Hanging with the Schwartzman's!!!!

What can make a great vacation even better - when some of your best friends in the world show up for a visit! Thursday morning after getting back from Yangshuo we headed back to the airport to anxiously await the arrival of Solomon, Eli and Shawn & Anita Schwartzman! The squeals of excitement from Abigail & Zoe as the boys came through security were priceless and the kids were inseparable for the entire week! It was such a blessing to have them here, share our Shanghai world with them, and spend time just being with such close friends! We also got our fill of China sight-seeing in - especially with a weekend trip up to Beijing. 10 of us (everyone but Kelly & Megan who stayed home alone for the weekend!) took the overnight sleeper train on Friday - according to Eli...this was the B.E.S.T ride E.V.E.R! We hit some of the big sights - Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Place, acrobat show, hutong tour, Drum tower and, of course, the Great Wall. We learned the hard way it is best NOT to go to the big tourist cities on a holiday weekend (it was Chinese Labor Day) - luckily we just kept talking and enjoying each other's company even if just going slowly in traffic (oh and we taught our tour guide how to play the 'I'm Going to Grandma's House' game in the car, to which he said - P my name is Peter, I'm going to Grandma's and I'm going to bring...can I say a church?!') Whew - were we ever exhausted but so proud of the kiddos as they hung in there through all the sites! Back in Shanghai we went for walks, played at the park & the school, went out for ice cream and did all the fun stuff you do hanging with friends! Some highlights - listening to the laughter of Zoe/Solomon/Abigail/Eli, staying up at night talking, Andy & Shawn getting a few runs in together, Anita wheeling & dealing at the fake market (we went back a few days later and they still remember her!), playing Ninja on the ferry on the HuangPu river, Anita doing a backflip at the park and the Chinese people nearby then trying to copy her!, Eli and his paparazzi photographers everywhere he went (cute, blond, curly hair, he was simply irresistible for the Chinese, some of whom tried to remove him from his parents arms!), and drinking Cokes - for way too many meals! We could have stayed home every day, all day and still had a FABULOUS time just being such special friends again - we are so grateful for their friendship and their visit! We miss you guys again already!!

Pictures from Yangshuo

Spring Break in Yangshuo

For Spring Break we travelled down to Yangshuo in south China. It is on the famous Li River with limestone mountains popping up all over - it was absolutely beautiful! For starters, it was Joseph's first time on a plane - his eyes got real big on take off and he spent a bit of time crying on landing so for the return flight we taught him to chew gum! We spent our days on outdoor adventures and nights down on West Street (a 15 minute rickshaw ride from our resort with lots of outdoor restaurants and quaint shops). Day one we visited a small local village and spent time in their outdoor market before starting a 2 hour bamboo raft ride down the Li River and amidst all of the mountains - yet another amazing creation from our God! Now it is still China so there were A LOT of rafts on the river - and the rafts couldn't start in the day until the transport boats finished traveling too...but it was fun! Day two we headed to the mountain for some rock climbing and abseiling - Zoe & Abigail had a fabulous time just playing in the woods, gathering flowers & sticks (something they haven't been able to do in Shanghai!), Joseph & I encouraged all the climbers and everyone else did the climbing. After a hot day of climbing everyone headed to the river - for some swimming and bridge jumping (it was quite a sight for the caucasian/asian family - minus me and Joseph - to jump from the bridge as the bamboo rafts stopped to cheer everyone on!). Day three we headed out for a hike on Moon Hill - put Joseph in the back pack and got our hike on! Getting to the top of the mountain was an experience we didn't expect as a college class (in Yangshuo working on their English skills) was there and literally swarmed us - for pictures, autographs, and answering LOTS of questions. Day four (Megan's 15th birthday!!), we did a quick bamboo float on the Yulong River, spent some last time in town shopping, had a birthday lunch at McDonalds and then headed for home. It was such a relaxing time out of Shanghai (back into some nature!) and just having fun as a family...I love vacation!!

The People of Anhui

Last Friday, I (Lindsey) and my dad had the privilege of going on a trip to Anhui Province with 25 other people from church. Anhui is a very rural province and the second poorest in all of China. Friday afternoon we took a four hour train ride out to Lu'an, Anhui, China. Riding the train is a great way to see the countryside of China! Saturday morning we took a 2 hour bus ride deeper into the country. We started off by going to an elderly home and handed out bags full with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other toiletries. We heard the Mayor give a speech and sang a few songs for them. Afterwards, we went to visit 6 families that had all received a donation from our church of things like goats, chickens, plants, etc. Each family has their own story - like one who had suffered from a fire and lost all their belongings, many who raised vegetables for a living, many are elderly and still need to keep working to raise their families. While we were there, we handed out gifts like stickers and notebooks and pencils to all of the children. It was so sweet to see the look on the kids faces when we handed out the gifts to them! We drove back to the hotel after a very long day of walking around and helping people. We got back and had a nice meal of KFC at 10pm that night. The next morning, we woke up at 5:30 to go on the bus for church back out in Sanyuan. It was a very cool experience! Our team was responsible for the first hour of the service - the kids led some worship and many adults (including Dad) shared their testimonies. The rest of the service was all in Chinese but was very neat! Afterwards, we headed back to the train headed for Shanghai! It was a very cool way to spend a weekend and I built a lot of good relationships!

(Pictures include one from the elderly home, a family home bedroom, me with some of the adorable kids and, just couldn't resist, a picture of the split pants that the younger kids have everywhere!)

New Family Picture!

Family...It is Good

What a sight to see my parents coming out of the international arrivals in PuDong after not seeing them for 7 months...it was wonderful! Mr. Xu was also very much looking forward to it as he arrived with a HUGE bouquet of flowers from my Mom!! We had two fabulous weeks and despite some cold/rainy weather for the first week, had fun just reconnecting (since Skype is good but just not the same). Highlights for the weeks included:

Meeting and getting to know their newest grandson!, playing games with Zoe & Abigail, going to all our favorite restaurants (Johnny Moos, hot pot, Blue Frog, Noodle Man and lots of meals from the delivery service!), playing games with Zoe & Abigail, seeing all the local sights (Zhoujiajiao water village, the Bund, Pearl Tower, Century Park, local JinQiao, YuYuan Gardens), getting involved at the girls school (watching soccer, going for lunch, going to assemblies), playing games with Zoe & Abigail...noticing a trend here?? I must say that especially Abigail - she just LOVES having grandparents - they are so special and she would spend all day every day with them if possible!

I like to think that my parents feel even better about us living in China now that they have been here - to see that although the city is 21 million people, our portion of it is tree lined, lots of green spaces and somewhat quiet; that although it is a communist country, there are not military people walking through the streets; that although we have taken their grandkids thousands upon thousands of miles from 'home' we have established a new home here and everyone is learning & growing with a constant flood of new experiences! All that said, it was still tough to drop them back off at the airport and say good-bye again!

March Madness

Clearly adding a 2 yr old to your schedule changes how you spend your time and how much time you have!! For a quick recap on everyone since Chinese New Year...

Kelly is on the Concordia varsity soccer team and is one of the defensive starters. She is really enjoying playing again!

Megan worked with a team here to submit a dramatic performance into the National History Day competition and then also just worked as one of the judges for the NHD Junior Division competition. She has also been busy on the 'stage crew' for two of the play performances at Concordia.

Lindsey has started up with volleyball and track and has had a very busy social schedule!

Zoe and Abigail have been busy with school, field trips and birthday parties.

Joseph has been with us full time since February 25th - what a blessing! We are working on walking and talking and getting closer on both fronts!

As for Andy and I we are just trying to keep up with everyone else's schedules!