Keeping up with the Joneses

Moving

2011-04-03T10:14:00.002+08:00

Ahhh Friends. Thanks so much for keeping up with the Joneses over the past several years. You may have noticed extreme sporadicism (new word - 5 points) since the birth of this blog but it has been fun as a way to communicate our never boring lives in China. For the moment we are retiring the blog but you will still be able to keep up with us at Jerry's new blog:

thecultureblend.blogspot.com.

There we'll be discussing family and business and life in general and would love it if you joined us.

We will leave "Keeping Up With the Joneses" up for now and most likely transfer some of our favorite posts to the new site. Maybe we'll even get back to it someday but for those of you perched like a puppy at the dinner table waiting for the next scrap to fall (you know who you are), 1. please get a hobby and 2. come join us at "The Culture Blend."

Loving you all!

PS - If you are the one millionth person to join The Culture Blend you might receive an all expense paid trip to visit us in sunny China!

cue music: Michael W. Smith "Friends are friends forever . . . "

Thousand Words: Day Fifteen

2010-10-24T09:17:00.000+08:00

School Days

Rachel has been to FIVE schools in FOUR cities over THREE years in TWO countries. Today . . . she became a "GRADER." Grade ONE.

Since Rachel was three she has spoken of the "Graders." In her eyes they are a mysterious and wonderful, untouchable group. They are the "cool people," the "big kids" the ones who ride in the back of the bus and get homework. Until today they have been just a dream that she thought she would never attain. Finally though, after Chinese pre-pre K, International pre K, Chinese K, American K and International K she has arrived. Look out first Grade!

She attends a wonderful International school with students from all over the world. The staff are brilliant people who do so much more than educate. They not only teach but genuinely nurture the students in their learning, their life and their faith. We are especially thankful that Rachel gets to spend her days with people just like her. Children who live in a foreign culture grow up with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. We are thrilled that Rachel gets to experience all of that with a wonderful community of children who don't know where "home" is.

Thousand Words: Day Fourteen

2010-08-15T07:29:00.006+08:00

Gansu

Our daughter Rachel was born in the Province of Gansu where more than 1100 people were killed in a landslide this week and more than 600 remain missing.

Gansu has a special place in our hearts. We had never heard of it before we got Rachel's 3 month old picture in the mail telling us that we had been matched with her forever. Though the horrible landslide this week was in a completely different area of the Province we can't help but think of her birth parents and extended family. When we adopted Rachel we had the opportunity to visit a countryside village that was similar to her birthplace and probably similar to the town that was hit by the mudslide. The people were warm and engaging and amazingly hospitable. Some jumped right in and played games with us, offered us food and grabbed our babies. Others watched tentatively from a distance which is fair since it's not everyday in the Gansu countryside that a bus with ten foreign families carrying Chinese babies shows up. We were strange and they were gracious. Beautiful, wonderful people.

Thousand Words: Day Thirteen

2010-08-15T07:23:00.002+08:00

Health Care

We have found the answer to the health care debate. Move to China.

Almost time for the big 1st Grade so Rachel went in for her physical today. We were a little shocked when we heard the price. FIVE TIMES the price of a regular trip to the doctor. Can you believe it? 100 Yuan!! That's roughly fourteen dollars and seventy cents. A regular visit is 20 ($2.95). That's not a copay, that's the fee. So there's your answer to the ongoing, never ending, absolutely painful, whining, complaining, campaigning and heated arguments over options that are public, private and everything in between. The money you would save on premiums, copays, tax increases and fuel to and from the doctors office would pay for your one way ticket to China in no time.

We are really thankful to have a large Chinese hospital close to our home that includes an international clinic with English speaking nurses and doctors. The standard is different and sometimes the cultural challenges require and extra dose of patience but we generally feel . . . pretty ok about the diagnosis and the treatment. There is also a great doctor at the Korean clinic. He doesn't speak English but he draws brilliant pictures that describe the problem and the solution quite well.

Born to be a mother

Testing the eyes in the back of Rachel's head. Ok there's a mirror on the

opposite wall but it makes a funny picture.

Judah has been diagnosed with mild asthma and

has had bronchitis four times since we returned to China

in February. Breathing treatments seem to help a little bit

but Judah's not so crazy about them.

Thousand Words: Day Twelve

2010-08-15T07:06:00.003+08:00

Chenglish

Something really interesting happens when people of one language try to learn another. They make mistakes.

There is a theory that says a person must make one million mistakes to speak a language fluently. I proved the theory wrong last week when I hit one million and one. When I first arrived in China I tried to tell the girl at Pizza Hut that I wanted my order to go (Wo yao da bao). She looked at me funny when I said "Wo yao dao gao" or "I want to pray." I recently told my landlord that I needed to go because my plane was leaving in two weeks. I routinely call taxi drivers a dead chickens and I once called the front desk of my hotel to ask for a blanket and promptly received a coffee cup. This list goes on and on for three years. Being one of the chief language fumblers you might think that I would know better than to laugh at other people who make mistakes as well. However, I now laugh even harder. What has changed is my haughty arrogance when I laugh. I've surrendered all rights to look down on anyone because they fumble my language. We are one, them and me. Card carrying members of a club whose only rule is that you mess up . . . daily . . . a lot. I'm thinking of running for club President.

Translations from Chinese to English often get fumbled and the results can be quite humorous. There are a number of factors from honest mistakes and difficult grammar to knockoff brand names and cheap electronic translators but it's always good for a chuckle. So start by taking a humbling dose of "how's my Chinese?" Then enjoy these pictures.

"Be Careful" Signs often prove difficult to translate. We've also seen "Bump Your Head Carefully" and "Carefully fall into River"

I always thought Mario was Italian

You might want to click this one to make it bigger but as it turns out Mario and Luigi (of Nintendo fame) were just alias's for some of Iraq's most wanted terrorists.

:) Withholding comment

Thousand Words: Day Eleven

2010-08-15T06:59:00.002+08:00

Riding in Style

There is more than one way to get from point A to point B in China.

Although I rarely get the chance I much prefer driving in China than in the States. There is much less road rage in China and much more reason for it. The absence of personal space here shows up all over the place but it is never more exciting than on the road. What we would call "cutting people off" is not only tolerated it is expected and sometimes hesitating can be more dangerous than not. What we would call "speeding" is much less of an issue here. Not less of an occurrence, just less of an issue. And what we would call "lines on the road" also exist in China but primarily for decoration. Sometimes tensions rise a bit and occasionally a taxi driver will lose his temper but the general rule is honk and move on. No harm no foul.

Most drivers have been driving less than five years and a very low percentage have been driving more than ten. However, the growing middle class loves their new cars and traffic seems to increase daily. There are a lot of ways to get around. Some more interesting than others.

Breakfast on Wheels

This is a mobile, propane fueled traveling skillet hooked to a bicycle.

Delicious egg wrap tortilla type things with meat, veggies and hot spices inside

are on sale on the street corner for cheap. Mobility for street vendors is key.

They can relocate to higher traffic areas at different points during the day and

can also make a quick getaway if they are hassled by authorities for operating

without a license.

Old Style

This is a very rare site in the cities that we have lived in however on

a few occasions we have seen a horse, a donkey or even a cow.

My favorite vehicle in China

This was our family car when we lived in Shenyang. It made the entire

city so much more accessible and was far cheaper than taxis. Technically

classified as an electric bicycle, you don't need a license to drive. However

you are supposed to stay on the sidewalks and bike paths when you're

driving on major roads. Carrying the 80 pound battery in to charge every

night was the only down side (apart from safety concerns of course).

Riding in Style

Cheaper (and slower) than regular taxis, in some places you can find a

glorified version of the traditional Chinese rickshaws. The availability of

these kinds of vehicles varies greatly from city to city and even

neighborhood to neighborhood.

Just for contrast

Stretch limos, Cadillacs and Hummers are around as well. I'd take a

scooter over this any day.

Thousand Words: Day Ten

2010-08-08T09:14:00.002+08:00

Fountain of Youth

"The world is yours, as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is yours. You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. Our hope is placed on you."

-Chairman Mao Zedong

There is a fountain near our home that reminds me what it's like to be young. Children are playing there constantly. Some are in bathing suits, obviously coming for the sole purpose of getting wet. Others happen to be walking by and the opportunity to splash outweighs the thought of walking home wet so in they go. Some strip down to their tighty whiteys and some just get naked and go for it. All of them laugh and and run and jump and act like children should in the presence of water. It's good to be young.

Here are some shots of our two favorite kids enjoying the experience.

Thousand Words: Day Nine

2010-08-08T00:50:00.000+08:00

Beautiful Faces

Be honest. How many of you have ever said something like "all Chinese people look the same?"

Now be honest again. How many Chinese friends do you have? Don't count them unless you know their name (without looking at their nametag) AND they know yours. Don't worry this is not another guilt trip or an effort to shame you into being more globally minded. Living in China has however, given us the opportunity to get the inside scoop on real live Chinese people. What I'm about to share is sensitive and may not be suitable for everyone. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Chinese people are . . . people.

It's true. You can check Wikipedia.

We have absolutely fallen in love with so many of our new friends. We have learned that you can't apply a lone characteristic to an entire nation full of people whether it be how they look, how they act, how they think or what their agenda is. People are vastly and beautifully different and yet somehow all the same.

So here are some pictures to bust the myth once and for all. Chinese people do NOT all look the same and if you look closely you might get just a taste of their unique personalities too. We've been having fun doing this 30 day photo journey. We're snapping lots of new pictures and reminiscing over the old ones. These are from our first year in China and feature some of my favorite and funnest students. And friends.

Thousand Words: Day Eight

2010-08-08T00:35:00.000+08:00

Snap, Crackle Boom!

There is nothing more breathtakingly intense, mind numbingly loud or outrageously dangerous than 1.4 BILLION people playing with tightly packed gun powder at the exact same moment.

Chinese New Year is a holiday that engages the senses. It is deeply rich in traditions that have evolved and adapted over thousands of years. Dumplings with money inside, bright red underwear, red lanterns, red envelopes (also with money inside), holiday songs and delicious food (Google it) all mark the season. Families that have been scattered around the nation by a new hope for better jobs and better lives go home for the holidays in droves. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins (referred to as brothers and sisters) fill apartments far to small to hold them all. Children running rampant, holiday feasts, games, music . . . it is loud and exciting, thoroughly enjoyable chaos. Then, at midnight, on the lunar New Year . . . China explodes.

Fireworks, on Chinese New Year, are impossible to explain. It's actually two weeks of virtually non-stop, day and night booms but midnight it like nothing I have ever experienced. There are some laws about fireworks but I really can't imagine what they are. Thousands of people in each community bring out box after box filled with numerous cardboard cannons. The sky lights up, the air reeks of gunpowder, the whole city shakes and the noise is deafening. I love it.

Here are some pics we've gotten over the past three Chinese New Years.

Gunpowder and fireworks were invented in China and it remains the largest

manufacturer and exporter of fireworks in the world. Which makes sense

since they are the largest manufacturer and exporter of everything else

in the world too.

Every neighborhood has a stand like this one where you can load up on

everything from spinners and sparklers to boxes the size of your washing

machine. Fireworks are big business in China.

Big show leaves a big mess but by 9 am the next morning all that is left

are a few burn marks on the concrete.

Beautiful!

Thousand Words: Day Seven

2010-08-06T06:32:00.001+08:00

The shopping experience of your life

You have never shopped until you have shopped in China.

It seems like every major city in China has one of these. It's a mega-massive, monster market made up of thousands (not exaggerating) of tiny little, independent shops and vendors. They vary greatly from place to place but generally incorporate several humongous buildings broken up into a confusing catacomb like maze of hallways and never ending stuff. What kind of stuff? Name it. Seriously, name it. It's there. Except electronics (see day three for that).

Here's the catch . . . if you're looking for high end, high quality you might try a different spot (also available in China). If you're looking for authentic name brand (key word "authentic") keep moving. If you're concerned about a warrantee, well, that's just kind of funny. However, if you want a Rolex for 10 bucks this is your place and if you need the papers that say it's authentic, they've copied those too. Galvin Klein shirts, Armoni suits, Abibas tennis shoes, they've got it all and it's a virtual playground for people who like to bargain. No kidding, for the shopping experience of a lifetime come visit. You won't be disappointed (in the experience).

Knockoff City

Every brand, every style, every watch imaginable are available at Jimo Lu.

From cheap imitation to high quality imitation, it's all here.

Pick your favorite Teme. Any Teme.

Like the Boston Celtisc? LA Laekrs? Maybe you prefer the

Phoenix Snus. All can be found. Interesting to note,

the only non-misspelled Jersey? Houston Rockets.

Otherwise known as the most popular NBA team in China.

Thank you Yao Ming.

Pearls?

This guy quoted me 50 kuai (about $7) for one of these necklaces. When I asked if

they were real he assured me that they were and pulled out a pair of

scissors to scrape off a flake of one of the pearls. I think he'd been asked

that before.

Thousand Words: Day Six

2010-08-04T09:48:00.000+08:00

Special Days on the Other Side of the World

One of the greatest challenges that comes with life on this side of the planet is the absence of grandparents.

That pain is never more felt than on a special day. June 28th was the 6th anniversary of one of the most beautiful days in the history of the world. We now call it "Gotcha Day" and Rachel talks about it for at least two months before the celebration. So what do you do on a special day in China . . . with no grandparents? Good question. The answer? We pull out all the stops. Every effort to keep her from becoming spoiled rotten is abandoned and the whole day is all about her. Our goal on "Gotcha Day" is to send Rachel to bed 100% exhausted and knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that she is absolutely magnificent and we are so tremendously thankful that she is our daughter. This year we nailed it.

In China "conveniences" are more and more common every day. In our four years here we have been routinely amazed by the appearance of something new. Milk in a carton, onion rings, Subway, Doritos, Liquid Detergent, Mountain Dew even Burger King (only in the Beijing airport) have all been the subject of minor but significant celebrations in the Jones home. Call it what you want, modernization, Westernization, globalization, but it is an undeniable fact that China is changing rapidly. A rising middle class that didn't exist even 20 years ago now has the expendable income and time to create a demand for more and more stuff. There is a bittersweet element as much of old China's history and charm are tainted by Western ideas and commercialism. On Gotcha Day we choose to focus on the sweet part and indulge just a little for the best daughter in the universe. Still no match for grandparents but nice.

Gotcha Morning
Ra spent the morning with her good friends the Keegans creating their very
own painted masterpieces. She completed a self-portrait which now hangs
on her bedroom wall.

Gotcha Lunch
McDonalds . . . duh.
Gotcha Skating
Qingdao just opened a brand new indoor ice skating rink, the only one that
I have seen like it in China. Rachel has been begging to try it so Gotcha
Day was the perfect occasion to go for it.

Gotcha DQ
As far as we know there is one DQ in our city of
8 million people. The prices are just a bit more than
ridiculous which makes a Blizzard a rare but much
appreciated treat.

Gotcha 3D
We finished the day with Toy Story 3 glasses and all. Perfect ending to a
perfect day and yes I snapped a picture in the theater with my cell phone.

Thousand Words: Day Five

2010-08-03T00:17:00.001+08:00

More Pizza Pics
I know, I know. We already posted pizza pics but they weren't officially a part of the 30 day China picture extravaganza and seriously, can you ever have too many cute Chinese kids making pizza pictures? Here are some more for day Five.

Thousand Words: Day Four

2010-08-01T21:12:00.002+08:00

What to do on a Rainy Day
LaWanda got caught in a thunderstorm today and snagged some great pictures of a few very resourceful restaurant owners making the most of the downpour. They grabbed their filthy rugs and took them out into the street for a good scrubbing. She left before they brought out the shampoo.

Worth a Thousand Words: Day Three

2010-08-01T08:38:00.004+08:00

Electronic Mega-World

I can't exactly figure out how to describe Computer City but I'll give it a shot.

Ok. Start with a four to six story building. Now rip the roof off of it. Then take 15 Best Buys and dump them in the top. Put the roof back on and shake vigorously. Do the same thing to five more buildings and set them right next to each other. Then set up some vendors outside with the same things that they are selling inside, bring in some massive loud speakers and crank Beyonce. Line up fifty people to pass out flyers with all of the deals and then let a couple of people collect all of the flyers that people don't want so they can recycle them.

It's a mass Carnival of every name brand electronic device on the planet and then some. Computers, laptops, cell phones, cameras, accessories, MP3's, 4's, 5's, GPS, PS3, PSP, Wii, IBM, DSI's, PDA's, USB's, DVD, HD, SD . . . EIEIO. If it has initials it's in there. I know, I know, some of you are drooling and some of you are still wondering what an MP3 is.

These are fresh pictures, most likely taken while you were sleeping. Rachel wanted to join in the picture taking fun. We had given her our old camera but it didn't have a card to store the pictures . . . So we went to computer city. Here is her first contribution to our 30 day adventure. Enjoy.

I am Batman

Pretty sure Batman has absolutely nothing to do with anything they are

selling here, but he was big and he got Rachel's attention. She had to

get this picture. Then she rolled the dice and won that little blue thing, a

basket to hold her toys.

Seriously this goes on forever

All divided into small shops but everyone is connected. Ask this guy for

something he doesn't have and he'll run away and come back three minutes

later with whatever you want.

Worth A Thousand Words: Day Two

2010-07-31T01:39:00.000+08:00

Foreign Devil, Foreign Monkey

Maybe you've heard the term "foreign devil".

The Chinese word "guilao" can be literally translated as "ghost man" and it dates back several thousand years to a time when European barbarians invaded China and made a really bad first impression. The term has been carried down through generations as a candid description of unwelcome outsiders. It is certainly still in circulation today but China is changing rapidly and with the changes comes a shift in how they view foreigners. We have rarely heard (or felt) the term "foreign devil". However, there is a newer term that better describes the opinion of the outsiders like us.

"Laowai Houzi" or "Foreign Monkey"

The general idea is that the foreigner goes on display and draws a crowd. You don't have to live in China for long before you get to play the monkey. It's generally well intentioned, much appreciated and often an opportunity to show that you're a good sport and build a relationship. Westerners, however, often let their arrogance cloud their vision. "Wow, these people really like me, I must be a superstar!" They haven't learned yet that these people also really like monkeys.

We haven't seen a lot of real monkeys in China but when we do we are sure to snap a picture.

Monkeys for Charity

This was a three man, two monkey operation that we saw

on the street just a few weeks ago. The trainer fed and

whipped the monkeys while they did tricks. Notice the

disabled boy on the side who watched the show. The third

man was in the crowd with a tin can making sure spectators

paid for the pictures they took.

Monkeys on Motorcycles

This was a show on Monkey Island. A short ski lift ride from Hainan island

in the south China Sea it is inhabited with thousands of monkeys and is a

popular tourist attraction. It comes complete with monkey shows, monkey

swimming pools, monkeys chained to the ground and a monkey prison for

bad monkeys who attack guests and steal their bananas.

Monkey on her back

Trainer gets 10 kuai (about $1.50). Monkey gets a piece of popcorn. We get

a beautiful, lifetime reminder of the one moment that LaWanda let a real, live

monkey climb on her back and rest his elbow on her head. I think we got

the best part of that deal.

Cute Monkey

Just don't walk around with Cheeto's in your pocket.

LaWanda's Homemade Pizza Class

2010-07-30T22:19:00.000+08:00

A great friend of ours runs a rare Chinese Kindergarten. Rare because one of his core values is to encourage parents to take an active role in their children's education process. He has designed a program that allows children to experience English in an interactive, fun way and invites/requires the parents to come and encourage their children as they learn. It's a great program.

So we get to hang out with some really cool kids for a couple of hours at a time and teach them something useful like how to play baseball and make pizza. Last night was pizza night and it was a huge success. One by one they kneaded the dough, shredded the mozzarella, added ingredients and finally feasted on the "bisa bing" (there, now you can say "pizza in Chinese). Jerry's contribution you ask? Cracking himself up by teaching the kids to say, "I cut the cheese."

Parents gather around, take pictures and encourage their kids. They also take turns holding Judah and telling us how heavy he is.

Worth A Thousand Words: Day One

2010-07-30T15:09:00.000+08:00

So in an effort to be better communicators we have committed to sharing our China lives in pictures. If I could describe China in one word it would be "VAST". Is it cheating to use a word that basically means there could never be enough words? Ok, I'm a cheater. Instead of a million word epic on the vastness of China how about some pictures worth a thousand words each? Cheating again you say? Fair enough

Day One: Common Strangeness
These are just a few of the things that seemed strange when we moved to China but are now just a part of our daily lives.

It's common for little old ladies to touch your baby.

They usually have some advice for the mother like he's

too hot, too cold, hungry, fat, crying and are eager to share.

It's also common (and often quite sweet) for them to pick

up your baby. This sweet lady got more than she expected

when she grabbed our little chunk though. She mumbled in

a local dialect that we couldn't understand but we're pretty

sure she was saying, "OOOOHHH take him back! take him

back!"

It's common to see men and women, young and old sitting

on the street playing games. Cards, chess (the Chinese kind) and

mahjong are favorites. Always seem to have a great time and a

good game will often draw a crowd.

It's common to see people sleeping. Tired? Take a rest. Makes perfect

sense and you have to respect a culture who values a good nap but

it still amazes us where people can fall asleep. Truth be told, his back

is probably in better shape than mine.

We're Back! Maybe. Kind of.

2010-07-30T08:30:00.001+08:00

Can you taste the reluctance in this post. Blogging seems to be habitual for so many people these days. Unfortunately we kicked the habit nearly two years ago and now we're going to try to pick it up again. So here's hoping for a healthy addiction. Maybe.

Kind of funny things . . .

our last blog was election day 2008
our second to last blog was an apology for being such bad bloggers
our third to last blog was one year (September 11) before the birth of our son

November 4th

2008-11-04T19:09:00.000+08:00

So... our November 4th, aka Election Day, has been pretty good . . . better than some of yours will be, I am sure! We'll wake up on the 5th to the mid-election drama . . .

Happy Election Day!

Seriously? November already??

2008-11-04T18:58:00.000+08:00

Okay, so we know we've been horrid bloggers . . . it's been mentioned more than a few times by more than a few of you :)

Here's a bit of September/October in review thru the world of pictures . . . they're still worth a thousand words, right?!

Our trip to Bulgaria and Greece for a conference
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44272&id=578683772

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44272&id=578683772#/album.php?aid=44330&id=578683772

Ra's 5th Birthday party
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44272&id=578683772#/album.php?aid=44435&id=578683772

A trip to visit friends in sunny Qingdao
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44272&id=578683772#/album.php?aid=45050&id=578683772

September 11

2008-09-11T22:02:00.000+08:00

Just because I don't think it's good to forget . . . many are hurting today and we never know who they might be . . .

The Big #5

2008-09-11T21:55:00.001+08:00

So . . . the bithday party is coming up. I've decided (unintentionally at first) that we have one child . . .I love to host a good party . . . so, birthday parties are gonna be a big deal around here, well, because they can be and it makes us happy. :) Birthday themes are discussed around June (giving enough time to see if its doable or not so much) and it started as a "underwater theme" moving to a "sea creature theme" to "nemo" to a "Beibei theme" to finally, an all around Olympic birthday. Rachel is so excited about "doing the olympics" with her friends! There will be torch making/relay running (no worries, tissuepaper fire!) beachball baseball with a huge blowup bat, some kind of ring toss/shotput and a barbell pinata (if all goes well...if not, we'll see).

In China's traditional culture and art, the fish and water designs are symbols of prosperity and harvest. And so Beibei carries the blessing of prosperity. A fish is also a symbol of surplus in Chinese culture, another measure of a good year and a good life.The ornamental lines of the water-wave designs are taken from well-known Chinese paintings of the past. Among Fuwa, Beibei is known to be gentle and pure. Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring.

As many of you know, we are big Olympic fans . . . and what luck for us to be moving to the host country two years before the Great Games when the gearing up and excitement was just beginning to be aroused! From day one in Changsha we were introduced on a daily basis to the FUWA. I don't know how much those of you in the States got to see of them, but here they were literally on every city block, in every store, on TV commercials and cartoons, yogurt packaging, key chains, bicycles, sunglasses . . . EVERYWHERE. So we got to know them quite well. Well, actually, Rachel got to know them quite well. We were often (until about three months ago) asking her which color was which name and what animal the yellow one or green one was. She knew them all . . . but she had a favorite . . . Beibei.

We thought this was pretty fitting for her for many reasons: Beibei is called (surprise!) Beibei -- we have called Rachel "Beibei" (From Rachel to Ra, to RaRa to Rabei to Beibei . . . apparently we are big on nicknames) since we brought her home. Beibei is a one of two Fuwa females -- Rachel, contrary to her insistence at times, is also a girl, one of two females in our family. Beibei is blue -- Rachel's favorite color. Beibei is a fish -- Rachel has been in love with fish and all sea creatures since she was one and love love loves the water. Beibei symbolizes blessing -- Rachel (our little lamb) Charis (a gracious gift) her name's meaning is very clearly "blessing" (and if yo just want to add the prosperity part...hey, who can stop ya?) And finally, Beibei is known to be gentle and pure -- our deepest, most earnest prayer for our little girl.

I don't claim to know how involved God is in our world...its something I have wrestled well with over the past two years, however I can imagine him, if not directly involved perse, recieving great joy in our finding Him seemingly at work in an somewhat insignificant, obviously un-God related part of our world. Ither way, Beibei being a "God-ordained Fuwa" :) or just a really great symbol that happens to line up amazingly well with our daughter and her personality . . . we think she's a pretty cool little fish!

So, on September 27 (the Saturday before her birthday) we will be celebrating our own Beibei and the blessing that she brings to our lives and many of yours! We remind her often of how many people joined what God was doing in making us a family . . . our deepest thanks to you all!

USA v New Zealand--Shenyang, China--2008 Olympics!

2008-08-18T11:01:00.000+08:00

after this wonderful experience, Jerry has decided that we will save our change for FOUR years, and we will forevermore make the Olympic games our family vacation wherever they take us. THAT is a lot of mao . . . London 2012, here we come!

Some Cuteness for the Grandparents . . . sorry everybody else :)

2008-06-18T13:02:00.001+08:00

More pictures for Grandparents . . .

2008-06-18T12:51:00.000+08:00

Ten Things That Still Surprise Me About China

2008-06-18T11:32:00.000+08:00

That I never seem to see the same article of clothing being worn by different people (except the really cool "I (heart) China" t-shirts, I wish I knew where to get one!)
come on, seriously? with nearly 1.5 billion people in China you would think that you would see at least the same shirt a couple of times... like in the States at the mall... "yep, thats an Old Navy shirt" or "hey, I got that same shirt at the xyz Wal-mart, where'd you get yours?"

That wherever I look, in any direction, there are bound to be no less than 5 huge cranes at work around me
from our back gate we can see six... walk a block and there are at least four more that we know of, and in one section of road we were driving on the other day in less than a miles distance I counted, no kidding 24 of them!

That you can go a couple blocks in any direction and seemingly be in a completely different place.
There is so much growth happening in so many different aspects of life here. There are parts of the city that remain genuinely full of history, there are parts that seem so sleek and fancy they may have been in the Matrix movies, there are tons of places without a bit of green for blocks and blocks (actually, our city is now trying to become a forestry city and there are trees and plants and flowers going in everywhere you look, pretty awesome!) and then there are parks here at the river's edge that lead you into the countryside and they are lush and beautiful...we pretended we're in Hawaii last weekend!

That we can feed our family a great meal for about 5USD and still have leftovers!
meat skewers, flat bread, steamed veggies, fresh veggies and fruit . . . OR . . . two kinds of noodles, meat skewers, grilled mantou bread (so yummy!!!) and fruit . . . delicious!

That at almost any store (excluding Walmart and Carefour) I can ask for a cheaper price and get it . . . with some fun bargaining in the process!
It can almost make shopping an addiction when you add the challenge of getting the cheapest price :)

That Rachel is so safe when we go out that often when I am shopping I have to check and see if she is with me before moving on.
Chinese people, as a general rule, love love love children! They dote on them, they spoil them, they feed them and play with them . . . that's why when we go to the vegetable market I no longer assume that Rachel has picked up a tomato or grape to eat of her own accord . . . some sweet shop owner down the line has enjoyed watching her as she plays and talks to herself and has offered her some fruit as a snack. The other day she was two shops down munching on a tomato . . . the lady told me she looked hungry (possibly a polite way of saying she was too thin??? but she's soooo not) which leads me to . . .

That we now live in a society where everything is everybody's business . . . what you are wearing, what you are letting your children wear, where you are going and how you'll get there, where you work and how much money you make, how old you are, how you parent and how you became parents (adoption) and whether or not you can have your own children since you did adopt, and whether or not your adopted Chinese daughter is getting enough Chinese food to eat.
These are seriously the questions we get nearly every time we go out. You would think that once we had heard them over and over for two years that we would get used to it and not find it so surprising . . . and yes, there are days that this is true. And then there are days when the lady you want to buy eggs from asks you if you can have children "of your own" and if not, what the problem is . . . those are the days that still surprise me.

That many people are so anxious to be kind and helpful to foreigners they are unable to communicate with.
I'm not sure why this still surprises me, except that I come from a culture where you are taught NOT to yell "help" when you need help, but to yell "Fire!" so that people will actually pay attention to you . . . I guess that could have something to do with it.

That they can eat rice three meals a day and still be thin as rails and healthy as horses, but when we eat rice at each meal we gain tons of weight and feel like crud!
My Chinese teacher actually cleared this up for me one day. He said its because we don't drink hot tea or have hot soup after each meal. If we would do this, we would feel better. You know, he's right. I began doing it and I don't feel as icky after a big meal with lots of rice! Which leads me to . . .

That the Chinese people have a cure for everything and that it sounds absurd to me most of the time, but it works!
Just like the tea drinking after meals, there seems to be an easy solution to almost every problem we have come across. Its amazing . . . and when we actually get past the disbelief that it will help and try it, it nearly always works . . . and we are surprised. Our general "stereotype" of Chinese people is that they are smart and healthy. Well, that's because in general that is true! They study very hard, thus they are smart. They eat very well and know how to eat well (even if they don't know that they know how to, they just do) and so they are healthy. We have much to learn from our host country.

Sweet Sweet Corn!

2008-05-22T07:58:00.000+08:00

We have very high hopes of having genuine Missouri sweet corn late this summer or early fall! I can't wait to invite friends over for a "corn party"! yay!

Earthquake

2008-05-14T12:43:00.000+08:00

Thank you all so much for your prayers and concern for us! We are all safe and sound up here in the northeast . . . however, our friends in Changsha have not yet replied to our attempts at reaching them, there has been no company wide alert, so we must assume they are OK, but still reeling a bit from the quake. (they are in the next province over from the epicenter, about a 1 hour flight)

Please continue to pray for this country and the many many families who are suffering such loss.

Thanks!

thoughts from a friend . . . & me

2008-05-09T09:54:00.000+08:00

Ok, fact: we are about 20 months into our first "making life work in another culture" phase of life and well, as you may have noticed (and I am not asking for confessions of this!) we have been less than exciting bloggers . . . less than informative regarding our new home, surroundings & friends over the past 8 months or so.

I have several excuses to give, but to save you the boredom of reading them, suffice it to say that we have been in survival mode for some time. There have been many adjustments mentally, spiritually and physically and some days it is all we (read "really it's just me, but sounds better to speak for our whole family" . . . you know, when mama aint right, aint nobody right!) can do to make it to dinnertime in one piece.

So, to remedy this, I have pirated our friend's blog. (when in Rome . . . )

but first, some thoughts from me . . .

My friend Tash (who's husband wrote this entry) and I were taking a girl day while her family was out of town and we walked the WHOLE day. It was refreshing...the weather was clear, sunny and surprisingly clean after a nice spring rain, so we walked . . . from 10:30 am through lunch on to about 5 in the evening. As we walked in one particular part of the city, we realized that there were tons of people alongside the rode with items for sale laid out on large blankets or tarps. At first I was excited . . . it was like a huge garage sale and there were tons of old, very interesting looking items. What a find! But my excitement quickly turned to sadness as it became harder and harder for Tash and I to hear one another . . . over the blaring loud speakers overhead shouting out "NOW is a good time to move" over and over and over again. It struck me that where I come from, those loud speakers would have been shot down after the first hour, or at the very least, the first time I was trying to get some sleep and couldn't! But these people were sitting quietly at the edge of the street, many of their belongings strewn about on a blanket, some playing cards, enjoying the weather, some napping, some eying the two foreigners strolling the street . . . but all seemingly oblivious to the blaring voice overhead telling them that it was time to move . . .

here is our friend's thoughts on it . . .

In a previous post I wrote of my unhealthy obsession with demolition. Around these parts there’s plenty of it going down and the character/word chai, as pictured below, is plastered over every part of the building within reach of the aerosol wielding “artist”. Chai means demolish.

For me the word chai has begun to symbolize my city as I see it multiple times every day. I’d become a little too fascinated with it. I had plans to turn it into art. “Chai art”. And then of course plaster it on T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, and anything else that might sell. So I set out to make myself into the famous and rich artist I deserved to be.

I started by photographing every chai (demolish) I saw on a local six storey building only to discover that the neighbouring building was also covered in demolish and the next and the next… two entire city blocks. In all about 15 buildings each containing at least 48 homes and multiple small businesses. That’s about 720 homes. The ground floors of these six storey buildings were tagged with demolish and professionally painted propaganda slogans stating, “Leave early and stay safe” and “Live peacefully move soon”.

Demolition companies are contracted to flatten the old buildings and encourage the locals to move soon, stay safe and live peacefully. They achieve this by first knocking down community facilities like bicycle sheds, add-on storage rooms and small private markets that are out of “building code”. Once flattened the rubble from these illegal annexes is left awkwardly strewn across the common space. Then to make the environment more peaceful, loud speakers are strung up high and turned on full with a polite reassuring voice firmly reminding the locals from early in the day until late into the evening that, “NOW would be the best time to move”.

These looped announcements are so loud that it’s difficult to hold a conversation. I had some friendly yellversations with a few of the locals who explained there’s nothing they can do stop all this. They thought my country must be better than theirs… I felt sad, and they humiliated. They were losing their home.

To begin to understand, imagine a developer sending in some slack-jaw-yokel to tag demolish all over your house because they planned to buy it off you. Then to help you "understand" signs are placed all over your front yard explaining why it’s best to take the money and leave now. And then your house is blasted with a friendly looped message that reminds you to move before they cut off your water, gas, electricity, telephone and public heating pipes before the sub-zero winter sets in.

As I continued on from the demolition site a young guy handed me a flyer encouraging me buy a beautiful new apartment to be built in the same location. It was full of thesaurus English in fancy script font, which made little sense, “Harmonic living style”, “Passivity abode”, “Jubilant exist delight”.

I’m not so chai any more.

so, an interesting, albeit not so uplifting, look into our world . . .

But as I thought about it while writing (pirating) this entry, I remember a time in Decatur when the Swendsen's Florist on Water St. would not sell their property. Everyone around them had sold and had been knocked down, ready to begin the building of a strip mall that now houses my beloved Panara Bread, I thought how different it was. Then we often thought: "oh you silly people! sell it! they are already getting ready to build . . . you're not going to really stay, just sell already!" but now I see it quite differently, I suppose. I know the circumstances are not the same, and no, Swendsen's was not being threatened with loss of power/water/heat . . . but when you have settled your life in a place for years, who wants to be "bought out" so that all your memories can be concreted over to make yummy lunches for the likes of me?

It may sound, smell and taste different, but it's all still life, isn't it?

A hobby for mommy . . .

2008-05-06T02:21:00.000+08:00

Ok, so . . . I've decided that I need a hobby. Not that sweeping gads of dust from the construction site right outside our back door twice daily from our faux wood floors isn't exciting enough, but I've found myself lacking GOALS (well, attainable goals . . . the dust just will not go away!)

I used to love to go to the scrapbook store, what was that called? Some last name or something . . . anyway, I loved to go there for a day and scrap away, and coming home with so much accomplished . . . GREAT feeling. It was so therapeutic for me, and if I needed a therapeutic hobby in Decatur, IL . . . then I would say it'd be a good idea to have one here too. . . but I don't.

Scraping here is just too much drama. I have all my stuff, but I can't get more if I run out, so I don't even want to start a project . . . I've tried figuring out the digital scrapbook thing, but so far, have had no luck with being patient enough to learn photoshop and then all that other stuff that goes into it . . . so I have decided that I will start with learning more about photography with a really cool website that has like 11 lessons for beginners and then maybe I will be motivated enough to really learn the photoshop stuff.

There are assignments at the end of each lesson . . . my first one was "take really close up pictures of something around the house" . . . here's what I came up with. . . it made us laugh.

Well, at least it is keeping my mind occupied and is giving me some attainable goals amongst the harried pace of life . . . and it's good for laugh . . . bonus!

April Showers . . . bring new rain gear and lots of puddles!

2008-04-22T20:16:00.000+08:00

I've been so excited for the rain to come simply because I found the cutest new rain boots for Ra at zhan lan guan (john lawn gwan, like swan, but with a g:) I was seriously torn as to weather to buy the plain pink and green ones or the cute pink ones with white polka dots . . . and I couldn't believe that I had such a choice! Usually the choice is something more along these lines . . . "do I buy the pink ones with the strange japanese anime cartoon shooting guns on it or the blue ones with a goofy frog and horrid English on it?" but this time, oh THIS time it was an amazingly wonderfully hard choice to make for real! At 35 yuan (about $5 US) I should have just bought both, one a size up for next year so I can avoid the cartoons and bad English for another year. . . hmmm, not a bad idea, there may be a quick trip back to the store scheduled soon!

Anyway, she had tons of fun when she got off the school bus and there had been a whole day of rain for puddle-making in our courtyard . . . so we took the long way home and hit all the good puddles. When we got home and took off her boots, about 2 quarts of water poured out of each one! EEK! But it was fun!

What a fun day!

Field trip to Ocean World

2008-04-14T08:01:00.000+08:00

So we had our first field trip. Rachel was SOOO excited for the entire week before the trip. Finally, like two days before, I realized she thought they were going to the OCEAN . . . ah, a little different, sweet girl, but still pretty cool... she wasn't too disappointed, at least when she found out she would be able to see lots and lots of sea animals we'd never see at the ocean. It made up for the loss of beaches and sandcastles I guess :)

Ra posing with the giant penguin outside the entrance. Really great, except she was quite disappointed when we saw the actual penguins inside . . . she thought they were baby penguins.

Not a great shot, but she was being enchanted by the walrus doing "nose stands" for all the folks.

I remember seeing my first seahorse and being amazed at how small they are! Loved it!

She love, love, loved the tunnel! how exciting to see sharks, stingrays and seals swim overhead! We had an absolutely fabulous day. I love this part of being a mommy. . . she still wants me to come with her on field trips and hang out with me the whole time. Soon this will not be so and I will need to cling to these memories to get me through . . . She is such a blessing . . . such a joy.

Christmas . . . in April?

2008-04-11T08:04:00.000+08:00

Yeah, well, yesterday morning it was cold enough to still be December here (OK, maybe not that cold, but it was stinking COLD for it to be April!) and that was kind of fitting as we just got a long-awaited, highly anticipated Christmas present...

We are excited to be able to 1) use fewer taxis, 2) stop on the way to a destination when we see something of interest, and 3) have a way for Jerry to process things! He really misses driving as it was his "down time" to process things that got stuck swimming around in his head...now if you've visited us here (mom), you may think "down time??? while in that traffic?" But in reality this is just a glorified bicycle with a battery attached. We ride in the bike lane most of the time, but we get there way faster than our biking friends, which is nice considering the air in the bike lane is often caked with exhaust and occasionally sand from the northern desert.

And I love the guiltlessness of requesting trips to the market while cooking something because I have forgotten an ingredient!

Merry Christmas!

eye check-up

2008-04-10T20:18:00.001+08:00

Ra has been complaining lately of headaches (read: hedecks) so we decided to get her eyes checked to see if there were any problems. None were found, thank goodness...as cute as she would be in glasses, we weren't quite ready to deal with that at 4 years old. Although she could have been blind for all this "push your forehead against the bar and look at the little red house" test knew....she couldn't even push the bar forward, and when I asked if she was looking at the little red house? "there isn't any, mommy, just desert!" But when she read the eye chart from 5 meters away, she did great, even calling out the shapes in Chinese...so we're pretty sure they're right...no eye problems causing the hedecks. sigh.

a week of parcels!

2008-04-10T20:06:00.000+08:00

I'm not usually one for rain, but they do say "when it rains, it pours" and this past week we found this to be quite true . . . three parcels arrived safe and sound after several failed attempts. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Hinten, Grandma Alice and Grandpa Gene and "my girls" . . . we had a GREAT week enjoying all the wonderful treats you sent our way!

Daddy showing Ra what googly eyes are for . . .

yummy yummy Fruity "Petals" . . .

Feety pajamas just in time for the heat to be turned off for the year! Yay! I can be warm all night long!

The Catepillar's Voice

2008-03-29T05:39:00.001+08:00

The Kindergarten /JK and the first grade class worked for *weeks* learning this little play that they shared with all the parents and the rest of the elementary aged kids. Afterward we all went down to the cafeteria and had a little "Easter Tea". The whole rest of the day in my head I was singing "stomp, stomp, crush, crush, elephants and lions beware...stomp, stomp, crush, crush, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah" well, you know how it is, they're so darn cute you don't really listen to what they are saying/singing anyway...

This week, on Monday we will be going on a field trip to "Ocean World", which Rachel has very sadly misinterpreted as a field trip to the ocean... she was very sad when I explained to her that it would only be a place where you can see animals and creatures of the ocean...not the actual ocean. She's her mamma's girl...we love the ocean! Should be interesting!

Chinese New Year or Chun Jie (Spring Festival Holiday)

2008-03-11T09:40:00.000+08:00

Since we are just trying to "catch up" with you here....i will not droan on and on about Chinese New Year and what an amazingly different and beautiful and culturally deep time of year this is for China . . . but I will share a couple of pictures from our hua yuan (apartment complex) and our cute darling of a girl dressed up in her Chinese New Year outfit for school. (It's kind of like the "easter dress" tradition we have in the States . . . kids get new Chun Jie clothes to wear on the first day of the new year.)

Enjoying family

2008-03-11T09:29:00.000+08:00

In January we were able to make a trip back to the States for a week to attend Jerry's grandpa's funeral. Even though our hearts were filled with sadness, we were terribly blessed to be able to see so many friends and family in such a short time! And Ra was amazingingly enough, able to get completely spoiled in just 10 short days! :)

Ra with Grandpa Gene, Aunt Jo and new cousin Lycan

Ra with Grandma Alice and Grandma Hinten

and Grandpa Hinten

Strawberries the size of your HEAD

2008-03-11T09:19:00.000+08:00

yeah, so strawberries have come into season... we'd had a few batches of them and like last year, we found that even though they were greenish looking, they were some of the sweetest strawberries we'd ever tasted. Well, then the other day at the market I saw these monsters! They were, no kidding, the size of a large plum or small necterine! HUGE . . . and they were RED! bright shiny red!

Ra loved 'em, as you can plainly see! yummy!

The newest member of the jonesesinchina

2008-03-11T09:12:00.000+08:00

well, there are so many things to catch up on here in blog-world, however before we go back and catch you up too much, we would like to introduce you to Lexi . . . well, "snuggle bug" if you ask Rachel, but officially she is named Lexi. (my childhood dog's name was Lady, Jerrys was Max...and we thought combining them might be fun...but "Laxy" ? well...a little too close to "laxitive" and we really didn't want her to live up to her name in that respect...SOOO....Lexi it is)

She's been with us a week now. We have wanted a pet for some time, but just have not done it...until last weekend. A friend of a friend took us to a "shelter" like place for street dogs which was quite the experience, and you wouldn't believe the change in her if we could get the before picture to load onto the blog... she was a grey/black shaggy mess of a dog...but now she's our beautiful little Lexi!

Fairy Princess brings Double Happiness

2008-01-09T14:47:00.001+08:00

Once again we were blessed by a visit from Miss Kathy over the Christmas holiday. . . and as always, Miss Kathy never comes empty handed. She brought along with her the encouraging cards, family pictures, letters and wonderful treats you all sent our way this season. It's always "shuang xi" ( meaning "double happiness" which a very famous/common chinese character often used at wedding celebrations and the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday. It has come to be seen as a wish for good luck or fortune... FYI) when Miss Kathy plans a visit. We are blessed with so many friends who send their love via chocolates and holiday treats, books, magazines, art supplies, fun kitchen gadgets, yummy spice mixes and other assorted treasures to be hand delivered by our very own "Fairy Princess".

We are so touched by your lavish acts of kindness towards us . . . we are quite blessed. Thank you.

(and a special thank you to all of you who sent MINT chocolate!!! you are too sweet to remember that! i wasn't even selfish, i opened all the bags and poured them into a bowl to sit on the coffee table . . .)

(and an "oh my word, you are the best ever, i can't even believe how awesome you are" thank you to my dear Kiley who sent SIX cinnamon crunch bagles from PANARA in a ziploc baggie! YOU ARE AMAZING! Confession: I woke up in the middle of the night . . . the night they arrived and couldn't sleep . . . so I ate TWO! i wish i could say i savored every morsel, but no, i just inhaled them to the last crumb.)

2008-01-09T14:47:00.000+08:00

doublehappiness.gif (GIF Image, 400x400 pixels)

Snow Day!

2008-01-09T13:05:00.000+08:00

There's Mommy's idea of fun in the snow . . .

And then there's Daddy's . . .

Snow Angels

2008-01-09T12:59:00.000+08:00

Take note: it really helps to make a great snow angel if you close your eyes real tight and concentrate hard!

more fun in the snow . . .

2008-01-09T12:53:00.000+08:00

The Big Christmas Program

2008-01-07T20:17:00.000+08:00

All dressed up and ready to go to the concert! Music and microphones . . . this little girls dream come true.

The kindergarten and First Graders sang two or three songs just by themselves . . . Ra was an angel . . . literally (and figuratively).

And after all the searching I did to find a Christmas-y outfit for her to wear that had little to no bling on it . . . her Tshirt became a dress of it's own, but how cute it that? Our favorite part of the evening was when they all filed out in their fun red shirts (Rachel being near the end) and as the music starts for the first song, she reaches two people down and trades out her egg shaker for the cylpso clacker thingies... that she ended up trying to figure out how to work through the whole preformance! Goonie kid!

Cuteness.

2008-01-05T15:26:00.000+08:00

OK, confession time: I'm putting up an "aww" picture for the g-parents becasue we've lost contact here on the blog of late. between sickness, class parties and programs and well, christmas joys . . . we've not blogged nearly enough. So here ya go...

I would let the picture speak for itself, but you may not get the message clearly . . . this is a note Ra wrote to Dad's English class. (She loves his students!) and I must admit, my mommy's heart was bursting with pride and laughter at the same time. At 4 1/4 years already writing such wonderful letters, we're thinking authorship isn't far behind!

Translation: "Class, this a note for you. We hope you have a great time"

Is that pure sweetness or what??? Later she decided that "note" also has a magic silent "e" at the end like "hope" and "grate" and she fixed it before sending it to class with Daddy. Genius. Pure genius.

Putting up Rachel's tree

2007-12-09T11:20:00.000+08:00

We always said that when we had kids we wanted to have a tree especially for them to decorate however and with whatever they wanted. Aww, isn't that just so June Cleaver-ish? Yeah, that's what my friends think when they see that Rachel has her very own tree in her room to decorate, however, since we are such close friends, I'll let you in on a little secret . . . I just like my Christmas tree . . . and I don't like candy canes on it, I don't like popcorn strung on it, I don't like beautifully colored angels and santa's from art class on it, I don't like cute paper chains of red and green on it . . . I'm particular about the tree I get to sit and look at in the dark with a cup of hot chocolate after Ra has gone to bed. However, lest you think me a grinch, or christmas tree snob, I DO love to do those things and put them on trees . . . other trees. So, to solve the delimma, Rachel got her very own Christmas tree (50 yuan) to put in her room and we can decorate it all season long as the mood strikes . . . so far we have balls, as you can see, an angel, santa and a couple of decorated sugar cookies hanging from ribbon (but they taste too good to put too many on!)

Rachel drew some christmas pictures to display under her tree
Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus (mary is the one with long hair she informs us. Dad says it's when she saw the angel maybe?)

and a merry christmas tree

The Family Tree

2007-12-09T10:57:00.000+08:00

And mommy can never wait too long after Thanksgiving to put up the family tree . . .

Dominos Scrabble

2007-12-09T10:49:00.000+08:00

A family night game of Dora Dominos was going quite well until during a brief break we came back to the table and Rachel had decided she was done with Dominos and wanted to play . . . scrabble?

Thanksgiving Weekend

2007-12-03T12:13:00.000+08:00

First, i want to make the disclaimer: we voted DAN the photographer for the weekend (nicest camera always wins!) and we managed to not get a single picture . . . so as soon as he read this entry and feels so badly that there is no picture attached, i'm sure he will send me a great one and i can edit it in (wink, wink, giggle)

EDIT: well, i can't figure out how to get the actual pictures here, but here is the link to some fun shots from Thanksgiving

http://picasaweb.google.com/danielandsara/ThanksgivingInShenyang2007

thank you Dan, for your speedy response to my "challenge in a public forum", sorry my editing was not as speedy!

So, as last year, we gathered with friends (that we met in the States just before arriving in China) for our Thanksgiving celebration, however this year it was bittersweet. We so very much enjoyed getting to spend time with our dear friends, the kennedys and ernos, however we sorely missed the laughter and joy from our friends, the Clarks, who returned to the States just a few months before.

We truly have chosen a life of good-byes. who *does* that? I'm not sure, but I am sure that we are all where we are for reasons quite beyond ourselves . . . we love you, Mande and Ty! Your presence was noticeably missing in our gathering . . . but we kept memories of you alive through Chex mix and green bean casserole! ;)

Here is one great pic for you from the weekend!

We have the best friends EVER! The K's brought us the wonderful CHINA EDITION of Monopoly!! How cool is that? Who needs language classes when you can sit and play monopoly all day and learn the characters for many common districts, streets, cities and even the character for JAIL. Now how handy is that? And what Monopoly lover would not love playing Monopoly with the highest bill being 5000 (rmb) and the highest rent for "park place" being 20,000 (rmb)?

(stephanie, i don't know if you like Monopoly, but you would LOVE this, and of course, Jerry would LOVE playing it with YOU!)

Mom's Cinnamon Rolls Are a Hit Again and Again!

2007-12-03T11:10:00.000+08:00

Mom, you would not believe how wonderfully well your cinnamon rolls go over EVERY time we serve them to our friends! Thanks for teaching me how to bake such yummy things so I am able to bless my friends so often! Who would have thought those years and years (and years and years) of rolling up rolls during commercial breaks would have made such a deep imprint?

Here is Rachel's version of the recipe, mom. Thought you might enjoy it!

CINNAMON ROLLS

10 cups of sugar
10 cups of flour
10 cups of butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
3 cups of milk
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
1/2 cup baking soda
some oil

Our Thanksgiving Photographer (I)

2007-12-03T11:07:00.000+08:00

well, we spent thanksgiving with our dear friends the kennedys again this year, but this year we had a new man behind the camera . . . Noah! Here are some of his first shots . . . the subject matter improves tremendously in "our thanksgiving photographer (II)". But i would say if you were going for that "artsy look" you've got it down! I especially love the statement made by the picture of the cleaning supplies in our bathroom! (we love you guys!)

Our Thanksgiving Photographer II

2007-12-03T11:04:00.000+08:00

he improved for sure as time went on . . .

one of my favs . . . how cute are they?

and as if he asked them to pose . . .

this one could seriously be entered into come contests, don't you think?

the girls getting ready to perfom, i think, for the masses.

Thanks Noah! We didn't break out our camera near often enough, so it was nice of you to catch some memories for us! (i think we had camera envy and didn't want our little kodak guy to feel, well, you know, little) ;)

eggs for breakfast . . . daddy-style!

2007-12-03T10:48:00.000+08:00

Thanks for asking . . .

2007-11-12T21:35:00.000+08:00

We have had several requests for suggestions on good christmas gifts to send for our family . . . and well, I have just recently discovered that the wide world of AMAZON.COM is way more than just books (which is what I have always used it for). They have a magical little button to push and it catalogs all the fun things you find and like . . . and then easy as pie, you can post that magic little button on your website or blog. We have already set the shipping address for our US address in Florida, so everything will be sent directly there and collected by our dear friend Kathy who will again be blessing us with a visit this Christmas!

Really, thank you all for thinking of us, we are so humbled and blessed by your love!

Rachel "Chuckin a Sickie" with Daddy

2007-11-09T15:58:00.001+08:00

How sweet is this? Except for the projectile vomit and fever that came with it . . . pretty stinking sweet! And we are continually learning both Chinese and Australian . . . this blog features our newest Australian vocabulary "chuckin' a sickie". Yep, that's Australian for "playin' hookie" . . . but I guess it's not really hookie if you are really sick, huh? Ah, well, first you learn the vocab, then you learn to use it in context...right?

A New Wall for Mommy!

2007-11-09T15:33:00.000+08:00

Finally. One year and three months in. I have color in my home . . . not just curtains, bed covers and such, but I have bonifide COLOR on my walls! This may be small to many of you (and a little slow to some of our friends here in China) however, both cities we have lived in it has been some kind of strange alien-like desire to want to have color on your walls...so we did it. We went to "paint street" we looked at the colors, we said I like this one, they said, it's not very pretty, so I said I like it anyway, it matches my room, they said it's not very pretty for a wall, and I said I'll take a whole can of it.

It's a little more "burgandy" than I had hoped, less "ruby" but it's nice. It's colorful. It's warm. And it makes our big living room with with wood floors and a HUGE entertainment center/wall look much cozier.

Cozier home, happier mom....and all is right in our world.

What'dya think? (If you say it's not a good color for a wall, save it, I've heard it before!) ;)

There shall be showers of blessing . . .

2007-10-31T08:51:00.000+08:00

Gotta love packages! Rachel has the routine down pat now: See a package, run to the kitchen, carefully get a steak knife for mommy or daddy, get BLUE ikea knife for herself, safely carry them to the living room and wait for big strong daddy to bring the excitment to us so we can OPEN IT!!!

After their visit, Aunt Jo and Aunt Becky realized that there were a few things we were not able to get here in china . . . or well, we could get some of them, but in much smaller sizes/amounts than in the states, or they were tripple the price you pay in the states, or they just didn't quite look like what we are used to . . . so to bless us, some wonderful thnigs were packed into two boxes and sent from some dear friends in TN.

We loved all the hair dongxi you sent, aunt jo . . . she can still use them with her four year old haircut, but we did send some to the orphanage too . . . we don't have to put her hair up as ofen, but it's nice to have matching pony-holders and barrettes when we DO put it up!

And when you come back, Aunt Becky :), we will have nice big ice cubes for you to put in your tea and pepsi! Thanks! It really is nice every once in awhile to have ice cubes that don't melt as soon as you pour warm liquid over them! I'm sure our American guests will appreciate it!!

you have GOT to be KIDDING me . . .

2007-10-29T08:14:00.000+08:00

Is this or is this not STILL October???? Yes, friends, I do believe it is . . . and the snow we drove home in and came home to after our wonderful weekend in the countryside . . . well, I was a little less than chipper about it to say the least. Have a look....

bushes in our hua yuan

at least we don't have to scrape windows anymore

these were really pretty flowers outside our apartment building . . .

Saying Goodbye

2007-10-25T13:49:00.000+08:00

My parents just left this Tuesday after a three-week stay with us in this beautiful culture we live in. We took them to the airport and said our good-byes at the security gate. They were headed to Beijing to spend the night at a hotel becuase their flight was too early in the morning to make it from SY . . . such a weird thing, to send your parents out on an airplane and worry about their survival for the next 15 hours or so! Aren't they supposed to worry about ME??? Of course, I had nothing to fear . . . they were complete champs while they were here, heading out to stores to buy things on their own (yes, i said storeS . . . not just one, mind you) learning to use chopsticks, teaching our Ayi a recipe that we really love, even though neither mom or ayi could understand a word the other said. They made it through the night and I am assuming they made it home . . . when we came home from Chinese class today there were three unanswered calls from thier skype address to ours. Never been prouder to call them my parents . . . this trip was way, way, way out of my mom's comfort zone . . . but she was a champ! And my dad? Well, he suffered a pretty miserable 12 hour flight that never would have been considered before.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for loving on us these past three weeks, for being such champs in a culture that is so completely different from everything you know, for hours of babysitting, for patiently waiting for us to be done with school each day so we could spend time together . . . and most of all? Thanks for coming to see what our lives look like now. It's much different than we may have ever imagined . . . more tiring, more exciting, more frustrating, more blessed . . . and thanks for letting us share it with you! (taxis and all!) LOL

Enjoy that wood stove!

YUMMY BOXES FROM THE STATES!

2007-10-25T13:30:00.000+08:00

Well, here's a weird thing that happens when you live in another culture whose food is completely different from what you have eaten for the past 30-some years . . . when you get a parcel, correction: TWO parcels, filled with yummy boxes of cereal and you eat your fill (in very large bowls, mind you) for breakfast, you get this funny little rash-type thing on the roof of your mouth. However, let me tell you this did not stop us from having cereal for breakfast, lunch . . . and well, we haven't yet gotten to dinner time today, but I'm guessing there would be no argument if I produced Lucky Charms, Crunch Berries and Corn Pops at the dinner table!

A HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to all the lovely people at Centerpoint in Hendersonville (right?)! You guys are THE BEST! We have been so blessed by all your encouragement and talks with Dad on our behalf . . . but the plethera of cereals you sent? Seriously. If we could reach you through the miles, we'd kiss every single one of you right on the lips! (see some previous posts for other things that cause us to kiss people smack on the lips . . . FYI: we're a very affectionate family!)

Who'd have thunk it?

2007-10-17T16:13:00.000+08:00

Well, folks . . . the GC may not be fulfilled, but I sure think that my parents wildest dreams (or could it be nightmares?) have been! My parents joined us in this wonderful country we live in on October 2 in Beijing. After almost 25 hours of travel, a huge chunck of which had my father doubled up, sucked in , squished and TENSE (while my mom slept peacfully because she took my great advise of drugging herself on the long flight) they arrived in fine shape at the Beijing Internation Airport! They quite possibly win the prize for "over all best jet-laggers in the world" . . . they arrived in the evening and slept about 8 hours that night, the following night they BOTH slept 12 hours straight, had a nap the next day and then a good 9 - 10 hours the next night! SWEET! No middle of the night wake-ups not knowing what to do with themselves, no falling asleep in the middle of the acrobat show or their dinners . . . they are champs with jet lag! In all honesty, they have pretty much been champs all the way around! No one volunteered for the suggested dinner of scorpion on a stick and candied hawthorn for dessert, but they have braved some of the most daring taxi drivers we have encountered during our time in China, they have crossed one of the busiest streets in Shenyang (which goes without saying is like crossing the interstate on foot during rush hour where my parents come from!) and to top it off, several days after Jerry and I head to Chinese class, they have ventured out of the house and taken a little walk to our friendly neighborhood Carrefour (like Wal-mart) and done some shopping!

I asked my mom one night if she ever thought she would find herself in China . . . her response? Well, no, I guess not . . . I've thought there might be some places in the world I might like to see if they weren't so far from home (hmmm....where is it I get that home-body gene?) but I'm pretty sure China wasn't one of them!

Never underestimate the power of grandchildren!

Random Blog

2007-09-30T23:18:00.000+08:00

Yes, this is a random blog...i have been blogging for the past hour and a half, should be packing for BJ tomorrow, but am not...I have had these pictures for awhile, but keep forgetting to blog it.

Rachel had been sick over the weekend and stayed home on Monday from school (a couple of weeks back) and I had totally forgotten that Tuesday was her day to take snack to school . . . worse yet, the teacher had called me the week before and specifically asked me to make pancakes for snack to go along with a lesson they were having...no prob, love to make pancakes! Well, forgot until 2 minutes before the bus arrived...PANIC! Ok, I can make them and taxi them out there to the school in time for snack . . . oh, crud. No eggs. Jerry, please run down to the veggie market and get some eggs...OK, no prob. (while he was gone I called the teacher, she had already asked someone else to make them knowing that Ra had been sick and I may forget...what a wise wise woman) so Jerry comes home with THESE eggs...white eggs? (maybe normal in the states, but here, no way. I only see brown eggs...EVER!) with black little specks? What the heck? so i sit them on the counter and don't think about them again. UNTIL . . . our helper comes...she coments "oh, you bought blah blah blah eggs" (the blahs are words i don't understand and thus, they are BLAH BLAH BLAH to me) "oh yeah" I reply, "I needed eggs this AM to make some cakes, Jerry ran to the market and this is all he could find...they look strange to me" Hmm...

She takes the eggs to the sink, cracks one and begins to peel it. Uggh. It's the 1,000 year eggs! I have seen them served at meals, for sale in the market (peeled) and being eaten as a snack by many a chinese person on the street . . . but never had I seen them in their shell. Oh, wouldn't that have been something if I had tried to start making PANCAKES with these babies!

Crazy Foreigners!

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

2007-09-30T22:53:00.000+08:00

Good Morning Birthday girl! She was so excited to get that helmet she had been asking for since March! Finally, my parents are going to let me be SAFE while I ride my bike!

Bacon and eggs . . . a birthday girl's breakfast

And cake for breakfast dessert? What mom? Have you lost your mind? (she thought so when she asked for a piece of cake and I didn't even hesitate to say yes . . . very strange! Who are you and what have you done with my MOM!)

And remember the little girl who woke up this morning? Well....

This is how she went to bed tonight! She decided that she needed a "4 year old" haircut. (actually it was a long time coming, but tonight when she could stand the hair in the tub no longer . . . a huge issue for this gal . . . she begged me to cut her hair short. This is as far as I could go...) But isn't she so cute!!??

Birthday weekend trip to the Science Center

2007-09-30T22:44:00.000+08:00

since we first came to SY to visit and check it out, Rachel has loved the Science Center...its actually the building with the big "epcot-esque" ball on top from other pictures. We had been waiting for a van to pick us up, so we wandered in there to get out of the sun, but something in there caught her attention and kept it. When we moved here she kept saying, so, mommy, when are we going to go to the fun place with the ball on top? And has persistantly asked that question anytime we mention that we may be doing something fun . . . so for birthday weekend, we decided it was time. It really was quite fun, even though many of the displays and activities didn't work, there were enough that did to keep us busy for over 3 hours! Educational fun for five bucks, who could ask for more???

Rachel, Lachy and Jo lifting Jerry and Damion on the see-saw. Funny to see the three of them lifting their two dads...but the wonder of it was lost on them...it wasn't fun because they weren't going up and down.

A square-wheeled bicycle, quite a bumpy ride!

Recess with friends

2007-09-30T22:32:00.000+08:00

Amazingly it doesn't take long for "RECESS" to become the number one answer to "what do you like best about school?" Our little one is no exception, and who can blame her when she gets to dig in nasty dirty sand/gravel every day?!

And I just loved these pictures of her...maybe just the colors, but she sure looks like a pro to me!

A Blue's Clues Party

2007-09-30T22:15:00.000+08:00

Well, it is a poorly kept secret that Rachel's favorite color these days is BLUE...she has for the last six months ranked her favorite colors from 1 - 30 or so...often chiming out with, "oh, mom! You gave me the pink one...that's my 16th favorite color" (sometimes this is with thankfulness, sometimes with disappointment...depending on the day, her mood, speed of the west-australian current and other random factors). So when posed with the question many months ago, what do you want to decorate your birthday party with this year, Blues Clues was the winner by a landslide. So, thanks to Aunt Jo we had some pretty great decorations, party favors for the pinata, party hats/plates/napkins, tattoos. All things BLUES CLUES.

We decided that all the kids she would invite, for the most part, were in her kindergarten, so why not have the party on Friday before her birthday at the school...this worked out great as it was also Field Day and a pretty much non-productive day from the teaching perspective. Rachel decided that everyone should wear blue clothes for the party and that we should eat blue food...hmmm...blue food...hmmm...

For morning snack time I made a giant cookie

Ahh, the calm before the storm

We made homemade ice cream in a bag (blue, of course). Everyone had a turn putting in an ingredient and then we all took turns shaking the bags wrapped in fuzzy blankets.

And then the pinata . . . this year mom got wiser and made it a pull-string pinata. Dad says it's not REALLY a pinata if you don't get to smack it with some kind of stick.

but they enjoyed it anyway!

a BLUE lunch??

2007-09-30T21:49:00.000+08:00

BLUE rice, BLUE mac n cheese, BLUE "dip it" (aka: ranch dressing) with veggie sticks and a BLUE hard boiled egg....yum yum! Anyone for dinner at the Joneses?

Now doesn't that just look scrum-yum-a-lummy?!?

I took a chance...I headed to the bakery down the street with a party hat and determination and asked if it were possible for her to draw "this dog onto (pointing) this size cake"? OH, SURE she said confidently...I left not convinced that I wouldn't have to purchase another cake at another bakery . . . but when we went to pick it up I was pleasantly surprised to find it really did resemble Blue's Clues . . . enough that Rachel recognized it as soon as we entered the shop. Ah, the sweet relief of a concept communicated successfully!

OK, I realized too late that the cake needed to be turned toward the camera for the "4" to be right....duh, mom.

One of Rachel's very favorite things about China is birthday cakes! Every bakery around has a marvelous display of beautifully decorated cakes in a very low display case so she can linger over all the pretty flowers, chocolate swirls and creme . . . so to serve her very own cake was quite a joy fo her.

Never see our three year old again!

2007-09-29T22:47:00.000+08:00

Well, it's birthday eve and I just can't believe it! We'll never see our three year old again....she told me as she was falling asleep..."mommy, tomorrow I will be your big FOUR year old!" so, i had to run and get the camera to take the last picture we will ever have of her as a three year old. Sigh.

She counted to 200 (or the second hundred, as she calls it) tonight as we were getting ready for bed....all in the course of telling me that tomorrow she would be four, then five, then six....and on and on to 200. It was interesting, when she got to 35...that's my age now... wow. Too much for a mommy with a cold to handle right before bedtime!

Goodnight, my sweet, sweet three-year-old!

BIRTHDAY FUN

2007-09-28T01:17:00.000+08:00

Jerry took this picture at my friend Natasha's house on her birthday. We all went out to eat dinner at one of her favorite places (yummy yummy chinese food!) and then back to their house for dessert and coffee. Jerry commented on what a "cross-cultural" group of girls we are...I guess he's right... 1 chinese, 2 colombians, 2 Koreans, 1 Australian and 1 American . . . it's great to live in a city with such great gals!

Our First Sleepover

2007-09-28T01:12:00.000+08:00

Last week was my friend Natasha's birthday so we offered to keep their boys overnight so they could sleep in on Saturday morning. Both Lachy and Rachel were croupy-coughy, but they all had a great time anyway! Grilled cheese and veggie sticks for dinner, a run around the play area before bedtime to wear them out a little, many, many many bedtime stories, some snickering and giggling before they were tucked in one final time and then . . . sweet sleep!

Lachy and Rachel after bathtime

Bedtime stories!

Saturday morning "cartoons" (a BOZ dvd on the computer!) while they wait patiently for pancakes.

Ahhh, sweet memories!

2007-09-28T01:03:00.000+08:00

Well, it's that time of year when I just love to shop the "end of season" sales . . . here in China, that's not so much a "thing" they do, but I was pleasantly surprised to find this little bargin for just US $6.oo! And much to my surprise, when I got home I realized I had been shopping at one of my favorite stores . . . had I realized it I would have looked for a new Thanksgiving tablecloth . . . KOHL'S always has such nice ones!

Cute little Cinderella dress in BLUE ( a dress in blue is quite a find I'm learning!)

And what to my wondering eyes should appear? But a sweet little tag , a whisper from DAD, "I love you, dear!"

Spider Girl . . . no one knows who you are!

2007-09-10T19:40:00.000+08:00

The other day Rachel got off the school bus and we weren't sure who she was . . . she wore this adorable little creation ALL weekend (to the play area, to the market, to the grocery store) my theory is that she loved the fact that no one could see her under all those legs . . . a nice break from being mauled and asked how old she is.

Spirit Day . . . not the holy kind

2007-09-10T19:22:00.000+08:00

Today kicked off "Spirit Week" at SYIS (Shenyang International School) where Rachel attends kindergarten . . . this weekend is their first volleyball tourney and everyone (from kindy to seniors, lunch lady to principal) participates. Today was PJ's and Crazy Hair Day. I think for first time "Spirit Weekers" we didn't do too bad! We sure had a blast and a bundle of laughs while we were getting ready.

After getting all those rubberbands in her hair, it still didn't feel finnished to Ra . . . she went into her toy vanity thingy and pulled out some dragonfly clips and curlers, and mom saw some chopsticks on the table calling to be added. . . ahhhh, the finnishing touches! And yeah, no idea what that pose is, but it was too cute not to take a picture of. And the final pic is of Ra and Joe, her 8 year old "big brother" who helps her on and off the bus and walks her to her classroom each day. We love Joe!

Splish Splash!

2007-08-24T15:44:00.000+08:00

It's an interesting fact that people here seem to prefer their children to not play on the floor, play in dirt, splash in puddles or anything otherwise associated with dirt . . . so as our child froliced through the mud puddle in her bare feet out in the common area of our apartment complex, we were pleasantly in awe when our upstairs neighbor brought her little grandson right over, proceeded to take off his shoes and set him down on the dirty ground near the puddle of fun Rachel was enjoying . . . she took this as her cue to educate him in proper puddle splashing etiquette.

splash splash fun fun

splashing is so much fun!

"first you have to get the feel of the water . . . "

"then you do a little dance like this . . . it'll get you good and wet"

"and if that doesn't do it for you, you can always get down real close . . . and POW . . . splash as hard as you can with you hands!"

This is the beautiful fountian that creates that wonderful little splashing puddle everyday from noon to 1pm and from 6pm to 7pm. Come on over and splash with us . . . it's loads of fun!

Pre-Birthday Celebration

2007-08-24T14:12:00.000+08:00

Jerry and Rachel have September birthdays . . . Thelma and Louise (see previous posts) were sad to miss them, so we celebrated early with some cinnamon rolls made by our new helper, Tian Jie, and some mis-matched random birthday stuff.

Rachel purchased this same golf game for a friend's birthday the previous week and was so proud of her choice of gifts . . . she didn't want the birthday boy to play with it without her . . . so Thelma (or was it Louise?) to the rescue . . . she got her OWN golf game as a pre-birthday present. (and what did Jerry get, you ask? Salt and Pepper shakers . . .finally! . . . the nicest ones Wal-mart had to offer ;) )

Showing her deepest gratitude!

Hey, you got a little somethin' on your face...

2007-08-24T14:00:00.000+08:00

AHH . . . the refreshment of cool, sweet ice cream!

This is Rachel with our dear, sweet friend, Holly. Along with being in the Cross Cultural Communications class last year in Changsha, Holly spent a lot of time with our family as our translator, food orderer, babysitter and friend...here we have once again taught Holly a new Cross-Cultural concept....before you clean your child, stop! and take a picture. She found it quite humorous that we wanted a picture of them together BEFORE we used the wet wipes!

Thelma and Louise Go to China

2007-08-24T10:41:00.000+08:00

If there were such a thing as the Adventurer Hall of Fame, surely its halls would have a new exhibit. Right past Lewis, Clark, Columbus, Vespucci, next to the entire cast of Star Trek (the original) would stand "Thelma and Louise part II: Keef and Price"

What do you get when you take two incredibly fun women, one of which has been a grandmother for less than a month and has never been out the States and the other who has never been on a plane, in a taxi, eaten with chopsticks or lost her luggage, and send them on a 4 million mile trip around the world? A great time and some wonderful memories.

We were overly blessed this month to have my sister (the incredibly young grandmother) Joanna and my Aunt (the legendary first time world traveler) Becky spend two weeks with us. Together we explored the great sites of China including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananamen Square, Starbucks and KFC.

Aunt Thelma, Grandma Louise and Rachel at the Forbidden City

Mastering the fine art of eating with sticks

On the wall

Eating Squid at the Korean BBQ

You mean they don't live inside our TV?

2007-08-16T08:32:00.000+08:00

the chinese acrobats have been a huge part of our family since Rachel was . . . oh, I'd say, 1 1/2 and could ask for specific DVDs to watch . . . she often chose the "Rachel" DVD which was the video of our adoption trip and included the Chinese Acrobats in bits and pieces....when she was about 2 or so, she would then become the acrobats after watching this DVD...while living in Florida, our family night activity often included us all becoming Chinese Acrobats with Daddy laying on his back in the floor and lifting Ra, and then ME over his head while we "balanced" balls and random other toys in our hands. Rachel loves the Acrobats! So while in Beijing to pick up the aunts, we made a visit to the Acrobat theatre....they truly are amazing! The pictures do microscopic justice to the talent and beauty incorporated into this show . . . have a look . . .

Next family night, THIS is what we'll attempt . . .

I'm pretty impressed that Jerry got this shot . . . they're blurry because they are only in that spot for a milisecond!

And OUR little acrobat . . . mesmorized the whole 1.5 hour show.

Daddy Daughter Bonding

2007-08-12T21:17:00.000+08:00

Jerry and Ra shared a moment of sweet bonding over scorpion on a stick...mmm mmm.... while we were in Beijing with the aunts. Jerry says it wasn't all that bad...tastes like chicken!

Home Sweet Home

2007-08-11T11:21:00.000+08:00

After only a week and a half of searching we found an amazing apartment. Mommy got her kitchen. Rachel got her playground and Daddy is just a walk across the street from his office (behind the huge ball pictured below). We are absolutely thrilled with our new home and look forward to the many relationships that will be built here. This is the view from our back window. It won't last long because they are building a high rise right next to us but for now we have a wonderful view of the Shenyang skyline at night. Rachel insists on seeing "Daddy's office ball" every night before bed. Can't really blame her.

One Tasty Little Girl

2007-08-11T10:21:00.000+08:00

So we learned quickly that our new home (population 8 million) is also home to 46 million mosquitoes. During our first week, as we were looking for an apartment, Rachel woke up with FIFTY-SIX mosquito bites, more than half of which were on her face. Don't let the pictures fool you. She was less than thrilled about the whole experience but she did like the polka-dot (calamine) medicine. Poor kid. Since then she has been attacked again with even more bites. She is, by far, the tastiest one in our house.

Taking it all in stride.

A fine How Do You Do arrival in SY

2007-07-14T22:36:00.000+08:00

Well, we have arrived . . . in SY, that is. Thursday evening when we finally landed and were snuggly settled into the LDi guest apartment, Rachel decided it was a good time to make some memories . . . . so her little nose began to bleed . . . and bleed . . . and bleed! She has had bloody nose issues since the day we brought her home, but this was CRAZY! We couldn't get it stopped for at least 20 minutes, which, if you've never had the pleasure, seems like a decade when pints of blood are flowing out of your child's body! It finally stopped, but started up again twice before we were able to call it a night. sigh! But we did learn this: if you have a hysterical child (and mom) and want to keep them calm during a nose bleed trauma, bring out the good ole internet and learn something funny....like how to count to ten in Japanese!

Thanks to all of you who are continuing to remember us during the exhausting search for an apartment. It has proven to be fun, exciting, irritating, scary and just plain funny! Keep those thoughts headed upward, we have some wonderful prospects on the horizon and are excited to see what happens....it seems that finding an apartment is like most other things in China . . . it has more to do with building a relationship than with actually finding an apartment! As cool and exciting as that really is, this homebody is really just wanting to find a place to make into a home. So, if you're talking to Dad and you think about it, ask him for a speedy process along with the beginning of promising relationships . . . thanks!

Oh, sorry no pictures this time....i'm using the Mac that Jerry bought from a friend for me a year ago that we have yet to be able to use with internet access....it's quite exciting for me to have my very own electronic gadget, even if i don't know the first thing about it yet (like how to get my pictures off the PC and onto here....) =-)

Picasso? Could be . . .

2007-07-02T11:39:00.000+08:00

Ra is continually amazing us, but recently we have been floored by what she is begining to do by herself. Things we have practiced with her, or shown her how to do, but she has no interest at the time . . . these amazing feats often occur in the wee hours of the morning when we are still asleep, and she wakes us to show her works of art. This part we dont so much love, but her little face beaming with pride at what she has accomplished on her own, she could wake me at 5 am and I'd not complain . . . ok, well, maybe a little.

We have been practicing writing her ABC's, but she's just not taken an interest. She has been able to verbally spell her name since she turned 2, but when she marched in with this masterpiece, I was amazed, not just that she spelled it right, but that it was all in a straight line and I could recognize all the letters, even with blurry eyes.

Ok, these I recognized as people only because of the feet and hands included, but when she pointed out all the parts and explained they were boys because they had short hair . . . it was like . . . duh!

I love this one because it was the beginning of everyone having to be drawn with a belly button . . . and apparently shark teeth (no, this is not a picture of mommy when Rachel woke her to show that she had used the glue to glue ALL the construction paper together to make a . . . um . . . it's a . . . "i don't know what it is mommy"!) but it is a girl because it has eyelashes . . . (boys don't have those, you know)

And this one I love because it is both a boy and a girl says Ra....because it has long hair and short hair!

I ask you, how cute is she?!?

Something to Wonder About

2007-07-02T11:19:00.000+08:00

OK, there are alot of reasons that I love living in China . . . not the least of which is the wonderful concept they have of "song"ing things when you buy something. "song" is the word for "free", but its a verb . . . sometimes. (ex: I "song" you this thing) For example, last winter I bought a sweater, when I went to pay, they asked me to choose a scarf from a small selection they had at the counter. Granted, none of them went with my sweater, but hey! If you know me, you know that I'm all about free stuff!

So it has now become our mission to find the strangest combination of "song"ed things...this is not even close to some of the really strange matches, but we found it particularly interesting because it came packaged this way, unlike most "song"ed things in a store. Usually they are random items (ex: a bag of potato chips and a bottle of shampoo) bound together with packaging tape, but not so this time...the battery people actually thought about this and decided that song-ing toothpaste with AA batteries was a grand idea. Hmmm....we decided that maybe they were pushing for people to use those electric toothbrushes. In that case, way to go...but with the track record I've seen so far, I'm thinking that's probably not the case.

Gottcha Day 2007 continues

2007-07-02T10:36:00.000+08:00

building sand cities is serious business

Yay! Subway for lunch . . . mommy and daddy's special Gottcha Day treat!

Ra loves to go to walking street because it is full of fun statues and "the water ball" so we walked off Subway before we headed home for rest time.

Gottcha Day 2007

2007-07-02T10:29:00.000+08:00

It's hard to believe we've had this little piece of joy in our lives for three years now...you hear your friends say over and over how "time flies" and "they grow up so fast", and then you live it...thank you to all of you who have counseled me to cherish the moments, I do remember your counsel (most days) and when I find myself forgetting, she usually does something so stinking funny I can't help but cherish the moment!

We also want to say, again, THANK YOU!! to all of you who made our dream of being a family a reality! Your love, generosity, shoulders to lean on, and your prayers have all become a part of the oh-so-popular bedtime "Precious Baby Girl" story. As we continue to hear the stories of other families who have gone through this same process, we are deeply moved at the true miracle we were all a part of in bringing Rachel home so quickly and without incident!

Praise to Him who (not only) can (but does) do more than we could ever ask or imagine!

The requested Gottcha Day breakfast? DONUTS and COFFEE!
(that's my girl!)
don't worry, it's decaf coffee loaded down with LOTS of nutritious milk!

Gottcha Day surprise was a trip to the sand pit at the riverside with brand new sand toys

Awww . . . isn't that just adorable?
(even more so if you could see the front of Ra's shirt . . . they match!)

Ra loved that the camera would take the picture by itself . . . and that mommy had to RUN like crazy to get in the picture!

We found it! The Warehouse to the World

2007-06-05T12:47:00.000+08:00

I wonder if this country will ever cease to amaze us? I think not . . . You gotta come on over and check it out! We'd love to go exploring with you!

As we were going back to our hotel we drove past this street. I couldn't help myself. It looked far too much like a bargain lovers paradise! And what we found was AMAZING! This had to be the market where places like Wal-mart and Target, possibly even Pier 1 shop! It was shop after shop after endless shop of STUFF. For our white skinned faces, however, there was not a bargain to be found, well, until I shamed a woman who was flaunting a bubble blower toy in front of Rachel into giving it to us for half the price she started with. Hey, she only had 10 rmb / day to do business with, ya know? (see posts below for that story)

One of the many halls in this enormous place!

And then there was the upstairs where there was all kinds of home decor . . .

A very weak attempt at showing the hugeness of this place, I feel like the apostle John trying to describe his revelation (ok, that's kind of reaching, but seriously!)

The Warehouse for the World . . . continued

2007-06-05T12:23:00.000+08:00

Here i found coffee mugs with scripture on them . . . hmmm? As my friend Tracy said, "impossible!"

And then there were a few places that made me feel like I was back in America . . . yes, I still have a dish fettish, to Jerry's great displeasure!

Rows and rows and rows of the same . . . seriously, 12 football fields square, at least! and two floors!

OK, you have to understand that candles in China are functional only. They either provide light when the electricity is out or they keep food and tea hot. They are not yummy smelling, they are not the finishing touch for home decor . . . but this . . . this little oasis of joy was filled with yummy smelling candles of every kind . . . sigh. . .

Family Memories in Guang Zhou

2007-06-05T11:47:00.000+08:00

Our wonderful little hotel had a "roof top garden" which consisted of four plots of green, green grass looking out over the Guang Zhou skyline. Rachel thought we needed family night with our left over pizza hut from lunch, so we rounded ourselves up and had a little family picnic. One of the housekeeping staff watched over us closely . . . assuredly wondering what these crazy foreigners might be doing! (yes, i was already in my PJ's when Ra made this great decision, so on went one of Jerry's big shirts over them...lest you think my fashion sense has gone up in smoke in the last 10 months =-)

Friday was "Children's Day" in China. All the kids were out of school and many were out playing in this little park area. Ra was thrilled to have some friends to play with!

Guang Zhou was the last stop on our adoption trip nearly three years ago. Rachel loves to hear the "precious baby girl" story, which includes a visit to the doctor in Guang Zhou, Shaiman Island where he checked out her " head and her toes, her fingers and her nose" to make sure she was ready for the long flight back to America. We went back there to do some shopping (they cater greatly to adoptive parents). This store was there three years ago, the owner was from the same province as Rachel and gave her a beautiful silver bracelet. We have a picture of me with them from three years ago in Rachel's first year scrapbook, so we thought we'd take another with these girls, one of which just moved to Guang Zhou from Changsha! crazy.

The riverboat. Remember this AHH families? Our last night in China, I think, and we took the riverboat cruise. All the girls (and parents, I believe) were dead tired...we decided that since we don't get to see you all this month at the reunion, we would just take a little trip down memory lane and share it with you! OH! how we wish we could come to the reunion! Please send pictures!!

We didn't take a picture of it, cuz it's kind of a gross story, but we even went down the street on Shaiman Island with all the bronze statues (do you remember that John and Rita) where we first were able to "clean out" Rachel's nose! She has always had a dry nose issue, nose bleeds and the like, and those first days I thought she had some kind of breathing issue . . . but walking down that street, Daddy finally got a huge hunk of dried mucos out of her and she could breath without sounding like darth vador . . . ahhh, the memories!

More of Guang Zhou

2007-06-05T11:07:00.000+08:00

Rachel got a 10RMB / day vacation allowance . . .
(yeah, I know, big spenders that we are! about $1.50 US, hey, it was a bargin trip after all!)
these fun colorful rubber bands were her first purchase of the trip
and we decided to do her up in true Chinese-girl fashion.
How cute is she?!?

Ra was thrilled to find this arcade where she and Daddy spent his vacation allowance
but we found it humorous to spend money on a "crazy taxi" video game . . . we do that
nearly everyday here in China!

And then we found the street in China where all the world's neon signs are made . . .
maybe this one was headed back to good-ole Illinois?

Just call me "MIss Spontaneity" . . . if you believe that . . .

2007-06-05T10:53:00.000+08:00

Well, miracles CAN happen, you know, and this past week was the very proof of that! This highly organized, think things through completely so as to avoid the slightest margin of error girl, found herself surfing the internet last week and looking at airline tickets to random places in China while Jerry was testing the English level of some students for next year's classes. Let me first say that the one thing that surprised me the most when moving to this wonderful country was the extremely high cost of flying to destinations within the country. It nearly gives me, the extreme bargain hunter, a heart attack anytime we have had to fly in country this past year, to the point that I try not to even ask Jerry how much it cost until we arrive back home. . . so for me to be randomly searching prices of plane tickets was a strange fact in itself . . . but even stranger still?

I found tickets to a southern port city about an hour flight from here for $35 US each . . . one way. "Wow!" I thought, "I bet getting back home will cost a fortune!", so I checked and found that tickets home would be even cheaper . . . hold on to your hats folks . . . less than $18 US each to fly home! I thought for sure there would be no way to find a place to stay (well, to meet my hotel standards, which, yes, girlfriends, has not changed in the least!) would be impossible putting this ridiculous little pea-sized idea to rest at last . . . however . . . I found a wonderful web-site for discounted last minute hotel reservations in China and there, as if the heavens had opened up and the angels were singing the hallelujah chorus, was listed the newly opened in 2006 (read: assuredly meets LaWanda's hotel standard) Ramada Plaza (double confirmation of the standard being met) of Guang Zhou, China for $50 per night (read: gift from Dad cuz he knew it was time for the Joneses is get away for some family time by themselves!).

So . . . off we went for a few wonderful days in the even hotter, even more humid city of Guang Zhou, China! Here are a few pictures, i will post a few more shortly (we are having to get into our blog through the back door once again, so the process is a little time consuming and I can only post four or five pictures/post). We are so very thankful for the time away . . . as many of you know, sometimes you just don't know how convoluted life is until you step away from it for a few days to get some perspective. . . thank goodness Dad knows what it will take to get me to take those steps back . . . and he came through with flying colors! His little bargain-loving girl was quite pleased . . . and her husband? Floored by the spontaneity of it all!

Rachel enjoying the great pool with her new floaties

I love coffee as much as the next guy (well, maybe not you, DK . . . )
but I just couldn't make myself go in and check this one out.
I'm going with "the cat likes to eat coffee" shop, not the many
alternatives to the interpretation of this sign.

And here we found "rubber band street"
store after store after store of these bags of rubber bands.
Amazing.

Rachel finally figured out a way to keep everyone at bay . . .
if they can't see me, they can't poke at my cheeks and say the
same thing over and over to me in Chinese while I stare blankly
at the spot directly behind them and to the left!
She's brilliant, I tell ya!

An Anniversary to Remember

2007-05-24T14:51:00.000+08:00

Gone are the days of spontanious surprise weekends at cozy little bed & breakfasts . . . gone are the days of romantic dinners for two at wonderful little out-of-the-way resturants with candlelight and the hushed conversations of other starry-eyed lovers nearby . . .

ahh, you may say, so goes the married life of parents . . . but aye! I tell you it's not the bundle of joy that joined our family nearly three years ago that has caused this monumental shift in our lives, but instead our very new, very interesting change in perspective.

When you are inindated with advertisments of the "ideal" anniversary present and/or celebration (ie: "Every kiss begins with 'k' " "diamonds are a girls best friend" and who can forget those lovely mushy, "i need a kleenex" hallmark commercials?) and you are also surrounded with every culinary option known to man . . . well, creativity seems to be a must to make an anniversary memorable. . .

Not so when you are a foreigner in China with 10 months of "experience" under your belt! A simple 25 yuan taxi ride across the city and viola! You are in the land of wonders . . . the heart-warming, mouth watering aroma hits you as soon as you walk through the door . . .

That's right folks . . . Subway . . . the land of endless sandwich opportunity (well, not exactly endless, you have to cross your fingers and hold your tongue just right to see if they will indeed have the sandwich preparations of your choice, of which they did not have for poor Jerry, no steak and cheese to celebrate this anniversary!)

A morning of exploring a previously unexplored neighborhood where we found loads of beautiful children's clothing and some wonderfully interesting people. . . top that off with an incredibly satisfying terriakyi chicken sub loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green peppers, salt, pepper, southwestern sauce (because there was no sweet onion sauce to be had) all beautifully piled onto 6 inches of the most delectable honey oat bread I may have ever tasted . . . now those are the makings of one heck of a memorable 11th anniversary celebration!

The Eighth Wonder of the World

2007-05-22T08:55:00.000+08:00

Yep, you guessed it . . . the Joneses will go down in history as THE ones to discover the eighth great wonder of the world! Look out Egyptian Pyramids, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Hanging Gardens of Babylon . . . you are about to meet your match! (no pun intended, but pretty good one if I must say so . . . read on, friends)

No matter where you are in the world, no matter what hemisphere, what country, what people group, what city, what means of laundry you may be accustomed to . . .

SOCKS MYSTICALLY GET LOST IN THE CLEANING PROCESS!

Here we have recorded our research findings in photo form. I know that this is unbelievable, but believe you me . . . this is an honest to goodness real photo, no photoshop editing on this one.

Just a little "Deep Thought" to keep your mind occupied today . . . have a great day! (And keep an eye out for any matches to these socks . . . if they appear in YOUR laundry, well, lets just say we may really be on to something here!)

Good Ole Fashion American BBQ . . . kinda

2007-05-17T09:41:00.000+08:00

Jerry ended his semester with his culture class by inviting them all over to our home for a BBQ . . . American-style . . . what's more American than hunks of beef grilled over coals, loaded with ketchup, mustard, onions, tomatoes with chips, coleslaw and some roasted potatoes? Well, the fun began while preparing the burgers for the grill . . . it was then we noticed what we were shaping into burgers . . .

Yep, you read correctly . . . CATTLE STUFFING! Oh if we didn't have a hoot coming up with visuals for that! However . . . when we told our Chinese teacher about this, she looked not surprised at all, after all, this is the meat they use to "stuff" jaozi and baozi (dumplings and steamed buns) with . . . DUH, cattle stuffing.

What WE are learning about culture is that most of the time when something just seems outlandishly strange in English, when it is explained to us by our dear Chinese friends, it makes tons of sense....sometimes more than the English if we think about it . . . that raw mushed up beef is called hamburger, as well as the Big Mac at McDonalds . . . hmmm. . . think how gross that must seem to call raw meat what you think of as a yummy sandwich?!?

Well, Jerry led the way and made the first hamburger into a sandwich to show them what to do with this huge hunk of meat . . . but i guess some were not paying too close attention . . . under all that ketchup, mustard, potatoes and coleslaw there really is a hamburger!

Jackie, the man on the right, had just finished his first hamburger and was excited to go back for more....Jerry was a proud teacher!

Well, the evening of American Culture progressed quite well and all present had fun learning about various aspects of this wonderful culture we are from . . . they even found our wedding album with the much younger version of Jerry and LaWanda . . . of course, Jerry has changed the most, and me, well they say I am a timeless beauty . . . (ok, well, what they said was that time had not changed me much . . . and i corrected their English to say "timeless beauty" . . . what's fun about teaching English if you can't get some free compliments out of the deal?)

Joy and Sadness

2007-04-27T10:05:00.000+08:00

Today was a day just like any other . . . after breakfast and coffee and some fun family silliness, daddy went into the office, mommy began reading emails and generally catching up on computer stuff, Rachel played "fly the airplane" on our bed nearby. Simple life, simple fun . . .

And then . . .

A knock at the door and Rachel opens it. It's Hu Ayi (our helper/language tutor (as she speaks no English whatsoever!) /Rachel's caregiver/friend) here at her regular Friday time to help out and play with Rachel.

Then it happened . . .

Hu Ayi saw a plane ticket on the coffee table and picked it up. I faintly hear from the bedroom this precious little voice say "ba ba de xing xi liu de fei ji" and a happy repeating / clarifying of this from Hu Ayi. . .

And it happened again . . .

I hear this precious little voice giggle in proud excitement and then say "ma ma gun wo xing xi tian de fei ji"

By this time it is finally registering with me that my sweet little stinker of a daughter is totally telling her Ayi that daddy is going on a plane on Saturday and she and mommy are going on a plane on Sunday! When I get to her she grins this great big, "surprised aren't you mommy?" grin and precedes to ask me ( in English, mind you, because her little three-year-old mind knows that mommy may or may not be able to understand if she asks in Chinese) what the name of the city is that daddy is going to. I respond in my perfect English and she immediately turns to Ayi and translates this information in her "oh-so-perfect" Chinese....and when Ayi asks where she and mommy are going on Sunday, she also responds in that cute little perfect Chinese "qu kan yi kan Tian jin de peng yo" (which I totally understood by the way) . . . "we are going to see our friends in Tian jin" however, just to set the record straight, she should have only used "kan" not "kan yi kan" . . .

So, HA! I still have a little edge on her!! But boy oh boy does it ever sound more fluid and natural coming from her mouth rather than mine!!!

And there you have it . . . the day has arrived . . . the exciting yet sad day. Exciting because she has begun to embrace the language and it is becoming second nature to her. Sad because the day is soon coming when daughter will become teacher, mommy her student. I knew parenting would humble me . . . but in so many ways?

Why is it at times like these I feel this exasperating urge to apologize to my parents?!?

OUR NEEDS

2007-04-17T12:33:00.000+08:00

We saw this on our friend Kellie's blog . . . and well, we couldn't resist! Go to Google or Yahoo! search and type in "your name" and " needs" and just see what the top ten things you "need" are! It's quite enlightening!!!

Jerry Needs:

1 a hobby
2 to get some kids
3 a better keyhole
4 the bucks
5 a spot on primetime tv
6 the OHANA . . . Now!
7 his own board
8 your help to put him over the top again
9 to re-examine his ego
10 to run for president

(Oh, dear!)

La needs ( because "LaWanda needs" produces nothing . . . imagine that!)

1 a team
2 to protect minorities lives
3 YOU
4 a face lift
5 producer assistance
6 a massage therapist (sweet!)
7 a fun 'n fit coordinator
8 to get back all that rampart lawsuit money somehow
9 more highways and interchange improvements
10 electric luges

Rachel needs:

1 to have a blush that is very bright and colorful
2 some good thoughts
3 some help when she enters Manhattans meat packing district
4 guidance and normal supervision
5 to join the original Jyters group
6 to throw more bacon parties
7 help!
8 more caffeine
9 to set her sights a little higher
10 to refer to web-sites, manuals and a variety of documentation

Have a good laugh and a good day!!!

Beijing 2008: Salad Engineering???

2007-04-09T22:57:00.000+08:00

After being here for nearly 8 1/2 months, we finally had our camera handy (and enough nerve worked up) to capture this frequently witnessed wonder . . . salad engineering (read: getting the most of that one trip to the salad bar). This guy really surpassed any we had previously seen! He was quite the attraction to even the Chinese Pizza Hut patrons, not just us wai guo ren's.

Easter Weekend Fun

2007-04-09T22:17:00.000+08:00

Rachel and Esther coloring eggs

Two students brought their own mellon "egg" to the party

Proudly displaying his "Pepsi Egg"

After two hours . . . two dozen eggs are complete!

"Devil(ed) Chicks" for Easter Brunch
how funny are these???
Front row, far left . . . the "chubby chick"
Middle row, 2nd in . . . "scared chick"
can't really see it, but back row, far left is the "angry chick"
Second row, far right . . . the "late chick"

Well, as you can see we had quite the weekend . . . with egg coloring galore from Thursday with the kids to a Good Friday Party with students Friday evening . . . (followed by a showing of that Mel Gibson movie) We hope that your celebrations were fun and fruitful as well!