Thankful for My Man

We've had much to celebrate this month. On January 4th, Jeremy and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We are expecting our fourth baby coming up in July. And my sister had her twin baby girls on the 1st of January.

These days we don't have date nights often. Maybe once a month at the most. For our anniversary we went to Newt's and enjoyed their yummy burgers. It was fun just to get dressed up and look nice outside of the house.

These are some of the things that I admire or respect about my husband. He is a man with whom I feel completely safe. Unlike many women in the world, I have never once had to think about what it would be like to be threatened with violence. I am very lucky. He also is not one to tell me exactly what to do with my looks, hair, make-up, etc. He doesn't even tell me that he wants me to have long hair. He says he just wants me to be happy with my hair, whether long or short. Now I happen to like my hair long and find it easier to care for after all. The one thing that he does complain about is this: jeggings. He doesn't like jeggings, and that's understandable!

He neither requires me to work outside of the home nor requires me be a stay at home mom forever. He just wants me to be fulfilled in the work I do. Right now, I feel more fulfilled being with my children and teaching them than I would be at a job that does not pay for childcare expenses. But if I did happen to find a job that was both meaningful and paid for things, he would support that too.

Jeremy is also a good father. He is sensitive to the children and is concerned for their character development. He takes the time to talk with them about serious issues when I am busy doing stuff around the house. He is very thoughtful.

It's important to take the time to think about your spouse and why you married him or her. I am reminded to be thankful for the man I married and not take him for granted.

Homeschooling Stateside

Last year in Shanghai was our first official year of homeschooling our kids. Annalise was a kindergartner. For two main reasons we made the decision to start our kids out homeschooling. First, we were not "high budget" and couldn't afford kindergarten or international school tuitions. Second, and maybe more important of a reason for us, we have always had a family goal of being together. This becomes especially important if any kind of ministry is involved. While often kids can get left out of their parents ministries and plans, we have always sought to involve them as much as we can. So, rather than sending them away for 6 to 8 hours every day, we have enjoyed the privilege of teaching our kids at home with us. We love to travel together as a family and have the flexibility to do that, exposing our kids to the world in a much more positive way. As a married couple, we think it's also important to travel together. Jeremy and I have enjoyed going on outreach trips together. When we went to Brazil many years ago, Annalise was only 16 months old and we were gone from her for 10 days! We could have brought her with us, but since it was a little over a week we decided she would be happy with Grandparents. It worked out well.

While we were in Shanghai, we were told by one of Annalise's sunday school teachers that she is very assertive. Our homeschooled daughter is assertive and can speak her mind in a class! Hudson also has bloomed in many ways at home. He is very creative and comes up with all sorts of inventions around the house. Sayde has learned to talk and say so many words from being around all the schooling and talking going on at home. She has learned so much just from watching and playing while we do school.

Homeschooling last year went so well that we have decided to continue it stateside this year. Hudson is now Kindergarten and Annalise is in 1st grade level of her schoolwork. We still love the Sonlight Curriculum and all the books we get to read together. However, instead of attempting to write as if I have to defend homeschooling and how superior my own kids are to non-homeschooled kids I will tell the truth. Nearly every day it is a struggle, sometimes over many hours, to get my kids to stop playing and do their schoolwork. They hate sitting down and doing handwriting or copywork assignments. My kids are probably not any better behaved than public schooled kids, while many homeschool blogs brag about homeschooled children being better. Because of the struggle, it takes many extra hours of the day to get their work assignments completed. Many times Jeremy has to work with them on a Saturday to stay caught up with their weekly schedule. I won't know how they are really doing until next year when at least Annalise is due to test. I am hoping that she is at least in her grade level. Maybe she will be ahead. I don't lack in confidence that Jeremy and I can homeschool our kids successfully. I just want to be sure that what I write about is for the right motives. And we are still quite new at this. I don't want to brag when I still have so much to learn.

There may always be this conflict I have inside that I'm not allowing my kids enough opportunities to be "salt and light" in the world, Daniels in a very secular culture, and that I am sheltering them too much. And it is a legitimate concern. Every year we will probably ask the question, are they ready to be greater influencers of those around them than they are at being influenced (by the world)? I imagine that I am saving my kids from all the pimps and sexual molesters out there waiting to nab them. But even homeschooled kids can be vulnerable to abuse and molestation, as apparent from the recent national news. It could happen in the church, despite safe haven policies, especially if people go unreported and undealt with. Our purpose isn't to shelter our kids from making choices for themselves. But what we do want to shelter them from is those who would not allow them any choice. Whether my kids are homeschooled until high school or college, or only for their first few school years, I want them to grow up free.

Recess time on our hill

The kids' first snowman of the year

My little superheroes on Halloween

Our cozy wood-burning stove, which in learning how to use this thing prompted a homeschool tour at the local firehouse. I am all about safety and rules! 

Jeremy and I on a date at Silver Lake

At the beginning of our school year, in our new house

Sayde turns two!!

Yesterday was Sayde's birthday, and one of the first things she did that day was swing in her favorite swing that Gandy hung from the tall tree on the hill in his and Gamma's yard. It was lunchtime and we needed to go inside, but she didn't want to stop her swing short of the normal 45 plus minutes. She threw a fit back inside the house and screamed, hugging my legs and trying to knock me over, "I want swing!"

Finally I brought her back outside with her pizza slice, and she ate it happily and peacefully as she swung gently in her swing. I got to take some pictures of the kids while they all had fun swinging. Hudson likes the rope swing best. Annalise is learning how to pump her legs and swing herself. It's hard when the swing is so high, hanging from the tree branch. They're not your everyday swings at the playground!

When she finished her cauliflower pizza slice, she held out her bowl and asked for more, happily getting out of the swing that time to go inside for another slice. That after noon we had a family party for sweet Sayde with her cousins, Oma, Opa, aunts and uncles.  Here's a few photos from the day...

By her second birthday, Sayde already can sing "Jesus loves me this I know..." and all the rest of it. She can say "honor your mother and your father," one of Annalise and Hudson's memory Bible verses  this past year. She mixes in a few Chinese words with her English, "where zai (在) Daddy go?"  She can also say "hello kitty", "oh my goodness!", and "I want my own bed." Although, she still has to fall asleep next to Mommy first. And she still nurses as much as any younger baby. She could be nursing until she's three!

Blog Changes

Jeremy says I need to rename our blog to "morelandadventures" since we are back in the U.S. and no longer in China, and merge our old stateside family adventure stories with the current blog.

One of our local friends in Shanghai told us that our English surname was prophetic, "more land for Jesus," is what she said, and we will say yes to that.

Though we're renaming we still enjoy tea times with others and look forward to inviting many friends over for tea when we have a place of our own. You may continue to find our spot here as well, so come and have tea with the Morelands.

Birthday Celebrating

Yesterday was my husband's 39th birthday. This is Jeremy's last year, and mine, in our 30's...And today was our son Hudson's 5th birthday. We took a drive to the pretty town of Lanesboro and rented some bikes for a 10 mile bike ride, and then buying some bikes for Hudson and Annalise on the way home.

In our car ride we had plenty of time to talk. We talked about how old we are...I can remember when I was in woodworking class in the 7th grade, getting my 80's permed hair stuck in the drill and having the instructor help take the drill apart to get it out, all frizzed and singed. And the stuck-up girls in my home-ec class with their Esprit bags laying on the floor, stepping one on accidentally as I was flipping pancakes at the stove and one girl saying, "you're stepping on my Esprit." Later, I even had an Esprit bag. :)

Later, at home we sang and had Panda bear Birthday cake, chocolate cake on the inside with cream cheese frosting on the outside. Don't laugh! I decorated it myself.

We are loving the Minnesota summer and the green countrysides right now. Huge change from the cement and well-manicured gardens in Shanghai.  Though we will miss all the folks in the park doing their tai chi and group dances. I am so thankful we have the next couple weeks free before my husband's new job starts. I am so proud of him!

Annalise lost her front teeth, so cute!!

Here are some photos from our last week in Shanghai...

Sayde on the glass floor of the Pearl Tower

Our hilarious shoe choices that day

Annalise's favorite building in Shanghai

Life is Good in Minnesota

We have returned back home to Minnesota and our time in Shanghai is officially over. Jeremy put in his notice at work last month and we spent many weeks preparing for the return and saying good-bye to all of our friends and church family in the city, not knowing what was up next for us. This was one of the most difficult aspect of our decision to leave...The church community we had become part of...a one to two hour commute to visit friends in their homes for all the kids groups, Bible study groups, and our home cell group. Here in the States, these groups do not exist! We hope that we can bring the sense of fellowship, and how we desperately need it, back home with us and get things started here. We will miss this kind of community, but believe this can be possible here too.
We know that many seeds were planted and new life begun as we left Shanghai. Jeremy was able to witness to many friends, even Chinese Muslim. We gave away lots of literature. Lisa met another friend who, along with her husband, held prayer and worship day and night and was able to connect a couple of our other searching friends to this family. We were a little more bold and focused this time than last time.
Right now, we are adjusting to a life back in Minnesota. Jeremy starts his new job in mid-July. Thankfully, we have a couple weeks to settle in.

Family Life

We are having internet and computer time issues, so the most I can hope for in our blog at this point is to post a few pictures as fast as I can and talk about them a little...

This past week we had a leak in the pipe running to our washing machine, and the repairman could not come until a few days later. So Jeremy and Hudson put together a tube to catch the drips and drain the water into a big bucket sitting on the floor next to it. They made it with some masking tape, scissors, and an empty paper towel roll. I was so thankful that it was no longer dripping all over the floor and around the machine! So helpful! The leak is now fixed nicely with a new pipe fitting that allows you to turn the water on only when using the washing machine. Hudson is still very interested in pipes and plumbing, and concerned about leaks.

Hudson puts on his tool belt and looks down the drains with his flashlight.



Hudson and Annalise trying out their scooters at the park!



At 21 months old, Sayde now says
 "I want some of that," I git you," and she can say "I love you" in English as well as Chinese.

Right now the kids have some colds and coughs, and Sayde is still up next to me in bed squirming, twisting, turning and bumping my elbow at every second, unable to fall asleep. It is now 10:45 pm. Hudson and Annalise have fallen asleep already. They are still doing well with earlier bedtimes. With the family being sick this past week, we stayed home over the Mother's Day weekend and watched Danny Silk parenting DVD's. Sayde decided to do a somersault off our bed and ended up with only a scratch on her forehead, thankfully. Sayde was paying attention to Danny Silk and even picked up a few phrases, one of them "oh no!" Only those of our readers who have watched these and is familiar with Danny Silk will find this funny!