Where is the pic?

Daddy and YiLi have been playing Monopoly since I got up . . .

For hours now, they have been playing one intense game of Monopoly. It was ordinary until all the properties had been purchased. Then the game began. Daddy started teaching YiLi how to wheel and deal. How about . . . if we trade this for this? Let's see. . . I'll give you X$ for this . . . Now all the properties have hotels on them and just to roll the dice can be a frightening thing . . . for Daddy at least, because he is not doing too well at the moment. I hear comments from YiLi like "I don't want any more money . . ." and "How much would three hotels be altogether?" and deep groans along with "Advance token to Boardwalk" . . . Did you know that landing on Boardwalk when it has a hotel on it costs $2,000.00?? Poor daddy! YiLi keeps coming to the computer excitedly telling me how much fun this is and how the bank is almost gone because she has all the money. She sure is lucky at games, plus she is getting pretty good at recognizing a scheme when she hears one . . .

 Jie Jie surprised YiLi by picking her up from school the day before Thanksgiving. I am pretty proud of this shot - maybe there's hope for me as a photographer yet!

 This shows more of their true personalities when they are together . . .

YiLi before "Main Street Rocks" day at school.

Just some sweetie pictures, just because! Which one is your favorite?

Sam is #5 from left.

Why are "aha moments" often a little sad?

This is Mrs. Preston, YiLi's second grade teacher. Last year she had Mrs. Funk for the second half of first grade. She adored her and still sees her every day. But this year, she also likes Mrs. Preston. For the past two days, Mrs. Preston has been home very sick with a cold that took her voice away. Today is Saturday, and YiLi said this afternoon that she really really misses Mrs. Preston. I commented that it was Saturday and she wouldn't normally be seeing her on the weekend anyway, but YiLi said" Yes, but I already haven't seen her for two whole days and now this is three days!" I suggested that when Mrs. Preston comes back to the classroom that YiLi makes sure to tell her that she missed her. I told YiLi that this makes a teacher feel very very good!

But that's not the focus of the blog.

We were talking, YiLi and Daddy and I, about how a lot of people in China don't like people who have something not perfect about their bodies. All of a sudden, YiLi said," I think I know why people in China don't like people who have something wrong with them. They don't know Jesus."  At this point Daddy and I have tears welling up in our eyes. We feel proud of YiLi for her understanding and her faith. We feel sad when we think about all those children and children turned adults who have no one to care for them in China, who have never even heard the name of Jesus Then we talked about how people can be very very good even if they don't know Jesus, and they can do good things (thinking in particular about YiLi's foster family), but that their hearts aren't made new and changed.  YiLi simply said, again about her Chinee mama and baba not knowing Jesus - "They will." Oh for the faith of a child!

Please keep this matter in your prayers. We will most likely be with YiLi's foster parents in China in 3-4 weeks. I am praying for God to protect us and to open hearts and to do a mighty work through YiLi, that all of us would be faithful servants of a God who wants not one person to perish, and for the country of China to know the love of Christ who gave Himself for them and for us. This is huge in YiLi's life. I can almost see the wheels of her mind turn as she thinks about the country of China.

Her daddy told her that people who have their hearts changed by Jesus are never the same again.  They see other people like Jesus sees them. May it be true of us, and may we be clay in the Potter's hands while we are there.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't turn into a banana that night . . ."

A few weeks ago YiLi was wearing a Chiquita banana sticker. She wanted to wear it to bed, but I told her that if she wore it overnight she would turn into a banana. She didn't think she would, so she got her courage up and wore the sticker to bed. End of story - I never thought of it, she never brought it up, and I never found the sticker.

Weeks went by.

Tonight she commented that that time she wore the sticker to bed she did not turn into a banana. I replied that when I went in to wake her, she had turned into a banana, so I took off the sticker and she turned back. She said "I don't think so - is that true?" I told her it was true in the make believe world.

It's fun to tease her, but she has a good handle on what is true and what is simply make believe. I think we both suffer from wishing that some of those fairy tales were true . . .

Read my next blog for a conversation on a much more serious subject. My girl is deep! Okay, she's not always deep, she also cares about banana stickers, but at times she is wise like a little old woman.

I can't believe it - they're playing chess!

For the second day in a row, YiLi and Daddy are playing chess. Her reasoning ability and her langauge capability blows me away. Daddy will not cut her slack with his explanations either.  She is full of questions and never gives up. Once in a while, she gets a wee bit upset when one of her men gets "eaten", but then Daddy reminds her that she has done some "eating" of his men also. But basically, she knows how all the men move as well as what they are called. Now she is actually learning strategy. Here are some photos:

Open house at YiLi's school was held recently. Her 2nd grade teacher is Mrs. Preston and her principal is Mr. Funk. Last year her teacher was Mrs. Funk.

Can you tell that our little girl enjoys school? We are very blessed in that regard and many others too.

On a totally unrelated subject, I took this final picture as a memory of my mom:

You can see YiLi peeking out from behind Mom's picture!

"I just want to know everything about everything!"

Tonight we were on our way home from YiLi's ophthalmologist appointment (an hour trip) and all the sudden . . . from the back seat came . . . not the sound of a sleeping child . . . but . . .

I just want to know . . .What is the sun made of?
If the sun is a star, how come it looks round?
How come the moon is sometimes round and sometimes part of it is missing?
How do "they" make stop signs?
How do they make cars?
I think I know what communion is . . . (she goes on to explain).
Well, I just want to know how does the water stay up in the clouds?
How come dandelions come up every summer without anyone planting them? (God put the seeds there.) Oh, OK! (She so easily believes about God and Who He Is.)
How come it is colder way up in the sky and we can't feel it down here?
How far up does the sky go?
How come when you jump you come back down? Why can't we fly?
So God is really really big?
Where do the lights come from in a car? In a house?
Is it the same as the lines that go this way and that way in the sky?
You mean there are nine earths?
Is there really a robot planet?
Where is heaven?
Are there more people?
What is inside the Great Wall of China? Are there people inside?
What do we do with all the garbage?
How do we recycle bottles and cans? How exactly do we do this?
How come there are some, what do you call them, really big countries like China, and some really small ones?
How does a country get started?
How long does it take to cross the ocean? How big is the biggest ocean?
How long would it take to drive across the ocean in a car?

Honestly, Daddy and I were doing our very best to answer these, plus using the opportunity to tell YiLi that as she gets to read better she can find these answers for herself, which is one reason why reading is so COOL!

As we arrived home and she got right into her jammies and got ready for bed, she said . . .

"Well, tomorrow I just want to know everything about the human body - I want to know everything about everything!"

Her language alone astonishes me. Folks, the point of this is not about bragging but just marveling how much can happen in a short nine months in the mind and soul of a child, and how marvelous  to watch a child's mind and heart open like a flower blooming, filled with curiosity and yet so easily and fully believing and absorbing truths about God and the world.

We feel an awesome responsibility and we know we are so very blessed.  Honestly, all this in the space of one single hour!