America the Beautiful

We made it back to the States and are thankful for smooth travels! Grace didn't sleep much but did great during all of our flights (with the help of a certain DVD player and some suckers, thank you very much.) I could tell people were lifting us up during our travel. I certainly love Asia, but as we flew back into the States, I felt so patriotic and had the sudden urge to sing "America the Beautiful" and hug the customs officials. (No, I restrained myself for fear they would think I was crazy.) The best part of the trip was getting off the plane in Lubbock and seeing all 4 of our parents there to greet us. Grace has been in heaven since we landed having so many grandparents to dote on her. The first night back, jetlagging as she was, she woke up in the middle of the night and asked for both her Nana and Granna because she wanted to play! Also the first evening, my BFF Kristen, her hubby Mike and precious son Carter dropped by, and it was just so much fun to see them in person again. After so many "goodbyes," I am really digging the "hello agains." It's a blessing to get to spend time with loved ones again over the next few months. Some of our first impressions back: *the sky seems so very blue in Lubbock and the sun is BRIGHT. I love the dry, cooler weather *at restaurants, the fountain drinks are HUGE *it's ultra-convenient to get out and run errands with a car sitting right out in the driveway! Grace is still trying to use her second language a bit, and even today she greeted some kiddos in Chinese. At the LA airport, she kept trying to speak with a little Asian girl in Mandarin, but the girl was not a Mandarin-speaker and had no clue what she was saying! I'm sad she will most likely lose her Mandarin while we are here, but hopefully she can get it back quickly when we return. Sending you love from Texas!

Hello from Hong Kong!

We had smooth sailing yesterday and got into Hong Kong in good shape. Today has been a fun day for us since I had my first OB appointment. We all (including Grace) got to see baby #2 on the ultrasound, and he/she even moved around a little bit for us! The doctor said the baby looks "perfect," and is right on track at this point. I am measuring just shy of 11 weeks. Even though this is my second baby, I was still truly in awe. We are so thankful for this second gift! Grace has been talking quite a bit this afternoon about seeing the baby in mommy's tummy. Since I'm still pretty nauseated, I thought I'd take a shot in the dark and see if the doctor would give me some nausea medicine just in case I need it on the overseas flight. He just laughed and said, "I do not think you will throw up. It should be no problem." Um, easy for him to say because he's not the one who's been throwing up! Oh well, a girl can try.

We've really enjoyed being in HK again. Tonight at the grocery store I got to indulge for the first time in a pregnancy craving; bagels and cream cheese. Oh, it was wonderful! Tomorrow might prove to be a little exciting because there is a typhoon scheduled to come in the afternoon around 2 pm. Earlier today the forecast projected for the eye of the storm to pass right over HK, but now it seems to have moved a bit. We will still probably get some high winds and rain but maybe not the full brunt of the storm. Kevin is still hoping to make his doctor's appointment tomorrow at 3 pm, but if the typhoon gets to a level 8, the subway closes down. DON'T WORRY about us, the building where we are staying is built to withstand a typhoon. We might just have to stay in a bit more tomorrow. Tonight at the grocery store it seemed that the entire city was gearing up and buying groceries as people were standing in lines 50 people-long to check out!

The only other cute story I have is about a nice elderly gentleman staying in the guest house with us. Grace has really taken to him. His name is Herman, and we have been trying to get her to call him Mr. Herman, but at first she called him "Hermie" after the Max Lucado character. Last night she wanted to thank God for Hermie. Today, we've made improvement and she's now addressing him as "Mr. Herm."

Down Memory Lane

It's been a wild, weird, and wonderful 3 years, 8 months and 12 days. Tonight, I'm feeling nostalgic. We leave on Wednesday to fly to Hong Kong for a few days, then we head to America and will be there by Monday! Where has the time gone? In some ways, it feels like ages since we first came, as if before coming to Asia was a lifetime ago. But, in other ways, the years have gone quickly. Here's just a tiny sample from some fun memories.

One day we went out traveling, and these kids followed us EVERYWHERE we walked around town.

While on a school field trip, we ran into heavy rain and a flooded road. We had to cross this narrow road complete with raging waters and another truck that had already gotten stuck, and let me say, it was scary for everyone involved! Here's my dad at Asian Wal-Mart helping this nice lady catch her live turtles for turtle soup! Kevin showing off his mad skills on the traditional bamboo dance. Starting a hike with some friends On our first trip to Hong Kong, we fell in love with the city! Exploring a park with one of our teachers and her friends Here's another one of our first language teachers and our classmate from New Zealand, who was quite a cut-up. Our teacher was very strict and didn't really understand western humor, so that made for some fun cultural experiences. In one of the 3 apartments we've lived in, there was a classy tile in the bathroom of a pig taking a shower! Some countryside cuties 31 weeks pregnant with Grace Grace at 2 months old Drawing the ever-present crowd of curious onlookers Just a cute shot watching waterfalls Family shot, yes Kevin has endured much heckling for wearing the traditional "dress." Grace with a sweet friend one month older than her Kevin learning to give a vitamin shot to a piglet. Oh, so many more pictures I could post, but I guess that will have to do for now. There have been some moments I wouldn't want to re-live, but I'm thankful for each of our experiences over these past few years. He's used them to shape us. And, oh my, how GOOD He's been to us!! Thanks for lifting us up while we travel! Goodbye Asia, we love you and we'll be back!

just for grins

Here's just a sample of pictures I've taken over the past few weeks or so... You gotta love "just-woke-up-from-nap" hair Can you tell this girl knows how to pose now?

Playing dress up in a fairy outfit sent by Nana Playing video games with Dad The other day our helper brought her 8 year old daughter. She was such a sweetie and read books to Grace and played with her most of the day. Grace loved her jie jie (big sis). Daddy took Grace and our sweet friends Hannah and Hudson (whom Grace adores) to a cave the other day while we were in a different city. I think fun times were had by all!

Where have we been?

To the 2 or 3 folks still checking this blog, hello! Turns out I'm quite the blog slacker. We've had a fun but crazy few weeks here in Asia and are getting ready to make the big move back to America the Beautiful. Originally we planned on staying in the States for 6 months before coming back to Asia, but alas, our plans have changed. Looks like we'll be there for around 9 months because baby Godin #2 is on the way! We're really thrilled this baby will be born in the US and that we'll have some family time as well. The baby will be here sometime around March 12. So, the last few weeks have included more travel, taking care of visas, and attempting to pack up our house. This has been somewhat complicated by the fact that our house seems to be falling apart at the seems (ie the water pipes, flooring, water heater, gas stove), and it's happening all at once, but we're slowly getting the repairs done and hoping we don't come home to a flooded apartment in a few months. I believe we're down to 11 days left in our city, only 15 days left in Asia. It boggles my mind. Tonight Kevin and I were talking about some of the people we will miss and the tinge of sadness we feel to be leaving our "home away from home" for so long. But, oh, we're so thrilled to be heading toward family and friends who are like family! I'm planning on hugging many, many necks in the coming weeks. I hope to post a few pictures soon. Until then, this pregnant and nauseated but very thankful girl is heading to bed.