Labor Day Weekend

Back in Asia, I would often ask Andy this question: If you could choose anywhere in the world to be right now, where would you choose?

Andy would almost always respond with a list of a few of his favorites and then we'd have to get about the task of debating each one-carefully listing the pros and cons of each of his favorite options, including a football game in cool NC fall weather, drinking lime shakes in Koh Samui with some of our favorite friends in the world, or Charleston, West Virginia, where his family is. Each of these places is wonderful. But there is one that he and I would almost always agree on after our lengthy discussion of each option: Cherry Grove, North Carolina.

Andy's parents bought the house in Cherry Grove back when he was in high school. They have made the 8 hour drive from West Virginia on more weekends than they can count. They've put hours upon hours of painting, building, lawnscaping, decorating, and cleaning to make this spot a haven for their family. It is that for them, and for all who get the chance to visit. This spot has become one of my favorite spots in all the world. (This is the spot where I began to see Andy with new eyes our senior year in college!) We've spent time there as friends, engaged, married with a newborn, married with number two on the way, and now again, with our toe heads running around delighting their grandparents! Their beach home with it's tiny pool is an adult retreat and a child's dream come true. This weekend we made the LOOOOOOOONG drive up to spend a few days there with Tim and Kathi. It was all I remembered it being. Great food by chef Tim, fun conversations, catching crabs, finding "like a gazillion butterfly seashells (EG), " running and splashing with my kids and 2 of their favorite dogs in the world. Thanks Lord, for Cherry Grove.

Skipping

PRESCHOOL!

On Thursday and Friday mornings, it's just me and this little guy!

Because Emma Grace has started Preschool! We are excited for her to have the opportunity to attend preschool two mornings a week! So far, she's really liked it! We gave her several gifts to get ready for her big day! Hair bows, her first lunchbox, and a new pair of tennis shoes!


They are required to wear tennis shoes to school-I feel like they make her feet look huge, which makes me sad that my first born is so big already! We had a "trial run" last Thursday. She had an orientation and spent an hour with her classmates! These poses were totally EG's idea! On Friday she had her first real day! She did great! We are so thankful for a fun, safe, loving environment for our little girl to start school in. What a blessing. We love you EG and we look forward to seeing where God takes you!
For some reason blogger is making some of my writing look like links and I can't figure out how to change it. Oh Well!

OPPOSITES

I have just had a hard time getting back into our blog. Maybe it's because there is so much going on in our hearts during this transition that it's makes blogging about our daily life seem trivial. I know that writing about what we're up to is not trivial, but it feels that way, considering all that our hearts and minds are processing. But here's my best shot!

We are for the most part, settled into life here in Orlando. Emma Grace has been learning about opposites lately. The opposite of day is night, the opposite of dark is bright, etc. So I've been thinking about opposites a lot too. In some ways our life here seems so opposite from our life in China, and in other ways, it's been surprisingly similar. I thought I'd share a few:

Here are a few ways our life is similar-

We still live in an apartment, which is very comforting rather than alone in the suburbs

Emma Grace's room overlooks the apartment complex pond just as it did in China.

The buildings in our apartment complex are the same color as the ones in China.

My kids still prefer Asian foods.

Our home is in walking distance from stores that carry most of what we might need. (though the walking part and the stuff we need part are similar, the prices would be in the opposites category!)

We have Asian neighbors right next door

We have a rainy season here and it's raining everyday!!!

Opposites:

We live in walking distance from tons of American restaurants

The prices at said restaurants and grocery stores

We don't have any mosquitoes here but we do have lots of lizards

The opposite of riding with uncle Wang everywhere we went is driving around in a car that we own!

The opposite of spending 2 hours a day washing dishes is having a .....DISHWASHER!!!!

We came from a place where lots of people really knew us. Now we are in a place where almost no one really knows us.

Those are just a few of the things of the small things I've noticed about our new life here. Andy starts work next week and I'll be back on my own with my two little ones! It's been such a gift to have some time to settled in and get A GAZILLION things done-everything from buying pots and pans to putting up curtains, learning how to grocery shop, buy cars, get new licenses, and a million other little things! But I'm back to being on my own with two little ones on Monday!

To Blog or not to Blog

Before coming home to America, I was on the fence about whether or not to keep up our blog. We started it for our families who were so far away. Both our friends in China and our families here have encouraged us to keep blogging. And just the other day Andy and I were trying to remember where we went on one of our anniversary trips. Neither of us could remember but we were comforted by the fact that we could look back on the blog and figure it out. So, I've decided it's worth the time and effort to keep it up for our US family and friends who are still somewhat far and our Asian/ex-pat friends who are now really far away and also just for us. For recording the big details of today that will be almost forgotten memories a few years from now.

Now that I have my computer back up and running and we have Internet in our home, hopefully we'll get back to normal on the blog.

What have we been up to since we fell off the blogosphere? Mostly just settling in to our new life here in Sunny Florida. Everything is new to us-a new routine, new (to us) cars, new grocery stores, new church, new faces who will hopefully soon be friends, new house, new foods, especially for the kids. The other day EG asked me why there were so many American flags here.

Her favorite thing about America, she told me, is the pool. This girl is a fish.

Jack mostly just raids people's bags and finds stuff to throw in the pool. Toys, sunscreen, bark...watch out for your cell phone.

Because almost every aspect of our lives is new and different, I have felt really removed from China. Almost like I just woke up from a 7 year dream or something. I am really thankful to have my computer back up and running so we can be more connected to our friends there and that life. It really happened EA. You really did eat green leafy vegetables stir fried in garlic most days of the week. You really did have awesome neighbors who did this:
Jack and EG certainly haven't forgotten our life there! Check them out imitating the K's!

In our free time, we've been enjoying the local parks, the library and stalking all Asians. I am really trying to find some Chinese friends. So far I have met some Japanese people, found out our next door neighbors are Vietnamese and successfully invited myself to the Asian market with a worker at the local Chinese restaurant. Hopefully we'll make lots of new friends, including some 中国人！（Chinese people) But I can already tell we are losing our Chinese. Sad. Really sad. EG has stopped talking to us in Chinese and asks if we can speak "Anglish" when we try to talk to her in Chinese.

One thing that's surprised us about where we are living is many people here speak something other than "Anglish" as their first language. We expected to hear lots of Spanish, which EG has been asking to learn. But we've been surprised by how international this city is! We hear french, Creole, Vietnamese, some Chinese, and lots of Spanish. One day in Walmart a few weeks ago, I noticed that I was in the minority, being an Anglish speaker.

I am entering the world of couponing. America grocery bill=expensive! This week I bought the Spanish Sunday paper since all three stores I went to were out of the Anglish ones. Looks like it's pollo for us this week. Maybe I'll learn a little Spanish this way.

In all seriousness, thank you so much for your prayers for us throughout this transition. We need them so much. We are just starting to settle down and enter the "life" phase of this process. Please continue to pray for us, especially for God's peace to rule our hearts and our family as we continue to learn a new life here.

2 weeks in the US=

4 really happy grandparents

2 kids who really love their aunts and uncles...I mean really love them!

7 Trips to Walmart

10 nights to get over jet lag

1 Wedding

37 family members hugged

3 Fish caught

4 scrapped knees

1 water balloon toss

1 really fun 4th of July bash with family

3 calls to China

6 new lamps picked out by my mother-in-law

2 Husson's Pizzas

3 great meals from Chef Tim

1 night of staying up til 2:30 to talk with my mother-in-law

1 teary eyed reunion with my brother

4 visits to Chick Fila

1 visit to Chick Fila dressed as a cow

9 visits with old friends

1 botched cupcake attempt

787 miles on a UHual

2 new cell phone numbers

1 new apartment

1 really grateful family!