An American Girl in a Chinese World

Have you ever tried to cut a two year olds fingernails? Its not the easiest task. My nephew Wes is called Wessy Messy for the obvious reason, that he is a mess! Into everything, not wanting to sit still, and of course finds a way to come back from swimming covered in mud. Just picturing trying to cut his nails makes me grin. Most young girls grow up wanting to paint their nails bright beautiful colors and try to avoid cutting their long nails. So I find it somewhat strange that I somewhat envied those toddlers or girls that had to cut their nails shorter because I haven’t ever had my own nails cut that I can remember.  I am a nail biter. It stinks to have a habit like that. You can’t scratch backs, you hide your hands, and you feel stupid when you have your hand in your mouth chomping away. Ever since high-school I have tried to stop. I have had some successful attempts, but eventually they all get chewed off. The past 3 months I have had fake nails on. I did this to hopefully b...

Have you ever had a moment in your life that you just knew that the father was totally real and listening to your every thought? I realize that dad is real and I know he promises in his word that he hears our every request….but recently I had one of those moments. Picture a beautiful baby girl with bubbles, a waterfall with a sunset, or a bride and groom gazing into each others eyes, these are all sights to behold! Well, I wanted the opportunity to capture those moments not only with my 10 year old camera but a new big camera that took quality photos! As I wandered through best buy and day dreamed about taking pictures of the Great Wall or little Chinese girls I couldn’t help but notice the Huge price tag at every camera I liked. I found one camera in particular that I would really like to have. For weeks I thought about this camera and decided it was ridiculous that I was thinking about a hunk of metal and some mirror pieces that much, so I presented a request to Dad. I told him I ...

Just recently I had gum surgery. For those of you who have experienced any form of mouth discomfort, I am sure you have had the privilege of experiencing numb gums. It’s a strange thing to describe. Your lips feel huge, you can talk but you drool without knowing it, and when you try to eat or drink …well it doesn’t happen smoothly. The interesting part about numb gums, it’s wonderful that you can’t feel the incisions. But, the process of getting there hurts! Those with experience, I am sure you can confirm that shots in the gums is quite possibly the worst shot you have ever received. It’s funny as I go through the process of moving to China. I feel like at times I can totally relate my gum surgery experience to this. In the beginning there was a lot of anxiety with making my decision and actually obeying and following dads call to China, just as I was anxious about surgery. Then came the time I had to tell my family members, co-workers, and friends that I was going to be moving ou...