It's a Small World

When you hear the song "It's a Small World" in China, you know the street sweeper truck is coming and that you'd better move if you don't want to get wet.  When you hear a similar tune in Taiwan, it means that the garbage truck is coming, and you only have a few more minutes to take your trash (rubbish) out.  In America, this tune means that the ice cream truck is coming. (One of the many reasons I love America.) But, no matter where you are in the world, this tune is associated with Disney and all of the magic and beauty of cultures around the world. During our time in China, I truly learned the meaning of "It's a Small World after all".

We were fortunate enough to get to do some traveling at Christmas time, just before the craziness of our move settled in.  We traveled to Taiwan and Thailand.  It was amazing how many people we ran into that we have connections with. While in Taiwan, we had the opportunity to meet and get to spend time with my sister-in-law's cousins.  We also met up with a family that had recently relocated from Shanghai to Taiwan.  I won't bore you anymore, but the list goes on and on with the people we ran into in Taiwan.  Truly a small world.  We had the same type of experience as we traveled to Thailand and ended up running into a family from Nanjing International School in the hotel lobby where we were both staying. It's amazing just how small this big world is.

As we recently relocated our family to America, Minnesota to be specific, we've found connections once again.  This was not a planned move, but it was the right move. Best Buy sold the company they owned in China, and relocated us in just a little over a month's time. In the few short weeks that we have been here, we have already received numerous blessings and confirmations that this is where we are supposed to be right now.

This has been an extremely crazy time, not only are we in the middle of a move with 7 children and living in a hotel, but we are also preparing to send our oldest daughter on a mission for our church on March 25th.  I have no idea how we would've completed this move without her help.  The Lord was very mindful of us as He assigned a departure date for Mikayla.  The Lord was also very mindful of Mikayla and the people here in Minnesota.  I have seen amazing things happen for Mikayla in the time that we have been living here. One of the most exciting opportunities that she has had is that she met a missionary from Taiwan (where she will be serving) and has gotten to help teach a recently converted family from mainland China.  

I can't believe that Mikayla will be leaving us for 18 months in less than a week.  I'm not sure that I'm ready to let her go, but I know it's the right thing to do. I had a difficult time leaving her in America for University this last fall as we headed back to China.  When she received her mission call, I felt great comfort knowing that finally she would be closer to us as she served in Taiwan and we lived in China, but this was not the Lord's ultimate plan.  The Lord needs us in Minnesota right now, and He has done all that He can to comfort me thru this transition.  The Lord gave me the opportunity to go to Taiwan and see where Mikayla will be serving and the people she will be serving with.  He has let Mikayla experience where we will be living while she is in Taiwan. He has given me the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Mikayla during this move and to see what an amazing woman she has become and how prepared she is to serve.  This has definitely not been the typical mission preparation time. In fact, Mikayla has given 3 mission farewell talks because she has lived in 3 wards/branches since she received her mission call. It might not be typical, but it's all working out.

It truly is a "small world" for which I'm grateful because this means that I will have the opportunity to see all of my amazing friends from around the world once again.  Who would've thought that a few years ago I would now be blogging about my friends from around the world?  Certainly not me.  In China, I was able to meet and become friends with people that lived less than an hour from me in Utah to people that are from the other side of the world.  (So, crazy that we had to go clear to China to meet our Davis County friends.) I feel so blessed and am eternally grateful for the friendships that I have with so many wonderful people. "It's a Small World after all", and I'm so glad that I get to be a part of it.

Alauna

I'll Go Where You Want me to Go.

I’ll go where you want me to go.  These are the words of a popular hymn in our church.  This hymn is typically sung as missionaries prepare to leave for a place that they did not choose, but was assigned by inspiration from the brethren at the church headquarters.  

The words to this hymn have been going through my head over and over.  Maybe because we are on the move again, and again not by our choosing.  When we came to China I was the only one that was 100% excited about it.  We prayed about it as a family and each person felt it was the right thing to do, but they still were not excited about it.  

Now after many tears the past few days we are spending our last night in China.  No one wants to leave.  We love it here, we are thriving here, we have built deep relationships here.  But if we truly believe the words to this hymn that we have collectively sung hundreds if not thousands of times then we need to go.

And so tonight is our last night in China and tomorrow at 4am we will wake up and begin the journey of thousands of miles with 27 suitcases, 9 backpacks, 2 car seats, a stroller and a port-a-crib in tow.  About 25 hours later we will be heading to our new home in Chaska, Minnesota (Temp housing until the end of March and then move into our new house).

  

In church and the scriptures we are taught that faith requires action, and through that action we will receive a witness and our faith becomes stronger.  We are moving to the Minneapolis area because we feel like it is where our family needs to be at this time.  So amid all the craziness and madness of moving a family of nine half way around the world we have an incredible feeling of peace.  We are doing what we need to be doing.  We have been immensely blessed for moving to China, and I have no doubt that we will continued to be blessed in our new adventures in Minnesota.  

I realized that we have not blogged for almost a year.  The past few days as I have had some quiet time I have had idea after idea for blog posts come to my mind.  (These posts will come in the near future.)  Mostly, for our own benefit to remember the amazing experience that we have had here in China and to remember how much our lives have been blessed by listening to the promptings of the Spirit we had as a family to move to China.  

As our family prepared to come to China I told our kids it would be the most difficult thing and the best thing our family had ever done.  Both of these statements are true.  And for this, I am forever grateful.  

Boyd 

For Mothers Day Alauna wanted to take a photo of the family and one with her and our 7 kids.  We grabbed the tripod, the camera and headed to the back yard to take a couple of photos.  With seven kids not many things are very easy.  This simple picture was no exception.  :)  I just started snapping pictures as the craziness unfolded.  While life may be a bit crazy it is always worth a laugh.  I have looked through these pictures dozens of times and I laugh every single time.  Our family may keep you on your toes, but we will always provide a laugh or two.  I can't imagine life any other way.  

Trevon is Baptized in China

Sunday March 9, 2014 was an awesome day.  Trevon got baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He was baptized is a swimming pool at the Frasier Apartments.  Jerry and Yvonne Yu live there and they are able to arrange the baptism being held there.  It was such a blessing, for me to be able to baptize him and confirm him.  He is such a good boy and it was a really special day. 

It was a very long day.  Alauna and I were up late on Saturday night getting things ready.  By the time we got to bed it was after midnight and then we woke up at 5:30 to make sure we were ready to leave by 7 to get to the baptism on time.  We had three college students staying with us for the weekend and also Alauna’s cousin David and Jenny Benson and their son Charlie.  It was so nice to have David and his family with us that weekend.  We had Craig and Sue Peterson as well as Tracy Crump meet us at our house to help get everyone to the baptism. 

The pool was about 40 minutes away from our house and we had the baptism service before our regular Sunday service so it made for an early start.  Our branch has not had a lot of children baptized in it so they did not have any white clothing.  So Trevon had a pair of white pants and a white shirt tailor made for his baptism.  He looked so good.  He also got a new suit made as well and looked handsome.

It’s always tough to be away from family and friends when we have special events.  This was no exception.  It was very nice to David, Jenny and Charlie here.  It was also very overwhelming with the amount of support received from our Nanjing Branch Family.  We had almost 60 people at the baptism from our church.  It took most of the people 30-60 minutes to get to the baptism.  We felt very loved and supported by everyone. 

The baptism was a great experience.  The pool was a lap pool and when we climbed in it was a bit deep.  Trevon could barely touch the bottom.  I was holding him up to keep his head above water.  The other side of the pool as a bit more shallow so we walked over to the other side lifting up and going under the lane markers as we went.  The other side was only slightly shallower and Trevy had to stand on his tiptoes to keep his head above water.  Trevon was probably the easiest to make sure he was complete immersed because he was already 90% underwater.  It is always such a special experience to be able to baptize our children and see them come out of the water clean and pure. 

After the baptism Trevon and I were in the dressing room and had a special moment.  We discussed about how at that moment he was perfect.  That all his mistakes and sins had been forgiven because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  We also talked about how even though he wanted to stay perfect he would make mistakes but through repentance he could be forgiven.  We also talked about after he receives the Gift of the Holy Ghost he would have a constant companion to help him make good decisions and help keep him safe.

After we changed we went back to the clubhouse where everyone was congregated.  While we were changing Alauna had everyone write his or her thoughts for Trevon on a postcard.  It was so nice for Trevon to have these postcards with all these thoughts written for him.  That night after everything settled down Trevon and I spent time reading every card.  He loved it.  It was so nice to have all that support written for him.  It will be something he will cherish forever.  We confirmed him and gave him the Holy Ghost.  Greg Ferney, Craig Peterson, Jasper Toomba, Jerry Yu and David Benson helped me to confirm him. 

That afternoon we had an open house at our house for Trevon.  We had about 50 people come over and had a great meal of BBQ pork (crockpot not smoker), salads, fruits, chips and some great deserts.  We had a lot of support from a lot of people to have enough food for everyone.  It was so nice to have everyone come over celebrate with Trevon and just relax and enjoy time together. 

It was an amazing day.  We are so proud of Trevon and his decision to be baptized and follow the Savior.  We pray he continues to make good decisions and grow and develop.  He is such a good kid.  At the end of the day we were exhausted and so happy.  I tried to write this blog that night after everything settled down and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  I fell asleep after just a few sentences.  It is not always easy being in China, but this day was a perfect day. 

Life's little miracles

Today is a difficult day for me.  It has been 7 years since my mom passed away, and I miss her every day.  There have been so many times that I have wanted to talk to her about the difficulties of China and raising 7 children.  There have been so many times that I've wanted to share the joy of one of my childrens' accomplishments.  Today I want to reflect on some of the miracles that the Lord has given to me to help me through the loss of my mom.
My mom felt she would pass away in February.  Her mom and dad both passed away in their birth months.  My mom's birthday is February 2nd.  As the end of February approached, and my mom was still with us, we all hoped we would have one more year with her.  But now as I look back, the Lord let my mom stay with us as long as He could.  He let her stay with us until the very end of the month.  He could have so easily taken her sooner, but He allowed us to have every possible moment with her.  It was not an easy month for her.  She was in extreme pain, but with the Lord's help, she fought to stay with us as long as she possibly could.
Boyd has asked me several (billion) times over the past years if I would consider moving to China.  My response was always "NO!!!!".  Part of the reason for my answer, besides the fact that I'm a scaredy cat and a home body, is that I couldn't leave my mom and dad.  I couldn't leave my mom when she was so sick, and then once she passed, I couldn't leave my dad alone.  I knew my sisters would take good care of my dad, but I still couldn't leave him.
Finally, I told Boyd "yes" to China.  I struggled with the idea of moving to China, but I knew the Lord had a plan and a purpose in sending us here.  I still was uncertain of leaving my dad though, and I prayed that he would be taken care of.  The Lord sent Marilyn to take care of my dad.  He sent one of his choice daughters, that loves my dad with all of her heart.  It has not always been an easy journey, for everyone involved.  (How can it be when you have 3 emotional girls involved who miss their mom with all of their hearts?)  I know it's the right journey though.  Marilyn makes my dad happy again.
I pray that my sisters will find comfort and peace on this difficult day.  They are amazing women that always astonish me with their strength and wisdom.  They are wonderful mothers, wives and especially sisters.  I'm extremely blessed to have them in my life.  They are certainly one of the most important miracles in my life.  The Lord knew I would need them by my side to help me through all of lives trials. I love how they always remind me of my loving mother through things they do or say.  I love you Lisa and Laurie!!  Thank you for being my best friends!
I know the Lord is always there for us.  Our path will not be easy, nor would we want it to be.  Without trials, our lives would be empty.  We cannot feel extreme joy without knowing extreme pain.  We cannot feel extreme happiness without feeling extreme sorrow.  The Lord has a plan for each of us, and if we work hard to follow and obey Him, we will be blessed, maybe not in the way we'd like, but certainly in the way that is right.
Alauna

Made in China...Baby Liam is here.

This post has been a long time coming.  On June 6th, we were blessed to have Liam Benson Westover join our family.  He was born heathly and was 3.69kg and 52cm long.  We are so glad he is here with us.

Having a baby in China was definately a different experience.  In the end it was a very positive experience but there were a lot of unknowns along the way.  We knew that there was one more little one to join our family.  Even after moving to China we continued to feel that there was one more.  It took a lot of faith and courage on Alauna's part to have a baby here.  Even though there are billions of babies that have been born here in China there was a lot of unknown as we decided to have another baby.

We went to our doctor at the local ISOS clinic in Nanjing.  After we told the doctor that we were expecting and confirmed it with a test the first question we ask was if we wanted the baby.  Of Course! we wanted the baby.  Her next comments gave us a glimpse of what we could expect.  She asked if we could go to the US to deliver the baby.  If not the US then Hong Kong and if not Hong Kong then Shanghai, but she advised and strongly encouraged us NOT to deliver the baby in Nanjing.  We were a bit uncertain about her strong thoughts on having the baby in Nanjing, as we have multiple friends that have had babies in Nanjing.  After further discussions with her we realized that her concern was less about the delivery and more about if there were complications after the delivery.  After feeling like we understood the risks we decided that we would have the baby in Shanghai.

We set up an appointment with Dr. Angela Thompson at Shanghai United Family Hospital.  We made the first of many trips to Shanghai to meet with her.  We were pleasantly surprised when we met her.  She went to medical school at the University of Utah and even though we just met her it was nice that we had something in common.   She was really good with sharing the risks and what we could do to mitigate the risks.  She understood the frustrations and challenges with having a baby in China and I think overall she did a great job preparing us for having a baby in China.

One area that we did not agree with here was the timing of moving to Shanghai.  She wanted Alauna there at week 36-37.  With 6 kids at home that was going to be very difficult for Alauna to be in Shanghai for a month on her own before the baby came.  We did agree that Alauna would be induced a week early so that would help a bit.  The reason she wanted us there was in case Alauna went into labor early.  Once she went into labor there was no chance of making it to Shanghai.  We were not going to be getting on a train with Alauna in labor so if it happened early she would have the baby in Nanjing.  We decided that Alauna would go two weeks early and spend a week by herself and then I would come the week the baby was due.  After thinking more on this, Alauna didn't feel comfortable with the idea of being in Shanghai alone 8.5 months pregnant.  If she had issues, she wanted me there.  She did not want to be in labor trying to get a cab or walking to the hospital.  So we decided that we would go to Shanghai the week before Liam was due. We were scheduled for induction on Thursday June 6th.  We went the weekend before he was due.

One of the reasons we struggled with Alauna going to Shanghai so early was figuring what we would do with the other kids while Alauna was in Shanghai and I was at work.  Fortunately we were able to have Priscilla Smith Westover (Boyd's sister-in-law) come stay with us for 3 weeks.  That was a huge blessing to have her come and be with the kids while we went to Shanghai.  When Alauna, Declan and I went to Shanghai to pick her up we all planned on going to the airport to get her and then go back to the hotel together.  Alauna wasn't feeling well so we decided we would go check in and drop Alauna and Declan off at the hotel and I would go get Priscilla.  We walked to the taxi line to get a cab to get to the hotel.  The line was super long.  At least an hour plus wait.  So we decided we would use one of private cars that are always at the airport or train stations.  They are convenient because you don't have to wait, but you pay for it.  We spent about 15 min in the taxi line negotiating with the lady.  She is trying to get us to pay 3-4 times what a cab would cost by selling convenience and not having to wait.  We are trying to make her think we weren't in a hurry and willing to wait the hour plus for a cab.  Finally after much negotiation we settled on a price to get to the hotel.  We left the taxi line and followed her to the car.   She wasn't the driver, just the negotiator.  The driver was outside.  They took us to the exit to meet up with the driver.  The only problem was that the exit was blocked with large garbage cans that were lying down on their side and chained together.  I guess the train station didn't want people using this exit.  We climbed over the garbage cans (remember that Alauna is 38 weeks pregnant) and made it to the car.  We got Alauna and Declan checked into the hotel and I had the same driver take me to the airport and wait for me there to bring me back.  I got to the airport right as Priscilla came out of the exit from customs.  It was perfect timing.

We spent the next day with Priscilla in Shanghai and then headed back to Nanjing.  We spent the next few days in Nanjing and then we headed to Shanghai.  Liam was due on Thursday and we went to Shanghai the Saturday before.  We saw the doctor on that Saturday and everything was looking good.  Liam had been breech on our previous visits and he was now turned so we just had to wait until he decided to come or Alauna was induced in a few days.  Alauna and I stayed in Shanghai and took advantage of the time with no kids.  It was great.  It was a mini vacation before Liam came. We watched a lot of movies, and ate a lot of good food.  We went to quite a few sites during that time.  We went to the top of Shanghai World Financial center.  It was awesome.  It is over 1500 feet up.  It was a lot of fun.  We also saw the Jade Buddha in Shanghai and the Shanghai Circus World Acrobats.  The acrobats were amazing.  I loved watching them.  Their show kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.  It was a great time.

June 6th came without Liam coming on his own.  So we walked (no taxi) to the hospital.  We got checked in and went to the labor and delivery room.  I was surprised and amazed at the size of the room.  I think out of the seven kids this was the biggest labor and delivery room we have had.  It was nice to have such a big room.  The hospital assigned us a nurse/midwife.  This seemed normal.  With all our other kids we typically had a nurse that looked after us.  The difference here was that she did not leave the room.  We arrived in the morning around 8am and Liam was born at 8:55pm and she didn't leave the room except for about 15-20 minutes to go get something to eat.  She even asked us if it was OK if she left to go eat.  She mostly let us be.  She would check Alauna's vitals as needed.  When baby Liam was getting close to coming the doctor came in and everything was going smoothly.  The nurse was very assertive and she was trying to take control and do it her way.  The doctor and her battled it out and finally the nurse let the doctor take the lead.  When Liam was finally born, his umbilical cord was tied in a knot, wrapped around his neck, his arm and his body.  He was quite the little acrobat before he was born.  The doctor said it was pretty rare that the umbilical cord was tied in a knot and told us to make sure we got a picture of it.

When Liam was 2 days old we had his "baby hospital photos" taken.  In China, this was passport photos.  Your eyes have to be open on a passport photo.  This is not an easy task with a 2 day old baby.

We had Liam on a Thursday night, and we were not allowed to leave the hospital until Sunday night because they wanted to make sure Liam had all of his tests and shots done before we left.  One of the shots couldn't be done until he was 72 hours old.  They waited until he was exactly 72 hours old and then finally let us go.  So, we were finally able to leave the hospital around 9:30 pm on Sunday,  As we walked out of the hospital (no wheelchair), we tried to find a taxi.  We were loaded down with a new baby, suitcase, car seat/stroller, flowers, and other things from the hospital.  We couldn't find a taxi, so we started walking.  We kept trying to get a taxi, but they were already all full.  So, we walked to the hotel.  It was crazy to walk to and from the hospital with our seventh child.  In America, you can't even walk to your car.  You are taken to your car in a wheelchair.  There is no way you'd be allowed to walk "home".

On Monday, we took Liam's "hospital photos" to the American Embassy and applied for Liam's passport.  We also got an American birth certificate for Liam.  So, he has a Chinese and an American birth certificate.  We also took the train back to Nanjing on Monday.  We were careful to keep him covered on the train because the people in China love babies and always want to touch them and hold them.  This was the first time the kids got to see Liam.  It was weird not having the kids come to the hospital to see their new brother.  It was so much fun seeing how excited the kids were to meet their new brother and to see how much they already loved him.  It was especially fun to watch our sweet little Declan get so excited to be a big brother.  He just wanted to hold Liam and love him.  It was like watching your kids on Christmas morning or enjoying a day at Disneyland.

Every time we have a baby I am amazed by Alauna.  This time was no exception.  It was something that I can not use words to describe.  I have always know that Alauna is an amazing woman.  This time, however, I saw something in Alauna that I have never seen.  It was a look in her eye that I will never forget.  It was a look of fear, a look of exhaustion, a look of pain.  It was a look of confidence, determination, and unconquerable spirit.  I have always known that Alauna is an amazing woman and while she often doubted herself there was nothing she couldn't do.  This moment confirmed that to me.  That look on her face told me that there was nothing she couldn't do.  There have been many amazing women in history and I would put Alauna at the top of the list.  I am so blessed to have Alauna as my wife.  She is an amazing mother as well.  We are very blessed to have our seven children.  

We have loved having Liam in our family.  He is such a happy baby.  He is growing and loves to smile.  He loves being part of our family and you can tell that he can't wait to get up and run around with his older brothers.

Boyd and Alauna

We saw these guys and asked what they were doing.  
They said they worked in a Steak Resturant.
We decided to give it a try.  It was the weirdest thing ever.
It was like an old time Western set in China with one steak
on the menu.  It was $100 USD.  We said we had to go
and ended up eating BBQ that night.  

Beijing duck on LaoWai Street.  I love Beijing Duck. 

This was at the Jade Buddha.  These ladies talked to Alauna
giving her advice and asking her advice for about 20 min.
They wanted a pic with their hands on her belly for good luck.
They were in complete amazement that she was going to be the
mother of 7 kids.  This was just a day or two before Liam was
born.  I'm also amazed by Alauna.  

Alauna looking beautiful as always at the Yu Gardens. 

Nothing like a little foot massage.  The people giving the
foot massages were also husband and wife.  

Guacamole made tableside.  

Alauna looking beautiful at 1500 feet in the air.  

I love these two.  They worked so hard.  

Baby Liam 

Our baby is now a big brother.  Declan Loves
being a big brother. 

Brannon and Liam

Trevon and Liam

Tiana and Liam. 

Marissa and Liam.  Not sure why we don't have
a pic of Mikayla and Liam.  I need to find one. 

Preparing to have a baby in China

I know 2 posts in one day!  But I felt like this deserved it's very own post.  Preparing to have a baby in China has been an interesting experience.

When I found out I was pregnant and went to the doctor, I was given 3 options for delivery.  Well, 4 technically.  "Your seventh!  Are you sure you want this baby?",  was basically the doctor's first response.  Believe me, after having 6 children you know how things work.  If I didn't want a seventh child, I would not be pregnant.  After the doctor realized that option 1 wasn't an option, she was very supportive and gave me 3 other options.  Number 1 was to deliver in America.  This wasn't really an option either.  I would have had to go to America when I was 32 weeks and wait it out.  Then after having the baby I would have to wait to get a passport and visa for the baby before I could return to China.  So basically, I would have to be away from my family for 3 months.  NOT an option. Option number 3 have the baby in Shanghai and option number 4 have the baby in Nanjing.  I've ended up with a mix of number 3 and 4.  I'm planning on delivering in Shanghai.  They have a western hospital there with an American doctor (degree from the UofU), but it is also a 1 - 1 1/2 hour train ride to Shanghai or a 4 hour car drive.  Also, the doctor in Shanghai wanted me in Shanghai to "hangout" at 36 weeks.  Well,  I'm past 36 weeks, and I'm not in Shanghai.  So, here comes the compromise of number 3 and number 4.  My Shanghai doctor is planning on inducing me sometime during the first week of June at about 39 weeks.  So, I'm going to Shanghai that week instead of "hanging out" the week before.  I will stay in Nanjing and deliver at a Taiwanese hospital if there are any complications before I go to Shanghai.  I've had friends deliver in both hospitals and everything has gone well for everyone.  I figure if the Lord really wanted me to have a baby in China everything will work out the way it's suppose to.  I just have to have A LOT of faith.  :)

There are so many things you take for granted in the US.  For instance, baby formula.  What if it is a necessity?  Where do you get it?  What brand do you buy?  In fact, a few years ago, there were some major problems with the baby formula in China, and the heads of the company were executed because of the issues.  Luckily, Similac has just started delivering to China!  Yeah!!! One worry down.

Maternity clothes have been another issue.  The clothes are made for little Chinese women.  I would be lucky to fit into some of the clothing when I wasn't pregnant.  A lot of it is kind of weird too.  Some women wear lead lined aprons to protect their babies from computers, microwaves, etc.   Luckily, I've been to America since I found out I was pregnant, and I was able to get some clothes there.

Another thing I took for granted was making baby items.   If I wanted to make a quilt or crochet booties, I would just run to Walmart and within a half hour I had everything I needed.  I decided to make a baby quilt here.  I had to go to one store for the fabric, another one for the batting, and another one for the yarn to tie it.  Then I had to come home and get online to order the sewing supplies I would need to make the quilt (needles, thread, cutting mat, rotary cutter, etc.), and all from different companies.  You get the idea.  Not an easy task.  But once I started I was obsessed.  I just received the last of the items and can finally start on the quilt.

The toilets in America are another thing I took for granted.  Squatters are not pregnant friendly, especially in your 3rd trimester.  Probably one of the worst experiences was when we were in GoaChun.  If you look at Boyd's post, you can see what that squatters looked like.  It was a long tile trough with dividers and no doors.  Our family was the only non-Chinese people we saw the entire day.  Everyone was following us around with cameras and video cameras.  The bathroom was being cleaned when I first got in line.  There were 4 stalls, and I was fourth in line.  There were several people in line behind me.  When we entered the bathroom, the 3 women in front of me quickly took the last 3 stalls leaving me with the one closest to the exit and the many other women in line.  Needless to say, I did not feel like having pictures and/or videos taken of me as I tried to squat and not fall over.  Also, the Chinese people are very helpful, and I didn't want any commentary or help as I tried to go to the restroom.  So, I opted out and left as all of the Chinese women were trying to coax me into the stall.  I did find another restroom later, still a squatter, but it had a door.  I've gotten pretty good at holding onto the sides of the stall and praying that I don't fall in because I don't know if I could get out. :)

I've had to start over preparing for a baby here.  I have everything I need for a baby.  There's just one problem, it's all in a military storage unit in Roy, UT and is not accessible.  Everyone has been so generous here.  I had one friend give me a changing table and a baby buggy.  I had another friend give me a baby bouncer and some nursing gear.  I had another friend give me a crib.  And there have been numerous other friends who have given me baby gear and apparel.  I have been so blessed.  I'm excited that I will be able to pass on everything when we return to America.

As you can see, there are a lot of concerns that would not even be an issue in America, but we are finding solutions to most of the problems.  I'm counting down the days until I can write about actually having a baby in China.  I can hardly wait to be able to see my feet and bend over again.

Alauna

Everyday life in China

The last few weeks I've been thinking about what makes everyday life in China different than in America.  Pretty much everything.  It's amazing how different things are to me, and how normal things are for Chinese people.

NOISE

As I layed down to take a nap with Declan today, I realized how quiet it was.  How is it that in a city of 8 million people it can be quiet?  Here's what I came up with.  First, I live on the outskirts of town and not right in the city.  Next, I live in a gated compound where few people have cars.  Most people ride electric motor scooters (That you can't hear even when they're right behind you.  So, you have to be really careful.), bikes, or walk.  Also, there aren't many kids in our compound that aren't school age.  The Chinese kids have long school hours and even go on weekends sometimes.  The expat kids are involved in a lot of after school activities. The men work long hours, and the women keep busy working or playing outside of the compound.  There is a lot of construction in our compound, but from what I understand, there is a mandatory quiet time in the afternoon for an hour or two.  When the workers do work, they don't use power tools.  No drills, power saws, or large construction equipment.  They use screwdrivers, hand saws, pulleys, and bamboo scaffolding.  Lawn mowers are rarely used, most lawns are "mowed" with a weed whacker.  Those are the main differences I could see in the noise level at naptime in America vs. China.

FASHION

The fashion here is always fun to analyze.  The best way to sum it up is there is no fashion.  You can wear pretty much anything you want and it's acceptable.  

A lot of women wear nylons that look kind of like knee highs, but they only go to the ankle.  This is a hot item in the summer.  Many women wear these stockings with their sandals.  The only good use I've found for these stocking is wearing them under your dress boots.  They're perfect.  I'm not planning on doing the sandal thing with them.

Another summer fashion is the way the men wear their shirts.  When the men get hot, they do not take their shirts off.  Instead they pull them up around their chest and let their tummy hang out.  You see this everywhere.  At first it was really weird.  Now it's just a part of everyday life.

Women in China rarely have low necklines.  Instead, they wear short shorts and short skirts.  Sometimes they'll wear tights like pants, just a shirt and tights.  

The Chinese women love their heels.  They wear all kinds of crazy colors.  They wear them with bows.  They wear them bedazzled.  You could make a whole Dr. Seuss book about Chinese women's shoes.

The older women wear unmatched prints.  They might have a zebra print pant and a gray shirt with pink bows on it.  I don't understand this fashion statement.  In fact, half the time it looks like they're wearing PJs.  So, they probably have the matching pieces at home in their closet.   

During the winter they have special clothing as well.  They have half sleeves that go from their wrist to their elbow that cover their coats.  They will also wear aprons over their coats.  There are a couple of reasons this makes sense in China.  Number one, stores are not heated during the winter (or air conditioned during the summer).  So, the Chinese people basically wear their coats all winter, which would mean washing their coats a lot.  Which brings up number 2.  Not everyone has washers, and few people have dryers.  So, washing your coat often would not be practical.  Washing the sleeve covers and aprons is a simple solution to this dilema. Another solution to this dilema is pajamas.  People will wear quilted pajamas like clothing during the winter.

GROCERY SHOPPING

Grocery shopping is quite the event.  So many things are unrecognizable, and I can't read the labels or ask someone what they are.  Or things are seasonal, like ice cream.  The Chinese people do not understand why anyone would want ice cream in the winter.  So, as soon as it gets a little bit cold, the grocery store near us pulls all of the ice cream from the freezer section.  In this past year though, the Chinese grocery store, Suguo, near us is carrying more and more "western" (American and European, not cowboy) items.  I can remember how excited I was when I found sour cream and onion pringles in Suguo.  I don't have to eat tomato, shrimp, or some other weird meat flavored pringles anymore.  Another exciting find, is when they started carrying baggies, paper cups, and paper plates.  They only have dessert size plates right now, but I'm confident they'll have larger ones soon.  Another exciting thing was when they started carrying canned/bottled peaches (and a couple of other fruits).  They don't have canned items in the grocery store typically.  So, this was very exciting.  Some other exciting products that I have discovered in Suguo this last year are Hormel deli slice ham, cheese (on occasion), a yogurt that will work as sour cream, tampons, milk that's not way to creamy, fruit roll ups, sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, marshmallows (not like in America, but marshmallows never the less), and cold cereal that I recognize.  Some of these products were here when we moved here, but a lot of them are new.  It is nice to finally find things close to us that make you feel at home. 

So, these are just a few examples of everyday life in China.  My new normal, I guess.  Although a lot of it still doesn't seem normal, but at least more of my life is starting to feel normal instead of being all foreign.

Alauna

GaoChun

Thursday was Tomb Sweeping day in China.  Click here to learn more about Tomb Sweeping Day. It is a national holiday and so I didn't have to work and the kids were out of school.  So we load up the car with Alauna, Marissa, Brannon, Trevon, Declan and myself and headed to Gaochun.  It is a small city about 75 km south of Nanjing.  With normal traffic and no road construction it should take about 1.5 hours to get there.  With holiday traffic and road construction it takes about three hours to get there.  Luckily we have water bottles in the car and I brought a few snacks so even though it was long it was bearable.  Coming home, however, was even worse.  There were a couple of times that traffic stopped completely people got out of their cars.  One guy (man, not a child) had to go to the bathroom so he got out of his car and walked over to the guard rail.  It was about 2.5 feet tall and he looked at it and looked around at the hundreds of cars and decided it was too much effort to climb over the guard rail so he took care of business right there on the guard rail.  As common place as this is it still catches me off guard a bit.  We took a lot of pictures and will tell the adventure through the pictures.  

These yellow fields are blanketing China right now.
They are rapeseed flower and they make Canola Oil
out of these.  They are all over China and
absolutely beautiful right now.  I always wondered
where Canola Oil came from.  It took moving to China
to figure that out.  

More Canola Oil fields.  

I snapped this pic from driving from the car, but this
picture is one of the reasons I love travelling through China.
There are so many layers to it.  It's easy to see the trees, but
if you look through the trees you see the farmhouse and
patches of yellow.  Then in the distance you can see the pagoda.
China is never as it first appears.  You really have to look
through many layers to get the full picture.

Gaochun if famous for a few different things.  One is
Old Street.  It is an ancient street that is filled with
all kinds of vendors.  You can buy food, clothing,
art, toys, and just about anything else.  This street dates back
to the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1300 ad)

Old Street Family Picture.

When we arrived this guy started taking pictures
of us.  This is pretty common in China.
He started talking to us and asked us if we
came from Nanjing.  He said he was also from
Nanjing and just wanted to take some pictures of us.
He told us to just act natural and he would just
follow us for a bit.  It was a bit weird having
him follow-us.  He gave me his business card
so he can share some photos with us.  We did not
see another foreigner in Gaochun that day and we
had a ton of people taking pictures of us all day long.

I mentioned you could buy food on Old Street.  Here is a
sampling.  On the left is a dried whole carp.  I'm surprised
I haven't seen more of these sold on the banks of Utah lake.
There are also dried chicken wings, and dried chicken feet.  

Lots of toys for sale.  Declan was have fun with them.  

This is the drain into the sewer.  They are all throughout the
street.  I imagine this technology is 500+ years old. 

Pork for sale.  This place was actually very clean.  Whole pig
butchered and for sale on the table.  Again, I'm not sure how
everyone that eats this doesn't get sick.  

More dried food.  That is a dried pig leg sticking out.  

Dried fish.  I saw someone eating these with a little batter on
them and fried.  They had a bit of hot sauce on the top.
I guess if it's spicy enough anything is good.  

This is a restaurant.  The food is in cages and bins on the floor.
There is a pheasant on the top cage on the left and a goose
on the bottom cage.  The white bins are full of fish and other
water animals and vegetables.  You pick out what you want and
they cook it up fresh for you.  

Another restaurant.  The concept is not bad, just
picking your food off the floor seems a bit
different.

Dried pig faces.  On the left you can see a good shot of the
whole pig face.  I have eaten this before.  No need to
eat again.

GaoChun is famous for their hairy crabs.  They live in the lakes
around Gaochun and every fall they have a Hairy Crab Festival.
Here is a neighborhood of houseboats.  

People washing their clothes in the water and on the steps. 

Washing clothes.  

She had a load of clothes to wash.  She would dip them in the
water and then ring them out.  She would then rub them around
and then fold them up with this beating board.  She was whacking
them hard and you could hear the thumping echoing across the water.
Whenever I see things like this I always tell my kids that "this
is real life".  I'm glad they are able to see that people live all
different kinds of lives and hopefully they are grateful
for the life they have.  We are very blessed.  

A small store.  In reality a table with some
drinks and a few buns for sell on it.

The owner came out and talked to us.  I didn't ask
how old she was but I imagine close to 80.  When we
took a picture she told us to send one to her.  She pointed
up to the address on the building.  She has probably
never heard of email and in reality has no need for it.
What a great and simple life.  

Main Gate of Old Street.  This is at the end of the day.
Declan was warn out and sound asleep.

A small house in the neighborhood off Old Street. 

This was one of the bathrooms.  Many of the
houses don't have their own bathrooms so
there are a lot of community bathrooms.
They had a tile trough to pee in.  This was the squatter.
I walked in and there are guys in their squatting.
No door, no shame.  One old guy looked up at
me and gave me a head nod and small wave.
It was only awkward for me.  

This well is 500 years old.  There is still water in in.  

When you look in it you can see your reflection.  This
picture looks a bit haunted.  

Family by the well.  If you notice, Trevon has a snake around
his neck.  It is a wooden King Cobra that he bought that day.
He carried it around and treated it like it was real.  It was
so funny to watch him with it.  

The kids saw this "Harry Potter scar" on the ground wanted me to
take a picture.  

Inside of the well.  

Enjoying the afternoon.  

Back alley.  

The kids were in this store looking at some toys.
All of a sudden I hear the owner getting pretty excited
I look down and Trevon is about to step on some vegetables he has
drying on the floor.  He hurried and grabbed the vegetables and
I snapped a pic.  Again, one of those things they are
not going to experience in Highland, Utah.  

Cars stopped on the freeway.  

This old guy lives next to the freeway.  There is a gap in the
fence and he came down to check out cars stopped.
There was a pretty worn path so I think it's a ritual for him
to walk down to the freeway and watch the cars go by
while smoking.  

He was happy to pose for us.  

The cause of our many delays.  

The endless journey home.

It was a great trip with the family.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Boyd