Friday night laundry, first edition

For the past three Friday nights I have found myself doing laundry. I know to most of you that may sound totally lame for a Friday night, but I actually really love doing laundry. I love the sorting, the folding, and most of all the smell of clean sheets when I go to bed. After a full week, the laundry room on a Friday night is somewhat of a haven, a time to slow down and just wait. As I sit in the laundry room waiting for a load to finish and another to begin, I see all of the little clothes hanging on the lines and it reminds me of the sweet children who wear those clothes. It reminds me of how thankful I am to be living in a place where little feet pitter patter all day, where I constantly hear the sounds of children laughing and crying, and where I am only a short walk away from a good cuddle or hug. A place where I can see the face of my Father in every little smile. One of my favorite places to visit has become the Peter Pan room, right across from our kitchen (which of course I visit frequently...) In this room, I have fallen in love with these three little treasures...

Max

Jay-Ar

Cadence

Since Friday nights seem to have become laundry nights, it seems like a good time to catch up on blogs and re-cap the week for those of you who have been so faithful to read and keep up with life here at Maria's. This week has been full. A good full. We had a sponsor group here all week from the U.S. (the last group of the year), so the week was full of new faces, new names, and sweet time with other brothers and sisters with a like-minded passion to care for these precious children. Katie and McKensey from Show Hope were here. What a gift to be able to see familiar faces half-way around the world and to have a roomate for the week. It was so exciting to see their joy as they discovered a new children each day that they bonded with and to hear their stories each evening as they shared what the Lord was doing in our midst. The week also included a trip to the Old Town (including some fantastic food) and a roof-top cook-out on their last night here (I can tell my appetite has definately come back, as much of my excitement seems to revolve around food!) I found myself really sad this morning as they pulled away, but at the same time I remain ever grateful that I don't have to leave this place. That I GET to stay here. I GET to be here; that I don't have to say goodbye to these children, at least not for a long time.

Along with the group being here this week, we have a wonderful new addition to our family here at MBHOH. Dr. Steve Martin and his wife Laura have just joined our family here, along with their six children. They have moved into the apartment down the hall from me and we are all so excited to have them here.

On a totally separate note, I wanted to share some really FANTASTIC news I received this week. It came in the form of an early Christmas gift (well, not the gift itself, but news of a gift to come). Earlier this week I received and email from my friend Laura Swann with an attached itinerary for a trip...to China...for Christmas!!! My sweet friend is coming over for 10 days to spend Christmas with me here at Maria's. And it gets better...on her way out, two other friends, Robin Bolin and Leanne Jenkins are planning on coming in so that the four of us can spend some time in Beijing together, then Robin and Leanne will return with me to Luoyang and spend a few days here at Maria's with me. Ahhh! I am so, so excited.

I will leave you with a few pics to recap the week...

Show Hope Sponsor team

Old Town Luoyang

Egg bread. Amazing.

Making a break for it...

Just kidding :)

"This is like a beef treat" -McKensey

Someone's really excited about chopsticks!

MBH nurses, my sweet family away from home

First trip to Wal-Mart...yeah!

....and McDonald's! :)