My Little Swimmer

Jia's in her second round of swim lessons, and while I'd like to see her teacher push her to progress a little faster, Jia's doing a great job. The good thing about her teacher's slow pace is that Jia loves to go, making life easier for mom!

Yesterday, they had a short segment on the use of life jackets and what to do if you're ever in cold water, how to huddle together, etc. Of course, Momma on the side of the pool was thinking, "What exactly are the odds of this six year old getting stranded in ocean water with seven other people? Could we just do some 'swimming?'" Just in case, though, she's prepared!

Jia Floating in Her Life Jacket

My Princess Getting Out of the Pool

And, Of Course, Always a Pose!!!

More China Days

In between the orphanage and playing at the church, we had some time to sight see and SHOP!!!! During my last visit to China, we visited the Emperor's Summer Palace in southern China. This time, we visited the Forbidden City, the site of "The Last Emperor" and other movies surrounding that time period. It is truly overwhelming as the grounds go on and on. There were specific areas in which only the emperor could walk. There were also different palace receiving areas depending on how close to the emperor that one was. It's such a special piece of China's history, and the buildings were beautiful.

Carson, Rowland, and I at the Forbidden City

A Clueless Denver Nuggets "Fan" (Colorado is loved everywhere!!)

The Beautiful Gardens

Rowland STRONGLY Questioned the Rating System!!

Tiananmen Square is directly across the street from the Forbidden City. In 1989, there was a huge student protest that unfortunately ended in bloodshed. When you realize the cry that was being heard around the world, it's a special place to walk.

The View of the Forbidden City from the Square

The Square

Anita and I Posing when Rowland Was Looking for an Action Shot Instead!

The Great Wall was another one of our site-seeing adventures. Suffice it to say that it is a BUNCH of steps that extend for thousands of miles. Anita and I climbed a few, then headed back down to do a little shopping while the guys hiked further up the wall. Once again, we weren't where we were supposed to be when the guys came looking for us. It really wasn't our fault, though. Shopping is an occupation, not a hobby for girls like us!

It Just Goes On and On and On and On

The Group on the Wall

Anita and I Just Before We Got "Lost" Shopping
(Check out the cool parasol and hat! Definite fashion statements! HA!)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fu-un!!!

Saturday was another work in the yard day for me! Two days in a row, I have cleaned out our backyard. I have accumulated 17 bags of yard trash as well as 12 bundles of sticks. If you could see how small my backyard was, you'd wonder what kind of forest was living behind us! There's still work to be done, but it's SO much better.

The boys were at a car show with Rowland so the girls each had a friend over to play while I worked. As you can see, I actually stopped long enough to make lunch, including soup! Pretty good for the non-cooking mom!!! They had such a good time playing together!

The Four Girls Having Lunch Outside

KeKe and G

Jia and Her New Best Friend (Cayden, You'll NEVER be Replaced!!)

BTW, thanks for the prayers yesterday. Carson had a good day of school, mostly just learning the school rules and his schedule, meeting the teachers, junk stuff.... He walked home with Zach, a friend from church whom I REALLY like. They hung out all afternoon, making the day even better for him.

Today, the 10th - 12th graders show up for school! MORE, BIGGER prayers!!!

Another Milestone

My Almost-Grown Son

My baby Carson is no more! He started high school today, walking down the street with his friend..... He didn't even need to be taken to school, completely self-sufficient. Of course, his dad did make his lunch and print out his schedule from the computer. His momma dried his hair for him. I guess he still needs us a little!

I can honestly say that I am very, very proud of the young man whom he has become. He is a delight to be around, funny, intelligent, and even showing some of that softness that he seemed to have hidden away in middle school. He is rapidly becoming an awesome guitar player and is also teaching himself harmonica. In spite of his "old" parents, he seems to enjoy hanging out with us. This weekend, he went to a car show with his dad, and he hung out at the park with all of the adults in Life Group last night. He's much better about helping me around the house when I'm in a panic and has such an even nature like his dad. Best of all, he didn't complain once about having his momma take "First Day of School" pictures!!!

Yes, He's Definitely Much Taller Than His Momma!

Two Peas in a Pod

Pray for my baby as you think about him. I know that the next four years will be trying times for him (and us, too, I'm sure!). He has a good foundation and a loving and supportive family, but he's the one who will have to make the real-life choices that will help him become the man he will be. God, I'm thankful that you're walking to school with him!!!

ROTFL (Are those the right letters?)

In the midst of the "work" that we did while in China, we definitely had lots of time for laughter. Anita and I are lucky that Rowland didn't leave us in China or at least lock us out of the apartment on several occasions - and no alcohol was even involved! We laughed more over those eleven days than I remember laughing in a long time. I doubt seriously that China will grant Anita and me visas at the same time!!

Anita and I in One of Our Constant Photo Op Poses

We definitely were not laughing at the Chinese people, and most of the time, we weren't laughing at the other people in the group. We just laughed at each other, making stupid jokes on a continual basis.

Anita in Her Quite Fashionable Hat at the Great Wall

Since Rowland, Carson, Anita, and I were staying in a small apartment, often Galen and Shaun would come over to hang out as well. The bathroom was RIGHT THERE so that everyone watching TV or talking in the den could hear the person in the bathroom tinkling. Although there was a fan, the odor from turning on the fan made it something we preferred not to use - even to drown out the noise.

One afternoon, we were all hanging out, and one of us (we'll call her "Anita") had to go tinkle. She made a joke, asking me to create a diversion so that all of the men in the den wouldn't hear her. Being the amazing friend that I am, I jumped into the middle of the den and in my best cheerleader voice, asked all of the guys to join me in "If You're Happy and You Know It." Now, the truly hysterical part, you will have to picture in your mind. Galen, Shaun, Carson, and sometimes Rowland sang along with me and even did the hand motions. I kept having to encourage them as they would begin to drag at the end of each verse. They hung in there, though, finally completing the song as I jumped up and down with my hands in the air "Woo Hoo-ing" them! As I was standing my the bathroom door, I could hear Anita falling off the toilet in laughter! Finally, Rowland said in a less than enthusiastic voice, "That was so that we wouldn't hear her using the bathroom, right?" So I'm 43 going on 16, and Anita's 39 going on 17, but those men DID participate, so how old does that make them??????

The Guys Trying to Get As Far Away from Us As Possible

Another hysterical thing that happened was one evening when I was hanging out with one of the unnamed people in the group. We were sitting on a bench in the courtyard when all of a sudden, I felt the bench move and looked underneath it, expecting to see an animal that was underneath. The person sitting with me was falling off the bench in laughter when I came up from under the bench. Turns out, the "animal" under the bench was actually a silent, non-smelling toot that rumbled the bench! Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't laugh at fart or burp jokes, and I don't approve of discussing bodily functions, but I laughed until I cried and haven't stopped yet!

One of the funniest and yet un-funniest things that happened was while we were at the orphanage in the volunteer housing. Anita and I had a room to ourselves with two full-size beds. As we went to get into bed, I saw a HUGE albino lizard (or gecco or salamander or maybe even a shark) climbing on the wall above my bed. It quickly skirted behind the air conditioning unit on the wall. Now, I'm not afraid of a little lizard, and water bugs are just a common household occurrence in Arkansas, but I don't know anything about lizard-looking animals in China. Do they bite? Will their venom kill you while you sleep? Do they leap? As Anita got out her camera waiting for the perfect photo opp, I went in and awakened two of the Chinese girls who were staying in the next room.

One of the sweet girls was just as afraid as me while the other decided that Anita and I were hallucinating. She shoved paper behind the air unit, tapped on it, and shone the camera light behind it. Her determination is that we had imagined the creature. She kept saying in her very best English, "Are you SURE? Are you absolutely SURE you saw something? Are you definitely SURE?" After a while, I began to doubt that we were even in China and decided that the whole thing was one big hallucination. She did reassure us that IF there were an albino lizard in our room, and she was certain that there wasn't, it wouldn't hurt us. She explained that China was full of these harmless creatures and left us for her own bedroom. Anita and I looked at each other, and before a word was spoken, knew that it was going to be a "spooning" night for us in her bed across the room from the imaginary lizard!

Our Chinese Friends Trying to Help While Anita Takes Pictures Under the Unit to Try to Find the Lizard

Although there were SO many funny times, one of my favorites was that each morning Carson and Rowland would get up at 4:30 a.m., and Carson would sit in the den of the tiny apartment playing the guitar. Poor Anita was awakened EVERY morning at 4:30 to the theme from "The Office" being played by my precious son. He even learned a couple of new tunes that he tried out on her early in the morning, but she never seemed to like his repertoire! Finally, one day while Rowland and I were napping, she determined that she was going to keep Carson awake so that he'd sleep at night. Each time he tried to fall asleep, she'd wake him up again. Over and over, she'd awaken him until she eventually quit trying. Sure enough, he was up at 4:30 the next morning. Sad thing is that Ms. Anita seems to have a problem with forgiveness and is still plotting her revenge on Mr. Carson!!

Carson Practicing His Morning Wake-Up Song While Watching the Office

One thing that I was definitely reminded of while in China is that God is a God of laughter!! And I'm pretty sure that He was laughing along with us - or more likely, AT us!!

Rowland "Riding" an Exercise Saddle

The McDonald's Delivery Guy

Silly Americans at Hard Rock Cafe, Beijing

Lovely Faces, Sweet Smiles, and Beautiful Voices

On Thursday and Friday of our trip, the team went to a privately-run orphanage/foster home established for vision-impaired orphans. The founders of Bethel are Guillaume and Delphine Gauvain, natives of France, and they began the foster home about six years ago. What an amazing place!!!

There are about 35 children who live there ranging in age from a small infant to 20 years old. A couple of the children have had cataract surgery and are able to see; several children are blind and autistic; one of the children has CP and was a vegetable, only able to move his eyes yet two days before our visit, he took his first steps! Truly a God miracle!!! The rest of the children are visually impaired or completely blind. All of the children learn to read Braille in Chinese and English, speak Chinese, English, and French, sing songs in all three languages, and love to sing "adult" praise songs to the Lord. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched and listened to those precious children sing praise songs with big smiles on their faces. I truly can't express the emotion that filled my heart. These children have virtually nothing but the love of the workers in that home and, even more importantly, the love of Jesus in their hearts. No one but God could put those beautiful smiles on those precious faces!!

The Precious Boy with CP and Blindness

Some of the Children Singing for Us

Hanging Out with the Kids

The Children Eating with Their Mommas

There are round-the-clock "mommas" assigned to the children. In only a matter of months, all of the children and mommas will have moved into houses built on site. Children will range in age just as they do in a traditional family, and the children will be raised in these homes. Furniture has been donated by businesses such as IKEA. The playground equipment in the center of the houses has been donated as well. The foster home is completely run on donations from companies and individuals. In fact, if you would be interested in "sponsoring" a child, you can go to www.bethelchina.org for more information. (There are also many articles about this amazing orphanage on the internet as it was the first blind orphanage in China.)

The Houses for the "Families"

The Playground in the Center of the Homes

Bethel grows its own food, has its own goats, chickens, and bunnies, and is self-sustaining in these ways. The staff also teaches the children life skills such as cleaning their rooms, making their beds, being responsible for folding and putting away clothes, cooking, etc. All of the children are very well-mannered and will be trained in some area so that they will eventually be able to support themselves. Those who will never be self-sufficient will be able to remain at the home throughout their lives.

Farmland

The Children's Incredibly Neat Rooms

The Children Making Cookies

Rowland, Carson, and I fell in love with one of the little boys named Michael. He's William's age, LOVES to play the drums, and calls Rowland and Carson each "guitar man." He was able to distinguish them, though, and after carefully examining Rowland's hair, told Rowland that he had "old hair." You can imagine how much more in love with him I was at that point!! We had such a special time with Michael and are sponsoring him, praying for his forever family, and even asking God (although we feel we already know that the door is closed for us) if we are that family. Please join us in prayer for a special family for this amazing boy!

Michael and Our Family

Michael Playing the Drum with Carson

Michael with Rowland

And as we said good-bye, I knew that I would never forget some of those children. Their little faces and sweet voices will be forever imprinted in my heart and mind. Thank you, God, for giving them people on this Earth who will love them with Your hands and Your feet, and may You bring their forever families to each one of them SOON.

More from China

One of the main purposes of our trip was to lead worship at BICF, Beijing International Christian Fellowship, a church for those in China who have a foreign passport. It is a church of about 6,000 people, and there are services in Chinese, English, French, Portugese, and possibly others. The church is held in a state theater, and there are several services going on at the same time. We, of course, led the English services.

It was a great experience being with so many people from all over the world worshiping our Lord together. Unfortunately, we cannot get the video to upload so I can't share that, but when people truly CHOOSE to worship in a country like China, the Holy Spirit definitely shows up in a big way!

Our Practice Room on Saturdays

Rowland Learning to Play the "Two String"

My Handsome Son

Anita Getting Her Priorities Straight

Tomorrow....the tears will flow from my eyes as I relive our amazing experience at the orphanage!!

The Beginning of a Great Adventure (Or Jumping Hurdles)

Our Group Ready for God's Adventure

Since it's 2:37 in the a.m., and I can't sleep (ugh!), I thought I'd share a little about the beginning of our latest China adventure. Six of us went on the trip, Rowland, Carson (our 14 year old), my best friend Anita (China will NEVER be the same!), Shaun (our 18 year old drummer, and Galen (our keyboardist), and of course, me. We went to lead worship at a 6,000 member church in Beijing, Beijing International Christian Fellowship (BICF) and to spend some time at an orphanage for visually impaired children.

Carson, Possibly the World's Best Traveler, and His Proud Momma

Carson, Rowland, and I had been to China and knew a little of what to expect. The rest were in for a new adventure. We left for the airport at 5:00 a.m. and made our flight just fine. We had a short layover in San Francisco where Rowland and Carson's guitar, which had been gate-checked, were lost in baggage claim. Four of us literally ran for the international terminal as our plane was late while Carson and Rowland went on the great guitar chase. I literally begged and begged for the guy at the United desk to let us get on the plane as we weren't there early enough. Finally, he agreed, and we stalled as much as possible waiting for Carson and Rowland to show up at the desk. I sent Anita, Shaun, and Galen ahead and kept calling for updates on my guys. I thought that if I waited for them and tried my begging act again, the United man would take pity on us and let us all on the plane. Instead, he said that they were too late, and now I was too late, too. Initially, he told us that he couldn't get us on a plane until the following night, which meant we'd miss rehearsal for the Sunday gig. After more begging and Rowland's level-headed explanation, the guy put us on a flight that would leave SF a few hours later, go through Tokyo, and put us in Beijing six hours behind the rest of the group. We tried to switch everyone to the new flight, but there was no room. Rowland called Anita who was running to the gate and told her that they HAD to get on that plane. He gave her our itinerary, and I sent my best friend (the same one I'd promised to take care of) off to China without me. Honestly, I felt so guilty for wanting to be with my family and not being on the plane with Anita. In the end, though, we all made it to Beijing. Hurdle number one cleared!

The Plane We All Rode on Together!

Hurdle number two came when we arrived at the airport in Beijing, realizing that the first group didn't have information on where they'd be staying, a necessity to get into the country. Never to be outsmarted, though, Anita had a flight attendant give her an address to a random hotel in Beijing and even had him translate into Chinese that the driver who was to pick us up needed to come back at 8:10 that night to get the whole group. Hurdle number two partially cleared!

Satan likes to throw hurdles our way, and he was very clever, but God was still on our side. The driver never showed up, nor did the first group's luggage. Supposedly, it was in Beijing, then it was with China Air, then it was at the hotel where Shaun and Galen were staying, then it was lost in thin air. As Rowland found a van for us, hurdle number three was partially cleared!

Fortunately, the guys had brought some change of clothes in their carry-ons, and Anita and I wear the same size. You know when you have a friend, and you think she has cute clothes? Well, Anita and I are lucky in that respect! She looked so good in my clothes that I couldn't wait to wear them again!! Still jumping hurdle number four!

Since Rowland, Carson, Anita, and I were staying in an apartment, we had to register with the police. After searching and searching and searching and searching and searching, we finally happened upon the police station. Apparently, no one we asked either understood what our hand signs for gun and stamp on a paper meant OR they've never been arrested! After literally walking for half a day, we found the police station, turned in all of the documents that were required, including the man's lease whose apartment we were "renting," and they said that we didn't have everything we needed. Since none of us could figure out what was missing, we decided to remain in cognito the rest of the trip! Hurdle dumped but cleared nonetheless!

Galen and Shaun Hanging in Our Apartment

At that point, Galen, Shaun, and the almighty Anita headed back to the airport to run all over the place looking for luggage that was still "somewhere." Supposedly, it would be delivered by 10:00 that night. Right! Instead, Anita and I went shopping for our football player Shaun in a country where there is NO ONE his size and definitely NO clothing his size. We ended up finding some shorts, though, for $5 that he could wear to church the next morning. Exhausted, Anita shopped in my closet once again. (I can't wait for my payback!!) Still working on that hurdle!

Anita in My Clothes - Gorgeous, Huh?

With help from the States, the luggage was found at Air China - except it wasn't at Air China. We also discovered that it had indeed been delivered to the hotel - NOT! I had just about decided that I should've double-packed when, from our of nowhere, the bags appeared Sunday afternoon. We still don't know where they came from or how they got to the hotel, but we were definitely thanking God! Hurdles cleared!!!

Then, the REAL adventure began....