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!