Last Day in Jinan

Last Day in Jinan

Jinan~Wednesday Pics

Jinan~Wednesday

Josiah continues to do well. He seems more relaxed and happy every time I talk to Mario. He LOVES his daddy and is now doing well with Chloe and Max too. (For a while he was all about daddy). When we skype I can hear him giggling in the background. It is music to my ears.

They did some sight seeing today. As you can see, Josiah was completely entertained by the birds. Mario sent me my favorite picture to date, Josiah's little arm is wrapped around Mario's neck. Can't you just see the love?

Father, You have been so good to us. Far better than we ever imagined! Thank you for giving us this little boy, for making him a part of our family. We praise You and yet, ask for more still. Give us wisdom and understanding to know how best to parent and train him. Let his heart trust in us. More importantly, let us point to You teaching him to look to You and trust in You. In Jesus' name. Amen

Life at the House

For those of us who have been left behind, life is no less an adventure. Take today for instance. While Lillie and Lyza are sweet and quiet, the boys~ not so much.

Moses and Judah like action and movement! They want dinosaurs and cars in big piles of sand. They want the sun in their eyes and the wind in their hair. (what little hair my baldish Judah has) They need to run, jump and cause destruction. Yes, you read that right.......DESTRUCTION!

Today it was the apple tree. The defenseless tiny apple tree we have been growing in our back yard. Not uprooted. No. That's for amateurs. This unnamed child snapped it. At the base. Now, I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I'm not an orchard owner. I don't know what to do, if anything, to save this tree. But, I'll google it. I suppose being a mommy has taught me far more than any liberal institution of higher learning I have ever attended. As for the tree, it's now on my back deck. So much for apples in the back yard. It was a nice thought.

To his credit, the 'unnamed child' did promptly go and pick dandelions (the fuzzy ones, of course) and come to me with his *award winning, million dollar, I'm sorry Mommy* smile.

Jinan-Day 2 part 2

Mario was on his own today, if you call 3 kids with you at all times on your own. I guess I should say his guide was not with him.

All of our boys have sported the family colors while in China. Josiah is no exception. He's looking handsome in his OSU shirt. Can you tell I'm a proud mommy?

They walked around for a while, trying to go to the Shandong Science & Technology Museum. Too bad it was closed. So, they took in some nearby scenery and introduced Josiah to junk food. Yep, our boy loves french fries (as a vehicle to get ketchup in his mouth) and ice cream was a HIT!

They have had some room issues at the hotel. The first room was hot. The second room was stinky. (So stinky Josiah wouldn't use the potty, Mario had to take him to the lobby). The third room, the internet won't work. Which means no skyping. Again. *sigh*

Chloe and Max are learning to expect the unexpected when it comes to the dining experiences in China. Just today, when they ordered Chicken stir fry from the hotel, it came with an added bonus~ chicken necks and feet. YUM!

Father, open the eyes of my family to see the bigger picture of what is going on around them. Give them a heart to speak and share Your truths. Let them see past the here and now and look to eternity and to things that have lasting value. In Jesus' name. Amen

Jinan Day 2~Part2 pics cont.