sore thumb

Really, how could this city get much better?  I walk out on Thanksgiving morning to take Maddie to the bus stop and it's snowing.  I was already dressed for a run but the sidewalks were too slippery.  So, I decided to hike up the mountain that sits behind our complex.  It was amazing.  I had in my ear buds, listening to Newsboys singing about everything that makes our God so awesome.  In Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell says to his sister, "...when I run I feel His pleasure."  And on this morning I totally knew what he meant.  It was like I had stepped outside and God said, Julie, I love you so much.  Do you realize that?  Do you realize that the  mountains will crumble at my name, that one day every knee will bow before me and that I love you? Needless to say, it was a good time out. We had 8 local friends over for Thanksgiving supper.  It was good.  It's good to eat good food and be around good people.  I just have to say that I think the turkey is the most over emp

Just finished my Monday class.  Two hours of hissing, gargling and sticking my tongue out.  Sounds more like an exorcism.  LZ, my teacher, gave me a 2 1/2 page review towards the end of class and when I got a word or sound just right, she'd have this happy smile that shone through her eyes.  I love that. Monday is Lily's full day of preschool.  She goes without a fuss which makes it so much easier on me.  I'm hoping she doesn't figure out what a push-over I am when it comes to her little sad eyes.  I do miss her on Monday afternoons. Maddie's been planning her 7th birthday for several weeks now.  Now it's less than 2 weeks away.  7 years old.  I have a 7 year old.  Wow. Matt Redman's newest album, 10,000 reasons, is amazing.   Sunshine, blue sky, falling leaves...praises

Many mornings in this country start off with the fresh morning breezes of sewage smell.  This morning is no exception.  No one, at least no one I know, is quite sure of the reason.  There's a rumor that fountain water is recycled sewage water.  There are a lot of fountains in our complex but since my girls and I have played in that water, I'd rather be ignorant and think the smell comes from somewhere else. We have a turkey in our freezer.  Many, many people have not eaten turkey.  In fact, I would dare to say that more people in the world have not eaten turkey than have eaten turkey.  Am I blowing your mind?  Well, most folks here haven't eaten turkey, but they are raised here by some, and have you ever seen a picture of an African eating a turkey leg?  No.  My point exactly.  But, we eat them and so when a friend said the village he was visiting had turkeys running loose, eating whatever they'd like off the land and streets (organic, free-range is the fancy way to s

When your baby is actually a baby, naps are really important.  A baby needs lots of sleep.  It's a bonus for the parents because when the baby rests, we get to rest, too. When your babies aren't so much babies anymore, rest time is really not for the kid at all.  It's totally for the parents.  That's where I'm at today. This morning started with high emotions and hasn't gotten much better.  We're at the tail end of a week holiday and Monday morning is like the light at the end of the tunnel.  There are those moments of sweetness, moments of "ahhh, our children are radiantly glorious" but their shininess quickly fades when the tattling and arguing over who Ken and Barbie belong to, begins.  I know, I know they grow up too fast, cherish these moments, blah, blah, blah.  I usually feel those things once they're peacefully asleep. So, on to other, more uplifting thoughts.  I've been thinking so much about the exploitation of women and child

So I met my language tutor earlier today for the first time.  I know that I was never this excited/giddy for any of my Chinese classes.  In fact, I was totally overwhelmed this morning with praise just thinking about how this has been a long time coming.  Thankfully, I got all my joyful crying done before my teacher got here.  Nothing spectacular happened during our hour and half together.  We discussed how I want to study and looked through some really good material I had been given.  We started the alphabet...I just stared at her mouth and did my darnedest to copy her.  It was awesome.  I totally suck but it was awesome none the less.  And really, when I think about how nothing spectacular happened here at my dining room table, I can't help but imagine there was a loud shout of rejoicing in the heavens.  Wouldn't you think that when our Father's will is being done here on earth, it is great cause for rejoicing in the realms unseen? So maybe that's why I feel victori

This is, bar none, the best place we've lived in CH.  We've been back for just over 2 months now and it hasn't been rosy everyday but most days have been pretty darn good. ---Amazing to live with moutains in our backyard and every side of the city ---The weather is a sweet treat. - blue skies, thunderstorms and stars ---I love that Lily dances and learns the cutest songs at her CH preschool.  There's this one song in particular.  Ms. Xue plays the piano as each child takes a turn standing in front of all the other kids.  The kids sing a welcome song to that child and at the end the child in front, in a very loud voice and with a little bow, says, "Thank you everyone!"  It is just about the cutest thing on earth to see all these little CH 3 and 4 year olds singing, bowing and thanking their classmates.  Of course, by far, the cutest is the one little blonde 4 year old bowing and thanking in CH. ---Our apartment complex.  It is amazing.  It's also huge.

So, my hope is to start posting on a regular basis again.  Both the girls are in school - Lily just for half day - and I really want to start writing again.  It's not that I'm incredibly busy, it's just that I don't think about blogging.  I think I'm a little intimidated now too.  I started my first blogs back in 2006 but now there are about half a billion other moms my age that are blogging.  I find that intimidating for some reason. But for now it's time to stop being the blogging mom and be the making breakfast, lunch and everything in between mom.

Well, I'm writing on my blog again.  I've figured out something about myself while living here at Beulah Beach.  When I'm feeling really good about my life, I don't blog very much and I don't run as much.  So, expect a lot more blogging in China and a very fit, trim and ripped Julie!  That sounds awful but it is what it is.  I'd also like to blame my lack of blogging on FB.  I'm not sure how it's related but I'd like to blame it anyway. We travel.  We travel all the time.  When we're in China, we travel.  We travel to Thailand, we travel to other cities in China, we fly to Australia and to America.  When we're here we travel.  We travel to NC, GA, FL, PA, WV, TX...to thousands upon thousands of towns in OH.  On our last trip, which was to WV, Maddie felt like our 5 hr road trip was so short and fun.  That makes me proud. The very best thing about road trips in the good ol' US of A is gas station coffee and mini chocolate donuts.  Now,