Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas morning here in Dallas, bright and early as the effects of jet lag have obviously not completely worn off of this traveler as of yet! The Joseph family has been in the States for almost a week now, and we are LOVING it! The flight over was as good as could be expected. Friends keep asking, "So what do you do on the plane for that amount of time (11 1/2 hours from Beijing to Seattle, then another 4 from Seattle to Dallas, totaling about 24 hours in travel from the time we leave our apartment in Tianjin and arrive back at my parent's house in Big D)". My answer--"I'm not really sure!" But somehow we all make it in one piece, with sanity mostly intact, and the kids even all managed to sleep at least a little. We were very thankful for an airplane that had individual screens at each seat to pick your movie or music. Kevin and I did decide that maybe we've been in China a little too long after Karis and Eli both first picked to watch Xi Yang Yang (a Chinese cartoon, in Mandarin, of course!) rather than any of the other English movies or short-programs!!

After a long night's sleep at my parent's house (and having to awaken several of the kids at 11am!), we met with my two oldest friends and their families (the Bakers and the Campbells) for brunch and play time. Noah awakened at my parent's house to look out the window and utter a huge "Whoa!" when he saw the grass, the blue sky, and the yard to play in only separated by the window pane in front of him. And then he met their chocolate lab, Josie, and the state of ecstasy was complete! We practically had to tear him away to get him to our friend's house--where again, he resumed his state of ecstasy! The kids can't get enough of being around their favorite friends and family members, of being able to run inside and outside to play (without having to bundle up or go down the elevator to get there) without even needing adult supervision, of riding around in the mini-van and car seats (which, surprisingly, all of them are LOVING!). Their questions and comments keep us in stitches. Hud's most frequently asked questions are, "Mom, where are we now?" and then secondly, "Where are we goin' next?" It's so cute to see his three-year old mind trying to wrap around what all is happening around him. But I am so thankful that as much as he seems slightly confused, he isn't bothered by the constant change a bit, but seems to enjoy every "new" experience that he is having. He has also asked a few times why Mr. Du isn't driving us around in his van (our Chinese friend who we hire when the whole family needs to go into Beijing for an airport run or doctor's visit)!

Our time with friends and family has been so sweet. We were sooooooo encouraged by our friends from our home church when we were there on Sunday. They had us share a little bit about our past year and a half in China, and we were so humbled and blessed by their genuine concern for us and our family, for wanting to hear the details of our "new normal", by the hugs that we received, and by their desire to help us as we "stock up" on some basics before we return to China in two weeks (like socks and underwear that don't have too many holes in them!!) We then spent almost three days at my relative's ranch out in the country of central Texas, where we got to ride four-wheelers (that we keep calling three-wheelers, since that is our main form of transportation in TJ!), feed a camel, throw rocks in the creek, roast s'mores, find and collect all kinds of treasures (including some fossils), go coyote hunting, and even shoot their first guns (my dad helped Eli and Hud shoot a .22). They had a ball, and it was so refreshing to enjoy the clean air, the warmer weather, and the sweet time of fellowship as a family.

We had one day upon our return from the ranch before Kevin's family came in town from both coasts, and the thing that Kevin and I keep commenting on is how much we can get done here in just 1 day! We were both able to run a bunch of errands AND spend time with friends we dearly love. My parents were gracious enough to watch all 6 of their grandkids (ages 6 down to 9 months) for us to go out to dinner with my brother and sister and their spouses. We had a much-anticipated meal at Chuy's, my favorite Mexican food restaurant in town, and then coffee at my sister's coffee shop. The cousins all had a blast playing together--we're amazed at how quickly they have become good buddies already!--and the 6 of us grown-ups had a great time visiting over chips and queso...And I'm hoping it won't be my last bit of TexMex before heading back East!

I'd better run to fit the last few things in the stockings before kiddos are up and at 'em, but will sign back in later with more reports from the "West"! Love to all of our dear friends back in TJ, and hope that we can bring some of the Texas warmth back with us in a few short weeks...

4 Days Away!

How do you know when you've been in China for a while?

• you find your 6 year old designing "passports" rather than normal artwork with her friends who are over
  
• you find yourself asking more frequently where someone found their Christmas wrapping materials than where they bought the actual gift from
• your idea of what is in style is based on what doesn't have holes in it and what is clean (and dry!)
• you have a large display of very-fake looking flowers displayed in your living room, courtesy of a national friend convinced that the purple and yellow matched perfectly with your existing colors (none of which are close to purple or yellow!)

So this sums up our past week! We have been busy packing and preparing for Dallas, talking about what things we remember and trying to get them all straight in the mind of a three-year old! A challenge, indeed!

On Wednesday evening we all went to the international school to watch Eli's class perform. They had put together a little scene of Bethlehem, complete with his class playing a real Israelite kids' game (as seen in the picture) and singing.

Saturday morning I came in from washing dishes to find Karis seated on the couch with all her brothers around her, reading them library books she had just gotten! It was a sweet moment, but also made me realize how much she (and all the kids) are growing up!! On Saturday at lunch time, I went to join a group of western ladies that I meet with every other week for a time of study and encouragement. We had a great time doing a cookie and soup exchange (including recipes), and then swapped gifts. It was fun and refreshing to celebrate with such dear friends! Saturday afternoon I spent preparing fruit, tea, appetizers, salad, apple cider, and dessert platters filled with cookies that I'd been baking all week. We had about 12 Chinese friends come over for a Christmas party, complete with Christmas pictionary, a movie and discussion time, pizza for dinner, and a candle light service. It was quite possibly our most fun monthly gathering we've had yet--and everyone seemed to have a great time! Karis even added a special moment by reading a passage from Isaiah and singing a song she learned at school that corresponds to the verses.

On Sunday, we rested! At our international fellowship, Karis performed with her class, leading the congregation in some Christmas carols. While the younger kids took naps, I got our suitcases packed. Believe it or not, I have all of our stuff in 4 bags--and only two of them have clothes for us (one is full of gifts and things we're bringing back and the other is stuffed with duffle bags that will no doubt be filled upon our return to China, as my list is SUPER long of stuff to buy while in the States!). So if you happen to see us more than once while we're in Dallas, you can count on us being in the same clothes... So while we're packed relatively lightly, we are bringing back a bunch of luggage for our friends who are in Houston while their daughter undergoes Leukemia treatment. So the mystery of the week is how we are going to fit 11 full-size suitcases and 7 people (6 Josephs and one driver) into a 7-passenger van! I think we're going to have to get creative... and definitely have the kids and us piled a few people high in each seat!!

So I'm signing off for now. If I don't make it back on to update this week, then the next post will be from Stateside (only 4 days and counting....)!!!!

Cold Tianjin!

Only 11 more days and we'll be boarding the plane for our first trip back to the States! Wow! It's truly amazing how time is flying by... and I'm sure the busyness of the holiday season is adding to how quickly the time is passing. Not busy like Stateside-busy, but busy trying to see friends and do some holiday celebrating with those that feel Christmas is an extra-meaningful time. That being said, it's gotten really cold here! We had another cold front blow in last night, so our high today is in the mid-30's and the wind makes it feel much colder. Kevin took off on his bike to class this morning, but after walking the kids the 1/2 mile to the school bus and passing the frozen water on the way, I'm thinking taking a taxi sounds more enjoyable...

Thursday evening was one of our two "China adventures" for the week. After teaching the older two kids kickball during their after-school sports time, Kevin took Karis and Eli with him to one of the baseball player's homes for dinner. The player's dad teaches English, and it ended up being somewhat of a recruiting dinner for Kevin! Seems as if his dad would like Kevin to come teach English also to the kids at the company he runs, so he lavished our kids with gifts (mainly junk food snacks), a full meal for dinner, and even stuff to take home (like a coffee or tea french press, fruit, etc.). Kevin and the kids had a good time, but was unfortunately a later evening than I'd hoped (they didn't get home until 8:30, which is about an hour and a half past their normal week night bed time!). Made the weekend start off a little behind on sleep patterns, but was a good time for Kevin to show love to his young baseball friend!

Friday night Karis had her elementary school's musical performance. It was precious, and she had a blast. Two of our good Chinese friends and a two of our western friends came to cheer her on, so she felt like a star! We made it through the whole hour-long show, only having to leave with Noah once to go run around outside in the foyer, thanks to the fun upbeat music that Karis' younger brothers had fun clapping along with (oh, and a small bag of M&Ms that I packed in the diaper bag!).

On Saturday we went to the international school's annual Christmas bazaar. We had a great time shopping for some fun Christmas things that are hard to find elsewhere (like small Christmas gift tags, poinsettias, even good-quality kids' toys for cheaper than normal import prices). The highlight for the kids was them each getting to pick out a toy--Barbie doll for Karis, hot wheels for the boys, and Fisher Price phone for Noah. None of them cost over 30 kuai (the equivalent of about $4-$5. Believe it or not, this is incredibly rare for us to find such deals! Most people assume that since we live in China, and this is where everything is made, you can find toys for REALLY cheap. Not so!!! We can find really cheap stuff at local toy stores, but it literally lasts for at max a day or two before a crucial part breaks off and it all ends up in the trash. Pretty frustrating! And the one down side to the toys we did bring home was the amount of dirt on them! They were brand new, but I still had to thoroughly clean most of them (that were not fully covered in plastic) to get off all of the dirt and grime. Needless to say, we are looking forward to Target and ToysRUs and doing a little stocking up for this next years' birthdays when we are back in Dallas this month...

Saturday afternoon we had another "China adventure"! My precious friend Shan Shan invited us to come to her family's home for dinner over a month ago. Her mom is significantly older, and her father passed away early this fall. So Shan Shan and her mom have been preparing for our family coming over for over a month, practicing piano and singing duets, finding out kids' menu preferences, etc. We arrived at 4:45 pm on Saturday afternoon to find snacks out and waiting--all just at the right height for Noah to grab easily--including 3 kinds of cookies (one a seaweed variety--yum!) and a plate full of small chocolates. After Kevin and I attempted to keep him away from the chocolates until after dinner, we eventually gave up, realizing that there was no way we could do so without both offending our host and causing a total scene with our incredibly strong-willed 1 1/2 year old. So Noah had a total blast. He emptied the first plate of cookies, much to my relief (thinking, "oh good, they're gone so now he won't eat any more!") But our hostesses were too on the ball, so the supply of chocolates was quickly replenished. Long story short, Noah's dinner on Saturday night was chocolate. Literally. He ate at least two plate-fulls, (maybe 3?), and had a few cookies for dessert. But when it came time for the meal at 5:45, for some reason he just wasn't interested in green beans! Our hostesses were slightly surprised, so Kevin and I just laughed it off. We're still trying to figure out if Chinese families do this with their own kids (the whole, feed them snacks and sweet stuff just to keep them happy even if it's right before meal time), or if this is just something that happens when guests are over. Have yet to determine the cultural norm....

The dinner was a feast. Shan Shan and her mom had fixed 16 dishes--that's right, 16 different dishes--for us to eat. And there were only 6 adults (my friend Ying Ying and her boyfriend also came). We ate more than we had room for and then they sent us home with a fridge-full of left overs. I'm attaching a photo of the mini-concert that we got from ShanShan (on the piano) and her mom (singing). It was a sweet time of fellowship and deepening relationship with a dear friend, in a culture in which spending time with someone's family is one of the most significant things you can do to show you care for them.

Sunday after fellowship we hurried home to have one of our favorite western families (the Thorpes, also with 4 kids, ages 11-16) over for lunch. The Thorpe kids have kind of adopted ours as younger siblings (which thrills my kids to no end!), and they had gotten some gifts for our kids for Christmas. So we had a meal together and small gift-opening time. After a quick afternoon rest time, Karis' school teacher came over to babysit the kids for Kevin and I to go out on a triple date. We went to a famous hot pot restaurant with our friends from Dallas (Sam and Charis) and one of Kevin's former teachers and her fiance. We had a wonderful meal (at the price of about $7 per person!) and a great time talking over dinner. We are soooooo thankful for the sweet friendships we've been blessed with, both foreigners and nationals, that we have to celebrate with already this year!!