Not much to tell...

Things are crazy as always, but there's not much to tell about it... The bad news is my "little fender bender" caused $5100 damage to the require and required replacement of all four carseats to the tune of $460. Luckily the insurance has decided to fix it and replace the seats - we were sure the car would be written off and we'd be left with more debt than cash to buy a new one, again.

The kids are good. Jack seems to be going through a phase of moods and attitude that I honestly didn't expect until much later than this. He is hard put upon - used for slave labour and not allowed to do anything, ever. Elliot is struggling with some stuff himself and I've been talking to a psychologist to see how we can help him sort things out. My little man is just so full of passion, it doesn't always come out the right way. Paxten has a phase of her own, she does not like going to bed these days. We put her down with regular routine, stories and songs, and she comes out of her room whining and crying about something several times before giving up and falling asleep - often crying. It makes me sad that she goes to sleep that way, but there's only so many times we can respond to "my finger hurts" and only so many times she can pee. AnnaWen continues to do well. Her increased comfort with us is shining through with attitude and defiance - I guess she gets we're not sending her back regardless of how rotten she can act at times! A typical three year old. The other day we put her in Time Out for something or other and she started screaming at me; angry, frustrated words. I thought at first she was cursing me in broken English or Mandarin but it turns out her slurs were repetitions of "I'm ready to listen!". Apparently she knew the words but not quite their purpose in that situation. I love those Munsters dearly, but these days I'm wiped by bedtime.

Yesterday at McD's a couple beside us asked if she was Chinese and if she spoke Mandarin (they were and did). We chatted a bit and the lady put Wen back in her chair and pushed her in, reminiscent of the 'help' we received from all the staff in Lanzhou. As we were getting ready to leave the woman asked Wen a question in Mandarin and Wen responded - in Mandarin! I asked what was said and the woman said she asked Wen how old she was and Wen answered that she was six. A liar in two languages :) I laughed and corrected Wen in Mandarin, luckily I know how to say "three". It was great to see, so far if other people speak to Wen in Mandarin she has put on a very nasty face and not responded at all. There are two women in the church who speak Mandarin and both have tried to elicit some demonstration of understanding to no avail. The realization that she's still understanding some makes me feel greater pressure to find a way to expose her to it. Time and money.

Anyways, nothing of consequence to report and a little too much stress and bs to manage these days... I don't like griping here and find that when I don't post it's often b/c I am more likely to complain. I'm glad spring seems to be around the corner, and am looking forward to more sunshine and outdoor activities for all of us.

N