Train Your Children

This week's verses are:

Proverbs 22:6 "Train [a] a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 "5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

These days when David and I sat down together, we still couldn't grasp the fact that we were going to have a baby. What will this little person look like? What temperament will he/she have? And most importantly, what do we want him/her to be and how can we influence our baby? In my mind, I dreamed about a baby who smiles at everybody; who sings and dances in the mood; who is quiet at church but active at the playground; who is sensitive and compassionate to others; who participates in cooking, setting tables, cleaning-up, etc; who trusts and talks to God in every situation; who speaks Chinese and English fluently; who loves reading; ... who is like his/her daddy! Baby is a special blessing from God. We pray that we are worthy of the trust of such a blessing!

My name was officially changed at work and at the bank today. My co-workers were all trying to get familiar with the new name. It was fun! David bought a big box of Chinese flash cards to learn more Chinese words. When he asked me what he could help with the cooking, I said "Nothing. You can rest for a while." He picked up a stack of flash cards and said "OK. I'll learn Chinese then." Before the dinner was ready, he learned all the prepositions: on, above, under, below, in, out, between, among, etc. He can easily carry on a simple conversation in Chinese now. I'm so proud of him!

5th Baptism Anniversary

As soon as I opened my eyes, David sang to me:" Happy Birthday to you! ..." Oh, it was my 5th baptism anniversary! I still remember everything happened on that day, from the morning to the evening! It was a special day for both me and David since he was the one who baptized me. We remenansced the details of the baptism and got up to get ready for the church. When I walked into the kitchen to have the breakfast, I suddenly saw a beautiful bouquet of red and white flowers with a heart-shaped tag:" I love you! Happy Birthday!" I had no idea where these flowers came from - David always has ways to surprise me!

David taught the Sunday class on the Lord's Prayer. After the class, Mitzi and I met in the auditorium to exchange the Apple oF Gold kitchen towels that Mary Kay made for us. After church, we had lunch with Dawn and Jarrod at Corner Bakery. David and I enjoyed visiting with them very much!

George asked David and me to meet with Mary and Ted to talk about the Friendspeak activities. George couldn't attend because he was busy with his son Michael's wedding. We met Mary and Ted at 4:00pm. We decided to try a few things first: monthly calendar and home-based disciple group.

Friend Speak was full again. Maggie brought her daughter to Friendspeak Kids. But her daughter cried very hard because she never left her with someone else. I felt sorry for the girl who was taking care of her. It was hard to take care of a crying baby for someone else. Maggie and I had a good study on baptism and what it does/means for Christians. Her daughter was in sound sleep when she was passed to Maggie. Hopefully Maggie will continue to take her daughter over here so that she will get used to the workers and other kids.

We went out for dinner with Mary, Ted, Jenny, Jerry, Hongyu, and Sandy at China Town Manderin Cafe. We all liked our food. Most of all, we enjoyed looking at the pictures of Mary and Ted when they were in Beijing and hearing the stories of each person. We talked a lot! Before we realized, it was 8:30pm already! Weekend was over again!!!

Life Time Fitness

As part of birthday celebration, David and I met with Fred and Fang at Life Time Fitness to play. I said play because David's job was to play with Fred: basketball, racketball, treadmill, etc. Fang and I just sat there chatting and watching kids to play. Fang said the reason they picked this fitness center was because they offer day-care service when the parents were exercising. I can tell how that can attract many parents with kids. At around 5:00pm, we went out to watch kids to swim. The sky turned dark. Rain is approaching this area. We had to move to the indoor pool. The indoor pool closed at around 6:00pm because of the lightening. David and Fred finished playing too. Fang told us some anecdotes of Evan and Cody. That made me thinking that it was not easy to bring up a kid!

David and I went to Chili's for dinner on our way home. We was sad to know that Chili stopped serving the Carribean salad that we all liked! It's going to loose part of our patronage as the result of that. We wished there was a Cheddar's close by since Cheddar's has the similar salad.

David was so tired after a good workout. He couldn't help falling asleep. Finally he decided to rest first and then prepare for tomorrow's lesson after he woke up.

Fred's BD dinner

Fred's birthday was yesterday. We decided to have dinner with him tonight. David had planned to give Fred a box of Chinese flashcards and other stuff as birthday gifts. But the flashcards hadn't arrived. After thinking for a whole night he decided to give Fred a stamp album instead because he saw boxes of loose stamps in Fred's closet before. I was glad that he thought of that because Fang told me the day before that she didn't even know what to buy for Fred. David called a stamp company but nobody answered the phone. He found out another stamp company that was 45 minutes away from his office. He went there during lunch hour and bought the album.

After work, I cooked two vegetable dishes and David made a chocolate birthday cake. It didn't take us too much time since we prepared all the materials last night. We arrived at Fred and Fang's house at 6:45pm. Fang already cooked a whole table of food! I was hungry right away. We ate and talked. Fred liked the cake although David wished he cooled the cake in the refrigerator to make it more moist. When Fred took out the stamp album, he was shocked:" Did you talk to Fang?" We said no. Fred said Fang asked Fred what he wanted for his birthday and he told her the stamp album. So Fang bought a stamp album. It turned out to be the exactly the same album David bought. Fang said she wouldn't have known what to buy if Fred didn't tell her. David was so glad that he bought the things Fred wanted! I knew what a mind-reader my husband is. He is always detail-oriented and he always knows what people wants and needs! That often reminds me what a lucky wife I am!

After dinner, Fred and Fang took out their car seats, stroller, exersaucer, and other baby stuff to give us! We were so overwhelmed by their love - these are the biggest expenses that we would have in the future! We took a car load of things back home. Our baby is blessed!

Pregnancy Don'ts

I went to Sprout to buy some nuts, vegetable, and fruit. I like this store more and more: the vegetable and fruit are more tasty, fresher, and cheaper than WalMart and other grocery stores. I'm so thankful that it's very close to the house.

David called after work that he would be a little bit late. He had a meeting over the lunch time and then met Nathan afterwards. We are praying that Nathan will have a good report from the doctor tomorrow and next week. He was afraid that the cancer is coming back. David was on his way home. Mike arrived at the same time as I did. We walked into the house together. I gave him a glass of juice and chatted for a while. David came home. They read in the dining room while I cooked for dinner. After dinner, we cleaned the kitchen, sat in the backyard for a while. Suddenly I noticed the grass looked a little bit white on the top. "Maybe the lawn guy sprayed the weed killer since I asked them to do so." "I guess so." David answered. I jumped up from the chair in the lawn and ran into the house to take a shower. After all, here is what the website says about do's and don'ts for pregnancy:

• Women have highly increased susceptibility to foodborne illness during a pregnancy, and fetuses share the risk. Foodborne illness in pregnant women can cause serious harm or even death to an unborn baby, and complications include premature birth, meningitis, mental retardation, sepsis, stillbirth, and spontaneous miscarriage (abortion). Serious foodborne germ threats to pregnant women and their babies include Listeria, Toxoplasma gondii, E. coli 0157:H7, and Salmonella. Fortunately, although there is no "zero-risk" approach you can take to avoid foodborne illnesses, your medical risks can be greatly lessened by following certain guidelines when preparing and consuming food during your pregnancy. There are tons of "do's" and "don't" when it comes to being pregnant. Here are some things to avoid.

Drugs and medications Potential problems include birth defects, miscarriage, premature birth, retardation, low birth weight, cerebral palsy
Smoking and second-hand smoke
Nicotine in any form
Alcohol
Illegal drugs
Over the counter or prescription drugs not approved by your doctor for pregnancy
Herbs not specifically approved by your doctor for pregnancy
Caffeine (simply cutting back is fine)

Household and industrial chemicals Potential problems include birth defects, miscarriage, premature birth
Pesticides (bug killer)
Herbicides (weed killer)
Fertilizer
Household cleaners
Paint and solvents
Lead
Contaminated water
PCBs

Possible foods contaminated with Listeria Potential problems include miscarriage, stillbirth, breathing problems, feeding problems, temperature regulation problems
Raw seafood
Shellfish
Raw eggs
Deli meat
Hot dogs
Sausages
Undercooked meat
Soft cheeses (hard cheese, processed cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt are okay)
Unpasturized cheese

Possible sources of toxoplasmosis Potential problems include mental retardation, jaundice, seizures, vision problems, low birth weight
Cat litter
Raw or undercooked meat

Jolting movements and falls Potential problems include placental abruption, fetal injury
4x4ing / off-roading
Amusement park thrill rides
Horseback riding
Surfing
Skiing
Biking
Waterslides
Diving
High heel shoes

Increasing your body temperature Potential problems include birth defects
Extremely hot baths or hot tubs
Exercising too much
Saunas
Electric blankets set at too high of a temperature

Fish that contain methylmercury Potential problems include nervous system defects
Shark
Swordfish
Tilefish
King Mackerel
Limit tuna and other cooked fish to less than 12 oz. per week

Radiation Potential problems include birth defects
Using your hands-free devices for cell phone if it requires that you place the phone next to your pregnant belly
Ionizing radiation not approved by your doctor for medical procedures

The following items do not have studies to conclusively show that they are dangerous, but you might want to avoid them to be on the safe side.
Coloring your hair
Manicures
Tanning beds
Perm
MSG

Here are more from the hospital's website/ Aetna's Health Navigator:

DON'T EAT: 1) Raw or undercooked meat, chicken, or fish (sushi, raw oysters, clams and other raw shellfish); Cook ready-to-eat meats, such as hot dogs, luncheon meats, or deli meats (ham, bologna, salami, corned beef) until they are steaming hot;

2) Refrigerated pates, meat spreads, or smoked seafood; Canned or shelf-stable pates, meat spreads, or smoked seafood;

3) Raw eggs or foods that contain raw or lightly cooked eggs (soft-scramble eggs, Caesar dressing, mayonnaise, or Hollandaise sauce);

4) Soft cheeses and unpasteurized dairy foods (brie, feta, blue cheese, and soft Mexican cheeses); Hard cheeses, processed cheeses, cream cheese, and cottage cheeses are safe.;

5) Large fish (shark, swordfish, tilefish, & king mackeral) or fresh water fish caught in untested waters; Up to 12oz a week of canned light tuna, shellfish, wild salmon, pollack, catfish, smaller ocean fish, and farm-raised fish are okay;

6) Cat feces (so have someone else change the litter box or use disposable glove) and outdoor soil that cats commonly use.

7) Raw sprouts, especially alfalfa;

8) Unripe papaya, and

9) Too much liver.

Avoid Certain Foods and Handle Others with Extra CareThe foods on this list have caused outbreaks of diseases known to be dangerous to your pregnancy.

Avoid:
Raw or unpasteurized milk or cheeses, or lightlycooked foods made from them. Soft cheeses, such as feta, Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, blue-veined, ricotta and Mexican-style cheese, are commonly unpasteurized and thus are best avoided unless thoroughly cooked.

Raw fish or shellfish, including oysters, sushi, clams, mussels, and scallops. Ready-to-eat, refrigerated seafood products (smoked salmon/ lox, jerky, etc.)

Foods containing raw or lightly cooked eggs, including certain salad dressings, cookie and cake batters, sauces, unpasteurized eggnog and meringues.

Pates
Raw meat or undercooked ground, chopped or shaped meats; Raw or undercooked poultry
Ready-made or prepackaged salads
Raw sprouts of any kind
Unpasteurized fruit or vegetable juices, including ciders
Presliced cantaloupe
Food from salad bars and smorgasbords.

Reheat Until Steaming, or Do Not Eat at All: Leftovers, hot dogs, cold ready to eat meats, including: ham, bologna, and other lunchmeats (cold cuts), fermented and dry sausage, and other deli style meat and poultry products.

Take Special Care When Cooking and Eating. Wash hands often, for at least 15 seconds. Use hot, soapy water before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and handling pets.

Limit use of antacids. Ingestion of antacids increases the risk of foodborne illness because it reduces the stomach acids which normally control bacteria. Be particularly cautious about the food safety track records of dining establishments you frequent. Avoid places that appear unsanitary. Follow regular safe food handling tips especially carefully.

Be On The Alert for Symptoms of Foodborne Illness During Pregnancy.Symptoms of foodborne illness may be less severe and more difficult to detect in pregnant women because they may be confused with normal symptoms of pregnancy, such as morning sickness, or even a mild flu. Symptoms of foodborne illness can appear right away or up to several weeks after eating a contaminated food. Because the consequences can be dire, if you have even fleeting symptoms resembling those listed, contact your doctor immediately and ask whether testing for Listeriosis, Salmonellosis or Toxoplasmosis would be advised.Symptoms to Watch For:
Fever
Muscle aches
Neck ache
Headache
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
Abdominal cramps
Lymph node enlargement

Giving

I had another dental visit in the morning to fix the chip on the crown. The dentist did an excellent job. I may just keep the temporary fix for the good.

After work, I did grocery shopping, cooked, and called my sister. She told me that my parents got their passports. She is trying to buy a calling card to book the visa interview for them. She also mentioned that she wanted to participate some Christian volunteer work if there is any. I wished I knew some Christians in Shenzhen!

David had a long discussion with Jerry during Friendspeak on the topic of giving. Jerry wanted to know at what point a person should give instead of just taking care of himself/herself. David and I both think that giving is a mindset and practice. As believers in Jesus, our attitudes and actions should not depend on the situation. It's one of the underline principles that govern our daily behavior. People always should give, regardless he/she is poor or rich. When I'm poor, I give less; when I'm rich, I give more; when I don't have money, I give time and encouragement; ... Giving makes us more like Christ.

Tuesday News

I had teeth cleaning during the lunch hour. The girls in the dentist's office were so nice! I always enjoyed visiting with them. Gracie who attended me all the time is in her 13th week pregnancy. We had a lot to talk about. They gave me a kid's version tooth paste with strawberry taste. I liked it. No bleeding, nothing wrong - I got a clean bill!

Fang and I talked more about the birthday party after work. When I got to home, the house was filled with delicious smell! David already cooked the dinner: the squash soup, the squash/egg/onion/bread casserole, the bean burrito, etc. He made two dishes with the fresh squash from our backyard. Everything was delicious!! After the dinner, David cleaned the stove top and I cleaned up the table. I was surprised to see how clean the stove top was after the cleaning - I could never clean that well! After David cleaned the kitchen floor, we took a walk outside. David remembered that Eileen was going to call from Russia. We hurried home.

Pam sent me some links about the baby bottles. BabyCenter happened to send me the similar news about the plastics. That reminded me of Mary Ann's question: why do we have so many diseases now? Our environment is more and more dangerous for babies and children now. My parents and their friends never used plastic bottles, never had microwave, never sprayed pestcide on their produce, never washed dishes or cleaned the house with chemicals, never went to somebody's home theater ... they missed so much. And they had nothing to worry about during the pregnancies. Their babies were small because of lacking of the food, but all of them were healthy. Now it's more and more difficult to not to worry. In case you haven't read, here are some links about the plastics appeared in the news recently:


http://www.babycenter.com/204_baby-bottle-makers-sued-over-bisphenol-a-use_5233695.bc?scid=momspreg_20080624A:3&pe=2UvlUXh
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/uploads/Ve/AQ/VeAQsr6MMu4xA3-2ibnr_g/Toxic-Baby-Bottles.pdf
http://www.beberevi ews.com/bottles_ smith_507. htm
http://health. usnews.com/ articles/ health/living- well-usn/ 2008/04/16/ study-of- chemical- in-plastic- bottles-raises- alarm.html

Culture Training

Dad left at 7:30am to see Amy. I was still in bed. I wished I could get up early to say bye bye to him. But David was up earlier. He left at the same time as Dad for work.

I called Fang about Fred's birthday this Thursday. We decided to meet over the weekend. During the day, I made more copies for the culture training for the LST Interns who are going to China tomorrow.

David and I met in front of my office building at 5:15pm. We decided to try the new route to Fort Worth. It turned out to be much faster. We arrived there half an hour early. The hosts were former Phillipean missionaries. Actually they knew Richard England. They are going to be the mentors for this group of interns in China for three weeks. The other couple mentors who are going to mentor the rest of the internship were not able to attend the training. We were glad to see Mark Woodward there. Apparently he'd worked with the interns for the whole day. His wife Sherylee joined us later. Among these interns, one had taken Chinese language lessons for almost two years. Several others just started. David and I were impressed by their pronunciations. We took a tour of this little house with personalities, had some pizza the interns prepared, and talked about the Chinese culture. I also read Mary's input from her trip. They all appreciated the training. We left at 8:30pm knowing that they probably had to prepare for the big trip tomorrow. They will have a great experience!

Sunday Trivials

John Barret taught the class today. We discussed about unity and division among Christian community. After the class, we bumped into Mary, Ted and Donna. We talked in the hall until the service started. I had planned to grab something to eat after the class. But we ran out of time. During the service, the baby surprised me many times by the hard kicks. He/She has been so active recently. It was nice to talk to Debra, Lance and the boy they are hosting from Ukraine. After the service, we had lunch with a group of friends at El Felix. I didn't like the salad I had - it was expensive and not fresh. I never had a salad like that and I wouldn't want to order it again.

David and I got some grocery on the way home. We cleaned the house for Dad to come by. After a twenty-minute rest, we headed for church to meet up with Mary, Ted, George, and Bob to discuss the activities for Friendspeak. We all got to church at the same time. Donna joined us too. It was great to hear the exciting experience they all had in China. Time flew by. Before we could come up some action items, our readers showed up already.

Maggie and I had a good study. We studied the Eunuch of Esiopia. When I asked Maggie what she would do if she was the Eunuch. She said she would: learn more about who Jesus was; read more about what God says about Bible; and be baptized after this! I asked her whether Jesus had changed her life since she began to study Bible. She said in many ways. I was ready to ask more questions. But her husband and her daughter came over. We finished the session. She would like to visit Friendspeak for Kids. I took her to meet Gayla and showed her the classroom. She said she will bring her daughter there next Sunday. I also told her about the VBS. She was very interested. David and I found the registration card for her before we went to the evening service. She and her husband were going to walk around the church building to see all the decorated kids areas. We prayed that she and her daughter is able to join the VBS program and have a wonderful experience!

I liked Bob's evening sermon on Psalms 1. Compromises come in stages: walk->stand->sit. On the way home, David told me the questions Hongyu asked him: "Why there are so much unjustice and unequality in this world? Why God didn't take care of the squirrel when it was killed in the middle of the road?" I joked that we had to obey God's law. Otherwise, we choose not to have His protection. The squirrel disregarded safety law and perished. It is the same for human too. When we stopped in front of the house, Dad just arrived. We noticed that we blocked our neighbor's driveway. Our neighbor happened to pass by. He asked how the sprinkler system is doing since he just fixed it for us a few days ago. We told him it still didn't work. He jumped out of the truck and asked David to show him the leaking areas. He also showed David some tricks to tune the sprinkler head. We were so glad that we bumped into him. We took dad to potbelly for dinner. We sat outside - talked and listened to the soft music. The sun was already down. It felt so nice! We didn't go home until 9:30pm.

Lessons for a mom

Eric called last night asking us to have lunch with him and Jenny today. We gladly accepted the invitation. We met Eric and Jenny at Hot Red and Blue for lunch. It was nice to see them and baby Georgia. Georgia is so pretty, obedient and lovely. She began to talk, count, and do many other things that make her parents proud. Eric and Jenny shared with us their experience on caring the baby. We will have a lot to learn!

After lunch, David and I washed our car, picked up the laundry, changed my name at Costco, bought some Chinese sweet bread that David likes, got the refrigerator filler and a plant for Mary Ann ... We arrived at Mary Ann's house at exactly 6:00pm. Mary Ann introduced her husband Bob to us. They both were very welcoming and hospitable. They had a beautiful house. The dinner was obsolutely delicious and healthy! The only thing was that the salad has the soft cheese. I didn't want to hurt her feeling so I ate half of the salad. But deep in my heart, I wished I didn't eat any ... After the dinner, Bob wanted to show David and me his new home theater. He enthusiasticly invited us to sit in the central seats and began to play the movie Ratateui (?). That brought back my memory of David - he cooked the delicious Ratateui for me after we watched the movie! Before I woke up from the sweet memory, the shooting sound from the movie alerted me. I wanted to go outside to protect the baby. I read that high frequency noise can damage the baby's hearing and cause the baby hearing loss! But I thought maybe that was it. I was too afraid to stand up and leave the room. After all, he was trying to show off his amazing sound system and try to entertain David and me. My heart was racing and my mind was joggling. I put my hand on the tummy trying to cover the baby ... Finally Bob turned it off after 15 minutes. We came to the living room. Mary Ann played piano for us. We chatted and had the strawberry pie afterwards. Mary Ann was such a talker that we didn't leave their house until 11:00pm!

I felt bad for not standing up for our baby. I wished I had told Mary Ann that I couldn't eat the soft cheese; I wished I walked out of the loud room and told them that the loud sound was not good for the baby; I wished I was a more assertive mom ... I regreted the whole way back home and I couldn't sleep during the night. What if I hurt baby's hearing by that? What if ...? This kind of things happened before. And I don't want to be like that any more. The baby's health is much more important than the sound system or the salad. Besides, if I spoke out, they would have understood me. I need to learn how to be a good mom!!!

David and I just pray that God will protect our baby to be healthy and strong and help us to be good parents!!!

Flywheel

Mary invited us to go with them to Farmer's Branch Saturday night service. I said yes. But this morning I got an email from Mary Ann to confirm the dinner at her house Saturday night. I totally forgot that since she made that appointment back in early March and I put it on the Google calendar. I haven't openned the Google calendar for days so I didn't even see the reminder! I called Mary back telling her what happened. She told us that it might be good thing because Ted just had a fever and diarhea. They didn't want to pass that to me. I asked about her trip in China. She couldn't stop talking about it: how they were surprised by the reception of the readers; how their hearts were opened; etc. They plan to go back again next year for a longer period of time!

David took me to Fish On Fire for dinner. On the way back, we rented a DVD "Flywheel" to watch at home. It was produced by the same crew that did "Facing The Giant". It talked about a used car sales man who ripped off from everybody and how his life was changed after he made Jesus his Lord. One of the things that touched me was that after he read about what Zachieus did in Bible, he sorted out all his previous clients and gave back what he ripped off! Not knowing that it saved his business later on ... David liked the movie very much! Both "Flywheel" and "Facing the Giant" teach people to apply the Biblical principles into the real life. We were sad that this movie didn't make to the general movie theaters although it was produced five years ago. We had carameled popcorn and honeydew melon as we watched the movie. It was a wonderful evening!

Glider

I saw a glider on craigslist. I'm thinking to buy it already. After work, we cooked very quickly anticipating Mike to come for Friendspeak. Near the end of cooking, David walked out of the study room, looking sad, "Mike is not coming tonight ..." "Then we can do something else." I said. We slowed down with our dinner. Then we called the glider chair's owner to look at the chair.

I liked the chair since it's light color that fits the white crib. And I don't have any problem putting my both arms on the arm rests and reaching my feet out onto the ottman. I saw some cheaper rocking chairs and gliders probably with higher quality. But they were too big for me. I started imaging myself sitting in this glider for the first couple of months after the baby arrives. The owner of the glider wanted to sell us the businet and other baby stuff as a package deal. But we wouldn't want to buy anything else before we know the gender of the baby.

Encouragement for Today

Lori asked about the profile. So I let David to take one last night. There wasn't much change this month. But from now on, I'm expecting a big growth of baby. The website says the baby's weight will increase more than 15 times between now and birth! I appreciate Lori thinking about me. It is great to have friends who constantly check on you.

I told my co-workers that we got the crib for the baby. Kannan asked:" Can you return it?" I said no since we bought the used one from individuals. He said he had a white crib his son used before. He didn't ask me because he thought it was a used one. So he was thinking to give to the Salvation Army. I appreciate him mentioning that. I'm sure someone from Salvation Amy will make good use of it!

Fang called on the way back from church that the moon tonight was supposed to be the biggest of the year. But I didn't see it because it was cloudy outside. Cody and Evan eagerly wanted to practice Chinese with me over the phone. They were so cute! David was encouraged tonight by Jerry and Ray. Jerry told David:" Remember a year ago, you asked me whether I believed in God, and I said no?" He smiled, "Now I believe!" He told David how he found peace after he prayed to God. We were so happy that he is on the way to experience the peace, joy, hope and love God offers to everybody! Ray wanted a Bible. David decided to buy him a NIV study Bible. He will get more out of it with that Bible! Bobbie asked David to bring home a classic music CD for babies. She bought for us from a store. It was so sweet of her! DG gave two copies of Manderin/English Bible to David. One was for Melissa; one was for us. They were so nice!

By the way, Happy Wedding Anniversary to Robert and Gail - three year anniversary!!!

China

The China team came back from Beijing. Leslie came back on Saturday night. Mary and Ted came back yesterday. Donna is on her way back. They all said they had a great time. We will meet Mary and Ted this Saturday to hear more about their trip. We can't wait!

Gary and Danita sent some pictures of the families we all adopted. Originally it was four families. Since the Jacksons got more funds than they expected. During the last trip to the hospital, they adopted four more families! It was touching to see the smiles on the kids' faces although they lost their legs or arms. Gary and Danita hoped to be able to talk more about our Savior to them next time. These families lost almost everything they had; but they will know much more valuable things in the future!

Several guys came over to do the water analysis during the lunch hour. I had expected to know from them the ingredients in the water. They just came to show how bad the water was and how their filter will help to purify the water. It reminded me that we should change the filter for our refrigerator now!

Baby Bed

David came in the house with a big squash:"Look at this! It's giant!" I remembered a week ago David wanted to pick up the squash from the garden because he was afraid it would grow too old. At that time, the squash looks like a small cucumber. But we decided to let it grow one more week. I'm sure it can still grow if we let it. But this size is big enough for us. "I can't get over the size!" David said. Well, we will have to wait for a few days to eat it.

David saw a baby crib on craigslist. We brought it home tonight. It's Pottery Barn's Dana crib. Original price $500. We bought the gently used one from a lady for $200, including the matress. We can't wait to put it up in the baby's room! After we find out the gender of the baby, we will be able to shop for the beddings! It will be so much fun. David and I shopped at Macy's for our shoes on the way back home. We were glad we did all these errands in one evening.

Father's Day

It’s the Father’s Day! And this is the very first Father’s Day for David. I already knew what a wonderful dad he is going to be. And I’m so looking forward to raising our kids with him. Thomas Carlyle said, “Show me who you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are.” I can tell everybody that David honors God and loves his wife. I often see the love of Christ reflected through my husband's words and deeds each day. A husband who loves God and his wife is worth more than gold. I thank God for a husband whose eyes light up when I come into view, and for the joy of living with a man I adore.

I was glad that Dad liked the pepper sauce and the roasted pecans. But I had to admit that I ate at least 1/3 of the pecans. They were so good! Amy called in the morning. Dad took Granny to her church before we left for church together at 9:00am. I liked the Bible study on Patriarch. I liked the sermon by the 23-year-old preacher too. He did a great job. We didn’t have much time to visit with other people. So we had a quick bite at Arby’s and left Dad’s house by 12:50pm. We made it for Friendspeak at 4:55pm. We had 42 readers! Maggie didn’t show up. Near the end of Friendspeak, I saw a few kids. That reminded me of Friendspeak kids. I wished I went there to help with the kids class. But it was not too late. I walked over to the kids’ room. Gayla was there. She showed me the world map the kids made and the creation wall: everything from the first day to the sixth day of creation. Every kid had a cup of bean sprout that he or she planted a few days ago. The kids also helped to decorate the cookies! Some kids took their parents over after Friendspeak to show them what they did. All the parents were excited and proud of the kids. It was a great ministry!

Hongyu asked David several difficult questions: why God waited so long to send Jesus to the earth? Why Bible talked about Joseph while Jesus was not from his tribe? What is the relationship between people after they get to heaven? … We’ll have to do some research to answer these questions. I craved for vegetable. David and I had the vegetable plate at Black-eyed Peas and stopped by a lady’s house to buy some used maternity clothes. We bought 9 shirts, 3 pants, 4 dress for $60. That should be enough for the whole pregnancy!

Time with Dad and Granny

We didn't have any plan on Saturday morning. So we just played everything by ear. Dad showed us some boxes in his garage and we picked a few things to take back to Dallas. Then we took a box of used book to a used bookstore. But they were not interested in the thick binders of past Reader’s Digest. On the way home, we stopped by the airport Dad used to fly and keep his plane. It was neat to see that. David wanted to stop by mom’s cemetery since it was on the way. We spent a few minutes there. If I knew we would stop there, I could have brought the flowers. We met Granny at her apartment around 1:30pm. It was the first time David and I visited her apartment. It was so convenient since the activity room, library, exercise room, and the laundry rooms are right outside of her door. She said she had the best room in the whole complex! Granny was busy! She had to cancel a birthday party and another activity to be with us. And in two month, she will be 93 years old!

We came back to Dad’s house, sitting around and chatting. By 5:30pm, we began to think about the dinner. Dad wanted to take us to try a new restaurant in downtown Bixby. We went there. The food was good. David loved his onion rings and I liked the pot roasted beef. On the way home, Dad took a different route and stopped at a Chapel. It was the smallest chapel with the largest water mill wheel in OK. But it was beautiful! Everything was so manicured: Arched door with green vines and red flowers, white pebble stones, mini animal sculptures, … We walked in it. It has a room for 14 people. Cute! David picked up a brochure: the chapel was built several years ago for the builder’s wife on their 50th anniversary. Since some people requested to get married there, it asked for 48 hours of advanced notice. We thought that was funny! Wished we had our cameras to take a few pictures.

Granny left at around 8:00pm. I took a short nap and then joined David and Dad to watch the golf game and the America’s Funniest Video. We enjoyed watching those!

Heading to Tulsa

It was a busy Friday, especially for David. He had the accountability breakfast with the guys early in the morning. Since we haven’t got the pepper sauce for Dad, David drove up to Richardson to buy them from a chocolate/sweets store. He bought more sod for the backyard and picked up me during lunch hour to go to the Stonebriar mall to shop for the maternity clothes. We had a quick lunch at Big & Easy and finished shopping around 1:15pm.

After work, we packed and loaded things into the car and headed to Tulsa. It took us 4 hours to get there. It rained on the way. The sky looked like tornado weather. But we didn’t encounter much rain. It was so cool in Tulsa. 68 degree when we arrived there at 9:30pm. Dad was waiting for us. We chatted for a while and went to bed afterwards.

Blooms and Weeds

We had a few blooms in the front yard. The Cretemertyl in the backyard started blooming too! The yellow flowers David planted in the flower bed didn't do well: as soon as it blooms, the bonny will eat it. We learned what not to do for next year! The sprinkler system was broken. Weeds began to take over the front yard. We will have to act quickly to fix these before we have guests over in July.

Heidi and I had lunch at Golden Corral. We enjoyed it very much. Mike came over to our house for Friendspeak at 6:20pm. I was still getting ready for the dinner and David was working in the backyard. We didn't expect him to show up early since he normally came at 7:00pm. All the food was ready on the dining table. But we sensed that he wanted to go home early because her girl friend was waiting for him at home. We put the dinner aside. David started reading with him. Luckily David prepared for the lesson before he started working in the yard. I was so proud of him that he was always prepared for his readers! Mike was surprised that God can use bad people to complish His purpose. David went ahead telling him the joke about the old lady praising God for making her bad neighbor to buy grocery for her even though the neighbor didn't realize it. The joke was so appropriate for Mike's question and we just talked about the joke last night! Mike liked the illustration. After he left, we heated up the dinner and enjoyed it.

David ordered some pepper sauce for Dad about 15 days ago. But he just found out it was not shipped yet. He had to cancel the order and buy something different for Dad today. We are leaving for Tulsa tomorrow to see Dad and Granny!

Little Fox

"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." (Song of Solomon 2:15) A little thorn may cause much pain. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do harm to the tender heart and make people miserable. Jesus will not walk with people closely unless they turn away from every known sin.

Last night, our renter house's neighbor Mr. Nunns called us that the other neighbor Mrs. Williams complained about our purple flower tree in the front yard. She requested us to trim it. She called Mr. Nunns and the lawn guy Gilbert. So both guys conveyed her words to us yesterday. She called a couple of month ago to complain that our renter didn't take care of the grass outside the backyard fence. We drove by and didn't see anything different of our grass from hers. So we didn't even bother talking to our renter. This time David drove by the house again after work. The purple flower tree looked fine. But David still paid the lawn guy to trim the flower tree a little bit. Finally, David concluded: what can we expect from her- a bitter, angry, selfish person? Even at her husband's death bed, she was counting to her husband all the bad things that could happen to her if he continues to live: the hospital bill will be high and she might be in debt. As the result, Mr. Williams chose to take off the life support line. David and I felt pity on her. We didn't know what she went through. The only thing we know was the complaints and accusation through her mouth. Apparently, "the little fox" has been active in her life for a long time. The wall has blocked her from enjoying our Savior's presence.

It's easier to see the problems in other people's life. Mrs. Williams reminded us to constantly check on our lives: Is there a little fox in our live? Do we chase it away if we see one? And most importantly, do we hide from Christ's face at any moment? ... If we are not watchful, someday, we might find ourselves a ruined vineyard.

David was encouraged by his study with Ray tonight. Ray told him that he remembered every story in the NT that they read. Ray also wanted to study Bible at a deeper level now. He asked David where he could buy some stationary and decoration that have Bible Scriptures in it. We pray that God will use us at any level to draw him closer to God!

Baby Kicks

I started feeling the baby kicks about two weeks ago. Most of the time, it feels like a butterfly flapping inside the tommy. Occasionally it feels like a strong heartbeat: Bong! It was part of my daily life to be greeted by the baby. Everyday around 5:00pm, a series of kicks would remind me: it's time to go home! Please take me home! I wished David could feel it too!

Tonight was our free night (by choice). David was not used to having an unproductive night like this. But we were all rested. We read some parenting books and discussed about anything we'd like to do before the baby arrives. As I sat in the sofa with my hand on my tommy, I suddenly felt the kick from outside! I didn't expect to feel the kick from the outside ... David put his hand on my tommy and he felt it too! The baby must be having fun with the summersaws! What a joy it is!

Amy sent out evite to the July 4th weekend. We can't wait to spend some time with them and other friends at our house!

The Joy Of The Lord

"......the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10b, KJV). Every morning, David and I pray that we will be a good witness to our co-workers, family, friends, and strangers we meet during the day. We make a conscious effort to reflect the joy of our indwelling Lord so that it will glow on our very being. Sometimes, it is not easy to do so, especially when you are working with people who seem always want to test your nerve, or when the deadline is always approaching. While it is true that joy is a fruit of the Spirit, it is also true that the reflection of that joy is our responsibility. Just like the words of an anonymous poem:
"If you live close to God
And His infinite grace,
You don't have to tell;
It shows on your face."

I liked Bob's message about the narrow gate on Sunday. Saying it is not enough, you have to do it; doing it is not enough, you have to mean it. When you mean it, others can feel it. David and his reader talked about"what is the most important quality a person can have" on Sunday. His reader thought it was confidence. I never heard anyone rated confidence as number one quality before. Now I have to think about it. Yes, confidence is important. But where does your confidence come from? If it comes from your own strength, it is still limited. But if it comes from the strength of God, it will be unlimited. Since the joy of the Lord is your strength, it makes sense that God brings joy; joy brings strength; strength brings confidence. Aha! If he reasoned further, he would have changed his conclusion to the joy of the Lord!

I saw someone selling baby's used books on Craigslist: 140+ for $60. That was not a bad price. David picked them up and brought home a box of children's books. I hope our baby will enjoy these books later!

Sandy and Hongyu

David got up early and read for a while before we went to church. A couple came by our class and said they would like to visit a class. They were minister from a church in Searcy, Arkansas. I asked them whether they knew Eddie Couch's sister Olie Z. They said they are very acquainted with her. They just gave her a 90-year-old birthday party recently! We chatted almost half way through the class. Hanah from Friendspeak came in. She said she was looking for our class. David started teaching. We all liked his illustrations with pictures. David and I were glad that the couple from Arkansas stayed with us. Otherwise we would have gone to other class because nobody else showed up. Then Hanan wouldn't have found us!

We finished the class right on time since Sandy and Hongyu were going to visit church for the first time. We met them outside the church building. Gilda already reserved the seats for us. I liked the sermon about the narrow gate. Hope it spoke to Sandy and Hongyu too. David and I thought about asking Bivi to join us for the second service since she knows Sandy and Hongyu. But we didn't have chance to do that. Shortly after the greetings, David pompted me to look over: Bivi and Landon sat right in front of us at the other end of the pew! We visited for a while after the service. Then Sandy, Hongyu, David and I went to the ShangHai restaurant for lunch. Jerry's mom served us. To the end of the meal, Jerry's dad came out to say Hi. He was much talkative this time. And he was happy to see that I felt better. The renter called back during lunch that she wanted us to pick up the rent and some letters from the door. We drove by. They were mowing the yard. We were relieved that it wasn't as bad as we had suspected.

We had another high record for Friendspeak. Maggie and I had to go to the church office to read. We talked about forgiveness and hating the sin but loving the sinner. I was glad to know that she went to a Chinese church last Sunday. David had a deep conversation with Hongyu during Friendspeak. They talked about Chrisianity and surviving in this competitive world. It was a difficult topic. I was glad to see Peggy. I introduced her to Bob so he could help her to buy a car. On the way out, we bumped into Paul Melton. He was ready to buy a house in Rockwall area!

David and I had a quick dinner and went to Sue's apartment. She had asked us to fix her computer problem and the printer problem. We worked on them until 9:30pm. Weekend was over again!!!

Jason and Laura's wedding

I slept in. When I got up to feed "the baby", David had already worked in the backyard for hours. He was pulling out the weeds one by one. After the breakfast, I cleaned the tiles around the shower area. David went to Lowes to get some sods. I started preparing for lunch at noon. David stopped working in the yard, exhausted. For him, the weeds are like the devil; what I call "yardwork", he calls "yardjoy".

After lunch, we dropped David's car to GoodYear to change the oil. David came home to take a short nap. I cleaned around the kitchen area. Suddenly I saw the gift bag for Jason and Laura - their wedding was today, in about one hour! We all forgot about it. David jumped out of the bed. I began to search for the clothes that I could wear to the wedding. All the dresses and skirts were too small! Finally I put on a skirt without zipping it up. It stayed on my waist very secure. David's church shoes were in his car. We drove to GoodYear to get the shoes and head off to church. We got there five minutes before the wedding started. Huhh! The wedding was very beautiful. I liked the bright green and dark plum color. David said it was Martha Steward style. The reception was nice too: with bright green table cloth, white chair, assorted fruit and finger sandwiches. David and I enjoyed visiting with Angela and Tavi. Kirk joined us too. The wedding cake cake was from the same bakery we used for our wedding. Jason and Laura were going to Maui for their honeymoon too!

We talked to Amy on the way home. We were excited that they are coming for July 4th weekend! We called Gilbert to trim the trees around the house. He told us that our rental house neighbors complained about the tall grasses in the front yard. We realized that we hadn't received this month's rent yet. David called the renter. Their phone was discontinued! We thought something must have got wrong. We'll check it out tomorrow. After the dinner, David prepared for the Sunday class and I read a little bit before we went to bed.

Fang's Surprise Birthday

Father's Day is coming! I thought about buying a pair of dress shoes for David since all of his church shoes are worn out. I searched the whole house for his shoes that have the size information. I couldn't find any. During the lunch hour, I drove up to Frisco mall, had the Big Easy Cajun food for lunch, and wandered into JCPenny. The sales guy was very enthusiastic about selling something to me. With his help, I picked one thinking that we can return if it didn't work out. I pumped into one of my co-work and his wife and son in the food court area. Later my manager said she went to Macy's and bought some clothes. Well, it's Friday!

Tonight was the surprise party for Fang's birthday. I ran out of the office as soon as my manager left. David was in the front yard waiting for me already - we were responsible for the table reservation. The tough part was Cheddar's doesn't take reservation. David went there Wednesday night and talked to them. When we got there, one table was cleared. The other was still occupied. We were expecting 28 people! The other table was cleared an hour later. Fang was totally surprised when she arrived! It was a big group of reunion. Fred did a great job making it a surprise. We enjoyed the food and the talk with everyone in the party. After the dinner, we went to MainEvent to play bowling (I just watched). We had a great time!

Fang and Fred left the birthday cake for us. David put it in the trunk. When he opened the trunk, he said, "Oh, new shoes!" I realized he saw the shoe boxes and the JCPenny bag. After we got home, I asked him to try on the shoes. He liked the color. But it was a little bit long. We'll have to go back to change.

Baby Books

Yesterday when I was checking out with the receptionist of the doctor's office, I saw a "FitPregnancy" baby magazine on the front desk. I asked:" Is it a good magazine?" The receptionist said:"You can have it." "Thank you! I just wanted to thumb through it." "I have another copy. So you can take it home!" She was so sweet! I brought it home and read some of it. It was a good magazine with lots of useful information. One of the articles was talking about teaching your kids to be kind, caring, and compassionate. In the end of the article, it listed many baby books. I jot down on a piece of paper and looked them up online. Based on the reviews, here are the book list that I may buy to educate myself on parenting:

* Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, Revised Edition: Birth to Age 5 (Shelov, Caring for your Baby and Young Child, Birth to Age 5) (Paperback)
by American Academy Of Pediatrics (Author)

* The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids (Paperback)

* Parents Do Make a Difference: How to Raise Kids with Solid Character, Strong Minds, and Caring Hearts (The Jossey-Bass Psychology Series) (Paperback)

* The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer (Paperback)

* How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (Paperback)

* Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Child : Eliminating Conflict by Establishing Clear, Firm, and Respectful Boundaries (Paperback)

* Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essential Virtues that Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing (Paperback)

* Between Parent and Child: The Bestselling Classic That Revolutionized Parent-Child Communication (Paperback)

Heidi called to ask me to have lunch together. But I missed the call because my phone was set to silence. I called back later and made an appointment with her for next week. She finished all the CPA exams - finally! I went home for lunch, mainly because I wanted to put the marinated ribs in the oven so that David could have something for dinner. Mike came over with his laptop to show David the pictures he and Grace took for their California vacation. It ended up taking up the entire night. David was a little bit disappointed that he didn't do Friendspeak with Mike. But sometimes we have to put our agenda aside and meet the reader's needs, as long as we are not discouraged by the interruption. "So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. " Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

I had a great accountability meeting with the girls. The highlight of the meeting was the announcement of Angela's pregnancy. We were so happy for her. The baby's due date is Christmas this year! I wish I could have more time to spend with these girl friends. There were so much to catch up; there were so much encouragement and suggestions we could give to each other; there were so much joy and struggle to share ... I thank God for blessing me with these wonderful friends and I pray that I'll be a valuable friend to them too!

Four-month checkup

I had the four-month checkup with the doctor this morning. Everything was fine: the baby grows bigger; I gained 2 lbs; the heartbeats sounds good ... And next time, we will be able to know whether it's a girl or a boy!

The dryer didn't dry well. We made an appointment to do the Air Duct cleaning. Two guys came over at 1:30pm. They cleaned the Air Duct in the attic and the dryer vent. It took them about 40 minutes to finish the cleaning. Hopefully the air will be much cleaner in the house and the dryer will dry much better!

David is doing Friendspeak as usual on Wednesday night. It is the perfect time for me to run some errands: pick up the clothes, do some grocery shopping, cook a little bit, fold the clothes, and read if I still have time.

We don't hear much from the China team. But we trust that they are doing great. Writing emails becomes the last thing to do when you are having a busy and wonderful time. We can't wait to catch up with them after they come back!

Lesson on Insurance

We had made an appointment with my life insurance agent to ask some questions. But I cancelled it at the last minute - knowing that I wanted to cancel the policy. I bought this Variable Universal Life Insurance back in 2002. At that time I just thought I needed a life insurance and this policy allowed me to do investment at the same time. It sounded good. I was introduced by a friend who bought this policy too. So I signed it up without much consideration. A couple of years later, I didn't feel good about the policy. After talking to the friend who bought the same policy, it seemed that the investement part was doing fine. And the penalty to cancel it was too high. So I laid it aside until David and I reviewed our financial status recently. The more we learned about the whole term Variable Universal Life Insurance, the more ill feelings we had for it. So David and I sat down and thought about all the scenario. We also read some articles online and watched some video on YouTube given by the famous financial advisors. Finally after many prayers and research, we decided to cancel it tomorrow despite of the penalty - it pays to make a mistake! Now we are smarter and we will have good advice for our family and friends in the future.

The verses for this week are from Ephesians 6:10-17 The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Name Change

I should have done this earlier. But I was afraid I wouldn't have a new passport with my new name by the time of our China trip in the end of May. So I postponed it until now. It took me two hours to change the name on the social security card back in March. I expected to wait for the same length of time at the Driver's license place. To my surprise, it only took me 45 minutes. Maybe because it is Tuesday. "Wenjun Woodward" is the new name - I did keep my Chinese first name: one reason was, it takes so much time and steps to change a first time; another reason was it's better to still keep part of my old identity. I can't imagine anyone from my family, hometown, school would know who "Wendy Woodward" is. My heart is filled with joy every time when I sign my new name, knowing that I'll be bonded with David for the rest of my life on earth as well as in Heaven ...

The squash in the garden really took off. Three baby squashes are 5 inches long already. The big healthy leaves exude life and energy. Unfortunately it is the only plant that grows well. The tomatoes had lots of produce. But as soon as they turned yellow and orange, the birds would eat them. We had some peppers, as big as a thumb. The grass grew better with the rain and the sprinklers. But the weeds grew better too: David spent half an hour each morning in the backyard to pull out the weeds. Wish we knew a better way to kill the weeds.

I began to watch the yuga DVD to see whether I can follow it to do some exercise. It was very nice! Some of the stretches are too difficult for me. But I can always modify them with a chair. I hope I can do it twice a week for 15 minutes.

Busy Sunday

Mrs. Alice called last night that she has a baby gift for us. She just had very busy day with all the travel and social events in one day. We met her up in the foyer at 9:30. She was so happy to hear about our baby news that she gave us a collectible baby bear. She and her husband bought that many years ago and she decided to give it to us! We were so thankful for her love to us and our baby. David did another wonderful teaching on the spiritual blessings and the armor of God. We all enjoyed the class.

We sat at the last pew and left the service early at 11:45am. George had asked us to attend an Internation Friendship Program at Highland Park Presbyterian church. The members there mainly reach out to the SMU International students. It was a good training with lots of useful information. We were glad to see all the activities among different churches.

Friendspeak this afternoon had a record high. 45 readers showed up. My reader Maggie didn't come. But many people had multiple readers. We were so happy to see Ray - he's been absent from Friendspeak on Sunday nights since Bill passed away. Peggy came back too after several months of absence (she had to work on Sundays at a Chinese grocery store). Hongyu and Sandy showed us their new car - bright red!

David finally had time to relax on Sunday night. We really loved our three day weekend!