Be On Our Tree

Yes, YOU can be on the Wallace Christmas tree!

I started this when we first moved to Singapore. Having just moved, Kathryn even at age 2 seemed delighted to see her favorite people on the tree. Last year the ornaments took a major blow when Ellie ate many of them and tore many more. I was about to toss the picture ornament idea when I decided rather to resurrect the idea and add more updated pics instead. With a little clear packing tape over the top, they are virtually toddler-proof. (Sort of.) So, I'm making an offer-- Send us your family pic, and we will put you up on our tree! (jimandtracie@yahoo.com)

Question for the Day

How is it that an ant, (whose body has a lot less protective structure than a human), who is sent spiraling to his death from the equivalent of a 1000 story building, can land happily on his feet and continue going about his merry way? I am baffled.

Momma's Kisses

Ellie: Momma, why can't you sing us more Christmas songs?
Mom: Mommy's throat is sore. Singing makes mommy's throat hurt worse.
Ellie: Want me to kiss it, momma?
Mom: Oh, thank you. That's all better now.
Ellie: Can you sing us more Christmas songs now, momma?
Mom: I'm sorry sweetie. Mommy's throat is too sore.
Ellie: But I kissed it mommy. Why didn't it work?

Don't you wish we could keep the myth alive that momma's kisses have wondrous healing powers over all the ills of life??

Time for the Tree!

Surely one of the funnest things about Thanksgiving weekend is the official arrival of the Christmas season. Did I mention that Jim sprained his ankle yesterday? :( So he's only taking these pics and not in them this time... GG, he says it's not a break. Just a minor Thanksgiving day football injury.
































The wonder of seeing your stocking again -- just like the first time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since my jet-lagging husband has already crashed for the night, I have the evening to myself! Thought I'd go ahead and post these-- not too different than your feast, I'm sure! I have this strange sensation resembling hunger at this late hour, but after this meal, that just CAN'T be it!

Please appreciate the great convenience of a fully plucked and ready turkey with the innards in a convenient plastic bag. I did not volunteer to cook the turkey, and I'm so glad! My friend who cooked the turkey for us couldn't bare to eat it after the experience of cleaning it. Let's just say that it had obviously JUST been killed.

Aren't these all the things on your table too? And see meme--the pink stuff is at the front of the table!
















What a cutie!






































The boyz' table; Yes, Jim is the attractive one in the front with the turkey leg hanging from his mouth. Lovely.













We didn't really segregate on purpose; but isn't this the better looking group?













Ellie was so delighted to be at the 'kids table' and not on mommy's lap!














Time to go out and play! This is Ellie's little 2 yr old buddy Page.















She has one more 2 year old friend "didi" (little brother) Nathaniel.













Yes, the requisite boy's football game. I bet you're having one too--probably just not with a coal factory in the background.













Even Kathryn got in on the action!



















Happy Thanksgiving to you!

What is Ellie thankful for?

Ellie debuted her first leading of our dinner time prayer last night.

"Thank you, God... for ALL the crocodiles. AMEN!"

Letters to Young Artists

I've been meaning to post excerpts from some very compelling letters found in Scribbling in the Sand by Michael Card. This is a great book that contemplates Christ and the creative process. At the end of the book you find a fine gem-- He has compiled letters from some of the most respected artists in various fields, written to young Christian artists. I do not consider myself an artist as these professionals define themselves. Yet I do enjoy "creating" at various levels, even at this stage of life! And I found several of these comments seemingly written directly to young mothers, too! Maybe you will find these inspiring as well...

Excerpts from a letter by Harold Best, Dean of the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music

"I pray that you are discovering that your authenticity lies in who you are constantly becoming in Christ, and that you make art because you cannot keep yourself from the simple joy of shaping something as best you can and then pouring it over Jesus' feet."

"Remember the great Sebastian Bach, who spent 27 years at St. Thomas Church in Liepzig, not striving for greatness, but simply getting ready for Sunday. At the head of many of his compositions he wrote the Latin initials for "Jesus Help" and "To God Alone Be Glory"... Let this hard-working servant be called great as civilization eventually measures greatness, but don't forget the larger fact that, at base, he was simply a good man going about his daily work with all his might..."

"Be interested in as many things outside of the arts as possible. Fill your day and your mind with curiosity. Find out how a steam engine works; find out why some buildings fall and others stand; find out why airplanes fly and why Kierkegaard was able to write the way he did; find out how a plow works and how the same law allows an airplane to fly and a boat to sail into the wind; find out why chaos theory is so theologically elegant...Love a horse and talk to plumbers. Ask questions of everybody, and don't hide your ignorance, for ignorance is simply the unlit side of curiosity and the outside of the door to wisdom and knowledge..."

"To an authentic Christian, ministry is simply another word for living a life of constant worship and witness. So don't separate ministry out as if it brings special luster or mystique to the ordinary acts of service, whether through your art of your daily chores..."

"Remember that the most natively diverse people in our culture are very little children. These smallish images of God can at once learn several languages; they can as easily fall asleep or dance to Bach as they can to Cajun...They improvise constantly; and they keep asking "Why?"... Let the little children thrive in the wonder of being made in the image of God; lead them to Jesus by whose powerful word and from whose endless imagination a thousand shapes, textures, colors and sounds erupted in those first days of creation. In one of the most exciting of education's paradoxes, try to keep up with them even as you lead them, and don't be surprised if their faith and their frankness outstep yours..."

Ants & Early Bedtimes

We have an ant problem. Just the little pesky sugar ants. I thought that the winter would solve it, but we have created a warm haven for them now I believe. When I wake up, they are swimming in my water glass from the night before. When I fill my glass, they are having a party on our water dispenser. I find them on my computer and in my clothes drawers. In the medicine cabinet. In the last week I have twice feverishly shed our pantry of every box and can to find where the ant trail was leading. I have learned a few things about what ants like.

-They like water. Already said that.
-They like tuna.
-They like taco meat.
-They like spaghetti sauce.
-They like brown sugar, but not powdered sugar.
-They don't like sugar crystals, but do like moist granulated sugar
-They like pancake mix
-They like honey nut cheerios
-They like children's cough syrup
-They can eat through ziplock bags
-If you leave a chocolate candy out without having touched it, they won't bother it. But if you
have taken one bite, they are all over it.
-If you don't have bug spray, Mr. Clean will also kill them on the spot, and leave a fresh lemony
scent.
-These are only the highlights but I would be happy to share more of my ant wisdom if you are
interested.

Anyone know how to send our ant friends packing?

As for our week, we've made it to Sunday night! I am over my sinus infection and the girls are also not sick. I do have a confession. We got home late from church-- Ellie missed her nap and Kathryn seemed really fussy and tired (and mom, equally so.) And since the sun goes down at 5 here, it affords you some parental advantages if you need them. The kids were out by 6pm and I have enjoyed a nice quiet evening to myself!

Pillow Pile

One of the girls favorite things to do is "pillow pile". It's perfect for those days when it's rainy (or below freezing like today!) This entry is unashamedly, again, mostly for the grandmas.

It's quite simple--Gather all the pillows and blankets in the house and pile them up in front of the sofa. Then, silence all those voices in your head that say children shouldn't play on the furniture, and jump!! Be free--mommies can jump too!

Two giggly girls jumping at the same time is best, in my opinion.
















































For some reason I only caught Ellie in mid-air but both are really quite good at it.
Ellie, especially with requisite blankie in-hand.




















I quickly realized that saying you can jump off the couch but you can't jump on the couch was, without a doubt, a really stupid rule.



















Beware--This could easily turn into a slumber party or a tickle-fest!

Bye Bye Daddy

Before Jim leaves for a trip we always like to have a little photo shoot. Jim boarded a plane this morning to San Diego for a conference. Please pray for us while he is away!

Two Little Ellie-isms

In the past I've only been quoting Kathryn's one-liners, because Ellie hasn't had much to say up until this point in her life. So it's a fun shift to begin posting little Ellie's comments too!

One day this week while singing...
"Jesus will wash away, Jesus will wash away, Jesus will wash away... all my soup."

Coincidentally, we had soup for supper, which Ellie did not find particularly compelling.

Another song:
"I can be a shepherd, a shepherd, a shepherd. I can be a shepherd, and Kathryn is my sheep."

Ooooh my little sweet Ellie--you just have to squeeze her!

Smoke and more smoke

Before I begin, I want to affirm, I DO love China. But like any country (even my own) there are some less-than-desirables. I mention this one now only to ask you to pray!

Kathryn noticed it out her bedroom window one afternoon at rest time. "Mommy-- quick! It's smoke! And more smoke!" I believe that day was a test run, but now we have this permanent feature. Here is the plummet of smoke cresting high a mere 100 yards out our apartment window! I believe that I have the government heating to credit for this smokestack. (Though I AM thankful for the heat!) It lay (lied? laid?) dormant all summer, and I had a sneaking suspicion that it would fire up in the winter. Somehow it does make me feel better that it is, after WHITE smoke coming out of the top. But if you peer carefully below you can barely see a large tractor funneling COAL into a huge furnace.

Why do I report such atrocities? Because this weekend I have been laid (lain? laying?) up with my 5th sinus infection in 4 months. This one has been a real booger! (Sorry, I have booger’s on the brain, not only from my sinus infection, but because I just had a conversation with my daughter about why it is that we don’t pick our noses, and how to properly dispose of boogers. Incidentally, this is hard to do when you have a sinus infection. And now this post is getting way too graphic…) Any of you who know me well and my sordid sinus history are not surprised, but even this is far too often for comfort-- and normal life functioning!

So please pray. Since this is the place where God has called us, and my home will be here extendedly, please pray that I will find ways to stay healthy here!

Discipleship 101

This morning Ellie and I had an enlightening conversation:

"Ellie, who is Jesus?"
"He is a mommy." (Is this a compliment, or an indictment??)
"No, He's God, right?"
"Oh, yes!"
"Ellie, where does Jesus live?"
"I don't know. But He's ALIVE, mommy, He's ALIVE!"
"What do you think Jesus is doing now?"
"He's...he's...he's WORKING."
"What is He working on?"
"He's working on shoulders and toes."
"Does Jesus help Ellie?"
"Oh, yes, he helps me SO much."
"Ellie, what does Jesus help you do?"
"He helps me brush my teeth REAL good!"

Aside from the chuckle, I thought, You'd better ask your disciples every once and a while what they believe. Or you may say "Jesus", and they think you are talking about a mother that helps you brush your teeth!

Easy Fall Kid Crafts

Here are some fall crafts for pre-schoolers that are easy and fun!

Craft#1: Making little fruit men
You can take apples, oranges, pears, etc... and give them faces with whatever you have in your kitchen: corn kernels, peas, beans, cheerios, pipe cleaners, rice, etc... You can use it to talk about the harvest and how things grow from seeds. Here are K & E's orange guys:















Craft #2: Cheerio towers
OK, this one doesn't have so much to do with the fall but it's a great for fine motor skill development. Take a lump of playdough and make a "stand", push a few pipe cleaners into the base, and give them a bowl of cheerios. It's great to see the faces of concentration and effort as they manipulate the cheerios onto the pipe cleaners. Especially good for 2 year olds I think!






































Craft #3: Grow your own bean sprouts
This one is SO easy and takes very little maintenance. Get a clear jar and put some cotton balls at the base. Fill with water up to the top of the cotton. Put your peas or beans (we are using little green peas called "lu dou") at the bottom and leave in a sunny place. Make sure to keep up the watering. This is a picture after one week: They are almost sprouting out the top! So satisfying for little ones!















Do you have more craft ideas?? Please pass them along!

Halloween Fun

It doesn't take much. Just some old dress up clothes, beads, ribbons...and wala! You have perfect costumes! Do you like the princess-in-jeans look?



















First order of business-- entertain the kids so the parents can visit.














Then let the party begin! The Wallace's carved their first family pumpkin. I love the look of shock. "You aren't going to CUT him, daddy, are you??"



















The whole fam got into making marks for his face. Yes, Ellie insists on wearing her crown this way. Who am I to tell a princess she is wrong?













Daddy went to work as the expert craftsman.



















Actually, all the daddies got into it!



















Masterpiece!














She was so proud of her pumpkin! But when she heard that a candle was going inside, (remember the Zhong Qie Jie fire incident?) she ran to the bathroom to get a cup of water, just so she would be prepared to put out another blaze :)














Here are our fun friends! Four families, four pumpkins. Do note that the Wallace pumpkin has his coffee cup in tow.

Can it really be November?

It feels cold enough to be! Yesterday we pulled out the long underwear, turtlenecks, gloves, mittens, scarves and winter coats. None too soon! Even with all our thick gear, it felt we could only stand to stay outside yesterday for about 30 minutes. If this is November 1st, I think we're in for a long winter! A few updates from the week:

--About an hour after the previous post, we got one last phone call from our friends saying that the airline had decided to send the flight after all! Our friends arrived, harried and exhausted, but arrived nonetheless, about midnight. So I got my Sat. morning coffee date! Thanks, Lord!

--One interesting development this week. I told you about Kathryn's strange rash that the doctor last Friday diagnosed as hives. They didn't appear all weekend and I assumed they were over. But first thing Monday morning, she broke out again on her feet, hands, and tummy. WHAT in the world is going on?? Then it hit me--how didn't I see it before? All of these incidents occur right before we send her to school! Could she possibly be having some kind of stress reaction to school? Tuesday morning seemed to confirm our suspicions. So we solved the mysterious hives, but again feel the need to re-evaluate sending Kathryn to school!

--But not to despair-- I heard that the school offered ballet classes on Wed. and Friday mornings, and today K & I went to observe. I am hoping that this will make her feel excited about going to school. We'll see... It's funny to see ballet with Chinese expressions... I suppose it is universal!

I'll try to post some fun pictures from our Fall Festival party tomorrow...