It's Official....

I gave birth to a fish... not a little girl. :) Granted it is about 73 degrees outside... but it has just started to warm up in the past 2 weeks after a series of freezing forty/50ish temps (which is very cold for HK). There's no way most people would even think about swimming. Most people are still wearing pants and long sleeves and coats. But last friday a few girls were just getting their feet wet in the pool as we were headed into town and of course Izzy just begged to swim so I told her that next week we could put our feet in. Well today was pretty nice out and she asked again so we walked over to the pool, put our feet in and almost instantly she started begging for her swimsuit. I tried to get her to go in enough to get her belly wet (thinking that if she did that she would think twice) but no... it just made her want to swim more. So I gave in. She got her swimsuit on and had a blast for about an hour. Mike and I were just amazed that she was not cold at all. But I guess it doesn't matter what the temp is for a fish... as long as they're in water. And she just loved it. Mike and Joan on the other hand spent the day cleaning up our yard and it looks amazing. I'll have to see if I can find some before pictures to show you what they've been doing but it looks great and in about a half-hour we're going to the nursery to pick out some flowers to replace what has been taken down. I never imagined in a million years we'd be doing yard work in HK. Just one more thing to be thanking God for His blessings.

1st BBQ

We had an awesome day today! Church was great... the youth led worship and did a fabulous job. I was really quite proud of how well they did and the group that led today was a totally new group (aside from a few singers.) We had Stuart Briscoe with us this morning and he spoke on what the 'church' is. He's a great speaker and I enjoyed him a lot. I felt like I had the chance to talk to some of the younger girls before Sunday school started which is something that doesn't happen very often so I was thankful for that too. After church Jill, ryan, and Hunter came over for pizza and just to relax. It was awesome to just sit on our rooftop and chat... it was a gorgeous day out too. Just as they left the college group came over after their hike to hang out and BBQ. It was really fun to have them over to. This is a new ministry and I was excited to meet some of new people. Plus, I just really enjoy having guests over and since they offered to do all the cooking and cleaning up... well who wouldn't pass that up. :)

Izzy enjoyed having all her 'friends' over. She was really awesome today considering an early morning and no nap. She warmed right up to all the college girls and enjoyed her first chance to BBQ. She loves these mini-hotdogs so we let her BBQ some at the end. She's always fun to pick up after the children's service or Sunday school because she'll tell me what song they sang, etc.. but today when I asked her what song they sang she said, " Jesus Loves Me" and then proceeded to sing it. i was quite impressed with her memory of all the words. Then she was telling me: "Jesus this and Jesus that." It was cute as always.

Now... I'm ready to hit the hay. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last nice day for about a week so I have great plans. I'm just thankful that I didn't get called into work like my fellow teacher did. :)

Have a blessed Sunday!

15wks 5days

Moms are not lying when they say that each pregnancy is different. Most of my pregnancy with Izzy was easy. I was blessed in that I didn't really suffer morning sickness, I didn't have much back/leg pain, ect... However, Baby Bob has not let me forget about him (no we don't know what it is but since we're using Bob it's just easier to say he). I've never felt so miserable on such a consistent basis. It has only been just over a week that I haven't spent a good bit of the day in the bathroom. At my last appt, I begged the Dr for some medicine, explained that I couldn't leave my classroom to puke, and that I was nervous about the health of the baby because I could not keep anything down and he gave in. He only gave me two weeks worth of meds, I've managed to stretch it and I figure that now I've been given it, it won't be hard to get more if I need it. Though I think I'm starting to get better on my own, the meds have really, really helped. In fact, I haven't puked since last Sunday and I've only had one day were I was really not feeling well. So let me just tell you how much my life has improved. I'm finally excited about this pregnancy, I'm starting to enjoy my job a bit more, I've got the energy to play outside with Izzy, etc... you get the idea. Life is good.

So I finally got around to take a picture of my growing belly. I cannot believe how big and how quickly I'm getting big. My clothes already do not fit and I'm begging for maternity clothes. And I'm blown away too because I've only really been eating well the past week. But alas... here I am in all my glory. Haha

I haven't felt the baby move yet, we don't have any names, we have no preference as to what gender we have and we really don't have any guesses. I honestly haven't thought much of anything about this baby because I've just been trying to survive each day. I feel a bit guilty about that but I'm sure as I continue to get healthy, I'll get more and more excited.

But I just want to thank everyone for their prayers because they have been felt. Thank you so much!

Spring Izzy

I just heard the sweetest words come out of Izzy's mouth without any prompting. She said, 'Let's pray for lunch. Dear Jesus, thank you for this lunch, thank you for this party, help momma feel better and daddy too. Thank you for lunch... be with momma. Amen.' I wanted so badly to get it on video but I also didn't want to miss a word she said.

Today started roughly (though simply because I was tired and didn't want to go to work) but ended up amazing. There's a pretty bad flu going around HK right now... several little children have died from it so it being HK and the whole SArS thing in the past... they're very careful about things so they cancelled school for all primary students and teachers until after Easter break!!! Wohoo! That means an extra week and 2 days off for me! Though I didn't know this until I trekked the 1.15minutes to school to turn around and do the same to go home. I thought about different things I could do but HK is not alive at 8am so I just came home. We've had a fun day playing outside. The weather is just gorgeous and if you know Izzy, she LOVES being outside. We had tea parties, golfed, read, she even mopped the stones and pretended to ride a horse. I'm constantly amazed at the creativity of this kid. :)

I tried desperately to find a trip for us since I have this extra time off but with Easter, Mike can't easily get off and all flights to the East Coast were totally booked. It was a bit disappointing but if the weather stays as is, we'll have lots of fun playing outside and doing some things that are more enjoyable when it's cooler out... like Botanical Gardens, Stanley, Disney of course, and some hiking. Mike will take a few days off after Easter to have some family time so we're looking forward to that.

We just pray that no one in our house catches even a smidge of this sickness going around.

But anyway... I just really wanted to show this picture of Izzy. Because of how sick I've been I haven't taken any pictures until last week and she's just grown and changed so much.

Looky here......

I can't tell you how exciting it was to actually see Baby Bob and to know thing are okay! We got to see the heartbeat which was awesome. Mike and I feel the technology was so much better as the picture was so clear and we could easily identify things but maybe it's also because this is baby #2 and we're a bit more familiar with what to look for. :) But anyway.... they said my due date is Aug 30th. Please continue to pray for my sickness. I had two non-vomiting days this weekend though I felt nauseous all day those two days but it returned today. I have a field trip tomorrow with 2 1hr bus rides so please think of me as I'm really nervous about those!


Izzy's calling my name so I gotta run just had to share with the Grandparents.

Prayer request

Well I've been wanting to share these two photos but I don't have the energy to write much today except to ask for your prayers. The vomiting (there's just no way to put it other than that... lol) has returned full force the past few days. It seems as though my balance issues are adding to the problem. After any mode of transportation, I have to run to the loo and today was the absolute worst when I got home from school. It just wouldn't stop. I've very discouraged and NOT looking forward to the next 6+ months as I'm afraid this isn't going to go away until I've had testing and physical therapy again. So if you wouldn't mind praying for me... I see the Dr next week and I'm hoping that maybe they can give me something more than what our family Dr did because that's not working.

Sorry to be such a downer.... hope you all have a great day!!!

More randomness

The roof top view.

Isabella is obsessed with Mulan these days so we were lying in bed watching it and she starts rubbing my belly. I ask her what she's doing and she says, 'I'm making baby Bob feel better.' She's just too cute.

So finally it warmed up a bit today so I decided to take Izzy out to go for a hike... she was so excited to wear Dee Dee and Laurel's hiking shoes but I don't think she knew what a hike was. I think she confused it with bike because she insisted on taking Snow White out for a ride. But that was okay. We rode over to our clubhouse and she wanted to go into the playroom because they have one of those big exercise balls and she likes to roll on it. That was her highlight for today. She can be so easy to please/entertain at times.

I had our Mom's group over yesterday for lunch and I attempted my 1st try at minestrone soup. I think I used to many noodles though as it was more just like pasta... not much broth but it was still really good. I had a nice dinner planned for Mike but I got sick after the moms left so I don't even think he ate dinner. He was awfully sweet and bought me roses, a magazine and a cake with real icing!

Tomorrow we are having our small group over for a BBQ and Sunday another family will join us for dinner. I can't tell you how much I've been praising God for this house. It's more of a blessing than I ever realized.

Well I had pictures of Izzy but blogger has stopped working so I'll have to try again later.

Have a great day!

A little this... a little that... mostly about izzy

Every night Izzy asks me to stay with her for two minutes when we're done singing and praying and now that she has a nice big bed, I don't mind staying 2 min if that makes her feel better. So I started asking her some questions about her day, one of them being 'What was her favorite thing she did that day?' Well her answers have been simply adorable the past two nights. She usually remembers something fun that she did like go to the playroom or playing with Angela but last night she said, 'eating' and tonight she said, 'using the potty.' I just love this girl and only can pray that the new baby will have just as much personality that she does.

I have been absolutely LOVING our new home. It is such a blessing from God in so many ways. The best thing so far is the amount of people we've been able to have over. I love having guests and trying new recipes, etc but our other flats have limited us in number and I've just never wanted to cook because the kitchen wasn't user friendly but this place... the kitchen is bigger than ours in MN was and last friday we have 20+ people over and it did not feel as though there were that many. Mike and I were joking with some friends on Sunday night about how we're afraid what's coming next because God has blessed us in so many ways over the past few weeks but I believe this house will expand our ministry. i feel it will give us opportunity to build new relationships, new ministry opportunities, etc. I see Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinners, Mom's group lunches, youthgroup sleepovers, BBQ's, swim parties, etc... I'm just so excited at the doors this house will open up to us that it makes me sad to have to go back to work next week.

I think I've cooked more here in the past week and a half than I ever did at our other flats. I've even tried new recipes again! It feels wonderful.

Today Izzy and I explored a new area. They have these English bookfairs on occasion outside of the park n shop that we used to shop at and I got an email saying they were having a warehouse sale this week so we ventured out to see what they had. I was nervous about how many people would be there (I once went to a Toys r Us warehouse sale and I could barely move with all the people) but it turned out to be just Izzy and I which was awesome. I could look around and Izzy could read and play without harm. She was so excited to go and as soon as we walked in the door she spotted a Dora book, ran and picked it up an then proceeded to sit down and read. It was too cute... just like yesterday when we lied down to nap... we took 15 minutes to read quietly first and she sat down with her two books and just looked through them. I've never seen her sit so quietly.

She has said/done some very cute things lately but of course I cannot remember them all though tonight when I put her to bed, we kneeled down to pray and when we were done she said, 'Mommy we need to read our devotions.' We read the children's version of 'my utmost for His highest' and that's what she was asking for. Also today she picked up the phone and when I asked who it was she said, 'Mamma it's MY friends. They're coming over.'

Okay... I'm just rambling because I'm trying to remember all the things that have gone on and not making a whole lot of sense to the outside world but anyway...

I hope to find my camera tom so I can finally take some new pics of our home.

Health Update

On Sunday, I was blessed to have a lady in the church ask to watch Izzy!!! What an answer to prayer as I had my hearing test and final ENT appointment today. She and her children eagerly took Izzy to their place to play pretty much all day which gave me a little time to myself. I enjoyed a nice hot lunch at Ikea and then picked up a few items for the new place. It was great to be able to look around a bit in areas outside the children section. :)

I was also pleasantly surprised by my waiting times for both my hearing test and ENT appointment. I was out of the clinic by 3:15 (test was at 2 and appt at 2:30) and then the waiting for my prescription took place. I waited longer for that than anything but anyway... it was nothing compared to Mike's wait when I first went to the ENT.

The test showed that my hearing was totally normal which I was actually quite surprised by as I still have some cloudiness. I feel that I'm probably at the lower end of normal hearing as I know I've got some hearing loss but at least it's still in the range of normal. I praise God for that as I was starting to be convinced that I was going to have to deal with the lack of hearing I was experiencing. When I met with the ENT, she said everything looked great and there was absolutely no need to come back. Yeah! What wonderful news to hear! And she was convinced that the cloudiness I still have is due to a cold/stuffy nose so she gave me some meds for that.

But I did take a minute to ask about my balance issues. Those of you that don't know... about 5yrs ago I went through a variety of testing to find out why I was experiencing motion sickness so badly. Within about 5 minutes of being in a car, I would be puking. But anyway.... turns out I have about a 20% loss of ability to balance on my own. I went through physical therapy and life was great. Then we moved to Hong Kong... where modes of transportation are ferry rides, crazy mini-buses, double decker buses around stop and go traffic (makes me nauseous to even think about it) and curvy roads. And after the 1st year, things started to go downhill again. Though it's not nearly as bad as it used to be... I still have to be careful where I sit on public transportation and other little things. She quickly said that she would just get me into the same type of PT but then stopped and said she couldn't do that because I don't have my old test results and they would want to know exactly where the problem lies. And she said she didn't want me to be tested until Baby Bob arrives because it's a lot of pushing, bouncing, etc... not good for the baby.

So all that to say.... my hearing is normal and there's not much more they can do for that. I will always be extra sensitive to ear infections so I will always have to watch the amount of water that gets in my ears, etc... And come next Nov/Dec I will be able to get my balance issues worked out yet again!!!! It was a good day and I'm thankful that God has healed and provided the things to be taken care of. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I've found hope... now if this baby sickness would go away on the 1st day of week 12... that'd be AWESOME! LOL

Thanks so much for all your prayers!!!

I'm alive!

What a few weeks its been! I want to thank everyone for all the sweet emails and cards and I promise to get back to everyone but I'm having a hard time catching up.

What started as morning (why do they call it that when it happens all day? lol) sickness, quickly turned into the flu, bronchitis, and then an ear infection that perforated my ear drum. Thankfully I've recovered from the flu, bronchitis and ear infection (well almost)... but I'm still learning how to deal with the pregnancy issues. I still can't eat much and I never know what is going to hit me the wrong way but at least I can get out of bed! I'm a bit nervous about my hearing though as it's still very cloudy after almost 2 weeks but they keep saying it'll just take time. I'll go back next week for a hearing test and hopefully my final ENT appt.

Today I finally got to go to the Dr for the baby and I spent an hour and a half waiting to have them give me an appointment for feb 25 and tell me I need to go to another clinic to get some other paper. Ugh... all I want to know is that the baby is okay. I mean for half of the pregnancy so far, I have not been able to eat, I've had low sugar (why can't I think of the proper name?)... I've been on a variety of meds... etc. I just want to know that Baby Bob is healthy and now I have to wait another month. At least when I go I'll get to have an ultrasound.

So yes... I'm officially alive and moving, slowly... but moving. And speaking of moving, we move into our new place on friday! We are so excited but as many can understand... ready for this to be done. Poor Mike has had all the responsibility since I've not been able to move much but hopefully we'll have some help tom night to pack and the movers will be set to go on friday.

Thanks again for the well wishes!

I'm not...

one of those people that can hold a big secret for too long and I've been dying just to scream at the top of my lungs for a few days now about how the Lord blessed us this Christmas. So with great joy and excitement, I announce....

I can hardly believe it! There's a bit of a story that goes into all of this but it's hard to write out to where it would make sense to most people (believe me I tried...hehe) so I'm not going to go into it aside from saying that this was a total blessing from the Lord!!! So over the next few months, I would appreciate your prayers as this makes major adjustment number 4. :)

Hope your Christmas was amazing and that the New Year lying ahead brings great joy, growth, and love!

It might be time to clean when....

Your child asks for a certain type of cracker based on the crumbs at the table.

My goodness yes this happened to me this evening. Izzy was eating cereal, picked up some crumbs off the table and said, 'Mamma I want dis cracker.' Maybe it's time I put all this Christmas stuff away and start cleaning. LOL

Another cute Izzy saying recently is... 'My arms broken.' Whenever she doesn't want to do something it's... 'Mamma my arms broken.' Where'd this come from? Just ask her daddy. Hehe

A huge praise... I think we have a home!!! Wohooooo! This is so exciting! I'll write more and hope to have some pics soon.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

This was ALL I needed this morning! I received exactly what I was praying for (actually I got it earlier this month but with an extra surprise today), I think Mike was quite happy with his surprises and I know Izzy was thrilled with the gifts under the tree. She showed most joy with her

'twinkle-bell' underwear, her 'Mater' car, the Dora card games, 

and of course her new Snow White bike. But she loved everything once we were able to open it up and show her what everything did. We took a walk outside after opening gifts so she could test out her bike

and now she and Mike are resting. Sadly, Mike is not feeling well today but we didn't plan on doing anything anyway... just relaxing and being together. We were blessed to have Christmas with Grandma/Papa/Aunt Nikki/Uncle Juan/Shay/Addison/Karly too! We skyped the whole time we opened gifts which was loads of fun!

This evening I'll hopefully speak with my sister and then tomorrow morning I'll get to talk with everyone.  So lots more fun lying ahead! We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

2 minutes 'pa-lease'

Izzy's favorite sentence right now. :) I always give her a two minute warning when we're about to change what we are currently doing so I guess she has picked up on that and always says... '2 minutes pa-lease Mamma' when she doesn't want to do something.. like go to bed. :)

Well it's hard to believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow. While it still doesn't feel like Christmas in Hong Kong.. I am excited. I think Izzy is going to be so excited with the gifts that her grandparents have gotten her. What a blessed girl she will be on Christmas morning and it will be so fun to watch her open them. She's already had a few practices and she thoroughly enjoyed it. My joy will come from just watching her and Mike. I enjoy receiving gifts but I find more joy in giving them and watching them be opened. I've got everything I could possible need... a great husband, a sweet daughter, a family that most would only dream about, and most importantly a relationship with the Lord. What else could I ask for?

Tomorrow Mike gets a special treat... he's been invited to play golf with a few men at church in the morning. So he'll do that while I run a few errands and then we'll head to church in the evening for a potluck and game night. Will be fun.. I'm sure.

I was blessed with a special treat last night... my friend Jocelyn took me to see the Nutcracker! It was AMAZING! I really, really enjoyed it. I knew I would like it but I was surprised how much I enjoyed myself. I loved Act 2 as probably most people do but the dancing and music was phenomenal. I especially loved the Arabian and russian dances. But seriously... I was just glued to the stage all night. it was so wonderful to do something like that again. I've pretty much decided I will use my Christmas money to buy tickets to a symphony or something... I had forgotten how much I enjoy being a part of the arts. At WVU, I was required to see so many concerts, etc each semester and while I at times complained about having to go to something... I was never disappointed. But alas...

It's been a filled month of activities but it has been great to be surrounded by people when this is the time I miss my family the most. I've been reminded over and over why we are here and it's been great to focus on that rather than feeling sorry for myself.

Well... I'm off to catch some zzzz's. I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas Eve Eve... :)

Nothing too important

Wow has life been crazy the past few weeks but it seems (I should be careful about saying this... haha) that things are calming down... at least I hope some things are falling into place. At least I can say that my responsibilities for the holiday season are pretty much done so I can relax and enjoy making cookies, crafts, Christmas shopping, etc... with the fam.

This morning it was quite hazy/rainy out but it made me smile because it looked slightly like a snowstorm (ok so maybe I'm reaching a bit but a girl can dream). So Izzy hopped into bed with me and we snuggled for a bit. :) Then we got ready and went to Kowloon Tong (festival walk mall) and did some Christmas shopping. Actually I was looking for icing to use for our cookies but they didn't have any so we went to the record, book and toy store. So anyway... while we were there a school choir came in to sing and Izzy was so excited. She danced around and leaped for joy when they began singing Jingle Bells or 'Twinkle Bells' as she calls it.

Then we headed out to meet Grace (one of about 15 real estate agents that are looking for a home for us.) She actually showed us one that's shows a lot of potential. We are looking at another tomorrow and hopefully can make a decision soon. I just can't get over how there is so little available and how much rent has gone up. rent in HK is like 1000's US monthly. The flat that we live in right now is going for 2400US a month. Crazy!

But anyway....
This whole process of getting kicked out and flat hunting has been difficult but such a good reminder and test of faith and trust. I was about to lose it (mentally...hehe) the other night when I sat down to read Izzy's devotional to her and it was all about faith and trusting that God is in control. funny how many children's things hit adults hard and many things about Izzy teach me about God.

We got home and since it was late I didn't want Izzy to nap so I put on 'Cars' and made her sit on the couch to rest. I only planned on making her sit for about 20 minutes so I could get some cleaning done but about 10 minutes into sitting, I hear... 'Momma, more treat (aka Yakult... a yogurt type drink)' but by the time I got it from the fridge and went to hand it to her she was out cold. Sleeping sitting up. It was so cute.

So I worked on all these forms I have to fill out to teach so I can get them mailed off. Yep... I'm gonna be a teacher but that's a whole other story. :)

On a much less important note.. today I got my certificate from my race and I was excited to learn that I was #22 in my age group. I don't know how many runners there actually were but it made me smile.

But tomorrow's a busy day... my school is having a carnival that I'm taking Izzy to, then I have to hit the markets in Mongkok and then we'll be looking at a flat in the pm so I'm off to bed. Have a great day!

christmas reversal carnival

So we've been trying to figure out what a Christmas 'reversal' carnival and so far the only thing we have come up with is that it was outside. But anyway... it was quite nice. They had some blow up jumping things, some electronic cars, some games, etc... The lines were long so we didn't stay long but we waited so Izzy could jump. Here's one of the videos. She was so excited but I was convinced once it was her turn she wouldn't want anything to do with it. I was SO wrong. She had a blast as you can see.



Enjoy your day!

2 Corinthians 12:9

I love this picture of the tree at Disney.

'My grace is sufficient for you.'

I find it easy (at times) to think about what I feel I deserve, to compare myself to others, etc... and forget what God has done/and is doing in my life, to lose confidence in what I feel He has called me to or how He guided me, etc... Today was one of those days. In an instant, I felt like a failure in so many ways but the more I thought about things... God gently reminded me of how He had worked in my life, the beliefs that have come from a personal relationship with Him, the desires He has laid on my heart, etc... and then I read this... 

"the Truth is, whatever you are going through right now, whatever you will go through tomorrow, or next year or fifty years from now.... HIS grace is sufficient." ~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

I have a verse that I quote when my mind goes into fear mode but when dealing with the above mentioned issues... I've never found something that helps me to refocus quickly enough. "My grace is sufficient" that's exactly what I needed to hear and what I need to remember. These thoughts do nothing but bring me down and/or frustrate me and all I need to do is focus on my God. I just need to seek Him and have confidence in Him... 

One thing I also was reminded is that I need to be in constant communication with the Lord... listening, talking, seeking Him. I need to know that I am seeking Him... that my heart is right with Him.

Peace

Well... after weeks of uncertainty I feel like God is finally bringing some things into place. I knew He would but when so many things come at once... I find it very overwhelming and at times I struggle with trying to do things on my own. The past several months have been very humbling for me. I've felt knocked down and put in my place on numerous occasions but it has reminded me that I need to be close to God and that I can't take even a step away from Him and even that my identity needs to be in Christ. You'd think that after years of following God, I'd have some of these things figured out and dealt with by now but it's amazing how satan creeps in and grabs ahold of some things and brings you down. But alas...

A few weeks ago, we watched Evan Almighty and there was one conversation that just grabbed my attention and I haven't been able to forget what was said. Evan's wife was talking to a man (who happened to be God.. she just didn't know it) and God said... 'When you pray for patience, does God automatically give you patience? Or does He give you the opportunity to be patient? When you pray for...etc and He went on.' And I began to think about some struggles that I was having and I thought... well this isn't going to go away overnight but God will give me opportunities to deal with it and grow. And wow... what a different attitude and perspective I've had on some things. I can honestly say that in one specific area... my heart has really changed because of this question and I'm so grateful!

In my last post, I mentioned how many things were weighing heavily on me to where my race was just one more thing on that list and now that it's over... I feel like a new woman. Not only that but my job situation has really perked up and I will know (well most likely) by the end of the week.. what my job will be and we are starting to have some success in finding a new flat. In fact, we found such an ideal place but we're ultimately leaving it in the hands of God because He knows where we'll be best used. So things are finally calming down and I feel excited about life again. I'm anxious (in a good way) for the next race in feb, I'm anxious (again in a good way) about our new home and new job. It's very difficult at times to wait upon the Lord but I've constantly been reminded that His time is absolutely perfect and this is once again... proving my point. While I have wanted to know some things months ago and wish they had been settled... I believe that I would have missed out on how God wanted to use me.

But anyway....

I have a second interview on Thursday morning for a possible teaching position at a local school. I'm very excited about it as I may have the opportunity to teach Music but I will patiently wait and see what happens. I have also been offered another position so after Thurs I have a big decision to make. This weekend begins our holiday parties and I'm excited about that. Helps to make the holidays more enjoyable when you don't have your immediate family around.

I've finished most of my Christmas shopping. I hated to do it but for everyone in the states... I shopped via Amazon.com It was just the money wise thing to do and while I hated not being able to wrap the gifts or walk the isles.. I still had fun trying to find some unique items.

Well... I better hit the hay. The pics below are of our most recent visit to Disney. Izzy was into riding this time so we didn't meet a single character. She was super excited to see 'The Lion King' and danced the whole way through it and of course the rocket ships. She couldn't get enough of those despite Mike and I begging to try something else so we wouldn't lose our lunch. We hope to go back one more time before the Christmas decorations are taken down but we'll see. We may be busy moving!

Daddy and Izzy... but she doesn't look at all like him.

She didn't want to ride Dumbo just sit and take pictures and give him a kiss.

The rocket ships... she just loves these!

UNICEf Half

Well what can I say.... I'm DONE and SO glad it's over. Not the same attitude I had last year after completing my 1st 10K. There has been a lot going on for us over the past few months... a few quite stressful things that I attempted to just put behind me and trust that God was in control but it was clear to me this morning how heavily these things had been weighing on me... including this race.

I was neither excited, nor nervous... all I could find myself saying was 'let's get this over with' and '1 thing to cross off the list.' NOT a good mental state to begin a 13.1 mile run. I jumped into the middle of the pack and when the countdown finished... I let others pass me as I picked a slow pace to begin with. One of my biggest struggles is starting too fast and then after just a few miles I'm done. So I had my Nike+ with me to keep track of my pace. This was so supposed to be a flat and fast race and in comparison to the Standard Charter... it is... but it did have some slopes that caught me off guard and I began to panic about how many hills there were going to be due to my lack of training in that area. However, I was actually quite surprised in how I handled them and found them easier to run than other areas of the course.

I was doing well... (despite my mental weakness already) until I hit 11K and looked down at my iPod to check time and turn it on for awhile. And that's when I lost it and literally almost broke down in tears. I have used my Nike+ to train... it tells me the distance that I've run and the pace I'm going. I calibrated it against my treadmill and thought it was right. However, at 11K (approx 6.8miles) my Nike+ said 8. At first I was stoked.. I though wow.. I'm doing much better than I thought (I was thinking the 8 was Kilometers) and then I realized it was miles... 8 miles. A bit off? So all my hard work in timing things, pacing things... was wrong so at the point I knew I wasn't going to make my 2hr goal and I was just discouraged and disappointed.

It was at that point too that the sun starting beaming pretty good making it much warmer out than anticipated and well... my body just doesn't do well in the sun. I'm not trying to make excuses for my poor training but the sun really took a lot out of me... I just haven't trained under the sun and I paid for it. I seriously just wanted to cry and quit because I knew my goal had just gone out the window and I just wanted to get it over with. I tried a gel pack but it just made me sick to my stomach. I don't remember much until 15K and then I was just happy to be on the down stretch. At 19K, I felt my toenail going... and it became harder to push myself. When I saw the sign for 20K... I just started to book it... I just so wanted to be done. I finished at about 2:20:28. Ugh... what's even worse was that I looked at my Nike+ again and at this point it was 2.5 miles off! That's crazy!!!! So while my time wasn't even close to what I wanted... I feel somewhat okay as based on the terrible calibration of my Nike+ system... I've never run 13.1 miles before! Based on what it said... my longest run was probably about 10.5 miles and my average runs about 6/8 miles. Not good in preparing for a half.

So I learned many lessons today....
1. Don't depend on my Nike+
2. Don't use gel packs
3. Don't drink sports drink along the way... just water for this girl
5. Bring a hat
6. Train in the heat
7. Train on hills more often
8. and most importantly....Don't carry burdens... lay them at the feet of God.

I'm proud that I could finish sprinting as usually the last thing i want to do after a long run is to sprint and I'm proud that I had the energy to do that but aside from that... I'm just glad it's over. Now... on to the Standard Chartered half. I'm beginning to think I'm crazy for wanting to do this but once the heat comes back around I don't think I'll be doing any racing so this may be my last chance for awhile and plus Mike's running the full so it will be fun to share this race with him.

Especially for Grandma and Papa

I'm slacking big time in the blogging department... it's been a crazy, crazy week and I've felt like I lost my sanity several times this week but I'm still pressing on. Our life seems to have turned upside down in such a short time. LOL Nothing too major... nothing that won't work out in time... it just seems like craziness right now and not how I like to enjoy the Christmas season. But alas... I get to spend each Sat this month sharing about the Advent season with my English fellowship and I'm very excited about that!

But anyway... I need to get to sleep. They say two nights before your race is the most important night for sleeping so I'm trying to get ahead of the game. Just had to share this special video for Mom and Dad rose.





Oh wow.. just noticed that Safari now allows for editing HTML within my post. Cool!

back from Shanghai

Well Shanghai was AWESOME!!!! I'm SO glad that this all worked out! We had a fabulous time being together and watching tennis. I was a bit nervous when we arrived at the hotel... it seemed like a very shady area but it was great.. nothing special but we were literally there only to sleep and shower so all was good. We found it very easy to get around and the metro was just a short walk from our hotel. Each morning we explored a bit of the city and by 2 we were on our way to the tournament. I have to admit that I thought I would get bored at some point watching tennis but it didn't take long to grab my attention. I have a whole new appreciation for the sport and for tennis players in general. Wow... is all I can say about those guys.

If we hadn't left Izzy behind, it would have been hard to want to come back but I guess that's always the case with holidays. Too bad we can't retire first in life and then work. LOL

Well... I have an early morning appointment so I want to pick up the flat and lay in bed and watch one of our new movies.

Shanghai at Last

Yeah.. we're here! I've been dreaming of this since early, early summer and I can't believe it's here. We dropped Izzy off at Nick and Adelina's about 4ish and then headed on our way to the airport. We decided to cap it to our hotel since we have absolutley no idea how to get around and it turned out to be a more expensive cab than we expected but alas we made it about 10:30pm last night.

So now we're just trying to figure out how to get around... and stay warm. My winter clothing supply has significantly dwindled since moving to HK so I'm praying that what I brought will be enough. LOL

Anyway... the tournament starts at 3 so we're going to try and explore a bit before hand. Wohooo!!! We're in Shanghai!

Team Pic

Blogger is still is not letting me upload photos so this will have to do. This is the team minus Mark who was using the lu at the time... from left to right ... Mike, Tim, Tom, and Howard. This was like Tim's 12th attempt, I believe Tom's second, and the 1st for the rest. The picture is of friday night about 6pm when I got to meet them. Did I mention that they started at 9am? I can't remember so anyway... this is already after a day of hiking.

Mike sure had some fun stories to share and it was great to hear about this experience. It's tempting to want to try and do something like this... to push myself harder than ever before... but I told Mike and Tim the only way I'd do it is if I could finish in 17hrs or less because I couldn't go without sleep. LOL

Well... I'll keep attempting the pictures but for now I'm going to head to sleep. We head out to Shanghai tomorrow evening so if you think of us please keep us in your prayers. This is the first time we've been gone from Izzy for this long and she's staying with friends so I'm praying she's on her best behaviour. :) And that Mike can walk a little faster (or 'saster' as Izzy says) tomorrow. Hehe

Oh yeah.. almost forgot to mention that I had my first tutoring (English fellowship) group today and it went fairly well... their English level is lower than I expected... not to sound rude because I don't mean that in a bad way but I keep forgetting that this is a local school and not international but anyway... the 1st group had about 12 students and the second group there was 4. Needless to say.. the second group went much easier and more smoothly and I belive the students got more out of it but I think the 1st group had fun too. there's a group of boys who like to goof around so I'm going to have to be more creative to keep their attention but anyway... The teacher has asked me to focus on reading the Bible, prayer, singing church songs, etc.. so I'm really excited about the focus being on God. Today we discussed being Thankful and we read Psalm 136 where it tells us over and over to 'Give Thanks' and one students said, 'oh many, many, many give thanks' and it was a great opportunity to talk about all the things we can be thankful for and how God is the one who provides those things and how ultimately we need to be thankful to/for Him.

So anyway....

off to Shanghai

Trailwalker Completed

12:49 the guys walked over the finish line for a total of 27hrs and 46 minutes!!! Wohoo!!! They ALL made it. I spoke with Mike and he shared that while they all had blisters and were incredibly sore... there were no serious health issues. Will write more later but now I'm enjoying the in person updates! Thanks SO MUCH for all of your support and prayers! I'm so proud of him!

Stage 8 Completed

Mike just texted at 8:42 saying they have 20K left which means they've completed stage 8! Once the team gets all checked in he figures they have about 3.5 hrs left and compared to the terrain they've experienced... this should be easy though I'm sure the mental side is much tougher knowing you're so close. Please continue to pray for energy and safety. He says they're all doing ok... lots of soreness and blisters but the worst is over! I have to say that this is one reason I love HK... how many places can you go hiking and aside from just a few times... be able to stay in contact via text message! LOL

24K to go!

At 8:04 Mike texted that they were at the highest point in HK and about 24K left to go putting them at the end of stage 8. Mike seemed in good spirits but glad to see the end in sight. I cannot wait to hear all about this when he gets home... sadly I won't get to see him until much later. They are walking to one of the team memebers house at the finish to rest, shower, eat, etc... and then he will get a ride home but Izz and I'll be in Hung Hom at the church. So anyway.... until next time. :)

30K to go

At 6:31am they had 30K to go which put them at the beginning of stage 8! Mike said he's got blisters but they weren't going to stop him. According to the map this stage is 'fairly difficult' and the final too are 'easy walk' so the end is in sight!

39.4K to go

At 3:44am Mike texted that they had 39.4K to go which put them in the midst of Stage 6. Mike said that he was struggling a bit but felt he would be okay to finish. He said the next 6hrs would be big and then they were on the home stretch.

Stage four Completed

Yes I'm still up. It's so hard not to be when your hubby's out hiking his heart out and I can watch his progress. But alas... at 12:05 they were halfway done!!! Mike said he's feeling sleepy but overall pretty decent though he feels the next 25K will be tough. This'll be the last update from me until morning as I need to get to bed but feel free to keep up with him on the site. On occassion the GPS system stops but if you keep checking back... it'll eventually work.

No word on the ladies (we've got a group of four women from church participating as well... all wives of the crazy husbands except for me of course and Lori Enns) so I'm praying for them as well. They did not intend to run a lot of it but they were determined to finish strong.


Okay... well I have some pics but they aren't uploading so it'll have to wait until morning. I'm beat. Have a blessed day!

Stage four Completed--Almost

Well... the latest update I got was about 3 minutes ago. They've reached a peak and are headed down. Should be another half hour and they will be welcomed with some soup and coffee. I'm not sure I'll be up in another half-hour so I thought I'd put up a brief update. This next stage(s) will be the longest stretch I believe without support... I don't believe they'll get anything until 6am at the earliest so please continue to pray. However, I do believe that once they complete this stage... the hardest climbling (up/downs) is over. So they can rejoice in that!

Thanks again for all the sweet emails... Mike will be so blessed to read how much you all care!

Stage 3 Completed

Seeing the guys walk out of the woods was so fun... I am so proud of all of them because I know they're pushing themselves and all the work that they've put into it.. just amazing. Sometimes it's not about the race itself but the discipline and hard work in training that's most important. But alas...

Shortly after 6pm they walked out completing stage 3... right on schedule. One of the members has been a bit sick so please pray for extra strength and energy for the next 12+ hours. It was fun to sit with them for a bit but it wasn't long that they headed onto to Stage four. The next rest is at about 10:30 and most likely not again until 6am. Mike was in really good spirits... having a blast and enjoying the challenge. His knee is beginning to bother him but he says it's only on the downhill and if he runs it.. he's okay.

Ahh.. it was so great, so inspiring to be able to see them at this point. And again I'm just so proud of Mike. The team is only allowed four people but there had been 5 training and since Mike was the last one to begin training with them... he's the one who's not officially in the race.. bascially this means that if he were to drop out it doesn't matter. The team has checkpoints that they cannot get through without all four memembers but Mike has freedom to do whatever. His attitude so impresses me that he's pushing himself, encouraging the other guys... simply because he wants to and he hasn't even considered dropping out... know that's motivation, dedication and I'm just so proud.

Stage 2 Completed

At 2:15 they completed stage 2! They are ahead of schedule and planning to see us between 5/5:30. I'm just praying we get there in time. He said they're doing good so far. I'm hoping to get a little more info when he stops but they're not stopping for long so we'll see.

Thanks again for your support!

Oh yeah... the GPS is working now so feel free to check in on him. Here's the link...

http://www.webtracker.hk/webtracks/trailwalker2007.php#start_here

They're team 0055 and most likely you'll need fire fox browser to view the map. You can download that here...


http://en.www.mozilla.com/en/firefox/

Stage 1 Completed

I got a text from Mike that at 10:37 they had completed stage 1 (of ten) of the race! The website isn't as accurate as I had hoped so I'm praying really hard that Mike will be able to contact me in time for us to meet him. I think I was up half the night too because I was just so excited for him. Stage 1 is an easier one, stage 2 is a bit more difficult and supposedly stage 3 is a killer and where many drop out so please keep him in your prayers and I'll keep you updated. We'll see him at the end of stage 3.

Squid and the likes...

Izzy loves her popsicles but they don't sell them in boxes here... just individually at the 7/11 so if she's been a good girl we take a walk to the Circle K and pray they have some. for some reason they always have the red bean but not orange and well... red bean dumpling... GOOD... red bean popsicle... BAD LOL

It's just one of those foods that I will not be able to stomach. I tried... and if I didn't have to look at it, I'd be okay. But the second I see some purple or little bumps... yeah even thinking about it makes me queesy. But anyway....

So today I finally got to take Izzy to a dr about her bumps. Turns out she has Molluscum Contagoiosum a type of pox... nothing serious but not very pretty. So anyway... the treatment options are 1. do nothing and hope it goes away quickly 2. use a cream 3. numb the areas and basically scrape them off. After our 5 minute consult with the Dr., he realized that the 3rd option (his preference) was not realistic for Izzy as she couldn't sit still and didn't care for him even touching her chin so we're going with the cream. I pray this works because if not, we'll have to attempt option 3 and it may take several tries. Letting it go isn't an option in my book as if they pop on their own, they scar and I don't want her chin/mouth area to be totally scarred. So anyway... we'll know in about 3 weeks if the cream is doing the trick. But let me say... that was the most expensive 5 minutes of my life! Crazy how much the consult cost for such a short time... though we didn't have to pay extra for the cream. :)

After the appointment, Adelina and Jayden met us for lunch. It was quite the experience and I'm very thankful for Adelina's patience and quick creativity as Izzy was a handful. I don't know what's gotten into her lately... she's not been sleeping well and on top of that not feeling well but my goodness... my patience is running thin this week. So anyway.... we had lunch at the flying pan and I just had to rub that into Mike because he LOVES that place. It's an American Breakfast place.. but anyway... I enjoyed waffles with strawberries and Izzy had (with Adelina's help) a huge bowl of oatmeal and bananas... just like her Daddy. Then we just walked around the island and had some great conversation.

Just 1 more day until Mike heads out to the mountains. I'm SO excited for him that it's all I can think about ... I even keep forgetting that we head out to Shanghai on Sunday.

Last night was Alpha and it was a great discussion on evil. Nicky Gumble (the Alpha video speaker) shared a statement that really grabbed my attention. He was explaing how the devil works and how we should deal with that and one thing he said was that sometimes we need to just say, 'I've escaped the darkness... I don't have to believe what you are saying.' Or something to that effect... lol... I can't remember word for word but the idea being... I've been forgiven, God loves me, I don't have to listen to what satan is saying. He was saying this in reference to when we know that the thoughts we are thinking aren't related to unconfessed sin but just satan trying to bring us down or make us feel unworthy... we just don't have to take that and sometimes we just need to say that and stop those thoughts. Anyway... it was quite interesting and I appreciated the simplicity of his words. Life is so different for me here and even after 2yrs I still struggle with my role and get down and self-conscience about the littlest things and this was a great reminder to me that I don't have to feel this way... I've been set free... I've been saved by the grace of God.

But alas.... I need to get to bed.

Cantonese Lessons

Some Daddy/Daughter Lovin
I'm so excited! I found a website that has some Cantonese lessons on it! So right now... Izzy and I are learning our colors. We know red, yellow, purple, and blue. So fun!

Well... Izzy seems to be doing better but I'm not feeling the greatest so I'm grabbing a coke zero and a book and heading to bed.

Hope you have a wonderful, blessed day!

More pics..

Princess Cinderella
Izzy and Saytaki
Izzy and Soda
Handing out the goodies (Hunter, Jill, Mousumi, Soda and Izzy)



So last night was not fun... I don't know what happened to my baby but she was up crying out lots yet half the time was not even awake. I brought her into bed with us thinking that would help but no... she actually asked to go back into her room yet every time I was about to fall asleep, she woke up again. I finally pulled out some blankets and slept on the floor next to her. Needless to say, I napped with her this afternoon and am already drousy... just waiting for Mike to get home. She did have a fever today but it seems to have broken and she was asleep until I went in to move her toys off her bed and give her some actual sleeping space. LOL Now she's awake again and hungry. Ahhh....

So my interview/meeting seemed to go well today and we actually found a school for Izzy that I think she'd really like but now it's just figuring out what to do with her for an hour inbetween her and me getting home. So we'll see...

right now I'm just more concerned about a good nights sleep and her feeling better. :)

Just wanted to upload some more Disney and Halloween pics. Enjoy!

Wohoo!!!! The parkas have come out!

At Disney
She adored Minnie this trip... lots of hugs and kisses!

Today was just a fabulous day! Izzy and I didn't get up until almost 10am, it was about 20 degrees out, I got to talk with my sister, Mike and I got our visas for Shanghai, we had dinner at CPK with David and Wendzi, Mike got Bumblebee, and it's 10:11 and Izzy's asleep!

It's been a crazy few weeks around here... good but crazy. Lots of things happening. I have yet another interview tomorrow morning. This one came totally out of the blue but based on some things... I felt it was worth checking out. I honestly don't know what God has in store for me. I totally thought it was this Saturday job but then this new opportunity came up and well... it seems like a God thing. Just crazy... and I don't totally know what to think. I was talking to my sister today and we were discussing how we often think we know what's best and even believe that this is how God should work but yet God always seems to have another plan. They just personally dealt with a situation like this and now I'm trying to learn from her experience and trust God and His plan. So we shall see. I'm hoping to have some answers tomorrow but as always... I think I will have to wait because I think these are always opportunities for me to have faith and trust God. In some ways, I'm such a planner and need to have all the answers and this is definitely one of those times though I am gettng better at just waiting. :)

So anyway.... just 1 month until my half-marathon and I'm excited but am also ready for it to be over. The training has been good but takes a lot of time and energy though training won't stop until the end of feb as I'm planning to run the 1/2 in the Standard Charter Marathon. (The race that started this all)

Mike runs his 100K race in just over a week and I'm so excited for him! I think he's crazy but am so proud and he's talking about doing the 1/2 with me in feb too so that's fun to think about to.

And we leave for Shanghai just after his race so I'm praying he's not too exhausted to enjoy 2 days of tennis and exploring. I'm really excited for this trip as well. He so deserves it and it will be so wonderful to have so much time to ourselves!!!

So anyway... just some little updates on our life.

Puddle Jumping

Well today we had our little costume party in the park. There was going to be a great turnout until it started drizzling but we still had four moms and little ones come out to play. It seemed a bit awkward at first... I hadn't seen Mousumi or Asako in several weeks and the little ones seemed a bit hestitant to play with each other but it didn't take to long for things to return to normal. The 15 minutes of pouring rain helped too.... Soda (Asako's boy) started running around jumping in puddles, followed by Hunter (Jill's son). And when Izzy realized it was okay to be in the rain she went nuts an Saytaki followed her. They all were soaked but they had a blast. I'm sure we'll be the talk amongst the Chinese... 'those foreigners... not only are their kids getting dirty... they're getting wet too... they'll be sick for sure.' LOL I could just imagine the thoughts of the ladies watching the kids jump/lie in the puddles. And tonight was an Alpha night so I had to buy Izzy a new outfit but that's okay.. I found this new little shop and got a pair of pants and long sleeve shirt (yes.. it was actually cold enough to wear them) for Izzy for a great price and she looked adorable as usual.

Well.. I have some pictures and videos to post but it's late so I'll do it tomorrow as I wait at home for our Tennis Master's Cup tickets to arrive. Wohoo!!!!

Oh yeah.. just a cute Izzy saying. She can now officially say her name but she calls herself... 'Izzybella' too cute.

Mommy... I broke it

Izzy: Mommy, Mommy
Me: What Isabella?
Izzy: I broke it
Me: You broke what?
Izzy: (with all seriousness and holding onto it) I broke my arm.
Me: What?
Izzy: (rubbing her arm) I broke my arm.

So I have her come over to see what she's talking about. I thought maybe she was talking about her shirt that was torn but she kept saying, 'No I broke my arm.' I moved her arm all around... it was okay. And then I realized she was pointing to the virus (wart like thingy) on her shoulder. She had scratched it and thought she popped it.

It was so stinkin cute! I thought at first that she was being funny because sometimes Mike teases her when she wants me to 'carryo' her and tells her my arm is broken... but no she was serious.

And now... it's 10:50 and she is still up, reading her Mickey Book and eating cheerios.

Sweet Izzy stories.

Boring Update...

So much has gone on and I've just been lazy about writing. So many sweet Izzy memories, fun surprises, decions to be made... and hopefully I won't forget those but if I try and go back to write about them I'll just get discouraged so alas...


Yesterday, we took a family run and it was awesome! We went a little over 13 miles and Izzy even ran a bit. We took a different route and even found some new places to explore which was fun too. But needless to say, I'm tired and very unmotivated to run again this week. LOL And I have all my speed workouts yet to do. A cute Izzy moment was when we got home... she was stretching with me. I don't know why it was adorable to me but it was. :)

Today I had yet another interview and I surprisingly enjoyed it. I don't normally enjoy interviews at all but this was at an English Center in fanling which is just two stops away from China. The owner was awesome, very sweet, a believer, friendly, etc... She is buildling her center and has offered for me to basically do whatever I wanted with just a few guidelines. Which sounds exciting to me. She's also totally willing to work around when I am available and Izzy can come to work with me if necessary. She's also willing to do some Cantonese/English swapping where she'll teach Izzy and I and I'll teach her. The whole time I was with her this morning, she was teaching Izzy. I loved it!

Anyway... there is one major thing that I need to find out before I can make a final decision so I'm praying that God will just give me wisdom on what to do.

So that's the past few days in a nut shell.

So exciting!

Well this week has been full of some exciting things and it's only Wednesday! Due to a lot of people missing, I was able to be at a different table at Alpha this week... one where almost everyone at the table is truly seeking the Lord and to hear their excitement about reading the Bible, having God speak to them, even just buying a Bible. It was humbling to be a part of that. It can be too easy to slack off in our spiritual lives because we've been following the Lord for even what seems like a long time or because we've grown up in the church and we feel we know everything. But answering some of the questions just reminded me of all the awesome things God has done for me and how exciting it truly is to develop our relationship with him and it was really a fun night.

And after I got home, I made a decision. Since we moved to HK, I've prayed for the opportunity to start a moms group. I prayed that God would build close relationships within these moms and I prayed that in time... God would open an opportunity to do a book or Bible study. And with pure JOY, I get to share that we will begin a book study on Biblical parenting within the next month!!!!! I am so simply stoked! After some prayer, I decided to talk to them all and see if they were interested in doing something like this and all have showed interest! What's absolutely great is that at least 2 attending are not believers but are willing to come for different reasons. So please pray for these ladies, this group and these two women that God would draw them unto Him during this time.

So exciting!!! And one little thing... I have another interview tomorrow for a Sat morning position. It's with the same school that was M-S but just Sat's and I'm excited yet really nervous as I have to do a 15 min phonics demonstration. Please continue to pray with me that God would just make it clear what He wants me to do. Then we have a fun staff party in the evening and the friday begins family camp!

And to top it all off... it's starting to cool off! Wohoo!

This week just ranks up there as one of the best!!!

Insanity

I feel like I'm going insane. I've been offered one job... have a second interview for another job... and have a 3rd interview in which we are working out the details of where to meet. This is what I wanted right?... or so I thought. But when I got the email in which I was offered the job, my heart sank... like I wanted to get the job... just didn't want to actually take it.

I dunno... I feel like I'm going crazy. I'd like something... but I want it to be on my terms. Simply because I don't need the job and I don't want it to take me away from my family. Am I being selfish? Does God want me to do this? Some would say that maybe He would as He's opened all these doors but could He just be giving me the option since this is something I was interested in? It's times like these where I wish God would audibly speak to me and tell me what to do. Because I want to do His will but with the feelings I have in regards to 2 of these positions... it just doesn't seem right.

And then this brings up another whole set of questions.... aiya

23 degrees

One huge adjustment for me living here continues to be the weather. Like it's Oct and it should be cold, or at least cool... I shouldn't be able to swim, shouldn't sweat the minute I step outside, shouldn't have to turn on my air con, you get the idea. I miss my long sleeves, sweaters, sweatshirts... pants.

But today... I'm just so excited that I have to post.... it's only 23 (or 77 depending on where I look) outside right now!!!!!! I can't even remember the last time I saw that number. I'm sure it will go up a bit throughout the day but wohoo!!!! Must take advantage of this.

Job Interview

Well today was an interesting day... I had a job interview for a NET (Native English Teacher) position at a Kindergarten. It all happened so quickly... I've been looking for something very part-time in hopes to make some extra income so that we could adopt. Word apparantly got aroudn that I was looking for something and I got an email last week about this position. I made the phone call and they wanted me to interview today. After talking with them, I was hesitant about the job but I thought it would be worth it to go to the interview which led to an interesting day for me and Izzy.

We hopped on the shuttle at 10 and due to a few mishaps... I was late to my interview. Thankfully they were late as well. :) But I also had Izzy with me, which they were fabulous about. They acutually offered for her to join a class but once she saw the little cars that's all she wanted so one of the ladies sat with her while I had my interview... it was really interesting... some interesting questions. But I quickly realized that it's not the right time. I think I would absolutely LOVE the job... but the communte, having to work on Sat, etc... it's just not a good idea right now. Though I think I will keep my eyes open for a similar position closer to home. So while I kinda feel like I wasted a bit of my day... I know I didn't at the same time. I actually got to see a part of HK that I'd never been too, I got to explore the mall our shuttle drops us off at and realized they have some great children's stores (Izzy is obsessed with Cinderella right now and I found a store that has TONS of princess things/toys, etc... and even a bunch of Dora stuff.. who she also adores... which is rare in HK) and I feel more prepared for future interviews. I also know as far as a job goes... what I want.

So anyway... tomorrow I actually have another interview for a job on Thursdays but I just got the notice so unless they allow Izzy to come... I'll have to wait. And I have another, I'm not exactly sure if it's an interview or a you've go the job let's discuss the details, meeting sometime this week for a friday night position which actually might work out really well. So we'll see what the Lord has in store. I'm looking for something that will give me an opportunity to reach out and minister but at the same time... doesn't take me away from my famiy or ministry with our church.

On a cute side note.... as I already mentioned Izzy's love for Cinderella... well today she was watching it while I was getting ready and I heard her singing along. It was too cute.

Cinderella

Sorry about the sideways shot... forgot to fix it first but need to get to bed so this will have to do for today. This pic shows what I wish Isabella didn't know how to do... use the DVD player. Does your baby book ask this question? Well mine does and it made me laugh that at 2 I could write that Izzy knows how to work the DVD player.


Isabella is in love with Cinderella and today she found this dress in her closet... (she now carries her stool whever she needs it... in the bathroom to brush her teeth, in her bedroom to turn on her light or get into her closet, the kitchen to get into the fridge) and insisted on wearing it and spinning in it. We actually have Cinderella on VCD (cheaper.. not as good quality dvd) so it comes in two disks and Izzy's prefers the 2nd disc where the mice are making her dress, the ball and so forth. She gets so sad when Cinderella gets locked into her room. So cute.

So anyway... once again I'm not leaving myself much time to write but I just have to share how excited I am that by putting the scriptures around the house and just reading them throughout the day.... I've memorized about 4 new verses in just a short time. This is huge for me... for some reason, I can memorize any music (for piano, sax, etc...) with relative ease but scripture has always been very difficult for me so I'm just stoked!

Have a blessed day!

Paci Update #2

She's doing great! No paci and she only asked where it was once today. Horray! What a star my baby is and even whe she's sick. Yup she's coughing again. Looks like to the Dr we go. Aiya....

Paci Update

Well... I thought 'Gamma' might like an update on how Izzy is doing without her paci so here's a quickie. She survived her first night with a short lived cry. I was quickly able to distract her and she was fine though now I think she's just adjusting to what to do when she's in bed. With her paci's she could lay down and still play with the one... now she has nothing to play with. She was up rather late last night... I headed to bed after 11 and she was still awake. This morning she asked for it and I reminded her that she wanted to send it to Papa and that was it. At nap time she took a bit to fall asleep but napped well without a cry. This evening she was great... just not tired. She asked for it once but I reminded her that it was gone and again she was just fine. I know there must be lots of people praying for her and me (lol) and we're both doing great. I just continue to pray that she will forget about it and that Sunday (a day when she tends to ask for it most) will go well and that she won't even think about it.

On a side note....

I've found it difficult to get in a regular, studying habit with Izzy around even though I have her nap time... that's when I'm most successful in getting housework done, etc... so I decided to take a different approach temporarily anyway... I have short devotional books in almost every room, plus scriptures and prayers plastered all over the place as well... so whenever I have even just a minute, I stop and read, pray, etc... It has absolutely been amazing for me. I have another blog entry about this but I haven't completed it yet but simply... I bought this book while I was visiting the states and it has been just been wonderful and included with this book is a website that will take you through 21 days (see I was right... it takes 21 days to make/break a habit) of different things to make you a better mom. I'm currently doing 21 days of scripture memorization and yesterday I was to choose a verse that was meaningful to me at that time and today I was to write it down in places that I would see it so I can read it often. So my verse(s) is:

Hebrews 12:1 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith."

James 4:10 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up."

There are just some things that are going on that are not to be written on a public blog but I have to say... these two verses have touched my heart deeply these past two days. They were exactly what I needed to hear... I'm SO thankful to have a God that knows me, listens to me, speaks to me, loves me...

Have a blessed day!

Bye, bye paci

Well today... the paci fairy came and took Izzy's paci's away. Actually we were talking about being a big girl and when I told her that she wasn't going to have them tonight she asked if we could mail them to Papa. :) I know some would say I'm a bad parent for letting her have it this long but when you take public transportation as much as we do and often with a very tired and cranky child who has incredible will power well... it's nice to have something just to throw in her mouth that will calm her down. But alas.... her virus on her chin is spreading and it's just time. So if you think about us... pray that the next few days will go well and that Izzy will adjust well. I actually chose tonight because Mike comes home late on Wednesdays and he'll be gone late friday in preparation for the Trailwalker so I figured if she screamed... he'd only have 1 night to deal with it. However, it's 10pm and Izzy is still up playing in her bed. I wish I could go on as little sleep as she does.

I'm in week 4 of my training and it's going well. I'm actually following the plan which means only one real long run each week and I must say it's nice. Until July, I tended to run as long as I could as many days of the week as I could and while it really got me into shape... I burned out a bit. According to my Nike+ system, I've got approx 240miles (haven't updated it in the past few days) until I reach my 500 mile mark so I've made it a goal to run 500 miles by Jan 1st. That shouldn't be too big of challenge... about 20miles a week... I'll just need to be consistent in my training and not give up after the race.

I had other things to write about but now I can't remember so I think I'll go enjoy a few minutes with my hubby before hitting the hay.

Oh yeah... another cute Izzy story:

I put Izzy to bed and decided to run. I figured if she cried, I wouldn't be able to hear too much of it between the tv and my treadmill. So anyway... I finished my run and walked back to our room to put my shoes away when I noticed Izzy's light on. At first I thought ... oh I can't believe I forgot to turn her light off... no wonder she's awake. Then I remembered that I did turn her light off and wondered how she got it back on. There were no chairs in site. She came out of her room saying, 'up.. baby up. play?' So I told her she could have 5 minutes to play but she had to show me how she turned the light on. So she disappears and comes back with the stool we have in the kitchen. It made me laugh that she thought of that but also that she was kind enough to put the chair away when she was done.