Ocean, Land, and Sky

I

can't

get

enough

of

 

the

east

 coast!

I might just have to become a beach bum!

Crepsular Light

Ohio is flat.

To be factual,  not all of Ohio is flat. There are some hills.

Where we lived before moving to Taiwan, it was flat.

Wide open farm land. Field after field, as far as the eye could see.

Sounds rather boring, but there was one amazing benefit to all that flatness.

Well, actually, two.

One in the morning.

And one every evening.

Sunrise and sunset.

Standing in my kitchen every morning, I would watch as the morning light cast it's rays above the corn field, creating shadows of various shades. Some mornings, the woods behind our house appeared to be on fire.

At the end of each day, the show replayed on the other side of the house. The front porch had the best viewing. The sinking sun, painting the sky with colors only God could create, slowly slipping away. 

Yes, I was greedy. I got them both. I was blessed.

Then I moved to Taiwan. 

Many things, such as tall buildings, have a way of ruining sunrises and sunsets.

But, at the beach, there's nothing to impede one's viewing of the sun's descent.

We were in Kenting for only three days, but I managed to experience three sunsets.

Different, but each beautiful in its own way.

The clouds moved in mid afternoon, but fortunately,  they did not reach the horizon.

We waited patiently for the sun to drop out of the cloud cover before slipping over the horizon.

My new camera received quite a workout!

I also wondered how well the zoom lens worked....

The next sunset was viewed from the same spot, but the show was slightly different, a variation of sorts.

The next afternoon started out bright and clear, but as the sun began its downward journey, huge fluffy white clouds played hide-n-seek with the sun. The effects of the sun's light behind these clouds created another kind of sky show.

Unfortunately, the clouds blocked our view of that day's sun's goodbye.

Even without a full sunset, it still was a gorgeous way to end another day of family time and relaxation! And for that, I am grateful.

Christmas Traditions

Moving to a new country, to a new culture can mess up well established holiday traditions.

No way around it.

That truth became a stark reality four years ago while celebrating our first Christmas in Taiwan.

Not wanting to permanently scar our children, we looked for ways to adapt current traditions and possibly add new traditions. 

One of our attempts was successful.

Kenting.

Kenting is at the southern tip of the island.

That can only mean two things- warmer temperatures and water, lots of water!

So, every Christmas break for the last four years, we have found our way to the beach.

That is not a peace sign, but rather a V for vacation!

I'm not the only happy person in the car!

Majestic bridge.

Stopped at this "mom and pop" tea shop several years ago and now no trip to Kenting is complete without a visit.

Which tea belongs to who? Wait- I ordered half sugar, full ice. 

Waiting to get into our room, but thats ok- free wifi!

Great for families- 6 person room with 6 twin beds!

Great for the kids, at least.

This post is a prefix.

Or a warning.

Pictures of beaches and beautiful sunsets may fill my next couple blogs.

Avoid if you are tired of seeing Taiwan's amazing beauty.

I just can't stop myself from sharing God's handiwork!

Up the Wall

Climbing.

Yep. You read that correctly.

You never know what you might encounter when you open a Dingus blog.

But, a family that climbs together... uuhh.... wait a minute, something will come to me...

A family that climbs together.... gets sore together?

No, no. That's not it.

A family that climbs together has fun!

Within the first twenty-four hours of being home, Ben became a certified wall supervisor.

So one morning, we decided to go climbing.

That day, I made two monumental discoveries.

One-

I did not give birth to children. 

My children are monkeys. 

While rock climbing was offered as an elective in middle school, Jacob never had the chance to take it. He's quick and strong. Hopefully, he'll be able to take the belaying course that Ben and Abbi took in high school.

Will the swimming basketball player have enough upper body strength to overcome that obstacle?

Ben has developed a true passion for climbing. It began during high school, but ramped up at college. Between classes and working, he spends lots of time climbing. 

How did he do that?

The other discovery?

Two-

It ain't as easy as it used to be.

 Or in other words, age is catching up to me.

 Guess I need to run faster. 

Or maybe hide.

Even though my shoulders ached for days, I loved the family time!

No Blinking Allowed!

It's amazing how you innocently blink and the next thing you know....

your babies are no longer babies!

And you know how hard it is to keep from blinking, especially when you are trying NOT to blink.

But, one day you wake up and it hits you-

MY KIDS ARE NO LONGER KIDS!

Here is a short list (developed by me over the last week) of ways you will know your children are growing up:

1. They drink coffee with their breakfast. Yes, three out of four Dingi children now choose coffee as a breakfast beverage. Our big coffee pot proudly sits side-by-side with Carl's little four cupper!

2. Opera is utilized as dinner time background music. Yes, this truly did happen in the Dingus household. (I wish I had a picture to go with this one, but it took awhile for the smelling salts to bring me back to consciousness.)

3. They willingly do chores! Even the yucky gross ones, like having to dump food waste into collection barrels. Recycling is a great thing for the environment, but it does make life a bit more complicated. We separate cans, bottles, plastic, paper, and of course, food. Its not too bad if you drop off stuff right after the collectors have come. If its been awhile.... Yeah,  I'll let your imagination fill in that one!

This growing up thing is kinda bittersweet.

It makes me happy and proud, but at the same time, sad.

But, like most things, its out of my control, so I will sit back and enjoy the show!

Let the Festivities Begin

Noisy Day Silent Night

Friday marked the last day of the fall semester, as well as the beginning of our Christmas break.

It was a half day for the students, and as usual, downright crazy! 

While many of my students' families do not actually celebrate Christmas, they do use this time to travel. Some were going to Japan to experience snow and skiing. Others to a more tropical Asian setting.

Several students were traveling to North America to celebrate with their extended families. One to Canada, a couple others to the United States of America.

But, for many, Christmas will just be a normal day. Our party would be their only Christmas celebration.

Needless to say, excitement filled the air. 

Earlier in the week, I had  shared one of my favorite childhood Christmas traditions- caroling. I told of bundling up in coats, hats, and mittens to battle the Ohio winter. Of walking through snow and huddling around unsuspecting friends' doors. The reward, of course, being cookies and hot chocolate afterwards.

Throughout the week, we practiced several traditional carols- Silent Night, Joy to the World, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. While we had recently experienced colder weather, the expected high of the day was 73 degrees. Despite the bright sunshine and warming sun, several showed up with the necessary gear. It was quite interesting to see bulky winter coats,  fuzzy warm gloves, and comfy toboggans.  Hushed giggles and whispers followed as we tiptoed into the library, the first stop of our roaming concert.

Not only did my students love sharing the good news of Jesus through song, the audience also seemed to enjoy the "interruption".

I truly enjoyed the experience, as well as my students. I am positive caroling will become a 2nd grade tradition in the coming years!

An Early Christmas Present

This Christmas, I was blessed with an early present.

I have known for months that it was coming.

The anticipation built day by day. Hour by hour.

And as much as I love receiving presents, this gift alone,  would satisfy.

My present wasn't wrapped.

I didn't find it under the tree.

While it came to Taiwan via air, it wasn't brought by Santa's sleigh.

Yes, after 18 long, painfully slow months, my family is all together again.

The original plan was to pick Nick and Ben up Friday evening. That didn't happen. Instead they spent a night in Japan while the airline picked up the tab.

Saturday afternoon, after a day filled with basketball, we made the journey north. As we waited Nick and Abbi texted. They were off the plane. They were in customs. And finally a request, a plea-  please don't make a scene.

So I was good.

Our tree has been up since Thanksgiving weekend,  but unadorned with its usual baubles. It waited patiently for children 1 and 2 to come home.

Tonight,  we completed the task.

Christmas can come now.

The Dingus family is ready!