Notes in the New Year

Feel free to skim or skip... this is just a bit of stream of consciousness about the last couple weeks and the coming week!

We're back at home in Shanghai. We've struggled with jet lag in varying degrees all weekend. Tonight at dinner Gwen was whining pleadingly to be put to bed. Madelyn, Seth, and Scott soon followed her. Caleb, on the other hand, being a teenager, has been able to sleep in later in the morning than any of the rest of us, and is currently out playing basketball with a friend, at 9:45 at night, the last night before school starts again for 2010.

I used my wakefulness due to jet lag at 4 a.m. the other morning to my advantage... I got up and undecorated the Christmas tree in the quietness of the house, with only one of our cats for company. I worked for an hour and then went back to bed, feeling pleased with myself for using the time so well. However, the pieces of our artificial tree are still lying in pieces on the living room floor, two days later. Hoping to get it put away soon...

Madelyn is looking forward to her birthday. She will be ten years old on the tenth of January, in the year 2010! Fun. She and I planned several months ago that she could do a mini room-redo for her birthday. I'm hoping it means we get some things sorted and cleaned up; I know she is planning on a new comforter for her bed and hanging long curtains to partition off part of the room. Happily, I think we will be able to do both. I was pleased to find a long tension type shower curtain rod at Carrefour tonight for only 38 RMB that I think we can use to hang the curtains. I got her some lavender-fading-into-white sheers at Walmart in the US that we will hopefully hang up tomorrow.

Although the boys return to school tomorrow, and Madelyn and I will resume school then as well, Gwen has another week off. I'm hoping to get in several phonics lessons with her this week while she is home with me. English phonics is the one thing missing at her school, since they are spoken to in Chinese all day. I've been using the phonics program with her that I used to teach the other three kids to read, but doing it kind of hit or miss. This week will be catch up time. Gwen is hoping to go to the Science and Technology Museum this week, which she loves! Her favorite things to do there are to wander through the extensive animal exhibit, showing real (now stuffed- this fascinates her) animals in their natural habitats, and riding what she calls "the fruit ride". On the fruit ride you sit in a huge strawberry, watermelon or apple, and take a trip into a giant mouth and through the digestive system. You can imagine how it ends. Fortunately the narration throughout the ride is all in Chinese, so we don't get the full effect, but I imagine Gwen gets a lot more of it than I do.

Our time in Chicago and Cleveland was wonderful. What a treat it is to be with those whom we love at Christmas! There was a Man Hike through the winter woods for the boys and two of their uncles, sleepovers for the girls at Aunt Jenna's and Pa and Nannie's houses, a walk through the woods lit with Christmas light displays, and baby boy cousins who have grown much bigger than they were in the summer. There was a Cavs game with seats that offered an amazing view of Lebron; Avatar, Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, and Princess and the Frog movie outings, and dinner for all at Bubba's BBQ. There were new blue glasses for Madelyn and new school pants for the boys. There were games of Guesstures, Scene-It Sports, Loaded Questions, and Malarky. There were lots of cookies and many cups of coffee. There were several nativity finger puppet shows, one much better than the other according to Caden. There were nieces singing in church on Christmas Eve and salmon for supper afterwards. There were little girls in pink coats passing out sandwiches. There was a birthday treasure hunt for Seth, leading him inside and out in search of the thirteen clues that led to the location of his gift. There was a dirt pudding birthday cake, complete with sour gummy worms. There was packing and packing and packing, and good-bye hugs and prayers and leaving for the airport while it was still dark.

And now we're here and regular life begins again. The weather is warmer here than it was in the Midwest~ today we flew a kite and threw the football around under a pale blue sky and warm winter sunshine. We also sorted through clothes in various closets and filled bags to give away. We went to church at 3 pm like we always do, and then out to dinner at Element Fresh, one of our favorite spots just a short walk from church. After dinner I walked to Carrefour and bought the curtain rod along with other odds and ends, took a taxi home and found most of my family sleeping. I've fiddled around tonight with various small tasks, and gotten school stuff ready for tomorrow.

Caleb has come home now from basketball, iced his bloodied lip, and gone to bed. I think I will go there now too.