Life

This is the post where I go completely random. So stay with me people. (Keep in mind that a line of ***** is my way of telling you that there is another thought coming). Looking back through the last several posts, I just haven't talked that much about the kiddos. Life is just marching right along for them. It seems that every time I turn around they have grown [again] and need new clothes and shoes. In just a month Becca will be 10. I know that I will talk more about this as it approaches, but it is amazing that my first baby is getting so big. And the crazy thing is that many of our friends here often meet her and think that she is older. While part of that is her height (she is over 5 ft or 1.5M), really it is her maturity. She has recently begun knitting. She and another friend in our neighborhood have started a small business knitting things for other kids stuffed animals. They even created their own currency. She is so like her father in that regard! Cause I know that never had an urge to sell things like she does. She keeps telling me that I should open up a restaurant or bakery. I reply, "I will if she organizes it."

wait, when did she turn into a teenager?

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This has been such a great year for Josh. We have seen him grow and really become comfortable with who he is. And what a great journey that has been. He is forever our sweet one, but this year he has discovered even more about himself. He loves football (or soccer) and plays daily with his friends. But our boy who was once such a homebody, that his ideal day would be to stay at home, now has plans. One Saturday a couple weeks ago he informed us at breakfast that he was going to be at friends all day. This has also transferred into our traveling. He loves to travel or go on as we term them "adventures." Seeing new things, exploring new countries, and of course figuring out where everything is on a map. He was the one that I worried most about with our move to China. As he cried when anyone would mention China in the months before our move, we felt such guilt! I kept thinking, "what are we doing to him? will he ever be okay with this big change?" But as we look at him now, and see the many ways our life here has shaped him, and we are thankful.

our adventuring little man exploring in the jungles of Vietnam

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And T, our little 美恩 . I continue to look at her and wonder how our life here is shaping her. Who knows? But she is embracing the journey. Honestly, I don't think she even sees it as unique. It is just her life and she considers that normal.

I love these moments. We didn't ask him to read to her. He just loves to read and so when she asked, of course he said: yes. And he does the best voices when reading aloud to her. Melts my heart every time.

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And Chinese class is. I don't know how say that more. It is. . . hard. Yep. Interesting, sure. And this week brought another 60 words to learn. Yesterday I had a talk with a Chinese friend and pretty much our whole conversation was in Chinese. Sometimes I had to revert to English for a word that I don't know. But that is one of my main goals for these next couple of months is to talk more and more in Chinese. 2 years in (of studying full-time) and I am not even close to being fluent. Such a hard language! Occasionally, I take moments out from writing the characters (and writing, and writing, and writing some more. unfortunately, the ONLY way to learn to write them is to do it hundreds of times), and wonder what my next step is. Do I continue on with classes? Look for a job? Volunteer more? Right now, I am unsure. Though one thing we don't see in our immediate future is going back to the US. Somehow, while life is good and easier there, it just doesn't seem like the right place for us. Because life here is also rich and wonderful. Challenging, yes. Frustrating at times, definitely. But oh, so rewarding. In those intangible ways that are hard to identify. But I look forward to seeing what they are with you along our journey.

Celebrating the 4th in Ameri-Pan

While both Dave and Amree and ourselves live outside the US, our experiences are much different. Becca kept commenting that it didn't really feel like we were in another country in most ways, but in some ways it did. Before long, she coined the phase "Ameri-Pan" (for America-Japan). And she was right. Living so close to the navy base, and especially on the base provides a much different experience than what we are used to. No one really stares at you (because there are so many Americans), there is tons of familiar things available (especially food), and because of this it just has a bit of a different feel to it.

Because I had been up most of the night with Dave and Amree, I spent much of the morning napping. After lunch we headed out to a park with fountains and an old Japanese navy ship. We explored the ship, found a great playground, then headed to the base to eat dinner with Dave. We then finished our day off with ice cream and fireworks. What a terrific 4th!

Nothing better on a hot day than playing in a fountain.

I particularly enjoy Josh's pose (of course my boy is sporting a gun), but what is Becca doing?

Becca and Josh were pointing at a sailboat in the water, but umm T, where are you pointing?

My favorite quote of the day. . . Tori came running over to me and grumped, "Mom, that little girl just stole my machine gun!"

Josh practicing with the guns. Such a boy!

Eating Baskin Robbins while watching the fireworks

Our princess couldn't resist dancing because as she said, "The fireworks are so beautiful, I want to dance with them."

Welcome!

On our way back to the US, we stopped in Japan to see Dave and Amree. They were due to have the baby any day and selfishly, I (and the girls) wanted it to be born while we were there so we could meet him. We arrived July 2 in the evening. July 3 we were able to enjoy time with Dave and Amree. But by the evening, it began to look like the little one wanted to make an appearance. So I want to introduce you to:

John Hezekiah

born on July 4th at 5:01 AM

weighing in at 9 pounds, 14 ounces

I love this picture of the new family!

Meeting his cousins. . .

Tori loved to touch his hair. She kept saying, "I love it. I love him. His hair is so soft." (over and over)

Going home?

We have been getting ready for our annual trip to the US. As I have been talking to friends here, I keep saying, "we go home _______." , "when we go home, _______". But the other day I got to thinking. . . where is home? Because by the end of the summer, I am again telling people, "we go home ______." Is our home the US? Of course. This is especially true for Andy, Becca, Josh, and I. B in particular has distinct memories of living in the US. But we sometimes wonder what our youngest actually remembers of living in the US. And even if we moved to another country tomorrow (not that we are planning on that, I'm just saying), the US would still be home and claim a piece of our hearts. But then, is China our home? Definitely, we have a house here, a life here. But does one trump the other? And that, I think, is a truly hard question. This is illustrated as we fill out forms. Just yesterday Andy was trying to pay with Paypal, but because our phone number wasn't located in the same postal code as our address, it freaked out and refused the transaction. We claim an old Indy phone number (cause really, who wants or will honestly call a China #?), with a Seattle address, but actually are in neither of these places. From the outside, it sounds like we are a little confused. Or you can see the evidence in talking with Tori as she jumps from Chinese and English with ease. I think one of our great lessons is to find home no matter where our family is. Because what really defines home? A place? Last summer when we returned to China, I got off the plane in Shanghai, breathed in the thick, humid air with that distinct China smell, and I felt like I was home. Or in the US as I hear our kids laughing and playing with friends they have known their whole lives, I am home.

The Neighborhood

There are many things that we really enjoy about living in China. I think that one of the things that we often take for granted is our neighborhood. We live in a gated community (which actually has less to do with safety and more about preventing theft). But this provides a very safe environment for our kids. They often get home from school and go out searching for friends. They have a lot of freedom that would not be possible in the US. For example, this morning our front door seemed like a revolving door with kids in and out. At one point, I counted 5 kids that weren't ours. Since there is only one international school on our side of the city, most of the kids that live here are also classmates of our kids. All the moms pitch in and look out for the kids. Really makes it feel like what community should be. And what it used to be in the US. How did we lose that?

Finals

We are leaving before my semester is over, so I am in the midst of taking finals. Which is only one of many reasons why I haven't posted. There has been some craziness with taking these tests. I found out last Tuesday that my final for Hanyu (my grammar and characters class) would be on Friday. Aagh! So I spent the week frantically studying. I think the test went fairly well, but should get my results today. My spoken class test will be this week. Now granted, I still don't know the day, but you just have to roll with it or it will drive you crazy.

So the countdown has begun. . . . 25 days until we are on a plane. First to Japan, then on to the States. I have been so busy that I haven't been able to even give it a thought. Maybe once finals are done, it will be more real. The kids are all getting excited. Becca has been longing to pack her bag for weeks. But I told her she had to wait until less than 20 days before the flight. I on the other hand, will be packing days before we leave. Much less stressful heading to the U.S. If I forget anything, I can easily buy it. :-)

Should be

This week I have midterms. This weekend I should have studied a bit more, but the weather was beautiful and we had a 3 day holiday. I should be studying right now. But in a few minutes, I will snuggle up with little T and read a stack of books. Tonight I should be studying, but a friend is having a birthday party. Now in between the two, I will be hitting the books hard, but I have a feeling the tests will be hard and I could some extra time. But given a choice between reading to my girlie and studying what do you think that I will choose? I feel this need, this pressure to do well. But really, that is mostly self-imposed. I have come to realize that while there is nothing wrong with doing well. Doing well and sacrificing time with the things that really matter (like the kiddos) puts it into perspective. Now I am off to read as I should do. :-)

Sick, sick

For the past week, I have been fighting a cold. At the beginning of last week, it seemed like it was going to turn into a sinus infection, but my sinus headache went away. Unfortunately, my cough did not. As the weekend progressed, my cough seemed to get worse and worse. By Sunday night it was so bad, that I could not even sleep laying down but had to prop myself up with pillows on the couch. Definitely time to see the doctor. We are so blessed to be in a city in China that has really good healthcare options. For doctor's visits, there is a foreign clinic. For more serious matters, there are several very good hospitals. And then Shanghai (which has some of the best healthcare in the mainland) is close. I am still thankful that as a family we are very healthy. So off I went to the doctor to discover that I have bronchitis. Rest, some meds, lots of water and hopefully this cough will finally go away. I hope to be well enough to see Becca's school perform Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat later this week. I'll keep you posted.

Family invasion

This was such a great Christmas. I don't know if I really got into it too much on the blog, but last year Christmas was really hard for me. It was the first time I had not been with family during Christmas in my life. Throughout most of December, I was in a funk. I think that a big reason we went to Hong Kong right after Christmas last year is my incredible husband knew I needed something to look forward to. This year, Andy's brother Dave and his wife Amree came and stayed with us for 10 days (they recently moved to Japan). We didn't really do anything all that special. No traveling around China and we saw just a few sights here in Suzhou. But really there was a lot of games, late nights full of laughter and talking, cooking together, and just showing them bits of our everyday life. It was so wonderful. Then on Christmas Day, we had quite the crowd join us to celebrate. We just enjoyed hanging out together, and for dinner (with Dave and Amree's help) we had 3 big pots of soup. Yes indeed, a wonderful time with (actual) family and family we have adopted here in Suzhou!

Dave modeling the coat he had made at the tailor.

My Christmas gift (not the crazy hat) - a crockpot. I put it to good use making soup later on Christmas.

Mmm, Christmas morning crepes.

Tori working the princess shoes with her pjs

Christmas kiddos -- one of the traditions that we have in our house is that on Christmas day our kids can stay in their pajamas all day long. So, even with a houseful of guests, our kids stayed in their pjs all day. :-)

感冒了!

(Gan mao le!) Caught a cold!

This has been a week of sniffles and coughing. Josh stayed home from school last Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving) complaining that his head hurt. By the afternoon, he had a fever and was coughing. By Saturday he seemed to be doing better.... just in time for Tori to start feeling icky. A couple days passed and I am not feeling so great. Becca has a cough but I wonder if she will be next. Andy is traveling so he is missing out on all the virus fun. At least you can say this, we are a family who shares well.

Ironically enough, one of the lessons we are covering this week in class is "I have a cold". I can now write all kind of random characters like: snot (actually my book calls it nasal mucus) 鼻涕, cough 咳嗽, and headache 头疼. I must confess these are HARD characters!

Hopefully, next week will bring better health....

Family Photo Shoot

Over the summer when we were back in the US, I had wanted to get some family pictures taken. We have had ones done of the kids in recent years, but it had been a while since we did a whole family picture. But somehow getting that done just wasn't high on the priority list during our short time back in the summer. Andy and I asked a friend who enjoys photography if he would take some pictures of our family here. He said that he had not taken any family portraits before, but that if we were game he was willing to try. He joking said that he found this site for inspiration. We went to the park that is right by our neighborhood. I don't know about you, but I think that he did an amazing job! I think the thing I like most about the pictures is that they reflect our life right now - much more than a studio (or even a park in the US) would have.

There is this random sculpture thing in the park and we wondered if this would turn out to be an "awkward family photo" (see the link above). We decided to give it a try. Turned out to be a fun one! Though we wonder what Tori was doing....

Same sculpture from a different angle

My little man (I think he looks so much like Andy in this pic)

Now I know that I am biased, but I think that they are a really cute bunch.

The kiddos amongst some really funky trees

omigosh, is she cute or what? no one told her to pose this way.... it is all Tori.

Midterms

Life is racing by. And in the midst of it, I am neglecting you, my loyal blog-land friends. Since I last updated there has been trick or treat (yes, even in China... well, at least in our neighborhood), I went on a field trip with Tori's class, and Chinese classes are marching along. I just finished my first midterm. I think that I did fairly well on the written part, but I feel like some of my tones might have been off for the speaking part. I have my second one tomorrow and I think it will be harder. We shall see.... I am seeing Chinese characters in my dreams. :-) So, I am off to study and write characters until my hand can write no more! It is my goal to update you all on the past couple of weeks tomorrow after the test. So, hang in there, my friends, more interesting news and stories are coming....

In the last post, you were right that is indeed a toilet. And really the thing that bothered me most was not the trough aspect, but the lack of a door. The whole time I was hoping that no one would come in! Maybe I should have labeled this, "did you really want to know?"

Yangshuo - Day 2, the 2nd (delayed) installment

Aren't these an impressive sight? Here is the delayed 2nd installment of our second day in Yangshuo. After a yummy lunch (女子吃 - hao chi! "good eats"), we had a bit of a drive to board a boat on the Li River. The Yulong River was relaxing, but the Li had some truly spectacular views. The boat traffic was pretty heavy at some parts - in fact, we even saw a smaller boat run into a larger one. I think that is the first time I have seen a boat crash. All of these mountains have names. The driver of our boat kept calling out the names to us (of course in Chinese). We understood some but not all of what he was saying. This 2 hour cruise was a great way to see the mountains. At the end of the cruise as we were getting to the place where we were going to dock, we encountered a TON of boat traffic. This gave me another first - I had never been in a boat traffic jam before.

Taking a break to play by the side of the river.

 手 (show - "the hand") 

This is what a boat traffic jam looks like....

Yangshuo - Day 2, the 1st installment

On our second day, we loaded up the troops to see a very old banyan tree. This banyan tree (which is called, "The Big Banyan Tree") is over 1000 years old. 

We then went to Moon Hill. This is a famous small mountain in the area that the top of it looks like the moon. This was an experience. When our van pulled up, it was surrounded by local village woman. As we climbed out, 2 women attached themselves to our family asking us to buy water and other things. Our guide had told us if we tell them "later" and then buy something on the way down, then they will follow up but not really bother us. This proved to be true. Two nainais (a respectful term for a woman of grandmother age) came with us, chatted with us along the way and even helped out with the kids and directions. At the end we bought 2 waters (rather overpriced water) and everyone was happy. Our kids were such troupers up the mountain. They led the way and we often had to tell them to slow down. The view from the top was spectacular. We surprised our guide and hiked up and down the mountain in much less time than she anticipated. Go, super-hiking kiddos!

Can you see why it is called "Moon Hill"?

One of the nainai fanning Tori

The required photo at the top

Andy and Tori jumping down the steps

Yangshuo - Day 1

We arrived in Yangshuo in the evening, got dinner and settled into our hotel. We woke the next morning rested and ready to start a day of touring. We ate breakfast with a familiar friend and then met up with our guide. For those of you who know us, you might be surprised that we hired a guide. We are after all people who took a road trip last year in a country where we could barely string together a sentence of the language. But knowing that it would be incredibly busy and wanting to maximize our time (not having to scramble around figuring out tickets or transportation), we thought this would be a good idea and our guide Lily was wonderful. 

We found a friend to have breakfast with....

We started our morning by taking a bamboo raft ride along the Yulong River. This was such a wonderful way to see the mountains. This is a smaller river that contains several waterfalls. After the first one when Tori got wet, I wondered how this was going to go. She was almost hysterical! I calmed Tori down and the rest of the trip was really enjoyable. We spent almost 2 hours going down the river. Josh was ready for it to be done, but Becca wanted more waterfalls. We then had lunch in a small country restaurant and went to Silver Cave. I have been to several caves in the U.S., but a Chinese cave is an experience! I know that in Mammouth Cave they only use the lights for select periods of time in order to preserve the formations. Much like how the Chinese do other things, the caves are a technicolor explosion. I am not sure how it affects the cave, but seeing it is breathtaking and beautiful. After a quick dinner, we finished our day off by attending the Impressions show in Yangshuo. We had been to the Impressions show in Hangzhou. Both of these shows are choreographed by the same man as the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. The water is the stage in this amazing show. What a great end to a tiring and truly wonderful day!

Ready to go!

Enjoying the scenery

Going down the falls

The spectacular Silver Cave

One tired little tourist