Still Waiting

The doctor told us that I'm 3 cm dilation now. So Andy will be here the latest next Friday. As we are waiting in excitement, I couldn't help thinking about these Bible verses:

Psalm 127:3 “Children are a gift from the Lord; a child is a reward from Him.″
Psalm 139: 13-14 “For YOU created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well.”

Isn't it awesome that God knows Andy's name and the number of the hair he has even before he is born? Talking about the name, for those of you we haven't told you, "Andy" is from "Andrew" who always brought others to Jesus. Since "-drew" is difficult for my Chinese folks to pronounce, we picked "Andy" instead, which means peaceful and inspiring in Chinese.

Here are two of the several places that Bible talked about Andrew:

John 1:40-41 "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). Andrew brought his brother to Jesus.

John 6:8 "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" 10Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish."

As the first called of the apostles, Andrew has a keen perception regarding spiritual truths and a strong sense of personal conviction. His missionary spirit, and his decision of character which made others appeal to him when in difficulties, enabled him not only to accept Jesus as the Messiah, but to win Peter and others as a disciple of Christ. We hope our Andy will follow Andrew's good example in the future.

Here are a couple of Andy's nursery pictures (The window and the glider chair are not in the pictures):


Emily is still changing everyday. She babbles more with longer sentences and giggles to make us laugh. Ever since we had dinner with Ron and LaJohna Mitchelle last week at Bebe's and LaJohna took Emily for a Hockey Pockey dance, she entertains us with her dancing feet all the time. She longs to play outside with rocks, dandelions, butterflies and flowers. She loves to be a good helper: taking the trash to the trash can; sweeping the floor; picking up the toys; delivering the dishes to the sink, etc. We suddenly feel like she isn't a baby any more. She is such a sweetheart that even during her sickness, she didn't bother us to get up in the middle of the night. We could hear her sneezing, coughing, and sometimes labored breathing with her mouth, but she kept quiet otherwise and always went back to sleep on her own. We are so glad that she got over the cold.

Counting Down Days

Last week, after we put Emily into the nursery for three nights, she got a bad cold. Her teacher (a volunteer who normally doesn't work in the nursery) liked Emily very much and told us that she was the sweetest girl. The last night when we picked her up, we saw her eating cookies that her teacher gave her. We appreciated the teacher for loving her. Then we began to worry that after playing with so many toys that other kids played with, it wasn't the safest thing to do. Up to today, Emily is still fighting with the cold. David and I walked on the eggshell trying not to be sick during the last couple of weeks before Andy comes.

This is our sick princess blowing bubbles with her nose

Gayla has been a great help and blessing for us. She babysat Emily every time when I had a doctor's appointment. Last week after the appointment, we went out for my birthday lunch (do you just love the birthday that lasts for a month?!). Then we did shopping together at Costco to stock up things.

Can you tell that Emily absolutely loves Gayla?

To make Emily feel better, I asked our friend Angela where to see the blue bonnets. I was surprised to know that it's just right near our house less than ten minutes away. So here we went.

JCPenny's blue bonnets field

Emily was so excited to see those beautiful flowers. She was also very brave to try to touch the bees. There were lots of bees in the flowers. So we didn't stay long in case being stung by one of them.

During the weekend, right before we left to run the errands, we saw a group of cuties walking right across our front yard. Emily screamed and followed them for a long way.

Oh, one more thing about Emily: she is getting so tall now that she can reach anything close to the edge of the kitchen counter or dining table. She broke one bowl and one glass already. Look, I'll just spread her snacks on the highchair. She can take care of the rest of it.
Our time seems to be running out quickly. Today the doctor told us that the baby is very low and the cervix is about 2 cm dilated already. We set up Andy's nursery and washed everything that he may use for the first couple of weeks. I also made dozens of dumplings to stock up. We just pray that God will keep us healthy for the last couple of weeks and bless us with a smooth delivery and a healthy baby.

Spring Status and Testimony

This week we got together with some of our friends before we run out of time. If I haven't told you, we are expecting Andy to arrive around early May since he is already in 88 percentile by weight. Emily and I had lunch with my previous co-workers. We also went to Debra and Lance's family adoption shower. Then we had dinner with Fred and Fang on Saturday. David has been actively cleaning and organizing the garage. I took care of some basic baby things for Andy. Emily continues her journey of potty training. She has been on cloth diapers for a couple of weeks. Now we started to put on her split-bottom pants so that she will be more aware of her elimination. She feels more and more comfortable sitting on the big potty. We are making good progress.


We are also attending the Relationships Matter seminar held by Prestoncrest. Can you believe that when the old Texas Stadium was tearing down, Jerry Jones was speaking at Prestoncrest? :-) Jerry and Lynn Jones spoke for six sessions on Sunday. We attended most of them and the Monday night session. Hopefully we can make it tonight and Wednesday night. Emily did better and better at nursery. The teachers commented how well she did for the last couple of weeks. Last night we heard "She was happy". We are so proud of her. At 17th month, Emily also started to stack the cups or blocks on the top (she only knocked them down before); experiment to say "NO" and "Yes" (I have to say that it was so precious to hear those first childish "No"s and "Yes"es); help daddy with gardening (she loves being outside); and help mommy to close the doors and drawers. She began to like the pouched eggs and meat. Below is a picture of her eating ribs at SpringCreek BBQ:




Our friends in Beijing Andrew and Jamie sent us a testimony of a Chinese lady who was baptized this Easter to translate into English. It was a great testimony. I wish every new Christian could articulate and share his/her stories like this. Here is the word-by-word translation that I'd like to share with you:

God created everything. Of course the four seasons are God’s wonderful creation too. I don’t know what your favorite season is. Mine is Spring.

I like Spring. I was born in the morning on a spring day. So my parents gave me the name “spring morning”.

I like Spring. It gave me a curious childhood. Remember when I was a child, every early spring, when I saw the budding grass from the corner of the wall and the side of the road, I would run to them with joy, keel down to watch it in wonder for a long time. The surrounding area was still yellow and dry. The wind was still cool. But the grass extended their head to welcome the first spring wind and the first warm sunshine.

I like Spring. It brings me hope. As I grew up, I realized that not long after I saw the first grass, the whole earth would be clothed in green. The yellow flowers would show their smiling face. I knew that before long mom would put the long-waited flower dress on me.

I like Spring. It represents new life and symbolizes hope. After I went to the middle school, I learned the essay from Mr. Zhu, Ziqing called “Spring”. He described Spring so beautifully that I liked it more. I knew that it would bring the new life and hope.

I like Spring. I was married in Spring. I knew that he was not the best man in the world. But he was the best one for me.

Now I like Spring more. In this spring, I gained new life and became a child of God. I was so happy, and so proud. I know that God created everyone. But not everyone can become his child. I thank God for loving me so much and choosing this spring to give me a new life!
When I came out of the water, I knew all of my sins were forgiven and I was saved. I became a Christian and a new member of God’s family.

Before this, I was like a blind person. I didn’t know God and didn’t understand God. My education from my childhood, my family, my friends and co-workers prevented me from knowing God sooner. Every time when I had difficulties, I was lost and alone. I tried to solve the problems on my own. But I couldn’t. Sometimes I just thought, everyone had their own problems, not just me. But when the problems got bigger and bigger, I had no choice and I was in a dead end. What was the purpose of my life? What was the meaning of life? How should I resolve my problems?

Earlier this year I met Andrew. He brought me to God. At first he didn’t push with a big theory. He just gave me a Bible and told me that it could help me. I was in doubt. But after I read just a few pages, I was grabbed by it. I read the Bible every day to get more from it. At the same time I saw many people’s sermons on the website. They helped me a lot. I felt I was a dry sponge trying to absorb every drop of water (just like the dry land trying to absorb the rain drops). At that time, I asked myself why I hadn’t read the Bible earlier and why I didn’t know there were many sermons on the Internet. Was I too late? But I believe all these were arranged by God. He let me to know him when I needed him the most. After that, I had many questions when I read the Bible. Every time when I asked Andrew, he would explain it to me in great details and encourage me to learn more. He told me that we can’t understand everything in Bible. Some people still have questions after a whole life of studying. But it doesn’t affect their love to God and God’s love to them. I participated some activities from the local church. The Sunday sermons helped me to understand more about Bible. The sisters’ singing often touched me deeply. Sometimes I felt that I was lack of confidence and belief. I asked Andrew to pray for me. He told me that he had already prayed for me many times. He said I could pray to God also and God will hear my prayer because He loves me. I’m so thankful for God’s love. I’m thankful that God didn’t abandon me. Gradually I learned to pray to God, just like a child talking to the father. I admitted my past mistakes and sins. I asked for His forgiveness. I told Him my problems and difficulties. I asked Him to help me. Little by little I saw the changes happened in my life. It was a true joy to see that. The joy reminded me of the feeling when I saw the first grass in the early spring days of my childhood. I believe and I know that there will be greater change in the future. Thank you God! Thank you for loving me!

Now I am a new born baby. I know that Satan knows about my weakness. He will attack me at any time. So when I ask God to protect me, I also need to learn more about how to fight Satan’s attack.

Thank you Andrew and Jaime, thank you the brothers and sisters in JingSong church! Thank God for He loved us!

Easter In Pictures

We had a wonderful Easter with family. We took hundreds of pictures during the four days we spent with Dad, Amy, Kendall and the girls. A picture is worth thousands of words. So let these pictures speak:

Our Easter celebration started on Wednesday when Joey came to visit. He brought us a beautiful tea set as Easter gift with a heart-felt card thanking David for the time they spent together studying Bible. In his card, he said:"... You teach me not only English, but also God. Today I know God a little, but I will learn more and more... I believe that one day I will become a Christian and God's child like you. I learn more from God, I get more. This is all because of you. You are the best American friend and teacher I met ..." Of course, Emily just loved Joey. They played for a long time. When Joey left, she followed Joey to the door.

Dad came in Thursday afternoon. We had hamburgers at home. While we were waiting for Amy and Kendall, we let Emily to open her Easter basket. She had so much fun playing and examining each item. Then we talked about the true story behind the Easter by explaining the meanings of different colors in the Easter basket. We told Emily that this year mommy helped her to identify the colors in the basket; next year she will have to do that for her baby brother. Emily just loved grandpa. She followed him everywhere he went that evening.

Opening the Easter Basket

The hopping chicken was an attraction:
Reading the true Easter story (explained by My Easter Basket):

The Bunny bicycle was a hit:


Friday we went to the Dallas Arboretum. Although it rained a little bit, we were not affected much. Actually the temperature was perfect.

Emily and Daddy:


Emily and Uncle Kendall:

Three girls playing with the plastic eggs:

Emily's favorite things to do #1: running:

#2: climbing the stairs

#3: playing with the stones and rocks


It was fun!
After we came home from the arboretum, all the girls took a nap. Then we had the egg hunt in the backyard. Chloe was definitely the winner. She was the only one that knows what to do. This is egg-hunting in action:


Emily didn't know what to do and she was not interested in collecting those eggs either. Amy showed her to get the eggs:

Finally she picked two eggs and put them in the basket after everybody told her to:

She couldn't care less about the egg hunting. What she really wanted to do were: riding the horse like Chloe did


following Presley: And being with adults

We squeezed in Andy's shower Saturday morning at Gayla's house. Amy and I had a great time visiting with our girl friends. While we were at the shower, Dad, David and Kendall took the girls to the Shops At Legacy. They were stopped by a couple of ladies, asking them what was the occasion and they even offered to take a picture of them. Here is what they looked like:

This is a group sweet friends who hosted the shower for us. We have been greatly blessed by each of them.



We celebrated Sophia's birthday Saturday night at Spring Creek BBQ. Can't believe she's one now! Here are some pictures:

Sophia - Happy 1st Birthday
Emily saw David using a toothpick. She insisted to use one too:







Emily loved Amy too. She reached her arms to Amy whenever she saw her:


Sunday Gordon talked about the two travelers who encountered with Jesus after he was risen. He compared it with the recent TV show that 7-11's CEO disguised as a new employee. It was really thought-provoking. Amy McAfee gave Emily an Easter gift after the service. Emily was so happy to receive it. We had the Easter lunch at Gayla's house after church. Emily had more gifts from Gayla. Before long we will need to teach her that Easter is not about the gifts from other people, but about the greatest sacrificial gift that we receive from our Heavenly Father and the life and hope that gift brings us. Happy Easter to you all! Hope you had a great one!