our days & our ways: Another Sunshiney Day!

Dass is right on with her hot pink sunshine! The weather here has been amazing- It's December tomorrow and it has been in the upper 60's.

I couldn't find real art smocks around town, but I did find some great white t-shirts! Vivi recognizes hers since it's almost black by now.

This was awesome. Her artwork ended up being an entirely black piece of paper- not one spot of white or anything else. And then a couple days ago while we were painting we all noticed she colored her flower outline entirely white! There's no half and half with Viv.

Our friends Jeremy and Anita with Ella- the sweetie they adopted just a month ago! (Their other 3 kids are enamored by their new sister!)

And here is Ian (in the red) with his big brothers Austin and Eliot. Ian came home with Jenny & Joey the same weekend we met Xiang xiang!

Dass refusing to take off her homemade hat. Her crying was totally unrelated.

A weekend on the mountainside. Jason (in the cowboy hat) has recently opened up a neat restaurant with lots in store for the future.

Two views of the Kitchen

Outside Shots

The guys were hanging out, minding their own business when a stampede of pretty large horses comes rushing by!

What beautiful colors!

I guess the neighbors have been using this land to feed their animals. Old habits are hard to break :)

How beautiful to see wild life- or at least animals in a green setting (I doubt they are actually wild)...

The Mastermind behind the Project

Enjoy!

Xiang xiang's bangs were in desperate need of a trim, so who better to call than Amber who leads up the youth group with Phil & Danielle and others as assistants! It was better than a movie. After watching, all the girls wanted a turn- and got one!

Lily & Cade working on their Halloween Costumes on the porch

Not sure what happened to Cade's pic- he made a suit of armor along with helmet, shield and sword. Tinfoil is an amazing invention. Lily went disguised as a vending machine! They made their costumes almost entirely on their own. And then we had 3 little princesses :).

Every year I try to remember to take a picture of each of the kids on the day they had their baby dedication in church. They love to talk about that time and share with each other how important it is to be on Jesus' team.

And of course Dass- if she's not looking in a mirror, she's looking in a camera lens :)

Cade, Austin & Josh playing baseball before Austin's family left for a few months in the States. Millions of memories in our courtyard.

The day Danielle made HOMEMADE lasagna for us!! It was amazing!! We are blessed to have Phil and Danielle living with us for this short season- they are troupers!

I look cute, but my favorite hobby is actually setting a stool in front of anything I can climb up and then trying to get to the highest point, without anyone looking!

GG this one is for you!! I think it's you walking on water :) Can't grandma's do all things??

The before

and after pictures

of a pretty cheap haircut that I think looked awesome even before washing out the hairspray :)

(with such a great face- what difference does the hair style matter??)

Girls being girls- braiding hair, dressing dolls & flying on an airplane all without leaving the bunk.

Since our 10 year anniversary wasn't amazing (who's even keeping track:), and since my husband loves me so much, he surprised me... on the exact date we began dating- 12 years ago! We had a night away at a hotel that overlooked the lake and city. Phil & Danielle stayed with the kids. We are blessed.

Here's a picture from each year of dating/ marriage... notice Josh couldn't find one of just us for this last year :)

Cozy Saturday Mornings

If I can't find Olivet standing on a table anywhere, I usually will find her on the windowsill learning new games.

Too bad this is the only picture I got of Michael on this occasion. Our good friend from Beijing just moved to Kunming for a rest and a change. We are excited to have him!

He brought some sweet sweets all the way from Beijing for us to enjoy.

Happy Birthday Vivianna Hope!

She turned 3 on November 16th.

Never missing a moment to make his sisters laugh

We got Viv her favorite outfit for her birthday- undies! It seems whenever a guest comes over, that's all she is wearing. Now she will at least be in style :)

We also got her a jacket that Phil used some great skills in getting us the better price. Now, for the temperature to dip below 55 :)

All geared up for the JUNGLE PARTY

We were glad Xiang xiang was able to join us for Viv's party

Lily is an amazing helper- words do not express my gratitude toward her servant heart. She loved helping me with every little detail of this fun party.

balloons were tied on "che's" and people

a blessing from the Lord

Lydia & Lily make a great team!

I think Greta had fun too

We had about 20 kids running around...

coloring,

scaring people,

disguising themselves,

hunting wild animals,

searching for wildlife with binoculars,

and putting tails on the monkey!

I put up some contact paper for the kids to make a nature collage- it was funny to see a comb and a wheel on the poster.

love mom

I love this face- the mark of a happy dad

and a silly Xiang xiang

Ella wondering what to do next!

How about open presents!

Viv was the exact opposite of Hadassah opening presents. Cute Dass wouldn't crack a smile or make a peep. Here viv is screaming in excitement over the wrapping paper.

Michael shu shu is always bringing a treat! Here is a really yummy cake from the bread store in our complex. Another chance to sing!

Here is Xiang xiang's whole family! Hurray, mom is back! (Now I can resume my natural sibling tendencies :)

My heart is relieved and overjoyed to see Xiang xiang with her mom and sister.

Part of the whole crew

This post seems never ending... ug. I think I added 100 pics this time- I guess we had quite a busy month!!

We put up the tree and all our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving

It went pretty quick with lots of helpers!

Lily's turn to put up the star this year. Can you believe she will be EIGHT in two days?? Today she said, "Mom, do you realize that in 8 more years I will be 16?!"