Give Thanks

I have two reasons for this post. The first is better than the second.

First. Matt and I have been making a concerted effort to give thanks. We are commanded by scripture to be thankful for He is good (1 Chronicles 16:34). The Lord is the giver of all good things and we are the recipients of so many! How can we not be thankful! We participated in a goal setting workshop at our church given by the leaders of Thrive, the marriage ministry we serve in. They mentioned that they have a thankful journal that they write in weekly and review as a family. We loved the idea and immediately stole it! Thanks Ryan and Chiara! When Matt and I talked about starting this habit in our marriage I immediately got excited. Something creative! I ran out to find the perfect journal and the Lord blessed my efforts. This cute black journal was on clearance at Target for $2.50! I used whatever crafty things I had to make a label and so I present Our Thankful Journal! It sits on a chair on the way up our stairs with a pen, ready to be written in and help us set out mind on things above. Oh - I'm going to go write that I'm thankful for whoever reads this blog!

Second. I started a photography class! It has been kind of interesting. A friend in the class with me described our teacher perfectly. "He is an oversharer" she said. And she is right. He shares a lot of stories. Sometimes more than he teaches if you know what I mean. But, I still feel like I'm learning more about my camera. So when taking the picture above I used the AV setting with a 4.5 F stop to make the background blurry and the subject in focus. Does it sound like I know what I'm talking about?!?!? I don't. Because when I was loading it onto the computer and saw the picture big I became confused. Why does my many megapixel camera look like it took a grainy picture? Oh no, did I do something wrong. Then I remembered...I changed the ISO to 1600 during class and he said if we did that the picture would look grainy if blown up. Yea! I am learning. Don't ask me why a 1600 ISO makes a picture grainy..it just does. And I understand if you don't want me to take a family photo that you intend to enlarge and hang over your fireplace.

Ni Hao!

That means hello in Chinese. ONE of TWO words we picked up while traveling. Hard to believe that after 8 days in a foreign country I would only pick up two words - but nothing sounds the same in Chinese! In fact, I'm pretty sure that the whole time we were there no one ever repeated a word. Right? That has to be the reason I didn't learn more!

Well, anyway. I learned a few things while wandering through mainland China.

1. The US is known as "Beautiful Country" to the Chinese.

2. Every Emperor that ruled over China was crazy (my own conclusion). Especially the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. He constructed an army of over 8,000 terra cotta warriors to guard him in his afterlife. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army

I'm telling you - he was crazy! But cool for all of us to see! These warriors are over 2,000 years old and were just discovered in the 70's by a local farmer. Oh, the farmer was at the museum to sign books and stuff. He became a celebrity overnight and now he sits at a table at the museum all day. He wasn't posing for pictures though...bummer.

3. I have an appreciation for Chinese calligraphy. It is a beautiful art.

4. If you don't speak the language they send you to the worst table in the restaurant. Matt and I arrived about 10 minutes before some of our friends and tried to tell the hostess we needed a table for 6 (remember we only know TWO words - so this involved a lot of hand motions, pretty funny if you picture it)! They took us up a flight of stairs, past the kitchen (which I deliberately did not look at for fear I wouldn't want to eat), up another flight of stairs and sat us at a small table in a very drafty room. Once our friends arrived, our treasured Chinese speaker let them know right away we wanted another table. In minutes we were down the stairs, past the kitchen and seated at a nice big table in the warm restaurant. Hummm....

5. In China, all prices are negotiable and up for bargaining except cars. Here, cars are one of the few items we bargain for. Funny.

6. I have an aversion to loudly clearing your throat and spitting what you just cleared anywhere you please. Especially if it is near the vegetables in the market I'm shopping in.

7. When you step into a taxi you are saying "I understand completely that I am putting my life at risk and that you do not follow basic rules of the road, such as lines and lights. Pedestrians and bicycle riders are just obstacles in the road and may or may not be hit by this taxi."

Traveling in another country is a funny thing and I'll admit that I'm not good at it. I get uncomfortable quickly, immediately nauseous at the inevitable strange smells, and confused by the language. BUT...traveling in a foreign country with Matthew is fun! He never feels uncomfortable, can stomach the smells and tries hard to learn the language. He learned to bargain with the best of them, communicate with the taxi drivers and navigate the streets and eateries of Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an. I loved our trip because we were together.

Here are some pictures to commemorate. Notice how cold we look... well, we were! It was freezing! Click on the link and it will take you to our online album.

http://gallery.me.com/mattpoladian#100494

Cade has arrived!!

The day after I left to join Matt in China, Cade Jeffrey Matthews arrived!! I was so sad to miss his big day, but thanks to cell phones we were kept up-to-date and saw pictures shortly after his arrival. He is super stinkin' cute and melted our hearts the minute we saw him. We love the little guy and are excited to see him grow. Some pictures below!

The Matthews Family with the new edition

Cade

Daddy, Mommy, Auntie Jenny, Cade and Uncle Matt

(Cade was our first stop when we were fresh off the plane!)

Cade Jeffrey Matthews

6 lbs 7 oz ~ 19 3/4 in ~ Dec 16, 2009

Perfect!

Our Pastor wrote this excerpt this week and I loved how it summed up the meaning of Christmas! I wanted to share it with you! Merry Christmas!!

God's Christmas Plan - Christmas was required in God’s plan because the righteous life he requires was not attained by Adam or any of his fallen descendants. God, prompted by grace, chose to fulfill the holy human standard himself. The incarnate Deity chose to live the life we should have lived – the perfect childhood, the spotless teenage years and the righteous adult life. Had we been able to present to the Father the righteous life he requires so that we could perfectly enjoy his presence and his presents, God would not have needed to become a man and live among us. But we couldn’t, so he did. Were it only our sins that needed a payment, Christ could have arrived on the day of his crucifixion. But our deficiencies were more than our acts of transgression (doing the things we shouldn’t do), our problems included the “falling short of his glory” (failing to do the things we should do). It is with gratitude that we celebrate his advent as an infant, because we know that as our sins were atoned for on the cross, so it was that all our human deficits began to be rectified by one perfectly-lived life starting that very night in Bethlehem.

Tennessee, Two Thanksgivings, Turkey, Trees, Twilight...

I was trying to come up with as many Ts as possible for my title. We were blessed to have two Thanksgivings this year. My Mom moved the holiday up a few days and did the whole deal. It was such fun to spend time with family and end with the traditional movie. Most years the kids and Dads would go see the new James Bond movie, but this year there was no JB....not to worry! We switched it up and all the girls went to see New Moon. This was my first introduction to the Twilight series. I wasn't totally lost in the movie, probably because I had a die hard fan sitting next to me. Thanks Katie for talking me through it! I still have no desire to read the books, but it was definitely a fun evening. You can see prego Melissa in the picture. We hope Cade comes soon!!

Then we took off with the Poladians. Tennessee was an absolute blast. We enjoyed hiking, LOTS of food, a bike ride, hours of reading, fire places, games, hot chocolate and apple cider. There is something wonderfully endearing about the South. The accent and hospitality were just as I expected. Life was slower, properties were spread out and everyone was ready with a story. Appealing.

Here is the link to our pictures if you would like to take a look.

http://gallery.me.com/mattpoladian#100488

Birthdays and Bellies

It is always fun celebrating birthdays! This year was no exception. My Mom and Dad decided to go to Disneyland to culminate another year of life. Melissa and Eric drove down with them, came to Irvine to spend the day with us and then we all met up for dinner at Downtown Disney. I think one of the reasons I anticipate birthdays is because I really enjoy wrapping presents! My love language is gift giving and it extends to the presentation. This was my mom's present this year - a red, black and white theme. Her gift was an adorable red apron and white baking dish from Crate and Barrel. Brown paper is the perfect starting point. From there the ribbon, topper, card make a gift unique. So fun!

Here's to another one Mama! I admire your kind heart, generosity and huge capacity to love. You are a treasure on this side of eternity.

While Melissa and Eric were down here and we were waiting to go to dinner we decided to put my camera to work. We shot photos all afternoon. They were troopers to put up with my lack of knowledge and very complementary of the final products. Anyone out there who could show me a thing or two about a Canon Xsi?? I would love it! I need some major instructing. Never-the-less, we had a great time and there is at least one good one to commemorate Melissa's first pregnancy and the Matthews' first child. We love you Cade and can't wait to meet you. Below are a few of my favorites. I'll let Miss show you the rest.

Order has been shipped...

Hum? I didn't order anything from Amazon. What are they shipping me?

I scrolled down a little farther and saw I was receiving a wall map of China!! My really thoughtful husband wanted us to learn the lay of the land before we travel 13 hours to the country. He put it up and marked the spots we will hit on our trip in just a month and a half! So now we are a little more acquainted with the territory and others who visit our home in Palo Verde will be too!

Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an are marked with red

and China with surrounding countries