Happy Thanksgiving From Around the World!!!

Wow. I know it has been awhile, a-long-while actually since the last post. I have no good excuse for not posting sooner, other than to just blame it on life. Life has been good just busy for us all. I will do my best to catch y'all up on what's been going on with all of us. But first, I would like to provide a disclaimer. Michael is funnier than me. I have known that for years. So while his previous two posts were probably more enjoyable than any post of mine, you are stuck with me anyway. Sorry. Now, moving on.

I took a cue from my friend Mandy and will update y'all by going person by person.

MICHAEL: Is working terribly hard. In all of the years I have known him I have never NOT seen him work hard on a job, no matter what kind. But, these past few weeks have been different. Things with the suppliers he is in charge of keep getting worse and worse. Let me explain. He has been sent here on behalf of his company to "manage/assist" the smaller Chinese companies that provide parts to his company. And his company in turn provides parts to another company. So I am sure you all understand that if the little Chinese company is having problems, then Michael's company is having problems, and then the company they supply to is having problems. Basically you end up with a boatload of ticked off people....at every level. The reason I say his job is to "manage/assist" is because while he is not an employee of the Chinese companies, he still tells them what to do to an extent. But it is all done in the spirit of assistance. And currently to two main suppliers of parts for Michael's company are having major problems. The end result, Michael is having major problems. Or rather, dealing with some major problems. And it seems (I will say at least to me anyway) that the higher ups in Michael's company just want the problem fixed, no matter what the cost or how unreasonable they are being. Everyone wants the problem fixed, it just doesn't happen overnight. Unfortunately, it's Michael's job to keep reminding them of that. And sometimes it ain't pretty. I cannot even begin to imagine how stressed out this past month is making him because amazingly....I don’t' see it. He is working some crazy long hours but when he comes home, he's home. He plays "rough" (that's what they call wrestling) with the boys, listens to me gripe about my day (which honestly is nothing compared to his), and somehow manages to be in good spirits with us. I DON'T KNOW HOW HE DOES IT!!!!! I wish I had better words to say but, I am SO VERY blessed that he was willing to spend the rest of his life with me. He is truly a wonderful father, friend, and husband.

ME: My trip back to the States to spend time with my family was good. The flights were almost unbearably long. I have a huge amount of new found respect for Michael who flew those flights several times a month for almost a year. Though spending time with my family made the suffering worthwhile for sure. It was a quick trip, just a week. But to be with my family after the passing of my grandfather was so comforting. In other news, I am currently, as in right now, cooking a turkey for about 20-25 friends for Thanksgiving. Some of you may be surprised to know that this is my first time to roast a bird. In the past I have helped my mom a little but never really contributed much. I guess I am growing up. WAIT, I should be honest. I have called my mom 3 times. Just to make sure I was doing stuff right!! I knew what I was doing....really! Anyway, we will see in about 30 minutes how good, please be good, of a job I did. HAPPY THANKSGIVING Y'ALL!!!!

GABE:Ahh, Gabe is Gabe. Which I suppose is a good thing. Actually I know it is. He is ornery as ever. Yet, he has many wonderful moments. I know all parents think that their children are smart, so I won't act like he is a genius or anything. But, he never ceases to amaze Michael and I with his memory. He has the memory of an elephant! He is always remembering things that happened in months past, even events that happened almost two years ago. (When he was just a little over 1 year old.) Though I do believe that he will one day put this ability to good use, for now it is sometimes frustrating and hilarious. His Chinese vocabulary is growing by the day. I know that children pick up languages better than adults but, I do think his memory serves him well here also. He is by no means bi-lingual, he just knows lots of Chinese words. For example, he can tell a taxi driver, in Chinese, "Please take me to the Shanghai Science and Technology Center subway station." And since he has the route memorized, if he thinks they are veering off course, he will tell them to "go straight, turn right, or turn left" all in Chinese. Also, as he learns new things, his definition of what a grown-up is changes. Sometimes that definition seems very profound (to us proud parents anyway) or times just funny. He told me the other day that he would know he was a grown-up when, "I have black scratchers on my face just like Michael." Can't say that one was profound, just funny to us.

MADDOX:"I do it!" That right there describes Madd-Dog perfectly. That phrase is his trademark these days. He has turned into Mr. Independent. He is no longer content to play in the shadow of his older brother. He wants to make his own. He is a climber, jumper, runner, faller, crasher, an all around tough guy! There are very few things he is afraid to try.....activities or food. He loves the local food, especially rice. And if you give him anything with chopsticks he will eat it for sure. He likes "using" chopsticks. Though much less of a talker than Gabe was/is ( Maddox does not take after the Loudermilk side of the family here for sure ) he still communicates well. He loves telling the locals hello, thank you, bye bye, and a few other words in Chinese. Funny thing though, if you ask him to count 1 to 10, 1-4 are in English and 5-10 are in Chinese. He'll get it eventually!

Well that pretty much covers the finer points. A few weekends ago we went with Michael to a town called Wuxi. Which is actually where his is primary office is located. (He works out of Shanghai some.) It is 2 1/2 hours away by car. We had a driver take us there but we rode the train back. It was the boys first real train ride and they loved it!!! The train ride only lasts about 45 minutes and that was not near long enough for them. They didn't want to get off!! While in Wuxi, they had a great time in the hotel pool, at the zoo, and at a local park. It was a fun weekend away. Here are a few pictures.

At the pool.

Does anything strike you as odd in this picture? Look closely. :-)
Lunch time! This guy had just finished the juice box and was moving on to his banana.

This was a fun slide. It was made out of a giant piece of stone.
The boys played on it for a long time. I went down it myself a couple of times!
This was crazy. At the park in Wuxi there were these animals that kids could ride/drive for 5 minutes for about 70 cents. The boys thought it was awesome!
What's crazy about it was the crowd watching and taking pictures of the little foreign kids. It's like that everywhere we go. Everyone wants pictures of themselves or their kids with the boys. We seem to always draw quite a crowd. Everywhere!
And just because I know that y'all were so anxious to see how it turned out.........There she is, or should I say, he is!?!