Boracay, Philippines

Michael and I were lucky enough to be able to take a trip, just the 2 of us, to a small island in the Philippines called Boracay. It was amazing! The beach, snorkeling, warm weather, boat rides, sunsets and just being together! We are so blessed!

We did have some flight troubles getting there but we finally made it after a 24 hour delay in Manila. (The capital of the Philippines.) Thankfully, a good friend of mine is from there and she was able to help us trough our delay. And she met us for our night there and showed us around. Anyway, even with our flight issues, we had a fantastic time. It defiantly ranks towards the top of our list as far as vacations go. And we are planning on taking the boys there next year. Here are a few pictures. I took almost 200 but these are a few highlights.

Sitting on the beach in front of our resort looking to the right.

Looking to the left.

This is Crocodile Island. One of the days we rented a boat for just the 2 of us and went snorkeling and island hopping. This was one of the islands we went to. Awesome snorkeling here! Michael and I have snorkeled in Aruba before and thought that was great. But this was WAY better! Amazing corals and such beautiful marine animals. Wish we had a waterproof camera so we could have taken some underwater pics. :-(

Another of the islands we visited. This one has 2 caves we were able to explore. So beautiful!

In the entrance to one of the caves.

Michael in the other cave.

Back at the beach!

Ah, the sunsets were to die for! Just amazing!

I must have taken over 50 pictures of just the sunsets! They were just so beautiful!

Maddox is 4!

Hello out there to my blog readers...all 3 of you! :-) Sorry I have been so lousy with updates. We had a very busy, eventful, and quick summer over here. And China has this website permanently blocked so I keep having to find new ways to access it illegally. I'm such a law-breaker!!!

Anywho, Maddox turned 4 a couple weeks ago and we had a "FISH" themed party with good friends to celebrate. This year Michael and I decided to have the party at our apartment's clubhouse. Let me say it was totally worth the cost. Not having to prepare food (other than the cupcakes), pre-clean or post clean was awesome! And all the guests enjoyed the food buffet, the pools for swimming and the "beach." It worked out well with the theme too! Below are some pics.

The boys checking out the gift from Michael and I.

Gabe got some of this train set for Christmas last year and Maddox got the rest for his birthday. The boys love it! And so do I!

Making sand angels.

Before Maddox could blow out the candles the wind did it for him! His reaction was hilarious!!

Now he did it!

Eclipse

I was super excited to be on the side of the world where one could view the longest solar eclipse in the 21st century! Sadly, I was on the tail end of a 24 hours stomach virus but I knew I HAD to suck it up to see the eclipse!! So that morning the boys and I headed outside to watch a little piece of history transpire.

Needless to say it was amazing! And the boys thought it was awesome too! Here are some pictures of the boys watching the eclipse.

Yes, they are in my bathtub! We got outside to watch and within 2 minutes the sky clouded over and it started to rain. :-( So inside we went to watch on TV. But, all of our TV's get an illegal satellite from the Philippines and so there was no coverage. With the exception of my bathroom TV. So there is where we camped out. Maddox was convinced if he looked hard enough he would be able to "see the Sun melt away!"

A crestfallen Maddox finally gave up and decided to watch the it on TV.

This picture was taken at 9:46 am. Looks similar to the night time photo in the previous posts.

It was SO DARK!

Our View

This wonderful country that I live in has blocked several websites, Blogger being one of them. Thankfully, a wonderful friend of mine recently showed me a way around those walls.

There are a lot of things I could say but, it's late and I am tired. So instead I am going to post some pictures of our views from our new apartment. Unfortunately, the pictures do not do the views justice! We LOVE our new place!!!

DAY TIME VIEWS
This is the view from the master bedroom and our living room balcony. It's the Huangpu River. The boys NEVER get tired of watching and listening to the boats go by!

The Nanpu Dachao, or Nanpu Bridge over the river.


A "house boat" in the center of the picture.

"A big 'un!" -Maddox
We see boats of all sizes and shapes.


Rush hour.


A FEW RANDOM SHOTS
The wave pool and beach right outside our back door. Our weekend home away from home!

Gabe, Maddox & the window washer.

The boys in their new room and custom made bed. The ladder was being adjusted by the craftsman during this picture.

Gabe, Samuel & Maddox just chillin'.



NIGHT TIME VIEWS
The view of our side of the river's downtown. Half the downtown anyway. This is what we see out of our dining room window and the boys bedroom.

Huangpu River at night.


The river again. Nanpu Dachao (Nanpu Bridge)

Baobei Foundation

Hello All!! I hope things are going great for you where ever in the world you might be. We are blessed to say we have so many friends all over the world!

I wanted to introduce you all to our new friend Samuel. He was brought to Shanghai by a WONDERFUL organization called Baobei (check it out @ www.baobeifoundation.org) just days after birth because he was dying from several major medical conditions and had no one to care for him. Samuel has and continues to receive excellent care because of Baobei and the generous donation of one caring man. And now, we are excited to be providing a "Healing Home" for Samuel! After the Baobei babies are discharged from the hospital they are placed in homes to give them a continued to chance to heal. As you can see from the photos, he is thriving now and hopefully will continue to do so our care. Samuel has been with us for 4 days and will be with us until his is placed into his "Forever Home." Which could be for a couple months or maybe a year.



Samuel has the sweetest nature of any baby I have ever met! His "crying" is like 1/8 of the volume and intensity of our kids. He is content to lay or sit for hours and just look at his surroundings. For those who know us well, you will understand how unsettling this is for us after raising our boys! :-) We keep looking at Samuel and thinking there is something wrong with him. He is too quiet and happy. Haha! We would be glad to have Samuel with us no matter what his temperament, but having him be so content is a blessing.



Gabe & Maddox have adjusted amazingly to having Samuel here with us! They are so pleased to be helping Samuel. It touches my heart to see the tenderness and kindness they are pouring out on him. We are super excited about the opportunity to bless this little guys life. Yet, at the same time aware of all the needs he has and the concerns of providing a healing home. We trust that God will provide for us and for Samuel all that we require!

Formula 1, Shanghai Grand Prix

This past weekend Michael, Gabe and I (we decided it would be too much/too loud for Maddox) were treated with fantastic tickets to the Formula 1, Shanghai Grand Prix. Let me just say it was UNBELIEVABLE! I have a new passion!!! On Saturday Michael & Gabe went to the qualifications. Then on Sunday Michael and I went to the finals. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Gabe is infatuated with Formula 1 now as well as I. He has talked about nothing else since then!!! Formula 1 will be in Shanghai again later this summer and you can bet that we will be there!

We had spectacular seats. Dead center on the straightaway. Our seats were under an overhang which was helpful since it was raining on Sunday when Michael and I went. The rain made the racing even more exciting because of the slippery conditions. We saw so many cars sliding out of control which both terrified and enthralled me at the same time! When the cars came down the straightaway it was loud in a indescribable way. I could feel the vibrations all over my body especially in my ear drums. And that was with ear plugs in! I was worried that it might be unsettling to Gabe, all that noise. I should not have worried. He was in heaven. As was I!

Gabe was instantly enamored with the Ferrari's. Which was a smart choice considering the friends we were with were Italians. He also kept telling anyone who would listen that the McLaren cars were the "enemy cars." Hilarious! In the end it was a spectular weekend for the Red Bull team. Which Gabe says was, "Ok. If it couldn't be the Ferrari's then I am glad it was the Bulls. And NOT the 'Enemy's.'" Here are a few pictures.

Loving Formula 1!

Gabe leaning on our friend Paolo's shoulder...watching intently.

Michael & I.

Cars coming into the straightaway.

Easter Brings Good News

Hello all! We have had some great news come our way recently. We will be staying in Shanghai for another 12-15 months!!! We could not be happier!

This has been what we were hoping to hear for awhile now but only became a reality in the last few days. We are thankful that this process of deciding our future has been much quicker than it was last year. (Last year this process to 4 months to resolve!) We will be moving, though it will only be about 20-25 minutes from where we are now. We currently live in the "suburbs" and we will be moving to the downtown part of the city on this side of the river. Our new apartment on the 16th floor will host fantastic views of the river and a view of our favorite part of the city which is bursting with action! We are very much looking forward to our change of environment though we have really enjoyed our time in this neighborhood. And the friends we have made here. Thankfully we will still be close enough to maintain our connections.

Gabe will attend kindergarten next year at the same school as this year. Which he loves!!! And Maddox and I will continue to find lots of fun activities to do together next year as well. I have started to volunteer some of my time teaching English at a local government run school for migrant workers children. I LOVE doing this! It has been a totally unique experience for me and I can't wait to keep it up next fall.

Michael will no longer be working in Supplier Development. Instead he will be taking on a new role with the company. He is looking forward to this and the challenges it brings. Which are MANY! :-)

As you can tell, we are looking forward to having more time here in Shanghai. We miss our family and friends back in the States always but we feel blessed to have this opportunity! Consider this an open invitation to come and visit!!!!!

In other news: We had a fantastic Easter with great friends! It is such a blessing to be able to celebrate what this holiday means with close friends. Here are a few pictures from this weekend.
Top to bottom: Caleb Canfield, Gabe Smith, Maddox Smtih & Emma Canfiled

Gabe on an egg hunting mission!

"Oh maaaaaaan! Why did you fall silly egg?!?" Maddox

Our wonderful boys!