Settling in...

It's a rainy Sunday morning here... A soft, gentle rain that has fallen all night long. I love the rain. Happy Mother's Day out there to all of you moms! We're getting ready to head into Beijing for our Sunday ritual. Church, lunch, and shopping. We've been in China since Wednesday, and our emotions are mixed upon our return. Coming back to China hasn't been as hard as I worried it might be, but we still miss the comforts of home and family. The good outweighs the bad, though. Or at least it does when that's what we choose to focus on.

People are genuinely glad to have us back. It is nice to be needed.

The kids were excited to see us. I didn't realize how much I missed all of their laughter until we were playing on the playground together.

Everything is green! There are flowers in the village, the willows cover the road, the wheat is growing; it is actually beautiful in its own way. Which is saying a lot considering the gray, brown, and dusty winter.

Our apartment is painted! It is a great sage-green color, and I really like the way it turned out. It feels a little more like home to me at least. (I don't think paint has the same effect on Jacob.)

Our neighbors have welcomed us back with smiles and waves. Even though we can't talk to each other, they've shown us they noticed we were gone and are glad we have returned.

We cooked a fairly complex meal with ingredients we purchased only in the village! We made a Moroccan Chicken Stew with Polenta. We brought spices from America, but the rest... the cornmeal for polenta and all the ingredients for the stew... we purchased in the village. For some reason this gives me a sense of accomplishment, because when we first came 6 months ago, all we made for ourselves were grilled cheese sandwhiches.

So, for now, we are home. We really want to feel that way here, and I hope over the next few months, that desire becomes a reality.

OK, well, I'd share more but we have to leave in 40 minutes. I gotta get in the shower! (Which I'm also trying to accept... for those of you who know our shower saga. I may share that later.)