The Zoo

Last month we made a trip to a nearby Zoo with a few friends. It was great! The Zoo's grounds were gorgeous- we actually felt like we were in a tropical paradise and not in an ENORMOUS city for a little while. The trees were abundant, the grounds were extensive and it was so QUIET. We had fun running for exhibit to exhibit and sharing our little bits of useless knowledge with our friends. (CJ loves to read about animals :)

Anyhow, here are a few clips of our time at the zoo!

CJ strikes a pose!


Miriam up close with a Lion- how cool is that!


Eliza and her Daddy.


OK- so this shot is not all that exciting but I couldn't get over how close the giraffe exhibit was to the neighboring apartment complex. Can you imagine looking out your window every morning and seeing your really tall neighbors?


The first attraction at this Zoo is the Panda cage. From the time we got there till hours later the pandas were sitting on their little pedestal eating bamboo. Now these pandas may have moved at some point during our visit... but I kinda doubt it. Why would they... I think I would love to lounge around too and have someone pamper me a hand fed meal.

More Christmas Pictures

After viewing a friend's blog I realized how fun it was to look at all her family's Christmas pictures. I thought I would include a few more on our blog. Hope you enjoy! (Thanks to all the family that sent packages... they had lots to open and had a great day)

Miriam's Love Gift: About one month ago Miriam mentioned that she wanted a new back pack for Christmas. I said great... lets see what type they have. Well, almost instantly Miriam had her heart set on a Winne the Pooh back pack. I was not pleased. I'm not opposed to Winnie the Pooh... but one of him on a motor cycle with dark glasses was a bit much for me. I tried my hardest to convince her that maybe a Disney Princess back pack would be more useful (more girly in my book), more beautiful, perhaps easier to carry (ok... I didn't say that but I was tempted). Or, maybe a back pack with flowers or other girly objects. Well, she had her heart set and never wavered. I also had my heart set... I was absolutely not going to buy that book bag. I was hopeful that after a few weeks she would forget the dreaded back pack and I could get her a different one. NOPE! She didn't forget. Christmas Eve I trudged over to the book store that was selling the back pack. Chris was so proud of me :) Miriam loved it. She exclaimed, "Just what I always wanted." Chris looked at me and smiled & said, "You're such a good mom". I can't agree with that statement. In my heart I was still wishing that she loved the same back packs that I did... but I have to say my heart softened a little bit throughout the day as I watched her sport her new Winnie the Pooh on a Hog back pack & repeatedly say, "Thanks Mom, this is just what I wanted."

Big Girl Bed for Eliza!

Since we have been back in China Eliza has been sleeping in a pack-n-play. Recently we noticed that when Eliza is stretched out and sleeping her head and toes touch both ends of the pack-n-play. We knew it was time to move her to a 'big girl' bed. Since I'm finished my semester of school, holidays are over, I have a little more time on my hands we decided it was time to make the transition.

Miriam had previously tried sleeping on the top bunk of their bunk bed but was a bit frightened of the height. So, we gave Miriam the option: do you want Eliza to share the bottom bunk with you or do you want to move to the top bunk and have your own space? Without hesitation she said, "I want to sleep with Eliza". The girls are best of pals and love to do almost everything together. Miriam loves to mother Eliza and Eliza loves to be mothered by Miriam. With such a combination the transition was a welcomed change for both girls. The first night there were a few comments about the sharing of covers... but there were more comments like: "Eliza, you can hold my hand if you get frightened." or "Eliza, if you need anything just let me know- I'll help you." "I love you sister".

Over the last few nights I have loved to go in their room and see where they are sleeping. Most often Eliza has used Miriam as her pillow. In the morning when I inquire about their sleep Eliza giggles and says, "I sleep on Mirsy" and Miriam says, "That's O.K., she keeps me warm."

So cute!



(sorry this is not rotated to the right position... I tried numerous times and the computer would automatically rotate to this position each time.)

Christmas 2009

We had a Great Christmas. The kids loved wearing new PJ's (compliments of their grandparents), eating way to many cookies, decorating a Birthday cake for Jesus, opening presents and having a few days off of school.

Big gifts:
CJ- mountain bike
Miriam- chalk board
Eliza- Princess castle (tent)

Favorite Christmas lyrics I've heard this Christmas:

"God made the snowman, is a happy jolly soul..." better known as Frosty the Snowman.

"He rules the world with Ruth and Grace..." also known as "He rules the world with Truth and Grace"

"Let every hard impare him rude..." - better known as - "Let every heart prepare him room..."

Dryer and Oven- Thank you to my little pals in SC

This summer we had some young SC friends give us a generous gift to be used upon our return to China. They wanted us to buy something that would be helpful to our lives in China. We had lived the last three years in China without a dryer and it was manageable but difficult. We had limited space to hang clothes (about the 8 feet of line) for a family of five. Anyhow, we came back ready to use the gift friends gave us to buy a dryer. We were ecstatic about buying the dryer and were shocked to find out that we had enough money to also buy a FULL size oven (we'd been living the last 3 years with a toaster size oven & later bought a second oven to accommodate our needs).

Well, life has been so much easier with these two items. I actually think that without the dryer we would be walking around our city in moldy and damp clothes. The weather here is SO much more humid and it takes clothes 2-3 days to dry on the line.

We've also been enjoying the convenience of a large oven. We've especially be thankful for having an oven this time of year when we do lots of baking for the holidays!

So- a HUGE THANK YOU! for the great gifts that are so very helpful & so appreciated!


Here is our oven nested in a cabinet that we had made to hold it and our microwave. The cabinet also added some much needed storage for dishes, utensils and our full-size cookie sheets to go in our full-size oven. HORRAY!

Thanksgiving 2009

This Thanksgiving was a great time for the whole family. We hosted a get together with other foreigners in the area and enjoyed stuffing ourselves the good ol' American way. We enjoyed a Turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, apple pie, chocolate cake with buttered pecan icing (Chris' specialty), and more. It was great to read about America's First Thanksgiving and to share all that we are thankful for. We ended the evening with a vicious game of SPOONS and some group bowling on the Wii. Here are a few shots of our fun evening
Here is our Home Made Thanksgiving Turkey. We add feathers each year and on the feathers we write things that we're thankful for.


Chris reads the story of the First American Thanksgiving!


A picture of the spread!
(PS- I was able to buy a Turkey this year- a rare find in CHina. I bought the second to last turkey in the store.)

Snaggle Tooth

So, many of you know that Eliza had a fall in the spring which required surgery to repair her injured tongue and later a tooth extraction. Well, since then CJ has also lost teeth, but in the 6 1/2 year old way (normal baby teeth giving way to the big teeth). I just love to see their little smiles with the gaps between thier teeth. I had to share some recent shots of my little "snaggle tooth" kiddos.