A Lot of Excitement

Today we had an exciting day... check it out
First- An amazing birthday/Easter box from Karen and Barry- complete with maternity clothes, lip gloss-- lots of kinds including a new Burts Bees which happens to be my favorite brand, Lance Crackers, TUMS (PTL), an adorable baby scrapbook, Baby-to-Bee picture frame (I hope to get a new picture of him this weekend) lotion and a cute necklace!
THANK You so much.

Second- our credit card numbers were stolen about a month ago and we had to order new cards... but SECU does not mail to China-- so my precious mom-- got the cards for us and EMS mailed them. We were really hoping they would be here in time for our trip to see the doctor in Guangzhou. And PTL... they got here today-just 3 days after expected delivery date

Third and BONUS
Our crib came for Baby Thomas!!
We ordered the crib off a Chinese website called TaoBao- the ebay of China. It is a Graco crib (pack and play for people in America)
Wes put it together and we love it.
We have a little monkey theme going... I have registered at Target and Toys-R-US and I seem drawn to the monkey :-)

Birthday Box

So my birthday is in 3 short days. Wes and I will go to Guangzhou on Saturday for a prenatal doctors appointment and stay through Tuesday :-) May 1 is Chinese Labor day and my birthday... which is more famous?? Depends if you are in America or China.
My parents, Ashley and Salomon sent a box for my birthday and it has arrived!! The question-- did I wait to open it??
OF COURSE NOT :-) Am I happy I did not wait-- YES YES YES
Here is the greatness (notice the cute baby socks for Boy Thomas from Aunt Ashley and Uncle Salomon!!

Not pictured- a maternity shirt- if your lucky- a picture of me in it to follow.
Oh and the pregnancy magazine- perfect for the 2 hour train trip :-) accompanied with real snacks and decaf beverages!!
I did decide it would be fun to open something on my birthday... So I chose the cards :-) They will remained unopened until May 1.


Thank you Mom, Dad, Ashley and Salomon :-) for making my birthday special miles and miles away.

Reflections from an Exhausted but Deeply Satisfied Heart

I have just finished the Beth Moore study- Breaking Free. It would be on my recommended list of studies (as long as you are willing to take a good look at yourself)
Recently, I have been so exhausted at night time... last night- I was trying to think about what I could "cut" from my schedule but found that all is necessary. I just finished a Book Study on Friday with 4 girls, started a new one yesterday and another one on Friday- this is what it is all about. I couldn't help but think about how generally the times for the studies are so inconvenient but then the Father reminded me serving is an overflow of what He has done/is doing in my life. Even though I feel so empty and tired at times... I feel the fulfillment with new family members and a sincere sense of obedience to my Father. For Paul said, Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which the Father has called me heavenward.

Grandma

This morning I have been thinking a lot about my sweet Grandma. She went to be with the Lord 3 years ago in February. BUT this time of year, being Easter, reminds me a lot of her. As a child, I spent MANY Easters/ Spring Breaks with her. My parents would drive me to Roanoke and leave me for a week of FUN with Grandma. I was remembering this morning-- always getting a new Easter dress (even though I packed one-- the one I packed never seemed to "do" for the Easter service), playing Skip Bo, dying eggs, making candy (toffee, Reece Cups, white chocolate clown lolly pops) We always had a blast!!
Just some thoughts about one of my life's great inspirations.



PS... she would probably throw a little fit if she knew that I was displaying this picture... but it is the only picture I have in digital form :-) and it really shows the super fun side that I LOVED about her!!

Egg Drop

Not the Soup :-)
This Saturday our Sophomore student have a test called the TEM4-- this test determines if they graduate from college. Needless to say... we have a bunch of very stressed out, one tracked minded, a little cranky at time sophomore students (understandably so)
Instead of having a normal class for them this week-- I decided to do a fun activity... in hopes to relieve some stress and let them have fun for 1 hour and 45 minutes :-)
Activity-- Egg Drop
I gave them a senerio that the people in the countryside had a lack of food and most importantly lack of eggs. We couldn't drive out to give them food because the roads are flooded... the only way to deliver the eggs is by air.
I gave each group an egg and some materials... their job-- protect their egg. After a bit of time... we, as a class, to to the 8th floor of the Foreign Language building and drop the eggs over the top to fall to the concrete below. After they dropped and retrieved their egg-- they create a poster for a short presentations. Here are my 9 groups--









I was a little nervous about this project... I could foresee many things going bad... but I have a great group of students and it ended up being great fun!!
Here are some quotes from the class
"Mrs. Thomas, this is so great. I am so nervous for our egg! I am having so much fun, I feel so happy today. I feel like a kid again. Thank you so much." (Mandy, after the egg had been dropped from the roof)
"I'm soooo sorry... it broke. BUT I drew hearts all over our poster because we put our whole heart into this activity" (CiCi - with a huge smile on her face)
"VICTORY" (Victor as he has his picture taken right before the egg drop)
"No Victory" (Victor after the egg went splat) :-)
"THANK YOU" (the WHOLE class)

I felt so great leaving class today. Many of my students said they haven't felt happy for a long time but today's activity made them feel very happy.

Only one group successfully dropped the egg with only a slight fracture to the egg-- Group 9
Here is their presentation-
(note-- the Boy- William is doing the talking-- he was beside himself with excitement. When he introduced his group- "we have 3 girls and 1 boy... of course I am the boy and I want to introduce the main character in our group- EGGIE" :-)

On a final note-- it is a BEAUTIFUL day in HY. You can see the smog in the pictures... but it is warm outside... PTL for no rain!!

Cooking-- NOT MINE

Chinese Cooking-- they say it is healthier... but I'm not convinced. This is a widow fan outside of a kitchen- GROSS!!

The First Warm day of the Year

The First Warm day of the Year-- I think I counted 45 sheets/comforters



Note-- not a warm day since... these ladies know the HY weather drill. Dry it while you can!!

Pregnacy Overalls

Tug of War

Random competitions-- Tug of War between college departments. The Foreign Language Department won!! LOVE the Intensive Faces!!

Random Fun Photos

Chinglish -- I'd say so!! This sign was in a bathroom. May I say... Please don't flush your Virtues... just your bodily waste

Nan Haizi

I really wanted to share the ultrasound video with you... but it is too big to upload...
SO --if you can read Chinese -- you know from the title of the blog...

snips and snails and puppy dog tails
that what our little nan haizi is made of...

YEP :-) a little boy. Everything looked healthy at our doctors visit.
Thank you for praying for us and our little one... we can now specifically as the Father for a healthy little boy.
As for the name-- it's a secret-- we'll let you know when he arrives :-)