reasons to give Thanks

These friends celebrated Thanksgiving with us.
Dinner with some workout guys.
On our visit to another city we were able to spend some time with some new friends.These 3 precious girls knocked on our door one evening and ask us to be their friends. We went downstairs with them and helped them study for their english test. We had such a good time.
We love watching how the grandparents take care of their grandchildren.
The birthday cakes here have tons of suprises, you never know what you will find.

Our hen hao laoshi's birthday! thanks Mom for the decorations, they love them.

The biggest football game of the WHOLE YEAR! It was a little different than we expected, but that's what happens when the English corner friends find out and your "big" friends at the workout place don't understand where and when!! Overall, it was an enjoyable experience and what a Coach!
blue 42, blue 42, set hut...grandma can't hold you go long!!
Peter, tell them to watch. I will draw it on my hand again. Paul, you go straight, Aaron go right, and Moses for the 3rd time, don't start running until the ball moves. yellow team over there, red team over here, let's play some FOOTBALL!

Aikman's first round draft picknow that's a lineman!!
Our city held a business conference that we were apart of...here was one of the festivities we were able to attend. We walked past them before they performed and they all raised up their head pieces to say hello. They knew how to shake their tails. During the conference they also held a huge concert, we had a blast. Although we couldn't understand most of what they were singing, we were grooving to the beat, of course north and south, not east and west.

That week we were treated like royalty, it was quite an experience. We attended a banquet where they served some interesting food, let's just say its American banquet food with a twist.

how about them CARDINALS!!!!

Our dear friends

Our new friends cooked dinner for us (the best eggplant we have tasted yet) and then performed for us singing some english songs...pretty sure we had not heard of half of the songs. It was a very fun and entertaining evening.

We went with a group of our English Corner friends to an ancient village. Our friend led us in songs as walked through this ancient village. The tour guides were very patient with us; although, they did say that we were different than the other groups that come through. Not sure if that's a good thing.
Our buddy for the day. Chris won the hearts of the crowd as he danced with this precious little girl. He has got some moves.
She was actually bringing all of us foreginers flowers and running up to us saying, "Foreginer, foreginer this is for you. " What a darling.
She was the sweetest woman. She invited us for tea, but since we were with a group we told her we would try and visit her again. We just wanted to give her a huge hug.
Off in the distance is a huge cave and temple and workers in the FIELD...you will have to look real close. We are missing the Longhorns!!

whoops SRL

plethora

Here is the HUGE waterfall, it's a lot steeper than it looks. Come and visit and will take you there. We miss you boatloads.

The winners for sending the first 2 care packages are...our wonderful Dad and Mom in MO and our great Dad and Mom in TX. WE LOVE THEM...keep them coming.
Aikman is spreading football all across our city. He has dreams of it reaching the entire country!

Aikman is so brave. Now those are some fine looking hills over yonder.

"He set my feet upon a Rock."

Oh, how we loved watching the water in all its beauty.
"From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water."
That rock is more slippery than it looks, our shoes sure come in handy around here, thanks Mom, Dad and Bec---notice what shirt I am wearing. GO CARDS!! Here is a shout out to JP, Rach and Jamie.

I watched Sound of Music a few days before, so I was feeling a little like Marie...the hills are alive...
"I will lift my eyes to the hills; from where does my help come from?

the travelers

Here's a look at some rice fields, they
are everywhere

They are so little...

It was such a sweet sound to hear them

reciting their lessons

Aikman on his way to school...he is too cute













A room full of children and tons of fun!

These 3 girls captured our hearts with their joy and sweet smiles




Here are some middle school guys,
Aikman was missing all of his
students
and athletes








One of the lovely grandmothers we saw during our adventures. We were amazed at how hard they worked in the fields and how they took such great care of their grandchildren.

Oh, how thankful we were for this family that allowed us to use their squatty in a dire situation.






Here we are on one of our trips, there was a beautfiul walking park with many exotic trees.


This was our first English Corner...we really enjoyed it, but it is very difficult for 2 introverts to talk for 2 1/2 hours




Here we are with some of our friendly
neighbors.

Down came the rain

Just another day, it rains here quite often. We took a tour of our city this day. It was a lot of fun seeing our entire city from the perspective of a bus. So many new places to explore, so many new people to meet.

Everyone is used to the rain here it's as if it's a part of the daily routine. Never leave home withouot your umbrella!

What a prince!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me...we had such a blast! Our friend made us the best hamburgers at Mc.Donalds. Then we went back home and throughly enjoyed our dinner and a hot fudge sundae. Aikman made my first b-day overseas very special. He bought 2 fishies, mine is Jordan Galilee and his is Tigerus Peanut. As of today Jordan is now gone...I have been very sad. Tigerus has also been acting quite strange...we are contemplating getting him a friend, but I am not sure if I can take another loss. Aikman is thinking a turtle might stay with us a little longer than 5 days. Stay tuned.

Our new home

Our wonderful city

















They are so precious!














What a way to get around the
city. Let's just say they have
great weaving skills
















We are thankful for a
comfortable bed

No need for a pet, there were already
fishies in our apartment

















Home Sweet Home...and we think the lights are pretty groovy too









We are throughly enjoying ourselves whether it is meeting new people, venturing out into our city, or spending time at home. Yesterday we had our first dinner guest and I must say it was quite an adventure. For some reason my cooking skills seem to be struggling a bit. Our friend was extremely gracious...so I guess I will try again sometime in the near future. Who knew making instant pudding could be so difficult. The last week or so, has been full of getting things done for our apartment and adjusting to life in the city. Our tutor has been absolutely wonderful going with us to purchase the basic necessities to picking out our curtains. Now that we are pretty much settled, our hearts are excited to focus more on work and learning the language. We are so thankful for your support and hope you enjoy seeing a glimpse into our new life in the East.

Yesterday, we ventured out to one of the larger grocery stores in our city. As soon as we began shopping we noticed 2 small boys and 2 teenage girls following behind us as they giggled and said hello. They would immediately go hide behind the stands after we acknowledged them. We have had this happen many times before, so we just smiled and said, ni hao or hello. As we continued shopping we would turn around and there they were. When we reached the rice and beans and other foods in large bends, they were putting there hands in them and smiling at us. (Here the kids think it is quite fun to touch the food, I am trying not to let this bother me.) We shopped for at least 30 minutes and they stayed close by the entire time. As we were pulling away in the cab they had followed us even outside. It's pretty interesting receiving so much attention for just being the new folks in town. Those children were so precious...their joy and interest in the foreigners captured our hearts.

Aikman and I have been learning that the more we smile at people the more likely they are to return the smile. There was also an older woman in the store who saw Aikman passing by and proably thought what is that tall, blonde man doing here. As I passed, I simply smiled and she gave the warmest smile I think I have ever received. Here we are the different ones, but what we are finding out is that it is the the small things you do that are so important. We are feeling more like one of the locals everyday. Oh, how we love the people in our city and their graciousness. Today as we walked we had a man from a store yell out "Welcome to Poohville!" This filled our hearts with the greatest joy.