I was meant to be a cowgirl...

So yesterday was amazing! Besides being a true American and going to a yard sale, we went to the Ft. Worth Stockyards to see the Longhorns being rounded up. Wow, those horns are amazing. My sweet Marissa was so overwhelmed with joy at the amount of beautiful horses she saw rounding up the cattle that I don't even know if she noticed the longhorns! Grandpa treated Marissa and her cousin Evan to a pony ride. You could tell that she was having the best moments of her life while atop of that pony! I wanted to ride a pony real bad too but it seemed to be only for kids. :( After the pony rides we went to the petting zoo and I think Marissa and I could've spent another hour or two easily in there. My favorite, goats, were there in abundance! So many types too! And to Marissa's delight there were two young donkeys also (close enough to a horse in her book). The other kids had a great time in there as well, feeding the animals and petting them. I thank the Lord for His creativity in making such a beautiful variety of animals! Enjoy the pics!

The Gift of Dear Friends

So we headed south about 3 hours the other day to visit friends we met years ago while we lived in Korea. How precious is the gift of friendship! It is so amazing to me that God has us meet special people on the other side of the world and then puts them so close to us years later! Plus they treated us to Outback and to YoYo's frozen yogurt which has to be one of the very very best frozen yogurt places of all time! Just look at the pics of sheer delight on the kids faces!

Zoo, Camping, and more!

What an amazing day to enjoy the beautiful variety of His creation! We love the zoo! Actually we were having a camping night in the backyard with the kids cousins first and that was going along beautifully with pillow fights, popsicles, and some s'mores...until the fire ants decided to visit. We decided it was going to be an indoor campout then! Yesterday was a flaming 97 degrees but the Ft.Worth Zoo is designed so well that there's plenty of shade and indoor viewing areas that you really don't even notice the temperature. When we first got there we were able to view a gorilla behind a glass. Lots of us were crowded around that glass and he was just sitting there, munching his food and occassionally throwing a glance our way. I suddenly felt sorry for him because I realized I know that feeling when we live in China. We with our cute little pale children walking around is like a feature exhibit for attracting gawks and stares. And all we're doing is eating out. It's a strange feeling but i felt a special kinship with this gorilla that I might never have before if we didn't live in China :)

anyway, the kids were great. Grandma and grandpa had brought matching teal shirts from Malaysia for Marissa and DJ and their cousins so they were nice and easy to keep track of. I loved the joy and excitement when we spotted a zebra (DJ's favorite) and the horse (Marissa's favorite). But they especially loved the water tower which dumps water on you when you walk under it. So fun! Well enjoy the pics- we're just having a relaxing day today to recover from all this excietement!

Texas Adventures Part 2

Well the past few days have been full of Cabela's, Rainforest Cafe, the Grapevine Mall, and the pool. It's been nice and hot here, just like I'd hoped for a visit to Texas! We are looking forward still to the Rodeo and the Zoo so stay posted for future adventures!

Texas Adventures Part 1

Well we've been enjoying the heat here in Texas as the weather in China has been a bit cold for our taste :) Yesterday was so fun as we took the kids with their cousins to the park for some great family pics and then off to the local water park. I haven't had a little sunburn in quite some time! The kids had such a marvelous time splashing around and going down little water slides. it's so much a blessing to be enjoying His creation here in Texas and the joys of being surrounded by family!

America!!!

Well after much traveling and walking through airports we are happy to report we've arrived safely in Texas! We actually landed in Portland yesterday and spent the day at my mom's house. Marissa was thrilled out of her mind because the neighbors had like 6 horses and 2 miniature horses. Plus grandma took her shopping and she got 2 new toy horses so she's been in heaven since arriving here! :) Here in Texas Dave's brother has a huge game system so DJ's been enjoying learning new games (we only have one so this is beyond exciting for him!). Of course I've been enjoying being back here also. We've eaten frozen pizza, Wendy's, and been to jack in the box! I've had Dr. Pepper and Barq's rootbeer (it's been 2 years since any of those) so Dave and I went out for a morning walk this morning as obviously I've been enjoying American food quite a bit since arriving. :) I love Texas and its warm weather and will be writing frequently to share pictures and our adventures while here and then in Washington!

Anticipation!

What a week of emotions! There are the highs of graduations (including our sweet Marissa's) and there are the lows of saying good-bye to precious friends that we may not see again this side of heaven. There's the extreme busyness of transitioning from a school year to summer break and of course the anticipation of our summer plans. I'm so thankful He's a big God and not too busy for me! Tomorrow morning at this time we'll be on the bus to the airport to begin our one month visit to the States. We are so looking forward to it! To the friends, to the family, and to the Krispy Kreme donuts... :)

Thank You BGBC!

We just want to send a big shout out for Battle Ground Baptist and supporting our adoption! Thank you for your donation! To learn more about this Family click on the link!www.battlegroundbaptistchurch.com

Gift of Family

As I read through my friends blog who are presenty here in Chengdu adopting their little boy, I just marveled at the gift of family! Every good and perfect thing is truly a gift from above, coming down from our Father! We rejoice with our friends on the adoption of their son and can't wait until our Gotcha Day!