Camp Kang

My grandparents are really proud of the Marilyn Monroe thing they have. She sings to you when you press a button. Willow was obsessed with it as well. So the only three people in the house that liked this object were the three people who couldn't understand what Marilyn was actually saying. What a disturbing decoration. 

After we'd gotten over jet lag for the most part, we drove to my grandparents home in Wisconsin. It's about a 5-7 hour journey depending on traffic/weather/pitstops. Willow had a love-hate relationship with her car seat. She also thought that Tommy's blond friend who came along was her dad and got really embarrassed when she realized it wasn't Adam. She's still shy around Tommy's friend because of her past humiliation!

It was a short visit. Only about 24 hours long, but because of all our various schedules, that was the longest we were able to stay. Harmonee and Hadabagee were pretty sad to see us go--and were begging for us to stay longer. They look more and more forlorn each time we leave them.

Willow must have pressed the button ten times during breakfast.

My grandfather also had an injury that he should have gone to the doctor for. He either fell off the four-wheeler, or the ATV fell on top of him. I wasn't sure what he was saying exactly, but he was so sore a week after the incident that he couldn't even fill his car's gas tank by himself. His neck, back, arm, hip, and leg were all hurting him. But he is so stubborn, and probably intimidated by the medical care here, that he refused to go to the doctor with my mom.

One of Willow's top breakfast choices is scrambled eggs. She likes to say "eggs" in the morning to get me out of bed.

Willow also liked her great-grandparents' massage chair. She would sit there and enjoy a massage like she was an old woman. I didn't realize she liked back rubs so much.

Harmonee brought her around the room when we first arrived and pointed at each figurine saying "no touchee" about each object. Later, Willow went around the rooms and pointed at all the statues saying "no, no, no!"

Even though our visit was short, it was probably better that way. There were too many things for Willow to break everywhere and I felt a lot of anxiety while we were there.

Willow even noticed a few pictures of her dad around her great-grandparents' house. She was excited to see Adam's face, even in far-out Wisconsin.

The yard ornaments increase in number each time I visit. I wish I could say that these pictures show all of them. But no...this is only a small percentage. The creepiest one of all is a santa clause that is positioned inside a shed so that he is looking out the window. It feels like he's watching you, and that he'll attack on Christmas Eve. It's a Doctor Who episode.

Picture on the right: you can see Emma holding Willow, and Tommy and Cole. They were hitting golf balls out into the field. I guess there were about 5 foxes over there as well and Willow thought that they were dogs.

My grandfather likes to make various cut outs. He's a productive individual.

It was very rainy and wet during our whole stay. Willow only took one ride on the four-wheeler because of the weather. It was cold too! Probably in the 50's. The first few weeks of our stay in America were quite chilly, overcast, and wet. Only recently has the weather warmed up. We didn't really pack for cold weather!

Here's Willow freaking out because she just noticed there's a bag of twix bars on the counter. 

And here is a perk of being a tall baby. 

Victory for Willow. Failure for mommy. Eating another twix bar. 

Tommy playing games on his smart phone. 

Reading another apocalyptic book. 

Ok, other than the jolly bear statue in this picture, what do you notice? Yes, it's a dead humming bird that my grandfather found. At one point, he brought it in the house and put it on the kitchen counter. Tommy picked it up thinking it was a figurine and freaked out when he realized it was once a living creature. Humming birds are very fine and intricate birds--so amazing and delicate in their design.

Picture of my grandfather when he was a very young man. 

My grandfather's Bible, glasses, and tv remotes. He had about a dozen pair of reading glasses on various tables in the basement. I guess it makes it easier to fine a pair if they are everywhere. 

I hope that we will be able to visit them again before we return to China. Every time I visit them, I feel as though it might be the last time I see them. They always stuff money in my hands. This time it was $100 to buy Willow a decent coat they said. Ever practical, born from decades of surviving extreme circumstances.

~julie

America Bound

This post is nearly a month overdue. I cannot believe that we've been camping out in America for nearly 4 weeks now. The good thing about that statement is that we only have two more weeks before Adam will be here with us!

How we got to America this time, was not without its ups and downs. Actually, nothing truly awful happened. We zipped through customs in Korea and Chicago, and our bags came out on the conveyor belt right away (seems like we're usually waiting an hour or more for our bags). Nothing was lost or stolen, and Willow was relatively well-behaved during the entire two day trip.

But, we did have a bit of a hiccup. The main reason I haven't written about our return trip up until now is because the beginning of the story frustrated me so much that I probably wouldn't be able to write about it in a civil way.

We left on a Tuesday morning. The school van was scheduled to pick us up at 8:00 am. Which meant that we had to be mostly packed and ready the night before. We spent Monday saying farewell to many friends, and it seemed that I wasn't actually packing my suitcases until quite late at night. Had to wake up early to shower, eat breakfast, finish packing, making sure the house was ok to be left, and getting Willow ready and fed. When the clock struck 8:10, the van still wasn't around. So I walked out to the gate to see if it was waiting there instead of driving to our building. It wasn't there, so I walked back to our apartment building, only to find that the van was waiting there. We must have passed each other somehow. The driver was very unhelpful and made my mother in law do most of the carrying and lifting of heavy 50 pound suitcases and carry ons.

We drove to the airport and were doing great with time. When we got to the airport, the driver (who is employed by our school), was once again, not as helpful as I was hoping he would be. We got in line to check-in, and when it was our turn at the counter the ticket clerk said that we did NOT have tickets for the flight.

What?!

Since neither Adan nor I had bought the tickets (the school purchased them for us this summer), I had minimal information. I mostly just knew when our flight was leaving, but I didn't have any official receipts. I called the school, got transferred to the purchasing manager who had bought our tickets, and had him to talk to the Korean Air employees. Basically, the news was that our plane didn't leave until 4:30pm.

What?!

The purchasing manager told me on the phone that it was my fault that we had gone in too early. That he had sent me an email to tell me of the changed flight plans. He chastised me for not checking my email before I left that morning.

I was livid.

First of all, I had checked my email around 7am, but there had been nothing from him. Later he said that he must have sent it only to my husband. I told him he should have known that Adam was out of town in Beijing--all the secondary teachers were out of town on field trips and he should have realized that. Secondly, he had 2-3 months to tell me this information, and never had. Thirdly, when I finally got to check my email again, I saw that he hadn't sent Adam and I the email about the flight change until after 9am. And finally--why in the heck did they send the school van to pick us up and bring us to the airport at 8:00 if the flight didn't leave until 4:00?

All of this was frustrating, when you have a toddler who is antsy and growing more irritated by the minute. When you add the language barriers, it gets even more frustrating. At one point, the receptionist at school was acting as a translator--and I felt bad for her. I don't know why the purchasing manager felt the need to blame the whole situation on me, as if it were entirely my fault. But it most likely a major cultural difference (needing to save face), and it was not helping my frustration level. I was trying to ask that they send the school van back to pick us up and return us to our apartment. But they hung up on me. Had to call back, couldn't get through---finally they said they would send a driver to get us. During this waiting period, the doctor's office called me to give me my gestational diabetes test results. I thought to myself, "If they tell me that I have gestational diabetes, I am going to cry. I need some sugar right now!"

We had to load all the suitcases, plus the stroller and carry-ons again. Drive back to our complex. Unpack all the luggage, bring it all back into our apartment.....

The only good thing out of this situation was that Willow got to take a nap in her bed. Adam's mom went out and bought us some food for lunch, since we had nothing in the apartment, while I tried to change our hotel reservations. The transit hotel only keeps reservations for 3 hours--so if you're late, you lose your place and money.

I couldn't find the correct phone number. Plus skype wasn't letting me call. Skype wasn't letting me buy more minutes. Skype wasn't letting me sign into Adam's skype to use his minutes. Finally, had to ask a friend to call the hotel for me. At first, the number was wrong and so there was no reservation to delay at that place. Eventually, it was sorted out.

When 2:00 came around, we had to repack the school van with our luggage and go back to the airport. We were able to get our tickets--although it still took a while for the ticket counter to figure it all out. They didn't want to give Willow her own ticket, even though it had been purchased, because she was 22 months old and not 24 months old. They also didn't want me to fly, even though I was 29 weeks pregnant, and not even close to full term! Sheesh! Willow liked handing her passport and boarding pass to the customs official and of course said "xie xie" whenever she could. On the plane, they had us split up across an aisle--which was a little annoying. Willow had the window seat and enjoyed the short flight to Korea. I just wish there had been more helpful people aboard the plane to help us stow all the carry-ons we had. I couldn't have made this trip without Adam's mom, Karen. She was so helpful, and made the trip much easier for us.

When we arrived in Korea, we sped through customs (no line at all!), exchanged money, and ate dinner. We checked into the hotel and were able to get some rest that night before our long flight over the ocean. The next day we stopped at Starbucks for breakfast, and Willow played at a little play place. I love the Korean airport. It was a relief to be in an Air Conditioned terminal, after the frustrations of muggy Shenyang.

Okay...so I guess I'm still kind of upset about this ticket confusion. It's not really a big deal, and nothing terrible happened. We eventually did get to fly to America. I guess being too early for a flight is better than being too late. But still...I'm sensitive about people blaming me for problems that were not my fault. The van driver was not happy with me at all. I wouldn't be either---but I just wanted to tell him so badly that it wasn't my fault! My sense of justice was really in quandary since I couldn't communicate the situation to him. Oh well....I guess that's why he got less and less helpful with each trip.

Nice transit hotel--don't even have to leave the terminal. Willow gets a crib, and the black out shades make it possible to sleep during the day. The bathroom and flat screen tv are also super nice. Free wi-fi too. 

The little jet setter 

The play place next to our gate

 During the long flight, Willow did not sleep very much. Even though she should have taken a 2-3 hour nap, and slept at least 4 or 5 hours during her "night", she only slept about an hour altogether. During the landing, there was quite a bit of turbulence, and as expected---Willow suffered from motion sickness. She gets car sick very easily, and the bumpy plane upset her stomach. I'm so over being thrown up on! 

Willow accepted her fate---the car seat--better than anticipated. She watched Toy Story 3 on the mini van's tv while we drove through an intense rain storm. By the time we arrived in Lake Villa, both she and I were ready for a looooong nap. 

Commence the week of weird sleeping patterns. Willow slept in 5-6 hour increments--never getting a whole night's rest for a week. What an exhausting, emotional, tantrum-filled week. Oof. Adam, you miss all the 'fun' times. 

Arrived in Lake Villa ! 

Dealing with jet lag---Sesame Street podcasts! She had set up the iPad against the pillow and was relaxing like a mini-adult. She cracks me up! 

We've been shopping for lots of baby clothes.

How big I was when we first arrived. 

Willow has discovered how to climb in and out of this little crib.
She doesn't sleep in this crib anymore because she is much too tall, but she likes to sit and watch Sesame Street podcasts in the crib while I take showers. 

Emomom! 

23 Months

Tall for age--at least in the 90th or 95th percentile.

Still babbling all the time--but there's sprinklings of actual English in there now. Mostly nouns, but a few other types of words and some short phrases. Some of her vocabulary includes:

• Where is it? (or) Where is the ________? 
• There it is! 
• Wake up 
• Bubbles 
• Car 
• Keys
• Baby 
• Outside 
• Go/go away/Go outside
• Movie (moo fee) 
• Cup 
• Candy 
• Cake
• Cookie
• Pizza (peecha peecha peecha peecha) 
• Ice cream 
• Banana 
• Remote
• Elmo 
• Dad
• Mom
• Emma (Emomom) 
• Ball 
• Dog
• Cat
• Chair 
• No/oh no/oh
• Wow
• Fly
• Bug
• Yes/yeah (yam) 
• Mine 
• Another song 
• Again 
• Eggs 
• Spoon 
• Shoes 
• Buzz & Woody 
• Meow 
• Money
• Call 

And somehow, between these words, lots of babbling/whining/pantomiming--She gets her point across. 

She is an expert with a fork and spoon. She loves to eat all sorts of food. She's only said 'ewww' about cantaloupe and tabasco sauce. Willow has been ok with the carseat since we've arrived in the US. Any time longer than an hour and she starts to fuss--so some of the longer car trips we've taken have been stressful for me. But she enjoys watching movies on my mom's minivan tv and that usually distracts her from being confined by a 5-point harness. She walks around with car keys and begs people to take her for car rides. 

She misses her dad and can sometimes be tempted to talk to him on skype. She's just so busy it's hard for her to focus on skype for longer than a few minutes. She talks about him a lot, thinks about him often, and points at pictures of him exclaiming, "My daddy!"  Only 2.5 more weeks before we get to see him again! 

She has been very flexible since we've arrived in America. Finally back on 'schedule', as normal as it can be here. Still taking afternoon naps--which I am so thankful for. Between jet lag, reconnecting with family, visiting with many 'strangers', and road trips--she's been great. She's also been extra naughty on the temper tantrum end of things--developing the army crawl where she drags herself across the floor while screaming when she doesn't get her way. Willow sort of understands the concept of my pregnancy. She knows there is a baby inside mommy--but to what extent this fact impacts her life is lost on her. She doesn't understand the concept of time, or that her brother will be here in around 50 days. She doesn't understand what a sibling relationship is, or how to treat a newborn. It will be an interesting August to say the least! 

What an eventful month it has been! She is definitely maturing into a two year old--I can hardly believe that in a few weeks she will celebrate her second birthday! 

One cool thing about being here without Adam is that Willow and I are co-sleeping. We haven't done this since she was an itty baby. We have become much closer in the last few weeks, and I have enjoyed that aspect of our time away from Adam. I'm used to playing second fiddle next to the all-star dad, so it's nice to be appreciated by Willow. 

[a wedding]

Stephen & Jessica 

June 8, 2013

Stephen and Jessica singing together. Too sweet. And hard to keep dry eyes. 

 Announcing Mr. and Mrs. Langley! 

 Delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies and drinks were served outside afterwards. It was a beautiful day, with warm sun and a cool breeze. The newly weds were truly blessed with gorgeous weather. Because we're in China most of the time, I've missed most of my friends weddings. It was wonderful to watch these two old friends tie the knot. I enjoyed the simple service, it was filled with genuine worship. Christ was the center of their ceremony, and I pray that it will continue to be so in their marriage!

I'm also sad to report that Willow was a bully. She whacked a cute girl in the head with a stick three times.

Goodbye to the bride and groom! 

Many blessings to you both! 

*******************************
Willow's little photo session. She loves to have her picture taken. 

So tired! Willow refused to take a nap before the wedding, and instead spent nap time talking and singing to herself. I guess that I should be happy that all she did was hit a girl in the head with a stick three times. Oh yeah, she also shouted "Yay!" after the bride and groom finished singing their song together. She also shouted "Amen" twice. And ate cookies in the sanctuary.

Science Classroom Walls

Adam's cool classroom. He has his students paint information on the wall as they learn about these principles in science class. I think there is a lot of work that goes on before and during the painting projects--so it's not like they're just slapping paint on a wall to be artistic. There is a process to learning the lessons, coming up with designs, and selecting what will be painted. So these paintings represent a lot of brain work that the students went through as they learned about all sorts of things this school year. 

Since this is the last year in this particular building, it doesn't really matter how the walls will look post-school year. It also hasn't mattered in the past because walls are repainted in the summer. Here are some pictures Adam took with his camera during the painting processes that the different middle school classes went through. It seems like all I ever hear about from students and their parents is how much everyone likes Adam's classes. He is a great teacher, and is improving all the time. He's the golden boy. 

31.5 weeks = Can't Breathe

30 weeks pregnant with baby boy
June 2013 

Almost 8 months along, and can't believe it. 

Maybe I should be mentally preparing myself for labor and delivery. Or maybe I should be reading some reminders on how to care for a newborn. Or maybe I should wash all the baby clothes and blankets. 

Or maybe I should blog thoughtful letters to this baby. Or maybe I should be preparing Willow to become a big sister. Or maybe I should be lifting their impending sibling relationship up to the Lord on a daily basis. 

I'm pretty much failing at all these things right now; and I'm in a state of denial. 

I reside in the land of sluggards where I eat ice cream, cereal, and yogurt all day. Where I read books from the library all morning. I live in a land where a full breath of air is not my thing anymore. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to use more then 10% of my lung capacity? 

I live in a place where I forget to take my prenatal vitamins 50% of the time. A place where my back is slowly turning to gelatin and the veins in my hands are about to explode. 

30 weeks pregnant with Willow
(May 2011) 

 I live in a place that's far from my husband, constantly missing him and wishing he was here. 

But I count my blessings. I have flavored ice cream. I can drive to the store. I have great doctors. I have a loving husband who waits up at night to talk on skype. I have family who helps with Willow throughout the day. I have a fun-loving daughter who is obsessed with ice-cream, car rides, and animals.  

I get to spend so many precious moments with Willow. We snuggle in the morning, we cuddle at night, and we play during the day. We eat eggs for breakfast, and watch Sesame Street on youtube. We go for walks and car rides and enjoy shopping trips. We play with puppies at the pet store and go out for breakfast. We eat whipped cream straight from the container. We eat kimchi and rice together. 

Breaking of the dam: first clothes purchased for baby boy.
Soon followed by excessive amounts of shopping. 

I'm finished with the 'nesting' on the other side of the ocean. So maybe that's why I'm just not into it right now. I hope a second wave will hit me soon because there are a few things that ought to get done before the baby arrives. Willow's birthday, a plan for where Willow will sleep once the baby is born, wash all those baby clothes, sew a baby blanket....etc. 

I'm so thankful to have had a relatively easy pregnancy. My first world problems are so minimal. I worry about not getting to eat the moose tracks ice cream, and the fact that the book I just read was a waste of time. 

A real concern, that I keep pushing to the back, is the position of the baby. I'm positive he's in an oblique position. I hope that in the next few weeks, he settles in the correct position and is ready to come out! I do not want to have a c-section. So, this is a real-life prayer request--that the baby would move into the best position at the proper time. 

much love from the languid whale. 

I Miss China

Living in China is wonderful and challenging at the same time. It seems that everyone who moves there  goes through a period of shock. Sometimes, I'm still shocked by things I see, smell, taste, experience. But mostly, I've come to expect the shock. To accept the shock. Or at least to not be shocked by the shock. Something inexplicable happens, and you just shrug it off and say, "that's just China". Some of the shocks have become my normal, while others have become my preference.

This makes visiting America so interesting. Re-entry is shocking. Shocking because everything that was once familiar has become a little...foreign. The flavors are different, the sights are different, the sounds and smells are different. Each difference magnifies the two worlds that I'm a part of. Some make me appreciate China more, while others make me wish that China did things a little more "American" at times.

But mostly, I realize that I miss China.

It's been nearly 2 weeks since we locked the apartment door and headed for the airport. However, I'm still experiencing some re-entry shock. Here are a few things I'm reminding myself are "normal' in America.

•  Food portions. American mediums are HUGE. They're ginormous! American mediums are bigger than Chinese larges.
•  Food portions continue. So the next time, you think you're smart and you order the small size... If you order a small, it's still going to be too big. Bigger than a large in China.
•  The amount of people on the roads, in stores, at restaurants is significantly smaller. For instance, the last time I went to a market in China a few weeks ago, I was surrounded by probably about 10,000 people. And it felt normal. So when you walk into a Kohls that only has about 50 shoppers browsing the shelves, you feel like you might have just missed the rapture. Or at least that you should be looking around corners for zombies.
•  There are cops in America which pull you over for traffic violations. There are also street cameras that send you electronic tickets. I found myself panicking at a monitored intersection because I wasn't sure if I could turn right on a red light. Still not sure about it.
• The internet is enormous. In China, I'm limited so much with what I'm able to view. In America, I keep having to remind myself that I don't have to use a vpn to access facebook or blogs. And I can use my iPad to access facebook (which I can't do in China).
• People can understand me, and I can understand them. This means that you should not talk about people in loud voices, when you're right next to them. They will understand that you just questioned their wardrobe choice.
• Everything is more expensive in America.
• The news is so sensational in America. I almost miss the censored news reports in China.
• There are LIBRARIES where you can check out books FOR FREE. I've never appreciated libraries more than this year. Not only can I check out books, but so can Willow. It's amazing. It's a miracle. You would cry if you knew how much money I spent on electronic books because of lack of library resources. You would cry if you knew how much time I spend online looking for free ebooks
• The air is CLEAN in America. You don't have to check the pollution count before going outdoors. You don't have to worry about opening windows because of all the pollution that will come in and ruin your cleaning and laundry.
• America is boring. You aren't constantly living in survival mode, or constantly being entertained by your mere surroundings, or constantly avoiding near death on the streets, or constantly amazed at Eastern culture. It's just...standard. Everyone dresses the same in America. Everyone eats the same. Everyone talks the same. Everyone drives the same.

This pictures is a great illustration. I love that this man is riding a mini-segway through the street. He looked ridiculous. And no one cared. That's China.

Although I have family in America--and it's amazing to spend time visiting with them--China still possesses Adam. So, I suppose that this is the biggest reason why I miss China right now. Because if I were in China, I would be with Adam and it's hard to be apart.

We Miss Adam!

Looking through pictures from May and saw these of Willow and Adam. Six weeks apart is a long time for us to be separated! Since Willow was born, the longest we've been apart has been 2 or 3 weeks. Willow really misses her Daddy, and I miss my husband! 

This is Willow's 'silly face'. We're not sure why she considers this a silly face, but if you ask her to make a funny expression, this is what she does every single time. 

But if you ask me, I think this face is much-much-much sillier! 

One of the last days before we left for America. Adam and Willow were watching a movie together and cuddling so nicely.

Only 30-ish days left, Adam! Hopefully the next 4.5 weeks will go by very quickly.
We love and miss you!