OSP Day 2

We miss you Daddy!!! This picture was taken on Andy's new "important man" phone. That's what our friends David and Marianne like to call all those phone that have keypads and email and music and a camera and calendar and all the features that only important people need to have! Andy's phone finally stopped working, though it only half worked for the past year-so he recently moved up to important man status with the purchase of his phone. He's in love with it, like most important men are with their gadgets.

We are into day 2 of Operation Single Parent. My summary of yesterday: Much grace was needed and much grace was given. Thank you Lord. Thank you so much for praying. Please continue to pray for me!

The weather here is I N C R E D I B L E!!! Though we don't have the amazing colors of fall, the weather is definitely fallish! We took a walk this morning in the crisp cool air-it was perfect. The plan for today is to spend as much time as possible outside. Laura is cooking chili for us tonight so that should be a great end to our fall day-also perfect because I'm not the one cooking!

Thanks for praying. Please keep it up! A note to our Important Man: We miss you lots! Thanks for all you do for us. Please bring us a Papa John's pizza home!

Operation Single Parent

In just a few hours, I'll begin the second Operation Single Parent of the year. Sometimes Andy has to travel out of town and that leaves me on my own to manage Huffman Farms. This time he'll be gone Sunday through Friday. I've learned A LOT the last few times he's left me about what helps make Operation Single Parent a win. Here's my checklist for this time around:

1. Lower my expectations for myself-CHECK! Last time he went out of town I had these grand plans of using my "extra" time to accomplish some long overdue tasks. WHAT WAS I THINKING?? My cousin, Jane, gently and quite humorously emailed me to tell me I was being way too ambitious. She was right! Like she predicted, my kids slept at opposite times and at night when they were both asleep, I was exhausted. So this time my goals are simple: Spend time with the Lord everyday, shower, and take care of my kids. That's it. If I can do those things each day, it will be a huge success in my book. I decided that I'm OK with the fact that there might be some days that all three of my goals don't happen. Lower standards = possibly less personal hygiene, no major accomplishments around my house, but some serious freedom for my soul.

2. Figure out a way to provide 3 meals a day without actually having to cook them-CHECK! With no freezer pizzas and Carry Out Subway, providing meals is especially hard as a single mom. (a shout out to my mom who kept us well fed for all those years!) I depend heavily on Andy to watch the kids while I get breakfast on the table and work to prepare dinner. So, I have muffins in the freezer and yogurt in the fridge to pull out for breakfast each day. I have Xiao Li lined up to do some cooking for lunch. For dinners, we have some meals in the freezer, Laura is cooking for us once and I plan to do one crock pot meal.

3. Make sure I have enough coffee to last me the whole week-CHECK! Last time Andy went out of town I ran out of regular coffee. Ouch. Thankfully Laura came to my rescue. Good coffee is about a 45 minute drive from my house. So Alisa, who happens to live beside the coffee shop, did an emergency run for me yesterday and brought the coffee to me this morning. I owe you sister.

4. Line up a few fun diversions for the week- CHECK ! We plan to go into the city one day and hang out with some friends, EG has a playdate with Lydia, and two Chinese girls will keep her for a couple hours on Friday. We have some fun lined up that should help us stay sane throughout the week!

5. Recruit my blog readers to pray for me! CHECK! Here's how you can pray:

For safety for Andy and a good time for him. For the discipline to get up early to spend time with the Lord and to shower! For kindness, patience, and gentleness to rule in my heart as I interact with my kids each day. For a joyful heart to serve Andy and our family by being a single parent this week!! Thank you!!!

I'll let you know how it's going!!!

My sacrifice??

With her quickly expanding vocab, it's no wonder EG often gets words mixed up.

Yesterday she came running to the table where Andy and I were sitting and said, "where is my other sacrifice?" For a moment, I thought she was really spiritual. Was she was playing Isaac and acting out the story of Abraham's sacrifice- "Ok, Dad, where's my other sacrfice?" Nope. Or was she wanting to sacrifice something to God? Her time, her love, her toys? Oh no. She's not that spiritual.

Eventually we figured out she was looking for her saxophone! Maybe she'll use her saxophone to play a sacrifice of praise to the Lord!

Cleanuts arrived!!!

You may remember this photo of EG shortly after she made the discovery that there are two "Peanuts" in our family. Here's what I wrote about that photo back in January:

"EG is learning to count. She can count to two and she often finds two of the same item and says, "two balls" or "two penguins" etc. Yesterday she said, "two Peanuts" when I found her holding both of her stuffed elephants. You see, Peanut is her elephant that she is very attached to. She sleeps with him every night and gets really upset if she doesn't have him. We bought a TOP SECRET back-up Peanut because we were terrified of losing him. The problem is that EG has formed a really bad habit on chewing on Peanut's trunk while she falls asleep. This makes him really stinky so now we switch the two in and out so we can wash them regularly. Cleanut, as we call him, comes out just when Peanut is getting really stinky. On a couple of occasions EG has discovered our little secret and come running to me, grinning from ear to ear, holding both of her Peanuts. Yesterday when she found them, she said, "two Peanuts." using her counting skills to let me know that she is aware that there is more than one Peanut in our family! Oops! I am hoping she'll forget this ever happened!"

Well, she never forgot about the second Peanut and even started to call the clean one "Cleanut" when we pulled him out!! On occasion we even let her sleep with both of them! Even though we switch them out and wash them, they are still, well...gross. So my mom decided to find two new ones to replace the old ones. I know it's not very sentimental to throw out your child's first toy attachment, but if you smelled this thing, you'd throw it out too.

Problem is, they stopped making Peanut! After a few months of hunting around Hallmarks and other venues that carry TY babies, my Granny Lib found two for us! YEAH GRANNY! These two Peanuts could possibly be the last two on the whole planet that were for sale!!! WHO KNOWS?!! They arrived last week and EG was thrilled!!!

Oh my, how much she has changed in these past 9 months! Since she knows all about the two Peanut secret and that she has some new ones...I decided to make a "New Peanut" rule...no chewing on the nose! She can say it and in English and Chinese....Bu Ke Yi Chi Bi Zi!!! We talk about that rule almost everyday. I hope these Cleanuts will last us til she heads off to college so the "No chewing his nose" rule is our best shot at making that happen! So far it's working...though she has asked a couple of times for the old Peanuts (I think because she can chew them!)

Thanks Mom and Granny for all your hard work in getting these to us!! We are thankful! YEAH FOR TWO CLEANUTS!

Fall

Yesterday, Andy said to me, "The times I've cried about being away from America have always been in the Fall."

I asked Andy if I could put that quote on our blog. Very few things bring my husband to tears and he doesn't often cry about being away from home. It's strange how our feelings are so strongly tied to the weather. When the weather here turns crisp and cool, a longing for home is stirred in our hearts. We love this place we live, we love the work we do here and more than that, we believe we are where we are supposed to be. But there are times when our longing for America is intense and painful. For me, it's the 'Feeling of ..." that I miss. I miss the feelings of fall, the feeling of excitement over God's creativity in the amazing colors, the smells of warm drinks, the thrill of sipping a hot drink while watching a high school football game. But here, the leaves don't turn colors and you'll never hear the faint sound of a high school band playing from your parent's back yard. So when the weather here starts to feel like fall, but we are unable to do all the fallish things we love, we sense a deep longing and a sadness that isn't usually there.

Most of the time, we bop along through life, focusing on our responsibilities and enjoying the neat things about this community and our strange lives as foreigners. But fall does something to our hearts. I have been encouraged lately as I've "ran across" several scriptures that talk about God's heart for widows, orphans, and sojourners. That's me. A sojourner. This is not my home. This is not my land. And God knows and he sees and he cares. I don't really know what heaven will be like. But I think about the passage that says that God is a good Father and way more than we, as fallen parents, can give good gifts to our children, even more so he gives good gifts to us. So when I think about the joy and delight I have in storing up and giving good things to my children...things I know they really want and that will really delight their little souls, I imagine God to be doing the same for me, even more so because he's the perfect Father. Some of those gifts I know I receive now. And I imagine that others will be given to me in Heaven. I hope one day I can sip a cup of hot cider with whipped cream and caramel on top, while having a great conversation with Jesus, out in some cool crisp weather. It's the small things that delight my little soul and I trust my good Father to give me exactly what I need and then some. Because he's good.

Making a pumpkin pie today so feel free to stop by and enjoy a slice!!!

Going...Going...GONE!!!

I don't have much hope for getting good pictures of this little man in the coming months. Describing him as active is a tad bit of an understatement. This guy can walk holding our hands or holding onto the table. Here's how his awake time usually goes:

Drink some of his bottle. Get distracted and start playing. Wrestle some toys. Laugh at himself. Eat some books. Drink some more of his bottle because his mom pinned him down and made him do so. Get a diaper change. He poops, oh about 3-5 times A DAY!!! Cry and squirm at the torture of the diaper change. Wriggle loose and crawl around with no bottoms on and wrestle something else. Be forced to put on pants. Mom, how could you??? Dive off the couch. Laugh at himself. Eat trash particles. Be forced to take a nap.

All in all, this little guy has it made. Aside for the diaper changes and his parents not letting him eat trash, he's a happy camper. I am actually eager for him to walk as crawling in China is not ideal! We are so thankful for this little guy.

PS-Rossie, check out his hair in the last picture..you can really see it well. It's kind of light sandy blonde!!!

In a fog

I am not sure what I've been doing this week. All week I've had the feeling, "Now what am I supposed to be doing here?" It's like I never quite got my week started and I just walked around in a fog all week. I did manage to talk to my Gmaw on the phone (such a blessing), have the computer in my washer replaced, and move Jack into his 12 month (and some 18 month) clothes since everything in his current wardrobe was skin tight. Emma Grace and I also enjoyed reading some new books my mom sent. But other than that, we just kinda floated through life a few steps behind all week. So if anyone knows what I'm supposed to be doing, I'd be grateful if you'd let me know-we're open to suggestions!!!

Blogger won't let me upload Jack's skin tight 9 months shirt pictures, but I'll try again soon!

Still got it

Brayden, age 7, asked me today, "Why do you guys talk like cowboys?" It seems that 6 years of living in China hasn't touched my southern accent. Thank you Lord.

Feeling Better

After 12 hours of sleep and two rounds of antibiotics, Jack already seems to be getting back to his perky self. He's currently wrestling some toys-he's winning.

Better than the walk in clinic!!!!

2:45 Jack wakes up from his nap crying and pulling on his ears. (He's had a cold for a couple days)

3:18 I email American doctor in our city for advice

3:45 Doctor calls me. From symptoms he thinks Jack has ear infection. He tells me what antibiotic to buy and the dosage.

4:00 I load kids in stroller and head to pharmacy.

4:05 Arrive at pharmacy. Buy 10 day supply of medicine for less than 5 dollars-no prescription, no insurance card, no waiting.

4:08 Stop by dairy store to get yoghurt to mix with medicine.

4:15 Get home and give Jack his first dose of medicine!

Some things in this country are really convenient!

For the Grandmas: Jack seems to be doing OK. He's not sleeping as well as normal and he's fussier than normal but he's still managing to follow EG all over the house! Put him down this evening and he only cried for a few minutes. Praying for a good night's sleep for our little man.

Learning to Love to Read

Andy loves to read. If he has a spare minute, he usually has a book in his hand. He reads on buses (standing), in cars, on the couch, in the bed, and he's even been known to read in the middle of Times Square, rather than seeing the city with the rest of his family. I, on the other hand, wish that I loved to read that much. I didn't grow up reading much, so it's been a slow, acquired taste for me. And when I read, I often end up asleep. Just today I was reading to Emma Grace before her nap and I fell asleep for about 15 minutes while she continued to read on her own. This happens most days. I like to call that my power nap for the day. After 15 minutes sleeping in her bed, I get up, put away the books (that she read), tuck her in for a nap, and I'm ready for the rest of my day.

So, as you can tell, Emma Grace gets her love of reading from her Daddy. I remember just 9 months ago, I could hardly get her to sit through an entire book, but now, books are a major form of entertainment and education in our house. We often read together before naps and bedtime and she usually has some quiet reading time on her own each day. I've started making cozy little spots, like the one in the picture, for her to sit and read. If I add in a snack, she is sure to read for quite a long time!

Our books are shaping the way we see the world. We often quote lines from books to each other when a situation reminds us of our favorite books. When we see a great hat, we say, "I like that party hat!" or when I tell her I love her, I sometimes tell her "I love you to the moon and back." Books that were written for 3 and 4 year olds manage to delight my heart as well. I am learning to love reading as I teach my own children to love to read.

With no Mebane Library just minutes down the road, good English books are hard to come by here. A couple of months ago, Laura and I started a book swap. Every two weeks we trade ten books. That way our kiddos have some fun new reading material every couple of weeks. And my mom and Kathi started the Granny Book Mobile, where they send books to our kids each month to stay connected to them and to supply them with fun new books. There is an international school in our city and they allow non-students to use their library for a small fee. I am really looking forward to taking EG periodically to their library. So between all those resources, we have some great reading material!

Jack still prefers to eat books. Like me, he's a work in progress!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!!!!

Happy Birthday Tim! We really miss you here and we wish we could celebrate your birthday with you by cooking a great meal for you, sitting around and chatting and laughing and finishing our time off with a game of Wii.. Well, actually, let's be honest, if we were celebrating together, here's how it would likely go down: You would cook a delicious meal for us, we would all sit around and chat and laugh, and then Andy would play Wii for 4 hours while all the kids watched him and laughed and Kathi would fall asleep on the couch. Oh that would be so fun.

Tim's love languages are many, and one of them is loving and serving his family. Through cooking, giving advice, bringing bagels by on a snowy day, Tim's quiet and gentle love is a rock on which the Huffman family is built. We love you so much Tim and we miss you. We are thanking God for you today and can't wait to see you soon!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

If you never read my "Ode to my Father in Law" post....

http://http//huffmansinasia.blogspot.com/2009/02/ode-to-my-father-in-law.html

Kacki Cakes

As if naming our pancakes after the pancake pusher herself wasn't fun enough, now our Kacki cakes have their own special pan and come out with animal imprints on them! Thanks Kacki and Poopaw! We love our special pan!!

Bath Time

Jack upgraded to the big boy tub a few months ago. After a few nose dives in the water and some near death experiences, I decided to invest in one of those non-slip mats for the bottom of the tub. Since then, we've curbed our "almost drowning" incidents to about one per bath. Awesome. Well, he didn't really almost drown but he has taken in his fair share of bath water via the nose dive. He is all boy and splishes and splashes the whole time he's in the tub. Andy usually has to take off his shirt while bathing Jack-otherwise his clothes are soaked!

His partner in crime does her fair share of splashing as well but she is also moving on to more sophisticated bathtub play-like making her hair into "something silly" with soap and water. She then proceeds to dump water all over her head to rinse it out and gets it all in her eyes-but she doesn't cry. When we rinse her hair with the same cup and the same water, she screams when it gets in her eyes. Odd how that works.

One of Xiao Li's favorite things to do with the kids is bathe them. Here she is with EG after a bath. EG was about the same age that Jack is now...

And here's the Chunky Monkey with Xiao Li...

Will you read to me?

Open for Business

If, for some strange and unthinkable reason, you should end up in our little town in the middle of nowhere and need to run a few errands, there are a few things you might want to know...

First of all, you'll need proper transportation...

And if you've spent any previous time in our town, your mode of transportation might look like mine-slightly dirty, with bad suntan lines and painted with crazy flowers by a local lady all for $1.50.

It's preferable to run errands with a buddy...

And in order for you to draw as much attention to yourself as possible, it's great if your buddy will wear an ensemble of mismatching clothes, hat, and sunglasses and carry an umbrella, even though it's bright and sunny. Your buddy may want to carry her own buddy who is missing pants, further drawing attention to your caravan. Once you're on the road, it's best to stop by the nearest store for a lollipop for your buddy. Things will go much smoother that way, I promise. And in our town, you can do or buy anything...well almost. Like you might want to stop at the tailor and have some of your kids' shirts altered. The tailor shop also sells VCDs, which is kinda like a DVD but way worse in quality. It's the step between VHS and DVDs. America skipped that step. But if you're in the market for a VCD or altered clothing or need to buy some jewelry (see jewelry board), or need to use a public phone (see the blue phone), this is your stop.
And you may need to stop by the shoe shining and repair shop to pick up your repaired shoes.

And no trip out in our town is complete without a stop to the "Everything Store." This store has everything from toys and school supplies to bathing suits and hair bows. And if they don't have what you need, they'll be happy to pick it up for you at the wholesale market. Glorious. So far, they've helped us buy a baby doll stroller, a paper cutter, a trophy, and a toy crane, and a partridge in a pear tree.


And the 15 ladies that work at the store will entertain your buddy while you shop.




And when you get home, your buddy will be wiped out from all the excitement on the town and take a great nap. And you will wash your feet because they are so dirty, put away all the items you purchased, and sit down and eat the Chic Fila sandwich you picked up while out running your errands. Oh, one can dream.

Like the sign on I77 as you enter West Virginia, , our town is "Open for Business!" .