This is the face of Libya.

I've been thinking about Libya this week as I have read the news online.  I've been thinking about real people, real Libyans - Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters.  Through my work as an ESL teacher, I've been privileged to meet people from all over the world, including Libya.  So when I think about Libya, I am thinking about people that I actually know and wondering if they and their families are okay.

Then this morning, I got an e-mail from the amazing program manager at the university where I used to work.  She had an e-mail from a former student who sent some photo's.

This then, is the face of Libya.

This is one of my former students.   A lovely, kind and gentle man.  A hard worker and good thinker.  Two years after he left the program, he was thoughtful enough to send pictures that he had of teachers and students.

I think that when we replace categories with people, it changes the way we think.  It helps us to look at the complexities of life and maybe strive more for kindness and understanding.  Knowing that a Libyan, an Egyptian, a North Korean are all real people changes me.  It helps me to pray in a different way.  It helps me to understand that issues are about living breathing people.

For me now - orphan has a name in our sweet baby.  North Korean- the sweet teenager in my class last semester and the somewhat odd men who were sent by their governments to study.  Muslim- so many names and faces.  Refugee- Annie from Liberia and so many more.  Fundamentalist- my sweet friend's Martha and Gina.  Republican/Democrat- my husband and I and yet we vote the same way and believe the same things.

Calvinist, Dispensationalist, Conservative, Liberal - all labels that get thrown around that represent real people.

I am not trying to have some kind of  "We are the world" moment.  Just a minute to think to step back and consider that labels don't define us.  Our personhood does.

Yes, it's still winter here.

It's March 3 and the days are getting longer and lighter.  The sky looks a little different and we occasionally have temperatures above freezing.  Our heat goes off April 1 and it's all ready starting to go down a little.  We are still wearing long underwear and many layers.  Occasionally my parents torture send us pretty cards with beautiful pictures of early California Spring.  I'd like to reciprocate with this picture of early Spring in our city.

Yes, the dregs of icy snow with coal dust and trash.  It's lovely, isn't it?

Yet, hope springs eternal and I went out looking for signs of Spring today.  I went out to the river near our apartment to go bike riding.  Here are some signs of Spring..and signs that it really is still winter.

Ah!  Some moving water and a little ice.

Wait!  What is this?  A man ice fishing a few hundred yarns down?

Across the river, large groups of men ice fishing.  They must be pretty confident that the ice will hold them all.

Swimming?  Of course.  Look below.

Don't you do laps surrounded by ice?  At least it's a short length.

Next to the swimmer, two ice skaters.  They did stay pretty close to the shore.

This man was confident enough of the ice that he brought his bicycle on the ice!  He must have mad cycling skills.

This is hopeful- going west and seeing some of the ice melt.

The lock has flowing water.

Look at the thickness of that ice!  Imagine how thick it is midwinter.

Not a sign of Spring-just cuteness waiting for me when I got home.

Also not a sign of Spring- a sign of patience and kindness.  This is my tutor with our little guy.  I adore her.

This little guy wants to move.

Our little foster son is almost 16 months.  He has been with us for around six months.  He seems to be developmentally pretty on track for a little guy with Down Syndrome.  That is my mama bear opinion anyway.  He is 9 - 10 kilograms (about 20 pounds).  That is a gain of about 12 - 14 pounds in six months.  People ask how we did it- we just call it the "Chunk him up" diet.  We put extra formula and cereal in his bottle.  The amount was told to us by his doctor.  Putting cereal in his bottle took some getting used to because I used to work with teen parents and that was something we told them not to do!  But because of his poor swallow reflex and aspiration pneumonia, he needed the thickness of the cereal.  Plus the extra calories.  Now we just put in a small amount of cereal with the formula.

We try to make every bite count.  We cook, puree and freeze vegetables, which we include with his cereal. We can get cooked sweet potatoes on the street here- we buy those for about 50 cents!  One lasts through two or three dinners.  The day starts off with oatmeal chopped and bananas.  He snacks on cereal and small crackers.  For dinner, we just grind up whatever we are eating.

Getting healthy means wanting to move.  He can roll.  He can sit by himself if we put him in a sitting position.  Now, he really, really wants to move and is doing everything he can to do it.

He does this a lot-has since the beginning.  He is incredibly flexible, one of the characteristics of Down Syndrome.

Strong at pushing up and schooches a little.

Almost crawling- strong arms, strong legs but coordinating opposite and alternate body movement is not quite there.

Since he can't really crawl yet, he does this to move!  He arches and scooches backwards. It gets him about an inch back but hey!  it's progress!

He likes to look at toys and is beginning to hold them with two hands or pass from one hand to another.

He loves to touch different surfaces and will spent a lot of time touching different things.

This position usually means "Pick me up."

Spring is Coming! A few random photo's.

Just because we are still wearing long underwear doesn't mean Spring isn't coming.  Look at the river by our house!

The ice is melting!

This is the building near our home that caught on fire on Chun Jie.  Cause of the fire- fireworks.  The damage is pretty amazing!  More amazing-  no one was killed or hurt!  The building is a hotel but many people live there long term.  Because of Chun Jie, most people were out.

These are outside a friend's apartment.  There is a kind of Spanish theme and they are actually really attractive buildings and grounds.

"Because of a similar aesthetic, similar life experiences, we come together, we live in harmony, we are the same as each other, because the heart of barcelona."

"In barcelona you will find a lot of details have been closer to your heart and architecture, and the surrounding neighborhood and life away."

"Everyone has a different attitude to life, everyone wants to have the same preferences with their own people live together."

"Spanish Impression and a deep artistic spirit make the housing an ideal space."

I guess what I notice about these signs is that advertising is advertising, no matter what the language or culture.  They are trying to sell an experience to draw people to live there.  Apparently it's working because the apartments are pretty full!

Look- our baby is a Gleek!

Weirdest cat ever... drinking water in the shower with the shower on!

Guest Blogger: The Man of the House!

Let me share my recent story of medical care in China.

So, I had not been feeling well for several days.  Then we went out for "hot pot," which we all love.  Mind you, I use the clear "qing" pot, not the spicy "la" pot.  But later that night my belly hurt like crazy.  I think the term "excruciating pain" would do it.  I woke up with a sharp, stabbing pain on the left side.  Of course, I thought that the next morning I'd feel better.  "No more hot pot," if you know what I mean.  Well the next day, "no more hot pot" but the pain continued for the next few days.

After a few days, I went to the "international clinic" to see a Western doctor.  There were a few bangs on the feet, moving my knees around, pressure on different parts of the abdomen, and then finally pushing on that particular painful spot.  "Ouch" is not enough to describe the sensation.  He pressed on the opposite side, which had absolutely no pain, and then suddenly released.  Pain went flying from one side of the abdomen to the other. Oh, the doctor was now certain it was diverticulitis and peritonitis.  The doctor said that if the CT scan showed no "free air" in the abdomen, then ten days of anti-biotics would work.

They sent me on a day long journey through two different Chinese hospitals to rule out the need for surgery.  I first needed a CT scan and then off for a consultation with a surgeon at the best hospital in town.  With the exception of the sheer numbers of people  who were waiting to see doctors, I would say the quality of care was comparable to medical care in the U.S.

Now to the best part.

The cost of the CT scan was $115, the surgeon consultation fee was $8, and the radiologist consultation fee was $8.  Again, let me say the quality of care was comparable to the US, the CT scanner was the same as one you would see in the US.  

I feel better in the belly and better in the pocketbook.  I am very thankful.

Not really a China post.

This has been a hard week for our family.  We are dealing with some decisions and none of them are easy.  We have good support from good people.  But life feels very serious right now.
My husband has been seriously ill this week. He started feeling ill on Sunday evening and was awake for three nights.  Wednesday he went to the international clinic and was diagnosed with diverticulitis and peritonitis.  So far   it's been treated with heavy antibiotics but he has been in considerable pain and  is fatigued.  He promised to blog about his experience in the hospital later.
People often think that the things that stress you the most are cultural differences.  That can be true.  In this land of the only indulged child,  there can be unbelievable rudeness.  I was standing in line at the market the other day and two girls pushed ahead of me to buy their drinks.  They saw me, they looked at me and they did it anyway.  That kind of thing can be enraging.
But really, the things that make you tired are the ordinary.  It's caring for a teenager and a baby. Okay, maybe that isn't so common.  It's sickness, it's running out of milk, it's lack of sleep and so on.
So today, I feel tired and a little blue.  I read the Book of Common Prayer Evening Compline and it comforted my soul with its beautiful words and profound meaning.
Part of the reading was from the Psalms
Psalm 107:1-32
¹Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

³And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west, 
From the north and from the south. 

⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.

⁵Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.

⁶Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.

⁸Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

⁹For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness. 


That is one of my favorite verses in the Bible and He has proved it over and over to me.  No matter how dark today is, He will be faithful.

Sure, I can sit!

When we got our little guy last August, he could barely hold his head up, let alone sit unattended.  I didn't know much about Down Syndrome and I thought that the combination of Down Syndrome and being severely malnourished would combine to his development and recovery rather slow.
I couldn't have been more wrong.  This guy wants to sit, crawl and play.  He "talks" up a storm and interacts with us.  He hates his bath and "scolds" us after we give him one.  He kicks, he raises up, he rolls, he lies on his stomach and tries to scoot.  He can sit unattended if we put him in the position.  He is so proud of himself and we are proud of him.

We are thinking a lot these days about what his future will be.  In many ways, it is truly out of our hands.  He is our foster son, not our adopted son.  We want the best for him but have no power to make that happen.  His future may be in his home country, with a loving long term foster family.  It may be with a forever family.  It may be in an institutional setting.  We don't know.  We know what we hope and pray for our little guy.

Sure, he can sit.  That's a major thing.  But he can also love and is easy to love.  That's the most important thing.