Shane and Taffy's wedding

If you are a long time reader of this blog, or you have lived here you probably know who Shane and Taffy are.  Shane is a Chinese brother who Jon and Josh baptized a few years back.  Shane met Taffy while she was studying Chinese in Hangzhou.  They had a long-distance relationship for a year, and then Shane went to Tennessee to study at MTSU.  They got engaged and then got married this past September.

In December, they traveled to China to celebrate their wedding with Shane's friends and family.

The wedding feast was held at Shane's parents' house in his home town.  We traveled with some other friends to help them celebrate their wedding.

It was a huge family/neighborhood affair.    I took several pictures of the preparations for the feast.

They actually cooked several dishes on these hot coals.

It takes a lot of dishes to feed a lot of people.

That is a lot of tofu, and vegetables.


While most of the family was preparing the meal, Taffy was in "town" at a beauty shop getting her make-up and hair fixed.  Then they took some pictures.

Then the wedding party traveled by decorated car back to the house.

When they arrived at the house, they set off many firecrackers for luck.

Taffy's parents were not able to make the trip to China, so they watched much of the festivities  via Skype on Taffy's iPad.

Our family and the happy couple.  We wish Shane and Taffy many many happy years together serving God.

Christmas traditions and cookies with Jennifer

Ever since the kids were very small, we have tried to take at least one good picture of all three kids in front of the tree.  It is one of our traditions. You would think, that as the kids got older, getting good pictures would be easier, but it seems not to be much easier than when they were babies.   Several years ago we started the tradition of the kids having matching pjs for Christmas eve.  My folks find the pj's and send them to us every year.  Then I try to take pictures of the kids.  This is one of the pics that I got this year.  

Another tradition we have, is to make cookies.    This year we shared this traditions with some friends.  we made plain cookies with two boys that we tutored in English.  They loved it.  They loved making the cookies and loved eating the cookies too.

We also made cut-out cookies that we decorated with our friend Jennifer.   Jennifer was very serious but she did enjoy making cookies.  Jennifer had never made cookies before.  Most Chinese do not have ovens in their apartments so they do not make cookies or cakes at home.

On Christmas Eve, we Skyped with my folks while the kids (and parents) opened their presents.    Can you see my dad in the background?  (on the computer).

Then we set out cookies and Milk for Santa.

Then while some were sleeping, Santa filled stockings and left goodies!

We have some other Christmas traditions, but I did not have pictures of them this year.  Oh well.  what are some of your family traditions?

Thanksgiving

In China, my favorite Western Holiday is probably Thanksgiving.  We usually order a cooked turkey from either a big hotel, or a Western restaurant.  This year we ordered the turkey from a nice hotel near our apartment.  It came with these really cute little cooked pumpkins.  

I am looking forward to cooking our own  turkey when we move back to the US, but for now, we are thankful that we can get turkey.

This year, we had a much smaller party than years in the past.  But we still had a great time and had a ton of yummy western food.

We had delicious rolls, made by Lucy, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, a vegan wild rice dish , and gravies.  

My girls made the peanut butter kiss cookies.  Lucy made the super cute square pies.  They were so good.  We also had apple cider.  It is surprising how much our Chinese friends love apple cider.

Besides, all the delicious food, we have much to be thankful for.

Halloween 2014

Halloween is one of the several holidays, that China does not really celebrate.  It is starting to catch on a little but not really.  However, my kids LOVE Halloween and dressing in costumes.  It is important to them to get to celebrate in some way.  They think for and plan their costumes for a long time.  I try to find some place for them to go.  This year, there was a party held at the school where they take Chinese lessons.  So we signed up, paid our fee (sometimes parties cost money) and went.  

I made my "traditional" cookies.  These are just sugar cookies rolled into skinny fingers.  They have to be skinny, because they will spread.  I then, make "knuckle" lines or indentations with a knife and put an almond on the end to look like a nail.  I ran out of almonds, and had to use a few pecans.  I lie the almonds better.  Once the cookies are baked, I rub a little cinnamon on the  knuckles to make the indentations show up a little more.  

I also like to make these  little "pumpkins".  I just use peeled zhu zi.  I think they are called  cuties in the US.  The stem is a cut piece of celery (no one eats this part, usually).  This snack is easy to make because these tiny oranges are so easy to peel and are in season in October.

  This year, Liam was a Ninja turtle.  We used some left-over green face paint from a year or two ago (when Hallie was the wicked witch).  I bought this jacket off the internet.  

Eryn changed her mind a few times about what her costume would be.  She ended up wearing Hallie's old Harry Potter robes and tie.  She said she was Ginny Weasly.

Hallie was Katnis Everdeen from the Hunger Games.  She bought the Mocking Jay pin from Chinese Amazon.  She made the bow and arrows with the help from her dad.

Yes, I dressed as the Easter Bunny this year.  I wore some blue footie pj.s with a bath puff pinned to the rear. I painted on a nose, and whiskers with an eyeliner pencil.  I added some blue bunny ears and an Easter basket with eggs.

Yes, I got a lot of strange looks when I wore this on the bus. Remember, the Chinese do not really celebrate Halloween.  I felt a little like an idiot, but it is all about making memories for the kids, right?

What are your Halloween traditions?

Xi'an

Back in September, Jon had to travel to Xi'an for his job.  We decided to go with him.  Actually we all went a few days early.  Then the kids and I traveled back to HZ and Jon had to stay and work.  Other than HZ, Xi'an is one of my favorite places in China.  It has a long and rich history.  A few thousand years ago, it was actually the capital of the country.  

About 40 years ago, while digging a well, a farmer stumbled upon one of the most amazing archeology  find.  There are hundreds of these "Terra-cotta warriors" thought to be "guarding" Emperor Chin's tomb.

This is still an active digging site and they are still uncovering new things and piecing together the pottery fragments.

This guy is being pieced together.  Once they have the pieces glued together, they wrap it up with plastic wrap to keep it together while the glue dries.  I think it looks like they just ordered them from Amazon and they arrived with shrink wrap on.

This place is huge.

Xi'an is very different than Hangzhou.  This a bus stop.  The passengers actually line up while they wait for the bus.  This is very different than here.

Some other famous sites in Xi'an are the bell and Drum tower.

Near the drum tower, is the Muslim quarter.  They have some of the most awesome food here.  They also have some great souvenir shopping.  It was often crowded, but still a favorite place to hang out.

One of the kids' and who am I kidding, Jon's favorite things about the trip, was that we found Dunkin Donuts, and got some real donuts.

Back in September, we got to go to a lovely wedding.  Our dear friend Shelly (Shao Li) and Chuck got married.  We were super excited about this.  Both Shelly and Chuck are Christians.

Chuck is a fashion designer or merchant, so he designed and MADE Shelly's dress.  In China there is no problem with the groom seeing the dress before the wedding.  At the wedding  there were some pictures of Chuck working on the dress, so I took pictures of the pictures, to share with you.

I think this is really sweet.

Here is Chuck actually sewing the dress.

Shelly looked so gorgeous in it!

Shelly is a truly beautiful person inside and out.  She is an amazing Christian and she encourages me all the time.

Shelly asked Hallie to be in the wedding so we got to see some unique Chinese wedding customs.  Chuck and his groomsmen came to the door and asked for Shelly.  They made him sing and profess his love for her.  Finally they opened the door and let him in.

Then they took a ton of pictures, then we had lunch, and then a worship service and THEN we had the wedding.

Here comes the bride!

They shot a confetti cannon.

Our family and the happy couple.

The happy couple and folks from several churches.

The cutest bride's maid ever!

It was a lovely day.  I am so excited and happy for Shelly and Chuck.  I pray they have a long and happy marriage.  They both love God and put him first, so I am confident that they will have a good marriage.