Qiǎokèlì

Since we're leaving tomorrow, I stopped by the vegetable stand this morning not to buy food but let our friends know we'd be leaving for America tomorrow and returning on January 7th. The fact that I knew how to say that in Chinese made me happy. :)

The vegetable stand lady and Hadassah are good friends. She doesn't always want to go to her (she's a big momma's girl right now) but she always has fun and they have little games they play together. The vegetable stand man laughs and watches, as he's given up on getting Hadassah to go to him. ;) But as she held Hadassah a little closer this morning knowing she wouldn't see her for a while, he motioned for her to give her a Qiǎokèlì (cha-co-lee) that was sitting in the back with some fruit. Probably his treat for later. It touches me how generous everyone is. Especially to Hadassah... this isn't the first time she's been given chocolate and almost every time I buy fruit or vegetables, we get a little something given to her for free. I was happy to be able to give a little back, bringing them Christmas cookies earlier this week.

But seriously, the generosity of people isn't helping me teach Hadassah that when someone else is eating does NOT mean that you are entitled to some as well! She's perfected the art of walking closer and looking up with pleading eyes, so if they weren't offering food to her already, they definitely do then! 

 If she'd known how to open this, she would have...

She kept it in her hands while we were outside, and kept putting it in her mouth and say "um um um!"

I must say, though, having Hadassah often means good things for me. I mean, I wasn't about to let her eat a chocolate bar, and it'd be a shame to waste it, right? ;) 

There's only one "ornament" left on our tree, making me smile each time I see it. One more day!! I'm not looking forward to the flight, but am so ready to be with family. And in a little warmer house too. ;)

Please do pray as we fly. We fly out of Shanghai at 5:55 PM on Saturday and arrive in Alabama at 10:30 PM Saturday. Yeah, figure that one out. ;)  We have a 13 1/2 hour flight from Shanghai to Dallas, and then a 2 hour one to Montgomery. All with an active one year old in my lap. We're hoping that flying over her normal night time means she sleeps for at least part - maybe even most of it, or that if she ends up being awake, it means she adjusts to jet lag. I researched a while online on how to help toddlers with jet lag, and pretty much everyone said just expect a few days of misery.

So, prayers are appreciated. Especially that we don't get sick - it's unlikely we'll get much sleep on the plane, and likely Hadassah will wake up quite a bit during the new night (that used to be day for us!) so it will be a while before we get much sleep. And plane rides are pretty good for picking up germs, especially in the winter. But, we know that God is in control and are trusting Him. This may not be much of a vacation rest-wise, but we are looking forward to getting filled up with fellowship. It will be worth it.

We may not post much here while traveling, so Merry Christmas! :)