Merry Christmas from China!

Andy Melvin & The Unlikely Sons introduce Everything Has Changed at Stone

oh, december!

Man, I am kicking myself for just now taking the time to sit down and catch up.  But, it's really the first chance I've had!  It has been a very, very busy month!  This post will be just as busy.  :)

                                           
       WE GOT OUR FIRST CHINA PACKAGE!

This was a BIG DEAL because the first package my mom sent (about 2 months ago) still hasn't arrived.  I still haven't come to terms with the idea that it probably isn't going to.  BUT, the Christmas package did!   And we were so excited.  Thank you, Mimi (and Grandma)!

EMILY'S CHRISTMAS CONCERT



The first row are some of my Kindergarteners.  I love how
Emily knows right where her Mommy is at all times.  :)

WE FOUND A BALLET CLASS!

Emily was enrolled in a tumbling class in The States before coming to China and we were really hoping we would be able to find some sort of class to keep her active and interested.  She's become very interested in ballet and even coordinates her own routines on her "stage" in her bedroom.  We have been searching for a class since we got here, but haven't found anything that fits until last week.  We found a class with only 4 little girls including Emily, and she absolutely loved it!  The entire hour and a half class is instructed in Chinese.  I have a whole new persepective and respect for all my English language learners!  It was tough, but much fun!  We plan to continue the class through out the year.

The girl next to her is "Joy", my
Chinese teacher's daughter.

     



Emily watched for about 30 minutes before deciding to join.
I sat beside her for 20 minutes before she allowed me to
leave her side.  This is the the last 15 minutes of class, but I
think she's going to do just fine!  She has been begging to
go back.

   HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE AMBER!

Oh, we just love Amber!  We met her when we came

to China 2 summers ago and we clicked right away. :)

Amber has played a huge part in helping us transition into

China life and she treats Emily like she is her own.  Emily just adores her.  We celebrated Amber's birthday last week by going to a yummy Italian restaurant.  It was definitely a treat!  We found these goofy picture displays on our way.

 Amber and Emily

Me 

                                             

FACULTY AND FAMILY CHRISTMAS PARTY

Emily rolling the gingerbread dough the night before (and

trying on her dress the night before)

Good job, Emily! 

               

                                 



                                   Amber, Anna, and Emily

MERRY CHRISTMAS CHINA STYLE!

Nope, your eyes are not playing tricks on

you... I am wearing a onesie.  (Courtesy

of Amber)  Emily will now be begging me

to match her while we sleep every night.

Thanks Amber!

PEACE IN THE CHAOS

As you can tell, we have been busy and we have had a lot of fun!  I have enjoyed making new friends, eating new foods, learning a new language and learning new things. But I also don't want to fool you with all the smiles and adventures. Being in China has also been one of the most stressful, overwhelming, and chaotic times of my life. I'm still learning how to be a mother here. I've spent 5 years trying to "figure it all out", and I feel like I'm starting all over.  I'm still trying to learn how to teach my own child. It's a joy and a challenge everyday.  I'm learning a new language, bargaining when I go shopping, depending on public transportation and other people daily.  It's a lot to learn.  I have been stretched as a mother, a teacher, and a person more than I ever thought possible.  But I am growing.  I know I am.  But it isn't always fun.  Nobody ever posts the pictures of the tears and the trials and the disappointments.  But that doesn't mean that they aren't there.  Truth is, we are exhausted and are very much missing our friends and family "back home" as we approach a 5 week break during this holiday season.  So, what keeps me going?  In the midst of the chaos, and the stress, and the tears, and the 4 degree weather?  PEACE.  The Peace that surpasses all understanding.

"There is no such thing as peace without opposition.  His rest is one that operates in the midst of the storm, not in its absence.  Jesus did not come to remove all opposition from our lives, but rather to give us a different approach to the storms of life."  --Joyce Meyer

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

I know it's not quite December yet, but this was a good weekend for us to go shopping for our Christmas tree, so we did!  A friend, Emily, and I ventured out and took a trip to Metro (similar to a Sam's Club or Costco).  Keep in mind our Chinese is verrry limited, so I knew it would be an adventure.  The trip went much smoother than I could have asked for.  But there were a few highlights that make me smile.

Metro isn't exactly a convenient place for us to go, so I was determined to get everything I went there for...  a Christmas tree and a month's worth of groceries.  And I did!  BUT...  I had so much that I couldn't even carry it all to the sidewalk to catch a taxi.  I pushed the grocery cart as far across the Metro parking lot as I could until the guard stopped me.  Plus, I knew there was no way a taxi was going to stop for us when he saw how much stuff we had, so...  we strategized. 

My friend went to the sidewalk (empty handed) to catch a taxi, while Emily and I stood back by a tree with our cart of groceries and our Christmas tree.  After a while, my friend stopped a taxi and then when she pointed for him to go pick Emily and me up, he drove off.  I knew this was going to be an issue, but we were determined.  Then, my friend stopped another taxi, she opened the door, got in and shut the door, before revealing the 2 other Americans with all their stuff.  It worked!  He drove into the parking lot, opened his trunk and we were on our way.

Whew!  We did it.  But... wait...  how on earth was I going to get all this stuff to my apartment and up the stairs?  Times like this are when I just love the community I live in.  I called a friend when I was half-way there and asked if she could  help.  There is a shopping cart that just sits at the front of our apartment gate (for moments like this I assume).  But I was being dropped off at a different gate, so my friend met me with the shopping cart, and we pushed our groceries and our Christmas tree across the ice patches of my apartment complex, and my friend helped me carry my things up four flights of stairs.

Talk about teamwork!  And lots of stares. ;)

The end result?  We will not run out of chicken nuggets any time soon...  and...  it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

                                                                            

laminin

I just love this video! I can't tell you how many times I've watched it, but every time I watch it, it's just as awesome and encouraging as it was the first time. Enjoy :)

scentsy!

This time of year really makes me miss my Scentsy parties!  Though I only had a couple, they were filled will fun, food, and fellowship...  and great sniffing!  I really miss the fresh smells when I walk into my classroom.  However, I did bring a few car scents that I've been hanging in my laundry room, living room, and restroom. 



Boho Chic-Full-Size Warmer 



These aren't as great as the warmers of course, but they will suffice.

Though I'm not there to share in the laughter, sniffing and snacking, I am grateful and priveleged that I can still share Scentsy with you from the other side of the world!

Christmas time is the perfect time to enjoy the smell of pine, cinnamon, blueberry cheesecake, gingerbread, or whatever you prefer.  Scentsy is also the perfect gift.  I haven't met a person yet who doesn't love Scentsy! 

Below are a few of my favorites.  Enjoy browsing!

Crinkle -Full-Size Warmers



Charity Full-Size Warmer      



Scentsy Buddies
(great for the kids!)
(come with a scent pak-
a scent of lavendar makes for a peaceful sleep!)





Campus Collection
(great for the guys!)

Ribbert the Frog

Emily loves Penny the Pig!
(she smells like cherry limeade :))

Browse more @ https://leajones.scentsy.us/Home

Home Sweet Home is one of my faves at Christmas time!






Forever Reign-Hillsong-A Beautiful Exchange

                 NOTHING compares to His embrace.

emily's first china sleepover!

A sweet friend offered to watch Emily this weekend and host a Kid's Camp for Emily and her kiddos.  Emily had sooo much fun, she can't stop talking about it!

Below is a post from my sweet friend, Jenny, to give you the highlights of their weekend.  Enjoy!

Kids’ Camp 2011!

2011 November 19

by Jenny

In an effort to get more acquainted with one of our sweet children on our team and give her mom a night off, I decided to volunteer to do a Kids’ Camp at my home Friday night through Saturday at 5 p.m.
Emily with her overnight belongings arrived on Friday evening after our first snowfall of the season!
Our agenda was full of fun things to do such as…

Baking a chocolate cake! (Don't miss Isaac in the background, he obviously wants you to see him) ;0)

Tearing apart a pomelo! (Jolie has turned Asian on us and refuses to take a pic without the signature peace symbol)

A pomelo is like a big grapefruit, but not so much like a big grapefruit. It has sections like an orange that we have lots of fun pulling apart for the fruit inside. We love eating pomelos and Emily liked eating it too!

Sleeping in a tent

What child doesn’t like sleeping in a tent?
The three girls snuggled up for an all nighter in a tent. Until that is, Jolie was fed up and decided it was time to wake up mom at midnight and switch spots. I gave up my position next to my warm hubby for a floor between two squirmy sleeping little girls. Thankfully they stayed asleep for the most part, but I did learn that Lily talks a lot in her sleep.

Enjoying Daniel's hugs!

I have yet to meet a person who does not like Daniel. His smile, hugs, and charm is hard to resist. After I took him out of bed this morning, he toddled over to Emily and fell into her lap wrapping his arms around her. Mind you, he hardly knows her! He is so sweet that way!!

Making snow angels

We had our first snow fall and the girls were anxious to get outside in it! Here they are making snow angels. We had to drag Lily inside…she loved it out there!

Jie Jie (big sister) playing with the two mei mei (little sisters)

The girls did NOT want to come back inside with me, but lunch needed to get prepared! After I made sure the girls were in capable hands (Jolie’s) I went back upstairs to help prepare lunch. Here Jolie is playing with them right outside our window. If I’m gonna have to live in an apartment complex, I praise God for the convenience of a 2nd floor apartment!

Made a doll house

Did you ever make a doll house? I always had one for my Barbies!
Home made are the best and so this morning we pulled out some boxes I had been saving up and started making one for the girls.

Playing Dress Up!

To finish up our Kids’ Camp 2011 we had a friend come over, Belle, and play dress up! The girls really enjoyed showing off their dresses to us and then finished up the evening playing hide and seek with their Prince Isaac.
All in all a great Kids’ Camp 2011. So blessed to have a great family that enjoys company!

our first china snow!

We experienced our first China snowfall yesterday.  It snowed quite a bit!  Emily was verrrry excited.  Snow reminds us of Mimi and Pappy, because their house is the only place we've ever seen snow before.  I had to teach Emily very quickly that China snow is not edible like Mimi's and Pappy's snow....  I reminded her what happens on the grounds of China...  and...  she looked at me...  and did not eat the snow.  :)

But she had a blast playing in it!

 

mai dang lao

...Chinese for McDonald's.  Mai Dang Lao delivers in China!  Yes, all I have to do is dial a number, press 2 for English, place my order and they show up at my door in 30 minutes or less with a big mac and some fries.  How cool is this!?

But honestly, when I heard how easy this was, it made me a little nervous.  Nervous to know that all I had to do was dial a number.  And even more nervous for my sweet Emily to know that a chicken nugget happy meal was only a phone call away!

So, seriously, for 3 months, I did not call McDonald's.  Can you believe it!?  I knew it would be too tempting and probably addicting once I actually did it.  Especially since we are both tired and hungry when we get home and don't always have the patience or energy to cook a meal.

BUT, last Sunday morning, we really wanted some breakfast sausage...  a rare find in China.  So, sausage and egg mcmuffin it was!  Plus, I really needed my first successful ordering experience in China, so I caved... and called Mai Dang Lao.

I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure how the conversation would go, but the McDonald's guy spoke English very clearly.  He did ask for my address in Chinese...  so I gave it to him, he said okay, and said our food would be here in 30 minutes.  I was so excited!  I placed an order and was understood. :)

So... 20 minutes later, I get a phone call.  All Chinese.  No clue what he's saying except for "Mai Dong Lao", so I just repeat my address and he hangs up.  2 minutes later, another phone call, different number.  All Chinese.  No clue.  I say, "Ting bu dong" (I don't understand).  And he hangs up.  2 minutes later...  another call, different number.  All Chinese...  and then a very broken "please   o  pen  the  door".  Me:  "I  am  o  pen  ing  the   door.  No   body   is  there."  Click.  30 seconds later.  Same thing.  Click.  Several more times.  And then...  lightbulb...  "oh!  you mean the door downstairs!?"  He said yes (in Chinese).  I was excited to finally figure this out.  I ran downstairs to open the door, and.....  nobody was there!  Argh...

I thought 8 phone calls was enough to let down my pride and knock on some sweet friends' door at 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning. :)  I explained the situation and my sweet friend said, "and you said, "wu hao lo"?  Me:  "wu hao lo, what's wu hao lo?"  She laughs.

"Wu hao lo"...  means building 5.  My friends called the sweet man and relayed the message.  I'm assuming the poor delivery guy had gone around to all the apartment buildings and ran up to the 4th floor of those buildings, hoping somebody wanted Mai Dang Lao.  When he finally got to me, my obsessive apologizing, smiling, laughing, and thankfulness did not bring a smile to this poor, old man's face.  Not even a smirk.  Nothing... 

Sorry sweet, old man...  "wu hao lo", "wu hao lo", "wu hao lo"...  next time, dear friend.

you don't have to be strong enough...

"I cAn Do AlL tHiNgS tHrOuGh CHRIST wHo GiVeS mE sTrEnGtH."

santa's workshop...

I was told earlier this week that my original classroom was ready to move back into.  While this was exciting and something we've all been waiting for, it was also a huge stressor.  There's just so much to do and so little time.  Being that it was Spirit Week at school, it has been a very busy week. 

My intentions were to gradually move back in.  I was even thinking about waiting until after Thanksgiving, when the kids come back from the break, and it would be a fresh start for them.

I had absolutely no intentions of moving EVERYTHING yesterday and having it all set up and ready to go by TODAY!  But I work with amazing people, and when I saw how many people showed up after school to help move things, I thought "let's do this"!

I kid you not, within 30 minutes, everything was moved from my room on the 2nd floor down to my original room on the first floor.  I had 20 new IKEA chairs that needed to be assembled, and I seriously felt like I belonged in Santa's Workshop.  People were smiling and willing to do anything and everything I asked.  I looked around and 20 different chairs were being assembled.  And just the sound of the laughter and the hammering was enlightening.

It is absolutely unbelievable that my students were able to walk into their classroom today.  They were more than excited, and I am overjoyed to have my classroom back!

ALL IN ONE DAY:

Theatre Thursday
(We all dressed as book/movie characters)
I was Tinkerbell and Emily was Sleeping Beauty.

Santa's Workshop begins

The Final Product
(Notice the new tables and chairs.  The kids were so excited about these!)

Toni & Guy

So, this blog is a little past due, but I'm still excited about this so it deserves a post. :)

For those who are unfamiliar with Toni & Guy, it's a hair salon in The States.  I first tried out Toni & Guy when I lived in Arizona 7ish years ago, and I absolutely fell in love with the place. After leaving AZ, I was fortunate to find a Toni & Guy in 3 different cities in Texas.  The people who work there are all trained the same way and have their own "style" of cutting.  The receptionists all wear black and white and look very "put together". 

Getting my hair cut in China was honestly... one of my biggest fears.  I have heard horror stories.  So..  when I happened to stumble across a Toni & Guy, I had to try it out!  It's hard to tell if places in China are actually legit, but the receptionist was wearing black and white and all the stylists had "the style".

So... I went for it, and I loved it!  Thank you Toni & Guy for once again, exceeding my expectations.

P.S. I can now say I've cut my hair at Toni & Guy in every city I've lived in. :)