Back to School, Off to School!, & Home from School (with Pneumonia)!

Monday, Aug 31 was a big day.  It was the first day back to school.  Elise went off to 3rd grade, and Kenna to 1st grade!

BUT, that's not all!  A very BIG change for us is that we decided to start Anaya & Nathan at "preschool"!!  As we will be leading the upcoming Titus in January (and there is lots to do in preparation for that), and as Michael is still full-time on SBS staff, we felt this would help with two things: 1. allow Amy (me) to devote a good 3 hours each morning to working on Titus (both local & international) and 2. get Anaya & Nathan started on their way to understanding & speaking Chinese. :-)

I will be honest:  I was rather excited for this day to come.  Imagine 4 1/2 hours of morning all to myself, 5 days of the week!  Oh, the things I could get done!  My plans were grand!

I was really enjoying my new morning schedule -- up at 5:40, kids out of bed at 6:30, breakfast, make lunches, get everyone organized and out the door, By 8:00 I was working hard on the house & at 9:00 was on to Titus stuff for the next 3+ hours (I wanted to be a very good steward of this time!)   In the afternoon, I was then able to totally concentrate on the kids, plus get a few more things done around the house. :-)

Just 3 days later, however, Anaya was back home with a fever & sudden deep chest cough.  Next day: still had fever & cough.  Following day: Nathan gets a fever & throws up.  4th day: Anaya's fever continues.  Nathan has fever, but still lots of energy.  5th day: Take kids to doctor.  Anaya has chest x-ray which confirms she has pneumonia.  Nathan gets tested for H1N1 (comes back negative :-)).  Doctor says Anaya needs to stay home for a week, Nathan two more days.  Day 6-7: Anaya & Nathan get out every glass in the cupboard, spill water on the floor countless times, there is food on the floor, playdough mashed into the floor, toys all over the floor, and they are fighting like crazy!  So... mom goes a little crazy too...

I think first there was the excitement (After 8 years, what am I going to do with such a big chunk of time?  Lots! :-)),  a bit of guilt (are we really doing the right thing?), then, disappointment (it's only been 3 days, and already "my plans" have come to a halt).  Though a challenging week, it has been a good week too -- God is Sovereign & all things work for good. :-)

Nathan is now back to "school", Anaya is doing much better and will be back to school soon, & I will continue to learn about patience, grace, being joyful & thankful in all circumstances, and that God's ways are higher than my ways!

"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!