off to a little vacation

Well, the past two days have been really full, and I've barely even laid eyes on the computer, much less actually sat down in front of it! On Friday afternoon Erin Ashley and I headed in to town for a little get-together - a bunch of our friends who are here for a year hosted a really special afternoon party for some of us 'older' folks. It was SO neat!

My favorite part was definitely that they served dinner! A "relaxed" meal around this house just doesn't happen that often - hey, I consider the meal a big success if I can get away with just sweeping the floor at the end (not sweeping and wiping down with a wet rag). So, being served by them was soooo nice! Unfortunately, I had to rush away at the end because...

Matt and I were taking care of some other kids for the night. Our friends Steve and Marlene needed (and deserved!!) a little get-away, so Matt and I and our two girls moved over to their house for the evening. Their 4 kiddos plus our two brought the grand total to 6 children under the age of 7! And Matt was on his own with til I got there.

The evening went really smooth and I even got to sleep in til 7:30 this morning - Lydia slept late (a rare gift!) and Matt got up with the early risers. Here's a quick photo of all 6 on the sofa after breakfast. And no, that's not a big grin on Lydia's face - she's been a big momma's girl all day and was pretty much only content when I was holding her.

Sleeping til 7:30 was a sneak preview of the next two days - Matt and I leave tomorrow (Sunday) morning and will be gone for two days. And I plan on sleeping late late late! But I am sad to leave too - I just am not away from the girls that often. If you think about it, pray for Lydia while I'm gone. I think she'll do okay taking a bottle, but I'm not really confident. And she just doesn't like to be away from me for long. Julianna, on the other hand, will do just fine. She knows she's staying with Xiao Li and is excited about the food - Xiao Li cooks Chinese dishes (of course) and Julianna loves every last bite :)

company for lunch

Well, we had company for lunch here today... one little girl, that is! Emma Grace joined us for a little morning play time and lunch. It was a lot of fun :) I took about five photos - this is the one that comes closest to "all three looking at the camera". Yes, I realize that in the photo technically none of them are looking at the camera, but at least you can see two pairs of eyes in this shot! Emma Grace was too busy playing with the toys to pay me any attention.


Matt and I are going out of town this weekend - It's my first time away from Lydia since she was born... and while I am really looking forward to it, I am also a bit sad to leave her. She's just started successfully taking a bottle at lunch time, so she certainly won't starve while we're gone, though she is going to miss her momma. And this momma is going to miss both her little girls. Although we have our long days, I can't imagine not being home with them... I love knowing all the little details of their day.

Xiao Li will be taking care of them while we're out of town. And she is so great with them. So I am thankful to be able to leave them with someone I trust so completely. Still.... even though we don't leave for 4 more days, I am already starting to get a little sad. But I also can't wait to sleep late!! So, I am also starting to get VERY excited :)

buying friendship

It's afternoon snack time here at our house - the girls are just up from naps and we're all enjoying a little mid-afternoon munchies. Lydia is gnawing on a teething stick - a gift from Grandma Wang. Grandma Wang is a fixture in our lives here - she makes a daily visit to our apartment to deliver milk and yogurt... lives over in building #4 and has a grandson who turns one year old on Thursday. It's a rare day that Grandma and I don't meet at least once, often more frequently.

Grandma Wang belongs to a group of folks here in the complex who are unashamedly trying to buy my daughters' friendship, one snack at a time! In addition to the teething stick, Grandma has bestowed numerous snacks and cookies and crackers on my little girls. When she drops off the milk she frequently bends down to eye level with Julianna and says, "Come over to my house and eat some cookies, okay?"

Last week the "1st floor grandpa" who lives in the ground level apartment in our stairwell met us with some candies for the girls. The next day when Julianna realized the candy was all gone she said, "Let's go back to 1st floor grandpa's house and get some more candy"! I thought: that's exactly what he was hoping you'd say!

One quick note: Family names are common terms of address here in China. My girls refer to outside playmates as "elder sister" or "younger sister" or "elder brother" or "younger brother". College age and other young parents are referred to as "uncle" or "auntie".... and older folks are called "grandpa" and "grandma". If someone is genuinely referring to a relative, they'll often clarify, so you know exactly who they are talking about. Of course, with the one child policy intact, very few young people have a genuine sibling. Sad, but true.

Happy Birthday to...

....Me! I had a great birthday yesterday...

The girls joined me on the bed for a little "breakfast in bed"...



Then I spent a lot of time on the phone and opening presents from home....

Matt had to go to work for a bit, so the girls and I laughed and played....


And Matt and I enjoyed a long late afternoon and evening date last night (I didn't take the camera, so no photo).

The weather has been unbelievable lately - gorgeous sunny skies, summer temps and a light breeze. Matt and I walked from our dinner restaurant to the downtown McDonalds to get an ice cream cone for dessert. It was perfect "after dinner walking" weather.

The next family birthday is Lydia - who will celebrate her 1st birthday on August 15th!!

me and my sister

Lydia changes every day. Seriously. It's amazing to watch. Her *best* new trick is saying, "ma ma".... yep, that's right! Even though her first babbles were "bababababa" and "dadadada" her first word is most definitely "ma ma". And she's not afraid to use it!

Her second word?? "na na", meaning Julianna. Lydia delights in her big sister. And it brings me so much joy to see them together. Of course, they have their tougher moments. Like the other day I left them alone in the living room... and rushed back a few moments later, when Lydia started wailing.

"What happened?" I asked Julianna.

"She fell down" was the answer.

"How did she fall?"

"I pushed her with my feet."

Well, at least she's honest.


Lydia has also started waving bye-bye and raising her arms above her head in response to the question "how big is Lydia?"

So, tonight at dinner Julianna is chattering away about eating her chicken and how it will make her "soooo big" and "soooo strong". Julianna interrupted her own discourse saying, "oh look at Lydia"... sure enough, as Lydia heard the "soooo big" she raised her own mushed-up-broccoli smeared arms high over her head and grinned from ear to ear. It's like you could read her mind: "yep, I know this game", she was thinking.

I love Lydia's smile in this picture. They are both getting sooooo big sooooo fast.

my job is...

This morning we were out walking and saw Matt on his bike, leaving for the day. This is part of the conversation that followed:

Julianna: Why is daddy going to campus?

Me: Well, that's his job.

Julianna: Oh. [pause] My job is to put my milk away.

Me: That's right. (One of her "chores" is to put her milk back in the fridge at the end of a meal.)

Me: What is mommy's job?

Julianna: Ummmmm, washing dishes!!

Well, I like to think my "mommy job description" is a bit more complex than that, but I do wash a LOT of dishes! The crazy thing is, Julianna LOVES to "wash dishes"... she pulls a chair up to the sink and I turn the faucet on to a trickle of water, hand her a couple of plastic bowls and spoons, and she'll "wash dishes" for 30 minutes! Maybe she thinks my job mainly consists of playing with the water in the sink! Oh, if she only knew.....

starting the celebrations

My birthday is coming up (this Saturday) and I like to think it's worthy of at least a week's worth of celebrating! We've had a few packages arrive, and that definitely adds to the excitement, especially for Julianna, who asks multiple times a day... when are we going to open the presents?!? We've had the conversation so often that she now answers her own question. "when are we going to open the presents?" she says, "on mommy's birthday!" she answers :)

We had a little birthday get-together last night with some of our friends here. Erin Ashley used the newly-arrived "muffin man baking cups" and made cupcakes with little faces on them. They were SO CUTE!She actually went above and beyond in the baking category and also made angel food cake (my favorite!).

We also played a fun game of "play doh sculpting"... kind of like Pictionary, except you use play-doh to sculpt your clue while your team members guess. It was so fun!

Here's Matt with two of his teammates and his sculpted "smile"


And Erin Ashley and me trying to guess a clue...

and then she closes her eyes...

Well, with the earthquake dominating our hearts and thoughts, I haven't spent a lot of time blogging about the girls. Never fear, they are as cute as ever :)

Grandma Jan sent a package with these silicon muffin cups to bake with... I made pumpkin muffins that very day, and Julianna couldn't get enough of the "muffin man". (see Julianna has her cake tester in her hand... she loves to "test" baked goods when they come out of the oven.)


Later that day Julianna demonstrated just how one should go about eating a "muffin man".



Lydia ate a few chunks of pumpkin muffin herself. But mostly, she LOVES to laugh... here she is with Matt, giggling and squealing :)


As Lydia gets older (she hit the 9 month mark last week), the two girls are really starting to enjoy playing together. I moved the exersaucer into the girls bedroom... now, with Lydia "safely" in the exersaucer, I feel confident leaving the two of them in their room to play - while I get a few things done around the house.

Of course, like any good mother, I walk by the doorway of their room to check on them pretty frequently. One time as I walked by Julianna ran over to the door to tell me how much fun they were having. I didn't understand the whole conversation (pretty typical Julianna -she gets so excited and talks so fast that no one could possibly follow every single word). But, I got the gist of it... they were playing with one of Julianna's stuffed animals - a large pink pig, about the size of a kickball, that we named "crazy pig". Julianna's last sentence was something like, "and then crazy pig [missed a word] and Lydia closes her eyes".

"Well that sounds fun" I said, "does Lydia like it?"

"yeah, she really likes it. She closes her eyes" was the answer.

A few days later the same scenario was taking place. And I caught a glimpse of what was really happening. Julianna would stand in front of Lydia, who was "standing" in the exersaucer. Then, with a big heave, Julianna would bounce crazy pig off of Lydia's forehead. (that was the "closes her eyes" part... Lydia closed her eyes as the pig came hurtling towards her head.)

Thankfully, Julianna is usually very gentle and sweet with her little sister. Her she is 'reading' to Lydia.

back on blogger

Well, it's time for another post. And I'm not even going to really write about the earthquake. Only one piece of news: China has declared a three day mourning period (today, Tuesday and Wednesday) - today at 2:28 pm is the one week anniversary of the earthquake... that's about 15 minutes from now.

But, life does go on - the earthquake is no longer the ONLY headline on news sites and conversation is starting to turn to other topics.

Last Friday night my friend Erin Ashley hosted a "Girls Night" for a bunch of the college women here. What do college age girls like to talk about??? You guessed it - LOVE! We had a lot of fun laughing and talking and learning together. Julianna and I made heart-shaped sugar cookies for the event. Julianna was "in charge" of putting sprinkles on the cookies. I was in charge of rolling and cutting cookies faster than she could destroy them. I really do like baking with her, but it takes a LOT of patience. That day I just kept thinking, "what am I going to do when Lydia wants to get up here and bake with me too???"

In other news, I am WAY behind on posting some photos to our blog, I'll try to get some posted later tonight (Matt has small group study at our house on Monday evenings, and I'll have lots of time to wait for pictures to upload).

So, that's it for now. Not a lot to report. It's 2:27. Last week at 2:27 life was carrying on as expected, and then one minute, an earthquake, and it all changed. Not just for the 50,000 that are dead. But for the millions who lost homes and livelihoods and everything.

blog silence

What should I write? Maybe 50,000 Chinese lost their lives on Monday afternoon. All I felt was about three minutes of light shaking and noticed the light over the kitchen table was swaying.

I spend most of my "internet time" reading news articles and looking at photos (I've tried watching some video but our internet is slow and I don't have the patience to wait for them to "buffer" - whatever that means).

I don't know what to say or what to write. So, I don't write anything.

earthquake aftermath thoughts

Well, the news from earthquake affected areas just gets worse and worse as personal stories emerge and the extent of the destruction is realized. I have a love/hate relationship with the news... part of me wants to read and read and read article after article, but there is another part of me that doesn't want to see any more photos or read any more news, it's so very sad.

It feels very strange that my life can go on as "normal" (washing breakfast dishes, making up enchiladas for dinner, reading books with the girls) while not-too-far-away lives have been wrecked forever and it will be ages before the survivors have anything that resembles a "normal" day again.

News and conversation is, of course, saturated with the earthquake and the devastation it left behind. Our friends north of us continue to feel aftershocks - several as high as 6 on the Richter scale. A mom friend of mine was home with her three sleeping little girls when the earthquake occurred.... snatched them up and ran out of her building, no time for putting on shoes or grabbing extra clothing. Thankfully, there was no damage to her home and everyone is safe. But unsettled.

So many children were just starting an afternoon of classes when their school buildings collapsed (Chinese schools break over the lunch hour and resume classes at 2pm - the quake struck at 2:30). Many peasants and farm laborers would have been outside in the fields, and probably spared from damage caused by collapsing structures. But children and teachers were inside.

With no medical training, and two little girls in tow, I am certainly not a "potential asset" to the rescue efforts. So, I pray. For wisdom for the rescue workers and government officials directing the efforts. That the rain will stop and those huddled outside in the cold will be able to get something warm to eat, dry clothes to wear and a safe place to sleep at night. That believers in the area will be confident in the goodness of their Lord, despite their circumstances.

death toll rising

Well, last night when I wrote my post, the death toll was at 4. The last time I checked the news (about 9 pm) it was at about 100, with unconfirmed reports of a mudslide killing 900. Went to bed wondering what the news would be in the morning. It's not good. 8700 dead. Maybe thousands more. One large town near the epicenter has had no contact with the outside world since the quake happened.

We continue to personally know of no one who was significantly affected.... several of our friends north of us had pictures fall of walls, books off shelves, etc. Also, they have continued to feel aftershocks, but none have been strong enough to be felt here.

I have been to most of the places that are in the news.

yeah, I felt the earth shaking

Well, if you read Google, or any other online news source, you probably read about an earthquake that hit western China earlier this afternoon.... I actually just checked google news, and it is the top story right now. A 7.8 earthquake with an epicenter in the province just north of us (and very close to the city where I once lived).

So, the news is just now starting to trickle in, but it seems like there was very little damage and few lives lost. Matt was out riding his bike in the hills around us, and I was home with two napping little girls when the chair I was sitting in started vibrating. When the light hanging over our dining room table started swaying, I walked over to look out the window - the few folks I saw outside did not seem to notice anything strange. It probably only lasted a minute or two. Maybe three.

Got on the phone with Erin Ashley - she noticed a lot more movement in her apartment - maybe cause it is on the ground floor? We concluded that there must have been a much bigger earthquake somewhere near us. A few hours later, we started to hear some news about the size and location of the quake.

We're fine. Matt (on his mountain bike) didn't even notice anything strange. Still waiting to hear more news.

Mothers Day

Had a fun, low-key Mothers Day here yesterday.... it's always different to celebrate holidays in a country where no one else is really celebrating. Well, the other foreigners are celebrating, but not the locals.

Mainly, I'm just so thankful I get to be the mother of these two little girls :) What joy they bring me!

a little early for the potty, isn't it??

A few nights ago the girls were in the bath when Lydia got "the face"... you know, the "I'm about to poop" face. Uh oh. Matt looked around for the quickest and easiest way to avert disaster - and I walk in the bathroom to this sight:





Lydia is a VERY expressive baby, can you tell? She was hamming it up for the camera from her perch on the edge of the toilet. I was laughing so hard I could barely hold the camera still for a good photo.

Julianna was still in the tub, cheering her on. Julianna is VERY eager to teach Lydia to use the potty. I personally think it's because when Julianna was learning to use the potty I rewarded a successful trip to the toilet with a chocolate chip. She's appointed herself "distributor of the chocolate chips" when Lydia starts potty training and is ready for Lydia to get started on her earnings - I'm sure Julianna's hoping to snatch a few from the bag as she doles out rewards to her little sister.

Unfortunately for this diaper-changing mommy, I think Lydia's probably got a while before she's ready for potty-training, or chocolate chip-eating, for that matter!

when daddy gets home...

This evening as we were sitting down to dinner Julianna stopped and said, "we better wait for daddy". She's used to "waiting" for daddy, since he frequently gets home just a few moments before we sit down at the table. But, tonight he is out at late meetings, so I told Julianna, "well, daddy won't be home til late, so we are going to eat without him... you, mommy and Lydia".

She glanced up with a serious look on her face and said, "when daddy gets home, he is going to be GLAAAAD to see me"!

In other news, Julianna and I took the bus back to the post office this morning. I took my 15 newly-written postcards and the envelope that I was unable to mail the last time I was there. [you can get more details about that craziness in my previous post.]

Success? I did manage to mail 15 postcards. BUT, the envelope is still in my possession. Seems the "special" envelope I have to use is still unavailable (it's been almost two weeks since I was first told to "come back in a day or two" for the special envelope). The post office lady wanted me to leave a phone number so she could call me when they arrived. Things are not looking good for the envelope....

buddies

We three ladies are SO VERY THANKFUL for our friends and neighbors, Erin Ashley and Emma Grace. Last week they were out of town and it was pretty lonely around here.... we would walk by the entrance to their apartment and Julianna would say, "I know, let's go see Emma Grace". But we couldn't....

Thankfully, they're back! And, now that the weather is nice again, we're back in our afternoon stroll routine - there is no better way to spend the late afternoon/pre-dinner hours :)

We also ate lunch together yesterday. Julianna, with a bucket on her head...



....was the pre-meal entertainment for the little girls.

postal service troubles

Early last year we realized that the Chinese postal service was "loosing" LOTS of packages. After a few very frustrating months and many fruitless calls to the Chinese postal service, Matt's dad figured out a fool proof way to insure packages - and have them really show up! [Some friends still send stuff the un-insured route, and it seems to have a variable success rate.]

We usually choose not to use the Chinese post to send stuff the opposite direction - it's pretty easy to find someone who is headed back to the States and have them hand-carry stuff out for us. Then, once they get to America, they can drop the package or letters in the nearest mailbox. But, we don't know anyone leaving for a month or so, and I have a few things I'd like to send to friends in the US. No problem, I thought, I'll just head down to the local post office and see what they can do for me.

The post office is a three-stop bus ride away from our apartment. I haven't been a consistent bus rider since Lydia was born (have you ever ridden a Chinese bus with two young children?? I can pretty much guarantee you would not be a big fan of the experience.) But, before Lydia, Julianna and I rode pretty frequently. It was actually kind of nice to ride with just one kid, since I was almost always offered a seat and Julianna was entertained by the other passengers.

Julianna has been asking to ride the bus again, so I figured the post office would be a perfect trip. It was Matt's day off, and the four of us decided to make it an outing. Unfortunately, when all was said and done, Julianna was the only satisfied member of our little party. The bus ride went just fine. The post office experience was a colossal waste of time and energy.

We arrived at the post office with four little packages, one envelope and one postcard. We left the post office with four little packages and one envelope, the postcard was the only thing that we actually managed to buy postage for and send on its way across the Pacific.

It's a long story as to why the packages didn't go, but the most frustrating part was the following dialogue:

Me: How much is it to ship this to the US via ground service? (We had already determined that airmail was going to be ridiculously expensive.)
Post office lady: I'm not sure.
Me: Well, can you find out?
Post office lady: That depends on what kind of packaging you want to use.
Me: I really don't care that much, I'm sure whatever packaging you suggest will be fine, can you just tell me how much it will cost?
Post office lady: Ok, well, if you use this box, it will be 97 RMB.
[I look over at Matt. The price she just quoted was about 13 dollars, and it didn't sound like quite enough to either of us. Matt decided to join the conversation.]
Matt: Recently we've had some trouble and not received a lot of packages that were shipped ground service. Can you guarantee that the package will get there?
Post office lady: Well, they usually get there.
Matt: Is there a way to get a tracking number or something?
Post office lady: No. Don't worry, I think it might get there.

Hmm, now, stop here and think. What if someone at the USPS told you to "not worry, I think it might get there." Not exactly the stuff that advertising slogans are made of, know what I mean?
We decide to abandon the package idea. We'll figure out another way. So, we turn to the one envelope.

Me: What about this? How much to send this envelope to America?
Post office lady: You want to send an envelope?
Me: Yes. Can I do that?
Post office lady: Well, that's the wrong kind of envelope.
Me: Ok, I'd like the right kind of envelope. Can I buy one here?
Post office lady: Yes.
Me: I'll take one envelope please.
Post office lady: Sorry, I don't have that kind of envelope right now. Can you come back tomorrow or maybe the next day?

Me: Forget it. What about this postcard? Can I send this to America?
Post office lady: A postcard? [She picks it up and examines it closely. Considering she works at a post office, she was remarkably intrigued by a postcard.]
Me: Yes, I just want to send this postcard to America. [At this point the whole family is hot and frustrated. Lydia - in the backpack - is getting really fussy. Another customer has arrived with a small yippy dog that is snarling at Julianna. I am having trouble remembering why I thought this was a good idea.]
Post office lady: Sure thing. No problem. That will be 3 RMB.

I look back at Matt. Not quite 50 cents? He shrugs and hands over the money. Matt picks up a grateful Julianna (the dog was still a yipping and blocking her exit) and we head back to the bus stop for our trip home.

Success? Well, the four little packages and envelope are still in my possession and I have no idea if the postcard will actually arrive at its intended destination. But, I did write a few more postcards. Julianna and I are thinking about another bus ride down to the post office. I might take the envelope too - wish us luck!

I was "tagged"....

Some of my friends (especially the ND bunch) have been passing around this "blog game of tag". My friend Jaci (a former North Dakotan) tagged me, so I answer the following sentence-starters, then "tag" the next person.

Here goes -

I am….....a child of the Lord, a wife, a mother, a friend, a foreigner.

I want.....to read more, to write more, to laugh more.

I have......a great extended family and terrific in-laws!

I wish......I was a better friend.

I hate.........that China is so far away from America.

I miss.........my friends and family.

I fear.........the death of someone in my family (not that I fear death, but I fear the pain of loss that death would bring).

I feel.........full of hope.

I hear......... Matt & the girls reading books together, someone in our apartment complex practicing some sort of wind instrument (maybe clarinet? but maybe some local instrument that I don't know the name of).

I smell........pineapple (I've been snacking!)

I crave.........dessert!, some western restaurants (not just the food, but the food & atmosphere).

I search......for recipes on the internet.

I wonder....... what kind of memories I will have in heaven (like what parts of my life on earth I will remember).

I regret........ the hurtful things I have done, missed opportunities.

I love..........Matt and my girls, Julianna and Lydia.

I ache...........when I feel unable or unqualified or unprepared to help people in need.

I care...........too much about what other people think about me.

I always.......read signs (road signs, store signs, advertisements, bumper stickers, etc) when I am riding in a car.

I am not…... afraid to give stuff away.

I believe.........that it is possible to "waste" your life chasing things that will never satisfy, and that it is possible to find the ONE thing that will satisfy you entirely, for eternity.

I dance.........the cha-cha-cha :)

I sing............... only in large groups. [I WISH I could sing like my sisters-in-law, Krisanne and Kristi.]

I cry............pretty infrequently (but most often in airports).

I don’t always.........wake up as early as I wish I did.

I fight........the tendency to be emotionally lazy and walk the path of least resistance though life.

I write........ lists!

I never.........plan to be so "contextualized" to the culture here that I will eat spicy rice noodles for breakfast - and like them!

I listen.........to our newly-repaired IPOD, John Piper sermons, and I am downloading the new Sandra McCracken/Derek Webb album right now.

I need...........a new hobby.

I am happy......when I feel connected to and understood by my friends and family.



My blogging friend Laura in ND "tagged" a bunch of people, and I plan to follow her example. So, my college roommates (Leslie and Sara), my sister-in-law with the great voice (Kristi), my cousin and passer-of-great-hand-me-downs (Julie) and my KM blogging buddies (Danielle and Erin Ashley) - YOU'RE IT!!!

holiday time

You would think I'd be posting to the blog more frequently... after all, it's a holiday here and Matt has two days off of work! So, theoretically, I would have a bit more free time to play on the computer.

But, I just haven't gotten around to it. Yesterday Matt went out for a long bike ride and I worked on some projects for Lydia while the girls napped. I have a great photo collage frame that Grandma Jan gave me with a spot to put a photo of Lydia from each month of the first year of her life. I'm also trying to keep up with a "baby's first year" calendar for her. Unfortunately, our Microsoft photodraw isn't working right, so I ended up more frustrated than fruitful. oh well.

In the late afternoon we went into town for a little shopping and dinner. Shopping took us to Metro - it's kind of like a German version of Sam's Club. Kind of. They have some imported groceries. And Julianna loves the section where they sell fresh fish. In addition to tanks of live fish, they've also got frogs and turtles. Matt had the girls in one cart checking out the turtles while I did the "real" shopping and loaded up on butter and a few other essentials.

I go to Metro about once every few months. Every now and then they have cottage cheese. Like maybe once a year. But, I always head over to the dairy section full of anticipation! The few times that they do have cottage cheese I buy it all! - it's usually only one or two small containers. No luck this trip. Maybe next time -

My friend Jaci "tagged" me with a little "get to know you" kind of blog post, and I am hoping to work on it and get it posted in the next day few days. So, stay tuned...