8 Years Ago...

8 years ago today, my brother Seth, and now sister-in-law, Cindy, were married. What a special day that was! I had fun looking back at some pictures from their wedding and thought I would share. Hard to believe all that has taken place since the. I was going into my junior year and Kiah was only 5 1/2!

Kiah, Seth, and I

I have been so blessed with Cindy as my sister-in-law

 Thad was my escort. He's grown just a little, wouldn't you say?

The boys! 

Kiah and my cousin, Abbie, were the flower girls. 

What a special day it was to share with them. Now they live about an hour from my parents and have two precious little boys.

Happy 8th Anniversary, Seth and Cindy! Here is to many more!

Birthday Celebration: Part 2

My birthday was celebrated on Friday in China but with the time change, even though it was Saturday here, it was still Friday in the states which means it was still my birthday! Therefore the celebration continued. 

We woke up early to Skype with our parents which is always a good time. We then made funfetti pancakes which my Mom sent me in my birthday package! As you may have read on Facebook a few months back, my box of pancake mix was taken over by tiny bugs, so I was pretty excited when my Mom sent me three new packages of pancake mix.

Yum, deliciousness.

I was unable to find syrup so we had honey or peanut butter on them. It wasn't bad! 

Of course a birthday breakfast (or any breakfast for that mater) would not be complete without bacon.Thankfully I can buy that here in China.

The breakfast spread.

Laura was obviously pretty excited about breakfast.

So happy to have my good friend here in China with me for a few months, especially to help me celebrate my birthday.

The rest of our day included a head massage / shampoo and I even got brave enough to have my first hair cut here. They did a pretty good job for me not being able to really tell him what I wanted! That evening we watched "Frozen" with friends. Such a wonderful day of relaxation. 

Care Package

Receiving packages are always a highlight. I don't think packages have ever been so exciting in my life and probably never will be again. There is nothing quite like receiving a "taste of home" (often literally!) when you are on the other side of the world.

Recently, my Aunt decided to bless me with a package for Christmas/birthday. It took longer to arrive than usual due to Chinese New Year, but last week it finally came!

Look at all those goodies.... oh my.

I have to admit, this was one of my favorites and I have been enjoying it a lot lately with these chilly nights.

Thank you, Aunt Sharon! The kids and I love it! I showed them all of our fun, new craft supplies and they were pretty excited.

Happy New Year (again)!

Happy New Year.... Take Two!

Breakthrough

It has been six days since precious Pearl arrived. In those six days, I have seen her fight back tears and try to hide the pain that has probably been such a part of her life. She had probably never seen a non-Chinese person until this past week and most certainly had never heard English. I made her cry which just about broke my heart. She was scared.

"What is this new place with funny looking people who speak a strange language?"

I can't even imagine what has gone through her 2 year old mind. Trying to wrap her mind around all that has taken place in the last 6 days.



Since I made her cry, I have kept my distance. I haven't tried to get to close or pick her up. However, I have smiled at her and tried to interact. Yesterday, we made strides. She thought it was hilarious when I would knock her little bear over. She has the most precious smile.

Yesterday was progress but today, my friends, we had a breakthrough. After getting her to smile for most of the afternoon, I finally took a chance and reached out my arms and asked her in Chinese if I could hold her. She immediately reached her little arms out towards me to which I scooped her up and sat her on my lap.

That little girl latched on immediately. Her arms went around my neck, she laid her head on my shoulder, and held on for dear life. I kept the tears at bay because I did not want to frighten her (again) but they were threatening to spill down my cheeks. I kissed her sweet head and slowly rubbed her beautiful black hair.

This precious child who has lost so much is taking a chance and allowing herself to trust. She sat on my lap for about half an hour, until it was time for her to eat. She went back and forth between hugging me, gazing into my eyes to make sure I was really there, and then her little girl arms would go around me again. 

This is what it is all about. This is why I do what I do. For moments like these. To give hope to the fatherless and show them love. 

Fun With Blocks

I keep certain toys  in the preschool room, to only be used there. Needless to say, these toys become very special and the kids love playing with them! I think it's because they don't always get to play with them, just once in a while.

This week in preschool, I brought out some new alphabet blocks we received.

My original plan was to work on their recognition of letters and colors but then realized that building towers was way more fun!

After all, we are working on fine motor skills so it's totally educational!

We built....

And we lined up.

For not really wanting to ever be a preschool teacher, I have come to really love it. We have such fun!

What I Get...

The last week and a half has been spent learning how to use my camera. Going from a point and shoot to a DSL has been quite the adjustment. I am one who just wants to "get it." I know, I know, aren't we all? Learning is just going to take time and practice to get the hang of this camera. I am getting closer but it's a slow process. 

When I ask Kiah if I can take her picture to try to learn how to use my camera, this is what I get...

 and this....

oh yeah, then there's this...

and finally THIS.

And she thinks I'm the silly one... 

Day 26 of Thankfulness: Laughter

I am thankful for laughter.

Laughter truly is medicine for the soul. When there is laughing and giggling going on, it causes one to forget the problems and stresses of life. I especially love when the laughter is coming from a child who should not be here today. When a living, breathing miracle is laughing, it makes it even better.

I am praying that my month home is filled with laughter. Where there is love, there is laughter.

Oh, What Kids Do!

Oh, the things that kids say and the things that they do! Something I need to get better at, is blogging about some of the happenings at the foster home and the adorable (and not so adorable) things my kiddos do. I have been recently doing one-on-ones with Miracle and don't get me wrong, I love him to pieces, but he definitely tests my patience at times! He knows how to push my buttons and he does! But he is so darn adorable, you can't get upset with him. He is always making me laugh over one thing or another.

So today..... we had our "class." First of all, he gets distracted VERY easily. And he LOVES balls. Baseballs, basketballs, kickballs, etc. If it rolls, he calls it a ball. In fact, while working on his vocabulary cards today, he insisted on calling a doughnut a "ball." I kept saying, "no, doughnut." He would look at me and then in his sweet, innocent voice, exclaim "ball!" This probably went on 4 or 5 times before he believed me that it really IS called a doughnut. We then proceeded to work on our "ABC's." We (I sang while he stared at me) sang the alphabet a few times and then I said the letters and had him repeat. Of course if he doesn't want too, he shakes his head firmly. Well we got all the way to letter "E" and what does he do? Instead of saying "E," he breaks into "Old McDonald had a far...e-i-e-i-o!!!" Yes, the pig noises were included in his little solo. I just shook my head and smiled. Tried to get him to say "E" again and once again, he breaks into song. *Sigh* Of course as he was singing and looking around, he notices a Dora sticker nearby and then yells "Dora!" proceeded by "D-D-D-D-Dora!" (in singing form). And if that wasn't enough, after looking at the sticker, noticed the balls on the wall (we had been working on circles in preschool) and yells "ball!!" Oh my.... Miracle, you sure are cute but you drive me bananas some days!

Of course this is the same child that if he finds class time boring or doesn't want to do something, he closes his eyes and pretends to "sleep." *Sigh* As frustrated as I get, I can't help but smile. He really is a hoot and I am going to miss him and all his craziness when he leaves us to join his forever family.

Oh the joys of working with kids.

Excitement in the Air!

Me on the Great Wall in 2010

There are some exciting things coming up that I'm excited to share! In a few weeks, I have the opportunity to travel to Malaysia to visit a dear friend of mine. It works out great because I not only will be able to visit with a friend who I have not seen in over 3 years (!) but I also need to leave China around that time to renew my visa. Therefore, it works out great that rather than making a quick trip to Hong Kong or Macau (both of which I've been), I'm able to see another Asian country and visit friends. I am more than ready for a little vacation and I can't wait!

There's more? Oh yes, there is more! Last week I bought my plane ticket home! I'll be landing in the states the week before Thanksgiving to spend the holidays with my family before flying back to China on Christmas day. However, for my flight back I didn't buy one ticket but TWO. Who is the second one for? My brother Thad is coming to China!!! We have been talking about this for a while now and it's finally happening. He will me my first visitor since I've lived in China. Thad will be with me for 2 weeks before flying back to the states and starting the spring semester of college. Our first stop will be Beijing for a few days because you can't fly all the way to China and not see the Great Wall! We will visit the wall along with whatever else we can cram into one day. Yes, it'll be December so it will be cold but I think we'll survive. After all, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. We will then fly south to Guangzhou where he will be able to hang out with me and love on some of the cutest kids in the world for about a week and a half before heading home. I'm having a fun time planning our time here and thinking of fun things to do. It'll be so wonderful not flying back by myself for once.

Even though I won't be home for actual Christmas Day (we fly out Christmas afternoon and will just celebrate Christmas morning a few days early in the Johnson household), I'm so excited to be home for the holidays. AND I'll get to be home for Thanksgiving and all the Christmas festivities in December. Sound like fun? I should say so.

I'm also really looking forward to another trip to Beijing. Here are a few pictures from my visit to the Great Wall in 2010. I'm glad I get to go back as it is truly amazing no matter how many times you've seen it.

Yes, there is a lot to be excited about!

How Is China?

I have been asked this question time and time again, so I figured I would just write a blog post on it to answer all those questions at once. China is good. It's funny...I have been back only 3 weeks but it feels like I have been back forever. It's like I live in two different worlds. But then again, I guess I kind of do.

One thing I can say without a doubt is that I NEEDED that trip home. And not just a whirlwind of a few weeks back but a 2-month trip home. When I booked my flights back in January, I was a bit unsure of being away for that long. Not only because of my job and leaving my babies, but would I get bored at home? My parents, friends, brothers, and sister would all be in school or at work, minus the 2-week Easter break they had. I did not get bored until about my last week home. And when I say bored, I mean I "actually watched TV or read and really wasn't that bored at all." 

As much as I love what I am doing in China, it gets really, really hard sometimes. When you are away from a place, you realize just how special that place is to you. I realized how much I love the area that I grew up in. Oh my.... I didn't realize how beautiful it was there until this last trip home. I just always took for granted the hills, fields, and QUIETNESS (which you don't get too often in China).

And the same is true for China. After being away from it for 2 months, I appreciate the beauty of it that much more.

I know that I am not going to stay in China forever. I came committing 1-2 years. My first year has come and gone and my second year is well underway. The Lord has filled me with peace as I seek His guidance and direction for the future. 

When I first realized last year that I didn't feel called to live in China forever, I was at first disappointed in myself. Am I a failure if I only stay a couple of years? But as time has gone on, God has changed my heart and opened my eyes that "no, I am definitely not a failure." I am beginning to feel like China is just the beginning of something even greater. What that is? I don't know, but I have this feeling that living in China for these few years is going to be a critical part of whatever that "greater plan" is. 

So back to the original question, "how is China?" I can honestly say China is really, really good. I am at peace where God has me at this point in my life. He will make the rest clear in His timing and His timing alone.

"If there's a road I should walk, help me find it.

If I need to be still, give me peace for the moment,

Whatever Your will, whatever Your will

Can you help me find it?"

- "Help Me Find It" by Sidewalk Prophets