It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

We are beginning to see signs of Christmas everywhere here in Tianjin! Most people here do not view Christmas as a religious holiday, instead it is an opportunity for a party and to put up pictures of Santa Claus wherever there is space. Needless to say, my kids are not all that sad about seeing Santa Claus everywhere! I was reading an expat magazine yesterday and it tried to describe how the Chinese celebrate Christmas. Basically it said that the older people usually give cards and the younger generations see Christmas Eve as a night to go out and have a celebration!

We have had many opportunities to celebrate with the new friends we are making here. Last Sunday we went to the Sheraton for the lighting of the Christmas tree. Ellie helped sell teddy bears and all of the proceeds went to the Tianjin Orphanage. She was so cute asking people to buy the bears - she sold all of the bears she had and almost all of the raffle tickets. The boys ran around the whole time and ate cake and any other sweet that one of the Sheraton waitresses (who know us very well!!) would give them! I was with the kids by myself because Danny was sick! The kids had fun with their friends and Ellie was very happy to be helping other children!!

This past Friday night Ellie and I went with our friends, Jen, Kevin, and Ty to watch Rachel in her Christmas musical. It was called Christmas in Reverse and the children in grades 1 - 5 from TIS did such a good job singing and narrating stories from the Bible leading to the birth of Jesus. I found it really interesting that they had the parts in both English and Korean. During these stressful days of preparing for the holidays, I'm so glad we got to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas! Thanks Jen for inviting us!!

On Saturday night, Danny and I had our first "date night" since we have been in China. We got dressed up and went to the Sheraton (yes, again!!) for a Christmas ball hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Tianjin International Committee. It was a packed house and I think I enjoyed myself a little too much!! The thing is, when your plate is empty, the Chinese insist you need more food. I found out the same is true with your glass. I don't think my glass was ever empty which was a bit of a problem by the end of the night. I tried to ask my ayi if I could call her a cab and I'm pretty sure I spoke a little Chinese and a bit of Italian!!!

We've decorated our house as much as we can! Not all of our decorations made it into our shipment to China, but we have a tree, our stockings, our manger, and Snowflake (our elf)!! Snowflake has been a little crazy this year, we have discovered him hanging from string on the light fixture, hiding in the guitar, and peeking out from the branches of the tree. For those of you who are not familiar with our elf, we started the tradition last year with The Elf on the Shelf book. We read our book on Thanksgiving and Snowflake comes that night and then he changes position every night until Christmas Eve. This past Saturday, we bought a hand carved wooden manger scene at a Christmas Bazaar. The detail is exquisite and I like the fact that I don't have to stress out about Cooper breaking anything!

I do love this time of year. And I have to admit, before Thanksgiving, I was getting quite depressed about spending the holidays here in China. However, we have been showered with so much love and support from our friends and family in the states and our new friends here that I am beginning to feel better. I'm sure it will be different, but I also know it will be a special celebration wherever we are!

Ellie's Assembly Debut

Every Friday morning at IST, the students in PreK through 5th grade attend an assembly put on by a certain class. This past week, Grade 1 presented songs and fun information about everything they learned during their Family Unit of Inquiry. We were so proud of Ellie. When it was her turn to get up and speak, she spoke so clearly - she must take after her mom (I was a speech communications major in undergrad remember!!) Danny tried to video them singing one of their Chinese songs with the camera - it didn't turn out great, but it is still fun to watch and listen too!

Preparing for winter

We have been very fortunate in Tianjin with what I consider very nice "winter" weather. Most days have consisted of temps in the 50's with a lot of sunshine! Yesterday and today we got a glimpse of reality when the temps nose dived into the 20's overnight! It's cold out - it's so cold, I'm considering investing in one of those face mask things they wear here. I believe most people wear them because of the air quality, but I think they could also be used in this frigid cold! Dan may disown me, but at least I would be breathing "clean", warm air!!


The temperatures are supposed to go back into the 50's for most of next week, so I'm a bit confused about all of the preparation that goes into winter here. I mean, in Chicago it has been freezing lately with lots of snow and no one paints the bottoms of their trees white or puts huge tarps around mature bushes - do they?! I have heard that we rarely get snow, and if we do, there is very little accumulation - which is a good thing because I'm pretty sure there are no snowplows here! Back to the trees...here in Tianjin they have painted the bottom of probably 90% of the trees white. I'm thinking maybe to keep some moisture in because there is so little precipitation until spring or else, maybe to protect from some sort of bug, or as Danny would say, "To keep people employed". I'm really not sure, but I will continue to ponder this until someone gives me a straight answer (which is extremely hard to come by here!). I'm also unsure about the tarps around the bushes...but I did want to feel like a local so I went out and purchased a lovely green tarp to cover up some bikes for the winter. I really fit in now, although I have no idea why I need a tarp!!



Another way the local Chinese people prepare for winter is to bring out loads of clothes. Beginning after Moon Festival (which was in September this year) most people begin to wear layers. We are not talking about a single layer of tights or long jonhs on -0 degree days, we are talking about maybe 3 layers every day. This woman on the bike obviously had on quite a few layers. On this particular day it was close to 60 degrees out and I only had a fleece on. Trust me, I get stared down when they see Coop without a layer of tights, pjs, and then pants on. And then they see he only has on 1 pair of socks and I really get a dirty look. I just smile and think, "If they only knew how cold Iowa is in the winter, they would surely understand!!"


One last thought, they must grow some very hardy roses here because I just took this picture 5 days ago. I see roses blooming every day still! This yellow one is for you mom - I know you like the yellow ones!!!

I hope everyone is staying warm!! We miss you!!

The celebration went on and on...

El finally finished celebrating her birthday on Sunday with 7 friends from school at our house. It was my first "home" birthday party because in the states, we usually go somewhere for our parties so I don't have to clean up and use too many of my creative juices. Here in China, there is really no place to rent out for a child's birthday party, at least that I know of right now!! El had picked out all of her birthday accessories when we were home in October, so we were all set with plates, napkins, cups, etc... She wanted a Barbie birthday this year, so that pretty much eliminated inviting her friends that are boys at school - which was honestly fine because our house cannot hold that many children!

The girls arrived and we colored shrinky dinks (I used to love those as a child, actually I still think they are pretty cool!!). Then they got their Barbies dressed and did a fashion show with their Barbies. They were so cute! After that we played a fun game suggested by Jenny - we passed around a favor that had been wrapped about 5 times to music. When the music stopped, whoever was holding it had to unwrap the first layer and do the activity it said, like, "Sing Happy Birthday in Chinese". Thank you Jenny - they loved it and we played for about 20 minutes!! After sitting for awhile, we stretched our legs with a treasure hunt to find clues that I had placed all around the house. After that it was already time to eat a beautiful purse cake that Danny made and then open presents! El had a ball and I hope the rest of the girls did too! Here are some photos that capture some of the excitement from the party...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, the turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie have been eaten and now Danny and I are laying on the couch too stuffed to move! Sounds just like home, except, I didn't really lift a finger! We went to the Sheraton for their Thanksgiving feast to celebrate! It was actually a yummy turkey and the pumpkin pie was delicious. I was surprised and very thankful!! We asked the kids at dinner what they were thankful for...here are some of the responses we got!! Ellie is thankful for her mommy, daddy, brothers, and her whole family and for mashed potatoes! Eens is thankful for mama, dada, his sister, and brother. And Coop is thankful for....guns!!! I have honestly done my best to raise my children the right way, but obviously I have failed in some major way - my 2 year old is thankful for guns. We don't even have play guns in the house, we don't watch shows with guns - I just don't get it!

We are very blessed and thankful for the friends and family all over the world who have opened their hearts to our family and who we have shared so many wonderful memories with. During this season there are so many things we are missing...being with our families, picking out our tree at Wallaces, shopping at 5 am with Jenny the day after Thanksgiving, the ugly ornament dinner, Christmas programs, A Christmas Story being played over and over on cable, and driving around to see who has the most lights up. It will be different, but the most important thing is that we have each other here and I have faith that the memories and traditions we start here will make memories to last a lifetime. God bless everyone!!

Happy 7 Birthday Ellie Bean!!

I cannot believe that my little El is seven years old. I've watched her grow before my eyes, but am still shocked to say that she is now 7. She brings so much joy and a little drama into our lives! I can remember the day she was born - it was right after midnight and right on her due date. That should have been a warning sign for what was to come. She wants to please (thankfully she did not arrive past her due date!), she is a perfectionist in many ways, and she is a wonderful daughter, sister, and friend!! El is and always will be a free spirit - many times she beats to a different drum, but that's what makes the journey with her so much fun! She loves her family and I have witnessed the way she protects her brothers. Daily she makes sure Eens finds his way to his class and she is always asking Coop how his day was. She has made the transition of moving to China much easier because I watch her open her heart to new people and new ideas and I want to follow in her footsteps. She is amazing in every way and I am so proud that she is my daughter!

We had to celebrate a little differently this year, but I think El may have gotten more spoiled than usual! We had a skype breakfast party this morning with my mom, great grandma and grandpa, Aunt Steph, and Jeff! They got to sing and watch El open presents! Ellie has been receiving a package almost every other day from friends and family filled with goodies that we cannot find here - thank you so much everyone!!! She took some cupcakes to school to share with her friends. Later in the day ayi celebrated with her and then Grace from Rego brought a cake to her (it's still in the fridge - treat overload has occurred!!). After that we went to the Sheraton to celebrate Thanksgiving! El is having a few friends over on Sunday for a Barbie birthday party - I'll post more on that later!

Happy 7th Birthday El!!!

El's Watercolor Fish

Ellie had another art lesson this past Saturday. She seems to really enjoy the lesson, although she is very quiet! She is catching on quickly and listens intently to what the teachers say. This time, one of her teachers sketched a fish for both of them and taught her the watercolor painting technique. She would paint her fish first and then have Ellie paint her own fish the same way! I even learned something while I watched! I am so happy Ellie is still getting to pursue some of her interests while we are living in China!!

She is always so proud after she completes a project - she takes it up to her room and hangs it up!