Fun days and pictures

Victoria Feemster's New Kit Blossom... I love it!




Yesterday and today have been such fun days. I mentioned earlier this week some plans I had to get out and spend time with people and while some fell through we've had a great time anyway.

Yesterday, I had planned to go to TST and walk around but Isabella took a late (and long) morning nap so I decided to take her swimming instead. There are two indoor pools here... a lap pool and a smaller/warmer one which I don't know the purpose of. We of course played in the smaller one and Isabella had a blast. She would splash around, walk around on the step level, climb in and out of the pool (discovered that she knows how to go down steps... not sure where that knowledge came from) and talked to every person that walked by. She really steals the show sometimes... it's just so cute. I was surprised to look at the clock and realize we had been swimming for about an hour. I guess I have myself a little fishy.

Today we made plans with Amy and Kinley to go to the playroom. We had so much fun that I think we'll make visiting the playroom quite a regular activity. They had a lot more toys there this time and lots of those things were Isabella's size too. It was so cute watching the girls play together (at times anyway... they are still little girls) and at times copying each other. Isabella followed Kinely up and down the slide while Kinley crawled (she can walk) around with Isabella. I managed to get a couple pictures of the girls that I'll have to post.

I thought Isabella would take a good nap once we got home but she had a few more hours of energy in her. She did take a short one but woke up still with a lot of energy so I took her back outside. We were going to hit the swings but they were all taken so we just walked along the promenade and she played with her 'dorothy' shoes. She again stole the show and numerous people stopped to chat with her. In fact, the lady we met at the park the other day walked by again.

Mike was invited to watch the Rugby 7's tomorrow so I'm trying to think of something different Izzy and I can do. Hopefully, it'll be nice out and we can go to the park across the street. I got the cutest little bunny sleeper for her while home so I'm going to try and take some pictures for an Easter card. We'll see though... having Mike around to help may work out better.

Oh yeah almost forgot...

Mike went looking for flats on Thursday and we found one. It's 1500sq ft and closer than the others we've been looking at. It's beautiful but the only negative is that there are very few amenities and it's a bit more expensive. We were told that bargaining is possible but we don't know if they'll go down in price as much as we would need them to. I'm excited about the size of this flat but the lack of amenities worries me. I love having the playroom and pool so close and I imagine as Isabella gets older, we'll use them more. So... I would appreciate prayers that we would make the wise decision.


Just look at the size of that living room!


The building is much smaller than where we currently live. Only three floors!


Look at those windows! This is the master bedroom. Sorry Hannah! LOL

Okay... this post is long enough. It's been such a great week. I just want to thank my readers for your prayers because I know those make such a difference in my life. And I want to thank God for all the great blessings He's bestowed upon us this week and for giving me the ability to see those as Him working.

Sunny days...

Isabella at 9 months

Another beautiful day here in Hong Kong. I must say that early Springs are my friend! I remember missing that about Alabama and now I get to enjoy it again. All day today I thought about how excited I was to be living here. No particular reason... just do. I've discovered that 'home' to me really is where my hubby and daughter are. I'll be happy wherever as long as I have them with me.

I'm either dealing with a cold or allergies so I wasn't full of energy today so Izzy and I just hung out at home and took a short walk to visit Mike and see the new room for Children's Church. Lots to get ready for in the next couple of weeks but I'm so excited about it.

Isabella is officially standing on her own. Not all the time but she doesn't need any assistance from us any more. My how independent she is becoming. Excites me but also makes me sad that she's growing so fast. I can hardly believe there is only about 1 1/2 months until her 1st birthday. I got most of her party supplies at Walmart while I was home so now it's deciding on how small/big of a party we want to have. I want it to be special (even if she won't remember it) and because I know we'd have a lot of friends/family if we were in the states, I want to have them here as well. So hopefully they will be available to help us celebrate.

Tomorrow Mike is going to look at flats. Our 1400sq ft flat fell through so it's back to the drawing board and it's just easier for Mike to go and take pictures and then if necessary we'll all go another day. It just can be too long of a day with Isabella. So here's praying for some awesome results!

Well... I'm off to bed.

Fresh air and 'a' star

Who knew fresh air (not sure if I should say fresh or polluted but you get the idea lol) could do such wonders. It was a gorgeous day out today... not too hot or windy... and so I decided to take Isabella on a walk. It turned out to be such a blessing. We went to the park and Isabella got to swing again. She just loves it and squeals with delight. Listening to her is enough to brighten anyones day but while she swung I met a lady who was due with her first next week. She just stared at Isabella and asked all sorts of questions about her. Made me smile because I could relate to all the things that were going through her mind about the coming baby. There were lots of children at the park today so we continued our walk to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. On our way back, we ran into Amy and Kinley and what a treat that was. We haven't seen them in awhile either so it was fun to chat and watch the girls play. Steve and Amy are moving back to Canada this summer and I couldn't be more disappointed. The more time I spend with them, the more I enjoy myself but I know God has great plans for their future. They're a really neat couple.

Mike called and we decided to make plans to go to our Malaysian restaurant and the 'Peak' to see the lights because of how clear it was. That doesn't happen very often so you have to take advantage of it. Dan and Geeta joined us and we had a great night. Excellent food and gorgeous views of the city's lights. We decided to walk down from the peak rather than taking the tram and although it was hard on our knees (lol) it was fun to talk the whole way down. To top off our evening we stopped at XTC on Ice (I know, I know... but we can't pass up the chance to talk to our lady "Rabi') and she was very giving as she topped off my cup because she knows that Isabella eats the majority of it.

And oh... as we walked home from the bus the most amazing thing happened. We saw a star! It must have been a clear night but notice how I said 'a' star. That's it... just one... but what a treat.

They just keep coming to mind... It's amazing how blogs make the world a bit smaller. A fellow pastor's wife, living in Hungary, ran across my blog one day and what a blessing she has been to me, probably without even realizing it. I have enjoyed reading her words and being able to relate and know that my feelings are normal. And so we managed to get each others emails and I just heard from her. What a heart for the Lord she has and I'm so glad I was able to make the connection. She was able to answer some questions I've been dealing with lately with such wisdom and scripture behind her answers. You should check out her blog sometime. It's www.choosetheway.blogspot.com Ahh.. I love being able to learn from others.

I'm constantly amazed at how many 'blessings' there are in a day when I'm willing to see them. I can always tell when my heart is not right because I see nothing but the negatives. And I finish with a saying that I say often... God is good... ALL the time. We just have to be open.

May your day be as wonderful as mine was!

Family day!

I have much more exciting news to share today.

First... I did not have to feed Isabella at all last night!!!!!!!!!!! She did wake up twice but put herself back to sleep very quickly both times. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was that she did this and on top of it didn't get up until 8:15! Here's praying for another good night.

Second... My daughter is a celebrity... LOL ... my Mom picked up the pictures we had taken at JCPenny's while we were home and they asked her to sign a waiver because they wanted to put one of our pictures in their book! How fun!!!!! Here is the picture... actually I've already shared it here I believe but thought I'd post the exact one... only they made it into Sepia toned. Anyway... I love this picture because it reminds me to be the best godly example I can be for my daughter because she will look up to me.



Mike took Isabella and ran some errands for me today and I was so thankful for the time to really clean our flat. Sounds dumb but I always feel so much better when I have a clean home. Too bad Isabella fed herself bananas tonight and now we've got a dirty floor. lol

Finally... Kate and Brian came over for dinner and I'm so glad they did. We haven't seen Kate since before Christmas so it was tons of fun to catch up. They brought the movie 'Capote' to watch and it literally left me speachless. I have to be very careful about the movies I watch (they can easily lead to nightmares for me) and I must say... this is one I would not have chosen to watch had I known what it was all about. It was eye opening and made me think but I will never watch it again. Next week... it's Wedding Crashers. Now that's more my speed. LOL

I always enjoy Mondays when Mike is home with us. Now if only the rain would go away so we could go hiking!

~May you be aware of the blessings God bestows on you today.~

Blah blah blah

Ahhh... more pictures but I just can't resist. My baby is just too cute!

I always dread Sunday's only because they are such long days but in the end I always love them. Today was our Annual General Meeting and I wish I could say it was tons of fun but the reality is... it was a meeting and what needed to be accomplished, was. The cool part was that I again got to participate due to some great youthgroup kids who were willing to babysit.

There are some things about parenthood that I hate... like waking up in the middle of the night. I need my sleep and the fact that Isabella is still not sleeping through the night is killing me. Not really but if it's an extra bad night it effects me terribly. Last night was one of those nights (thank goodness for a wonderful husband who stayed up with her and let me go back to bed) and I woke up with my mind set on figuring out a way to make her sleep thru the night. So... watch out neighbors.. let the crying begin. I know some people do not agree with the cry it out method but I need my sanity back! LOL We let her cry at nap time and after quite some time... she fell asleep. Now, I pray the same happens in the middle of the night. We'll see but it was an amazing nap once she fell asleep.

We went to CPK for dinner (I hate cooking on Sundays) and I enjoyed a nice scoop of Ben and Jerry's for dessert. It's amazing the price you will pay for something you cannot get very often. I paid about $4 for a small (HK serving size) scoop of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. yeah.. expensive but we allow ourselves those treats every now and then.

Well... as you read... nothing too exciting happened today just wonderful to be with family... church and immediate.

Breathless

That's how I felt for about 30 seconds after getting nailed in the chest by a ball. I haven't had the wind knocked out of me in a long, long time and I have to admit that not being able to breathe scared me for a second. Fortunately, I realized what had happened and was able to calm down pretty quickly and get back up for the next game. LOL Oh yeah... you're probably wondering what I'm talking about. Today was the Annual Dodgeball Tournament~Battle of the Harbour (for the youthgroup) but since none of our girls wanted to participate I had to play... okay I didn't have to but since I would have plenty of babysitters it was a great opportunity for me to actually participate in a youth event. I sure love Isabella but I do miss how involved I was able to be in the states. It was a lot of fun and I must admit, I was pretty proud of myself for actually being able to get other people out. But the best news is that the Kowloon side Youth Pastors/Leaders came in 1st place! (oh yeah... I got to play with them too) And to top off a great day... we had our XTC on Ice (Italian Gelatto) on our way home and the lady (who knows who we are) teased us by saying... "See you tomorrow" and just because she said that we will take a walk and see her tomorrow if it's nice out. LOL

I've been doing more thinking about my life here in HK and I realized that since being back, I haven't really done anything. I think mainly because it's been yucky and rainy out but how boring am I? So this week I'm going to attempt the impossible... okay not really but anyway... I'm going to try and make plans to go to a Bible study, swimming, and the play room at our complex. Feel free to keep me accountable and ask if I did. I'm not a big fan of busy weeks but it will be good to get out and spend time with some different people. And I will be getting back in my workout routine and actually really excited about this.

Well... my hubby is about to delete his blog and start all over. He wants to be a bit more consistent and he feels he just needs a fresh start. He's got some great thoughts on his current blog that you don't want to miss... click on Mysterious.Truth before it's too late.

May your day be filled with sweet blessings like mine has been!

One small step for mankind... one small step for Isabella!

Jen Wilson's Sunnyside Up Kit, Andrea Burns' Alphabella V2, Shabby Princess' Urban Kiwi, Victoria Feemster's stitching



Victoria Feemster's Playdate Kit





2 page layout using Victoria Feemster's Moody Blues Kit and Andrea Burns' Water droplet from Mudpuddles

Well let's see....

Tuesday night was a great family night. After dinner we took a walk around the harbour and made a stop at Jusco to pick up a board game. Mike and I wanted to get back to playing games instead of just watching tv or playing on the computer. Unfortunately we sold the majority of our games before we moved so we picked up Upwords. We've played Scrabble since we were dating (and no I have never won) but Upwords was a little more reasonably priced and is more fun for the vocabulary challenged. What a blast we had and of course, Mike won.

Yesterday we had a wonderful dinner with Ed and Sharon. We realized on Tuesday that we have had both of them over separately but never together and with the busy week Ed had with Keswick, we decided to cook them dinner. It was so fun to catch up and share our hearts. And I just love watching them interact with Isabella. They are her Hong Kong grandparents for sure. They are a sweet couple that we can learn a lot from and talk about an evangelists' heart. I'm convicted about sharing my faith after every conversation I have with Sharon.

Isabella must be growing because she took two amazing naps today! I couldn't believe it and I almost did one of those checks to see if she was still breathing but I was so afraid she'd wake up that I didn't. We had a blast playing today... her smile brings so much joy to my heart. And then the most amazing thing happened tonight... SHE TOOK HER FIRST STEP! It was just that... one step but she was leaning against the couch, turned to face us, balanced herself for a few seconds, and then.. STEP! Our neighbors probably thought we were crazy because we were just screaming like little kids but it was such an exciting moment. She is growing WAY too fast for me but I'm absolutely loving watching her change right before my very eyes. Children truly are a gift from God.

Ahhh... what a blessed day.

Frappuccino's & Snorts

Gina Miller's Fingerpainting Papers/Alpha

I mentioned that my creative juices seem to have disappeared lately but I just love this LO.. more so for the pictures than anything. That's our little ham who's so full of JOY.


Well... I can officially say that Isabella has inherited a trait of mine. Yesterday we were playing and she was laughing so hard. It was just adorable and was bummed that I didn't grab the video camera in time. Anyway... she was laughing so hard that she snorted! LOL Unfortunately, she gets this from me. If I'm laughing hard enough... well you know. May not be an attractive trait but it sure was cute to hear her that excited.

On the other hand... I'm a bad mother! On Sunday we spent a wonderful day with a family in our church. We arrived at their flat around 1ish and didn't get home until about 8:30. While we were there we took a walk to Starbucks and this is where my bad mothering came in. Isabella was really tired (no naps all day will do that to you) and was getting pretty fussy so I decided to give her my straw to chew on. The thing is.. I didn't take it out of my frappuccino and I didn't know Isabella would be able to drink from a straw. I was pretty thrilled that she could but in return she drank a good 1/3 of my drink. She loved it! I thought it may have been just a fluke but on Monday night, after dinner with Brian, we headed over to Starbucks again. (Yeah... we love that place) I of course got another frappuccino and Isabella of course came mooching. I gave her a sip and again she probably drank 1/3 of it. What's funny was that she was pretty fussy during dinner but after she had her sip of Mango she was great the rest of the evening. Oh no... now I have two Starbuck monsters in the house. LOL

On a more serious note... I mentioned that we went flat looking the other day and found some great ones. Well... we found a website that lists flats in all areas and we found another that was larger and had a better layout. Mike called and the lady wasn't really helpful since we can't really move until June/July. However, a few hours later she called Mike back and said she found us a 1400sq ft flat, in the building we were hoping for, for the exact amount we want to pay, for the exact time we need to move in. 1400sq ft is amazing for that price so we're a little hesitant to get too excited about it but we'll most likely go look at it this Monday. Would appreciate any prayers as this is still a pretty big decision for us. We have to take lots of things (like distance, cost of living, etc) into consideration.

Finding Joy

These are a few of the things I found joy in yesterday....

~Isabella standing by herself for the longest amount of time ever.
~Being able to take a nice, long shower because Mike was home to watch Isabella.
~Wearing Capris
~Opening the window because it wasn't too hot or too cold
~Having David come over around 11 and stay until he and Mike left for Keswick
~Listening to Isabella 'talk'
~Having muffins waiting for Mike when he woke up
~Giving Isabella a bath and watching her enjoy the water
~Serving lunch from the bathroom (that's what happens when you have a small flat and run out of outlets... lol)
~Having someone other than Mike call me 'hon' it just made me smile



I began to make this LO last night to show off Julie Howards new kit 'Simply Boy' that releases Sunday at www.acherryontop.com but as I looked at the picture more it reminded me of how children look up to their parents and then I realized that Isabella will look to me as an example. Wow... never really thought about that but it made me want to seek God even more so that I can be the best, godly example that I can. I'm going to have to make sure this one gets printed so I can always be reminded of my responsibility as Isabella's Mommy.

Some new LO's

April Day Kit by Andrea Burns



Whisper Softly Kit by Victoria Feemster

Don't have much to share this evening was a pretty relaxing day. Isabella continues to be sleeping well so that's always a blessing and Mike came home for lunch and we went to a place called UCC Vienna where I had the most amazing french toast. Finally got caught up on some scrapping that I've needed to get done. I got so behind being the states that I wasn't enjoying playing catch up... I think my LO's suffered too. However, these are two that I finished today that I really liked. We have the most beautiful daughter and she does the cutest things! These puckered lips are priceless and I love the picture with her and Great Grandma Rose.

i feel so fortunate...

I don't really know what has caused it but I have been thinking A LOT lately and about all sorts of things. The two main things have been about choices and being a Pastor's wife. God has used so many people and His Word to teach me so much and I'm so grateful. I feel like a whole new person with a whole new passion for life and ministry.

My MIL shared some wisdom with me yesterday and one thing in particular really stood out. As best as I can summarize, she shared that she stopped considering herself a pastor's wife (pw for future reference) and just focused on being a Christ follower and another woman in the church. The more I thought about this statement... the more it really spoke to me.

Why? Because it helped me to realize if I were to change my focus, I would be able to let go of some very selfish thoughts. Mainly, I wouldn't have a desire to use the excuse... 'because I'm a PW' and I wouldn't focus so much on the complaints and frustrations that you seem to be more aware of being in leadership. I would focus more on strengthening my relationship with God and becoming the woman He wants me to be and ministering in the way He wants me to. I wouldn't be trying to please anyone other than my God.

And with these thoughts came thoughts about the choices we make. It really hit me today that we choose how we live our lives. We choose to be happy or sad, to complain or rejoice, to make the best of our situation or wallow in self pity. Sadly to say, I've chosen all those negative attitudes at one point in my life and as I thought about it what did that accomplish? I probably got some sympathy, maybe some encouragement, but it also probably made me hard to be around. And that realization made me desire to choose joy and faith at all times. Not to be fake but to realize that all situations can be a chance to grow closer to God and be used by Him.

I know choosing to be joyful in all situations is hard... especially when things are really looking down but I've been encouraged by both my FIL and Mother who are struggling with some severe pain right now but you would never know it. They have chosen to trust God's sovereignty and despite their pain, be joyful. Amazing to me... but it's so obvious that God is working in their lives. Where else would you get that much strength from?

I'm discovering that the more open I become to God, the more I find so much joy in life. Today was one of those days that I felt so fortunate to be alive and to be serving such an AMAZING God. Here's the blessings of today and some of the past..

Well first for a blessing of the past... I never mentioned that we will have another person joining our family this August. NO I am not pregnant but Hannah (from our youth ministry in MN) will be moving in with us! She will spend a year with us doing an internship for our church. I can't tell you how excited I am. She's such an amazing girl and how great it will be to have a little piece of 'home' with us. We're so thankful that the church is allowing us to host her in our home but that does mean one thing for us... time to look for a new flat.

This is a blessing in itself. We have been doing some research and have found that the further away from the heart of the city... the more we can get for our money. Moving further away also means cleaner air and being able to actually smell the greenery we see... plus more space which to an American is a great thing. We spent a little time this morning looking at some flats and all I can say it wow. We are looking at two complexes right now and they are equally amazing. The one we are leaning towards right now has a mouth dropping view of the mountains in the living room and that same view plus an amazing view of the water and beaches is seen in the master bedroom. I also can't even begin to share how excited I was to realy smell the flowers and trees. But we are seeking wisdom and opinions from our youth (we want to make sure that where we are located is accessible to them) and we have a few more months before we can even do anything.

The area we are considering is gorgeous and the closest mall has a Hardees! This is funny to us because neither of us were Hardee's fans in the states but just knowing there's one here excites us.

Mike spent the day at a camp for CAIS (the Chinese CMA school) and we joined him and what a wonderful, relaxing day. It was beautiful out (definitely warming up and the humidity is beginning to increase) and fun to be outside all day. The kids loved Isabella and many of the girls just took her and played with her. That's always fun for me to watch and not have to worry about entertaining her. I hated to leave but all good things must come to an end.

And with that... I'm off to watch some Scrubs. LOL

Looking for some answers...

There is something that I'm struggling with right now that I need some answers to. If anyone reads this and is aware of Scripture Verses/Bible studies/Books that deal with being in leadership or being a Pastor's wife please share.

I'm praying that Mom Rose will read this (course I'll probably email you to) and may have some answers (or could give me the names of some PW to chat with) but if you are a PW and would be willing to let me pick your brain make a comment so I can contact you.

Oh and Mom and Dad ... I changed my comment setting and you can post without having a blogger account.

Release

There is something I have been dealing with for many years now and today I felt release! God has finally lifted my burden and I really feel that I can be such a better person now. What finally lifted this burden? Honesty. I think all this thinking I've been doing lately has changed my life. Wow.... I don't know what else to say about this but amazing. God is really teaching me through daily life.

Isabella has been doing a lot of puckering with her lips lately and so today I tried to capture the moment. I think I got one picture but I did get a few great ones of her smiling. Thanks to good ole Daddy doing his impression of the anchor on Bruce Almighty. LOL But I can't find my cord to upload my pictures to my computer so I'll have to wait to show them off.

We're thinking through ministry in HK right now and my hubby wrote an excellent post on his blog (www.mysterious-truth.blogspot.com) that I think you should check out and offer some opinions. It was funny to read because I had just been thinking about doing ministry 'online' and questioning if that would work here. I'm amazed at how many kids are online all the time... even our MN kids have blogs and myspace. It's crazy but a great way to look into their hearts. One of our girls uses her blog to write out her thoughts on her devotions. You should check it out (click on the left... Greater Love has none).. she has amazing insight for a Jr in High School.

I feel as though I have much to say but nothing is coming to mind so I will stop and not ramble.

Hmmm...

Yesterday was a wonderful day. It was so great to be a family again. It was a rather cold day and with Isabella still having a cold we decided not to go hiking. Instead we went to Toys R' Us and got Isabella a toy to walk with and had lunch at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen.) I just love that place... we get such great service because of having Isabella and they often play with her so we can eat in peace. LOL

I forgot to share another cool thing that happened in the MN airport as I awaited my flight to Chicago... I was invited into the Red Carpet Club! I had about 1 1/2hrs before my flight and a lady came out and said... "I can bring guests into the Red Carpet Club... would you like to join us? You can get drinks and breakfast." I certainly didn't pass that up! What a treat and it gave Isabella a cleaner place to crawl around.

We took Izzy to the Dr's today and they finally put her on some allergy medicine. We're to try it for a month so hopefully we'll continue to see improvements in her breathing and congestion. PTL for a wonderful Dr who really loves her patients. And of course... always a treat to go to the Dr because the grocery store next to her office has Trix and today we found Dr. Pepper and A&W Rootbeer! My niece got me addicted to Dr. Pepper while I was at home so it was a treat to find it here. Even if I have to buy it by the can.

Reading some blogs today the idea of honesty really struck me... I thought about how honest with ourselves are we really? Are we honest about our emotions/thoughts? What about our relationships? We say we want honesty but how honest are we really? We obviously share the things we do but what about our thoughts? And what about our relationship with God? We know that He knows all things... even our thoughts but do we confess the things we think about as well as do? Made me think about my life, my relationships... I always say that I hate being lied to, I hate shallow relationships, and that honesty is really important to me but do I lie, am I shallow, and am I honest with my friends? Hmm... will continue to dwell on this topic.

Prayers Answered!

When I started my blog, it was mainly for me to be able to remember the things that God did each day. Then I found out that family was reading it and I also began to share the things we did each day and the things I was learning. Now... I'm not sure how many people actually read this or how often but...

Yesterday I shared how Isabella is really struggling with the time change and we are exhausted from lack of sleep and asked for prayer and...

God totally answered prayer. As I said previously, I don't know how many people actually saw that post and prayed but I do know that we have a group of people who pray for us regularly and just found out that the congregation at Dover Alliance prayed for us and what do you know....

Isabella fell asleep around 4pm last night and woke up at 6pm. I tried to keep her awake but about 7:15 she fell back to sleep. I was so scared about what that meant for us but God answered prayer. She woke up three times but each time I picked her up and she fell back asleep in my arms and I was able to put her back in her crib. She did wake up at 7am but (what a wonderful husband I have) Mike got her and she actually fell back asleep with him on the couch and I didn't get up until fifteen minutes ago! PTL

She's definitely happier, more playful, and less clingy.

PTL for answered prayer.

Where do I start?

I'm so far behind and have so many things to be thankful for that I'm overwhelmed at trying to remember and write everything. So this post may either be rather long or short.

What a great time we had in the states but it is good to be home. The flight was uneventful but very long. Isabella did not sleep much and we didn't have much room for her to get out some energy. Thankfully, prayers were answered and I had the most helpful man sitting next to me. He helped me out by keeping Isabella entertained, carrying my bags, and even cutting up my food so I could eat. LOL

Unfortunately, Isabella is not adjusting well to the time change. She has gone to sleep around 5/6pm each night and is waking around 3/4am. She's not feeling well either so she just wants to be held all the time. We pray this adjustment won't take too long but were warned that it could be up to about 2 weeks before she gets back on track. Oh well... seeing family and friends is worth it. It's Missions Conference for all English speaking churches this week in HK so Mike will be extremely busy. I pray that we'll all survive this week with not getting too much sleep.

We were treated to an incredible dinner at the Harbour Plaza Hotel and I pigged out on curry, satay, and a chocolate fountain. Okay... I didn't really pig out. I'm getting the hang of watching my portion sizes. But I found it funny (what I ate) because this buffet is known for it's American foods. I guess I'm adjusting to some things. LOL

Thank you to everyone who made the effort to see us while we were home. I know some of you travelled a bit and I appreciate that. It was so great to catch up on your lives. I look forward to seeing you the next time.

The break was good for me... I learned a lot and feel ready to dive into life here. I will begin (again... this time slowly so I don't kill my knees) my marathon training in the next couple of days, finalize Children's Church plans (PTL We got a room!), catch up on my scrapbooking, reorganize/decorate our flat so that it's homier, and focus more on my personal relationship with Christ. We've got some neat things coming up in the next few months that I'm really excited about and I want to be as prepared as I can.

We have about 1 month before our trip to Thailand as a family (for rest) and I'm so excited about that. Life can get really busy at times and it will be nice to spend lots of time together as a family doing fun things.

Well... I'm going to bed so that I can be prepared for that early morning waking. This layout is off some pictures I took last night of Isabella. She was so tired that she barely moved so I thought it would be a great chance to take a couple of pictures of her in this sleeper. I got some great pictures of her sleeping too... be on the look for another layout. (ha ha) The kit I used is Andrea Burns' Snowflower Kit.