Happy Moments

It is not always happy around here. The kids have off days and need to be sent to time- out.  I have grumpy mommy moments and probably sometimes need a time out too. But who wants to blog about that? (:  I have a journal where I write down little quotes from the kids during the day. In case you need a happy boost today, I thought I'd share some with you. . .

Annette: Yay, my favorite!  Smooth- mes for breakfast!

Josiah: Ikea was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. . . later he tried again this time singing "Tortillas was a wee little man"(Zaccaehus is just so hard to remember!)

Josiah: Mommy works for me but I don't pay her money

As I was reading a story getting very sleepy and speeding up to the end Josiah said: "Your'e not using your mommy voice anymore."

Josiah: Mommy, you look beautiful in that chopstick (he meant lipstick)

Jason was explaining to Josiah how many years he will be in school to which Josiah replied, "But daddy, I don't need all that school because I already have fancy skills"

Josiah: Mommy, your elbows are getting old

Me: Josiah there is no one like you
Josiah (dismayed): no one likes me?

Full Term

I am officially full term (37 weeks) which means this baby can show up anytime now.  Josiah and Annette were both early so baby is certainly on our mind. 

This weekend Jason snapped some photos of the bump. It is sweet how much Josiah and Annette feel connected to their sister already. 

And for the sake of documentation here is the 9 month photo, the last one (there will not be a 10 month shot!)  Feel free to leave a comment with your prediction of when baby will arrive.  We still don't know if her head is up or down but would appreciate your prayers for a safe and natural delivery. Thanks!

Christmas and my kid's birthdays are some of my favorite days of the year to be a parent. We celebrated Annette's birthday Sunday a couple days early (shh don't tell her) and we all had such a good time doing it! Her request was for a "pink princess party."  I seriously don't know where she gets these ideas since she's never seen a Disney movie and we don't have any princess "influences" in her life. But, as you know there is not changing a princess' mind. (:

We started the morning with a princess tea party breakfast where we ate pink crepes and all wore crowns

Then we opened presents. We gave Annette a trampoline which she was very excited about. Hopefully it will burn off a lot of three and four year old energy!

Then onto the happiest place on earth! We gave Annette her first octopus card and she went through the  station gates all by herself. You can see she is tall enough to pay for the train now(especially with her added crown)

The Disneyland train is fun!

Annette kept insisting that she was not three until she ate her cake. So after Disneyland we went home and made it official!  We love you so much Annette!! Thanks for bringing so much joy to our lives!

Chinese Tea Party

One of Annette's greatest joys in life is tea parties. Next time you are in the neighborhood you should really stop by for a cuppa. 

So when I made plans to  go toYum Cha (dim sum and tea) with Po Po and her sweet helper Idah I decided to spin it as a "tea party" to Annette. You may remember Annette has a bumpy history with Po Pos. But, that all changed once she got to go a real tea party with pretty dim sum presented in steaming bamboo baskets. In true Annette fashion she gobbled most of them down and even nibbled on a chicken foot, much to Po Po's pleasure.

I was not as successful at making Josiah enthusiastic about sitting around a Chinese restaurant for an hour being offered mysterious looking dumplings. Still working on how to spin that one (:

Hospitality

Hong Kong recently hit the top of two research findings. In good news, the city now boasts the longest life expectancy in the world (I guess I can worry a little less about the air pollution and MSG). Along with that, we are now the most expensive housing market in the world. The prices have always been crazy here and now they are crazier than ever. 

20,000- 30,000 people in the city live in “cage houses”, unable to rent even an entire room for themselves. While I’ve always known crazy housing situations like this exist, I’ve personally never seen them first hand because, well, most of my friends are like me. However yesterday we were invited to dinner at our friend’s house in an impacted, colorful part of the city called Jordan. To protect their identity we will call them S and Y.  S is from Iran and Y is from upper- cast India. After meeting online they risked their very lives to met and get married, forsaking all for love. What a journey they’ve had since that point. Eventually they ended up as Asylum Seekers in Hong Kong. S and Y found themselves at our church because it is one of the major support networks for refugees. At our church this Muslim and Hindu couple both found Jesus! Since then they have grown so much in their faith and depend on God daily to sustain and encourage them through their hard times. 

Back to their house. They apologized 100 times in advance for how small it was, even again yesterday as they led us through the busy streets and alleys lined with noodle stalls and massage parlors that wound to their tower. We passed smokey gambling dens and dry cleaners as we traipsed up four flights of stairs to their home. Even with all the warnings of how small it was I was still surprised when we stepped inside. I could only take about two steps! There were bunk beds, a fridge, a gas burner, small shelf, and stools wedged into a space smaller than many American closets.  They pay $400 a month for this space, which they told us was a really good deal! The windows were blacked out, but if opened could let in some light along with the cigarette smoke and noise from the busy market stalls below. But the hospitality was beautiful. 

They had prepared a feast of delicious food from their home countries and served us with the best they had to offer. We shared plates with the kids and Jason ate off of a lid. They did everything to make us as comfortable as possible and tried again and again to heap more food on our plates. We had lively conversation and they even gave the kids little toys they had thoughtful bought for them.  

So often I hold back because I don’t think I have enough or wait until I am more “together” to open up to other people. Yet it seems that often those who have the least give the most. This experience reminded me of lavish hospitality we had likewise experienced in a Mozambican village and refugee camp in Burma. That hospitality is not about what you have, but what you give.  

Outing with Daddy

Does anybody feel like the days, weeks even, are flying by?! I just realized it has been a while since  I posted photos. We have had a lot of sickness around our house and in turn a lot of sleepless nights. I really never get sick but last Monday I got a cold, then last Saturday just an hour after checking into a hotel for the highly anticipated Mom's Retreat with my girlfriends I started throwing up with the flu ): So sad. Jason picked me up and made sure I had lots of R & R at home, which was really the thing my body needed.  He took the kids out to this farm in Yuen Long (easy excursion thanks to the car) and the kids had a blast picking strawberries, riding a horse, playing and feeding the animals. He is such a great daddy and is all about quality time.