Blog Feed: the peterson family

Sydney Loses A Tooth

Published on 2012-05-15 06:04:00

So last week I didn’t get to mention some little news from our big girl Sydney. She lost her first tooth! I would say it was a few weeks ago that Sydney first started to complain about “something” behind her front bottom tooth. I told her it was probably food or something and to not worry about it. Later when Sydney complained again about “something” behind her tooth, Heather (the loving and caring parent of our duo), discovered that Sydney had a new tooth coming in with the baby one s [..] > read more

Our Time At The Hot Springs In China

Published on 2012-05-07 02:22:00

Like I said yesterday, Heather started to feel sick with a bug by the second day of our trip and spent most of the time in our room. That same day the girls and I went with a bunch of our friends to a hot springs near the hotel. We got there in the first van load and after spending ten or so minutes working out the cost I headed into the changing room. I had my board shorts on and was ready to conquer the hot springs, but was greeted by an employee who told me I needed to wear different shorts. [..] > read more

Our Time Near The Mountains

Published on 2012-05-05 22:22:00

Well a lot has happened this past week. So please allow me a minute to catch you up.If you remember last year we got to met with some of our friends in Xining and had an incredible time (minus our trip home!) Well this year some friends of ours came to Xian for a little get together. So this past Tuesday our family (minus Sammie and Ellie) headed to a hotel near the mountains for a special time together. We are incredibly blessed to have some good friends here (Rick and Cheryl) who took care of [..] > read more

Nails and Blazers

Published on 2012-04-30 19:41:00

If you missed it the other day I shared an update on our family. But this is what people really want, pictures. I hope that you enjoy them!"I left to run some errands when I got home the girls ran to me to show me how mommy had painted them." > read more

Ultrasound Ultra-Success!

Published on 2012-04-27 09:57:00

A couple weeks ago Heather went to get an ultrasound and the experience was horrible. The lines were long and she waited forever to see the doctor. When she finally did see him he took a full 3 seconds to tell Heather she hadn’t drank enough water and to go. Heather was disappointed (luckily Sydney was with her and comforted her.) A little after that experience a friend of ours here told Heather that the hospital across the street from us could give her an ultrasound. So this week both Heather [..] > read more

Are You Interested?

Published on 2012-04-24 08:49:00

So I've been slacking on the blog lately. I'm sorry.I wanted to invite you to 'talk to the Father' for our work here. I wrote an email to a group of people and would like to do so each month. Let me know if you're interested in the work we're doing (or if you just have a heart for China) and how to 'talk to the Father' for us. I would love to add you to our email list.much love,the petersonsSend me your email address if you're interested in lifting us up. > read more

The Kids and Life Lately

Published on 2012-04-20 06:50:00

Caleb has gonefrom hardly being able to crawl only a couple months ago to climbing up, on, andover everything in sight. He is an explorer right now and keeps us chasing himaround. It’s so cute too, because he’s starting to say some simple words and inChinese! He will say things like “bu”, which is “no” in Chinese and "bu yao" which is "I don't want it". He also says "Shoes" and "Please" in English.Ellie’s Englishis really coming along. I can’t believe how much she can say and how [..] > read more

I'm Going To Write A Book

Published on 2012-04-18 08:30:00

"Lily Hope China Flower."So I’m going to write a book about Lily. Ok, so it will be an eBook, but I'm almost positive that the 'e' stands for entertaining.The purpose of the book will be to tell the story of Lily joining our family and how it's been. > read more

Fun Video Of Caine's Arcade

Published on 2012-04-16 09:40:00

Probably one of the cooler videos I've seen in a while. Super creative and very touching. Enjoy! > read more

A Look Back At Our Easter

Published on 2012-04-15 08:41:00

I know it was Easter last week, but I forgot to post pictures. We had a fun Easter egg hunt in front of our apartment building with a couple other families. (Quite different than last year's Easter hunt.) Then we had a birthday party for our friend's > read more

Grocery Shopping In China

Published on 2012-04-14 09:20:00

So when I go grocery shopping I either ride my motorcycle (electric motorcycle to everyone not named Matt Peterson) or I take the double stroller.This is the same stroller that made people probably think I was crazy. Anyways, after coming home the other week I thought it would be nice to show you a little taste of life in China.More pictures of China are here.much love,the petersons > read more

Little Fish Opens Its Office!

Published on 2012-04-12 08:44:00

Hi everyone! How are you? I hope well.The Little Fish office has been open now for a little bit and I wanted to share some photos with you. This is a project that is near to my heart and one that many of you contributed to earlier this year. Ethan (the leader of the Little Fish project) wanted to make sure and say thank you to all of you for your support. He also caught me up on their work. They had three orphans move in when the office first opened. Living on their own is a completely new situa [..] > read more

Things We Can Learn From Kids Movies

Published on 2012-04-11 08:41:00

So I mentioned the other week that we had a kung fu party after we watch Kung Fu Panda 2. Well for the past few weeks I’ve had a post idea half completed about some things I’ve learned from Kung Fu Panda 2. But first you need to know this. For the longest time in the back of my mind I thought that it was terrible that Lily’s parents abandoned her.Makes sense, right?Well recently I’ve been thinking of a different scenario. If you remember, in Kung Fu Panda 2, Po’s parents leave him [..] > read more

Why I'm A Jerk

Published on 2012-04-10 08:43:00

"A jerk if I've ever seen one."(Some of you already know why I'm a jerk. This is just one more example of why.)Our whole family got on the subway after a fun lunch date at Burger King. The subway wasn’t incredibly packed, which was good. Throughout our trip home our family all ended up getting seats (with me standing next to them holding the stroller with the boys). The only thing that was wrong with the picture was that a man sat in the middle of our family separating Ellie, Aubrey, Caleb, Sa [..] > read more

Pictures From Our Time At Aquarium in Xian China

Published on 2012-04-09 06:59:00

The other day our family went to the aquarium here in Xian, China. We left Ellie and Sammie with a babysitter so we could go, because there's no way we could have all gone (Also, we heard that there a lot of stairs and that strollers weren't very > read more

10 Questions And Answers About Foster Care

Published on 2012-04-08 07:30:00

"Our sweet Lily."I want to continue my lists of ten with some questions a friend recently asked me about foster care. I put together the questions and answers and I hope that they can help/serve you. If you have more questions feel free to comment below.1. How and why did you start fostering? > read more

Happy Birthday Ellie and Sammie!

Published on 2012-04-07 06:59:00

Hi everyone! Ellie and Sammie's > read more

Teaching English in China

Published on 2012-04-06 08:25:00

So I've been teaching English on the weekends for the past year. It's been a good run and I wanted to put some funny stories together for you.First off, many Chinese people who are studying English have the worst English names. It makes me laugh to think of some of them, I will miss the following students; Purple, Garden, King, Nemo, Rain, Rainy, Sky, Star, Boson (no idea what this is or means), Dress (who's name was actually Joyce, but I called her 'Dress' for probably 4-5 months). I also won't [..] > read more

Questions And Answers

Published on 2012-04-05 08:47:00

First off, youwant your blog audience to trust you. So I’m sorry I said I would post thisyesterday and didn’t. It was my plan to do it, but yesterday was a busy day andby the time I realized I hadn’t made good on my promise I was already too tiredto write a post. My apologies.Here are someanswers to questions I’m sure some of you have. If you have more questionsplease comment below and I will answer them.When are youdue?According to theChinese Farmer’s Almanac Heather will be having th [..] > read more

Heather's Pregnant!

Published on 2012-04-03 08:37:00

Look at what we have. > read more

10 GREAT Things About Big Families

Published on 2012-04-02 08:22:00

"This is us before we knew the > read more

The Worst Kid's Haircut Story Ever!

Published on 2012-04-01 05:06:00

The other day Heather was resting on the couch, the boys were playing, I was on the computer and > read more

Places To Eat In Xian China

Published on 2012-03-31 09:33:00

When I was on that walk with Ellie and Sammie the other day. I also snapped a bunch of pictures of places to eat around Xian. So here's a bunch of western places to eat at. Enjoy!"I doubt any of you have seen this coffee shop. > read more

The Best Marriage Advice

Published on 2012-03-30 09:49:00

The best marriage advice I evergot. > read more

Pictures From Our Walk Around Xian China

Published on 2012-03-29 06:53:00

I posted pictures recently of > read more

What Would You Do If You Were Boss

Published on 2012-03-28 08:22:00

"What would you do if you were boss?"I would start bysaying close your eyes, but then my soothing voice would go away. > read more

10 Motivational Quotes For Your Monday

Published on 2012-03-26 08:55:00

Everyone loves quotes. > read more

Aubrey's Fourth Birthday

Published on 2012-03-25 07:24:00

It's Aubrey's Birthday! > read more

Where Does Generosity Come From

Published on 2012-03-24 07:43:00

It doesn’tmatter how much you have in your wallet. > read more

3000 Friends For Gus Fundraiser

Published on 2012-03-23 08:50:00

I’ve been absolutelyblown away by the generosity of this community in the past. > read more

Kids Kung Fu Night

Published on 2012-03-22 08:49:00

"I used this to help win my award."It’s been manymoons since our last dance party. > read more

Tons Of Photos Of China

Published on 2012-03-20 04:30:00

I took a trip with my friend > read more

Funny Childhood Memories - Socks

Published on 2012-03-19 05:31:00

"A stack of socks. > read more

Pictures At The Park

Published on 2012-03-18 05:22:00

I mentioned in a post earlier this week that we got the girls scooters. > read more

Pictures Of Life In China

Published on 2012-03-17 09:06:00

A couple weeks ago I went out with nothing but a camera and couple of kids. > read more

The Truth About HIV/AIDS

Published on 2012-03-16 06:21:00

Hi Everyone!Here's a really good video made by Project Hopeful. > read more

What Do You See As Holy?

Published on 2012-03-13 22:54:00

"One place to find rest, coffee and a book."I was readingfrom this book recently, you might know it, and in it God calls the Sabbath a holy day. You know, the day that God chose to rest andthe day that He tells us to rest on; He calls holy. I can tell you that, honestly, I’ve neverreally valued rest and I’ve certainly never viewed it as holy.But here it is, in the Bible, being calledholy.The truth is that I’m influencedby some deep unhealthy need; to do, to produce, to achieve and that� [..] > read more

We Are Grafted In Re-Post - Surrounded

Published on 2012-03-13 09:23:00

(This post was originally a guest blog post on the website We Are Grafted In. I wanted to re-post it here for those who didn't get a chance to see it and because I enjoyed how it turned out. If you know of any blogs looking for a guest blog post let me know.)SurroundedAs I write this I’m surrounded by kids. Half of them are Chinese orphans that are HIV+. Half of them are a combination of my wife and me; and all of us living in China. How we got to this place goes a little like this. My wife [..] > read more

Spring In China and A Winner For Our Giveaway

Published on 2012-03-12 08:49:00

So this pastweek I (Matt) had to make a trip to Beijing to renew my passport. You have to renew your passport every ten years and my time was nearly up. It wasa good trip. As I mentioned last month anew family (Jeremy, Lauren and their kids) moved to Xian and actually they movedin upstairs from us in our building. It’sbeen such a blessing to get to know them. Jeremy came with me to Beijing so that he could pick some stuff up fromIKEA. It was a good trip getting to knowJeremy a bit more, t [..] > read more

Fun Pictures And A Couch Eats Sammie

Published on 2012-03-11 07:26:00

Here are some fun pictures from a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, yesterday, Sammie was eaten by our couch. I hope you smile, I hope you laugh, and I hope you have a wonderful day."I asked Sydney to make the saddest face she could. This was it.""Ellie wearing a new fuzzy hat.""The girls outside gathered around a hole they were digging. Soon afterwards they tried to plant something in the hole. And after a little persuasion I agreed to pour some water on whatever it was they were planting."" [..] > read more

Ten Things I Did In The Past Ten Years

Published on 2012-03-10 05:52:00

Last week I was in Beijing to renew my passport, because it’s going to expire. It’s been ten years since I got it; prettycrazy to think of how fast time goes. As I thought about the fact that it’s been a full ten years since I hadto last do this, I had the thought of taking a moment to reflect on my past tenyears. Here are ten things I did in thepast ten years.*Left it all… Nearly ten years ago I had the realizationthat my work wasn’t fulfilling me. Thatthere was something else ou [..] > read more

Guest Post and a Giveaway

Published on 2012-03-09 05:41:00

I had thewonderful privilege of writing a guest post for a website called We Are Grafted In. It’s a really cool website that isfocused on adoption. If you would liketo read my post, click here.And I want tomake sure that everyone has a chance to participate in our giveaway that westarted yesterday. If you have a secondcome and comment on this post and you will be entered to win!Have a wonderfulday!much love,the petersons > read more

Free Giveaway Chinese Bookmarks

Published on 2012-03-08 04:15:00

I've never done this before, but I wanna give it a shot. So this is our first ever Giveaway! I bought these bookmarks that are super cool down in the market a few months back. They are handmade ink drawings that are really interesting and reflective of China and Chinese culture. I have 5 (all different designs) that I would like to give away, so you can keep one and give the rest away to friends or family.If you where to buy these on your own it would cost you nearly $1500 (including round-tr [..] > read more

What You Can't Catch HIV/AIDS From...

Published on 2012-03-05 17:00:00

I wrote a post the other week about how you can't transmit HIV/AIDS from sharing a spoon. I came across this poster a while ago and it's helped me learn more about this disease. Check it out:If you have a moral objection to posters, or just can't read it, here's what it says:You can't catch AIDS from...Cups, Glasses, Cutlery, Towels, Toilet Seats, Mosquitoes, Shaking Hands, Giving Blood, Kissing.You cannot catch the AIDS virus by touching an infected person. The virus is not passed on through [..] > read more

8 Funny, Cute and Embarrassing Stories

Published on 2012-03-01 20:35:00

It was raining yesterdayin Xian as I wrote this. Maybe it’sraining where you are. Maybe you need alittle smile. Here are 8 stories thatare funny, cute or embarrassing to brighten your day. I usually add one or two of these stories toour family updates, but it's been a while since I have. That’s why there’s so many. Anyways, I hope they bring a smile to yourface.*A few days ago Heather was playing with Aubrey. At onepoint Heather asked Aubrey “Who loves you?” and Aubrey answered [..] > read more

10 Things I Like About Living In China

Published on 2012-03-01 07:32:00

We moved toChina in 2008 and have learned a lot about China and ourselves. Here is a list of 10 things I like about living in China.The cost of living - Everything is cheaper here and that justmakes life easier. Food, housing,utilities, phones, even a bottle of Coke is less and at times significantlyless than it would cost in the States. I’mvery grateful for this.Good people - China is full of really good, sincere, nicepeople. When we moved here we were so dependenton others for everything [..] > read more

How To Make Your Kid’s Day

Published on 2012-02-29 05:52:00

I was remindedof some advice today and I want to share it with you. Practicing this advice is one way to make your kid’s day (and maybe a lot more). Here it is; encourage your children. Seems obvious right? Well I also heard that we criticize our kids,on average, 10 times more than we encourage them. So I guess it’s not that obvious or at leastnot that easy.I was remindedof this, because the past few days with our little Sammie have been tough. He’s been whiney, needy, and clingy (an [..] > read more

The Kids And Genghis Khan

Published on 2012-02-28 03:00:00

Hi Everyone! Well here are a few photos from this past week. Enjoy!"Looks like her mama.""Aubrey enjoying some Starburst jellybeans that our friend Chris brought over. You can tell Heather wasn't here this week, because Aubrey is still wearing some of her last snack/meal on her face.""Ellie "cutting" her hair. Luckily these scissors are plastic and not real like when Aubrey did this. Yikes!""This is how I picture Genghis Khan as he rode around conquering Asia.""Ellie Mei in her big ole hat." [..] > read more

How Our Last Days Have Been

Published on 2012-02-25 19:00:00

Well we’re inthe last day of our five days without Heather. We’ve had some ups and some downs. First off, I’m continually grateful for the community of friends we havehere in Xian. Seriously, we couldn’tcare for all these kids without their love and support.I’ve mentionedin the past how people have reached out to help us and this week we saw somemore of that. Wednesday night a couplefriends came over with one of their sons and brought with them dinner. They let me sneak out for a fe [..] > read more

101 Ideas To Blog About

Published on 2012-02-24 03:32:00

Here’s a list of 101 ideas for you toblog about. There are times when it canbe tough to find something to write about; so I hope this list helps. Share it, bookmark it, and come back to itanytime you need inspiration or an idea to blog about (I know I will.) Hope you enjoy!1. Your favorite place to blog/write2. Your favorite vacation3. One social issue that is important to you. Inform us!4. Write a review of your favorite blog5. Write a book review6. The most impactful book you’ve read7. [..] > read more

Why Should I Start A Blog

Published on 2012-02-22 21:16:00

Why should I start a blog? Here is a quote and a thought about blogging/writing. The quote goes like this:"Writing doesn't just communicate ideas; it generatesthem. If you're bad at writing and don't like to do it, you'll miss out on mostof the ideas writing would have generated." -Paul GrahamThe thought goes like this:Many times I try and convince people around me to blog. It's not because I will get something from them doing it. It's because I've so enjoyed all the things that have come fr [..] > read more

20 Questions

Published on 2012-02-21 22:19:00

20 questions I’mpondering with my wife being in Beijing for the next five days:1. What are thelong-term consequences (and benefits) of an all grilled cheese diet for fivedays?2. Can I land on hoardersafter only five days of not cleaning the house, washing the dishes and notdoing laundry?3. What’s the Guinnessbook of world records record for largest blanket fort? 4. And do I need toborrow some blankets from Mr. Gao from across the hallway to beat that record?5. How many nightsshould we pull [..] > read more

Doctors and Chinese Nuns

Published on 2012-02-21 03:33:00

Doctors and Chinese Nuns, quite the group, right? These are the visitors our house has seen inthe past week. This is how it went.Earlier in the week our friend Dr. Sam cameover to do a check up with all of our foster children. With him he brought four students who aretraining to be doctors. Our girls lovehaving guests at our house. Basically itmeans extra people to climb on and ask questions to, which this group ofdoctors graciously allowed.On Saturday ourfriend Dr. Julie stopped by and wit [..] > read more

A Bunch Of Photos

Published on 2012-02-18 23:40:00

Here are some photos to brighten your day; unless it's night, that would be impossible. Sorry some of these are blurry, don't hate us."5 of our 6 kids are happy eating popcorn and watching a movie. Can you find the one that's not happy?""Here's the problem with trying to take a picture of your kids with a movie playing behind you; they are always kind of looking at the camera, but not really.""The faces of Ellie, mischevious.""The faces of Ellie, Gangsta.""The faces of Ellie, joyful.""The face [..] > read more

Why I Didn't Panic

Published on 2012-02-17 08:09:00

I hada cool moment the other week. Three of our eighty kids were caught red-handed under the dinner table; each with aspoon in their hand and all gathered around an open jar of peanut butter. My first reaction was “Who is responsible forthis!”Not a super big deal, right?Well as a father of six and half of my kidsbeing HIV+, what was cool was that my initial reaction wasn’t “Oh no what’sgoing to happen to so and so!” Myreaction wasn’t that, because HIV isn’t transferred through [..] > read more

Top 10 Best Kids Movies

Published on 2012-02-15 04:38:00

I’m writing lists of 10 right now. My previous one was more serious, 10 things I want to teach my children, but this one isn’t serious at all. If you’re a parent, there are certain moviesyou dread having your kids pick out. Like really dread. But that’s foranother list. Here are the movies that Ilobby, manipulate, and bribe my kids to pick…10. For my 10 spot I really couldn’tpick one, but I couldn’t leave the list at just 9 either. So here are a handful of movies that are acut [..] > read more

Smiles and Kissing Lips

Published on 2012-02-12 19:51:00

Hi everyone! So here's this week's collection of photos. I hope that you enjoy them."Watchya talkin bout Xiao Yang!" (Xiao Yang is the the Chinese equivalent of 'Willis', ok I made that up)"Lily making kissing lips.""Sydney making kissing lips.""I love the look Lily is giving Sydney in this picture.""Now that the kissing lips are done we've moved on to smiles.""Whenever you see Caleb smiling like this it's because he has food in front of him... or because he's going to the bathroom.""Heather y [..] > read more

Update, New Friends and the Fundraiser ends

Published on 2012-02-09 07:34:00

Although I’vegotten some posts up lately I haven’t written much about what our family hasbeen up to. We’ve had many people herereach out to our family to help Heather and I. It’s been great to have such support. Around two weeks ago a group of people came over to our house to watchour kids so that Heather and I could go on a date. And we made the most of it, going on thelongest date of our marriage (four hours). It was a lot of fun to get out with Heather and reconnect as a couple.This [..] > read more

Tons of Pictures!

Published on 2012-02-06 08:08:00

Our blog turned four and I posted about it a couple days ago. Check it out if you have a minute. Other than that I wanted to post some pictures. Hope you enjoy!"Ellie blowing a kiss at the camera.""It's the Chinese New Year and everywhere there is evidence of it. Here's a boy walking towards a pile of smoldering firecracker wrappers. Notice in the background similar piles.""I took the boys to get veggies. The lady selling them walked up to Sammie and handed him a snack. When I told her we [..] > read more

Our Blog turns 4!

Published on 2012-02-04 07:13:00

Well around thistime four years ago I started this blog. When I wrote my first post I had no idea where our blog wouldgo. It’s been fun getting to share ourlives with our friends and family as our journey here in China unfolds. I love that we have a little family journal tolook back on our time. Since startingthis blog our family has grown a lot from Aubrey being born, Caleb being born,Lily coming to join our family and Ellie/Sammie coming to live with us as well.I'm reminded of when we fir [..] > read more

10 things I want to teach my children

Published on 2012-01-31 23:09:00

"Some of the kids I want to teach these things to."So I want to start putting together some lists. And for my first list in no particular order here are 10 things I want to teach my children.To love God. I know that this is cliche, but more than telling my kids this I hope to model it to them.After God - put family before everything else - including ministry. All to often people confuse serving God for being everything we do 'outside' of our home. Not so. Serving God starts with those He's p [..] > read more

Fun Photos Again...

Published on 2012-01-28 17:57:00

Well people seemed to appreciate the last photo post, so I'm thinking of doing one every Sunday. Thoughts?"The same week Caleb learned to walk, this game was discovered. The girls would buckle Caleb into a mini-stroller made for dolls and push him back and forth around the house. Needless to say its been an exciting week.""In case the photo doesn't tell you this; Sammie doesn't like spaghetti.""While Caleb was wearing a cape and walking around, Sydney was following close behind him singing "Y [..] > read more

Update on the Little Fish Fundraiser

Published on 2012-01-26 17:32:00

Hey everyone!The fundraiser that we started a little over two weeks ago has already raised $1,116! Thank you so much to everyone who has given and also thank you everyone who has helped spread the word. If you are still interested in making a donation, we're still interested in receiving them! Just drop me a message and let me know.Much love,the petersons"These are a few of the orphans performing at a Christmas show." > read more

Our first week of the Chinese New Year

Published on 2012-01-24 08:34:00

So about a week ago we started our vacation for the Chinese New Year. Usually the first couple weeks of this vacation are relaxing and nice; then the lack of routine sets in and it can become difficult. Luckily we’re still in the first week.A few nights ago we had a wonderful encouragement in the form of another family here in Xian coming over to our house. Earlier in the week they called to ask if they could bring us dinner Thursday night and we gladly accepted. The food, fellowship and p [..] > read more

Our Fourth of July and More

Published on 2011-07-04 10:17:00

It’s been too long since our last post, I’m sorry and I hope that this post makes up for it. It’s hot here in Xian, I mean really hot. How is it where you are? How has your summer been?Well last week I got to hang out with my good friend Lawr > read more

We won! And more news from the Petersons

Published on 2011-06-17 19:48:00

It’s been a week since our last news post (sorry) and we have had some good stories and news to share. But first, how are you? Are you enjoying your summer?Well the news about our family from the past week was that we won the blogging contest we > read more

Let hope arise!

Published on 2011-06-12 20:22:00

I’ve never considered myself much of a dreamer. I’m one of those girls who prefers to live in the “now”. Or at least that was my classic avoidance technique anytime someone encouraged me with making goals. To me making goals and dreaming w > read more

Blessings.

Published on 2011-06-05 02:29:00

Life can be so crazy sometimes can’t it? There are times living here in China that I can look around and think “How am I so blessed when so many suffer?” It’s confusing and makes no sense, but when I look at my life I can see that those ble > read more

Lily makes us smile and laugh, crazy eyes, and Life Education

Published on 2011-05-29 19:46:00

Hi Everyone,Summer just seems to keep rolling on by; I hope each of you are enjoying it. I had a couple things I wanted to share with you guys, so let’s get this party started.I had a wonderful little moment with our foster daughter, Lily, this pa > read more

The Odd Family

Published on 2011-05-23 18:47:00

So our blog has been on a pretty wild ride these past few days, since being entered into this competition (Top 25 expat Moms). Yesterday, we had close to a 1,000 people visit our blog. My first guess was that my mom was just refreshing the page a l > read more

Dogs can smell my fear

Published on 2011-05-22 19:57:00

I (Heather) haven’t always been afraid of dogs. On the other hand I’ve never been extremely fond of them either. I have a few “bad” memories involving dogs. Like the time I got locked out of the house and my aunt and uncle’s black lab puppy > read more

Contest and Sign up to follow our blog

Published on 2011-05-22 17:37:00

Wow! It’s been incredible to see the amount of support that people are showing to help us win the award for top 25 expat mom! If you’re new to our blog, take a look around and feel free to sign up to have our updates emailed to you! You can si > read more

Caleb gets the pox and the girls get some new toys

Published on 2011-05-18 21:30:00

Hello! Summer has officially arrived in Xian and it’s hot! Yesterday I read on the bus that it was 102 degrees outside, yuck. Hopefully each of you are enjoying the weather wherever you are.About a week and a half ago our sweet Caleb got Chicken > read more

Heather's Time in Beijing

Published on 2011-05-09 19:02:00

I wanted to write a little update about Heather’s time in Beijing and my time with the girls here in Xian.If you remember this past week Heather and Caleb got to go on a little trip to Beijing. They went with Jenny and her son Levi (Jenny is our s > read more

More from our last 3 weeks

Published on 2011-04-27 18:54:00

Well this is kinda like part two of what our past 3 weeks have looked like. I know you’re excited.We had a wonderful Easter day this past weekend. That morning Heather went out and bought a boat load of candy, when she got home her and I hid the > read more

Over the past 3 weeks

Published on 2011-04-24 19:40:00

It’s been a full three weeks since our last post and a lot has happened. So let’s jump in.One of the bigger things is that our family became a two car family a few weeks ago. Ok, so that’s not entirely true, but we have a stroller that fits t > read more

Aubrey's 3rd Birthday!

Published on 2011-04-05 19:14:00

Well it’s been another long stretch without an update, but here we go!So two weeks ago we got to celebrate our little Aubrey’s 3rd Birthday! It’s been so fun lately to see Aubrey growing up and becoming her own little person. For example, lat > read more

Beijing Dairy

Published on 2011-03-17 00:24:00

Wow! So sorry about the long break, probably the longest stretch that I haven’t blogged since the fam moved to China.And it’s really a shame, because we’ve had some stuff going on lately that’s blog worthy. Mainly, the trip that Sydney and > read more

Goodbyes, Cuteness, Funny kid stories, and Pictures

Published on 2011-02-23 22:59:00

Well this week we were able to have a good friend (Heidi) visit us here in China as well as a new friend (Troy). It was a great time having them here and showing them around Xian. It’s kinda a fun feeling to be the tour guide in another country, > read more

Visitors, Visitors, and Valentine's Day

Published on 2011-02-13 18:08:00

Hi all!Happy Valentine’s Day! Thanks for stopping by to check out what’s going on with our family. What’s new with you? Are you doing something new with your hair? It looks great!Well we’ve had a couple highlights from this past week or s > read more

Difficulty and Caleb is the man

Published on 2011-02-05 19:54:00

Hi everyone!How are you? I hope that you’re doing well! Thanks for stopping by to read our post.Well for us life’s been a bit hard lately. Raising four children 5 years old and younger is a lot of work (who knew?). To top it off we’ve been > read more

Lost in Translation

Published on 2011-01-25 22:44:00

So in the past month we’ve had to adapt as a family. Lily only speaking Chinese has definitely been stretching for Heather and I, but being a bilingual family has had some highlights as well.First off, it’s amazing to see how well Sydney and eve > read more

HIV, Life, and Lily settling in

Published on 2011-01-18 23:41:00

So I wanted to send out some good info I came across lately to help everyone understand our situation better. I know that many people have asked questions about the risks of having an HIV positive child around and if they can spread it and whatnot, > read more

Lily's Birthday, Sydney's Birthday and Dan Comes

Published on 2011-01-13 18:34:00

Life’s been changing a lot lately and I want to fill you all in on the details. So this week Heather’s brother Dan arrived in Xian! He’s going to be living with us for the next year and we’re so excited to have him join our family. For > read more

And her name is Lily...

Published on 2011-01-07 09:03:00

(I know some of you got an email from me, some of this info and story overlap that email, but I’ve added new info to this post) So 3 nights ago Heather and I found out about a girl here who's situation is pretty rough. She's 3 years o > read more

Happy New Year! And a story I don't want to forget

Published on 2011-01-03 18:55:00

How was your Christmas? We had a fun time opening presents and spending time with our friends. I was going to post pictures, but we took mostly video (sorry). For those of you interested in how we celebrate Christmas here in China, it’s the same > read more

It's Christmas Time!

Published on 2010-12-23 19:17:00

Hi everyone and Merry Christmas! OK, so I know that Christmas isn’t for another couple days, but even here in China I’ve heard Christmas music for the past month. I hope that each of you are enjoying the season. Here in the Peterson home > read more

Life Lately and Some Funny Stories

Published on 2010-12-12 21:00:00

OK, so in the past couple weeks I’ve had multiple times of no internet. I’m actually posting this from my brother’s house since I still don’t have internet at mine. I say that because it’s been forever since my last post, my deepest apolo > read more

Thanksgiving and a Flower Debacle

Published on 2010-11-28 20:20:00

Sorry it’s been a bit since my last update. I got a good one here, so don’t go anywhere.We celebrated Thanksgiving this week and had an amazing time. The previous two years have been semi-disasters when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving, so i > read more

Certified, Crazy

Published on 2010-11-14 21:09:00

So I need to clarify something. Although we went through our Red Cross Training in Beijing we haven’t officially been certified by the Red Cross, UNTIL THIS WEEK! It’s cool because I got this nice red official certification (See picture below). > read more

Life Education, Housing Update, and Pictures

Published on 2010-11-07 21:52:00

So a couple weeks ago an incredible door and opportunity to put our “Life Education” training to use already has opened to us. When we got back from Beijing from our training in mental health with the Red Cross the school I go to heard about all > read more