December Days

13th Birthday

December 17th is a special day in our family--the day our precious daughter was born! This year she turned 13. It has been a joy to watch her grow and mature into the young person she is now, and to celebrate we first of all maintained our family tradition of filling her room with balloons while she slept. After school we surprised her by meeting good friends at her favorite Korean restaurant and then taking all of the kids ice skating. We came back to our house for sugar cookies and a few rounds of Catch Phrase, and watched a movie together once our guests had gone home.

Our little "Peep" had a happy first birthday in China!

 

Icy Landscape

We have continued to bike to and from church and our English class, but yesterday we were made keenly aware of the danger of doing so. Some of you are thinking, "Well...duh!" But moving to a foreign country requires an adventurous mindset. You have to be ready to do many things that you wouldn't normally do at home, and it takes some time to settle in and figure out one's new boundaries.

One of our friends was biking on the same road we take to church (pictured below) when he hit an icy patch and ended up on the ground with a broken ankle. A kind person happened upon him and drove him home in the trailer of his scooter. After a long day of seeing doctors, he was admitted to the hospital for surgery to insert a metal plate and some screws and to sew some torn ligaments. Just had word that he is comfortably resting after the procedure. Please pray for his recovery.

With this in mind, I think we will try to go by taxi as long as ice remains on the ground...

 

School Christmas Pary

Our school Christmas party took place today, and each class was asked to participate in the program by performing a song, skit or other routine in Chinese. The teachers at the school put a lot of work into planning, decorating and carrying out this special event, and it turned out beautifully. One of our own teachers was the master of ceremonies, and (remember the "adventurous spirit" thing?) our family sang a song acapella in Chinese! In front of everyone!

Now the coutndown has begun to our final exams one week from today.

With our Comprehensive Chinese teacher
and Christmas program emcee, Zeng Laoshi.

The school gave each of us a lovely gift.
 We were blessed with a cozy scarf, two pairs of gloves, and a ping pong paddle.

Our Spoken Chinese teacher, Li Laoshi. We love our teachers!
And yes, I continue to shrink.