Twelve Two Times

The Adjustment Bureau: Thailand Edition

2012-01-27T15:32:00.002+08:00

We never made it to the park for our picnic as we planned. Instead, The Adjustment Bureau got a hold of us and changed our plans.

If you haven't seen the movie, check it out. The movie examines this question as summed up on IMDB, "Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? A man glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes ... he is up against the agents of Fate itself - the men of The Adjustment Bureau."

While we don't believe in Fate, we do believe the Father has a plan for our lives, including a plan for each moment of every day. At times we don't understand the point of all the adjustments (things not going as we'd planned), and at other times, we see the point immediately. Today was a little of both.

So this morning as we headed out of our apartment for the planned picnic in the park, we simply couldn't leave.

Corbin wouldn't eat breakfast so he wandered around outside with M'Lynn.
Kanyon and I met M'Lynn and Corbin outside to leave, but when we did, I realized I forgot to bring the laundry downstairs and returned to the apartment to retrieve it.
I returned to the apartment with Corbin to give M'Lynn a break from the screaming monster child and to give Corbin a talkin' to.
When we returned and met Kanyon and M'Lynn outside, Kanyon declared he needed to go to the bathroom immediately.
I returned with Kanyon to the apartment to take care of his business before we returned outside to M'Lynn and Corbin.
We got inside a taxi to the grocery store to buy supplies for our picnic. The taxi picked up additional passengers and headed to their destination first, away from the grocery store but right by our laundry place. We got out to do our laundry first.
While we picked up/dropped off our laundry we saw some friends also in town for meetings. We chatted for a while and loaned them 300 baht to pay for their haircuts. (Was this the Father's plan all along?)
When we finally made it to the grocery store we bought snacks but no sandwiches for the picnic. Corbin screamed constantly so he and M'Lynn waited outside.
We settled for a "picnic" at an outside bakery/restaurant.
And now, we are all taking long naps. (Or maybe this the Father's plan all along?)

Maybe we'll go to the park tomorrow.

Can we see the sea creatures now?

2012-01-26T23:51:00.000+08:00

So you always wanted to visit Thailand but never had the chance. Well, here's your chance! Follow us around as we share what's been keeping us busy since we arrived in Chiang Mai. It's almost a photo essay, if you can really call it that. The real photo essay is here.

Umbrella Festival
Outside Chiang Mai a small village (really it seems like we were still in Chiang Mai) hosts an umbrella festival. This year was the 29th annual. We saw all kinds of umbrellas, floats, and even a factory where they assemble umbrellas. Quite a colorful outing.

Swimming School
Each afternoon, Kanyon suits up and heads off to the local pool for his class. He's taught by a Thai instructor one-on-one for about 30-40 minutes or until his lips are blue and he's too cold to continue, whichever comes first. He's currently taking small steps overcoming his fear of getting water splashed in his face.

Chiang Mai Zoo
It's really cool. Check it out. So many animals. Kids love the place! At least they loved most of it. Corbin's afraid of the elephants, but Kanyon fed elephants large and small.

Chaing Mai Aquarium
"Can we see the sea creatures now?" Kanyon asked after about 10 minutes walking around the zoo because right in the middle of the zoo is an aquarium. And it's air conditioned which is a big plus for hot afternoons. Here there's plenty of "sea creatures" and an underwater tunnel to see "black tip reef sharks" and other creatures.

Bike rentals
Tired of paying for the rides in Song taos or tuktuks, then it's time for a bike. They even come with kids seats! Remember one detail "STAY TO THE LEFT!!!" In Thailand cars drive on the left (like England). It was fun to experience the freedom of riding around. 24 hours later, we were a little sore and glad to be a back seat driver again.

Meetings
While there aren't any pictures to prove it, we've met with our supervisor here and with our company's state-side staff to go over all the details.

Upcoming Events

Waterfall excursion to see the best of natural Thailand.
Leadership Summit - meetings for Team Leaders and other leaders throughout Asia. It's a time of intensive training and organizational vision casting.
Annual Thailand Conference - more meetings, training, corporate worship, and other cool things. We look forward to this time every year.
Parents and siblings are coming to visit just after the conference! With them we'll visit Thailand and Cambodia. We're so excited.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

2012-01-20T19:07:00.000+08:00

"When we get to Thailand, I want to go to swimming school."

We'd been telling Kanyon this for weeks as we prepared for Thailand and on the first day we went. He enjoyed learning how to kick but since the water was quite cold (it is the middle of winter) the swim lesson was short. Add to the fact that Kanyon doesn't like water in his face and it's going to be a while before he actually learns to swim.

"We only have to wear one clothes."

Yes, Chiang Mai is nice and warm. The kids noticed immediately that they get to wear sandals outside and only one layer of clothing. We try to go outside often. Walking, riding in tuktuks (motorcycle taxis), songtaos (red pickup truck taxis), playing in the park, or swimming (again).

This is a calm season in our overseas life so we enjoy it to the max. We're allowed time to reflect and evaluate the semester while being refreshed in the warm Thailand sun.

Plus, we get to be around so many people that we only get to see a few times a year.

Please remember us and our friends here in Chiang Mai.

We're all adjusting to new foods and climate.
Some friends will soon begin intensive graduate school classes.
And others are making important decisions about their future plans.

More photos from the first few days are posted here.

Sawatdeekhrap Thailand!

2012-01-16T10:48:00.000+08:00

It's so far to get here (19 hours travel time and still counting). But we are safely in Thailand.

Let's see...we had a 1.5 hour flight to Dalian, where we got off the plane while it was cleaned, picked up some more passengers, and continued. Then a 3.5 hour flight to Guangzhou. Note to self, there is no food once you pass security in Guangzhou. We regretted passing up McDonald's once we got inside to wait for our flight. Instead we settled for the cheapest bowl of pork noodle soup (78 RMB) and split it between the four of us. Then the third flight of the day 2.5 hours to Bangkok (after about an hour delay waiting on the plane for the cargo to be loaded). And now, we're resting in our hotel room until we get taken back to the airport to continue the journey to Chiang Mai. We should be in Chiang Mai by this evening settling into our apartment.

Anti radiation aprons

2012-01-13T07:56:00.003+08:00

Grace wears an apron to work. No she's not a chef or a housemaid, she's an office worker. And the apron is not a traditional apron, it's an anti-electromagnetic radiation apron. Every time we see one of these aprons, we know one thing for sure, someone is pregnant.

As we talk with our friends about the aprons, they are completely surprised to learn that M'Lynn didn't wear one with either pregnancy. Scandalous!

Anti-electromagnetic radiation jumpers are just as necessary for a modern Chinese pregnancy as folic acid supplements. This is despite any scientific evidence proving that electromagnetic radiation harms fetuses -- some Chinese families simply believe that it does.¹

Our friends are even more surprised to learn we've never heard of the aprons until we came to China and that no one in America wears the things. The aprons have been in the news recently and caused quite the uproar when the "safety" of the aprons was called into question. Apparently they block only 90% of the radiation instead of the advertised 99.999%. Chinese parents-to-be are uber concerned with doing what's best for their child (as really any parent-to-be should be) and as the aprons are found out to be less than advertised, many Chinese mothers may begin to rethink their use of anti radiation maternity aprons.

In the end, it may not be science that destroys China’s anti-electromagnetic radiation maternity-wear industry, but rather the public's realization that expectant mothers in the West don’t wear the stuff. China often measures itself against the West to judge its own progress, which is why the Dec. 28 Beijing Evening News segment titled, “Foreign Women Have Never Heard of Anti-Radiation Clothing,” had a strong impact on other leading newspapers and websites.

Featured in the segment was a Chinese mother who lives in Switzerland -- a country idealized in China as a place of precision, good sense and cleanliness. She told reporters that when she asked her Swiss gynecologist where she could purchase an anti-radiation suit in Switzerland, “...the doctor was at a loss to answer because he had never heard of such a thing." He told her, "The amount of radiation thrown off by a computer is less than what is thrown off by the sun’s rays."

It’s a simple and true point that a television news magazine, or a government agency, shouldn't have to make.¹

You can read more about the anti-radiation maternity-wear industry in this article by Adam Minter and if you find yourself concerned enough, we'll bring an apron home for you.
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¹ "China's Mothers Rethink Anti-Radiation Clothing: Adam Minter" by Adam Minter. Posted on Bloomberg on December 31, 2011.

To the book club

2012-01-10T10:24:00.002+08:00

While we live on a university campus, part of our work is to connect with the nationals in the city beyond our university campus. So we engage locals in throughout Harbin.

Recently Kanyon and M’Lynn have been involved in Bell English Book Club. Each weekend they travel across town to a small apartment for an hour of English books and interaction with other kids. The event concludes with an activity and Kanyon often checks out a book to take home.

This week, M’Lynn led a “Snowy Day” activity for the kids. She prepared 20 cookies (more than enough), found marshmallows (a difficult task in China), and brought snow flake designs. Lesson plan in hand, she and Kanyon went “to the book club.”

The children loved it. They read “Snowy Day” and another snowman poem before doing the snowy activity. Together the kids decorated melted snowman sugar cookies, snow flake cutouts, and a paper chain. Everything nicely fit into the hour.

Activities like this are a great way to reach out into the greater community and build relationships. We’re excited to see what is in store for the book club!

Harbin Ice & Snow World

2012-01-07T08:25:00.000+08:00

This is a warm winter with temperatures hovering above 0 degrees F making the 13th Harbin Ice & Snow world the warmest one ever. The fact that we've had no snow this winter is even stranger. So strange that the Ice Festival organizers had to make tons of artificial snow to give the festival the right "feel." Plus the snow makes walking on the ice less slippery and keep it from melting as it's constructed.

We visited the Ice & Snow World yesterday with the kids. Since M'Lynn and I've been twice without them, we figured we wouldn't miss much if we spent the whole night chasing kids instead of looking at the ice. But who can miss the ice buildings when they're so huge.

Kanyon loved the place! Immediately he set off to find the "fun stuff." Off we marched through the artificial snow in search of a small ice slide. It was fun! Kanyon went twice before Corbin got anxious for his turn. He also slid twice.

Then around we trooped. Up ice stairs for a view from above. Then inside a refreshment shop to warm up, but only for a little because everything was three times as expensive as normal. Then back outside. We stayed outside in single digit temperatures for about two hours before our toes were frozen and it was time to head back to the bus.

Before viewing the pictures online first go outside wearing shorts and a t-shirt and get comfortable in a lawn chair so you can experience all the sights and colors of the Ice Festival as if you were there yourself. Ready. Good. Here are the photos.

Then come back inside, find something hot to drink, and warm up your toes as you enjoy this video of the Ice Festival being assembled.

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Video produced by The Telegraph and borrowed here from Outside In

Texas made easier

2012-01-06T09:02:00.000+08:00

We love Tex-Mex food but have a difficult time recreating many of the dishes here in China. But now it's easier than ever!

Introducing our newest kitchen gadget, the tortilla press.

In the past, we had to play Rosa and roll all the tortillas by hand, but now we simply press and viola! In no time, we cranked out 20 tortillas to feed our team. We added BBQ pork (made in the crock pot) along with Homesick Texan BBQ sauce. With a side of cole slaw, this meal was amazing and easier than ever!

How do we make "hometown special food" in China? Well, it's a little complicated and requires some improvising but thanks to our "made-from-scratch all-star" teammates we knew it was possible. Here's what we did:

Pork - this is by far the easiest to find. It's everywhere in China.

Tortillas - easy to make from scratch: flour, water, baking powder, and now with the press, easily done.

Cole Slaw - all the ingredients are available and pre-chopped. M'Lynn just asked the nice ladies selling Chinese wraps if she could purchase the chopped carrots, cole slaw, and onions separately. They agreed and we had all we needed.

BBQ sauce - much more complicated but doable in China. We substituted brown sugar for molasses and it tastes the same.

If you've never had a BBQ burrito, you're missing out. Next time you're in Odessa (or Harbin), stop and eat one.

Melting Pot of Traditions

2012-01-03T21:40:00.000+08:00

For five years, we've lived in China and shared the holidays with new teammates and Chinese friends. Being away from home it's hard to carry on many of the holiday traditions we grew up with in Texas. (Imagine a room full of 40+ adults all sitting around tables playing 88 (dominoes). There's just not that many dominoes in China, and our apartments are too small.)

That's not to say we don't have any traditions. Each year, with new teammates, we get to try new traditions from all parts of North America. Each tradition has been great and we've started a collection of the traditions we plan to make our own.

Kolaches and Sweet Rolls
These are family traditions we can share while in China. With thanks to my Czech grandmother, I'm blessed with some amazing recipes. Each Christmas I cook up a batch of sweet rolls (for Christmas breakfast) and fruit kolaches to share with teammates and friends. These two are definitely worth the trips across town in search of butter, corn syrup, and pecans.

Christmas Eve candlelight service
We've done this every year in China. And now Kanyon can be "trusted" with a candle it's quite the treat. I see this one continuing for always.

Dessert (20th floor) social
We've had a dessert night with friends during the holidays for the past two years. It's fun to get all the foreigners together for a night of sweets and games. Everyone brings a dessert and an empty stomach.

Pickle ornament
M'Lynn asked me where this tradition came, "Did you do this in your family growing up?" Well, no. It was never really a family tradition when I was young. I learned about it in college from my uncle and his family. We've since adopted it into our own Boxing Day tradition as a little after Christmas surprise for the boys. Because what do you really do on Boxing Day anyway?

New Year's Eve Fondue
The first annual New Year's Eve fondue dinner was this year. Our teammates treated us to their family tradition of cheese fondue for dinner. Yummy G-cheese and E-cheese mixed together to create a great dip for bread, veggies, and fruits. Then ring in the New Year with chocolate fondue. Melted goodness!

Banging pots and pans out the window to celebrate the New Year
We collected this tradition from our Canadian teammates several years ago and have continued the tradition annually. It's so loud! But not as loud as all those fireworks. Plus it's cheaper.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Favorites

2011-12-28T17:07:00.002+08:00

As the kids have played with their new toys for three days now, I've created a list of their favorite toys.

Box - it was filled with corn and brought as a gift from one of our Christmas Eve dinner guests. Corbin's been walking around the house getting on his airplane with his suitcase all day.

Car 2 - this DVD has played non-stop since Christmas afternoon. I hadn't seen the movie before Christmas and now I've seen it about five times.

Finn McMissile race track - this toy has one controller. The boys constantly fight for control of the controller.

Mater Pit Stop Book - complete with tools you use as you read the book. It's been so popular that Corbin now has a scratch on his face battling over this book.

Mario and Luigi - these indestructible figures have been in Corbin's bed each night.

BetterWorldBooks.com books - we ordered 15 gently used children's books online and they were shipped to China for free! It's amazing! Each night the boys dig out one new book to read before bedtime.

Guys - both boys received airplanes with little pilots (guys). They also both received a Spiderman toy with a blue (good guy) Spiderman and a black (bad guy) Spiderman. Sometimes one of the kids get an idea in his head and requests a specific guy. We then have to dig through all the toy boxes looking for the little guy.

Dinosaurs - all shapes and sizes. They love all things dinos even pretending to be dinos themselves as they run up and down the hall roaring.

Thanks to all who've sent presents through the mail (or with M'Lynn in her suitcase). Christmas was amazing.

Now to settle into a routine that doesn't include movies or fighting.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T09:00:00.000+08:00

We baked for seven days, shopped for ten days (in America), and celebrated for three. Christmas was amazing.

This year we celebrated Christmas Eve with about 15 of our closest Chinese friends. It delighted us to share a huge turkey dinner with our friends. Most of them had not eaten turkey (or any of the other traditional foods) so it was a real treat.

"I don't know what I'm eating." said Cherry. Everyone agreed and made the same comment about food we find so normal: cornbread stuffing, gravy, turkey, sweet potato casserole, broccoli salad, pasta bake, pumpkin pie, apple cider (they called it soup), and others. Next year we'll be sure to include name cards for the food.

Then came Christmas day. What a pile of gifts from family and friends! M'Lynn made several trips downtown to the post office to collect packages mailed from the states.

The kids woke up quite early (6:08 AM) after one false start by Corbin at 3 AM to get more water. After they were up for good, they settled into breakfast with Mamo's famous cinnamon rolls before getting antsy to open the presents. We waited for some teammates to come and watch and then it was on!

Presents everywhere. Paper everywhere. Don't lose the instructions. Install batteries. Assemble race track. Put on skates. Mario, Luigi, airplanes, dinosaurs, and many other toys. They played, and fought, and played the rest of the day.

All the photos are posted here. Check them out to see the Christmas fun.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Big Huodong

2011-12-23T14:54:00.000+08:00

Kanyon celebrated Christmas at his preschool today. We baked cookies and bought some snacks to share with the other kids as they celebrated together. Kanyon was excited all day to go to the "Christmas big 活动 huodong" (activity).

Kanyon was also asked to bring a mask for the event. I don't exactly know how Halloween got mixed with Christmas. I guess something was lost in translation. His mask was a homemade snowflake mask. We found out later the other kids had purchased fancy masks with feathers.

It was a big celebration. When he arrived this morning he was greeted by a Chinese teacher dressed as Santa handing out candy. Then to get to his class room, the hall was lined with kids dressed as Santa much like a victory line. Needless to say, he was a bit overwhelmed and over stimulated but had a great time.

"They have the most Christmas stuff at school." Kanyon said. We thought we had a lot of Christmas decorations and our tree looks nice this year but that's nothing compared to a blow up Santa in a 4-year-old's mind.

Merry Christmas!

Wild turkey chase

2011-12-22T08:49:00.000+08:00

Everything worked out great, exactly as the Father planned for us as we went outside. This was a good China day.

We asked each other, "Where should we go?" before we headed out the door and were still undecided when we had to choose between bus or taxi. Starbucks won again! (If you're keeping score, it's now 2 for 2 on dates that include Starbucks since it's opened.)

While we drank our lattes, we saw a familiar couple. We'd seen them on our previous four dates but had never spoken. We saw them first at Metro, then at McDonald's, and now at Starbucks for the second week in a row. We had to find out who our "stalkers" were, it's getting too strange.

We talked to them as we were leaving and found out they're American teachers living an hour outside of Harbin. Each Monday (the same day we go out on our weekly date), they travel into town because they don't have classes. No wonder we'd seen them four consecutive weeks! We chatted longer and M'Lynn gets asked if she's Canadian because of her accent. Too funny!

We almost got into a taxi and headed home, but instead we decided to go shopping a bit longer. Good thing we did, because that's exactly what the Father wanted. While shopping, we're called by our teammate who asked us to hunt down a restaurant that sold roasted turkeys. Our team needed the turkey for our Christmas Eve dinner with national friends.

Brilliant! We were right there and love Amazing Race tasks. Armed with our cell phone map, a telephone number, and directions from our teammate, we set off. We marched past the restaurant's street the first time, and then realized we needed to go through the shopping center to the street on the other side. While in the shopping center we literally happened upon another Starbucks (God is great!).

Once through the shopping center, we easily found the restaurant. After a few phone calls back and forth from us to our teammates asking when we should pick up the turkey and from the restaurant manager to the chef asking when the turkey could be ready, we established the day and time.

With 500 RMB paid, receipt in hand, and free "European" tea cups as a gift we went home feeling accomplished thanking the Father for arranging all these little details.

Christmas is here (and so are 60 students)

2011-12-19T09:03:00.000+08:00

176 sugar cookies and 60 students later sums up this year's Christmas open house success.

We (as a team) hosted the freshmen English major students in our apartments. It's an opportunity for us to show an inside glimpse into Christmas and shower them with hospitality. Each apartment had a different theme: Christmas ornament crafts, 'live' Christmas tree decorating, cookie making, and Christmas carols and the story and the students rotated through the stations experiencing Christmas.

They were eager to make Christmas cookies at our house. The first group as a little hesitant to get their hands dirty with cookie dough and then we realized we had forgotten one step, to wash our hands. After that, they dug into the dough making as many cookies as they could.

After decorating the cookies, looking at the Christmas tree decorations, taking pictures of our family picture, and playing with Kanyon, the students were ready to eat.

When we brought out the previously baked cookies, the students became really excited. I really think the students thought these were the cookies that they had made. We didn't have the heart to tell them they were eating the cookies from the previous class. And when we did tell them, they either didn't hear or didn't really care because they were eating cookies!

Tiger Mother, meet Wolf Dad

2011-12-17T08:29:00.001+08:00

Tiger Mom created a parenting controversy when she published her strict methods, but now she seems quite tame when compared to Wolf Dad.

"In China, beating kids is part of their upbringing. It's not violence. It's not against the law." - Xiao Baiyao, Wolf Dad

Wolf Dad beats his kids daily with a feather duster any time they break one of his 1000 rules.

"If it doesn't leave a mark, then it won't make an impact." Xiao says.

He's published a book, Beat Them into Peking University, to explain his techniques, rules, and rationale and the book has become a media sensation. He claims children are like animals who must be trained. Follow his advice and children will succeed and gain admission into prestigious universities. So far, 3 of his 4 children attend Peking University.

Does this prove his unorthodox parenting style is successful?

Students disagree with Wolf Dad. Many disagree strongly. They recognize these types of beatings would be illegal in other countries and they understand that simply attending Peking University is not a true measure of success.

Let's hope students' find true success.

Read more about the debate.

China Daily, "'Wolf dad' stirs debate over 'stick parenting'"

NPR, "And You Thought The Tiger Mother Was Tough"

Starbucks cleans up

2011-12-16T03:00:00.000+08:00

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but Starbucks cleaned up it's entry.

Two days before opening the entrance I posted that the entrance looked like this.

After the grand opening, the entrance is a bit cleaner with a large advertisement.

We finally made it to Starbucks

2011-12-15T03:00:00.000+08:00

For our date this week we had one purpose, to get in a taxi and head to Starbucks. And that's exactly what happened. No changing these plans.

Thanks to our amazing teammates who gave us one coupon for a free drink, we entered a little piece of America and enjoyed our two hour date at half price.

I talked about Starbucks with students and many wondered why I like it so much.

Consistency.

Starbucks is consistent. I know what drink I'll receive each time I order a vanilla latte. And anywhere I go, the drink will taste the same. I joked about the campus coffee shop (just as expensive, btw) that I never know what drink I'll end up with. It all depends on who's working making the coffee drinks on a given day. But with Starbucks, it's the same every time.

Much like McDonald's, I'll get the same hamburger at every McDonald's. It's a strange world comparing Starbucks to McDonald's.

It's a whole new world now with Starbucks in Harbin.

Natural Enemies

2011-12-14T17:04:00.000+08:00

We began December with M'Lynn traveling home for 10 days to attend her grandfather's funeral. I stayed in Harbin teaching classes and taking care of Kanyon and Corbin. Added to the mix was a teammate's business trip to Beijing leaving his wife and children home alone for the weekend. Our team had two single parent households!

It was not easy for anyone. Children were sick, parents were tired, teammates were doubly busy, but everyone was bearing each others burdens. During this time, teammates stepped up and watched the kids so I could teach. Others walked Kanyon to preschool so I could stay with Corbin. Another teammate bought 5 boxes of orange juice, 6 bottles of Sprite, and vegetables so we'd have something to eat and drink. Each night a different teammate would make supper for the whole team. Everyone sacrificed time, food, money, sleep, and energy.

But why? Because of the good news. Period. This kind of crazy awesome community we had going on, I believe, is proof of the power and nature of the good news in our lives.

Together we've been doing a study about the good news in everyday life. Most recently, the topic was community and what it is to live as a city on a hill in the context of the good news. The study, by Timothy Keller, talked about how we are "natural enemies" coming from different backgrounds, families, traditions, majors, states, and lives but we are able to come together because of what He has done for us and we're able to love for His name sake!

With Christmas approaching quickly, we are eager to share this community with others so they can see how we interact with each other for His name. We desire others to see the difference in our community not because we are different as Americans, but because we are His and His love enables us to love each other.

New camera faces

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000+08:00

We recently purchased and new camera and have begun to experiment with the settings. What better subjects than our kids?

Here are the recent photos capturing the many faces of our kiddos.

More photos online here.

Corbin, blog guest star

2011-12-13T14:52:00.001+08:00

Corbin made a guess appearance on our teammate's blog.

my lil 2 year old teammate, corbin, doesn't get out much. why? because it's mah-fan. (trouble) to get him ready to go outside... in Harbin.

when we were about to leave our apartment building i asked his older brother kanyon, "when was the last time corbin went outside?" he said, "um.... none!" haha i'm sure he did.. maybe a few weeks ago?

Read all about Corbin's time outside when he went with our teammate to take Kanyon to preschool.

Everyday's a special day

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000+08:00

"Is today a special day?" Kanyon asked as he walked into the dining room for breakfast.

"Yes, it is." I responded.

"I like special days. We get to play Wii and stuff like that."

Every day is a special day with M'Lynn out of the country, babysitters coming and going, and classes continuing as usual not knowing it's a special day.

The kids have been great helpers though. Eating all their food, laying still for diaper changes, going to bed and nap time, and sitting in the big boy chair. But they usually are great when only one parent is around (and when they get to eat Christmas cookies frosted with leftover dino cake frosting and watch Super Why!).

It will certainly be a crash course when mommy gets back on Sunday. But then again, that will be a special day too.

On being a single parent

2011-12-07T16:08:00.001+08:00

This week, M'Lynn is home in America for her grandfather's funeral and I'm home in Harbin caring for the kids and teaching class as usual. Plans can't keep up with changes.

I'd always heard that it's not easy being a single parent and now I'm finding out first hand what makes it so hard.

For me, the most difficult part about being a single parent is grocery shopping. The kids aren't old enough to stay home alone and they're too young to go outside. (By too young, I mean it such a struggle and requires a lot effort to bundle them and wrangle them as we march to the local market and shop.)

So what am I to do? The Father placed us on an amazing team. I'm so thankful for teammates who've volunteered to get groceries for me. They've bought endless boxes of orange juice as well as veggies for me to cook. Without their help, we'd have been sunk, and starving.

Don't worry, M'Lynn, we're not starving, we're eating good. Last night's dinner, prime rib.

Dinosaur Birthday

2011-12-03T08:43:00.001+08:00

Happy birthday to Corbin. The big 2!

With M'Lynn back in the states for a week, I threw Corbin's birthday party, dinosaur cake and all. She'd planned it for months and now I had a template, the two cakes she baked before she left, and a picture from the internet.

And after a little effort, this was the finished result. Corbin loved the cake and kept asking for more (but that's the case with any cake).

The big kids watched Dinosaur Train on the TV and eagerly waited for Corbin to open all the gifts. I think Kanyon was more determined to find out what the present were than Corbin. Corbin was content to open the first present and play with the first toy all night.

And what's a party without lots of crying? After all the presents were opened everyone wrestled for the best toy. Mine, mine, mine, no mine, mine, mine! Cry, cry, cry, cry!

Corbin defended his new toys by ringing a little red bell (also a present). Ring, ring, ring and the big kids would cover their ears crying and back away from the toys. He's learning so fast.

Happy birthday Corbin!

More photos from the dinosaur birthday party.

Plans can't keep up with changes

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000+08:00

That's exactly what happened today as I went on a routine diaper run to Walmart.

Walmart is a two-bus-ride away destination, or about a 30 minute walk. I decided to take the bus and quickly arrived at Walmart and purchased all I needed: a big box of diapers, wipes, instant oatmeal, butter, trash bags, and toilet paper. Ordinary stuff that is sometimes absent from the shelves. I paid and made my way home.

I had a decision to make, which way home?

A. Cross the eight lane highway and take bus 13 to a second bus
B. Walk a two blocks east and take bus 14, 61, 203, or 205 home
C. Walk a block south and take bus 205 all the way home
D. Get a taxi and get out of the cold

I chose B and walked two blocks east to catch any number of buses that would take me. I'd just jump on the first bus home and viola. Great plan.

The first bus to arrive was bus 203. Great! It's a straight shot to my apartment. We quickly passed the first three stops and only one remained before I was home. Then an unexpected right turn away from my apartment.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?!?! BUS 203 DOESN'T GO TO MY APARTMENT?? WHEN DID THE ROUTE CHANGE? WHERE DOES IT GO NOW??

I immediately jumped off the bus at the next stop thankful it wasn't too far from home and walked the remaining half mile. As I walked, I thought about the implications of the new bus 203 route. I'll have to find a new way to get to the other three supermarkets which carry import goods, or get used to walking a half mile in the snow up hill both ways. :)

Corbin: Fun Facts

2011-11-30T03:00:00.000+08:00

He’s taken to sleeping in a big boy bed. He absolutely refused to sleep in his crib when we returned to China. So against our will, we set up the bottom bunk and let him sleep there. So far, so good.

Each time we begin cooking dinner, Corbin runs to the bedroom to get his very own plastic veggies. He dumps them into a pan and “cooks” his own dinner on the kitchen floor.

He couldn’t say the word truck. It sounded like something I hope no child would ever say. We fixed that problem and now he can’t say fork.

Books belong on the floor. At least that’s what he thinks. He’ll get every book off the shelf and put them all over the house.

He drives a car all around the house. His car even comes with a trunk. If we’re ever missing a toy, we know where to look. Check the trunk.

He started to potty train himself, but we weren’t ready. So we got out the training potty and let him have a go. We’ll see where this goes.

He loves healthy food. Tomatoes, good. Broccoli, good. Onion, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, all good.

And everything he eats is “spicy.” Even when eating macaroni and cheese he’ll say, “spicy.” What kind of Texan are you, oh wait he was born in China so he’s Chinese.

He loves to play with trains. Trains go “dugga, dugga, dugga, dugga”

And he too can speak Chinese. Ayi (auntie), xi shou (wash your hands), and zai jian (goodbye).