It's been 7 whole weeks since the girls and I took our last flight so we've been itching to get on the road again. Ha ha ha :) Travel just seems to get more and more complicated, so I'm not sure I'm ever really "itching" to get on the road . But, travel is a big reality in our lives. Thankfully, the girls and I miss out on much of it. This is the only trip for the girls between February and late June! [Matt and I are hoping to go to a friend's wedding in early June, but assuming Lydia is willing to take a bottle, we have no plans to take the girls with us on that trip!]
But, all that said, I am looking forward to tomorrow's trip - we're flying to a nearby city to visit some friends there for a few days. It is SO FUN to fellowship with other expat families living here - we share similar struggles and joys and concerns.
So, it's worth packing up and heading to the airport for an opportunity to encourage and be encouraged by friends. Julianna can't WAIT - she loves airplanes. Unfortunately, her love tends to dwindle after an hour or so, which makes long flights a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, this is a short little flight, so we'll be ready to land about the time she gets restless.
I'll probably be able to post a few photos while I'm there, so stay tuned...
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
food for Lydia
Today is the one month anniversary of Lydia's first encounter with solid food (first official encounter, that is.... Julianna tried to feed her a pretzel when she was about ten weeks old!) At 7 1/2 months, she's a big food fan! She's eaten at least 15 different things (not including the stuff she tries to steal off of my plate) and pretty much likes it all. At lunch today she tried papaya - I don't like it, but she cast her vote with Matt and Julianna- papaya was a winner!
All of Lydia's food is homemade... and, therefore, seasonal. Papaya is everywhere right now, so that's what's on the menu. If she wants to try peaches, she'll have to wait til June. I know making your own baby food sounds a bit like "Martha Stewart meets Laura Ingalls Wilder", but it's really very easy. Especially when you have 20 hours a week of extremely competent, wonderfully-part-of-our-family house help like Xiao Li! Here she is with a bunch of carrots ready for the food processor.
After the food is ground up, it goes straight to the freezer...
This is our fridge/freezer combo in the kitchen... it's pretty small (as in, SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than I am!) I also have a deep freezer where I keep pretty much everything else.
Lydia loves to try to feed herself. She's fairly successful with Cheerios and is very effective at spreading rice everywhere! Another of Lydia's favorite moves is to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand and then smear the remains on her eyebrows. It's pretty cute. But also a bit difficult to clean up. I've gotten in the habit of wiping off her eyebrows every diaper change, just to collect the excess crusted food she's storing up there!
Yes, I know mommies are supposed to keep their kids picture-perfect clean and camera-ready.... but if there was a mom-school class on "post-meal kid face cleaning" I'd would need to get some tutoring if I hoped to get a passing grade. I'm a fan of the "quick swipe with a damp washcloth" method which is mildly effective at best... but hey, the girls love it. Who wants to endure a thorough cleaning when your belly is full and you're ready to get back to some serious playing with your toys??
All of Lydia's food is homemade... and, therefore, seasonal. Papaya is everywhere right now, so that's what's on the menu. If she wants to try peaches, she'll have to wait til June. I know making your own baby food sounds a bit like "Martha Stewart meets Laura Ingalls Wilder", but it's really very easy. Especially when you have 20 hours a week of extremely competent, wonderfully-part-of-our-family house help like Xiao Li! Here she is with a bunch of carrots ready for the food processor.
After the food is ground up, it goes straight to the freezer...
This is our fridge/freezer combo in the kitchen... it's pretty small (as in, SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than I am!) I also have a deep freezer where I keep pretty much everything else.Lydia loves to try to feed herself. She's fairly successful with Cheerios and is very effective at spreading rice everywhere! Another of Lydia's favorite moves is to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand and then smear the remains on her eyebrows. It's pretty cute. But also a bit difficult to clean up. I've gotten in the habit of wiping off her eyebrows every diaper change, just to collect the excess crusted food she's storing up there!
Yes, I know mommies are supposed to keep their kids picture-perfect clean and camera-ready.... but if there was a mom-school class on "post-meal kid face cleaning" I'd would need to get some tutoring if I hoped to get a passing grade. I'm a fan of the "quick swipe with a damp washcloth" method which is mildly effective at best... but hey, the girls love it. Who wants to endure a thorough cleaning when your belly is full and you're ready to get back to some serious playing with your toys??
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Dad's long journey home
Dad left yesterday morning on the long trek back to NC. 32 hours later, he landed at RDU... Mom called a few hours ago to let me know that he made it safe and sound. At the last minute he was able to upgrade to a more comfortable seat and got a lot of sleeping done on the trans-Pacific leg of the flight!
We had such a fun time with Dad here... Julianna and Lydia got to spend LOTS of quality time with Granddaddy, which was a big treat!
Our apartment is not especially large or spacious, but we do love to host visitors! Maybe one day we'll get to host you :)
We had such a fun time with Dad here... Julianna and Lydia got to spend LOTS of quality time with Granddaddy, which was a big treat!
Our apartment is not especially large or spacious, but we do love to host visitors! Maybe one day we'll get to host you :)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter weekend
We started on Friday morning with a small Easter egg hunt... Alisa came out for the day and Julianna & Kayleigh "hunted" eggs together that morning.
The girls hunted diligently, until one of the eggs broke open and they realized that Goldfish crackers were hidden inside. Then, the hunt took on a different pace. Find egg, pry open, share crackers, repeat....
On Saturday night, we invited Matt's former student Whitny to join us for dinner. Whitny acted as a tour guide for my uncle Charlie, aunt Linda and cousins Kate and Emily when they spent a month in China last summer. Dad brought her at WFU tshirt
The girls got Easter baskets with little treats on Easter morning. Based on my cousin Susan's suggestion, I had made my Grandmother Doris Crissman's sweet bread the night before - I made part of the dough into a Swedish tea ring that we ate for breakfast. We talked to Grandma and Grandpa in North Dakota before heading to church.
After church, we went to the Huffs for Easter lunch - yum! I used the same sweet bread dough and made rolls that were delicious :)
After lunch was over, Erin Ashley and I got ready for the party while the guys did dish duty. We invited some of our friends from the neighborhood to celebrate with us (they know NOTHING about Easter or what it means or anything) - I made the salt dough cross ornaments and EA painted them with pastel colors.
When the guests arrived, we had them paint their names on a cross. It was a great way to learn names, and they had fun too!
After the painting, we headed outside for an Easter egg hunt. Thanks to her Friday "practice run" with Kayleigh, Julianna was ready. She was the first one out the door and ran straight for the yard. Mrs. Soon enjoyed helping her locate eggs.
Driver Yan finding an egg hidden in atree (look at Dad laughing! he was the "egg hider")
"Grandma Wang"... she lives in our complex and delivers milk & yogurt to our house every day. She mainly snuggled with Lydia, but also managed to snag an egg during the hunt!
When the hunt was over, we headed back inside to open the eggs. We used the "resurrection eggs" - in each egg was some candy and also a symbol from the Easter story (things like a little plastic donkey, a crown, a spear, a stone, etc). So, we got to tell them the Easter story using the symbols. Here's the whole party gang together!
What a fun way to celebrate Easter weekend!
The girls hunted diligently, until one of the eggs broke open and they realized that Goldfish crackers were hidden inside. Then, the hunt took on a different pace. Find egg, pry open, share crackers, repeat....
On Saturday night, we invited Matt's former student Whitny to join us for dinner. Whitny acted as a tour guide for my uncle Charlie, aunt Linda and cousins Kate and Emily when they spent a month in China last summer. Dad brought her at WFU tshirt
The girls got Easter baskets with little treats on Easter morning. Based on my cousin Susan's suggestion, I had made my Grandmother Doris Crissman's sweet bread the night before - I made part of the dough into a Swedish tea ring that we ate for breakfast. We talked to Grandma and Grandpa in North Dakota before heading to church.
After church, we went to the Huffs for Easter lunch - yum! I used the same sweet bread dough and made rolls that were delicious :)
After lunch was over, Erin Ashley and I got ready for the party while the guys did dish duty. We invited some of our friends from the neighborhood to celebrate with us (they know NOTHING about Easter or what it means or anything) - I made the salt dough cross ornaments and EA painted them with pastel colors.
When the guests arrived, we had them paint their names on a cross. It was a great way to learn names, and they had fun too!
After the painting, we headed outside for an Easter egg hunt. Thanks to her Friday "practice run" with Kayleigh, Julianna was ready. She was the first one out the door and ran straight for the yard. Mrs. Soon enjoyed helping her locate eggs.
Driver Yan finding an egg hidden in atree (look at Dad laughing! he was the "egg hider")
"Grandma Wang"... she lives in our complex and delivers milk & yogurt to our house every day. She mainly snuggled with Lydia, but also managed to snag an egg during the hunt!
When the hunt was over, we headed back inside to open the eggs. We used the "resurrection eggs" - in each egg was some candy and also a symbol from the Easter story (things like a little plastic donkey, a crown, a spear, a stone, etc). So, we got to tell them the Easter story using the symbols. Here's the whole party gang together!
What a fun way to celebrate Easter weekend!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
surprising Matt
I had a good time last night - Matt was speaking at a meeting and didn't expect me to come. But, I arranged with another friend to help me surprise Matt and I got to hear him talk. He did a GREAT job and I had fun hanging out with the folks who were there too!
It has been nice having Dad around.... once I have fed Lydia, put her in bed, and gotten Julianna in her pjs, I have lots of freedom to go out since he can stay with the girls.
We've had such wonderful weather the past few days, and enjoyed a fun afternoon together on campus. But, the weather took a terrible turn for the worse last night and I think the girls will have to wait and wear their Easter dresses when it gets a little warmer... we'll be all bundled up for church tomorrow.
Dad is taking lots of photos, here are a few of the best ones.
I like this one because you can see how sweet Julianna is with Lydia. She really does love her little sister -
I am counting on Lydia to take over all domestic kitchen duties once she starts walking :)
This one is from Thursday afternoon when we went to campus... Julianna is really getting quite speedy!
It has been nice having Dad around.... once I have fed Lydia, put her in bed, and gotten Julianna in her pjs, I have lots of freedom to go out since he can stay with the girls.
We've had such wonderful weather the past few days, and enjoyed a fun afternoon together on campus. But, the weather took a terrible turn for the worse last night and I think the girls will have to wait and wear their Easter dresses when it gets a little warmer... we'll be all bundled up for church tomorrow.
Dad is taking lots of photos, here are a few of the best ones.
I like this one because you can see how sweet Julianna is with Lydia. She really does love her little sister -
I am counting on Lydia to take over all domestic kitchen duties once she starts walking :)
This one is from Thursday afternoon when we went to campus... Julianna is really getting quite speedy!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
here's a fun engagement story
My good friend here got engaged on Monday evening. It's a pretty unique engagement story, so I thought I'd share on the blog.... if you'd like to post a comment and tell me something unique (or just special) about YOUR engagement story, I'd love to hear it. [You can always post a comment as "anonymous" if you don't have a google login, just don't forget to sign your post, so I know who you are!]
Anyways, the engagement technically started on Friday morning.... he proposed to her on the Great Wall and she said "NO". I think there are probably many reasons, but she was definitely taken by surprise and didn't really know what to say, so she went with "no" just to be safe! They continued to enjoy a fun weekend together, but other folks were always around and the two of them didn't really get any time alone to talk through the proposal/refusal/etc. UNTIL, they boarded a flight home on Monday night.
Luckily, they were the only two folks in a row of three seats, and finally got to talk through stuff.... got in an argument, resolved it, he proposed again and this time she said YES! Unfortunately, the ring was safely stored in the overhead compartment... but, the flight had a brief stopover midway through the journey, so he was able to get the ring out then.
So, technically speaking, it's hard to really pinpoint EXACTLY where they were when she finally said YES. On an airplane, somewhere high above this big country!
Matt and I did get engaged at the Great Wall... and I said YES the first time! It's a good thing too, since when I boarded a flight home, Matt stayed in Beijing. We continued to live in different cities (and, for a few brief weeks, on different continents), until our wedding 6 months later. Here's a photo from that weekend... October 2002.
Ok, now tell me something about YOUR engagement story!
Anyways, the engagement technically started on Friday morning.... he proposed to her on the Great Wall and she said "NO". I think there are probably many reasons, but she was definitely taken by surprise and didn't really know what to say, so she went with "no" just to be safe! They continued to enjoy a fun weekend together, but other folks were always around and the two of them didn't really get any time alone to talk through the proposal/refusal/etc. UNTIL, they boarded a flight home on Monday night.
Luckily, they were the only two folks in a row of three seats, and finally got to talk through stuff.... got in an argument, resolved it, he proposed again and this time she said YES! Unfortunately, the ring was safely stored in the overhead compartment... but, the flight had a brief stopover midway through the journey, so he was able to get the ring out then.
So, technically speaking, it's hard to really pinpoint EXACTLY where they were when she finally said YES. On an airplane, somewhere high above this big country!
Matt and I did get engaged at the Great Wall... and I said YES the first time! It's a good thing too, since when I boarded a flight home, Matt stayed in Beijing. We continued to live in different cities (and, for a few brief weeks, on different continents), until our wedding 6 months later. Here's a photo from that weekend... October 2002.
Ok, now tell me something about YOUR engagement story!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Dad's day downtown and other news
Today my Dad ventured out on his own - went downtown and had a grand time. The girls and I held down the fort here at home, and I checked email every few hours waiting for news on my college roommate Sara. I finally got the email I'd been waiting for a few minutes ago - her little girl, Hannah Elizabeth, was born four hours ago (3am local time).
This morning Erin Ashley and I planned our Easter lunch menu - I'm in charge of asparagus, BBQ ribs, twice baked potatoes and some sort of bread. I'm thinking about making a braided loaf of some kind, so if you have good experience with that kind of thing, please comment and let me know your tips! I've never tried a braided loaf. But, I can braid hair, so it seems like I should be qualified :)
Matt is actually doing the ribs... this is the third or fourth year in a row he's made them for Easter. Ribs are the highlight on the short list of "things Matt can cook" - other notable dishes on that list include scrambled eggs, French toast and instant pudding from a box. I love when he makes "breakfast for dinner".
Erin Ashley and I are also planning a little Easter Sunday afternoon get-together for some of our friends from the neighborhood. It should be a riot. The guest list is, well... unique. Top of the list is the lady who delivers our milk & yogurt every day. She has a 9 month old grandson. When I invited her this afternoon she was thrilled! "of course, of course I'll come", she said.
Matt and I went on a date Monday night, and are going again tomorrow - living it up while Dad is in town! Matt's a bit stressed with some stuff on the work-front, so that's no fun.
This morning Erin Ashley and I planned our Easter lunch menu - I'm in charge of asparagus, BBQ ribs, twice baked potatoes and some sort of bread. I'm thinking about making a braided loaf of some kind, so if you have good experience with that kind of thing, please comment and let me know your tips! I've never tried a braided loaf. But, I can braid hair, so it seems like I should be qualified :)
Matt is actually doing the ribs... this is the third or fourth year in a row he's made them for Easter. Ribs are the highlight on the short list of "things Matt can cook" - other notable dishes on that list include scrambled eggs, French toast and instant pudding from a box. I love when he makes "breakfast for dinner".
Erin Ashley and I are also planning a little Easter Sunday afternoon get-together for some of our friends from the neighborhood. It should be a riot. The guest list is, well... unique. Top of the list is the lady who delivers our milk & yogurt every day. She has a 9 month old grandson. When I invited her this afternoon she was thrilled! "of course, of course I'll come", she said.
Matt and I went on a date Monday night, and are going again tomorrow - living it up while Dad is in town! Matt's a bit stressed with some stuff on the work-front, so that's no fun.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Go Deacs!
(this post is dictated by my Dad)
loved the Russian MIG fighter
Lydia just learned the Deacs were "1 and done" at the ACC tournament
Julianna learning "let's Go Deacs!
Xiao Li and the girls with their Deacon gear
loved the Russian MIG fighter
Lydia just learned the Deacs were "1 and done" at the ACC tournament
Julianna learning "let's Go Deacs!
Xiao Li and the girls with their Deacon gear
Monday, March 17, 2008
photos from the last few days
reading Sports Illustrated together
Julianna playing with her cars after church yesterday afternoon
Lydia is really loving this exersaucer. I think she feels like she's part of the action -
Dad and Lydia sitting on the couch
Dad put these rings on Lydia's ears... she thought it was funny and moved her head carefully to keep them from falling off. The girls definitely look A LOT alike, especially when you compare photos of Lydia with photos of Julianna when she was 7 months old. The main difference between them is that Julianna's ears stuck out more - if Lydia keeps hanging these things from her ears, maybe she'll look even more like her big sister!
Julianna playing with her cars after church yesterday afternoon
Lydia is really loving this exersaucer. I think she feels like she's part of the action -
Dad and Lydia sitting on the couch
Dad put these rings on Lydia's ears... she thought it was funny and moved her head carefully to keep them from falling off. The girls definitely look A LOT alike, especially when you compare photos of Lydia with photos of Julianna when she was 7 months old. The main difference between them is that Julianna's ears stuck out more - if Lydia keeps hanging these things from her ears, maybe she'll look even more like her big sister!
nope, I'll be sleeping
I'm not a big "party person"... it's not that I don't like parties, or get-togethers, I just don't need a whole lot of social activity. I like quiet, I like to be alone, I like to have time to think and read without the chaos of life interrupting me (doesn't sound much like life with two little kids, does it??) So, every now and then, I find myself searching for an excuse to not attend a party.
Last night, I didn't have to look far. I guess it wasn't technically a "party", but Matt and Dad and Andy planned to get up in the middle of the night to watch the ACC championship game. "Nope, I'll be sleeping", I assured them. Before we fell asleep Matt prayed that God would give us a restful night. I chuckled... afterall, the alarm was set for 12:55 am! But, God answered :) The alarm didn't go off right, or something... and Matt slept til 1:50 (missing the first half).
But, as soon as he realized what happened, Matt hopped out of bed, got Dad, and the two went over to Andy's to enjoy a UNC victory. When Matt came back to bed a little after 3 am, I rolled over and asked if Carolina won. Yep, he said. I smiled and went back to sleep. That's my kind of a party!
We're enjoying using our new camera, and I've got lots of photos of Dad and the girls together. I just need to figure out how to upload them to our computer, and then I'll be able to post some. It's Monday morning, Matt's day off, and he plans to work on getting the photos loaded (and teaching me how to do it myself). So, hopefully, I can post them later today.
Last night, I didn't have to look far. I guess it wasn't technically a "party", but Matt and Dad and Andy planned to get up in the middle of the night to watch the ACC championship game. "Nope, I'll be sleeping", I assured them. Before we fell asleep Matt prayed that God would give us a restful night. I chuckled... afterall, the alarm was set for 12:55 am! But, God answered :) The alarm didn't go off right, or something... and Matt slept til 1:50 (missing the first half).
But, as soon as he realized what happened, Matt hopped out of bed, got Dad, and the two went over to Andy's to enjoy a UNC victory. When Matt came back to bed a little after 3 am, I rolled over and asked if Carolina won. Yep, he said. I smiled and went back to sleep. That's my kind of a party!
We're enjoying using our new camera, and I've got lots of photos of Dad and the girls together. I just need to figure out how to upload them to our computer, and then I'll be able to post some. It's Monday morning, Matt's day off, and he plans to work on getting the photos loaded (and teaching me how to do it myself). So, hopefully, I can post them later today.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
photo collection - mostly Matt and the girls
I just got some photos that Erin Ashley had on her camera..... and put together this little photo tour from the past few months.
This is an older photo from our time in Thailand this past January... that's Matt with his old roommate, Jeff. Things sure have changed since their single days, haven't they?
multi-tasking Matt... holding Lydia and working on the computer. See where he parks his bike? Yep, it's hanging from the ceiling. When you live in an apartment with no closets, no garage, no basement, no attic, nothing for storage.... well, you get creative!
At the birthday party for Matt... Julianna was waiting with him for the cake to arrive so she could have a front-row seat for the candle-blowing!
from our "snow day"... March 1st. This is only the second time it has snowed since we've lived here - it's pretty unusual! Matt was so excited to introduce Julianna to a taste of his childhood in North Dakota.
This is an older photo from our time in Thailand this past January... that's Matt with his old roommate, Jeff. Things sure have changed since their single days, haven't they?
multi-tasking Matt... holding Lydia and working on the computer. See where he parks his bike? Yep, it's hanging from the ceiling. When you live in an apartment with no closets, no garage, no basement, no attic, nothing for storage.... well, you get creative!
At the birthday party for Matt... Julianna was waiting with him for the cake to arrive so she could have a front-row seat for the candle-blowing!
from our "snow day"... March 1st. This is only the second time it has snowed since we've lived here - it's pretty unusual! Matt was so excited to introduce Julianna to a taste of his childhood in North Dakota.
Friday, March 14, 2008
returning to normal
Well, our visitors have left and life is returning to normal around here. Kind of. Matt is with traveling with the group, and Dad is here with me and the girls. We're having a good time.
We sure are missing Matt... he's had a full week. He got to take a bit of time off on Wednesday afternoon to hang out with us three girls, which was fun!
Julianna is sporting lots of new clothes that she got as hand-me-downs. My cousin Julie gives us tons of GREAT clothes... all my friends here can't wait to borrow them when Julianna grows out of them. Julie's little girl Caroline is 14 months older than Julianna. Julianna now thinks all clothes come from Caroline - a few days ago Lydia had on a top that Julianna hadn't seen before. She took one look at Lydia and said, "oh, Lydia wear Caroline's clothes too!"
thanks Julie and Caroline!
The clothes from Julie and Caroline were part of the load of goodies I got when the visitors brought in all that luggage - suitcases full of stuff like salad dressing, pudding mix, kitchen spices, books, clothes.... lots of fun stuff! I've got it (mostly) all unpacked and the kitchen pantry is literally overflowing!
We sure are missing Matt... he's had a full week. He got to take a bit of time off on Wednesday afternoon to hang out with us three girls, which was fun!
Julianna is sporting lots of new clothes that she got as hand-me-downs. My cousin Julie gives us tons of GREAT clothes... all my friends here can't wait to borrow them when Julianna grows out of them. Julie's little girl Caroline is 14 months older than Julianna. Julianna now thinks all clothes come from Caroline - a few days ago Lydia had on a top that Julianna hadn't seen before. She took one look at Lydia and said, "oh, Lydia wear Caroline's clothes too!"
thanks Julie and Caroline!
The clothes from Julie and Caroline were part of the load of goodies I got when the visitors brought in all that luggage - suitcases full of stuff like salad dressing, pudding mix, kitchen spices, books, clothes.... lots of fun stuff! I've got it (mostly) all unpacked and the kitchen pantry is literally overflowing!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
doing the "tourist thing"
We've had another very full day here - having guests is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work :) But it is fun work, you know what I mean?
Our visitors have been doing the "tourist thing" today ... hitting all the hotspots in town. Julianna and I joined them for the morning and it was absolutely beautiful outside. We visited the "Minority Village". It's a teeny bit like Epcot - different areas of the park are constructed to portray the customs of various ethnic groups in our area of the country. It's really very nicely done and a neat way to learn about each group.
After lunch the group toured the western hills - I bet they got some great photos because the sky was really clear this afternoon. [I know I always promise photos but each evening when I sit down to update the blog, I realize that the camera is still out with the group.... sorry about that :)]
After our full morning, Julianna took a monster nap this afternoon and I got to enjoy some time with just Lydia. We finally got the CD of photos from her 6 month portraits and they turned out so good! Here is one of my favorites:
Tomorrow is our visitors' last day here in town... they head to Beijing tomorrow afternoon. Friday and Saturday they'll be seeing some of Beijing's highlights (Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City) and then they board a flight back to the U.S. Matt will join them for the Beijing tour, but I'm staying home with the girls. Dad is here for ten more days, so we'll have lots of fun together!
I really will do my best to get some photos posted to the blog - maybe even tomorrow morning??
Our visitors have been doing the "tourist thing" today ... hitting all the hotspots in town. Julianna and I joined them for the morning and it was absolutely beautiful outside. We visited the "Minority Village". It's a teeny bit like Epcot - different areas of the park are constructed to portray the customs of various ethnic groups in our area of the country. It's really very nicely done and a neat way to learn about each group.
After lunch the group toured the western hills - I bet they got some great photos because the sky was really clear this afternoon. [I know I always promise photos but each evening when I sit down to update the blog, I realize that the camera is still out with the group.... sorry about that :)]
After our full morning, Julianna took a monster nap this afternoon and I got to enjoy some time with just Lydia. We finally got the CD of photos from her 6 month portraits and they turned out so good! Here is one of my favorites:
Tomorrow is our visitors' last day here in town... they head to Beijing tomorrow afternoon. Friday and Saturday they'll be seeing some of Beijing's highlights (Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City) and then they board a flight back to the U.S. Matt will join them for the Beijing tour, but I'm staying home with the girls. Dad is here for ten more days, so we'll have lots of fun together!
I really will do my best to get some photos posted to the blog - maybe even tomorrow morning??
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
What a day!
Well, our 6 visitors have had a very busy day - I haven't seen them at all. They started the morning with an early trip to the downtown area and a visit to a famous lake & park in the middle of town. From there it was off to a local elementary school for children of migrant workers (a very poor, very needy segment of the local population).
They finished at the elementary school in time to head back to the university campus and meet students for lunch. The afternoon was spent on campus, hanging out with students. Then, off to dinner and final preparations for the Easter party.
Last night was a blast - after dinner we sat around and visited. Our local friends asked the 6 guests to relate the strangest/most interesting/weirdest thing that they had seen so far. After not quite 48 hours in the country, they had seen a lot! One person was surprised by just how many people could squeeze onto one bus. Another commented that the traffic circle near their hotel seemed to be "optional".... in other words, if you wanted to drive around the circle, that was fine. But, if you prefered to ignore the circle and treat it like a normal intersection, choosing the path of least resistance between your current position and your goal direction, that was fine too! It was a fun night together.
The camera is out with Matt, getting photos of tonight's big Easter party, so this is a photo-less post. I'll put some on the blog tomorrow.
In other news, the girls and I had a great day here at home. I dug into the recesses of my brain to come up with yet-another Easter craft for Julianna to do. A old friend from last year came by to visit this afternoon and we all enjoyed some time outdoors. The weather has been incredible - sunny, highs about 70 and bright clear skies.
Tomorrow Julianna and I are joining the crew for an outing to some local tourist spots... Lydia will stay home for her traditional morning snooze. At lunch, Julianna and I will return home, while the 6 guys head on to a nearby mountain area with beautiful views over the city.
The week is passing so quickly. It has been a joy to have friends in town - they see our life here with "fresh" eyes, and it reminds me of the many wonderful aspects of living here. It had been months since I laughed at the way local drivers approach a traffic circle :)
They finished at the elementary school in time to head back to the university campus and meet students for lunch. The afternoon was spent on campus, hanging out with students. Then, off to dinner and final preparations for the Easter party.
Last night was a blast - after dinner we sat around and visited. Our local friends asked the 6 guests to relate the strangest/most interesting/weirdest thing that they had seen so far. After not quite 48 hours in the country, they had seen a lot! One person was surprised by just how many people could squeeze onto one bus. Another commented that the traffic circle near their hotel seemed to be "optional".... in other words, if you wanted to drive around the circle, that was fine. But, if you prefered to ignore the circle and treat it like a normal intersection, choosing the path of least resistance between your current position and your goal direction, that was fine too! It was a fun night together.
The camera is out with Matt, getting photos of tonight's big Easter party, so this is a photo-less post. I'll put some on the blog tomorrow.
In other news, the girls and I had a great day here at home. I dug into the recesses of my brain to come up with yet-another Easter craft for Julianna to do. A old friend from last year came by to visit this afternoon and we all enjoyed some time outdoors. The weather has been incredible - sunny, highs about 70 and bright clear skies.
Tomorrow Julianna and I are joining the crew for an outing to some local tourist spots... Lydia will stay home for her traditional morning snooze. At lunch, Julianna and I will return home, while the 6 guys head on to a nearby mountain area with beautiful views over the city.
The week is passing so quickly. It has been a joy to have friends in town - they see our life here with "fresh" eyes, and it reminds me of the many wonderful aspects of living here. It had been months since I laughed at the way local drivers approach a traffic circle :)
Monday, March 10, 2008
teaching English
This morning our 6 visitors spent four hours teaching English!! Each class lasts 2 hours (with a break in the middle), so they taught two different groups of students. During the class time, they broke into small groups - to have more opportunities to interact with the students.
Here are a few photos:
After class they joined some students for lunch in the school cafeteria. Yum :) This afternoon they are meeting with Matt and planning for a big Easter party tomorrow night - they'll be inviting students who are interested in knowing more about Easter.
Dinner is here at our apartment - we've invited some of our local friends to join us..... it'll be 14 people and three kids! I have two crockpots full of chili and a bunch of baked potatoes, so no one should leave hungry :)
Here are a few photos:
After class they joined some students for lunch in the school cafeteria. Yum :) This afternoon they are meeting with Matt and planning for a big Easter party tomorrow night - they'll be inviting students who are interested in knowing more about Easter.
Dinner is here at our apartment - we've invited some of our local friends to join us..... it'll be 14 people and three kids! I have two crockpots full of chili and a bunch of baked potatoes, so no one should leave hungry :)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
day one comes to a close
It's Sunday evening, and our first day with Dad and the crew from Raleigh is coming to a close - we had a great morning fellowshipping together at our apartment. We went out for lunch, then walked around town a bit. Matt and the guys headed over to campus while I stayed home with napping little girls.
After dinner with some students, everyone headed back to the hotel. My guess is that everyone will be sound asleep within an hour :) The first day with jet lag is always the hardest!
Tomorrow morning the crew is teaching in an English class for university students - a teacher has "loaned" her morning classes to the group. After class, they hope to eat lunch and hang out with some students.
I didn't get any photos today, but they all took plenty! I'll send the camera with Matt tomorrow morning and post some photos of the classroom and teaching experience.
After dinner with some students, everyone headed back to the hotel. My guess is that everyone will be sound asleep within an hour :) The first day with jet lag is always the hardest!
Tomorrow morning the crew is teaching in an English class for university students - a teacher has "loaned" her morning classes to the group. After class, they hope to eat lunch and hang out with some students.
I didn't get any photos today, but they all took plenty! I'll send the camera with Matt tomorrow morning and post some photos of the classroom and teaching experience.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
they made it!!
All 6 guys are here - tired and looking forward to a good night's sleep. Matt and I just left them at their hotel... it's almost midnight, so we're headed to bed too.
Here they are at the airport with all the luggage
oh yeah, and the luggage. 12 pieces made it. Not bad. The missing piece was last seen in Beijing, so it will probably be here tomorrow. Who does it belong to? You guessed it - me!!
Here they are at the airport with all the luggage
oh yeah, and the luggage. 12 pieces made it. Not bad. The missing piece was last seen in Beijing, so it will probably be here tomorrow. Who does it belong to? You guessed it - me!!
in Beijing
They made it! Dad called a few hours ago from the Beijing airport. All was well, but everyone was tired (he said the word "tired" about six times in our three minute conversation!). They should be tired, it's been over 24 hours since they first set out from RDU. But, they are almost here!
I am making cinnamon rolls (the dough is rising now) and Matt is busy helping me clean house. Company coming is not an every day occurrence around here - we've got to roll out the red carpet (or at least pick the toys up off the carpet, so that no one trips over a misplaced stuffed animal!)
We leave for the airport about 9:30 pm (a friend is coming over to stay with the girls, who are already sound asleep). We'll take the guys straight to their hotel and then Matt will pick them up in the morning to bring them here for breakfast.
I am taking the camera tonight, so I can capture their tired faces on film! I also want to get a photo of all their luggage - between the 6 of them they have 13 bags. At 50 lbs each, that's 650 lbs of luggage! They are bringing in TONS of stuff for folks here in town (including yours truly, who sent her mom on a mammoth Target shopping trip last weekend).
I am making cinnamon rolls (the dough is rising now) and Matt is busy helping me clean house. Company coming is not an every day occurrence around here - we've got to roll out the red carpet (or at least pick the toys up off the carpet, so that no one trips over a misplaced stuffed animal!)
We leave for the airport about 9:30 pm (a friend is coming over to stay with the girls, who are already sound asleep). We'll take the guys straight to their hotel and then Matt will pick them up in the morning to bring them here for breakfast.
I am taking the camera tonight, so I can capture their tired faces on film! I also want to get a photo of all their luggage - between the 6 of them they have 13 bags. At 50 lbs each, that's 650 lbs of luggage! They are bringing in TONS of stuff for folks here in town (including yours truly, who sent her mom on a mammoth Target shopping trip last weekend).
still travelling
I'm planning to take a break from my typical blogging topics for the next week. My dad and five of our friends from Raleigh are on their way to visit us - and I hope to provide lots of updates! [If you are here for lots of news on the little girls, I'll make sure to throw in a few tidbits about them too!]
The group left RDU at 7am EST (8pm Friday night our time). It is now 9 am Saturday morning, and they are just about half-way here! I got an email from Dad while he was in Chicago and all was well. They should be landing in Beijing at 4 this afternoon (so they have about 7 hours left on the long leg of the journey). After they get through customs and immigration and to boarding area for their domestic flight, Dad hopes to call and update me on their journey.
If the travelers are big movie watchers, they are probably on their 3rd film by this point! The plane they are on will have individual screens for each passenger, and the passenger can choose when to start/stop/pause/fast forward/rewind movies from a list of about 50 different films, tv shows and programs. Before kids, I could finish a 500 page novel on one trans-pacific flight. With kids, I'm lucky if I get to finish one entire movie!
My mom, on the other hand, went to visit my brother Stephen and Jenn in Panama City. She left at the same time as Dad and his friends but she is already there! Maybe Matt and I should consider a transfer to Central America??
Check back in later, I will definitely post if the guys call from Beijing.
The group left RDU at 7am EST (8pm Friday night our time). It is now 9 am Saturday morning, and they are just about half-way here! I got an email from Dad while he was in Chicago and all was well. They should be landing in Beijing at 4 this afternoon (so they have about 7 hours left on the long leg of the journey). After they get through customs and immigration and to boarding area for their domestic flight, Dad hopes to call and update me on their journey.
If the travelers are big movie watchers, they are probably on their 3rd film by this point! The plane they are on will have individual screens for each passenger, and the passenger can choose when to start/stop/pause/fast forward/rewind movies from a list of about 50 different films, tv shows and programs. Before kids, I could finish a 500 page novel on one trans-pacific flight. With kids, I'm lucky if I get to finish one entire movie!
My mom, on the other hand, went to visit my brother Stephen and Jenn in Panama City. She left at the same time as Dad and his friends but she is already there! Maybe Matt and I should consider a transfer to Central America??
Check back in later, I will definitely post if the guys call from Beijing.
Friday, March 7, 2008
getting ready for Easter
My friend Kelli moved home last year and left behind her Easter stuff for our family to enjoy - we've had a great time digging in to the goodies. The loot included two decks of Easter egg-shaped playing cards. I figured my little girls were a few years away from knowing how to play cards, so we've been coming up with creative "alternative" uses for the cards and turning them into craft supplies.
The first night Julianna and I hung the cards on the girls' bedroom door. (yes, in Julianna's book, scotch tape + easter egg shaped playing cards = craft!)
Then, on Tuesday morning, we made an Easter poster using LOTS of glue, a few stickers, and the playing cards.
Here she is with the finished project! We hung it on the inside of our front door.
Yesterday we made "easter necklaces" using the Easter egg playing cards, dried noodles and yarn.
Julianna asks every day to "do an Easter craft"... with 16 days left to go, I'm going to need a few more bursts of creativity to come up with something new to do each day!
The first night Julianna and I hung the cards on the girls' bedroom door. (yes, in Julianna's book, scotch tape + easter egg shaped playing cards = craft!)
Then, on Tuesday morning, we made an Easter poster using LOTS of glue, a few stickers, and the playing cards.
Here she is with the finished project! We hung it on the inside of our front door.
Yesterday we made "easter necklaces" using the Easter egg playing cards, dried noodles and yarn.
Julianna asks every day to "do an Easter craft"... with 16 days left to go, I'm going to need a few more bursts of creativity to come up with something new to do each day!
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