Previously, I wrote that Schäfer could not be President because he was not born in America.

Thanks to our friend Pete & Wikipedia, I have been corrected.

The special term “Natural Born Citizen” is used in particular as a requirement for eligibility to serve as President or Vice President of the United States. Section 1 of Article Two of the United States Constitution contains the clause:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

The exact definition of a “natural born citizen” has been under debate for years.

Through all of this, I learned that John McCain was born in Panama.

In March 2008 McCain was held eligible for Presidency in an opinion paper by former Solicitor General Ted Olson and Harvard Law Professor Laurence H. Tribe.^[39] In April 2008 the U.S. Senate approved a non-binding resolution recognizing McCain’s status as a natural born citizen.^[40]

So maybe if the Senate gives Schäfer a non-binding resolution then he can run for President in 2044.

In any case, the US Foreign Affairs Manual states that “it has never been determined definitively by a court whether a person who acquired U.S. citizenship by birth abroad to U.S. citizens is a natural born citizen […]“.^[43] In Rogers v. Bellei the Supreme Court only ruled that “children born abroad of Americans are not citizens within the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment”, and didn’t elaborate on the natural born status.^[44][45]

Yep, a non-binding resolution sounds like the way to go.

It did not stop.

Different people. Different needs. Different opportunities.

All very good. All very kind.

Decisions needed to be made ASAP.

And we had a 2.5 year photo shoot booked with a studio downtown, but I couldn’t take Schäfer with his just-cut-yesterday-Marine-look. So we rescheduled that appointment. They were very, very kind to us and completely understood. I’d like some 2.5 year photos taken because his 2 year portraits at Sears were OK (at best) and because he’s changed so much.

But it was more than the constant ringing of the phone – Schäfer started calling me MOM. Where did Mommy go? MOM shouldn’t happen until he’s 18 and starting Harvard. Where did MOM come from?

Yesterday, when Jie Jie came over to play, Schäfer open the door and busted out, “Whazzzup!” Bless her heart. It was her first time in our home.

When did that make its way into the word bank? I’d say someone has been listening to all the visiting American students pretty intensely.

Back to today…

Zi Hai’s Mom was eventually one of the callers. She invited us to the sand pit. I should have said no because I needed to get some shopping done so that I could give some thank you gifts. But my heart wasn’t in it. I’m not a shopper. And the idea of dragging Schäfer around town to search for the perfect gift, didn’t seem fun at all.

OK! Sure! We’ll go to the sandpit with you guys!

Zi Hai’s Mom bought yogurt pops! A big treat!

The boys played and played for 2 hours straight. I took off my shoes, buried my toes in the sand and read a book. Xiao Ling did the same.

And then it was back to the house…back to The Phone…back to The Busy.

This evening, things settled down a bit (well, for 1.5 hours) which was just enough time to buy a membership and hop in the pool. Of course, I came to the pool with 2 cameras, but as we were leaving the changing rooms, I realized we had to go through a waterfall to get to the pool. (Hubs already went through the waterfall in the mens changing room and waiting for us poolside.)

I went to the desk (me, the bag, the cameras, and one little guy who was beside himself anxious to get in the pool) to rent a locker. At this point, I learned that I needed 10rmb to rent the key. The money would be returned to me when I returned the key.

I didn’t bring any money.

So, I played the foreigner card:  I’m the only foreigner here. He’s the only foreign baby. You’ll see us leave. Of course, we’ll give you the locker key back. I have no money.

She didn’t budge.

More foreigner card: Can I borrow a locker so I can put my stuff inside? Once I give my child to my husband,  I’ll come back out and go home to get 10rmb. I only brought just the exact amount of money we needed to buy the membership.

And with that knowledge, she recommended that I leave my pool membership card as collateral.

OK!

And just between us, I think she extended the olive branch because she felt sorry for Schäfer who was standing there in his trunks, swim hat, and floaty.

Finally, finally, finally, we had our belongings stored. We ran through the waterfall and rushed into the pool. It was cool, but definitely not arctic. Schäfer swam and swam and swam. He did not slow down for an hour and a half. Hubs picked him up and threw him under water. He came up smiling.

About 7pm, he and I headed home while Hubs went to see friends.

Summer is here & we’ve officially got the pool hook up. Apparently on our membership card, we can “enter” with a party of 5. Since we take up 3 slots, we can have 2 friends join us. FUN!

Pool party! Our house! Near our house!

Hubs set up his barber shop at the Lotus Pond. He offered to give other kids and even a few Grandpa’s free haircuts, but so far nobody has been willing.

Hubs warned me, “He’s going to look like a Marine!” Then, he put the shortest possible blade on the clipper and went for it. Meanwhile, Schäfer sat completely still and talked about his blueberry gummie prize.

Yep, it’s Marine-ish.

before                                         after

Blueberry gummies with Papa!

Blueberry gummies with Mommy!

“Would you like a gummie?”

After our treat, we walked around a local farmer’s garden. Walking around a big garden in the summer feels so good… so normal. This was ingrained from my childhood summers in Arkansas at Grandmaw and Papaw’s. This evening, I just needed to go and take a look at the corn on the stalk. Schäfer loved being in the big garden. I think it was all the dirt. Bless his heart, we’re still working on walking down the rows instead of through the produce.

We meandered to the playground where Qian Zi’s Mom showed us her new swimming cap. It seems like everyone in the neighborhood has joined the pool so we walked over to check it out.

Last year, we didn’t join the swimming pool. Hubs took Schäfer swimming once by buying the standard 10rmb ($1.46) entrance ticket. Now, you know, if my North Idahoan husband says the water is cold, then it’s practically fresh from the Arctic.

This year, the water is much warmer and since Schäfer is plunging face first into the bathtub, we decided to join the pool. If you buy the membership, each visit is 6rmb (88 cents) per person. The pool is an easy 5 minute walk from our house.

Schäfer was a complete mess when he learned that we couldn’t swim that evening because we didn’t have our swim trunks and by the time we put them on and got back to the pool it would be too late. He was distraught beyond words and refused to take his swimming cap off (everyone is required to wear a swimming cap).

Despite his pleas, it was the right decision to wait: eating supper on time meant getting to bed on time.

Happiness is splashing around the bathtub with swim cap firmly in place.

Later on, my younger brother, Stefon, received a “Boom box” with a small black and white TV built into it. I couldn’t help but think, “cool.”

Humanity loves to escape from reality. Every little shop around here has a small TV tucked under a desk or in a corner to pass the time while waiting for customers.

So, on a bus ride awhile back I wasn’t surprised when I noticed this snazzy piece of technology: The TV Phone.

No, not streaming media through a high speed 3G connection and a Slingbox. Rather, the phone has an antenna that you pull out of the side and you tune in to the local TV broadcast as best as you can. Make sure you have the antenna pointed in the right direction and off you go!

Good job Schäfer!

James the Red Engine from Easternjourney.com on Vimeo.

After two days of hard rain, the sky was as blue as it could be and we found ourselves out for an evening walk with 4 free hours. Let’s celebrate!

Schäfer rode his bike to the office where we get our mail. It was a rather long bike ride, but after being inside for 2 days he didn’t seem to mind – especially when he saw this digger.

Let’s go downtown and ride your bike around the square! OK! Before we knew it, we hopped on the bus – bike and all. We decided to check out a new hotel that opened last week.

On the 39th floor, we found the most amazing views of Yichang! What a beautiful day!

It’s hard to wrap our minds around how many people live here. Each little apartment square holds a family of 3 or a family of 5 if the grandparents live there! Multiply each apartment by how many floors the building has and well, pretty soon you’re at 1.4 million.

Schäfer loved zooming his bike around the square.

And since we were celebrating 2.5 wonderful years of life, we opted for KFC for supper.

Why dip when you can drink?

At about 7:30 we took the bus home.

Right now, Schäfer loves to “lay down and swim backwards.” He gets in the tub before the water and lays there until the water covers him completely. He also loves to dive face first in the water and make bubbles.

Let’s celebrate this marker by listing 18 things we’re excited about. OK!

blueberries
It’s true. Don’t hate us. We have a friend who started a blueberry farm several years ago. Oh yes, there’s been a crop. We can get 2 overflowing cups of blueberries for 13rmb ($1.76). We’ve already made the most incredible blueberry muffins which caused me to say, “It’s just like Christmas morning!” – a phrase rarely uttered from my lips.

only one week of school left before summer
It’s a Lunar Calendar thing. Even though The Heat is cranking up, we’ve still got one more week until summer vacation officially starts.

family vacation
We plan on taking a family vacation to…well, that has yet to be finalized. Hubs asked me where I’d like to go and in all seriousness, I said, “A ski slope in Australia or New Zealand.” because I’d honestly like to go sit in some snow wearing my capri pants and v-neck tee. Yes, I’m that hot.

today’s rain
It rained today and I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more thankful for rain. Hubs thought we could turn off the air conditioner, but I found the humidity too thick.

the pool has water
The campus has a large swimming pool that was filled with water this week. Since Schäfer has been diving into the bathtub head first, I’d say he’s ready for some swimming. (He started diving into the bathtub when we saw a diving competition on the tv at the bus station. Random, but he was captivated.)

Justin & Crystal’s LOVE
We got a care package today & let me say that The Love was spread. Hubs is particularly excited about having medium sized Rubbermaid lids (we had the containers but no lids to go on them) He’s also excited about a bottle of Shoe Goo. I’m excited about grape flavored Crystal Light. For me, grape is the flavor of summer. It takes me back to snow cones at VBS.

the dictionary application on the Mac
Hubs just discovered how cool the Dictionary application is on the Mac. It just is.

James the Red Engine
Schäfer has been one busy boy. I just realized that after the first week of potty training, I stopped carrying around underwear and extra clothes. I can’t wait to present James to him. I’m sure he’ll finish his chart by Wednesday.

Hershey’s Special Dark 65% cacao
Yum. We bought this at Wal-Mart in Wuhan. It is surprisingly good. Each square was individually wrapped which kept me from eating the entire bar.

the Kindle’s great summer reading list
Yes, we have access to English books!

The Great Burger Competition ‘09
“Where I pit myself against myself in 18 different ways.” A one man Iron Chef. And the theme is: BURGER! And the winner is…Hubs!

The Great Office Clean Sweep ‘09
This event probably won’t officially happen until a 106 degree day in August, but Hubs and I have both committed to do it. Since the office is truly Hubs main space, we’ll need to tackle it together.

celebrating our 7th anniversary
We still haven’t gotten away for our anniversary and in some weird way delaying the celebration has made me look forward to it all the more.

Hubs birthday
I’m so excited about Hubs 34th birthday this year. The menu is starting to come together. Schäfer is trying to convince me that it’s really HIS birthday. “No! It’s not Papa’s birthday. It’s my birthday.”

Red Cross certificate
Hubs has been working towards a Red Cross certificate. It should arrive in the mail soon. The Red Cross is also helping to provide some introductions which is a blessing.

less stress. more sleep.
Seriously – we’ve been needing more sleep than we’ve been getting. What can we say? We’re excited about the possibility of getting more sleep!

coke zero
Yes, I’m still excited about it.

another month of waiting passed
We love you little one. Where ever you are – we are anxious to wrap you in our arms forever.