The start of the Cherry Blossoms

 It's our favorite time of year in Shanghai. The cherry blossoms are beginning. The first sign of spring. The temperatures are a bit warmer. (But oh the wind... The wind!) And our after-nap walks start taking us to campus more and more...

 It's made even more fun with a perfectly chaseable toddler. :) Just having grass for the girls to play on is always a treat!

Saturday Shade and Serenity

We're on week three of sickness. First Dassah, then Ellie, then me... But it was last week that I first came down with mild symptoms, not worth paying attention too, right? Besides, moms don't get sick days. Well, Sunday afternoon it caught up to me. A slight fever and cough, and I've been coughing up mucus and getting slight fevers since. I guess my body is telling me to rest. But how? I collapsed on the couch after dinner and Ryan took the girls out to let me. Tylenol and sitting is helping. I thought I was better this morning, but just biking the girls to campus this morning and walking 20 minutes carrying Ellie to meet Ryan did me in both times. Normal things (is it weird that they're normal now?) are suddenly exhausting. Yes, I know, I'm trying to figure out how... REST.

The AQI has been WAY better lately, but sometimes I wonder if its just coincidental that these coughs and chest colds seem to hang on longer and hit us harder since we've moved to China... The girls are still coughing two weeks later, though thankfully it isn't waking them at night anymore.

So while I'm on the couch I thought I'd distract my aching head with memories of Saturday, when I didn't feel sick at all and everything seemed perfect...

After naps we decided to take the girls out to explore a new park we'd seen while biking one day. It's good for the eyes to see new sites. We taxied there this time so we'd have more time (and a stroller!) but the driver didn't really know where it was. We tried asking, but it took a bit before we found the right place. It was tucked away... But on a beautiful, not at all cold but not too hot day in the fall, you don't really mind a little extra walking.

You've got to love it when places like this, that probably almost never have foreigners set foot in them still have English translation. And yes, when we saw it, we knew our goal had to be making it to the Artificial Toad. The name just begs to be seen!

But first, amid beautiful shade to the "Healthy Body Location." :)

Every apartment complex and public park without fail has its own set of outdoor exercise equipment. The older people use it for its purpose. But since playground equipment is more rare, children use the fun things to climb on!

Cute little leg and foot... how can she be turning one in just two months, already trying to walk everywhere she can?

And I do get some workout, as this is one of their favorite "toys" - I have to switch legs as they tire as I bounce them up and down ;)

The lights and darks were so beautiful in the foliage.

Even the apartments were picturesque. And quite a few grandpas wanted to practice their few words of English on us, and try to understand more through our limited Chinese.

In the middle of the park we couldn't resist a boat ride. :)

Dassah was pretty excited!

Our goal was to go under the bridge, and in what looked to be a circle back to the dock. We were wrong. It was a dead end. But Ryan's amazing steering got us back!

It was peaceful, though, and we were a family of four. What a blessing.

Miss Ellie was done being constrained by the time we got turned around and back through though ;)

But the sun was just right for pictures...

Ryan has an artistic eye

Chinese architecture never fails to give joy.

And at last we made it to THE well-acclaimed Artificial Toad!! Yeah. ;)

With a last look at he sky (yes, this picture is edited, but still, the sky has been so beautiful blue!), it was time to head for food.

It even looked as though there was an airplane cloud in the sky.

This is how we roll... Jump in as fast as you can while they stop on the side of the road!

But seriously, it was a beautiful day...

Sometimes the lack of normal-to-us restaurants is still hard. Like when I'm sick, I've been so tempted to not cook dinner, but there is no healthy panera bread or like restaurant closer than an hour away. There's Burger King, Pizza Hut, or Chinese food - good in its own right, but not craved when sick. But Ajisen Ramen, with its good fried rice and noodle bowls (think gourmet ramen noodles) is a favorite Saturday night destination. It feels healthier than most other options, and even has food for the girls.

Like the mushroom broth soup that Hadassah gets so absolutely excited about. I still bring veggies from home, but having food we can rely on to be good and nutritious and not require prep or dishes so we can go exploring on a Saturday afternoon is a rest in itself.

Shanghai Sky at Sunset

These past few weeks, it's felt like we've been living in a different country. I mean, the sky has looked like the above picture almost every day!! It's amazing how much more uplifted I feel when the sky is blue, and how the city and everything else seems cleaner and happier. They say because there is an upcoming G20 Summit in Hangzhou in September, 225 factories have been closed to ensure clean air for the visitors. Another 150 factories in Shanghai have reportedly been closed or moved to make sure that visitors to the new DisneyLand have blue sky for their time at the fairytale haven. After all, fairy tales don't have gray skies, right? Whatever the cause is, I am just so completely grateful. This is the sky Shanghai is capable of without excess pollution. Let's hope it stays!

With clear skies during the day, we have also been able to see beautiful sunsets at night! The sun does set in Shanghai... And living on the 14th floor allows us to see it above the buildings!

 View from our kitchen window. My new favorite time to do dishes is right after supper... to watch the sky is a treat!

 The best view is from our washing machine balcony, but if I lean forward every now and then at the sink, I catch glimpses of the sun's beauty.

 Every now and then I stop to think about how MANY people live in buildings in view of our place. And this is just what we can see from one of our windows. We are surrounded with people. People who need the Lord.

 And right now, His majesty is on display every night in the heavens.

 Sometimes bright, sometimes muter tones... Always beautiful.

 Sometimes we go outside to the playground as the sun sets. You can't see it as clearly down there, but the winds kick in for a refreshing evening breeze, and from the playground you can see the sky definitely painted, by a Master Hand.

 One night when when Ellie had to go to bed early (not long enough nap earlier!) I biked with Dassah to campus for a twilight mommy-daughter time. I didn't have my camera, so had to use my phone and try to capture the beautiful dark night blue.

She wanted to go to the lighted up gazebo - a truly beautiful site against a darkening sky. We sat and talked and did one of the games ("round and round teh gazebo") that we used to do before I had another baby!

 It was a truly beautiful night to be out... We stayed out a little longer than usual but bedtime could be pushed back a little later for sights like these! ;)

"The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

"Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world."

Psalm 19:1-4

Twenty Highlights from Mo Gan Shan

Last weekend we were blessed to go to Mo Gan Shan... a beautiful mountain with forests about a 4 hour drive from where we live in Shanghai. Ryan's coworkers organized the trip and were so gracious in bringing us along. It was so relaxing to get out in nature and be away from the chores of home. Hadassah loved playing outside so much and we just enjoyed being together as a family and getting to know some of Ryan's coworkers and their families better.

We took over 600 pictures in two days, and I posted a Facebook album with close to 80 pictures. But here I just wanted to post 20 of my favorites from the weekend. :)

 We tried to caravan with 2 other cars on the way there but got separated, so had to spend about an hour at a little stop half-way up the mountain. But we didn't mind too much as it was just so refreshing to be in nature!

 Our lovely accommodations for the weekend!

 Hadassah so so loved being able to play outside almost the whole time!

 We got to hike up a bit and along the edge of the mountain late afternoon on Saturday. I had so missed the feeling of being surrounded by trees...

 The spring green. It's real!

 A door along the way. I seriously love Chinese architecture!

 Ellie got Ergo naps for two days straight but was a sweet sport about it (though my shoulders were sore!).

 Beautiful overlook at dusk

 We were given one room with one bed. Our Chinese friends suggested we all share the one bed, but thankfully there was room in the car to bring a pack 'n play. Meant to use it for Ellie and put Hadassah on blankets on the floor, but the floors were wood, not carpet, and she moves around a lot. So, we put the not-yet-rolling front-to-back Ellie on the floor and hoped she wouldn't start rolling that night. ;) She didn't and both girls slept all night which was much better than we'd anticipated with the craziness of travel!

 Time outside with the girls in the early morn :)

 Morning mountain mist

 I like gates and doors, what can I say?

 Dassah and QiQi, the son of the co-worker/friend who organized the trip. They've played many places together! And it was great having a balcony to the outdoors just off of our room! I could nurse Ellie inside and Hadassah could play outside in a contained space as I watched her. Perfection!

 Off on a morning waterfall hike! This carrier we borrowed from friends for Hadassah was a lifesaver!

 The first little waterfall along the way

 These signs made us laugh :)

 It was beautiful and worth the (literally) thousands of stairs all the way to the bottom and back up again...

 Trees!! Surrounded by high-rise apartment buildings at home makes me appreciate being surrounded by trees so much more!

 We made it to the bottom and even all the way back up. Legs ached, but it felt so good to get exercise and be out in clear, clean air!

Best of all, we made memories as a family. The girls may not remember first-hand, but we'll have the pictures to show them they were here.