At long last...

At long last, I am sitting down to post a blog and to let you know that we are all doing well and love and miss you all so much! Ahh, how busy we have been, but I am sure that the same goes for each of you as well.

Amelia is a walking machine now and seems to really love this new method of transportation. The first thing she does after we put her shoes on before we head out the door is to stand up and walk towards the door. And when we are out and about, like in a park or walking to the bus stop, she wants to get down and hold one of Daddy's fingers in her little hand and hold onto Mommy's finger with her other hand and walk like a big girl. The ironic thing about the whole situation is that while Amelia is squirming to get down so she can walk, Josiah comes and says, "Up, please."

Speaking of the little man, he is doing great. Since I am in language school in the morning and with the nai nai (grandmother in Chinese) that watches Josiah and Amelia four days a week, Josiah is picking up Chinese faster than I am and he doesn't even have homework or dictation tests!! And he has quickly adjusted to the new routine of Mommy being gone in the morning when he wakes up. The first three mornings he cried, but for the last two days, as I walk in the door, I am greeted with, "Mommy, I didn't cry!" So things are going well on the home front and I just yearn to get home as quickly as possible so I ride my bike so fast after class so I can get back to my kids and just hug on 'em. I miss them so much while I am gone in the morning. And speaking of school, it is going well. I am so glad that I have three years of living in China and hearing Chinese under my belt already, because the teachers only speak Chinese when teaching the classes, with an occasional, "OK?" So had I just arrived in China, I would be completely overwhelmed. And although everything except learning to write the characters is pretty familiar to me, as far as the vocabulary, the review has been very beneficial. I was explaining to William yesterday that what I have already learned from being here in China for three years is like the spokes of a wheel. And although I am adding a few new spokes, the main thing that has happened since classes began is the wheel that joins the spokes is now being added so everything is joining and fitting together and making so much sense. It has also been neat to get to know my classmates, most of whom are from Kazakhstan. What an enormous world in which we live in and far too many of the people that populate this world are lost and do not know of the amazing grace of Jesus. Not being so good in geography, I had only heard of this country a few years ago when William and I were talking about Central Asia and the incredible need there is out there. He mentioned Kazakhstan and I have been able to find out a little about the country from my classmates. 15 million people live in Kazakhstan and that is 15 million I did not even know existed until a few years ago...how many more millions are out there that I have not thought about or prayed for, that Jesus knows about, cares for, loved enough to die for? What a big job we have.

Well, I know it is getting late, but it has been too long since I have sent our love, so there is much to talk about. But after this story, I better get back to studying. The last blog I posted was while William was in Jilin, well, he is back with us and we are oh so very glad. He wrote about his trip in the Maricles in China blog and he mentioned a man by the name of Tim Sobers. Mr. Sober's wife graciously sent a box with William for us to open when he got home. As William said in his blog, he flew into Beijing on Tuesday evening, so he arrived home around 9:30 PM. Although Josiah was in bed when Daddy got home, I had kept him up later than usual, knowing that William would be home soon. So, he wasn't asleep when Daddy walked in the door and not only was he excited about Daddy being home, the box Daddy was holding was also a delight for him to see. =) We went into our bedroom to open up the box and Mrs. Sober had graciously given us a few dresses for Amelia (they have two little girls themselves) and a box of cake mix. Upon seeing the cake mix, Josiah ran into the kitchen and came running back into our room with three forks, ready to eat the cake that was in the box! He saw the front of the box and saw the cake, so of course there had to be a cake in the box. =) He was only a little disappointed when we showed him the back of the box and pointed out that we need eggs and water and oil to make the cake, because then he knew he could help Mommy someday make the cake and he loves to help with the stirring whenever I prepare something to bake. He just tickles us so much. What a joy he is!!

Well...I guess this means it's time to get to studying. We certainly love and miss and love and miss and did I mention love and miss you all?!!! Well, we do!! =)