Crazy Hair Day

Here is some crazy hair (our school does fun days once a month to build community)--notice that Mitike's didn't need much help to be crazy!

No Daddy Weekend

Well, Matt is in Japan this weekend for an AP Chemistry conference.  As far as I know he's having a great time with Steve Smith (a teacher from Singapore that is now in Bangkok).  He also has been out shopping some.  Meanwhile, here in China the weather has been ...well... horrid.  On Saturday it was cold and RAINY--it rained so hard it leaked in our porch.  (Therefore, Ana was climbing the walls ALL DAY.)  On Sunday we woke up to what looked like a beautiful day--until you walked outside--it is really windy and COLD! We enjoyed fellowship and next week will be my first week teaching the 3-5 year old class.  There are a lot of boys--wish me luck.  Anyway, very much looking forward to daddy's return tomorrow afternoon! 

Quick Update

I got a home computer on Friday night!  Very Happy!  Matt is in Japan for the AP Chemistry conference.  He's hoping to get to do some shopping on Sunday afternoon.  We're hunkered down in the house.  I went to the store on Friday to stock up on everything.  On Thursday I taught a group of nine Korean moms how to make Christmas cookies for the school's annual Christmas fair.  It went pretty well except that we couldn't get the oven to stay lit.  Ana has had a cough for about a week and a half now. It's preventing her from sleeping well-and me too!  Hope to add some pictures soon!

We're Cold!

Ana's method of surviving the cold is to wear lots and lots of clothes (to bed) and to sit in front of the radiators all the time.  So far it's working for her, although she has a pretty bad cold.  As for the rest of us we're breaking out the Uniqlo heattech (long underwear)!  I say, "Freeze like a Popsicle," all the time.  It now has more meaning for Ana!

Success!

I've been many places in Qingdao with my family or friends.  So, I thought it was time to branch out on my own.  First of all Qingdao feels very western.  There is very little Chinese architecture, the mall close to us is amazing, and where we live you see expat faces all the time.  Taidong is completely different.  It feels more like China.  There are a lot more people, the apartments are much smaller, and there is a lot of shopping.  I went to get backing for a quilt.  After looking briefly at the Women's and Children's market (has everything from toys to shoes to clothes), I headed over to the tailoring market.  While I had to pay more than I wanted, it was a high quality fabric.  I saw lots of other fabrics that I would like to go back an buy :)  Then I headed to Wal-Mart.  Although it is nothing like an American Wal-Mart, I do like it!  They had some fantastic deals and it has the best price on Hershey bars (which I use in place of chocolate chips).  Its also much less crowded.  So, this trip really boosted my confidence--although it would have been nice to have someone to translate for me a couple of times.
My next mission is to buy a pair of boots!  Wish me luck!

What To Do On A Beautiful Fall Day...

1. Run off some serious energy along the boardwalk.

2.  Steer a ship through the pounding waves.  (unfortunately it was low tide--so there was no water to pretend with!)

3.  Conquer your fear of bridges!  Ever since we went to Indonesia and she had to walk out across the water on a rather see through bridge--she has hated walking by herself over water.  But today she did it. 
I'm so thankful I get these two days off with Ana every week.

That's One Way To Go

This picture was taken with flash of how Ana fell asleep.  Could there be any less comfortable way?

I've been having a very difficult time getting my pictures to upload.  Hopefully there will be more soon!