Monday, 30 June 2008

This is Mark's blog he accidently put on my site. No problem.


We've had three nights of old-fashioned American thunderstorms. I was sitting in my chair reading about 11pm on the first night when the lightning and thunder struck at the same time. It lit up the apartment and caused me to jump out of my chair. I know there were beaucoup (which is pronounced "boo-coo" ... Where else will my middle school kids learn this stuff if I don't teach them?) dogs hiding under beds the last few nights.

Speaking of dogs, I miss dogs that know how to bark properly. There is a small collie in the building across from us that barks in a high baritone. That in itself is a nice change from the yapping that is offered by the lap dogs all over the neighborhood. But I really miss the kind of dog that gives you one big, deep "Woof" and means it because that's all it needs to do.
We've moved to a new apartment in a new neighborhood. We now have large windows in every room. We never realized how much light we were missing in our old apartment ... ask John and Bethany. Marilyn found what she considers the perfect place for a Christmas tree and asked if she could put it up now. That's why we love 'em!

An older man stopped us on the sidewalk the other night and in Chinese and sign language explained that he had suffered a stroke and was walking normally and feeling much better now. Another came out of the apartment below us with a water gun, laughed and came up to the 2nd floor window overlooking the door of the building and started shooting someone/something. There are only a handful of foreigners in this neighborhood, so everyone stops and stares when we are out.

I still miss John and Bethany visiting here. The night they were at English Corner for 4 hours exhausted them. There's nothing like sitting with a dozen or so people who are peppering you with questions, none of which are related to the other. They met many of our friends while they were here, made some themselves and were very good sports when it came to seeing, smelling and tasting new things. I was proud of them. John never got to try "dog" for dinner, but the donkey burgers were outstanding! Y'all come, hear?

I love summers here in Tianjin. The temperature/humidity aren't very different from Columbia. We don't have much blue in the sky. We don't go from buildings with A/C to cars with A/C and back. I get a chance to relax and go where I like, or nowhere at all. But I know I'm already getting a little bored. I realized I was actually working on my 7th grade syllabus the other day. I always explain to my students that a boring summer/weekend is very relaxing in that no demands are being placed on you and that they should enjoy it while they can because life only gets more complicated as you get older.

Marilyn and I went to Metro the other day. It's not a Sam's Club but it has larger quantities and bigger varieties to choose from. We were in the freezer room, which is filled with unexplainable cuts of meat, when she commented on how cold she was. Then she laughed when I told her it was the perfect time for a hot flash, so "Hurry!"

Later,
In His Name,
Mark/Dad/Grandpa

Our trip to FengHuangCheng (Phoenix City)

On our May Holiday from April 29 to May 3 we went on a culture trip with our Chinese teachers and other "foreigners" to a beautiful quaint town called FengHuangCheng - Phoenix City. There are over 50 minority groups in China, and in the area where we went most of the people belong to the Miao minority. As you see in the pictures, we had all sorts of experiences. This was one of the most enjoyable AND tiring trips we have been on recently, but we'd highly recommend this to anyone coming to visit China !

Learning to let go of things......

This picture was taken five years ago when we were getting ready to move to China. Grandpa Mark was deciding which books to take, and grandson Samuel Reed was hanging out with him. We were visiting them in Chicago at the time.

Fast forward five years. Samuel is now six, and his family is going to Mexico soon. Therefore they are getting rid of things for the big move. That rocking chair you see in the background is one of the things they recently sold.

Here is what Samuel's dad, Matt, wrote:

Once again we created an opportunity to productively empty our house of another posession. The glider and ottoman we bought when we were expecting Samuel a bit over six years ago had served its purposes in our home and it didn't make the short list of things to take to Mexico. So we found a buyer and on Saturday morning they came to take it off. Both Rebeca and Samuel had an emotional impact as they saw us walk it downstairs, put it on the back of the trailer of the buyers and wave it off down the street and out of sight. Rebeca was close to tears and as for Samuel, who does not know a Reed living room without it, his lower lip was quivering a bit as he indicated how sad he was to see it go away. Little by little we are getting to that point where we are positioning ourselves for a move down to Mexico and our children are definitely a part of the experience.

I realized how the decisions we are making with our lives are having a big (and will have an even bigger) impression on our kids. We took this as an opportunity to remind Samuel how everything we have has been given to us by God and that "He gives and takes a way" but we will always "bless His name." (see Job in the Old Testament).Even though we can't always exactly anticipate them, we expect situations like this will become more and more frequent. What a blessing to have real life situations through which to instruct and teach our children about the things that matter most. Please be remembering them in prayer as you think about it.

My Birthday~ Friday, April 25th

Well, another birthday rolled around and I celebrated all weekend. First I had lunch in the school cafeteria (for the elementary kids) with al ot of little people, including my "birthday buddy" Amelia Kiepke who has the same birthday. Since the cafeteria rule is "no talking" for the first 15 minutes, so they will actually eat...I tried really hard not to chat with Amelia and her friend Anna. It's been fun watching Amelia grow in the four years she and her family have been here. This year she was 5 and I was 59. NEXT year we will both have a SIX in our birthday age !!!!

Then, after playing a song for the 5th grade choir during the elementary music night, I headed over to the Harvest Coffee Shop where Mark was waiting with a surprise birthday cake and a whole lot of people wishing me a happy birthday ! THAT was fun !

The Annual School Carnival was on Saturday and one of the coolest parts was watching Mark get hit with water balloons. He loves it, of course. There weren't too many accurate balloon throwers, but he did get wet.

Sunday afternoon we had a picnic at a local park with six of our Chinese friends. It was a beautiful day and we sat in a grassy area and ate our lunch. Afterward we rode the bumper cars...first time for most of them. Mark said it was his 2nd time he'd ever done it.

So, I had a great birthday celebration..and I don't feel too old yet. Maybe next year I will !

What are little boys made of ?

Yesterday at the village school we noticed this little Kindergartner with his pet snail. I guess little boys all over the world like frogs and snails and puppy dog's tails.

Our theme for this week was about farm animals, so I guess it was his "show and tell".

Did you know that cows in China say something like "Muhhhhhrrrr"... and pigs don't say "oink oink" but rather you have to make that grunting sound, AND I am not sure what the chicken says..but it doesn't sound like they "say" it in English. I do know that animals speak Spanish in Spain. More on that later.

Grandkid's E-mails

I'm entering into a whole new chapter of "Grandmahood"-receiving e-mails from my precious grandkids. Here are two samples. I also get to chat online through SKYPE with Samuel ~ it takes a long time for him to type a few words...but before I know it he will type faster than me. Cycle of life. Circle of love. Needless to say..I'm LOVING being a Grandma. Fewer greater joys.

Dear Grandma,

Thank you for your letter. I liked the pictures ... all three of them.

Dad is typing for me and I can see everything he writes ! :) I am a great reader, you know. I wanted daddy to make a big long line for me like this one.

Well, it's time to go to bed now.

I love you !

Love,

antonio

/\
(I signed my name up there)

Then this one is from Hannah who is four !

YaYa,Hannah typed the

below message for you all by

herself, except for some help

with spelling from me.

You are loved!

Dear yaya

Thank you for coming in September

I love you

Love

hannah

The story behind my blog title

When my youngest son, John, was little he would lean forward from the back seat and kiss me on the cheek when we were on long road trips and say he would keep on "til we get there".....that phrase has stuck with me and reminds me of the journey we are on in life. I am SO glad that God blessed me with kids...and grandkids. Treasures. Rewards. Blessings.