Cade's Birthday

wo de sheng ri shi yi yue er shi er hao
(My birthday is January 22nd)

Cade turned the big 10!  He's now a double-digit aged kid!

And he's excited to claim he celebrated this milestone birthday in China.  

sheng ri kuai le

Cade invited a few friends over after school to celebrate his 10th birthday.  It was a noisy party of boys being boys but they had fun hanging out together, opening gifts, and eating Scotcheroos.  Instead of birthday cake (not Cade's favorite - especially since it's made with chunks of jello here), Cade asked for Scotcheroos, a family favorite.  His friends loved the new American treat but who doesn't love a Rice Krispie treat made with peanut butter and topped with melted chocolate?  Best treat ever!

Cade also introduced a fun way of opening gifts to his friends.  While Cade closed his eyes, one of his friends said "Happy Birthday" in a funny voice.  Then Cade guessed who was talking.  If he answered correctly, he opened the gift; if he guessed wrong, the friend got to bonk him on the head with the gift before opening it.  The boys thought that was great fun (aka beat up the birthday boy with his gifts)!

After gifts and treats, we went to a cool show called The Dragon's Treasure.  It's in a special dome theater with lots of special effects. 

 Cade and his friends thought it was great.  I was a little worried it might be a little too scary and intense for the younger kids but, besides squeezing my hand a few times during the show, they loved it.  And, there's been no nightmares since then - double thumbs up. 

While waiting for the show to begin, the kids gained the attention of one of the guards/ushers.  He was fascinated with the blonde kids and the different nationalities of their friends.  He was especially entertained by Leah, who would not let go of one of the boys.  Notice that Leah's hanging onto one of the boy's arms.  She tried to hold his hand or be next to him the entire evening.  It looked like she had her first crush.  I kept trying to pull her away and distract her but she always found her way back to the same boy.  He was very patient with her and such a good sport.  Leah even told the kids she wanted to marry him.

Now, back to the birthday boy - Cade is an amazing kid!  He's smart, helpful, happy, and a very good example (not only to younger kids but older kids and adults too).  He enjoys reading, math, science, has a contagious laugh, loves to play sports (especially soccer), draws, plays the piano (even accompanies the Primary music on Sundays), is learning to play the ukelele, likes to build things, misses the Scouting program, and is a good looking young man (lots of moms at school often tell me how handsome Cade is).  I love Cade and am so glad he's a part of our family.

Taipa Pequena

With beautiful weather lately, we took the opportunity to explore a part of Taipa we've not been to before - Taipa Pequena, one of the two highest hills in Taipa.  This hill has hiking trails, a kid's park, and a large sculpture complex.

The hiking trails wind gently up and around to the top of the hill.  We chose a trail with stairs and although Abby's trying to look weary by wiping her brow it was an easy climb with lots of green trees, bushes, and colorful flowers.  It was wonderful to be surrounded by nature - the sights, the sounds, the smells, the feelings - it was all so therapeutic for our family.

As we were climbing the hill, we met the most happy, spirited old man.  Every 3-4 steps he stopped, stretched his arms high above his head and circled them slowly back down while joyfully exclaiming HAhahaHAhahaHAhahaHAhahaHA.  The first few times we heard him we thought it was a bird singing.  When we passed him he greeted us with a bright smile and a hearty Good Morning and then continued down the stairs pausing frequently to repeat his singing stretch.  Fascinated, we just stood and watched him until he disappeared.    

We encountered this happy old man again at the park.  This time he was stretching his legs with giant kicks and balancing poses and he was still smiling and merrily humming.  He was so entertaining - we could have watched him for hours.  He continued on his happy walk while we played at the park.  We kicked a soccer ball around, swung on the swings, climbed on the jungle gym, and just enjoyed being out in the bright, warm sunshine.  

The Taipa sculpture complex is a huge, white, zigzagged wall, inspired by the Great Wall of China, and shows day-to-day activities of life in Macau.  There are areas for outdoor gatherings such as morning Tai Chi classes that are very popular here.  And, the views from the top of this complex were some of the best we've seen in Macau.  

This view shows the first of three bridges built that connect the island of Taipa to the Macau peninsula.  Although it's not clear in this picture, we could easily see the entire peninsula east to west and pick out many of it's distinguishing landmarks, like the Macau Tower, home to the tallest bungee jump in the world, (far left in this picture).  Just last week while riding a bus across one of the bridges, I saw someone bungee jump off the tower.  The Macau Tower is still on our to-visit list but there will be no bungee jumping for the Kisebachs.

As you can see, the weather is beautiful, so if you need to get away from those unusually cold winter temperatures, come to Macau.  This is the best time to visit :)

School Days

As the kids and I walked to school this morning with happy, playful attitudes, I couldn't help but reflect on the contrast of this same walk just a few short months ago.  A walk that was filled with dread, anxiety, and lots of tears has now become a pleasant, enjoyable morning ritual.  I love holding the kids' hands, having serious and silly conversations, taking turns pushing the stroller, laughing together, and navigating through the sidewalks of Taipa.  It really has become one of my favorite parts of the day.

Cade, Abby, and Ian have each made great friends, learned lots of new things, and adjusted well to school.  The first semester is coming to an end this month so Cade is busy preparing for final exams, Ian's getting ready for another Kindergarten Concert, and Abby's super excited school is half way over.  Here's a few highlights from their first semester.

In P4 (4th grade), Cade's been learning to write different kinds of stories, essays, and poems.  I love this poem he wrote about our trip to Macau.  He summed up our long journey perfectly!

Adventure

by Cade Kisebach

From North Salt Lake,

To L.A.X,

Then Hong Kong,

It was very long.

On the ferry,

It was kind of scary.

None of their words,

Were nouns or verbs.

 At Macau,

I was like, “WOW!”

Twenty-five hours,

Was more like 100 hours.

From North Salt Lake,

To L.A.X,

Then Hong Kong,

It was very long.

Abby is in P2 (2nd grade).  At the Primary Art Show, Abby and her class had an opportunity to show off their work from their Art, Music, and Drama classes.  They displayed their drawings done in different mediums (chalk, paint, and pencil), sang a few songs, and performed a dance about the 4 basic elements of life (which they've been studying in science).  Abby represented fire, thus the red scarf.  

Although she was a bit nervous before the show, Abby did a great job and really enjoyed performing on stage.

Ian is having so much fun in K3.  Every other month, they put on a Kindergarten Concert.  The different classes take turns performing songs or reciting poems in English and Chinese.  The third concert is next week and this time their Chinese song includes some more intense choreography so Ian's been practicing quite a bit at home.  I included a video of the first concert earlier in this blog so if you missed it, here's a link to it http://yearofthelotus.blogspot.com/2012/10/kindergarten-concert.html 

The biggest highlight of the first semester of school was Book Week.  An entire week was filled with extra activities, games, special rewards, and a fun Friday party to promote books and reading.  Parents read books to classes during the week, the administrators called students at home in the evening and if they caught them reading the student was given a new book the next day, teachers handed out bookmarks to students reading during the school day and when the student collected 4 bookmarks they also got a new book.  But the best part was the party on Friday when students and teachers dressed up like a book character.  Parents came for a potluck lunch and assembly where the students showed off their costumes. 

Ian was a knight in shining armour,

Cade was Percy Jackson with an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt,

and Abby dressed up as Annie from the Magic Treehouse book series.

I'm so glad there are so many good memories from this first semester of school.  It may have been a difficult adjustment but the kids are stronger for it.  They've each learned some valuable life lessons.  I hope there's many more positive school days to come in the second semester. 

'Tis the Season

It's hard to believe how quickly Christmas came upon us.  For most of December, we struggled to believe that it was really the Christmas season.  Even with the surprising number of holiday decorations around town

and the Christmas carols (in English) playing in most stores, it was still hard to believe Christmas was coming.  Leah was convinced it wasn't the Christmas season because there was no snow but the rest of us (I believe) were simply waiting for the traditional sights and sounds we associate with this special holiday.  But celebrating any holiday in the "traditional" sense in Macau is challenging.  So, our Christmas traditions and celebrations were modified but we still felt the Christmas Spirit and enjoyed this wonderful season.

Our Christmas decorations were simple this year with a nativity and 4 stockings.

And, finally on Christmas Eve, Kyle and Cade bought a tiny, little snow-covered Christmas tree (not much bigger than Kyle's hand) complete with bows and decorations.

Macau's decorations were mostly of Santa and reindeer but we found this cool, outdoor, blue lit Christmas tree at the Venetian

and an actual, real evergreen tree at the Macau Ferry Terminal (the decorations were silly but the smell was captivating).  We stood looking at the weirdly decorated tree for a few minutes just to enjoy the smell.

In mid-December, we had a special sacrament program performed by the children and youth of our church.  The kids, a total of 12, took turns reading the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible between singing Primary songs and congregational Christmas hymns.  It was a beautiful program!  Cade played the piano for one of the songs (If The Savior Stood Beside Me) and did a fantastic job.  Abby had the tough job of being with Leah to keep her reverent and help with her part.  Knowing first hand how difficult that can be, I was impressed.  Abby will be an excellent babysitter!  And Ian, stole the show.  Not only did he sing the loudest but he was the only one to quote his scripture by memory.  After saying his part, there was an audible gasp from the audience because they were so amazed he'd memorized his scripture.

After the sacrament program, we had a special Christmas party at church.  Everyone dressed like shepherds and sat on blankets to eat a simple dinner.  

During the party, we were invited to give Jesus a gift.  Unlike the gifts the wise men brought Jesus, our gifts were to be something in our lives that we were committed to improve or change during the next month.  We wrote down our gift on a piece of paper, sealed it up, and placed it in a beautiful box.  

At the end of January, we'll have an opportunity to open our gifts and reflect on how we changed or were touched by the Spirit during the past month. 

Our Christmas Eve was filled with last minute shopping and preparations, but we ended it with a fun dinner and quality family time.  Our dinner turned into a play-with-your-food contest and I couldn't tell you who had more fun, the kids or Kyle.  But, you can be the judge and pick a winner.

     

After a silly dinner and a yummy dessert, we gathered to remember the reason for the Christmas season.  We dimmed the lights and acted out the nativity.  Cade read Luke 2 as the rest of us took on different parts. Leah was baby Jesus, Abby was Mary, Kyle was Joseph, Ian was a shepherd, and I was an angel.  Usually we only read Luke 2 but this night Kyle continued to read from Mark and we learned more about this story including the wise men's visit, Simeon's witness of the baby Jesus at the temple, Joseph taking the family to Egypt, and their return to Nazareth when it was safe.  Ian and Cade made quick character changes as they took on more roles including the wise men, Simeon, Herod, and his soldiers.  We all had a great time acting out the nativity story and remembering why we were celebrating Christmas.

Christmas day was filled with lots of fun and excitement as we opened gifts, talked with most of our family members in the US, and played games.

In the afternoon, we gathered with some church members to go caroling. 

Seeing first hand the living conditions of many of the people here was a very humbling and eye-opening experience, especially for me and the children who haven't really been exposed to it yet.  We had a good time and shared the Christmas spirit with many people.  It was a great opportunity and a memory we'll look back on for years to come.

Afterwards, we had a few friends over for an American style dinner.  We served turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, spinach salad, rolls, and had Apple Betty (a Kisebach family favorite) for dessert.  Of our 8 guests only 1 had ever eaten turkey before so it really was a new experience for most of them.  

We also taught them a few new card games.

Surrounding ourselves with friends really helped us to enjoy the Christmas holiday and fill the void we had from not being around our own families.  We feel extremely blessed and are especially grateful to have such wonderful family and friends.  We love you all!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

If you didn't get our Christmas card/newsletter, please give me your email address and I'll send it to you.