two weeks and a happy heart

It's been a while since I've had a quiet afternoon with my computer. Recent days here in our world have been full of fun and happy times, and even though I've wanted to blog just to force myself to remember the memories, I opted instead just to live in the moments and retell it all later. So here is my best attempt at recapping our life since the last time I wrote:

- Both of the girls were sick - nasty, truly pathetically sick - hours before my parents arrived here. I was disappointed that they weren't miraculously healed so we could make a group trip up to the airport, but that's ok. They took a few extra days getting over the nasties while my parents were here, but soon enough were back to their normal selves. Which is anything but predictable...

- By that, I mean that from the moment emma woke up on the first day my parents were here, she jumped right into my mom's outstretched arms. Nothing could have made my mom happier. The first day was a happy reunion and reintroduction - lots of hugs, curiosity, showing off favorite toys, etc. Even samantha, our usually very mom-centered Samantha, was willing to share some of her hugs with our new houseguests. BUT THEN, to my surprise and dismay, Emma seemed to turn into a different person. There were two days in particular that she was moody, gloomy, unhappy, unkind, indifferent and every other word you could think of to describe exactly how you DON'T want your child to act when their grandparents have made a rare trip across the ocean. We had all these fun things planned, all sorts of special activities, and her grumpiness soured several moments. I will admit, there were tears and anger and disappointment all inside me. While my parents spent one afternoon lounging at my favorite massage place, I went to our fellowship group and cried my eyes out. I'm thankful for my friends who prayed for Emma's heart and my responses. [I guess one X-factor in all of this is that josh had to be out of town for two days, so maybe that threw off her rhythym or something?]. Anyway, josh came home later that night and it was like the rainbow after the rain. Emma's sparkly smile and cheerful heart were back, and it lasted the duration of my parent's visit.

- In one sense, the two weeks they were here sort of felt like a marathon. I mean, there were so many things we wanted to do and celebrate and talk about, we were constantly doing fun and unusual things. Among the very special things we did, Emma's favorite was probably our big "Happy Birthday Party" where we celebrated everyone's birthday. Everyone had presents to open (of course, emma and mantha's presents made up the lion's share!), and the best part was that my dad found a Lightening McQueen cake pan and decorations! My two little chefs even got to squirt some of the icing on to the birthday cake and put the decorations on. Emma was talking about her special cake for days afterwards! In addition to fun new clothes, they each came away with their own Dora suitcases that they can take on our next vacation. Emma kept asking us to go on "bacation" so she could pack up her suitcase...

- Having my parents in was great for a lot of reasons, but one great bonus was that they are GREAT babysitters! Josh and I took advantage of such a great situation and left one afternoon right after the girls started their nap for an entire 24 hours by ourselves! What fun things are there to do here, you might ask? Well, more than before! We started off by checking into the 5-start Sofitel down the street then went over to Baskin Robbins, a sinfully delicious yet rarely enjoyed treat. From there we wandered through some shopping areas and ended up at a new italian restaurant some friends recommended. The low-lit, plush chaired atmosphere is so very un-Asianese, and we thoroughly enjoyed it! Our table even overlooked a grass covered meadow; coupled with the clear, blue sky that's been hanging around here, it looked beautiful! After dinner we walked down to an arcade and spent threee hours competing head-to-head on every imaginable game: Sega racing games, video basketball, real basketball,air hockey, even the dance machine. Later on that night, we watched TV until the wee hours of the morning - espn, cnn, and star TV (showing movies and US TV shows). For this one morning of the entire year, we were not greeted by the usual little voices hearkening the day (and asking either for milk or to be released from pack and play prison)...just the restful feeling that comes when no alarm clocks have been set and you decide it's time to wake up. The only bummer of the trip was that we woke up too late to catch breakfast at McDonalds... The girls had a happy time playing with mimi and G (my parents) and were a little indifferent to our arrival home. :)

- having my parents stay at my house was pretty unique for me. If I lived in the states, I would likely never get the chance to host them in the same way I did here. I really enjoyed having them here, eating with us, getting ready in the mornings, meeting our friends, seeing how life works out here. It was special to me to have the chance to do things for them that I wouldn't normally have the opportunity to do. And having your parents as houseguests is great because there's so much familiarity - I wasn't constantly worried about this or that, or wondering if I can ask them not to do this or to do that. It was just comfortable. And happy. And special. We talked a bit about the trade-offs that come with the life we have, namely how they will spend an intensive 14 days with us this year instead of a few hours every day or week. There are pros and cons to both, but definitely the 14 days together gave them a great glimpse of our life and gave us good time together.

- Emma's dream came true and we did get to go on bacation together! We packed up and got on the train and did all the must-see's that the city up north had to offer: T i a n e n m e n Square, the G r e a t W a l l (first time for both of the girls, unless you count when Emma was there in utero!) and a great shopping spree for the benefit of my collegiate sisters. We stayed in a big three bedroom apartment and ate at all the customary favorites: Hard Rock, TGIFridays, Outback, Subway, and on and on. Our goodbyes were said there, and we boarded the train and they took off for the airport.

The next morning, as was recent custom, the first thing out of the girls mouths were, "Mimi? G? Where's Mimi and G?" Yesterday, my friend Amy asked if it was hard to say goodbye. I thought about it for a minute, and I think I've decided that I was sad to see them go, but I couldn't have any better memories to take with me. Their time here was full of so much happiness that it was hard to feel sad when I looked back on it. My goals were accomplished a hundred times over. I wanted for my girls to love my parents by the time they left, and there is no question that they know and love Mimi and G.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then you probably don't want to read the novel that my 800 pictures wrote, but I will post some soon. In the meantime, I have a few messages to send out:

Katie and Holly - you better thank mom and dad over and over for the loot they brought back. Dad is a crazy-man shopper!

Brother - hope you like the things I sent; boys are hard to buy for!

Nana - I hope that talking to mom will convince you that you should plan a trip! :) Emma mentions you now as if you are a sibling - "...dustin, holly, katie, and nana!"

Pappy - you're next!! We can't wait to introduce you to the whirlwind girls at our house!

Mimi and G - thanks again for coming. And not just coming, but being so great about actively playing with the girls and not getting your feelings hurt in the beginning, and for the love and hugs and warmth they got from you the last two weeks. You are still being talked about around here!


**In a random little side note - So while we were on bacation, we found a little store that sells those newsmagazines we love so much: Time, Newsweek, and our most favorite The Economist. I was super excited about this edition of the economist because it's cover story was about the country we live in. Tempering my enthusiasm to flip ahead, I methodically worked my way through the magazine. Finally I made it to page 33, where the featured article was supposed to be. Yes, supposed to be. The censors of this country had RIPPED out the featured story. We've seen this in several other ways before (like the CNN screen going black all of a sudden for a few minutes during some "unfavorable" story) but never seen things ripped out of a magazine. Interestingly enough, this store also had chocolate donuts, of the hostess donettes variety (one of my personal weaknesses, along iwth ding dongs and a variety of other snack foods). They did not have the Hostess brand here, but the local brand was much more creative than the name Hostess...next time you see Bimbo Chocolate donuts, I'll vouch for them. They weren't bad! :)