The Craziness

Well, the jet lag has gone and now the haze of choosing a house and all the paperwork is hitting us.  Though the craziness is amongst us we have had more time to settle and do a normal routine again.  We  have Maddy's EEG tomorrow and then the inspection on our new home on Wednesday.  Then Friday we leave to go to some friends' wedding from China and then take the girls to Disney World.  Then we hit the first week in July which will be spent with my family in NC.  Busy, busy!  Well, here are some cute things going on right now.

 My father-in-law and his wife have a pool in their housing development.  We decided to go and expose Maddy to the joys of a swimming pool.  I have to say that there are many times that I feel out of the loop.  All the other kiddos have these new swimmers that attach to their body.  Maddy is wading in a 1 foot pool with no swimmers and even went into the deep pool (3 ft.) with us holding her.  I know this may not be the safest thing but the combination of finances and living in a different culture really change you.  She loved the pool.  She was hesitant at first but then she started bouncing and putting her face in.  The next day I took her and she was pushing her legs behind her.  When you ask her if she wants to go to the pool she exclaims "Yes!!!"

 We went to Walmart and I wanted to buy her some new long sleeve pjs.  All the girl ones were ok but the Elmo ones (that are boys) caught her eye and I couldn't resist.  She loves them!  Today we bought her a plush Elmo toy and she just loves it and snuggles it.

 Emma snuggling with Daddy.  Emma is growing so much.  She is our little roly-poly.  She's got some chubby thighs but the main reason we call her that is because she loves to roll from side to side when she's on the floor.  Today she woke up from nap early because she had rolled on to her tummy and couldn't get herself from the edge of the bed.

 Emma playing peek-a-boo with James.  I love seeing little kids experiment with other ones.  James will soon be a big brother and I think he will be a great one!  I am so happy that our new home is only 5 minutes away from these great people!

 Maddy loves doing music with Jim.  Last year we took a picture of her watching him play his harmonica and tap his foot.  She loves music and so does Jim so they make a fun team.

This picture has two parts to it.  First, this lady in the picture is the inspiration of my Tuesday Night meals in China.  This is Barb.  She is responsible for providing lunches to the school we are working for.  She opens her home every Tuesday night for young singles and marrieds to come eat at her place.  She loves babies and being a grandmother to all our kiddos.  Because of the many amazing meals she has fixed me our first 2 years in Greenville I decided to do the same in China.  So, my Shenyang people, you have Barb to thank!  The 2nd story for this picture is Barb's ferret, Evelyn.  Emma hasn't really been around animals so being around Gran's dog is totally new.  Then we went to Barb's house and she met Evelyn.  She was so curious and we got lots of funny pics and smiles.

We are adjusting to life in the United States and mostly have to pace ourselves.  In years past we can eat way too much food and gain weight and have the excuse of short summer leave to thank for it but now that we are staying we need to pace ourselves to avoid gaining that extra 10 pounds!  I think the funniest cultural adjustment I am having is in regards to toilet paper:

In our school in China the sign in the bathroom said:
Do not put anything, including toilet paper, in the toilet.

In the airport in Korea it said:
Do not put anything, other than toilet paper, in the toilet.

In the airport in America:
(No Sign!)

Every time I go to the bathroom I have to remind myself which country I am in and review if toilet paper can or can not go into the toilet.  :-)  Of the odd things that you struggle with!