Numb

That's how I kinda felt today. We had a bad night of sleep and therefore I wasn't totally myself to begin with. Then I chatted with my Mom (hadn't done that since before we moved because of not having a phone) and she let me know that my Aunt passed away last week. I must admit this has got to be one of the worst things about being across the world from family. first not being there with my family during times like this but then secondly... not always finding out before the fact. But I was kinda numb in my response... in fact when I told Mike I said, 'Well I kinda expected it.' It's true, she had some health issues that I figured would lead to bad things and my family is huge so I didn't know her super well but that's not a normal, sympathic response and I felt bad all day that I seemed to be numb to the fact of what had happened. And then I went running and after my initial run I decided to walk for a bit and listen to some worship music... and the numbness faded away. I felt like and idiot because I'm stretching in the gym and the tears just came. I may not have known her super well but I do love her and I love my Uncle and the reality of life and so many other things just hit. It once again opened my eyes to how short life really is on earth and how important it is to live a life that glorifies God and that is worthy of Him saying, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.'

So anyway... I'm glad to be going to visit my family in just over a month and a half. Today made me realize how much I miss them and I'm anxious for Isabella to see everyone again... she's starting to say many of their names (though she'll probably still call 'Uncle Juan'... 'two' lol) and it'll be fun to watch her with all her cousins.

Now it's off to bed and prayers that Izzy will sleep well.

Views from the 29th floor

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day so I had to take some pictures of our new view. We could even see the mountains across the way and CHINA! How cool is that! I had no idea that we would be able to see China... so cool to me. So here they are... the view from our bedroom. Isn't it amazing! We see those mountains from every window in the flat and it makes me feel so not in Hong Kong. LOL We can only see buildings if we are up close, looking out of bedroom window. It's so peacful and I'm daily stunned at the beauty we get to enjoy every day.
This is a more zoomed in view of the mts across the way. We don't always see them.. sad huh but good ole haze and pollution.
If you can see the buildings to the left... to the right of those and before the mts... that's China.



And just because she's so adorable. Here's Isabella watching Veggie Tales. And the bottom one is her goofing around. Her face looks so chubby here! LOL



And speaking of my Izzy... we left for the pool at 8:30am and didn't come back until 11:30am when we were kicked out by the lifegaurds (the pool closes at 11:30.) Isabella was in heaven, floating, jumping, watching the frog. Yeah there was a frog in the pool and it totally grossed me out because I wasn't expecting it and I almost stepped on it. LOL She's growing so much... she now helps me set the table and tidy's up. Her vocab is growing too though she keeps saying 'ee a' after everything and I have no idea why or where it came from. She can finally say 'puppy' (her treasured stuffed dog) and baby.

I'm so proud of myself today... we didn't have Bible study but Mike still gave me the time to myself so I went to the gym and decided to just run as far as I could. I ended up doing about 8+ miles (the treadmill and Nike+ are giving me different numbers)! It was so great... I took a slower pace to build up endurance and I felt wonderful until about 6.5 miles and then my knee started to bother me (it happens with a sudden increase in mileage) but I was determined to hit 8 miles. Two weeks ago, I decided that my approached to building endurance and mileage wasn't working so I printed out Hal Higdon's 1/2 Marathon training guide and it's been awesome! I'm actually a few weeks ahead but I'm praying that by pushing myself... the weeks with much longer runs won't be so intimidating. So anyway... my May challenge is about to end and currently I'm in 17th place. I should be a bit higher but my Nike+ didn't always work. But anyway... I'm so excited and decided to continue this challenge in June in hopes to break the top ten.

I think tomorrow is Izzy's last Little Gym class until fall and then we have playdates set up for the rest of the week. Should be a fun one. Can hardly believe June is almost here!

Have a great day!!!

Count your blessings... name them 1 by 1

I'm sitting here watching lightning flash out the window... it's rainy season and over the past few days there has been some amazing storms. Some may think I'm crazy but I love a good thunderstorm or rainshower though I must admit it's a bit freaky to be so high up and see things a bit more clearly/close up. Yesterday I was visiting the twins and within seconds... we were among the clouds.. couldn't see a thing. It was really cool.

I've got so many started blog entries but since we didn't have internet and I couldn't post them right away... I slacked in finishing them and now I don't remember what all I wanted to write.

It's been an amazing week of blessings this past week. In my previous post, I shared what a great Bible study we had last Tues night and how open people seemed to be in sharing requests. Some things I asked for prayer were.. Isabella's sleeping and eating habits, Adelina and the twins, and meeting some moms in the area. And I was humbled by how graciously God answered every single one of those requests. There is a 'How to raise your children in HK' website where I go on occassion to find potential playgroups or other questions I may have and when we moved I posted a 'Do you live in Ma On Shan' thread. This past Wed, I received an email (and not totally sure how she got my email but that's okay) from a Mom who lives in MOS and through our disucssion we realized that we live just 5 buildings away... in the same complex. We had a holiday last week so we decided to meet this week. What a HUGE answer to prayer!!! Isabella on Wed ate the most I had ever seen her eat at one meal time and her sleeping habits have greatly improved. Wed morning... the twins were born and everyone is doing well. On top of that, I've been trying to get one of my friends to attend church and she called to say... 'Can I come this Sunday?' WOW!!!!! I was on cloud nine for the week. It was simply amazing and top it off, I emailed the ladies group to thank them for their prayers and three other ladies replied with how God had answered their prayers too. What an amazing week of seeing God at work... a real 'faith booster' as Lori said.

We're still finishing up putting together our flat but it's looking good and we can see the floors. We couldn't have asked for a better place to live. I absolutley love it here and Isabella is doing great with the lengthened travel time.

Off to read...

We're called to Serve but what does that mean?

Last night I was our ladies Bible study and the topic was of service. Last week we began our discussion and then practiced it and this week was follow up. It was a great meeting... I felt like many were very open and honest and it wasn't just a bunch of what I like to call... 'sunday school answers or prayers for great Aunt Bertha's big toe.' (LOL)

I really enjoyed learning about the 'how's' of service and how that develops our character and strengthens our relationship with the Lord. We're often told that we need to serve but there's so much more to service than just doing it.

Matthew 5:13-16 tells us we are the light of the world but exactly how do you live as that light? How do you shine so that other's see Christ in your life? Mike and I always make an effort to acknowledge everyone but especially those that get looked down upon here. I try very hard to always have a smile on my face. But I know I'm not doing enough.. and it's good to know that people shouldn't just see my works of service but they should see Jesus through them. Gives me a new attitude in how I should be serving.

Galatians 5:13-1 tells us that we have been called to live in freedom and that we are to use that freedom to serve one another. freedom in Christ is sometimes a hard thing to understand and explain but in regards to serving others I think it's saying that we need to serve in any possible way. There aren't a list of things we should or should not be doing... we are free to serve in whatever is before us.

Galatians 6:9-10 tells us not to get 'tired' of doing good. It's easy to get focused on ourselves and tired of serving others... especially if it seems that no one is appreciating our service but God says that at the 'right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up' and to me... that's motivation enough to keep pressing on. Who would want to pass up a blessing from the Lord or see God work in those you are serving? On the other end.. we shouldn't be serving for what we get in return but I think it does help to know that whether or not our service is seen or appreciated... God sees it all, knows our hearts behind it... so we need to be faithful in doing what He has called us to do.

Ephesians 6:7-8 tells us to work with enthusiasm. Yikes.. that one was a hard one for me. We discussed a lot about how hard it can be to enthusiastically serve our families day in and day out.. . but those are God's words. We shouldn't begrudgingly serve others. As Sharon said... (jokingly but with a point) 'We might as well cross that service off the list of rewards from God' if it was done begrudgingly. That's not how God wants us to serve. On of my biggest struggles is to be joyful in serving Isabella when she's cranky and won't sleep but I really prayed hard for a better attitude and after this study... I've been able to stop, breathe, and pray before responding with frustration... seems like common sense but I really had a hard time dealing with my frustration and not thinking of praying a quick prayer.

1 Peter :10-11 says that God has given us gifts and we are to use those to serve others. That means we have to be aware of gifts and willing to use them and on top of that... be able to balance serving with our gifts and the other things that the Lord calls us to. This one seems so common sense to me... use your gifts, bless others by your gifts... but yet how many churches struggle with the 20/80 principle... 20% of the people do 80% of the work. I don't understand this... other than 'I'm too busy.' I think everyone has a million things to do so to me... I figure there must be something else.. but have no idea what. Please enlighten me. :)

And the final thought comes from revelation 5:9-10 which talks about 'priestly' service and we decided that this meant God calls us to be a go between... we are to go to God on peoples behalf and go to people on God's behalf. On even simplier terms, we are to pray for others and to witness. This idea of a 'go-between' was a new perspective for me and I love thinking of it in this way. What an honor it is to think of life this way... 'a go-between.'

This study was fantastic. It has given me a new heart for service.. and a new attitude towards it. I know I'm not perfect and will still deal with 'weariness, lack of enthusiasm, not being a light, etc...' but knowing that God provides the strength, gives us the energy it's easier to believe that I can make the choice to ask for God's help and not do it on my own.

I've been a bit slow in finishing my 'A Heart Like His' study but I really want to take in what I'm reading instead of just crossing it off a list of things to do. So anyway... last night I was reading and I just love these statements from Beth Moore:

'I think one reason David remained a man after God's own heart was his unwillingness to turn from God, even when he felt negative emotions. David allowed his anger and fear to motivate him to seek more insight into the heart of God.'

I loved the word 'unwillingness.' It just spoke volumes to me. We're currently studying 2 Sam 6 (the death of Uzzah) and it talks about how angry, confused and hurt David was by what had happened but he didn't react by turning his back on God (like how sometimes we chose to do when something doesn't go our way) it wasn't even a thought of his... he was unwilling to turn from God... but rather he waited, he studied, he listened to God... and through all that he ended up deepening his realtionship and learning so much more about God.

I think sometimes in my life, when things don't go the way I had hope they will, I can honestly put trust in God that He has a plan, He knows what He's doing, etc... but I can't honestly say that every time I go and study/seek more insight into the heart of God. I just 'assume' the basics and move on. But I've been challenged on numerous occassions this year to seek a deeper truth and I've made it a goal to search/seek God, rather than others for answers. I want to understand the heart of God like David... I want to be 'a woman after God's own heart' and I believe that the only way to become like that is to truly seek God with all my heart for wisdom, truth, guidance, etc... rather than just depend on others to tell/teach me.

Beth Moore ends the chapter with this...

David may not have understood more about Uzzahs' death, but he understood more about God, which made his loss more tolerable. God is not harsh; He is holy. He is not selfish; He is sovereign. He is not unfeeling; He is all-knowing. Like David, we need to come to know Him, and respect Him; and, like David, we will love Him more.

This chapter talks about fearing God... having respect for Him and I'll admit that sometimes that's a hard concept for me to understand when it's more common (at least I think) to hear 'God is your best friend.' So this was a good reminder (a good example) for me because it makes me take His word more seriously, it makes me look at sin in a different way, and it makes me want to please God because He's God... not because He's my friend.

Not sure that'll make sense to anyone else but I don't know how else to explain it. Hopefully months down the road... I'll still understand what I mean. LOL Basically.. it taught me not to take serving/following God lightly... but rather seek Him so that every aspect of my life refects Him and be serious about becoming more like Him.

So anyway... on a much lighter note: we're off to buy Izzy's new bed. Have a great day!

Blonde roots?

Sometimes I really wonder if deep down I have some blonde roots. LOL I went running this evening, actually just went to the gym to do some interval training and to lift so I ran on the treadmill. Sometimes I absolutely love seeing all the numbers and other times they just discourage me and sometimes they just point out how dumb I can be sometimes. hehe

The clock said about forty+ minutes and the distance said about 5 and I was discouraged. I just kept thinking... 'What is wrong with me that it's taking forty+ minutes to run 5K?' I don't think I've ever had that problem but I thought maybe it was because of the intervals I was doing. I never bothered to check my iPod. Anyway... I was feeling pretty good so I decided to run a bit longer to at least cover some more distance since I thought I was moving so slow. When I stopped, I got some water and was checking out my run results and I almost had a heart attack... okay so not really but I was quite pleased. The 5 on the treadmill wasn't kilometres (as I've finally gotten used to this system)... it was miles. :) Duh.... I was about .7 away from running a 10K and I would've run it in about 51 minutes! Wow... that was so encouraging to see my time improving but I was so mad that I didn't realize this in the first place and actually run a full 10K. Oh well... learned my lesson. I actually had to calibrate my Nike+ so I ended up running 10K just not all at the same time. :)

Well... Izzy had a great time with Auntie Dorie as always and now we're trying to get her to sleep. I can't wait until she has her new bed and one that I can't fit in. She's been having troubles staying in her room so I have to lie on the floor for a few minutes (which are turning into about an hr because I keep falling asleep with her...lol) with her. Ahhhh... she's such a night owl like her momma.

Okay... I need to get to bed. 6am comes early!

a star in the house

My sweetie is a star! :) You'd think by now that I would be used to people coming up to Isabella rubbing her face, her hair, kissing her cheeks, wanting to hold her and take her picture... but it still catches me off guard and makes me smile to think about how intrigued they are by her blonde hair and blue eyes. It also makes me a bit nervous when I think about how many websites she may be on without my even realizing or when someone holds their arms out for her to come to them. I'm thankful that these days, Isabella's a bit hesitant to go to any stranger but she wasn't always like that.

And then as we were walking home (past our buildings) Isabella saw one of our guards, Eric, in a different building so she pointed and waved until she grabbed his attention and he came out to say hello. And at the next building she just decided to say hello to that gaurd and he got a big grin on his face. Isabella is really loved by the people here at LV... she's so friendly with everyone and they all know her name... from the janitors, to the guards (both at our building and on the corners of the promenade), and even the real estate agents. It will be hard to say goodbye to these people we see everyday. One guard came out last Saturday (when we were taking over our first load of bags) and was disappointed when we told him we were leaving. It's funny how you get attached to people that you don't even have a real relationship with. I'm glad that Monte Vista is similar in set-up and am praying we'll have new guards just as friendly as Martin, Eric, etc... but these guys, especially Martin, will always hold a special place in my heart as dumb as that may sound.

I failed at getting up on time this morning. Izzy woke up before 6 and I wanted to give Mike the chance to rest since he's been working so hard on getting our new flat looking pretty. {He showed me pictures of the paint job and I just can't wait to get over there and see... it looks stunning!} But Auntie Dorie is coming over to spend some time with Izzy so I think I'll use that time to go to the gym and run. I really need to work on my endurance... I can't seem to get past the 10K marker and I'm getting discouraged.... though I'm wondering if part of my struggle is simply because I'm not used to working out in the heat.

This is the living room walls: all are an off-white with this one dark brown
This is our bedroom: all walls are the same off-white with one wall blue and actually a bit of the entrance wall to the room is blue too. Izzy's room is yellow and the last bedroom is yellow with one wall the same blue as our bedroom.

Yesterday we had a day at the pool with friends... Vivian, Jill and Mousumi joined with their kids and though it was quite breezy, I think they all had a blast. I even got the chance to meet a new mom who just moved to HK 3 months ago and through our conversation... we had the opportunity to invite her to church. She said she will come but I've lost her information so I'm praying I can get in touch with her before the end of the week. I was very excited but bummed that our group is growing and now I'm leaving. But that's okay... I enjoy spending time with these ladies so it will be worth it to make the trip to hang out and I've already made some contact with a playgroup in our new area. God is SO good!

Well I've only got a few minutes before the sweetie wakes up so I better get to some cleaning. LOL

Who knew?

That I would enjoy waking at 6am.... let alone waking at 6 to run? With our move just days away, I realized that my running options were slimming down. No longer can I count on Mike to come home at lunch so I can get in a quick run and in reality... the heat has arrived and there's no way I'm going to run in the middle of the afternoon anyway and I can only do so many miles on a treadmill before getting bored. So... on Sunday night I made the decision to get up at 6 to get in my run. In my mind I thought, 'well if I get out the door quickly and run for an hour, then I should be able to jump back into bed for another 1/2hr maybe hour before Izzy wakes.' So far no luck but that's because I've done something stupid each morning that's caused me not to actually get outside until at least 6:15 and by the time I get home... Izzy's been up. It's okay though. I feel great and I'm sure after adjusting to this for a bit, I won't get drowsy during the day. I've even been a good girl and gone to bed early. I'm pretty proud of myself because well mornings are just NOT my thing but I do love knowing that by the time a lot of people get up.. I've already put in a few miles and I can enjoy the day... hey, I can even nap while Izzy does if I want. LOL

Life has simply been crazy in attempts to move this weekend. Packing a bit here and there.. hanging out at the new flat while Mike and some friends paint (oh my goodness... wait to you see the handiwork of Mike and ryan!!!! It's gorgeous!!! I'm so stoked about the paint jobs!) trying to do some last minute, very easy things to do while we're still here and spending time with friends that I'm not sure how often I'll see after the move. I forgot all about national scrapbooking day and at the last minute threw my items on sale and I feel awful because I feel like I'm letting my store owner down. But hopefully within the next week things will go back to a normal schedule. I did decide to make scripture quotes for an ABC book and here's the letter...'B'.



Other than that not too much has been going on... I haven't been able to read in days so I'm hoping maybe tonight to pick up a new book. But enough rambling for now...

Pictures---Mongkok Night

This is the food I liked the best... clams and oysters. Looks appetizing right? That's the one thing about Chinese food that I've found... the uglier it looks, the better. LOL

Here's my attempt at eating chicken feet.

Here's the group eating street food... we had fish balls, dumplings, bubble tea, etc... everything was great!

Here's that group at the restaurant. I absolutely love the open aired places here! We're sitting in the midst of the night market. The ladies from L to r are: Map (Chinese), Ave (from New Zealand), Hannah (American: our intern), Me, Imelda and Dorie (from Philippines).


Yeah!!! Map emailed me the pictures from our ladies night out... ah what fun memories.

Creativity

You've got to love the creativity of a child! Here I am packing away... annoyed that I have to spend my time doing this (lol)... and Isabella is having the time of her life! She's got three bags, her puppies and her pillow and she's having a blast in her tents. Why again do children need toys? She's even temporarily forgotten about going 'ouside' or to the 'pooool'. Now that shows how much fun she's having.

You're invited!

I'm so excited to share Izzy's invites! I can't belive my baby's turning two... JUST CrAZY but I'm so excited to celebrate with our HK family. Hopefully, most of her little friends can come and enjoy some Elmo fun. A huge thanks to Grandma and Papa for sending some Elmo party supplies... can you believe they don't have anything Elmo here??? LOL

Gotta back up a few days... to Sunday. Map grew up in Mongkok and wanted us girls (Ave, Imelda, Dorie, Hannah and I) to get together as a good-bye to Hannah so she took us on a tour of Mongkok (ie Temple St night market, Ladies market, street food) and to a restaurant that her friend owns. Mike was able to stay home with Izzy and I had such a wonderful night! It was so neat to hear Map tell us about the area and share come culture with us, for her and Dorie (this woman really knows more than she ever lets on... I told her she needed to give me Cantonese lessons. lol) to teach us some Cantonese, and to try lots of new foods. I had fish balls that I actually enjoyed and dumplings on a stick! WOW... those were to die for. I have to take Mike to have some. I thought they were even better than the little hole=in-the-wall restaurant ones. At dinner I had oyster, clams, chicken feet, and some more normal foods but the one thing that I absolutely loved.. .were the clams! Who knew? They were delish!!!! I think I ate half the plate of them. :) I think what I enjoyed most was the fellowship though. I got the opportunity to talk to everyone on a deeper level and it was wonderful. I suggested that we do this once a month and I hope that we will. It was a great way to get to know everyone that you usually only see once a week and it was so fun to have a mix of cultures (we had American, New Zealand, Phillipines and Chinese). That it one of the neatest things about HK... you end up with friends from all over the world.

The other cool thing that has happened is that we've settled on a flat. Mike signs tomorrow and we pretty much start moving in on Saturday. The truck will come on the 12th I believe but we'll take bags out as we can. I cannot wait to set up Izzy's room. We weren't really able to set up much of a nursery since we moved to HK and we just kinda got by with what we had so I've been having a blast deciding how to decorate it. We're going with a loft bed with a tent over it and a play area underneath. It's a bit difficult to explain so you'll just have to wait for pictures. :)

Okay... I'm rambling. I still have much to say but it's not coming to me write now so I'll end with a layout I did today...

grrr...

I am SOOOO frustrated!!!! I don't know exactly what the problem is but I'm assuming it was the time difference but my May 1st run is not showing up in my challenge!! :( I'm praying this won't cost me elimination but I'm not sure... one guy ran 18+ miles in one day! Wow... inspiring. ;) However, I decided to use it in my miles tracking so that I can know how much I ran in one month.

But alas.... some good news!!! We are moving and very soon!!! We sign our contract on friday and start moving on Saturday! I'm so excited... we even get to paint the walls to our liking. I know I'm miss Whampoa and some of the conveinences but Ma On Shan will be great... it'll teach Izzy how to love the sand. Well.. at least I hope. :)

And... Isabella's birthday party is all set! I just have to send out the invited tomorrow. The family that allows us use their roof-top are so generouse and helpful and etc... I can't even begin to explain how helpful and kind they have been to us about her party.

Well.. I have more to share but I'm gonna chill in our bed watching a movie. Have a great night! (or day I guess)

totally random

1. Last night I was sitting in bed with the window and curtains open, realizing how many people I'm surrounded by constantly and how much light there is. And then I began to wonder.... if we ever move from here to a much less populated place.... will I be lonely and afraid of the dark?



2. Then we had another unusual night with Izzy and it was about 2:15 when I finally got to my bed. Mike is attempting to run this morning (praying really hard that he's ok) and got up very early and Isabella decided to join him (in waking up that is) but Mike brought her in to our room and she fell back asleep with me. Is it really after 10? Am I dreaming???? I guess this makes up for staying up so late! And that fact that we are listening to Veggie Tales and she's doing all the motions for the songs makes me so happy. I LOVE this girl!

Power Quotes

I was hanging out at coolrunning.com today and found this list of power quotes and I thought they were great but the one that I know will make me push myself is the very last one... yeah I don't know if that's a good thing or not but I did realize one thing... once I set my mind to something, there's really no stopping me. It's almost as if I become obsessive until completion. Again, I'm not sure if that's a good thing but as I look back on my spiritual life, I can remember telling God... I want to follow you but I'm just not ready... help me to be ready, give me that desire to serve you alone. And you know what... a few months later, I was ready, I was committed... and I've been hard core ever since. There was no looking back once I made that decision... some of the bigger issues I was dealing with at the time... gone... simply because I was committed... I became obsessive about following Christ. (not to say I didn't, nor still don't sin... I'm not perfect but you get my drift. well at least I hope you do but I know what I'm saying. lol) Anyway... some may say this 'obsessive' nature is a bad thing but in regards to my spiritual life... it's been AWESOME!!!


"Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit."

I have fought the good fight,I have finished the race,I have kept the faith

Yahweh ... please give me strength ...

Pr 4:12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.

Pr 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Isa 40:31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

1Co 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Ac 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race

Ga 5:7 You were running a good race.

2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.


"Is this REALLY the best you can do?"



Okay.. I felt the need to ramble some more. Hope I didn't bore you too much. :)

Beautiful days are not an Accident

"I am convinced that beautiful days are not an accident. God made days like these specifically for us to enjoy. I decided I need to enjoy simple blessings, like a beautiful day with singing birds, much more often. Every day, in fact. I think that if I can learn to appreciate the little things God blesses me with on a daily basis, then I will come to better understand just how much He loves me. And understanding that will help me love others better." I did a little blog hopping yesterday and was so touched and challenged by these words that I had to copy and paste it here. I've found myself dealing with so many ups and downs lately that I've been missing the simple blessings from God... and her words helped me to appreciate all that happened today.

My heart is leaping with joy but overcome with reality and sadness at the same time. I had the most wonderful afternoon with my friends. We met for lunch at McDonalds (ok so that part wasn't the greatest but the kids enjoyed it) and then spent the entire afternoon at the park... chatting and watching our little ones interact. They're all within 1yr of each other so it's tons of fun for everyone. The weather couldn't have been any better and it was so nice to be outside. We had some really good and in depth conversations and Vivian had the opportunity to share God's working in her life to another friend who does not know the Lord. It was amazing! This was the first time that I really felt that we were friends. It's wierd I know because I spend a lot of time with these women but the conversation always seems to be surface level... simply because we are always chasing our children around while trying to have a conversation. We all walked away basically saying, 'why don't we do this everyday?' And I can't tell you how great that made me feel.

But in the midst of our conversation... I just asked Vivian the question (it's been talked about before but there was never a direct question or answer) ... will they move after their contract is up (which is next summer) and without even thinking she said, 'Yes.' My heart just sank. This is now the 2nd friend that is definately moving come next year with the possibility of at least one more. I know it's the reality of life here in HK and maybe in time I'll adjust to it but right now it's still very difficult for me to deal with. It takes me a lot of courage to build friendships because I'm naturally a shy person (well until you get to know me) and it's taken 2yrs to develop the friends I currently have. The thought of starting over is very scary. That's why while I'm very anxious to move, I'm not looking forward to it because I know I'll have to meet new people and start the friendship process all over again. I love that I can call at least 2 of my friends at any given moment and say, 'hey let's meet at the park' and they'd be there in a heartbeat... now I gotta do it all over again. But deep down... I know that God will help me, He'll bring people into my life wherever we move... just like He did here in Whampoa. And that's also very exciting to me because I've love meeting people from all over the world, learning new things, and building relationships and I can't wait to see what God has in store. (Can you sense the ups and downs... even within the sentences? lol)

I've been weighing the pros and cons of a running stroller... if it would help me to be able to run whenever I want too... I'd do it in a heartbeat but I'm nervous that Izzy will get bored easily and that I'll always have to cut my runs short. My goal when I go out is a minimum of 5K (and I think Izzy could probably handle that) but if I'm serious about a 1/2 marathon in the fall, I need to run for at least an hour a day and well... not sure I could entertain her that long. So I may check some out next week... it could be a great Mother's day gift eh? LOL

I've been thinking a lot about Izzy's birthday party and I'm bummed that at least one of her little friends won't be able to come.... they'll be in India and Adelina may be having the twins but she promised to be there, even if she had to leave the hospital for a few hours. LOL I smiled when she said that because while I know it wouldn't happen... it meant a lot that she cared that much. If I can find some Elmo stuff, it's definitely going to be an Elmo party. This kid just screams when she see's anything Elmo related. But it seems that most kids do... I was looking around in some of the scrapping galleries and Elmo seems to be quite popular for a 2yr old. :) 2... wow! I can't believe my baby's turning two. We already have her gift (I bought it in the states) but I think she's going to be a bit spoiled this year. We're thinking of getting her a bike because she ALWAYS wants to climb onto the ones at the park and at the stores and Mike found a foldable one so it shouldn't be too much of a storage problem. She's also getting a new bed when we move but we don't really have an option on that one. I think we're going with an Ikea bed that's loft-like so there will be space underneath for her toys. That's what we're all about... maximizing space. :)

Well... I've rambled enough. I think I'm going to read a bit. Have a great day!

Elimination

I just love this picture that Hannah took of Mike and I. It's not very often that we get one of these.

I've been having some issues with my eyes... I got bitten (at least I think so) by something in Thailand and just when that started to heal, I got bitten by something here on the other eye and then the first eye had an allergic reaction to my contacts. So since returning from holiday... I haven't run at all and let me tell you, I fell just blah and I know that's why. However, I'm having a bit of motivation issues so I decided to join a Nike+ challenge. This one is an elimination challenge so I'm hoping it will motivate me to push a bit harder. It takes the average miles run by all runners and then choses an eliminating number and by doing it this way... I won 't know the eliminating miles until the day before so hopefully it'll force me to run the most I possibly could in attempts not to get eliminated. I'm also trying to figure out the best running time for myself. I'm going to attempt a late night run and an early morning ran and see what plan I could stick with better... since the heat is just around the corner, I know afternoon runs are out of the picture unless it's inside.

We've had some fun and crazy days since last Sat. Sunday we went tubing/wakeboarding and hung around Sai Kung. It was loads of fun and Isabella did great on the boat. I have a bit of fear of the ocean, especially when it's an overcast day, and since Sunday was, I didn't attempt either but rather just enjoyed the boat ride. I vowed to myself that the next time I will try but I really didn't have an desire to on Sunday. Monday, we went flat searching again, actually to one of the two we're choosing between, and looked around the area so to what was available. Yesterday we had a Dr's appt and dinner with Dan and Geeta and today we met Jill and Hunter for some warehouse shopping at Toys r Us and then Hunter came over for the evening to play. It was so cute to watch Izzy with Hunter... she was quite the big sis... giving him water, showing him how to play with certain toys, wanting whatever he decided to play with. LOL It was a fun day.

Izzy's asthma is acting up again but thankfully we got extra meds this time so it should only take a month to ward off the symptoms until the weather changes again. And she got her chicken pox shot so that she can now attend school... sigh... that makes me sad but it's reality in HK so I guess I better 'do the right thing' and start investigating different schools. :(

I know I had something else to write.. oh yeah. I feel like in a matter of just a few days, Izzy has exploded in her development! Though her vocab still is not that large, the words are coming like crazy and she's able to do all the correct motions for quite a few songs. After watching her and Hunter this evening, I realized how much of a little girl she really is... no longer my baby. But I'm so excited to teach her more and more songs and I've actually got a verse in mind that I can teach her motions to so maybe tomorrow we'll see how that goes.

Well.. it's really late and I really should get to bed. Have a great day!

Torn

on so many levels.... ugh what an awful feeling not knowing what to do.

The most recent turmoil comes from the book I've been reading and the awareness that I now have about Thailand's children living in poverty. for most there is absolutely no hope for them because the fiances are simply not available for them to recieve a proper education and therefore cannot get out of the poverty cycle. I don't know why this is laying so heavily on my heart. It seems a bit strange to me that while I know all over the world people are suffering... nothing has touched me as much as this has. But anyway.... The author of the book has set up an education fund (Students Education Trusts) aka charity that is dedicated to making a difference in the living situations of Thai children. This charity doesn't just give away money and hope that the children will use it for the right things... they interview, check family backgrounds so that the money that is donated is given to students who will complete their education. On one hand it seems a bit harsh to me to deny anyone education but at the same time it seems a waste of money to give a child money for education and then a few months later they quit. So I understand the reason behind the selection process. But anyway.... there is something about this particular charity that draws me to it. However, the man who started this was a former buddhist monk and I don't know if the charity is just based on education or if it helps to promote buddhism. And to be perfectly honest, I don't want to support something that promotes Buddism when I believe iin Jesus. I feel somewhat horrible in that I'm not willing to help others because I don't agree with their religious beliefs but at the same time.... welll now I'm just rambling. So anyway.. I'm trying to find some Christian organizations that do something similar or find out for sure what this particular supports.

So if any readers know of anything... please leave a comment! I'm not looking just to donate money for food. Again I'm sure that sounds awful but I think what draws me to this charity is that it teaches/provides for children so that they can better their (and their future familes) lives rather than just to survive it.

So yeah... that's my recent dilemma and I don't know why it's bothering me so...

outside of that... we've had a fabulous day! Church was great, wakeboarding/tubing was tons of fun, Isabella was awesome, it was just wonderful!

And a side note.... the mat on the floor seems to have done wonders for Izzy. She has not complained at all at bedtime for the past two nights! Crazy.

Annoyed

Just some fun family photos from Thailand


And just a cute on of Izzy chillin on the raft

This is now at least the 3rd piece of furniture that we've had to throw away due to mold. I was pulling out our guest bed (aka futon like thingy) because Izzy has decided she no longer wants to sleep in her bed and when I opened it up... it was totally covered in mold. Talk about being grossed out and now we have a better idea of why Mike may have been waking up a bit sick over the past few weeks or probably even months (it was hiding next to his bed.) This is so absolutely frustrating to me because I try really hard to keep the dehumidifer running during the day and rotating it between rooms. But this is just one thing we'll have to deal with for as long as we are in HK.

So as I already mentioned... Isabella has decided its time for a big girl bed. You know I feel really blessed that she has made the decision on some potentially hard things for me (emotionally). It's made those transitions for me much easier. I can hardly believe she made the switch all on her own, even though it took a few days for me (and a few nights on the floor) to figure out what was going on. We had planned on moving her into a big bed when we moved but I guess that wasn't soon enough for her. LOL But since we'll most likely be moving within the next month or so I think her sleeping on her crib matress will be okay until then.


Izzy refusing to sleep in her crib.


Izzy's new bed

Today was Awana's family camp so Izzy and I tagged along. It was really fun. My friend Tracy and her son Timothy were there so we spent most of the day with them. Timothy is just as active as Izzy so they play very well together. And during one of the breaks I had the opportunity to chat with some other people and I learned a bit more of the Chinese perspective on Education. It was so interesting to hear moms of four yr olds talk about homework, highschools, etc... and to hear the lone American and Aussie view too.

I'm having some trouble uploading my pics and I'm so bummed because I finally have some Thailand pics. Oh well... I'll keep trying for a few more minutes.

So Thailand gave me a lot of time to think about a variety of things and the one thing that kept coming back to haunt me is materialism. I may be wrong in my assumption here but after all the reading I've been doing, I would venture to say that a large majority of Thailand is poverty stricken. Even where we stayed, you could see that most were not well off but rather living day to day, trying to make a living and making the most of what they have. It wasn't uncommon to see hut-like homes, people on bicycles driving down the street selling streetfood, etc. And it just made me realize how materialistic HK can be. There's not a lot to do here and I would venture to say that most people don't take advantage of the outdoor activities... rather they walk the streets and shop (I mean there are malls every 5 miles {hehe Hannah} okay more like 5 ft). I also realized that I've become more like that as well.. I wouldn't call myself materialistic but rather I tend to shop for something to do. Though I have bought way more things here than I ever would have if we were in the states and find myself even wanting more than normal. I have to be honest in that it's more fun to shop here and more realistic (if that makes any sense) because some things are so much cheaper than in the states but l digress. I found myself craving the simple lifestyle of Thai people. They seemed to be more interested in spending time together (and not even doing anything in particular) and enjoying the relationships they have. I realize that HK is a business center (and maybe that's one of the main reasons) but I never sense a general desire for relationships. It always seems that people are on a mission, hurrying to the next place or whatnot.

Yeah so.... I know this is kinda a rambling post but it made me more aware of the materialism that has developed in my heart and helped me to be content with the items I have and gave me a passion to develop friendships and my spiritual life... things that will last forever.

Just one more reason I love my hubby..

I've been reading a book called 'Little Angels.' It's about Thai boys that become Novice Monks because of a variety of reasons but mainly poverty... where the parents can't afford to feed or educate them so they send them off to either Bangkok or to a monastary. It's an excellent book but also terribly heartbreaking. It's amazing to me how these monastaries take in these boys at no cost and provide education, food, etc... (now I know that the community helps to support the monastary) but I guess I'm just amazed at how all this works. Anyway... all I can think about is why there aren't (or if there are, i want to know about them) Christians or Christian organizations that do this very same thing. I'm sure fiances are an issue and I don't even know if they would be permitted to do such a thing but.... thousands of boys are growing up in Buddhist Monastaries, developing a passion for living as Buddha did, trying to follow the precepts and rules of Buddhism, etc... what an incredible opportunity this would be for us to share Christ's love for us to thousands and thousands of Thai children that can turn around and share that love with their families and villages.

So anyway... I was sharing my heart with Mike last night in bed and he didn't blow me off, didn't treat me like what I was sharing was dumb or unrealistic, didn't just agree and stop the conversation there... in fact he did the total opposite. He encouraged me to dream big and think about what I could do to help. It just blew my mind and made me grin from ear to ear dreaming about how God could work in a situation like this. He (MIke) has incredible faith and is so good at pushing others to dream big and challenging others to let God work in their lives.... just another reason why I'm so blessed to call him my 'spouse.'


On a totally random note (and why I referred to Mike as my spouse...)... I joined the facebook cult yesterday. for those of you who don't know what it is, it's just a way of connecting with people (you might know myspace) and Hannah has been teasing me saying I needed to join and after Mike did and had so many friends... I decided to join to (I got a special request today from Mike asking me to be his spouse so that's why I referred to him that way). It's been awesome because I've heard from people that I haven't spoken to in such a long time. Hannah is now teasing me that I'll be addicted and i'm sure I will be because it's a lot easier to write on someone's wall (kinda like posting a comment on a blog) than writing a full length email all the time. That probably sounds awful but at least I'll know the current news on all my friends.

funny stories

There were quite a few funny things that happened on our trip but I think this one took the cake. We were practicing words with Isabella... you know I say 'pool' she says 'pool' and we were going through names of family members. She was doing well and trying really hard and then we got to 'Juan' and this was how it went...

Me: Juan
Isabella: Two

We about died of laughter. I really don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. It was just too cute. So I tried again...

Me: No Isabella... Juan. Like Uncle Juan
Isabella: two

Insert more laughter here. Another name she struggles with is Hannah. It seems that Izzy associates Hannah with cookies because every time we say Hannah... Isabella says 'cookie.' She's always good for a laugh.

In our practicing of words though... she now says thank you in Cantonese! And she's also said Jo San (aka good morning) a few times but it's not as consistent. How fun to listen to her vocabulary expand.. though I am starting to get weary of 'pool' and 'what's dis?' :)