1st Thanksgiving

Not our first thanksgiving. But I shared with Tori's classmates about Thanksgiving. Or 感恩节 (gan en jie) as it is called in Chinese. They got to learn about the first Thanksgiving and how we celebrate it today. For many of them this was the first time they had heard of thanksgiving  [感恩节]. Just as an aside the second character [恩] is actually part of T's Chinese name. Anyway my brain digresses. . .

To start off I told them a brief history of the holiday. There was a bit of a challenging moment as the teachers were translating for me. Apparently I was using either too complex words or speaking too fast. Or a combination of both. I slowed it down. Still a little confusion. Got even slower. Still some gaps. So finally, I just translated the basics into Chinese and then said the words that I did not know using English. And then the teachers and I were on the same page. Can I just say to the teachers, welcome to my life? I feel your pain! Communicating in another language is hard. At one point one of the teachers grasped her head as if in pain and looked at the other teacher with wide eyes after I had said something. And I wanted to stand up and say, I know how you feel. I feel that way Every. Single. Day. But ok, moving on.

I then shared how today in the US many people remember on this day all the things and people for which we are thankful. The kids went around and shared some of the people for which they are thankful. It was sweet to hear them share about all the people that are important in their lives.

I then showed them the pumpkin pie. Since they had never seen a pumpkin pie before, I asked what they thought it was. Their guesses were great:

蛋糕 (cake)?

很大饼干 (a big cookie)?

And they were really surprised when I told them that it was pumpkin pie. Their only experience with pie is the pies that McDonalds and KFC sell. They were quite surprised that this was a normal American pie. I cut the pie into small squares and everyone got a taste.

And it was a hit!

Afterwards we made turkeys. While I know they do some projects at school, they are different than what we are used to seeing in an American preschool or kindergarten. So the kids were super excited to make the turkeys and get to take them home.

A successful Thanksgiving. So successful that the teachers asked if I could come back and teach about Christmas in a couple weeks. ;-)

Here is my ride. I have been meaning to post a picture. 

Clearly when you don't drive, this is the best way to get a pumpkin pie somewhere. While I transport things this way daily (think: grocery store), the pie was warm, in a glass container, and it just seemed like a recipe for disaster. But we made it there safely with the pie intact.

Just imagine me on this with a kid in front and kid behind. Going local!

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

dead or sleeping?

Update at the end of post. . .

Last week we inherited 4 fish from a friend. They will be going back to Australia to have a baby soon and won't be able to take care of them. The first night all the fish were lying at the bottom of the bowl on their sides. And I clearly thought: great we killed them on the first day!

But Tori was convinced that they were just sleeping. 2 were obviously not moving. Gills not moving. Bump the tank, nothing happens. After a consultation with T, I flushed the two. But she convinced me that the remaining two were just sleeping. Let it be said that I had serious doubts. But I didn't want to ruin her night so we agreed that if they were not moving in the morning that they were going to be flushed.

The next morning, the fish were swimming around like nothing had happened. Huh.

Several days go by, the fish seem fine. Then today this is what I found tonight:

No, they are not floating on the top. Laying on the bottom. Not moving again.

Tori dragged a stool over and kept checking to see what was going on. Watching their gills. Convinced they are again sleeping so we will go with the wait and see. But thankfully, the kids are not so attached to them. I think they named them, but did not seem overly worried about the fact that the fish might be dead.

But I have to confess that things don't look too good. Let's see what the morning brings. . .

UPDATE: The next morning (11.23.2011) when we woke up the fish were floating on the top. But the kids didn't take it hard and are now lobbying for turtles. Why they think that after killing 4 fish in less than a week we as a family are ready for turtles is a mystery to me.

sunday snapshot: {thanksgiving #1}

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving. Because Thanksgiving Day, Andy will be in Shanghai, the kids will go to school, and it will pretty much be life as usual. Not a holiday here. So we move the holiday up a bit. For the most part, it is like thanksgiving anywhere in the US: turkey, cranberry sauce, dressing, the works. But some things are slightly different. . .

No pepperidge farm. No cans of cranberry sauce. No cans of pumpkin.

Our pumpkin pie comes from this.

I was unsure how much this little pumpkin would make. Would it even be enough for a whole pie?

Turns out that I was wrong and it was more than enough for a pie. It probably would have been enough for two, but I didn't want to take the time to make a second crust.

Some of the challenges were not just making things from the natural ingredients. I had to hunt for the turkey. Went to three stores before I found a turkey. And I won't even mention what I had to pay for it. . .

And to get cranberry sauce, I used dried cranberries.

Then I have the added the challenge of my oven. Don't misunderstand me, I am so grateful that I even have an oven. Ovens are a rarity here in China. But it is tiny. I can fit the turkey and only the turkey [and it barely fit!]. I had to take out all the other racks just to get it to fit.

With all these extra challenges, you might wonder if it is worth it. Going to all that work.

But I love thanksgiving. I love all the foods. The sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, the dressing. Mmm, the dressing. Not to leave out the turkey, but I could eat only the sides and be so happy.

I love the sentiment of the holiday. Remembering to be thankful. Thankful for all that we have. Ultimately thankful to God, and all He has done for us.

So is it worth it? Oh, yes.

Our kids have been talking about this for a while now. They each have their favorites. Josh of course is all about the turkey. Though he also devours the cranberries. Becca is my girl and digs the sides. Sweet potatoes and dressing are her faves. And little T is our bread girl.

Maintaining these traditions even when we don't live in the US is important. Yes, it is so worth it. Especially because we don't live in the US.

The spread:

And because I am slightly crazy, this was only Thanksgiving #1. I will be cooking 2 more. This one was with our small group (from our international church) and we had 25+ people here.

But our small group is our family here in Suzhou. They are aunts and uncles to our kids. Our dear friends. I love how we have learned from each one of them. They are each here for a bit of time. Anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. I love how diverse we are and how that brings such a great dynamic to our small group. Just as an example, everyone in this picture is from a different country. [Wales, Germany, South Africa, India, Indonesia, and of course our little American]

After eating way too much. Because that is part of the whole tradition. We played games and enjoyed one another until we were ready to handle pie.

In the midst of all these people, my boy was curled up on the couch reading.

But the absolutely best part of the evening? The fact that I did not wash a dish. I was shooed out of the kitchen and my kitchen magically cleaned itself.

And we get to do it all again next Saturday. Though that one will be a slightly smaller scale. I love the holidays.

And when my kids are older and looking back on their childhood, I hope they remember that our house was a gathering place. A place where all felt welcomed. They will remember that no matter where we lived, certain traditions were always important. And remember how much we loved sharing those traditions with others.

I hope you have a great week and build some traditions with your own family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

and it continues. . .

We are enjoying great weather here. Starting to get a little cooler, but still fairly mild. Enough that we have dug out our comforters. But we haven't got rid of one hang over from the summer.

Any guesses?

Can you find the visitors that are still hanging around?

There are few things that I hate in life. But I hate mosquitoes. And I know that they are a valuable part of the food chain. But I could personally live without them in my life.

But with them still hanging around that means that we are still using. . .

our mosquito nets. While I cannot say that I hate the nets, they do drive me crazy. I get up in the night and forget that I am sleeping in a tent and end up bouncing off the side. I miss perching on the edge of the bed to get dressed or talk with the kids. So I am counting down the days until we can finally get rid of the nets. If I had my way they would have been gone last week. I am sure this is influenced by the fact that the pests bother Andy much more than me. He is the lure that keeps me safe. What a great guy, huh?

I keep pleading with Andy that it is time to take them down. But he [rightly] says that while there are still mosquitoes, the nets remain. [sigh]

The other day I was again petitioning to get rid of them. I suggested one more week and then the nets would be history. He thinks that we will need them longer. We kept discussing it for a while and finally made a deal. Andy had suggested another 3 days with the net for each mosquito we see, I countered with 2 days for each mosquito we see. Somehow I brought up that the days could even carry over. We joked that it was like roll-over-mosquito-days. At the time it seemed like a good idea. But if we use this current plan, we will still be using them until almost Christmas.

I am enduring, but I have hope that soon the nets will go away. Soon. Unless those roll-over-days keep adding up. [sigh]

morning run

I don't often get to run first thing in the morning. Since the kids get on the bus at 7:50, there is just not time to get up and run before I need to get them moving. Well, let me clarify. . .

There is not much time that allows me to get up at a some-what-humane hour. I have grown to enjoy the mornings more and I love the quiet of the house before our kids get into gear. But I will never be a roll out of the bed early and chipper person. So my runs tend to happen at random times. Usually somewhat in the middle of the day when the typical street scene is fast paced. Not during rush hour, but this is after all China, so our tame is another city's insane.

For some reason I was motivated to get up and run early this morning. I had made a french toast casserole last night. When I got up to put it in the oven, I decided that I would get a run in while it baked. Some might think that I was defeating the purpose of running by coming home to eat yummy french toast casserole. But half the reason I run is that I love to eat! Anyway, I was reminded this morning why I like early morning runs. There is something about watching a city come to life first thing in the morning. Especially a city like ours that is so busy and full of life. The street venders were setting up to sell breakfast, stores were just starting to open, the park had quite a few people doing taichi, and much of the city was still snug at home.

My view as I was running. I run in the bike lane as the sidewalks are uneven and unpredictable. The bike lane tends to be a safer option. But I have caused several near-misses as people pass me and then are so busy looking back that they almost run into something/someone. I have not caused any accidents yet.

Photo taken using Instagram.

But when I got back energized, I have vowed that I will make more of an effort to do this. It was a great start to my day.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Beginning the journey

About a month ago I alluded to the fact that we were pondering great, big, deep things. That I needed some time to digest and think it through without the blog. But since it is now official (meaning that we have sent money in), I can share our deep ponderings. We are planning to add to our family through adoption. While much is uncertain, I can share what I know at this point and how we arrived at this decision.


You might be wondering why we are choosing to adopt. And since we are planning to pursue adopting a special needs child, I know there will be additional questions. There are a lot of reasons that go into this. And because I understand you have questions, I will try to answer some of the ones I have heard already. Hopefully I am successful.


Why add another child, you already have 3 children?

ANSWER: While that is true, we have 3 beautiful children. Andy and I have always talked that we would like 3 or maybe 4 children. And have felt recently that our family is ready for another. For us, it is not about the inability to conceive. I am sure that if we wanted we could conceive another child. But we are choosing to add to our family through adoption. I think that the idea of adopting started when I was running after school programs in Cincy. I saw so many foster kids come through. They would be with us for a couple weeks. Then gone. Sometimes back again. I just knew that if they were rooted in just one home with love these kids would flourish. Andy and I talked then that we would be interested in fostering children or adopting down the road. Then we moved to China and the idea was put on hold. But the idea came back again. And again.

Why adopt from China?

ANSWER: The first easy answer to that is we are here. As we prepared to move here, we were still talking about the possibility of adopting. Much as we had been led to China in Andy's job, we also felt the pull to look at adopting from China as well. Over the last year Andy and I have both felt the desire to adopt from the country that is our current home.


Why are you considering/pursuing special needs?


ANSWER: This is perhaps the hardest question to answer. Each child that is adopted is in fact a special needs child. They will need extra love and care. They will possibly have medical issues that are unknown. And if we had a biological child with special needs, we would be walking that road and giving that child all that we have to offer. But as we have felt that we want to pursue adopting, I have felt from the beginning that we should at least be open to a special needs child. During these past months Andy and I have both moved from just being open to special needs to seriously considering it to deciding that it most likely the path we will take.

I know that this has probably just whetted your appetite for more information. But hopefully this gives a little insight into our some of our reasons. And the next big question is:

How long will the adoption take?


ANSWER: This is also a hard one to answer. Our timeline is going to be different from someone waiting in the US. But I think that the overall process should be about 18 months to 2 years. A lot of this will depend on how long it will take to gather our paperwork (an added challenge for us doing it from the other side of the world). But overall there is a lot of uncertainty about the time and there will be a whole lot of waiting.

Art Diva

Recently, friends of ours moved to India and gave Tori one of their old desks. She uses it daily. If it is quiet and I haven't seen her, I know where she will be found. Most mornings when we wake up, she is already at her desk working away.

And what does my little artist work on? She draws and often recently has been practicing writing.

While she likes to write English, she also frequently practices writing Chinese characters. She has written:
乐 心 山 大, various characters that she has learned or seen at school.

And the last two 美恩 are her Chinese name.