This winter break all of us kids decided to create our own combined personal blog called Connecting Four. We wanted to share with you guys everything that has been going on in our lives. You can find us by typing in the URL: http://auditreddi.com/. We really hope all of you are able to visit our website, and don’t forget that if you do stop by, comment! Hope to hear from you soon!
I had my helper cook one of the fish that the bike man gave to Megan. I gave my helper the other 2 to take home and cook for herself. The flavoring was so nice, however the bones are another story. It was such a little fish to begin with, so it was very hard to find a piece of meat with out getting a bone. Megan wasn’t too thrilled about tasting it.
Take a peak and get all the essentials to starting your Spring off on the right foot!
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With the expiration of our current apartment lease drawing close, we have been working with our housing committee to find a different apartment for us to live. After much searching, prayer, and discussion, we found a new place. It is a huge blessing to be able to move closer to our new school campus. Since January when our campus moved, we have had to endure difficult commutes in heavy traffic each day. Sean has missed his 5 minute bike ride, like the one he had to our old campus. A lease was signed last week, and we received the keys to our new place on Friday.
Please pray for us as we transition to a new neighborhood…learning all over again where to buy vegetables, fruit, meat and daily essentials. We have so many fond memories in our current Apt. 801. It will be bitter sweet to move.
Other prayer requests:
One big praise, which we are truly grateful for, is that our organization does pay for a moving company for us, so we do not have to pack, load or transport our stuff to the new apartment. FYI, our new apartment just happens to be #902, just one digit up from #801, but I don’t think Sean will change our domain name to Apt902.com. I will send a complete new address soon (after I get it myself 🙂
When we say dirty, we are talking dirty…these rags used to be white! Also pictured, Rachel cleaning the girls’ bathroom and Megan with Susan holding the keys to our new place.
Saturday we went down to the basement bike garage to tend to our bikes. The man who guards the bikes happens to be the grandpa of one of the boys who was in Megan’s class at the Chinese kindergarten last fall. We had to share the news about our upcoming move, and pay our bike storage fee to him. He told us he would be sad to see our family move. He told Megan to wait that he wanted to give her something. He opened his storage closet and pulled out a pail of water with live fish in it. He grabbed a plastic bag and put 3 small fish in it for Megan. (They look like little perch). He expected us to cook them for dinner. I was embarrassed to tell my girls that my fish cleaning skills are not very good.
Here’s Megan with the boy from her class, and also holding her bag of fish.
At first glance this photos looks like a man with his new puppy. But look closely and you will see that this animal is no dog at all, rather it is a pet pig!
We glanced out the window of our apartment on Saturday and saw this man with his pet. All the girls were eager to run downstairs to see this little piglet. The owner told us that they got the pig from Thailand as their new pet. Interesting pet to have in a city of 14 million. Here’s Megan trying to feed him dead grass.
The Girl with a Pearl Earring: a painting that – in it’s mystery – has inspired both film and novel, and caught my interest as a historic “Style Icon”. This piece is a bit less “flashy” then the first, Twiggy, however there is something so enchanting about her eyes that catches my attention.  Some say that the pearl earring is the focal point of the painting, but personally I think that it is her eyes are the most mesmerizing feature.
Stay tuned to see the next piece in the collection! I have already started it, and I think it’s going to turn out really nice. Kudos to whoever can guess it – leave a comment with your thoughts!
Here are some photos that I found in my iphoto from random vacations we took in the past few years. It was funny how many emotions and memories went through my head when I looked through these (if you are in need of a sentimental trip to the past just pull out those photo albums and start flipping!). My first response is to cringe when I see some of these, happiness and amusement come next, then of course sadness over some (missing Michael)! I feel like everyone should take 20 minutes out of their lives to reminisce over old pictures every once in a while. Hope you enjoy… one of my personel favorites is at the bottom right taken on Michaels 18th Birthday.
Our school often provides professional development for native Chinese teachers of local schools. One kindergarten/preschool in a nearby city, is sponsored by like-minded friends “if you know what I mean”. All the teachers in the school live by the same principals we hold dear in our favorite Book. Our family had the opportunity to provide housing for one of these teachers, who came to observe classes in our Early Childhood Center. It was exciting, to hear her stories. The girls taught her how to make snickerdoodle cookies, while she was with us.
Susan’s mom, sister and little niece were able to come to China for a short visit. We squeezed in many fun things around Tianjin, including a walk to our local vegetable and meat market, a trip to Ancient Culture Street for Chinese souvenirs, a visit to our new school campus, a ride on the Tianjin Eye (one of China’s largest ferris wheels), and the favorite, a trip to the Great Wall.
Rachel acted as tour guide, photographer, and babysitter to her little niece, Elaine (Ellie)!
