This morning started off with all of us feeling a little bit homesick for friends and family back home, but was uplifted by a sweet time with our new friends, Sarah (the mom), Adah, and Claire (her daughters)--who are also from TX! After doing a quick morning of homeschool, we headed out on the 3-wheeler to meet our friends at a newly-opened nearby KFC. When we finished our chicken nuggets and some time in the play area, we went to our friend's house and had a great time getting to talk and play.
On our way home, we stopped by two new shops--one to buy a rotisserie chicken and the other to get flowers. One of the great blessings of living here is some of the fun, cheap finds we get. While we may have to pay 8 bucks for a jar of spaghetti sauce, I was able to buy a dozen beautiful red Gerber daisies for less than a
dollar! And the rotisserie chicken I'd heard so much about was fantastic. Kevin said it tasted "just like home", that was until he looked down on his plate and realized that the chicken leg he thought he was eating was actually a chicken's neck! He decided to quickly remove it from his plate before continuing his dinner!After dinner we FINALLY celebrated Eli's birthday (which was Sept.10) with a b-day cake. Before we left Dallas he had picked out a cake mix, icing, and sprinkles for u
s to bring with us to bake here in China. But of course, our oven wasn't working at that point, so we had birthday ice cream instead and decided to wait on the cake. So we finally made the cake for dessert tonight and even added a Chinese birthday candle on top--which was definitely unlike anything we have in the States (probably for good reason!). You use a special stick to light it with, and then about a dozen candles, all facing inward, ignite as "Happy birthday" begins to play. As the flame increases (and all the on-looking children start to get a little bit nervous!), the flower candle then opens, or blooms, with all of the individual candles on the petals. The kids were thoroughly entertained by the whole experience! And the party never ends. . . The candle is currently submerged in a pot of water in the sink because we can't get the song to stop playing! Would be a great advertisement for Engergizer. :)
