California Part II- Idyllwild with the Paine Family

After the climax of Angela's wedding people slowly started leaving Arroyo Grande. We went from 30 people in the house, to a quiet 16 people, down to 11, until we knew it was time to hop on a train and move on. We rode the train from Grover Beach to Fullerton and enjoyed following the coast most of the way. The kids were free to move around which was great for Josiah and Annette, but challenging with Annabelle. 

 We even took some trips to the front to keep the Engineer company. He was very patient with Josiah's endless curiosity.

 From Fullerton Grandma drove us up to a cabin in Idyllwild where we enjoyed 5 days of sweet smelling pine air with all of Jason's family. It was a great house with lots of fun things to do and conducive for spending quality time together.

 Brothers watching the world cup

 The fish weren't biting but the kids still made great memories with Grandpa

 We loved getting to meet our new nephew Sawyer Elijah. The dads even played one- armed Ladder Ball while balancing their babies

It amazes me how naturally our kids transition between the Chinese and American cultures. The world must really be getting smaller. They have been been awed by some "new" novelties such as 

- garages and garage door openers

- self service gas stations

- dish washers

- different toilet flushes, light switches and paper towel dispensers

- gum ball machines

- drive throughs

-ice cream trucks

- garage sales

- milk in gallon jugs

Califronia- Part 1

 We are having an amazing time in California. The flight went as smoothly as possible and although I got a lot of "you've got your hands full" comments, the kids did great. Jet lag was another story, but we are all sleeping now. I can't tell you how wonderful it has been to be at my parents' house. The first Sunday I was back at the church where my dad has been the pastor for 25 years, my parents sang a song in the choir called "In My Father's House." And it was Father's Day. I couldn't hold back the tears. This is the house I grew up in, the small town Jason and I fell in love in, and truly one of my favorite spots in the world (plus there is no humidity, mosquitoes, sweating and tons of sunshine!)

 
Our family of 6 is now 18- here is our whole motley crew. 

 The cousins had SO much fun together. Which worked out well since I totally ignored our kids in the process of helping with wedding details and hosting tons of extended family in town.

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 Can you guess what they are karaoking? Let's just say there were a lot of renditions of "Let it Go"

 Here are some shots form Friday's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner

 And the BIG DAY!! I only have a couple of photos but Angela was BEAUTIFUL!!! It was such a meaningful, fun, lovely day and nothing could have made me more happy than to celebrate my seester and her wonderful man.

A very serious family shot

 

Here is the couple the next afternoon during the gift opening

 And then some more chillaxin' with family

 

This is my brother Ryan wearing his new baby Emery

 And of course we had to jump in the dunes with the cousins

 Papa came out for the wedding. Doesn't he look great at 91?

 

 

Jason ran up to the tree where we went on our first date 17 years ago and added Annabelle's name to "our" tree. Later that day we all went out to see his work. He said there's room for more names, but maybe we should consider shorter names. . .

Potenti-a-li-ty

In this video Josiah is singing one of my all time favorite kid's songs, "I am a Promise". This is a rehearsal for their kindergarten graduation, which we will sadly miss, but I couldn't be prouder of our bundle of potentiality! (sorry it is sideways!)

IMG 7804 from Christine Paine on Vimeo.

I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.

I can go anywhere that He wants me to go
I can be anything He wants me to be
I can climb the high mountains
I can cross the wide sea
I'm a great big promise you see!

I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I'm a promise to be anything God wants me to be
Anything God wants me to be!

 Most of our photos from the last month were taken up on the rooftop because well, that’s where we’ve been. I can’t believe what that tiny bit of extra space has done for our family. It’s relieved stress on many ends by creating a space where the kids can make noise while Annabelle is napping, a place where Jason can work on the weekends without constant interruption and a place where we can gather friends together (and even a place where I can dry laundry in the sun!)

Jason and I realized how much we had missed having an outdoor space so accessible. We got in nature from our old house but not without effort (insect repellent, stroller, water bottles, hats, diapers). It has been a breath of fresh air and such a luxury to us to be outside with such ease. We feel fortunate to be able within minutes to drive into a vibrant, buzzing city and again in minutes to drive out of it. As we grow and learn more about ourselves we are realizing how important a close connect nature is to us. 

Here is some glory from the rooftop this last week

iridescent clouds

rainbow

this crazy  sunset

The next couple days I will not be relaxing in the pool but will be focused on getting the three kids and myself across the world (Jason is coming a week later) Please pray for me! I can tell from experience that Annabelle is at about the worst age for flying. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised. See you in four days California!!

Tseng Tau Village

Welcome to Tseng Tau Village. It has always been a dream of mine to live just outside of town, and now we do! Our village is a 12 minute drive to school and only from the rooftop, far in the distance, can you see a high rise. I've also always wanted to live close to water, so when I pull back the curtains to this my heart fills with praise for the gift of beholding God's beauty.

 The water is constantly changing, not only in color but the tides as well. At certain times during the day the tide gets so low you can walk across to the island and dig for clams *just to clarify- we don't dig for clams but some people do (:

The balcony is our new favorite spot for coffee and cuddles

 The living room is a little smaller than our last and the 3 bedrooms open directly off of the living room, so "shhhh" when Annabelle is napping (the house is only 700 square feet)

 But my favorite room in the house by far in the kitchen. It is big people. Especially for Hong Kong. Especially for a village house. I actually enjoy spending time in there. . . . we'll see if my cooking improves!

 This is the view over the kitchen sink (through the bars). In the rainy season (now) there are waterfalls running down Ma On Shan mountain

 And the rooftop!! The kids have loved having this outdoor space all their own. We've eaten on the rooftop the last 4 nights and really, really enjoyed it. Cheers! Come join us for a BBQ anytime.