Our sweet boy

A week ago Josh turned 7. Andy and I were talking the other night that this year has been a really good year for Josh. He has really blossomed (can you say that about a boy?) in so many ways. He is doing really well in school, has made some good friends, and overall flourishing here. Remember this is the boy who would cry every time that we mentioned our move to China. But while I think that of all of our kids he still misses the US the most (and to honest, we all do at times), but really he has discovered that he likes living here. He likes to travel and go on "adventures". He is picking up more and more Chinese. Overall our boy is doing well. He is such a sweet guy. Because he is our quiet one, he doesn't get as much attention here on the blog. To our dear boy, our bookworm, we love you so much. You have blessed our family in so many ways. Happy Birthday, J-man!

Josh has discovered that one of his favorite foods is "meat on a stick." (Now he has tried a variety of different meats. Here he is eating lamb.)

Our boy as a terracotta soldier.

Gift bag Chinglish

The following was on a gift bag that one of the kids received for their birthday. . .

In case you can't read all of it:

my beautiful girl Mari

One day by coincidence,

he visits a worn down

light house and inside he meets

a beautiful girl, Mari. But in time, this

dreamlike world disappears

and he returns to reality.

Thereafter, he survives

day by day reminiscing

about Mari and that

fantastic world.

Wow, seems kind of forlorn for a gift bag. You know, from something that usually contains items that bring about happy feelings. ;-)

Riding the rails

Several weeks ago, . . . wait was more than a month? Anyway, a while ago we went to 西安 Xi'an. We just love this city. So much history and culture and so different from other places in China. We left Thursday night on the sleepy train. Can I just say as an aside, why don't we travel more by train the U.S.? I tell you, we Americans are missing out! Our kids so enjoy traveling via train. Sleeping in bunk beds on a moving train. . . what's not to like?

Breakfast on the train of peanut butter and jelly (a Wilcox standby, we don't travel without it!).

The girlies watching the world go by.

Please pray!

I am asking you to join with me in praying for dear friends of ours whose baby is very sick. Henry is only 9 months old and has been fighting for his life. Please pray for healing, guidance for the doctors, and and encouragement for his family. While he has made some improvements, there is still a long way to go. God can work miracles, so join with us in praying for this sweet, little boy!

*You can see Henry's picture on the sidebar. Click on it and it will take you to their blog.

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. :-)

Blog slacker

Wow, has it really been 10 days since my last post? Gracious, I really am a blog-slacker recently. So, I haven't blogged because I have just been so busy. What have been doing, you ask? Umm, well, nothing really exciting, just life. Going to class, the market, picking up and dropping off kids, studying. Life is just marching along. As an aside, today marks 2 years of us living in China. Time has just flown especially this last year. While I am sure that there are things about this culture that will always perplex me, so much I just take in stride and think nothing about anymore. I have been pondering recently about not blogging anymore. I feel like I am telling the same stories over. Thoughts?

Huh? Ohio?

Found this hat in a small park just outside Suzhou. Can you read the fine print at the bottom?