in a bloggy mood tonight

• I am about to confess my html ignorance. "I know nothing about working html on my blog." Whew! I feel better now. So right now my blog only writes in single space and won't indent. That is, unless I use bullet points. Go figure. Do you mind reading about my life in bullet-point format?

• Grace still enjoys school. She's been a happy girl and often comes home with a sticker on her forehead for being "good." She loves to do the morning exercises with her class and wants to make sure we make it to school on time each morning because that's the first thing they do. Three days ago a boy ran up and hit her in the head a few times. The teacher saw Grace rubbing her head, but apparently no one saw who hit her. Grace said it was a "big boy" from another class. She said she didn't hit back but that she was "so frustrated." It was a teachable moment. You better believe we're watching that situation closely.

• We're having a little party at our house on Saturday for cookie-making. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is to us. Why? Because when we moved here a few months ago I assumed we would make friends easily and host local friends all the time in our home. Sounds like a good plan, eh? To my surprise, making new friends has been a real challenge. Yes, we have local friends over for meals, but mainly ones we already knew. Yes, we have conversations often and can share Cool ideas. Kevin and I can get out separately and talk with people. But when we go out as a family Kevin and I often have to slip into "protect my children" mode because our kids are getting too much unwanted attention. So that's not always a natural way to meet new people. ("Hello, yes, we are foreigners. Would you please stop touching my child's hair because she doesn't like it! Please stop making her scream! By the way, would you like to come over for tea sometime?!") But last Saturday our family was enjoying a picnic when our girls began to play with 3 other girls in the picnic area. Then their mothers joined us. Then some more friends came. We had some great conversations with a family of 3 sisters and their daughters, all while our girls happily played together. They had us over for dumplings the next night. We're hosting a Christmas party for them. They are all from this area and don't plan on moving! Seems like we have some real budding friendship opportunities there!

• I've decided I like driving Kevin's motorcycle. I KNOW! Hey, a person can change. I genuinely enjoy it. Why? For one, with my helmet on it's one of the few times I feel like I blend in. People have to look closely to see if I am a foreigner. AND how great is this? Having a helmet on also serves as great acoustics for singing. You can provide your own radio and have the same acoustics as singing in the shower! Not to mention, Alicia and I could have some great girls' night outs as biker chicks, right? Oh and I can't forget we only spend about $3.50 a week on gas.

• My girls make me laugh every day right now. Sometimes they make me sigh. But laugh more than sigh. They have some pretty silly times together every night which usually culminates in one or both of them stripping off their clothes and running through the house. Be forewarned if you come visit!

• Guess where we are going for Christmas? FRANCE! I know! Kevin's parents have graciously provided a way for all the family to meet up in France, where Kevin's sister lives. We are excited! And nervously trying to think of ways to make the kids sleep on the plane. But mostly, we're excited! Should be great fun!

• We've had some highs and lows lately. We are trying to keep our eyes on Him and not what we see. He has been completely gracious and tender to encourage us. What an amazing God we serve!

• Until next time, I'm off to pick up some of the clothes my girls stripped off not long ago...

at school and on the balcony

My mom wants me to post pictures of Grace's school, so I had Kevin snap a few photos yesterday morning. Last week in class was rough for Grace but this week has been much, much better. Here's Grace at the front gate... and at the playground. There are no public playgrounds in town (besides outdoor exercise equipment) so Grace loves getting to play on this!

Wanna play Where's Waldo? Here are about half the students in class as they are finishing their breakfast of rice porridge. The other 20 students were lined up at the door to head out for morning exercises.

And for funsies, I thought I'd add a picture of our neighbor's balcony. Our neighbors just had a baby girl! The custom here for a new mom includes lots of rules regarding what she can and cannot eat. A new mom is generally required to stay indoors for 30 days after giving birth. And she can eat CHICKEN, lots and lots of chicken. As in a whole chicken a day. (My helper also said they can eat pig's feet.) So, camped out on our neighbors' balcony are 10 chickens awaiting slaughter. My girls have had fun looking at them each day. I asked my helper if it would be a good idea to give our neighbors a chicken as a baby gift, and she reminded me I probably wouldn't know how to pick out a good one. :) Guess I'll have to stick with getting the new little one some baby clothes instead.

What I want to remember

Something precious to my heart right now is that for the last month Trinity has been joining her big sister for the night-time routine of Bible story with Daddy. Currently our routine is bath, jammies and brush teeth, right after which Trinity usually yells, "BIBLE!" Sometimes she will go find Kevin and tell him "BIBLE!" as if to say, "It's time now, Daddy!" After Bible story Kevin always asks the girls what they want to thank God for and for the first several days Trinity usually said, "crackers." Sometimes we don't really understand what she's saying and she often wanders off during the prayer, but it's fun to see her growing up and joining her big sister in this nightly ritual. She also joins Grace and me for a book right after prayer time.

Something else I want to remember is the last few months of watching my girls interact. Sure, they have their moments of fighting. But overall I've decided siblings are just a really fun thing to watch. These two deeply love each other and I've treasured how much they are developing into friends. Sometimes if Trinity is awake from her nap before Grace (and if I don't want Grace to sleep too long), I'll have Trinity go in with me to wake her up. Here's a picture I snapped today of Trinity's attempt to wake up her sister. I want to remember that lately Trinity gives the BEST hugs. She almost always gives me one on command at this stage in her little life. Some nights she will play a game where she goes in between Daddy, Grace and me and keep giving us hug after hug. This girl is a snuggler. I want to remember that although the days seem long right now, I should savor every moment because my girls are growing up quickly.

I want to remember that Grace is a coloring fiend right now. She sometimes colors up to 6 pages in a day. Her mind is always working and thinking of a project we can do or a way we can pretend together. She loves to dress up silly and pose for the camera.

I want to remember that although kids at school still yell "foreigner" every day Grace walks in the school gate and at times make mean faces, the other day (after being home sick for a few days) she told me she missed her 2 teachers. And I've seen some progress in her language. And sometimes she comes home and tells me she made a new friend on the playground.

I want to remember how faithful the Lord has been thus far. And how confident I can be in His goodness. I want to remember to press into Him whether I'm having a rough culture day here or whether we're having the best family day ever at Disneyland. For some reason, the rough culture days remind me more to press into Him than the carefree days. Why do I forget to pursue Him so much when life is easy?

I want to remember that although there's not much that seems "easy" right now, I know these are some of the most blessed days of my life.

all on the 31st

I remember, even as a kid, generally not enjoying Halloween each year. Freaky, scary costumes just about did me in when I was young. But since my 4 year old already knows a bit about the holiday (read: dress up and eat candy) my plan for this year was to load up the girls, take them to a few houses to beg candy, and call it a night. But the young people with whom we work really got into the celebrating and made it a fun night for my girls and also for the big kids we know and love here. Here are my little ballerinas on our way out the door.

Daddy put on his Olympic hat and called himself a 2008 Beijing Olympic tourist.

Here's a fierce ninja, and eskimo, a baseball player, a Welsh emigrant, 2 ballerinas, and a mother who had to be in the picture so the small ballerina wouldn't scream.

We had some local friends who really wanted to participate in giving out candy to the kids. So one of our friends made the kids trick-or-treat into every bedroom in the house. TOO funny!

Aunt Alicia made cookies and remembered exactly how Grace likes them, sans icing. Could she BE any more thoughtful, that Aunt Alicia? I think not.

This Arkansas grannie and her little kid were HI-larious.

And ended up hosting a little fall party.

No, I don't really want to debate the merits of celebrating or not celebrating Halloween. I just want to remember that some sweet friends helped us make a memory tonight!

Don't tell them

because they've never heard that girls don't like to wrestle... In fact, it's almost become part of our night time routine around here.

These two are bound to be partners in crime for quite some time.

my current favorite recipe

So it's taken me literally years to get to the point where I feel like I can cook comfortably in Asia. Especially where we live now, if it isn't from scratch, it won't get made. For the longest time I just tried to get by and made the same few things over and over. Or experimented and failed miserably. Thankfully my husband is not picky and eats whatever I make!

While I'm on this train of thought, I'd like to take this opportunity and go ahead and apologize to everyone who might have visited us in the early years and ate with us in our home here. I remember serving a few really bad meals in particular to the likes of Kristen and Mike and Josh C. Ha! Truthfully I'm still learning. My newest venture is learning the ins and outs of my pressure cooker. Who new it could make water buffalo edible?! (Well, truthfully sometimes it's still a bit tough. But it makes chicken taste so tender!)

Anyway, enough of that. There happens to be a fellow ex-pat named Sara Beth who has started a recipe blog and has given me lots of ideas for meals. What's great is that almost all of her recipes I can make because she lives in the same country and has access to mostly the same ingredients, more or less. (I won't post a link to her blog here but if you want it e-mail me and I'll send it to you!) I've made several of the recipes she has posted but my favorite is probably still her calzone recipe. It's one I'll still make when we are in the good ole' US of A. Hope you try it and enjoy!

Calzone Dough (makes 4 calzones)

1 Tbs. sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1 Tbs. yeast

3/4 cup warm water

3 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine first three ingredients in your bowl. Allow to stand for 5 minutes and let the yeast grow. Add the additional ingredients to the bowl, adding flour 1 cup at a time. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. You can allow the dough to rest and rise for a while or you can go ahead and use it to make calzones. (You can also freeze the dough to use for later.)

• Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Pat out each piece into a flat round piece, about 1/4 inch thick. On one half, pile toppings (save sauces for dipping rather than putting inside). Each calzone can hold 3/4 cup to 1 cup of toppings. Fold the dough over the top, making a half circle shape. Seal the ends and pinch together as best you can. Slash 2-3 vents into the top of your calzone. Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes.
• For filling, add anything you might like in pizza. Our favorites are tomatoes, onions, peppers, cheese and whatever meat we have available. We've had dinner parties with these a few times and it's lots of fun because everyone can make their calzone how they like it. (Oh, well, that and because I love it when the O fam brings over their homemade sausage!) Dip in sauces such as marinara, ranch, or bbq sauce.

technically, they were

Lately

Is it really almost October? Last time I blogged Grace was still getting adjusted to school and I was unsure if we would stick with the whole local school experience. Well yes, Rachel C. and all my expat friends, you were absolutely right. Grace surprised me with how quickly she adjusted to school. Now she's been hurrying us up in the mornings to get there because she's ready to go! I am so completely thankful! I think it's been good for us all...

Well, except maybe for our health....ha! Grace has been sick 2 times already and apparently pink eye is going around something fierce at school. When I got home this past weekend from a retreat (bless his wonderful heart my husband gave me a chance to get away for 3 days), I noticed Grace's eyelid seemed a little swollen and her eye was just a little bit red. I knew pink eye was going around school, but that didn't really seem like pink eye, right? Well, the next day Trinity woke up with pink eye big time, and it has spread to the other eye. Yesterday I also fell victim in both eyes. If you've never had pink eye, you don't want it! I look like something out of a horror film. Good thing my husband can't see red/green very well because he can't be scared with just how red my eyes are. Bless his heart, he's really hoping not to get it before he leaves on a trip this Sunday.

Anyway, with Grace in school I've been enjoying some one-on-one Trinity time in the mornings. Can you tell she recently learned how to smile for the camera and say "cheeeeese!?"

Sometimes in the mornings Trinity and I will hop on a 3 wheel vehicle and head further into town. The nice thing about the 3 wheelers (a motorcycle with an open cab in the back) is that I can just pick up the stroller with Trinity still inside and we are on our way. Sometimes T likes to kick back while she rides. Another benefit of the 3 wheeler cab ride; you can take pictures out the back as you ride down the road.

Here's Trinity at our open-air market. She's being bribed to stay in her stroller with a rice cake-cracker. It beats having her run around in wet, rainy mud.

Another view of our market...we have a decent supermarket in town, too, but the produce is fresher here.

We recently had Mid-Autumn festival once again. Our family was looking forward to going to the big gov't complex in town and eating mooncakes outside with other families, but alas it rained and rained and there was no moon to be found. Grace was so disappointed we couldn't have our "mooncake party" but some sweet friends who live in town were at our house and made it special for her.

They suggested we color and cut out a picture of the moon and some stars. Grace was thrilled! You'd never know we didn't get to look at the real moon. Here's Trinity trying to do her part. I'm pretty sure her mouth was stuffed with mooncake at this point.

Thank you, J and K, for saving the day!

School Days, Asian-style

{This post is rather lengthy and will most likely only interest family members. Read at your own risk of boredom and don't say I didn't warn you!}

Last year Kevin and I wanted to send Grace to a local preschool to help her learn the local language and make friends. However, the logistics of getting her there and back really made it unfeasible for our family. We knew when we moved that it would be much easier to take her to school everyday.

And when we moved to our small little city we started inquiring about preschools. Almost everyone we spoke with declared that the education system here is lacking and that the better schools are in the big city. Well, considering our goals for Grace are still for her to learn the local language and make friends that's not a huge concern to us. (And we'll be homeschooling her anyway!) Every single person we spoke with told us to go to the #1, 2, or 3 kindergartens and to stay away from the small, private schools because there are no good private ones here. So we looked at the suggested schools. The #3 kindergarten was already full with over 50 children in each class and the number 1 kindergarten was close to capacity as well. Yes, that's 50 four year olds in a classroom!

So, the #2 kindergarten was still up for grabs and our dear friends were sending their son there as well. Even though they aren't in the same class, it would be nice for Grace to have a friend already at the same place. Plus, you know, they have the best playground in town. (Seriously, there are no playgrounds here in town other than at the preschools. But don't tell my girls that because they totally believe the old people's exercise equipment at our apartment complex is for kids. But that's another story for another day).

Grace started school last week, and let me say it's just a whole new world for all of us. I completely appreciate the teachers and principal because this experience of having a foreign kid in their school is new for them as well. They have been patient and tried to find ways to make Grace feel more comfortable. The first day was rough as Grace wasn't quite sure what to do during the morning exercises with the music blaring so loudly, didn't want to drink the hot water they gave her, and was scared to grab the clothes of the child in front of her to line up for the squatty potty trough-style bathroom. (I'll admit, I had some queasiness in my stomach at this point, especially after seeing a few things. For one, the teacher in Grace's class said one of the little girls had a fever, but she didn't do anything to see about sending her home or keeping her away from the other kids. I also didn't like the fact that there was no place for the kids to wash their hands after the bathroom trips!) I stayed with Grace throughout the first hour until after the kids had finished their morning exercises. When the kids went back into the classroom, the teacher was definitely not going to let me stay. Grace seemed to be fine at her little table, so off I went. Later that morning she cried when I picked her up, saying it was because they didn't color that day and she had brought a special pencil from a friend so she could draw something!

But by day 2 Grace was using the squatty potty with the other kids and getting a little more used to things...emphasis on a little. Day 3 was her best day; she declared it was a "much better day" and that she really liked school.

And then this week hit. Day 4 heading back to school was rough because our family had to be out of town for 4 days, which was just long enough of a break to get out of the routine of school. Day 5 was the first time Grace cried, begged and pleaded not to go back to school. Amongst other things, we realized she doesn't like having to go to the bathroom with the other kids if she doesn't need to go, and she dislikes not having toilet paper. I can't say I blame her! I think she has some cultural adjustments she's trying to make in her mind. So after we talked through several issues she seemed better. By Day 6 the teachers said Grace was doing much better and getting a little more involved. Tomorrow starts a new weeks and I'm ready to see how it goes!

Even though Grace doesn't want to go in the mornings and won't give me much information about what the kids actually do during class time, I still think going for a few hours each morning is good for her. She already seems a little more willing to use the local language. And she's as happy as a lark when she comes home. I figure it can't be all that bad if she comes home so happy! She has a little mini-reunion with Trinity every day when she comes home and they play well together. It's fun to watch. My mom reminded me that I need to take pictures of her school, so I'll try to do that soon Mom. Until then, you can see my big girl above heading out the door on her first day.

Just tonight, Grace told me this. "Mommy, do you know what my THREE favorite things to do are? One is going to school, another one is watching movies on our special movie nights, and my MOST favorite thing of all is spending time with you!" (Followed by a big hug.) If that didn't just about make my month, I don't know what would. That makes up for probably a whole year's worth of morning school drama!

I'm proud of you, my big girl!

just pictures

Texan at heart Dancing like sister playing with a sweet friend who brought us dress up clothes

First time to be willing to get her hands dirty with finger paint

Finger paint which turned into body paint

too cool for school

yogurt face

Her rendition of Lammy

the treehouse

I can look around my apartment and instantly have memories of friends who have moved on and left their belongings behind. Life overseas is filled with transitions, with people coming and going, giving and lending and receiving and sharing and packing and moving on. I truly believe it's made me hold on to things a little more loosely. When we first moved to Asia 6 years ago we filled our entire earthly possessions into 6 bags, or was it 7? It was so long ago I honestly can't remember now. But boy we have certainly expanded since that time. Loved ones are so good to send toys and clothes and gifts from home. Grandparents have been known to package an entire tent into their suitcase all to bring some joy to their granddaughters! And they've also notoriously paid for overweight luggage because they know how much fun it is to get goodies from America. Last week some of our favorite people moved into town. (Can I get a hallelujah!?) And their oldest daughter, Miss H, is growing up. She decided to pass on her American Girl doll treehouse to my girls. Now let me tell you, when I found this out I almost cried because I know that her sweet Nana brought this over from America in her suitcases (I would have loved to see how she did it!) and this was certainly no small feat. I think it would be great for Miss H to be able to pass this down to her own kids someday, but I've been told there's likely no way to get this back over the ocean once again. So, Miss H has now made my 4 year old one happy girl. We've already had lots of fun playtimes with the treehouse. Hopefully we can take really great care of it and (one of these years) pass it on to another little girl who will love playing with it too!

I'm so thankful my little girls have such a sweet friend to look up to! Thank you, H!

the grandma club

Before moving overseas, and even for a long time afterward, I figured there would be a magical day in which cultural differences wouldn't really "get to me" anymore. A day in which I was so integrated into the culture that I was no longer seen as an outsider and I'd be just like one of them. I figured wrong. Or maybe I just haven't arrived there yet. I think if you talk with any expat living in this country, most would say there are periods of loving the culture and life overseas and then there are seasons where the stress of being the outsider really gets under your skin. When I take my girls out to play in the mornings, some days I feel like I'm back in junior high, not quite sure where I fit in the social order of things. Because the other kids playing outside are being cared for by their grandmothers. I've only met one stay-at-home mom in the entire apartment complex. Even at night, when the parents are off of work, it's still usually the grandparents who are outside playing with the kids. This group of grandmothers seems pretty tight and knows each other well. They are nice enough to me, but some of them are still not sure how to take these foreigners just yet. I had the most hilarious conversation with one grandmother (nai nai) just two days ago. Mind you, I've already met her on several occasions but she still can't seem to get over my, well, foreign-ness (is that even a word?) Nai nai (not even giving a morning greeting or saying hello): "Your skin is very weird. Why is your skin so white? Does your skin not get dark even if you stand in the sun?" Me: "Well, you can see I have freckles. If I stay in the sun my skin turns red and then develops freckles." Nai nai: "Well, I think your skin is very strange. Look at us, our skin does not get freckles. It just turns dark." Me: "Yes, us white folks have different skin." Nai nai: "Your daughter's eyes are not right" (yes, she literally said bu dui). Why are they blue? Our eyes are dark. Her eyes are just not right." Me: "Have you never seen a foreigner before?" Nai nai: "No, never." Yes, there's some pretty funny fodder that goes on in our morning play times. I might have to start a series on the subject because it's where all my parenting/cultural/generational gaps with the grandma group seem to loom the largest. But I'm praying and hoping we'll be good buds before long. Once they can stand to look at my white skin, that is.

in her words

On Granna's last day in town, she and Grace spent a little time remembering the fun things we did together. They even wrote a little homemade booklet to commemorate the time. So, here is Granna's visit in a nutshell, as told by Grace (with a little help, of course!) The new van picked Granna up. We live on the 4th floor. I am 4. It is my favorite number! Granna loved our new apartment.

I showed her my new pink bike and rode it for her.

She read many, many books to me.

We played school together. Granna was the teacher and all the kids came to my room.

We went to N___. I got to sleep in H's bed because he wasn't home. His bed has a big slide on it! I was so excited I could hardly sleep. At the hotel, Granna and I were roommates. We had princess beds. We played with L__. We talked and laughed in a tree. (Editor's note: no actual pictures were taken on our trip to N___, therefore you get the random picture added below.)

Back at home, H, E, J and I played with finger puppets. Granna enjoyed that.

Granna also flipped a lot of pancakes that night.

Later we had fun with Daddy and some other friends at the Stone Forest Park. Granna, Daddy and I all rode on the motorcycle together.

Granna made silly movies of me. Sometimes I call her Gran for short. Granna has to go home to Papa now. She will be back. Granna loves me and my family! Guess what? I love her too!