Birthday Boy Request

Josiah is going to turn 4 in about 3 weeks. He's getting to be such a big boy!

Since we're not planning on coming home this summer, I thought a way to bring parts of "home" to him would be if some family and friends would send him a birthday card, picture, etc. If you have kids and they'd be willing to draw him a picture and/or if you could take a picture of your kids, he would love that! He doesn't have many foreign friends here, and I don't want him to forget about his other home. :)

If you get it in the mail within the next week, it has a good chance of getting here on time. Even if it doesn't, who doesn't like a birthday that just keeps on giving?!

Below is the address to attach to the envelope. It's probably easiest if you just print this out and tape it to the card, that is, unless you have a secret talent of writing Chinese characters! *If you don't attach the Chinese part, it may take several months to arrive, or get lost altogether!*

Thanks for loving on our little guy in this way!!

Josiah Felder
ELIC Chinese Language Program
Teacher Training Building #401
Northeast Normal University
#5268 Renmin Dajie
Changchun, Jilin 130024
130024吉林省长春市
人民大街5268号
东北师范大学师训大楼 #401
美国英语学会
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Where are you, Jesus?

The other day, I somehow found myself explaining to Josiah that Jesus can live in his heart. He immediately looked down his shirt and said, "Where are you, Jesus? I don't see you!"

I couldn't contain my giggles. Once under control, I explained to him that he could listen for Jesus' words and read His words in the Bible.

I love little minds.

Tofu and bean sprouts

When we first arrived in China, the first few months of eating were rough on all of us. The first month, we spent living in a hotel room, so we ate out a lot. The following few months, I was adjusting to cooking in a kitchen I didn't understand and with ingredients I wasn't as familiar with. I tried new recipes, and often threw the finished product in the trash. During that time, Josiah mainly lived off of Ritz crackers and raisins. Literally. He gradually started eating yogurt and Chinese food, but it took a while for him to transition.

These days, I'm comfortable in the kitchen and a much better cook than I was even in the comfort of the States. But, I still lack a serious skill.....

...making all veggies so delicious that my kids and I want to gobble them up. Who has this skill? A LOT of Chinese people!

In particular, our helper. She comes once or twice a week to clean and cook for us. She is amazing! She buys the ingredients she needs to cook, and whips up 4-5 dishes every time. And my kids devour her food--every time!

For example, the other day she made homemade tortillas with 4 different fillers: green peppers and potatoes, tofu and bean sprouts, broccoli and garlic, celery and potatoes...and then a sauce with eggs in it (sounds gross, but was DELISH).

I had to chuckle tonight as the kids and I all scarfed down 4 wraps. At one point, I had just helped each boy take a bite, and bean sprouts and tofu were hanging out of both of their mouths. If we still lived in the States, I'm not sure this would have ever happened.

Another interesting thing? We eat much less meat here, and don't even notice it! In our home, we eat mostly chicken, and usually only a few times a week. The veggie dishes are so good that we don't even miss the meat! 

I have some serious learning to do.

*I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad, just trying to share that kids (and formerly very picky adults!) can love just about anything if it's made with some pizzazz!!

Times are a Changin'

Out of the blue, Josiah starts this conversation with Erika, who is visiting right now

Josiah: Do you have any games?
Erika: No, do you?
Josiah: No, I don't have a phone.

Ha! We do have board games that he also loves to play, but I guess his mind was just on electronic games at the moment!

Easter!

On Easter Sunday, we went to a friend/former tutor's house to have dinner and play. Her son is also 3, so he and Josiah hit it off well. Who cares that they don't speak the same language?! All they needed were toy guns and all those "boy" noises! :)

 

I brought along some eggs filled with treats and we hid them around one of the bedrooms. Sadly, it was still too cold and too much ice was on the ground to do an outdoor hunt. But, the boys didn't care! It was EnTong's first hunt, and he had a blast!

Then we sat around and played the piano, guitar, and danced. Such a fun family!!

The day after Easter, a group of my classmates and our tutors had a party. We dyed eggs, decorated cookies, and told the Easter story with the help of Resurrection Eggs. It was a lot of fun and cool to see how much the locals already knew of the story!

**Oh, and yes, the kids didn't have special "Easter attire" this year because it's still so cold! So, they just wore their spiffy winter attire. Ah well...they sure didn't notice!

Malachi's words

Malachi is finally starting to say some words that I can understand (and maybe only I can understand them...) Such words include: cracker, apple, 哥哥(Gēgē)--which means "older brother," which is what he calls Josiah. He also sort of hums words. For example, I'll say "thank you," exaggerating my tones, and he'll respond to me like a little parrot, mimicking those tones. So cute. He'll say "mama" and "dada" on command, but still doesn't call us those names. Someday, right?

 However, tonight, he got me. I was encouraging him to say "bye-bye." (wasn't he supposed to be able to say this months ago?! #fail) He responded by saying 再见 (Zàijiàn)...yep, "good bye" in Chinese. I died laughing! Partly in surprise that it was clearer than all of his other words! I kept saying "good bye," and he kept saying "zàijiàn." Hilarious."

 I love that while I feel like I'm killing myself learning this language, my kids pick it up without even trying.

Funny phrases and new words

Today, Josiah gave us this to laugh at:

Josiah: Daddy's brown.
Michael: Are you brown?
Josiah: No. I'm tan. When I grow big I'll be brown.

Josiah: What's so funny?

 Oh, the perspective of a 3 year old. :)

While reading Malachi a book the other day, I was pointing to an apple and repeating it for him. Then he perfectly said it. Over and over. This is the clearest I've heard him say anything! Later, I asked him to say it for Daddy. No such luck. And it hasn't been clear since. Ah well!