Volleyball

I have noticed some older folks playing volleyball on our campus here and have wanted to join them for some time now. They are always playing during my evening run. After a run one day I got up the courage to approach, they were friendly. So, my only day off from something at 7:30 p.m. was Sunday, off I went, as a lightening storm started to approach.
I knew that 1-2 of the women had pretty good skills, I tried to get on one of their teams (I am too competitive, I know, but I wanted to play real volleyball). In the end I was on the men's team, four men and me. One guy had on his slacks rolled into capris with this shirt rolled up to his chest (because of the heat, this is so common around here), another guy was smoking his cigarette while playing (oddly enough this did not surprise me one bit), the other two were quite round in the middle and didn't really know what it meant to hit a volleyball. All of them were probably 45-60 years old but looked a bit older. None of them introduced themselves to me (the women didn't either).
Did I mention it wasn't even a real volleyball? It was as big as a beach ball but fake leather and much lighter than a normal volleyball, I mentioned this to the guys when my serve went way past everyone. They said yes they know, it is lighter, etc. Also worth noting is that the court was short, as was the net. This is my dream, I should school on this court. But alas, my team had never really watched volleyball I suppose, did not know that you were allowed three hits to set up any sort of play, and hit the ball illegally more times than not. One time we hit it four times and no one stopped, seriously. I know, it was all just a fun game, but at least the two girls who knew the game were teaching their team and being patient. My team just used me for my serve (which when tweaked became effective). I just had to laugh at all this. It was an okay time and if I were consistent could help build some friendships, but with only so many free hours in my week I am not sure I will return...we will see. Miss those days playing ball with big sis and Heather G. If they are still playing when you guys come, we will take them all on, what do you say?

I want grace...

A few times when Sophia has deserved discipline I explain to her that I will give her grace..this time. I go on to explain what grace and mercy means. Two days ago when I was about to discipline her she said: 'give you grace mommy,' what she meant was 'give me grace mommy.' Now quite a few times before receiving discipline she says: 'I want grace mommy.' I smile at her wit and proceed with the discipline (in the past two days she has needed lots of discipline). Sometimes when I am scolding her and having her look me in the eye real close, she will grab my cheeks with both hands gently and kiss me. What do you do with that?

Our Bundle of Joy

that sounds so cliche, but that she is. Here is our chunky monkey at 2. 5 months. She has been smiling at us for a week or so now and I can't get it on film yet. This was our first attempt, which failed, but still priceless pics:





Two questions:
a. does she look like Sophia did as a baby? (people around here are mixed on this one)
b. who does she look like?

building an airplane

David just returned from a two day trip, my first time with two without him. Everything was fine, just more tiring of course. I have to post this conversation I overheard that he had with Sophia while they were playing legos together before he left.
S: make an airplane (airplwaaane)
D: okay, sounds good.
D: let's start with the fuselage...
S: okay (what???!)
They build a little bit, I am in and out of the room...next I hear:
D: I am not so sure about the aerodynamic quality of these wings Sophia
S: (...huh?) she keeps playing...
D: do you want this to be a fixed wing aircraft or like an F-14 (or something or other) whose wings flip back?
S: (...huh?) she keeps playing...

yes it was a one-sided conversation. you can take David out of engineering, but you can't take the engineering out of David...one of his many skills...I love my husband.
when I walked back in the room smiling in my heart, I said: you need a boy... smile.

Happy Birthday Jie Jie

The 30th was our helper's birthday, aka, Sophia's big sis. We call her 'little sis.' She is more like a teenage daughter. She is WONDERFUL, a true blessing. We got her some gifts and then took her and some friends out to a restaurant of her choosing, which happened to be one of our favorites, they have a scrumptious beef and pineapple dish...I digress. So we went out. I also made her a Lemon Pie (key lime, without key limes) and had them over to eat it up...we had a blast. These are some of Sophia's favorite people (and ours too)


This restaurant is 'outdoors' with tables in individual bamboo 'huts'


There is a pond and little stream that runs throughout the restaurant with small cobblestone bridges. Sophia loves to go look at the fish. But poor girl gets mosquito bites like her Poppy, they have the same blood type too, is that a myth or fact? Do mosquitos prefer a certain blood type? They eat her alive! We have since started putting mild repellant on. We even have to do this when she goes outside our house on the school campus, she gets eaten up there too. They blow up and get twice the size....and on and on....needless to say she has sensitive skin...I digress a-gain. The girls found this swing at the restaurant and had fun.

The last digression. This dish is called, well, in English I have no idea. It is noodles, liver, stomach , and greens that you dip into a dish of cilantro, HOT peppers, other spices and raw pork. Yes you read correctly raw pork. This is a very local thing to eat. People here love it, it is regularly served at weddings, etc. Perhaps this is why the men don't hesitate to follow it down with really strong liquor. We, on the other hand, order the cooked version, which is delicious, but quite spicy. The red pepper on top is supposedly the HOTTEST of all peppers....I am not willing to test the rumor....
.

Reading Dr. Seuss

Sophia 'read' half of this book getting the wording almost exactly right before I could go get the camera. We haven't read this in a while, and she hasn't ever read through it all like this before, I was so surprised she remembered everything. when she says: 'fish in a tree, how do that?' she means: 'fish in a tree, how can that be?' we always laugh at this and I ask her if fish live in trees? 'nooooo' where do they live? 'in the Ocean!' she replies.

Today during her Chinese 'class' she took her 'baa baa' and told her teacher in Chinese: 'Mom says I am not allowed to play with this' as she hides it behind her back while reading a book. When I came in she hid it again and told me the same thing in English looking scared I would take it away. I just had to smile and laugh at her cleverness, and her Chinese ability...

Things that are on my mind

A friend of mine posted this blog a while ago, when I read it I resonated with it so well that I asked her if I could steal the idea. Basically I cut and pasted from her post and then tweaked it to our scenario and added a few things. In some places the wording is entirely hers. Thanks SK for letting me steal your brain for a bit. You are awesome.

I started this blog a little over a year ago and these are....

A year later…things that are on my mind

A list, in random order.

1. reality.

If you only know us from this blog, then you probably think that all we do is play, travel, eat sweets and chug Coke Light and green smoothies. As much as we’d like to share it all, the fullness of our life isn’t here, it is hardly here.

2. the guilt.

I’ve read other people’s blogs & felt like such a: craft loser, cooking loser, submissive wife loser, overall domestic loser, scrapbooking loser, homeschooling loser, parenting loser, photography loser, etc. We all need to be on guard for comparing ourselves, our situations, and especially our children to others. If you’ve read this blog and have felt any kind of guilt, rebuke it!

3. The girls: Sophia and Bella.

Even though you may be tired of them, the Grandparents love all photos and details on their grandchildren. This is their story too.

4. on being long winded.

Many people revel in being 'short' posters, for greater readability. I don't apologize for longer posts, in general this is just bits and pieces of our life , but even then the 'scrapbook' of memoirs can get long at times. The posts are as much for us as it is for you, and I want to enjoy the details later too.

5. On blog comments:

I don't allow comments for many reasons that I won't state. But I love to receive email comments. However, people who used to email frequently have now stopped, because they know a little of what is going on in our lives. But I still don't know what is going on with them. Please correspond when you can, it encourages me greatly.

6. This blog can not express everything that is going on.

Can I blog about family problems which give us great stress, but ultimately it’s not our story to tell? Can I blog when David and I are in deep disagreement? Can I blog when my heart has been hurt by a friend? Can I blog tragic tales of suffering that are not my own but burden my soul? There is much that is inappropriate to write about here.

7. My favorite posts are often the ones with no photos at all.

Small, funny conversations that I jotted down…the lists of 2 or 3 things that Sophia and Isabella are doing…crazy recipes…fun finds in our city…village stories....these are what resonate with me a year later.

8. Thankful.

Though this blog is the 'lite' version of us, I am thankful to be doing it. When I read old posts I realize I quickly forget so much. This is the scrapbook of our lives, the memoirs that make us and mold us. It is for others to glimpse and for us to savor. I am also thankful for those who share in our lives through this blog.