Day 25 - The Internet

I can't even begin to express how thankful I am for the internet....especially living in China. So much of my life revolves around the internet and I can't imagine what I would do without it.

So here is my list of why I am thankful for the internet.

1. Skype! I love the fact that I get to talk to my family at least 3 times at week...sometimes more. The time difference from China to where they are is just about perfect (as it deals with talk time). I have so say that I have never talked to my dad more than when I have been here. I love it! I also get to skype with Jeffrey when he is traveling. This is great since it allows Aiden to see him as well. And then an another wonderful reason is that I get to keep with my best friend Jenn back in GA. When we talk it feels like I have never left.

2. Facebook! I love getting to keep up with friends from all over through Facebook. Getting to see my family, friends and their kids growing, and even keeping up with friends here in Wuxi.

3. Netflix. This is probably one of my favorites parts of the internet. We love getting to watch American shows and I'm just not sure what we will do when we have to go back to watching TV with commercials and having to wait a whole week to see what happens in a show. I mean...really? Why wait when you can watch a whole season back to back. Fabulous. Now this point leads me right to my next point....

4. Apple TV. When we first bought this I wasn't sure how much we would actually use it, but wow! We love it. We watch our Netflix though it as well as getting to watch our shows that we have purchased through iTunes. Love it!

5. Pintrest. O my heavens....how do I love pintrest. Finding new recipes...decoration ideas...things to do with Aiden...and so much more.

I could go on and on about how much I love the internet, but I guess I'll stop for the moment. Thank you Father for the gift of technology and giving someone the mind to create all these wonderful gadgets that have made my life in China easier.

Day 24 - My Oven

An oven...who would've thought I would realize how lost I would be if I didn't have one until moving to China. We are so blessed to have it. Now it is much smaller than one in the states, but we have learned how to manage time to get multiple dishes in and out so food is still hot. 

A few of my friends here do not have ovens as this is not a normal Chinese thing to have so I am EXTREMELY grateful to have one. Sure makes cooking in my world easier since 99.9% of the cooking I do is in the oven.

Our little oven that barely holds a 9x13, but o so grateful that it does!!!!! 

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving here at our house with some wonderful friends. We had SOOO MUCH food! Thankfully, this year we were able to find a Turkey...yea!!!! We also had cornbread stuffing, corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, creamy mushroom green beans and homemade rolls. Then for dessert we had Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Crunch Cake and Pecan Pie. And to go on top of the pies we had homemade whipped cream. Soooo yummy and I'm still stuffed. 

Without an oven I don't think we could do this...so I am super duper grateful for our oven. Now if I can only talk Jeffrey into getting a double oven when we move back to the states we will be in GREAT shape. 

Our Thanksgiving meal at our house today. 

Day 23 - Construction Safety

One of the things that I didn't realize that I was thankful for in America until I moved to China is construction safety. I'm sending a BIG thank you to all the construction workers who go out of their way to do a great job while keeping pedestrians safe. 

Here on the other hand...its a different story. The things we see make me laugh daily and sometimes I just have to stop and shake my head, wondering "what were they thinking?"! But such is life, right? But I'm thankful for these crazy things because they teach me patience, understanding, and just to let things slide. 

Sleeping on the job...love it! 

Or...while you sleep you can leave a big hole in the road where we walk. My favorite part is the ladder blocking part of it off...or maybe its the moped coming right at the hole with no barrier. Either way, we got a good laugh out of this. 

Building scaffolding without barriers.

Just a little wobbly...please don't fall on me!
The day I took this picture it was really windy outside and the scaffolding really looked like it was going to fall any second.  

Exposed wires right above where we walk???

Safety first! 

Don't fall in the hole...

This was my personal favorite...do you see the hole in the middle of the sign?
The construction workers were ripping glass down right in front of the store...it was flying everywhere.
This is our bakery...the store was still open for business and I needed bread, but I didn't want to get hit with glass so I started yelling really loud while running quickly into the store. Thank you "Aunt Donna" for staying out on the sidewalk with Aiden so I didn't have to take the stroller in the midst of the glass. 

Check out all that glass in the street. 

So, in essence, I'm super grateful that this is not anything you have to worry about in America. But since I'm really working at being thankful for where I am, I have to say that I'm thankful for these crazy events cause they make me laugh. These sightings have also made me more aware of my surrounding and how to watch out for where Aiden and I walk. 

Got to laugh right? 

Day 22 - My Stroller

Before I start telling you what I'm thankful for today and why, I want to say....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

We are called to be thankful everyday, and to give thanks in everything, but today is a special day that is set aside specifically for that purpose. So today, specifically, lets all look for the things we are thankful for....whether we want to be thankful for something or not, look for the good in things. We serve a God who is sovereign and gives us only good things (whether we see it as good or not is our choice, but its all for our good and HIS glory)...so lets say THANK YOU! 

Another side note...I want to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet sister in law Jennifer! I hope your day sis is wonderful! We love you so much and miss you more. Enjoy your special day and make Matt treat you right! LOVE YOU!

Ok...now to the post...

You know how yesterday I was thankful for walking? Well I totally couldn't do that without The Bob! When Jeffrey and I were looking at Strollers before Aiden was born it took us awhile to truly decide if we wanted to invest in one or not. My wonderful sister in law has one and that is how we discovered them. Let me just say...they are amazing! I'm so thankful to have this thing here in China where the roads aren't even and you have to go up and down stairs quite often. 

Thank you makers of The Bob...you knew we were moving to China. 

Love the big wheels on my stroller so when we have to go upstairs I can drag it up easier.
Man do I miss good escalators or elevators that are not blocked off. 

Aiden loves it too. 

I love the fact that it lays down so he can sleep while we walk. 

I'm also super thankful to have an umbrella stroller. This stroller is totally different and so much smaller but it can fit in the back of a taxi easy and can actually fit through the barriers in all the stores. So for days I need to shop or go downtown in a taxi on my own this is the stroller I take. So much lighter and easier. 

Day 21 - The Joy of Walking

I have to say that one of my most favorite things about the city I live in is the fact that I can walk everywhere! I'm thankful for this fact because it gets us out of the apartment and allows us to explore this new city we call home. There is always interesting things to see and its even better when you get to go for walks with friends. 

When we first arrived in Wuxi this was all I could do. We were living in a hotel with a kid who wouldn't nap without screaming (yea...I needed to get out) so we would walk and walk. Now its a part of our lives, from the 5 K Club on Mondays, to walks to the park or just walking to go get veggies. We love some good exercise. 

From our house we can walk to the playground, a few different grocery stores, Starbucks of course, friends houses, and so many different places to eat. I must say that this is the part about life in China that I will miss more than anything. As much as I really miss driving, I'm thankful that I am forced to walk so that I can get some exercise and enjoy everything about Wuxi. 

So today, enjoy some of the things we see and do as we walk in our city. 

We play "chicken" constantly with the mopeds...who is going to move???
The stroller or the moped?? 

Construction is going up everywhere...who knows what this is going to be but its right next to our complex. 

Toilet anyone???

Walk with a friend...it makes the walk much better. 

Starbucks and ice cream always make an evening walk better. 

Or maybe I'll just drive...now if only I could get the keys. 

There is so many fun things to see as you walk around our city...come visit me and we'll take a walk together! 

Day 20 - Birthday Celebrations in China

Life in China can be difficult on special days when you don't have your close friends and family nearby (or have your husband in town), but this is why I am SO THANKFUL for friends who get together to celebrate with each other. 

Its all about the little things in life that make life in China feel more normal. 

The awesome bday cake that Jax made for me. 

Mabel and Brie on Brie's bday!

Mabel and Sebnem on Mabel's bday. 

Donna on her bday! 

Day 19 - Good Food!

You know how much I love to eat, so today I am super thankful for so many good restaurants around Wuxi that we can enjoy. My favorite type of place to eat is at Japanese restaurants and we have so many good ones around. 

I know its strange, but I guess I'm just not a massive fan of actual Chinese food, other than dumplings of course. I could definitely eat Jiaozi at any point. We have a great Jiaozi place here in our city that is so good and inexpensive. For 6 adults to go and eat and stuff ourselves silly the price is normally around 200rmb or $30. Crazy cheap huh? We'll take it! 

I make Jeffrey and Aiden go with me to eat quite often. And yes, the 2 plates of rolls right there were just for me...YUM! 

Candid shot of sweet friends. 

Aiden loves the Pork cutlet strips and the dipping sauce to go with it. 

Food at my favorite Japanese place. They have the BEST tempura roll!

Sebnem ordered a whole fish! 

Yum!!!

Other favorites are Thai restaurants, of course Western style restaurants and Hong Kong type food. I confess that while we were living in the states I did not venture out much on different types of food, but here I have and I'm so glad for it! 

You can even have lunch at Starbucks! 

Jeffrey and I at Fu, our favorite Thai restaurant. 

If you can see the caption, Mimi is pointing out "Sanacks" 

Dinner with friends at our favorite Hong Kong restaurant. 

Food, food, wonderful food. I am so thankful that there are so many options for going out to eat here. I love it!