Goodbye to China #10

The girls also had their very own goodbye gathering-- an ice cream party! We swarmed the downstairs xiao mai bu (like a 7-11 without slurpees) as the local store owners gawked at the large gathering of mostly foreigners.
































The big kids enjoyed popsicles (how do you spell that word?) too...












Jim with Eric & BJ














The whole Newcomb family, with grandma Newcomb too





























































K has been especially sad these last few days... She said "Mom, when I have to stay here, I want to leave, but when we have to leave, I'm so sad we can't stay... It guess it would be good if I could learn to be happy where I am."

Ain't that the truth??!

Goodbye to China #9

This last Tuesday we had our last China family outing, to the Summer Palace. We had attempted a trip a couple years back, but stupidly as if we've learned NOTHING about travel in China, went on a national holiday. We never made it! But this is one of those places you just must visit if you live here. I imagined K's teacher asking her to share with her class about the Summer Palace, and she'd say-- "I never went there!" So, we clearly had to make it happen!



















Some very fun paintings...









K was very interested in this display of original calligraphy tools-- since she had a Chinese calligraphy class this year as a part of co-op!





















































The marble boat... I remember taking a picture in front of this in 1999.


















































A worthy visit for sure, but whoever said that you can finish this visit in 1 1/2 hours (on the internet) clearly WASN'T touring with small children.















We took the subway intending to have a special dinner at TGI Friday's, and we took the wrong exit, but it spit us out west of the Bird's Nest, the site of most of the 2008 Olympic games, another place we'd never taken the girls to visit. I didn't ask them to turn around a pose-- we were on the edge of breakdown at that point!

Goodbye to China #8

Robyn & JJ are 2 very special ladies who I'm so sad to say goodbye to. This past year we have been in a small group together. As I returned from LEAD last summer and was processing my own journey, I desired a more intimate group setting where I could process the ins and outs of my heart and story. Robyn & JJ expressed interest in the same scenario, and our little group was born. We met every other week with our friend Iris who is a delightful friend and mentor who won't let you get away with an unengaged heart, and I was challenged, encouraged and nurtured by her and these special friends.

JJ is passionate friend who hungers to be living freely from the heart. She is a great mom-- Noah (5), Ian (4), and 'little' Ellie (2)! I had so admired her expressions of love for her husband and children, as well as her vulnerable struggle in the midst of heartache. I will so miss our intimate conversations JJ!

Robyn is a brave friend who came to China with her 2 young children, sight unseen! New to China, new to the language, new to homeschooling, and all at once-- that takes guts!! I have also really enjoyed walking the journey of pregnancy and the birth of their third child this year. Little Emma is 2 months old now :) And, Robyn is just a lot of fun! Robyn, I will so miss our coffee dates, pedicures, sharing silly stories, and heartfelt tears:)

This picture was taken on Christmas Eve... we snapped a quick pic before heading to the ER for the nasty gash on my finger which I'm holding behind my back. Another fun feature in this pic is Robyn's lovely growing belly...

May His greatest blessings and joys continue to pour out upon you & your families, dear ones!

Goodbye to China #7

My sweet friend Karen hosted a goodbye party for me 2 weeks ago. There are all different combinations represented here--some of these women I have known well for a long time; well for a short time; from a distance... different cities, different countries, etc... It was such a wonderful connection time of sharing funny stories, words of encouragement and prayers, laughter and tears. I felt so showered & blessed by each friend who came, and there are so many others who have been part of our China journey who I would have loved to join us!

Goodbye to China #6

And, date night would not be possible without our dear Ms. Bethany. She has been our faithful and loving babysitter and friend for the last 2 years. She is more than a babysitter-- she nurtures, trains, teaches, mentors, and lovingly corrects our girls. She will be a great mother someday!



















Bethany is the 2nd oldest of the 6 Robb children... Angela is her older sister and has babysat for us sometimes too. They are both so gifted and loved by our girls-- and us! Natasha (here) is right in-between Ellie & Kathryn's ages, and her older sister Jenny is 8. Fun friends! I've also enjoyed getting to know Val, their mother, who I've helped with our writing class in the co-op. We will miss the Robb family on so many levels!!



















Poor little Natasha took a fall a couple of days ago and broke her jaw :( She is having surgery in Hong Kong today... please pray for her!

Goodbye to China #5

Goodbye to date night in China... there are some fabulous restaurants that we will miss!

1st and probably #1 in our book is Taiyro. It's a Japanese Teppanyaki place. I didn't think of taking pics at the most exciting times during the cooking process, but the flamboyant chef is a big part of the experience. My thought about this pic though is-- momma looks so tired!







































Here is another favorite place... I don't even know what it's called, but it's about sushi! I used to hate sushi and was a totally wasted ticket at a place like Tokyo One in Dallas, but now I really love it... especially the wasabi!




















This third place is called Hutong Pizza. A "hutong" is a traditional preserved Chinese neighborhood... tiny alleyways and outer courtyards leading to inner rooms. Many of them have been restored into businesses, like this one we think has the yummiest pizza in town!




















I took several pics of the nearby architecture...



















The "drum tower" which was closed, so I could only take a picture from a distance.































But can I confess-- just so you know we're a normal human couple-- that this night we went to Hutong Pizza we got in a huge fight?? So I've added more than just traditional Chinese memories to our favorite pizza place... Ah, the joys of transition stress.

Goodbye to China #4

This spring the girls were in a ballet class-- this was our first re-attempt after a bad experience 2 years ago. Both the girls were in the same class, and they loved their teacher, Ms. Annie. She was great with them! 2 weeks ago they had their last class where we took these shots. Ballerinas LOVE posing for the camera!

Goodbye to China #3

Wow! This is post #500...

This post is dedicated to the pigeon park. About 15 minutes away walking is this pristine spot where we love to bring crackers to feed the pigeons. When I asked the girls what places they wanted to say goodbye to, this one was on the top of the list.














I'm cracking up at Ellie's poses here...




















































Something delightful about being in control...













































Behind the park is our favorite nearby Chinese restaurant-- the Sichuan restaurant. It has a groovin play place, and mom and dad LOVE the la zi ji-- (spicy chicken-- You don't eat the peppers, but don't they look inviting?) Flat stanley came to visit a couple years ago, and I remembered we had this shot... I think my tastes are changing as I get older. I couldn't use to eat spicy food, but now I love it!

Goodbye to China #2

Today let me introduce you to some of our favorite neighborhood friends and stops:

This is Mr. Li. He has a shoe repair & key making shop right at our east gate. The girls began stopping to watch him work when we first moved here, and he has become a favorite fascination on our way out the gate. He always has an infectious smile!















A little further down the walkway are our favorite fruit sellers. The man on the left, and the lady next to him, are competitors whose fruit stands straddle both sides of the path. I like to buy a little something from both of them. They always have a handful of free or longgan or other seasonal items when we stop to buy-- and they always have a welcoming nod whenever we pass through. The lady to K's right is our 'jian bing' friend. This is daddy's favorite breakfast-- Like an egg crepe with plum sauce. Yum! And I have no idea who the man is on the right :)













Finally today we come to the mini-farm downstairs. Out our bedroom window are 2 approximately football field sized plots of land where neighborhood would-be farmers have claimed small plots of land for growing various personal crops. On the 4th floor in our building lives a couple who added a chicken coop to their plot, and welcome the girls to come feed the chickens. They also have ducks, rabbits, and baby chicks.



















Here is the tiniest chick-- K's favorite!















This one K affectionately calls "wakes Mama"... Yes, he crows at 3am.















Aside from the obnoxious rooster, we're going to miss so many 'little' things about our life here... Where else can you get your shoe repaired while having new keys made and buy a bag of berries on your way to feed the chickens?

Goodbye to China #1

So this begins a series of posts (probably short and sporadic in the chaos of our move!) to document and process our goodbyes to China-- the people and places we love. Bittersweet.

The day after I returned from LEAF, we went out to lunch for our friend Nancy's birthday. These 3 ladies don't live in our city, but were in town for LEAF, and each of them are dear to us so it was a treat to have a special time with them.













Happy Birthday Nancy!


















I first got to know Michi when she brought a group of summer students here, and Jim & I broke our engagement in the middle of leading that trip. What a mess! (Another story, another time!) Michi gracefully handled the chaos we left in our wake, and I lived in her guest room in Austin for a few weeks that Fall in Austin when we were deciding what in the world to do with ourselves! She's seen the worst :)

Crystal and her husband Brian lived in our part of the country in the early days, and I still remember the talk she gave when she was our retreat speaker many years ago. We've enjoyed seeing them more often in recent years via the LEAF process. We got to celebrate with them the long-awaited arrival of their first adopted daughter-- who is now a teenager!

Nancy is Crystal's sister-in-law, and we got to know her better while living in Sinagpore at the same time. She lives from her heart and every conversation with her is deep and meaningful. She is affectionately "Auntie Nancy" and the girls so enjoy her too!

There was also a video clip of a little dance that K performed with Michi, but I promised I wouldn't put it on the web... saving it for just the right occasion :)

We're Moving!

I have waited many weeks to announce this on the blog-- (and probably all my readers already know this, but anyhow)-- We are moving back to the US!

After 14 years of focus on Asia, Jim & I are beginning a new journey in Saint Louis! I will begin a counseling program, and Jim will be applying to a PhD program. We've had further studies on our hearts for many years, but after the answering of many specific prayer requests, we believe the time is now!

These last few weeks since returning from LEAF have been filled with all the chaos of an international move...

We made the executive decision to only ship our clothes, books, toys, the piano and Jim's guitars. EVERYTHING ELSE MUST GO! Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every other piece of furniture and every scrap of paper and every paper clip in every drawer must be culled through. There are 5 categories that every item in our home must be sorted into:

SHIP, PACK, GIVE AWAY, SELL, or TRASH.

This is the physical part of goodbye. But the emotional part is much trickier-- not only am I navigating my own emotions, but this is the first move that the girls really need help with this too!

Please pray for us!

So here I will begin posting pictures of some of the many goodbye moments we have shared over these recent weeks...