Finding the First Blossoms

I'm what you could call a winter wimp. I like about one, maybe two months of coldish weather, and then I'm ready for spring. ;) So it's with great excitement that I notice the blooming of flowers each year. Combined with recent sunshine-y days and each week usually bringing one day that touches 70 degrees and let's us go without heavy jackets, I've been telling Hadassah "spring is coming!" as my heart sings with joy.

Though I've learned by trial and error not to assume it's going to be warm after one day without the heavy jacket. Even the evening of a warm day can bring gusty, cold winds around here! 

Last Thursday it was a pretty nice day. It was still chilly, but the day was clear and Ryan called to say he'd be home early so we could go and see the blossoms on campus.

I love any excuse to have a little extra time with my love!

Hadassah also loves any chance to be outside! She found some nuts and said "I found nuts to feed the squirrels!" Though Daddy quite willingly acted out being a squirrel for her, she was pretty disappointed when I told her I didn't think there were any squirrels in China... At least I haven't seen any here!

Sites like these never get old!

Daddy and daughter. She has a smile even bigger than this every day when he gets home from work. :)

Our Dassah Daisy! Such a big little girl she is now...

Delicate-ness

Winter cuteness

Pink against gray... contrasts.

Since Ellie was napping in the ERGO and we were actually outside, we delayed supper a bit and visited our favorite gazebo on the hill. Hadassah had a pretend picnic of nuts and pansy petals :)

Little girl in tall gazebo... I remember when I had to help her up these steps and on and off the stools, and now she does everything without problem!

With a sleeping little one close to my heart... I enjoy it when I can walk just me (I forget how "light" I feel!) but it is such a blessing to have a little one to snuggle so close

Walking home, it was a blue sky and fluffy clouds late afternoon... Such a good day to be alive!

These are blooming right outside our apartment building, bringing happy spring-ness feeling every time I walk outside, which helps when the wind blasts into me despite what shouldn't be a too cold day, as we live in a wind tunnel!

Ryan played with the girls as I made quick quesadillas and salad. It was a late supper, but we were all energized by the beauty God has made outside.

Thank You, God, that spring is coming...

Cool Connections

11 years ago, Ryan first came to Shanghai. He did a study abroad program at the university across the street. Who would have thought that, 11 years later, he'd be sitting in our living room  - IN China - talking to guys from his same university in America, doing the same study abroad? Like-minded men, interested in being a light, curious how it works overseas, and all the options there are when you think of living abroad.

I love hearing my husband sharing what he's learned, and answering all the many questions they have. And, ever since my brother was a guy on his own, I love providing a good home-cooked, American meal (fajitas with amazing chocolate-brownie pudding for dessert!) to college guys. Especially when they've been mostly eating Chinese food for a month!

Thank You, Lord, for times like these... connections we never ever thought we'd have when we came over here.

Our Chinese New Year

Every year around this time, China has a national holiday. Though business operates by the same calendar as the rest of the world, they also have a lunar calendar that determines the dates of holidays. The "Chinese New Year" or "Spring Festival" is the biggest one, where almost everyone goes back to their hometown to celebrate the new year with their family. Others take it as a time to see the sites or go to a nearby country for tourism. Other friends go to conferences, so Shanghai kind of empties out.

So, we planned to make the most of it in a more-empty big city. Ryan was really sweet, wanting to give me the week "off" as much as possible from chores and cooking and dishes. So, we planned to stay downtown for a few days in the apartment of friends who were out of country, order in or go out for most of our meals, and see friends almost every day. We also planned to go to as many parks and zoos as we could with Ryan's week off of work!

What actually happened couldn't have been more different. ;) Ryan came down with a really back cold on Sunday. Hadassah and I got it Wednesday. It wasn't just the type that was annoying and was past the worst after a few days... We're STILL dealing with it over a week later. It settles in your lungs and gives you a hacking cough. It also depletes energy and just leaves you feeling pretty miserable. Not exactly our idea of a relaxing time off - when the week was over, we felt like we needed a vacation! ;)

But still, it was a good week. We grew closer as a family. Instead of traveling miles all over, we hardly left a one-mile radius of our home. But, we enjoyed those familiar things and all the extra bonding time.

Our internet VPN provider also was off that week, so we were unable to access Facebook, Gmail, Blogger, Youtube, and more. But in a way, that was nice. We didn't have social media distractions, but were able to use our time in other ways.

It means, though, that I'm way behind on pictures, so here's a long picture-y post with ones we took over our week off at home.

 Despite his sickness, Ryan was an amazing Daddy. He used his small amounts of energy to play with his girls. I love this man. :)

 And I love these sweet sisters :)

 Having two girls stacked on my lap for a story is so much fun. Every now and then I pause amid the fast pace of life and realize what a blessing it is to be living my dream as a mom...

 The weather was, thankfully, absolutely beautiful during the "Spring Festival" week. It truly was a taste of spring. Before we got sick, Hadassah and I got outside a few times, going for a walk on campus and enjoying the feel of no jackets! Though I still got strange looks to be in short sleeves, despite the 60*F!

 Me and my big girl. It was a treat to spend one-on-one time with her doing the thing we love (going outside!).

 We went down paths we hadn't gone on in months. I was literally singing and dancing down the path. I started singing a made up song with the words "Thank you, thank you Jesus..." and later on Hadassah repeated it on her own. I just enjoyed the SUNSHINE and conversation with my big girl. Memories to cherish.

 She's adventurous and fun and kind and sweet and generous. Hadassah Faith is growing into such a great little girl.

 And Eliana Grace? Full of patience and sweetness and grace for us. Her smiles are more and more frequent and such a joy to see.

 Even though Ryan was sick he was still up to go to our favorite field and enjoy some sunshine. He and Hadassah kicked a ball around the field and we enjoyed the sun going down over the water.

 Hadassah is at the age where a stick is the best toy. I wouldn't let her go close to the water's edge to throw them in, so she enjoyed dropping them in the little slats of the drain.

 There's something about a wide open field that is just good for the soul!

 And ending at our favorite pizza place (Papa John's) makes everyone happy! Ellie just laid in the booth and started at the ceiling, allowing me to eat too!

 And there'es nothing like a blue-eyed baby peeking over the shoulder. :)

 Our second blue-eyed blondie :)

 She absolutely LOVED having lots of extra Daddy play time that week too! Probably the best benefit of having to be mostly home was the bonding they got to do.

 Friday was an absolutely perfectly gorgeous day. Reached 70* F, sky was blue, clouds were white... I was reminded what sky is supposed to look like! ;) We sat on a bench on campus, field in the back, water in the front, and just enjoyed it as a family. Sick though we were, being outside can't help but make one feel better!

We are blessed. 

A Cardboard Doll House

I needed to create today. Like, really needed to. I was tired, brain was foggy, and I just had that restless feeling... Monday I'd thought of things that would take at least a week of uninterrupted time to do, and all I usually have is an hour or two at best when both have naps that overlap, and usually - pretty much always these days - chores take precedence.

But this week, most of our friends are gone, traveling for the Chinese New Year holidays, so we don't have any get-together days scheduled. Sure, the bathrooms I've been procrastinating cleaning for far too long and there's dust in corners that should be swept, but I just had to do something creative.

I've known I wanted to make a dollhouse out of cardboard boxes since we moved here, and planned to do one since September, when I knew my mom was buying these sweet dolls for Hadassah's birthday. But I also knew it would take a while, and long stretches of time are rare!

So once Ellie joined Hadassah in sleep-world, I raced to do lunch dishes and hang laundry, and then let myself make a mess and create. It actually only took less than two hours to do all of it, and the brain clearing and attitude lifting it did for me is amazing. I forget how wonderful creativity like this is!

I've always enjoyed little dolls. My older sister Miriam made me an amazing doll house when I was a girl (complete with an elevator!) and I collected just about everything miniature I could find. One day I want to get a more sturdy, lasting dollhouse for my girls (or even use the one that was mine as a girl), but here in China I don't want to invest in things on a larger scale, knowing we aren't planning on being here long term. And I realized that for a toddler, cardboard is great and you can do a ton with hot glue and paper and felt. Yes, she may destroy some of it, but I also saved on mess and clean up by hot gluing all the accessories to the box house. Saves on frustration too, as things don't move as she tries to put her dolls in.

 Instead of making a huge house with lots of rooms, the whole family sleeps in the same room. :) Adding trim to the blankets was a last minute addition that made them so much more fun (they were pretty bland before). The crib took the longest to make out of popsicle sticks, but I knew that as much as Hadassah enjoyed her crib, she'd want one for the baby (and I was right). :) I would have enjoyed making more furniture out of popsicle sticks but I was short on time.

And it's far from perfect. My blessing (and curse at times!) in being creative is that I'm not a perfectionist. Helps when I'm trying to finish things quickly!

 Being a toddler, I knew Hadassah would enjoy having a bathroom. And I was right. She took the little girl potty and gave the girls a bath in the bathtub together like she enjoys with her baby sister on occasion. She is so enjoying stories and acting things out these days, that it's fun to see her have a chance to do it with these dollies! Before she had a house for them, she hardly ever played with them, but now I see a lot of play in her future!

 Half of a carton that had fruit in it worked perfectly for simple couches. And felt turns into a nice rug when you make fringes! The pictures/windows are simple and hurried - I could do a lot better, but knew the wake-up time of the girls was fast approaching, and it just looked so much better when I put something on the wall!

 I didn't make chairs in the kitchen (save the bouncy chair for the baby, which Hadassah loved having!) because 1) no room, 2) saves the hassle of her trying to get her dolls to sit in them, and 3) they would have been tricky to make! So the family can stand at the table. :) Another half of a fruit carton in the back has a sink and stove, and of course there has to be a window above the sink for the mom when she does the dishes!

And I loved watching Hadassah decide what the dolls would do. :) She put them to bed multiple times. She put them all down on the living room rug to play together (as she likes us doing as a family). She even had the mom nurse the baby, then had her say, "I'm going to take you outside in the ERGO." Then there was a pause and a high pitched, shocked, "We have no ERGO!!" She got her big doll stroller as a substitute. :)

When we get outside...

 You have to bundle up a ton, but the results are pretty cute!

 It really helps that Ellie can sit in a stroller. I like the ERGO, as it's great for going in taxis and keeping Ellie asleep when she needs to nap when out. But she almost always goes to sleep in it, even if it's not a normal nap time, as she can't move or see much. So the stroller gives us hope she'll stay awake for a while, and it also leaves me more free to carry stuff or direct Hadassah. And Hadassah enjoys holding onto the stroller as we walk, getting her exercise and motivation to stay with me!

 Of course, with the wind and freezing temps lately, Ellie has to stay mostly covered up when we're out!

But she's a pretty cute snuggly buggly bear! 

These pictures were taken on Friday, as I took supper to some friends in our complex. They had been dealing with croup for two weeks as their kids took turns with the sickness, and were going out of town for a week the next day. It made me SO happy that we live close enough in community with people now that I know when they're sick and feel freedom in just offering a meal (as they gave us so many when we were returned from the US with a newborn!). 

Today we woke up to the beauty of snow outside. Not much, but it's still beautiful.

Side note: I put Ellie in the bumbo seat to watch Hadassah do puzzles and read so I could quickly blog. But I just kept getting distracted by the cuteness and had to take pictures and video! And hearing Hadassah talk to her...

 "Baby Eliana, I'm so nice to you!" Then she sees a bit of spit up and says "I'm gonna get the burp rag! Just a minute..." and wipes her chin so gently.

Then she sits next to her and says "I'm going to read you a story, baby Eliana."

I'd say she's a great big sister!

Three Years going on forever

Only three years? That's what comes to mind when realizing we've been married for three years, as of January 26th. They've been so full! One house, two apartments, two children, and three countries... We've been through just about as many changes as you can in three years. People often caution against making too many life changes in early marriage, and it's probably wise advice. But I'm so grateful that God has used the changes and challenges to just grow us closer. As I told Ryan, "I always feel safe and taken care of when I'm with you." What a blessing it is to be married to this man!

We had a wonderful anniversary too. Sure, the day was crazy, as most days are. I wanted to write a nice card, but only managed to get basic chores done. And clean my rings... I need to do that more often. I forget how beautifully they can shine! But these days love is often shown more in food on the table and home taken care of and helping look for lost things then pages of writing. Not to say I shouldn't aim to write more notes to my man, but to show reality. And yet, it's a beautiful reality!

 There's nothing like being just us two! There's a freedom in that, a rest. So although we left a screaming toddler who didn't want to leave us (even though she loves the family we left her with), we were so happy to get in the elevator alone. Our friends were so gracious to take both a toddler and infant for a few hours, and when we came back, Hadassah wasn't ready to leave the fun puzzles she was doing, and reported "I'm so happy!" :)

 The sky was blue and the clouds were gorgeous and it felt so good to be outside that we walked to the subway station. It really doesn't take that long - maybe 10-15 minutes - when you have no children in tow and are energized being with the one you most love.

The subway was crowded, as rush hour was beginning on that Tuesday night, but we had fun talking over memories from the past three years. Ryan had even creatively bought some lollipops to enjoy on the way. I hadn't had one in years and it made me feel like a kid again. :) Which I often do when I'm with my fun man!

 We ate at Blue Frog Bar and Grill, half an hour away by subway. We jokingly call it "our spot" - not that there are many places this close to home to choose from where we KNOW we'll get good, tastes-like-home food! But the food is so good I don't mind going there again and again!

While we waited, we wrote a few notes in our "Mr. & Mrs. Journal" to remember this anniversary. And laughed because the last entry in there is from our last anniversary... Guess this journal might last our whole marriage! ;)

 Chili cheese fries...

 BBQ sliders... had even this usually-doesn't-like BBQ girl enjoying every bite! I guess marriage can change you. My man likes BBQ so much I've tried it more and more and actually really really enjoyed it this go around!

 The beef fajitas we saved for last because they are just so so so amazingly good. Somehow they get every combination of flavors perfect.

 Good to the last bite. Our bellies were full of warm goodness from the meal.

 So it almost didn't make sense to get cold ice cream. Except... our most amazing wedding (groom's) cake had been a chocolate/peanut butter creation dripping with Reese's Pieces. I'd wanted to make a similar creation that day, but life happened, I didn't have time, and I didn't even have the right ingredients. I spread some peanut butter on dark chocolate as a treat for lunch, which was good, but still not the same. But when we walked by the McDonald's in the subway station, I saw their new flavor of ice cream was peanut butter!! What??? No way. :) So we had to get some to celebrate our anniversary with smooth, peanut butter, creamy chocolate goodness!

We truly felt like kids, taking pictures of our ice cream. But it was like a special gift from God. And they got the flavor combination perfect. We were pretty happy to think of having this treat just a short walk away, but today when I tried to get it again for a special treat with Hadassah, they'd moved on to a new flavor. So although we're sad we only had this goodness once (peanut butter + chocolate combinations are almost completely absent here), it also makes our anniversary just that much more special, to have something that even tasted like our wedding day. :)

God is good. I'm so grateful to be married to this man, and look forward to many more years by his side. We've been through plenty of challenges and moments of "what do we do now?" but Ryan always encourages me to keep trusting the Lord. And the Lord is faithful. I look forward to seeing where He'll bring us as we walk together. 

Snow Day and Challenges...

It had long been talked of among friends. The temperatures were falling below freezing and it *might* snow! Just like my home state of Alabama, snow here is a once-a-year-if-that phenomenon, and so it's a pretty exciting thing. So when, on Saturday morning, I looked out of the window to see flakes falling, I scooped up Hadassah and rushed to our balcony for a closer look. She was mesmerized and kept exclaiming, "I need to go down there!"

I was about to meet with a friend for sharing/prayer, so Ryan got her bundled and took her outside to experience the first snow she can remember. (She spent the first 4 months of her life surrounded by snow in Iowa, but of course has no recollection!)

The wonder of a snowflake on her finger... How wonderful to experience childhood again through the eyes of our children!

And her Daddy was awesome to brave the freezing cold and strong gusts of wind to share it with her! This winter in Shanghai is the coldest it's been in 35 years according to reports, and we definitely felt it over the weekend! Even our pretty-well-sealed apartment had drafts coming in from all the doors and windows with the gales we could hear whistling outside.

Even when there's snow, you can't stand being outside too long, so Ryan took Hadassah to their favorite daddy-daughter-date place, Zoo Coffee. Hadassah still loves it so!

The extra cold made our heaters not able to keep up as well, so Saturday night had Hadassah awake for an hour as she woke needing to go to the bathroom, then having a hard time getting back to sleep. Extra clothes and blankets for us all finally did the trick, but we were slow getting to church the next morning. Just the run from the building to the taxi was enough of the crazy wind for me!

That evening we decided to make a cozy, fun evening for Hadassah, splurging with one of the popcorn bags we'd finally gotten in our red suitcase and watching short kids movies on the couch. It helped me forget some the craziness of the afternoon, as I discovered that I have intestinal worms. Ugh. Why?? The list of reasons you could get them all match rather well with the surroundings here, but still... I remember hearing my dad talk about them in his tales of growing up in Africa, and thinking that would be one of the very grossest things to discover. And now I have them. Doctor's appointment is scheduled for tomorrow. But it took a while to get over the initial shock, and I still don't like to think about it...

Monday morning came, a day I usually spend getting back on track after the weekend. But as we were eating breakfast, the power went out. Ryan needed to catch the company bus, so gave me the simple Chinese words to call the apartment fix-it office with: the equivalent of "No electricity" along with our apartment number. I was relieved to be able to do it myself for once, but as the hours dragged by, I finally texted a Chinese friend for help. On the phone there had been a string of Chinese I hadn't understood... She called them for me and learned the men were busy trying to defrost frozen pipes and would be there as soon as they could.

 So I spent the morning snuggling with my girl under blankets reading story after story, and making hot cocoa to warm our insides. It was a good excuse to let the to-do list go, and just enjoy having fun with my child. Thankfully Ellie slept most of the time, all swaddled tightly and with an extra blanket on top for good measure. We realized just how much our heat does when it was off for 2 1/2 hours!

Soon after Ellie woke, the guy arrived and flipped the breaker in the locked box in the hall way. After I nursed Hadassah, she wanted to play duck duck goose - "with Ellie!" she added. When it's just her and I, we add her stuffed animals to the mix. She'll say "goose" on one of their heads, and I'll stay seated and have the animal "chase" her in the air around the circle. Makes her laugh, gets some energy out, and I don't have to run much at all! It's always fun seeing Hadassah want to include her sister too.

But between waking up late and the power going out, then having one thing or another happen all morning, I was really missing a shower. It'd been too long. At lunch I told Ryan, "it's my one goal for the afternoon!" I planned to do it when the girls were safely napping, but Hadassah never did... Not enough energy out? The coldness of her room? For some reason her heater had never really kicked in after the power outage. Or was she just being defiant and testing me, as she kept having requests for me to come? Finally I told her I couldn't come in again, showered despite the protests from her room, and then got her up soon after. If she hadn't fallen asleep by then, she wasn't going to.

I was feeling trapped. That "I really want to get out of here" feel. I was tempted to be really upset with Hadassah for not napping, depriving me of "my" time to get things done... But I knew that wasn't logical or deserved. And my attitude was not what it should be. I turned on Sovereign Grace music. And it helped:

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain?
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain?
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought?
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt?

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

(From the song, "As Long as You are Glorified")

 Tuesday was a really good day. The sun shone, I actually got outside with the girls (albeit only a short walk to get eggs) and I had a date with my man. The sky was even blue.

Today it's rainy again. And supposed to be all week. The water wouldn't get hot enough to give Hadassah a bath until almost lunch time. Most of the morning was spent trying to get the faucets on our washing machine balcony working. The one to the machine was spewing water and the one in the sink was dripping. There's no insulation or heat out there, so the freezing temps were too much. My amazing Chinese friend helped so much... She called the fix-it guy, translated for me over the phone when he was telling me stuff I didn't understand, and came over to see the model of the faucet so she could buy me one. I only had a mini flood on the balcony... she had one in her apartment all over her kitchen and dining room, yet she took so much time to help me. She bought the faucet and brought it to my house, waiting with me while it took 30 minutes for the fixit man to show up. It was a good excuse to visit as we hadn't seen her in a while. But it all thwarted the plans I had to at least go for a walk in the car parking lot basement with the girls... So tempting to get irritated with it all again. And yet, what a blessing this friend is. I don't know what I'd do without her!

But Hadassah is napping. My washing machine is humming again after 5 days of being told not to use due to freezing fears. And do we ever need it!! I'm trying not to think about the rain slated for the next 3 days and just hoping things somehow dry... But the temperatures are above freezing, and our home is warm. Every day is an adventure, and I'm trying to embrace it. One day, I'll have the stories to tell my own children about our time in China.