Skip to main content

undecorated

I took advantage of feeling sick today to undecorate our home.  Sick enough to skip school but well enough to get some things done in the house.  It's hard to make understandable Mandarin come out of my mouth when my head is pounding and my stomach turning.

When I was younger I always felt very sad when the tree came down and we didn't have little lights glimmering in our living room.  But now, I feel happy that it's done and I have my living room floor space back.  Ah, the reality of getting older.  I think it helps that I did it on NY's Eve so that I have tonight and the new year to be excited about.

Here are a few things that stick out about 2008.
-Lilian Pearl, possibly the sweetest baby on planet Earth
-Moving across town because of toxic fumes in the old place
-Finding and decorating an apartment that we LOVE.  We may have the largest kitchen in all of China.
-Living in Beijing for 6 weeks
-Becoming such great friends with Natasha Tompkins
-Living in Chengdu for a month which was so much harder than I expected but lead to us desiring to live there for much longer
-Changing our minds from staying in Xi'an after school to moving to Chengdu
-Madeleine turning 3 and getting older every single day
-The May earthquake - I'll never forget being pregnant, holding Madeleine and praying with Yali while we sat in the shower waiting for the building to stop rocking.  
-Realizing that I was acculturating to life here - the things that bugged me so much before or that bug newcomers don't seem so big anymore.
-Realizing that we are no longer newbies.  We are now the ones that know "everything".  Newbies now call us to find out where to buy carpet, ovens, candles, condensed soup, turkey and where to get a good haircut.
-Phil's amazing love for me and his girls.  He aint perfect but he sure tries to be.  What more could I want?  Plus, he's handsome to boot.
-G*d's faithfulness.  What he says he'll do, he does.  Looking back at fall 2007 and not knowing how he was going to do stuff we knew he was telling us to do but knowing full well that he would do it.  Now, sitting here today seeing how he's starting to do it.  Absolutely amazing.
-Celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with my folks...in China.
-Having Jana, Shay and Amber hold Lilian just hours after she was born.
-Having Tim and Sheryl Steiner (Dad and Mom) visit for 3 weeks.  Seeing China through their eyes was so interesting.
-Malaysia with the Littletons and Drummonds
-Always a highlight and great memory every year...Thailand's food, sand and friends.
-Learning Mandarin vocab that can change a person's life.  

Happy New Year!

Popular posts from this blog

sourcream

Today I'm making a chicken dish in the crockpot with sourcream. It's actually quite amazing that this is happening. I would never normally have sourcream here because first of all I'd have to make a 30 min trip (not including the prep time to get the bus or taxi) to METRO in HanKou and secondly I'd have to spend a large sum of money for a gigantic tub of sourcream that wouldn't even fit in my little fridge and on top of that Phil doesn't even like sourcream (poor fellow). So how did I get this wonderful gift? The office bought a big tub for a party and they sold the leftovers. So, I'm making something like chicken stroganoff. For those concerned about what Phil will think, he'll like it because it's mixed in the dish. There's a stray dog that's been living on our floor (12th floor apartment) outside of the elevators. She showed up a few days ago. She either walked the 12 flights of stairs or rode the elevator. She's little, blac...
Read more

thankful

This morning I spent a wonderful time in my itty bitty kitchen with my little girls. We (I) made 2 pumpkin pies while they snacked on popcorn and cracker sticks. It's not often that I find cooking with 2 little ones underfoot wonderful. But this morning before tackling the job I had pryed for strength, patience and for an understanding that my job is one of the most precious ever. I also knew I had pretty much all day to get 2 pies made so there was no time pressure. This year I already feel in the Christmas spirit. There have been plenty of times in my life (adult life) that I didn't "feel" it. I was glad for it but I didn't have that cozy, let's make cookies and crafts, then snuggle on the floor under a blanket and watch It's a Wonderful Life feeling. Today is Thanksgiving. We'll celebrate it with turkey and all the trimmings tomorrow. I'm thankful for: Having all the spices I need for making multiple pumpkin pies. An oven that fits a 12 l...
Read more

moving time

Well my house looks like it did at some point when we moved here about 2 years ago. Boxes lying around, no pictures up, hammers, cleaning rags and tape sitting in random spots around the living room. It's a mess. Another move, more good-byes and mixed emotions. I'm going to miss... ..real CH food whenever I want it for dirt cheap, ..a tailor that made all my curtains and waves to me every time I walk past her shop, ..the little boy who's parents own the light bulb shop and yells, "hello!" every time we pass by, ..all the little kids that very politely say, "Ayi" (Aunt) when they pass me, ..our first friend in Chengdu who owns a local shop and buys birds as a hobby - bird guy, as we call him, ..the best dumpling makers, the steamed bread makers, the shopkeepers that deliver our milk for free and know our address by heart, ..the courtyard of our complex where Maddie can play by herself or with her friends while we keep an eye on her from our 4th floor, ....
Read more