holiday packing

I'm currently pacing around my parents' house, trying to remember all of the things I need to take with me back to Kuwait. I tried making a list, but I keep getting new things and thinking of different things to take or not, so making sure I have everything on a list has become futile at this point. I also keep getting "honey-do" messages from a certain you-know-who (the best you-know-who in the world, by the way). All that to say, packing is slow and highly unorganized at best, and it seems to continually be interrupted by one of three things:

1. these little sweethearts

Rebekah, 2

Nick, 4

2. sports/dinner/hunting commentary with the family

3. lunch, dinner, and parties with friends

My solution is to try and keep things in one general area of the house and then throw it all in my bags before I go to the airport on Saturday. That's probably why I often wait until the day of departure before I pack for any trip.

Time in the States has been good this Christmas. Generally, I try to maintain a low-key schedule when I'm here, just to be sure that it's relaxing and that I'm not totally exhausted by the time I start teaching again. Inevitably, those good intentions are shattered because a lot of our friends are in town for the holidays, too, so it's hard to pass up opportunities to get together. I can always sleep on the plane...and if Chris were here, I know we would be a lot busier!

Reads for 2012

It's the holiday season, and for me, that means stocking up on good books. I got some great gifts this year, and I've been scouring the web for good deals, as well as searching for some of our books in storage that I haven't read for awhile. I came away with some old, some new, and some borrowed...maybe even one blue...but here are the six I'm most excited about. (Yes, there are more than six total.)

Hot Chocolate for Couples, Cindy Sigler Dagnan (borrowed)
The Gospel for Muslims, Thabiti Anyabwile (new)
The Man Called Cash, Steve Turner (new)
Trusting God, Jerry Bridges (old)
The Meaning of Marriage, Tim Keller (new)
Little Princes, Connor Grennan (borrowed)

There are also a few that I have recently read and would recommend.
If you like suspense, action, and realistic fiction, try Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child.
If you want a non-fiction account of an adventure, try Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.
If you'd like to look at Jesus' life and his effect on the world, try King's Cross by Tim Keller.

Happy reading!

The Great Wall of China

Here we are, at the one and only Great Wall of China. We actually didn't make it there until the third or fourth day of our trip, simply because there was so much to see and do in Beijing itself. We also wanted to visit the Wall on a day during the week, when it would be less busy.

The section of the wall that we went to was at a place called Badaling, about 70km northwest of Beijing. It took us an hour to get there from the city on a train, but it was relatively easy to find. (Thank God for Lonely-Planet-type travel books!) The views from the train were somewhat picturesque, from city suburbs and open farmland, to mountainous terrain and sights of wall sections in disrepair. From the train station in Badaling, there was almost a kilometer-long walk up to the base of the actual wall,  lined with touristy shops and even a Subway restaurant.

The Wall has some modern day additions, including the handrails that can be seen here and some bathroom facilities at a few points. I guess that makes it more accessible to visitors. Some of the wall sections are extremely steep, while others are flat, and the steps in any of the parts are completely uneven. In the above picture, you can see me sitting in the middle of the wall; we decided to hike up to the highest point we could on one side of the entrance, so we took some time for a break half way.

At one of the steepest points, we decided to stop and ask someone to take our picture. In hindsight, this probably wasn't the wisest idea, since there was a giant drop-off right behind us. In the background, you can see the wall climbing up the other side of the valley. This particular section of the Wall is shaped like a "V," in that the entrance to this part of the wall was built at the bottom of a natural valley. That means that once you're actually standing on top of the wall, the only way to go is up!

Back at the bottom, we stopped just to finish soaking it all in. At this point in the afternoon, it became more crowded, which also meant that Chris and I were being "spotted" more. From what I've gathered, Americans (and westerners in general) are rare tourists in China. Most of the tour groups we saw on the whole trip were from other parts of China, so we inevitably stood out. This group of college students we ran into was so happy to meet us and practice speaking English, so we obliged to take a few pictures. I can only imagine how many different blogs and smartphones we appeared on that week, because the Great Wall was not the only place where people wanted to take pictures with us. Because we had gotten so many looks, we started making up what people were saying, just to be funny. My caption for this one is, "I can't wait to show this to grandma!"

Here's Chris just being Chris, and declaring the excursion for the day a "win."

Thanksgiving #1, 2011

I dare to say...I look like my mom in this picture! Thanks, Hugh.

I said I'd post about our trip to China during the Eid holiday, and I fully intend to, but I've become a little side-tracked. See, there are just too many fun things going on right now that I can't buckle down to write out what happened two weeks ago. While we're back to the full throttle busyness that characterized the first two years of our marriage (we're at 6?!), it's much more enjoyable this time. We're serving and being busy together instead of heading in different directions, which makes things a lot more meaningful and fun; that's how I'll start my official list of "thanks" this year.

We had our first Thanksgiving dinner on Monday night, and since we've already celebrated, I'm sitting here typing as I listen to Christmas carols. Did I ever mention that "O, Holy Night" is my favorite?

I organized a dinner that was originally intended for our Monday night bible study (life group) from church, with a few others that we are connected to from there. Well, in one of my emails I happened to use the phrase "the more, the merrier" and that's exactly what we got. Out of a group of almost 20 people, half invited one extra guest. You do the math. Interestingly enough, there has been a shortage of turkeys in Kuwait this year, the reasons for which I am still investigating. So, I set out on an adventure to get a real turkey, somehow have it cooked/roasted for dinner, and arrange for a location and food for 35.

Success came through one of our friends, who works at the US Embassy here in Kuwait. As she graciously opened her home to everyone, she also acquired a 20lb. Tom from Camp Arifjan, the US Army installation in the South (leave it to the Americans!), and even pulled out a few Chardonnays, Rieslings, and Pinot Grigios to go with it. It was a wonderful night of fun and fellowship.

We have a few more Thanksgiving invitations, two of which I think we'll accept. One is tomorrow night, the beginning of our weekend here in Kuwait, and the other is Friday afternoon. I've been alerted that one or both of these parties has also acquired a turkey, so I will definitely have my fill. I've requested for my mom to bake ham for Christmas.

Speaking of Mom and ham, did I mention that I'll be traveling to the States for the Christmas season? I'll be around for about two weeks, arriving shortly after we finish the school term and heading back to Kuwait on New Year's Eve. I hope to see a few familiar faces while I'm there, but I'll probably spend most of my time tying up loose ends with our newly remodeled house and chasing around my adorable niece and nephew.

21 Bundles of Joy

...more like bundles of exhaustion hyped up on ice cream, but I love my kids, and I love Zoo Day. 

Class 1A, 2011-2012

The more years that I'm an educator, the more I find that increased "obstacles" make my job more rewarding. Sometimes, initially working with particular students is so mind-boggling and frustrating that I lose a lot of sleep. Now into Quarter 2 of the school year, we (especially the girls) are reaping the benefits of consistent discipline, consistent practice, and lots of love from their teacher. I guess that rearing children is a little like this, and it's a little like my walk with God, but He isn't perplexed by my slowness to learn or be obedient.

Now, to the personalities. If you click on the picture, you can enlarge it.

Check out:

- my "diva," last row, 3rd from right.

- the sweetest girl ever, front row, on the ground to my left

- the...most active...one, front row, 3rd from left

- my sweetheart who hasn't spoken to me yet, front row, over my right shoulder

- Kuwaiti Barbie, my assistant (I would tell her this!), last row, 2nd from right

All the rest of them make my days and my heart very full, too.

Out of China, Into Madness

We just got back from our vacation to China, which was amazing. More than anything we saw or did, it was wonderful because Chris and I spent nine days of unhurried time together. It was great.

In the next few weeks, I'll be posting about some of the adventures we went on and some of the strange things we saw while in China, the foremost of "habits" being that people spit a lot. Everywhere. That sounds super stereotypical, but truly, it's not an overstatement. Men, women, and children alike love to get a good cough out in the morning and let it fly. Gross, yes. I think I had to duck once or twice to avoid it.

This week, I'm finishing report cards, typing up meeting minutes, organizing a Thanksgiving dinner, attending four to five church functions, and then crashing on Saturday, so I probably won't post much. Here are some pictures to hold you.

from our favorite little lunch place in Hutong, Beijing

 

 

just enjoying an outdoor walk, Imperial Summer Palace, Beijing