I am so thankful for the wonderful break we had this weekend. Probably the most relaxing break I have had in a very long time. Usually our travels are very scheduled, hectic, tiring. We (okay, I) often try to pack too much fun, shopping and business into too short a time. In some ways I did the same this time, but it turned out better, great even. We went to Beijing, so I am sure you are thinking Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, etc etc. And no. Not a single one (though the Summer Palace did flit through my mind a few times). What a relief to not be chasing down the tourist spots and not trying to pack too much into too little time. So what did we do?
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Mini Chicken Pot Pies Abbi @ Onceamonthmom.com, adapted from Handle the Heat Ingredients: In a large pan, add cooked chicken, onion and chicken broth, bring to a simmer. Add peas and carrots, salt, pepper and thyme. Once heated through, remove from heat and stir in cheese. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together baking mix, milk, and eggs. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of crust mixture into each muffin cup. Top with 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture. Top each with 1 more Tablespoon of the crust mixture. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Freezing Directions: Remove from pan. Flash freeze. Once frozen, divide among gallon size freezer bags. To serve: Thaw and reheat in the microwave or bake, covered at 350 for 20-30 minutes until heated through. Servings: 6 Pasted from <http://onceamonthmom.com/mini-chicken-pot-pies/> We made it back to China safe and reasonably sound. All our luggage made it as well, so we are thankful on all fronts. It's cold! Well, that shouldn't be a surprise, it is January, and our latitude makes the weather fairly comparable to Kansas City and St. Louis. What is <still> surprising is how ccccccold it is INSIDE. The days have actually been fairly pleasant outdoors but the concrete buildings just trap the coldest air and won't let go. We have been running our room heaters nearly non-stop and have about got most rooms livable. We don't mind wearing sweatpants and sweaters indoors but I draw the line at parkas -- at that point I just stay in bed buried under layer after layer of blankets and quilts! It is taking a bit to get reoriented and also to get the house back in order. We were gone for two months and for half of that time there were 8 people living here, so things got a little out of place, and we are certainly out of our routines. The kitchen needed to be scrubbed from top to bottom and all of our US treasures (boxes, packets and mixes) put away. Stocking the refrigerator is the next priority, but first the freezer needed to be defrosted and that was an all day challenged tackled mostly by HongWei. I have to clean the refrigerator and shelves today and then I'll make a shopping trip. I have great hopes of doing some freezer cooking to *try* to get ahead of the cooking monkey that is always on my back. I will let you know how that goes. I brought quart size freezer bags but wish I had also brought gallon size with me. And while I mentioned it, let me detour for a moment and let you know I have started a "wish list" page in case anyone is coming this way and wants to throw something in for us, or if someone gets the urge to send us a package. (I will warn you shipping is expensive, so we don't expect it.) We also had our "mini" Christmas this weekend so we could give HongWei all the Christmas gifts we brought from the US. He is well stocked on clothes and a new backpack which should not fall apart the first week. As much as we enjoyed (and we did!) having Christmas in the US with a real Christmas tree, carols, decorations and especially the Christmas services at church, we missed celebrating with HongWei. We are thankful that he had lots of visitors to celebrate with here in China, but it's not the same as your family. Well, it will take a few more days to finish getting everything back to "normal", but we started back to homeschool today so that's a step in the right direction. Jetlag is still a factor...yesterday I slept for 10 hours, just not in sequence. :) So let's start this blog off on a high note -- honestly, I am in denial. We leave for China in 3 days, but I am not operating as if I have accepted that fact. We have made a first pass at packing and I think I have done 95% of the shopping I wanted to. I still need a good calendar and a final run through the grocery store for spices and boxes. We really need another set of sheets for each bed, but there is no room. (Since our last trip 16 months ago, United has reduced the free checked luggage allowance from 2 to 1. This seriously impacts us as we try to restock for the next 15 months). We were incredibly blessed by a Walmart gift card which paid for all the otc meds and misc baby supplies that I needed to take back. (Still haven't found good old fashioned nesting cups and blocks...time is running out) But that is just the physical aspect of the return. I am struggling more with the emotional return. Living where we do is hard, it's a lot of work just to keep a home and family going and it's hard to live in almost complete isolation from others who share a common language, common heritage, common way of thinking and a common faith. It's hard. every. day. The work is challenging, some days overwhelming, but mostly it is a blessing. It's the life that I am struggling with returning to. It's a hard life for the girls as well, but thankfully they are ready to go; they won't admit it, but China is now more home than the US. I am glad for them. And in the end it's not about me, but I wish I could look forward to Tuesday with more joy than dread.
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About This BlogPart documentary, part family chronicle and part personal reflection as I try to sort through the ups and downs, the joys, heartaches and surprises of our life and work as we follow the path that God has set for us here in China! Prayer RequestsKristen to continue to adjust to college life and find good friends.
Donna for safety and provision while traveling and serving in Thailand. Archives
April 2024
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