Time to go home and get warm...

Wednesday Morning January 26th- time to begin our various journeys back to our units and the babies we love...goodbye cold, hello sweet snuggles!

More Ice, More Lights, and a little bit of Shopping...

We spent Tuesday the 25th shopping at the Russian markets along Central Avenue as we enjoyed the ice carvings. In the evening we walked to St. Sophia Church,




















Then on to another ice park for more Lights and Lanterns.

A City of Ice and Lights...

In amongst the freezing cold there were lots of little bright spots like the cute coffee igloos where you could warm up inside and out...













When the sun began to fade the night was lit up by a city made all of ice with lights running through them. The snow was falling lightly and sparkled like glitter as it fell past the lights. It was breathtaking- the beauty of it and the cold of it.

"Out of the north comes golden splendor;
Around God is awesome majesty...
Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail..." Job 37:22 & 38:22

Ice and Snow and Tigers. Oh My...

Monday found us at the Siberian Tiger park where we drove in caged vans into a park where the tigers roam about awaiting the next van which provides an up close and personal view of meal time by releasing various animals for feeding time- let's just say very National Geographic and the chickens didn't stand a chance.














After lunch we drove to Sun Island to the Snow Sculpture Park for an afternoon of bundles up fun. The average Temperature during our stay in Harbin was -20 to -32 C. Just a little nippy. This years theme for the competition was "Italy" and it just would not have been complete without a snow sculpture of "Mona Lisa"

Taking a little Trip to the Cold...

On the Night of January 21st- Caitlin (an intern at MBHOH) and I boarded a train for Beijing, arriving about 5:45am our first stop was Starbucks and some good coffee. We spent the day enjoying the western feel of the city and waiting for the rest of our group to join us. On Sunday afternoon the 23rd- Caitlin's 19th Birthday, 7 of us flew to Harbin. It is a city in the far north of China close to the Russian border where every year there is a massive "Snow and Ice Festival" Bundle up warm because here comes the COLD!!!!

Just Another Manic Monday...

There are those moments when you pause and think- wow, what a day, there are others like this Monday gave me where you pause and think wow, what a weekend! At the end of the day I glanced around my little nursery and was incredibly grateful for those years of ER nursing and the incredible training ground it provided for me- there were IV lines, O2 tanks, incubators, Monitors, foley caths, feeding tubes, and three fresh surgical babies that we did in our OR. and the list went on and on...all I could do was smile and think what a view, "just another manic Monday."

Brightening a Big House...

This morning the walls of my office here at Maria's Big House of Hope were just a little brighter than usual thanks to some very special art work given to me for my Birthday by some precious "Little Women" in my life!


"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
- Joshua 24:14-16









Thank you Victoria, Madeline, Elizabeth, Jubilee, and Nora Jane- you each one hold such a special place in my heart and now each day as I see your work it reminds me to pray even harder for the young women you are becoming. I love you!



PS- Susan and Kerry, thank you- for raising these little women, I am so grateful for you in my life and the life of my family.

Animal Crackers and Cocoa to Drink...

Christopher Morley once wrote:
Animal Crackers

Animal crackers and cocoa to drink,
That is the finest of suppers I think;
When I'm grown up and can have what I please
I think I shall always insist upon these.
What do YOU choose when you're offered a treat?
When Mother says, "What would you like best to eat?"
Is it waffles and syrup, or cinnamon toast?
It's cocoa and animals that I love most!

The kitchen's the coziest place that I know;
The kettle is singing, the stove is aglow,
And there in the twilight, how jolly to see
The cocoa and animals waiting for me.

Daddy and Mother dine later in state,
With Mary to cook for them, Susan to wait;
But they don't have nearly as much fun as I
Who eat in the kitchen with Nurse standing by;
And Daddy once said, he would like to be me
Having cocoa and animals once more for tea!

And this afternoon as I took a quick break and realized that it was cold and I was drinking a steaming cup of Cocoa and eating one of my favorite things...frosted animal cookies you know the pink and white ones with the sprinkles I could not help but think of his poem and then of course I found myself smiling and humming that little ditty from a Shirley Temple movie:

Animal crackers in my soup Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop
 Gosh oh gee but I have fun Swallowing animals one by one
In every bowl of soup I see Lions and Tigers watching me
I make 'em jump right through a hoop Those animal crackers in my soup
When I get hold of the big bad wolf I just push him under to drown
Then I bite him in a million bits And I gobble him right down
When their inside me where its dark I walk around like Noah's Ark
I stuff my tummy like a goop With animal crackers in my soup
Animal crackers in my soup Do funny things to me
They make me think my neighborhood Is a big menagerie


     Wow it is amazing how such a little things can stir the memory and bring moments of smiles
that carry me through some of those harder moments.

Winter Sparkles...

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star how I wonder what you are..." It just seems appropriate that when you live in a household filled with children that you think in nursery rhymes. Especially when you see pretty twinkling lights. There is no snow here at the moment as much as we would all like there to be (the farmers in the villages around us need the moisture everything is so very dry) though the temperature mid day is not rising much above 10*C (right now it is a chilly -6*) so we all thought of ice sculptures when we saw the sparkles from this lighted castle in the city square. It also made us wonder just how cold we are going to be next weekend when several of us make the journey to Harbin to visit the Ice and Lights Festival!

January 5, 2011

A Happy Home to come home to...My little boys (some of them) busy with their toys!

January 3, 2011

Today I left home in South Carolina to once again cross the North Pole and return to my China Home - After hours of travel and connecting flights I finally saw the mountains between Beijing and Luoyang from my window on the afternoon of January 5th. I cried...wanting to be back doing what God has called me to do and in the same instant already missing home and those I love who are so incredibly far away.

Turning 33 Time to Party!

New Year's Eve!!!! and My Birthday, so if any of you ever wondered about my age there it is I turned 33...The little girls and Daddy brought me a big bouquet of balloons at breakfast- Pooh Bear of course as that is what a 2 and 3 year old would think was the "sensible thing to give." Later we opened gifts and as per usual Jing Ni gave me some more lessons in Sign Language so I could tell all the colors of my gifts. And Melissa baked a wonderful Cheese Cake with lots of Chocolate in it which helped us stay up late to ring in the New Year and send Birthday greetings to my youngest sister Heather who turned 25 on New Year's Day.

Special Moments with Friends...

Melissa and I were able to spend a day in Anderson with my friend Vanessa




















And I was able to have a special afternoon with my dear friend Kim. Both of these women are incredible encouragers for me and I am so grateful that God has placed them in my life.

Busy Waiting for the New Year...

On December 26th, there were actually snow flurries in South Carolina- IN BEAUFORT! Although the ground was wet where we live and the snow did not stick there was still white stuff from the sky to which the little voices squealed with delightful songs of, "It's snowing, it's snowing!"





Daddy made the traditional Lemon Meringue Pies that the Bywater Men always make...






There were games during nap times, and coffee/breakfast at Common Ground. And there were just sweet moments of time, captured in precious memories.

One Small Child...

“One small child in a land of a thousand
One small dream of a Savior tonight
One small hand reaching out to the starlight
One small city of life...

One small Child in a land of a thousand
One small dream in a people of might
One small hand reaching out to the starlight
One small Savior of Life. "

-David Meece

As you celebrate this Christmas season I pray that you will remember the one small child that was born in a lowly stable on a dark Bethlehem night to bring the love of God the Father and to save the thousands. Then please remember some other small children who are among the thousands who are waiting for their forever families, who are waiting not for Santa Clause but for mommy and daddy. These little ones who are so dear to my heart, they bring me laughter, tears, boisterous days, and quiet moments. They are my Christmas presents, reminding me daily of the love my Heavenly Father has showered on me as He choose to adopt me into His Forever family.
With Love for you and Prayers that you and yours will share a Merry Christmas,

Mariah

Christmas...

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

And Daddy was reading a couple precious little girls the Christmas Story...He read it to them from a book he was given for memorizing Bible verses when he was about 5 or 6 years old. I was so reminded as I sat there, curled up with my cup of cocoa listening, of the incredible heritage of faith that my parents have given to us, the Cloud of Witnesses that surrounds us everyday.

On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

Morning Snuggles and Stories...
Then a fun visit with Emma and Harper

On the 3rd day of Christmas...

A visit with Santa not at the North Pole but at Bass Pro Shop of course...














Where you can talk with Santa, target practice with Grandpa and watch fish with Grammy