So after that mini-vacation in Hualian, Tony had to really hit the books - or hit the computer in the library as you do nowadays. Thankfully, Anna and Sharon go to the local seminary so he just tagged along with them to use the library resources. So while he was earnestly trying to pull together his thoughts and research on The Kingdom Of God for his New Testament paper (on which he got an A, or was it an A+ ?) I tried to keep the kids out of Anna and Sharon's worldly possessions by getting out of the apartment as much as I could. And thankfully I had a couple really good destinations to get to:
1) Tilly's 3rd Birthday party - Friday, June 11
Anna did a great job preparing a feast and providing fun for a houseload of toddlers... and gosh, it really helped having something specific to get out of the house for... and wow - what a special something!
There was a bit of a "Hungry Caterpillar" theme going on and the kids just looked so adorable in their little Eric Carle party hats!
Of course now that the majority of the kids are 3+ games are a hit at parties... and they all seemed to enjoy this version of a classic! Though Hunter preferred to look where he was aiming... not really catching the essence of the game - but hey - at least he likes to see where he's going.
and there was no way Mei Mei was sitting back to let the big kids have all the fun... she may have been the last one with a turn but she was determined to give it a go!!! You can tell she's really concentrating on this task - this is actually very typical of her personality - she's very focused and determined when it comes to the things she's interested in (aren't we all, though?).
And this little cutie wasn't going to just sit and watch either - Abram had fun mixing it up with the big kids too. That's why these second siblings are so good at everything, eh - they watch and learn!
And wow - Auntie Paula made an amazing birthday cake for little Tilly!!! It tasted as good as it looked! Well done!
It was like Playgroup/BSF all over again - what a treat to see so many of our friends again. Kelly and Karen were in my BSF discussion group too - I'm a bit jealous they all get to go back to BSF in September... that was a great way to study the Bible!
2) Torch Church Farewell Party - Saturday, June 12
Anna and Sharon pulled together about 30 people from church who we've known in various settings for our final official farewell party. We gathered in the church office around 2pm and played a hilarious game of "Clark Taboo" that Sharon created using Clark Family Trivia... it was pretty impressive that she knew so many little tidbits. Then we got to say a few words (I got to choke out a few in Chinese too). Younger and Anna also shared... actually, several people shared - it was really touching. And then Younger prayed for us in a bit of a re-sending back to NZ. We know that we have learned a lot here from Pastor Young and Enze Jie, as well as our other friends here. What a blessing it is being part of God's family - you can always find a home wherever you are in the world!!!
I was sorta preoccupied with the moment that I didn't get many good photos - though I know someone else was taking pictures, I'm just not sure how to access those... anyway, these are the memories that turn into overall positive feelings whenever I'll look back on those years in Taiwan.
3) Final Torch Church Service and One of the Last YUMMY Real Chinese Meals - Sunday, June 13
Pastor Young made some kind of announcement that we'd be available for pictures after church... oh brother... we could've dolled ourselves up a bit more for this... or at least picked a better backdrop... but anyway - it was fun to give hugs to a bunch of folks and say our good-byes.
When Helena squirms away from her favorite Sunday School teacher - you know she's had enough photos taken - honestly, she LOVED this guy! She always wanted him to hold her and funnily enough he was usually able to calm her down if I wasn't... can we ship him over?
Then two of our longest lasting church friends, Stephen and Felicity, took us (and several others) out to lunch after church.
And good friends Edu and Annie were able to enjoy the abundance as well - and rightfully so... we've been Sunday lunch buddies for quite a long time now. Sunday afternoons won't quite be the same.
4) American Club Lunch - Monday, June 14
With one day left to complete his assignment, Tony rushed out to the library again and thankfully I had planned with Christily and Suzanne to meet at the ACC for a little pre-birthday lunch to celebrate Lorelai. The kids had fun in the playroom (well, Hunter and Lorelai did while Michael, Helena and Eries hung with the moms) and we moms had almost uninterrupted conversations - almost.
Auntie Suzanne came bearing gifts for all the kids - so Helena scored some new dresses and a Chinese book which she still LOVES! And Hunter's got a couple new t-shirts which he can wear into the spring in NZ, plus some fun plane toys... thanks heaps, Auntie! Wow... way to plan ahead!!!
And yes, hard to believe but this would be the last hugs... Helena was giving them out freely, but Hunter's emotionally drained. For the past month or so, whenever we say "Hunter, give ____ a hug good-bye" or say good-bye or whatever... he just runs away saying "I'm tired, mom". Really, I believe him - I think he's tired of saying good-bye... I think he just got tired of the whole process - but not Mei mei - she was basking in the affection!!!
Since we knew we'd be participating in two triathlons during our American Vacation, we couldn't just slack off for a week - oh no - not the Clarks. But the weather was terrible, our time limited, the kids... well, we could have come up with heaps of excuses, but in the end - we did stay fit by doing some Jillian Michaels workouts. I even convinced Sharon to do it with me one night (doesn't take much convincing - Sharon's pretty keen to exercise or play). What a sight!!! Mind you it was June in Taipei - they had no air-con in their lounge - it was HOT and it was HUMID so we worked off more just because we sweated so much!!!
Tony was so inspired by us that he wanted to get his workout in too... but he found Sharon's hand weights to be too light... so he found an alternative:
CLASSIC!!!
Well, Tony finally finished his assignment and we said good-bye to Anna and Sharon on Tuesday, June 15 heading for LAX!!! Don't worry guys - we'll be back!!!
.JPG)