what a week we have had!!!

It is so hard to believe we have been home 8 days now!

The time has been super busy, as can be imagined with adding 2 new girls to our crew:)

The first 5 days were nothing but "survival" as I was hit heavy  with the emotional "it's over" drain, and of course, the dreaded jet lag too.

I hardly had the camera out, but did manage some adorable pics on the sled hill the other day along with some assorted shots from the last few days.

Overall, I would say we have had exceptional transitioning.

Lili is always happy, unless she is very tired, very hungry, or told no while in one of these states :)

Rose has been busy finding her place as a busy older sister who loves to take care of the littles, as well as help out in the kitchen with whatever jobs need doing.

Her English has improved tremendously since we don't hear any Mandarin anymore.

I mourn that for her, yet, feel it may be best for her to push thru the loss of Mandarin to get a good grasp of the English she has been exposed to for several years, but still had the backup of Mandarin a breath away.

She has her quiet moments, and she has her silly moments, but overall, we see a smiley Rosey way more often than any other state, and for that we are extremely grateful.

WE are humbled by God's goodness to us throughout this month of changes.

WE look forward to what February will bring-2 birthdays-Rose turns 14 on the 5th, and Isaac turns 3 on the 9th.

On the 13th, we celebrate our 22 anniversary.

We have started back to school as of this morning, so I look forward to seeing how they all progress with a regular schedule and more structured days.

Enough of my rambling, time to get on with the pictures.

I suspect this will only happen 1x a week, as my days are FULL, and if Chuck weren't milking tonight, I wouldn't be up this late either, so do check back, even if I miss a few days-there is much that God is doing in our lives, and I really want to share His goodness and mercy, and His abundant blessings!

Lots of love

Chris and all!!

the first time Rose went outside, she helped Kendell feed the calves, and then headed right over to the swing set-

Baba headed back up the sled hill after the little boys took a turn on their sled

Nick and Lili taking a turn together.

a little bit of hot-dogging going on!!

along withLOTS of giggles and laughs

my,this looks like a motley crew!

Only God could do this :)

I loved this, little boys and sisters watching their Baba and brothers

burning out in the garden~

Lili has really taken to having brothers around-even if they demand sharing her favorite toys!!!!

And to think we were worried about how she would take to having so many siblings!!!!

Friday our older ones went to their science co-op. Rose went along, and was a very

studious young lady.

She took wonderful notes, and tried to follow along on the excellent teaching they got

on our immune system!

She was all ears, and gave her full attention-I was very proud of her:)

some play time on Saturday

this is school time for 2 pre-schoolers

lots of playtime, but also lots of learning going on!!!

And they both did very well today.I am thrilled with how

Lili will try anything, and wants to follow instructions

Rose and Tyler doing some simple, lets get back into the groove worksheets before we really hit the textbooks later this week-and they both did VERY well!!!

Isaac is wandering around the livingroom, wanders to the kitchen for some involvement too, and then back to his toys. It was a very full morning, and Nick and Kendell went upstairs to their desks to hit their math and spelling without so many diversions!!!

It's a great day for a tractor ride!

Monday afternoon was a great, warm day, and the children all went out together to do chores, and play.

They also all got into the act of feeding the cows this afternoon, either riding in the tractor or on the TMR~~

Rose was all smiles riding with Kendell, and Lili about flew into the tractor when Daddy stopped and motioned for her to come-she is actually fearless, except for the dogs, and cows, and chickens, and ducks:) But, she is getting better with all of them too-a little at a time!!!!

Nick is standing in the feeder, that's why he is so much taller than the cows-

LOVED all these smiles today!

Is there any better place for kids than on a farm??

So many experiences, so much to learn, opportunities to learn responsibilities

and LOTS of fun!!!

Thanks for stopping by, hoping for more posts yet this week as I want to wrap our time in China with a couple more posts!!!!

Love

Chris