April 2010

It's been a wonderful Resurrection Day. Our church's brunch, worship and egg hunt this morning at a nearby hotel; Easter baskets, relaxing, and watching some of "Jesus of Nazareth" early this afternoon; then our church service with Madelyn's baptism (I'll let her post about that on her blog!) late this afternoon, followed by dinner at an Indian place with our dear friends the Allens and their five children.

Tuesday is Madelyn's official first day of school at Concordia! She's super excited... I am so happy for her! She knows quite a few of the girls in her class and from the short visit she's had with her new teacher so far, she already thinks Mrs. Kent is wonderful. The uniforms and the backpack have been waiting for months. She's already considered whether to buy lunch or pack it on her first day. She knows the class Easter party is on Wednesday and she's so happy that she'll get to be a part of it. Smile, smile, smile. :-)

Wednesday afternoon Scott and I will head to the US to join my extended family in the celebration of my grandma's life. What a gift to be able to be able to be a part of this gathering of remembrance with everyone. I'm so grateful to my Shanghai friends who are taking our children into their families for the days we'll be away. My thoughts drift to the Heavenly City where Ruth Erdmann now has a new body and is in the presence of Jesus... what is it like for her?

The day we return to Shanghai, my sister-cousin Tamara is arriving for an unexpected visit. I can't believe our good fortune, to have this time together! What will we do?? There are so many possibilities! A few days after she leaves, Scott's sister Mary and her husband Justin are arriving for a visit that we've all been anticipating for months. Can't wait to show China to them! What fun we will have. :-)

And that's April. God is so good to me to fill up my first month with Madelyn in school. I won't need to wonder how best to use my time. I'm excited about the possibilities for this shift in where my energies should be directed for the hours my children are learning elsewhere. But my time in April is filled, with us visiting people we love who live far away, and bringing people we love to us from far away.