i got a package!

Today Kyle got a call from our post office on campus saying we had a package! When I came home from teaching I went straight to the post office and picked it up. Inside were 22 little bears to be filled for my little kids at the Orphanage! I am so thankful to the wonderful ladies at Buford that helped with this cause! When I first shared this idea with my mom I thought I might be able to make about five or six bears by our next visit because I do not have sewing machine etc. But with the help I have received every child will have a bear! They are going to be so happy to have a cuddly friend to comfort them through scary surgeries and lonely nights! Since I received the package I have been stuffing and sewing up the bears and they are perfect! In about three weeks we will go to the Orphanage again and we'll be able to give the kids the "bear hugs"! I am so excited and cannot say enough about how thankful I am to the ladies in Buford! You saw a need and are really helping! Stay tuned for pictures to come!

A Shout out to the fams

I woke up this morning at 8ish to skype my whole family on Thanksgiving Day at my BigDad and Nana's house. I must admit I was dreading it because I thought when I pushed the hangup button I would hate China and want to go home. Just thinking about them being all together playing rook, eating 'til absolutely stuffed and chatting with everyone made me sad.

When I accepted their call I was overwhelmed with happiness at the sight of them all! They crammed into my BigDad's study and I got to talk to everyone! My little cousin Alex blew me kisses and said "I love you"! Loralei didn't want to say it but I know she does all the same! :o) I caught up with my cuz Ari, she's not doing ballet anymore if you were wondering, she's just doing basketball and soccer! I got to meet Uncle Brent and Bonnie's dog ~ Baxter...HE's a Shih Tzu, easy Brent!

I hope my family knows how cool they are and how much I miss them! And instead of making my day in China a sad one, they made it really happy!

chicken wings!

Today I set out to the store by myself to get some groceries while kyle was at work ~ after eating toast for breakfast and toast for lunch I decided we needed more in the house than just bread. After three-ish months of living life in China I'm actually getting quite used to going grocery shopping - picking up the usual and getting out before anxiety sets in. Today I felt a little brave and thought I would see what the meat department had to offer. Anytime before this I've tried to avoid it as much as possible because there are scary things like: turtles in tight nets trying to escape, crabs tied up tightly by string, naked meat lying on beds of ice...not something a newbie needs to experience. I wanted to cook something for my hard working husband and what's a meal without meat? I found chicken wings...not in a bag, but sporadically laid on a bed of ice, I stood and observed the process before I jumped in. I watched as a man held the plastic bag in one hand and picked over the wings with the other. He didn't seem to notice or care that he was touching raw chicken meat with his bare hands or that the sleeve of his coat was being dragged through the ice and raw meat...once he had gathered all he wanted he went to the meat counter where a woman took his bag from him, weighed it, and gave it back to him. I felt like i could do this too...SO with a sudden boast of courage I got a bag, turned it inside out and used it as a glove so I didn't have to touch anything with my hands, I was also careful to watch my sleeves or anything else from touching the meat. Once I'd gathered my lot I fought the crowd to the meat counter and shoved my bag out there with the rest of them. No one seemed to be bothered by the man behind the counter beating and chopping the mess out of a huge table of meat, or the woman investigating the ribs infront of me with her BARE HANDS. With a smile I took my bag of chicken wings from the lady behind the counter. I felt quite accomplished and ventured to the not as scary but still quite odd vegetable department where I picked up some potatoes and garlic...mmm I took a packed bus home just in time to cook wings and mashed potatoes and spend time with Kyle before we needed to start another day.