Cheung Chau Island

Dear Readers,

We hope you will not be too overwhelmed at the number of pictures posted in recent days. If you feel that it is too much, forgive us, and know that our mothers/the grandmothers, long to see lots of pictures. :)

We have a few more pictures to post in the days to come of life Here. But, these pictures conclude the shots taken over the Spring Festival Period here when we traveled.

Without further discussion...

Below: Slice of Hong Kong from our ferry boat

Above: a common sighting ...a "junk" out for fishing

Above: this FAST ferry blew past us like we were standing still in the water...the hull was entirely out of the water

Above: Once we arrived on Cheung Chau (about 1 hour ferry ride from Hong Kong) and arrived at the hotel, this boat was fishing in the bay...

Above: Magpie and The Bug got busy with some of our friends and hit the beach below the hotel

Above: The view from our balcony...we were so surprised at the view and the beauty...apparently last year at this time it was gray, cold and raining the entire week of retreat...we were very blessed by the view AND the weather!

Above: the beach below our balcony

Above: the island has no cars on it...so refreshing! there are many locals who call Cheung Chau home and this is someone's wash...

Above and Below: scenes from around the island

Above: don't know if you can read the sign...but this is a rack of "fire beaters"...it directs you to return them after you've extinguished the fire...never seen that before!

Above: the entire island takes about 5 minutes to walk from one side to the other (the narrow way) we enjoyed great sunrises and sunsets each day

Above: the amount of sand that made it to our room from the beach...was staggering

Above: dried seahorse, anyone...a cure for what ails ya

Above: a shopping street

Above: an enthusiastic seafood shopper/gawker

Above: Potato meets a pal on the way...his English name was "Go Go"...Daddy kept calling him "boots"... still laughing at that one...

Above: modern rickshaws

Above and below: local fishing boats in the harbor

Below: shrimp...set out to dry in the sun...scents the air strongly!

Below: one of the local fish markets

Below: a beachcomber out on a "date" with her Dad

Below: how does one choose?

Below: Bub chillin' while shopping for some new treads...

Below: After dragging through Hong Kong for a day...we finally reached via mass transit...our chariot to take us home...the Night train!

Enough of those...hope you had a bit of the flavor of Cheung Chau Island...

More postings, soon.

Shalom.

A Change in Terminology

One of our wise, blog readers, Erin, suggested that the terminology "The Old Place" and "The New Place" as we've referred to our old community and our new community, really no longer seem to fit after 7 months.

We concur.

So, we will heretofore, refer to those locations as "Here" and "There."

We'll see if it's workable...

Thanks Erin, we appreciate your reading us and your encouraging comments!

Disneyland/Hong Kong...Pictures

At long last...we begin the promised postings of Disneyland/Hong Kong and the last three weeks...I'll start with Disney tonight...hope you don't find the pictures too repetitious...and I'll work to post the other travel pictures in the coming nights...


Below: Street Scenes of Hong Kong

Above & Below: The Entrance to the Magic Kingdom...Hong Kong style...

Below: The beloved "Jungle River Cruise"...they've ramped it up a bit over the days of my youth. The fire on the water nearly touches the boat and the "smoke" engulfs the boat...

Below: Daddy gets into Tarzan's Treehouse and shows us he has what it takes...

Below: Magpie and Potato try out their first time alone in a car...wow..the thrill they had!

Below: Brownie drove my car...she laughed so hard that she nearly had convulsions as I screamed at her..."what kind of a driver are you? do you even have a license? you're a crazy driver!" (Just like my Momma did for me on Mr Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyworld, in my youth.)

The following pics are on Cinderella's Carousel...

A very special "Thank you" to Grandma D and Papa G for the gift of Disneyland tickets...the kids, having never been to a theme park of any sort, were thrilled beyond measure!

Happy Birthday Bug!

Happy 7th Birthday Bug!



We baked a cake last night in our over-sized toaster oven and sang her Happy Birthday in two languages at school today. She was delighted and smiled warmly at all her well-wishers.

This girl has such a sense of drama...where does she get it?

We'll take her out to her new favorite restaurant. A spot some 50 minutes from us that is run by an American woman and the food is really Western! All our mouths are watering at the thought.

The Bug has been so excited about her birthday that for the past month she's required me to count down the days until her birthday. Today, as we walked to school, she told everyone we passed..."It's my birthday!"

(Daddy said, 'no one in the history of 7th Birthdays has ever been so enthralled with their day...since The Bug's mother!'...how true.)

The Bug lives the drama of everyday. She can be heard directing her siblings in one "scene" after the other. Last night at dinner she scolded me for rushing her...as she was a "pregnant woman ready to give birth." That scene immediately followed one that had her "a house cleaner at the fanciest hotel in town" and I was chastised for trying to gain entry to my 'hotel room' before I had been given clearance from housekeeping!

She is such an enthusiastic ambassador for The Old Place and we can see how she really acts like a bridge between the two cultures for many who encounter her here.

She reinvents herself and the fun around her moment by moment...what a delight to be her parents!

Just after she blew out her candles and we served her cake she said to me..."Momma, 7 years ago you gave birth to me and I want to say thank you for giving me life."

Stunned and touched I sat there looking at her eyes snap with emotion...I hugged her and said 'thank you Bug, that was beautiful.'

She replied that it is the Chinese custom to remember how much effort it required of your mother to not only give birth to you but to carry you for nine months and grant you life. I savored the moment as she continued to tell me that in much of Chinese culture when a baby is born they are said to be already the age of 1. This takes into account the life the child lived in the womb.

What a beautiful thing for our children to learn here...

What a precious thing to be thanked for mothering on her birthday...

It's always the 4th of July with The Bug around...that firecracker personality keeps us guessing...what will she come up with in her 7th year?

We love you Buggy...Happy Birthday!

17 Days?

How could it be 17 days since our last post?


I suppose the fact that we traveled through Hong Kong, dragging for an entire day 4 suitcases that were over the legal limit for most airlines, 5 kids and two parents that now have permanent joint damage from dragging them and a night train home where we all slept very little...


we needed some time to recover?


Some of you must be rolling your eyes..."time to recover?" you must be saying after our pictures of Thailand...

But it is true...we needed to re-acclimate to our life here at The New Place.

I promise more pictures of our time in Hong Kong and the Disneyland experience...it was all wonderful and we were refreshed by our time with the organization in Hong Kong as we studied some deep issues that those of us in cross-cultural work feel deeply...we're just beginning to get a taste of it in our 7th month here.

School has begun after our 1 month break. We have precious few breaks now until our summer furlough and so we've set our faces against the wind and charted the course to advance our students on to the next grade level!

We're learning lots of new things now about ourselves, our family and living cross culturally. It is to be expected at this stage. I'll blog more in detail soon about it. The level of self-discovery and spiritual challenge has been painful and yet so rewarding. We are truly blessed to be walking this path.

The weather is still cold here. Now the rain has set in. Apparently it's the thing that happens in Spring. So it's really rainy and cold like home...but now, since it's in the upper 40's -50's each day, there is NO heat. We walk to school in the morning with our umbrellas above our heads, our shoes and pants get wet and we come into the school shivering. Sadly, no heat to warm us up! Rubber boots...on the shopping list for this weekend!

Magpie and The Bug have started their math class in the local dialect. They're doing well...they understand about 60% of the language that is being spoken in class...and they're excited.

As soon as we crossed back through the border after our travels and the girls could understand the language spoken all around us they started jumping up and down in the train station. Magpie shouting "I understand! I understand them!" The Bug eager to negotiate with the local vendors. That was exciting and encouraging for all of us.

It was notable when we returned to our home here that it felt good to be here. For all of us we were excited to return to our apartment. We were eagerly greeted by our neighbors, colleagues and friends. The students ran to greet us...a warm welcome all around.

Much is different here than The Old Place...

...but our hearts have begun the mysterious transformation toward feeling...at home.

Happy 5th B-Day Potato!

Today is our Potato's big day! She has been so anxious to reach this milestone...5 years old!

She told absolutely everyone here on the small island of Cheung Chau that today was her birthday!

We were fortunate enough to find a cake and had dinner at a McDonalds here on the island (Potato's choice) with another family serving in the organization with us. It was great fun and she was thrilled to have the excitement of opening a few little gifts.

She is full of such delight. She is the loudest child on the planet and still so petite. So many people guess her to be three years old or so...it's beginning to annoy her...so she puts her hands on her hips and proclaims..."No silly! I'm 5 years old! I am NOT a baby...I am getting bigger and BIGGER!"

Yes she is!

It's amazing that this darling girl has only been home with us for the last two and a half years...we cannot remember life without her. Her laughter, her commanding presence and personality and the way she kisses us each day and says "I love you Momma...I love you Daddy!"

This is joy.

Thank you Lord for the gift of this precious girl in our lives...no one who ever meets her...and those fortunate enough to be loved by her tenacious spirit...are ever the same again.

I went back to a blog we published when we first brought her home...the following is an exerpt after 6 months of her being home...she's grown so much...and yet, so much that makes Potato who she is has only become more vivid:

"Potato is very affectionate. She now loves her Momma. What a relief as it was such a hard start for her with me. Lots of prayer and patience has won her over. Each night she curls up in my lap, takes MY face in her broad little hands and says "Ah Momma, I loves you." Then, when I'm really almost a puddle on the floor, "Gives me a kiss Momma!"

But lest you be confused, she is Daddy's girl, too. At bedtime she will not go to sleep until Daddy and I are laying down with her. She, while laying in the middle of our big bed, she will pat my pillow saying "C'mere Momma" then patting Daddy's pillow "C'mere Daddy, you go bed now." Her warmth toward us is so fierce that it surprises me, she is our baby girl, now and forever.

So many cry today, all over the world, aching to be loved, cherished, to belong. At first I thought Potato needed us the most. She did need her own family. But now, six months later, I most definitely know, that God knew we needed her much more. She has wiggled (okay, dynamite blasted) herself into the heart of anyone who she touches. WE ARE THE BLESSED ONES.

Thank you Lord for this child. "

Happy Birthday Baby...we are blessed even more today...