Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
In Daddy's Shoes
The morning Jacob left for one of his three trips this month, Keely decided to show us she was thinking about him by putting on his shoes. I know all kids do this all of the time. However, as I was hustling and bustling trying to get Jordan done with breakfast and get us out of the house for school, it just seemed more hilarious than normal!
The look on her face here just cracks me up! I just had to share it!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Lost In Song
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
These were the words playing through our living room as I watched Keely sway back and forth singing, still with her backpack on clinging to her blankets and stuffed animal.Friday, May 21, 2010
Noah's Ark
We have tried to go to Noah's Ark a few times, and we finally made it there while my parents were here. The island that it's on is very calm and peaceful. Just a limited number of cars are allowed on the island. Noah's Ark itself was interesting. Probably mostly better for older children, but Keely STILL talks about it so I guess it was perfect for us! :-) There are a lot of different exhibits, but we just saw a few. The one Keely loved so much was the children's museum (the Treasure House). Keely is on the young side that it is geared for, but she still found a lot of interesting things to do and even got to get her face painted as a bunny! (As you are looking at the pictures -- Jordan looks a little groggy because she was really sleepy but refused to fall asleep!)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Big News...
...we are moving. Again. And not just across town. To another country.
Where? Taipei, Taiwan.
When? Probably around August 1st though with the surprise of this news to us, life could continue to surprise us and it could get moved back. However, that is the date we are working towards!
Why could it get moved back? First life just happens! But from the vantage point I have at the moment -- we may just get bogged down by the events coming up in the next few months and we just might not be ready! Several of you who read our blog live or use to live in Taiwan and know all about this -- but the visa includes LOTS of steps and paperwork and authentications. (You should see the flow chart the girls' original Thai birth certificates have to go through to get authenticated!) Jacob was just in the States, he will be going back in a week, we have Keely's end of school concert and party, and we have more than 40 students coming in to town for orientation or debriefing! Those events might bog us down! :-)
Why are we moving? Our company owns many apartments here in Hong Kong and they feel it would be better financially to start selling them. It has been decided by leadership what people need to be here and who doesn't. Those of us they feel don't need to be here to do our jobs need to move somewhere else. It has been decided that we don't need to be here to do our job. We personally feel there are good reasons for us to be here, but we strongly feel Father telling us to be submissive and not fight the decision. Even if we did fight and won the fight -- it would only give us a year or two more then we would have to move. This is hard for us because we felt we were released from Thailand and expected that to happen when it was time for us to move from here and that has not been the case. The news took us by complete surprise. However, after lots of PR and searching we have realized that in this phase of our lives we have been called to a job and it really can be done in a multitude of places and not just here. We absolutely love Hong Kong and will miss it greatly. This will be a very hard move on Jacob and I and possibly Keely too. Keely is at a school that continues with 4-year-olds and would have been with all of the same kids next school year. They are also talking a lot about next year and that type of thing preparing them. Some days it hits Keely and it bothers her, but other days she is really excited. She did tell me one day that she didn't want to grow up and get big any more. Not sure if that had to do with the move or not!
So that is what has been going on with us the past couple weeks. Jacob met with his supervisors during his time in the States, and that is why we were waiting to let you know the news. We wanted to make sure it was pretty official --especially since this came as quite a surprise to us!
Many of you had questions for us when we moved here, so any questions? Feel free to post them in the comments section!
Any advice from those of you who live or used to live in Taiwan? Please post anything you think we should know in the comments section too!
Where? Taipei, Taiwan.
When? Probably around August 1st though with the surprise of this news to us, life could continue to surprise us and it could get moved back. However, that is the date we are working towards!
Why could it get moved back? First life just happens! But from the vantage point I have at the moment -- we may just get bogged down by the events coming up in the next few months and we just might not be ready! Several of you who read our blog live or use to live in Taiwan and know all about this -- but the visa includes LOTS of steps and paperwork and authentications. (You should see the flow chart the girls' original Thai birth certificates have to go through to get authenticated!) Jacob was just in the States, he will be going back in a week, we have Keely's end of school concert and party, and we have more than 40 students coming in to town for orientation or debriefing! Those events might bog us down! :-)
Why are we moving? Our company owns many apartments here in Hong Kong and they feel it would be better financially to start selling them. It has been decided by leadership what people need to be here and who doesn't. Those of us they feel don't need to be here to do our jobs need to move somewhere else. It has been decided that we don't need to be here to do our job. We personally feel there are good reasons for us to be here, but we strongly feel Father telling us to be submissive and not fight the decision. Even if we did fight and won the fight -- it would only give us a year or two more then we would have to move. This is hard for us because we felt we were released from Thailand and expected that to happen when it was time for us to move from here and that has not been the case. The news took us by complete surprise. However, after lots of PR and searching we have realized that in this phase of our lives we have been called to a job and it really can be done in a multitude of places and not just here. We absolutely love Hong Kong and will miss it greatly. This will be a very hard move on Jacob and I and possibly Keely too. Keely is at a school that continues with 4-year-olds and would have been with all of the same kids next school year. They are also talking a lot about next year and that type of thing preparing them. Some days it hits Keely and it bothers her, but other days she is really excited. She did tell me one day that she didn't want to grow up and get big any more. Not sure if that had to do with the move or not!
So that is what has been going on with us the past couple weeks. Jacob met with his supervisors during his time in the States, and that is why we were waiting to let you know the news. We wanted to make sure it was pretty official --especially since this came as quite a surprise to us!
Many of you had questions for us when we moved here, so any questions? Feel free to post them in the comments section!
Any advice from those of you who live or used to live in Taiwan? Please post anything you think we should know in the comments section too!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Thank You
Thank you everyone who commented yesterday. You did exactly what I said you would do -- you put a smile on my face. And after a tiring few weeks that was very nice! A few of you have commented before, but thank you for the reminder that you read our blog. And those I didn't know about, I'm glad to know you read! But don't worry being a lurker isn't creepy! HAHA! I'm probably the worse lurker out there! Also thank you so much for your sweet comments! You all made my day! THANK YOU! Now you may all go back into the shadows if you would like! :)
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Delurker Week
I have a friend that has a delurker week annually to find out who is reading her blog, but never posts. I have decided to join her and see if I can discover a lurker or two! A lurker is someone who reads our blog, but never or rarely gifts us with a comment. So, here is your chance to bring a smile to my face and let me know that you read the blog!
In order to comment, just click on the word Comments at the bottom of the post. Write your comment in the box and then choose an identity ( google account or anonymous or one of the other choices). If you do choose anonymous, please include your name in your comment. Then hit 'publish your comment.' A box will pop up asking you to verify what you see in the box. Just type what you see and hit ok or submit (it doesn't make me do it when I comment back so I can't remember what it says!) Thank you in advance to anyone who decides to delurk! It'll make my day!
In order to comment, just click on the word Comments at the bottom of the post. Write your comment in the box and then choose an identity ( google account or anonymous or one of the other choices). If you do choose anonymous, please include your name in your comment. Then hit 'publish your comment.' A box will pop up asking you to verify what you see in the box. Just type what you see and hit ok or submit (it doesn't make me do it when I comment back so I can't remember what it says!) Thank you in advance to anyone who decides to delurk! It'll make my day!
Friday, May 07, 2010
Old Maider
My parents brought the girls the game Old Maid. Keely will tell you who she has in her hand including the Old Maid. However, she doesn't call her the Old Maid. She says, "I've got the Old Maider, I've got the Old Maider." (It sounds like Towmater from Cars.) It's pretty funny!
The first time we played, Jordan watched but then she wanted to play too. We started letting her draw for us and then she would say, "Match" or "No match" depending on if we got a match or not. Of course she does mix up all of the matches and plays with them until it's her and Mimi's turn again!
During one game, she had drawn the Old Maid. She started giggling and said, "Old Maid." She though it was the funniest thing and it made us all laugh!
A few days ago Jordan and I played again and I was amazed at how well she really could play. Of course I had to help her a bit. I laid all of her cards out and she would pick the matches. Then I helped her get her cards together and then she drew for both herself and me. We played for about 15 minutes or so!
The first time we played, Jordan watched but then she wanted to play too. We started letting her draw for us and then she would say, "Match" or "No match" depending on if we got a match or not. Of course she does mix up all of the matches and plays with them until it's her and Mimi's turn again!
During one game, she had drawn the Old Maid. She started giggling and said, "Old Maid." She though it was the funniest thing and it made us all laugh!
A few days ago Jordan and I played again and I was amazed at how well she really could play. Of course I had to help her a bit. I laid all of her cards out and she would pick the matches. Then I helped her get her cards together and then she drew for both herself and me. We played for about 15 minutes or so!
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
My Chinese Name
A month or so before we arrived in Hong Kong, we exchanged some e-mails with our friend who lived here about choosing Chinese names for us. Our friend worked with the language teacher at his office and they came up with some. Jacob tweaked them a bit and then that was that. We were told we'd need them for our ID cards. Because I have just been surviving, I haven't learned my name and there has never been a reason for it to be used. A few weeks ago I went to the doctor for the first time. Jacob had been to the hospital near us before and so I just went there. There are doctors that have their offices there and you just go see them like you would a doctor in the States. Jacob had been to this hospital before we moved here so he got a hospital card and number with his passport. Since we are residents, I gave them my ID card for my information. They printed out my hospital card and had me check my name and I stuck in my purse and didn't look at it again. They handed me my appointment card that they checked when they did my vitals or went in to see the doctor to make sure the files matched my name. Again I just checked my name and didn't pay any other attention to it. They tell you which office number your doctor is and you go sit in front of his door until his nurse calls you. I had an appointment but because I hadn't been there before they just assigned me a doctor and I didn't know who it was so I wasn't even sure they found my appointment -- I assumed they did. However, after waiting over an hour I started thinking they didn't. Finally the nurse came to me and checked my appointment card and said I was next. After my appointment I was told to wait outside and the nurse would get my paperwork (bill and those type of things). She calls a name and calls a name and then looks at me and then calls a name. Finally I realize she is saying my middle name (Renee) and is pronouncing it (Ree Knee (which is how they pronounce it every where in Asia I just was listening for Sara). She then asks me about my Chinese name. "Is there a Chinese name on your ID card?" she asked. At first I said no and then I remembered, "Oh yes there is." "Do you know it?" "Well, no." "Is your husband Chinese?" "No." "Then why do you have a Chinese name?" At this point everything is starting to hit me and it was just too hard to explain to her. I told her I just did. However, I was still confused why we were discussing this until I realized they must have put my Chinese name and my English name on my card! I looked at it and sure enough there were my two names!
My follow up appointment the next week went much better. I knew I was third to get my vitals checked and when she started calling a name I didn't know I just kept looking at her until she came to look at my card. Then I was the only one waiting for the doctor so there was no confusion there! Guess I need to learn my Chinese name and get use to being called Ree Knee!
My follow up appointment the next week went much better. I knew I was third to get my vitals checked and when she started calling a name I didn't know I just kept looking at her until she came to look at my card. Then I was the only one waiting for the doctor so there was no confusion there! Guess I need to learn my Chinese name and get use to being called Ree Knee!
Monday, May 03, 2010
No Room for Stickers
Most of the time when we go to Disneyland, the girls receive a lot of stickers from the different cast members. Depending on how busy they are usually determines how many stickers they receive. Last week when we went with my parents, it wasn't very crowded and the girls received quite a few stickers. Some kids might save them to use at home, but Keely likes to immediately put them on her shirt.
At one point after she received a new sticker she declared that there was no room on her shirt so she reached behind her and put it on the back of her shirt. A sticker or two later, my dad commented that someone had put a sticker on Keely's bottom. I investigated and found that she had two stickers on her bottom. I told my dad that I though Keely had actually put them there because she felt that there wasn't room on the front of her shirt!
Throughout the day it was funny to see the two stickers on her bottom though!
(If you are wondering, she is dancing to the High School Musical performance in these pictures)
At one point after she received a new sticker she declared that there was no room on her shirt so she reached behind her and put it on the back of her shirt. A sticker or two later, my dad commented that someone had put a sticker on Keely's bottom. I investigated and found that she had two stickers on her bottom. I told my dad that I though Keely had actually put them there because she felt that there wasn't room on the front of her shirt!
Throughout the day it was funny to see the two stickers on her bottom though!(If you are wondering, she is dancing to the High School Musical performance in these pictures)
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