The Urban Life

When you live in a huge city there are some things that you do in your house that you just wouldn’t do if you lived in the suburbs.  A few examples are that you pot plants in your house, you BBQ on your balcony (instead of your backyard), and your kids ride riding toys in your small apartment.

The newest addition to that list is that when you live in an urban area with no outside/backyard space, you can have a swing in your bedroom.  I think you also have to have a pretty cool dad who will, not only allow it, but will spend several hours getting it drilled into the concrete ceiling. 

Here are some picture of the girls swinging on their new swing. 

Hailey was especially excited about that swing, since she LOVES to swing and there are very few swings in our city.

Sydney getting in on the fun!

Only in a city of 10 million people will you see this

I was just walking out of my office and just saw this and thought it
was funny.

People live in the city but most are from the farming areas. So they
still keep roosters and chickens around that wake us up at 5am.

Neighbors

We have the cutest little couple who live in our complex.  They walk around every afternoon and have started looping down in our circle (to see the foreign kids, I think ).  I think they are so precious.  The man is 98 years old and his wife is 90!  I can’t imagine all the things they have seen in their life time.  I think they look great for their age, which is usually the opposite of what I think of the locals here.  Because of their hard pasts, usually I feel like people usually look much older than they are, but not this little couple.  I have a difficult time understanding them when they talk since they speak the local dialect and in very soft voices.  I hope to find out more of their story in the future, because I know they must have some amazing stories. 

Here Madison is with them.  Notice how little clothes Madison is wearing compared with their clothes.  Typically Chinese are “scared of the cold” where I think Americans are more afraid of the hot.

NOTE: To Be Used in Sydney’s rehearsal dinner powerpoint

My dear friend Ashlei is in town with her son Grady.  Last night we went on a stroll with her and the Sorrel’s.  Here are the younger kids riding in their strollers.  Grady (who will be 2 this summer), Sydney (who will be 3 on August 23), and Gunner (who will be 2 on August 23).  We love both of these families and I would be more than happy to be able to use this picture at Sydney’s rehearsal dinner one day.

Rollerblading Club

Madison is in the rollerblading club at her school. Every Friday the elementary school gets to participate in different clubs. They change the clubs every quarter and they have been the highlight of Madison's week. In the past she has done the Art Club, Technology Club, Traditional Dance Club, and some others that I can't recall. Well, this quarter she is in the Discovery Club and the Rollerblading Club. Last Friday I was helping with the Technology Club so as I was waiting for school to be over, I got to watch her and other 1st and 2nd graders roller blade. They were so cute.

Here she is acting silly.

Her and her friend Hannah blading around the cones.

And another shot of her in action.

We are so thankful for her school and that she loves it so much. She is learning a ton, but she also gets to do extracurricular activities that she enjoys too.

These sweet little sisters

Last weekend we were out exploring and thought we would go check out a new international hotel that just opened up recently in our block. Here are Madison, Hailey and Sydney acting silly in the hotel. It is so fun having 3 little girls who really love each other...yes, they fuss and fight, but I'm so thankful for the genuine love they have for each other. I love watching them with each other and can't wait to see them love on their little mei mei (mei mei means little sister in Chinese).

A Walk Home from Dinner

Today was one of the first nice Spring days we've had. It has been a long, dreary, cold winter. So tonight we decided we would walk to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. It's about a mile and 1/2 walk so we pushed Sydney in her stroller, and Madison and Hailey rode their scooters. There is a lot to see in 1.5 miles in this city. On the way back we came up to a little exercise park and Sydney hopped out of her stroller and the big girls threw down their scooters to go play.

We played for awhile with the exercise equipment.

Then the girls each held a little girl's tiny puppy.

Then they scooted down the block to another park and Madison wanted to buy a bird from this man selling birds from his bike. Of course, we said no. I know there are some bird lovers out there, but I think a bird will be the last pet we ever own.

That is just a few of the things we see in a normal evenings stroll around the block.

G.R.I.T.S.

Girls Raised In The South (of China) still love their grits. It is pretty amazing to me that our girls love grits! They have lived their whole life outside of the southern US, but still love grits. Hailey can eat a huge bowl of grits....everyday! She absolutely loves them. This creates a pretty big problem since we can't get grits here. When we go to the states or we have family or friends visit, grits are on the top of our list of things for them to bring...not just a few packets either....more like 10lbs of grits!

Hailey and Sydney enjoying their grits

For our daughter

For the most part we have failed miserably at blogging. I way overthink my posts which, in turn, prevents me from posting anything. I really want to do this. One of the reason I think I'm not good at it is because I really find our life to be pretty normal. Many of you would say what is normal about living in China, but it does feel quite ordinary to us.

One thing about us that may not seem very ordinary is that we are about to have a little Chinese daughter. We have always wanted to adopt and now is finally the time. I am going to have a 4th daughter! I never thought I would have 4 children...much less 4 daughters! I'm really going to try again at blogging (for the 3rd time, i think), if for no other reason, but for our new daughter. I want her to be able to look back and see how much she was wanted, loved and prayed for by the 5 of us! We can't wait to meet you, sweet little girl! If the process continues like it is going, it may be sooner than later.

Having a wonderful time with the Lord

I am sitting in Turkey at breakfast along the Medditeranean Sea.
Praying for our friends and family. Especially Sonya's patents as they
quickly travel back to America to be with Linda's brother who may pass
away soon. They have a long two days ahead of them. Also for our kids
who had to quickly say goodbye to their gran and pop.

Our time here in turkey has been great so far. We have met people from
all over. I can't mention all the countries but as I meet some I thing
wow you are a man who must daily get critized my your family and
friends for hat you believe. It is so easy to forget sometimes the
coat of following Jesus. Of course as I sit next to a beautiful pool
and the ocean I like tr fringe benefits thy cone with it :)