Yim Tin Tsai Island

I went on an adventure with my friends Sarah and Lori. I don't know much about Hong Kong yet so Sarah and Lori planned the whole day. I was really just along for the ride!! :) After taking a train and a bus to get to Sai Kung we got on this boat:
After we got on this boat my friend Lori noticed that she left her cell phone somewhere between her house and this boat!! So she spent the boat ride making phone calls trying to find her phone. She left my cell phone number with several places hoping we might get a phone call back from someone during the day saying they found her phone. I felt really bad for her not only because she lost her phone, but if you can imagine trying to make a phone call on a boat while it sounding like you are sitting on top of the motor.

This is a picture of the pier as we came to the island:
Then these were some of the old village houses. The main site to see on this island was an old catholic church. There used to be missionaries on this island. These ruins are from the housing of the priest. And then the bell is in front of the old catholic church that is there.We received a phone call from Lori's phone at this church!! But they hung up before I could answer and then shut the phone off. :(
On this Island you can even see the evidence of Christianity being brought to the island in there old cemeteries. There are crosses on almost every grave. You probably wouldn't think that is strange in the US but here in HK you don't ever see crosses. There are graves every where you go. We have one on the corner of our village as you walk in and I have never seen a cross before going to this island.
Once we hiked across the island we came to a gulf coarse which we were hoping to be able to cross to get to another island. But as you can see from the photo it was all fenced off. Lori called the gulf coarse office to see if they would let us cross and they said no. :( So we turned around and took a boat back to Sai Kung.
We had lunch in Sai Kung and walked around for a bit. The one thing worth mentioning while we were there was this sign:

It is hard to read but it says Duran District. If you haven't had this fruit than this might be a little confusing. It is horrible smelling but I guess tastes great. I have not yet had the privilege of getting to try it. This restaurant makes a special section for those ordering Durian so that it does not bother those not eating it. I have heard mixed reviews on it. Mike and Lori both think it is awful. I will let you know my opinion once I get to try it!!

The rest of our day was spent shopping at the biggest Ikea in either HK or the world I am not sure which. But it was definitely big!! We did end up getting a phone call from the bus station adn Lori's phone was found and we went and picked it up!! She left it on the bus!! :)

Moon Festival

So it has been a while since I have posted anything. A couple weeks ago was the Moon Festival. This is one of the biggest holidays here. Before we went to celebrate, we wanted to figure out what it was we were celebrating. Here is what we could find on the myth behind the moon festival:

A man got a pill from a wizard that would make him able to fly. He was suppose to wait a year to eat the pill. His wife ate the pill before the year was over and she floated to the moon. She asked a bunny on the moon to make a pill so she could go back down. The bunny is still making the pill. Every year on the day celebrated as the moon festival her husband visits her on the moon and that makes it the biggest and brightest moon of the year.

They also eat moon cakes every year on this day. The story behind the mooncakes is that there was a war and they hid notes inside of mooncakes to tell all of the chinese that they were going to attack the Mongols on this day. The Mongols didn't like mooncakes so they never new about the upcoming attack. (I don't know if this is real or mythical)

Here are the pictures of all of the lanterns that were set up during this time:

This is Kyle and Elliott pretending to be the alligator behind them.

Can you guess what David is being?? I'll give you a hint Pssss.

I think I may be able to see her tonsils!! Jez makes a great Hippo!! :)

This is the traditional Chinese American pose. They always show the peace sign when taking a picture with Americans!!

These are photos of moon cakes. They all have egg yolk in the center. They may look really yummy but don't let that fool you!! Kyle is the only one who really liked these. I thought they were kinda gross!!

MACAU

Last weekend we had to go to Macau to get our passports stamped so that we could stay in Hong Kong another 90 days while waiting for our permanent visas to come. Since we had to go to another country for the day, we figured we might as well see the sights and create some memories. So, we did the Chinese thing and crammed as much into 3 1/2 hours as we could. It was a fun time. We were originally just going to walk around the city, but then we got nervous that we would get lost and miss our boat back to HK. So

we hired a mini van for the afternoon and he kept us on schedule and we got to see a whole bunch. Plus, ride around in an air-conditioned car!

First Stop, McDonalds!! No trip in Asia is a trip if you don't visit at least one McDonalds!! We ate both lunch and dinner at McDonalds. I would be ok with not ever eating there again!! Maybe an occasional Mcflurry would be ok!! :) Zoee is holding Flat Stanley in this picture. I think this is the 5th country that Flat Stanley traveled to. He was a class project that Zoee did when we were in the states. So his first trip to Asia was made in an envelope, then the second trip was on the plane with us.

Then we did a quick pass by a female buddhist statue. Not real sure the story behind this but the tour guide suggested we take a picture. :)

Then, we were onto the needle building (can't remember the actual name) which is the 10th tallest freestanding building in the world. They allow you to bungy jump off this building for a price. I asked Mike if I could do it but he said NO!! :) LOL Instead we opted to just get a nice family picture in front of it.

Then, we just looked to the right and were able to get this photo opp in front of the president of Macau's residence. It is the pink building in the background.

After this photo opp we drove around and saw many beautiful churches. Macau is known for its old churches and for it's many casinos. It is Asia's Las Vegas!!


The next thing we toured was an old fort. It was very neat but due to our crunched time schedule we only could tour it for about 15 minutes. This was our favorite place. If we get an opportunity to go back we will spend a lot more time here.

Right next to the fort was the St. Paul's ruins. It was neat, but not to much to see. Just a big wall!!

As we were driving around you couldn't help but notice all of the motorcycles around. They were everywhere and not to many road rules for them. They kinda travel in a clump and will squeeze through vehicles wherever there is a space big enough. This photo doesn't really do it justice but it was hard to get a good picture of it.

This blog is getting kinda long especially when I think all of this took place in a 3 hour time frame. The final thing we saw in Macau was the Grand Prix museum. I would love to go back sometime to see an actual race. They transform the whole island into a race track. They shut down there roads and the race goes right through the city. It is really neat!

Then we made the 3 hour travel home. One long boat ride, Three trains, one bus ride and a lot of walking later and we arrived back home.

Here are a few more pics we wanted to share.

This is a purple flower that Jez spoted and asked us all to stop so she could take a pic. Then we are in front of a fountain in the city square.

These are 2 of the many casinos in Macau.

Kids idea of living the ABUNDANT LIFE!!

The kids received a huge blessing this month!! Cereal is very expensive here, therefore we have only been having cereal about one day a week. Most days we have eggs, oatmeal, grits, french toast, pancakes etc. Most of us would think that those are much better sounding than cereal but my children really missed having cereal. Well, one of our family members heard of this huge "sacrifice" the kids were making and sent a special gift to purchase cereal for the kids. So I thought it only fair to let them pick out the cereal. So we went shopping!! As you can see by the picture there choices were very HEALTHY!! I bet you could pick out which ones were MOM'S choice!! Thank you soooo much to Uncle Paul and Aunt Sis for helping the kids feel really special and blessed. It shows how much our Father cares for each one of us!!

Living in Transition

When we arrived back in June we spent about 2 weeks in a guest house while we were looking for our permanent home. While staying there the Krohn's made sure we stayed busy and out in the sun to help our bodies adjust to the 12 hour time difference. We spent a lot of time at parks letting the kids play. As you can tell by the pictures it was very hot and we sweat a lot!! Overall everyone adjusted easily. By the third day everyone was sleeping though the night!! We again just felt blessed and taken care of through every step of this transition.

ARRIVAL IN HONG KONG

We finally arrived!! It was a long flight but in the end it was easier to travel with my kids than I had imagined. When we arrived at HK airport one of the stewardess was so kind to us. He helped us get the kids off the plane and then met us at the baggage claims and visited with the kids while Mike and I were collecting our luggage. We were truly being watched over!!


When we got to the airport the kids got to ride on there very first subway train. You can tell they are exhausted in the photos but you can also see the excitement in there eyes. From this point on everything was new!!

When we came out of luggage claims we were met by 2 of our closest friends, the Sweeney's and the Krohn's!! It felt so nice to be welcomed by people who we know and love!! Our father takes such good care of us!!

OUR FLIGHT

CHERRY CAPITOL AIRPORT

We flew out first thing in the morning on June 23rd. This picture shows the massive amount of luggage that we brought with us. It is no small task to pack up a fam
ily of 7 to move half way around the world. We were aloud (14) 50 pound bags at no extra charge. I was very happy with our ability to fit everything that we brought with us into 16 bags. That included bringing my pots and pans, towels and some dishes!!






Many special friends met us at the airport to see us off!! It brought forth a lot of tears but it meant a lot to us to have the support of our close friends there as we departed for this great adventure!!








This was our kids first time in an airplane. The flight from Cherry Capitol to Chicago was fun and exciting for them. They were all smiles. We hit some weather close to Chicago which made our flight about an hour longer than planned and made it a little bumpy. The kids didn't mind it but I was a little nautious and very happy when we landed in Chicago!

BREAKFAST AT CHICAGO AIRPORT: followed by a 5 hour lay over!!

BACK ON THE PLANE BUT THIS TIME A 16 HOUR FLIGHT!!

The flight went surprisingly well. This was my 3rd time making this trip and I would have to say this flight was the easiest. We played travel games until the kids ate a meal and then they pretty much slept (as you can see) the whole way and we just woke them up to eat!! God is good!!

Finally got my converter card

So I have been waiting to get a converter so I could get my pictures from my camera to my computer. It just came in the mail today so I am going to do some catching up on posts in the next few days so keep checking back so you don't miss anything!! I am going to start with before we left good old Traverse City and then continue until we hit present. I will try to keep my posts exciting. Enjoy!!

We said goodbye to many friends just 2 1/2 short months ago!! We miss everyone very much, but I wanted to share a few special people with all of our friends. These people meant the world to my children and really helped to prepare them for the adventure we are living today!! We knew our children attended an outstanding school that provided an excellent education but I never new until we were leaving just how wonderful all the staff was.






First, this is Mrs Erickson, she was Jezrielle's 5th and 6th grade teacher. She blew us all away when she called and asked if she could come to the house to say good-bye to Jez before we left. Not only did she come over but she came and helped me on our last day of packing our house. She was such a blessing to us!! We love you Mrs Erickson!!















This is Ms. Wolf, she was Zoee's 3rd and 4th grade teacher. There is no other word but AMAZING to describe her. Zoee is still talking to Ms. Wolf at least once a week and cry's sometimes when she can't get ahold of her. Ms. Wolf also made the long track out to Kalkaska to visit Zoee one last time before we left!!










Mrs Craker was all 3 boys 1st and 2nd grade teacher. She is a very talented teacher who I have learned so much from. I have already called on her for tips on teaching 3 boys in the same grade. I don't know how she did a whole class room!! Mrs. Craker also put together a going away party for our family before we left. Our boys were so blessed to spend 2 years in her class!!




Then there is Mrs. Bruce. The kids loved seeing her face every morning before school. They were very sad to here she was leaving TBCS. They all wanted her to be there when they return from Hong Kong. She was always there for them. The one thing that I could never do for them was to pull there loose teeth. Mrs. Bruce always came through for them. I don't know what I am going to do about that here in Hong Kong!! :)






Finally, we have thier principal Mr. Harding. We will always remember his key phrase that I heard every afternoon when I was picking the kids up from school, "God is good all the time, and all the time God is good". Mr. Harding followed in suit with all the teaching staff and offered to help us with moving. We didn't need to take him up on the offer but it was sure nice to see all of these people come through for us when we were in need!!