A Mexican Weekend

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Rae

Mexico. I’ve never been but it seems like a wonderful place. While satisfying my recipe obsession, I came across this cinnamon, vanilla beverage. The element which originally sparked my attention was the rice additive. The flavor of white rice is simply delicious and the thought of it in the form of a cool fresh drink was irresistible. As you might’ve guessed, I was delightfully surprised by the outcome. The drink was unique and tasty to be sure.

Going along with this theme, I declared a Mexican weekend. Sunday morning Jessie and I prepared a batch of horchata with sweet, donut-like “churros” as a side. My goodness. Yum. We ate the entire plate for breakfast!

I hope you had a lovely weekend, spending time with family and friends.

Happy New Year

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Susan

Chun Jie Kuai Le translated Happy Spring Festival. In China, this celebration marks the coming of spring, at the start of the lunar calendar. Our new apartment complex had an array of light displays, including this one below. One could liken it to how American decorate their yards with Christmas lights in December. We ventured out during the evening of Chun Jie to see the displays and enjoy the fireworks.

Ice Skating with Friends

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Susan

Our city of Tianjin is dramatically changing each year, bringing more choices in activities, shopping and dining. In year’s past we have gone ice “chair” skating on frozen canals near our previous apartment complex. In our new neighborhood we found an indoor ice skating rink. Our friends from Malaysia have only been ice skating a few times in their lives. Jessie, Maddie and Rachel were patient teachers, helping their little 4 year old guy to get steady on his feet, Maddie and Megan pair up to help the middle daughter, and Rachel helps the oldest.

My Christmas Gift from Michael

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Susan

Michael created for me this beautiful laser-cut acrylic free standing snowflake. First, the job of designing the snowflake in CAD. Next, the tedious job of marking all the laser cuts, and finally the actual cutting. Two beautifully identical snowflakes that fit together into a free-standing ornament. Thank you Michael! You are so talented.

Chinese Parking Spots

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Susan

Sunday after church we walked to a new mall that we heard had a Starbucks coffee shop. Along the way we had to side step cars parked up on the sidewalk. Chinese drivers will park anywhere there is opened space….diagonal, perpendicular and parallel.

Unfortunately the Starbucks was not opened yet, so the girls went home for lunch, while Sean and I stayed to have date at a nearby bakery.

Sean Teaches at Middle School Chapel

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Susan

Last week Sean was asked to teach for the Middle School Chapel on Monday. The title of his talk was "WAYT – What Are You Thinking." He gave some practical tips on controlling one’s thoughts, based on the scripture from Philippians 4:8

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things."

Urging the kids, using the analogy of an MP3 player, that you can always turn off bad thoughts and turn on good ones.

Sunrise

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Susan

Many of you may have read in your news about the horrible pollution we have experienced in northern China over the last 10 days. Today we see the sun! What a beautiful sight. I am so grateful to the Lord for HIS gift to us today and for HIS grace on our health. We have stayed strong physically, without cold or cough. Here is the sunrise from our 9th floor apartment window.

A view from 5 days ago.

Sean Meets Up with TIS Alumni

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Susan

During our stay in Hong Kong, Sean was able to have a short visit with some of his former students who are studying there, and one student who attends Boston University, but happened to be in Hong Kong with her family. It was rewarding for Sean to hear from them about their transition into college life.

Megan and the College Kids

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Susan

In Hong Kong, after church with Michael, we had brunch at this new cafe near campus. Here’s Michael with some of his friends and the girls.

Henry took a special liking to Megan during our trip to Hong Kong. He even bought her a little Christmas gift. Henry is a native from Hong Kong and is studying Industrial Engineering. Michael knows Henry through the campus ministry, International Christian Fellowship.

Together Again With Michael

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Susan

Our first Christmas Day without Michael, was not too bad, since we all knew we would see him just two days later. Over the holiday break we traveled to Hong Kong for the first time since Michael began college in fall 2011, at The University of Hong Kong. A family in Michael’s church was generous enough to let us stay in their small HK flat which had a beautiful view of the harbor. We enjoyed seeing his campus, meeting new friends, attending church at Watermark Community Church, and of course shopping and eating delicious western food in Hong Kong.

Arriving at the airport