Day 11 - Tony Studio Salon

Today I am super thankful for a great hair salon here in Wuxi! And for a fabulous stylist. Tony Studio is on the upper end of things here in Wuxi, but with my type of hair which demands layers I will indulge. Now granted...indulging in a great hair cut here means that I am spending 180rmb, which comes to a grand total of $28.80! Whoo too!!! I'll take it! 

My stylist! 

I have no idea what my stylists name is, but he has done my hair everytime I've gone there and he does a great job! So thank you Tony Studio for being in China so I can have a good hair cut! 

Day 10 - My Ladies Study

One of the things here in China that I am the MOST THANKFUL for is my Ladies Bible Study. We meet every Tuesday morning and we have ladies from around the world joining in studying God's Word. What a fabulous experience to learn from each other with our various cultural backgrounds. 

Friends from America, South Africa, Canada, India, Turkey and Singapore! 

Our group is growing by leaps and bounds as some of our members have had babies recently. I love this group of ladies and our time together! Such an encouragement to Study HIS word together. 

Love these Ladies!!! 

Day 9 - My Driver

Today I am thankful to have a driver. His name is Chen and even though most days he drives me crazy with his lazy attitude, I'm grateful to have him. It makes getting around town much easier with a kid and a stroller as well as going places with lots of friends. Most days the van is filled to the brim with tons of friends and lots of laughter...as well as some nausea from his terrible driving skills. Ha! 

Good ole Chen

Helping out with strollers. 

Day 8 - The Veggie Market

Today I am so thankful for our fresh veggie market! Now normally I am not a huge fan of veggies, but having a fresh veggie market within walking distance from my house has changed that. Things are so fresh and yummy, esp the pumpkins, my favorite. 

Shopping is always more fun with friends! 

The veggies are also cheap! This week was a light week of buying since Jeffrey is out so all I bought was a head of broccoli, edamame, a pumpkin, and 3 green peppers. In total I spent 20rmb which is $3.20.  

The kids even get into it! 

You can also buy fruit, eggs, meat, household goods and get your clothes tailored here. I haven't tried buying meat here yet, but I've heard its not so bad. All this shopping within a 5 minute walk from my house. Fabulous! 

Barb LOVES fresh veggies! She puts me to shame in what she buys! 

LOTS and LOTS of veggies. 

Don't these look yummy! 

This is one of those places that I will certainly miss when we move home. 

Day 7 - 35 of years of Jeffrey

Happy Happy Birthday to my Amazing husband Jeffrey! Today he turns 35 years old and though he is not home at the moment for us to celebrate, we will this weekend with some family time and CAKE! 

There are SO MANY reasons why I am thankful for this man, but today I'll just name 10. 

1. He loves God more than he loves me. 

2. He is such a hard worker and amazing provider for Aiden and I. 

3. He is so much fun to be around. 

4. He has an amazing sense of family. 

5. He can clean bathrooms with the best of them! 

6. He has a sweet tooth as big as mine, so chocolate is always around. 

7. He is an amazing father to Aiden, and changes tons of diapers and isn't afraid of the stinky ones! 

8. He is adventurous. 

9. He organizes my world...ok so maybe I'm not so thankful for this one all the time, but in the end the results are always good. 

10. He married me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We celebrate 5 years on December 1st. 

So to the BEST husband in the world. I love you and am so thankful for you. Happy birthday!!!!!!! 

Day 6 - Playgroups

Today I'm super thankful for playgroups! 

Aiden and I love having people over or going to do things so the kids can play (and mommy's can have some fun too). Once a month we have a specific Wuxi International Club Playdate at my house, which is where these pictures are from. But other days we have people over to our house, or we go to the indoor playground, or the fabulous outdoor playground that looks like a pirate ship. The best part about all the different kids and families we spend time with is that they are from all over the world. 

Our adorable Indian friend. 

Fun friends from Japan and Korea 

Love our American friends. 

Aiden loves all of his new friends. 

Isn't she beautiful?

Thai / German

The whole group - we have so much fun together! 

I love all the culture that Aiden is getting while living in China. And with all the different languages he hears on a daily basis it will be neat to see if he retains any of that when we move back to the US.

Day 5 - The 5K Club

The 5 K Club! Such a great name for the group that walks to Starbucks every Monday morning right? We came up with that name to make it sound a little bit better than just going to get coffee all the time, but we all know the truth. Ha! The walk itself, if we go straight there and back is 1.9 miles each way...so right about a 5 K. Coffee and exercise together?  It doesn't get much better than that! 

Donna & Aiden in front of our Starbucks. 

It began with just Donna and myself, but as the weeks and months have gone by, we have added quite a few new "members" and some days we have as many as 10 ladies going for a walk. Makes Mondays a little bit better. 

Aiden, during the warmer months, loves to run around outside while we sit and drink coffee. 

Now we don't just go to Starbucks, we also stop by the Fruit Lady, the Veggie Market (more on that to come later this month) and the Bakery. So we make great use of our time out. We start off on our walk at 9:30am and usually get back home between 12 and 1pm. 

Our group is growing by leaps and bounds. We have so much fun together. 

Its a great day all around on Mondays and for this I am so thankful. Its easy to dread Mondays, with Jeffrey going back to work (or leaving on a trip), or just being bummed the weekend is over. But our little group has changed that and now it is something to look forward to and for this I am so thankful! 

Bring on Mondays!!!!! 

Aiden & Jerry, our barista