January happenings

January was a big month for us.  

It was the month that we told our kids, "We're-going-to-work-hard-every-day-because-we're-about-to-go-to-thailand-for-three-weeks-and-have-no-school."

January proved to be a month of very little complaining.  Beach vacations in Thailand are good motivators for everyone, it seems.  

Everyone except Silas was present and accounted for as the New Year rang in.  Our girls really love the privilege of staying up until midnight.  It just feels so "grown up."

Then on New Year's Day, according to our tradition, we opened up all our presents.  (This year, all the girls got their first American Girl dolls!  Silas got trains, tools, and cars.)

Then we settled in for a fun day of togetherness. The first movie we'd chosen for the day was Swiss Family Robinson; it was our first time to see it, and we all really liked it.  We had a movie chosen for the evening too, but the kids got really involved in a new Wii game and so we bypassed it.  

I know that our Christmas/New Year's traditions are really strange to a lot of people, but we really love how it has worked for our family.  It frees us up to spend Christmas in a more appropriate way, and gives us a really unique day as a family. 

Josh's New Years gift from me was putting carpet in the living room.  I cannot even tell you how many times over the years he has longed to burrow his toes in some nice carpet.  Now we live in a place where carpet is easily accessible - so that was his special gift! It has been a nice addition to the living room and has come in handy...

...like for when we started gymnastics class in our home!  In January, a local sister agreed to come to our house each Saturday to do gymnastics and other PE-type activities with the girls.  It's been a good way for them to get some exercise, speak more Chinese, make a new friend, and practice at something that takes work!

The winter here wasn't as bad as we thought it would be.  As long as we bundled up, we could visit the playground as often as we liked.  (Silas loves his Buzz Lightyear coat from my parents!)

Our parent/child dates have continued on well - and most of the time, I end up at Starbucks and Josh ends up at Dairy Queen.  The funny thing is that the kids are always the ones who choose where we go!

 This picture is so random, but I love the way Silas is looking at Abby.  Abby mostly wants to be interacting with her big sisters, but sometimes she'll hang out with Silas.

Turns out, the bakery across the street makes pretty good sugar doughnuts.  

Samantha lost one of her front teeth; the other one would soon follow and she would officially become the cutest girl ever with no front teeth.  It's possible that I never got a picture of her completely front-toothless and for that I will never forgive myself.  

And basically, just like that January was over!  Thailand here we come!

Schooling Child #3

Though Abby has not officially started school with us, I've been trying to gradually change my school routines so that I'm more prepared to accomodate her when we do start adding her in.   Trying to find a spot in the day to give "schoolish" attention to her [versus "play" attention] has been a little trickier than I thought.  

She always joins in on our CC Memory Work, and on most of the projects too.  She's always up for whatever story I might be reading (especially if I scratch her back during the long and boring parts).  And she has her own "workbooks" and her reading lessons, which are actually sort-of official parts of learning in our house.  

But I default to the iPad so much for her - especially while I'm doing Language Arts or Math with older girls.  We're nearing the end of our official school year, so I'm thankful for the chance to mull things over during the summer and try to figure things out a little better.  [We do school year-round, but summers tend to be a little lighter.]

I have learned that if I can make her move around - like say, giving her a flyswatter to practice her sight words - we'll all be a little happier.  

And if any of her rewards involve princesses, we'll be good to go.

I give Abby a bit of a hard time on the blog, but she's such a little character.  She's never at a loss for energy, volume, excitement, or words.  She does everything 100% - even when she's not doing it.  She will completely NOT clean her room with 100% of her energy!

She brings joy and laughter to our family in such a unique way!

Glamour Shots

Please tell me that when you were in junior high, you begged your parents to let you get a photo shoot at Glamour Shots.  

I surely can't be the only one out there who succumbed to the peer pressure.

(And ironically, my sister sent me a reminder of that *vintage* photo shoot recently.  I'm so relieved she didn't post it directly to facebook! ha!)

There's a little place down the road that I like to think of as our local Glamour Shots.  

They don't actually take pictures of you (well, not usually).

There are no outfit changes.

And no makeup.

Um.....so maybe it's not *that* much like Glamour Shots, but they do fix your hair up!

Actually, these little hair accessory places will do these beautiful styles for your hair - for free - in hopes of getting you to buy some of their accessories.  

This particular place happens to be right next to the McDonalds we occasionally stop into.  The ladies at the Accessory store are always trying to get our girls in there, and one day I finally agreed.  

The girls each got to chose a 'do from their book.  The ladies sat them down and completed some very intricate hair work in less than 15 minutes!  Sometimes I can hardly brush their hair out in 15 minutes!

Silas sat in the grocery cart eating french fries while his sisters got all dolled up. 

(Abby also got her hair done, but she took it all out before I had a chance to snap a picture.)

The nice difference between my childhood Glamour Shots and my kids' "Glamour Shot" experience here is that these pictures can never be used for blackmail.

Mine, on the other hand....

December

In December, we finally got around to starting piano lessons for the kids.  

(Ha! Not really -- that didn't start until February; but isn't this a great picture?!)

In December, Abby *did* start her reading lessons!  Her first prize was a candy-filled purse, which she was so very, very proud of.  [I'm super proud of her too!  She is definitely the wiggliest little student I've ever had, but she's doing a great job and loves the fact that she can read words!]

This year also marks the first time ever (well, outside the states, of course) that we could get everything to make Rice Krispie treats locally.  This is a really, really big deal.  

[Abby thought so too.]

We celebrated the holiday in many of the same ways we've always done it -- christmas parties, jesse tree, the slow brightening of the advent candles as the month paces on...

But in many ways this Christmas season was different for us.

We welcomed our first family to our team.

And our second family.

And our third.

With these new changes has also come the gradual realization that our roles out here are shifting a bit too.  Instead of five christmas parties, we had one - because we were renting apartments and training language tutors and painting houses and preparing for new friends to arrive.

The Lord has been gracious to bring comfort and wisdom as we process through these changes in our work. We rejoice that He has come and rejoice that He is coming again - and we want to work hard in that gap to bring many with us.  And even if looks different than we thought, He is good and trustworthy and has us right where He wants. us.

*another* walk in the park

But, at least it was a new park.

I'm not sure why I always decide to take all the kids on outings by myself, but in my mind, it feels easier than staying at home and referring fights.  Not that my kids fight.  Because they don't.  Ever.

=)

But anyway, loading up everyone and taking them to a wide open space to run and explore and dig and climb is so fun...especially since there are no backyards in which to do all those things.  (and that's way better than hanging out in the confines of my home!)

So, here we go - Park #2.  Close to our home, accessible by a motorized, covered cart (which Josh affectionately refers to as "the death trap on wheels".)

I loved the old-style bridge at this park; it happened to be next to some beautiful weeping willows that made it a lovely little spot.

(I also love Silas' hat.)

Abby: not pictured.  

(She was throwing rocks off the bridge and could not be bothered to record the moment forever.)

As we walked on, there were lots of nice little paths.  And since it was late fall, there were lots of nice fall leaves around.  And since fall is my favorite season, it made me really happy.  

Silas was really happy too.  (and he's so compliant! He will almost always give me a good smile for a pciture!)

I do believe it was at this point in the trip that Emma got stuck up in a tree.  There was some wailing and theatrics (this is Emma, after all), but she eventually safely got down.  However, whilst up in the tree, a speck of dust, dirt or some other small debris - Emma describes it as a huge rock - got lodged in her eye.  The next half hour was spent with Emma sitting on a bench trying to figure out how she was going to go through life with only one eye.

*The issue has since been resolved. *

We found this amazing spot with the wooden bridge and golden trees.  I literally begged my kids to let me take some pictures.  Emma obviously wasn't up for it -- and for good reason, her eye was quite swollen at this point -- but bless Samantha, she hung in there and indulged me.  

(though she did have her own ideas about how some of the pictures ought to be staged:)

I tried to get Abby in on the fun, but honestly, she really doesn't like having her picture taken.  When she agrees, it's usually because she has something like this in mind:

It's almost as if she thinks this is what she's *supposed* to do when someone wants to photograph you...

                                   

This one was a little better (ie, the tongue stayed inside her mouth), but she insisted that her hand was in the correct position.  

By the end of the photo shoot and the following game of hide-and-seek, it was getting late and cheeks were starting to feel the chill of a fall evening.  Samantha found this one interesting rock that grabbed her attention on the way out - it totally looks like a heart!  She wanted to send her "love" to her Mimi and G and Pappy and Gigi.  =)

 The kids also felt like they'd earned some time behind the camera for their patience in posing in front of the camera.  I handed over the camera, and ended up with a shot like this:

 Little did we know that the weather would soon turn cold and rainy and would provide very few opportunities to play outside, so in hindsight I'm glad we had so many great park days early on!

Thanksgiving, family style

In case you hadn't noticed, I AM still going chronologically through all the months I've missed on the blog.  And now I'm all the way (mostly) caught up to November -- thanksgiving!

This thanksgiving was weird for us, but it was still a good one.  We were the first ones of our team to arrive here, and that being the case, we were the only ones here when Thanksgiving rolled around.  I certainly wasn't going to make turkey and all the fixings for only my crew (especially the fickle kiddos - josh would have loved it though!).  So the five of us (minus Silas) put our heads together and planned a menu of what we all wanted to contribute.  

Samantha decided on chocolate covered Strawberries.  (love her!)

Emma decided on macaroni and cheese.  (mmmm.....love her!)

I made potatoes au gratin (mmmm....love me!) and josh picked up chicken from KFC.

Definitely not our normal thanksgiving, but I have a feeling this coming year's thanksgiving is going to look pretty different!

Our own family still had a sweet time being together, being thankful, and looking forward to God's future provision for us.  

Like a walk in the park

Eager to explore our surroundings and try to wrap our heads around the hugeness of our city (14 million!!), our family checked out a local park last fall.  

It was quiet and peaceful and it proved to be a great day to be outside.   Plus, I just happened to get some great pictures of my kiddos!