Got Mail?

Calling all Christmas card senders!

Last year, I humbly asked for those of you that send out Christmas cards to spend an extra 50 cents to mail one across the ocean. Many of  you responded--thank you! Your faces have decorated our fridge for the past year. Every time I walk by, it reminds me of home. I often think of and lift up those faces I see. Now, we need updated pictures. Or, if you don't do the whole picture thing..a card is just as nice. I already have an idea of how to display them for the season. :)

And....if you want to send some goodies our way, we'd be delighted! Here are a few ideas that could easily fit in a large, flat-rate int'l envelope that costs about $14. {Edit: I've received a few envelopes since writing this. They both used different, bigger envelopes and it cost them around $35. I think they meant to do this. Make sure you choose the right one for the cheapest price!} I know, expensive. But way better than the box that costs $50+!!

- flavored instant oatmeal packets
- parmesan cheese (the bottle...not sure if this would fit in a large envelope or not)
- hot drink packets (hot chocolate, apple cider, Oregon chai latte packets, flavored teas, etc.)
- microwave popcorn
- candy (faves: Twix, Butterfinger, Twizzlers, Reese's, Mounds, Andes/York mints)
- we love surprises, too. :)

Please, no seasoning packets. We have tons of them!!

Here is our address. Just print and tape it on! Yes, you need both languages. :)

Michael & Ashley Felder                                              Michael & Ashley Felder

102488                                                                        Beijing Institute of Technology

中国北京房山区良乡高教园区                                Liangxiang Higher Education Park

北京理工大学理学                                                    Fangshan District, Beijing 102488

P.R. China                                                                   P.R. China

151-1013-1264                                                           151-1013-1264

Waterfall in the Hallway

This is a must-record story.

Malachi had just woken up and he was ready to eat. Josiah was taking an extra- long nap. I had just received a text from a friend (she's actually our PA--someone in our company who comes to check on us once a semester. What a great company we work for!!) who offered to bring dinner over. She's great. :) I was replying when I heard a loud, strange noise that sounded like a waterfall. I opened our door to the hallway to find just that--a waterfall--coming from the ceiling about 15 feet away. It was quickly making its way to our apartment!

I shut the door and frantically started calling my PA. She speaks Chinese and could call maintenance for me. Her phone was dead. Awesome. I tried calling a few others to help. No go. Everyone else on our team was teaching. Finally, Michael answered and I told him what was happening. Our PA was actually observing his class, so he sent her to come help me.

By this time (2 minutes later), the water was seeping under our door. I started chucking all the shoes and things that would be ruined into the living room. I gathered all the towels we own and tried to stop the flow. It was coming too fast! I peeked into the hall again. Still gushing and very steamy. (We later found out it was the hot water pipe that burst...the pipe that heats this place.) I got the squegee and tried to push the water away. Still coming. Malachi, thankfully, is just hanging out on the couch even though he's hungry. I finally got enough towels down the stop the flow for the most part. It also helped that the waterfall in the hallway had started to slow down.

I looked out the window, looking for my helper to arrive. What do I see? 3 maintenance men running into our building. My friend is right behind them. Whew! Help is on the way! They make it to our floor and start jabbering, not really knowing what to do. Shut it off, maybe? No.

It finally came to just a drip and they started cleaning up. With brooms and shovels. Really?! I was cracking up. When they made it to my door, they even helped wring out my towels...until it started gushing from the ceiling again! This was the best part. They just stared at it! Astonished. They had gathered a few buckets and finally decided those would be useful. It didn't gush as long this time, and thankfully didn't make it to our door again.

My friend did an amazing job cleaning up our entry way while I fed poor Malachi. I went and woke up Josiah in the middle of all of this and he was thoroughly confused. He kept saying, "It's broken. Fix it?" I wish, buddy.

There are now about 8 tiles missing from the ceiling and 3 buckets still catching drips. Did I mention this is a brand new building? They actually just posted a note at the entry of our building, asking us to turn on the heating units (the gov't controls heat here, turning it on Nov 15th and off April 15th) for a practice run to see if any water would leak. I guess there was a little leak. :)

The great part about this is it only happened on our floor. And I was home. Had it happened on any other floor, our teammates would have had a flooded apartment because they were gone. Sadly, our neighbors weren't home, and I'm sure their place was a mess.

Just another day in China. :)

Rest, My Soul. Rest.

Since having Malachi, I've been relying on other avenues to worship the Father besides sitting alone for an hour. There just doesn't seem to be that time. Most often, I read a Jesus Calling devo, listen to encouraging music, and pr-y throughout the day. Some days I feel guilty for not giving Him more time. A few days ago, I read this in the above book:

"Do not be discouraged by the difficulty of keeping your focus on Me. I know that your heart's desire is to be awawre of My Presence continually. This is a lofty goal; you aim toward it but never fully achieve it in this life. Don't let feelings of failure weigh you down. Instead, try to see yourself as I see you. First of all, I am delighted by your deep desire to walk closely with Me through your life. I am pleased each time you initiate communication with Me. In addition, I notice the progress you have made since you first resolved to live in My Presence.

When you relize that your mind has wandered away from Me, don't be alarmed or surprised. You live in a world that has been rigged to distract you. Each time you plow your way through the massive distractions to communicate with Me, you achieve a victory. Rejoice in these tiny triumphs, and they will increasingly light up your days."

The author also notes Romans 8.33-34 and Hebrews 4.14-16 to go along with it.

Reading this calmed my heart. My days seems so chaotic. Not only the kiddos (and really, there's only 2! what will I do if we have more?! haha), but also the daily stresses of living here. Ev-ery-thing takes longer to accomplish. It would be safe to say twice as long. I'm getting used to it now, but it just makes the days fly, then I look back to see what I've accomplished, and it seems like almost nothing.

Anyway, I'm thankful He sees me differently than I see myself. That's just the kind of Father he is.

Word Explosion!

I'm pretty sure Josiah's vocabulary has tripled since the beginning of summer. I'm not sure if it's his age, the fact that he was surrounded by English-speakers for 3 months, or both. He's now forming complete sentences, and still repeating everything we say. Except now instead of stopping at the parrot talk, he'll use it later on his own! If only our brains continued to learn this fast our whole life...

He's also recognizing Chinese more. Written AND spoken! For the first time the other day, he saw something written in Chinese and said simply, "Chinese!" While we were driving around later, you can imagine how many times he said it. I tried to explain to him that we live  in China, so seeing Chinese is to be expected. He then translated that to meaning "Josiah is Chinese. Mommy is Chinese...." No, son. We're not.

But he is practicing his numbers and some phrases he learned last year. I'm sure he'd learn much faster if we spoke it in the home. haha

Some of his faves:

- Counting to 20 in English
- Counting to 10 in Chinese
- "Ohhh snap." (Thanks to Daddy!)
- "Outside put shoes on!" (These days it's "brown shoes on." His brown dressy shoes. He wears them every day, no matter how many times we try to convince him they don't go with his outfit and that his tennis shoes make him run faster.)
- "Please", "thank you", and "you're welcome". Honestly, he's very polite.
- Praying before every meal. On his own initiative. It's simple, but we're thankful for the habit forming now.
- "Watch Bubble Guppies?" His new favorite show. Can't get enough of it. Parents--it's actually our favorite, too. The songs are catchy, not annoying!
- With sheer excitement, explaining everything he did while outside, as soon as he enters the door. "Rode bike! Saw friends! (He doesn't really have friends..this refers to anyone he sees.) Had fun! Rode bike!"
- "Sleep good?" "Have a good nap?" He asks these questions as soon as he gets up...beating us to the punch. Or maybe he thinks we actually fit in a nap, too?!

Ohh, there are more. But I will have to add them later as I think of them.

Malachi's Arrival

As promised, let's back it up some more to document Malachi's birth day.

**Warning: It's a tiny bit graphic, but nothing besides what you would expect when reading about a birth!

August 29th. My due date. I thought for sure I'd have him before then. We were in KC, waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally. Contractions started. When? The wee hours of August 29th. :) Maybe he'll be a timely person his whole life!

The first contraction started just before 1am. They were about 10 mins apart, but not painful. I tried not to get excited, but couldn't sleep. I got up and walked around a little, trying not to wake Michael. Around 2am, they started to hurt a bit. So I decided to hop in the shower in case I wouldn't get to take one for a day or two. Afterwards, I told Michael what was happening and encouraged him to fall back asleep since he couldn't do anything. I'd let him know when they got closer together. He happily obliged. :)

In the 3 o'clock hour, they spread out to about 20 minutes apart. This did NOT make me happy. By this point, I was upstairs (we were staying in the basement of a friend's house), switching between pacing a 3-foot strip of floor that didn't creak, and resting on the couch. The contractions were getting much more painful, and I had to stand up during each one. I thought this was promising. But I knew nothing would happen soon with them so far apart. So I decided to try to sleep a little. I got a few naps in since they were still 20-25 minutes apart. I was really hoping it wasn't false labor.

At 6.30, my friend/hostess came downstairs and saw me pacing. She was thrilled it had started! But contractions were still slow. At least 15 minutes apart. I had noticed that when I paced consistently earlier, they got closer. But when I rested, they slowed way down. So I decided to start walking the neighborhood, since it was now daylight. She lovingly joined me, encouraging me the whole way. We walked for almost 2 hours! And it worked! By the end of the walk, contractions were ranging from 4-7 minutes apart. Hallelujah!

We went into the house to find Michael feeding Josiah breakfast and our friend's husband a nervous wreck. :) He didn't know what to think about this whole home birth thing. As long as it wasn't at his home, he was good to go. Haha.

We called our midwife to let her know what was happening. I called her earlier in the night to give her a head's-up since we were delivering at her house. (Side note: Home births are typically done at your own home...sort of the whole point of being comfortable. Since we're nomads during the summer, our kind midwife/Sister offered her basement and birthing tub. Perfect!) So we leisurely got our things together, I ate some yogurt and peanut butter toast for some energy and protein, and we headed off. Our dear friends and hosts watched Josiah while we were gone. So thankful to them! We stopped by the store to load up on more snacks and Gatorade. (MYTH: You can't eat/drink while in labor.)

We got to her house around 9.30. Her 4 kids and hubby were gone, and she had a nurse and our doula from Josiah's birth there waiting for us. We headed downstairs where the pool (think giant kiddie pool with high sides) was filled with warm water and things were set up. It was a very calm environment; quite different from a hospital room with hustle and bustle. She took a few stats, then left us alone. I appreciated that so I wouldn't feel like I was on display. By then, my contractions had sped up a little to 4-5 minutes. I was a little afraid to get in the pool because sometimes it tends to slow down labor. But, after just a few contractions, I decided to try it.

Women who plan to have more babies: get in some warm water during labor! Soooo soothing! It didn't take away the pain, but it eased it and just helped me relax more.

Once I got in the water, my midwife, nurse, and doula came down. It was go time! By now, the pain was really intense and contractions were rapid-fire, it seemed like. My midwife checked me--dilated to a 9. Good news. She listened to baby's heartbeat--all good. After that, she was hands off and just let my body do what it was made to do. The 3 ladies calmly encouraged me from time to time, which was a stark difference from the nurse at Josiah's birth. She tried to encourage, but she was loud and sounded fake. These ladies also kept repeating that my body knew what to do. They didn't tell me to push. They didn't tell me not to push. They just let my body be. This was probably my favorite part of the whole experience. Maybe because during labor with Josiah, the nurse told me to STOP pushing right before he came out b/c the doc wasn't there yet...!?!? Crazy lady, get some gloves on and get ready to catch!

I remember a few thoughts during the last few, hard contractions. Some, I said aloud. "I don't remember the pain being this bad." "Why does it have to hurt so much?" "Turn off the music." (I was getting irritated..haha) I stayed in the same position the whole time. On my knees, with my head resting on my arms, which were on the edge of the pool. Head down, eyes closed, trying to stay focused.

At one point, my midwife asked me to feel for the head. I was too scared and didn't want to move, so she did. He was crowning! After another push or two, his head was out! I was baring down, ready for another little while to push (as was with Josiah), but with the next push, he slid out so fast! 10.12am.

He was actually born completely in the bag of waters. This usually breaks to start labor, but mine never broke. I guess it's unusual that it stays intact through the entire process. My midwife said it was like opening a present when she broke it open.

When he was completely out, she pushed him to me (yes, still under water), between my legs and I brought him up. After a few seconds, he took his first breath, then cried. So cute. It was an amazing feeling of blessing, accomplishment, and being overwhelmed. He was completely covered in vernix. It looked like thick sunscreen all over his body, in his ears, everywhere! Usually babies don't have such a thick layer of it b/c it starts to come off as they age in utero. This made my midwife wonder if he was actually a bit early and my due date was off.

We sat in the pool for a while. (You're probably picturing the water being nasty. Actually, it wasn't at all. It was still clear b/c of how little I bled. Thanks to my midwife's suggestion to take alfalfa supplements during pregnancy.) He immediately wanted to nurse. That always amazes me. Babies have the natural ability to do this right after birth! My placenta came 30-40 mins later, and I had to push it out. Not my favorite thing after just pushing out a baby.

After that, I got out, laid on the couch, nursed some more, and they took Malachi's vitals. 7 pounds 8 ounces and (perhaps a little scrunched) 20 inches long. Then they left us alone. I took about an hour nap while Michael played Angry Birds. Haha. Then I felt good enough to go home. So we cleaned up a bit, got some instructions, and headed out! My midwife's strict orders were to not climb stairs for at least a week. But we were in her basement. So Michael carried me up. :)

We stopped to get lunch at Panda Express (missing China, I guess?!) We got back to our "home" to find Josiah still napping and our hosts shocked that we were back already. (This was around 2.30pm.)

Josiah's first glimpse of him was precious. He wasn't confused at all that baby wasn't in my tummy anymore. Thankfully, I got most of it on video.

And there it is! I'll not bore you with pics, since I'm pretty sure all of you are on Facebook and have seen them all already.

The trip back

Look at me. 2 posts in a week.

Let's go back a few weeks and let me recap the trip here. It was eventful, to say the least. Isn't it always when you involve kids and any sort of travel?!

It took 3 days and a few long nights for me to get everything packed. I was interrupted a few times. :) I was trying to pack as well as possible since the lovely airlines have started charging $70 for the second bag. I think that's a little evil for international flights, honestly. Since my parents were coming with us and not staying long, they "gave" me one of their checked bags. That meant I could have 3 big bags without paying anything. I knew that was impossible. I was planning on paying for at least 2 extras. Guess I didn't pack that well. Between each of the kids' clothes for the whole year (you know that's a LOT for a newborn-1yr), cloth diapers, baby tent, breast pump, my clothes, and miscellaneous items we needed, I ended up with SEVEN suitcases. Woops! Oh well. We needed it all. So, imagine this picture: 2 grandparents, 1 momma, 1 toddler, 1 newborn, 7 large suitcases, 1 duffle bag, 3 rolling carry-ons, 1 backpack, 1 diaper bag, and 2 purses. Let me tell ya..it wasn't pretty at 5am. :)

So we drove up to KC from Branson in 2 cars, because we had to with all the cargo. My parents stayed at a hotel near the airport so they could park their car there and I stayed at a friend's house, where she let us park the other car. On the way to the hotel, Dad rear-ended me. Tiny damage, no one hurt. But ya know, just adds to the story. We ate at Chipotle one last time. I inhaled that burrito. We stopped to see the boys' new baby cousin as well. He and Malachi look quite a bit alike!

Then it was past bedtime. I planned on staying up late to try to get on China's time zone the next day. My sweet friend set up her house for the boys. She had toys, a pack n ply for Josiah to sleep in...the works. I tried to put Josiah to bed around 9.30, and he wailed. He was scared to death of the new room and new people. I knew then he wouldn't go at all, so I was hoping he'd just crash on the couch while my friends and I chatted. No such luck. He was awake until 1.30!! He wouldn't even sleep on a couch next to me. So we shared one; he was on one end, Malachi and I on the other. Needless to say, I barely slept. haha. I woke up at 3.30 to get everything and everyone ready to leave by 5.

As you can imagine, Josiah was a disaster with 2 hours of sleep. So glad my parents were there to help. Sadly, none of our seats were together. The flight from KC to San Francisco was going well until the tiredness hit Josiah again. He didn't want to keep his seat belt on. The plane was TINY. Everyone kept looking at us. My parents were about 4 rows up and couldn't do much. Finally, Dad and Josiah switched seats and we all got a little shut-eye.

We had a 2 hour layover in SF that turned into 5. Doesn't it always?! It was a frustrating wait because we were all getting even more tired. Josiah had several tantrums, but Malachi was an angel. Since I had him in a carrier the whole time, he was knocked out the ENTIRE trip. Quite a praise since he had been such a bad sleeper before.

We finally got on the plane and my parents were not only not beside me, but were also separated. Mom was 2 rows in front of me, Dad 6 rows back. Neither on the aisle (nor were we), so none of the people we were sitting by wanted to switch seats. Can't say I blamed them..everyone wants an aisle seat on those long flights. So, we did a lot of handing children over people so we didn't have to get out every time. Josiah slept just a few hours during the 13-hour flight. By the end, he didn't know which way was up, but still wouldn't crash. I finally handed him to my mom for the last hour and he was out cold. Only to have to wake up again!

Reuniting with Michael was blissful. Adjusting back hasn't been bad. Typically, Josiah takes the adjusting period pretty hard. He usually deals with it by not eating well..even foods he tends to love. This time, though, he jumped right in! I think it really helped that my parents were here for a few weeks. It kept a sense of normalcy for him. It didn't seem to phase Malachi that he literally slept for 24 hours. Maybe he was catching up?! He has been sleeping well at night since we arrived. A downright miracle!

Next post: I'll back it up even more and share Malachi's birth story!

Love my boys!

I've been a blogger slacker. Not on purpose. I truly have several blog posts running through my head. If only I could find some time to sit down and write them all....

Quick stories from today:

We're finally getting more settled. I've been wanting to move Josiah out of the crib and into a bed for a while now, but it was easiest to wait until we got back here. Once here, we needed to find a bed rail. After looking online, we were disappointed at how expensive they were. Then my GENIUS husband remembered we have the parts to a bunk bed on our porch. Waa-la! The rail from the bunk became his bed rail. Fits perfectly! We started rearranging this morning, and put him down for a nap in his new bed. Michael's idea to make it smooth: don't make it a big deal. Did I mention he's a smart man?! Josiah was knocked out within 20 mins and I had to wake him up 3 hours later. Ha! (He doesn't normally sleep that long--must've been extra tired.) He went to bed just as easily...as if nothing was new. Love how that kid is learning to adapt. (Most of the time.)

Tonight, during team night, we were praying. Josiah did a nice job of joining us by closing his eyes and clasping his hands. Then I look up and he's nodding his head in agreement with the pray-er. HA! Then I saw his little lips whisper "thank you Jesus for the food" (the only prayer he knows). Then he started looking around at people with his squinty eyes...secret, right? haha He even resumed playing his game on my phone with squinty eyes...hilarious. Then my teammate said "In Jesus' name" and Josiah promptly said "amen!" haha. Everyone cracked up. We had to explain there was more to come. :)

Malachi has been a rough one to handle. The first 6 weeks of his life, he would cry all the time. Even right after he ate. Isn't that when he's supposed to be happiest?! Before getting here, my family did their best to help me hold him while he wailed. We had no idea what was wrong or how to fix it. Lately, he's been calming down. His awake times have been more pleasant and less noisy. :) Today was great. He actually put himself to sleep 3 times! This is ginormous, people. We usually hold/rock him for a bit until he's quiet (haha), then lay him down and let him cry. (Yes, we checked on him..) But he just couldn't figure out how to fall asleep. Even when I'd give up on letting him cry and hold him, he still wouldn't sleep well. Who knows. But it seems like he's getting past that. Whew!! Only to meet the next hurdle, right?

Finally, Michael is great. He always has been, but the month we were apart really made us appreciate each other even more. It's been fun to be back together with these new perspectives. Even with the busyness/craziness of 2 little ones, it hasn't been bad because we've had this shift in focus in our marriage. Loving how the Father is working in us!

My contacts a dry. Must go to bed. Maybe someday I'll get another picture on here..