What we came home to...

I have noticed recently that the most adorable little boy in the world has taken over my blog. :) We are still in China :) so I thought I would share a story about our Chinese home.

We were in sunny hot beautiful Thailand where the average temperature was 85 degrees for a little bit. (I mentioned before we have our Annual Company Conference in Chiang Mai)
We came back to Hengyang to a temperature of 40 degrees and rainy outside. The school requires us to unplug all electronics while we are gone... so the temperature inside was 41 degrees F.
So... you might be thinking- plug the house back in and get it warm. We are below the Yellow River- we don't have central heat but we do have space heaters. We plug them in and start to knock of the chill when the power goes off.
That is where these pictures come into play...



These beauties are the breakers outside our door (in the stairwell) Wes went out to flip the breaker and it wouldn't flip. Wes is a super amazing man that can fix anything... but here in Hengyang-- there isn't a Lowes Home Improvement or Home Depot or even a Brukes Brothers Hardware. We called for a repairman- he was suppose to be at our house in the "late morning" 2:00 pm rolls around- we all have on layers of clothes and Wes decides take things into his amazing fix anything hands. He shuts off the power to the whole apartment complex and removes the breaker. About 20 minutes later... he comes back with the right parts. Just about the time he has it all put together - the repairman shows up. End result all the same- we have power :)

Goals

I did a post a little while back about Goals. One goal I have for 2012 is to read at least one fiction and one non-fiction book each month. Fiction is not a problem for me... I love to get lost in the characters and picture the story in my imagination. Non-fiction-- not always so great at "getting lost" in.
However, I am on my way to accomplishing my goal. The book I chose for January was How to Win Friend and Influence People
I have to admit... I did wait until Jan. 20 to get started- but it is a great book. I learned so much about interpersonal relationships (my college degree also dealt with this) I put a lot of what I learned into practice as I saw friends serving in various parts of China. I recommend this book to ALL.

I am on my way in February with my non-fiction already (I didn't want to leave it for last) This month I have chosen a book that will help me be a better wife.
Becoming the Woman of His Dreams

I am currently 60% of the way through the book. I am really enjoying the advice the author has. I also LOVE the fact she grew up in North Carolina... just a little tie to home.

A couple fiction recommendations for you
My Uncle Jess (stole this pic from the internet)wrote a WONDERFUL novel called Wings of Forever.

This is a great story of a pilot that goes on a mission. The story has a hint of love, danger, thrill and is just plain good story. If you have a kindle-- do what I did and buy it. You will enjoy it greatly.
Other Fiction from January
Song of Redemption - 2nd book in Lynn Austin Gods and Kings Series
Runaway Pastor's Wife (excellent book) by Diane Moody
When Love Finds You in Sunset Beach - by all time favorite author- Robin Jones Gunn

What have you been reading?? Any good recommendation for me to add to my list?

Sitting Up

This morning's picture-- Parker sitting up all by himself :)

One Month Catch-up

So... school has been out since the day after Christmas... the students returned to their hometowns... Hengyang became a ghost town (well... all the English speakers - gone)... the weather got SUPER cold... our power shut off... SO... we ran to the warm weather of Thailand. Well that is the short version of it :)

We left China wearing layers and layers to stay warm started shedding them along the way. When we got to Bangkok, the temperature was a steamy 95 degrees... and warmly welcomed. We decided to go to the beach for a week. We stayed at a place that is for M workers all over Asia. It was so refreshing to meet other workers.
Parker LOVED being in shorts and a t-shirt ... with no socks.
We introduced him to the pool and the ocean. He seemed to like it. Sometimes we would even bring Parker's Peapod down by the pool and let him nap in luxury :)
And sometimes, he would just relax in the lounger.

He loved to hold our drinks for us :)


One of our favorite things to do was... enjoy great coffee. China really lacks in the coffee department- so one of our favorite outings was to a coffee shop called Wawee. We would go... get a latte and a comfy place to sit and chat or read books
We met an amazing couple from the UK. They are serving in Loas. They also shared our love for coffee and conversation... so many days we would go together and share about how the Father is working through us. Such an amazing couple. They own a restaurant/travel business in Loas. They live and operate the restaurant without running water. WOW... it puts a lot in perspective. We don't have much in HY... but we DO have running water (most of the time)

Most of you remember that we have our Annual Conference in Thailand every January(ish) It was a time of refreshment (physically, spiritually and emotionally)

Michael Card was our speaker again. He did a wonderful job of getting us in the Word even graced us with some wonderful music.

One thing that really meant a lot to me during conference was the baby dedication. It was such a special service. Wes and I wrote a prayer of dedication for Parker and asked the Father to equip us to raise him up in the way of the Lord. Michael Card ended the dedication with a special song for the babies.

Another favorite thing was seeing all of our friends that are serving in different cities around China. We would trade stories and laughter. I didn't take any pictures with our friends (I really regret this) BUT one of our good couple-friends has a 7 year of boy, Trey,- Parker fell in LOVE with Trey. He was so good at getting Parker to smile and laugh. So cute.
I know I might be bias... but we have the HAPPIEST ... CUTEST baby alive!!
And ... here is my favorite picture from the whole trip.
This is just a glimpse of our adventure... not everything went perfectly according to plans... including missing a flight which resulted in an overnight train... BUT Wes and I said-- if you look at life as an adventure-- the "problems" that you encounter- simply become part of the adventure.

We are back in China now. It is GREAT to be home... but we are missing the warm. It is SUPER cold (inside and out... as we don't have central heating) We are enjoying seeing our friends again (some of them are even bringing us "special" foods from their hometown- yikes.

We have 5 months left in our China Adventure... and we are so excited to see how the Father moves through us.

Happy NEW Years 2012

Well, it is here again!! The beginning of a new year. This is the year of the dragon here in China. I don't know much about what that means... but I think dragons are good :)
Every year about this time, I reflect on the previous year and set goals for the coming year.
Many of you know my dad (and if you don't you want to after reading my blog post:) He is an amazing man. I go to him for advice, he is a huge giver of encouragement, he always looks on the optimistic-side, he is godly, he is crazy fun :) ... but to me... he is DAD :)

Anyways... every year as a child, he encouraged my sister and I to write goals for the coming year. Different than resolutions... goals are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and have a time-table)

Today and tomorrow-- I am working on my goals. I want to encourage you to do the same thing. This year... I am working on something a little different too. I really like 3x5 index cards with reminders (some people like post-it notes... I like index cards:) Combine this with goals. I have decided to break down my year goals to monthly goals written on 3x5 cards as a reminder. I will post some pictures later of what my goals look like.

I would love to know what kind of goals you have :)

Precious smile and squeels

Recently, Parker has been squeezing like crazy. Wes and I love it. Many time we will look at each other and say... "isn't it just the CUTEST sound you have ever heard" He doesn't need anything to squeel at either. He can just be lying in this tent- by himself- squeeling. So cute. He is so happy!!

Decked out for First Christmas

We love Skype :) We were able to connect with both of our families- Wes' Dad, Karen, Grandmother and Aunt Aloma on Christmas Eve and this morning we skyped with my parents, Ashley and Salomon. While skyping with my family, we opened presents :) They had gifts from Wes and I... and we had a USPS Priority box full of gifts from them. Amongst the presents ... the AMAZING outfit pictured above. SUPER CUTE. LOVE LOVE LOVE the hat :)