so much to be thankful for

us 2 drinking apple slushies in Fuzhou, China :)


just a note to any who were worried about my wonky tummy.
things seem to be better. both tues. and wed. (so far) have been pain free! i can now eat normal meals w/o stiffening and grimacing afterwards. and the exciting part is that last night was my first night since last week thursday of laying in bed w/o having my guts jiggling. ya, i left that part out of my previous tummy troubles note. it was bizarre. the first night it happened in Fuzhou, i thought it was the hotel floor trembling or my bed shaking. when i felt it the second time, i wondered if it was just in my head. then when i noticed it while in my bed here at home, i knew it was me. very strange. sun. and mon. nights my guts were just trembling. last night and this morning i seem to be fine. whew! not sure what was going on there, but i'm very glad to be through with it.

and i got in bed by midnight last night. thank you, thank you. i was proud of myself even if i wasn't able to fall asleep until nearly 3. i'll be back in balance sooner or later. i have a workshop at school to go to tomorrow, so maybe that will help. i'm not feeling as exhausted during the days at this point and i'm grateful for that.

i'm just loving my leisurely life these days. my city is calm and beautiful. my neighborhood is lovely and filled w/ flowers, grass and trees, tiled murals, sculptures, benches. the sky is blue and the temperature is just right. there's wide green space and relatively even sidewalks. i'm enjoying my apt. and car and friends and time to myself. it's so nice to just sit and be quiet. i love the peace i have here. it's good to be home. it's great to know that i like it here. :)

i'm so glad for the many opportunities i've had to travel and explore the world. i feel so blessed to have seen so much of our planet. my list is up to 20 countries! there is still so much to see and do. i hope and plan to keep up my adventures abroad. but if today was my last day on earth, i've already had far more than my fair share of a really beautiful life. God is good.