Lauren's First Communion

On Sunday, Lauren made her First Communion at the South Cathedral here in Beijing. She was proud! After the kids went up to Communion, you could see all of them asking each other how it tasted. It was cute. We gave her a silver cross necklace before Church and she loved it. The Church gave them a picture of Mary and Jesus (Chinese), a rosary, and wall cross. They were all really nice! Lauren got to take up the Gifts.
Marshall even made it through Mass pretty well, which is amazing since we were there from 3:00-5:30. After the Mass, we let Lauren pick where she wanted to eat and she picked TGI Fridays, so we went there for dinner.
It was a great day!

Marshall's 5th birthday party

On Sunday, we had Marshall's kids party with about 16 kids from his class. Everyone seemed to have a good time and it was a good party. We ordered pizza and had snacks as well as a Scooby doo cake. Marshall had a really fun day and loved the bouncer we rented. Next week is Lauren's First Communion, so I will be posting some of those pictures then.

Pictures

It's been a busy few weeks here lately, and I think it is going to stay like that. Marshall turned 5 on April 15th and we had a little party with just the 4 of us. We are having a kids party on Sunday, he is more than a little excited. We rented a bouncer and are having it here at our house. This weekend we also have Lauren's First Communion practice and party, and next weekend she makes her First Communion.
We can't wait until Ryan, Morgan and Brad come in May to visit. We are going to have so much fun, and Lauren is so happy you will be here during her Birthday. Before we know it, we are going to be back in the US for the summer!
We are also having some work done here, so there is a steady stream or workers in and out of the house. They are trying to fix a leaky and moldy bathroom and expanding the outside patio. I have a feeling it may take a LONG time. They are moving at a pretty slow pace.
Not too much else is new, I finished my Chinese classes (120 hours) and I still feel like I know hardly any Chinese. I guess I can understand simple things if they speak slowly. I am about the level of a 2 year old, I think, with little hope of progressing. Oh well!
I put some pictures up from Easter where the kids went to an Easter Egg hunt at the school and from the day we went to the Summer Palace here in Beijing, the week before. The weather has been great here, 70's and 80's last week, but the air has been pretty bad. The kids have had to have indoor recess alot lately. We plan on spending alot of time outside this summer to clear out our lungs (I think Leslie and Ella will be up for that, right?)
Take care everyone, we miss you!