Tonight I got a skype message from Michael. He was in the Architecture Studio on campus working on a project and getting to know some other students. As he was conversing with a 3rd-year upperclassman, he discovered something very exciting! This student had worked this summer for a NYC architecture firm which has offices in Shanghai. Now you might be asking, “What’s so exciting about that?” Well, it just so happened to be the very same firm which designed the interiors of our new school building which we will move into in January 2012. (With much prayer and petition, last spring our school secured a lease on an already built facility shell, which must now be finished on the inside.) Please pray for a quick completion, no construction roadblocks, and smooth on-time move in next January.

Here’s Megan and friends standing outside the front entrance to our new campus.

This past weekend marked a new season for Michael. Sean and I traveled with him to Hong Kong to get him moved onto the Hong Kong University campus. The weekend went pretty smoothly with Michael showing lots of excitement and me shedding many tears. On Saturday we arrived midday and helped Michael unpack and put things away in his dorm room, which is not too bad and beyond the sight of some older apartment buildings he even has a view of Victoria Harbor! On Sunday we attended church, then spent some time shopping for some groceries and clothing needs for him. Then Monday Sean and I departed. Michael will start classes in HKU’s Architecture School on September 1st.

Sean has been hinting to me over the past year that he wants Megan to attend Chinese preschool, in order to give her the gift of language immersion. It was a very hard decision for me, but God paved the way by placing some special friends in my path to give encouragement. First, a Chinese neighbor who is also a language teacher at our school. Her daughter is also five years old and attends a local preschool. This friend inquired for us about sending Megan to her daughter’s class. The school was very opened to the idea and welcomed Megan for the month of July. Second, my older kids have been so inspiring to me. They all whole-heartedly agreed that Megan should attend Chinese preschool; and to show her support, Rachel even asked if she could volunteer in the school during the time that Megan attended. Rachel had a goal of language immersion for herself this summer, and this opportunity fit right into God’s plan for her. With such a positive experience this summer, we have decided to continue to send Megan this fall. She may have ups and downs with the decision, since there is a big barrier to her understanding, but I pray that she will learn quickly the vocabulary she needs to enjoy learning and making new friends. Here she is sitting on her little naptime bed. The students have naptime in the afternoon for 2 hours, and school does not end until 5pm.

The big girls started back to school this week on Thursday.  Rachel is excited about her Senior year, and Maddie at the top of the Middle School is in 8th grade.  Jessie is happy to reunite with her 10th grade classmates.  She and Rachel are taking Sean’s AP Computer Science class this year; that ought to be fun.  We made a decision to send Megan to Chinese Kindergarten this fall.  

We were out of milk, and with two very regular milk drinkers in our house, I was encouraged to go grocery shopping at 5pm. Since I didn’t have a dinner plan prepared, we decided to couple our shopping trip with a quick bite to eat at the E-Mart shopping center. While waiting for Michael to finish his tutoring job so he could meet us, we spent some time walking around the newly remodeled area and found lots of outdoor seating. One particular area has many tables staged in front of a large jumbo-tron tv screen. You can find these jumbo-trons around Tianjin usually playing advertising. However, to our surprise this evening, we discovered the World Swimming Championship Competitions which are currently being hosted in Shanghai. I was surprised to notice Michael watching intently and saying, “I miss swimming.”

With no outdoor pools around in Tianjin, and in the hot days of late summer one has to find interesting things to do indoors to avoid the heat and unhealthy pollution.   The kids and I discovered a lovely way to pass the afternoon.   The newly remodeled historic Astor Hotel in downtown Tianjin offers high tea each afternoon from 2 – 5pm.  If you want to read more…here’s a short summary of The Astor’s history (taken from their website):

When my kids were little and we were on outings around town, after getting them all out of the car, I used to lead them in a group and call out, “Come on little ducklings!” They would usually follow along in a line, looking ahead to the “mama duck.” As each of our family birthdays roll around, the girls and Michael have begun a habit of decorating the dining room in various themes. You may have read about Jessie’s garden party or Maddie’s slumber party and seen pictures of the creative ways the kids decorate for one another. Well, to my surprise, this year for my birthday, the girls came up with a duck theme. They had place cards for each person in the shape of a duck, and made posters and signs with little ducklings following their mom. I’m so thankful for the kindness and creativity each of my kids show me each day and especially on my birthday.

When my kids were little and we were on outings around town, after getting them all out of the car, I used to lead them in a group and call out, “Come on little ducklings!” They would usually follow along in a line, looking ahead to the “mama duck.” As each of our family birthdays roll around, the girls and Michael have begun a habit of decorating the dining room in various themes. You may have read about Jessie’s garden party or Maddie’s slumber party and seen pictures of the creative ways the kids decorate for one another. Well, to my surprise, this year for my birthday, the girls came up with a duck theme. They had place cards for each person in the shape of a duck, and made posters and signs with little ducklings following their mom. I’m so thankful for the kindness and creativity each of my kids show me each day and especially on my birthday.

What 5 year old little girl has not had a first ballet class? Today a neighbor invited us to a small class of four little girls from our neighborhood. I was so thankful for a friend who had recently given us a bunch of clothes which included a little pink leotard (our friend was moving back to Oklahoma). Megan had a great time, and Sean whole heartedly approved of Megan going, especially after he learned that the teacher spoke only in Chinese to the girls.

What 5 year old little girl has not had a first ballet class? Today a neighbor invited us to a small class of four little girls from our neighborhood. I was so thankful for a friend who had recently given us a bunch of clothes which included a little pink leotard (our friend was moving back to Oklahoma). Megan had a great time, and Sean whole heartedly approved of Megan going, especially after he learned that the teacher spoke only in Chinese to the girls.