China 2012

I finally received my China acceptance letter yesterday!! 

I am beyond excited to be returning to Beijing in July!!

My trip to China last summer was so amazing and I can't wait to see what God's going to do this summer!

115 Days to Go ...

Saying Goodbye to Dear Friends

I've been sewing like crazy the last few weeks for Easter! One of the wonderful things that has kept me sane during these long days has been Librivox. Volunteers record each chapter of an old book that no longer has a copyright and you can listen online for free! Last week I listened to Wives and Daughters. 'Tis quite a lovely invention!

Yes, I finished all sixty-two chapters! I loved when a new reader would come on and they had a particularly delicious British accent! It somehow made the story even sweeter! 

I absolutely adore the movie version of this book and couldn't help but be aggravated when the readers didn't say the lines the way the actors did in the movie! 

A few of my favorite lines: 

Squire Hamley: I'm not saying she was very silly, but one of us was silly and it wasn't me. 

 

Mr. Gibson: Women are queer, unreasoning creatures and just as likely as not to love a man who's been throwing his affection away.
Roger Hamley : Thank you sir, I see you mean to give me encouragement.
Mr. Gibson : My encouragement is neither here nor there, for if she can stomach ya, I dare say I can.

Cynthia Kirkpatrick: In short, Mama, the one man may steal a horse -
  the other musn't look over the hedge?
Claire Gibson: Oh, do be quiet child! All proverbs are vulgar, and I
  do believe that is the vulgarist of them all! I really think you're
  catching Roger Hamley's coarseness, Cynthia.

Squire Hamley:  “Did I ever say an engagement was an elephant, madam?” 

By the time I finish a book, I feel that I'm friends with the characters and I look forward to discovering more about them each day! I somehow feel that I'm saying goodbye to dear friends when I finish the final chapters of a lovely novel! 

Garlic Fever

 When I was putting NoraJane to bed the other night we had quite an interesting conversation! It went something like this ...

 NoraJane: Batoria!!!! I'm gonna have nightmares!

Me: No, you won't, Norey-girl. Just think about nice things! 

NoraJane: I'm gonna dream about fruit and lemonade and ...  and garlic bread! 

Me: Oooo, that sounds yummy! 

A few minutes later ... 

NoraJane: You have garlic fever!! 

Me: You mean scarlet fever? 

NoraJane: No, garlic fever!!


She still calls me Batoria even though she can say the "v" sound now! 
 

*These pictures are from a few years ago, but I found them the other day and couldn't believe how much she's grown! This nightgown now hits her mid-calf and her hair is all the way to her waist!