by Amy
On June 19 of this year, Brad and I celebrated ten years of marriage! And, as cheesy as it sounds, I can honestly say, I love him even more now than I did ten years ago. I remember when Brad was pursuing me, I lived in Texas and he was in Colorado. That meant we spent a lot of time on the phone. I don't remember all the things we talked about, but anyone who heard us on the phone remembers hearing me laugh. I don't know what he used to say to me, but it was funny! Ten years later, he still makes me laugh. We have so much fun together; I love being with him! I love watching him play with our kids. I love remembering our past and thinking of our future together. I love learning how to live in a new culture with him by my side. I love how he loves his Savior and is faithful to point me to the cross. I love that he makes me feel safe. I love his humble, teachable heart. I love how he's quick to listen to me, quick to forgive and slow to become angry. Oh, how the list could go on and on.... Let's just say, I praise the Lord for giving me ten years of marriage to Brad and pray he gives us at least sixty more!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Flashback to Five Dragons Park
By Amy
This summer we have enjoyed cooling off at the Five Dragons Park. It's a pretty nice park with several areas with some shallow water for the kids to play in. (This is the same park Peter and Alex wanted to visit on their birthday.) Earlier this summer we were there on a beautifully clear, sunny day. So, I got some super cute pics of our kids. There was also a local newspaper reporter there and he got some fun pics of our kids, too. So, the next morning, when Brad went to drop the kids off at their preschool, the teachers had a copy of a newspaper with a picture of my boys on the front page. It's pretty cute! Too bad, I don't have any idea how to find it online and paste it here!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Flashback to the Beach
by Amy
I'm sorry I've been a slacker blogger lately. It seems like we've been hopping from one thing to another all summer long. I have tons of posts floating around in my head, but haven't had a chance to get them on the blog. So, I'm going to start a series of flashbacks....
A few months ago, Brad had some meetings at in a beach town about 3 hours away from our home. So, I decided to take the kids and go play while Brad worked. It was tons of fun! Before Brad's meetings began, we spent one day playing at the beach. It was a little too cool to play in the water for very long, but the kids had a blast in the sand.
Then, another day, I took them to a zoo/amusement park place. Even though zoos over here are not nearly as nice as American zoos, they're still fun. The kids really enjoy getting to see some animals, being outside and running off some energy. It's also really fun to see what types of animals are deemed "zoo-worthy." In the past our kids thought it was funny to see dogs -normal, everyday house trained dogs from the US - in cages on display in our local zoo. This time Alex was super excited to see a real raccoon. He has a little beanie baby raccoon name Ringo that Grandma gave him. Other than Peter, Ringo is Alex's best friend. So, he was thrilled to see a real raccoon!
My sweet daughter of course, was thrilled to find bunnies. We bought some grass for 25cents and the kids got to go in and feed them. Alex and Savannah really liked it when the rabbits hopped up to them, but Peter was content to sit on the sidelines and watch.
Then, I told the kids they could each have 20 local dollars to spend on whatever rides they wanted in the amusement park. A ride typically costs 10 local dollars each, but since it was a slow day, we were able to talk them into giving the boys "buy-one-get-one-free" tickets. So, they got to ride on four different rides. 
Savannah remembered visiting this park over year earlier when my parents were in town, so she wisely held on to her money and spent it all on one "ride." She basically put on a harness that was attached to some bungee cords. Then, she would jump on a moonwalk-type-thing and bounce really high! She got to jump for about 15 minutes. Last year, she barely got off the ground, but this year she went flying! My little girl's growing up! 
On our last full day there, I took the kids to an aquarium. It's actually really nice. We had been there two years earlier, and were happy to go back. They had a great polar bear exhibit, a fun show with dolphins, penguins, and other fun things. But, like most places here, when they tried to translate their signs into English, something was lost in translation....
They also had some fun little things set up for pictures. I'm not exactly sure who they're supposed to be....
I love this pic of Peter! What a nice smile!
Our time at the beach city was really fun I really enjoyed that time with our kids and am thankful for the special memories we made!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Sorry, completely wrong...anyone else?
From Brad.
After dinner we typically have our family devo time. Recently we've been reading "Leading Little Ones to God" to our kids (we love it). We came to the section where Jesus was arrested and brought before Pilate.
The book says "Pilate asked, 'What bad things has He done?' Nobody could think of even one bad thing Jesus had done." So I stopped and asked the kids, "Why couldn't anyone think of even one bad thing Jesus had done?"
Now, it isn't unusual to get strange or wrong answers from time to time, but typically we can pull some truth out of the attempt and encourage our kids in trying to answer our questions. However, at this time, Alex responded, "Because Jesus is so powerful..." I thought, good start, keep going kid. "Because Jesus is so powerful, he blinded them from knowing or remember all of the bad things Jesus did!" Well, ummm, let's see...No Alex, sorry, completely wrong...please never, ever say that in public. Anyone else? :)
After dinner we typically have our family devo time. Recently we've been reading "Leading Little Ones to God" to our kids (we love it). We came to the section where Jesus was arrested and brought before Pilate.
The book says "Pilate asked, 'What bad things has He done?' Nobody could think of even one bad thing Jesus had done." So I stopped and asked the kids, "Why couldn't anyone think of even one bad thing Jesus had done?"
Now, it isn't unusual to get strange or wrong answers from time to time, but typically we can pull some truth out of the attempt and encourage our kids in trying to answer our questions. However, at this time, Alex responded, "Because Jesus is so powerful..." I thought, good start, keep going kid. "Because Jesus is so powerful, he blinded them from knowing or remember all of the bad things Jesus did!" Well, ummm, let's see...No Alex, sorry, completely wrong...please never, ever say that in public. Anyone else? :)
Monday, August 3, 2009
Do you like cake?
by Amy
I love cake - I love a moist chocolate cake served warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Mmmm! It doesn't get much better than that (especially if there's peppermint icing involved!) And, I have a really great recipe that's super easy, so I thought I'd pass it on....
It's called A Darn Good Chocolate Cake, and it comes from the book The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. (It's a GREAT book! I'd highly recommend purchasing it!)
1 box of Devil's Food or Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
1 small box of chocolate pudding (3.4+ oz.) (about 2/3 cup if you happen to buy pudding in bulk like me :) )
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream (add 2 t of white vinegar to 1 cup of heavy whipping cream - just in case you live overseas and can't buy sour cream, like me!)
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Place cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, water and oil in a large bowl. Beat thoroughly with mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Grease you pan and bake at 350. The time will vary depending on the type of pan you use. Look on the back of the box for guidance. She recommends 45-50 min. for a bundt pan. You can tell the cake's ready when it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and it just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. **Be careful if you test "done-ness" with a toothpick. There will be melted chocolate chips through out the cake that can fool you into thinking the middle of the cake is not done.
Ice the cake with your favorite icing, drizzle with a ganache or glaze, or serve plain. Any way you cut it, it's delightful!
I love cake - I love a moist chocolate cake served warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Mmmm! It doesn't get much better than that (especially if there's peppermint icing involved!) And, I have a really great recipe that's super easy, so I thought I'd pass it on....
It's called A Darn Good Chocolate Cake, and it comes from the book The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. (It's a GREAT book! I'd highly recommend purchasing it!)
1 box of Devil's Food or Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
1 small box of chocolate pudding (3.4+ oz.) (about 2/3 cup if you happen to buy pudding in bulk like me :) )
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream (add 2 t of white vinegar to 1 cup of heavy whipping cream - just in case you live overseas and can't buy sour cream, like me!)
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Place cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, water and oil in a large bowl. Beat thoroughly with mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Grease you pan and bake at 350. The time will vary depending on the type of pan you use. Look on the back of the box for guidance. She recommends 45-50 min. for a bundt pan. You can tell the cake's ready when it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and it just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. **Be careful if you test "done-ness" with a toothpick. There will be melted chocolate chips through out the cake that can fool you into thinking the middle of the cake is not done.
Ice the cake with your favorite icing, drizzle with a ganache or glaze, or serve plain. Any way you cut it, it's delightful!
Friday, July 31, 2009
The First and the Last
by Amy
I figure since I posted on the first day of July, I should post on the last day of July as well. Sorry there was nothing in-between!
Our time in Hong Kong was really great! One unexpected blessing was running into some friends. They were also in Hong Kong waiting to get a new visa. This family has a 7 year old daughter and a 4 year old son. So, needless to say, our kids had a BLAST playing with them. We also hit the beach and pool 3 times each. That was super fun. All three of my kids love to swim! And, Alex and Savannah LOVED jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side by themselves. Peter didn't want to do it, but he still had a great times splashing around and "swimming". We did hit Disneyland one day. It was fun, but it was SOOO hot! And, Savannah was a little disappointed that we couldn't find all the princesses this time. We saw them in the parade, but that's all.
Since we came home we've hit the ground running! We got home on a Monday night and Brad taught at an English Camp for 4th-6th grade kids the following Tuesday - Friday. Then, we had two American friends come visit us! Sarah came all the way from Colorado!! Oh, it was so great to see her. She was visiting a friend from college who teaches here. So, as they toured the country, the came to visit us for 3 days. What a sweet blessing to connect with Sarah again and meet Megan. They both have such precious hearts. It was exciting to hear what our Father's been doing in and through them both! Amazing....
Then, this past week, we've been getting back into the home schooling routine. Savannah continues to amaze me with how well she's doing in school. Sometimes I forget she's only in first grade. She has read over 850 pages - only 150 left until she gets her BIG prize! (I'm so excited!) Peter and Alex are truckin' right along in their reading lessons. Alex has really surprised me with how well he's doing. I expected it to be more difficult for him than it has been. I'm thankful! Peter had a rough week of reading lessons, but by the end of the week, I was thankful to see an improvement in his attitude resulting in an improvement in his reading. They've each completed 50 lessons - we're half way there!
Well, I'm sure more things have happened over the last month, but that's all I can remember at this very moment. The other stories will have to wait until a later day!
I figure since I posted on the first day of July, I should post on the last day of July as well. Sorry there was nothing in-between!
Our time in Hong Kong was really great! One unexpected blessing was running into some friends. They were also in Hong Kong waiting to get a new visa. This family has a 7 year old daughter and a 4 year old son. So, needless to say, our kids had a BLAST playing with them. We also hit the beach and pool 3 times each. That was super fun. All three of my kids love to swim! And, Alex and Savannah LOVED jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side by themselves. Peter didn't want to do it, but he still had a great times splashing around and "swimming". We did hit Disneyland one day. It was fun, but it was SOOO hot! And, Savannah was a little disappointed that we couldn't find all the princesses this time. We saw them in the parade, but that's all.
Since we came home we've hit the ground running! We got home on a Monday night and Brad taught at an English Camp for 4th-6th grade kids the following Tuesday - Friday. Then, we had two American friends come visit us! Sarah came all the way from Colorado!! Oh, it was so great to see her. She was visiting a friend from college who teaches here. So, as they toured the country, the came to visit us for 3 days. What a sweet blessing to connect with Sarah again and meet Megan. They both have such precious hearts. It was exciting to hear what our Father's been doing in and through them both! Amazing....
Then, this past week, we've been getting back into the home schooling routine. Savannah continues to amaze me with how well she's doing in school. Sometimes I forget she's only in first grade. She has read over 850 pages - only 150 left until she gets her BIG prize! (I'm so excited!) Peter and Alex are truckin' right along in their reading lessons. Alex has really surprised me with how well he's doing. I expected it to be more difficult for him than it has been. I'm thankful! Peter had a rough week of reading lessons, but by the end of the week, I was thankful to see an improvement in his attitude resulting in an improvement in his reading. They've each completed 50 lessons - we're half way there!
Well, I'm sure more things have happened over the last month, but that's all I can remember at this very moment. The other stories will have to wait until a later day!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Here we go again....
by Amy
Brad got a job!! We have a friend who recently opened an English school and he was looking for an "Expert Engineer" to help things run more smoothly. So, after serious consideration, he offered the job to my Expert Engineering husband! So, what exactly does that mean? I don't know. Brad's going to help John with his company, maybe teach a few classes, and offer his expertise when needed.
But, in order for us to change from a student visa to a visa that will allow Brad to have a job, we have to leave the country. The government doesn't allow anyone to apply to change visas from here. So, it means.....
I knew my kids would be SOOO excited! Hong Kong = Disney Land, boats, YUMMY food, swimming, subways and airplanes, Toys R Us, double-decker buses, and so much more! As all the arrangements were being made, we didn't dare tell our kids. As Brad and John went through the process of applying for a work permit, Brad could have been rejected at any stage. So, we made our plans (reserved our housing, did extra school lessons, etc.) but didn't tell our kids that we would probably be going to HK. If Brad did get turned down for some reason, our kids would have been super disappointed. So, on Monday, when we got the final word that we could definitely apply for new visas, we decided to tell them the good news by playing hang man. Originally, we planned on letting them each guess one letter a day. But, I was so excited that it was not difficult for them to talk me into letting them guess two letters each on Monday, and three on Tuesday. Then, Wednesday morning, they finally completed it!
So, on Tuesday, July 7, we'll fly to HK. We're not sure how long the whole process will take, probably somewhere between 10 and 14 days. While we're there we definitely plan on doing a lot of playing. But, we also have developed a schedule that will help me keep teaching the boys their reading lessons, Savannah can keep reading and working towards her goal of 1000 pages, and Brad and I can study the language together. We praise the Lord for working out all the details thus far. Brad getting this visa is definitely an answered prayer! We hope to use the time out of country well.
Brad got a job!! We have a friend who recently opened an English school and he was looking for an "Expert Engineer" to help things run more smoothly. So, after serious consideration, he offered the job to my Expert Engineering husband! So, what exactly does that mean? I don't know. Brad's going to help John with his company, maybe teach a few classes, and offer his expertise when needed.
But, in order for us to change from a student visa to a visa that will allow Brad to have a job, we have to leave the country. The government doesn't allow anyone to apply to change visas from here. So, it means.....
I knew my kids would be SOOO excited! Hong Kong = Disney Land, boats, YUMMY food, swimming, subways and airplanes, Toys R Us, double-decker buses, and so much more! As all the arrangements were being made, we didn't dare tell our kids. As Brad and John went through the process of applying for a work permit, Brad could have been rejected at any stage. So, we made our plans (reserved our housing, did extra school lessons, etc.) but didn't tell our kids that we would probably be going to HK. If Brad did get turned down for some reason, our kids would have been super disappointed. So, on Monday, when we got the final word that we could definitely apply for new visas, we decided to tell them the good news by playing hang man. Originally, we planned on letting them each guess one letter a day. But, I was so excited that it was not difficult for them to talk me into letting them guess two letters each on Monday, and three on Tuesday. Then, Wednesday morning, they finally completed it!
So, on Tuesday, July 7, we'll fly to HK. We're not sure how long the whole process will take, probably somewhere between 10 and 14 days. While we're there we definitely plan on doing a lot of playing. But, we also have developed a schedule that will help me keep teaching the boys their reading lessons, Savannah can keep reading and working towards her goal of 1000 pages, and Brad and I can study the language together. We praise the Lord for working out all the details thus far. Brad getting this visa is definitely an answered prayer! We hope to use the time out of country well.
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