A Biker Family

 So if you had ever told me, at any part of my life, that I'd be riding on what is to many respects a motorcycle (albeit not able to go as fast), I wouldn't have believed you. A little "wild"? That's not really me...

But when it's your fastest way to get to the grocery store or subway, and time is always of the essence with a baby... Besides, who wouldn't want to ride behind such a handsome man?

And would you be shocked to hear that I think it's a blast? :)

Now we look like a true Chinese family.

And before you question whether it's safe or not:
1) There's a bike lane on almost every road, separated from the busy road with cars by a hedge of trees
2) I feel very secure, not at all like I'm going to fall off
3) Hadassah is secure in the ERGO carrier, and I put one arm around Ryan and one arm behind her head so that if we go over any big bumps (though the bike itself is very smooth), she won't be jolted
4) This e-bike can only go 15 mph tops, so we're not traveling all that fast

And Hadassah likes it too! 

A plug for ERGO carriers too: they're great! Carrying her doesn't hurt my back, and I feel her weight less with this than I do when I wear a backpack. Pretty cool. And really, almost essential for life in China. Allows me to go to the fruit stand and buy water and carry it back with both hands while she rides securely and can see the world. :) Plus, better than carrying the stroller up and down stairs and trying to navigate all the bumps in the sidewalk and roads. *end plug*

Hard to believe we're finishing our first "normal" week of work and such in China! Still hasn't fully sunk in that we'll be here for years instead of just weeks, but it's exciting to learn and grow in many new ways.

And, I just arranged with a tutor a friend recommended to start language lessons on Tuesday & Thursday afternoons starting this Tuesday! :)

Neighbors :)

We are so blessed with great neighbors! Above is a picture with the woman and her 17-month-old son. They live just across from us on our floor, with her husband and her mother. In China it is most common for the grandma to live with the family to care for the child, since both parents work.

They have been so kind to us from day one. When we were waiting to look at the apartment in our search, and had to wait for a while because there was a key mix-up, they invited us in to sit down and have Hadassah play with their toys. They've also given her toys and we've traded toys to borrow so that the little ones can have some new things to play with, which they both love. :) They brought over a sweater for Hadassah that the Grandma knitted soon after we moved in. Last night they also gave us some unopened baby cereal from America (evidently they trust it more than what you can get here) saying their son no longer ate it, so would I want it for Hadassah. We were almost out of what we'd brought, so it was perfect timing. And, yet another instance of God providing at just the right time.  Also, we had mentioned how far we have to travel for church (over an hour!) and they connected us with someone who attends a church even closer.

They have also been so hospitable to us. They invited us over on Friday evening, and then had us eat lunch with them on Saturday, and we've been over there or they've come over almost every day since! The parents both speak very good English, so they've been a help to us in many ways and provided friendship.

Last night, they asked us, "Why did you all move to China?"  And while there are many answers that we could give (and do/did give), the ironic answer to have given would have been to have said, "We moved here so that we could be having this very conversation!"  Paul, in Romans 1:11-12, says he was longing to see the Romans and wants to come to them.  And the only reasons he gives for it are spiritual reasons: to impart a spiritual gift (v 11), to be mutually encouraged by them (v 12) and to reap a harvest among them (v 13).  Paul made his geographic location completely dependent on spiritual realities.

We'd prayed before coming that we'd be able to connect with neighbors, and are amazed and blessed to see God answering our prayer so quickly!  Please pray for our relationship with them.  They are such a blessing to us and we are praying that we can be a blessing to them.  And of course, even more so, that they can know personally the Source of all blessings.

Recent Cuteness

 Being home with Hadassah and not having all the things we used to have for her to play in (swing, johnny-jump-up, bouncy seat, bumbo) has made me creative about where to put her down. She's discovered the joy of a huge bowl I use as a laundry basket...

...and the delight of a plain old box! It doubles as a ship to scoot her around in and a great drum (note the blurry arm).

Now that she finally JUST fits in her size 2 sandals (this girl has small feet!) we take a morning walk around the apartment complex, investigating bushes, discovering delight in crunching on leaves, and smiling at the people walking to school or work. 

It's also nice having shoes that fit, since I've learned if I take her out barefoot, even if she's just being carried, concerned grannies try to tell me to put something on her feet. Seems to be a cultural thing.

She's pretty good at getting them off, though, so we had a five minute hunt retracing my steps to where she'd wiggled out of it this morning. ;)

Sandals like mommy! She's pretty proud that she can walk in them - holding mommy's hands, of course. Though she does try to just take off every now and then - the confidence is there, just not the balance. ;)

If at first you don't succeed...

Lunch was much better today! :)

And many blessings have come our way...

Though ordering groceries online is more expensive in places, on a friend's recommendation I checked out some websites with safe meat and produce, and placed orders with two sites this morning. Delivery is fast - one order will be here this afternoon and the other tomorrow morning! Splurged on a few comfort foods too. :) So meat and salad is in our future...

To top things all off, a generous friend told us they'd ordered an oven for us to be delivered here on Friday!! Wow!!

God is so good. And if we didn't go through a few valleys (though yesterday's was minor compared to many others), the mountain tops wouldn't be so beautiful.

Operation: Make Lunch

So, just to keep it real...

Yesterday was a great day. I had the house sparkling clean thanks to Hadassah's 2 hour nap, lunch was ready even a little early, and it was delicious. Despite only having one working burner, and only one kitchen utensil (a trusty spatula!) other than sharp knives and plastic spoons and forks, the green beans were boiled to perfection, and the concoction of boiled potatoes sliced and sauteed with garlic, onion, olive oil and salt was incredible. "Necessity is the mother of invention" I thought to myself with a smile, as I peeled and sliced carrots and a pear to top things off.

But Ryan never showed up... We'd known it was a possibility, that on his first day they might have scheduled him to have lunch with a co-worker. Problem was, he couldn't let me know, as he'd had to take the only phone we have so far with him to call someone when he arrived at the office, and he didn't have working email there yet. So I waited for 45 minutes, then ate. It was still yummy cold, and made great leftovers for his supper.

Then today came. It seemed like it would work again. I'd gotten a neat looking rice and bean mix to give us some good fiber and protein. I was excited to find it had English and Chinese instructions too, until I saw that all they told me was "Add a certain amount of water, cooked with high fire, then simmer it to porridge." Okay... ignoring the nagging thought that beans had to be soaked before use - thinking, "It would have said to. Besides, these are mixed with rice, so maybe they've been pre-prepared" - and adding to it my own inexperience (confession: I relied on canned beans in the US!) I set about 1 1/2 hours before lunch to create another great concoction.

Or so I thought.

First I added equal parts rice and water. Pretty soon I knew that wasn't going to be enough, so I added more. And more. Oh - and a little more. I also added minced garlic and salt for flavor. It's all I have, as my spices haven't arrived in our boxes yet. Hadassah woke up and I nursed and fed her solids while checking the pot periodically. When it was 30 minutes 'til Ryan was supposed to be there and the beans were still very very hard, I started sweating, and turned the heat up.

Which was a mistake, as it seems the gas stove either cooks really high or not much at all. Pretty soon I smelled something burning and sure enough, the bottom was caked with burnt beans and rice. I transferred the good stuff to a new pot and kept trying.

Did I mention we only have one working burner?

Ryan got home - right on time! - and the beans were still hard. "Oh well - guess we'll just eat the rice around the beans" I said as I sprinkled in more salt and put some frozen mixed veggies on to cook, trying to get them done quickly.

Finally, we were ready and I'd added some fresh fruit to make up for the interesting lunch. But then... a few bites of the rice told me I'd added too much salt. A bite of the mixed veggies reminded me when I'd tested them for done-ness I'd only tasted the corn and carrots - the peas were still hard. The fruit was good, but my husband needed protein....

Grilled cheese and a fried egg (trying to forget he'd already had eggs for breakfast!) came to the rescue. He was so reassuring while I berated myself. "I should have known dried beans needed to soak!" We'll laugh about this one day, I know, but right then I was fighting back tears.

But you know, it's a lesson in humility. I felt like a new wife trying to cook for her husband and failing. Except I didn't have to go through that when I got married, because I'd already had years of practice. So, maybe this is my turn to learn. Where ingredients are hard to find and there's never enough time to shop with a baby who needs her naps, so necessary things will be gathered slowly.

And thankfully, there are restaurants just a few minutes walk from our house. Looks like it'll be Chinese noodles tonight. :)

Welcome Home Daddy!

The onesie says it all...

 Someone was just a little fussier yesterday, looking around for her Daddy. You can see by her face when he came through the door after work how excited she was!

 Couldn't stop looking at him :)

She initiated the snuggling. So sweet!!

Perspective...

As I hung up another load of laundry to dry, I was thankful. After 2 weeks washing things by hand in a hotel sink and waiting 4 days for them to dry draped in the bathroom, having a washing machine and lots of space with access to open windows for things to dry in a day seems like a luxury.

It also made me thankful for that time in the hotel. No, it wasn't fun. Yes, I wished time and again for a regular washing machine and dryer. But it gave me perspective, and helped me be thankful. If we'd come straight to the apartment, I'd probably be more inclined to be grumpy that this washing machine is half the size of ones in the US and there's no dryer to be found anywhere. We as humans are pretty good at complaining, aren't we?

Though moving to China is full of changes and things we're doing without - big on the list right now is an oven - it's also made me realize how much we have to be grateful for, that so much of the world doesn't have. We have A/C, though they're simple units in each room. We have hot water and a shower that feels so good at the end of a sticky day of walking through the streets - we don't have to bathe with a bucket! We have a refrigerator, and we have a stove, gas powered though it is. We have beds and couches and tables and chairs and a few dishes and sharp knives already in our apartment for our use.

I know I won't always feel thankful. I'll be tempted to complain about such things as the "hardship" of finding cheese and butter at a decent price. So when I do, I hope I'll remember this. We have so much to be thankful for.