Adoption, Life

China

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There were lots of things, about China in general, that I wanted to post. And maybe I will sometime. I was going to now. But something happened. Lucy happened. She is everything now. Lucy is the world.  –Moi

My post “Broken” was featured on “We Are Grafted In”, which is The Sparrow Fund Ministry’s blog, this week!

And in the in the meantime, I decided I’d share some of the things about China in general that I  said I might.

First off, this being about China in general is not strictly true: China’s a big BIG country, and I was only in three cities.  I meant my experience in China in general.  Which, by the way, was a good one.  I like China.  Honestly.  The culture-shock was hard, but I liked it.  I want to go back someday.

Oh.  Now I’m getting hooked on countries before I can drive across town.  Delightful.

And I wasn’t going to post all this in the beginning, but here. we. are.

Moving on:

We were in two pretty western areas, but Guangzhou was more western.  Which is why I’ve been running around telling people I liked it better.  But I think that’s just because the western-ness was refreshing after spending a week overseas when I’d never been out of my country before.

But I really liked Xi’an.  The experience.  The people.  Even the waitresses at that restaurant next door that would start giggling every time us out-of-place Americans who spoke no chinese walked in… which was often, as it was our default after we figured out what we liked there.

Yes, Xi’an was wonderful.  It was beautiful.  Not like Guangzhou wasn’t, but it had a unique beauty about it.  An less-American beauty.  Where do I even start?

Lots of people walking around with face-masks on.  Lots of bikes.  Lots of buses… not to mention motorcycles, taxis, cars, and these weird bike-things with beds like a pick-up truck.  The traffic made me nervous! 🙂

Also, lots of unbelievably small shops and people who hung their laundry out to dry from their balconies.  And people selling food along the side of the street.  Usually roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes, or something on a stick–sometimes you could tell what was on the stick, and sometimes… you couldn’t.

Also, they don’t appear to have play grounds: “park” in Xi’an meant a path through a truly gorgeous landscape, with pool tables and carnival games.  And sometimes it meant little tubs with goldfish in them that kids could catch fish in and take home.  Apparently.

And almost all the menu’s in the restaurants had pictures, which was SO nice for those of us who don’t read chinese! 🙂  Though our guide informed us that the locals like the pictures too, because in China they name dishes things like “Dancing Eggplant” (I’m not even kidding).

What else made it unique?  The big signs covered in chinese characters.  The fog.  The incredibly tangled telephone wires.  The palm trees.  The tall buildings…

I could go on foreeeever!

I’m hooked.  Totally.

Literature

“Counted Worthy”

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I recently read “Counted Worthy” by Leah E. Good.  It was a really good book!  It takes place in the future, in America… an America we’re probably heading towards if nothing changes.

Heather Stone’s mother was shot by a policeman when found delivering re-printed Bibles to other members of the underground church, and though no one blames her, Heather knows it’s her fault.

After Mom died, my books kept me grounded.  I had distanced myself from the people and activities that had once filled every free moment.  I cut as many ties to the underground network as I could.  I attended church because conscience compelled me.  I continued to smuggle Bibles because I couldn’t help myself.  Everything else, I   shoved into the past (6).

The trouble starts again when the Agency tracks a smuggled Bible to the Stones’ house–a Bible Heather brought there.  Her father tells her to run and stays to be arrested… so Heather can escape.

Having already lost her mom, she can’t handle the pain of losing her dad too.  Forced to leave the house she grew up in, Heather struggles to live without them; helped by her devoted, very protective, “brother-friend” (58) Bryce; an old friend of her parents, Miss Lucy; and other members of the underground church.

Bryce promised Heather’s father he would take care of her if anything happened, and encourages her to just stay safe and not try too hard to help her dad.

Laying low isn’t getting us anywhere (124).

Heather decides to act.  She starts with a simple attempt to bribe policemen into freeing her dad, and finally ends with deciding whether or not to execute a desperate plan that could save her father and make the people press the government to give them back their rights, or only hasten his sentence and send herself and everyone helping her to the same death.

Spencer and I had read Miss Good’s blog for a while when she self-published “Counted Worthy”, and I was afraid that having “talked” back and forth in the comments with her would keep me from getting “into” the story, especially being an author myself–it did not!  At least once while I was reading I stopped and reminded myself of that to calm myself down!  It’s very good, but very intense.

I usually read books that take place in an earlier time period, but I liked that this was more modern because I could relate to Heather so well.

This book took all the fear out of death for me.  I mean, I wasn’t just cowering around fretting about the day I die–but it really made me think about it and realize that death truly is only the beginning (228).

Another way this book inspired me is that it made me want to memorize more scripture.  I guess I’ve memorized a lot of long passages, but it made me want to learn shorter sections and keep them memorized.  Near the end of the book the main character gets in a conversation with a police office who starts asking her questions about her faith, and Heather just starts rattling off Bible-verses.  It makes a better argument somehow when you can actually quote God’s word and not just summarize.

“Let no man deceive himself,” I quoted.  “If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.”  The man squinted at me.  I smiled, glad for the many hours spent memorizing verses (209).

“Counted Worthy” is the first novel that Miss Good has published, but she is obviously ready: the plot is very mature (but not complicated), and the writing-style is enjoyable.  I especially loved the dialogue!

You can purchase your own copy from Miss Good’s blog, which I linked to above.

Miracles could still happen, right?  We served the same God as Daniel, David, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  We also served the same God Paul and Stephen did (188).

Life, My Writing

Updates

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I started school this week for the first time after China.  The first week has gone well!  I mean, I didn’t get all my subjects done every day, but we usually start slow.  #ILoveHomeSchooling

And, thanks to all your great suggestions, my writing has picked back up: I scribbled out the one-hundredth page in “Searching For His Name” today! 🙂

“At least Mrs. Miller had given him mittens.  Rodden covered his hands and stepped forward.  He sank almost up to his knees.  He scowled at the elven-boots.  At least they kept his feet warm.” –“Searching For His Name,” page 100.

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Michael isn’t even favoring his foot anymore, but some of us are still coughing pretty bad.  We would appreciate your prayers still.  Thank you all for responding so well!  You guys give great writing-tips and you’re wonderful prayer-warriors.

Lucy is learning English faster than you would believe!  We can communicate better every day.  We are still watching shows in Chinese though–“My Friends, Tigger and Pooh” to be precise.  We can’t understand what they’re saying of course (except for a few words we’re able to pick out) but you can still tell what’s going on from the visual.  I still enjoy watching it even though I’ve seen a certain five episodes something like a million times! 🙂

Hope you guys are all having a great week!

Literature, My Writing

Christened

11 Comments

Thank you all for your help with naming my character!  I decided what to call her last night, so without further ado, allow me to introduce you to…

(Drum-roll please!)

Allison Willow Pearl

Most of you actually liked Allison the best, but Willow was not second; I just liked it! 🙂

I actually wasn’t going to worry about her middle name yet, but I just starting thinking about middle-names the other night for her siblings and Allison Willow just came to mind.

I came up with a few fun facts about her to share with you guys:

* First of all, that there are 18 kids in her family, not 17 like I said.  In my defense, I did make up the one I forgot last.

* She has 4 older brothers and 4 younger brothers.

* She has 2 older sisters and 6 younger sisters.

* She was the youngest until her family started adopting–just like me. 🙂

* There are three seventeen-year-olds and two eighteen-year-olds in the Pearl family, but Allison is the only nineteen-year-old.

* Her namesake, Allyson, was the second-oldest of five girls.  She comes into my story “The Captured Princess Series.”

Thank you all for your help!

“The surging waters, the bright maple leaves, the even brighter flames; the  memories of the pleasantness and the horribleness of their journey–all faded and Peter was back in the present at once.”

–“The Captured Princess Series,” Book 4: “With Home So Far Away”

Life, Literature, My Writing

Help!

17 Comments

Thank you all so much for praying for Michael!  He is doing pretty good.  He was walking on his heels yesterday so he didn’t have to step on his foot… we tried to explain that he only had to walk on ONE heel and could use the other foot normally, but I don’t think we got that across. 🙂

Thank you all so much for your suggestions with “Searching For His Name”!  I think I’m going to use Savannah’s idea of something like a glowworm.  I came really close to using one of Ellen’s, but I couldn’t figure out how to work them into this particular story.  I had a feeling it might be Ellen or Savannah… probably because I knew they both made up stories too! 😉  Thank you for all your suggestions, they were great!

And I’m actually needing more help with one of my stories:

I made up this family that I’m probably going to write a book about someday, and I need help naming one their daughters.

She is 19, cheerful, energetic, and kind.  She has red/blond hair and brown eyes, and she loves animals.  You will find her quietly sitting and doing needle-work with her sisters one minute, and then outside racing horses with her brothers the next!

This family has 17 children (I know, I know; I just like big families) and she is one of the 4 biological children.  Which means that they’ve adopted 13, so obviously she is accepting and trusting.

She is sweet and kind, but also playful and she loves to tease!  I came up with four different names I could use, and I can’t decide which one suites her the best… which is where you guys come in!  The names are:

* Allison

* Apple

* Sparrow

* Willow

I like both the A-names because she has two brothers about her age whose names start with A, and then they would match.

I like Allison because I wrote another book that takes place in the same country (which I made up, by the way) and there’s a princess in it named Allyson that she could be named after.

I like the name Apple because it’s unique!

Anyone who knows our family well will know why I like the name Sparrow and why it makes me think of adoptive families! 🙂

And I like Willow because I read a book once that had a picture in it of a “Willow Fairy” that was very beautiful, so it now sounds pretty and peaceful to me.  I also like it because her biological sister (the only other girl in her family that was named by the same people) is also named after a tree.

 

Please comment and tell me which name you like the best!  I’m not going to just-use-the-one-with-the-most-votes-no-matter-what, but I might and I think it will help me out.

Thanks!

Faith

Christmas thoughts… slightly late

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I realized this year how presents-oriented I was when it came to Christmas.  Christmas wasn’t about Jesus for me; it was about Christmas songs, presents, food, etc.  I realized this year that I needed to focus of Jesus.  It’s incredible that he came to die.  We give gifts on Christmas in memory of the greatest gift ever given… but the tradition is probably drowning out its origin.

We were out driving the other day and we went past this house in our grandma’s neighborhood that had more Christmas decorations out than you can IMAGINE!  Actually, the whole circle was pretty decked-out, but one house was more buried than the others (they do that at Halloween too, but we DON’T stop to admire it).  There were a few simple manger-scenes, but mostly the usual… ya’ know: Snoopy in a Santa-hat and jazzy penguins in fluffy ear-muffs kinda’ thing.

We slowed down so Lucy could see, and someone told her “Christmas.”  I began to feel frustrated, because that’s not what Christmas is all about.  The world can say what they like, but Christmas isn’t about talking snowmen or red-nosed reindeer.  It’s about JESUS.

Nothing else.

Tell me: when did Santa get so BIG and Jesus so small?  And how did we get from Saint Nicolas to Santa Claus anyway?

We were out driving around again and stopped (in our neighborhood) at a corner we call “The Garden House” where they had wrapped almost all their trees in Christmas-lights.

Dad and Lucy got out to look at them.  And sitting there watching them (in the heated car 🙂 )I realized that this was nearer the mark: light.

Jesus is the light of the world.  This whole celebration is about the smallest figure in our nativity-scenes.  The baby.

Baby Jesus.

 

P.S. Could you all be praying for healing for us?  Michael, Spencer, and I are all coughing… not to mention that we had an ER run today because M pulled the piano-bench over on his foot.  It’s not broken, which is a miracle but piano-benches, after all, are piano-benches.

He got a boot while he was there, and he keeps saying: “It will help my owie get better!  Doctor gave it to me…

He’s my FAVORITE Doctor!”

Life, My Writing

Mama’s birthday, more about my writing, and an apology

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Today is Mama’s birthday!  Three years ago we brought M home from the hospital on her birthday… the only way to top the year before when we had nearly a hundred people over for an open house!  So glad Lucy is here this year!

Mama is very patient, and has sacrificed a lot because of her decisions on how to parent us.  I couldn’t ask for a better mother!

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I’m facing writer’s block with “Searching For His Name” again, and I was wondering if you guys would help me?  The main character is traveling through a tunnel under a mountain, and I need some way for there to be light, so he can see this creature he runs into.  Any creative ideas about how he could get light down there?

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I also think I should apologize that I haven’t been reading and approving comments: Spencer just taught me how to do that yesterday, so I’m hoping to do better… obviously, as I just asked you guys to give me ideas! 🙂

I read through four pages of comments last night.  I found a lot of spam, but I also found some very encouraging things that all of you took the time to type!

Family, Life

Little Brother

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I spent some time in the basement today, playing with Michael while Mom and Dad went for a drive with Lucy… and after they got home as well, ’cause we were both having fun. 🙂

We have an old pew down there–you know,  like the ones they have in churches–cute, old-fashioned churches; not like ours, much as I like our church.

Michael made a little bed for himself on it and told me to turn off the lights.  He then got up and pretended to yawn.  He got in and out like a million times and his bed fall apart more then once and I had to “build” it again.

Michael: (trying to get his pillow arranged right) Let’s build my bed!

Me: It’s already built.

Michael: (promptly throwing the pillow on the floor) no, it’s not!

Me: Okay… let’s build it.

I’ll let you get away with it!

After that we got under the pew, and then he got back in “bed” and I stuck my hand up behind it–for which I think I get some credit, as it was almost pushed against the wall!

Of course he wanted me to put both hands up there, which I couldn’t for lack of space to move around… and then he came down there too, and I smashed against the wall to make room for him, wondering how many cobwebs I had in my hair.

Sometimes it’s good to just play with lil’ brother and do what he wants, even if it offends my dignity or my idea of “grown-up and sensible.”

I want to be a good big sister.  A fun one.

Not the best.  Not perfect.  Not the pious one that is flawless in every way, and is never in trouble, and makes the littles green with envy.

I don’t want to be the smart one… or the busy one… or the one that’s always right.

I just want to be fun.

I have this idea that M and I are going to play pirates or something someday, and Michael is going to have me be the bad-guy because everyone wants to be good…

…and I’m okay with that.

Life

2014 in Review

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Yes, Lucy’s birthday is the day after Michael’s… not to mention that Mama’s is tomorrow! 🙂  As you can imagine that kinda’ takes over New Years.

But my siblings are better than New Years anyway.

Sorry.  Not sorry actually.

But we have a tradition of making a list on New Years Day of things we did as a family in the last year, so I thought I’d post it.  It’s long!

* Over night visit from friends

* Kept participating in our local Homeschool group

* Becca kept teaching E.S.L. at the S.S.C.A.

* We were part of the Refugee Outreach with Waypoint Church in July

* Becca did college classes at Eternity Bible College

* Spencer did Scorpion basketball (also with our homeschool group)

* I continued going to a local Bright Lights group

* Becca continues leading her own B.L. group

* Spencer participated in National History Day for the third time

* Daddy started working at Labpoint

* We volunteered at the Hope Center for Kids

* Becca and Hanna did “coffee duty” at church, and Spencer and Dad helped with media

* Hanna, Spencer, and Dad acted in the Nebraska Home Educators Association Kid’s Conference drama and Becca and Spencer taught

* Dad, Spencer, and Hanna went to a Harlem Globe Trotters game

* Cystic Fibrosis Walk

* Heart Walk

* Hanna and Spencer did a workshop at the Rose Theater

* Hanna and Spencer took piano lessons and Spencer was in his last recital

* Rothfuss Reunion in Superior

* World Refugee Day

* Becca took the C.E.L.T.A. in Denver

* Went to Shakespeare on the Green: “The Tempest”

* Mom’s sister had brain surgery

* Jazz on the Green

* New swing set!!!

* Spencer teaches tae kwon do for Kicking Tigers

* Becca volunteers to teach E.S.L. for Embrace the Nations

* Spencer did a back pack drive for the Hope

* I hosted “Little Lights” and a Fairy Garden Tea Party

* Went to Two Rivers State Park on Tuesdays with our HS group

* Day of Family Camp at Rivercrest

* Visited friends in Colorado and attended a wedding

* Noonday Trunk Show

* Becca went to World Mandate in Texas

* Spencer starts College Plus and Debate, and takes the P.S.A.T.

* Hosted our Autumn Harvest Soup Supper

* Kept in touch with Michael’s birth-family

* I worked on writing “Love Can Bridge Oceans” and “Looking Back”

* CHINA over Thanksgiving and Lucy home December 4!!!!!

* Hanna starts blog ( 🙂 )… and gets a camera

*Spencer read “Great Expectations,”  “Prophet,” “Counted Worthy,” and “Democracy in America”

* Hanna also read “Prophet” and “Counted Worthy,” as well as “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Pilgrim’s Progress”

* Watched “Amazing Grace” and had a Hobbit plunge

* Mama turns 43, Dad also, Becca turns 18 (and graduates!), Spencer turns 15, Hanna turns 14, Lucy turned 8, and Michael turns 3

* Did a series on “Live 10” at Waypoint church

* Mom and Dad to Rend Collective Concert

* Becca read “Bonhoeffer”

* Gained a third car–Honda CRV

* Dad made several tables out of bowling alley lanes

* Great-grandma passes away

* Waypoint moves to new offices

My world through my eyes