Giggles

Some Happy Girls in their Christmas Hats, and then you just have to smile...










Jing Ni decided to convince Janessa to eat her dinner and she did a really good job- soon we were seeing "All Done!"

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella snuggle down for a much needed nap, how fun it was for me to see the Show Hope Cinderella doll is one of Janessa's favorite bedtime cuddles.

Happy Graduation Melissa!

University of South Carolina Graduate-
Melissa Lorraine Bywater
Suma Cum Laude





































We are all so very proud of you Sissy, You have worked so very hard!

December 12th, 2010

Jing Ni, Janessa, Melissa, and Mariah

Surprise!!!! December 11th, 2010

Dad's Birthday Lunch with a BIG Surprise!

Yes, Virginia- There is a Santa Clause

December 11, 2010- It was a bit of a "Miracle on 34th Street" as I got ready and headed for the airport on the morning of the 11th, and then touching down in Savannah where my brother Jacob picked me up...

















Happy to be in Savannah- Jacob had a Santa hat waiting, saying I needed to look like a Christmas present!

A Lay Over in New York

On Friday December 10th- I stepped onto a plane Humming softly to myself..."I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me." As a surprise for my family (except for my inside guy- Jacob) I was on my way home.










After 18 hours on the plane (we had a 3 hour delay on the runway) my plane arrived in NW for an overnight lay over- so I took a train into the heart of town for a look at the Christmas lights. As a side note it is so much easier taking a train when you can read ALL of the signs!



There was a guy hanging around that reminded me that, "I love you a million Red M&Ms!"

Getting Ready For A Surprise

On Wednesday evening the 8th my MBHOH Family gave me an early Birthday party- then there was play time with Fahlin and Jaelynn.



















On Thursday Morning the 9th- I was sent to the airport by a waving group of sweet faces filling the air with well wishes, Merry Christmas greetings and of course lots of "hurry Home!"

December 7, 2010- First Cold

The sprinkler out front was left on last night and Maria's Memorial tree was a beautiful sparkling ice sculpture this morning. It reminded me of when Grandpa Bywater would turn on the sprinklers over the pasture to keep the pipes from freezing in the winter, we would wake up to a winter wonderland.



















P.S. We are still all "Dreaming of a white Christmas!"

December 6, 2010

So after lots of picture taking...(when you have over 140 children smiles and nap times are very often a hindrance to making yearly picture ornaments) our lobby tree does look beautiful! and then it was time for my annual Christmas photo shoot- my ayis always love to help me with this and we all have lots of laughs, well almost all- I think Blaine would have preferred that his bottle come sooner.














And of course I couldn't pass up a couple sweet snuggles with Yulianna!

December 5, 2010

I had the fun of introducing my Australian and Philippine friends to the joys of salt relief dough and ornament "design." We had so much fun, and our trees are even more beautiful than before...

December 3, 2010- "El Camino Real"

December 3, 2010

Dear Ones,

During the last month I have had several opportunities to travel to various places in China usually with children in need of medical procedures. During those travels I have spent a lot of time watching the road or the train tracks as the country side as it passes by- sometimes faster than other times. I am so grateful that I enjoy traveling and especially that my parents were not afraid to load us all in the car for LONG trips, God has been teaching me so much about things I have to be grateful for and that early training is definitely one of those things! Now then, back to my “train” of thought on a couple of these trips. I began watching the road workers as we entered onto one of our longer road trips, for those following my blog it was the one to Beijing, I was once again struck by the fact that everything here is done by manual labor. There were men and women out sweeping the dirt from the side of the road with simple brooms they had made themselves. There were workers who were trimming the bushes, trees and grass along the median with hand clippers and placing the trimmings into small piles that were being picked up by hand and placed in a wooden cart that an older man was pulling along behind him. We arrived at one section of very nice highway and I noticed that the number of workers and the flurry of activity that they were in was for something out of the ordinary. I even began to see women with buckets and wash cloths washing the bright blue metal guard rail barriers, yes you know the ones that are grey and keep us from running into oncoming traffic, and they were washing them by hand! When I saw the stage filled with banners and the rows of chairs right in the middle of the freeway at one point I knew they were preparing for something big. I asked my Chinese friends what the occasion was and they explained that this portion of road had just been completed, it was brand new and so they were preparing for the opening ceremony, they were preparing the way for the officials. Then it struck me, “Prepare the way of the King.” As we near Christmas and the entrance of The King of Kings into a stable in Bethlehem and then we flash forward down the tracks of time some years later and is that not what happened on Palm Sunday a week before Christ walked the road to Calvary…there He was entering Jerusalem and the people covered the dusty road with their cloaks and palm branches, they wanted everything to be perfect for His entrance, His arrival. Sometimes I feel as though I am washing barrier rails with a bucket of water and a rag, as trucks and cars fly past with little regard for the fact that I am only a few inches from them and then I have to smile to myself and ask the question- “How clean will my guard rail be?” Am I making sure that my portion of the “King’s Highway” is ready for The King. There are days when I look back and realize that I have missed some spots, and unlike those women on the freeway, I cannot go back and polish them up but I can by His grace work harder from this point forward on the road to keep a closer eye on my guard rails and where my rag is cleaning, knowing that He will be the fresh water that will supply the washing bucket- unlike the muddy buckets of water that I watched those women dipping into time and time again. I love the way brings pictures like that to mind just so He can give me something to ponder, something to think about, and I sure had plenty of time for that as I watched the hours and the road go by. Then I couldn’t help but think of sharing it with you as you all take this journey with me. Thank you for being a part as we together, “Prepare the way of the King.”

With Love,

Mariah

“A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 40:3-5

Happy Thanksgiving!

So my morning started earlier than usual with a couple of sick babies but it gave me and my "Brave Little Toaster Oven" a chance to get the kitchen up and running. A couple of my big boys and girls too, made me a special Thanksgiving Turkey with their hands and feet- they were so excited to give it to me!














There were 15 of us for Thanksgiving dinner (thank you so much mom for all those lessons in cooking for crowds and the practice you gave us by opening our home to so many over the years! It was a little funny as there were only 4 Americans here- however there were 6 Australians, and 5 Filipinas who were all very grateful for our American Holiday that provided a great opportunity to share some very good food!

Christmas is Coming- Even in China

Seeing the first Christmas Decorations in town was enough to make me come home, put the Christmas carols on, light a few candles and decorate the Christmas tree in my room. You might be thinking taking pictures with store Christmas displays is a bit silly but there are really very few of them and we get excited when we actually do see one!

Team Building- Child's Play

So we had a bit of fun today, it was the first time we have all been able to get out together in a long time...Thank you Dr. Chin and Chu. we decided to do something out of the ordinary, something that didn't take long and didn't include shopping- well almost didn't include shopping! We decided to be artistic and paint some ceramics...




























We all had lots of fun, there was much giggling, discussion, and of course artistic license with the paints.

November 20, 2010- Time to Go Home

Dressed and ready for our road trip back to Luoyang and the Big Blue House- time enough to pause for another couple of photos...Happy to be going home.