QIAN JIA TING: All about our Family

A New Blog!

2008-07-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone, I've started a new blog. I thought it was fitting to close the chapter on "qianjiating" and begin a new blog in time for our China adventures. Here is the new address:
theqiansinchina.blogspot.com

So, please visit there and book that as the new Qian family site. Also, due to technical difficulties, I've lost EVERYONE'S blog addresses when I changed templates. PLEASE write me soon and tell me your blog address so that I can update my links and remain in touch. Thank you!

I'll check this one for another few days and then will be mainly checking and only updating the new blog: http://theqiansinchina.blogspot.com/

It's Official Now!

2008-06-27T15:42:00.001-07:00

William will work for ATL Technology and I will teach 8th grade at Clifford School in Guangzhou, China. We will be living in the same place we lived when we met back in 2001. See the post from a couple of weeks ago for how this all came about. It's official! We're moving to China.

Girlfriends are a Treasured Gift!

2008-06-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

I am incredibly grateful for the gift of friendship. I have truly been blessed with good and genuine friends and I really treasure those relationships. We are going to be leaving California very soon and so begins the process of gathering email addresses, taking pictures, and saying "goodbye" for a season. Here are a couple recent pics with some people I will miss!

Sheila is just amazing. She is an exceptional friend and we clicked almost immediately upon meeting. Right after I moved here, I met her at church and then saw her at the park. She offered to take care of the kids when the time came for me to give birth to baby Alex. Amazingly, I felt comfortable accepting her offer and we have become good friends since then. She is beautiful, smart, talented, and extremely capable. I have learned a lot from her and I will really, really miss her. She took me to one of her favorite places last week, Carmel. We sat on the beach chatting, ate a great dinner, and had a really great time.

Lori and Sheila in beautiful Carmel

These ladies and I have a special connection, since we all watched our 4-year olds enjoy Sonshine Preschool together this past year. Jackie, Linda, and Tina are such kind, fun, interesting women and it has been so great to get to know them! They are all very positive, energetic, and strong women and I am so glad that our children brought us together. I look forward to keeping in touch with them. They were really sweet and treated me to a fabulous Mexican dinner last week. We sat there for hours chatting, laughing, and having a blast. You ladies are awesome!

Jackie, Linda, Tina, and Lori at Alberto's

Enjoying the Summer with Friends

2008-06-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Shannon and Brad, came to town. Shannon and I spent the day in Chinatown and had lunch at a great dimsum place right in the heart of it all. It was a really fun day!

Abraham and Annabelle hanging out with their friends on Memorial Day

The crazy boys having a Pepsi drinking contest

A family pic taken at our branch bbq a couple of weeks ago.

The piano man!

My favorite sister missionaries

Just kickin' back, letting the bottle hang

Annabelle is the most self-sufficient girl I know. Tired of waiting for me to change the batteries in her talking panda, she took matters into her own hands.

Annabelle loves taking pictures of me lately, so she took this one the other day.
Chun Fen and Jin Yan's son Wei graduated from high school. He's now off to UC Berkeley. Smart kid!
More from the graduation

Annabelle and William had a Daddy/Daughter date night. They went to see Kung Fu Panda and they both loved it. Notice her gigantic drink and hot dog! I think she felt pretty cool having Baba all to herself for the night!

Our friends Linda and Gustavo (her Mom is in the pic, as Gustavo is taking the picture) are headed to Angola. Everyone's having an international adventure!

Why Are You Going to CHINA?

2008-06-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

A lot of friends have been asking the same question: “Why are you going to China?” I thought I might attempt an answer to that question and will answer other questions in subsequent posts. Thanks for your interest!

First and foremost, our family's decision to go to China comes down to a feeling. William and I, for personal reasons, simply feel it is right at this time for our family to move there. As has always been the case before, the real reasons will show themselves after the fact, I’m sure. So, I would say that’s the first reason---a feeling. Lots of sub-categories under this “feeling” umbrella, but those are for us to sort through as we go through this exciting process.

Now, getting more concrete, and on to reason two. Our kids’ education. We have always wanted our kids to be bilingual, to be fluent in Mandarin and English. So far, that has not happened. They understand some Chinese but without context, they are in no way actually speaking it. There is a window of opportunity for the linguistic miracles to do their thing and we are coming to the end of that window with our oldest.

More than just the language issue, though, is education in general. William and I both have fairly strong feelings about what education means to a person’s life. We also know our kids, and know that they will benefit from a structured learning atmosphere, prior to what the U.S. kindergarten system (as wonderful as it is) can provide for them.

Second, we have family there. Yes, we also have family in the US and it has been wonderful to spend time with them these past 5 years. We have tried unsuccessfully to bring William’s parents here, even for a visit, only to be denied by the U.S. So, if we want our kids to know their only living grandparents, we are going to need to go to them! Having them associate with their extended family there will be a great blessing to them, I’m sure.

Third, money! We will have an opportunity to save money over there, whereas here that is impossible for us. Granted, we do live in one of the most expensive parts of the country, but our potential to save will increase quite a bit by working and living in China.

Well, those are the top three reasons, I guess. There are more, but that gives you an idea of why we’ve decided to move to the other side of the world. In an upcoming post, we’ll tell you more about what we’ll actually be doing there! And remember, if you’ve ever had the desire to visit China, we’d love to show you around. It is an incredible place!

Our Crazy, Happy Family at the Temple

2008-06-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

I love this picture. We've got the 4-year old in the baby stroller with a pile of chocolate cake in front of him. The three year old is on her Daddy's shoulders, and the baby, with no pants, sits on Mom's lap. All of their shoes were long gone by this point. This was following a fireside and potluck dinner in Oakland Sunday night. A tiring, but very fun night.

Our attempt at a "nice family" pic in front of the temple. Abraham is trying to run away, Annabelle's sticking her tongue out, baby is looking at William...

Like I said, a happy, crazy family. That's us!

China, Germany, Alabama, California

2008-06-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

You just never know where people are going to end up, or where we'll re-connect with friends. Alice and I met in a yoga class in China. Later that year, she married her German boyfriend, Jens. I remember seeing them at the lake one night and telling her I was pregnant. To my surprise, she said "me too!" We enjoyed hanging out with them and said our good-byes when William and I left China in 2003.

We kept in touch a bit and visited them in 2006 when we went back to China. At that time we met their daughter Karen who is very close in age to Abraham. We again said our good-byes.

Well, they are now living in Alabama and were going back to China for a visit recently. They stopped off here for a couple days, so we got to see them again. This time, we got to meet their baby boy, Peter. It was so fun. Our two families are very comfortable together and it was really fun to watch the kids play, partiularly Abraham and Karen :)

We wish them a wonderful trip to China and I imagine the next time we'll see them will be when we are living there and they come over for a visit. But, who knows!

A beautiful, smart family: Jens, Alice, Peter, Karen Jens and Karen going "cherry picking" in our backyard. William reading to the girls. We took them to the Pleasanton farmer's market. Alice, Jens, Peter, Alexander William loved chatting with Jens. Karen playfully winks at me while Abraham intensely takes "his woman" by the hand :) Mei Mei's not sure what to think, but she's holding tightly to those crackers!

Alice and I spent most of our time cooking and chatting. Yes, I am aware that baby Alex is eyeing that knife... Mother and son playing in the front yard. Taking a picnic break at the market.

Nothing to Brag About, Part Two

2008-05-29T14:59:00.001-07:00

I just posted "nothing to brag about" and was thinking about how I wrote that I need to be a better Mommy. I just realized that instead of doing 3 billion other things, I should have been paying attention to my children. Maybe their "murals" were a cry for my attention, a plea for me to reasuure them that despite all the upcoming changes, we are a family and life is wonderful! Maybe they were trying to tell me something with their acting out. Or...maybe they're just a little naughty. Anyway, I still love them :) and despite my very loud reaction to what they did, I think they still love me.

So, share. What has made you want to "run away and eat a dozen donuts" (or whatever your equivalent not-so-healthy stress-buster is) lately?

This is Nothing to Brag About

2008-05-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

I know this is nothing to brag about, but my kids have reached an out-of-control point.

They have rarely been kids to color on the walls. I remember one of them did a few years ago but this generally has not been an issue for us. After all, they are 3 and 4 (we’re not counting baby Alex in this little scenario. He’s still too angelic for me to call him “out-of-control”. They know we only color on paper. Crayons and markers never need to be kept out of their reach. Well, today, all of that changed.

A little background. We are in the midst of packing up and moving to the other side of the world. This will be our ELEVENTH move in six years of marriage. Again, nothing to brag about but this is what we’ve done, and what we’re doing. I am using this upcoming move as my excuse for why the kids haven’t been as obedient lately. I am also using this as my excuse for why they decided to color murals---not scribbles, mind you---but huge, wall-covering “designs” on their bedroom walls for no particular reason.

The worst, well okay not the worst, part of it was that Annabelle came and told me about it. However, I had no idea what I was in store for. Her exact words and mine:

Annabelle: “Mom, I colored a really scary fish.”
Me: That’s nice. Wait…where did you color a fish?
Annabelle: on my wall (with a smile, no less!!!!)

So, we found the “fish” and I made her (try to) clean it up with the magic eraser thingy. Okay, fast forward a little while. I’m on the phone with my friend, Shaunna and I walked back to their bedroom. The pictures document what I found (though you can’t see it very clearly). Not only had they colored ALL over their WALLS, but they had taken their mattresses off their beds and colored on THEM.

I know this is nothing to brag about.

There is more background do this day. Other reasons why I really want to run away and eat a dozen donuts right now:

*This morning I “proactively” posted several ads on craigslist for furniture we are planning to sell. I then corresponded with people and made payment arrangements, etc. I then discovered I had posted all of these ads in MOBILE, ALABAMA!!!! Ya…so then I had to cancel all my interested buyers, delete the ads and re-post them in the bay area.

*I am on a diet. I am hungry. Enough said.

*Baby Alex did not want to take a nap.

*The house is a mess.

*A buyer came to buy my bookshelves. After looking at them, she didn’t want them. This was after I had emptied all the books off of them. These books are now sitting in my dining room waiting to be sorted.

Sigh. So, all our plans for today just sort of faded into oblivion. I’ve spent a couple of hours cleaning (not the walls, mind you, those we’ll just have to paint) and thinking about how , how, how to be a better Mommy.

So that’s my day…and it’s only 2:46 in the afternoon. The baby is finally sleeping and rather than continuing to clean, I’m telling you because I need to vent.

Again, I know this was nothing to brag about :)

Abraham and Annabelle say Goodbye to Preschool!

2008-05-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is me with my absolute favorite princess in the world, Mei Mei!

And this was just too cute to pass up. I love watching baby Alex sleep. I wonder what he's thinking so hard about!

And now, enjoy some pics from the last days of Preschool! Can you find Abraham during circle time?

Mommy hanging out in Annabelle's class

Annabelle playing outside

Sitting right by Ms. Devan for story time

Mrs. Olds and Ms. Devan were Abraham's teachers last year (for a semester) and taught Annabelle this year. They are great teachers.

Here we are visiting Abraham's class. He really loved Ms. Z

Here he's working on a project with Ms. Z

Annabelle loves, loves, loves to paint!

And cut playdough...

The kids have attended Sonshine Preschool this year and they've both grown so much. They spent 2 afternoons a week learning wonderful things from caring teachers and making good friends. I couldn't be happier with their first school experience. Now, they will be moving on to kindergarten, since in China, kindergarten begins at age 3. Annabelle will attend K-1, while Abraham will attend k-2. As we drove away from the preschool parking lot Thursday Abraham yelled, "Bye Sonshine, I have to go to Clifford School now!". Needless to say, we've been prepping them about how much they're going to love it, while silently hoping and praying that they really do!

Just In Case You Hadn't Heard...

2008-05-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

THE QIANS ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!

That's right. We've got two more months to enjoy beautiful northern California. Two more months to hang out with the wonderful friends we've made here. Two more months to welcome any "old" friends who would like to pay us a visit (hint hint). Two more months to sell a lot of furniture, decide what to take and what to store. Two more months to get visas, tickets, and make arrangmentments for about two million things. A lot to do, yes, but we are very excited. It's one of those things that is just right, and it feels like the right time. So, we're going! Yeah!

BYU Women's Conference 2008

2008-05-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Place we met in 2004

Chrissy and I

Steven, Janelle, and Tori--our friends from Pleasanton who are now at BYU.

Ryan, Kiersta, Hendrix, Faryn, and Errson

Errson snuggled right up to me as if he sees me every day of his life!

Shaunna (who made this trip possible) and me

Kiersta, me, Wendy

Randalyn, me, Wendy, Kiersta, Shaunna, Christine

Hannah & me

The whole crew

It was phenomenal. I left Wednesday night and have just returned on Sunday. My darling husband took two vacation days and cared for our three children for four days so that I could attend this wonderful event. I had never been away from our children for more than one night (the only time I’ve ever been away was when I was in the hospital having another child) and I took some much needed “Mommy time”. It was wonderful! I missed my sweet family but a few days away, learning all of the amazing things I did, gives me renewed strength and optimism, from which we will all surely benefit.

I saw our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, and heard him speak on kindness, service, and love. I heard intelligent, amazing women speak to us about our profound, special, and significant role as women, wives, mothers, and daughters of God. We heard one of our favorite speakers, John Byetheway, speak with his Mom. I attended sessions on several great and inspiring topics, but overall it was the spirit of the conference and my renewed faith and clarity of purpose that were the greatest gifts.

Of course, hanging out with my wonderful, fun, exceptional friends was also a key highlight! (Thanks to John and Shaunna for arranging the buddy pass!) Spending some awesome “sister time” with my sweet little sister, Chrissy, was much needed and really great too. It was also just fun to be back in Provo, a place of very tender memories for William and I.

And now, I am home. The house is quiet and amazingly, not a mess. William and the kids are at church and should be home soon. I can’t wait to see them! I love my family, I love my friends, and I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am incredibly grateful to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Not only do I simply believe in its doctrinal truth, but its teachings make me a better person, or at least someone who is truly trying to be.

Wishing you all a great day!

We Are a Happy Family

2008-04-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

I entitled the post as I did because the kids say this lately---"We are a happy family". I think they learned the song at church, but it got me to thinking. So, two weeks ago, in Family Home Evening, we talked about what a happy family is. I think we'd talked about it before, but it's always so fun to hear their thoughts. It really gave me a chance to think about what is most important. I love those reminders because they always make all the insignificant garbage disappear.

I mean, happiness is profound. There's nothing silly or light or unimportant about it. We all know that we cannot be happy every second of every day because sometimes life is hard. However, having a happy core, knowing that you can come back to that as a default, is huge. When the kids talk about having a happy family, I feel even happier and so incredibly grateful that they feel that way. What could make a parent happier than to know that their kids consider their family to be happy?

Today, I'm grateful for a happy family. And millions of other things, yes. But today, I am focusing on this one thing. And what about you? Today, what are you grateful for?

The kids love feeding Baby Alex.

Our sweet, smiling 4-year-old

It's not clear in the picture, but Abraham is holding his Book of Mormon. He had told Annabelle they were going to read together. Notice how she's sitting attentively, ready to learn :)

She draws this same picture of "William" about once a week. She's very proud of her work.

She is pointing out that her Daddy has a big smile. That's how she always draws him too!

Alexander's latest tricks...He knows he is entertaining us and really hams it up

Another of his famous tricks!

Enjoy Some Random Pics

2008-04-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

Alexander taking a stroll

Abraham still drilling us on those letters!

Annabelle being...Annabelle

She was excited to wear this dress to school.

Auntie Barb got Alex this tractor for Christmas and he loves it.

Our incredible, awesome, extraordinary missionaries!

Big brother feeding little guy some good 'ol mac n' cheese

TAG CATCH UP!!

2008-04-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

I love this concept of tagging each other. We put a thought or specific question out there and invite our friends to respond. I’ve been tagged about at least 3 topics (well, one wasn’t an official tag but rather a good question posed by Tara) and it’s time to catch up! So, here you have it.

Tag Number 1: What’s For Dinner?
I think it was Bethany A. and maybe Wendy F. who asked about dinner. I was asked to simply list what my family ate for dinner the previous week. Here you go:

Monday: tilapia with white rice and green beans
Tuesday: pork/pepper/potato stir-fry dish with white rice
Wednesday: lotus root, carrot, celery soup thing with, you guessed it, white rice :)
Thursday: Papa Murphy’s pizza
Friday: salmon, asparagus, white rice
Saturday: kids had mac n’ cheese. We had noodles.
Sunday: sweet and sour chicken, tofu/tomato/spinach with white rice

Lately I’ve been pretty good about cooking and adding a fruit, even if it’s canned peaches, with dinner as well. Some nights, though, if William’s working late, I’ll offer up dino-nuggets, cheese sticks, and waffles. We take it one day at a time around here and “success” takes on a different meaning, depending on the day!

Tag Number 2: What’s Your Idea of Fun?
This was a hard one. I’ve struggled with some depression-related issues this year and so sometimes what would have otherwise been fun, hasn’t necessarily been so. I can only say that my happiest moments are those with William and the kids---eating dinner, playing, relaxing, going for a drive, and really talking with the kids or listening to them talk to each other.

I also have tons of fun with my sisters and niece, especially reminiscing about things only family members can understand. We always end up getting pretty crazy (usually in a good way) when we get together. All our goofiness comes out and that is really therapeutic!

I really like having fun girl time with good friends. I love to curl up on the couch and just chat with them, look at silly magazines, talk about the superficial and the deep, and, of course, have a diet coke :)

Sometimes my most fun moments are very simple ones. I’ll give you an example. For the past couple days, the kids and I have pretended to be a marching band. We put on some loud music, get out all the instruments, and march around the house. We take turns being the leader and the leader gets to decide what “moves” we do, whether we play our instruments loudly or softly, etc. We laugh our heads off---even the baby gets into it. I’ve also found it to be good cardio for me!
William and I have fun when we rent a movie, make some popcorn, and snuggle up on the couch. Kids are in bed, house is relatively in order, and we just kick back and chill.

Saturdays with no plans are also fun. I enjoy having a leisurely breakfast, taking everything slowly, maybe reading something while I’m still in my pajamas. I love spontaneous talks with William and letting the kids sort of lead us into their play world. Taking the day as it comes is relaxing and knowing the day is wide open is actually fun for me. I think it’s because normally I’m a pretty scheduled person (as you’ve seen in my previous post about daily routines) and so I appreciate free time to the fullest.

I could go on, but hopefully this gives you an idea of what’s fun for me!

Tag Number 3: What Renews You?

This was posted by Tara and I love the question.

Funny you should ask, but one thing is BYU’s annual Women’s Conference! I’ve only been to it twice but both times were pure renewal on so many levels.

Church meetings, and particularly Relief Society, used to really renew me. With small kids---make that very active small kids---it’s hard. But I look forward to a time when I can soak it all in again. In the meantime, I catch what I can.

Bubble baths and fun magazines. I can’t read anything deep in the tub. Superficial reading is required here.

Well, maybe this is obvious, but…how can I word this delicately…intimacy with my hubby. That can be quite renewing. Shutting up now.

Alone time. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t mind going to a movie alone. I also enjoy walking around a bookstore, or even going for a drive. With my three sweet kiddos, sometimes what I crave more than anything is just to be in this house alone---free to putter, free to enjoy the quiet. I love that.

Well, I’m caught up on my tags, I think. But, I liked this question posed by Tara so…if you like the question and wouldn’t mind sharing---consider yourselves TAGGED!!!

More Fun Memories From China 2006

2008-04-05T17:29:00.001-07:00

In light of my recent post about Nai Nai's attempt to get a visa, I thought I would post a few pics of her ,and some of William's other family members in China. We spent three months there during the summer of 2006 and we hope that someday we can make more regular visits. Of course, we also hope they will be able to visit us here. Anyway, these are some fun memories and if you're interested in more pics from that trip, look under my older posts because I posted several China pics in another post, as well. Enjoy!

Nai Nai was teaching Abraham how to make jiao zi (pot stickers) and he decided to take matters into his own hands.

If you look closely, you'll see that he is holding a chicken nugget and she is holding a cheeseburger. We definitely "converted" her (at least in the fast food area). The kids and I would convince her to go to McDonald's more often than I care to admit here.

See any resemblance here? And who is that cute, bald little girl?!

Abraham gets introduced to mah zhong with several of William's aunts.

This is us with William's parents, his older brother, wife, and their daughter.

Here is Annabelle with her Ye Ye, visiting one of the uncles in the countryside.

Three generations of Qians. Could Ye Ye be any prouder?

Nai Nai, her Mother (who passed away last year) and me.

Nai Nai holding the rarely-sleeping boy.

The Latest News

2008-03-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

A conversation heard on Easter:

Abraham to me: Do you have a Mother?
Annabelle: She already died without us Abraham.
Abraham: Oh, my brother died.
Me: No, he didn’t Abraham. He’s right there.
Abraham: Oh.
Annabelle: I’m going to die! But when I get old. And Baba will die when he gets old. And you will Mama and Abraham and Baby Alex but when we all get old. Then we will live together in heaven.
Me: Do you really believe that Annabelle?
Annabelle: Yep. I do!

The faith of a child is inspiring, right? Here is another conversation between those same two angelic kids heard about an hour later.

Annabelle: Get out of here Abraham!
Abraham: No you get out. I told you girls cannot touch the whale!
Annabelle: You don’t say that (pushes him). You can only touch Nemo!
Abraham: You are ruining me! (screaming and red-faced) She’s ruining me!

Well, those are just a few of the fun conversations we get to hear around here. In other news:

William’s sweet Mother was rejected for her tourist visa again. She has applied to the U.S. embassy twice now, simply for the chance to visit the U.S. She would like to meet her newest grandchild. She would like to see the wonderful life her son has made for himself in this country. She would like to hang out with us, cook with us, play with the kids, and have a fun visit. Doesn’t sound unreasonable right? And yet, she has been deemed unworthy even to come for a visit. Again.

I am sad about it and the kids are disappointed, but we’ll be okay. William, on the other hand, is quite devastated. Considering he is the most optimistic person I know, it is especially hard to see his pain. He is trying not to show it, but the pain is deep. This is his Mom, after all, and Moms are important to us all. But to be so far away from one’s Mom for so long, so have accomplished so much and not be able to share it with her---for a son like William, it is simply heart-breaking.

No system is perfect, of course, but whether we will have the faith and energy (not to mention the money) to ever try again is very hard to say. On the other hand, how can we not try again, and again, and again until one day she finally gets a “yes”. In the meantime, I hope she can “bounce back” as best one can and that we will somehow find a way to feel peace about it, or at least in spite of it.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We shall see what the future holds. We recognize the great gifts in our lives and we are keenly aware of our blessings. Despite them, though, there are (as I suppose there are for all of us) some challenges that seem beyond our control. We hope we can learn and grow and come out better on the other end of this trial.

That is the latest here. Hope you're all doing well!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a beautiful Easter Egg Hunt at the park today, followed by lunch with some friends. The kids are really loving our new house, particularly the yard. It has really made a big difference for us all. Our new place is all one floor, which makes keeping track of an active one-year-old much easier. It's also much easier to clean, not having to go up and down stairs. It's an older home, nothing fancy, but we are very happy here.

I've probably been a little vague in my posts lately in some of my references to life's ups and downs, wondering about assertiveness, etc. To be honest, life is wonderful. Having said that, this has been a melancholy time for me for a huge variety of reasons. Sometimes there is nothing "wrong" per say---there's just a lot "there" in my heart, in my head, and in life. I'm sure it's true for all of us. Anyway, I'm working on trying to relax and am trying to let go of the things I cannot control.

I realized something about myself. For as talkative and fairly open about my emotions as I am, I am also a very private person. This was sort of news to me, but it's true. I hold a lot in---there's always a lot more going on than I ever let out. Sometimes that's exhuasting. Sometimes I think it's a gift. Sometimes I think it's a curse. Maybe it's not as unusual as I think, but I sometimes feel like I'm on an island.

The kids are doing great---growing so fast. They are hilarious. Every single day they make me laugh. Abraham has started occasionally calling me "Lori" while Annabelle now refers to me as "Mother". Sometimes when I tell Abraham it's time to eat before William gets home he says "But our Father's not here yet!" The two of them are so interesting to watch. I just went in to check on them and Annabelle's in bed with Abraham. Before I could say anything she said, "I want to sleep with my brother" and he said "Ya, we're snuggle bunnies". I mean really, what's a mom to do? I just kissed them both and walked out.

Alexander is a special kid. My pregnancy with him was so scary and there were at least two times that we really thought we'd lost him. I look at him now with all his strength and energy, his beautiful smile, and I think of how incomplete our family would be without him. The second part of his middle name, Ping, means peace and he has brought so much of it into our family. I love being a mother. I love being their mom.

William is always trying to learn something new. He loves finance and economics and is studying those things in his "spare time". He has been studying the stock market and making predictions, then following how things go. He has been right on so many times and we keep thinking, if only we had something other than monopoly money to invest! Oh well, someday :)

We've been attending the Mandarin-speaking group at church for awhile now and it's going well. We've had three baptisms and our little group is growing. William serves in the Elder's Quorum presidency and I am teaching Relief Society. It's quite a humbling task for me but I only need to do it once a month so (theoretically) I have lots of time to prepare my lessons.

I don't know what our plans for the future will be. Right now, we're here and we're happy. Although it's incredibly expensive we do love where we live. It's a great community, the kids love their preschool, and we've met some wonderful people. Still, one never knows what's around the corner. I have learned not to care too much about where we are or what we're doing, as long as we're together.

I love my family. I have a lot to be grateful for. I wish you all a wonderful Easter and a fun spring break!!!

Focusing on the Blessings: Our Baby is One!

2008-03-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

The following pics are a hodge podge (is that a real phrase?) of Alexander's birthday celebrations and a few random ones of the kids in their new yard, which they love! I will dedicate another post specifically to baby Alex, but in the meantime, enjoy the pics!

Alexander is 1!!!

Singing to the Birthday boy.

"The Movers taking a donut break"
Our kids with their best buds (our neighbors from our previous place).
They had fun helping us load our moving truck last week-end.

The kids' new favorite thing is to bring their blankets and pillows out to the trampoline.

Of course, baby Alex tries to get in on the action.

This is our word wall, or at least the beginning of it. Abraham is teaching Annabelle. Notice how he is pointing to the letters and, although you can't tell here, making her repeat each letter.

She's over the word wall already.

Our friends Chun Fen and Jin Yan with their son, Jimmy. Their other son, Wei, is taking the picture. This was our hysterical attempt at a nice family photo. Notice how miserable the birthday boy is here. All the kids are looking anywhere but at the camera.

Wonderful friends, Sheila and Gary. Looking at this photo, it acutally

looks like Alexander could be their kid!

Emily and Michael (2 of Gary and Sheila's sweet kids)

Our previous neighbors, Kristen and Steve

Alexander is absolutely a Daddy's Boy

We're ready for baby brother's party, Mom!

Gathered 'round the birthday boy.

Kids going CRAZY with the cupcakes!

"Hmm...which present should I open next?"

Life certainly has its ups and downs. Some ups and downs are public and we don't mind sharing them. Some are private and we may suffer, to varying degrees, in silence. Regardless, we all have challenges and life is, among other things, about working through them and trying to find joy no matter what. Having said that, here are just a few of the things that bring me peace and joy.

My husband and favorite person in the world, Qian Zhiming. Our marriage, our genuine respect and affection for one another. All the challenges that have made us work hard and draw closer to each other and to what is most important.

Our precious, amazingly aware, fun, sweet, smart children.

Our health.

Our safety.

Our faith to call upon God to help us through the trials and help us to recognize the joy.

Our extended family---the love they have for our kids, the good memories they hold.

Our dear friends---old and new.

Wonderful babysitters.

Good jobs.

Sunny days, watching the kids ride their bikes and play in the sand. Welcoming friends to our home to celebrate our "baby's" first birthday!!!

I have No Guts and I Hate Myself for It

2008-03-04T16:44:00.001-08:00

Okay, not really but I had to get your attention! Oh, the issues. Where do I start? The public blog thing does make it a little tricky to fully expose what I'm going through, so I'll speak more in generalities (not that I really think the involved parties will look at my blog but still...)

Assertiveness. Are we born with this? Can we learn it? Why do I possess this trait in some contexts and not in others? Do the people who have this trait even know it? If it's not hard for you to be direct or "tough", can you even be called "assertive"? Does being assertive mean there is effort involved? I have become painfully aware lately that in certain situations, I am a complete...non-existent, bland, wimpy doormat.

Or am I just really humble and nice?

No. That's not it. Because there's fear involved. I'm not purposefully "turning the other cheek". I just can't get the nerve up to say what I want to say. I somehow feel...unentitled. Why?

There is a certain business relationship in which I have not been assertive. I have been silent, nice, accomodating. Now, I am being---in the current vernacular---screwed. Sorry, but there's just no better way to put it people! I am having a very difficult time with this. I cannot "let it go". It bothers me. It angers me. But most shocking to me, it actually hurts me. I want people to be nice. I want them to be fair. I don't want to have to get "geared up" just to have conversations with people. I don't want to have a stomach ache for days after one 2-minute conversation with certain people. And yet, I do.

Does this person have any idea of the effect he/she has on me? Probably not. Is is my own fault for not being more assertive/tough/no-nonsense in the beginning? Probably, but it is not the beginning anymore...

Am I crazy? This is one situation in 100. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I don't have a problem speaking my mind, telling people what I think, and doing what I want to do. But there is this...and it really, really bugs me.

A wide-open post, I know, but I welcome your comments!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, WILLIAM!!!

2008-02-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

"We've got each other...now let's go see what life holds for us!"

(Ignore the date on this--it was at a suprise birthday party for William in 2002)

William is my favorite person. I’ve said it before and I’ll be saying it for eternity. I make no apologies whatsoever for being sappy---he is the link to all my happiness and there is no one else in the world I’d rather talk to, hang out with, be associated with, or look at. He is truly a remarkable husband and an exceptional father. He loves me and the fact that I’ve never doubted that fact says a lot about the man he is!

William is kind. He is intelligent, and he is tolerant. He is keenly aware of many things that go unnoticed by most of us. He is a deep thinker and possesses a rare form of humility that I’m in awe of. He is funny and wise and is providing a wonderful life for me, our children, and is trying to make life as good as it can be for his parents and family members in China. He is highly responsible and truly selfless. I don’t know anyone else like him and I thank God every day that I get to be married to him!

We will celebrate six eventful years of marriage this Saturday, February 16. I can’t offer a complete list of what we’ve seen in that time but it includes love, fun, work, sorrow, sacrifice, growth, travel, joy, pain, sickness, health, three children, two countries, ten moves (if you count the one coming up in two weeks), and miracles, miracles, miracles!

Thank you, William, for not getting a job in Shen Zhen back in 2001. Thank you for using your last kuai to come to Pan Yu for a job interview. Thank you for teaching me what life is about and for making every day of the last six years blissful beyond comprehension. I LOVE YOU!!!

Chinese New Year

2008-02-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

I love Chinese New Year. This year, the kids and I made a special dinner for William to celebrate. We even surprised him with some very Chinese bowls, which brought back a lot of memories. I'm still not doing as good a job as I'd like to on incorporating all the Chinese holidays. We're working on it, but certainly the Western holidays are given more attention---even in our own family. So, I'm setting a goal now to make a big deal of the major Chinese holidays this year. We want those holidays to be as important to the kids as the other "big ones". Anyway, we did have fun and the kids wore their special traditional Chinese clothes and even got new bikes as presents. The weather has been beautiful here, so they've been able to ride to their hearts' content. Well, the new year begins. Xin Nian Kuai Le! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Tagged About My Daily Routine!

2008-02-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged by my friend Sara. She wants me to describe my usual daily routine.
This was extremely difficult for me to do and is even more difficult for me to share. It’s not a pretty routine, people! And it’s not what I wish I could tell you I do. However, I am willing to share it and I would love to see other people’s routines as well.

I want to learn from other women. I want to see how you manage your time and how you organize your life. I think it takes some courage for anyone to truly tell how they spend their time, but I found it to be a really good---difficult, yes, but good---experience. I also want to say that I do sometimes do “better” things than what I’ve listed here. Some days, I’m cooking new things, doing art projects, and getting up to exercise before the sun’s up. But, unfortunately, right now, those are not part of my daily, habitual routine. What follows, actually is.

Now, I tag the following people to share their routines, if they so choose!
Janelle, Tristan, Kiersta, Heather, Pam, DesMama, Erin S., Erin A, Bethany A., Bethany B..…and anyone else who wants to share.

Okay, I’m going to do this for a day I don’t work and when I’m not in the middle of moving! A typical day might go something like this.

7:00 Kids wake up. *Get baby’s diaper changed and get him in the high chair with some
“do it yourself food” like Kix.
*Help older kids get their pull-ups off (cause at least one of them is drenched with pee) and underwear on. Jammies stay on during breakfast.
*Get them breakfast. Usually waffles or cereal. Sometimes eggs.
*Start a load of laundry.
*Get baby down from high chair, cleaned up, and dressed. He starts playing.
*After breakfast, get older two dressed and ready for the day. They start playing.
*Start dishwasher, clean up from breakfast. General pick-up.
9:00 Baby goes down for nap.
*Get a dvd in for the kids and Mommy takes a shower and gets ready for the day.
*Make phone calls, pay bills, switch laundry, do something with the kids that is almost impossible to do when baby is up (read, color, play a game). Sadly, I do not do this everyday. More often than not, I’m running around with wet hair, on the phone, or doing something for work, church, or their preschool.
10:30 or so…Baby wakes up. Everyone has a snack.
*If the weather is nice, this is our “go out” time. We do a play date, go to the park, or run errands. I do not grocery shop any more, as William has totally taken that over. Those Costco runs with the three of them made me want to jump off the nearest bridge. Anyway, they are getting much better at errands, though, and we do manage to get a lot done during this time.
12:30 or thereabouts Lunch. (twice a week the kids have preschool for 2 hours here)
1:00 Baby goes down for nap.
If they are at preschool, this is my email/blog/maybe even snooze time. At other times, it is do something for work, church, or their preschool time. I may put away laundry or clean the bathrooms.
3:00 Baby wakes up (twice a week, get kids from school) Snack
If weather is nice, play outside. Baby is high maintenance at this age, so I basically follow him around and hope he doesn’t put bad stuff in his mouth! Sometimes he’ll sit and play with the toys, which is wonderful, but most often he is just exploring away! Vacuum, other housework
4:30 Start dinner.
This is a shame point for me. These days, I don’t make nice meals for my family on a daily basis. I just don’t. I’m sorry to say that I usually give the kids dino-nuggets, mac n’ cheese, or easy pasta/grilled cheese, etc. I’m not proud of this, but it’s the truth! (If William is home, there is a wonderful meal, which we all eat together)
5:00 *Bath Time.
All 3 kids get in the tub together and have a blast. Baby’s bath is quick and then I get him out and ready for bed. I put him to bed while the other 2 are still in the tub.
5:30 *Reading/Flashcards
We’ve tried to have a bit of learning time before bed. It’s not cemented into routine yet, but we’re really working on it. The kids say words in Chinese and English or they might spell a few words. Other times, I read to them or tell them a story. If it’s a week-end, William does this.
6:00 *Bed time. They don’t always stay in bed. They don’t always quiet down right away, but if they are tired (and if we’ve gone outside that day, they usually are) they do fall asleep within the hour. It took me a LONG time and lots of tears (for all of us) to get this to be our routine. I’m sure with daylight savings it will change but this is what we do most nights, for now.
6:00-7:00 I’m upstairs resting and making sure they’re not getting too crazy. I turn all lights off , keep things quiet, and wait for them to settle down. Once in awhile I’m still in bed by the time William gets home, but usually I come downstairs when I know they’re really going to sleep.
7:00 Begin preparing dinner for William and I. Lately, though, I just start the rice, defrost some meat, and he cooks when he gets home. I also read blogs or update mine, read something on the computer, and do email at this time. I also clean ---fold clothes, general pick-up, etc.
7:30 or so William comes home. We cook, eat dinner, and clean up. Then it depends. I am always just so very tired at this point of the day.
8:30 If we’ve got a lesson at church coming up or if we have something for work, we do that. Sometimes we’ll watch a movie and do little tasks for preschool/fold clothes. Often he’ll read and I’ll go take a bath. That is “my time”. Sometimes other stuff is going on. Sometimes I’m working and the babysitter is there when he gets home.
10:00 Go to Bed.

I’ll be honest. I don’t like looking at this routine. I wish there were many different
things on it. I wish I had formal daily scripture study, journal time, time set aside for working on my writing
class, exercise, teaching the kids, serving others…There are a lot of things missing from
here and there are things here (dinner) that I wished looked differently than they do. I
sometimes do certain things (exercise, make a great meal, read great books) but I can’t
put it in my “routine” unless I do it more often than not, right? So, what you see here is
a realistic view of how I spend most days.

I don’t know where all my time goes. We haven’t watched television in over a year. None!
One of the reasons we made that choice is so that we wouldn’t allow it to suck away our
precious time. But I haven’t watched tv at all and I’m still not accomplishing my goals!
Hmm…

Anyway, it sounds like I’m being sort of down on myself, but really I still think I’m
hanging in okay. The older kids are basically potty-trained now and that alone has made
2008 so incredibly beautiful thus far! My work schedule is less chaotic this term, too.
And as the baby sleeps better and I sleep better, I’m hoping that some of those other goals
will find their way into my daily routine. I think moving will help too for a number of
reasons. More room for them to run, more safe freedom for the baby.

And I guess I have to ask myself what role laziness plays in my life. Maybe I just need
more discipline. Maybe I need to train myself to feel good with less sleep. I do think
looking at my nutritional habits will help with my energy levels as well.

Being a Mom of small kids is WONDERFUL but it’s also extremely busy. Looking
at my routine shows me that. It’s MUCH, much, much better than last year when there
was no sleep routine, 2 kids were pooping and peeing everywhere except on the potty all
day every day, and a certain sweet newborn was colicky and screamed endlessly. That
was exhausting. Compared to that, this routine is heaven!

So, what do you think? How do you view your routines?

Picture Day for the Kiddos

2008-02-01T14:52:00.001-08:00

So every year the kids get a fee picture on their birthday from Kiddie Kandids. I asked if I could have all 3 kids in one pic and still pay nothing. They said "sure". So, there you have it. I couldn't decide between these two for our free 8 by 10, but I finally ended up choosing the second one. We also had haircuts today, right before pics, so I cannot take credit for the cute hair styles! Anyway, I was proud of them. They did well through haircuts and pics---two things kids usually don't especially love. And what a present for us. I love having pics of the 3 of them together. Well, here they are. Qian Kiddos, February 1, 2008! Happy February.

An Update

2008-01-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

Our cute baby will soon be eleven months old!

The kids proudly wearing their preschool T-shirts

Working hard on Mommy's birthday cakes (yes, I HAD to have two. I mean, should a person really have to choose between chocolate and vanilla?!?)

Expressions...

I had a tooth pulled last Tuesday and it didn't go so well. I've been in sort of a "coma" all week. To put it mildly, I've been in pain. It has been he**, if you know what I mean. In the midst of all of that, I celebrated my 35th birthday, which was fun despite the tooth issues. I'm still coming out of the "pain coma" so my excitment isn't in full force yet, but I expect good things this year. 35 is a good number, at least to me. I don't want to jinx anything, but I have high hopes for this year. I'm preparing to tackle some of the burdens I've been struggling with for way too long and I'm preparing to actually BE who I already AM. Hope that makes sense to you---if not, I guess I'll explain it throughout the year.

Well, let's see. Last night I was thinking of all the tasks I need to accomplish in the next few days. I've got a bunch of stuff to cut out for the kids' preschool. I'm subbing as the primary music director (insert laugh here) in another ward on Sunday and need to prepare for that. I've got another Relief Society lesson in our Mandarin group the following week, which I need to get cracking on. I start work next week and I haven't begun to put together a syllabus for the course I'm teaching. There was the writer's bureau assignment I promised I'd finish before my birthday (oops!) and...oh ya, get some boxes to start PACKING!

As crazy as it sounds, and it will be crazy, I'm so excited! We found another rental (yes, as we live in the Bay area and are not rich, we are in the "rental" world") and we'll be moving in about a month. We found a cute house right down the street and for the first time, we'll be living in an actual house---unattached, with a yard. It will be good for us on a number of levels and I'm looking forward to getting settled in.

So, with work, family, church, and life, we add moving into the mix. I told William, "Hey, at least we can say I've had lots of practice packing us up" :) So, the whole process will be very familiar.

In other news, William had the privilege of speaking at our church's stake conference last week-end. It was a really wonderful experience for both of us, even though he was the one preparing and giving the talk. Putting your focus and energy into something so worthwhile brings blessings of peace. I think we both learned a lot.

I will keep you posted on life. I love looking at other people's blogs and love seeing your comments on mine. Stay in touch!

Our Beloved Prophet has Died

2008-01-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

President Gordon B. Hinckley died yesterday at age 97. For my LDS readers and friends, William and I join our hearts to yours in honoring this amazing man of God. For our friends reading this entry who are not of our faith, thank you for giving me the chance to tell you a little bit of who this person was.

To us, he was our prophet. We believe---members of the LDS faith all over the world---that he was truly a prophet of God. Just as Abraham, Moses, and others spoke for God, we believe that President Hinckley also held that role. He prophesied of so many things. He did so much good in this world. He loved everyone, truly believing that we are all brothers and sisters regardless of our beliefs. He showed his love in word and deed, and the man never sat still!

He traveled, he served, he led, he taught, he read, he studied, he learned. He was a humble servant. He was one of the most optimistic, pragmatic, intellient, and one of the wisest people I'd ever been in the presence of. He made the most of life, living it to the fullest, and encouraging others to do the same. He loved the Savior, Jesus Christ. He lived his beliefs.

He helped me. We never met, but he helped me so much. His presence, his spirit, his testimony of God the Father, of Jesus Christ, and of the restoration of the gospel strengthened me. He attitude, his wise words and counsel, and his very actions and example literally changed my life.

I loved him. I will always honor him. I respect him. I know he was more than just an incredible man. I know he was a prophet of God. I am thankful for that knowledge. To any of my friends who would like more information on him or about anything related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, please ask me. Post any questions you'd like. I welcome them. And if not, that's okay too! I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this and to share in honoring someone so important to me, our beloved President Hinckley.

The following websites have more details on his life and work. http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e419fb40e21cef00VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD

A Morning in the Life of a Mother

2008-01-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

Our Precious, Amazing, Sweet, Smart Babes!!!

Warning: "Graphic" Post involving childrens' bodily Functions.

So, I got up this morning and weighed myself. I have gained 2 pounds in the last week. Bummer. Wait, make that a BIG bummer. I'm not surprised, but I was still disappointed.

Then, I got the baby and changed his diaper, got him dressed, and brought him downstairs for breakfast. Yikes! Ants! Ants! All over the counter, the sink. Aaaaggghhhh!!!! Wanting to scream, but not screaming, I calmly made the baby a bottle and put him in the living room. I cleaned up the ants, sprayed, opened the windows for ventilation....This went on for awhile.

Abraham got up. Got him breakfast, dressed, etc.

Kept going on the clean-up process while doing some other pick-up tasks.

I heard Annabelle waking up, just as I was going to put the baby down for his nap. The timing on this could not have been better. As I walked into her room, I smelled something. Something bad. Something I haven't smelled from her room in a long time. It was poop.

She had pooped her pants at some point during the night and the poor girl slept in it. It had oozed out of her pull-up onto her mattress. I'll stop the description here. Okay, deep breath. I carried her to the tub, peeled off the layers, and cleaned her sad, red, little bum. Once everything was washed off, she had a nice bubble bath.

I hand-washed as much as I could and then started a load of laundry. Cleaned up all I could. Then I tackled her mattress. It's a smaller-than-normal mattress, so I just dragged it downstairs. I tried to take the cover off, but the zipper was stuck. I tried for quite awhile, but it wouldn't budge. I found the pliers and tried again, but it still wouldn't budge. I knew I only had a window of time before she would be ready to get out of the tub, followed by the baby waking up.

I grabbed the scissors and just cut the cover off. I took it out to the trash. Scrubbed the mattress and set it ouside to "air out". The thought occurred to me that I should just throw it away, go to IKEA, and get another one. Didn't do that yet---better talk to William first.

Got her out of the tub, dressed, worked on the laundry mess. Eventually, the baby woke up. Went and got him, changed his diaper, and put him in his high chair. The kids wanted to make eggs so we did. As I was cooking the eggs, the kids were talking to the baby.

Abraham: "Hi Baby. Did you have a good nap?"

Annabelle: "He's happy."

Abraham: "You're cute, baby."

Annabelle: "And you're sooo smart, baby".

Abraham: "Mom, I love the baby."

Annabelle: "Me too."

Me, silently. "Thank you, God. That makes it all worthwhile."

Happy 2008?

2008-01-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

That's me on the slopes in Tahoe. This was our latest date. Pretty fun, huh?

Sweet, Gorgeous, Ski-Slope Babe of a Husband!

Okay, his shirt is filthy, but he just looks so cute here, running at me!

Using one of their favorite Christmas presents.

"Hey Abraham, give me a ride!"

"Um...I don't think this is working quite right..."

Okay, no we haven't officially made our blog private yet, but we're keeping that option open. I know it's easier for everyone to take a quick look without logging on, so for the moment we'll leave it public. I was just sort of annoyed by people (okay, one person) whom I don't know making a comment. I'm sure he was just innocently advertising but still. I do put a LOT of personal information about the kids on here and I worry sometimes that maybe that's not so wise. I'm also thinking of starting another blog to get out my "real thoughts", and make that public. That way, this family-update blog could just be for friends and family. Still thinking about this...bear with us.

Um, happy new year? I don't know. I'm in a funk, for lack of a better word. I could list all kinds of wonderful things about my life---tremendous blessings, fun experiences, and goals for the upcoming year---but I'd rather just say "eh, another year for me to dwell on all the things that bug me, hurt me, annoy me, hinder me, etc." Sounds pretty negative, right? I agree! But you know what? It's the truth about how I feel sometimes. I'm pretty good at putting on a happy face, but "dang it" (as my four-year-old says now) I'm just not going to today. I'll wear my Eyore, woe is me face instead.

Okay, what I should be doing right now, rather than sharing my "negative Nellie"-ness is preparing my lesson for Sunday. I'm teaching Relief Society (the class for women at my church) and um...ya...it's in Mandarin. I have not prepared at all because (insert list of excuses here) and Sunday is fast approaching. My sweetheart babe of a husband just walked in and I'm thinking he's going to be a tremendous help in this area.

More about 2008 coming...

Joining the "Going Private" Bandwagon

2008-01-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

Hey All!

As the title suggests, we'll be making our blog private this week. We'd like to make sure that only our friends and family are reading about our personal information. So, please send me your email addresses so that I can add you to the "invited readers" list. Thanks, and we hope you'll keep reading. It's not too big a hassle to sign-in each time, and then there are no worries about who "else" is reading our blog. So send me those email addresses soon!

Looking Back at Christmas and New Years!

2008-01-06T20:22:00.001-08:00

WARNING: LOTS OF PICS AHEAD! (I'm putting 'em all on at once too, so be sure to look at older posts).

Okay, my chronology is sort of backwards but I wanted to go back and share a few Christmas pictures. We had a fun Christmas. My sisters and niece came and all attention was on the kids. They really went all out and spoiled the kids rotten! Between Abraham’s birthday, the Christmas goodies, and then Annabelle’s birthday, they think opening presents is the new “norm”. We’re trying to explain otherwise! Anyway, we made yummy food, played games, reminisced, and enjoyed watching the kids get into Christmas. We agreed that the adults wouldn’t buy any presents for each other, but instead just focus on the kids. The kids definitely made out and none of us missed a thing. There is nothing more fun than watching excited kids rip into presents and then play with them. I’m so glad the girls could come for Christmas!

Games, games, and more games on Christmas eve. Christmas Bingo!

Shaleen got the kids finger paints and they loved it! This is the "mild" painting, as opposed to the "wild painting" seen below.

We had carolers on Christmas eve as well. The missionaries and some friends from our Chinese branch sang us carols in Mandarin. So beautiful!

Mei Mei's first Barbie. From Auntie Barbie :)

Alexander is sort of dazed and confused here, and ready for a nap.

There's the real Alex! Laughing with Baba. Truly a Daddy's boy, this kid!

GO FOR IT!!

This was fun. We told a condensed version of the Christmas story and the kids arranged the Nativity scene as we told it. Annabelle is the expert on Mary and here she is instructing Abraham to be very careful with baby Jesus "cause he's very, very breakable".

Shaleen is being attacked by parrots and flamingos!

Baby Alexander takes his new ride out for a test drive!

William wants Abraham to be very clear that his sweatshirt is from BYU!

Chrissy and I enjoying the view of San Fran on a beautiful day.

NEW YEARS DAY

We love New Years. Last January 1, we took BART (the train to the city) into San Francisco. We walked around China town, the wharf, and rode the trolley cars all over the city. This year, we drove to Monterray Bay and visited the aquarium. The kids had so much fun seeing the sharks and sea otters. We also visited the Discovery Children's Museum in San Jose, the day before. William took his vacation time during that week so we got to spend lots of time with Baba and really enjoyed all our little mini-trips. Happy New Year!

Our future scientist---conducting experiments with light.

Alexander is just a happy, happy kid!

More experiments from a budding young scientiest.

You can't see it here, but Will and the kids are in awe of the sharks.

Trying to catch a glimpse of the sea otters.

And that's it! All those pics at once is the result of getting behind on my posts. Too much happened in a short amount of time. Our holidays were peaceful, though, and fun. We hope yours were too!

Our Princess is Three!

2008-01-06T16:45:00.001-08:00

Rock -n- Roll Princess!

The serious musician...

"I need a quick drink before my next show. "

Well, Princess Annabelle had a very fun party. She loved every second of being a princess and took her role very seriously. William and I could be expert party-throwers now, as things went much more smoothly for her party than they did for Abraham's. His was fun too, but more chaotic. With hers, we had our rythmn down! She had fourteen friends there--some from church, others from school, and a few from the neighborhood. For many of the kids who came, this was their first birthday party, which made it even more fun for everyone. It was very cute watching all those kids gathered around, enjoying the party. Annabelle is a precious, funny, smart little girl ,and is truly a princess. Happy Birthday, Mei Mei!

A cupcake in each hand and a crown on my head...what could be better?

Cheesin' it up near her half-eaten princess cake

Getting ready to blow out her candles.

Our wonderful friend (and the kids' babysitter), Chun Fen. She has been a miracle for our family. My friend Amy is sitting next to Chun Fen and baby Alexander

We borrowed tables and chairs from the four corners of the earth and crammed them in our garage to accomodate all her friends!

Annabelle and some of her friends playing in her room.

Sampling the frosting before she was supposed to!

Our Little Guy is Four!

2007-12-28T18:21:00.000-08:00

Abraham had his birthday party last Saturday, and what a party it was! He had sixteen of his "closest friends" there and these kids knew how to party. We'd begun the planning two weeks prior, when we went around delivering his invitations to his friends. William and I thought we'd do the "simple"-type party at home, but of course, there was nothing simple about it :) We stayed up late the night before converting our garage into party central, making cupcakes, and preparing all the goodie bags. We had all kinds of themes going---cars balloons and table cloths, Thomas cake, and football plates, cups, and party hats. The kids ran wild having fun and eating pizza, cake, and lots of other snacks. It was tiring for us but he certainly had fun. Now we're getting ready to do it all again next week for Annabelle, who will be turning three. Stay tuned for updates on that! Happy Birthday, Abraham!
"Am I really four years old already?"

Abraham and some of his party guests playing in his room.

Baba proudly brings in the cake.

Yeah! Blowing out the candle.

Examining his "loot" with help from his friends

Presents, presents, and more presents!

It's A Wonderful Life

2007-12-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

I just read my friend Tish's blog. She asked those of us who read or look at her blog to at least say "hi" when we read it so that she has some idea of who's keeping up with her updates. I thought that was a nice idea, so I'll make the same request. If you'd like, make a comment, even if it's just to say "hi". And if not, that's okay too---I know not everyone has a google account. But anyway, I'm going to try to be better about commenting on friends' blogs too. It is nice to keep the communication going. Thanks. Enjoy the recent pics. More to come, of course :) This was taken the night of William's company party. We headed in to the city for a rare night out on the town. It was strange---I kept looking around for the kids, wanting to count heads and make sure everyone was alright. I guess that's a sign that I REALLY need to get out more!

Daddy Harley Davidson heading into a get-together with Little Harley and girl in pink :)

We had to squeeze all 3 kids into William's car while we had the oil changed in the van. They certainly made a party of it, as little guy tries to grab big Sister's candy cane.

Our friends, Linda and Gustavo, hosted a farewell party for the Cluffs (they say they are moving to Utah but I'm in denial.) Here are Tori, Nicholas, Abraham and Annabelle enjoying their dinner.

Random Fun At Home

2007-12-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying the process of getting ready for Christmas. This was the first year we bought a full-size tree. We had a few ornaments from family and friends, but most of what is now on the tree are new ornaments purchased at Ikea. Kind of fun to begin our own traditions in our new home. Last year, we had just arrived here on December 22nd, so it wasn't much of a Christmas, at least not in the traditional way. So, we were determined this year to really make a big deal out of the process of putting up the tree. The kids really enjoy re-arranging the ornaments and every morning Abraham asks me to turn on the Christmas tree lights. They're excited, which makes us excited too. Other than that, I've included a couple pics of them in their new Christmas jammies from the Bailey's, as well as some random pics at home.
Mei Mei pondering life, looking sweet as ever

"Hmm...I've not quite sure what to do with this."

"Are you enjoying that bowl, baby Alex?"

We love our Christmas tree!

Fun during dinner

Abraham loves to help me prepare dinner

And obviously, so does Annabelle.

Alexander has decided he loves to eat corn.

Yeah! We get to stay up 5 more minutes!!!

The kids love their baby brother so much

She's putting the ornament in just the right spot

decorating the tree

Walkin' Man

A Visit To the Oakland Temple

2007-12-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday night, our family went to the Oakland temple to see the lights. We decided to walk around the visitors center first because the kids always love to see the big statue of Jesus. Well, the second we walked in, we saw a sister missionary from China! We were so surprised and elated to talk with her. We told her a little about William's experience in becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and about how different things were for the Church in China just five years ago.

It gave us a good excuse to really pause and think about all that has happened in our family in those 5 years. There have been miracles, for certain, and I personally am very grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that without it, my life would be very different.

When we went to the visitors center that night, we watched a short film about families. It showed two new, young parents wondering, in all the complexitiies of the world, what was the most important thing they could teach their child? The settled on three: That she's loved, that's she's a child of God, and that their family could be together forever. I thought about it, and decided that everything else we need to teach our children can flow from those three. How grateful I am for my family---our little family, yes, but aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents as well.

I'm reminded of a quote I came across just yesterday while reading the Ensign. It is from President Gordon B. Hinckley. He said: "Do you want a spirit of love to grow in the world? Then begin within the walls of your own home. Behold your little ones, and see within them the wonders of God, from whose presence they have recently come."

After seeing the "big Jesus" as Annabelle calls the statue in the visitor's center, she said: "Mom, that's Jesus. He loves us so much." I was touched by her statement and was about to respond to her when she added with a strong look: "But He is NOT coming in our van!". So, I didn't know what to make of that. Perhaps in all we're trying to teach her, she's also learning to have very strong feelings about the van. Who knows!

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season. Happy December!

Thanksgiving in San Diego!

2007-11-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all had a chance to relax and reflect on the good things in life. We took the opportunity to go to San Diego to visit my neice Shaleen and her husband, Jason. We had a GREAT time! Jason is in the U.S. Navy, so we got a VIP tour of his ship, as well as the naval base. We went to Coronado beach, saw the city, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. My neice is a great cook and she and Jason were wonderful hosts. We can't wait to see them at Christmas! Enjoy the pics.

All of us at Coronado Beach

Shaleen and Jason lookin' cute as ever

Annabelle relaxin' in the sand

The Fam

The Sweetest Babe Ever

"I'm over the sand...my hands are dirty."

Havin' Fun with the kids

Father & son lovin' every minute of the Beach

ONE more minute, Dad!!!!

At Jason's Naval Base

Jason carvin' the turkey

Tryin' on the Fireman hats :)

Lori & William on the ship

Our "best" family picture :)

I've Been TAGGED!!!

2007-11-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

I’ve been tagged! I’ll tell you the truth---this is not my first time being tagged. I politely and sheepishly ignored the other two. Yes, I felt guilty about it, but I had no time and had no idea what I would possibly share. After 3 times of being tagged, though, I can hide no more. I was asked to share six facts about myself. Here goes. Um...they got a tad bit long....

#1 I almost joined the army when I was 18. I spoke with a recruiter, took a test, and almost signed up. Explanation? I was going through a difficult time in my life, and naively, I thought the army sounded like a nice escape. I’m glad I changed my mind. Not that there’s anything wrong with the army, but can we really picture “Sergeant Lori”? Hmm…I’m thinking no.

#2 I once traveled through the countryside of China with two kids, 2 port-a cribs, a suitcase, one wonderful husband, and 3 horribly painful kidney stones. I passed them during our “welcome home” party, where it seems entire villages were in attendance and all eyes were on us. My frozen smile was plastered on and I waned to die. Horrible.

#3 My Dad once played his guitar for the famous Spanish guitarist, Andres Segovia. Dad was a self-taught, and exceptional, musician who wanted nothing more than to pass his love and knowledge on to his daughters. I played the guitar for about 6 months, the violin for 2 years, and took piano lessons off and on as a kid. I always did very well at music but I never stuck with anything. I can barely read music now, have mastered no instruments, and cannot carry a tune.

#4 I absolutely LOVE being a Mom. I love the process of it. I even love all the mental and physical energy it takes to try and be a good Mom. I love how we grow right along with our kids. More importantly, I love how they teach us. Kids bring out all that is real in us---good and bad---and force us to examine ourselves, and life, in a way that nothing else can.

#5 I have a husband about whom I cannot complain. Really. You know how with most people, if you think about it, you can think of something about them that you wish you could change? I really cannot say enough good things about William. Objectively, he’s a great person. Subjectively, when taking into account what he has experienced in his life, he is a phenomenal person on all levels. Bragging? Sure, but it’s just plain true folks.

#6 In high school, I was a cheerleader. I wore trendy clothes and hair sprayed my bangs to stand up straight. In college, I wore Birkenstocks, ripped jeans, and listened to the Grateful Dead. In graduate school, I wore frumpy clothes that no respectable 50-year-old would be caught dead in today.

Okay, I suppose it’s a bit more than “6” facts, but since 3 people had tagged me, I figured I’d shove as many useless facts in there as I could. Enjoy!

Now....I tag...Heather, Pam, Janelle, Tristan, Shaunna, and anybody reading this who has not already been tagged, or who would care to do it again!

2007-11-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

I decided today to get a professional picture taken of Alexander. The kids had picture day at school yesterday, so it seemed like a good time. I bought the little outfit on the spot and had his picture taken right there in the same store. I thought they turned out nicely. I especially love his expression in this first one. Some of the best photo moments are those we don't plan too far in advance! Anyway, enjoy the pics of our eight-month-old sweet boy.

Random Thoughts

2007-11-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

I love my husband. I love my kids. I have a wonderful family and friends. I have seen tremendous miracles in my life. Despite that, I struggle sometimes. I have far too many emotions, thoughts, regrets, worries, and feelings than one person should have. I sometimes wish I could push the “start over” button in many areas of my life. I often wish I could say what I am really thinking. I wish all my good intentions were reality, or at least had the chance to become real. I wish I had more time, more energy, more discipline, and more clarity of mind and purpose. I have a picture of myself at about age 7. I love the girl in that picture. She had a brightness and confidence in her eyes that I envy. I wish I were the woman that she was to become. Maybe it's not too late.

The True Blending of Two Cultures

2007-11-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

I've always thought Annabelle is smart, creative, and likes to do things in her own way. However, seeing her decide to eat her pizza with chopsticks the other night really surprised me. She saw nothing odd about this whatsoever. All I could do was grab the camera. A person doesn't see this every day, not even in our house!

Halloween 2007

2007-11-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

"Check out all this candy, you guys!!"

At our ward's trunk or treat party

We were all very proud of our Chinese "Uncle Sam" who won first prize in the costume contest!

These are my wonderful park day friends, along with all our cute kiddies, except Parker, who was asleep by this point!

Yes, We Had An Earthquake

2007-10-31T15:06:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that yes, the earthquake hit not too far from us and we most definitely felt it. It was very strange and a little scary. We felt the floor and other furniture moving, there was a huge noise, and the pictures on the wall kept rattling for minutes afterwards. It wasn't terrible, obviously, but it made me think a lot about being prepared. It also make me think about what matters most. We always go in and look at the kids after they've gone to sleep, but last night, seeing them safely tucked in their beds took on new meaning. We all know it's going to be part of living in the bay area, but still, you're never quite "ready". As my neighbor said last night: "Welcome to California!"

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Person

2007-10-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

October 28 was William's birthday. It was his "real" birthday, as indicated by the lunar calendar. His birthday changes every year, something I don't really understand. It stays the same on the lunar calendar, but changes according to our conventional calendar. I've never been able to understand it, so we usually celebrate it in September, which is his "paperwork" birthday. However, we decided this year to actually celebrate it on September 18, which happened to be October 28. Make sense? Not really? You're not alone, but it works for us.

Anyway, the birthday man came downstairs to a special breakfast of noodles with an egg on top. The noodles symbolize longevity, so it's good luck to eat them on your birthday. The egg symbolizes something---I have no idea what---but his Mom used to give that to him every year so I thought I would too :) We then went to church, I let him have the Sunday afternoon nap (he usually lets me have it) and then we enjoyed a dinner party with some friends.

William is an extraordinary person in many ways and I am incredibly blessed to be his wife. He is, quite simply, my favorite person. He has changed my life in miraculous ways. He is as near perfect a husband as there is, a fantastic father, and a very unique, special, strong person. I just love him more than words can say and I always will.

What's October without a Pumpkin Patch?

2007-10-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

An Amazing Woman

2007-10-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

William's grandmother passed away. She was an amazing woman whom I loved. She was tender and always had a smile on her face. She loved to hold my hands in hers and talk. I remember when I was so incredibly nervous to meet William's family, she was the one who put me at ease because she was not afraid to show affection. When William and I tried to do a family history project one year, she was the first to open up about her childhood memories and she shared so much of herself with us. She raised quite a family, was a wonderful grandmother to William, and I'm so grateful that two of our kids got to meet her last summer in China. She will be missed.

(If you'd like to see more pics of Grandma and the rest of our family in China, please look under "older posts" at the bottom of the screen. They are under "Remembering a trip to China" and "More China 2006". )

A Beautiful Day for a Bike Ride

2007-10-11T22:32:00.001-07:00

For once in our lives we had a low-key week-end. Well, okay, low key is a relative term. We still did grocery shopping, watched the LDS general conference, folded a ton of laundry, had some friends over for dinner, and made time for a bike ride and some tree climbing. We bought the bikes for the kids last year at about this time. That was probably too soon, but they are getting the hang of it now. We have exactly one tree in our "back yard" and Abraham runs right to it every chance he gets. There is absolutely nothing better than a relaxing Saturday with the family. Enjoy the pics!

The Quickest and Longest Road Trip Ever

2007-10-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

We got up at three o'clock Thursday morning. We packed the van and left at four, headed for Utah. A dear friend had passed away and the memorial service was to be held on Saturday in Salt Lake City. On Saturday, we had time to see Aunt Chrissy, Nadeen, the Bailey's, and of course, Harold's wife, Jeannine and his daughter, Amy. Then, Sunday morning we drove back. Quite exhuasting but we were very grateful we had the chance to go.

Harold was a wonderful man who showed great love and friendship to our family, especially to my sweet parents. I guess he is with them now, which is comforting, but he will be missed.

Despite the very sad reason for the trip and the fact that there was not sufficent time to see all those we wished we could see or do all we wished we could do, it was great to see the Colbys, Nadeen, the Baileys, and Aunt Chrissy.

The kids were so great, despite the long journey. We were all so happy to get home Sunday night. It truly was one of those "home sweet home" moments. Anyway, we jumped right back into life and so far, the week if off to a good start. To those Utah friends we didn't get to see, we hope to do another Utah trip next spring---this time for more than 48 hours!

First Day of Preschool!

2007-09-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

We started a new tradition last night. On the night before school, the kids get a special present. Last night, after bath time, we presented them with gift bags which they excitedly opened. Abraham got a "Diego" book; Annabelle got a "Dora" book. Abraham chose to sleep with his new book, while Annabelle carefully put her book back in the gift bag and placed it right outside her bedroom door. Hmm...

The drop-off at preschool went fine. Abraham loved his first day. Annabelle, according to her teachers, said nothing the entire time but still did okay. She is always very shy at first in new settings. She's been attending nursery at church since January and is just now beginning to give her teachers a glimpse of her personality. She is very talkative at home, so this is always interesting to us. Once we got home, though, she told me all about her day. I'm anxious to see how Thursday goes for her.

Alexander is crawling all over the place. That kid amazes us! We can't keep up with all the new things her learns. He is such a happy, chubby, adorably sweet baby. His middle name, Ping, means "peace" in Chinese. We decided upon that name when I was pregnant, knowing that with all the complications I'd had, there was going to be something special about this baby. He has indeed brought so much peace to our lives. I look at his face and I see nothing but miracles.

Speaking of miracles. I was thinking the other day about my husband. Have I mentioned that I love that guy tremendously?!?! If ever I needed a reason to believe in God, of which I have many, going to China and meeting William is right at the top of the list. That was a miracle for me and he says, for him too. He is, quite simply, my favorite person and I am eternally ecstatic and grateful to be his wife.

Anyway, happy "back to school" everyone!

The Haircuts: The After Pics

2007-09-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Haircuts: The Before Pics

2007-09-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

The kids have been long overdue for haircuts. I have been cutting Abraham's for the last couple of years, and that was fine when I kept it short and just used the clippers. However, when I decided to let it grow out a bit and actually see his hair, it looked, well, you can see in the before pics. Annabelle, on the other hand, still basically has her baby hair. Some in back, less on top, and hardly anything on the sides. So, we've been doing the best we could. Anyway, we finally broke down and went to a "kids salon".

It was actually a great experience. No stress. The kids get to sit on a motorcycle or pony, watch their favorite movie, and get their haircut. They even give candy at the end. Not as cheap as cost cutters but oh, so worth it. When Abraham was finished with his haircut, he yelled, "Mommy, I did it!".

I had been telling them how good they were, how handsome/beautiful they were going to look and when we got back into the van Annabelle said shyly, almost under her breath, "I look pretty". So, some positive self-image boosts came out of the experience, as well.

Baby Alex was so good throughout the whole thing too. As a Mom, I knew that a trip to the hair salon with 3 kids 3 and under could go two ways---fine or psychotic. I was so grateful that this particular trip was more than fine!

What's new with the Qians?

2007-08-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well, my neice and her husband are coming to visit us tomorrow. Yeah! They’re driving up from San Diego and we are really looking forward to hanging out with them.

I’ve been taking the kids to the “kiddie pool” almost every day and they’ve loved it.

I drove them to the beach near Santa Cruz last week. The sun was bright, beautiful, and shining, everywhere except at the beach. We still had a great time, though. I love road trips and the feeling of “getting away” and having a change of scenery.

William’s job is going well. He loves his current engagement although he’s back to getting home around 8:00. I liked the days he got home in time for an earlier dinner but I’m also grateful that he’s happy at work. With summer schedules being what they are, the kids seem to “nap” around what would be dinner time to many other people. So when they wake up, Baba’s home and it’s time for a late night dinner. Surprisingly, I’m actually okay with this craziness!

I’ll continue teaching at the local college this fall. I’m always amazed at how blessed I have been in terms of finding a job when I’ve needed one. During the summer, I taught two mornings a week and will continue that into the fall. This term, I’ll be teaching a writing course, which should be fun.

Abraham will continue preschool this fall and Annabelle will begin, as well. The preschool is excellent and is right down the street. They’ll go 2 hours, twice a week, which will be great for all of us. I hope they love it. I always love “back to school” time.

William and I are speaking this Sunday in Chinese! (Not that this is a big feat for William; the explanation mark was more for me. J) A few months ago, church leaders organized a Chinese Sunday school in the area. William has been teaching that most weeks and then attending our regular ward with us. I’ve gone with him a few times. Well, this week they will hold their first sacrament meeting and we’ve been asked to speak. I’m really excited, although nervous. I’ve only given a sacrament talk in Chinese once before. It looks like this group may turn into an actual branch. That would mean we’d have a decision to make about where to attend regularly.

I’ve had some drama with my health lately. Kidney stones, gall stones, you name it. Quite painful, quite unexpected. I’ve had both before and thought I was past all this. Anyway, we have decided it’ll be best to have gall bladder surgery to remedy at least the main problem. It’s supposed to be fairly routine but still, surgery’s surgery and I’m not too thrilled. It’s scheduled for next week so wish me luck.

William has been working out every morning and I’m trying to when I can. It is REALLY hard to lose weight. Not a news flash to anyone, I know, but it is just so very frustrating. Despite my efforts, I remain 25 pounds heavier than when I got married. Will this extra weight ever go away? Stay tuned…

Alexander is well, great. J He is already pushing himself up and has been scooting around a bit. He is such a good little guy and brings tremendous joy to our family. My topic this Sunday is about the Proclamation on the Family (a document put out by the first presidency of the LDS church) and how to apply it toward making our marriages and families happier. I asked the kids for some ideas about how to have a happy family. Abraham considered the question thoughtfully and said, “more hugs”. I thought that was perfect.

Adagio versus Allegro

2007-07-22T21:32:00.001-07:00

I just deleted a post that had been published for about 10 minutes. After posting it, I panicked and decided it was too personal. I guess I am not a true blogger, then, since that's what blogging is supposed to be, right? Personal, random--or not so random--thoughts. Our blog, as I said in my profile, is really just to keep friends and family updated. I ventured tonight into a real "stream of consciousness" and then ran back upstairs and deleted it! I did save it, though, so who knows, maybe another day. For now, you'll just have to settle for pics of the sweet kids and their hopefully sweet parents :)

All is well here. We're just enjoying summer and taking every opportunity to enjoy life. It seems to be in the simple things like a walk, watching the kids learn to ride their bikes (or a horse---see pic of Abraham), family dinners, and just hanging out. William finally went golfing and hopefully he'll go again soon. We're planning to use one of our date nights to go play tennis, which I'm looking forward to.

I've got a million projects sitting around here. I've pulled them all out and plan to dive into at least one of them. Let's see, there's the correspondence writing course I began a few years ago. The ever-present goal to get in shape and (hi Erin!) train for a half-marathon next March. Organize all the pics from the last five years. Oh, and didn't I talk about writing a book at some point? Not to mention start a book club? Sigh...yi bu, yi bu (one step at a time). Oh, that's right, I was also going to improve my Chinese. Sigh again...

All kidding aside, I'm excited about getting back to work on some projects that have been neglected for awhile. Knock on wood, the kids' sleeping habits are not horrible and there "should" be time to take on a few more things. We shall see...

William is great, as always. Busy, productive, proactive, happy, sweet husband, and awesome daddy. We could not ask for better :)

The kids are...just so incredibly fun, and funny. They're learning so much and applying it in creative ways. The other day, Annabelle was brushing her teeth and I told her to please hurry, we had to go. She looked at me and said, "No Mom, I'm doing it adagio". And then Abraham chimed in with, "That means slow". Thanks kid. :) Your Mom does know a thing or two. Could we possibly put that toothbrush into allegro mode!?!

Fun with the Family & Check out the boys: Twins?

2007-07-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

July Fun in the Sun

2007-07-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Summer is Here

2007-06-14T16:16:00.001-07:00

Well, we can no longer say we "just moved here" since it has offiically been six months of living in the Bay Area. Although tremendously expensive, it is a fabulous area to live and we are making the most of it. This spring, we have stayed busy with soccer, gymnastics, preschool, church activities, park days, and family outings. We've done a ferry ride to Angel Isand, gone cherry picking up north, and have walked along the beaches of a place whose name now escapes me. I'll think of it later. Anyway, we've had fun!

This summer, however, we are going to the other extreme. That is, we have not signed the kids up for any formal activities and we've made a vow to "take it easy". I don't know what that will mean exactly since EVERY time we've said that before, we seem to get busier than ever. One example of such is that as of last Monday, I am working part time. An opportunity to teach a class at the local college came up and so I'll be doing that this summer and possibly longer. Other than that and some informal trips to the park and library, though, we plan to "take it easy" :)

William's job continues to go well and he may begin studying to take the CPA exam at some point in the future. He's got the technical background, some management training, and international experience. Getting a CPA would give him the chance to develop the areas he's more interested in and move up within the firm. He really likes the company he works for and feels he is learning a lot. We are all extremely proud of him and can't wait to see what opportunities come his way in the future.

William continues to serve as the Assistant Ward Mission Leader at our church and he is now teaching a Sunday School class in Chinese as well. This is very exciting for us as we have longed for the chance to serve, and get to know people, in a capacity related to China. Who knew we'd have that chance right here? It has been great to make new friends, hear people's stories, and begin to use my very, very, very rusty Chinese again!

I have just been called to the Relief Society Board as a preparedness specialist. I can tell I'm going to learn a lot. Being prepared as an individal and as a family is tremendously important and encompasses much more than I'd ever thought about. Everything from the most "mundane" and tangible like planning meals and making sure we have everything we need to keep our homes running as smoothly as possible, to getting and staying out of debt, organizing our finances, and taking care of our physical, mental, and spiritual health. The task before me is to help others with these concepts but it sounds like I'll learn the most in the process and I'm really excited about it.

The kids are doing great and growing quickly. They are hilarious and keep us laughing and learning all the time. It was a hard adjustment for Annabelle to make room for "baby Alex" in our family, but we feel she is doing much better and is feeling more secure about the special place she holds in this family. She is a smart little girl and she keeps us on our toes. Abraham is doing great, as well and is already talking about going to elementary school. I tried telling him they don't take 3-year olds but he is all about going there "next year", he says :) Our little baby is getting chubbier by the day and is smiling, smiling, smiling!! He is sleeping much better and even lets us put him down sometimes. Yeah! He is a very sweet little guy.

Well, that's about it for us. Overall, we're doing great. Life is never perfect and everyone has their private struggles but we feel very, very blessed to have a happy family. Lots of things could be better but I find if I focus on the fact that I have a wonderful husband and three healthy kids---I don't have any business complaining about anything else. I hope you all are/will be happy, as well, and that you will all have a great summer.

Alexander is Two Months Old!

2007-05-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

It seems that we've been saying Alexander is "almost 2 months old" for quite a while, but in a couple of days, he actually will be. He is doing great and looks much older than 2 months. He's a big, strong kid! He is sleeping a bit better at night and seems to be less fussy during the day. Yeah!

Abraham's latest thing is to make sure we really understand where he is coming from. It's my own fault, actually, because I was the one who told him to use his words! He used to sort of just growl or scream when he was upset butI gave him the idea to label his feelings and identify the source of that feeling. I know, I know---what was I thinking? So now, I hear things like:
(growl) " i'm mad...because I'm frustrated...because...because Mei Mei took my Percy train and I'm not happy because I'm mad!" We don't totally have the cause/effect thing down yet, but we're working on it.

He continues to LOVE preschool! He has learned so much and we really like the school's approach. I researched several in the area and many were all about "we'll have your kid reciting the ABC's by this date, quoting Shakespeare by this date, doing calculus..."okay, not really but you get the idea. Abraham's preschool, on the other hand, is all about helping kids LOVE school!

They have fun and do "school work", but the curriculum is about sharing, cooperating, transitioning well from one activity to the next, etc. Of course, many of these things he can learn at home too, but there is something different about the structure of a classroom setting. And more importantly, he feels so "cool" and like such a "big boy" as he runs up the steps to his "Friendly Fish" classroom. See ya Mom :) He is becoming very independent and his confidence has soared as a result. We feel it is a great blessing to be able to send him there, if only for those 4 hours a week. IF we can afford it, we would like to send both he and Annabelle in the fall. We shall see...

Miss Annabelle...what can I say about her? She is my favorite girl in the world! She is a character. Very smart and very, very aware that she is the middle child. Well, she doesn't know that concept but she knows that Abraham is quite dominant and that Alexander is taking a lot of my attention. She knows it and she doesn't like it. I can't actually blame her and as a parent, it is hard to admit that everything is not always perfectly even or as we all hope, perfectly "perfect". This is something I am really, really working on and I hope she will feel that she is amazingly special, as we all know she is. She is enrolled in a gymnastics class and yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the class with just her---no Abraham, no Alexander, just Mama and Annabelle. We both had a fabulous time and I realized just how important that uninterrupted time will be. I will have to get VERY creative about how to find it, but I am determined to make it happen.

She loves books and really enjoys "reading" to us. She also loves putting things together and I marvel at how quickly she can set up a train track! She really loves playing with Abraham. Although they argue sometimes, they have a blast running around pretending. The stairs are the "train" and the blanket the've carefully placed on the floor is the "water", and somehow part of this game involves delivering "invitations" to me, the toaster, and all the stuffed animals. I have no idea what we're being invited to, but Annabelle does and she and Abraham are working hard to make it happen!

I'll tell you---nothing has ever challenged me the way parenting does. Nothing has ever made me think so intensely or work so hard. The physical part is hard, yes, but the part about making sure my kids feel secure, know who they are, have the chance to develop themselves and strengthen their character--that part takes a form of mental energy I cannot even describe. It may come easier to some, but for me, it is my greatest challenge. Still, as I mentioned in my previous post, though, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Today it was raining so we cancelled our list of things to do and stayed in. We had a carpet picnic and watched Shrek for the millionth time :)

Before that, Annabelle helped me get my priorities in order. I said, "Annabelle, why don't you color for a few minutes while I finish loading the dishwasher?" She looked me in the eye, grabbed my hand, and said: "Nope, you need to hold me." She grabbed Green Eggs and Ham and led me to the couch. Thank goodness I have her to keep me in line :)

William's job is going really well and it keeps him very busy. He continues to work in San Francisco, Oakland, and currently is in Denver. He also serves as the assistant mission leader at our church, an opportunity he loves.

As for me, I wish I had something more exciting to report about myself, but for now I am enjoying life being the "behind the scenes" person in this little qian jia ting :)!

Joyful Mama?

2007-04-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, Alexander is 6 weeks old and already, it is hard to recall life without him. It is an incredible thing to welcome a new baby into our family. Granted, we've done this a couple of times before but each time is different. For one, a baby obviously comes with his or her own unique personality, habits, and temperment. More than that, though, is the way one little baby changes the whole dynamic of a family. Big Brother becomes REALLY big brother, little sister becomes BIG sister, baby becomes middle child. As parents, we feel our time and attention being further divided, while our hearts and capabilities (hopefully) expand.

Things are certainly busy and we are a bit exhausted right now. An active 3-year old, very active 2-year old and a new baby are not a recipe for relaxation, as we well knew. However, despite the craziness, is is also pure FUN to look into the faces of these three sweet kids and remember how it all came to be. It was only five years ago that William and I met, fell in love, and got married in China. Those early days seem like ten lifetimes ago. A lot has happened since then--good and bad--but I feel incredibly blessed to have such a WONDERFUL husband and 3 PRECIOUS children. Not much else matters, actually, and I am focusing on that JOY.

Now, let me emphasize that although the big picture is joyful, certainly not every moment is. As an example, Friday morning I had two "precious" children screaming at the top of their lungs that they wanted MORE WAFFLES and MORE SYRUP as they PURPOSELY spilled chocolate milk and then "drew" in it. At this exact moment, I had my "precious" baby lying on the carpet for what I thought was a routine diaper change. I had even carefully covered him so that he didn't pee on me (something baby boys are known to do). Ironically, pee did not prove to be the problem.

At the exact moment that the screaming waffle duo hit their peak, my sweet baby proved that poop does, in fact, fly. It can fly all the way to the entertainment center. It can fly and land on Mom's pants, the carpet, and the floor. The phone was ringing, the laundry and dishes seemed to be mocking me, two kids' potties sat in the living room (one with contents that still needed to be disposed of), the baby poop was everywhere and sadly, continued to come, and I sat on the floor wondering where my life went.

After things had calmed down, I thought back to an incident we'd had at IKEA last month. We were having lunch and the kids were in the little play area nearby. A little boy had taken a toy away from Annabelle, she'd cried and was sitting on my lap. I looked up a moment later to see Abraham standing nearby, looking solemn, with his head down. I told him not to worry about Annabelle, that she was just tired, and to go back and play. He didn't move a muscle. Before I could tell him again to go play and not to worry about Annabelle, another Mom started talking to me.

She said, "Wait a minute...is he...not playing because his sister is SAD?" As if she wasn't even really asking me but the universe, she said it again and then looked at me in shock. Wide-eyed and genuine, she wanted to know :"How on earth did you teach your kids empathy?". All I could say was I didn't know. Certainly I'd never overtly taught them about empathy but the more I thought about, they learned it every time they had to say sorry to each other or share, or help or any of those "basic" things that parents help their kids to learn.

I'll have to admit that as I began cleaning up that mess Friday morning, my tears started to flow. The kids came over to me and Annabelle said, "What's wrong Mama?" I told her that I wasn't happy because there were a lot of messes I needed to clean up, that it was a hard day for Mom, but that I would be okay. She and Abraham seemed to go about their business playing but when I looked more closely I realized what they were doing. They had used their stools and gotten the paper towels down. Granted, they were wasting the ENTIRE roll but they were trying to clean up the chocolate milk. As Abraham caught my glance he said, "We're making you happy Mama!" and then gave the biggest smile I'd ever seen. Annabelle added, "Ya, we're working so hard!"

Somewhere, in between all the chaos, the squabbles, the fighting over toy trains, painting with chocolate milk, the endless potty-training, the tantrums, the melt-downs (theirs and mine), and the mess---something good is going on. They are learning about life and I guess I am too. So Friday morning even with a messy house, screaming kids, and poop-covered pants, all of a sudden I knew "where my life went". It went into THEM. And that realization, I guess, is joyful.

Happy Spring!

2007-04-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

Alexander and his Family

2007-03-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome Alexander EnPing Qian

2007-03-07T21:10:00.000-08:00

Alexander was born March 6, 2007, weighing in at 7 pounds, 15 oz, 21 inches long. He is healthy and strong and is already living up to the "peaceful" (Ping) in his name. We are so grateful that he is finally here.

Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy Chinese New Year)

2007-02-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

We welcomed in the year of the pig with a traditional (well, as traditional as Lori knows how to prepare) Chinese breakfast of mantou (steamed bread), porridge (which Annabelle LOVES), a cold dish of tofu and cilantro, jaio zi (pot stickers) and a few other goodies. The kids and I got up early and made "xin nian hao" cards for Baba and they excitedly ran up, jumped on the bed to wake him, and gave him the cards. He came downstairs to the breakfast and to some music from our "old days" in China. He seemed happy with our efforts :) The New Year is such a HUGE deal in China and sometimes I forget just how challenging it must be for William to be away from China on such a significant holiday. No matter how much he loves us :) and has adapted to the U.S., his zhong guo xin (Chinese heart) must hurt a little this time of year. He'd probably deny that if you asked him, though, so don't! :) On the eve of the new year (well, during the day) we "partied down" outside as you'll see from the pics. Then on the actual New Year, we went to church in the morning and to a festival in town put on by the Chinese Cultural something or other. Pleasanton has an Asian population of about 12% and so they make a fairly big deal out of the New Year here, which is great. Anyway, in other news...there is no news. Every day we hope today is the day that "baby Alex" ,as the kids already call him, will come but no baby yet. We'll let you know. In the meantime, happy New Year!

February is here

2007-02-04T09:35:00.001-08:00

Well, we made it to February! We were without health insurance for one month and were praying that our little baby didn't decide to show up during that window. Thankfully, he didn't and seems to be doing well "inside". His official due date is March 1st so we expect him sometime this month and are getting more excited every day.

William just survived his first business trip. Well, I should say Lori "survived". William was busy learning all kinds of new things, staying in a nice hotel, and going out to eat every night. Poor him :) I missed him a lot and counted the days until he got home. I guess this is something I need to get used to but I admit, I am a sap and a wimp---I missed him terribly.

We have been really blessed to find some great people in our ward, people who have already helped so much with our transition here. I was afraid it would take me a long time to find anyone I felt comfortable leaving the kids with while I went to doctor appointments, but I have already found several people who have been wonderful. Just another confirmation that we are in the right place.

William's job keeps him very busy and he has already been to several different clients working on various projects. Sometimes he's in San Francisco, sometimes Oakland, and this coming week he'll be in Santa Clara. Never a dull moment, which is great!

As for me, it seems I'm always involved in "training". I catch myself using that term a lot in relation to the kids. A few weeks ago, it was sleep training for both of them as new challenges arose with jumping out of the crib for Annabelle and losing the nap for Abraham. Then was the transition to "big kid" beds. As of late, it's been potty training for Abraham---what a job! So, these in addition to the everyday training that comes along with child-rearing, keeps me in the "never a dull moment" category as well.

Well, stay tuned for more posts. The clock is ticking as we anxiously await the arrival of baby Alexander. Stay tuned!

And More China 2006

2007-01-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

More China Summer of 2006

2007-01-22T18:44:00.000-08:00

Remembering a trip to China Summer of 2006

2007-01-22T18:26:00.001-08:00

Going backward a bit...I thought I would include a few pics from our China adventures this past summer. As many of you know, we spent the entire summer living in China and it was indeed an adventure. Our main purpose for going was to introduce our children to their grandparents and extended family there, since they do not have the opportunity to come to the U.S. We also wanted the kids to have a truly Chinese experience while they are so young and experience China they definitely did! We stayed in the remote countryside, small towns in inner China, and the large city of Guangzhou. We rode trains, planes, buses, and contraptions which do not even have an English translation. Someone asked me if we'd had "fun" in China and I really had to think about it. My immediate answer would be "no". It was not truly "fun"because of the tremendous challenges encountered and the work involved (long stories for another time),but it was life changing and important and an experience our little family learned a great deal from. Would we do it again? I can't believe I'm saying it but...yes, I think so :)

2007-01-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

Annabelle at gymnastics class in Provo

2007-01-21T21:47:00.000-08:00