A Few New Pictures

Here are a few new pictures of the kids from St. Patrick's Day, Brennen's school fieldtrip to the Coca-Cola factory and traversing through YuYuan Garden in Shanghai!

This is one of my favorite pictures I have taken thus far in China. Though the smog makes the World Financial Center a little hard to see, this is a great example of "old" meeting "new" in this wonderful society!

Chinese New Year...in Malaysia!

Though this is our first year in China, we opted to forgo the endless days and evenings of fireworks for Chinese New Year here in Shanghai for the peaceful beaches and rain forests of Malaysia. We traveled to Kota Kinabalu, the capitol of Sabah, Malaysia. In addition to spending lazy days by the pool and on the beach, we took a boat to Gaya Island and hiked through the rain forest. Though Collin and Brennen were determined to see a python, and I hoped to see a proboscis monkey, we ended up seeing bats hanging upside down in a cave (yikes!), a gecko, a chameleon and tons of ants! Apparently, the island inhabits the "Giant Ant", which grows to about 3-4 inches in length. However, much to Brennen's dismay (and my relief), we just saw "regular old ants." The rain forest was just beautiful, with all of its waterfalls, lush green plants and sounds of birds and cicadas.

After trekking through the rain forest, we got back on the boat and cruised to a neighboring island for snorkeling and an "under water walk." After the boys snorkeled with Dave, I got to go with them to the bottom of the South China Sea! A small boat cruised us out to a houseboat off shore. There, we put on what looked like space helmets and climbed down a ladder that took us about 15 feet below the surface. At the bottom, a walkway was roped off. We held onto the ropes and walked under water, seeing hundreds of tropical fish, as well as coral and sea anemones. The water was crystal clear and the view was just beautiful! A scuba diver went down with us and gave us bread to feed the fish. As soon as the bread was in our hands, we were swarmed with "Nemo's" and "Dorrie's". It was really cool. The guide also picked up coral, a starfish and sea anemones for us to feel. He had a camera and took several photos of us underwater, which were then put on a disc for us to keep. A picture of Collin and me is at the right. (Brennen unfortunately didn't get into any of the pictures).

It was as close to perfect as a vacation can get, and we can't wait to go back someday when the kids are a little older so that we can go deeper into the rain forest and do a canopy walk!

Life in Shanghai

The past several weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind, but we are all settling in to life in Shanghai. Collin and Brennen have begun to make some good friends at school and are "finally" having playdates again. That has made a big difference.


We had a wonderful Christmas and were all relieved that Santa found us in China! He was very good to each of us again this year. Our church, Sacred Heart, even had a children's mass where kids dressed up and reenacted the birth of Jesus, so we felt right at home.

Instead of heading out of town for Christmas break, we decided to explore Shanghai. We went to the Science and Technology Museum, the Aquarium and the Live Insect Museum. We also took a few bike rides as a family, which was something we don't typically get to do in December! Though the temperatures are quite chilly in December and January here in Shanghai (40s, occasionally upper 30s), it just doesn't seem as cold when you see green grass, leaves on trees and flowers!

Our driver, Feng Xin, and our ayi, Su, have already become part of our family. With Dave traveling so much, I am very fortunate to have their help and friendship.

Here are quick updates on all of us:

Maeve: Maeve is a typical precocious two-year-old, who makes us crazy one minute and has us laughing in stitches the next! She loves to dress up in princess costumes, to do puzzles and play dough, and to do "gymnastics", which involves her standing on her head and doing somersaults. She goes to a "Creative Movements" class every Thursday morning with mom, where she gets to dance and play with a few other toddlers. She is quickly learning Mandarin from our ayi, Su, who has the patience of a saint! One of Maeve's favorite activities is to look at the pictures on Su's cell phone, mainly because most of them are of her! Maeve also enjoys going to "Miss Cristi's House" to play with Leah, Lauren and Kate.

Brennen: Brennen has had the most difficult time adjusting to life in China out of all of us. He misses his "old school" and his "old friends." That being said, he seemed to turn the corner right after Christmas break and has a new, brighter attitude towards school, friends and life here in Shanghai. Having playdates and getting involved in some activities outside of school has shown him that it may not be all bad to live here. During Christmas break, Brennen took an animated Legos class at Children's Technology Workshop (a Canadian-based center). Over the course of the week, he developed a story line about Santa getting trapped in an avalanche and how he got rescued. He had to build Lego scenes and characters to go along with his story. Then, his instructor took still photos as Brennen moved his Lego characters through the scenes. The end result was a movie played to music, burned onto a disc, that Brennen got to bring home. It is really cool and Brennen had a blast! Tomorrow Brennen starts basketball, and we are in the process of getting him into guitar lessons at school, which he'll be taking with his good friend, Harrison. I'm not sure if he is more excited to learn how to play guitar, or to just have an excuse to show boat with a guitar. Either way, he's excited!

Collin: Collin has jumped right into school and making new friends with a positive attitude. He really enjoys his new teacher, Mrs. Kent. She is a former writer for NBC, so let's just say she makes the kids read and WRITE!! It has been wonderful for Collin. Her enthusiasm for reading and writing are infectious and as a result, Collin always has his nose in a book! Collin's two best friends at school are Tommy and Addison. The three of them are good students and like sports, so they get along well! Like Brennen, Collin also starts basketball tomorrow. He has been anxious to get started, since all of his friends back home have been playing for a couple of months already, and regularly send email updates of plays and scores. He loves getting the emails, so keep them coming! Collin's new friend, Tommy, just started taking trumpet lessons at school, so Collin has decided that he may give trumpet a try, too. I have to say that the words, "Mom, I want to take trumpet lessons," are 7 words I never expected to hear! I didn't think our house could possibly get any louder...

Dave: Dave continues to LOVE his new job, in spite of the frustrations and long hours. He travels domestically and/or internationally each week, so he is only home on the weekends. In just a couple of months, he has been to Hong Kong, Singapore (twice), Poland, Croatia, and Hungary. He is up at the factory in Xuzhou when he is not out of the country. He does a great job at making time for the kids when he is home, taking them on bike rides, playing outside, and finding yet another ice cream shop! (We haven't found one that compares to Whitey's). He is still trying to find time to start his Mandarin tutoring...hopefully he'll squeeze it in before we leave China.

Cathy: I continue to love every aspect of life in China (especially now that the kids are happier). My Mandarin tutor, Lisa, comes to our house twice a week to tutor me in Mandarin and our ayi, Su, in English. It's a difficult language to learn, but Su and I have a lot of laughs together as we try out our new phrases with each other. My friend, Cristi, and I have made a pact to have a "girls day out" once a month (her husband also travels Mon.-Fri.). We have had a blast going all over Shanghai to different markets and shops, and we always end our day with a Chinese foot massage at a spa, capped off by tea and dessert. It's rough, but some body's gotta do it! Now that I have the house in order and more of a routine down, I am looking forward to getting back into the groove with Raising Hope. In April, I am going with a team from Holt International to Cambodia and Nepal to visit 3 different orphanages. We will meet with the orphanage staffs to assess needs, and we may also take part in building a playground at the orphanage in Nepal! The best part for me, will be meeting all of the sweet kids. This experience is truly a dream come true for me. In February, I will be flying to Guangzhou, China for a few days to meet up with my friend, Debbie and her husband, Bill while they are here for the adoption of their daughter, Ella. I feel very blessed that I am living here and can meet with them to lend a helping hand, and to of course, hold that sweet baby Ella who we have prayed for for so long!

Well, that about sums it up! The last week of January is Chinese New Year, and we are heading out of China to Malaysia! We are going to Kota Kinabalu to stay at a resort on the beach. We also hope to take a day trip into the rain forest, so the kids are very excited! I'll post again when we get back!