kitchen of love

this was a little family owned restaurant we ate at in China most days for lunch. it was cheap and the closest place to us. just a hop on the bike and in 4-5 minutes you're there.  i have no idea of the name because everything is in Chinese. i'll have to find that out next time i go. 

i was so glad someone had recommended this place to us because i had been living off Lays potato chips and coca cola. not a good diet but it tasted like home. the first time we visited we were unsure what to do but we noticed that the entire menu was up on the wall in pictures. my first immediate thought was, Yes! i'll be able to order food without having to know Chinese!" (we had had trouble before this where we would go to a restaurant and the menu being in Chinese and no pictures so we couldn't eat) I just had to figure out if the dish was spicy and what the ingredients were by looking at the pictures. I always play it safe so i pointed to the dish that looked like it had the least amount of ingredients. plain. i happened to pick a really good dish of rice topped with thin strings of potatoes and some mild spices. It was so good i ordered it every time i went. soon enough the young boy who served us knew my order.

these kinds of places are wonderful to find when you're out traveling. family owned so you know it is going to be unique and well cared for just like the bay in the picture with her mom. she is learning the technique of cooking and being raised in an environment where routines, family, and love are important. 

a baby girl in her mothers arm in the kitchen as she works. i see it as a great moment in their life.

thawing out

it has been cold, and icy, and windy here and i am about to pack my bags and move south! i try to stay warm and bundled by staying inside, but my creative juices won't allow for it. today was sunny and my friend invited me to accompany him on a photography project and i wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to use my camera! i was bound to freeze but i needed an adventure.

what did i find?
the land seems to be thawing out and some color pushing through.
the ice is melting and nature is being revealed.
the drab colors are slowly fading away and the warmth of the sun was keeping me bundled!

March is on the horizon!

little beauties

    the girls at the Home of Love are just beautiful.

    they love to sing and dance, play games, and have fun.

    they are funny and goofy and they have lots of energy.

    their memory is remarkable.

    they remembered every step of one of the dances we showed them last year.

    they actually had to reteach me the dance!

    they can sometimes be shy in front of the camera but there are a few who not shy at all.

    it is great to see their cute personalities come out each day.

    they truly have shown me and my team a gracious amount of love and hospitality.

    they have won over our hearts!

my phenomenal team

i have so many pictures to share i don't even know where to begin!

i thought i might start with introducing you to my team.

i love each one dearly and they have been so amazing and loving to me and my family.

they have done such a great job putting this trip together with me

and as you can see they have lots of love for the girls at the Home of Love!

this is Kaitlyn,

she pretty much led us in dancing and made up a few of the dances for VBS.

she has lots of energy like the girls and i am so glad we had her to keep up with the them.

she has so much passion and a huge heart!

left: Katie, is just simply lovely.

i am grateful of her friendship and she has a great personality!

you can't help but love her!

right: Ashish was another photographer and videographer.

he is one of the funny people on our team and always has a positive attitude.

never a dull moment when he is around.

this is Hannah,

another funny one on the team.

 she always has something witty to say and is very creative.

she is an amazing friend and can be the life of the team!

this is Nicco,

he is a quiet one but was never too shy to interact with the girls.

the girls called him goliath! it was precious to see such a big guy 

show such gentleness with the girls. super sweet!

left : Amy

right: Maggie

these girls were sweet through and through.

they gave all their time and energy to these girls.

even when feeling a bit sick they tried powering through.

they didn't want to miss a moment with the girls!

this is Aerial,

she was our VBS coordinator.

she made really close friendships with the many people she met.

she has a curious nature about her and seeks out the needs of others.

this is Kyle,

he was our VBS spokesperson.

he is always singing joyfully and is generally a happy person.
he is willing to step up and take on any challenge.

he has become big brother to Angel and Julian.

left: Stephanie

she is a ball of sunshine. she constantly has a smile on her face and 

 always has grateful heart. a beautiful person inside and out!

right: Linly

this was Linly's first time flying and she did great!

i am so proud of her taking huge steps to experience such a trip.

she has a great laugh and love for people.

she is amazing at putting smiled on those girls faces.

Blake is a generous person, he is willing to share whatever he has with everyone.

the girls adored him and tried to hide him so he wouldn't get on the buses with us.

Jeff

he was our emotional support, cheering us on as we go and keeping us in great spirits.

he is a silly guy and was one of my lookouts.

he made sure everyone was present and together.

he is also one that has adopted Julian and Angel as siblings.

my son and daughter.

they are shy people by nature but the girls would cling to them and 

showed them their love. they are easy going and can adjust to any situation.

i am so glad they were able to bond with this wonderful group

who are good examples to them.

this is my wonderful husband.
he was Dad to the girls.
he always had the same group of girls hanging on him.
they all teased him and joked around with him.
these girls made him weep his eyes out,
when it was time to go.
they were such a blessing to us all.

friends, thank you for making this an incredible life changing experience

for me and my family.

thank you for looking out for each other and showing the gospel to each other.

you are all beautiful people and i can't wait to be reunited for tea time!

life is a balancing act

hello

i am still here, just underneath a pile of books.

it's a beautiful spring day and i am wearing flip flops! 

 woohoo!

it's hard to find time to blog these days as i have to juggle being a mom, wife and student. 

 being a student sucks all the life out of me. i can barely breathe. 

spring break has never seemed so relevant, although i will still have lots of homework, it is gonna be nice to have to the time to catch up on things.

i still have more India stories and news to share with you. it just can't come to you as quick as i'd like it to.

in India i walked past this gate after an informative presentation on slavery in the country.

it opened up my eyes to see how little i knew of this injustice. this whole trip has been a learning experience and i want to be more aware and informed. i want my heart to be tugged at 

and to be challeneged to do the right thing. how God wants to use me in 

his kingdom, i am not sure but for now i am a student, mom, and wife. 

this is where God has me today and i am grateful. 

if you'd like to know more about slavery in India or how to get involved check out IJM's website.

happy 2012

dear friends, family, and lovely readers, today i will be embarking on an adventure across the world!

India is the destination and working with orphaned girls is the mission. 

i am overwhelmed with so many different feelings right now but the most 

difficult challenge will be leaving my two beautiful children and incredible husband behind.

i will be gone for a total of three weeks, so not being able to see

or touch them for that long will be tough. 

i am excited to share the love of Christ on this trip and to be a servant for the Lord!

i want to say "thank you" to those who have made this trip possible with financial

support and prayers. and for sending me with words of encouragement, they will help me get through each day.

i have been blessed with such thoughtful family and friends.

thank you for all your generous donations and remember to keep

me and my team in your prayers!

my hope is to keep you all posted here but i don't know how often i will be able to access

a computer or if i'll even have a good internet connection. so stay tuned and have a wonderful new year!

waiting for him to come home

it was finally that time to pick up david from the airport. we are always excited for his arrival day. but then there were delays and lots of waiting that we didn't expect.

we were not prepared to sit in an airport for what seemed like an eternity so luckily i did have my camera on me for one of my kids to entertain themselves with. this is what we look like waiting at the airport. i had to buy a book otherwise i'd go crazy just sitting there. 

my poor kids went a bit crazy but i happened to have two quarters for them to use on a game each. that all took about 10 minutes! i think i took a small nap too.

all photos taken by Angel Alexander

around here

Sorry for the silence here lately. I have a crazy life right now. There's lots to do around here and so little time. It is tiring trying to keep up with it all.

 I am taking 2 classes at the moment and they are kicking my butt! Three classes when comes October. One of the classes I am taking is ceramics. No, these are not the bowls I have made with my hands but I can't wait till I can make bowls as flawless as these. These were the ones from this project. We started out hand building the first few weeks of class and now we are starting to throw on the wheel. I love the learning process so far. My professor said that we'll sometimes get frustrated and want to scream as we practice. I really hope I never get to that point! So far I feel it is therapeutic.

Around Here
The weather is changing rapidly. I don't remember September being so cold. There's definitely winter air floating around our town.

I guess it's not cold enough to scare away the spiders. I have spotted lots of webs lately. These things are everywhere! On my cupboards, in just about every corner of my house, on telephone wires and in our shoes. In the mornings when I get back home from dropping the kids off at school I'll spot one with the morning sun shining down on it. Nobody was home so I quickly took a shot. They are beautifully structured and yet very delicate, a fine masterpiece. I just don't want to encounter the homeowner when I am around!

Around Here
On top of all the other stuff in our life we have a film shoot happening here at our house every Saturday. The whole crew arrives here at 9am sharp! That means no sleeping in for us. So you see it is a busy life.

weekend lens

This was a weekend of students moving in, outdoor dining, and lots of walks. We did get a bit of rain but not much to hurt our moods. This was my last weekend of summer break and it was good down to the last drop. So ready to start school and get working.

 I am happy to have the students back with their noise and commotion.  Since we live right next to the university we can hear a lot that goes on around here. It's been way too quiet around this place. I can hear a band play as I type this very post on my couch! 

A student and friend came and brought the kids some souvenir African necklaces. Great little treasures!

Thankful for such an nice weekend! What was yours like?