A sad ending

As we were leaving my parents development tonight Lilia said that she missed Nannie and Poppy. We were telling her that it's ok to be sad and we were consoling her as we headed home to Philly.

About half way home Lilia asked, "Can we go backwards?"

"Why," I asked "So we can go back and see Nannie and Poppy?"

"Yeah" was her response.

She then started crying because she missed them so much. Her crying woke Alex up and then it became a chorus of crying. Dave and I started laughing b/c it was the same sort of cry form both of their mouths.

Well mom and dad...I guess you did a good job this weekend since Lilia didn't want to go home!

Best Snowboarding boots ever!

These are my boots and they are so incredibly warm and comfortable. If you are looking for new boots for next season, I would highly recommend this brand. They are amazing!

Awesome Weekend!

We had an incredible weekend! Friday night it was snowing lightly and we headed over to Big Boulder for some night boarding. We had a blast. I felt good on my board. We were trying out some fun hills and loved it! We headed home for some pizza and games.

Saturday we went to Jack Frost and boarded there for the day. All the powder was creating big moguls and by the end of the day they were taking me down because I was so tired. We had a blast blazing some trail under the black diamond lift. Danae rocked it, but I was a little shaky. It was still really fun! We hit a few powder spots and it was almost up to our knees.

We had so much fun away with friends in beautiful surroundings!

Meanwhile Alex was miserably awful between his eczema and a bad cold. Lilia was a gem (as usual). My parents barely made it through. They are exhausted, but enjoyed it for the most part!

I'm ridiculously excited!!!

This weekend we are going away with our close friends Tom and Danae to a cabin at Jack Frost Mountain to go snowboarding. We are leaving pretty soon and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!

I haven't been snowboarding for 2 years and I miss it so much. Two years ago I got new boots and they rock! They are so comfy and warm. They are thirtytwo's. I still have my original board from 18 years ago! It's a K2 Dart. I think it's just about vintage by now.

My parents will have the kids. This is the 1st time I'll be away from both kids. Dave's been away from them several times due to conferences w/work. It will be nice to sleep through the night with no interruptions!

Lindsay McIntire's photo of Alex

Lindsay McIntire's photo of Alex

Alex's 1st rice cereal, 4 months

M.Y.O.C.

We had tons of broken crayons so we melted them into new ones. I remember as a kid my mom helped me do this. Lilia enjoyed the process.

Yeah!

I took Alex to the allergist today and they tested him for soy, milk and oats (it's in his eczema lotion). He isn't allergic to any of them!!!!! I'm so relieved. I thought maybe he had a soy allergy, but he doesn't. Now we're just taking some steps to help with his eczema.

Text version of our January newsletter

(Since it is too long for facebook, I thought I would put a link on FB to this blog entry)

A Sovereign Reunion

International college students from all over the city live in the international dorm right off of Penn’s campus. One of my goals for the semester is to start a Bible Study there. Understanding how strategic a place this is, a Chinese church that I partner with recommended I chat with Xing.

We sat down one day at a coffee shop on the first floor of her dorm. She shared her story how she became a Christian as an undergrad in 2005 in the city where Katie and I have worked. I asked her if she knew any American Christians before she came here for grad school. She said that she met one, her name was Amy. She was on a missions trip and led her to the Lord in 2005, but Xing lamented that she would not meet her again until heaven. Because the Lord is sovereign, I told her she did not have to wait that long.

In 2005, Katie and I led a team of 13 students overseas to Xing’s city. We did not go to her school, but a team of staff and students from James Madison University did. Both teams were on the same flight. It’s a long flight so I took some sleeping pills. Before the pills knocked me out, two JMU girls were amused that I was laughing at everything around me.

I have long since forgotten this part of the trip until a couple months ago. One Sunday I dropped off Lilia at Sunday School and her teacher recognized me. We tried to figure out where she knew me, then it hit her...”You were that guy on flight to Asia who was laughing at everything!”

God used sleeping pills on a plane trip and my current job to connect long lost sisters in Christ together. They had lost touch and had no idea that they were even on the same continent, let alone the same city.

Xing has just received her Masters of Education from Penn and wants a job that will help educate rural Chinese and allow her to share the gospel. She is currently contemplating offers from the UN and Penn along with a strong call to full time missions work.

Expanding to Drexel We are so fortunate to live so close to Penn and Drexel, which each have over 1,000 international students. For students who are interested in Christianity, there are two Chinese churches in the area to attend, but it is our passion that all international students would get a chance to hear the gospel.

This past Friday we invited a Bible Study of Chinese Drexel students over for dinner. As we talked about how to take the good news to their classmates, the students jumped at having a baking outreach with Katie at our house and using a survey I used last year in East Asia. We look forward to sharing with you how these work out.

LIlia and Alex hanging out in the tent

"I'm Poppy"

Ice Cream for Dinner

Ben & Jerry's has a deal from 4-7 where you get 3 scoops for $3. That's a good deal! We've been meaning to go all winter and today we did.

Lilia enjoyed one of our three scoops...strawberry because pink is her favorite color.

I'm cooking dinner now. I hope it gets eaten!

Streets are still a mess!

Most of the side streets are still these ice-ridden, one way streets. Good luck finding a parking spot!

We are super fortunate to live on a snow emergency route so Chestnut gets cleared well and quickly.

Lilia's quotes of the day...

1. "I hear my band aid bleeding."

2. "Do my boobs look sad or mad?"

Alex is now weighing in at 14lb 2oz and is 25in tall.

In the last week we have seen a NOTICEABLE difference in him. It must have been the 4 month mark because he's a different kid. He can lay on his mat and play happily, he sits in his exersaucer and enjoys it. He doesn't cry as much and it's wonderful! Dave and I are super grateful!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Tonight for the first time we experienced the cutest thing...Lilia had Alex cracking up. When he's really tired, which he was, he laughs easily. She kept saying to him, "A bugga boo!" He was belly laughing for a good 5 minutes. It was GREAT!

Winter weather

Tonight I drove home from my parent's since Dave drove all weekend. Being back in the city is great except for the roads. Most 2 way streets have so much snow on them they are down to one way streets. Luckily Chestnut street is pretty cleared that we don't have a problem parking.

I can't believe we may be getting more snow!!! This is all Alex knows, he'll be shocked to spring and summer. Last winter Lilia was in Asia where we had no snow. I hope she doesn't expect a American winter like this every year!

Alex update

Alex is 4 months now. He continues to have severe eczema. The itching wakes him up and keeps him from getting comfortable to sleep most times. We keep socks on his hands to prevent him from scratching up his little face and head.

We are seeing an allergist to figure out if the eczema is food based before we begin introducing solids. That's on the 22nd or 23rd (which ever day Tuesday is).

We are still trying out different formulas. It seems like the soy is aggravating his skin. We are trying a new formula called Allimentum. It's insanely expensive, but if it helps it will totally be worth it. I can't say whether it's helping or not yet. We'll see.

He is still really pleasant; smiling and laughing lots. Sleeping still isn't his best thing. We were at my parents for 4 nights so that threw off the 9hrs straight in his crib. We're back home tonight, but he's not liking the crib. Hopefully he'll get used to it again.

The last update is that we're taking Alex to see a chiropractor. I've heard from a friend and from a reflexologist that this type doctor can help his reflux. If anyone other than my friend Kim D. knows about this or has experienced it, shoot me an email...katie.brindley@uscm.org

I think that's it.

To moms everywhere

I just realized something that's important to my everyday.

For the past two days I've been hanging out in my comfy pants. After all we're snowed in and I'm not going any where. I'm probably not going anywhere today either, but I took a shower and put on jeans.

Taking a shower and getting dressed makes you geared you up for the day. Afterwards, you feel like, "I can go anywhere or do anything!"

The sad reality with a toddler and an infant is that I don't leave the house most days...plus it's winter. BUT if I did have an opportunity to leave the house, I'd be ready to go anywhere or do anything!

Family sleepover

I was planning on spending the weekend at my parents anyway, so we came a little early. Dave's working this weekend. My brother came too and slept over last night. This morning we all played in the snow, shoveling and building a snow fort. It was pretty fun. Then we came in and topped it off with some hot chocolate.

Shu Shu built a little sledding ramp as part of the snow fort

Poppy and Shu Shu Matt working on the snow fort.

Do you like my humps?

This was a mini-wedding dress my cousin gave to Lilia. She put it on yesterday and said, "Look at my princess humps," referring to the puffy shoulders.
We of course died laughing.
Dave then proceeded to show me the Black Eyed Peas music video that made her statement ten times funnier.

Ear whats?

This is a picture from last winter, but pay attention to the hat in this story.

Lilia had this hat on the other night in the car and she put her hands over the flowers on the ears and said to Dave and I, "These are my ear muffins."

Then proceeded lots of laughter.

Alex slept another 9 hours straight last night! I feel so blessed.

Didn't think it would happen

The snow days turned out pretty awful for us. Alex was miserable and didn't nap well at all. Therefore Dave and I were also miserable. Lilia is extra clingy anymore, which bugs me at times.

We started laying Alex on his back to sleep on Saturday. Last night he slept 9 hours straight on his back!!! I think he likes this position and is much more comfortable. We had him sleeping in a papasan chair in his crib, which I think he got too big to be comfortable.

Oh and another awesome thing...Last night I fed him his bottle and he was still awake when he was finished. He got burps out and I laid him in his crib awake to fall asleep on his own. It worked!!!!! He did it!

You can't understand how amazing this is. It has been hell for 4 months. (He'll be 4 months on Friday.) We would constantly have to rock him to sleep while he cries and fights only for him to wake up a 1/2 hour later and we rock him again. We've laid him down on his own before, but he just cries. Even if it was this one time, I'm thankful and happy!

Wawa visit

Have you ever walked in a Wawa and not bought anything?

Tonight I spoke at a senior high in K.O.P. about my experience in East Asia. On the way home I thought I'd stop in Wawa to get some Easter candy (oh Cadbury mini eggs!!!!). After all, I'll be snowed in this weekend and I can't be without chocolate.

I walked around the store in search for it to no avail. The guy behind the counter noticed that I was looking for something. I asked him if they had any Easter candy. He said they didn't. I said thanks and walked out. It felt really awkard to leave a Wawa with nothing in hand. In fact I didn't even know it was possible!