Flower Market and...Sophie can Read!!!

Good evening! We had a very full and fun weekend. Although, it is ending on a note that is good and bad all at once.
See, we got an offer on our house today. Yay, right! Super yay, you'd think. The family is moving from California and wants to close April 15 and really likes it. Here's the problem. They're offering 23K less than our asking price. The market is just so hard right now, isn't it? Getting anything less than our asking price will mean we will owe money out of our pockets to pay for the closing costs, etc. It's just so depressing. Houses are supposed to be investments and here we are far worse off than when we started. Ugh. So now we have to decide what to counter, how low we're willing to go/how deep we're willing to dig into the old retirement savings, whether to scrap it and take our chances with renters...ugh ugh ugh. So what would seem to be a good thing is causing quite a bit of stress at the moment. We know God has a plan and it will all work out, but there are times when I really REALLY wish He'd clue me in so I could feel more at peace. :)

Ok, on to other things.
So, Wednesday I ran in the morning (yay me), then off to Bible sudy, quick bike home to get Coop, fed him lunch, here comes Tai Ping...typical day. Ben was out at the bar with the boys that night (keeping the Wed night tradition from home) so I got to catch up on some Glee. :)

Thursday Tai Ping got some bad new from home that her almost 15 yr old daughter has been skipping school to look for a job. She was saying that school was a waste of time and she could just start making money now. It's amazing. No matter where anyone is in the world, teenagers are trying to grow up too fast and take on too much responsibility when they don't realize focusing on school and being a kid is the best thing for their future. I see it in the US and also in the poorest regions of China. Just crazy. She was devastated to get this news and was simply crushed. Penny (the other family that employs Tai Ping) and I agreed she should take a few days off and go home to straighten things out (it's a 9 hr bus ride). When I told her this she said she was so concerned about doing this when she had just started working for us. She didn't want to make a bad impression. Seriously??? I insisted she go and not think twice about us. So, she's taken off Mon and Tues so now I can sit and watch some tv during Coop's nap for a few days. ;)

On Friday Ben went to the bar again (notice a theme? This time with his coworkers) so the kids and I had dinner and then a movie night! Popcorn, soda and the Lion King 2. It was fun except Soph kept getting scared at parts and watched half the movie from the stairs and Coop didn't really sit and watch at all. He did like the popcorn, though. See, it's just like being at home sometimes. :)

Saturday we headed out to the Flower Market to get some plants for our patio and inside. Think huge warehouse again only this time with shops and shops of gorgeous flowers and plants and pots for cheap!!

We ended up getting a tall palm thingy, 2 jasmine bushes, another tall skinny flowering plant thing for inside, a weird short flowering thingy, a cool vase for umbrellas by the door- all for around $200! I was super excited to get great deals on really nice plants.

After the flower market we went to lunch on Hong Mei Rd at a fantastic place called Bastiaan's. Hong Mei Rd has a ton of great restaurants of all kinds and nationalities. This Bastiaan's place was straight from home, however. It was this cozy little bakery and cafe with amazing food and great atmosphere. Pretty much anyone who comes to visit us will be going there (just so I can eat there more). :)
Here's Hong Mei Rd:

Coop at lunch:

The day was going so well! We wanted to go to the Pearl Market (another fake market of purses, shoes, luggage, etc) across from Hong Mei Rd after lunch quick bc Soph has completely destroyed all her school shoes that currently fit her and I just can't get myself to spend $50 to get a pair here that will only fit her for a few more months. Well, we wasted yet another hour of our lives looking through all 3 floors of the place and finding NO SHOES. I can't believe I'm back to square one with the shoe thing. So, I glued her shoes back together (again) and we'll see what I can find this week.

Saturday night was another fantastic pizza night hosted by our friends the Winklers (check under that middle basket of your coat rack, Laura). She had the best coffee table book. It's called Awkward Family Photos and we were all going through it and literally laughing hysterically. It reminded me of the show Ellen and the awkward pics she has of people on there sometimes. Too funny.

Sunday was a great day of church, relaxing and swimming with friends. Soph is an absolute fish now- diving for things at the bottom of the pool, swimming for 20 feet no problem. It's just amazing and she loves it!

The other amazing thing is that she can officially read!! Tonight before bed she read us an entire book (given, each page had like 3 words, but still). She sounded out the words she didn't know by sight and was so proud when she finished it. Seriously, she's grown up so much since moving here- all the things she's learned in less than 2 months! It makes me a bit sad but very proud. My daughter read me a book tonight, for the first time ever. It was a bit of a moment. :) Ok, I'm totally gonna post the book bc I want to remember what book she read to me-

Prayer requests:
-The house. That, again, God's will be done. That we are able to discern what His will is, hear it and follow it accordingly. That we may have peace with whatever happens with this exchange.

-Ben is very busy with work right now. Pray he does well and has time to feel happy and relaxed and enjoy himself here as well. There is so much on his plate being the sole bread winner so also pray that I may support him more fully and know how to help him.

-Praise that we are all healthy(ish)! No fevers or need for antibiotics- only need for a few tissues. :) Thankful for this!

-Pray for Tai Ping and her family. It is impossible to imagine what her life has been like and I would like to help her in some way besides just employing her. I would like to heal her soul and help her to know through Christ there is more than this life. Pray I may know how to witness to her.

Thanks for reading again. As always, you are all dearly missed and loved. Thank you for your words of encouragement and your prayers. We look forward to seeing you this summer!