Chia pets -- Chinese style!

Do you remember having your very own Chia pet when you were little? Well, if not - you can live vicariously through my girls. We found these nifty Chinese versions of the "Chia pets" at the flower market last week - and they have been a huge hit in our home. They cost 6 kuai each (about 88 cents) and you just add water!

Of course we had to give them names.

I bet you could make your own if you were extremely motivated. I will just spend 6 kuai.

• some women's nylons
• sawdust
• grass seeds or chia sprouts
• string
• decorative flare
  

After this we gave them all haircuts.

Sydney is THREE!!

Five months ago Sydney began counting down to her 3rd birthday. She has been waiting a L O N G time for this day! She expressly told me that she wanted a "Love Puppy" birthday party....so mom had to get creative. What is a 'Love Puppy' you ask? ...aka Sydney! She has given herself the nickname - and it has stuck! ...and Sydney loves people - so we invited all the youngsters we could find to share in her big day. Here she is modeling how to feed the Love Puppy.

The kids colored pictures of puppies, fed the puppy a bone, and ate puppy cupcakes. Are you sensing a theme? Sydney was such a HAM the entire party - making silly faces and giving lots of hugs. She soaked in all the attention!

I look at our little girl - and am amazed at how mature & verbal & animated & outgoing she is for a three-year-old! She is still very petite, so she still seems young (tiny) to me! This year she learned to use the potty on her own, get dressed on her own, sing new songs alone, stop taking naps!!, and so many new things. How quickly kids want to be independent/grown-up and branch out on their own! She still loves to snuggle, ride on our backs, play 'the baby' in every game, pet animals outside, go to the market with mom, smile at new friends, all things 'puppy', and dance with her sisters! Each of our daughters are so different, and they teach me a new facet of Dad's character, refining me and pushing me to love Him more! Thank you Sydney for teaching me to rest, to pretend, to laugh & giggle, to sing aloud and spin in circles....and be more outgoing too!! We love you so!!

Here are some more pictures of her special day as queen:

You are so loved little one!!

Ramadan feast - Rosa Eid

At the close of the month of Ramadan (رمضان) is a special celebration to break the 30-day fast! Many families will buy a single sheep that they will slaughter for the feast, to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. The meat is then divided into three equal parts to be distributed to others (1/3 to the family, 1/3 to other relatives, friends & neighbors, and 1/3 is given to the poor as a gift). This year we were privileged to share the holiday with one of our employees & her family. Here are some pictures of the yummy foods we ate!

You can see Polo (aka Pilaf = rice & carrot dish), some Pickled cabbage & carrots, and also Fifila (mutton & rice balls) which the kids love.

This is a famous Uyghur soup called Chuchura. It is filled with lamb dumplings, vegetables, cilantro & the perfect spicy broth!

We are always treated with the best hospitality - and wonderful times of laughter!

winter is coming!!

We had our first snow on November 10th this year....and the weather is getting quite nippy these days! Pretty soon we will all wear long-johns and warm, poofy jackets to stay toasty outside. Our winter weather is pretty consistent with Minnesota winters, since we are along the same latitude. We are making the most of this non-freezing weather while we can....since it will get way below zero soon. Our apartment is heated by radiators, which do a great job keeping us toasty indoors.

Here are the girls dressed up outside our door, for a walk to the market. This is pre-snow!
(Asia - 6.5, Eden - 4.5, Sydney - almost 3!!)

costume party 2009

This year we decided to host a Costume Party at our apartment with some of our friends. There ended up being over 25 kids and 20 parents that came! We transformed the house into a carnival - with different games and activities in each room! The girls also helped me make a pumpkin pinata and fill it with prizes.

Eden dressed up as a rabbit/lamb, Sydney was a dragon, and Asia was a princess for the 6th time. Here is Eden with her close friend Amina (as Spider-woman).
I was so busy running around that I didn't get many pictures - but we had 2 bean-bag tosses, pin-the-patch-on-the-scarecrow, darts, basketball slam-dunk, bobbing for apples, a tunnel/maze in our bedroom, fishing, and three mystery boxes (filled with slimy objects) which Justin himself created. We were so tired afterwards....but I think it was a success!!

This is one of my new friends (she came dressed as a tree). I tried to put together a cow-girl outfit!! If you haven't noticed....I really enjoy hosting parties at our home!

dish duty

I thought these were so cute....I had to share. The girls have become eager to help me with dishes, which has been quite exciting for me! They take turns rinsing and stacking in the rack, while we sing together. Of course it takes longer, we get some water on the floor, and all my dishes are plastic - but the memories & values instilled are priceless. They are such beautiful gifts....

Sydney was taking a nap.

momma-jamma in China!!

My mom is here! The girls call her 'jamma' which fits so well. She is so energetic and full of adventure! We are so glad she made the long trip to be with us for 2+ full weeks! Here are some highlights of our jam-packed, fun-filled visit:

Jamma with E&A at NanMen GongYuan 南门公园 (the People's Park)
Here she is making friends with our favorite fruit-stand lady & being her friendly self!
E&A atop Hong Shan mountain 红山with Jamma-banana! (Red Mountain)
Visiting an ancient city with 1000 Buddhist Caves outside of Turpan - mom made another friend with a Uyghur musician. He was so sweet!!
Reading lots of stories on the couch....
And one final picture that just shows how she has impacted us all:
We love you SO much mom and we had such a blast with you!! Thank you with all our hearts for taking the time to join our clan in the wild west of China. Thank you for loving our girls with all your heart, and being so easy-going with all the cultural differences out here! We know how shocking it can be! You were incredible!! We miss you so much already!

blogland

Blogland is a strange and beautiful place. I actually really miss it. I feel like I have typed 17 million beautifully crafted posts in my brain over the past 4 months. And its amazing that time has flown by so quickly without a tangible post on this 'community journal' of mine. I am humbled that others want to read my heartfelt thoughts, and I love that I can share more about the people and land that we call home.

I have been visiting the States for the past 5 days, and its a taste of heaven to me. Seeing people who have shaped me, poured their lives into me and challenged me to live beyond myself - has been so therapeutic. I have cried lots of tears: joyful ones, healing ones. Thank you for listening, lifting, and asking deep questions. Being here for my sister-friends' wedding was perfect in every way. I am so grateful for this trip - and for Justin gifting it to me. I haven't been away from them ever....so this was a restful haven, and a wonderful time of reflection for me. Yet I miss them like crazy!!

I am leaving in about 24 hours, and I haven't even updated this blog like I had planned (in my brain). Its kinda on the bottom of my list, since the face-to-face connections rank above an impersonal online journal. Maybe someday I will have full access to the lovely internet once again, and I will catch you up on the happenings of our foreign lives. Also, know that we will stay safe. We are taken care of in such intricate ways. Our bodies and hearts are held by a Strength that none can fathom. We will do our best to communicate in creative ways as I go back, so stay tuned. The adventure is not over - and you know how we LOVE adventure! As I depart, I will paste something I wrote about the riots in our city, so you are aware of our situation. We love you dearly, and I return with hope & peace, feeling loved and encouraged. Thank you with all my heart. ~ Alia (my Uyghur name)

07-05 Riots in Urumqi

This afternoon, major riots broke out across our city. We never imagined anything like this could ever happen here. Many people have been killed, wounded and now arrested. This is the scariest thing we have ever gone thru in our short lives, and yet – because of secure nature of this country, we are not going to share much about these events on our blog. We do not want to share opinions or details of events without being able to share the entire story. Please take time to scour other news sites to get a better picture of the history of tensions out here. You can find more about these events on other news sites. Thanks for thinking of us!

The most recent news I could find: CNN Sept 8th, 2009, and China Daily.