Orphanage and 80's Party

Alarm went off at 5:40 a.m. Up and ready and we were in our parking lot at 6:28. We were suppose to leave at 6:30 for the Agape orphanage. Bill and Becky, Carrie and Jahyme, the kids, and 2 others were already there. We were waiting for another man. Carrie called him and he had forgotten. He said he would be over in 15 minutes. Jahyme said to me "you know, the boys could ride with you if you wanted".  I said that was fine.  As it turned out the boys and Ainsley rode with us.  At 6:55 we were pulling out. We drove about 1 1/2 hours to the orphanage. I was a little nervous.

What a bunch of goofy kids.

Does Tobias have chopsticks coming out of his head
or are those bunny ears?

Agape House is an orphanage for kids. But what makes it unique is that all of the kids there have Brittle Bone Disease. They have wheel chairs and walkers and most have not grown correctly so they have some deformities. Danny, the head guy, was born and raised in New York. He didn't seem very old...maybe 30 if he was lucky. He went to china for a missions trip and decided this is what he wanted to do. He went back to New York and studied under a Baker. He came to China and opened a bakery and runs the orphanage. Awesome guy and so appreciative. The bakery makes cakes and muffins and such for some restaurants in Beijing (one being Home Plate). Some of the older orphans work in the bakery. It's truly remarkable.

We pulled in and unloaded. Our goal for the day was to get a house painted. We all started painting while the guys tried to get sprayers to work. Neither of them worked as it turned out. The house was like a tile type thing. A roller wouldn't cut it. We all started using paint brushes to do the lines as I called them. I got a lesson from one of the men that it was grout lines. Ones we had the 'lines' done we went back and rolled it to get it looking better. The house was pink when we started.

Waiting for directions.

Jahyme giving me directions.

Carrie and I getting to work painting in the lines.

This sweet little thing liked my bright orange finger nail polish.
I waved and she pointed to her finger then I showed her mine.
She had a big smile.

More kids joined in watching us.

The boys got to help paint.

As we were painting a bicycle group went by and then came back to see what we were doing. Next thing we knew they were all helping. It was great to have extra hands.

Danny wanted a bunch of pavers moved from two different spots. He wanted them all in one different spot. The group behind the bakery started a chain and moved them. It was pretty funny. The pavers by our house were being stacked into a Chinese style bike that had a cart on it. The kids took turns driving. When it was Cameron's turn I was filming and boy did he have a hard time steering. They are difficult but there was also a kids pushing from the back making him go too fast.

All these pavers needed to be moved.

Behind the bakery they made a chain.  Moving pavers
from here...

To the corner behind Cameron's head.

Cameron was excited to ride this Chinese bike.

The Chinese boys were pushing too hard.

Still working on the pavers being moved.

Once all the pavers were moved the kids went back to painting. Cameron and Ryley were on some scaffolding painting a higher spot. I stopped what I was doing so I could keep a serious eye on the boys. The men were watching them too so they were safe but it was just a mom thing. Some of the Chinese ladders and scaffolding are not the safest. Cameron and Ryley worked very hard and did a great job.

 

Painting behind the air conditioners.

These are some good boys.

Cameron was excited to use the big roller.

 

At 11:30 we took a break for lunch. We went to a room that seemed to be a playroom and music room. It also had a separate room that had a small therapy pool. It was cool. Danny and his crew made out of this world pizzas. I'm still amazed how good they were. We took about an hour to hang out and chat then went back to work.

This is the therapy pool.

Cameron, Ryley, Tobais, and Dexter were loving the pizza.

The guys painted what they could. The house is very tall and there was no safe way to get the top. Trust me, the guys thought of every possible option. Even thought tying a guy to a rope and lowering him from the roof but decided it wasn't safe. You think? We cleaned up the brushes and stuff. We then went into the bakery. I ordered chocolate chip banana muffins before we came.  I also bought frozen sausage that was on the pizza, brats, breakfast sausage patties, and another kind of sausage. I can't wait to try them.

Raking again.

Working on the back of the house.

Cleaning up.

Look at all these mushrooms.

Peanuts, ginger root, and Mooar (it's rubbery).

The kids posing at the bakery.

The house almost finished in this picture.

The bakery.

Ainsley and Cameron taking a time out for a picture.

The kids were trying to make elephant sounds.
Danny thought they were funny.

Jahyme laid down and said it felt good.
Tobias and Cameron tried it out.

Cameron, Ainsley, and Tobias taking a break.

In the van at 2:07 and headed back to TEDA. Arrived home around 3:30.  As it turned out I had nothing to be worried about going to the orphanage.  It was nice.  Carrie apologized to me later for forgetting to take us inside to meet the kids.  We will be going back so I will do that next time.

Trying his chocolate chip banana muffins.

Cameron was suppose to be taking a shower but instead he came out wearing my wig.  He then proceeded to pose with it on.  He is one silly boy.  At 6:30 I took Cameron to Carrasco's so I (Todd is out of town) could go to the 80's party. I knocked on the door and Alejandro answered it. He looked up at me in amazement. I asked if his mom was home but he couldn't even speak...he just shook his head up and down. He finally realized it was me and started to laugh. Then Marcela saw me. She said I looked different. She told me she thought I would look better if I put my bangs down. I told her I couldn't and she said "come on, just try it". She didnt understand that this was the style back in the day. She later told her mom she still thought I would have looked better with my bangs down. Funny girl.

Seriously, what kind of pose is this?

Isn't my little girl so cute?

Ileana wasn't ready yet so I met Sharla and Will for a drink at Wai Ha. Olivia and Aaron met us too. Ileana finally came. She said she cancelled her ayi because Fredy didn't want to go to the party. But then they went for a run and he changed his mind. She sent her ayi a message to come and she answered ok. She never came. Sharla and Olivia tried to talk to her on the phone but she said she couldn't come. Ileana called Fredy and told him the ayi wasn't coming and he said it was his fault and it was ok. Well, then Ileana had one of the Chinese waitresses call her ayi. She said if she could find someone to watch her child she would be over. About 10 minutes later she sent a message and said she was on her way. Ileana called Fredy but he was already in his pajamas hanging with the kids. Ileana said no way was she telling the ayi again so Fredy had to get ready again. Oh my goodness it was such drama.

We have the same hair.  We are cute huh?

At 8:15 we jumped in a cab and we had him make a U-turn and stop across the street. We were sure he was thinking 'what on Earth?'. After about 5 minutes Fredy came running. He jumped in and we headed to Banjingwan to Peter and Crista's 40th birthday party. We walked in and I barely recognized Peter. He was dressed up like Freddy Mercury. He looked awesome and so funny. Every time I looked at him I laughed. There were a lot of funny outfits. Troy and Josh said if they were giving out prizes I would win for the biggest bangs. My wig reminded me of my hair from the 80's...BIG hair.

This is my real 80's hairdo.

This is my dress up 80's hairdo.
Peter had a studio set up to take pictures.

My crazy friends.
Anne, Cecilia, Me, Rachel, Andrea, Erica, and Ileana.

Freddy Mercury (Peter), Me, and Crista.
Awesome party hosts.

Me, Mette, Ileana, Trine, Crista, and Beau (Mette's husband)
Mette would win for best hair.

Ileana, Heidi, and Me.
Heidi made the perfect disco ball with her baby bump.

Peter and I talked about the game beer pong weeks ago so he wanted to teach me one of his Danish games. He showed me how to do it. You take a shorty beer bottle and put the cap on top. Try to blow the cap into a glass. The first two times I blew I couldn't even move the cap. Peter would blow and it would go in the glass. I finally figured out I had to get lower and I was able to do it a couple of times. Everyone was watching us and cracking up laughing. Peter obviously had been practicing for weeks because he barely missed. Luckily it was just a friendly game.

Peter trying to explain the game to me.

I'm trying so hard to blow the cap off.

I made Ileana try to prove it wasn't easy.

Jakob, Ileana, Me, and Peter.  Good times.

Troy and Josh were hilarious.

Around 11:30 Peter and Crista passed out cake. We sang to them. Then they showed us another game everyone had to play. Everyone stood in a circle. When the music starts the people with the plastic bottles (2 of them) start passing it by putting the bottle between their knees. When the music stops whoever has the bottle is out. There were so many laughs during this game. It's fun and easy.

Everyone is listening to the rules.

Peter and Crista explaining the game.

Erica is ready.

And the game has begun.

Troy and Josh look like they have done this a
few times.

Anne won and I was afraid she was going to blow
the cork right into the tv.

Then there was dancing to 80's music. Again, very funny. People trying to do the worm which did not work. We finally called it a night at 12:45. Ileana, Fredy, Me, and Anne said our goodbyes and grabbed a cab back to Warner. We went into Carrasco's. Everyone was in bed but we could hear the boys laughing and talking. I asked if Cameron wanted to stay and he said yes. I was glad because he had some issues staying places the last couple times he had tried. Up to the apartment and off to bed.

Josh and I decided to trade wigs.  He didn't make a very
cute girl.