November has been quite the month so far!!!

Well, from Luke turning 4 (he had a "backward party"--anything to dress up) to traveling to where we hope will be our home in the future, we have had a big month!! A great month. Luke had his birthday party, where he requested pumpkin cake and ice cream, and had lots of his friends over to our house for games, eating, and dressing up funny. It was so much fun!

Then, Shannon got to travel

4 days down to see a friend who is from Tulsa, as well, but is currently on this side of the world--it's so cool to hear what the Father is doing in and through old friends!! And she got to visit one of the premier places in this country--everyone wants to visit LJ city--it's famous for how cool and old it is! It really is so beautiful, so Shannon enjoyed just being in such a nice place, enjoying the company AND the surroundings.

A few days after the visit to LJ, we left to visit the city that we are all hoping to base treks out of in the future. And while we were there, some people offered to let us rent their house. We are hoping and pr-ing that it will work out. The thought of actually rubbing shoulders with our people appeals to us on so many levels. We feel earnest about seeking the Father's face over the next few months, that the higher-ups will be open to us being there in the future...

Anyway, we are back home now and starting to get ready to return to the states. We are scheduling our time and thinking about visiting people and just loving being there for a few months. Now if only I can decide if it's worth packing and taking Luke's train tracks and trains with us (they are his favorite toy right now...). We'd love any advice!

For now...

the trek

Johnny is currently on a trek in the northern part of our province, and we have been so excited to hear from him. He called one day and said, "pack the house, Shannon, we need to just move out here." Not in the next two months, for sure, but someday...They are taking one of the first treks with the company and having a great time. It's been a big blessing that 2 good friends of Johnny's are here to trek with him and give their insight into what a trek out here can and should look like.

Luke, Jace and I are holding down the fort, but unlike some times that Johnny is gone, I have been BUSY meeting local friends. It's been a bit of a crazy week in that we have run into old friends from a couple of years ago that want to hang out and catch up--it's really evident that the Father has been orchestrating some really fun times. And I for sure haven't been lonely. This place has become home.

We plan to take two more trips in the next month and a half. Our family wants to travel out to where Johnny is now, and I hope to visit a friend in the south sometime, as well. We feel like we're wrapping things up from our first three years on a high note, and we see that it's such a gift from the Father. We haven't even really had much time to think about going back to the states.

More to come...S

C-Diggety and Candyman

C-Diggety is what we call our city, and we are back in town for 2 months!! It is so nice to be home and not have to go back to see doctors. So, we are getting back into life in the city after a few sick days with the boys. We are happy to be getting back into the routine, and we are excited that at the end of next week some friends will come at the end of next week and hike with Johnny!!

Candyman is what Luke decided he wanted to dress up as for one of his friends' birthdays this month. We thought it was a pretty awesome idea, but since we only had 30 minutes to prepare, Johnny thought we could just tape candy to his body, and then Luke could pass out the candy to all his friends. So, he did just that. And we loved that he wanted to be something a little creative...

We have been dreaming this week about what it might look like for us to live in the mountains. It's exciting to think that we might be able to LIVE with the people we are growing to love...We would love to have a hostel/guesthouse that everyone can visit!

We have 2 months until we go to the states, and we are just starting to prepare to go. I'm gathering pictures and packing 3-6 month sized clothes for the little baby that Dave and Kelli are trying to adopt (which deserves its own blog--we already love this little boy, and Dave and Kelli will be able to sign the papers Friday, I hope hope hope!!) and gifts and the list goes on!!!

We are just dying to hold this little man in December...

More to come...S

Hong Kong

We went to Disneyland!! The first day we were here, we packed up the boys and lots of other stuff and headed to Disneyland, where it was all music and happiness and magic. And we loved it and enjoyed every second of being in Disneyland!! Jace slept for half the day, Luke loved the rides, the shows, everything!! It was a great day.

And we have been doing medical stuff ever since, it seems like...John and I both have stuff to be checked out so we'll be here longer than we first thought. But we are in a flat now and are no longer trying to stay out as long as possible to avoid going back to our teeny tiny hotel room with very little entertainment...

We got to go to a fellowship today that refreshed our minds and spirits, we went to Toys R Us, and we've eaten lots of "treats" since we've been here. It truly is the land of milk and honey in HK...

We'll be back home Wednesday or Thursday, and we'll be back in the thick of things. Yay!! We're ready to be back in life with people . Our friend who is a new brother is moving to our city, and we're excited to hang out with him more regularly...It's exciting to think about going back to spend time with friends who are also brothers/sisters!

The Father is good!

PS We don't have any pictures of us at D-land, but here's my favorite from this summer!

back home

We are home!!  And it is hot and humid, but it's just so nice to be home.  Luke has loved playing with his toys and Jace is getting back on a schedule.  We've been swimming something like 5 times in 2 weeks, and we'll probably go again today or tomorrow to the pool in our apartment complex.  It's a great place to be!!

We will start classes in September again, and before that, we want to go to Hong Kong to do some things like go to the dentist and doctor and go to Disneyland!!  We heard it's a Disneyland that's much more for smaller kids, so we'll take Luke while he'll enjoy everything, and then we'll do something fun with Jace when he gets a bit bigger (maybe Disneyland again).  We are so excited.  Luke keeps asking to go to "Candyland" tomorrow (meaning Disneyland)...

It will be nice to come back and be in a routine for the next three months, as well!  One more semester of language classes--hitting it hard, and then the language test...and then we get to have Christmas with our families!!

a month and a half in the mountains...

We have been in the mountains for a month and a half, and we have loved every minute of it.  Johnny works from about 7:30 AM to midnight every day, but he loves talking to the people and taking care of everyone who comes to stay here at the hostel.  He has folded lots of sheets and made some really fun friends.  Shannon makes dinner a couple of times a week for all the guests, and gets to take the boys to town almost every day, which is also so fun.  We have met some of our specific people, and we have loved seeing dozens of them every time we go down to town (the hostel is on the side of the mountain).

We also got to travel north a little to one of our towns.  Johnny has visited before.  Not Shannon.  We all fell in love with the area.  The houses are so cool!!  Lots of them are built with watchtowers attached to the actual house.  Such a cool place with lots and lots of history.  

Now we're dreaming of what things might look like for us after we return from the states.  We have a lot to learn about while we're there, if we're going to do everything we hope to do next year at this time :).

waiting

We still aren't in the mountains--we had to wait for the car we are taking to be fixed.  So, we're hoping to go tomorrow, but, really, we don't know when we'll get to go!!  So, we've rested the past couple of days, and taken the time under the radar (everyone thinks we've already gone) to get some things done that have been on the back-burner.  It's given us time to deal with complaints from our downstairs neighbor who thinks our air conditioner is really loud, and we actually got a text yesterday from a former student who wants to have dinner tonight, so we feel excited that we are actually able to have dinner with her!

Waiting seems to be the theme for us this year--it's hard for me to wait around and not have lots of things to do, but it seems to be what the Father is giving us as we have been forced to wait to go to the mts.  It's been good to just be and rest in preparation for a busy summer!

We got a break from the hot weather yesterday, and it was wonderful to walk around our favorite spot--we had a local meal and then ate Dairy Queen for dessert.  It was such a nice night!!  We felt like we got to provide lots of people with entertainment while we sat outside to eat DQ.  I think about 60 people stopped to look at Jace while he slept next to us while we ate.  It was fun!

We'll update when we get to the hostel...

off to the mountains...

We have been to the airport 4 times this week, and we have had a blast welcoming friends to CD!!  Some friends are returning from several months in the states, and we are so glad they are back!!  

We have a few more friends to visit and then we head out on Sunday for the mountains--we have so much to do before then, but we are excited!!  We have heard the hostel has been packed out and we are so happy for our friends that it's packed out, but we are a little nervous about how it will look for our family...We really hope to be able to travel from there at least one time to an area that has our people.

Jace will be 5 months on Monday, and Luke is officially potty trained.  We are so proud of our boys!!  We just welcomed 2 other little boys (twins) who we think will be good friends with Jace--all the other babies born around the time he was born are girls ;).  

It's also down to 6 months until we leave for the states.  There is a lot happening between now and then, but I'm really getting excited to go see everyone!

Kicking off our blog!

We finally decided to join the blogging world, hoping that this will be one way to more easily communicate with everyone we love so dearly.

We just moved into a new apartment and we are loving it.  It has a nice amount of space and plenty of room for visitors!! 

Right now, Johnny is down south taking his language test--so hopefully after this weekend, his test will be behind, and then we can go and work at a hostel in the mountains with no worries!!  We will be out in the mountains for 2 months, and we are really excited because last time we were there, we saw lots of our favorite people!!!

In the meantime, we're hoping to hang out with all our friends here in town this week, go to a high school graduation, and hang with a friend who is coming from the states.  We also hope to hang at the pool one day before we head to the mountains (our apt complex has a pool that's supposed to open on Monday :), ). Summer is here, and we are so excited!

Really, we want to post new pictures...