The Month in Review

The week month in review...

Keira turned 2!  She loves to read books, help in the kitchen, play pretend, sing songs, and hang on the monkey bars at the park.

Jude turned 6 months old, has two teeth, crawls everywhere, and started standing up by himself! 

With two little people on the move, I'm learning to ask God for wisdom more than ever before.  

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy..." (James 3:17)

This verse has been sticking with me, because it's hard to feel "open to reason" and "full of mercy" at 1:00 AM when your toddler's yelling, "Mama, sleeping, all done!  WAKE UP!  Nooo sleeping!"  

That's why I'm also glad this is true:

"The people God uses don't have to know a lot of things, or have a lot of things--they just have to need him a lot."  (The Jesus Storybook Bible)

Amen.

Anyway, back to the highlights: Nini (my mom) came to visit for two weeks.  We enjoyed every minute!  My mom is a really empathetic and encouraging person, and I always feel refreshed by spending time with her.  She's not only a great mom but a good friend, too.  :)

Finally, as always, we are pressing on with Chinese study...

...and Keira's been helping me study for dictation tests.  

Who says learning characters can't be fun?  ;)

Have a great weekend!

Kayt

The Week in Review, Vol. 8

This week: Moon Festival, how we're doing, and the quotable Keira (中文 ／Chinese edition)

Last Monday was Moon Festival in Taiwan.  To celebrate we made pomelo hats and had a BBQ with friends.

I'm still adjusting to being a mom and Chinese student.  Our new routine has necessitated more prayer and more coffee but less cleaning.  :)  Hence our house often looks like this:

A bright spot during our week is our friend Paul.  He works in one of the apartment buildings we pass by daily.  He always greets us with a big smile, snacks for Keira, and, often, a glass of fresh lemonade for me.  Every time we visit he teaches me a new Taiwanese phrase (a different language from Chinese.  Eventually, I'd like to learn both).

The quotable Keira (Chinese edition):

While on the potty, singing to herself: "Keira, jia you, jia you!" （You can do it!)
她上廁所的時候：“Keira， 加油加油！”

"Jude.  Jude!  Look.  Zhege, red.  Zhege, blue.  Ok?  OK?!"  (This one, red.  This one, blue.)
Just for the record, the things she was pointing to were actually green and pink...
“Jude。Jude！你看。這個，red。這個，blue。OK？OK？ ”  （ 其實那個東西是綠色，粉色。）

After getting into a taxi, to the driver: "Chaozhou Jie!" (the name of the street we live on)
在計程車裡，她對司機說：“潮州街！“ （我們的地址）

"I toot.  I toot."  (I'm cute.)
“toot” 聽起來 “cute”， 可是“toot” 的意思是 “放屁”

Have a great week.

--Kayt

The Week in Review Vol. 7

What a week!

Our new daily routine is:

6:00 wake up, family breakfast

8:10-10 Kalan's Chinese class

10:20-12:10 Kayt's Chinese class

12:30 Kalan goes to work

1-3:00 kids nap, I do housework or study

4-6:00 play, visit neighborhood friends, dinner

7:00 Kalan gets home

7:30 Kids' bedtime

7:30-10:30 Chinese homework, church-related work, English teaching prep

11:00 sleep

We survived the first week (and actually enjoyed our evening "study dates.")

Before this craziness began, we were able to go on a two-day one-night getaway to Yilan to visit some friends.

Here are some pictures.  Enjoy!  

Feeding the farm animals

Small amusement park next to the farm

Taiwanese roast chicken.  Yum!

The borrowed car...we fit 3 carseats + 4 adults inside...

The beach

Our kid-friendly B&B

Gluten-free breakfast!

Swimming in a cold spring

Good friends  :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

--Kayt

The Week in Review Vol. 6

The quotable Keira:

(Making a sad face with one finger in her nostril): "Nose...stuck."

That kind of sums up our week.  Lots of runny noses and coughing.  

Lots of snuggling.  And (sometimes) sleeping.

A few other quotes from Keira:

(Calling me from the other room): "Maaamaaa.....Maamaa!  Mama!  Mom!  ....KAYT!!!"

Anytime I'm doing...anything: "Ree-rah help you?  Ree-rah help you?"

We also did lots of reading and coloring.  Here's a book that Grams (Kalan's mom) made for the kids about her favorite donut shop.  It's a new favorite.

We did manage to get out of the house for a few walks...

...and a bike ride...

I also got to meet up with my friend Michelle.  She was my first Taiwanese friend.  Now she lives in France, so it's always good to catch up with her when she returns to visit!

This week Kalan had a break from Chinese classes.  He still had to work every day, but it was still a nice change of pace.  The new semester starts Tuesday, and we will BOTH be taking classes.  Let the craziness fun begin!

Have a good weekend.

--Kayt

A Breath of Fresh Air

Taipei population density: 24,760 per square mile

Green Bay, WI population density: 2,286 per square mile (my hometown)

Rye, CO population: 155 (Kalan's hometown) 

Sometimes, we just need to get out of the city.