Kelly on the Wall

 

Kelly has been in China for almost a month now.  He has been hard at work but has made a little time on the weekends to explore.  This Saturday he did a 6 mile hike of the Great Wall with his friend Luke.  Looks like quite a workout to me! 
He will be returning to us here in the States this Friday.  We can't wait to have him back.  It has been a long month without Daddy!  We will be tying up some loose ends and then we will all depart July 28 to start our new journey!

Sometimes when things seem too good to be true they probably are!

Well, the movers have come and gone and we are officially homeless.  All of our lives are packed in boxes or in the 6 suitcases that we own.  We are living with Grandma and Grandpa Wilson.
When the movers were just getting ready to haul everything off we found out that the house we were going to rent in China fell through.  The landlord couldn't provide proper documentation so.....we are looking again. 
It was perfect and beautiful and too good to be true!  Kelly left today to start his assignment in Beijing.  He is going house hunting again on Friday so keep your fingers crossed that something comes up.  We won't see him for almost a month.  We will miss you Daddy!  See you soon!

Home Sweet Home away from Home!

This is our home we will be living in.  It is in The Dragon Bay area in the Shunyi district of Beijing.  This is the entrance to the yard.

 The yard is beautifully landscaped with trellis' and rose bushes and a full fledged garden.  Thank goodness I don't have to do the yard work or the gardening!  A green thumb er I am NOT!

This is a look from the outside.  It is roughly a 5,000 sq. ft Asian style home complete with a natural hot spring hot tub in the sunroom in the basement.

Hotspur's Get Together and Ella's 9th Birthday!

                                        Ryan Blentlinger, Donnie Smith, Kelly, Dave Schmidt,
                                            Craig Bates, Kyle Morales, and Jason White
                                            Friends and soccer teammates since age 8

                                                               The next generation!

                                                     Schmitty came from Florida!

                                                            Happy 9th Birthday Ella!

Grammi came for a visit!

Kelly's mom came and visited for a week!  She got to spend quality time with the kids and quality time with me helping me sort through my kitchen and house to get ready for packing.

Valerie's Last Day at work......Big Hair Tribute!

My last day of work was May 4th and everyone surprised me with a Valerie Big Hair Tribute!   At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on.  Then realization dawned on me and I wasn't sure if they were picking on me or what.  They all assured me that they were celebrating me and I had to laugh because they all looked like they were members of a big hair 80's rock band! I was laughing so hard that I was crying.   I love this group of people!  Who thinks of these crazy kinds of things.......my friends do!  I will miss you all.  You are more than just co-workers,  you are my family (although sometimes a dysfunctional one)  and you will always be my friends!  Thank you!

The Chinese Culture Club

                                                      Yulia, Ella, Chris, Tien and Julia
We had our Chines Culture Class on Fri., April 27.  Yuila, our consultant and trainer, is originally from Russia.  Chris, the kids trainer, is from the Phillipeans.  Tien, our Chinese instructor, is a professor at the Universisty of Illinois.  They were so nice and helpful.  We spent the better part of the day learning the differences between US and Chinese cultures.  They have a very different way of thinking and working than we do here.  They are very much family and relationship oriented.  (I think I will fit in okay over there.)  We also had lunch at a Chinese restraunt and had lessons on using chop sticks.  (Now I know why Chinese people don't have an over-weight society.)  The girls got to Facetime another girl that had lived in China named Ping.  We had a great day!
Fun Fact:  Did you know that it is taboo to wear a green ball cap over in China?  If you are given one it means that your spouse is being unfaithful to you.  I guess we won't be rocking any John Deere green ball caps anytime soon.  Don't wan't to have a bad reputation right off the bat!