New TV

This is our new flat screen television. We really love it. It is our Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary present :) We have been having people over everyday to watch movies with us.

more pictures

Here are some more pictures of our new building.

new school

These are some pictures of our new school being built. I thought you would enjoy seeing how things are done in China. We should be moving into the new building during Christmas break.

the winter wind has come

the cold has finally hit. i still don't understand how it can be so cold and not snow. at school we wear jackets and scarves to stay warm...even the students do. we have kongtiao ( air-cons) in our rooms, but the hall ways and bathrooms are still very cold. My room is a little too big for my kongtiao, so it takes most of the day until the room warms up. At home, we have some heat in the living room and our bedroom, but when I go into our study to play the piano or work on the computer, I put my coat on. All the buildings are not insulated, so as soon as you turn the kongtiao off, the room immediately gets cold again. At least the winter is a little shorter here than in most places.

Last night we had a Thanksgiving meal with some of our friends. It was so good. We had turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, mashed potatoes, hot cidar, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. I am still full from eating all that goodness.

We were thinking about traveling over Thanksgiving break, but we decided to buy a flat panel television instead. We will probably buy it this weekend. It will be our early Christmas present.

I will post some pictures of our Thanksgiving meal soon.

Sick Days

I stayed home yesterday trying to beat this cold. It was so nice to have the day off. I took vitamin C all day, drank lots of tea, and drank some grapefruit juice. I am feeling a little better today, but still not totally healed. I think the best part of yesterday was having my puppy sit with me all day while I read. She weighs 16 kilograms, but she still loves sitting on my lap.

Cheri brought me gummi worms back from America...what a treat. I sure miss gummi worms. Gummi worms and licorice are two things that we can't find here, even at the import stores. Thanks Cheri!!!!

Weekend

This weekend Nate has been leading a boys retreat for the highschool boys in our school. Normally they go on a camping trip somewhere,but it didn't work out this year so they are staying at our house. I think there are about 10 boys participating. I have been at Jenny's house all weekend while the boys destroy my home. I am glad that we could host it though. I hope that they are having fun. I know that Sophie is just loving having all the people at our house. She is such a people-puppy.
Yesterday Jenny and i went to Chunxi Lu to shop. Chunxi Lu is walking street with lots of clothing stores. Jenny was looking for some shoes for school. We both ended up buying shoes and i bought some clinique face wash. we had a great time, although it was so crowded, far more crowded than any store gets in America even during Christmas shopping. Sometimes yesterday we were walking shoulder to shoulder with people. It is not a good place to go if you are tired or grumpy because you are constantly being bumped into and pushed around by the crowds.
I have been trying to walk more. Last week I walked back and forth from school a few days. It only takes 25 minutes to walk to school. Jenny walked with me a few of those times.

Yearbook Pictures

Here are our staff pictures. The photography class took the pictures...they did a great job.

Pictures

As you can see, Book Character Day was a lot of fun. Almost all of the students dressed up as a book character. Sophie even came for part of the day to be Sherlock Holmes' hound dog.