Almost 8 months!

It's almost 8 months now since we came to Shanghai, and Spring has arrived. There are flowers budding on the trees and a few warm, sunny days before the rain starts this spring. Around the six month mark was when we finally experienced some homesickness and a little culture shock. For me, the mama, this usually involves being protective of my kids and getting tired of being looked at all the time. Hudson has a rash below his mouth from licking his chin often. We don't know if it is from the winter weather, nervousness, or just a habit. He gets comments and looks to no end on this. He hates it when I sneak up and put vanicream or aloe vera plant on his face. On a positive note, yesterday at the park I had at least three gentlemen give me positive comments and looks on my three children. God is opening my eyes to the beauty of the people around us. They are so precious and we are privileged to live here.  

 I finally paid for the kids to go on rides at the park for the first time since living here. Ayi is helping them on their horses while Sayde is with me, taking a nap. Before that, Sayde practiced going up and down the stairs with Annalise close by. Sayde is almost 18 months old. She says too many words to count now, including hello to people in Chinese.

Below are also some more pictures of the kids in dress-up clothes sent from Jeremy's aunt in America. We recently made a trip to our local post office to send some letters to Oma and Gamma. The kids miss them so much and it has been a real challenge getting our video conversations to work! Old-fashioned handwritten letters is still important. 

And, we have another Chinese teacher who we meet with twice a week. Annalise is doing really well with her. I also like her alot and spend lots of time just talking in Chinese with her while Jeremy keeps the kids quiet. Next week he will need to have more lesson time in business terminology. Those of our readers who are lifting up kinds of people, remember our Chinese teacher. I have such a heart for both of our teachers and want to see God's plans and purposes unfold in their lives.