The Birthday Girl!

My girl... she is now 5. Where has the time gone? What can I say about Mirsy? My blonde haired, blue eyed, musical, card writing, baby loving little girl? She is SO like me and then again, SO NOT like me. Chris and I laugh at how similar we (Miriam and I) are & I scratch my head when I consider how different we are. We both love organization. She wakes, meticulously folds her pajamas and puts them under her pillow. She lines up her stuffed animals in categories we didn't even know existed. If she turns her back and Daddy moves one (just to see what happens) she rebukes him- "Daaaddd, why did you move my bear?" I can give her chores that I wouldn't even dare give her brother. Why? Because I know she will do them well and her work will actually be helpful to me. I remember my mom saying the same thing about me and chores when I was young. :) Now the differences- I care too much what people think of me and she doesn't care AT ALL about the opinions of others. Well, I guess it really depends on the circumstances. For instance: she decided that this year she WOULD NOT eat at her school during lunch time on her own. She told me she would eat lunch at school starting next year. You see, she enjoys the school food, is very capable with a set of chopsticks but informed us that she did not want to eat by herself but wanted her teachers to feed her (which they did last year in her 3/4 year old class). The teachers told me they just didn't have the time to do that this year. I told them I completely understood. During the first week of school we rewarded our children, who ate at school by themselves, with small treats. Miriam was never a recipient. We tried the "if you don't eat lunch there won't be anything until dinner" and after a week we decided that this option wasn't a good idea for our tall and thin girl. We came up with another consequence... "no eat lunch- no sweets". That goes beyond the no soda or candy. We weren't kidding. - no syrup on your pancakes, no jelly on the PB&J sandwich, no juice, ...She started her "no eating lunch at school" strike on September 6th... she finally ate lunch at school on October 26th. She was going to eat at school but she was going to do it when SHE decided. Wow! What a strong will.

Though her strong will can be difficult to train (and boy do I find myself often praying for wisdom as how to best train our daughter) we look forward in anticipation to seeing how Father will use her strong will for His glory. I can just imagine seeing this headline one day - "Miriam Hanley stands unwavering in her fight for the rights of the abused or neglected..."

As Miriam matures and learns to communicate what is in her heart it is a delight to see the love that she has for others. She is the first one to run and jump up to help her sister when she is hurt (that is when she wasn't the who caused the injury :). Miriam is the one to ask to cuddle in your lap while we sit and watch a show together. She is the one that still loves to hold hands- all the way to school and back again. She is the one that still loves to tuck her sister in and cover her up- play time and bed time.

It is such a deep joy to have Miriam in our family and we're thankful that the Father has given her to us for this time.

Arm & Hatchet

When out shopping I'm always on the look out for something familiar. The taste bud's of our family are quite the opposite of the residents of our present city. Here the pallet is in favor of spicy, spicy, spicy. So spicy it can make a grown man cry- ask my husband :) Anyhow, when I'm out shopping if I can find something that is familiar- something from a western culture I get very excited. Any type of food that I can use in my Western recipes is a welcome treat. Anything that is familiar to our pallet is worthy of celebration. Familiar fruits and veggies are pretty easy to find, though surrounded by the unfamiliar. Cuts of meat- a little more of a task but still possible to find. The meat section of the store reminds me of Reading Market- tongue, hooves, snouts, live turtles, toads, snakes... Convenient foods- there is Skippy peanut butter, Heinz ketchup, pasta, canned tuna and Ritz peanut butter crackers. Beyond that- hit or miss. So, when out shopping I put on my bionic English searching eyes. I am in search of a familiar label, packaging or English name. Since my ability to read Chinese Characters is pretty limited, I usually can spot English from a mile away. Well, a few weeks ago we went shopping and Chris found this one: Arm and Hatchet baking soda. He first saw the familiar yellow box with red circle. But when we looked closer- Arm and Hatchet. We both laughed. How funny! For some reason I never really considered the name 'Arm and Hammer' all that silly but when I saw 'Arm and Hatchet' I thought it was a riot. Wonder why? Maybe because it isn't a house hold name?! Anyhow, every shopping experience is like a treasure hunt. You never know what you might find hidden on the shelves amongst the unfamiliar. Though we didn't buy the baking soda, it did bring us some comfort- seeing a familiar package with an, almost familiar, slogan. :) I love Chinglish (not quite Chinese, not quite English)

Mini Photo Shoot!

A couple of weeks ago a friend took a few shots of our kiddos in our courtyard. I had forgotten what a haven our courtyard is compared to the hustle and bustle of the city beyond our gate. The kids made sure to put on the biggest corniest grins possible but there were a handful of pictures that I thought really captured their personalities- I posted them on the blog itself and not in this post. The ones in this post are a bit more cheesy.

Huh????

Well, I just wrote a post with a collection of photos of people napping. That is one custom that I think would be great to adopt- wouldn't it be great to have a nap everyday (even if you are a grown up!)? Well, this post is about one cultural habit (I'm not sure how many people participate in it) that I just scratch my head and go "huh?".


I think I'll pass on this one.


Can you tell what they are doing? I'll give you some context. Recently I met a friend in the VERY busy plaza that is adjacent to our home. Hundreds of people walked by us in the 10 minutes that we were there chatting. But one man caught my attention instantly. He sat down on the bench a few feet from us, put on a head lamp, hung his sign, and waited. I wasn't sure what or who he was waiting for (since I couldn't read his sign) but within a minute or so my curiosity was met with an answer- he had a customer.















The customer has come to get his ears cleaned. The "professional ear cleaner" pulled out a dozen or so cleaners that looked like minature chimney brooms and proceeded to do his job. Yikes! No one else seemed to think much of what was going on- All I could think of was this statement- "You should never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear."

Where do you take your nap?

So, over the last few months, while out and about in our city, I've accumulated a good number of photos on my cell phone. These pictures are just a small glimpse into a culture that is not my own. Some cultural habits I would love to make my own... others habits/ customs make me just scratch my head and say "Huh?".

This first selection of photos is one of people taking naps just about anywhere that they can catch some shut eye. In this country it is common for infants all the way to senior citizens to take an afternoon rest. Some locations are more strict about this practice. In our previous city in was unheard of to visit someone between the hours or 1 and 3 in the afternoon. We have not found it so strictly observed here... but it is still common to see folks taking a little rest in the afternoon. Because we are in such a large city there is very little grass to spread out on (like in our previous city- workers would take their afternoon nap on the side of the highway or wherever possible) but city slickers, with little grass, are still able to find a place to rest.


Maybe an abandoned elevator doorway would be comfy?
















Why not just park your car, open the doors and stretch out for a while?
















A park bench in the local city square?



















Don't have a park bench? Don't have a car? That's ok- even a motorcycle will do...


Sometimes I wish I could sleep so soundly :)

First Day of School!

Back Packs were waiting at the door. Clothes were picked out. Water bottles were full. Pencil case was loaded. There was excitement in the air. There were butterflies in their stomachs. Today was the first day of school for the Hanley kiddos.

We ate, dressed, put on our rain boots and headed out in the rain for kindergarten. The drop off went pretty well. CJ recognized a few of his classmates- there were lots of new faces. Eliza marched right in and sat her self down (though she did put her fingers in her ears because there were LOTS of crying classmates in her 3 year old class). And Miriam, with some help, made it into her class.

After a run to the grocery store I came home and I couldn't believe it- all three of my kiddos were gone for the morning. This is the first time in 7 years that I didn't have a little person at home with me on a school day. It was SO quiet. I'm glad they only go to school for 1/2 days :)

It hasn't always been easy for them to go to a school in a different country with a different culture and language but they are doing well. We are so thankful! They are gradually adding to their vocabulary and are becoming more and more accustomed to making new friends and playing in Chinese.






CJ goes to kindergarten in the morning to learn Chinese and to have some friends (it is a lot less pressure than Chinese Elementary School). He was so glad to be back in school. He likes being in the oldest class in the school.




















Miriam cried the other day... she didn't want to wait till Monday to go to school. She was counting down the days till she could see her teacher. (This year she has the same teacher as last year). She was still a little apprehensive- but had a great day!















Eliza has been ready for school since June. Whenever she saw her back pack she would say, "That's my school bag. I'm going to school." She too had a great day and is looking forward to tomorrow.











We're so thankful that HE gave them such a great day!

Shots from the Summer

There are only a few days left in our summer (Chinese school starts on Sept. 6). It has been a full summer & a great time together as a family. We've read lots of books, enjoyed some water relief in the neighborhood pools, eaten a fare share of ice cream and Popsicles, made forts, had puppet shows, learned lots about Ancient History (started History home school a little early) and had some good 'ol summer fun. But I do have to admit that the more time that we've shared together has also increased the times that I've had to have the conversations about treating each other with love.

Here are some fun pictures from our summer, in no particular order.



This is a picture of our friend Stacy with the kids. She was a History Major in College and one day was a "Guest Lecturer" in the Hanley Homeschool History Class. Fun! Fun! They are showing their archaeological dig find- M&M's.










CJ and one of his pals from the neighborhood. Fun in a bug tent!














"Aloha Miriam"... just one of the many dress-up outfits!




CJ poses with his best friend, Wang Ze Long. Wang Ze Long brought CJ a farewell gift- a hat that is worn by the people of his hometown in northwest China. We will all miss Wang Ze Long.








CJ shows off his "Graduation Certificate" from 1st Grade (Homeschool). We're so proud of his accomplishments this year!

We were able to go to a really great water park with our friends Stacy, Anna and Sarah in July. It was such a great day to have fun together. We're so glad to have some American friends in our city.






Do you call this swimming? I'm not sure! You think they aren't wearing much in this picture? You should have seen what they were wearing when I went to go and see what all the giggles were about! ;) I'm glad we live on the 8th floor and didn't have so many spectators.







I love this picture- we were taking a fast train to a nearby city where many American friends (with children) live. We didn't purchase a seat for Eliza thinking she could just sit on our laps for the 2 hour ride. Well, she informed us that she "needed her own space" and thought the window ledge was just perfect. We were able to make this trip twice- once for VBS (an unexpected surprise) and once for a little family vacation. Oh so nice to have some fellowship for the WHOLE family and some yummy western food (Mexican food and milk shakes)- oh how nice!




Eliza enjoying some time on our newly renovated neighborhood playground. (Don't you love the curls?)



















OK- now this may not seem like any big deal to you- but for Miriam this is HUGE! Miriam loves dressing up but usually her choices are things like a: Knight, Spiderman, Construction Worker, Golfer, Fireman.... See the theme? Well, the previous dress up picture in a grass skirt wasn't too big of a stretch since she recently saw a Barney video where HE was wearing a grass skirt. Well, when she came out of her room dressed in a "Dress" I carefully chose my words and calmly stated, "Miriam, you like very nice". Then I asked if I could take a picture. She agreed. She is gradually learning to enjoy the more dressy things (I think that is Eliza's influence) but it still is a bit embarrassing for her. I love her face- having fun trying something new but afraid to admit it.