Well Spring has come and gone and I'm sitting here wondering where the time went. But, that just happens doesn't it? You get caught up in the daily busy-ness and then "poof", two months have gone by. That is somewhat how I feel tonight as I finish up this newsletter that I started two months ago.
Easter was really good. Dorothea, Peter, and Madlena came to visit over the vacation. We celebrated Easter together and Madlena and Uwe's birthdays as well. We then took a trip to the Taroko Gorge which turned out to be the best thing for everyone. It was so restful, peaceful, and just plain beautiful. You can see from the pics how amazing it really is. I've heard Uwe talk about it for years now, and thought that I wouldn't be that impressed with it..but, I was very impressed.
After the Rieggers left, I experienced my first air raid drill. Yes, that is correct. Uwe had just left to go and work on his paper when it went off. It reminded me of the tornado sirens that would go off when I was in the US. He called and told me that the traffic had stopped, many stores had their lights turned off and that there were police everywhere. But, no one seemed worried and had told him it was a drill. It lasted a half hour in which I spent that time cleaning and letting the kids sleep.
We had a few visits with Adriel Lam, one of Uwe's good friends from high school. He was on island and they were able to catch up a bit. We were just at their place about a year ago....seems like it was longer.
We've ended the school year with banquets, banquets, good-bye parties, and dinners/breakfasts with friends, teachers, and students. To say the least, diets have been started and an exercise plan is being drawn up for the summer. We will be going to Germany to visit Uwe's family in a few days. We are quite excited about seeing his parents, grass yard, and fresh clean air. We will be there until July 18th, when we must return for the arrival of new staff.
Here is a run-down of the family progress though:
Uwe: His knees are much better. He played indoor soccer this week and there was no pain, so PTL. School is out, but he has to work this week and part of next due to construction going on at the school. He has been part of a team renovating and giving the school a new look. It is being done in phases and this year the library and computer room moves to a different location; and a few rooms are getting a facelift as well. The school was able to expand a bit by adding a few more rooms, which will be a blessing when it is all said and done. He has also been finishing up that paper. He will be sending the official draft to his prof this week and is very excited to get this finished. He will start the next class in mid-July while we are in Germany, but is looking forward to getting to Germany to relax a bit and refresh his mind.
MaDonna: I'm working on organizing the house and preping meals around food that needs to be eaten before we leave. So, meals could be a bit creative... I am also busy with just packing and keeping the kids from unpacking, which can be a chore. My plans this summer are to potty train both girls and get Matthea to eat more, as well as take walks in the woods, and finish the girl's books about Wuhan. (Yes, I know that we've been gone a year and I just finished Marcus's last week.)
Marcus: He is helping Uwe at school with moving/cleaning whenever he can. He loves to help out like that. He also was accepted into the Chinese Kindergarten next fall, which he is excited about as well. His latest funny quote was while watching the movie "Man From Snowy River" where Jess has fallen off her horse and is on the ledge of a cliff screaming for help. It was, "Mama, didn't they have cell phones back then?" Different generation, maybe even culture our kids are growing up in.
Matthea: She is continuing to progress more and more. She officially took her first steps about two months ago. She is now walking from one couch to the other on her own. She is still at the very beginning stages of walking, but will be there soon. She now has a walker that we are able to use for free, only she doesn't seem to like it. She can't turn it and gives up and just crawls to where she wants to go. She is eating a bit more and has a huge desire to eat. We give her lollypops to suck on, licks of whatever sauce we have on our plates, and I give her fruit in a mesh bag that she chews and swallows the juice only. We are hoping this summer she will be able to increase this amount and gradually throughout this year tip the balance so that she is eating more by mouth then through the tube. She has also become more stubborn. She is determined to get her way and is not happy at all when she doesn't. To say the least, she has smacked two of her therapist and others when she hasn't gotten to do what she wants or doesn't want to do what is asked of her. So, as there are two sides to a coin, there are two sides to this dilema...it is something we have to train her not to do; but it is great to see that she has a strong opinion about it. But I'll end with her on a funny note....she loves to dress up in hats, gloves, and glasses or goggles no matter the season. So imagine us on an outing somedays when she is determined to wear these items.
Megan: Boy has she developed in the speach area. She has just begun to speak in 3-4 word sentences. Her behavior has improved greatly and is not such a demanding child. She is still the drama queen of the family, though. Her favorite things now are to sing, tie blankets around her neck and be a butterfly, watch movies, and basically is a busy body most of the day. She loves to go out with Papa to buy drinks or whatever errand he may have. She acts like such a big girl when she gets to do this, it is so cute. Her favorite songs are "Jesus Loves Me", "Jesus Loves the Little Children", and is learning "This is the Day".
Church: As I mentioned last time that we have been involved with startup church. We are in need of a few key positions that need to be filled for the fall. One is a youth leader. Please pray that God would bring about the perfect fit for this position. We have some students from a different school that attend and it would be strategic if we could get a couple from that school to lead out in this position. The other is a Chinese family that can lead out in the Chinese speaking community. We want it to be a bilingual church, but we need some leaders to be Chinese to really get that going. Please pray that this summer God would put it on hearts to want to do something like this.
Other prayer points:
1. Safe trip to and from Germany
2. Uwe to finish his paper before his class begins in July
3. Uwe's class at U. of Bath to go well
4. Renovations at school to continue to go well while Uwe is gone.
5. Meg and Matthea to be potty trained this summer - go easy/smooth
6. Matthea to increase in eating amount; as well as progress in walking completely indepentantly
Praises:
1. New furniture for us
2. Uwe's knee is better
3. Matthea walking
4. Megan talking more
5. Marcus made it into the school
6. Md - time to finish up this newsletter
Thanks for all the prayers, support and encouragement that each of you have sent our way. We really do appreciate you. Take care, blessings and please write and let us know how we can be praying for you.
Love,
md from the family
skype name: umdmaurer
facebook page: MaDonna Maurer and/or Uwe Maurer
snail mail address:
Roosevelt Rd, Sec. 3, Lane 283, Alley 14, #18-7th floor, Taipei Taiwan 100
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