to go to the outside playground in their apartment building, but due to some snow flurries we opted to meet up at the E Mart play area instead. After allowing the kids to run around there for almost two hours, we headed back to our friend's apartment for lunch and a little more play time. The kids had a great time getting out and having some friends to play with, but to be honest, it was a little difficult for me as the mom. As much as we've been blessed by the relationships here that have begun, I still miss so many dear friends back in the States! I often find that when I come back home after spending time with new friends here, I have the mixed emotions of being so thankful for the people we've met, different as many of them are from me in lots of ways, and yet missing my old friends that much more. I guess this is something that people deal with whenever they move to a new place and kind of have to "start over", but it really is new to me. And if you don't mind me being totally honest--it's really hard! There are definitely days when it
feels really lonely and discouraging! We were told that around 3 to 6 months into living in a new culture, the honeymoon phase ends and the reality of life sets in. I think we're there now, and as much as we are loving so much about life here and are so thankful for more than words can express, there is still a lot about these major life adjustments that are just dad-gum difficult and leave us feeling lonely and isolated at times. I'm not just saying this to come across as the super pious one, but it is through these challenges we know that we are drawn closer to the One who sticks closer than a brother. We truly count it a privilege to have to daily depend on Him more than we ever have before to meet ALL of our needs, and we are challenged daily to come to Him rather than so many other things that we naturally would like to turn to in order to fill our cups!Anyway, after having good friend time for the kids on Thursday, we had more fun time with new friends on Friday night too. My teacher Zhen zhen and her boyfriend Victor came over (along with our western frien
d, Joel) to join us for dinner and a movie night. Victor and Zhen zhen LOVE the kids and have really developed a neat relationship with them, so the kids were pumped to have all of them over to play. At dinner, I jokingly asked Victor if he wanted to feed Noah his rice cereal--and I wish you could've seen how quickly he jumped up and switched chairs with me! He was soooooo excited to feed a baby for the first time, and Noah loved it too! (We've noticed that Noah in particular has a huge love for Chinese people!)On Saturday, the kids were invited over to decorate Valentine cookies with our friend Ms. Barbara. She knows how much the kids are missing their grandparents, so she has stepped up to try to help fill in that gap in their lives just a little bit by spending quality time with them. And I loved it, beca
use besides giving them a fun activity with an amazingly godly woman, it gave me an hour and a half of quiet time at home with only Noah (who was sleeping). When it was time to go pick up the kids, the day was so beautiful and the sky so clear that I decided to bundle Noah up and walk the 2 miles over to Barb's apartment. The photos are taken as I walked along the road, which was lined with more vendors than usual because of the good weather and it being a weekend. I was again taken aback by the sights, smells, and sounds. The burn in my nose from the charcoal briquettes used to cook the road-side sweet potatoes; the freshly caught fish laying out on paper on the side of the road waiting to be taken home for dinner; the honking of cars and ringing of bicycle bells as everyone wanted to be heard so as not to get run over by other vehicles. Noah jabbered away the whole time as we bumped along the uneven streets and sidewalks, and it struck me as strange that what we were seeing will be his "normal". I wondered how long it would take before it is mine as well!Saturday night we decided
we were in need of a little "western fix", so we went with two of our teacher friends to TJI Friday's for dinner. Afterward we went to our friend Holly's apartment for dessert and then back to our apartment for a movie. I even stopped at the Good Friend Store (the import store we purchase from) to buy a few more Dr. Peppers as a special treat!Today we rejoiced to have our friends, the Morris family, come back to town. They came over to join us for our usual Sunday night pizza dinner, then Kevin and Jason took off for the basketball game. Kevin's baseball friend Leif got the two of them tickets, and even came over to our place to hang out this afternoon to deliver them and get in a little bit of language practice. We continue to be thankful for the friendship that is growing there! Kevin and Jason both came home with Tianjin Golden Lion jerseys on. They normally have to return the jerseys after the game, but Kevin and Jason were allowed to keep theirs for whatever reason (probably just a perk for being a western face at the game!). Go Lions!
