Little Timmy picks flowers for his Mama and sisters

I thought I would let my daughter-in-law, Allyson, tell it in her own words in a recent email to me.

The other day Timmy went out to the land (our other property) with Tim. He was so happy and grateful that Tim was taking him. When Tim was loading Timmy into his truck to go out there, Timmy said,

"THANK YOU FOR TAKING ME TO THE LAND, PAPA!!!!!" with a huge smile on his face. :)

On the way back home, Timmy was so sleepy from not having had a nap that he fell asleep in his carseat.... it's only a 10 minute ride home. Take a look at what he was holding for Mama and the girls.

He made sure not to drop them. Precious little man! And then he was happy to present them to a very grateful Mama, Hannah, and Lauren once he woke up. We all proudly wore them in our hair as we ate dinner together.

Have a great day!

Love, allyson :)

Grandpa Mark's 60th Birthday Celebration

Qingdao

Recently we went to Qingdao to a women's retreat. Here is a man on the train peeling an apple for his son.With two friends, Ceci and Barb, on the waterfront of this lovely city.
With Kristen, my friend since 2003

February Fun in the USA

Three sons and Mom
Celebrating Mark's 60th with some of the grandkids in Georgia
Nine of the 12 grandkids - ages 1 - 8
Tim with sons Timmy and James

Allyson with the kids and snowman they built

Joshua swinging highCute Caleb
My mom on her way to the doctor.
Scarlet and Sophie laugh at Grandpa
Craig and Leah with twins, Sophie and Scarlet in Columbia, SC

January 2010 ~ Beginning of a Great New Year

One Sunday at our International Fellowship it snowed. Here are some excited University students from the Philippines playing in it for the first time. Saturday we went to a big electronics store and saw these cute little old ladies in the parking lot dancing. We couldn't figure out the occasion nor the brightly colored bows but they were so happy and seemed to enjoy dancing out in the cold weather !

Part of our lives here..getting in and out of taxis. We ride our bikes, too, but when it's a long way away we use taxis. Some of our most humorous and fun times are talking to taxi drivers. I really think we've learned a lot of our Chinese that way !
Four very special friends who come over occasionally for food and FOOD.
Three-year-old Moyer with his weekly Sunday doughnut.
The day Mark decided to walk to the bus stop. He usually rides his bike even on the coldest days, but it had just snowed and he decided to be safe.
Ice crystals forming on the inside of my kitchen windows. It must have been below O Fahrenheit.
Our two special friends Betty and Lydia.

Chinese Wedding !!!

James Delzer and his bride JiaXi were married last Saturday here in Tianjin. They are both teachers at our school.
Here they are at the reception dressed in Chinese traditional clothes.
During the service he washed her feet as the bridesmaid sang "How Beautiful"
Very happy and cute couple. He has been in China for three years and does quite well with the language. He's from Minnesota, and she has never been to the USA. They hope to go for a visit next summer to visit his family.

A few family pictures sent our way