Friday, February 20, 2009

Our future Apartment! --before pictures


Since our last apartment fell through, we have been actively searching out others! And I have quite enjoyed riding around in STYLE in our search! We knew the Lord caused the other place to fall through because He knew of a reason outside of our knowledge that it was not the best place for us. We are grateful for His intervention, and we are excited that He has led us to THIS SPOT!

Yesterday Joey got off work a little early, so he was doing some searching on his own while I finished up my work for the day. When we met up that evening he was SO excited about a place that he had found! So he brought me to see it today. This place is in a newer/nicer compound than we were looking at before, has a nice grassy park area right in front, and is about a 10 minute walk to a very big mall/shopping/grocery store area. This place has absolutely NO furniture or appliances in it! (That's practically unheard of here in China, where all apartments come already furnished.) It's all freshly painted and quite new-looking.

The landlord is wanting to furnish it, so Joey and I spent an evening surfing the IKEA CHINA website and picking our our furniture! We weren't sure how his response to that would be, but he thoroughly looked through our photos, and is going to be continuing to work with us as we fill our home with furniture (at their expense!) So fun. :)

Here is a sneak peek at our future home!


The kitchen (long and narrow, no appliances yet, but a nice area to the left of this photo where we can add shelves to make a walk-in pantry!


The front door and the dining-area. This table will be removed replaced. The door to the left goes into the kitchen. If you look forward from the front door, you see into the living room. We love all the little lights set into the ceiling, there are also lights in the drop-down area of the ceiling that shine up! And we like the kitchen floor! A light beige trimmed in a dark marble-look tile.



Here is the living room, with the balcony coming off the front:


And one side of the living room...this corner will one day have our L-shaped couch!


Here is the spare bedroom/study! This corner will someday have a desk/bookshelf in it!




And here is the Master Bedroom:


And, of course, the bathroom.


So...there is our little picture-tour of our first home! We are meeting the landlord tonight to start to pick out furniture, then they will start to move it in/get it set up for us, as well as install the appliances/air/heat, etc to have it ready for me (Nica) to move in on March 1st!)


Here is a photo of our building. We are on the 4th floor.




And there are even some little palm trees scattered throughout the complex...haha


So, there you have it! Looking forward to keeping you updated on this place as it continues to develop! We are so excited at what the Lord is going to do in this place as we prepare to set up our first home! Thanks for your prayers!!! :)

Joe'n'Nica








Monday, February 16, 2009

Praying for our apartment!

The last couple of weeks have been spent looking for an apartment, praying about where the Lord would have our first home to be after the wedding! It's so exciting to think about! I look forward to living there and starting to set it up...do the girl thing and turn it into a home.

Things in China are a little different, though...apartments come furnished! We didn't like the bedroom furniture in the place we picked out, but he said he'd take it out for us and we could buy our own. We were excited to buy our own bedroom set after the wedding!

So, when we showed up tonight to make a final walk-through of the apartment, put the cash down, and sign the contract, we were a little surprised to hear that the landlord expected us to keep the furniture there after the wedding! It was an honest mis-understanding, filled with differnce in cultures being the barrier, but we walked out on our apartment tonight, wondering if the Lord may have another one for us somewhere.

I guess we'll see! Pray the Lord makes it clear to us!
Here is Joe...counting out the cash...right before we put it all promptly back in our pockets and walked away.
And here we are at Ikea where we went to price out bedroom furniture and get cheap hotdogs to make us feel better.
I'll keep you posted on how the apartment seach continues!
THANKS to Daniel and Lizzy for letting me stay with them till I get my own place!!! :)

Shanghai Christian Fellowship

I have been LOVING getting to know people from this amazing church family here in Shanghai!
I have taken some photos of the building, but the real church is the people. We have powerful times of worship, sharing, and prayer together in church AND in small groups. (We have a GREAT small group! I'm so glad to get plugged into one so quickly here!)
It is incredible to worship with people from ALL around the world! There is a dynamite group of Christian young people here. And I'm loving getting to know them!
This is the view of the church from across the street:

And right up close. I love the vines that grow all over the building. It's so beautiful and old! I can't wait to see what it looks like in the spring!

The front:
The back:
But, of course, this is the real church:


Okay, er, maybe not the actual restaurant...but the people that gather inSIDE of it!

Sunday we had a wedding reception at the Blue Frog for Andy and Katina, friends of ours who just got married in January in California. We're so glad they're staying here in China with us! They're a lot of fun. Congratulations, you guys! :)


Me and Katina trying to fit our MASSIVE burgers in our teeny mouths. haha
Great people, great times. I'm meeting so many new people...even joined the Easter choir! Loving church and new friends and family...but still miss you all back home. My dear North Park gang...wish you could join me here!
It's cool, though, that we're all connected in one Body...no matter where we are in the world.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Valentine's Day--the way it should be

Valentine's Day...also known as National Single Awareness Day (at least for me, it was!)... usually was always a special time of year for me as I celebrate all the amazing ways the Lord has demonstrated His love towards me. This Valentine's Day was no different in that way...except I was able to feel His love THROUGH someone! My amazing gift. My Joey. My Valentine.
Wow, I am SO LUCKY to have him!!!
What do you give someone who means the world to you? Nothing in this world quite seems suitable. But, since flowers and beautiful dinners are the tradition, I hunted all over for guy-ish flowers (why not? :)) and had a nice brunch made for him when he came back from teaching.
He also surprised me with an incredible arrangement of roses. (Daddy...he's doing his job SO well. ;) You have set the bar for him...I'll never forget how you sent flowers to me every year on Valentine's Day, no matter where I was in the world. I love you!)
For dinner that evening Joe found an inCREDible Mediterranian restaurant (Casa 13) that was set back apart from the rest of the busy city, in a beautiful old house that was renovated into a VERY elegant restaurant. THIS is what Valentine's Day night is supposed to be like! :) Joey's making it WELL worth the wait. :D
By the end of Valentine's Day, my heart was SO full, I owned more roses than I ever had at one time, I had a beautiful box of chocolates with my name on it, and the most amazing guy that just loves treating ME like a queen. How do I ever start to count my blessings this year?

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Cooked Cucumbers? and other culture shocks.

The last couple of days have been spent apartment shopping, working, and getting to know the quirks of a new country! Joe says he will learn so much more about the culture and the language with me being here.
- What is the Chinese word for boullion?
- How do you say, "Do you have any trouser socks?"
- Why does Carrefour (our local supermarket) play that SAME annoying song over and OVER?
- Why do they make Stinky Tofu (yes, that's it's name!) on EVERY street corner??? UGH. GAG.
- Why does the gas stove POOF at me every time I turn it on? Makes me jump every time!
- "Hun, I meant cucumbers would go good WITH the soup...not IN the soup!" "But that's what they do here in China...!" lol

SO many questions.
- Well, it LOOKS like lettuce.


I hung my laundry on the balcony to dry today! I was a little embarrassed b/c the big mall is right across the road and if people looked up high enough, they're going to see my, er, clothes hanging out to dry! There was a nice breeze today...what if one of my 12 Days of Christmases lands on some poor taxi driver's windshield???



Most of my week has been spent working...just like normal. BUT evenings are spent with JOE! >grin< It's so fun having adventures at Carrefour trying to decide what to make for dinner, cooking together, and then enjoying the great weather while walking around my new neighborhood, touring apartments, and having Joe explain all of the street vendors and their wares to me. SO much to LEARN!!!

We have also enjoyed spending time with friends! We so appreciate Daniel and Lizzy! We had dinner with them a couple of evenings ago...nothing but laughs and great stories! We always leave their home feeling so encouraged--and so well-fed! Lizzy's a great cook. I can't wait to have them into our home someday!




Lizzy and I are meeting for lunch and going shopping tomorrow! Since their wedding was just in November, she'll have plenty of ideas for me, I'm sure!
Thanks for popping in to read our blog...we love and miss you all!




Friday, February 6, 2009