xiao li ayi

In the six years Xiao Li worked in our home her presence was a blessing every single day she walked in the door! 

For the first three years she came twice a week.  In 2007 we moved out of the city, Lydia arrived, and she started working half days at our home.  Words could never express all that she is or does for our family. 

This morning Julianna drew a picture of our family.  And included Xiao Li.

(page one left to right, Isaac, Mommy, Lydia)

(page two left to right, Xiao Li, Daddy, Julianna)

We'll see her again in six months (the longest we have ever gone without seeing her).  But it will never be the same.... she stays here, and will start working for someone else.  We move on, and hope to find another ayi who will love and bless and care for us like she did. 

Monday and Tuesday... friends friends friends

Tomorrow is the big day.  We take off Thursday morning at 9 for a two hour flight to Hong Kong.  Months ago when we were making this purchase we decided that instead of rushing to catch our next flight we'd just stay in Hong Kong for a day and wait til Friday to leave for Chicago.

Boy, am I SO GLAD that we made that decision.  It seemed wise then, it seems genius now.  We got a room at a hotel right by the airport.  The kids can't wait to go swimming at the hotel pool.  I can't wait for a relaxed conversation with Matt :)  And a good night of sleep will break up our trip and hopefully mean for a less stressful journey for everyone.

We leave Hong Kong Friday at noon.  14 short hours later we'll be on the ground in Chicago, quick layover and on to HOME!

These past few days have been full of people.  Monday night and Tuesday morning we hosted some old friends - some of these folks were among the first we met when we arrived in this city six years ago.  

Julianna loved showing off her "school photo album"... and I was definitely pleased to see it having the desired effect - a place for her to launch conversations about her school experience, and photos full of memories for her. 

On Tuesday afternoon the whole family went out to our old apartment for one final goodbye.  Our relationship with the stairwell leading to our home was rocky.  Matt took a photo of me and the kids on our final trip down, flashing the V for Victory sign :)  We did it.  I cannot even begin to count the number of hours I have spent in that stairwell.  Or the number of trips and falls.  Or the bad attitudes (mine and theirs).  But we did it.  And our next place is on the first floor :) 

We then walked over to Xiao Li's for dinner together.  I'll hopefully post photos and more later today..... off to start one last load of laundry before the last bag gets zipped closed.   

just a few more days

Our first night here in our temporary home (Saturday) we joined some friends for a pizza picnic.  Lots of fun, especially for Isaac, who charmed all the ladies into sharing their pizza slices with him.

Sunday morning the kids and I headed to church and Matt headed back out to our apartment to meet the packers.  

He says they are hard workers and really competent, which is good thing when they're responsible for our things :)  They made a lot of progress too - this is what it looked like the last time Matt saw it.  He goes back out today to check on the status of the move.  Still not sure when the truck will load and pull out, probably Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. 

Matt got home in the late afternoon and took the whole family to the park for a roving picnic supper and fun in the sunshine.  I don't think either of us realized how much we needed some down time, just the five of us.  It was such a good time for our family to rest and relax and play together. 

Today we're off to enjoy some of the fun perks of this area of town.  It is so very different from our little area!  Much wealthier, much busier, much more crowded, and home to a zillion foreigners.  Or maybe more like a few hundred.  But it seems like a zillion compared to what we're used to :)

goodbye to the courtyard

Our complex has a great courtyard which functions as a gathering place for everyone who lives here.  At certain times of day it is full of noise and people and fun.  Last night we headed out to say our goodbyes.  

Tong Tong (whose bedroom window looks down on the courtyard and frequently hollers at us when she spots us outside)  

Xiao Yang and her family - they live on the 5th floor right across from us, I can literally watch her washing dishes!  Apartment living is tight :) 

Qi and his wife - he has logged thousands of miles on his car, driving our family in and out of the city.   So kind to the children, so quiet and unassuming, so willing to serve our family.

Xiang Xiang and Ye Ye checking out the gifts (Yep, gifts again..... we had small gifts for almost everyone.  They had gifts for us too.)

Chen Chen and her mom.  I could always count on Chen Chen's mom for a good talk :)

See Isaac's sleepy eyes?  It was about 8:15 when we took this photo and started to head inside.  We are on the far west side of the time zone and summer evenings tend to last forever.  

It's morning of moving day.  We're hosting students for lunch and leave for the city this afternoon.  The kids can't wait to see their city friends.  Neither can I! 

Isaac moves

Today is packing day.  We started early and will end late.  Such is the season.  

Matt and I have both decided that next time around we are going to try to arrange life such that leaving for furlough and moving to a new home do not happen simultaneously.  Three years ago we did this exact same thing!  I was very pregnant with Lydia, and we moved five days before leaving for America.  Next time, God willing, we will not do this!  

Right now I'm enjoying the lull in the storm (nap time).  Having three little ones underfoot definitely adds dimension to this whole process :)  

I've been snapping photos of Isaac showing off his moving skills....

Moving all the diapers out of the dresser

Moving the toiletries out of the bathroom cabinet

Moving the trashcan to ??? (not sure where he was headed with this particular item)

Packing up a few extra pieces of paper from the office

Cruising around the house with the football (His new love is carrying the football.  At this point the final destination of the football is up for grabs.  It may end up in a suitcase headed for America, it may end up on the moving truck headed north, hey, I wouldn't be surprised to find it in my carry on bag.  Isaac has established himself as "in charge" of this one, and he's not letting go!)

This evening Xiao Li is cooking supper one last time.  After dinner we are heading outside with a bag full of gifts for our friends and neighbors in our apartment complex.  

The final day is upon us.  As we get closer to leaving I get more excited about arriving in America :) 

欢送会

The big event for the day here?  Last day of school. 

Julianna loves to be with people, loves to be part of a group, and does not like to be the center of attention.  I knew today might be a little challenging for her, and she handled herself super well.  Goodness, she is so much more mature than when she first walked in the gates almost two years ago! 

The party started with a little welcome from me and Julianna giving all of her classmates a gift.  After some brainstorming last weekend, Matt landed on the idea of giving each of them a small globe... it was perfect.  The ladies at the store even attached a little sticker just west of the Great Lakes, marking where Julianna "is from".  ("Is from" is a tricky concept for someone like Julianna.  Born in Beijing, in her four and a half years, she has spent less than four months in her passport country.  "Where are you from?" will always be a question that leads to "hmmm, well, it's complicated."  For the sticker on the globe we went with Matt's hometown, our destination next week.) 

She loved pulling them out of the big box and handing them out.  (China is king of cheap plastic stuff - I'm not sure we could have afforded 50 plastic globes in America!)

Matt did a little "map lesson" that the kids loved.  My favorite was when he asked them to guess the amount of time we spent on the airplane en route to America.  The first kid to raise his hand said "8 minutes".  I wish!  He also asked them how many people they thought rode on that airplane.  A little boy answered, "one thousand".  (he he he.  I love little kids and numbers!) 

Each classmate brought a small gift for Julianna too (I told you this was a gift-giving culture!).  I had this great idea to take a photo of Julianna and each child as they gave their gift.  Ummm, not so much - it was a mob scene.  

After the gift-giving settled down I got out some markers and card stock.  Last week I chose a little photo album to use as a memory book from school - the kids colored on 4x6 photo size card stock, and I'll print the photos from today, and put them all in the photo album. 

After the coloring Matt taught the class how to sing "He's got the whole world in His hands".  It was awesome!  They were so cute trying to sing along to the English words, and the hand motions were a hit. 

Next up?  Snack time!  We went with brownies - you just can't get more American than butter and sugar, flavored with a little cocoa powder! 

One final class photo and the party was over.

Matt and I then dropped in on Lydia's class for a few photos too .... Lydia has only been in school for a few months, and we focused most of our time and energy today on helping Julianna say goodbye well. 

I wasn't expecting to be quite so emotional about it, but I definitely got teary eyed as I walked out the school gate for the final time at noon today.  That school has been soooooooo good to us and for us.  A successful local school experience is not a given - in many ways ours has been better than most.  God is good, and chose to bless us with abundant grace in this particular area. 

Oh Jesus, please give us another school like this one! 

helping ayi with the wash

Grabbing a few afternoon nap time minutes to put up more photos and stories - I really don't want to forget these days!

This morning Xiao Li proved once again that she has gobs more patience than 98% of the rest of us and let the girls help her wash the dress up clothes.  (Getting ready to move and store stuff is incredibly motivating - I am doing all sorts of little tasks that need to get done, but often get ignored.  You wouldn't believe how filthy the rinse water was, my gracious, all those pink frills were hiding a lot of nasty dirt.)

Julianna and Lydia were up to their elbows in bubbles and fun times.   Xiao Li stayed busy trying to contain the mess and direct their efforts.   Wow are we going to miss her! 

Without a doubt, this activity was the highlight of an otherwise pretty challenging morning.  I think it's a combination of stress and upheaval and anticipation, but it seems like everyone's nerves are on edge.   

Little Lydia had a particularly tough stretch.  And her sister was no angel either.  Even Isaac, typically my solid unwavering easy-to-handle kiddo was a bit tricky.  Whew.  

If any of them show up for the trip home with attitudes like they had this morning, it will be one looooong journey.  Trust me, she looks innocent enough, but that look of determination in her eyes is not to be underestimated! 

what goodbye looks like

Monday night we hosted some dear friends for the last time.  These shu shus and ayis (uncles and aunts) don't get much blog time (for several compelling reasons) but are nonetheless a really big part of our lives. 

They love us and our children so very well and bless us in uncountable ways.  Oh how grateful I am for the many times they have stood up from the dinner table and asked "can we give the kids a bath?"  The girls squeal in delight and run for the bathroom.  Baths supervised by the ayis (aunties) are, apparently, infinitely more fun than baths supervised by Daddy.  

Some of these friends will be with us next spring, but not all of them.  Monday night after baths and Bible time it was time for one last hug. 

So many people to say goodbye to, and so many welcoming hellos waiting at the other end of the journey.   I feel like my heart lives on both sides of the ocean. 

counting the days

This is one of those weeks where so much happens every day it's hard to know what to write on the blog, and when to sit down and write it :)  But I also don't want to forget these days.... so I hope to get as much on here as I can.

A few days ago I drew some flowers on our living room windows - each flower represents one day we have left here in our apartment and we color in the flowers as the days pass by.  (Admittedly, coloring flowers is not a very masculine exercise but Isaac could care less about the flowers and can't count days, so I figured it was ok.)

It's been really helpful for the girls, and we now mark days by flowers.  The tall yellow flower is Julianna's going-away party at school.  The fat pink flower is the day we pack our suitcases.  One of the ones right smack in the middle is Julianna's 4 and a half birthday :)

Speaking of packing for America, the girls are in charge of packing their treasure shelves and their clothing.  Clothing should be no problem, I've already cleared out their drawers and everything that remains is going to America, so they have a lot of freedom as they choose :)  And what they don't choose, well, I'll toss that in too. 

The treasure shelves are another story.  For Christmas this year we gave each girl a shelf to hang above her bed, as a place to store "treasures".  The gifts were a huge hit, they love their treasures and they love keeping them in such a special place.  No one is allowed to take anything from someone else's shelf, so it's a fun way for them to each have a special place of their own. 

Problem is, little girl treasures are mostly junk.  I don't have a lot of compassion for junk, and I certainly don't plan on transporting it half way around the world next week.  I'm thinking I'll give each of them a large ziploc bag.... whatever treasures they can fit in the bag go with us to America, the others will be on the moving truck headed north. 

This afternoon we go pick up the special gifts we bought for each of Julianna's classmates.  Matt had a really cool idea, and I think they are going to be great.  Gift giving is a really big part of this culture and I am excited to watch Julianna give them to her classmates at the party (tomorrow morning).  Pictures and stories to come.....

the Sunday night photos

Here's a sampling of the photos from Julianna's 'show' on Sunday night.... she probably spent at least 45 minutes running back and forth from the living room to the dress up clothes. 

Julianna hadn't even gotten through the entire dress up basket when we stopped for dinner. 

Did I mention Lydia wasn't as enamored with the whole activity?