where's (his name)? and more. It was sweet.

I held back from grabbing him because I knew he needed time. He is clearly attached to our friend. We played with him together on the floor and then it was time for her to go. That's when the hysteria started. Screaming, crying, sobbing until he fell asleep. And you know what? As hard as it was, it was wonderful. It means that he can show grief. That he knows that someone will respond. That he is attached to someone and feels loved and safe. I remember the first night we had him. I woke up to feed him (that was in the time of the every two hour feeding) and found him just lying there looking. No tears even though he was hungry and in a new place. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen.

But he clearly knows how to cry now! Our friend will be working for us taking care of him while I work. She'll be back tomorrow so he'll have continuity of care.

After a good hour of tears and being held, he fell asleep in my arms. After a few hours, we were able to get him in the high chair for dinner. We were able to get him down on the ground to play with him. At bed time he drank his bottle but had to be rocked and then patted to sleep. Seeing him curled up in his crib is sweet, sweet, sweet!

A little unsure and check out that haircut! His legs are still delicious.

New game- he picks up the ball and hands it to you. Very cute.

One emotionally exhausted little boy. One foster mom who is happy to hold him.

Love him!

Oh the sweetness.

Yes, cool haircut and painted toe nails. Welcome to our world!

After the hysteria, passing the toys to me.

Looking at his adored Jie Jie.

She was pretty happy to see him, too.

Clapping.

Playing.

He can now get in a sitting position by himself, get himself down to a crawl and crawl. The progress is amazing. He is much closer to being a little boy than a baby. It's wonderful.

Jia you, little baby. We are happy to have you home.

Parallel Universes

2011-08-07T17:05:00.000+08:00

We took off on Friday around 12:45. The baggage guy looked at out suitcases, picked them up, weighed them, winked at us and put them on the conveyor belt. Yay for nice airport workers. The check-in lady looked at Elisabeth's passport and asked who this passport was for? I guess she has changed since we got her first passport four years ago. She needs a new one anyway.

When we got to Korea, they greeted us with a traditional procession.

Okay, maybe it wasn't just for us. The Seoul/Incheon airport does lot's of cool stuff like this. On our way to the states, there was a band of students playing traditional Korean instruments-it was beautiful.

Of course, we had Korean food for dinner. Even at the airport, it was good.

We had an overnight in Seoul and at first we thought we would stay in the Rest and Relaxation lounge. The Transit hotel was full. But once we looked at the Rest and Relaxation lounge, we knew it wasn't the right place. There were loungers but they didn't fold out. There were many people and it was light and not very comfortable. So we asked at information and they got us through immigration and customs and to the hotel desk. We went to a funky in a good way. little hotel and spent the night. It was great to sleep and shower after a long plane ride. I must say that every single person in the Korean Airport was helpful and kind. It was really nice. Also claps and cheers to the flight attendants who helped a little girl travelling by herself who got really airsick. Korean Air is just the best.

Back at the airport, we ran into Elisabeth's cute classmate- we knew she and her family would be on the flight. We switched seats on the plane so they could sit together.

Remember all this stuff (sorry, blurry picture)

Well it actually fit into all of these. Plus all the stuff in the post above. Now to unpack it all.

Best thing for me- we still have a view from our living room! There are cranes and a high rise will eventually go up but so far, we can still see the river.

It's odd to think that a week ago we were still in the Portland area, meeting new friends and seeing old ones. Now we are back China. The first thing I had to do was ride my bike to the bank, get cash and get some food. Really different than just driving to the store and using my debit car. The sense of living in two parallel worlds is very strong. Both are good worlds and we are happy to be in them. It's just an odd thing that in less than one day, we can be in one of our worlds in the morning and the other by night.

We are happy to be here and ready for our next year's adventures. Tomorrow- the sweet baby comes home. We can't wait!

Last day in the land of dryers and dishwashers.

2011-08-05T13:30:00.000+08:00

We leave for China on Korea Air tomorrow from the San Francisco airport. Paul took off today for St. Louis and Columbia. We are excited to get back to the crazy, fun, loud world of China and the sweet baby who is waiting for us there. We actually get into China on Sunday (overnight in Seoul) and won't see him until Monday.

We can't wait to see him again!

Medicine, vitamins and moisturizer.

New little boy clothes from consignment and discount shops. He'll be a well dressed little dude!

A few new toys..again from consignment shops.

New yarn bought by me and by my mother.

More stuff.

Trader Joe's - how we love you!

Dutch soup, taco seasoning and cup of soup.

Some of the vitamins that you generous people sent me. I haven't even done all the purchasing with the donations. I'll have to find more people to carry them in for me. They are heavier than we thought! Thank you so much to those of you who sent donations and vitamins.

Books- ESL, baby, fiction, knitting magazines and theology. If I could carry more in, I would. We stopped in several used book stores during our travels. One more things we miss in China. But I think we are pretty well stocked up.

We have had a great summer in the USA. Now back to China for another year- one that we hope brings much fruit and many good things.

Why I have been a bad blogger....

2011-08-02T13:30:00.000+08:00

It's because I've been having face to face relationships! Yes, our nine weeks in the US is almost over and we are sad and glad and all kinds of emotions. Right now we are in the Hilton in Eugene, Oregon thanks to the generosity of a friend who gave us some hotel points. We drove down the Oregon coast today and saw the amazing beauty of the Oregon coast line. Glorious and wild and empty. We could have looked at the ocean forever.

Paul joined us last Saturday after a grueling 30 plus flight from Thailand. Next time, I'll be doing his flight arrangements. Amazingly, he got right into California time and hasn't suffered much jet lag. On Monday, we went to San Francisco to renew our visas and spend the day with old InterVarsity friends. On Tuesday we drove to Paradise and spent the evening with lovely college friends. Then up to Oregon to visit friends and see two colleges for Elisabeth. We may have a winner in one of them but I'll save that for Spring when she decides. Also, when they offer us major financial aid.

This summer, we have renewed many friendships. One of the neatest time was when I saw a high school friend that I haven't seen since we graduated XX years ago and she was lovely on the inside and out. She drove from her home in Kansas so see me in Missouri and it just was really nice to catch up. We have so many quality friends and it's been so lovely to see how well and how faithfully so many are living.

We've also seen much brokenness and wept some tears with friends. Broken marriages, broken children and broken lives. We all have a story and part of our story usually involves pain. We are honored to walk through the pain with our friends as so many have walked with us.

Friends have been generous to us in so many ways- many have given financially so that our time here was a little easier. We have stayed in many homes thus saving on hotel bills. One of our friends loaned us a car. We are so thankful. Many have also been generous to the orphans and foster parents in our city- I am taking back many, many bottles of children's vitamins- thank you to all who gave or donated.

On Thursday, Paul will fly to St. Louis/Columbia for two weeks and on Friday, Elisabeth and I will fly back to China. We have an overnight in Korea and then get back to Shenyang on Sunday. Monday, I start work! I will be teaching a replacement/sheltered English class at the international school and I can't wait.

Monday is also important as our sweet baby comes back to us. Think and pray for him as he undergoes another adjustment in his life. The woman who watched him over the summer will continue to work for us as I go back to work. We don't know how much he will remember of us but we hope he remembers some. Nine weeks is a long time in a baby's life- he did see Paul during that time and remembered him. Needless to say, we can't wait to see him. We have new clothes, new toys and new books for him. We are still praying for his future and believing in a good future for him.

So..the next time I post should be from China!

Guess who is having a good summer?

2011-07-21T02:56:00.000+08:00

Speaking to the CGC teens- this time the picture is the correct size.

Listening to a CGC teen.

Playing swords at the TCK re-entry seminar.

Fred and George.

How awesome is this picture?

After a tough year, it's wonderful to see her happy. It will be hard to leave Columbia and St. Louis tomorrow. Our relationships run deep and we will miss our friends.

What we've been doing

2011-07-16T06:12:00.000+08:00

Mostly hanging out with friends. These are friends at a tea organized by my friend Cathy. It was a sweet time.

Elisabeth spoke at the CGC teen lock-in. Sorry the picture is so small. I heard she spoke really well.

It really is a pleasure and delight to be here and just catch up with friends. It makes me realize what good friends we have and how much I've missed them.

We have one more week in Columbia and then back to CA next Friday. We meet up with Paul on Saturday morning and then have week of Visa renewal, seeing friends, traveling and seeing one more college. It's pretty exciting.

We are hoping to hear some good news about our little guys future soon. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Good things are happening!

I've been asked to bring back children's chewable or liquid vitamins for our foster care agency to give out to foster parents and different orphanages. They are out of vitamins. If you are interested in giving to this project, please e-mail me. My address can be found in the blogger profile. You can either send me vitamins, send a check or donate to my paypal account. We leave for China August 5 and need to have this completed by August 3. This is nothing tax deductible or super - official. Just something I've been asked to do and definitely a needed thing.

People who love our sweet baby.

2011-07-11T21:23:00.001+08:00

Paul.

Our foster care liasion (she is fantastic), the friend who is taking care of him for the summer and loves him like a son, and our sweet friend who loves and advocates for orphans.

Keep our little guy in your prayers as we are still hoping and praying for his future.

As far as our time in the US, it's been fantastic. We've seen friends, had deep talks and just had fun. Elisabeth has reconnected with friends from Columbia and St. Louis. One of my friends hosted a tea on Saturday and I saw several Chinese women that we had loved and had good relationships with while we lived in Columbia. That was wonderful. Talking about China with people from China who have now immigrated to the US was great.

After the tea, I drove to St. Louis. I stayed up until 1:00 AM with my super fun friend Julie and her two daughters. It was fun to laugh and see how wonderfully the girls have grown up. In the morning, we dragged ourselves over to the Chinese church that we call home and saw many friends. This week I am working on a curriculum project and trying to see more friends in the area. Two more weeks until we see Paul!

One thing that really stands out to me is how much I miss the deep friendship of many women in my life. Some of the people I have seen have been friends since childhood. Others since college or graduate school and others since the birth of Elisabeth. It just takes time and history to have that kind of friendship.

The other thing that has struck me is the level of struggle that my friends are going through. Struggling marriages, struggling kids, struggling lives. It's an honor to share in my friend's lives.

Remember the little boy

2011-07-09T13:36:00.001+08:00

who couldn't raise his head, sit or roll over.....

Look at him now!

The picture is kind of blurry but oh my! Being away from Paul for so long has been hard. But having him in China to keep up with our little guys progress...fantastic.

In which I prove my theory.

2011-07-03T08:28:00.001+08:00

We have been back in the US for almost a month now. It's been pretty smooth and feels pretty natural to be back. We spent the first three weeks in California, Washington and Canada. Elisabeth flew to Minnesota for a Teen Re-Entry retreat and we met up in Missouri on Thursday. Through the generosity of friends, we have a car to drive and a house to stay in during our time here.

While we are here we have to go to the dentist, go to the orthodontist, get a new social security card, re-new a driver's permit, get an adult passport for Elisabeth, take care of our house for new renters...oh and see friends and talk about our time in China!

We've had a few moments of being overwhelmed by noise and input. We've been thrilled to go to the library, grocery shop and do "normal" American things. We definitely have noticed that people are on their smart phones all the time and that portion sizes are big. I've had to remind myself over and over again to cross at the light and that we can't walk against the red light. Fortunately I have a teenager to keep me in line!

Driving is great but I've had to readjust my awareness level. In China, we just ride our bikes. There is so much going on on the streets that you just ignore half of it and keep going. With driving, you can't do that. I've made a few mistakes-almost hitting a man in a crosswalk in Seattle and turning down a street meant for buses. But so far, so good- no accidents, no deaths.

However, today I proved a theory that I have about China. When foreigners first go to China, they are often shocked at the amount of pushing and cutting in line. One of the first lessons that I learned in Beijing was that when the subway doors open, rush forward and get in. If you don't push forward, the sheer number of people will keep you out. No one will give way. I also learned that Chinese people line up for ATM's a different way. What I thought was cutting in line was simply a different system and one that I had to learn.

My theory is that the sheer number of people in China makes Chinese people less aware of those around them. The American habit of greeting total strangers who are walking by is just not possible in China. As we've lived there for two years, we greet people less, walk in a crowd with less awareness of who is around us, push forward through crowds, buses and subways.

However, we are in the US for the summer. I need to re-adapt to American ways. This morning we went to the Farmer's Market. I love Farmer's Markets with the blend of Amish, Mennonites, earthy people, mother's and ordinary people. It also cracks me up because shopping at outdoor markets is how most of the world shops every day...with out the ostrich feathers, native jewelry and honey ice cream. Anyway, we walked through and looked at all the vegetables, sweet corn and homemade bread. I saw some tomatoes that were being sold by two Mennonite women so I walked over and picked three and took out my money to pay.

Then I heard a horrified "Mom! Do you know you cut in line." Elisabeth said it was like watching a disaster in a movie in slow motion. Yes, in true Chinese fashion, I had totally not noticed that there was a line to buy the tomatoes. A glaring line of people. No one can glare like American's observing someone cutting in line. I apologized to the line and to the Mennonite woman and slunk away with my tomatoes.

I knew there would be some re-entry moments but I didn't think they would involved tomatoes.

Got these pictures today....

2011-07-01T13:02:00.000+08:00

Our baby is growing up! We are happy that he is happy but miss him desperately. We are so thankful that Paul is still in China and can check on him and we are glad that he is doing so well. The family that is caring for him really loves him and that is so encouraging. Keep this little guy and his future in your prayers.

"Make new friends....

2011-06-29T07:32:00.000+08:00

but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."

Yesterday I had lunch with someone that I've known since about second grade. It was fun to see her (we haven't seen each other since I was pregnant with Elisabeth). She is now married with two young kids and it was good to catch up after 18 years!

I've also spent time with my dear friend, Sue who was my neighbor until 7th grade when she moved to another city across the street from my friend from church, Liz. We have maintained our friendship for many, many years.

When we were in Seattle last week, we spent the night at the house of some new friends. Previously I "knew" them through an internet connection (not a dating service). No, this lovely woman is the ESL coordinator for our company and we have done some work together. We were able to meet and spend a lovely evening with her and her husband. They have served faithfully overseas for 18 years in Hong Kong and the Philipines. They came back to the states quite a while ago and continued to serve in many capacities. Now, close to retirement age, they continue to work and travel training different teams to teach ESL in many countries. What an example to us!

When we left them in the morning, we drove down to the Ft. Lewis area and met up with my next door neighbor from my childhood neighborhood. She is married to a really nice man who has served in the Army for almost 25 years. It was interesting listening to him about the current situation in Iraq and other matters. Best of all for Elisabeth, they have a teen daughter her age and they were able to drive away from all the adults and go and have ice cream.

After visiting with Christie, we drove further down Washington state to see my college friend, Tami and her family of eight children!

Here we are trying to blend in with seven of the eight!

Any of my Chico friends remember this warm and truly fun friend?

What I love about Tami is that she is truly a friend of the heart. We live such different lives- she home-schools , has eight children and is just so content. We public school and have one child. Yet, we each live by our convictions for our own lives and there is no division or tension at all. That is true Christian unity. I love her!

Tami's oldest daughter makes soap and it is just the best. Do yourself a favor and buy some-it's wonderful! http://www.chehalishills.com/index.htm

After leaving this fun family, we drove back through Ft. Lewis and spent about an hour and a half with some other friends. When we lived in Germany, we were involved with the Bamberg Hospitality House. Mark and Carol were the missionaries there and played an influential role in our lives. We have kept up and it was sweet to see them now serving at Ft. Lewis. The military has changed and they are serving many men with real needs and hurts. They are quality people doing an important work.

Then we drove up to Canada and saw my aunt, two cousins and their families. Somehow, I forgot to take pictures. But it was a fun evening with nice people and very relaxing.

Tuesday we drove to a tour of Trinity Western and then we drove farther into the Fraser Valley to meet a friend that I have known through an on-line community for about 10 years. She is Sarah of Emerging Mummy fame -http://www.emergingmummy.com/- a writer, a thinker and everything she portrays herself to be. She and her family are the real deal. Just lovely. Love is growing in their marriage and in their home. What a joy to meet them in real life.

Tomorrow I leave California for three weeks in Missouri. More friends, more sharing, more time in familiar places. Looking forward to seeing many of you!

Places we've been.

2011-06-25T11:19:00.000+08:00

I put Elisabeth on a plane to Minneapolis today and I am sitting in a hotel room near the Seattle Airport. I leave at 7AM tomorrow morning to go back to California for a few days before we meet up again next week in Missouri. I skyped with Paul for a while today, catching up on China news and sharing about our time in the USA and Canada. Our little guy is doing well with his Chinese family but I just ache for him. Maybe it's because we've been so busy and I miss our quiet days in our apartment.
Anyway-here are some of the places we've been so far this summer.

Stanford. The beauty of the chapel is amazing.

Santa Cruz-seals and beautiful beaches with fun cousins.

San Francisco- city hall, the Asian Art Museum and coffee with an old college friend. There is nothing like a bright, sparkly day in San Francisco.

Seattle! Aside from a being a nightmare to drive in, what a city. So beautiful and so much to do.

The World Vision Headquarters in Federal Way, Washington. Elisabeth has a great interest in this organization and it was an honor to visit this place that has done such great work for children all over the world.

Highways. Many, many miles of highway.

Canada! Peach Arch at the Border.

Vancouver-what a city. I wish we'd had time to see more.

We happened to turn down a wrong road when we were driving back to Seattle. This is what we found- a stunning sunset against the ocean. Food for our souls.

Chinatown in Seattle. Loved the dragons!

Seattle Pacific. This may be the one for Elisabeth. All the right things that make it a great fit. Now let the scholarship work begin!

More blogging to come.

2011-06-24T13:14:00.000+08:00

We've been in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Vancouver and Seattle. We have met fantastic people, caught up with old friends and seen two colleges. I haven't had time to blog but I'll try to catch up tomorrow.

But first...look- I saw my first yarn bombing! Fantastic!

How I love the creativity of knitters.

Oh and this....a wonderful plethora of grossness. The Gum wall at Pike's Peak Market.

Quick...replace those images with these.

Aren't amazingly weirdly beautiful? This was the first time I had ever been to the Stanford Succulent Garden and we were blown away.

More updating soon!

Of cousins and such.

2011-06-16T11:54:00.002+08:00

Yes, we do miss him. The first few days were fine. Then, on Sunday we were in church. Babies were baptized. We got choked up. The congregation sang "Might to Save" right after the baptism. That is our song that we sing over our little guy. Elisabeth and I started crying then and we've been aching for him. He is in good care and doing well. Paul went to see him and he was fine. But we do miss him...a lot.

We do have some good distractions in things that make us know that we are in Palo Alto! Electric cars!

The Farmer's Market with food from Oaxaca. Overheard by Elisabeth "No, that's just pesticide free. It's not organic."

A hummus shop...coming sooner or later!

It's a little hard to see, but this is a group of veiled Middle Eastern girls. We love the variety of people here.

Of course we had to go to Foothill Park for a barbeque. Elisabeth and her cute cousin gave my youngest brother tips on the hamburgers.

My dad.

Attack of the tongs.

Cold Cousins.

We also went out to Shoreline to see the pelicans.

We saw two in the sky. It's a little early for them.

Sunset over the bay.