tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23533399772615924632024-03-14T16:01:47.306+08:00Eggs Over AsiaSome days it feels like home here, other days we feel like outsiders. But, we're trying to become a little more egg-like each day: white on the outside but yellow in the middle.Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.comBlogger239125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-8240847081585652432013-07-12T21:24:00.000+08:002013-07-12T21:24:27.651+08:00to Lijiang with Papa and Granna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In June, my parents made that long trek across the Pacific Ocean. They are pros at traveling over here now! And despite their entire luggage getting left at the LA airport, despite Mom getting sick her first night here, despite water outages and a power outage, this was still one of their best visits yet. (At least that's what they told us!) The beauty of moving to YN province 2 years ago is that when they come visit in the summer, we no longer have to sweat ever single minute like we have in the past. The weather here is gorgeous. I might just have to live in the mountains for the rest of my life.</div>
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Since Lijiang is one of the most touristy areas in the country and we'd never been, we decided to make the trip with Mom and Dad. We got the 411 on hotels and sites from friends and set out on the train. We'd heard the train was the best way to get there since the highway can be pretty treacherous. I had NO idea the train would be treacherous for my dad's back! The "seats" we bought for tickets were actually sleeper cars converted into seating, and the overhead bunk sat a little low for my dad. Bless his heart, he was in need of a massage by the time we got there. (Fortunately, massages here are cheap and he was able to get one to work out the pain!)</div>
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My girls passed the time on the train by being <strike>super goofy</strike> their normal happy selves. Actually, they are good little travelers these days.<br />
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Our hotel had a beautiful courtyard.</div>
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Lijiang is gorgeous. It's my new favorite city in China. </div>
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We found plenty of places to take pictures.</div>
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The old and the new collide in Old Town. </div>
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Banyan Tree is an extremely expensive but beautiful resort just outside of town. Seeing as how we couldn't afford to stay there, we decided to venture out and at least take a look.</div>
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This was by far the most hoity-toity place we have visited on the mainland. I felt a little out of place! I couldn't believe how quiet it was. In a country of constant noise, the absence of it was almost unbelievable.</div>
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Correction: it was super quiet and serene until WE showed up. :) My girls must have loved all the grass and beauty because they were wired and loved running around. We did a little kung fu and tried not to get asked to leave. Success.</div>
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Love this picture. Love these people.</div>
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On another day we trekked half-way up a mountain. Only Kevin made it to the top. The girls did a little posing at a rest point. </div>
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Family pic with Snow Mountain in the background. </div>
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This is one of my favorite pictures of my parents. I loved our time in Lijiang.</div>
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The day after we returned home, my big girl turned seven years old! Part 2 of Mom and Dad's visit to come...Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-50572524237543410202013-06-02T15:00:00.000+08:002013-06-04T21:00:12.994+08:00Field Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Perhaps I should call my blog "Holidays and Vacations" rather than Eggs Over Asia because it seems I only blog when we celebrate a special event. The truth is I seldom blog about daily life, and I hardly ever take my camera with me when we are around town. But the other day, the homeschoolers in our city decided to have a field trip to celebrate the end of the school year. And since we were walking to the museum, I thought I'd take a few pictures around where we live. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Construction is the name of the game all over the country, and our town is no different. They are finishing up the sidewalk on a newly opened street behind our apartment complex. It makes for fun times of playing the "don't fall into that pot hole" game!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And there are plenty of random dogs running around our city. (On a side note, I hardly ever remember seeing dogs running around in our previous province. They ATE dogs in our previous province but that is not often done where we currently live. Coincidence? I think not.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Breakfast vendors are faithfully out each morning offering steamed buns or noodles for sale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another street view...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Somehow we've managed to live in CX for almost 2 years without going to the local museum...shame on us! In my defense, they have very limited opening hours and close for lunch at around 11 am. When we have tried to go in the past they have been closed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But today, they were open! I was surprised to learn they don't charge an entry fee anymore; apparently our host country is pushing to make more museums across the country free of charge.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I loved the Yi minority architecture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The claim to fame around these parts is a dinosaur excavation site around 1 hour from our city. They had several legit dinosaur fossils and the lady at the museum told me this replica was 80% real dinosaur bones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Overall, since I had truly zero expectations of this museum before I went, I was pleasantly surprised with how well it was done! The kids had a blast. Trinity cracked me up however; of all the neat things to see she got most excited about some ancient tea cup. "Mommy, there's an old tea cup! Can you believe they have a tea cup?!"</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The museum steps offer a great view from our city. We do have some of the bluest skies this country has to offer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another street view...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On the walk home, we saw mules. Honestly, I love it that you never quite know what you will see walking down the street.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At times it feels like our entire life is one field trip followed by another, but today it was fun to do something that truly felt like a school field trip. We are thankful for our buddies here.</span></div>
Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-90477504597574793472013-04-02T21:02:00.000+08:002013-04-02T23:48:50.007+08:00Easter 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This year, my friend asked for help in throwing an Easter Party for her early English learners. I was more than happy to help. As usual, more kids showed up than were invited. Word of a party travels fast! Fortunately, there was plenty of supplies for everyone to decorate and hunt eggs.</div>
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Aaaaand, they're off to hunt!</div>
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Thanks to taobao, I was able to order plastic eggs this year. I heard a child's parent telling him not to worry about the fake eggs; just find the real ones. The kids were pleasantly surprised to find out there was candy inside the "fake" eggs. :)</div>
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One of the 200 group photos taken on Saturday; everyone had a great time! </div>
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I looked out my bathroom window on Easter morning and saw this gorgeous sunrise.</div>
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My dear husband does not, ahem, love taking pictures. But on major holidays he will put up with my antics and head outside for some family photos. It is a huge act of love on his part.</div>
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We hosted fellowship time for Easter this year. Everyone brought food and we had a big brunch as well as a very worshipful time of remembrance. I absolutely love everything about Easter. I think the Lord knows our souls need a major reminder/refocus each year of the price He paid for us.</div>
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Another fun memory from the day:</div>
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While we had our Easter morning celebration in Asia, my cousin Laura's beloved (also named Kevin) was proposing to her in Dallas. So after our Sunday morning meeting time was over we raced to the computer to see pictures of their engagement. We were all so excited for them! </div>
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Hope you had a fabulous Easter weekend! He is Risen!!! </div>
<br />Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-61757699930223910912013-03-16T16:25:00.000+08:002013-03-16T16:39:09.079+08:00Celebrating 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We recently celebrated 4 years with Trinity. For both of my girls, age 4 has been the peak of their passion for princesses. So, princess-themed birthday party it was. We had a few friends come over for cake, playtime and a pinata. (Thanks to taobao.com, we can order all kinds of random things online like pinatas!) We also started a new tradition of the birthday girl picking the mealtime menu for the day. Trinity picked Cheerios for breakfast (a real treat around here!), fried rice for lunch and homemade pizza for dinner. Unlike her sister who keeps a running countdown months in advance of her birthday, Trinity seemed pretty laid-back about it even the day before her birthday. But on the morning of her birthday Trinity made sure everyone she saw knew, "I AM FOUR TODAY!" </div>
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Trinity, at four years old you are our own little resident comedianne and dance performer. You love to make us laugh. You have grown up so much in the last few months. You are now beginning to embrace being a "big girl" and often want to join big sister as she does home school. You are learning every day and lately have shown an interest in writing the letters of the alphabet and in coloring.<br />
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You adore your big sister, are still our resident night-owl, have stopped napping almost entirely, give the BIGGEST kisses on our cheeks, and tell me, "Mommy I'm melting!" when you have a runny nose. You ask to wear a dress or skirt every single day. You do not want to be bothered with boring old pants.<br />
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You love to enjoy life and laugh. And although an extrovert like your sister, I often find you in your room pretending with toys in your own little preschool world.<br />
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People still ask me almost every day where you get your curly hair. Local friends think I curl it. <br />
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We thank God for your life. You add so much joy to our family! Happy birthday, little one.Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-75658013768965290262013-03-03T23:29:00.000+08:002013-03-03T23:35:20.062+08:00from February, Chinese New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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February 9 was New Year's Eve on the Lunar Calendar. I've mentioned it before so I won't belabor the point, but Chinese New Year is by far the biggest holiday in this country. We found it to be overall much quieter this year (read: less fireworks), but it was still a rip-roaring, loud few weeks. Since our girls aren't big fans of loud fireworks, we personally stick with sparklers. We had a neighbor join us on New Year's Eve as we lit our sparklers. You might be able to see he was carrying around a lighter. Most boys his age and older carry lighters everywhere at New Year time. It's a crazy idea to me! In fact, the other day I saw two 10 year old boys lighting grass outside our apartment building just for fun. I quickly asked them to put the fire out!</div>
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The big fireworks begin all over the country as the sun goes down, and at midnight the entire country is lit up in a loud crescendo. I took this photo right outside of our bedroom window around 10 pm.</div>
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Over the holiday, our friend asked us to visit her in her village. She is home from working in a factory in Shenzhen. The girls were excited about another trip to our friend's house. The mountains are not fun to drive in, but they are beautiful. We had to stop to <strike>catch our breath from the bumpy road</strike> take a minute and enjoy the view.</div>
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When we arrived,Trinity stopped to enjoy the appetizers (walnuts) the family set out.</div>
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The family cooked a feast for us. We ate outside with pine needles serving as a tablecloth. This is a very common way to eat in Y villages.</div>
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I love this picture of my friend's mother and grandmother. They were excited to have their picture made and asked me to send them a copy.</div>
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Cutie pie </div>
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Trinity was on a quest to see every animal in the village. She chased chicks, found all the cattle, and even found the donkey this family has owned for at least 15 years.</div>
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Our friend's dad is the assistant village leader and gave us a tour of their village's Y. minority culture center.</div>
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"Hello, goats!"</div>
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As we walked from one part of the village to another, we took a short cut with some small paths. Our friends laughed at how clumsy we were at trying to navigate the small path. They were pros and could probably cross up and down these roads with their eyes closed.</div>
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Sweet family in the village</div>
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The New Year holiday is over and tomorrow is the first day back at school for most students. Around these parts, March 4 is the beginning of the new school semester. So there you have it, our celebrations from the new Year of the Snake.Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-2099931318368352922013-03-03T14:36:00.001+08:002013-03-03T14:53:53.075+08:00The long breakI might as well start from today. Too much has happened in the last six months to share it all, but here's to recording a little bit of it on the old, dusty blog. We had a fabulous time in America. Fabulous, I tell you. We did nearly everything we wanted to do as a family. We didn't get to SEE everyone we wanted to see, but we loved catching up with family and with as many friends as we could. My kids now know all their cousins and refer to them frequently. We made dear new friends at our home base in Arlington (hello home school buddies!) We joined the library, went on 124 visits to the park, ate too much food, and had a white Christmas in Texas. Kevin and I even went on a cruise together, for crying out loud. What's not to love about that?<br />
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But for this season, our home is in Asia. And it was good to get back. Truthfully, there have been some serious struggles in our last 7 weeks since getting home. But the Father hasn't released us from this country. I am thankful that is very clear. In the last seven weeks Kevin has traveled on several trips, we visited a friend in her village, we took a family trip to another province, the entire country celebrated the Lunar New Year, Grace and I went to a home school conference, Kevin got a 3rd degree burn on his hand (ouch!), and we've taken turns getting sick. This past week was the first "normal" week we've had in a while. It was glorious!<br />
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In all the transition, my girls have rolled with the punches like pros. Grace and Trinity are such a daily joy to Kevin and me. I am in a stage of motherhood where I enjoy my kids like I never have before. Perhaps the fact that everyone sleeps through the night and goes to the potty on their own helps a little, too. Trinity turns four years old this week and I keep lamenting the fact that I no longer have a "baby" in the house. I do a little fake cry for her and tell her I'm so sad she's not a baby, to which she laughs and looks very proud to be a big girl. <br />
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So now that I've shaken off the dust, I plan to blog a little more. It helps me process what's going on in our lives. Thanks for checking in.<br />
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Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-56575075762222531152012-09-23T12:33:00.001+08:002012-09-23T12:33:34.842+08:00to the farm<br />
Last week we made a long overdue trip to my grandpa's farm in central Missouri. I say long-overdue because I haven't been there since I graduated from high school 17 years ago. Of course, we've visited with Grandpa in other places. But it was time to take Kevin and the girls to see where my dad grew up and where I made lots of memories as a kid. Mom and Dad met us in St. Louis, and after speaking to some dear friends at a church we rented a car and hit the road. The girls couldn't wait to get there!<br />
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Once we arrived, it didn't take long for my dad to get in one of Grandpa's tractors and give the girls a ride. Kevin also drove the tractor for a while. I love this picture of my sweet 87 year-old grandpa waving to the girls.<br />
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My Aunt Betty also visited and made this contraption to pick pears. Grace really got into the pear-picking and after working she declared, "I knew it was hard work being a farmer but I didn't know it was THAT hard!"<br />
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My Uncle Jerry and cousin Lucus arranged for the girls to get acquainted with some piglets. This litter was just a few days old.<br />
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Trinity told us before we went to the farm that she "wanted to hold a baby pig and a baby cow." We told her the calf was too big, but she got to hold that piglet after all.<br />
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We also got to see where my grandma is buried. It was so strange to visit the farm without Grandma there. The first thing I noticed when we arrived at the farm was that Grandma's vegetable garden was gone. <br />
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We looked at lots of old pictures and heard Grandpa share stories about family.<br />
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Central Missouri is beautiful.<br />
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There's a large Pennsylvania Dutch community in this area. They are precious people and have been wonderful neighbors to my grandparents over the years. We visited my grandpa's next-farm- neighbor one afternoon. They have a dairy and even showed us a calf just 2 days old, but no, Trinity didn't hold it. <br />
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Pristine farm home<br />
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Note the buggy parked in the garage along with the tractor set on steel wheels rather than rubber, since rubber-tired vehicles aren't allowed in their community. But this family would be considered progressive in that they own a tractor.<br />
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Our trip to Missouri was a fast one but we made many memories. As we left, Grandpa grinned and told me not to wait so long to come back the next time. :) Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-85458348942719070362012-08-30T08:43:00.001+08:002012-08-30T08:43:42.081+08:00the America chapter <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few weeks ago I heard our ex-pat lifestyle described as "living in chapters." And it's true. When I think about my adult life, I tend to think of it in segments: life before moving to China, our first few years in China, our first time back in the US, our second term in China, on and on. So for now, I'm calling this our second American chapter. We've had so many wonderful experiences with family and friends since we arrived back June 30 that it's difficult to condense it into one little blog post, but I've got to get a few pictures up before I forget everything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The day after we arrived, whilst my in-laws graciously babysat my jet-lagged children, Kevin and I got to witness my cousin Michele's baptism. My parents and aunt were there, and my cousin Laura even got to baptize her sister. This was an amazing night of worship filled with encouraging testimonies to the power of the gospel.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Later that week we caught up with friends right before they moved back to Europe. Kevin and Daniel go waaaay back, as in back to high school days, college roommate days and best-men-in-each-other's-weddings days. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our kids had a blast together, too! We took them to Legoland in Dallas and played for hours.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was truly "blast from the past" week as we also caught up with dear friends from sem..ary days. It's so hard for me to believe Haley is 10 years old already. It seems like the other day we were waiting outside her hospital room to hear her first little cries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thanks for coming to see us, Hoffmans!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After a detour to Virginia and some great meetings, (where we happened to see Air Force One land while waiting at the airport!), we headed to Boerne, TX for a big Gerlt family get-together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We stayed at a beautiful ranch, rode mules, <strike>scared away the deer</strike>, watched deer early in the mornings, played and played, went to Sea World and had an all-around great time. I loved watching the cousins interact and play together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The whole crew: Chad and Erin's baby arriving in November will be my parents' grand baby #10. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few days later we headed to Nana and Pappaw's house in Lindale. (Kevin's parents also kept our girls for a night so we could celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary with a trip to the Melting Pot and a hotel stay in Dallas!) Nana has a beautiful yard and the girls enjoyed "helping" her take care of it. Here they are picking tomatoes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cousin Ariel was visiting from El Paso, which was a huge bonus. We love cousin time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The OCD in me is upset my pictures won't load correctly right now. But this picture is too cute not to post. Here are the girls with Pappaw and Ariel at the Tyler children's science museum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few days later we headed to West Texas where we saw my dad's new office at city hall (he is now Councilman Gerlt!) and caught up with the Lewis family. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These kids played so well together! </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And I got some Kristen time. I am so thankful for friendships that always pick up right where we left off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We got to see my almost 90 year old grandmother and gather 4 generations together in one picture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It warmed my heart to see how much Grace loved visiting with Gram.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And as we got reacquainted with one great-grandmother, we said goodbye to another. Kevin's grandmother finished the race and went to be with Jesus this month. As sad as it is to lose a family member, we were grateful to be able to attend her funeral. Kevin and I have lost 3 grandparents while overseas and this is the first grandparent's funeral we were able to attend. All of Grandma George's 6 grand kids shared stories and letters with memories from her life. I know she would have loved it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chapters. Seasons. We are soaking in every minute of this one. </span></div>
Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-43070022341825248122012-06-27T22:31:00.002+08:002012-06-27T22:31:59.292+08:00Six-ishWe planned to embrace the small, family party this year for birthdays, but then we discovered we'd be out of town for Grace's birthday. So we thought it would be fun to have a little party with some friends we don't get to see often. <br />
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Some dear friends allowed us to use their office so we'd have a little more space to party than in our hotel room. Here's Grace using the local sign for "6". <br />
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The party participants enjoyed a little lunch before cake time.<br />
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This is a familiar sight now and seems to be coming more quickly each year. Six years old already.<br />
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I found a pinata cheaply on the local version of e-bay. I'm now a big fan...fun times were had by all with only one slight injury. Yes, where there are no bats we improvise with a broom.<br />
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Candy!<br />
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This year, Grace could read her own birthday cards. :)<br />
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We are thankful for sweet friends who shared this day with us...<br />
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Grace, I say this every year but this past year has been my absolute favorite. From your big imagination to the way you crack me up with your many uses of the word, "chill-ax," you are getting to be a big girl. You love deeply and have a hard time saying goodbye, as evidenced once again by the tears shed when we had to leave new friends you bonded with for a few days. You keep me on my toes daily with all your questions. You absolutely love to learn. I'm pretty sure it's only a matter of time before you know more than I do. The other day you asked me what it means to multiply numbers, and when I explained the concept to you, you picked it up quickly since you've learned to skip count 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s. It's been fun to see you and Trinity become much closer this year, and I've watched you grow in patience, service and kindness toward her. The Lord be praised, you two really do love each other.<br />
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On your birthday this year, you told me you don't feel very "six-y." "SAY WHAT?" I asked. And you said, "Yeah Mom, I don't feel very six-y yet. I still feel 'five-y'." After I let out a big sigh of relief I said, "How 'bout we say six-ish?!" <br />
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I love you Grace. I'm so thankful to be your mom.<br />
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Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-3448444947750048432012-06-03T15:43:00.000+08:002012-06-03T20:34:11.813+08:00DONE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The school year is officially over around here, so it's time to celebrate!</div>
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I'm really proud of my big girl; she's had a great year. She's reading and writing, can tell time and count money, will tell you how to find a perimeter, and has some fun facts about space she'd be happy to share with you at any moment. </div>
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Here she is signaling for you that she's DONE with kindergarten! She's so happy to be a big </div>
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first-grader.</div>
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When I asked Grace how she wanted to celebrate the last day of school, she said she wanted to have her good friend Luke over to eat cake with her. Sounded great to me! </div>
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I'm not gonna lie; there were a few days this year when we both felt like this.</div>
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But the majority of days we were smiling, having fun, and learning together.</div>
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Grace has truly been a joy to teach. I think I'm getting hooked on this home school thing. And it's a good thing since it's our only option right now. Bring on first grade!!</div>
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</div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-16570539344904999562012-05-23T23:19:00.000+08:002012-05-24T00:21:41.489+08:00When<ul>
<li>When I think about landing on American soil for the first time in 3 years, I get excited. When I realize both of my kids remember nothing about the last time we were there, I can't wait to make new memories with them. When I realize I won't have to subtract 13 hours to remember what time I can call my family, or when my daughter talks about how much she can't wait to play with her cousins, I say "bring on July!"</li>
<li>When I read about a pastor in the Dallas Metroplex who has started his own fashion blog because it's just that important to stay current, trendy and "relevant," I want to throw up in my mouth just a little. And I get a bit nervous remembering that re-entry culture shock is a real thing.</li>
<li>When the water is out for the 20th time this week and I just want to take a shower, I say July can't come fast enough. When my helper shows up one day asking for a 42% raise and then I tell her we might have to cut back on her hours because 42% more per hour is a bit much, I am frustrated. And when my helper calls the next day to say she won't come to work because she has to "pay her electric bill," I feel played. The passive-aggressive way situations are dealt with here drive me C-R-A-Z-Y. </li>
<li>But then, when my helper shows up for work the next day and we work things out in our "talk around it," <strike>dysfunctional </strike>culturally-appropriate fashion, and when she proceeds to spend over an hour washing, peeling, and chopping vegetables so I can play with my girls, I decide it's worth it. I think. I mean, in America, sure there are luxuries like frozen vegetables and sauce from a jar, but goodness gracious I get spoiled having a helper here.</li>
<li>When I realize I'm on edge again today because people are staring and talking about us once more like we can't understand them and are simply monkeys at the zoo, I want to tell them they are in need of some serious manners. And then I realize I have anger issues. Never before did I struggle with anger like I have since moving here. You know why? Sin. As if I have the right to not have to hear people talking about us or stare at us. And I realize it might be good to get some perspective outside the fishbowl again.</li>
<li>But when I think about the last year and how FAITHFUL the Father has been to give us joy and to allow us to see Him work in amazing ways, I am grateful. I feel like we've received more blessings from this overseas journey than I could have fathomed if we'd lived here 100 years. And He doesn't even owe us a single one.</li>
<li>When I read in Luke about Jesus calming the storm and asking his disciples, "Where is your faith?" I identify with the disciples. I feel pretty great about how much I trust the Lord until a trial comes along. Lord, fix me.</li>
<li>And when I think about how my heart really loves two countries at the same time for vastly different reasons, I am grateful for the opportunity to see some strengths and weaknesses in both cultures...and to have people to look forward to seeing on both sides of the ocean. I am blessed to be on this ride. </li>
</ul>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-79838324690994030862012-05-08T22:41:00.000+08:002012-05-08T22:41:14.354+08:00Good Reads<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I don't normally blog about books, but I've read two lately that I loved so much I just had to share. First of all, this is the best parenting book I've ever read. For real.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B000SAYPZS/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"><img alt="Grace-Based Parenting" border="0" height="300" id="prodImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41nPZxbP2GL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-65,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" width="300" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Maybe because it stepped all over my toes, or maybe it's the stage of life I am in right now, but this book spoke volumes to me. In essence, it challenges us to examine if we are building homes based on grace or on legalism. Kevin and I read this book at the same time, and it's given us much to discuss. And please, do me a favor, if you read the book, make sure to read it in its entirety. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">And next up, <u>Redefining Home</u> by Carrie Hudson.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B007KA6PZW/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"><img alt="Redefining Home" border="0" height="300" id="prodImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VEuD54WkL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-71,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> Carrie gives her family's story of moving to Asia, moving back to the US, and coming back to Asia again. If you want to get a glimpse of what it's like to live cross-culturally and have a piece of your heart in 2 cultures at the same time, this is it. I got to meet Carrie a few months ago, and I have to say she's as passionate, down-to-earth, and hilarious in person as she is in the book. I've read her blog for a while, and when I met her I might have said in a slightly-stalkerish way, "You don't know me, but I read your blog."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Do yourself a favor and download these books. I'll even refund your Amazon money if you don't think they're absolutely great. :) You're welcome in advance. </span><br />
<br />Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-37413814880652195412012-04-10T21:16:00.007+08:002012-04-10T23:02:09.302+08:00Easter weekend 2012On Saturday morning, we hosted an Easter party for some neighbors and had a grand time. Most of the people where we live have never heard of Easter and have no idea why it's celebrated. It's a fun and natural way to talk about the hope that we have. We started out by decorating cookies with the kids. I'm learning to make my icing MUCH less sweet and it seems to be working; nobody complained about the cookies being too sweet this time.
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-79wWs5iNbm0/T4Q6ItPvmbI/AAAAAAAAC7g/rYOpEKHxevE/s1600/cookies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729768547181107634" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-79wWs5iNbm0/T4Q6ItPvmbI/AAAAAAAAC7g/rYOpEKHxevE/s400/cookies.jpg" /></a>Then we moved on to dyeing eggs. I'll admit; there were one or two of these little ones I was scared to give access to food-colored water, but they did great and were much less messy than I anticipated. I think they thought the whole concept of coloring eggs was fun but pretty strange.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pRImTp2ilDw/T4Q6Ia7B9sI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/_pv3TUtuT8Q/s1600/eastereggs1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729768542262392514" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pRImTp2ilDw/T4Q6Ia7B9sI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/_pv3TUtuT8Q/s400/eastereggs1.jpg" /></a>But the 1st graders got into it and took great care to decorate their eggs.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C8rX07aU2rk/T4Q6INwb1oI/AAAAAAAAC7E/3Z4VOw14UuU/s1600/eastereggs3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729768538728289922" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C8rX07aU2rk/T4Q6INwb1oI/AAAAAAAAC7E/3Z4VOw14UuU/s400/eastereggs3.jpg" /></a>Little ShanShan is hilarious. She was fascinated with the colors and wanted to make sure she took some eggs home to her dad.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wdCqeLCB54I/T4Q6HV6VFDI/AAAAAAAAC68/V4sBqBdFGCE/s1600/eastereggs4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729768523737404466" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wdCqeLCB54I/T4Q6HV6VFDI/AAAAAAAAC68/V4sBqBdFGCE/s400/eastereggs4.jpg" /></a>The hunt begins.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UVjvC_SPGls/T4Q6HMNsQ1I/AAAAAAAAC6w/FZkAKrV2QOU/s1600/eastereggs5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729768521134261074" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UVjvC_SPGls/T4Q6HMNsQ1I/AAAAAAAAC6w/FZkAKrV2QOU/s400/eastereggs5.jpg" /></a>Here's most of the crew post-hunt. I think the parents enjoyed it as much as the kids. We had a big lunch at the dumpling restaurant across the street afterwards.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PygZHCuE10g/T4Q4BUbpJnI/AAAAAAAAC6k/z7NLjW3YXjc/s1600/IMG_4655.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729766221237790322" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PygZHCuE10g/T4Q4BUbpJnI/AAAAAAAAC6k/z7NLjW3YXjc/s400/IMG_4655.JPG" /></a>On Saturday late afternoon, Kevin and I took the girls out to play right before the heavens opened up and poured down RAIN. Now, usually we'd be upset to be caught in a storm, but we've been in a draught for a while and have experienced horrible water outages. So, we let the girls play in the rain until we had to seek shelter in a public bathroom. Gross, I know, but having to skip showers and only occasionally flush will lead you to do a weird happy dance in a public restroom when it finally rains. On Sunday morning, it rained again so we changed the outdoor fellowship plans we had with friends. But we still enjoyed an Easter brunch, had worship together, and my girls got to wear their beautiful dresses Nana and Pappaw sent from America.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nulQsm6iqUY/T4Q4A11pKKI/AAAAAAAAC6Y/UXUnbi_wh3o/s1600/dresses2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729766213025343650" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nulQsm6iqUY/T4Q4A11pKKI/AAAAAAAAC6Y/UXUnbi_wh3o/s400/dresses2.jpg" /></a></div><div> </div><div>I know I'm totally biased, but the cuteness-factor was off the charts. Trinity requested to wear her dress on Monday and Tuesday as well. Time to wash. You did good, Nana.</div><div> </div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NRkG3I8W7uY/T4Q4AfJHyrI/AAAAAAAAC6M/eCSQMMIygMM/s1600/dresses5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729766206933027506" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NRkG3I8W7uY/T4Q4AfJHyrI/AAAAAAAAC6M/eCSQMMIygMM/s400/dresses5.jpg" /></a>Since we had a rainy day and already enjoyed an egg hunt, we hunted chocolate eggs from America inside the house...
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ScTp2nYCGzw/T4Q3_ja3FRI/AAAAAAAAC6A/cE6EaEZ8gU8/s1600/dresses7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729766190901302546" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ScTp2nYCGzw/T4Q3_ja3FRI/AAAAAAAAC6A/cE6EaEZ8gU8/s400/dresses7.jpg" /></a>and made an empty tomb out of cupcakes, oreos, and coconut dyed green for the grass.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ta8T40qtbxg/T4Q3_Rsi3-I/AAAAAAAAC50/mFEMmyNDYhk/s1600/heisrisen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729766186143637474" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ta8T40qtbxg/T4Q3_Rsi3-I/AAAAAAAAC50/mFEMmyNDYhk/s400/heisrisen.jpg" /></a>I'm so thankful that Grace seems to be grasping more and more the message of the gospel. She's been asking lots of good questions and I believe He's working in her heart. One of my favorite memories of the weekend was hearing Kevin talk with her about the Resurrection. He is risen; He is risen, indeed!!
<div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-24651358300566188262012-04-04T22:04:00.004+08:002012-04-04T22:37:47.198+08:00March was milestone month<div align="center">There are times when I step back and feel like my girls are growing up in fast-forward. March was one of those months. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H7AzuR5oeTM/T3xXqu-IESI/AAAAAAAAC5k/sMfE-2MbJoc/s1600/reading1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727549217783157026" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H7AzuR5oeTM/T3xXqu-IESI/AAAAAAAAC5k/sMfE-2MbJoc/s400/reading1.jpg" /></a>Early in March, Grace began reading to her sister from time to time. It was fun to walk into the room and catch them like this!
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P7624lTwO18/T3xXqREwcJI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/VmqX6SS0fj4/s1600/reading2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727549209757905042" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P7624lTwO18/T3xXqREwcJI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/VmqX6SS0fj4/s400/reading2.jpg" /></a>Score!
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QNX2wAKhFSk/T3xXqHefU1I/AAAAAAAAC5M/XsxQMk6X6tw/s1600/reading3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727549207181480786" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QNX2wAKhFSk/T3xXqHefU1I/AAAAAAAAC5M/XsxQMk6X6tw/s400/reading3.jpg" /></a>Then Grace lost one of her front teeth. The other front tooth is loose. She laughs about how funny she talks now.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cagIUljnWDI/T3xXpincr1I/AAAAAAAAC5E/4PJztfO96xk/s1600/toothless.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727549197286944594" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cagIUljnWDI/T3xXpincr1I/AAAAAAAAC5E/4PJztfO96xk/s400/toothless.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iP4WznbeAYA/T3xXpA7K8qI/AAAAAAAAC44/1J-oxXmX9CM/s1600/toothlesslaugh.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727549188242862754" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iP4WznbeAYA/T3xXpA7K8qI/AAAAAAAAC44/1J-oxXmX9CM/s400/toothlesslaugh.jpg" /></a>And next, Grace decided it was time to learn to ride a bike. She'd been asking her daddy for a while now to take off the training wheels, and one beautiful Saturday morning he agreed. She learned very quickly and is zipping all over the place now.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WaC3hH8isDI/T3xWnW0pD_I/AAAAAAAAC4s/kpxwL_z2chI/s1600/bikeriding.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727548060249690098" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WaC3hH8isDI/T3xWnW0pD_I/AAAAAAAAC4s/kpxwL_z2chI/s400/bikeriding.jpg" /></a>And as for my little one? We've finally had the time at home + motivation + lack of cold weather/layers to get some serious potty training done. I'm one of the worst potty-trainers in the world, but this one is making great progress in spite of her mother.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cku1eCyEaOY/T3xWnEuGGzI/AAAAAAAAC4g/r6hiix9RG5E/s1600/trinity.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727548055390395186" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cku1eCyEaOY/T3xWnEuGGzI/AAAAAAAAC4g/r6hiix9RG5E/s400/trinity.jpg" /></a> There's just no denying how quickly these girls are growing.
<div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-16288814970662552252012-03-15T19:37:00.005+08:002012-03-15T20:28:14.220+08:00Look who's three!This little girl is getting big quickly. On the 5th, we celebrated Trinity's 3rd birthday. This year, we are embracing the small, family party for birthdays. We had a blast celebrating her life.
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4sbvpYoA1aw/T2HYR06TZHI/AAAAAAAAC4U/YT0WzbZ6daU/s1600/tbdaysmile2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720090802509800562" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4sbvpYoA1aw/T2HYR06TZHI/AAAAAAAAC4U/YT0WzbZ6daU/s400/tbdaysmile2.jpg" /></a> On the morning of her birthday, while big sister was at local school, Trinity got to stay in her pajamas and lick the icing off the spoon. BEFORE lunch. I mean, get crazy. You only turn 3 once. We had a fun morning playing together.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sf90xi0dcF4/T2HYRjc4udI/AAAAAAAAC4E/7ZNUeB5KEgU/s1600/Tbdaylickingspoon.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720090797823015378" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sf90xi0dcF4/T2HYRjc4udI/AAAAAAAAC4E/7ZNUeB5KEgU/s400/Tbdaylickingspoon.jpg" /></a> All day, Trinity put on her shy face when we sang to her. Usually she also buried her head in a pillow out of embarrassment, but here she faced the music.
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-InaaUP6tlzQ/T2HYRcijPjI/AAAAAAAAC38/-639fk8U-RQ/s1600/Tbdaycake.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720090795967725106" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-InaaUP6tlzQ/T2HYRcijPjI/AAAAAAAAC38/-639fk8U-RQ/s400/Tbdaycake.jpg" /></a> Big sister kept a countdown going for Trinity pre-birthday so she could stay up-to-date.
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZatPI1giPc/T2HYRM9MSII/AAAAAAAAC30/YH7ZNklwHa4/s1600/sisters.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720090791784499330" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZatPI1giPc/T2HYRM9MSII/AAAAAAAAC30/YH7ZNklwHa4/s400/sisters.jpg" /></a> This girl takes her cake seriously. Very seriously.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8KQNUTm0J2I/T2HYQw7SxbI/AAAAAAAAC3k/KNl26oySaVw/s1600/seriouscake.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720090784260343218" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8KQNUTm0J2I/T2HYQw7SxbI/AAAAAAAAC3k/KNl26oySaVw/s400/seriouscake.jpg" /></a> </div>
<div>Afterwards, we went outside and played with bubbles. Can you tell she got some princess-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">bling</span> for her birthday?
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CuPX2W23kw/T2HV_04etoI/AAAAAAAAC2w/I3EczpDtlEE/s1600/Tbdaybubbles.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720088294241252994" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CuPX2W23kw/T2HV_04etoI/AAAAAAAAC2w/I3EczpDtlEE/s400/Tbdaybubbles.jpg" /></a>You make me smile, baby girl.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ab2VY6N6VKQ/T2HV_vxIGeI/AAAAAAAAC2o/JbaQJRw_Exc/s1600/Tbdaybigsmile.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720088292868233698" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ab2VY6N6VKQ/T2HV_vxIGeI/AAAAAAAAC2o/JbaQJRw_Exc/s400/Tbdaybigsmile.jpg" /></a>
At three years old, Trinity:</div>
<ul>
<li>loves to laugh and to make us laugh</li>
<li>has some crazy good dance moves complete with a new break-dance routine she just invented</li>
<li>loves to ride her peanut car crazy fast down the hill</li>
<li>will climb up behind you while you're sitting down and try to wrestle you to the floor by putting her arms around your neck</li>
<li>plays the ornery little sister role very well</li>
<li>begins every prayer with, "Dear God, you're so big, thank you for our friends..."</li>
<li>knows all her alphabet letters </li>
<li>recently was in childcare for a week where her teachers told us Trinity was a good friend and played the role of "little mama" to the other kids</li>
<li>brings our family so much joy</li></ul>
<p>Happy birthday, baby girl. We love you and praise the Lord for your life.
</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-61714674682203748822012-03-06T19:19:00.007+08:002012-03-06T20:54:14.827+08:00while Daddy was away...When we got back from vacation, Kevin had one whole day to unpack, regroup and repack before he headed out for a long business trip. And since Grace's local school hadn't started back from the holiday break, we had lots of togetherness/girl-time. For me, this meant I needed a
P-L-A-N to avoid losing my mind. Fortunately, we had a few reasons to celebrate. First we had a little Valentine's celebration. Any excuse for chocolate cake, right? I love having little parties like this with my girls. It doesn't take much to get them excited.
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eixmDAZo-X0/T1Xzz1-WCeI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/Yw3jL39GYKs/s1600/valentines1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716743374004160994" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eixmDAZo-X0/T1Xzz1-WCeI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/Yw3jL39GYKs/s400/valentines1.jpg" /></a>
We had a few friends over to eat cake. Waiting for them to arrive proved to be torture for my girls. They literally stared at the cake and willed for 12:30 to come.
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pi41lTAQ1Ws/T1XzziyoY9I/AAAAAAAAC2Q/Qidtn1OMgf0/s1600/valentines2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716743368854758354" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pi41lTAQ1Ws/T1XzziyoY9I/AAAAAAAAC2Q/Qidtn1OMgf0/s400/valentines2.jpg" /></a>
Two days later was Grace's 100th day of home school. I know schools in the US often have 100 day parties, and thanks to google I copied/looked up ideas to celebrate. We started out the day making 100 day hats and doing some dancing in our pajamas. Because if there is one thing my girls love to do, it's dance. And use the tv as a mirror to watch themselves dance.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HXlWNVBG0Tg/T1XziC17gaI/AAAAAAAAC2E/hk5o-SwQLEE/s1600/100days1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716743068220883362" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HXlWNVBG0Tg/T1XziC17gaI/AAAAAAAAC2E/hk5o-SwQLEE/s400/100days1.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9EK7elnMDpM/T1Xzh9OzRkI/AAAAAAAAC14/c6DT0pnRScs/s1600/100days3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716743066714588738" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9EK7elnMDpM/T1Xzh9OzRkI/AAAAAAAAC14/c6DT0pnRScs/s400/100days3.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ak4C8VlESKc/T1XzhqV7SLI/AAAAAAAAC1o/edUUSnE0J6Q/s1600/100days4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716743061644200114" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ak4C8VlESKc/T1XzhqV7SLI/AAAAAAAAC1o/edUUSnE0J6Q/s400/100days4.jpg" /></a> Later, during school we did 100 jumping jacks, read a 100th day of school poem, guessed how far we could walk in 100 steps and then walked them, and counted out 100 kernels of popcorn for a snack.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z79S_mT3q2I/T1XzhVKlARI/AAAAAAAAC1c/l9wiiPVvW9o/s1600/100days5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716743055959458066" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z79S_mT3q2I/T1XzhVKlARI/AAAAAAAAC1c/l9wiiPVvW9o/s400/100days5.jpg" /></a></div>
<div></div>
<div>100 kernels, popped
</div>
<p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7sd-XsnI4_c/T1XzhM6iiUI/AAAAAAAAC1U/pXOntEBkG0A/s1600/100days6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716743053744703810" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7sd-XsnI4_c/T1XzhM6iiUI/AAAAAAAAC1U/pXOntEBkG0A/s400/100days6.jpg" /></a>
<blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote></blockquote>
<p></p>
<p>Grace also answered some questions for me in a short interview. Here goes:</p>
<ol>
<li>If I had 100 dollars, I would..."Save the money for buying stuff, not just spend it all in one place."</li>
<li>If I had 100 pencils, I would..."not use them all in one day. I would keep sharpening them if they ran out."</li>
<li>If I had 100 mosquito bites, I would..."itch a lot because I'm allergic to mosquitoes."</li>
<li>If I had 100 friends, I would..."try to love them all."</li>
<li>If I had 100 legs, I would..."walk on each of them and it would be kind of weird."</li>
<li>If I had 100 eyes, I would..."see all over the place!"</li>
<li>If I was 100 years old, I would..."maybe die."</li>
<li>If I had 100 bikes, I would..."need to think hard about which one to ride."
</li></ol>
<p>And since we were on a roll, I switched from the 100 theme and asked Grace about some of her favorites:</p>
<ol>
<li>Grace, what's your favorite food? "pizza"</li>
<li>Favorite thing to do with Daddy? "wrestle"</li>
<li>Favorite thing to do with Mommy? "snuggle and read books"</li>
<li>Favorite thing to do with sister? "Play with her and with our baby dolls; we like to play with Haley and Bailey."</li>
<li>Favorite thing to do as a family? "Go to Old Town and fun restaurants"</li>
<li>What do you want to be when you grow up? "A farmer-well-I might want to change my mind but today I want to be a farmer."</li>
<li>Why? "Because I think it would be cool to grow things."
</li></ol>
<div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div>Lots of books, trips to the playground, craft projects, and a movie night later, Daddy came home. And we all said "HALLELUJAH!"</div>
<div>
</div>
<div></div></div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-57471080058392345652012-02-20T00:01:00.003+08:002012-02-20T00:24:47.797+08:00the water fountain<ul>
</ul>
<p>As we finished vacation and waited to board our international flight back to the mainland, we saw something we never see here: a water fountain. You know, the drinking kind. (How developed and first-world of them!)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I chuckled when Grace asked me what it was. Seriously?! How could she not know?! But then I remembered, she really doesn't recall ever seeing one before. Grace wanted to try it out so I explained how to use it. And reminded her not to put her mouth on the nozzle. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ick</span>. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>"MOMMY! This is a-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">maz</span>-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">ing</span>! Look, you just push the button here and the water keeps coming! It's so cool!! And it's free!! You don't have to pay a thing for this water!!" She pretty much repeated this mantra 12 times in between gulps. After a few minutes, I finally tore her away from her new discovery, water completely soaking her shirt.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And it dawned on me, Grace doesn't remember much from our time in the States. When we first moved back to Asia in 2009 Grace was the exact age that Trinity is now, just shy of 3 years old. How in the world can that be? For the first year or two, Grace remembered quite a bit about American life. Now she remembers hardly anything except family members and friends. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This summer we'll make some more memories in the States. I can hardly wait to hear what comes out of her mouth. :)</p>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-76762125057549487382012-02-12T22:54:00.005+08:002012-02-13T23:27:15.372+08:00our time awayI tend to neglect blogging about the day-to-day aspects of our life, but give us a trip and I'm on it. Somehow in the blogging recesses of my mind I must highly value the vacations we take and people who come to visit. But, I also want to remember our day-to-day happenings. So, note to self: blog more about our daily life. Whew, with that done, here are some pictures of our trip to T-land.
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1vjJ9fEnlIo/TzfXkObJoTI/AAAAAAAAC1M/k9f2gmDHVkc/s1600/vacation15.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708268070062629170" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1vjJ9fEnlIo/TzfXkObJoTI/AAAAAAAAC1M/k9f2gmDHVkc/s400/vacation15.jpg" /></a> We stayed at a resort (term used loosely depending on your personal definition) geared for expats like ourselves. The girls loved the fact that we stayed in a "tree house." It was perfect for our family and for young families in general with playgrounds, a pool, and instant friends running around. Grace played with so many girls her age (one just 3 hours older than her), and visited other friends' tree houses almost daily. I enjoyed a break from my usual role of social director/craft coordinator and loved simply watching Grace and Trinity play with other kids who speak English.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2eBunT9Vqbs/TzfXj58S1QI/AAAAAAAAC04/UVGeH9SNcdA/s1600/vacation1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708268064564499714" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2eBunT9Vqbs/TzfXj58S1QI/AAAAAAAAC04/UVGeH9SNcdA/s400/vacation1.jpg" /></a> Somehow, in Thailand, Trinity decided to allow me to fix her hair almost daily. With hair this wild, anything that's not sticking straight up is considered success. You should see her morning hair-it's awesome!! Kevin and I say her hair really matches her personality: spunky and a little on the wild side.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-68tyRgFuuY4/TzfXj_VSp2I/AAAAAAAAC0s/6gfZwc3y2oc/s1600/vacation3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708268066011522914" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-68tyRgFuuY4/TzfXj_VSp2I/AAAAAAAAC0s/6gfZwc3y2oc/s400/vacation3.jpg" /></a> We were B-L-E-S-S-E-D to see friends we hadn't seen in over 2 years. With 3 families' schedules and some of our friends dealing with sickness, vacation looked a little different than we thought it would but we savored the time we had together. SK5 and JD2+2, we love you!! (BTW, seeing my girls next to baby L. and baby S. made me realize how big they are getting! Sniff. I'd be lying if I said this didn't lead to a little bit of baby fever. Just a little bit.)
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SoDk3ea-QbE/TzfXjq_VsUI/AAAAAAAAC0k/vYQDzHSeggs/s1600/vacation4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708268060550738242" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SoDk3ea-QbE/TzfXjq_VsUI/AAAAAAAAC0k/vYQDzHSeggs/s400/vacation4.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8g60LyGQdbo/TzfV3GpixNI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/4WHpE-rnNSM/s1600/vacation5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 273px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 377px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708266195369772242" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8g60LyGQdbo/TzfV3GpixNI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/4WHpE-rnNSM/s400/vacation5.jpg" /></a>This little guy was sick for much of our time together and was such a sweetie. He wanted daddy to hold him when he felt bad but it was fun to see his personality come through when he was feeling better!
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oQg-8s9DwK0/TzfV22NerAI/AAAAAAAAC0M/dR_nmlRvweE/s1600/vacation6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708266190957095938" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oQg-8s9DwK0/TzfV22NerAI/AAAAAAAAC0M/dR_nmlRvweE/s400/vacation6.jpg" /></a> At the zoo, the girls got to experience their first-ever pony rides. It was by far the best 66 cents I spent on each of them all day.
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i6nOSVjU3Lc/TzfV2luk8WI/AAAAAAAACz8/JlAYNjG4msQ/s1600/vacation7.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708266186532516194" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i6nOSVjU3Lc/TzfV2luk8WI/AAAAAAAACz8/JlAYNjG4msQ/s400/vacation7.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oBhRuq_WUDM/TzfV2TFs-mI/AAAAAAAACzw/Xl6aXkYwP6M/s1600/vacation8.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708266181529238114" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oBhRuq_WUDM/TzfV2TFs-mI/AAAAAAAACzw/Xl6aXkYwP6M/s400/vacation8.jpg" /></a> How much do I love this pictures of these sweet 2 year olds? Very, very much...ice cream face and all.
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JOkD4PdDkbs/TzfV2Tp5DiI/AAAAAAAACzo/OCjnm_rzcLA/s1600/vacation9.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708266181681024546" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JOkD4PdDkbs/TzfV2Tp5DiI/AAAAAAAACzo/OCjnm_rzcLA/s400/vacation9.jpg" /></a> Trying to get all these kids in one place reminded me a bit of herding cats...but a cute bunch of cats.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2H8SdbnRVlA/TzfVH5USKUI/AAAAAAAACzc/02DOkiIhwNc/s1600/2012Febgirls.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708265384337090882" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2H8SdbnRVlA/TzfVH5USKUI/AAAAAAAACzc/02DOkiIhwNc/s400/2012Febgirls.jpg" /></a> Here's just a random picture I took that I absolutely love. Pretty stinkin' cute if I do say so myself.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kV-JevgmB9w/TzfVHjVqxKI/AAAAAAAACzQ/PxLFe35LIY4/s1600/vacation10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708265378437317794" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kV-JevgmB9w/TzfVHjVqxKI/AAAAAAAACzQ/PxLFe35LIY4/s400/vacation10.jpg" /></a> And this picture just makes me laugh because it's a common scene around here. Who says boys are the only ones who love to wrestle? I blame this on their MMA-loving dad.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C6dyf4aVMTk/TzfVHWXznvI/AAAAAAAACzE/18MTA1hei-4/s1600/vacation12.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708265374956625650" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C6dyf4aVMTk/TzfVHWXznvI/AAAAAAAACzE/18MTA1hei-4/s400/vacation12.jpg" /></a> Who doesn't love a good play land? This dollar-entry playground was our kids' favorite destination. Go figure.
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0QikpDUR0o0/TzfVG0J7MEI/AAAAAAAACy4/nyvIhhRWLlQ/s1600/giraffebanana.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708265365771595842" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0QikpDUR0o0/TzfVG0J7MEI/AAAAAAAACy4/nyvIhhRWLlQ/s400/giraffebanana.jpg" /></a> Aside from the zoo, we also went to a night safari at a separate location, except we went to the night safari during the day (confusing?). We loved it better than the zoo and had close encounters with all kinds of hairy friends. Trinity got to feed a giraffe. Brave.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_d7vyI6lmYc/TzfVGiplwaI/AAAAAAAACys/xjadH9Sj3VE/s1600/vacation16nightsafari.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708265361072570786" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_d7vyI6lmYc/TzfVGiplwaI/AAAAAAAACys/xjadH9Sj3VE/s400/vacation16nightsafari.jpg" /></a> There were lots more highlights, but honestly I didn't take my camera around as much as I thought I would. But you can ask Kevin about his mountain-biking adventure and he will inform you that gravity is indeed alive and real. If you need a cheap pedicure in T-land, I'm your woman. Just don't ask me to bargain for you at the night market because I'm terrible. We flew home on the last night of Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival. As we were landing we looked out our plane's windows and saw fireworks exploding all over the city. That was a fun memory. Thank you, Lord, for time away and a chance to recharge.
<div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-67815219548199922012-01-19T21:58:00.003+08:002012-01-19T22:46:22.023+08:00a short jump out of the fishbowl<ul>
<li>It's that time of year again in our neck of the woods. The time of year when we see kids as little as 6 years old carrying lighters around and setting off firecrackers. That time of year when an overabundance of roosters and hens are hanging out on the neighbors' balconies in preparation for the big slaughter. That time of year when we notice fewer and fewer vendors each morning at the market as people return home for the biggest holiday of the year. Chinese New Year is on January 23 this year. It's a rip-roaring, firecracker-setting, LOUD and spectacular holiday.</li>
<li>But tomorrow, our family is heading south for a little, OK, BIG vacation. This will be the longest vacation we've ever taken and we are excited! Several months back when we didn't think we'd have any of our usual meetings to attend this year for work, Kevin and I decided to go ahead and spend the money to head to our favorite nearby country for vacation with some great friends. As it turns out, we do have some business to take care of for work later in February in the same country, but we didn't find out about that trip until after we already purchased tickets for this trip. Even so, we still think it's so worth the money to go ahead and meet our friends and have time to play together as a family. I think this is the longest stretch we've ever gone without leaving the mainland, a whole year. (That might not sound like a long time but we're feeling it.) Small annoyances like people cutting in line, repairmen who only half-repair something at our house, and people shouting "foreigner, foreigner!" really should roll off our backs after 7 years in this country, but we still feel the culture stress at times. It's time to get out of the fishbowl for a few weeks. Kevin and I were laughing together the other day because lately, when strangers come up and touch our girls' hair (which of course makes them run away), Kevin has been known to just go up and touch their hair, too. Just to mess with them. He does it with a smile but do you think we might need to leave for a few weeks!? Ha!</li>
<li>Grace and I worked through December and didn't take much of a break with home school, knowing we'd be taking this big break in January. She's doing such a great job and is reading and has been such a joy to teach, but I can tell we both need a break. </li>
<li>I'm really hoping that during this vacation Kevin and I can really rest in Him. It's amazing how when vacation mentality hits, we tend to also take a break from good habits like spending time in His word. I plan for this time to be different. I'm also looking forward to finishing an amazing book on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. A friend recommended this book to us and if you have a kindle, I would highly recommend it, too.</li>
<li>Go eat some Chinese food on January 23 and roar or something. It's almost the Year of the Dragon! </li></ul>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-15742291465442170032011-12-22T12:00:00.003+08:002011-12-22T18:32:02.580+08:00on Christmas 2011Though 7 years ago when we first arrived overseas I might have said otherwise, I now believe it's a blessing to have experienced Christmas overseas as well as in the US. For some reason this season of advent has been especially meaningful to me this year. Maybe it's the hard times I've seen several family members and friends walk through lately, perhaps it's the trials I've seen local brothers and sisters endure, or maybe I'm just getting old, but my heart is more ready than ever to say, "Come Lord Jesus!"
<ul>
<li>For our family, blessings of Christmas in the States include: time with extended family; beautiful Christmas music and meaningful corporate worship; and a general excitement everywhere you go about the coming festivities. Christmas in America = great.</li>
<li>Blessings of Christmas in Asia include: no annoying holiday commercials encouraging us to buy more; Christmas parties with local friends and getting to share Him with folks who've never heard; baking cookies with friends who've barely even seen an oven before; and a pace of life which, though busy, is generally less stressful. Christmas in Asia = great.</li></ul>
<ul>
<li>The other day I read <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Colossians</span> 1:19 which says, </li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><em><strong>"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him."</strong></em></p>
<p>What an amazing reality. God's fullness completely dwelt in Christ. Even as that tiny baby lying in a manger, there was absolutely nothing lacking in Jesus Christ. His was the fullness of God. Praise the Lord.</p>
<p></p>
<ul>
<li>Now, if you'll allow me to change the subject, Momma needed to bust out the camera the other day and remember two of my precious gifts from Christmas 2011. I've been having so much fun with these two as we anticipate Christmas and celebrate Advent. Grace is at an age where she understands so much more of why Jesus had to come. I'm beginning to understand that this parenting thing just gets more and more fun.</li></ul>
<p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UiXqXc7VKj0/TvKz0ifj55I/AAAAAAAACyg/dUsP-e2MsA8/s1600/christmas1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688806994516109202" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UiXqXc7VKj0/TvKz0ifj55I/AAAAAAAACyg/dUsP-e2MsA8/s400/christmas1.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vj79ky3SKSI/TvKz0cogihI/AAAAAAAACyU/phXa7oJ3gDI/s1600/christmas6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688806992943024658" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vj79ky3SKSI/TvKz0cogihI/AAAAAAAACyU/phXa7oJ3gDI/s400/christmas6.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4NV6XO_5Rmg/TvKzyMWZq5I/AAAAAAAACyE/GfMA8fkfs2M/s1600/christmas3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688806954212371346" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4NV6XO_5Rmg/TvKzyMWZq5I/AAAAAAAACyE/GfMA8fkfs2M/s400/christmas3.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H__GM4lWd2k/TvKzxxRMC1I/AAAAAAAACx4/I1Op7ITxr8k/s1600/christmas4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688806946942749522" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H__GM4lWd2k/TvKzxxRMC1I/AAAAAAAACx4/I1Op7ITxr8k/s400/christmas4.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9WI2FYpVUjc/TvKzxkUlhoI/AAAAAAAACxw/0wWOFftfnVM/s1600/christmas7.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688806943467341442" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9WI2FYpVUjc/TvKzxkUlhoI/AAAAAAAACxw/0wWOFftfnVM/s400/christmas7.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tq9aHXiohLo/TvKnI5ov-HI/AAAAAAAACxk/r35dALH8hiU/s1600/christmas8.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688793050674886770" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tq9aHXiohLo/TvKnI5ov-HI/AAAAAAAACxk/r35dALH8hiU/s400/christmas8.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Lk1gXry5RI/TvKnIQm5PQI/AAAAAAAACxY/MZoVW52Owv4/s1600/christmas9.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688793039661251842" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Lk1gXry5RI/TvKnIQm5PQI/AAAAAAAACxY/MZoVW52Owv4/s400/christmas9.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9tnYYGWiYlU/TvKnIE_c4VI/AAAAAAAACxM/IR5bpxWn-Zk/s1600/christmas10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688793036543025490" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9tnYYGWiYlU/TvKnIE_c4VI/AAAAAAAACxM/IR5bpxWn-Zk/s400/christmas10.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN7sL3QMLJM/TvKnHsRU5WI/AAAAAAAACxA/dPdNweTFw48/s1600/christmas15.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688793029907113314" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN7sL3QMLJM/TvKnHsRU5WI/AAAAAAAACxA/dPdNweTFw48/s400/christmas15.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kLC_eEnGV70/TvKnHQtShFI/AAAAAAAACw0/-CnruP_XzKY/s1600/christmas11.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688793022508205138" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kLC_eEnGV70/TvKnHQtShFI/AAAAAAAACw0/-CnruP_XzKY/s400/christmas11.jpg" /></a> Merry, merry Christmas to you!!
</p>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-7970794448754027642011-12-10T23:08:00.010+08:002011-12-11T00:46:08.307+08:00Nana and PappawI'm so grateful my girls know all 4 of their grandparents. Now, we don't get to see them every week or month or even every few months, but my girls still know our parents well. Skype visits on the computer are a beautiful thing. And when our parents visit, we get lots of quality time together. Kevin and I realize how fortunate we are that all of our parents are willing and able to make the long haul over here to visit. Let's face it; international travel is not for wimps. But leave it to family to endure the expense, time, TSA screenings, bad airline food, and hours of waiting in airport lobbies just to get some hugs from their grand kids. And I think Kevin's mom deserves some big kudos this time because even though she had a total knee replacement surgery a few months back, she was able to make the big trip. Nana and Pappaw were really flexible with whatever we threw their way. They brought us goodies, gave Kevin and me some date times together, were my constant dishwashers, and played "Hi-Ho Cherry-O" for hours on end with the girls! Hooray for grandparents!
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-moujYelTGWQ/TuN91k-Fd6I/AAAAAAAACwo/2c2tYRP5b0o/s1600/nanagirlsoldtown.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684525514082318242" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-moujYelTGWQ/TuN91k-Fd6I/AAAAAAAACwo/2c2tYRP5b0o/s400/nanagirlsoldtown.jpg" /></a> We were excited to show them our new city. Of course, we had to make it to Old Town one evening. And unknown to us, the city was hosting a huge dinner at Old Town to celebrate the new year for the Y minority on their lunar calendar. The funny thing is most Y people don't even celebrate this holiday (because they generally celebrate the Han Lunar New Year), but the local gov't wants to encourage business and tourism so they threw a big bash. The main street, which normally has cars hustling and bustling through, was closed down and instead hundreds of people were sat down to dinner.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ScBRsmHxECA/TuN91Q3AZ5I/AAAAAAAACwc/mvuMmP-WLpA/s1600/oldtownyinewyear.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684525508683917202" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ScBRsmHxECA/TuN91Q3AZ5I/AAAAAAAACwc/mvuMmP-WLpA/s400/oldtownyinewyear.jpg" /></a> They also had several stages and performances going at each stage. Most of the songs they danced to or sang had drinking as a big theme.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kPre9E3cU2Q/TuN9itUeVuI/AAAAAAAACwM/5drwGAn97mw/s1600/yinewyear2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684525189906192098" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kPre9E3cU2Q/TuN9itUeVuI/AAAAAAAACwM/5drwGAn97mw/s400/yinewyear2.jpg" /></a> Folks would also walk around and sing to various tables. Again, most songs were drinking songs. Basically, they were singing, "Bottoms up!"
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MeCnN6m6bmE/TuN9iaQKrLI/AAAAAAAACwE/XkrjYyG2UXw/s1600/thankfultree3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684525184787852466" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MeCnN6m6bmE/TuN9iaQKrLI/AAAAAAAACwE/XkrjYyG2UXw/s400/thankfultree3.jpg" /></a> Back at the house, in preparation for Thanksgiving Nana and Pappaw were able to help us work on our Thankful tree.
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6a6xZgVdGvU/TuN9hW0FGyI/AAAAAAAACv4/45wNo8aKBLE/s1600/thankfultree2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684525166684871458" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6a6xZgVdGvU/TuN9hW0FGyI/AAAAAAAACv4/45wNo8aKBLE/s400/thankfultree2.jpg" /></a> Here's just a little bit of what we're grateful for this year. You can tell my 5 year old contributed quite a bit to the tree.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zDnAl0i0M48/TuN9hRmC6bI/AAAAAAAACvo/BX8FBkmisi4/s1600/thanksgivingday.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684525165283830194" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zDnAl0i0M48/TuN9hRmC6bI/AAAAAAAACvo/BX8FBkmisi4/s400/thanksgivingday.jpg" /></a> Thanksgiving Day 2011. You have to love the camera timer. And the seriously intense face on my 2 year old. Don't let these pics fool you...she is a HAM to the CORE and as crazy as the rest of us!
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EYdoGqGdXb0/TuN9hJLINlI/AAAAAAAACvg/E8UJswsBZ8U/s1600/crazyt-day.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684525163023447634" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EYdoGqGdXb0/TuN9hJLINlI/AAAAAAAACvg/E8UJswsBZ8U/s400/crazyt-day.jpg" /></a> We had lots of time for pretend tea parties, reading books together,
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcK7-7Vor9g/TuN8yPB1DAI/AAAAAAAACvU/2tSEwSmF4g4/s1600/teaparty.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684524357141203970" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcK7-7Vor9g/TuN8yPB1DAI/AAAAAAAACvU/2tSEwSmF4g4/s400/teaparty.jpg" /></a> morning snuggles on the couch,
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JD-VkdhfZz8/TuN8x_Ma7_I/AAAAAAAACvE/-wDZ99DxGZ8/s1600/trinitypappw.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684524352890662898" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JD-VkdhfZz8/TuN8x_Ma7_I/AAAAAAAACvE/-wDZ99DxGZ8/s400/trinitypappw.jpg" /></a>and good old play time at the swings.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocD9ryhrHQE/TuN8xpcKKBI/AAAAAAAACu8/iL-eukOBArQ/s1600/holdinghands.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684524347051091986" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocD9ryhrHQE/TuN8xpcKKBI/AAAAAAAACu8/iL-eukOBArQ/s400/holdinghands.jpg" /></a> One day Kevin's dad got to join him in seeing some of the countryside, and on another day Kevin took his parents up to Dali to enjoy a little cormorant fishing.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wOdCVjN7-JU/TuN8xHV9ZdI/AAAAAAAACuw/sFh1w4FcvD0/s1600/countrysidetrippapw.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684524337898284498" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wOdCVjN7-JU/TuN8xHV9ZdI/AAAAAAAACuw/sFh1w4FcvD0/s400/countrysidetrippapw.jpg" /></a> We also headed to the big city for a few days of vacation and showed them around the big zoo. Nana's new knee held up well with all the stairs! I was really impressed!!
<div>
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ju7WvBnrzAs/TuN2kqPxwWI/AAAAAAAACtY/QL9uEFfcefY/s1600/zooa.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684517526859530594" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ju7WvBnrzAs/TuN2kqPxwWI/AAAAAAAACtY/QL9uEFfcefY/s400/zooa.jpg" /></a> We hoped to hold a tiger cub again, but when we got to the "animal kindergarten" these were the only cubs we saw. And no one was going to be holding these big beasts. Do tiger cubs really grow that quickly in 4 months or are these different ones altogether? Guess we'll never know.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W4kI5oAEuBE/TuN2kXHU7mI/AAAAAAAACtQ/ON2zVF_j794/s1600/271.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684517521723813474" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W4kI5oAEuBE/TuN2kXHU7mI/AAAAAAAACtQ/ON2zVF_j794/s400/271.JPG" /></a> But you can always count on some fun Chinglish signs to add to the day's entertainment.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgBv00EGG3c/TuN2jupbTvI/AAAAAAAACtE/9HG4chkmvdw/s1600/zood.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684517510860984050" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgBv00EGG3c/TuN2jupbTvI/AAAAAAAACtE/9HG4chkmvdw/s400/zood.jpg" /></a> At the panda exhibit we had to bust out our best Kung Fu Panda imitation. Pappaw threatened to make this our next p....r card, for those of you who know what I mean. :)
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2RermG0mVVQ/TuN2jvhxN3I/AAAAAAAACs0/QnDGn1dZm2M/s1600/zooe.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684517511097300850" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2RermG0mVVQ/TuN2jvhxN3I/AAAAAAAACs0/QnDGn1dZm2M/s400/zooe.jpg" /></a> Nana and Pappaw, thank you for blessing us and making the trip. We are certainly grateful for your support and encouragement. We love you!
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-amq8HP3zVbI/TuN2jRx5eoI/AAAAAAAACss/g_Ssjt3XYSU/s1600/nanapapwstatue.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684517503111887490" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-amq8HP3zVbI/TuN2jRx5eoI/AAAAAAAACss/g_Ssjt3XYSU/s400/nanapapwstatue.jpg" /></a>
<div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-48125660270499006632011-11-15T23:30:00.006+08:002011-11-16T00:45:24.289+08:00learning from my daughter<ul>
<li>Grace had her first-ever kindergarten performance a few weeks ago. Yes, indeed, Grace danced beautifully and had a great time. But even something as simple as a school performance can get interesting when you throw a little cultural misunderstanding into the mix.</li>
<li>Generally, information in this country is on a need-to-know-only basis. Or should I say, information is generally given at the last possible minute. Many of my local friends think it's odd we foreigners like to plan things out SO FAR in advance! I knew from Grace's teacher they would be having some sort of performance around Halloween weekend but info. was sketchy even 2 days out. [On a side note, we have lived overseas nearly 7 years and this was the first year it seemed to me people even knew about Halloween. Ugh, of all the holidays to get imported and passed on over, this one is not my favorite but I won't get going on that subject.] </li>
<li>So, on Thursday of that week I asked Grace's teacher when the performance would be, and she said they hadn't decided yet. On Friday I picked her up and they said Grace needed to be at school that evening for a rehearsal and that the performance would be Saturday. She gave me 2 slips of paper, one inviting all parents to come to the performance, which had all the regular admonishments to "be cultured," "not throw trash on the school grounds," etc. etc. And the other small note simply mentioned the kids would be dressing up in costumes and asked the parents to make sure boys wore dark pants. There was NO mention of what the girls should wear. I even had my friend double-check with me to make sure I read the Chinese correctly. </li>
<li>When I picked Grace up from her rehearsal Friday evening, the teacher asked me if Grace had any "princess dresses." I said she has a Snow White dress (since that was what Grace wanted to wear this year), and the teacher said, "Perfect, have her wear it!" Grace told me on the way home that the teachers tried to have her try on some dresses, but none of them fit. They were "WAY too short" as she put it. Yes, even at 5 my foreigner child towers over her peers. I told Grace "No problem! You can wear your Snow White dress and have so much fun!" She agreed and was excited to wear her Snow White dress for the big dance.</li>
<li>So here were my assumptions based on the little information I had: Each class would do some sort of performance, kids could dress up however they wanted, and the school would provide little costumes for kids who didn't have any. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ummmm</span>, no. </li>
<li>The performances were not done according to classes. Not all the kids at the school gave performances, only a few kids in the older classes. The dancers were put together from various classes and were supposed to all wear the same little costume.</li></ul>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UAXlEPffFiI/TsKGWNwr1FI/AAAAAAAACsk/lLXKy5vjx0I/s1600/performance1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675246196649350226" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UAXlEPffFiI/TsKGWNwr1FI/AAAAAAAACsk/lLXKy5vjx0I/s400/performance1.jpg" /></a> The school went all out and decorated. I mean, they even wrote "Happy Hallo" on the wall.
<ul>
<li><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j5ZrnvMi3P0/TsKGVnO4j5I/AAAAAAAACsU/qwd4ukDM6rM/s1600/performance2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675246186307030930" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j5ZrnvMi3P0/TsKGVnO4j5I/AAAAAAAACsU/qwd4ukDM6rM/s400/performance2.jpg" /></a> I had dropped Grace off earlier that day at the school's request. The kids were going to practice again. And, apparently put on make-up for all the little girls. Grace saw me come in with Trinity and was so happy to see us. Daddy was out of town and hated to miss this but I recorded it for him. (And because I was trying to keep an eye on Trinity while also recording Grace's performance, I'm totally claiming that as the reason for the following poorly-photographed moments!!)
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xxWuao3C290/TsKGVEZEPGI/AAAAAAAACsI/PFqno4RWFns/s1600/performance3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675246176954498146" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xxWuao3C290/TsKGVEZEPGI/AAAAAAAACsI/PFqno4RWFns/s400/performance3.jpg" /></a> 5 little pumpkins got up to dance first. This should have been my first clue. I'm slow, people.
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U-9ZDAX63Sc/TsKGAd1nVvI/AAAAAAAACsA/XwWQvPqQTPM/s1600/performance4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675245823007872754" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U-9ZDAX63Sc/TsKGAd1nVvI/AAAAAAAACsA/XwWQvPqQTPM/s400/performance4.jpg" /></a> And then Snow White and the other dancers got ready for their big dance. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Hmmm</span>, which one of these is not like the others? My heart kind of sank a little when I saw how different Grace's outfit looked. As if being the only white kid in the bunch didn't make her stick out enough.
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eWtliTH1usQ/TsKGAJZpdMI/AAAAAAAACrw/rWph2PbmhVA/s1600/performance5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675245817521861826" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eWtliTH1usQ/TsKGAJZpdMI/AAAAAAAACrw/rWph2PbmhVA/s400/performance5.jpg" /></a> But you know what? My big girl got out there and danced beautifully and didn't miss a step. She had a blast from start to finish. Didn't even mention one time the entire evening about wearing a different outfit from the other kids. As my mother pointed out later, even as a kid of five I would have been MORTIFIED to be the "different" kid in that scenario.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dj1CLmdsgdc/TsKF_VxwHRI/AAAAAAAACro/LjadK0SIlt0/s1600/performance6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675245803664317714" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dj1CLmdsgdc/TsKF_VxwHRI/AAAAAAAACro/LjadK0SIlt0/s400/performance6.jpg" /></a> I praise God for giving Grace a personality that doesn't mind being a little different. I truly pray that as she grows up, she doesn't mind going against the flow if it's for the right reasons. I pray her growing-up years, especially her middle school ones aren't plagued with constant insecurity like mine were. I was so proud of you Grace!!
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tFCaXL-rL6g/TsKF-w1hY7I/AAAAAAAACrY/6fxBJTahQBg/s1600/trinityperformance.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675245793748018098" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tFCaXL-rL6g/TsKF-w1hY7I/AAAAAAAACrY/6fxBJTahQBg/s400/trinityperformance.jpg" /></a> Thankfully, Grace's performance was one of the first because afterward, this little bundle of energy decided she needed to explore the playground. And keeping up with her was no small feat that evening. I'm not sure if Trinity or Grace had more fun.
<div></div></div></div>
</li></ul>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-18687748423810468062011-11-02T20:38:00.006+08:002011-11-02T22:07:53.956+08:00October picture dumpOctober, we barely knew thee. It felt like one of the fastest recorded months in our family history and included a visit from friends, lots of work and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">home school</span>, Grace's first ever performance at her local school (more on that later), and quite a bit of travel/business for Kevin. I'm so excited it's November!!
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_oHmwxM9tYo/TrE_-qmgaSI/AAAAAAAACqA/q4koSvbytVI/s1600/jandshel.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383751656401186" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_oHmwxM9tYo/TrE_-qmgaSI/AAAAAAAACqA/q4koSvbytVI/s400/jandshel.jpg" /></a> The first part of October we had some sweet friends hop on the overnight train to come visit us. We all had so much fun having them in our home for a few days! Of course we had to show them the highlights of our city.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JzUa0wAb4xI/TrE_9mfpe_I/AAAAAAAACp0/JDxGfxd-_FQ/s1600/s%2Band%2Bg.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383733374024690" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JzUa0wAb4xI/TrE_9mfpe_I/AAAAAAAACp0/JDxGfxd-_FQ/s400/s%2Band%2Bg.jpg" /></a> Thank you, J and S, for coming to see us!
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dDKIKhRDqBA/TrE_83HUa4I/AAAAAAAACpo/PeV96iyjJ-E/s1600/t%2Band%2Bj.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383720655514498" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dDKIKhRDqBA/TrE_83HUa4I/AAAAAAAACpo/PeV96iyjJ-E/s400/t%2Band%2Bj.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cto4kvlVB6o/TrE_8LYugwI/AAAAAAAACpc/rJSh_dZNZs4/s1600/thegirls.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 390px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383708917367554" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cto4kvlVB6o/TrE_8LYugwI/AAAAAAAACpc/rJSh_dZNZs4/s400/thegirls.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aqm9Od9VVkU/TrE_7kRiRqI/AAAAAAAACpQ/jC7KfXEEB9A/s1600/girls.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383698418222754" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aqm9Od9VVkU/TrE_7kRiRqI/AAAAAAAACpQ/jC7KfXEEB9A/s400/girls.jpg" /></a> It only took 6.75 years, but I finally found some friends to give me Chinese cooking lessons. Of course, I've asked friends before to teach me and they just say, "Oh, I can't really cook anything special, just stir fry." Most folks cook at home by adding various combinations of oil, garlic, salt, ginger or soy sauce to meat and veggies and voila, you have dinner. So I was thrilled to have friends take me step-by-step through the process. The different thing about Chinese cooking is people hardly ever write down any recipes; you really just throw in a little of this and a little of that. But my friends allowed me to watch and write down step by step how they make their food. There are a few things I will change to fit our preferences, but it was a fun night seeing how they prepare meals.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xBFXYmINLuQ/TrE_eGJdS8I/AAAAAAAACo4/T4a3jazk2hQ/s1600/cooking1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383192115071938" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xBFXYmINLuQ/TrE_eGJdS8I/AAAAAAAACo4/T4a3jazk2hQ/s400/cooking1.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bwQlCWT5K-Q/TrE_dg631iI/AAAAAAAACos/serqXtmPfBs/s1600/cooking2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383182121784866" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bwQlCWT5K-Q/TrE_dg631iI/AAAAAAAACos/serqXtmPfBs/s400/cooking2.jpg" /></a> Our yummy meal included a veggie we call <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">bok</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">choy</span>, braised pork, seaweed, stir fry potatoes, a cold noodle dish, sausage, greens, and egg and tomato soup.
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbQMVapnzhY/TrE_cxEENfI/AAAAAAAACok/sJK2ft33XPA/s1600/cooking3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383169275442674" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbQMVapnzhY/TrE_cxEENfI/AAAAAAAACok/sJK2ft33XPA/s400/cooking3.jpg" /></a> I had to include this picture from October just because I love it...
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I8__MmZIuBY/TrE_cRy2HKI/AAAAAAAACoY/m7IUe-XNGnk/s1600/tinahat.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670383160881716386" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I8__MmZIuBY/TrE_cRy2HKI/AAAAAAAACoY/m7IUe-XNGnk/s400/tinahat.jpg" /></a> Fridays have become Grace's favorite day at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">home school</span> because that's the day we do science experiments. Here we are mixing an acid and a base (vinegar and baking soda) to made fizz. And yes, you read that right, we used "Arm & Hatchet" baking soda. Gotta love the knock-offs here.
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIeF5YOHAho/TrE6m1nqgRI/AAAAAAAACmE/zlNUNzbC4eY/s1600/science.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670377844739047698" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIeF5YOHAho/TrE6m1nqgRI/AAAAAAAACmE/zlNUNzbC4eY/s400/science.jpg" /></a> Since we have no traditional, round orange pumpkins in town for fall, we settled for painting butternut squash and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">xiaogua</span>, a kind of veggie that is round and green and tastes like zucchini. The girls loved it!
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a-YPUHHCUZ4/TrE6mH3ZKMI/AAAAAAAAClw/w-1TYb_Qp5U/s1600/pumpkinpainting.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670377832456988866" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a-YPUHHCUZ4/TrE6mH3ZKMI/AAAAAAAAClw/w-1TYb_Qp5U/s400/pumpkinpainting.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EqM4CUAcrZk/TrE6lg5v6hI/AAAAAAAAClo/K-uCQBIFe-w/s1600/gracepumpkin.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670377821997885970" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EqM4CUAcrZk/TrE6lg5v6hI/AAAAAAAAClo/K-uCQBIFe-w/s400/gracepumpkin.jpg" /></a>And on Monday night, after a really hectic 4 days, daddy was home and we threw on some play clothes last minute and went to a few of our foreign friends' homes to trick or treat. We had a volunteer friend in town who has a grown son and encouraged us to savor these days with young children because they pass quickly and soon enough we'll be wishing we had little feet running around once again. Words of wisdom right there.
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-94wAXl9MWE4/TrE6QT7roXI/AAAAAAAAClQ/NfX2CLMvhCk/s1600/girlstrickortreat.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670377457739080050" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-94wAXl9MWE4/TrE6QT7roXI/AAAAAAAAClQ/NfX2CLMvhCk/s400/girlstrickortreat.jpg" /></a> One of our friends had her dog greet us at the door dressed like an Arkansas Razorback fan. So cute!
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ah7O0NexkX0/TrE6Pys2h3I/AAAAAAAAClE/HN0QayIGrz8/s1600/weiwei.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670377448818509682" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ah7O0NexkX0/TrE6Pys2h3I/AAAAAAAAClE/HN0QayIGrz8/s400/weiwei.jpg" /></a> After climbing 15 flights of stairs to go to 4 different homes, Grace and Trinity went home and enjoyed some candy corn for the first time ever. A friend had just come back from the US and was thoughtful to bring them some.
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Iv5DLMr9PM/TrE6OhocfmI/AAAAAAAACk4/zeWzBO5TLyY/s1600/candycorn.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670377427056754274" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Iv5DLMr9PM/TrE6OhocfmI/AAAAAAAACk4/zeWzBO5TLyY/s400/candycorn.jpg" /></a> They both gave it a big thumbs up.
<div>
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Jw7VZO1ImM/TrE6NcnRhxI/AAAAAAAACkg/0grg30Nao2Y/s1600/trinity.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670377408529794834" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Jw7VZO1ImM/TrE6NcnRhxI/AAAAAAAACkg/0grg30Nao2Y/s400/trinity.jpg" /></a> And there you have a little bit of life happenings from October.
<div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-68488169881287771932011-10-06T22:29:00.005+08:002011-10-06T23:12:39.518+08:00also from last monthIn September:
<ul>
<li>We celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival once again. It's the 2<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">nd</span> biggest holiday here. Most folks get together with family, eat dinner, eat <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">moon cakes</span>, and gaze at the moon. Since our friend couldn't go home for the holiday we had her over to our house. We served <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">moon cakes</span> for her and chocolate cake for us. (I'm the only person in my family who will even attempt to eat a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">moon cake</span>, and I can only stomach the fruit-flavored ones.) In our house, chocolate cake in the shape of a moon = <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">moon cake</span>. </li></ul>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RMtX4IDnQgg/To29lo7lz3I/AAAAAAAACkY/4Vk_IftX8fU/s1600/zhongqiumeimeigirls.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660388761014751090" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RMtX4IDnQgg/To29lo7lz3I/AAAAAAAACkY/4Vk_IftX8fU/s400/zhongqiumeimeigirls.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cVExPd4m7Iw/To29lTrjQnI/AAAAAAAACkQ/5bvb5mwfBUI/s1600/mooncake.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660388755310330482" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cVExPd4m7Iw/To29lTrjQnI/AAAAAAAACkQ/5bvb5mwfBUI/s400/mooncake.jpg" /></a> </p>
<ul>
<li>We discovered a beach in our city! I know, we live in the mountains, but somebody decided we needed some sand in our lives. (Think man-made lake with sand hauled in from somewhere.) We had fun one evening making sandcastles and skipping rocks into the lake.</li></ul>
<div></div>
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T5dvIl_mxao/To29lOmGgCI/AAAAAAAACkI/6YcPbDYmu8k/s1600/beach.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660388753945296930" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T5dvIl_mxao/To29lOmGgCI/AAAAAAAACkI/6YcPbDYmu8k/s400/beach.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-704FU27AkPU/To29k2qfeGI/AAAAAAAACkA/9y1qfD9pPXc/s1600/beach1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660388747521259618" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-704FU27AkPU/To29k2qfeGI/AAAAAAAACkA/9y1qfD9pPXc/s400/beach1.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RG0HFvG7gsg/To29k7oVmfI/AAAAAAAACj4/iUYuBRjREfc/s1600/beach2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660388748854401522" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RG0HFvG7gsg/To29k7oVmfI/AAAAAAAACj4/iUYuBRjREfc/s400/beach2.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ifJXDP9d3Bk/To284eySUKI/AAAAAAAACjw/6u3vm-Rw6ss/s1600/beach4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660387985197256866" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ifJXDP9d3Bk/To284eySUKI/AAAAAAAACjw/6u3vm-Rw6ss/s400/beach4.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R9v-zRfpRRY/To284HZrggI/AAAAAAAACjo/LrAM-IFdM08/s1600/clouds.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660387978920034818" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R9v-zRfpRRY/To284HZrggI/AAAAAAAACjo/LrAM-IFdM08/s400/clouds.jpg" /></a> </div>
<ul>
<li>After almost a week of constant rain, we resorted to swimming in the bathtub for some indoor entertainment. Somehow <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">bath time</span> seems more special when wearing swimsuits. (Can you tell we bought Grace's swimsuit in Asia with the matching swim cap and all?)
</li></ul>
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsKlIcrr06o/To2839z5fJI/AAAAAAAACjg/TqR8T0f5xN0/s1600/bathtimeswimming.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660387976345648274" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsKlIcrr06o/To2839z5fJI/AAAAAAAACjg/TqR8T0f5xN0/s400/bathtimeswimming.jpg" /></a> </div>
<ul>
<li>And we discovered Trinity is a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">snuggler</span>. I know I posted this pic on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">fb</span> but felt the need to post it here too. Grace and Trinity take turns sleeping on the top/bottom of their bunk bed. But most nights, especially if Grace is sleeping on the bottom bunk, Trinity will crawl in right beside her. It's funny to go in and check on them each night and see who is sleeping where. Grace told me sometimes when Trinity climbs over and starts talking with her she just closes her eyes and pretends she's asleep. Smart girl. That Trinity is a NIGHT OWL and would probably be nocturnal if I let her.
</li></ul>
<p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pvfFwpLK6Kk/To283k77doI/AAAAAAAACjY/WSh6ShRycRk/s1600/snuggle.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660387969668445826" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pvfFwpLK6Kk/To283k77doI/AAAAAAAACjY/WSh6ShRycRk/s400/snuggle.jpg" /></a>
</p>
<ul>
<li>You might be able to see Trinity's swimsuit <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">jammies</span> here, too. Thankfully she's out of this stage since it's getting COLD here but for about 2 weeks straight Trinity wanted to wear a swimsuit to bed. This girl already has lots of opinions about what she'd like to wear each day. </li></ul>
<div>
</div>
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlPFb26fCk4/To283cxUrSI/AAAAAAAACjQ/dftfvAjwLTQ/s1600/sleeptime.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660387967476477218" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlPFb26fCk4/To283cxUrSI/AAAAAAAACjQ/dftfvAjwLTQ/s400/sleeptime.jpg" /></a> </div>
<div>And now that these pictures are off my camera, maybe I can start blogging from October.</div></div></div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353339977261592463.post-21141904629939088312011-09-26T22:42:00.004+08:002011-09-26T23:05:12.465+08:00deja vuI guess it's a toddler rite of passage. It is in our house anyway. You know, look in mommy's drawer, play with her jewelry, try to apply some makeup.
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9c0TMBjNonU/ToCQOak7x8I/AAAAAAAACjI/hIgHxh2Trw0/s1600/trinityhat1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656679709304145858" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9c0TMBjNonU/ToCQOak7x8I/AAAAAAAACjI/hIgHxh2Trw0/s400/trinityhat1.jpg" /></a> So when I saw this face this week,
<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mAstrsmMtWs/ToCQOAceimI/AAAAAAAACjA/hlwmNFzO-so/s1600/trinitylipstick1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656679702289353314" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mAstrsmMtWs/ToCQOAceimI/AAAAAAAACjA/hlwmNFzO-so/s400/trinitylipstick1.jpg" /></a> it reminded me of big sister circa 2008...(even the sheepish look of "how much trouble am I in?")
<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4UUlhUEM8w0/ToCQNxsEc1I/AAAAAAAACi4/J3tPOeCIIjM/s1600/lipstickface.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656679698328220498" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4UUlhUEM8w0/ToCQNxsEc1I/AAAAAAAACi4/J3tPOeCIIjM/s400/lipstickface.jpg" /></a> I do love my wild and crazy, sweet and zany, girlie-girls. Even when they ruin a tube of lipstick.
<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-98suiAdqXqQ/ToCQNZm8LDI/AAAAAAAACiw/hW6GtEoaqgQ/s1600/sillygirls.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656679691864255538" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-98suiAdqXqQ/ToCQNZm8LDI/AAAAAAAACiw/hW6GtEoaqgQ/s400/sillygirls.jpg" /></a> </div></div></div>Brigittehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10605204110915017894noreply@blogger.com5