Kenna's 2 best friends

Kenna is our early morning riser... and she loves to snuggle. We often hear little (well, getting bigger now) footsteps down the hallway in the very early morning and we know, "Here comes Kenna".

This morning was no exception. I woke up unable to roll over -- Kenna was snuggled in as close as she could get. I got up out of bed to write down a few thoughts I had for my upcoming Psalms lecture and perhaps read for a bit before the kids woke up... Kenna rolled over and snuggled into Michael.

When I went back in the room 1/2 hour later, Kenna was giggling, quizzing Michael on, "Do you know who my best friend is?"

Michael starts guessing, "Elise?"
"Bigger than Elise."
Michael starts thinking (as Kenna's closest friends are younger than Elise), "Elwina? ... Annie? ... Christina?"
"No... Nope... Uh-uh... bigger than Elwina".
"Uhhh, Mommy?"
(giggle) "Nope! Bigger than mommy!"
"Oh, I know: Jesus!":
(another giggle and big grin) "Yes!! ... And do you know who my other best friend is?"
Michael guesses again, "God?"
Kenna looks at him slightly puzzled, "Jesus IS God!"
Michael, "Yes, you're right, Jesus IS God! :) (pause) ... bigger or smaller than Nathan?"
"Smaller than Nathan".
"Owen?"
"Nope, smaller than Owen -- a lot smaller."
(Michael thinking) "uhhhh... you're fish?"
(with a laugh) "No, not my fish," holding up her blanket, "My TAG!"

Yes, Kenna, what would you do without your tag...!? (the most used, most snuggled, most worn and best-loved part of her blanket!) But, we're thankful that Jesus is your very best friend! :-)

"Maggot Meat" Memories

Remember those school lunches you used to refer to with a name other than what was actually listed on the menu?

I remember the "maggot meat" lunch we used to be served -- hamburger meat (mixed with ?) mashed flat into the bottom of a pan, then baked and served up in a square "steak". It probably wasn't quite as bad tasting as the name we gave it, it did look awful though! Then there were "green eggs and ham", and no, this wasn't just a few elementary school Dr. Suess fans' term for them -- they literally were green! (made out of a powder mix)

When I used to pick Kenna up from last year's kindergarten, the teachers commented a few times, "Kenna bu gan chi zhu xie" (Kenna doesn't dare to eat the pig blood), and I smiled and nodded and thought to myself, "No, and her mom wouldn't/doesn't either!"

I'm not sure what Kenna has been eating at her new kindergarten the past two weeks, but apparently she often has to skip recess as she's a bit slow gettin' it down. Poor thing, it has brought her to tears a few times at home already. She loves school itself, it's just the food she doesn't necessarily look forward to everyday (different style to what she's accustomed to). Oh well, she'll get used to it and eventually grow to like it -- her school friends do. :-)

Kenna -- Jia yo!

Kenna does Runway!

Kenna just got to do her first runway fashion show for "DAKS" -- held at Taipei 101 (currently the world's tallest building, located here in Taipei).

It was quite a lot of fun -- first going to the hair salon to have hair & makeup done, and then on to 101 where she got to practice just a little bit before joining all the professional models backstage to get ready for the half-hour show.

She was a bit nervous, but very brave -- having to walk all by herself. There were only 2 kids, Kenna and another 8-yr-old boy and the rest were all professional adults. Kenna wasn't sure she'd have the confidence to take off her jacket at the end in front of all the cameras, but we practiced backstage, and she did it! (though she kinda forgot to pause and smile at the cameras while counting to 4 -- oh well)

The video isn't the best quality (hard to see because of the bright spotlights) but thought we'd post it just for fun.

This other picture was taken after the show -- wearing their second outfits.

Back to School!

Elise & Kenna are back to school!

Elise is in 2nd grade and is so excited to see her teacher again (she gets the same teacher for both 1st & 2nd grade) and catch up with all her friends. There are about 350 2nd-graders at her school (one of 8 elementary schools in our area). A little bit different to home! She loves learning (especially Chinese) and overall enjoys school very much.

Kenna is in the local public Kindergarten (attached to the same elementary school Elise goes to) and is very excited to be at school where she gets to play quite a bit and do lots of activities with all her "best friends" (she came home with 5 new "best friends" after just the first day of school). The food however, is not her favorite... but she'll get used to it. At least this kindergarten doesn't serve quite as much pig's blood for lunch as last year's kindergarten! :-P

Kenna in the Kitchen...

Q: Kenna's all-time favorite breakfast?
A: Pancakes!

Watch her flipping:

Termite Killers

About twice a year we have an invasion of flying ants - a.k.a termites!

They come in through the windows, cracks, airconditioner vents, and anywhere else they possibly can!

Usually all the walls of the house that have a window on them are literally crawling with hundreds of termites -- and we get to have fun for a few hours swatting, stepping, wiping -- trying to exterminate them all before we go to bed.

Here are Elise and Kenna self-armed for termite battle! We lost count after awhile -- but they got an awful lot!

One year we forgot about the laundry room -- and found the bottom of a laundry basket just crawling... and one of Michael's good shirts full of eaten-through holes. :P