John's #7 Mark

John Timothy is our funny face, full of expression, compassionate, bike rider extraordinaire, Chinese speaking, reading on grade level, draws action packed stories on multiple pages every day, deeper thinker than you might guess, not the crazy bravest (yet), hilarious, super sweet heart Seven Year Old.

#welovehimlikecrazy

Happy Birthday, John Love!

a super sweet fun group of boys here to celebrate 

We played games outside first...  For capture the flag, these "light sabers" were the "whackers" that could send your opponents to jail.   (Love these fine ten year old young men!)

Then they came up for some delicious lagman (the local noodle dish) and cake and ice cream and a bit of splashing around in our little blow up pool.  #supergrateful

This shot was actually from a few days after his party... we were at a new park that just opened and John wasn't feeling well.  Sweet boy ended up tossing his cookies at the park, but he was still a cheer to be with, even being low energy.  

We're so grateful and so outstandingly blessed to have you as our son, dear John.  May the Lord continue to grow your heart and mind and body strong in Him, and all for Him, for His glory!  We could not love you more John Love!  ~ your smitten mom and dad

the birth of a star in our hearts?

Anyone who's read much here will know that I'm a grateful reader of Ann Voskamp.  Her post yesterday is just too good to leave unmentioned here.  Just too good, too beautiful, too full of eternity and forever glory...

If you feel at all stirred by the excerpt below- and I hope we all are- please read the whole magnificent thing over at Ann's blog.  

"They say that 77% of practicing Christians believe Christians have a responsibility to adopt, but only 5% of Christians have adopted — and I get why it’s tempting to think you shouldn’t adopt and someone else should and I get the choking fears and I get the questions that won’t stop haunting and I get that supporting adoption doesn’t mean that we’re all called to adopt because caring for orphans looks different for each of us, but it has to look like something —  and I never stop getting over how Jesus left the 99 for the 1 and the whole focus of our Father is fighting for orphans, making them sons and daughters.

God searched for you, found you, fought for you, signed the papers with His blood and He adopted you and brought you Home –and the only way any of us get into the family of God is through the most painful adoption.

If real belief cares for the orphans — can one be a believer and not be caring for at least one orphan in some small way? 

Adoption is all of the broken’s story.

We’re all sort of a different kind of the same kind of broken. "

Good, Good News {Welcome to our new, dearly loved nephew!}

A new redhead has been welcomed into the world and into many wildly ready to LOVE THIS CHILD hearts in the K family.

Evan Lloyd, you are an answer to prayer, an evidence that indeed "God is gracious."

If you're interested in the name, you'll see in Greg (Matt's brother) and Heather's post that there could not be more awesomeness or legacy packed into one little boy's name.    We love it!  We love him.  We love all these Grether Reds and all of our precious ND Ks.

Missing you, loving you, and wishing we could bring over spaghetti or tacos or pie for the big two.... and be with all of you to celebrate this GIFT!

Blessing on you Evan Lloyd.  May you grow as a boy of valor and joy and wisdom and radiant passion for Jesus and super fun wit (how could you avoid any of that in your family!?).  May the Lord's blessing be on your life for His brightest glory, all the days of your precious life.

Just so you know, little love, we're celebrating your birthday with a day off homeschool!  Too much teary joy for schoolwork today!

We love you,
Uncle Matt and Auntie Jill and all your China cousins-  Isaiah, Marian, John and Vivian

#ComequicklyAugust!

Homesick: Hurting for Orlando

#prayforOrlando is a huge pull on our hearts these days as we grieve from too far away, such tragic losses, such gross violence and pure EVIL in a city we love most dearly.... the city where we met and married, where our first son was born, where so many, so very dear ones live.

We are grieving for families and broken hearts and lives shattered by this wickedness of two shootings in one weekend.

May the Lord speak His true Word into all the brokenness across Orlando... for comfort, for hope, for healing, for drawing many to the Truth of Who He is and how we need Him and that He is good,  truly good, fully good.... even though this world is full of wickedness.  May Orlando lift up their eyes to see the loving Father, the suffering Savior, the present Comforter and may His peace be known in your hearts there now...

all the local news

on a bus ride with local ladies

(warning:  random heart ramblings here)

I'm terribly shy for taking photos of local neighbors but I so long to share with you the local scenes and beauty.  It's ridiculous for me to be so timid for this because in this culture, I'm honoring these friends if I want their picture and they'd probably all pose bright and happy and at least one person in most every group pic would give bunny ears to another and it could be real lively and fun... but I'm an introvert and this just overwhelms me.  Most the time, I'd like to just smile and nod at most the people I pass on the street and keep walking to the grocery store for veggies and eggs.   

Sadly, rather than feeling honored, often I'm annoyed, when people want to pose for "bunny ears" with my kids and make them stop from wherever we're going or whatever they're playing to smile with strangers who usually don't even say hello- but just want a flashy pic they can boast of on social media.  

Still, a huge piece of my heart still hungers to capture more local beauty, more natural shots, even though I squirm when we're targeted as the subject of their photography.  (There's no way around this being a very sad, broken thing in me to have to confess.  I hate it but it's all true.)  

I'd love to get more natural shots of my neighbors.  Nobody looking, please.  Just a regular still life on film (digitally.)  So I'm trying to get sneakier with using my phone.  Savvier about pulling off the "I'm just texting someone" look while I snap away like a totally silly fake spy.  Somebody please tell me how I can do this better- not interrupt their conversations and just take an honest good photograph?  I'd love to get a few more shots of local scenes around us:  life and people, that we've come to love so dearly.

  

           

In other news...  two princesses stopped by our living room to play games the other day.  

in honor of Uncle Greg- whose Monopoly legacy burns deep in the hearts of our kid crew.

masterful hairdo done all by her big sis!

And we took these two awesome guys (who work at Matt's company) to the mountains to see if we can make some fun business stuff happen out that way this summer.   It was a great excuse for a day of fresh air, run-in-the-grass, JOY!

Mornings Together... Getting ready for the World, rooted in the Word

She got The Biggest Story (by DeYoung) as her 5 year old birthday gift and now she calls it "my Bible"...  We'll get her a biggie of the real deal when she's reading a bit better but we just delight that she loves to try to track along with Daddy's reading.  She's got a good record of finding a pic in "her Bible" that goes along with what Matt's reading so far.  So soo super sweet!

make him a man after your own heart, God!

... and this one too, please, Lord!
(Honest, we're working, still working, on "learning posture" to show honor when it's due!)

Apparently, "learning posture" is a bit hard to find at our house sometimes...  but she's been writing songs of Jesus love that are beautiful beyond ballet perfect posture!  Love this girl too...  Oh God make them, makes us all, to hunger and thirst for you and fill them like only You can!  Anchor us in Your true and perfect Word,  Lord!

the Shi-bang!

(Shi2 is Ten in Chinese)

Isaiah's tenth birthday party was a bit late this year.... he graciuosly agreed to wait for his party til the MLB season had begun.  His party worked well as an all out nerf battle and then a rest break to watch a bit of a game from the night before (check out the game concessions- those cute popcorn "sellers" below).  I was grateful it gave me a break between Vivi's party and his too!  We are so happy to celebrate this gift of a boy!  

(still cute, even when faithful to her no smiling policy)

goofball faces

My dear photo loving SIL, Heather, thanks for your encouragement to be in some pics!   I wish I could get some....  but I think I need you here for that.  This is the one shot I got when I gave my camera to a local friend.  How about you come take a few for us?  (excuse #7,419 for why you guys- all you friends and fm!- really should come visit us! :) )  

good thing he wanted carrot cake because the icing tube for writing his name was solid as a rock...  carrots worked!  

We got to celebrate another ten year old at the party as well... Charles turned ten the day before this birthday bash.  So blessed to enjoy such dear friendships here!

leave it to Matt to find a deal on 300 nerf bullets....  a heap big enough to blaze like crazy all morning long and to send every boy home with a new pack of their own.  Fun for everyone!

little bits of life here...

So fun to get to host a baby shower for these two beautiful mamas.  They're both heading back to the states this week and will be sorely missed...

Tears come quick when I think of this one leaving.  My near neighbor Jeannine is a precious sister, an extraordinary gift of a friend in my life.    Good thing she'll be back!!

Jeannine's big girl is Marian's favorite little friend and I'm so grateful Marian's been able to be a "mama's helper" once a week to help auntie Jeannine through a very busy season as she's been preparing to head back to the states.  

In the middle of moving apartments (for these dear friends) the dads took a morning off on a national holiday here to play baseball with the local university team and mamas and kiddos went to cheer them on.  It was a good thing for all of us to take a break!  

I love how this delighted-in daughter finds and celebrates beauty (and fun!  She's big on creating and indulging in FUN!)

Finally, a smile!  This is her look 99.2% of the time...  I'm really not liking her fussy camera, no-smiling stage.  Oh, but I do absolutely adore and delight in her!!

cherished, sweet boy...  closing in on the seven year mark! 

Rock tossing

What else do you do when a roadside stop is your play place for an afternoon at the mountains, because the mountain valley roads were all blocked for mud and late snow?  We did walk around here too... checked out the cows and the horses nearby , flew some borrowed kites and arranged a "fort" in the thorn bushes!

quiet smile on our big guy.  oh how I love him!

and oh my! how I love him too!

I told myself I really needed to write and mark our anniversary this year with a long lavish post on the blog:  all the gooey sweet wonderfulness of my husband.  But the day passed- a dozen years of covenanted love- and it went unpublished.  It was celebrated though.   Oh for every day to be celebrated with thanks and joy and beauty and giving, loving, laughing, serving each other, serving together and always, seeking Christ together.  I still can't believe I get to be married to this man.  Blessed, blessed, blessed me.  

And today... is another mile marker to mention:  2 years in our home in this beautiful province.  Our landing was a time marked by so much grace and evident care from a Sovereign Father that we have felt sustained by that knowingness- knowing that this is where He wants us, where He's put us for this season.  The Lord has tucked into these 24 months many deep joys- such grace of friendships here!- and He's allowed hard, extended, complicated struggle and sorrow and several stretches of a dim grey fog of "Really, Lord?  What are we doing here??" but through it all, we count it a privilege to be His ambassadors in this patch of darkness and we lean in to His heart to commit ourselves again:  Take all that we are and do with us as you please, your best plan for your glory here in us and among these people.  All by your grace, all for your glory.  Lord do as you desire.  You are worthy!  Be glorified here.

could we talk books?

I just opened up Francis Schaeffer's  book How Should We Then Live? .  He's long been a favorite of my husband but I've never read anything from him (though his daughter Susan is an absolute inspiration to me.)  The third page in, I was struck by this, the last paragraph of the foreword to my edition.  It makes me want to read this with a book club, some dear friends who could pour over these thoughts and cherish and challenge and apply these ideas together.  Do you want to join me for a bit of book savoring?

Here are Lane T. Dennis's words from the foreword (written Feb 2005).

Schaeffer's question to each of us- "How should we then live?"- is especially urgent in our own day as we see the growing disintegration and decline of truth and morality throughout our world.  What then is the answer that Schaeffer offers in response?  It is a commitment to God's Word as truth.  It is a compassion for a culture that is lost and dying without the gospel.  It is a commitment to the costly practice of truth  in the midst of the intellectual, moral, and philosophical battles of our day.  It is living in the power and reality of the God who is there, bearing the witness of His truth across the full spectrum of life and culture. As stated by Schaeffer in his closing words:  "This book is written in the hope that this generation may turn from... the paths of death and may live."  Few have articulated this message more clearly and demonstrated this message more consistently than Francis Schaeffer.  And because of this, few will come to the end of this book without a new vision for how, indeed, we should live.

Feeling compelled?  I'd love to read along side you and mull over these thoughts with you friends!  I'd love to hear from you...