Clarks: pregnancy photos @ 6mo.

Here are the promised pregnancy pictures, taken around 23 weeks.
BTW: A few more pregnancy photos can be seen on facebook.
If we're not already friends, look for "Jason Cecely".

Tiger from Toys'R'Us in Hangzhou, seated in the Combi SJ-8EX super-stroller, and dressed in TN onesie (care of Jake & Shelly):

Cec, as seen from above, standing near the baby cache:

The obligatory profile shot:

A collection of stuffed animals at the foot of our China-styled, Polish-produced, faux Pack-n-Play:

Halloween

Halloween is one of those American holidays that has not quite caught on here. That did not stop us from having our own celebration. Last year we joined a party that Jason and Cec, had for their classes. This year no one had a party. We decided to take the kids to Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut is somewhat of a treat for us, and Pizza Hut is usually decked out with Halloween decorations. The whole week, the workers were wearing costumes. However on Halloween, they were wearing their usual uniforms. We were disappointed, but ate Pizza anyway.

Hallie was Hermione Granger, Liam was Harry Potter, and Eryn was Tinker Bell (in her arrival dress). They caused quite a stir as they walked down the street! (See attached video) The kids often turn head, but it is a little more pronounced when they are in costume.


We met up with Jeff, Cathy, Tanner and some students. The students even gave the kids candy.

Nothing says Halloween like costumes, candy and pizza. It was not quite an American celebration, but we had fun.

Weird weather

As Jason mentioned in his recent post, we have had some stormy weather lately. It is really strange, because China does not usually have storms like that. Or at least that is what we thought. Our experience has been that we rarely had storms in Central China. It does storm a little more often here in HZ. The other day, was a big storm. It got dark as night, really! I have seen some bad storms in Tennessee, but this was the first time I saw that it really was dark as night. I even wondered for a minute if there was an eclipse or something. I took this picture at about 3:00 in the afternoon, it was already getting a tiny bit lighter.



Liam is terrified of storm, and really I don't like them that much, but I am not as frightened here in China. Maybe because of the huge concrete building I live in. I do NOT miss the storms at home! But this weather was more like what we have in west TN. I was very glad to be at home and not trying to go some where.

Clarks: Random News

Here's what's on our minds today:

First of all -- if you haven't heard -- the latest ultrasound seems to indicate that the baby is a girl. The tech-lady seemed fairly confident, actually. You might know, however, that these things are not always 100% certain. We're considering a 3D ultrasound -- we'll have to go to a different hospital that has the equipment -- hoping that we might get a really clean image and know for sure.

The umbilical cord is no longer wrapped around the baby's [her?] neck; the heartbeat is strong; everything looks good. Cecely's health is good, too. The placenta is not quite where we'd want it, indicating a possible c-section delivery, but there's still lots of time, and either method is fine so long as the baby arrives safely.

Once again, I should mention how well Sunday is going: more visitors each week, good time together, good study, good questions...

On the other hand, the regulars/members are still not living up to what I'd like to see -- i.e., no husbands, kids are there only irregularly, none of their friends are being invited... Everyone's faith is growing, as far as we know, but we want to see the locals taking more responsibility for the work, in terms of... well, like I just mentioned -- bringing people and stuff like that.

It's raining a lot. Yesterday there was a Tennessee-sized storm: greenish-black sky at midday, strong winds, pounding lightning & thunder, and torrential rains. Today it's just steady drops and grey skies.

That's about it. Things are fine overall. The work is progressing. We are moderately homesick. We're excited about the baby.

Final note: We'll try to get a pregnancy profile photo posted ASAP. Stay tuned!

Party central!

I feel like we have had one party after another lately! We have had around 20 here the last few Sundays too! Phew! We have been busy, but I love it!

We are so thankful that we have an apartment where people feel comfortable hanging out. I have several events that I need to blog. This apartment has been a huge blessing.

This Saturday we had a party for Hallie's birthday. She chose who she wanted to invite. I made a cake (from a mix, thanks!), pumpkin squares (from scratch), Jon made brownies (from a mix) and I made some peanut butter cookies. Sugar rush!!!

Hallie opened presents too. Actually she has been opening presents for three days. She opened the gift from Grandmamma and Granddaddy on Skype Saturday morning. She got an American Girl doll, and she does not let it out of her sight. She opened presents at her party and then Sunday morning she opened presents from Poppa and Granny on skype. We made her wait until her actual birthday for the presents from her parents and siblings.

(notice, Hallie is still holding the doll)

This is about how we all felt! I think Caleb enjoyed the cake!