Spring City Winter Wonderland

Yesterday while riding home from my scrapbooking night with Alisa, I asked the driver if he thought it might snow. Earlier in the day, it had hailed, and was very cold. He emphatically answered, "NO WAY, it's about Springtime...it cannot snow in March!" When we awoke this morning, this is what we saw:

As you can see, the Spring City got a nice covering of snow last night! It was so exciting to wake up and see white everywhere. We got our winter duds on and headed out to the soccer field, where just this past weekend, we were tossing the football in 65 degree weather. But today, it was snowball fights and some snowman action. We went to the market and bought a carrot for the nose! Emma Grace seemed to like the snow-it was her first time to see snow. We just finished our hot chocolate and EG is snuggled in for her morning nap. It's potato soup for lunch. I just love the snow. (though it's warming up and will probably be gone sometime today)

Happy Scrappin'

Alisa and I had a great time scrapbooking. We didn't get as much accomplished as we had hoped, but it was really fun and I was reminded how much I need to have some sort of hobby, especially living here in Asia. One of the challenges to our life here is that we have a hard time winding down and finding fun ways to relax. There are movie theaters, but 95% of the movies aren't in English. Our city is not very artsy, so there aren't many conccerts, ballets, musicals, plays, etc. We do live outside the city, but still very close to a city of 5 millionish people, so parks and places like that are very crowded. Plus they are more into buildings, statues, etc for scenic beauty rather than letting nature speak for itself. So it's tough for us find places in nature to just be alone or enjoy the surroundings, etc. So, having a hobby is one fun way I can relax. The nice thing about scrapbooking is that I can do it and still hold a conversation! So, Alisa and I got to talk about everything from feeding schedules for kids, to "if we could fly to america for one day and shop in one store only, which one would it be and why." We both deicded Walmart. I mean, where else can you get fun scrapbooking stuff, Kraft Cucumber Ranch and your hubby's special deodorant all in one place?!

As you can tell, 2 years later I am still working on the wedding scrapbook! HEHE, good things just take time, I guess!

Grace and a break...I need those

It's been a rough few weeks for my confidence in parenting...I am feeling more and more like I have no idea what I am doing. Not sure why I thought I did, but that illusion has been shattered by Emma Grace's recent sicknesses, her new seperation anxieties, her random times of deciding not to eat, etc. There are many new challanges for which I am unprepared and I often find myself flipping fusriously through books to find some sort of guidance during her naps. The learning curve is really steep and a lot this stuff doesn't just come naturally-you really do have to learn it!

But I am encouraged that I feel weak, because it makes me rely on Christ and his strength more. When I am confident, I rely on myself. My lack of skills coupled with my sin makes for one mommy in need of some serious grace from her God. And when I feel weak, I can turn to him and his grace is there-grace to guide me as I feel weak and insecure. Grace to cover my mistakes-not just in matters of health or table manners but also in the eternal matters of my little Emma Grace's heart. There is grace. It's good for me to be reminded of my weakness, so that in faith I turn and rely on the one who is more than able to strengthen me for this job!

I am also encouraged that I have a little break today from this job of parenting. For Christmas, Andy and our friend John gave me and Alisa (John's wife) a night away at a local hotel for the sole purpose of scrapbooking...a hobby we both pretend to have but never really actually find the time to do. The running joke between us and the Greenes is how we've made our husbands lugg these 25 pound bags of scrapbooking stuff around the country and now over here to Asia, all for nothing! Well, today is the today! We are finally gonna use all that stuff we brought over and scrapbook til we drop. The plan is for Alisa and I to meet at a local import shop and buy some pricy but worth it snacks that we don't often get, since they are so expensive. (Dr Peppers, Cheetos, etc) Then we are off to this local hotel that has heat (good-since it went from 70 to about 45 in 2 days) and then scrapbook all afternoon, evening and tomorrow morning. My goal is to finish the wedding scrapbook I have been working on for 2 years now. It's a lofty goal, but we'll see how far I can get. Any progress I make will be better than what I've done in the past year and a half. And Alisa will be working on a scrapbook of her daughter, Kayleigh. We both are behind-she is pregnant with her second child so she needs to get a move on the kayleigh book or number two will be without a scrapbook. And I need to finish this wedding one so I can move on to Emma Grace. No matter what we accomplish, I am excited to spend time with her and have a break from the "non-stop refine my heart course" that I am currently enrolled in, called parenting.

Picture of "Big Jim" and "Vicki Ravioli" from our Murder Mystery party back in November. (John and Alisa Greene)

our Jawa is 8 months

It can get cold here so we often put Emma Grace in tights under her clothes. I think she looks so cute! Check out the chubby legs and belly!

Getting ready for a bath
8 months!

Doesn't she look like a jawa from Star Wars in this pic?

Updates

photos from the day:

Emma Grace in her diva suit. notice black and pink leopard print on hood and pants.

a new toy. She was bored with her toys so I gave her a bowl. She has been playing peekaboo with it. She loves it when I put it on her head.
New towel. working the animal prints twice in one day. you go girl.

The dent in Emma Grace's forehead is now gone. All that remains is a small yellowish bruise.

We all three have recovered from a stomach bug. (Andy on Wednesday, EG on Thursday, my bday, and me last night and most of today) Seems the tofu wasn't the problem after all.

Fireworks are dwindling. Leftovers still being set of now and then but for the most part the show is over.

Emma Grace has stopped pulling her bib off ever 10 seconds while she eats. Maybe I should get the mother of the year award after all. Actually, I didn't do anything. Like the stomach bug, she's just over it.

We finallly took Emma Grace's 8 month pics today. Better late than never.

We had a relaxing day today. I wasn't feeling well this morning so we played it low key. Then this afternoon we went out to the soccer field in our town and put our american mark on it. Andy and I threw football while Emma Grace sat and watched. She saw two puppies, two trains, some soccer and us throwing football so she was excited. Afterwards we sat on the grass and played with her, enjoying the near 70 degree weather.

just so you can really understand

Remember how i told you about those awesome (and annoying) fireworks that went off for what felt like forever on my brithday? Well, I just read my freind's Josh and Danielle's blog and they had a picture of some of them. So I decided to gank it from their blog and post it here, just so you can get the feel for how massive these things were, right outside our window. The buildings in the picture are apartments-so you can imagine there was not much sleeping going on in these parts.

PS. Emma Grace just woke up. There are evidently some leftover fireworks and plenty of 10 year old boys to shoot them off!

Brithday Celebration

From Andy From Xiao Li

From Laura:

From my parents:

Everyone in this country celebrated my birthday. ok, well, not really but it kinda felt like it. My Bday happened to fall on the last day of the New Year here-and it's a BIG DEAL! We started the day with a birthday wakeup call of fireworks outside our window at about 6:30 am. We ended the day with everyone (literally) in our entire town setting off fireworks for about 2 hours in the evening. We finally gave in and went out there and joined in the madness of lighting fireworks that you would have to have a liscense to buy in America. It looked like Burlington city park on the 4th of July out there.


I was really hoping Emma Grace would like Tofu (we live in the land of Tofu and it's great for protein) so Xiao Li and I gave her some for lunch on my Bday. not a good idea. It didn't settle well with her and it came back up 4 times -all over our couch and Andy's clothes. I was out at the time. Marianne had taken me to a hot springs resort for the afternoon. (this place is really cool-there are tons of underground hot springs in our area of the country and this resort has lots of hot tubs with the hot springs water and different kinds of fragrances, aroma therapy types of things added in) So the plan was for me to go out for the afternoon with Marianne and then meet Andy for dinner, while some friends watched EG and then over to some friends for cake. After the tofu incident, we decided we better call it a day, so instead of a night on the town, I picked up Mc Donald's and headed home to firework central where we ate under the candlelight/light from the green fireworks outside our window. I tried to give EG as much white noise as possible to block out the sound. This strategy included the wonderful sound of running water (thanks to the tim huffman sound machine special) and the space heater that sounds like a small helicopter. It worked for the most part but I did have to rock her to sleep at first and then rock her back to sleep after one especially large explosion.

So, all in all not the day we had planned, but as I was rocking EG to sleep, I was thinking how happy I was to be right there holding my sick little baby girl with my wonderful husband waiting downstairs for me to eat cupcakes that were supposed to be for my after dinner party with friends.

Can't always get what we plan or want, but often what we do get is pretty awesome. I felt so loved as so many of you sent awesome cards and emails! thanks thanks!

I decided to write a little song describing my birthday (to the tune of 12 days of christmas-this would be the 12 hours of my birthday)

On my 27th birthday, the sweet Lord, my family and friends, and good ole china gave to me:

12 green rocket launcher fireworks (outside my window at 6 am)
11 awesome E cards
10 birthday text messages
9 cupcakes all for me and Andy
8 hours of happiness
7 friends to light fireworks with
6 calls home to check on my puking baby
5 changes of clothes (emma Grace)
4 vases of flowers
3 hours at a spa
2 cheeseburger meals
and a baby girl who doesn't like To Fu!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!