27

Monday took the kids ice skating after their school. I started the microwave on fire while baking potatoes..... Flames billowing out of the top and smoke out every vent and the door. I sorta went blank as to how to put it out. I was very calm and a little concerned.  Sophie cried a bit. I fanned inside the microwave and eventually it went out.  Opened the windows and kept on making dinner.  It still worked later that night to melt some butter for refrigerator bran muffins.  I felt like a rock star finding bran buds and raisin bran cereal to make them.  If I make something from home it feels pretty fancy, kind of like when you are camping or at lake powell and somebody happens to bring something that you can use to make THE dish that hits the spot, or a favorite treat for game night.   Shane, Dusty, the two YSAs teaching English here, Todd and Chase were playing ball and then came over for dinner and a game of settlers of catan.

 Big news!  Our niece/cousin Ivy was able to come home from the hospital.   Still a long road to recovery, but we feel very blessed that she is home with her family.

 Wednesday:  Hiked nanshan mountain. We took a different route to the top and I thought we'd never get to the top. Hard workout. (Alicia, you are a rock star for doing that multiple times a week). We tell Cherie to save her good stories for the long uphill parts.  It gets us through.  Tennis and sewing lessons for the girls. I was cutting, Brynn was ironing and  Sophie was working that machine.  I'll have to fix it later tonight :)

 Thursday: I thought the shuttle was going to walmart but instead it drove to SAMs club. I was cool with that. They make good donuts. So two Chinese ladies and I rode together on a huge shuttle.  On the way home an older couple joined us.  It's interesting to see what the Chinese buy.  I think they are just as interested in what I buy.  Sometimes people follow along with me and check in the cart and then move along.  There are workers in the aisles-up to seven each aisle at walmart and sams.  They sometimes will take something out of your cart and put in what they are selling. It's pretty funny.  No, I want the lemon JOY, not that brand of dishwashing soap.  

  I also acquired a bonafide Chinese pull cart. I'm now officially....official. After carting groceries around Hong Kong last week and being sore for a couple days afterwards I thought it was time to get the pull-cart. The little girls wanted Yao Feng to cook for them so she stir fried some green beans and made some rice.  Tuesday she is going to cook lunch for us too. 

Shane and Dusty stopped by for fried rice and homemade yogurt (I finally got it to work, trick was not using boxed milk, but dairy milk)  and settlers of catan. They are headed out on a month long tour of Asia while their students are off for Chinese New Year. Chase and Brigham went with them to Happy Valley, an amusement park here in Shenzhen. I went to the gym and had some good thinking time on the treadmill-- meaning I forgot I was running. That almost never happens! 

 Friday. Ate dinner at Korean BBQ with the little girls. Cooked steak and veggies table side. Chili cucumber and cucumber kimchi. The girls tried pumpkin, eggplant and mushrooms off the grill. Then we went to Baskin Robbins. Ran into Brigham and all his buddies getting dessert also. He was with his buddies from Finland, Netherlands, Connecticut and England.

 Bought some fruit on the corner from our fruit guy and took a taxi home. Watched Walter Mitty with Sophie and Brynn on our bed. Chase and Brooke were on a triple date and came over to play games after dinner. They went to eat Indian food, ice cream.....had a good time.  Brooke's 1st date (after her Dad date which also included her Mom to Hong Kong).

 Saturday: After getting all dressed up for dinner, we ended up at subway (which Todd really likes). I have a cold and can't taste anything so I was able to eat it.  We bought all the chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies from Subway for Sunday dinner with the guests....  as we were eating our sandwiches, a young couple left the store complaining, "who goes into subway and orders ALL the subway cookies" :).   Sorry. We also walked to pizza hut, paid for 2 cheese pizzas and gave them our address.  Easy, right? Well, that was at 6:56.  By 9PM the pizzas finally arrived.  There were 16 calls on my phone between pizza hut and us, trying to communicate.  When the guy arrived on his bike, he wanted 10 more yuan.  Also, the groceries were delivered but the curry we ordered spilled all over the groceries, the front porch and up the stairs.  That was a nice welcome home.  

 Sunday : Good day at church. Prepared dinner for our home teachers and their families.   Then we took two taxis to our friends' house for dinner about 45 min away.  Had a great dinner and played some games.  Just arriving home now and planning for the new week and writing letters to our favorite missionary. Todd has an IBM event with his local customers here in Shenzhen on Wednesday.  Chinese New Year kicks off next week.  Lots of red lanterns up on all the buildings.  Red carpets, banners, decorations, etc....they are festive and everyone planning to go to their home towns to celebrate.   Nobody is from Shenzhen, so we will see how many stick around here.

 We will be here. Chase can't leave the country at the moment so we will hang with him. I have a feeling time is going to start going by faster now as we prepare to send him off on his mission.  Ally will be home before we know it too.  

Thanks for keeping in touch, skyping, emailing, facetiming and sending letters. We miss you all and hope you are doing well! Have a great week, wherever you are.  Go eat some good food and ride around in your own car for us! 

Love from China, 

Todd, Jane & family