Life is getting back to normal...I think

I am finally starting to feel like we are getting back into a routine around here. When I walked into my new home two and half weeks ago and there were boxes everywhere and new responsibilities to take on I admit I was a little overwhelmed. I have almost finished unpacking all the boxes in all of our bed rooms but John's office looks pretty sad right now. It is becoming the "I'm not sure what to do with this yet" place to put things. I'm sure it doesn't create a very good work environment.

Kayleigh is doing well. She is doing well in pre-school. She doesn't cry when we drop her off but cries when we pick her up. We think that she really likes going and wants to go but by the three hour mark her little brain is fried from hearing a second language. Also, she doesn't like the soup that they made her eat! Her class spends time everyday singing as their teacher plays the piano. This is perfect for her since she LOVES music. We feel like it was a really sweet thing for the Lord to place her in a school that has lots of music. She also is constantly saying funny things which I should write down so I can tell her when she is older. For instance today she told me "Momma I like chocolate today". This was her way of asking for a donut. The thing is she loves chocolate everyday!

Today I took Zeb to buy shoes. I brought shoes from America but his feet seemed to grow two sizes in the last two weeks we have been here so the shoes I brought were too small. During that time he crawled all over me and knocked me on the floor while I was trying to listen in a second language about which shoes would be best for him. He of course was not going to sit quietly while I looked for shoes and even tore some part of the cardboard off a box which contained a car that I was trying to use to distract him. I think it is safe to say he is a true boy and is not a fan of shoe shopping. We did end up with a pair of shoes after the lady told me his foot was too fat for the pair I liked and he needed the other pair I picked out.

So life is just passing along here and we are doing great.

Discussions about PaPa

Now that we are back in Asia we talk to my parents and John's parents about once a week on the web cam. My computer sits near our kitchen table so recently when Zeb sees it during meal times he points to it and says "PaPa". That is what he calls my dad. He apparently thinks that my dad "lives" in there and if I open it up he will suddenly appear. Kayleigh then suggests we call him. This starts a discussion on what Papa is doing at the time. I usually have to explain that he is sleeping and that we can not call him at 12am at night or that he is driving to work and he won't be home. It is a lot to grasp for a three year old to think that when she is getting up her grandparents are preparing for bed. We had a lot of discussions about the time difference when we were apart. Now when we call our parents Kayleigh insists on seeing their windows to see if it is dark outside or not. So every meal time I am prepared to go through the Papa discussion just one more time.

Zeb's Helmet Graduation Party

Here is a little video during Zeb's Helmet Graduation Party. Hope you enjoy it!

Zeb's Graduation Day!

Tuesday was a busy day for us. Not only did Kayleigh start school but it was the final day that Zeb could wear his helmet. We decided to have a little graduation party for him to celebrate God's goodness in healing his head and the fact that Zeb had such a good spirit through the whole process. We invited Kayleigh and Zeb's friends over to have cupcakes. We sang Happy Graduation to the tune of Happy Birthday and then the kids devoured the cupcakes. It was a fun little party. We are still getting used to him without the helmet. Just this morning he said "momma" and then pointed to his head. I think he actually misses it a little. On a funny note, since we took off the helmet he has started to walk around the house by himself. Did the helmet effect his balance??? Who knows??!

Here is a before pictures just in case you forgot what he looked like with it on. He loves to use this bear as a recliner!

Digging into his cupcake! Notice the icing is all gone!

Kayleigh's First Day of School

Kayleigh went to school for the first time today! We have been talking to her about starting Chinese preschool for a while. We were able to go and visit her school and see some of the classrooms before she started. She woke up this morning and asked me if today was the day she went to school. She was so excited! She loves to wear flip flops but I had explained to her that she needed to wear tennis shoes because she was going to play on the playground each morning. Well, of course on her first day it was pouring down rain and they didn't get to go outside. She is hoping for a chance to play outside on Thursday. When John dropped her off she didn't cry. He said that she seemed a little shocked not to see any white faces in the room but walked on in anyways. When I went to pick her up from school they were still eating lunch. She asked John if she could come back again! The teachers said she did great. She talked about the teachers playing the piano and singing Chinese songs. She also said that they had little sinks that she could reach and wash her hands. This must have made an impression on her. We feel like she is growing up so fast. We are so excited that she is enjoying her school and will hopefully learn the language so she can communicate with her friends.

Reunited!

After two weeks and five days to be exact our little family of four was reunited. It was a hard two weeks apart but God was good and sustained us. John had plenty of people helping him with Kayleigh and plenty of meals. I am pretty sure they did not go hungry. Zeb and I had a good trip back to China. When I first landed in Atlanta and found out that the seat that John and I reserved for me, which had a nice space to lie Zeb down in, was changed to bulkhead I got really nervous. I promptly showed the attendants that my 26 pound son was not going to fit in one of their bassinets! They agreed and found me a seat with an empty seat next to it on the plane! God is so good. I had so many people praying that the trip would go smooth and it did. Zeb ended up sleeping the last 6 hours of the flight! He did well and only cried a little. I was so thankful. Zeb was so excited to see his daddy at the airport. Security let me stroll him out to John while I got the luggage. The next morning when Kayleigh woke up she was so surprised to see me. She was dying to wake up Zeb. I have a awesome video of her waking him up in the morning but I can't get it to upload on our stone age internet! You will have to trust me that it was a very sweet reunion. I think Zeb and I are finally over jet lag and getting settled back into our way of life here. I'm excited to be back and to be in a new place but most importantly I'm glad to be reunited with John and Kayleigh.