China Training Night

It was Robert’s birthday. David sang the birthday song for Robert as soon as he opened his eyes. I wish my eyes were cameras so that they could catch and keep all the vivid images of my husband each every morning. Before that invention, they had only to be stored in my heart prints … forever.

The student in Shihezi University in my home town emailed that she was so glad to see our wedding pictures. That was the first western wedding pictures she’s ever seen. David and I met her while we were on the university campus last summer. Her major was Russian. But she can communicate well in English too. She asked many questions about our life and experiences in America. We thought it was a great opportunity to reach out to her.

I opened the box Amy delivered to us. It was a box of baby magazines and other stuff! Fang gave us the same baby magazines too. It seems like American Baby is the most popular one. I can’t wait to read all of them. Before the mail man left the mail room, I dropped off the subscription for American Baby magazine.

During the lunch hour, I went home and put the marinated ribs into the over of 250 degree. By the time we came home from work, the delicious smell filled every corner of the house. David made the BBQ beans and the vegetable pancakes. I made the Asian salad and the orange cake. We had planned to make the potato salad. But I saw the potato skins turned green. They were toxic already. So I threw them away. Leslie, Donna, Mary and Ted came at 7:00pm. We had a great dinner together. Everyone liked the ribs and the vegetable pancakes. The Asian salad was still David’s favorite. We moved over to watch the China trip training DVDs after the dinner. All the reading sessions on the DVD tonight were acted by David and me (recorded back in September last year). It was wired to watch ourselves acting in the DVDs. We decided to meet two more times before the trip. After we finished the training, I was too tired to clean up the kitchen. Bobbie had asked me to take the prune juice before bed to improve the constipation and heartburn. I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

Running Errands

Heidi called at 11:00am to have lunch together. She dropped by my office by 11:35am. We went to a Chinese restaurant 3-6-9 BBQ for lunch. I haven't seen Heidi for a long time. She's been busy with her work and study. As soon as she finished her CPA exams yesterday, she was ready to eat out with me. We caught up with the news in each other's lives. She was so excited that she will be an aunt soon! "Changes" was the only word that describes our lives the best.

David came home a little later than usual because Dad met him and dropped off a box from Amy. I came home late too because several co-workers asked about the pregnancy on my way home. We decided to eat out, pick up the laundry and shop for the grocery tonight. Eric called while we were picking up the clothes. He just finished feeding the homeless at downtown area. David and I stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. We both loved the noodle dishes there. Right after we sat down, Hollis' wife Amy called. She just had a major surgery and stayed at home. We were very happy to hear from her. She heard about our baby news and wanted to share her joy.

It was 8:30pm after we finished the grocery shopping. David called Sue because she emailed us that her blood test didn't come out with good results. We appreciate her caring for us although she is struggling with her health each day. David and I prepared for the dinner for the China trip training at our house tomorrow night. We are going to have ribs, potato, beans, and vegetable cakes! I was tired after all the preparation and went to bed right at 10:00pm.

Blessed Sunday

Robert's Birthday is coming. We thought about what to do for him. But we will be busy on Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night. Finally we decided to give him a gift card at his favorite restaurant.

Our baby news spreaded very fast on Sunday. Everyone asked about our China trip. We had to explain that we cancelled it and we are expecting our baby. It was a joy to see the big smiles and experience warm hugs from everyone. All the people sitting in front of us, besides us, and behind us knew the news. All the single friends heard about it. And most of the Friendspeak workers and our Sunday class got the news. Paul came over and said Tuesday night Bible study at George's house prayed for us. Everyone we saw began to ask me how I was feeling. We were so blessed! We were also happy to know that Debra and Lance found their new house in McKinney. They will move in next weekend.

Maggie didn't come to Friendspeak. Hongyu couldn't come either. Both David and I studied with two new comers. I enjoyed reading with Casey very much. She came from Shan Dong province, where Heidi and Xuan came from. Xuan and Dawn happened to sit next to us. I introduced them. They became friends instantly. Since it was the first session for Casey, I told her about the structure of the Bible, the authors of the books we were going to read, etc. She was so excited when I gave her an Easy-to-read Bible. David had a great time with his new reader too. We both wished we could continue to study with them, but I guess both Maggie and Hongyu will come back next week... We didn't catch Robert and Gail for the Birthday gift. On the way home, we saw their car in church parking lot. David put the gift back on the front hood. Hope they would see it when they came out of the church.

We dropped by Owana's house and gave her the DVD. She gave us some pecans. We were very glad to hear that someone is going to come over to mow the lawn tomorrow. Otherwise, David and I were thinking to do that for her - the grass was out of control already. While we were standing outside, Bill's dog came to the front fence waggling his tail. David had pity on him: He must miss Bill badly ...

Another Day To Rest

We met Brian and Shawnda for a late lunch at Angiono's at The Colony. We told them the baby news. I liked the taco and the hot sauce we had. No wonder it was Brian and Kendall's favorite place to eat.

I rested for the whole afternoon. It was a long nap. I had no idea that David came in three times to check on me. After dinner, we wanted to go shopping at the mall. We went to the Motherhood Maternity and bought a couple of shirts. It was a good exercise for me.

I've been sleeping with the body pillow these days. I feel better with it. But not completely comfortable since the two sides were too thick for me. David gave me an idea of taking some of the stuff out of the pillow case. I will try that!

David and I had our first water melon this year. It was so sweet and juicy! We totally loved it.

A Long Friday

Last Sunday Maggie and I studied the cruxifiction of Jesus. She's finished the book of Luke, Acts. Now she is close to the end of John. I figured she has some basic knowledge about the life of Jesus. This week, I'd like to find some material to support Jesus' death and resurrection was predicted and part of God's will. In my mind I always thought Isaiah 53 is the chapter that talked this most. But after my reading, I found out so much more in Psalms. I couldn't wait for Maggie to read my handout this Sunday.

Barbara Cooper from church office called that Owana wanted a video copy of our wedding. I promised to make one for her. Later on Bobbie called to check on me. She was so caring and sweet. I just broke the news in the office. Everyone came over to hug me and congratulate. So I don't have to talk about my pregnancy with a low voice any more. My manager was so nice to let me go home early if I don't feel well. I think I'm feeling better than a couple of weeks ago. The only things bother me now are heart-burn and constipation. These too will be temporary! David is still taking excellent care of me and the baby. If there is a "Best Husband" ribbon, he sure deserves one!

We had planned to go to Mark Wood's surprise birthday party. But it turned out Mark was out of town. So we met Fred and Fang at Cici's after dinner. It was great talking to them. Fang loaded us with tons of baby information. They gave us some baby essentials, a heartbeat doppler, and a baby monitor. David went to the breakfast with guys early this morning. By the time we got home, we both were tired.

Dad's visit and Accountability meeting

Fang called in the morning that all the rice and wheat products raised high prices. I haven't done grocery shopping for a long time. So that was news for me. David has been taken care of the grocery. I mentioned one day that Kiwi has more vitamins and minerals than apple and grape. He bought some kiwis from Kroger right away! I was so moved by his thoughtfulness.

Due to the back pain and the swellness of my leg, I tried to walk around after sitting for about an hour. While I was taking the routine walk in the other side of the building, a guy walked by me. He smiled and asked, "Are you Wendy?" I said yes. He said he heard of me from Amy and Wes. His name is Jeff from Greenville Oaks Church of Christ. He was in the same small group as the Wilson's. I asked whether he know Lori and Billy. He did but not very well. I was glad to meet someone in the office who goes to the same church as my friends. I asked him to say Hi to Amy and Wes when they meet again.

Dad came in the afternoon. David went home to open the door. I had half an hour before the accountability group meeting. So I dropped by the house after work. We left the house at the same time. David and Dad went to have the dinner at Fish on Fire. I met the girls at Corner Bakery. Kyri pulled her nerve on the neck so she didn't make it to the meeting. We were happy to see Melissa back. Her little Jason was born a few days before Chloe and he experienced the same thing as Chloe. I broke the news of the baby. All the girls were so happy! The topic of the night turned to Baby things naturally. We didn't start our goals until 9:00pm! Angela was so sweet to remember my birthday and Dawn's birthday. She gave me a recipe organizer and a iTune gift card. I can't wait to use them!

When I went home, David and Dad were in the front yard. They had a great time. Dad told me that when he arrived, a UPS driver just delivered a box from Target. It was the body pillow I ordered from Target with our gift card. I opened it right away. David enjoyed so much playing the light music recently. I told him he could play at the foyer in the 5-star hotel! I mean it. He played so beautiful! He said he wanted to write down the notes and compose some Christian songs. That would be great!

In The Begining

Cathy sent an email about the wedding picture album. They had visited the studio in Beijing and picked a package for themselves. But the price for our album is 10 times more expensive than what the studio originally quoted because we didn't take the pictures at the studio. David and I decided to do the album later, when we have time to shop around in Beijing. It's just expensive to try it without knowing what the album would look like. Cathy said Annabelle and Richard's mom were sick in Beijing. They've been to the hospitals twice already! I can imagine the hassle of taking care of two sick people at a place far from home. I pray that they will be healthy and have fun for the rest of the vacation!

The hospital bill came in. That reminded me of my medical insurance. When I picked my insurance, I thought I would only see the doctor once or twice a year for checkups. But now, things changed. I hope there is a way to change my plan, although it's not very likely.

David's reader couldn't come to the Friendspeak. We decided to go to the IMPACT fellowship across the street from us. Matt Martza just started the series on God's creation. The video was very short, but very powerful! It was my first time (David saw it before) to hear the voices of the astronauts in Apollo 8th reading Genesis 1 across the space to the whole world!!! They were the smartest of the scientists and all they could say and do when they were in the space was to read Genesis 1 on God's creation! In the begining, God created the heavens and the earth ... My eyes were in tears! Our God is great!

After the class, David and I talked about using movies and videos in our Friendspeak teaching. We talked about that before. But we'd really like to implement that soon! Video + Text are powerful! David said that we are all farmers with unlimited supply of the seeds from God. We either plant the seeds or water the plant. Farmers are our occupation! I have seen how much David enjoys the vegetable garden; And I saw how much he enjoys farming on people. He is a good farmer!

Sick Day

I didn't sleep well last night because of the stomach pain. I figured maybe it was because I took in too much acid from the dinner: tomato in the cabbage dish, tomato noodle ring soup, and the orange juice. That just added to the heartburn and constipation problems I already had. David made the breakfast as usual. I ate all of them plus the rice soup. The stomach didn't get much better. So I called the office and took a sick day.

I stayed in bed for most of the time. But I could tell it was beautiful outside. I was tempted to open the windows to let a little more light and the fresh air into the house. But one side of the neighbors was doing some carpenter work in the yard. The noise dismissed the idea of opening the window. Actually I had to close the door of the bedroom to block some of the noise. Around 10:00am, the other side of the neighnors dropped by to fix the sprinkler head in our front yard. He didn't expect to see me at home. I was very thankful that he replaced the sprinkler head without any labor charge.

I got up at 3:30pm and began to cook. I was very encouraged that David liked the healthy vegetable dishes. We took a nice walk after dinner. David continued working on the vegetable garden. He bought more hardware from Lowes to divide the grass and the vegetable areas. I stayed in and read for a while. Robert Stolte called David that Gene Vance will be out of the town for a couple of weeks. He was looking for someone who can substitue Gene to teach the International class while he is gone. I told David that he can do that! I know he can! The stomach pain was gone by the end of the day. We thanked God for His healing power and for meeting all of our needs!

Food and Teeth

I got up a little bit early this morning. I called my sister in China. She will buy a radiation proof dress, a couple of maternity dresses, and an early education CD for me. We talked about the food, especially MSG's effect on people. She said more and more Chinese take MSG out of their diet now. But in restaurants and food stores, it's still difficult to find one without MSG. I didn't realize what MSG could do to people until I read this article from an interview: http://www.naturalnews.com/z020550.html Then I opened my freezer and looked at the ingredients of my favorit dumplins, vegetable buns, etc. All of them has MSG! When I told her that I have a dental appointment tomorrow. She said many pregnant women in China avoid seeing the dentist during the pregnancy. I did some research afterwards. The experts said dental cleaning is very important for pregant women since it's easier to accumulate plaque during pregnancy and any gum infection could lead to preterm or small baby. But they recommend to do the teeth cleaning during the second trimester. So I rescheduled the teeth cleaning to June. Now I'll have to be more diligient in brushing and flossing every day!

David worked on the garden after dinner. He enjoyed it so much! All the vegetable plants were moved from the cups to the garden area. They looked very healthy! After that, we went to the Plano library to return some Chinese books and renew one that David liked the most. Later that night, I thought about Owana. How can we let an eight-year-old lady to mow a big yard full of tall grasses! I wouldn't let my grandparent to do that, not to say someone who just lost her husband. David and I came up an idea to ask friends to pitch in and hire someone to mow her lawn. Hope it won't take long to carry out that idea!

Busy Sunday

David and I got to church a few minutes early. We met the Romanian family who are going to treat the son in Dallas. They live with Gayla and David right now. The son was in the wheel chair. He went to the Children's class with Gayla. His parents and other relatives came with us to the International Bible class. We enjoyed having them in the class.

Before the class started, I ran to the fellowship hall to give Alice the gift I had for her. Phil and Rebecca waved at me. Their Moscow team was here. I wished I had time to meet everyone before they headed out to Searcher's class. The David (Nelson) we met before came over and said:" I want you to meet my wife. Maybe we can visit after church." Unfortunately, we didn't have time to talk to them after church. Robert and Gail had invited us for lunch at their house. We had a delicious lunch: chicken, salad, corn, broccoli, biscuit, and apple pie. David worked on Robert's speaker for a while. We had to leave to visit Owana at 3:00pm. Owana looked great. She still exuded elegance in her face and voice. David noticed that her lawn needed to be mowed. It definitely wasn't her priority yet. We had to run for the China meeting with Gary and Danita. During the meeting, we told them that we wanted to postpone our trip. I was almost pursuaded to change my mind. But I thought about the pros and cons list I had and sticked to the decision. It was hard to do that. I know it was especially hard for David. Later on, we talked about "living in fear v.s. living in faith". I found it hard to apply my faith in this situation.

Before our meeting was finished, our readers already showed up. We started FriendSpeak right away. Maggie asked me:"Why did Jesus say that 'you didn't choose me. But I chose you'?" "What did Jesus mean when he said 'the Father is in me and I'm in Him'?" We had a great discussion on prayers afterwards. George said someone was looking for me and David. I thought it must be Heidi's boy friend Hongying. He planned to visit Friendspeak today. But we didn't see him. I hoped he didn't leave because we were busy. Igor and Natasha dropped by and gave David a Russian chocolate that someone asked them to take to David. Bobbie and Ling came over to talk. It was nice to see them holding hands all the time. Bobbie is great with her readers! They encouraged me to eat well and rest well.

We had dinner with Ted and Mary at Taco Bueno. They were very excited about the China trip. Maybe they will go with us to China again next year.

Relaxed Saturday

(David is studying Chinese Characters ...) (David is working in the vegetable garden)

Friday night, David and I went to Costco and had dinner at Cici's. We haven't been there for a long time. We loved the salad and the vegetable pizza there. Saturday morning, we began to tell our teammates about our decision to postpone the China trip. David did all the hard job of calling everyone. On one hand, we were glad that all the rest of the team will still go. On the other hand, we were sad that we are going to miss it. Like David said, sometimes good decisions are not fun at all.

We stayed at home for the whole day. David planted the vegetables into the garden area in the backyard. He also unpacked some boxes in the garage. We burned a DVD of our wedding pictures for Owana afterwards. By the dinner time, David said he wanted to take me out of the house. We went to the mall, had dinner at the food court, and watched a movie after that. We walked out of the first movie "Expelled" and walked into a cartoon "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! " It was a light-hearted movie. I loved hearing the kids' giggling and laughing from the backrow. On the way home, we bumped into Kathy. She was picking up a book she reserved. She is going to Mexico for a vacation the builder paid for her since she sold two houses for the builder. She is doing great! We thought about Richard and Cathy. They are on the plane to China now. We wished we could be on the plane!

It's Friday!

Every time when I thought about the China trip, tears began to well up. I called Bobbie: She is experienced and smart. She knows David and me and she knows the trip. Maybe she can give me some advice. Bobbie's reaction affirmed me:" Darling, you're making the absolutely right decision. I wish I thought as you do when I was young." Well, I think I need to put this issue aside now. Decision has been made.

DG told us last Sunday that Louella fell and had some complications. I called her after lunch. She was getting ready to see a doctor who might make the things much better for her. She asked me how I was doing. I told her about the baby. She screamed with joy! She was so happy to hear the news.

Cathy called that she and Richard and Annabelle are going to China tomorrow. She asked whether we need anything. I told her about our changed plan. She encouraged me to stay and rest as well. Fang called in the afternoon that she wanted to re-schedule the dinner with us tonight since Evan had a fever. Fred didn't want Evan to pass the fever to me. I was so thankful that they think for me all the time.

I really enjoyed walking after dinner. Last night David and I walked around our neighborhood. It felt so good. The clouds looked like the fish tummy or the fresh buns. The bunny jumped around the bushes. Several people were walking their dogs. David and I met an old Chinese couple with their two years old grandson two street down from us. They came from a farm in HeBei province a month ago. We enjoyed talking with them and their muslim neighbor. It was funny that when that old guy said to us:" I am a muslim." David replied back right away:"I'm a Christian." The muslim guy said:" You look like a good man."

I brought the big Utz Club Mix snack to the office this morning. Nobody in our house eats them. I had no idea how popular it was in the office! Half of them were gone by the end of the day. I don't think the rest of them will survive to the end of next week. Now I know this, if we want to clean the snack out of our house, the office is the way!

Reaching Decision

David and I are so thankful that my back pain was gone! Ever since I made the appointment with Hal, the sharp back pain never came back again. So I cancelled the appointment thinking that the less I do to my body at this time, the better. When bigger discomfort is gone, the smaller one becomes noticeable. My left leg feels swelling. I can see the blood veins almost jump out of the skin. Although I have an empty box under my desk to put my feet up occassionally, I still manage to stand up and walk for 5 minutes every hour. Luckily, I can eat - a lot! I like everything. The only thing is my stomach always feels full, which makes me feel miserable sometimes after a meal.

I'm trying to make decisions for the China trip. I asked everyone I talked to the same question:" What is your advice?" Without exceptions, every one of them answered:" Postpone it!" The last person I talked to who also helped me to make the decision was Fang. She helped me to list the pros and cons of the trip. Here are the pros of the trip:

* It's a long looking forward trip. Well planned and trained. Lots of things to report and experience;
* We'll have opportunity to learn from Gary and Danita and have a life-changing experience
* We will have wonderful time to bond with our teammates
* We will have opportunity to reach out and influence others, locals.
* We will not waste our tickets
* We will not disappoint the missionaries, our teammates, ourselves and others

Now the cons of the trip:

* Environment/daily living changes that add stress to my body.
* Possible sickness (long flight, flu, infection, etc.) while I can't take any medicine at this time
* Food and air: we may eat out 90% of time, which we had little control of what we eat (MSG, bacteria, etc.) I still remember the sickness David and I had last summer because of the food we ate. The air pollution and public hygen is much worse.
* Busy schedule: reading with readers, meeting with local Christians, planning with teammates, sightseeing, catching the flights, etc. All these add stress.
* Doctor and hospital: no family doctor. Impersonal service, crowded and long wait. There is no way to ask the doctor about the abnormality I may experience.
* Taxi: the driver stops and goes very fast. Average taxi driver has at least dozens of passengers every day. The germs in the car can easily affect the pregant woman whose immune system is the weakest.
* Possible life-long consequences: what if something happens? Will I regret? The first pregnancy usually sets patterns for the future. Now I'm in the high risk group.
* Miss this opportunity. But we can go next time. What's more, I'll have vacation to use if I have to bed rest later.

Normally I won't take into account any of these cons. But with a delicate baby and weak immune system, Fang encouraged me to think over it. David and I are so grateful for all of our family and friends who concern about us earnestly. After dinner, we talked over it and decided to postpone our trip. David was so supportive and loving. I know what the trip means to him and to me. I couldn't help crying: I hate to change our plan. I don't want to disappoint ourselves and our friends. Almost all of our teammates go because we planned to go. They are depending on us! I felt like we abandoned them. I felt like our long-expected dream is falling apart. But I know this is the best for our baby. If I go and end up being sick, the whole team will be affected too. I just pray that God will use us effectively each day regardless where we are and HE will guide the rest of the teammates throughout the trip! Trust is the word of the day!

Divine Protection

Today is one of the days that worries got better of me. When I had free time during the day, I read some articles on pregnancy safety. There are so many potential dangers that can hurt the unborn baby. All kinds of infections, sickness, radiation, stress, environment ... just name a few! I was a little overwhelmed. All of my family members in China don't want me to take the trip next month. I talked to a long term friend in Beijing. She too strongly suggested me to cancel the trip - for the sake of the baby. I prayed everyday for God's divine protection, that God will protect our baby, watch over him/her, and give us wisdom in everything we do!

David had Friendspeak tonight. Claudia called me during the day that she wants me to lead the study with Maggie. I told her that I will but I may not be able to make it to Friendspeak on Wednesdays consistantly. I haven't told her about the baby yet. After work, I cooked some vegetable and beef since the baby needs blood supply now. I was very full. But I felt well enough to take a twenty minute walk in the gentle breeze. It was nice to walk through our neighborhood and look at each different house and their unique landscape. I need to walk every day starting today - I thought.

I had some time to read. The devotional I read tonight happened to be the divine protection. Ruth 2:9 "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn." It talked about a story that an Alpine mountain climbing team came to a perilous gap in the ice. The only way to get across was to step into the outstretched hands of the guide who had met them on the other side. The first climber hesitated a moment as he looked into the gloomy depths below, where he would certainly fall to his death if anything went wrong. Seeing his hesitancy, the guide said, "Don't worry. In all my years as a guide, my hands have never yet lost a man!"

With this same assurance, Ruth placed herself in Boaz's hands. God provided someone who would protect her. Boaz took steps to keep her morally safe by commanding the young men not to touch her. He also provided for her physical protection. Under the hot Mediterranean sun, the danger of heat stroke was a very real possibility. But his young men brought jars of water to the field, and Ruth was free to refresh herself whenever she wanted. In Boaz, Ruth found a safe haven from the dangers around her.

God offers the same to all His children. There is never a moment when we are excluded from His divine protection. That does not mean we can never be hurt. It doesn't mean we will never die. But God's divine protection extends to our ultimate safety—the protection of our souls. These can never be harmed. They are safe in the care of Jesus. Rejoice in God's divine protection. Be confident that you are safe in His care, no matter how difficult your circumstances might be. God is the keeper of your soul. Life can hurt us but it cannot ultimately harm us.

What Are You Going To Be

We are entering the 10th week. From the website, we read that the baby is a little over an inch long and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce. He/she has now completed the most critical portion of the development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her/his body rapidly grow and mature. The baby is swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm although I can't feel much. Vital organs — including her/his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout the pregnancy. If you could take a peek inside the womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin. In other developments: The baby's limbs can bend now. Her/His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over the heart, and her/his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his/her spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from the spinal cord. The baby's forehead temporarily bulges with the developing brain and sits very high on his/her head, which measures half the length of the body. In the coming weeks, the baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

David and I are always full of wonder every time we read about the growth of the baby. That alone can take all the anxiety away! This morning, after we woke up, David put his face close to the baby and spoke gently to the baby:" Hi Baby, are you a boy or a girl? Your hands can bend over and meet at your heart now. What are you going to do with your hands in the future? Are they going to direct an orchestra? Or write computer programs? Or hold other babies and touch the old people? Or One of them holds the Bible, and the other is in the air? Or diagnose and subscribe to the sick people? ..." Whatever the hands will do, it will be great!

We read more on Internet about the back pain. Some articles suggested seeing a chiropractor. David and I thought of our marriage mentor in the premarital class Hal. I called my doctor and got his approval before I made an appointment with Hal. David and I were very thankful that we have trusted doctors to go to and we got an appointment immediately on Thursday.

Jerry and His Parents

David’s reader Jerry’s parents invited us to have dinner at their house Monday night. David asked me whether I was up to it (physically). I said “I’m always up to good food”. Jerry’s parents work for the Shanghai restaurant. His dad is the head chef there for many years. I read with his mom Yunny for a few weeks until she stopped coming to Friendspeak due to the work schedule. We were very excited about knowing more about them and enjoying a wonderful meal.
They live right across from church. We got to their house by 6:30pm. The aroma of delicious food was already full of the house. We didn’t know how many dishes they cooked – our big dining table didn’t have enough space for them! David and I “Hmm”ed every dish. They not only looked picture-perfect, but also taste heavenly! Jerry said it was his first time to eat some of the dishes. His dad gave us the best dishes that he only made for special occasion. Wished I had a picture of them – but I thought it might be rude to take a picture of the food we ate. All the vivid images were deposited in our memory …

Jerry’s parents are good communicators. They were impressed by David’s Chinese. I was too! We talked to Jerry in English. But his parents don’t speak English at all. They told us how much Jerry liked David; how Jerry’s dad was baptized on the second day he arrived at America; how they wished Jerry could go to church with us … I was touched by their simplicity and genuine spirit. They didn’t have many friends. David was the first American they invited to the dinner at their house. We were so happy that they shared their life with us. Later at dinner, David and I shared with them the baby news. They were thrilled for us. They said: “The baby is the blessing from God. Don’t worry! It will be smooth.” Jerry’s mom told us that she had four miscarriages before and how she finally had Jerry. Her advice greatly encouraged me and David. She told me whatever I wanted to eat, if I let Jerry know, his dad will cook for me. That was very nice of them to offer that! Jerry's dad taught me some tricks to make the Chinese sauce at home. By 9:15pm, David told them the baby and mom needed to rest now and my back started to ache. We said good bye to this lovely family.

On the way, David and I found out we’ve been searching for a girl’s name today simultaneously. He had a list of names in his wallet; I had a list of names in my purse. He liked the names ending with “ie” and I liked the names ending with “la”. We were going to put the list on the website and rank them to come up a name for our baby if it’s a girl.

Tokyo One

We saw Robert and Gail before class. They gave us a quick update on Dr. Jack's funeral yesterday. They said it was a very emotional one. Bill Bledsoe, Dr. Jack's grandson Brian, and Don Barnett spoke. Don talked about how God rescued him many years ago from Lukemia and how he understood why now - God used him to take care of Dr. Jack's financial and living arrangement. David and I wished we could be there and hear those testimonies.

After the second service, John Barret invited us to have lunch at Tokyo One. Mary and Ted joined us too. Mark F. was the only person who doesn't care any Asian food at all. While we were all savioring the delicious food there, he just sat there. David thought it was rare for him just to show up in an Asian restaurant. I couldn't eat any Sushi during pregnancy. So all I ate were noodle soup, tariake meat, vegetable, and fruit. Both David and I voted the noodle soup as our favorite. Mary talked about the International Ministry. We decided to have a follow up meeting soon. David asked me what I wanted to start first for International Ministry. I said: improving communication among workers; having movie nights after Friendspeak; and setting up a repository of the people who sign up to help the International students in different ways.

The Friendspeak in the afternoon was busy as usual. Hongyu had to go to the airport. David picked up a new reader. He totally enjoyed reading with his new reader. Maggie had some questions about "Jesus washing the disciples' feet" and the Trinity. We had a good talk too. We told Bobbie about the baby. She was so smart and sweet that she guessed it already! I went to bed as soon as we came home from church. David studied some Chinese afterwards.

LST weekend (2)

We got up at 7:00 am and got to Arlington at 8:30am. The training just started. Everyone was already taking the personality test. David and I joined our team and caught up with the rest of the test. It was fun to know each person's personality and to know how to respond to them. Almost all of our team members had a high Inclusion score. After that, we had more training on budget, information meeting, etc. Leslie told us he worked to 4:00am this morning to get ready for the 4/15 tax deadline - he is a partner of an accounting firm.

During lunch time, we got a packet for our team. We were so glad that Leslie was local so that he could gave us some options on where to eat. We voted for Chili's. After we sat down at Chili's, we began to work on the assignment in the packet: talk about each person's weakness, difficulties, strenghth, etc. Time flew by. We didn't have time to do the optional assignment. But we got a lot out of the conversation we had during the lunch. In the afternoon, we paired up to do a 12 minute LST session. Donna from Garden Ridge asked me to be her partner. She was the team leader for their Beijing team in July. We had a great time during the practice. Afterwards, all the China teams went to a separate room to talk about the LST rules. Among these people was a teenager young girl. Her mom practiced with David. She told David that her daughter wanted to do LST in China. So she was tagged along. Her daughter led the youth devotional in their church!

We finished training by 4:30pm. We came home and rested for half an hour. It was time for the Alexander's party! We were so happy to see Lori and Billy, Dawn and Jerrod, Debra and Lance, of course, the host Amy and Nathan! Debra gave us the wedding gift - a quilt patched with our engagement and wedding pictures! That was such a personal and great gift! David and I were very thankful that she took her time to make it. It will be treasured for many many years! We had Mexican salad and fajita for dinner. Afterwards, we talked and played games. We had to leave when my back started to ache again. On the way home, David said he had such a wonderful time, from the moment we got there to the moment we left! We missed our friends and missed our good time together, especially after everybody got busy after marriage... We'll have to do that again some time in our house!

LST Weekend (1)

This Friday night, all of our China team members were required to attend the Let's Start Talking training in Arlington. The traffic was bad. But David and I had a minute to drive through Taco Bueno and got some burritos before the training started. It was great to see lots of people there. We met some new friends who are going to Beijing in July. We also saw many people we met before through Friendspeak retreat, or other LST functions. There were a number of people just to come over and say:"Hi, we saw you in the training video. Good job!" ... David and I were really suprised and encouraged by their reponses to the video because we just got the scripts when we got to the video place. We didn't have time to practice at all. It gave us a glimps how difficult an actor or actress' job is!

We signed in, got our LST T-shirts, and took a team picture. It was time for the real training. At around 9 o'clock, my backpain started again. David and I left for home. It was really encouraging to see over 50 teams there. Almost half of them are going to China: Beijing, Qingdao, Shantou, Xian, Guangzhou, etc. Most of them did LST in China before.

Titus 2 Women

Titus 2: 3-5 "teach what is good. 4Train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

Last night was the last Apple of Gold class. All the husbands were invited too. I went home to meet David for the class. To my surprise, he chopped down the two cider trees on both sides of the door already and put them with the broken tree branches. He did that by himself! We have talked about removing those two trees to make the entrance more open and clean. But we never got time to do it. I was so glad David did it! He took a shower and we were off to the Polk's house. We had a wonderful time there. We started with the snacks (corn and bean salsa, queso, chips, dipped vegetable). Then all the girls and guys were separated. Mary Kay gave the girls the lesson on hospitality. Alice gave the guys the lesson on table settings. The husbands joined the wives at 7:30pm for a group sharing on how to resolve marriage conflict, how to develop good relationship with your kids, what changes to make to make marriage better, etc. We got to hear the experience and advice from couples who had 35-45 years of good marriage. That was so encouraging! After class, we were ready for the dinner. The theme for tonight was Mexican food. The seats were not assigned. David said:" I wish we could sit with Jeremy, Brian, and a mentor couple." They were in the similar age group as us. I was surprised how things turned out. David and I were the first couple in the line. After our table was filled up, we ended up sitting with Jeremy and Rae, Brian and Kate, Amy and Wes, Linda and Gary. That was exactly what David wished before the meal! We enjoyed talking with everybody. After the dinner, I handed out the gifts for the mentors. They all loved it, especially with the apple (of gold) logo on the class picture. I'm so thankful for these wonderful ladies, for their willingness to share and to teach, for their great examples, for their giving spirit. They are true Titus 2 women who not only teach, but also live out their teaching!

David and I didn't get home until 10:30pm. On the way home, David said Alice corrected him a couple of times on table settings. She apologized for being hard on him. But he said to Alice with a smile:"My wife still loves me even I did wrong. Her love is unconditional ..." I was happy that he knows that! After we came home, David played piano for a few minutes. He always has tons of energy. And he is always excited about everyday. That's one of the many reasons why I love him so much. Since he has to get up early for the accountability breakfast tomorrow morning, we went to bed not long after.

(A side note: I start having backpain these days, especially from 2:00-6:00pm. I'll have to watch myself to have a break and stretch every half an hour. Many pregnant women have the similar experience. Hope it will be better soon!)

A Husband After God's Own Heart

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday at 1:30pm. David picked me up at my office at 1:15pm. We got there right on time. The doctor rolled the dopler device on my tummy and the fun part began. We tried to hear the heartbeat. But the baby seemed to be always moving. It was hard to hear it when the background noise was loud. I wished David could hear the heartbeat and see the baby. He was excited just hearing the baby moving! Well, I guess we'll have to wait until next time. Right in the middle of the doctor visit, a nurse popped in and told the doctor that some lady was waiting for him to deliver the baby! We ended the visit in a hurry. After the doctor's visit, we had performance review at work. I told my boss about my pregnancy. She was so excited!

David had two friendspeak students last night. I stayed at home waiting for the doctor to call back. He did right before eight o'clock. I really didn't have much to ask except some common discomfort caused by pregnancy. My friend Lynn called and gave me some advice on diet. When I told her that David went to the doctor's appointments with me and read those books our doctor gave us, she sighed that her husband only went to the doctor's office once when she had the first baby and none for the second baby. I thought what a difference a godly husband makes! David is a husband after God's heart. He does everything and more than I could ever ask for. Every time when he says I Love You, I reply with I Love You Too. And he replys back But I Love You More! I stop there. How can my love compete with his when he always asks me what he can do to make me feel better; when he makes delicious and nutritious breakfast for me while he just grab a bag of oatmeal for himself on the way to work; when he takes on all the responsibilities at home after a busy day at work and some extra time at church ... He not only loves God more, loves me more, but also loves other people more. He always tells me:"She needs a bear hug" or "He needs encouragement". Every day is wonderful being with him!!!

After David came back home, we talked about the arrangement after the baby is born. I was ready to stretch my back. So I got into bed early. When I woke up by the storm, David already rescued the plants from the backyard; moved and organized all the boxes in the garage so that we could park both cars inside! That was a lot of work for him! I was shocked when I saw the neatly piled boxes and the car in the garage before I went to work this morning. Luckily we didn't have much damage. Our fence leaned over. But it's still there. Six of our neighbors' fences were torn down. The tree branches were chopped down everywhere. Some of my co-workers even didn't make it to work. Some had to take care of their fence damage; some had to take their kids home because the school was closed; one side of EDS' building lost all the windows. A helicopter just flew by to take pictures of it ... Fang called to check on me. She said Fred is driving around to look for a place that he could use computers since the power of their house was still out. I'm wondering how our rental house is doing. Hope it is fine!

Meeting Our Neighbors

David and I have prayed to meet our neighbors in some ways. But we don't know how. Everyone seems to be busy doing his/her own things. Occassionally we saw a few neighbors and waved at them when they got ready to leave their house or when we just got home. But we never got chance to stop and talk. Today, after dinner, David and I were chatting at the dining table. Our door bell rang. David opened the door. It was our next door neighbor on the right hand. Her name is Julia. She came to tell us that her husband and she were going to tear down the fence and put up a new one. We got to talk for a few minutes. She was a nurse working with hundreds of pediatric doctors. She was very happy to know that I was pregnant. "Whenever you have baby questions, come see me!" David and I were very glad to meet her. My other side neighbor is what I call "the good neighbor" who takes care of my lawn for $15 a week. His name is Frank. He takes care of the landscape of HOA. He also fixed my sink, alarm, sprinkle system, and toilet problems without any labor charge. Not long ago, I met him in the post office. He told me that he was separated from his wife and move out. He said:" But you can still call me whenever you have problems. You have a brother if you let me be one." I was sad to lose a good neighbor. But I know he is a call away if David and I need him. We just wish we could meet more neighbors in our neighborhood.

When I was washing the dishes, David was cutting up the strawberries to make a fruit dessert. David said:" We need to prepare a baby room now. Todd said it's better to get the room ready two months before the due date. Maybe we can use the front sitting room as office and change the office into the baby room." I really like that idea. This way, we will be able to keep our two guest rooms and make better use of the front sitting room.

David began to study Chinese. I sat beside him to work on the picture frames that I was going to give to the Apple of Gold mentors. I found out the frames were too small for the pictures. David went out again to see whether he could print 3x5 pictures or find larger frames. But neither Walgreens nor Walmart could print smaller pictures. I had to work around what we got. It didn't turn out as what I wanted. But that is not bad. David did his best for this project. I really appreciate his help. It's our project!

Dr. Jack

David took such good care of me consistantly. Every morning when I woke up, the breakfast was ready. I'd be feeding on his love before I start the day. Last Friday morning was his accountability breakfast with the guys. I was suprised to see the breakfast on the table since he had to leave before 6:30am. He told me that he took a shorter shower that morning ... I love my husband more and more each every day. I never had to ask him to do anything. Most often he gave me more than I would ask or even think of. I pray that God will bless us a long life together - together as effective servants, and together as loving companions.

I got a call from Robert in the afternoon that Dr. Jack passed away. It was a shock to me, because David and I were just thinking about him and his wife Sunday night. His bright smiles were still fresh in my mind. His thumb was still buried in his Bible pages. His arms were still putting around his sick wife's shoulders ... David had a favorite picture of Dr. Jack reading his Bible while he waited for his Friendspeak reader to show up. His mind was so concentrated on the Word. Nobody could count how many medical mission trips he had participated. No wonder so many people love him so dearly: Robert and Gail, Don and Linda, DG and Louella, etc. What inspired me and David the most was his constant loving care for his wife as long as we've known him. He definitely set a standard for us to live up to.

I had some back pain today. After dinner, I rested in bed. David went out to print some pictures and buy some frames for my project. I wanted to give each mentor in Apple of Gold class a framed picture with every student's signature. I was so happy that David bought me the exact frames I wanted. I can't wait to work on them tomorrow!

Sabbath Day

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work..." (Ex. 20:8- 10).

David and I tried to rest on Sundays. Today David happened to study Genesis 2 with his reader Hongyu. So he did extra study on Sabbath: what Bible says about it and how we are to follow it. We enjoyed Bob's sermon on the different soils of the hearts. After the service, we got to talk to Eileen for a few minutes. Bill McDonough came over and told us about the opportunities in Cambodia. He asked David to help recruit some singles to go on the medical mission trips. We hurried over to the China town for the International Ministry meeting. Robert, Brenda, and Andrea were there already. Ted and Mary followed us. We had a wonderful meal at the Chinese restaurant and talked about the ideas on how to expand the International ministry. I loved it when we have a meeting at a Chinese restaurant! David joked:" our mission field is right here - everyone in this restaurant is International!"

We bumped into Peggy, a Friendspeak student, in the Chinese grocery store. She was working as a cashier there. We told her that we were thinking about asking her to our house for a dinner sometime. I took a half-hour nap when David prepared for his Friendspeak lesson. When we got to Friendspeak room, we were glad to see a big crowd. DG said we had 5 new students tonight. My reader Maggie refused her brother-in-law's request to skip Friendspeak. That made me happy! I could tell that she enjoys Friendspeak very much. She has an infant at home. When she asked me about what I would do, I told her that David and I were expecting a baby. Her face beamed with joy. She was very very happy for us ...I really enjoy studying with her too. She always has good questions:"what did Jesus mean when he said 'I have other flocks too'? what is resurrection on the last day?" I have a great reader!

First fishing trip

I was very excited when David told me we were going fishing this weekend. After we got home Friday night, we packed our stuff, got the license from WalMart, dropped off Eileen's suitcase and car key, headed off toward the Palenstine Lake. We arrived at the hotel at 10:00pm and got up at 6:00am. David said to the baby:" Hi Baby, did you have a good sleep at the hotel room? This will be your first fishing trip, but it won't be the last. Mommy needs to comb her hair and daddy needs to shave his face very quickly. Then we'll catch some fish for you..."

We met our fishing guide Mr. Whitecotton at the convenient store right next to our boat. Mr. Whitecotton is a great grandfather already. He told us all about his family while we were fishing. Within half an hour, he caught a big blue catfish. We didn't have much luck fishing this side of the lake. Finally he took us to the other side of the lake where his friend was. His friend Mike Weeks jumped into our boat and casted out the net to catch some baits. But to our suprise, he caught a big striped bass with just one cast! David and I never saw that before. We "wow"ed. Then, with David's help, I caught my first sand bass! David caught one too. Later I caught another one for our baby... The fishing guide said it bothered him if his customers didn't catch fish. He just had a heart attack. His wife had the hip surgery. So he hadn't come to the lake for weeks. David and I were very happy with what we got. Mr. Whitecotton and Mr. Weeks cut and cleaned the fish for us. We headed back at noon.

On the way back, we stopped at a small family style restaurant. I had a great lunch. David pompted me to look at a couple who were praying before the meal. They looked like they didn't have much strength to hold the utensils. David said "we can never judge a person by the appearance." The journey back home was beautiful. David and I stopped at a farm to take pictures of the wild flowers. We saw so many yellow, pink, purple flowers along the highway. David thought about Sue. We stopped at her place and picked her up for an icecream. She loved it. After we got home, I uploaded the pictures while David sprayed the weed killers in the backyard. We were very thankful for a relaxing and safe day!

Apple Of Gold

Proverbs 25:11 "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."

I've heard about Apple Of Gold class several years ago when Alice gave me a private cooking and entertaining class. Ever since then, I heard so many good things about it from the Apple of Gold graduates: Dawn, Angela, Joanne, Lori, Jessica, etc. This year I was able to attend this class and learn from these seven fine ladies from church: Alice, Mary Kay, Pat Scott, Carolyn, Linda B., Susette M., Yevett. Each of them has tons of gem to share with us. Last night Linda taught us the lesson about purity. The theme for the night was Hawaiian. We learned how to cut pineapple, papaya, mango, kiwi, etc. Oh, I loved the Hawaiian music in the background, the luau lace on the neck, the orchid flowers on the napkin rings, the pineapple decorations on the tables, the candles in the seashells, the fire torches along the doorway, and the waterfalls along the pool ... All these just reminded me our honeymoon not long ago. I enjoyed every bite of my food and every sip of the drink. Yevett and Susette led the table topics during the meal. When Yevett asked me about the married life, I couldn't help bragging about my dear husband. I wished I had a whole evening of time to brag about him!!!

When I got home at 10:00pm, David was still studying Chinese in the computer room. He had done Friendspeak with Mike tonight. I showed him all the goodies I got from the class: Linda gave us the Ivory soap to remind us about the purity; Alice gave us the spices and seasonings to use for our cooking; Pat Scott gave us the Mexican vanilla to add flavors; ... I told David that I want to give them something next week (which is going to be the last class). I'll have to think hard about what to give to thank them for 6 wonderful evenings.

We talked to Donna about our travel plan before we went to bed. We were glad that she is considering to have the same itinerary as ours. We are going to have great time!

He Will Make A Way

Isaiah 43:19 "I make a way in a desert and streams of wasteland."

We went to the IMPACT worship at Prestoncrest North Campus last night. David had finished Friendspeak with Jerry at 6:30pm so we could be there on time. It's only 3-5 minutes away from our house. But we don't know whether we'll be able to continue attending it in the future. The class started with a puppet show named "Three Trees" from the kids. Matt Matza taught the class afterwards. We were amused by one of the kids' answer to the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" He answered:" I want to be a single!" That was an unique answer. Someone needs to talk to this little guy - he hasn't graspped anything about the blessings of a married life yet!

After the class, we saw the email from LST about our itinerary to China. David and I were a little bit discouraged that it takes us 3 days, more than four stops just to get there and more than 24 hours to come back. That's not what we expected at all, especially we don't know how I will feel at that time. We prayed earnestly that God will guide us and give us the best itinerary for us. David couldn't sleep well because we could have got better arrangement if LST bought the tickets when David submitted our travel plan two weeks ago. He reminded them at that time that the seats were gone very fast. Was that God's will for us? I wasn't settled at that arrangement so I called my Chinese travel agency this morning. They gave me a quote that can save us 6 hours on the road. That was better than what we got. During lunch, I prayed boldly again that God will provide us a better arrangement and protect us (and the baby). I was even considering paying $1600-1700 to get the one-stop ticket if available. Around 1:30pm, David called that the travel agency found us the best deal: $920 per person with only one stop at San Francisco from Dallas to Beijing (since there's no direct flight to Beijing)! I called and emailed LST right away. They were thrilled about the deal and they will get the tickets tomorrow! That alone will save us not only several hundred dollars per person, but also more than 30 hours on the road!!! And we are able to attend the Sunday service in Beijing, instead of spending time on the plane! Yeah! God is so good!!!

David was reading the book "The prayers that God Answers" by Michael Yousef last night. In the first chapter, it talked about Abraham's servant prayed boldly when he was searching a wife for Isaac. I can remember how bold and specific his prayer was. And God answered the prayer immediately as he prayed. I thought about what happened today. Normally I would be content with whatever I get. But since I have the baby now, I'll have to ask for more than I would for myself. I'm so humbled and grateful that God granted that request and made a way for us!!! God loves us! HE constantly reminds us that HE cares about every detail of our life!

Heartburn

I've been having heartburn these days. It's said to be a common problem during pregnancy. So I read about it. Heartburn really has nothing to do with the heart. It is actually the result of stomach acid reacting strongly to certain foods during digestion. Fruit juice, tomato, spicy food, citris fruit, dark green vegetables like broccoli, carbonated drinks and hight fat foods normally will contribute to the problem. While spices like fennel, cayenne, ginger, mint, and papaya, milk, yogurt are the foods that relieve heartburn.

I've never been so picky about food as I am now because food is important at this time. David and I went to the library to checkout some Chinese language books and audios. Then we went straight to the Chinese market to buy some vegetables. I determined to eat well and keep all problems to the minimum through healthy eating. It's so much easier to achieve that with a husband who is loving and cooperative!

8th week

It's like a revelation to me that the 8th week is much easier than the previous two weeks. Most of the fatigue and the body sour went away magically. It's great to feel well and go out to do some errands! I've been taken 6 pills of prenatal vitamins everyday. One of the books I read joked that Americans have the most expensive urines because the excess vitamins will go out of our bodies. Thank God for our doctors, hospitals, and all the resources that are so easily accessable today!

We sold our car to a single dad. I was glad that the money can compensate a little for our new car. David brought home the spicy fish and eggplant for dinner. They were so delicious!!! I couldn't stop eating until my stomach hurt. David pulled out the weeds out of the backyard and fixed the bathroom sink after dinner. I organized the recipe book and uploaded some pictures before going to bed.