Home Is Wherever I'm With You

I'm back from China! Actually I've been back almost a week now, but I've been occupied trying to get over jet lag and things. My first day back was filled with diving and beaching with good friends. Kind of perfect really.

But it's really nice to be home and to be inhaling clean air again. I know everyone talks about how polluted China is, but summertime is not a good time to be breathing in China. I'm feeling some lasting effect from it.

Lots going on as I get ready to go back to school. I've gotten a couple new toys which I'll share here later. Right now though, I'm just looking forward to enjoying this last sliver of summer here in Florida.

Sights Around The West Lake

~Inside on a stormy afternoon~


~A beautiful evening to follow~

China Fisheyed

Orphans in China

So I'm out here working with teens from the US who are volunteering with orphans in China. It sounds a bit heavy and emotional. But I have to say, most of the time I remain pretty level and unemotional about it all. But every once in a while I do get overwhelmed with what the situation is and what is happening to these little people who never had any say in their own fate whatsoever. All we hear growing up is that our parents will love us no matter what happens. But what if you're abandoned by your parents?.... Who's responsibility is it to love you no matter what, when that happens?

What's more heartbreaking is that I know there are mom's out there who are agonizing over abandoning their own child. Because they had a disorder or a deformity that would be too expensive for their family to fix, they made the decision to try to give this child an opportunity at a better life. But the reality is, at state run orphanages in China, there isn't much chance at a better life, especially for those kids with disabilities.

Which is where China Little Flower comes in. They take babies with disabilities out of orphanages and get them the medical care that they need. Then they have a greater chance of being adopted.

China Little Flower also has a home for older kids, who have a pretty small chance of being adopted. Our teens have also been working with these kids. They actually have a really awesome setup here. They have 4 of what they call "Group Homes" which the older kids are split up between. Each family has a mother and a father (hired by CLF) who have signed a contract to stay on for a certain number of years, and all the kids that live within the home refer to each other as their brothers and sisters. At first I wasn't sure what to make of this, but we recently had the chance to go and spend an evening in one of the homes to make Chinese Dumplings with the family. I have to say it was one of the warmest family experiences I've ever experienced. The parents are amazing and treat every child as if it were their own. A couple of the families have their own children who they treat no differently from the Group Home kids.

These kids are really incredible and I have such a soft spot for them.









For more information about the China Little Flower organization visit http://www.chinalittleflower.org

Finally! The Holidays!

Whew! So my lack of updating is due to our move to Sunny FL! Well....actually we arrived in FL in the midst of a cold snap, and it's actually been colder here than Seattle (not even joking like 29 degrees).

So I've been seriously busy trying to organize furniture for a house so we can stop looking like we're just squatting here with our mattress on the floor. More on Florida later, all I'll say is that we're here, we love the house we're renting and there's lots to share but that's for another post on a different night, including some news on going back to school.

How bout those holidays? 5 countries in 3 weeks!

We started our trip from South Africa to England to visit Eliot's family and friends. It was so nice to go from hot SA to wintry England during the holiday season. Suddenly it felt like Christmas. We didn't spend Christmas in England, but Eliot's mum had a holiday party, inviting all Eliot's friends. And the evening before we left made a proper English Christmas dinner complete with Christmas pudding. Eliot has always spoken about these dinners and I was very grateful to be able to share it with him and his folks.


~A walk in England~






~This fountain was so cool~



~Catching up with our friend Mike from Argo~




~Christmas Pudding (after it's been lit on fire)~




Also while in England, Jenny (Eliot's mum) took me on a side trip to Paris! It sounds extravagant, but really it was only a 2 hour train ride on the EuroStar from London. Although freezing temperatures, we saw a lot of Paris in a day.


~The Louvre~


~Notre Dame~


~Inside Notre Dame~


~I can't quite remember what this is called...~


~Jenny and I~

From England we headed south again and went to Florida for 2 days to try and sort out a place to live when we came back in 2 weeks, and also to grab our snowboarding gear to head back north to Bellingham!


~Sunset from the deck- gorgeous shot of the San Juan Islands~
(Eliot's photo)


~Going for a walk at Whatcom Falls~




We spent Christmas there with my parents. My dad cooked a lekker prime rib roast on Christmas Eve. It was really nice to spend Christmas at home and catch up with friends and family. Also, my niece is at a great age now (almost 3), and it was so much fun to see her eyes light up on Christmas morning.


~Sunny Christmas Eve at the park~








~Playing with my old toys in the basement Christmas Eve- Obviously not very exciting~


~My sister Char on Christmas morning~
(Eliot's photo)


~An old Disney movie that is apparently more exciting than her gifts~


~Dad enjoying sunny Christmas day on the deck~
(Eliot's photo)


~My brother Alan~
(Eliot's photo)

The day after Christmas we said goodbye to my parents as they headed off to Maui, and Eliot and I headed up north to BC to go snowboarding. Eliot's best friend and his family were visiting Kelowna for the holidays, so it was the perfect opportunity to hook up with them and get some turns in at Big White.


~Eliot~


~Eliot and Nick mid day pub run~


~Nick~


~End of day pub run~
(Eliot's photo)

So those were our holidays in a fairly small nutshell. But we really had such a great trip. It always makes me wish all our loved ones were closer by, but at the same time, we're so lucky to have great family and friends all over the world.

Happy 2010!