max gets baptized

Maxwell was baptized today by his big brother Wilson. Max said he felt warm and happy. His Mom and brother Cooper spoke, his brother Marcos said the opening prayer and his sister Eliza played a special musical number. Max had so many people come to his baptism to show him how much they love him: The Shepherds, The Stones, The Hainsworths and all his cousins and aunts and uncles. It was especially nice to have Grandma and Grandpa there. Max described his baptism this way: When I was baptized I felt like I was a new person. I felt spiritual and like I could help a lot of people." One memorable thing about Max's baptism was that his Uncle Cameron forgot the baptism suit so he had to wear an adult white jumpsuit. Luckily, all the extra fabric went under the first time. We are very proud of Max and his choice to be baptized. Max is a very careful and aware boy and will be able to learn to follow the Holy Ghost because of this special gift.

Grandma and Grandpa come home

first day of school!

Squeezing summer

If summer is a lemon, we have squeezed out the last drops this week and enjoyed perfect lemonade. On Tuesday we loaded up bikes and went to ride on the Hiawatha trail. It is such a fantastic trail thought the tunnels and over the trestles. Cooper and Max rode the tandem bike and Tony pulled Marcos on the tag a long. It was fun to ride through the mud and the dark. After the ride we paid homage to Tony's adolescence and had buffet at the casino. I thought it was disgusting, but the teenage boys were in heaven.

Friday my friend Valerie weasled me into taking her kids and my kids to Silverwood. I was dreading it, but it turned out to be a fairly relaxing visit, considering I was in a theme park with millions of people. Eliza was super brave and went on several roller coasters. Maxwell, Capt Caution, decided he was going to ride the Panic Plunge and loved it. Marcos most enjoyed his first taste of cotton candy. I tried hard to be like my Mom--she was a lot of fun at Silverwood and never complained.

Saturday we all met at Cam and Jill's for our annual rib fest. I can't believe this is the first time Tony has ever met the babies. They are adorable, rolling over, smiling, gurgling. I made Eliza and Max ski and their screams and wailing will probably get me turned into CPS. My parenting even horrified Cameron, which is hard to do. We had delicious pound cake and peaches for dessert and just sat around the table discussing boob jobs, homosexuality and the gospel. At risk of gushing, I must say I love being with my family. Dustin told me the funniest story



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Cdlane

We spent Monday and Tuesday at the Hainsworth cabin. It was relaxing and safe and a beautiful way to wrap up summer. We missed the Hughes--it sure seemed quiet with only 11 kids and 4 adults. I think one of the best moments was biting into a perfectly grilled steak-- that is what summer tastes like! We were a little less gestapo about skiing and the kids had the best time playing on the rocks, paddling kayaks and snuggling in front of movies. We even blew up the tubes!


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Cousin sleepover

I was the parent of 10 kids last weekend! It was awesome. I've missed snuggling littles for naps and bedtime and had to write myself notes to remember to change diapers. The biggest news is that not one person threw up the whole weekend, although we all bad colds. The level of contention among my kids was at an all time high. It horrified Kimball who went home to tell his Dad all about it. There was a lot of swimming, ice cream and mud, so it was a successful weekend.


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Thoughts

This is one of those sunny spots between storms that I am enjoying so much. Wilson's success in China has given him a bit of confidence which translated into a positive youth conference experience as well as a very impressive talk on Sunday. Wilson and I were asked to speak on a principle we learned in seminary and my anxiety about Wilson's talk was much greater than my own talk. I was shocked when he presented a beautiful, pure testimony of faith illustrated by the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. To help things even more, he started work on Monday (tony let him drive himself). I went to see Dr Walker yesterday to discuss my parenting weaknesses. He explained that I have "irritation aggresion". I need to not engage in battles ever whenI am expriencing this phenomenon. He also suggested that it is OK to present myself as vulnerable or in a victim position to my children. I have never done this and it is hard. I will need to focus on having the spirit and putting off the natural man.

Our trip to China brought the necessity of sleep to my attention. I am fascinated with what the gospel parallel is. I know why water is so symbolic, but I haven't yet figured out what sleep could represent.

I have also been thinking about how failures can only be a learning lesson if they can be contrasted with successes. If a person, or teenager is only feeling failure, I doubt it is much of a lesson. I

It's a very rainy day today and we are at music lessons. Cooper got his braces yesterday and with his faux beats headphones and Oakley sunglasses looks like a complete teenager.

Tony's Mom was in the ER yesterday. She had her gall bladder out last week and had some complications. It scared Dad to death.



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Stanley market in the Rain

The was something particularly exciting about going to Stanley Market in a torrential downpour. The market is in the Old British area of Hong Kong. Mom and I had fun getting things for the kids and for Jill's girls camp. I got chopsticks for everyone I could think of and Tony bought silk ties for a dollar a piece. The boys are very proud of their Samari and pistol umbrellas which passed my test of being useful. Since we were in the British sector it was only natural that we have lunch at the "Pickled Pelican". The fish and Chios were amazing, best Iv've ever had had and Tony got his favorite French Onion soup. Mom and I ended our shopping at the wet market where we bought good produce for a reasonable cost in a very Chinese market. We did get super ripped off on an umbrella and that made Mom, the thrifty shopper, so mad! We were so worn out that night that we just vegged in front of the TV watching epic Chinese dramas. Wilson loved the ubi purple yam Popsicles.


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The big Budda

We went for a lovely swim this morning in the amazing swimming pool at Mom and Dad's apartment. I have never swam in such a big pool in my life especially overlooking the ocean. When Dad got home from work we took the train to see the largest sitting Budda statue. We rode a very long and beautiful tram to a peaceful monastery in the tops of lush mountains. Wilson and I found the monastery very interesting although the smell of incense about killed me. I hope he was able to contrast the different feeling the Buddist temple had from our temple. We did some fun souvenir shopping and hiked on the "wisdom path" and "trail of enlightenment." There was a pack of wild dogs that scared us to death as well as a lot of random cows grazing all around. We also learned that the swastika is a Buddist symbol that the nazis reversed around and corrupted its meaning. I loved the peace of the place and our weather was perfect. We took a bus back to the ferry and rode across the harbor to see the breathtaking harbor lights. I have seen the most beautiful city in the world, I am convinced.


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Church in hong kong

I don't know why my emotions are so close to the surface in this country. Any slight feeling of the spirit and I burst into tears. The church seems more true in foreign countries because the sacrifices are greater. It must be true to give so much up. I felt overwhelmingly that the gospel is simply loving people and that the church equalizes and unifies us. The people here at church have a very obvious joy and spirit. I have been missing the kids and today a sister gave a talk that humbled me to the core. She is one of an entire branch of Philipina sisters that have left their children at home to come work for another family, and for other children. I don't know anything about missing children by comparison. Her testimony was so pure. She started by thanking all the Fathers who are kind and gentle to their wives, which also humbled me greatly considering that my father, brothers and husband are among that category. The branch was getting a new branch president today--an ex-pat from Scotland. He bore a powerful testimony of the power of prayer and I could have listened to his accent all day. His wife masterfully taught principle after principle in her testimony. She expressed appreciation for her husband's patience in waiting for her to join the church for 12 years. Mom and Dad have tried to tell us about Sundays. It is impossible to understand unless experienced first-hand how sweet the Philipina sisters are and how hard their lives are. It is also impossible to understand what an unbelievable trek it is to get to church. We rode train after train, walked through at least three malls and through street after street. The business,noise and sheer energy exhaust me. It is a true miracle to see Mom do what she is doing. It seems like an impossibility, but there she is playing the organ and being a superstar to all the sisters. The missionaries that work with Mom and Dad love them. They seem to all get along and have formed that special relationship that comes from serving together. I loved getting to see Mom and Dad in action, but wish I could convince Mom of how great they are. Dad doesn't need convincing--like his children he thinks he is pretty great.

After church Mom made the best soup. I think it was the best meal we had our whole trip. I was really horrified at how much we ate when I saw how expensive food was. Mom and Dad are only becoming more expert at money saving while in Hong Kong.

We are on the plane home and I'm ready. This trip has been astounding. I have really done my bet job yet of living in the moment. My desire to live close to the spirit is stronger than ever. I want to be available to be in whatever country or place the Lord needs me. Right now that place is a small town on Eastern Washington with 5 children and 1 husband to nurture.




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Coolest bike ride of my life

Yesterday was our final day in Xian and we went out with a bang! We worked hard all morning scrubbing cribs in the red room and hanging up newly laundered curtains. We were all armed with brushes and rags, 80's music and several "helpers"--thank you Mila and Coco. We enjoyed one of our best meals at Starfish for lunch with our new friends Lee Chin and Caroline. The cook made homemade dumplings and then more delicious watermelon. After play time with babies, Tony, Andrea, Chanell, Lily, Lee chin and I headed into town where we were dropped off at the North gate of the city wall. This wall was constructed before the forbidden city in the Tang Dynast, the Golden Age of China. It is beautiful. We rented bikes and rode around the whole wall. We got an amazing view of the city, of a Buddhist temple, of life in Xian. They play soothing music all along the path and everything was clean and quiet. Xian is the most beautiful city in China, I think. LeeChin negotiated a rickshaw ride for us to meet the boys, Caroline and her English student, and Naomi at the McDonalds by the drum tower. We couldn't resist the Chinese French fries and strawberry shakes which were more delicious than at home! After this tasty appetizer we started into the Muslim night market. The sights and smells were mesmerizing. Dried persimmon, dates and kiwi were piled up near big roiling pots of baking walnuts. Quail egg totem poles on a stick fried in what looked to me like little abelskiver pans. We stopped to purchase some meat that our vegetarian friend Naomi said we could not live without, a type of corned beef that we can share with Mom and Dad in Hong Kong. The South gate of the city wall stood illuminated with light and hundreds of birds circled around it catching the bugs. It seemed like all the vendors had pet birds in a cage. We were told that every day all the bird owners hang their birds in a central tree where they can all sing together. For dinner we had the most delicious mini kabobs of lamb meat spiced with cumin and fennel and a kind of fried noodle made of bread called "bing". We might have enjoyed our meal a bit more had we not all been huddling around a preschool sized table sitting on tiny stools. The energy in these Muslim quarters was amazing, like a buzzing.

That night we packed and prepared for our flight to Hong Kong. This morning we said goodbye to our new friends at Starfish. What a blessing it was to spend a few days serving them. I was reminded again last night after a rough experience with Wilson that the hard and life changing things God asks us to do are not the big events like serving in an orphanage in China. They are the mundane daily tasks of living in a family, doing our visiting teaching, putting off the natural man in our comfort zones and keeping covenants. Our trip to China has been a reprieve and a reminder of what is the hardest and most meaningful work I can do. Snuggling cleft palate babies is easy compared to loving and forgiving mean teenagers.



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