Merry Christmas from China!

I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me when I got home from school today....a package from China! I talked to A on Friday, and she said that she was sending Christmas gifts to her American family. To my surprise, it came today....much sooner than I ever expected!

She sent two scarves (one black, one maroon), a small handbag, and a stuffed monkey similar to the "Get Well Soon" cat she gave me this summer when I broke my arm. I am supposed to give them to my family members, but deciding which one to keep for myself is a difficult task! When I opened the package, I also got another unexpected gift that left me in tears....the SMELL of China!! Crazy, I know, but it brought back so many memories from my time there....the markets of Nanning....outings with my students....bartering/bargaining...long walks and quality talks....the overwhelming sense of Dad working in the lives of my friends...EVERYTHING! That was the first time I have gotten to SMELL China since July 26, 2007. I am so thankful for this unexpected gift today! Here are a few pics....

Chinese BBQ!

As I was looking through my facebook pics, I came across these pictures from our Chinese BBQ. I was bummed when I got home this summer and realized that I neglected to capture the moment. So, I am grateful to my teammates who didn't let me down....this was one of my most favorite nights!

Chinese BBQ is unlike any BBQ in the US. I must admit though, the food was pretty good. We had BBQ tofu, BBQ fish, spicy noodles, boiled peanuts, and spicy veggies. Even better than the food was the atmosphere. "Nanning Nights" are perfect to me...maybe not to anyone else, but to me, they are PERFECT! Usually a cool breeze...stars...less humidity than I am used to in Texas...what could be better than that?!? Leave it to the students to take you to the best spots...local places that tourists never venture into. Such a fun night!!

S, A, Ange, and me enjoying "Nanning Nights" and BBQ Tofu! YUM!

I'm not sure why, but BBQ Tofu was def. a hit amongst Team Nanning!

I love Skype!

Skype has become one of my new favorite things in the world. I say this because it has opened up doors for me to talk to some of my students and friends in China. Last night, I called A and talked to her for about 10 minutes. The conversation wasn't long, but it was so good to hear her voice!

A and I became very close friends during Camp China 2006. I knew when I left that summer that our Dad had big plans for our friendship and that it would continue....our friendship has not only continued, but it has GROWN! We were both pretty emotional when I left the first summer because Dad had done so many things in both of our lives. As I boarded the train, A gave me a huge hug and said, "Don't worry Katie. It is only lots of Wahaha that separates us!" Wahaha is the brand of bottled water that we drank while in Nanning. If you look back there is a post about an interesting experience with Wahaha. That lighthearted comment made the distance from Nanning, China to Texas seem much smaller.

I was also blessed to be able to travel back to the same city and teach last summer (2007). I was so excited because I knew that A would be there. An unfortunate accident the first night I was in China left me with a broken arm and a short stay in China. I left after two weeks because of my arm. The news of having to leave early was a shock and I hardly had time to say my goodbyes. I wanted to video all of my kids so that I could hear their voices when I missed them, but I didn't have time to do it. Now with Skype, they are only a phone call away....and I love it!!

Here are a few pics of me with A in 2006 and 2007. She is my SISTER, and I love her so much!

A and I eating her new favorite snack...PEANUT BUTTER! (2006)

A and me hanging out after closing ceremonies of Camp China (2006)

First night in Nanning. We were so glad to see each other again! (2007)

Saying goodbye to my girls: A, Y, and C (2007)

A recent pic of A (in the pink hat) with some friends on a visit to Kun Ming (2008)

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

A Long Overdue Update...

Wow...its been a long time since I have posted anything on this blog. Sorry about that. I guess a combination of a lack of time and a lack of anything interesting to update about could be to blame. I am also limited on the things that I can really say on this blog because of the location of some of my readers. Since I am here now, I will give you a brief update on life....

First of all, I made the decision to quit pursuing Medical School and have started thinking in the direction of Nursing. If you know me well, you will know that I have talked of going to Med School for a long time, but I just don't feel like that is the direction that Dad is leading me anymore. I am excited about Nursing School though, and I can't wait to see what He has in store for me in that area.

This semester has been full of new experiences for me. I am no longer a student (which is really crazy in itself) and am in the "real world". I miss being a student, but I love the season of life I am currently in. My job is so much fun. I work in a Special Ed/Life Skills classroom, and I adore the students. Each of them has captured my heart in their own unique way. I love them dearly. Here are some of the precious students I work with.

My computer is not cooperating with me right now, and so I will finish the semester update soon. Enjoy these pics for now!

China Slideshow!

I finally finished....well, actually I finally had time to sit down and work on a slideshow. I had Monday off from work, and so I decided to put this slideshow together so that you could have a better idea of what my summer was like. Thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement throughout this difficult summer. I never imagined that my summer would turn out the way that it did. Eventhough it wasn't under the ideal circumstances, I had a blast in China for the two weeks I was teaching in Nanning. I also had a blast in Hong Kong for a week, but I really don't have many pictures of that. Enjoy the slideshow. I hope that, if nothing else, it gives you a glimpse of why I love these people and China so much. Please feel free to leave comments. I love to hear what you think. Have an amazing day!

I tried several times to upload the video to my blog, but blogger wasn't working. So I am

putting a link on here to the slideshow. Here it is...ENJOY!!

(The quality of the pictures is much better if you click on the down arrow at the bottom of the video and change the view to "original view". It makes the pictures smaller, but they are better quality.)

So I've Been Thinking...

It has been a while since I have updated this blog. Thanks to all of you who continue to check back to see if I have updated. Life has gotten a little crazy, and I am having a hard time finding time to post.

What I have been thinking about is taking a different approach to my blog. I will still post about China, but I also want to use this blog to keep people updated on everything else that is going on as well. Continue to check back for China stories and pictures (I will do better about posting), and you will also see other postings that don't have to do with China. For now I have decided to keep the name of the blog and everything else the same.

Thanks for reading!!!