4.26.2013

Our New House Mates & Aloha

The last few months we've been eagerly waiting for visas to be sorted for our sweet friends,
 Justin & Catherine, 
{also our new house mates!}
to arrive in China.
This past weekend, they finally did!
We met Justin & Catherine in Korea a few years ago and
the 4 of us moved to Dongying together.
At the end of our Dongying school year last summer, they swore they'd never move back to China,
but alas, 
God had other plans & we're so glad He did!
In Korea & Donying, Justin & Catherine were dating & engaged, 
but this time, back in China, 
they're married!
We love calling them Mr. & Mrs. Esser. :)

We've been busy preparing & praying for them to get here the last few months! 
They will be working at our school & living with us through the summer.
We wanted our guest bedroom to feel like home for them, since it will be their first "married home" for the next 5 months or so. We decorated it with pictures of them & little 'likes' they share between each other, like penguins & their travel pics.

Once they got here last Saturday afternoon we were all so excited,
so, of course,
we had to bust out the champagne and celebrate!
Little things celebrating them finally getting here!
First "family"meal together.
Pecan crusted chicken.
We already feel like they're apart of our family.
We are loving spending evenings chatting over dinner, talking about "real" stuff, laughing & having fun together. 
We are blessed to have such good friends.
Of course Chara is loving it. 
She has four new hands to pet & snuggle her.
Saturday night we took them to the infamous Sitting Bull & to meet our good friends, Denny & April.
The guys.
Cider. Gluten free!
Sitting Bull was out of ribs! I was super disappointed, since the whole reason we took them there was to eat ribs! 
We ordered the chef special, a sirloin steak with mushroom sauce, instead, and it was delicious. 
It made the 'out of ribs' thing more bearable for me. ;)
Sunday at church we had a delicious German meal with the church fam.
Afternoon naps after church.
Zachary now has a couch nap buddy. ;)
Sunday night we showed them how hot pot is done.
Thankfully these two like to eat. :) 
If they didn't, I don't know how we'd stay friends. 
Just kidding.
But it is nice to share so many meals together.
Veggies & Meat for hot pot.

And that was Justin & Catherine's arrival weekend!
You'll be seeing a lot of them on this blog now!
Be sure to check out their travel blog, here.
They've been to so many countries, you'll for sure want to read about all they've done!

And now, it's time to link up! 
This is the last week I'll be co hosting the Hop!
I've loved being apart of it this April! 
Link Up & don't forget to enter the giveaway! 
Last chance!
Love you guys! Have a good weekend! 
You can also share any blog hops you are hosting by linking your blog hop post in our linky below! I love to join new blog hops, so please share them!  We had over 432 link ups!! Each name gets clicked on average 5-50 times so link up, get some followers!!  
To ensure a follow back from me, leave a comment with a link to your blog!
An easy, quick way to follow each of the hosts is by clicking on buttons labeled "GFC" or "Bloglovin'" under each picture! 
Welcome to WEEK 53 of the Aloha Friday Blog Hop!

Here's the extra special addition to our lovely hop. It's an oh-so-easy opportunity for you lovely participants of the Aloha Friday Blog hop to get some exposure to your blogs!!  What do  you have to do to enter?  Just link up to the Aloha Friday Blog Hop Below!! It's that easy!!  No extra forms or hassle, just link up!  Each week we will pick a linker to featured at random and invite you all to say ...
  Aloha Hoapili
<div align="center"><a href="http://acatlikecuriosity.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Aloha" title="Aloha Hoapili" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7G-fMNu7i804WbCF2p9Ag2rlOASllFTt2KLNWron4euB7W0GTw6EwMby2xo7Iap0dYyA96MjMrfHO4o-FQ2u5-EOZsn5CS83RzRvnpJpTxwMlbjFM0Jm6d99lrb6dyJrsYR2y9OiHTaYR/s1600/Aloha+Friend+button.jpg" alt="Aloha Hoapili" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Aloha Hoapili translates as Hello Close Friend. So, without further ado let me introduce you to this week's featured friend

Amy
Amy at Sews N Bows
Amy blogs all about sewing, repurposing things and does some pattern reviews too.  Want a little taste of her blog? Check out these posts to find out what you've been missing: 


If you're interested in co-hosting future month's Aloha Friday Blog Hop, please email jean@whatjeanlikes.com for more info.  More info on becoming a sponsor {here}
There are still 2 days left to enter!! Do it now! Who wouldn't want $200 and tons of ad space & handmade gifts? :)  Enter after the "read more" link 

To guarantee a follow back from What Jean Likes, please leave a comment.  Makes it easier and faster! :)  [Still working on following everyone back from last week so don't worry, I will follow you back if I haven't already!]

Other exciting giveaways I'm hosting can be found here : What Jean Likes Giveaways.
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CLICK THE "READ MORE LINK" IF YOU DON'T SEE THE GIVEAWAYS.

5 comments :

Living in Another Language said...

I love it when people are reunited with friends! Especially in a foreign country! Life is so much grander if you have a few buddies to enjoy it with. It's so cool the they're living with you...it's like a constant summer sleepover! :)

Enjoy your time with them!

p.s. that food looks amazing. Now I want to move to China.
-Amanda | Living in Another Language

Chelsea @ Lost in Travels said...

wow your guest room looks so great! what a difference it would make living abroad to have people that you know come and live with you! have fun!!

Anonymous said...

hi new follower via blog lovin from blog hop would love if youd come follow me to ?
lisa
http://sproutingcreativewings.blogspot.com.au/

chalayn said...

Oh my goodness! I LOVE your dog - looks like such a sweetie!

We have a Golden Retriever (I assume that's what Chara is?) and she is the BEST dog. She's only been ours since last summer but she has taken her three legs and walked right into our hearts. ;)

The Brayn of Chalayn

P.S. I found your blog through the Aloha Blog Hop.

Unknown said...

The food looks delicious. Love the pictures of their guest room!

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