Coke-Lite

14 Years of Marriage

March 15, 2017

Fourteen years in and it feels like it can't get any better. But I know it will too.
I love this man. He chose me fourteen years ago and he is choosing me still.

For our anniversary we decided to try to find a small mountain we hiked 15 years ago on a short trip here before we were married. That trip made us.

A family that lived here at the time and some others took us on this outing, up this mountain. Small but steep. Their three kids were small then, and they did the hike too. As we hiked it this time we both had the same thought: "I am not sure our kids could do this, we need to toughen them up."

I was a bit skeptical that we would find it...we were somewhat guessing the whole way. But David had his bearings and once we started up we got more confident. The last time we hiked this it was June, the rains had washed all the leaves and brush away. This time it was so thick with leaves and underneath, mossy slime. We were looking for the trenches supposedly from WWII.

Parts were a bit steep but it wasn't far. We are not out of shape folks but we were huffing and puffing a bit. At one point I laughed and said with all the pride I could muster: "not just any wife would follow their husband here (that was literal, like on this mountain, and deeper: China)....and not just any husband would lead her here either." We laughed at all the meanings of this and kept on trekking.

One thing is for sure, David and I love doing life together, in the trenches and on the mountaintop (cliche intended).

We found the old trenches...

They were deep!

I had to jog it down, and fell on my tush twice.

And I have this exact picture from 15 years ago, same tree, I promise.

This was a special, sentimental way to spend part of our day.
So thankful for David, for marriage, and for the God who created it.

Last Night Dance Performance

February 2017

Poppy and CC happened to be here during Sophia and Bella's dance performance at the big square in our town.

They performed the same dances two nights in a row. Poppy and CC were here for the first one.

Check it out...

The prep

Gabrielle learned the dances too and was hilarious and cute doing the whole thing with them down front. We got it all on video.

The girls knew these cold. They did wonderful!!!

Here she is in action

Pretty big crowd.

the judges

Okay you can have some lipstick too...

Our helper came out in support.

This was so much fun!!!

Poppy and CC's visit was one of the best yet, We are always so thankful for their sacrifice to come see us, it means the world to us and the kiddos.
Until next time...

More Eats and Outings

February 2017

Another dumpling night. This time, with another set of grandparents. That's right, our friends' grandparents overlapped with ours for a few days. So cool.

K and I discuss the finer points of...let me guess...Chinese School or homeschool or child sickness, our most talked about topics.

Snack from the bread store: we call this her 'double barreled hot dog', it is actually pretty gross, she loves Chinese hot dogs. Me, not so much.

Here is another possible first car for our kids....though only old folks around here drive them.

The S family invited us to a restaurant/picnic on the outskirts of town.

It was beautiful.

Lots of crystal clear water and places to play.

Sophia gets the grill ready...

We ate in these huts.

The men grilled the meat.

It was yum. They did a great job.

This girl...

The kids were eating in one hut and adults in another. I went to check on Gabrielle and she was nowhere to be found. We yelled and yelled, no answer. Every adult got up quickly. David had to kick me into action with his words since I was the closest to the most dangerous spots: I sped down along the edge of the water looking at the bottom the whole way, with my heart in my throat. In the end (after a long, full minute) we discoverd that G had decided to follow Annabelle way up to another building to the bathroom without telling anyone.
And there they were, thankfully.

The grandmother's discuss...