48 hours.

Our biggest news at the foster home is the arrival of Addison Hope. She's been with us about three weeks now. Like most of our kids, she has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or Brittle Bones disease. We're not sure on her age, but guess she's just under a year. She can roll over, but hasn't mastered sitting up, she has two teeth, and can giggle up a storm!




And I love her very much!

We had a team of nine volunteers from Hawaii with us last week. They brought lots of laughs and joy and served wholeheartedly. The other half of their team from Hawaii will be joining us the last week of the month, and we're excited to get to know them as well.




While here, the Hawaiian ladies spent an afternoon getting pampered with massages, and they treated me! What fun! I hadn't done anything girly like that since last summer with my friend, GG, when we had Chinese foot baths and they took mallets to my feet. Ouch! Well, the full body massage was wonderful, and the foot massage was incredible. But the whole time, I couldn't help but stare at the glass cups on the shelf in front of me. I've seen enough shows on the Travel Channel to know that they're used for Chinese cupping therapy, but hadn't ever seen it done in person. After my peaceful massage, I decided I just NEEDED to try something new and exciting. So I inquired about the cupping, and my kind masseuse offered to let me try just one cup at no charge. Woohoo!

I didn't even feel it when she applied the first cup. I guess my lack of a reaction indicated to her that she could keep going, so she did! She stopped at four, which I was thankful for a couple days down the road. I was left with dark bruises and a deep soreness. I couldn't sleep on my back or lean back in chairs for days! It's been a week now, and the tenderness is gone but I still have a polka-dotted back. I'm glad I tried it for the memories, but please don't let me ever do that again!






In just forty eight hours, I will line up at the starting line of the Beijing International Marathon (I'm running the half). 25,000 other expectant runners will huddle alongside me in the streets surrounding Tiananmen Square. We'll wait nervously in the cold, dark morning and rub vaseline on our bodies. The starting gun will be fired and we'll will our bodies to move forward - from Mao's Mausoleum toward the picturesque Summer Palace. And hopefully, hopefully, two and a half hours later, I will cross the finish line with a smile on my face.

As soon as I dismissed class yesterday, I headed to the bus stop to grab a ride into the city for my last big weekend of fun in Beijing. I have a room here at my favorite little hostel, nestled in the hutongs. My girls made me a sign that they held up as I left. It's now hanging on the wall at the foot of my bed where I can admire it.



As soon as I sign off, I'll be headed up to the Olympic Stadium to pick up my bib-number. So exciting! I'm itching to hit the subways and navigate the Beijing that excited my heart so many years ago! Stay tuned for photos from my fun and fabulous weekend!

My last new visa.

My passport is back with a new visa! How many times have I started a blog with those words? The first time I typed it out, I was holding a one-year visa - which meant I shouldn't have had to say that again for at least another year. Boy, if I only knew! But each time I've typed it since, it's given me another reason to give thanks, another chance to see prayers answered, and another opportunity to be shown love by those that have come alongside and helped me. So once again, join me in giving thanks!

We had our first bazaar of the season last weekend. Our bakery keeps busy by traveling to various fairs, craft shows, etc., to sell our baked goods and distribute menus and brochures about our foster home. I've had the chance to tag along to a few of these and they're a fun time to meet other foreigners in the city and check out other expat-run businesses. Last weekend I got to hang out with two of our foster girls as we sold carrot cake, brownies, muffins, cookies and pizza. Here's JoHanna, hard at work!



We've had sweet corn from the States growing this summer that's made for some good dinner lately. Here's the view out my kitchen window.



You know how Nashville has the Batman building? Well, LangFang has it's own piece of the Nashville skyline. This is the international hotel, the place I go to use my ATM card. It also happens to be conveniently located near WalMart.



Speaking of WalMart... I bought this box of Cheerios and it had two mini-size bags inside. Odd.



I walked out my front door to head to lunch today and saw one of our construction workers taking his noon-time nap. I had to run back inside and grab my camera. This is a normal sight here, but one I want to make sure I capture and cherish.



It seems as if each time I'm just beginning a new chapter in my life, I'm already asking myself 'what's next?' I know when I arrived at this chapter, last December, I was looking ahead to see where this year would lead; to see what might be beyond. I have decided to return to Nashville at the completion of my year here. I've just booked my flight home for November 16th! This is certainly not a goodbye to China. This year has given me a broader picture and vision of things I'd love to see accomplished for God's glory, and I know those dreams will continue to take shape in my next chapter - a NASHVILLE chapter!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go mop my floors. Have I ever told you how much I love to see my floors SHINE!?

Home Depot, rainy days, & pretty shoes.

I'm finally able to cross 'Chinese Home Depot' off my to-do list. So exciting! I could have spent the whole day strolling the aisles. Really. I found the most amazing gift for my dad for only nineteen yuan. Don't tell him, but I'm totally going to be stealing it to use for myself.



We've had a soggy summer here in China. I would take the rain over the glaring sun any day, so I've been in heaven! Last summer, while in Beijing with a friend, I first learned about Beijing's poor drainage system. This week has proved that LangFang's not far behind. Ting and I ran some errands the other afternoon, and our travel time home was doubled due to the flooded streets. Nothing stops their many modes of transportation!







This was the scene on our street when we finally arrived home. My room is upstairs in the bakery.




Work is still progressing on the new therapy pool. The concrete has been poured since I took these photos, so we're now looking at tiles and completing the exterior walls.





A couple of weeks ago, some of us took a little field trip into Beijing to visit the Planetarium. It was definitely the most state of the art platetarium I had ever visited. Wow! Aside from the many star-gazing shows, they offered several other science related theatres. One featured Big Bird and Elmo, and I'm proud to say I picked up on quite a bit of the simple Chinese words they used! The 3-D show began much like The Tower of Terror. We were ushered into a 'holding chamber' and shown a video of a press conference with President Bush, dubbed over in Chinese, of course. Apparently dinosaurs had escaped from an experimental project and we were being assigned to capture them. From there we were lead into another room with a gigantic video screen. We were seated in a theme park-type ride and buckled in! You know those 3-D rides you see in shopping malls?...this was much like that. I think our favorite show, however, was in the 4-D theatre. It showed an underwater pursuit between predator and prey, and with my lack of Chinese language skills, it was the easiest for me to follow along with. Added to the fun of our 3-D glasses, the seat-backs in front of us contained water and air blowing mechanisms to scare us right out of our seats!





Even with all the amazing shows the Planetarium offered, the twins will tell you their favorite 'ride' was the wheelchair lift. In China, it's hard to find anything that is handicapped accessible, so this was really the first time they had ever seen such a thing. We're used to just grabbing a couple people to help lift their chairs up and down stairs. I think the unknown of it scared them at first, but I assured them that they were actually quite common in America and people in wheelchairs rely on them all the time. I love their faces in these photos!






Look what I found in the corner of a market. Go Big Red?



I did something wild and crazy this past weekend. I went to a public swimming pool! EEKK! It was an experience! When we arrived, there were only a handful of people there. We parked our electric bike and cart beside the building and went in. Later that afternoon, when we went to leave, our bike was blocked in by fifty other bikes! You can see the girls waving from their perch on the cart as Mr. Worker Man tries to find us a way out.




Sometimes we have some strange things come in as donations. This is a good example.



Of course I had to try it on. I walked down the street toward The White House where a bunch of the kiddos were hanging out outside. They all squinted their eyes as I came toward them, trying to figure out who I was. As I got closer, they finally called out, 'Nicole!' Too fun!





Last week, I had an appointment at the US Embassy to add extra pages to my passport! That either means I'm a super traveler or I've had a lot of visa problems, ha. Now my passport is extra fat and ready to be filled with more visas and stamps. It is now out of my hands again, as it's been submitted for yet another renewal. If you remember, my current visa expires September 15th. Will keep you posted.

If my visa does indeed get renewed, I have my eyes set on the Beijing Half Marathon. The race is Sunday, October 18th. I've been gearing up for about twelve weeks now, and hope the temps will drop quickly as I add more mileage in the remaining time. I'm telling you my plans so I won't chicken out. :) Knowing what China will do to a pair of shoes, I opted to leave my fancy racing shoes at home. My junky shoes have just not been cutting it, however, so I was blessed that my parents were able to send my good shoes to me with a visiting volunteer team from Nashville. Adios old shoes, hello pretty shoes!




It's laundry night! I love these nights - my room smells like detergent! So much better than the typical China smells that can make their way to my nose. Ahhhhh! Goodnight, friends. I like you!

The White House

Last week, we said goodbye to a group of volunteers who were responsible for getting the entire interior of the new foster home painted. Let me tell you, it was hot and humid and hard work and they were sure some real troopers! Just as soon as we bid them farewell, a large team from southern California arrived. In just a matter of days, they completed the finishing touches and turned it from a construction site into a home! On their last morning with us, they looked like a trail of ants, carrying furniture from the former foster home to the new one, just a few houses down the street. It looked much like the set of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, minus Ty and his mega-phone. The kids lined the street and just watched in amazement as their beds went by!



We've been calling the new home The White House - I think the name's going to stick. The floor in the old home has already been dug up and work has begun on the new therapy pool. The kids get a kick out of seeing a giant hole in the middle of their old living room! For now we have an inflatable pool in their front yard - great for cooling off on these hot days. Once the new pool is finished, it will be heated and equipped for their physical therapy sessions. We're also keeping their classroom and volunteer housing in the former home, and eventually are hoping we can add a room for a small dental clinic for kids in the area. Lots of exciting changes!

I went to change the month of my wall calendar today, and was shocked to see it was still on May! How did I completely miss June!?

After I dismiss class at three each afternoon, I do a quick clean-up of our living quarters, and then spend some quiet time in the classroom. Grading papers, writing study guides, planning lessons - I love these times! I remember as a kid often playing 'school', making pretend papers to grade, and taking roll call of a class of imaginary students. Then as college approached, I just didn't feel it was the career path I was supposed to take. Who would have thought I'd live out the make-believe in such a way that I am? I never would have!

The other day, during one of those glorious classroom afternoons, Sarah brought me a plate of her amazing cookie creation! Hey, it doesn't hurt that my classroom is above a bakery!



Here's a recent sweet moment with Lydia. She doesn't dish out the love very often. She'd rather be bossing everyone around and putting the nearest objector in timeout. In the rare occasion that she's lovey (or just wants some of my dessert), she can be quite the cutie-pants.



Until next time, goodnight from my little room in China.

A Star-Spangled Celebration

Today we held a giant party during class in celebration of our nation's independence! Earlier in the week, when I asked the girls if they knew what holiday was this coming weekend, they had no idea. When I continued to ask them questions about our National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, their answers told me we really needed to dedicate a day to learning about these things. The following day, they arrived to class to find a party invitation for each of them waiting on their desks!





You know that ridiculous game you're always forced to play at baby showers, where you're not allowed to say certain words? And if someone catches you saying one of the magic words, you have to take one of their clothes pins? Well, as they entered class this morning, I attached four clothes pins to each of our shirts. Our magic words all pertained to the USA, stars and stripes, red, white, and blue, etc. The person with the least amount of clothes pins at the end of the day was the winner. We spent the day reviewing some of our nation's history, listening to patriotic songs, and of course, the ever popular, United States Bingo! The real fun came when we learned about the meaning behind our flag and the Star Spangled Banner, while the girls listened intently as I struggled through the lesson, trying my best not to say a forbidden word. We even cut out fifty stars and made our own flag for our classroom!





Let's just say that Rachelle wasn't the winner of the clothes pin game. :)

We have a couple large volunteer teams with us this week - one from southern California and the other from New Jersey. We're looking forward to a fun BBQ with all of them tomorrow, on the fourth of July. It will be good to be surrounded by some American blood (and Chinese blood with American hearts!) as we celebrate such a significant day and give thanks together. May each of you have a fun-filled and safe holiday weekend. Kiss that American soil for me!