Sometimes

Sometimes, events just unfold and possibilities just make themselves known and you didn't do anything.
Except pray for them to happen.
Sometimes, you're looking down a cliff, you look at the other side, the side you have to be on, and, then, huzzah, a helicopter or a hang-glider or a magical eagle come along to fly you to that other side.
Sometimes, you're lost at sea, you want to go home, and, then, huzzah, a ship or a plane or a pair of clever dolphins come along to take you where you belong.
Sometimes, you feel lonely and need company, and, then, huzzah, you get a special friend or a puppy for Christmas or a baby pig (thinking about Charlotte's Web here).
Sometimes, all you have to do is ask Someone to help you.

Living in China, we have encountered multiple incidents where this just happened. And, then, something comes along and stands us back up again.
Coincidence? I think not. There is no such thing as coincidence. "Coincidence" is just a word we use to describe in words what cannot be explained - can't be explained because it is beyond us. Cannot be explained because language limits us and doesn't allow us to fully explain what we call a "coincidence".

Do you do New Years Resolutions? If not, that's okay. If you do, great.
Consider this as a new resolution: When life gives you lemons, give them to Someone else.


"Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depths of our hearts."
---Mother Teresa

~Abby

Chinese New Year is Coming Up

Seventeen days ago, we wished you a happy new year (and I am rather disappointed that there is a seventeen-day separation between our last post and this post).Now, we I would like to inform you of another new year arriving soon - Chinese New Year, on February 10. Yes, it's a little too early, but, hey, considering our lack of diligence in posting on a blog (see http://lindnersinchina.blog.com/ for more proof than this blog can provide), we may as well tell you about it early.
The Chinese New Year is the new year according to the lunar calendar. Each year, there is a designated animal to represent that particular year. For 2013, it's the year of the Snake, the sixth of the twelve Chinese Zodiac animals. Last year it was the Dragon (Rick's a Dragon). Next year, it's Horse (Cheryl's a Horse). Snakes represent the symbol of wisdom, while being the most private. When Chinese New Year comes, we're up for a night of non-stop fireworks (I, however, am not affected by the loud booms of fireworks, lucky me).

It snowed the slightest bit this morning. According to Mom, it "didn't smell the way snow should". She learned somewhere that snow like that in China might be the result of a bomb set off to the sky to clear pollution, which makes snow less enchanting. If the snow was the result of a pollution-clearing bomb, it certainly isn't doing it's job - still looks pretty crummy outside, to me.

The time of the year has come: ATTACK OF THE MOLD!!
It's disgusting. Of course, mold has been around since November, but it's finally started to bother ME. It looks so green and spotted and messy. As we SPEAK (er... read/write) I am looking directly at a wall full of splotchy mold. I can not WAIT for it to go. According to foreigners who have been here longer than we have, there is NOTHING we can do to rid our apartment of it completely. Just bleach to scrub it off for a day or two. I don't do the scrubbing myself (I REFUSE to touch a speck of it), but watching it being done and hearing the parents complain is enough for me to know what an absolute pain it is. It's kind of like the dust in the house - you vigorously sweep three times, you go to bed, you wake up, more dust and dirt on the ground. (China's pollution, ugh.)

An update on Matthew's adoption: All the fingerprints and paperwork are completed. All we need now is China to send some files and such. 

~Abby

Happy New Year!

Well, granted, it is the third, thus two days after the New Year, but, hey, better late than never, right?
And so, hello 2013. The world is not over yet.
Like every year, much has happened this past 2012. For one, Emma is a teenager, I (Abby) am a teenager, Jenna is twenty-two, and Matthew is two.

MAJOR EVENTS OF 2012 FOR THE LINDNER FAMILY:
Jenna, after living with a Chinese teacher at Shaanxi Normal for quite some time, moved back in with us
Burger King moved to Xi'an (forget what month)
We moved to another building (March, in our same complex)
We got a dog (April, named him Brodie)

Hm, well, then, I guess not much has happened. Hm.

Well, I certainly hope your 2012 has had more major happenings than ours did (granted, I have a poor memory for minor details).

Happy New Year!!

And, may you have a jolly good 2013.