Noonday Collection Giveaway-We're talking futures today!

I'm pumped about this giveaway! Whenever you can purchase something and also be a part of bringing justice and hope to people, I consider it a win-win. My good friend, Jamie, has been a part of Noonday Collection for awhile and I asked her to share a little and then we'll be giving away this bracelet:

Hi everyone! I’m so excited that Carrie has opened up her blog to share about Noonday Collection, an amazing company that sells jewelry, accessories, and home goods all handmade by women around the world who are working their way out of poverty. Noonday Collection was started by Jessica Honegger a few years ago as a fundraiser for the adoption of her son from Rwanda and has turned into a thriving “not-just-for-profit” business that is changing the lives of women across the globe. 


This business model is revolutionary, because it acknowledges the fact that companies do not have to choose between making money and helping others. You can do both and still be successful! These women are breaking the cycle of poverty in their lives--not through a hand out, but through an opportunity to bring their goods to the global marketplace and sell them for a fair price. 



I found out about Noonday Collection about two years ago when I was invited to attend a trunk show that was being hosted to benefit a friend’s adoption. (Hostesses of trunk shows can choose between receiving 10% of the profits from their show in merchandise or in cash to go towards their own or a friend’s adoption costs.) As a huge proponent of the fair trade industry, I was thrilled that buying these beautiful pieces was actually a way that I could help women in developing countries and contribute to my friend’s adoption. 


By purchasing these gorgeous necklaces, earrings, scarves, and purses (and much more!) you have the opportunity to stand behind these women and support them in their endeavor to change their lives for the better. In fact, the name “Noonday Collection” was taken from Isaiah 58:10 which says “when you satisfy the needs of the oppressed, your night will shine like the noonday.” The oppression of poverty, injustice, and hopelessness is crushing, but these women are feeling the warmth of that noonday sun on their faces as we purchase the items that they lovingly craft.And lest you think you have to compromise your sense of style by buying from Noonday, check out the fall line that just came out. Gorgeous, fashion-forward pieces that go with absolutely everything! The buyers at Noonday Collection choose the very best—a balanced offering of trendy and classic. There is something for every style so take a minute to browse the website and pick out your favorites! I hope you’ll join me in this opportunity to look good while doing good! 

This is the code if you’d like to add a button to your blog 
http://www.jamierives.noondaycollection.com/" target="_blank">http://www.noondaycollection.com/img/enewsletter/noonday-button-150x165.png
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My personal link to the noonday site is www.jamierives.noondaycollection.com



Ok, so here are the details of the giveaway:

I love that Noonday Collection is giving these women hope in their future. With that in mind, leave a comment here to enter. I want to hear about what you wanted to be when you grow up. I'll start.

I wanted to be a cashier at Eckerd's Drugstore. Pretty sure I was enamored with the cash register. It made my parents overwhelmingly proud to be raising such an overachiever.

It's your turn. Just comment below on what you wanted to be when you grow up and why. The winner will be picked at random and will receive the bracelet pictured at the top. For my overseas friends, you can enter and then I'll have it sent to a stateside address. Or if you win and want it sent to someone as a gift, we can do that too.

Ready, set, go! The giveaway will end on Sept. 30 (midnight EST), because that's my birthday and it will make the number 36 feel not so heavy if I am focused on giving something to someone else. Let's just call this "avoiding the inevitable."

The Cake of Discomfort

When you put things like this on Facebook, God sees. God sees the whole thing. Sometimes I think He then cracks His knuckles, smirks at the angels in the outfield, and lobs one over the plate for me to take a swing at.

Here was my post the other morning:

We should make decisions for our kids' good, not their comfort. (And come to find out, not for OUR comfort either.)

I spent the morning asking reading comprehension questions to Selah while trying to make a birthday cake for Kesed. He turned 5 this week. I think some crack fell into my coffee because I decided to do a layered cake with all these different colors and sprinkles and frosting and pride. Selah and I ended up piecing the blasted cake together because certainly I can't just take a cake out of the pan and it actually stay together. That's what frosting is for. To hide the imperfections. Frosting does the exact opposite to the imperfections on my thighs.

Cake is finished and waiting for my son to see it and utter his praises upon my creation and probably promise to name his first child after me.

This is an enormous cake because we were supposed to bring it to his school the next morning to share with his classmates. There are 35 kids in his class. Upon seeing the cake his first words were, "I wanted a circle cake."

Breathe, breathe, get husband so that you don't punch a hole through your concrete wall.

We sat him down and talked to him about being grateful. We talked to him to make sure he understood that this cake included lots of the things he said he wanted on his cake.

Crying, he eeks out, "But Mommy I wanted a circle cake."

Trying to be a good mom, my inner monologue cowers out in song. I sing things like: "I am sitting in the morning at the diner on the corner. Da da da daaa, da da da daaa."

After one more good talking to, he still says he wants a circle cake. Stubbornness is one of the lovely spiritual gifts doled out to this child in the creation line. We knew what we had to do. He had to lose the cake. We told him that we weren't going to bring the cake to school and have a party with his friends the next day.

This was really hard for me. I had spent a lot of time on it. The cake was huge and I knew lots would go to waste even if we shared it with friends. Here's where the "this is for his good, not his comfort (or mine)" part comes in. I was reminded that I need to be more concerned with his heart's condition, not a cake. He needs to know that to be discontent about a cake is not ok. He needs to know that he can't control every living creature that dares to cross his path.

He had a cakeless birthday celebration at school, which is pretty much the only thing they do to celebrate that student's birthday...eat cake. I had to explain to the teacher why he had no cake when I told her the day before I would bring one by at 9:30. She did not understand because we live in a place where the kids get whatever they want. All.the.time. While the statement hurt, it is still true:

We should make decisions for our kids' good, not their comfort.


(As an epilogue to this wonderful moment, he later told me very calmly that next year...he would like to have a circle cake.)

Lord help us as parents.

Why Our Kids go to Chinese School

I get this question a lot. Right now 4 of our kids go to National Chinese school everyday for half a day. My oldest daughter is now doing 6th grade work in homeschool and we just need more time, so this is her first semester not in National school.

For our family, letting our children go to National school has been the hardest, best decision we've made while living here. I just registered Charis two weeks ago and it's required multiple trips to photocopy something, get a form stamped, or jump through some hoop. Last year, the principal asked me for 10,000 kuai and a new laptop computer. (To which I kindly told her 'no'.)

If you didn't buy a house in a certain apartment complex or your id (hukou) is from a different city, you can't go to school for free. If that is your situation, after everyone is registered you have to show up on the "bribe the school day," and give the school a little donation so that your child can attend school. The system is really complicated, but that's it in a nutshell. We live close by and we work really hard to convince them to let us attend.

I unpackage this much more in my book, but Chinese education can be summarized by these points:

1. Motivate through fear and intimidation.

2. Memorize as much as possible.

3. Comparison will make you a better student.

4. Your teacher acts as your parent, and is therefore responsible for all moral upbringing.

5. Perfection in your handwriting is a perfection in your character.

6. Your entire schooling career culminates in a test your senior year (the gaokao). Nothing else really matters.


Take these for what they are worth. There are some strong points in their education, memorization being a big one.

Here are the reasons we send them to National school:

1. It gives them a place of influence and to serve.

2. They meet friends. After the age of 5, Chinese kids pretty much study, play piano, take extra classes, and study some more. They do very little playing. If you've read Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom, you already know that. I wrote a little about that here.

3. They can learn language naturally. This is huge to help them feel at home.

4. It gives us a chance to rub shoulders with other families.

5. It helps us not feel so foreign and gives us different insights into the culture.


Sending them to National school is not easy. We have to do a lot of communicating about what they are learning and process the things that we don't agree with in that type of education system. But it's given them a heart to understand the Chinese way of thinking. It's given them space in their hearts to sympathize and understand their neighbors. If they did not have good language skills, their lives would feel very isolated. Their community would be small and they would struggle to feel at home.

National school has been a blessing in many ways for our family. I am grateful that my kids were able to start young and attend Chinese school for many years, therefore making it very normal for them.

I know that not everyone can send their kids to Chinese school, but for our family it has been a test of faith and a lesson in joy. And the bottom line is that we have to be less concerned with their comfort and more concerned with their good.

Homeschool Helps and when all else fails...Michael Jackson

*Simple Homeschool has a great post titled, "What about me: On taking care of yourself as a homeschooling mom."

And no...sitting on the toilet for 5 minutes playing Words with Friends is not considered taking care of yourself. (Now add coffee and some junior mints to that equation and you might have an argument.) 

She writes:

I was ready to quit.

I originally chose to homeschool because I thought it was absolutely the best decision for my kids. I wanted them to have the excellent education, individualized curriculum, and flexible schedule that homeschooling could provide.

*At my Carrie Anne Hudson page, some brilliant women posted dozens of ideas on keeping the littles occupied while you try and teach your older ones. Head over there and breathe in the lifeline. I'm going to start posting more community questions over there. It takes a village, we've got a village, we need a village, we are lost and sometimes are searching high and low for a village that knows what the heck is going on.

*This was a really funny list about big families. 

*Last night, we spent an embarrassing amount of time rockin' out  showing the kids You Tube videos of Michael Jackson. Can I tell you the amount of money my poor mother spent on me buying Michael Jackson books, stickers, posters, and fan books from those Troll book orders in 4th grade? A majority of my free time as a kid could be summarized in doing cartwheels, listening to Michael Jackson, and eating sourdough bread dipped in A1 sauce. 

And now you know. 

Have a great week!

The change of plans and translating ( camp 2 )

Hey- I'm back.

         I have just recovered from that two week camp and I actually don't go to bed at 7:00pm anymore. Anyway, as I said in the last blog Drinking sodas and making friends (1),  I (Selah) was just going to head home at graduation night because the whole gang would be there anyway and it would be a lot more convenient. Well, the director came up to us and said "Hey, we are going to take the americans touring around the city and we don't have any translators. Can Selah stay for about 3 more days?" Well this was a shock!
     
         So with a happy heart I said farewell to my family and stayed for three more days. We went to the panda world. ( Don't ever go there unless you want to be eaten alive by bugs or get teared up. It was horrible.) And we went to  the mountain where Watchman Nee lived and had training centers at. A shepherd at every landmark up there would make a 10-15 minute speech about the place we were at and more about Watchman Nee's life.
       
          The first time he made that speech, he finished the first sentence and turned to me, expecting something. I thought "What?"  Then the director that was with us said,"Oh you are translating!" So he would say something and I would translate. PHEW! It was tiring.

                                        These pictures below are the ones taken at graduation.

                                 A buddy and one of the girls from the orphanage.(far right.)

                                                        Doing the hokey pokey

                                                                  Trying to corral.

                                           Foreign  teachers going to the front and blushing.


      Through all those tears and laughter I had one of the best 2 weeks of my life. I learned that my opinion of normal will be different than a lot of people.  Like eating chicken claws; normal. Having porridge for breakfast instead of instant oatmeal; normal.....

       I am glad I got to serve in this special way and I hope I will be able to do it again.
再见 （ good bye)

   SELAH

Favorite Apps for Elementary School Age and Younger

I'm pretty smitten with the whole app thing. I am generally pretty wary of technology and children. I have nightmares of my sons being buried under piles of dirty underwear, hunched over like Mr. Hyde, consumed in dungeons and dragons, and eating Captain Crunch for dinner. But I think the time has come to redeem technology and introduce our kids to fun, educational games that can make you smarter, not hermitier. No, there's no app for words I choose to make up.


Today over at my Carrie Anne Hudson Facebook page, we're collecting and sharing our favorite apps for elementary school age and younger. Have a favorite? See what others are saying.


I did a post awhile back and a few of our family favorites are here.

Hong Kong and Wearing my Daughter's Bathing Suit

Accidentally grabbing my 10-year old's bathing suit instead of mine, Charis and I headed out the door for a few days in Hong Kong. 

 She was getting tested for ADHD. She is the last kid in our little clan that we see symptoms. It's nice to get more help and tools to breathe life into this sweet girl. China doesn't do much in terms of mental health so we had to travel to see a specialist. I was also needing to get a few spots checked out by a dermatologist. 

I did Hong Kong in a more ghetto fashion this time. I found this apartment online to rent out for a few days. Hotels there cost a million dollars and naming rights to your next child. This little apartment was pretty cheap. A bit shady and maybe even illegal, I'm not sure. Anyway, here's the spacious bathroom in which I had to step into the doorway and turn sideways in order to pull up my pants. I just might have sat on that toilet, showered, and brushed my teeth at the same time. If only all of life could be that efficient.

This child of mine takes no normal pictures. We found this incredible 3-story bookstore with lots of English books called Eslite. Our time in Hong Kong can be defined by doctors and this bookstore. Whenever I go to Hong Kong it makes me want to shop, wear make-up, and listen to Sting. I don't even like shopping or make-up. 

These people move through the subway system like worker bees. Everyone has a certain path and they buzz along it with earphones and random electronic devices tucked snuggly in their neatly pleated work pants. 

This is rush hour traffic in Hong Kong. But I will say, the mere fact that people stand in line there makes rush hour bearable. 

We went swimming at Kowloon Park one afternoon. This is an incredible pool. It even had a diving board where the Olympics simply got the best of me. I decided that my 35-year old body could still do flips off the diving board. I seriously almost pulled a hamstring doing a pike dive. Those visions of me wiping down up there on the diving board and throwing the shammy down to the ground like an Olympic diver were indeed just visions and not my reality. 

I do not in fact have a picture of me wearing my 10-year old's bathing suit. I'm sure it reinforced the American stereotype of inappropriate skin oozing out of inappropriate places. Ah well. 

Thankful to be home. Thankful to have spent time with my girl. 

Drinking sodas and making friends (1)

            For the past 2 weeks I have been at an orphanage, translating to the point where I am jumping gladly, climbing like a tired dog into bed. And teaching a class of 5-8year olds  with  4 boys and a girl. ( all parents of 1 or more boys, sympathize with me.) 

I got to spend those 2 weeks with godly and awesome people. All through the weeks, there were plenty of times to complain. but no complaints were heard from their mouths. I got to room with a home schooled high schooler who is one of six children. We would turn the light off at night and talk till midnight. We would say "good night" then " oh, one more thing" over and over till we were too tired to say anymore. 

Above are some of my chinese buddies at camp. When the adults\me weren't having a meeting and\ or weren't teaching, us girls were together.  These pictures are from the graduation performance of  the "cotton-eyed joe", "hokey pokey" and ...um...... "hoedown throw down" by Miley Cyrus. ( doing that dance was a new thing for the older people. ) But I have to say, doing the hokey pokey with a skirt on can be...... challenging at times.    

Anyway, My class that night did "head shoulders knees and toes" and did a great job! There were ups and downs the whole week, like having sprite, coke and pepsi every day, three meals a day (well,at least I had artificial energy! Better than none!), also getting beat in pingpong, playing (here's the catch)  "beach ball volleyball, in the dark, in the park.... and hanging out with my new buddy; sarcasm........

Mom, why did I wear a skirt again?

Trying to corral 50+ kids to get into a line to dance. bad idea.

 My students "singing."

Smiles because I was leading and did the wrong move. oopsie.

The whole gang came to graduation and we figured that I would just go home with them that night. But the director  came up to us and said " can......" OHHHH I'll save that for the next post.:) 

                                                    TO BE CONTINUED.......

                                          Selah 

Of Course it's Risky...It's Parenting!

In lieu of Pat Robertson's moronic insights into adoption, I only want to comment on a couple of things. I'm not going into detail because Together for Adoption did a great job here.  They have articulated most of the things I would say about it, so I'll let them chime in. (My husband keeps trying to explain Robertson's comments to me in a rational way. I know he is not an evil man, but his comments just make me want to punch a hole through the wall. If you have a better take on it, please tell me. It would be good for my soul.)

There is just one piece that I want to shout about in the form of Caps Lock: 

JUST BECAUSE YOU BIRTH A CHILD, DOES NOT GUARANTEE A HEALTHY LABOR, DELIVERY, AND BABY. 

SCIENCE HAS GIVEN US THE FALSE IMPRESSION THAT THIS WORLD OWES US A HEALTHY BABY.

***Here's the deal about that,***

GOD IS ULTIMATELY IN CHARGE OF A BIRTHED BABY AND AN ADOPTED BABY. YOU CANNOT BELIEVE THE LIE THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE PREGNANT, EVERYTHING WILL BE EASY AND JUST WORK ITSELF OUT.

I have too many friends who have lost babies or have chronically ill children to allow that false illusion to lie to another pregnant woman. 

I have also had far too many discussions that start like this:

"I would love to adopt one day….but (it's always here that my blood begins to boil.) we want to try and get pregnant first. We want to try and have our own kids before we adopt." (Remember, adopted kids will also be your OWN kids.) Or, it starts like this, "There are just so many risks to adoption, I'm just not sure I can handle not knowing where my baby came from or what kinds of things might be wrong with them." Or how Pat Robertson so eloquently put it, "All the things that make a baby grow up all weird." If he were sitting in front of me, I think I'd throw a shoe. 

I realize that I haven't struggled for years with infertility. I realize that I birthed babies before I adopted them, but this was not intentional. We honestly just didn't know much about adoption before we jumped into that world. I just get so frustrated with people using excuses to cover up their fear of adoption. Just lay it out there. Starting a family (however it looks) is scary. 

There are a gazillion unknowns. 

There are a gazillion expectations. 

There is one God in charge of it all. And that my friends is where we have to hang our hope. 

Birthing children can be an idol just like fancy cars, high paying jobs, and pornography. I realize it's weird to equate pornography and pregnancy. But, I have seen friends so gripped in anger, fear, and despair by infertility, that I just don't see the difference when you are talking about a person's soul. An idol is something that draws our eyes from the promises of Jesus. It's just that simple. 

When you allow fear to tell you that adopting a child is just more risky than birthing one, you are believing a lie.  Or when you believe all the sensationalized stories of horrible adoption experiences, you have let the world win. 

You have let fear win. 

Jesus found it a risk worth taking by adopting humanity. In all of our ugliness, rebellion, unfaithfulness, and greed, He took us in. Adoption isn't merely about being a family, it's about understanding that gospel. As Christians, we have been let into a family that will continue to love us no matter how we got there in the first place. 

How to Not Freak out as a Homeschooling Mom Links

This is my favorite app for August. If they had a "do crafts with the kids while I take a nap" app, that would have been my favorite. Apple just hasn't gotten there yet. So for now it's the Reading Rainbow app. It is a bit pricey, but worth it when you don't have access to an English library. You can choose from tons of books. They can be read to yourself or read to you. We love this app.


Weird unsocialized homeschoolers has a great post on questions to ask before switching homeschool curriculums. Homeschool curriculum can act like Satan and Jesus in the desert. Each curriculum offering me more and more until I finally break.



Here are few savoring the end of summer things to do at SimpleMom. These things are much more fun than listening to Dora swipe Swiper one more time.


Simple Mom also had a post about cooking from scratch. It's all about starting simple while maintaing sanity.



Raising Olives has started some good dialogue and has lots of links on how to teach your children the difference between tattling and telling their mothers useful information.  She homeschools 11 kids so if she tells me to wear a rainbow colored wig while teaching math, I'm doin' it.


Simple Homeschool challenges us homeschoolers to take a look at what is and isn't working. Questions to ask yourself about the last year as you look ahead to next year.



Chris Brogan talks about checklists. He's got some helpful ideas on how to make them work. What he doesn't tell me is how to not loose my checklist.



I am so thankful to the Lord for the internet as I homeschool. I'm just not sure I could do it without these other people who are smarter and more patient than I am giving me tips on their blogs.

My China Pinterest

There are a gazillion differences between China and America. One of them is family size. Sporting the one child policy, most homes have fewer than 7 people living in them...unlike yours truly. I've decided to start my own pinterest. Ok, so not really start, but this will be called China Pinterest, to make me and my other expat friends a little more joyful about living in small spaces. And sometimes, we just need to commiserate. 

So, here you have the launch of China Pinterest:

When your dresser breaks two weeks after purchasing it, simply pull out the drawers and stick them under the bunk bed to store non-seasonal clothing. Then, pretend that purple pillows, red sheets, and powder blue broken drawers are super shabby chic. 

As we saunter into the bedrooms, we see pillow cases and plastic bags shoved neatly into the spaces left when the air conditioner guy blew out a huge square hole for your circular pipes. It keeps out mosquitoes and rats, while adding a softness to any corner. 

Wondering where to put your 100 year old tv? Just refashion a $10 bookcase and well...put your tv on top of it. Simple, cost efficient, and doubles for a homeschool bulletin board. 

Take a circular vase and put in a protractor, two remotes, and a random plastic thing to make a modern rendition of a fish bowl. Fish are so 1990. 

When you have an entire balcony worth of space, there is no sense in letting it go to waste. Place bikes, sand toys, mops, your washer, and your dryer on them. It gives you an excellent view of the old men doing tai chi as you do your laundry in your pajamas. It's like bringing the inside out instead of the other way around. So ahead of the times.

Coffee tables do not offer enough functionality for a family of 7. Take two bookshelves and lay them on their sides. Take the top off your old broken coffee table and nail it all together. Voila! 8 more cubbies to stick things in. Like movies, books, and ballet shoes. Pretend that the paint that was stripped off the second you placed a cup on it is really a faux finish. 

When you have a coffee table that just doesn't fit anywhere, you stick it under your kitchen table. You can claim it's a modern model of table that is not bound by the constraints of connectivity. You are a family of the 21st century, you define your family's sacred spaces! Carpe Diem!

When the guys who moved your table from your last city and basically shot putted it into the truck, just pull out your glue gun and clear tape. Make sure none of the rough edges poke through. We will call this "Urban Antique."

If your children happen to ever drop a mug and the handle snaps off. No biggie, it makes a spacious and trendy toothbrush holder. 

When you moved from the States to China in the first place, it took 14 pieces of checked in luggage. These trunks are wonderful for traveling, but luggage eventually has to be stored. Our industrial sized trunks come in both red and black. There is no need for a bed frame when you have 14 trunks that you can use underneath your mattress. These also double for storing books, clothing, pictures, homeschool materials, and shoes. 

There you have it friends. May this inspire you to creativity and joy. At the very least, it will not tempt you to covet like that other Pinterest does. 

Context is King: The Olympics

My husband is well versed in theology. It's a hobby and a passion for him. One of the phrases that he often uses is, "Context is King!" The gist is that you can't just take a verse out of its original context and use it however you want, even if it makes a nice refrigerator magnet. I thought of this phrase over and over again as we watched the Olympics. How many things, when taken in a different context, just seem wrong. On many levels.  

I realize that Mexican wrestling is not yet an Olympic sport. A tragic oversight from the IOC. I hope that in the future, my children can enjoy a dream realized in an Olympics that includes Mexican wrestling.

These sweet Chinese women are not so much afraid of being drop kicked in the jugular but instead, of getting sun on their face. The sun...the most formidable opponent to a Chinese women. The monster air conditioner would be the next most intimidating competitor.

Masks: appropriate in the ring, terrifying on the beach. 

Context is King.

Tears were shed be countrymen around the world as various songs representing proud people were sung. As we watched the American athletes watch their years of hard work culminate into the playing of the US National Anthem, we too felt united with America even though we live so far away. 

With a short turn around between swimming in his event and stepping up on that awards stand, even Michael Phelps knows that you put on clothes before sportin' the gold. Thank you.Michael.Phelps.

While this man is probably making his mama proud, the rest of us could do without the mental picture. I'm sure Jesus still hanging on the crucifix would also appreciate a shirt of some kind.

Gold Necklaces: Victorious on the Olympic awards stand, creepy on random hairy Italian beach-goers.  

Context is King.

And now we move over to the Aquatics Center where speed and resilience are key. Swimmers have been perfecting both their strokes and their suits for the last 100 years to make them cut even faster through the water. This year, the swimsuits were definitely underrepresented and at times I thought they had even forgotten to show up. Man, those things seemed small. Like an after thought really.

If slicing through the water at 35 mph isn't what you are trying to achieve, then wearing a small loin cloth in the pool is simply not necessary. 

Speedos: necessary for optimal impact and minimal splash in the diving pool, a gratuitous uniform when there is not way a minimal splash will be achieved in the hotel swimming pool.

Context is King.

The amount of strength it takes these gymnasts to hold themselves up and defy gravity is remarkable. It is totally understandable for a person who is doing rings in the men's individual competition to cramp up in their arms. 

It is not ok, as a 35-year old mother of 5 to get cramps in her biceps from holding her cell phone to her ear for 12 minutes. That would not break any type of record in any type of country. It is quite simply pathetic and makes me want to go outside and start cross training. Right now. 

Cramps: Sign that an Olympic athlete is pushing his body to the limits, also a sign that a mother's body has limits akin to a ninety-year old woman.

Context is King.

Going to Camp in the City

This daughter of mine will leave tomorrow for 9 days. She is going to camp for the first time. I've been giving her my motherly boy scout advice for the past week. At pretty much every meal. And any time she isn't sleeping.

1. Don't go anywhere with a boy. They are all evil. 

2. You are going to have to wash your clothes. I'm not sure how because there are no washers or dryers. At the very least, turn your underwear inside out every 2 days. 

3. Don't allow yourself to be the first one asleep. Mean girls will do things like put toothpaste in your mouth and stick your hand in warm water to make you pee your pants. Don't ask me how I know these things. Just resist the force to fall asleep early. 

4. Do not teach the American volunteers phrases like, "My girlfriend looks like a fattened calf." in Chinese. Funny, but not nice. 

5. If you laugh so hard that you pee your pants a little, head to the water station and "accidentally" spill water on yourself. 

I think this is freaking me out mostly because my camp experience involved the forest, smores, a cabin full of prepubescent screaming over New Kids on the Block, wearing bright green zinc, and getting in canoe fights with the boys. My sweet girl will be attending camp:

in a city of 6 million

in China

at an orphanage

translating for an American volunteer team

teaching English to 8-9 year olds

There will be no snack bars, tater tots, or swaying back and forth to "Friends are Friends Forever" at the end of the week. I am treading new territory again. I am trusting the Lord to take care of my girl. I am excited (albeit a bit psychotic) about the whole thing. I'll let you know how it goes by the end of the week. 

Physical Exercise and How the Heck can I Find Time?

I love to exercise. I really do. I was one of those crazy teenagers who would wake up and workout most days of the smarthy Houston summers. Smarthy is Latin for "it's so hot and humid you think your skin is going to evaporate." I would throw on sweat pants and 5 pound ankle weights and go running at noon. I had mental issues and maybe a few body images ones as well.

Now that I am a homeschooling mother of 5, I have found that exercise is just really hard to make happen. I also hate when people make excuses. I remember being younger and watching these young mothers walk around Barnes and Noble with their double strollers and complain about not having time to exercise. I would switch to inner monologue mode and decide that they were just being lazy. That if they had time to condemn themselves in the Martha Stewart magazine isle, they certainly had time to exercise. So very not-helpful is that inner monologue of mine.

I now find myself a mom that gets maybe 4 days of exercise a month. Yes, I walk a decent distance to drop my kids off at Chinese school. Yes, I walk to the market, up the stairs, and to most places that I need to go because of living in China. But I still don't have the elevated heart rate type of exercise that my body needs. Honestly, I just don't know how to fit it in. Unless I wake up at 2 in the morning and use my mad ninja skills on the bad guys at that hour, exercise just doesn't happen much. I exercised this morning and my only motivation was that I got to have a few minutes to myself. I had to do it before breakfast and that meant that I also skipped any semblance of devotional time this morning. So if I am to run AND spend time with Jesus before the kids get up, I'm literally needing to set my clock for 3 am.

There is no possible way to be a good mom with that type of wake up routine.

I'll be 36 this year and I realize that this has got to change, I just have no idea how to make that happen. All of our kids must be up by 6 am so that Chinese school can happen. I homeschool one in the morning and the other 4 in the afternoons. I sometimes go with my oldest daughter in the morning, but I'm not a great partner exerciser. As a matter of fact, I literally hit my husband (who was merely my boyfriend at the time) when we went running together because he was egging me on. It was not pretty.

This entire rant is to lead you to this post by John Piper about Exercise.

Physical Exercise and Why I Do It (his reasons are much more Christ centered than my "I just don't want to have arms that slap people upside the head when I raise my hands" type of reasons.)


Part 1

Part 2