first snow.....and so thankful too.

Its COLD over here!! Our noses tingle when we step outside, and its almost time to get our long-johns out for the winter spell. I do love the change in seasons here, watching the obvious fade of life & green turn into brown & grey, and now covered in white.  Winter is only taunting us now, but it will come in full force very shortly. 

We will enjoy the white snow to the best of our ability, and make snowballs while we can.  Maybe next time we will wear our gloves!

thankful for:

Asia's big cursive bubbly loops

cute squeaking shoes on kids learning to walk

kids playing with yo-yo's on their lunch break

hot peach tea on my sore throat

writing a love note to my babe

knowing that You are in control and You never change

 cancer is not in control

for troubles that cause us to turn to You

for sicknesses that invite us to bring a sacrifice of thanks

for good friends in this city who drop everything to help

iphones gifted to our family!

packages from afar

the quiet of falling snow

snow crystals on barren trees

for Joe Anthony Dostalek - such a generous servant of God

the vulnerability of life 

a friend is pregnant with baby #4!

to see God's power & strength in a wind storm

God's character in a tiny intricate snowflake

favorites from October....

This month we began sewing again!  Justin found me an amazing bargain down at the Material Market, and we have ourselves a sewing machine.  Our first projects are pillows for our dolls, and Halloween costumes!  Asia is loving the hummm of the machine, and pushing the pedal to make it go!

Asia in her happy place!!

Sydney helping mom make Cinnamon Graham Bars for our snack.  

She loves her new apron that Jamma made!

Our little pre-schooler....begging us to read to her!

lots of reading going on this month...its been cold outside!

One of our last park days this year...leaf collecting & flower-picking!

practicing our lovely penmanship at home

other highlights of this month:

the heat came on October 15th!

Friday family nights @ home - games & guitar!

Asia wrote her first mini-report on Pocahontas - she was so excited!

guys camping trip in the uncharted wilderness

2 huge bins of gifts sent from America in extra luggage space from friends

Mom's faith to trust even in unknowns*

*We got a skype call from Mom this month, with hard news of possible cancer in her body.  She won't know for sure until the test results are back, but we are all asking for healing & ability to trust.  Its so hard to be away when people are hurting & struggling.  We are aching for her, but asking Dad to hold her & comfort her during this unknown waiting.... 

best friends & practically family!

These are our best buddies here in our city... 

We've known this family since April 2006...when our girls/their kids were so very young.  Asia was almost three, and Eden was barely one when we first met.  These two below have grown up together, and have such similar personalities, and only 3 months apart.  They are both strong and sweet, caring & sometimes quiet.  They love to be active, and can be very goofy too.  Its wonderful to see how they love each other.

These two are such pals.  I have loved that Asia has had such a good buddy here, and especially such a tender, gentle, and caring friend, like this boy.  They are almost 3 months apart in age too, but such close friends.  Of course they clash and have their stubborn streaks, but they always end up laughing and growing through the hard spots.  They love to scheme and laugh about the silliest things, and they can get serious and work hard together (math/spelling/writing) too.  Its so wonderful for our daughter to have such a precious friend in a boy. 

Syd & A* are two peas in a pod.  They never skip a beat.  They are non-stop laughter and goofiness.  They are both so full of imagination and energy, its hard to keep up.  They have known each other since birth, and have always loved to play together, fall down together, eats snacks, and pretend constantly.  What a precious buddy we have found in this little guy. 

We are so thankful for these wonderful friends ~ a huge blessing when we live so far away from family.  They have become family to us!!

recess

Andrew & Asia doing Sequential Spelling

We've been homeschooling for the past 5 years....and its really fun.  But even with all the FUN, our girls still watch the clock for RECESS!!  With all the other home-schooled kids in our neighborhood, we've organized a 10:00am recess to get the kids outside and active, no matter what the weather might be.  Its a great incentive to stay focused in the morning too!!  Here are some of my favorite pictures of the kids playing in front of our building. 

 ....back to our studies!!

Happy National Day!! 国庆节

These little ones sure do love this precious country!!  

Guóqìng jié kuai le!!

gotta love these little world changers!

Da Sha Gu - and a CAR!!

Some exciting news:  We bought a car -- a used Mitsubishi BK6450 something-or-other: not a brand I have ever heard of before.  We really love having the freedom to get around town, and get OUT of town too - its so nice to get some fresh air in the many mountains and valleys beyond the city.  It was really inexpensive, and Justin already had his license from the Ice Cream Delivery.  He is such a great international driver, which takes SERIOUS skills.  He manages to follow all the rules, even when there aren't any, while paying attention to all the crazies too, and read signs in Chinese.  I could never do it.    

Anyhow, this past weekend we decided to take a drive/adventure with the girls - and explore a new valley that we hadn't been to before.  We went to Da Sha Gu -- about 90 minutes away, with a small fee to enter the "park."  It was really mellow and quiet, which is so refreshing when you are in a city of 4+ million.  I loved the entrance sign that warns you of the wild mushrooms.  I hope you can read the sign, it says = Warm prompt : does not pick, does not buy, does not eat the wild mushroom. 

The park was full of completely man-made rocks (cement formations) and the entire "river" had a cemented bottom.  There were even tree-trunks that were made of cement.  It was so strange.  I don't think the kids noticed really, so we didn't tell them.  This was supposed to be our "escape into nature" adventure.  Only the mountains were real.  Oh, and the crisp mountain air!!...so I shouldn't complain.  

Our favorite part of the day was when we strayed off the normal path to eat our picnic snacks in this huge field, while we watched Kazakh herders galloping nearby, or the tourists (Chinese) riding their horses, while bundling up in our sweatshirts.  We hadn't planned for cold weather!  The girls began a game of spitting their dried garbanzo beans at daddy, which turned into a hilarious war back and forth with beans flying everywhere, and lots of laughter.  I love my little family. 

Here we are....somewhere in the middle of the TianShan mountain range...in NW China.  It still blows my mind sometimes.  I am so very grateful for this opportunity to BE here and share our lives with so many different people groups, and for our girls to see the world this way.

Off we go!!  Its a very cute little car -- and yes!! -- there are seatbelts!!

 

thankful for:
10+ years of marriage to this neat guy
3 amazing, joyful little girls
God's faithful provision in every way
the adventure continues....

birthday & bagels

Happy birthday to the best dad these girls could imagine!!  You are so incredible!! 

 

We bought daddy a special glass teapot that is customary to this part of Central Asia.  The tea pot sits above a small candle to stay warm.  We love to make our own unique tea-flavors, especially when we can add fruit and spices of our own.  We'd love to have you over for a visit!!  

We also decided to make some pretzel bagels for the birthday boy/dad.  These are such a labor of love, but so worth the work. It involves a bunch of mixing, rising, rolling, boiling, baking & basting.  But homemade really is the best!!  Many hands make light work though, right?

Armenia clan : part 3

Our last few days spent with our sweet family was so FULL!!  We filled every moment to the brim with as much love & joy & life that we possibly could.  The cousins were more like sisters at this point!!  We barely slept - not wanting to miss an extra minute wasted on sleep. I know, we are crazy like that.

We took the kiddos to People's Park - romped around bouncy castles and climbed huge climbing walls.  But they mostly liked the cartoony balloons that they brought home for 1 kuai! 


The girls had slumber parties each night, with special hour-long bedtime stories by uncle Jason.  Bedtime became such an exciting adventure - to find out what would become of the 4 heroine princesses (Diana, Trudy, Ethel & Gertrude).  Our girls still remember every detail of his creative tales.



We spent one full day @ the Xinjiang Zoo - which is more like a desert safari!  There were lots of interesting animals living in wide, open habitats - even though they might not enjoy the desert heat!  The kids had fun watching the ostriches, camels, tigers, bears, and the monkeys too. 

 

I love these two!!

 

Aren't these girls so CUTE??

 

We also took the girls go-cart riding @ Nan Gong Yuan, which was a huge highlight.  Jason drove with Jordan & Sydney, while Justin drove the course with Asia & Eden.  The girls were so happy to get behind a steering wheel and go fast.  It was pretty sweet to watch their excitement! 

 

 

Goodbyes are always hard....but we are so thankful for the amazing adventures we got to share in 8 magical days in Xinjiang.  Who knows where we will see you guys next!!?