settling in, fish eyeballs and praying

Well, we have been back more than 10 days and I still feel way behind in settling into our new place. Progress has been made, but it is slow. We now have our own internet, but cannot get Vonage phone to work. Chris and I have both tried lots of troubleshooting techniques, but can't get it to connect to the Vonage network...so sorry but we still don't have that running. We have had multiple issues with pipes and lack of hot water but I think we have gotten most of those issues resolved. Tomorrow workmen are coming to install several of our light fixtures and I have quite a few drill projects for them as well (like installing a shower curtain, bars in our kitchen, hanging mirror over couch and so on).

Despite that, we really like our new place. The boys play with Bree and Jesh almost daily and we have had several neighborhood get togethers with the 2 other families we know here. Getting around is more of a challenge though- there aren't many cabs or even "hei che's" (black cars...unregistered taxis) here so I am walking a lot. I think I need to get a bike for getting around until we hope one day to have a car.

Tomorrow you can pray as Chris and I go to meet the head of the school we hope to send Austin to. It sounds like a great school, however I hear they are not very favorable to sending your kid less than 5 days a week. I feel pretty strongly that 5 (half) days a week is too much for Austin at this point for preschool, so I am praying for favor with her to allow him to try 3 mornings a week. Even that will probably be a lot, given it will be an all-Chinese environment and he is not super social. However, if it works out I will be excited for him- they use a local version of "My Father's World" homeschool curriculum and it is a pretty small class- a great way to start in local school.

Bennett has a cold, so we stayed home this morning from church, as we did last week. Here are a few pictures of last Sunday morning- we were tired from jet lag, but did get to the park across the street and the boys had a lot of fun as you can see.

Can you believe the sky? The day we landed was so dark, but this day was perfect. This play area is great- not free, but pretty cheap and will probably be a regular event in good weather.

A shooting water-gun train ride. We all rode it and had fun.


Can you see Austin jumping in the background? This was a trampoline- almost. It has strong, bamboo across it and was pretty bouncy.

One more story I must share. While we were out of town last week, we ate Chinese food every day. The boys had not been used to it after 3 months away and spent several meals eating mostly rice and watermelon. But one day they served fish.In China when it is fish it is the whole fish- head and all. Austin saw it and said "Ooh, a real fish" (not sure what he thought he was eating other times he had eaten fish but he decided to try it). He didn't love it because it had bones in it, so a friend at the table suggested he might like the fish eyeball better- the most coveted part of the fish. Austin said "ok , I want to try it". yes, Austin, the child who wouldn't even eat green beans or chicken a lot of times this past summer. So he ate it! At first he said it was good, then he ended up spitting it out. But our friends at the table said you are supposed to eat the outer part and then spit out the hard part in the middle, in case you were wondering how to eat an eye ball. We were very proud of Austin and were very sad we didn't bring the camera to lunch.

Another quick Austin story- the past 2 days he has wanted to pray at meals! This is the child who has not only NOT wanted to pray at all, but will cover his ears and sometimes run out of the room while we are praying. We haven't been sure what it is all about, but he has voluntarily said the blessing at 3 meals lately- very cute little prayers of his own, not just repeating what someone else has said. We are thankful! Don't know if it will last, but it is a good step. Ok, I am about to fall asleep typing. Good night.

Diary pictures

Here are some pictures of our flight back that I had not uploaded when I wrote the last post. I am packing again and will be out of town for a few days, so I may not post anything till we get back. Aah, packing again so quickly. But we are enjoying being back, our new place and friends we have seen overall. Our own phone and internet should be set up next Friday, so no Vonage until then.

Lunch in the Toronto airport

Bennett discovered sour cream- he ate that whole tub of sour cream while Austin and I were in the bathroom and became best friends with our waitress in the process

This is only some of our carry on stash...we can pack a lot in carry-ons

Our technologically savvy family on the plane :)

This was the Mei Mei (little sister) Bennett played with, ran around and rolled around the aisles with...

Diary of a plane ride around the world

Many people ask me "What is it like to travel to China with 2 small children?" Well we survived this last ride like we always do, but I thought I would give a play by play to those who are curious.

Monday night, 1 am - finally finished packing, weighing and re-weighing all our bags, finding needed medicine we had accidentally packed away and put 6 of the 8 bags in the cars

Tuesday, 6 am I woke up and showered, said goodbye to my brother-in-law who was leaving for work, finished packing toiletries, pajamas, Blue puppy and Bennett's dog that must be slept with, got boys up and dressed and then Nai Nai gave them breakfast and finally out the door for our hour drive to the airport

Tuesday 8:45 am arrived at the airport to check in with our 8 bags and two energetic and slightly stressed children. Bennett is screaming for me while we check in so Nai Nai walks him around the airport while Austin climbs on chair and opens and closes the ropes that mark off the check-in lines. It turned out the airline somehow had Austin as the infant ticket instead of Bennett so we waited 45 minutes for them to get that switched and get our tickets printed. Then, despite our vigilant weighing, every bag but one was at least 1 pound ( some 2 and 3 or 4) overweight. The lady was somewhat compassionate so anything 2 pounds over or less they let slide, but I did take out some boxes of muffin mixes, some toiletries and shifted several bags around at the last minute. Retape our plastic bins. Finally checked in, just in time to get to the gate.

Tuesday morning 9:50 said our last goodbyes to Grandpa and Nai Nai (rather hurriedly), went through security- unpacked 3 computers, took off everyone's shoes, put 2 strollers through, packed back up and arrived at the gate about 10 minutes before boarding

Tuesday 10:50- flight takes off from Raleigh to Toronto ( 1 hour, 15 minutes) we started out with animal crackers. The boys enjoy looking out the window - Bennett learned to say "white puffy clouds". Bennett did not like take-off, where I am apparently now supposed to hold him facing me but not strapped into the Ergo carrier- easy if he is 6 months, not so much at 23 months. Bennett kept laying down on the floor in the middle of the aisle, every time he got free. I think he liked the vibration of the plane.

Tuesday 12:30 landed safely in Toronto. Get some lunch at a restaurant- Bennett decides to eat a whole container of sour cream along with his quesadilla. He poops about 2 minutes before we board the big plane, so we do a quick change. Austin has been energetic but fairly cooperative up to this point.

Tuesday 2:50 take off from Toronto. We have 3 seats on the window side together, which is very nice. Chris gets to wrestle Bennett during take-off this time.

1 hour in- The boys have played with little cars, read books and are ready for a video. Veggie tales video #1 (the current fave). Bennett keeps trying to lie down in the aisle and I get reprimanded from the flight attendant but smiles from all the Chinese grandmas.

3 hours in- we have eaten the so-so lunch- Bennett eating mostly bread. I have given out new silly bands and rubber frogs. Austin is on video #2 and Bennett wants to run around. WE go up and down the aisles a lot- he is FAST. Then he meet mei mei- a little girl a few months younger. She is as extroverted and energetic as Bennett and they play for 30 minutes, laughing and chasing each other. I am sure the passengers don't like us but at least they are not screaming.

6 hours in- this is the part where you realize how much time is still left (8 hours) and you start to wonder if it will ever end. I think Austin was on another video and Bennett is getting cranky. it is Tuesday, 9 pm east coast time. Bennett starts crying and crying for me to hold him even though I AM holding him- he gets sort of hysterical when he is over tired (he has not slept up to this point). He finally falls asleep while I walk him around the back of the plane. Austin is tired but still awake.

8 hours in- both boys are finally asleep, but Bennett wakes up about every 45 minutes or an hour- half awake and crying loud, so I have to stand up and rock him and then he falls asleep again. I actually watch 2 movies this flight (I don't think I have done that since we had kids on a plane), pausing it when Bennett wakes up. Austin is slumped over asleep in his seat. I can't sleep though.

12 hours in- we are all awake again, getting ready to be served breakfast. We are all antsy at this point and Bennett is walking the aisles again with Chris.

14 hours in- Wednesday 4:20pm local time (4 am Wednesday morning in Raleigh) LAND. get off the plane, wait for our strollers, go through customs, get our bags. Seven bags finally arrive on the belt. We wait and wait and go to the office to report a missing bag. Then Chris finds our bag somewhere near the belt- I guess someone took it off and left it there. We hire 2 porters to get our bags to the door, where a driver is picking us up in a big van.

6:30 pm- leave the airport in the rain and are welcomed by a very smoggy gray sky

7:30 arrive home- greeted by the Hunemullers with help for our bags and dinner- we love our neighbors! Kids ate nothing but then we all went to bed. Slept till 3 am and then all got up by 3:30 and started unpacking

Well, that is it! We have unpacked all our 8 bags, moved furniture and are still tackling some boxes from the move, buying groceries and water machine, new paint for the basement (The orange turned out a pale peach and I want it bright) and ...go out of town tomorrow for 4 days. Whew! But we are doing well, glad to be back, glad to have neighbors ( we have hung out every day) and getting adjusted. BUT I am still up at 3 am- pray for my jet lag to get better.

packing packing and more packing

Well, the time is close and packing has become my full time job the past few days. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate in just a few months. I think we will end up taking all 8 bags that we are allowed back to China with us. I was excited to discover that Air Canada allows lap infants (with no seat) 2 bags! I have about 7 going at the moment but am allowing an overflow bag for when we try the scales. I am pretty sure at least a few of them will tip the 50 pound limit. What can you possibly pack in 8 whole bags? More than you would think. My list includes many things, such as...

books, lots of books (we love books and you just can't get many books, especially children's books and especially cheap books from used bookstores, in China. Eventually I probably should buy a Kindle),
lots of wheat germ (for our morning granola),
toiletries and medicines,
Bath and Body Works hand soap (this is my most ridiculous and extravagant item I think. Just something about it makes my home feel more homey. But SO unnecessary),
T-ball set and lefty baseball gloves for Chris and Austin and a big, heavy wooden bat that may or may not get cut at the last minute,
clothes (both what we came with and some hand-me-downs for the next year)
grill basket (i am hopeful we will get a grill now that we are first floor dwellers)
new, BPA-free plastic cups and bowls for kids
a couple pots and pans (wedding gifts we have never used- finally making their way into my home)
and on it goes.

We also became lovers of Craig's List this summer, buying no less than a stroller, computer and Iphone off of it. The funny thing was we bought the computer from a Chinese student and the phone from a Turkish student. Chris joked we should start an international student's craig's list ministry.

I am trying to pack ahead but there are so many things you just cannot pack until the last minute. Well, back to packing!

Swim school

As I go back in time and try to catch up, here are a few pictures of Austin in swim lessons. After he spent most of his waking hours in the ocean on our family beach trip, I decided that we needed to capitalize on his current love of the water with swimming lessons. While he loves the water, he also was pretty fearful of going under and definitely not confidant. We were able to get into one place that had just the right dates that fit our crazy schedule. Austin was excited about it initially, but then pretty much did not want to go every day after that. Despite his fear and resistance, he learned a lot and mostly became a lot more comfortable in the water. He technically did not move up to the next level because he failed to ever push off from the wall to the teacher. However, our main goal of helping him become more confidant in the water was met and he will now go under water on his own, jump off the side into someone's arms and is willing to float with help- all big steps from where he was before. I remember crying every day when I had swimming lessons as a 5 year old, so he did much better than I did. We are so proud of you, Austin!

Austin with his classmate and teacher, Miss Allison. She was firm but very nice- just what he needed. Surprisingly, at least half the kids in the program were Chinese or Indian. Maybe that made Austin feel at home :)?

On the last day at the very end Austin finally jumped on his own off the side into Miss Allison's arms. He would try hard the other days but always stop short and then try to talk his way out of it. The first day he told his teacher that maybe he would jump off when he was 17! Parents had to stay on the other side of the room during lessons, but Austin would often give us little waves. Usually whenever I looked at him he was talking...to himself or the teacher or his classmates. He is quite the talker.

At peace with danger

I am so behind on blogging I don't know if I will ever catch up, though I hope to. When I get back to a routine I am sure it will happen more frequently. We are on the countdown now to returning home...only 4 full days left. There has been lots of craziness on multiple levels over the past 2 weeks- which I could never cover in one blog post. In the midst of packing, last Walmart runs, appointments and saying goodbyes has been both a heaviness and encouragement in a weird way by the sudden death of family friend Tom Little. If you have looked at the news at all lately you probably heard about the 10 workers shot to death in Afghanistan. Tom was the leader of the group, 30 year veteran of work in Afghanistan and my parents' good friend. He and his wife Libby often stayed at my parents house when they were in town for fund raising.

Just about 6 weeks ago, Tom was visiting Richmond while we were also staying at my parents. We had a rare opportunity to talk with him, exchange some overseas stories and hear about his fascinating life in Afghanistan. His life there certainly paled any drama or excitement I think I experience living in China. He had stories of living under Russian invasion, civil war and the Taliban. Yet, he also seemed very "normal" while we sat together checking our email or setting up local appointments to speak and teaching Austin a few words of his second language, Darsi.

He sent us a note after talking with us and Chris still has it in his bag. It was very surreal and sad to see his picture plastered all over the news and read the sad story of his death, along with many others. While it was horrible on many levels, Chris and I both also felt a strange sense of peace about him and even his death, knowing he gave his life for a people and ultimately a God he loved very much. A quote by his brother in the paper read "He was not fearless but was at peace with danger". I love that quote and it inspires me as we prepare to go back. There could be things to fear and Tom was not superhuman and unafraid, but was at peace with his calling and the many dangers that came with it. I am nowhere near the level of danger that he was, but it is inspiring to think of his life and how he chose to live it. I am sad for his wife and three daughters but also look forward to hearing how his sacrifice could bring about good things for his adopted country, Afghanistan. And Chris and I decided we will frame his note to us as a reminder of the life he lived and the peace with danger that I often lack.

Beach 2

Here are some more beach pictures- I am so behind at blogging. We are now in NC for our last 2 weeks before heading back east. It always goes so fast.

Bennett liked the colors on Bop's shirt- he is really into saying colors and naming things he sees all around him. His vocabulary has grown in leaps and bounds since we arrived in the US.

A picnic dinner on the beach.