Archives “Why do you so earnestly seek the truth in distant places? Look for delusion and truth in the bottom of your own heart.” ― Ryokan Summer Holiday '22 This year's summer vacation as pretty epic. Because of the many prohibitive restrictions and price of traveling to the US, Adding Manual Payment Options in Heightsplatform, using jQuery HeightsPlatform has a super simple and sleek payment process. However, in my case, since I'm in China, I needed to Child of Mine, by Jeremy N. Carman In song writing, what comes first? The lyric or the music? This time, a chord progression clearly led the way. My Brother, Matt’s, Eulogy of our Dad My dad was an anomaly. By today’s standards he was a radical thinker. He believed that he could change the world for 6 Facts About my Dad by my brother, Nate Carman Good afternoon everyone. I am going to try not to look at any of you so that I can get My Dad - Memories and Lessons Learned My dad was not a man of many words. He wasn’t a man that often taught us lessons with his My Dad's Obituary Bill Carman, age 66, went home to be with his Lord, July 11, 2019. He is survived by his wife, #aphotoaday China Traffic I love this photo. It's not that I did a great job taking the shot. I didn't and it could #aphotoaday Buses We take buses just about every day. Most of the time we're taking a charter bus to the school. But #aphotoaday Bird Throwing Hobby Ever heard of "Bird Throwing"? Yeah, me neither. "What is it", you ask? Well, it's quite literally throwing a bird. #aphotoaday Jiggity Jig This is another guest post from my daughter, Anna. She got me dancing. Well, it probably shouldn't be called dancing...anything, #aphotoaday Hole in the Wall When you think of the phrase, "hole in the wall restaurant" in China, this is what comes to mind. The #aphotoaday Concentration Lucas, once settled from other distractions, has an uncanny ability to remain focused on something for a long time. Of #aphotoaday View of your Dad My daughter, Anna, is my second guest poster in this series. It's an interesting shot and it got me thinking #aphotoaday Sleepy This is my first guest photo on this #aphotoaday series. It was taken by my wife. I was discussing with #aphotoaday Milk Tea Milk tea is a thing here. And we're really into it. This is from our favorite milk tea place called, #aphotoaday Sunset in Tianjin Our city gets a bad wrap because it's known for being polluted...and it's true. We do have alot of pollution. #aphotoaday Christmas Tree Christmas trees remind of us Jacquelyn's mom. She loved decorating for Christmas. We've had a hard time taking the tree #aphotoaday Violin In coming back to China, one of things we really wanted to see was our children continue learning violin. Over #aphotoaday Chinese Shack Outside my office, in the otherwise sprawling surroundings of educational facilities that make up an international school and a university, #aphotoaday Peers I work with a pretty incredible group of peers. The people that have similar positions to me are in different #aphotoaday Mirror of the Past In my daily interactions with my children I don't typically think about the fact that my children look like me. #aphotoaday For the Love of Reading If you've been around my house, you've seen this as a normal occurrence. I envy her ability to be utterly #aphotoaday Light It hides in the darkness It seethes and thrives It spreads grows feeds on Everything around it Until it is #aphotoaday Mentor When I was offered a chance to move back overseas, I came with the condition that I would need someone #aphotoaday Dog This is one of the most interesting mutts I've ever seen. It has such striking facial features. It wasn't what #aphotoaday Breakfast Parties My wife and I have an "on again off again" relationship with running. Currently, we are "on again". Each Saturday #aphotoaday Friend Living overseas means constant changes. Friendship is no exception. But it only makes them even more highly valued. This is #aphotoaday An Apple a Day When I was young my mom would tell me the bruised parts were where all the vitamins were. I didn't #aphotoaday Sneaky Little Pitter-Patters Sneaky little pitter-patters are about this evening. This one's supposed to be in bed. She's not the first one up, #aphotoaday Beauty in the Morning This is what my wife looks like in the morning. I know, right? Even in the morning she glows. But #aphotoaday Morning Game Time Micah's usually our early riser. He's also the first one done with getting ready to go in the morning. But Carmans and Greenes Together Again We were thrilled to have our friends, the Greenes, stay with us again for Christmas. We had lots of fun, Thanksgiving in China '17 This hasn't been most ideal Thanksgiving. With the passing of my mother-in-law, it's kinda thrown our family out of sorts. Lucas and Micah's Drawings Every week our 3rd grader brings home a movie from the school's library. One particular DVD they bring home is Funeral of Vangie Smith Although it wasn't surprising, it still hurts none-the-less. My mother-in-law has passed away. She lived well and she loved hard. A Major Setback Last night and today were bad days. Actually, it's been a bad 3 weeks - I just didn't realize it. Chaos at the Weighing Station In China, as in most places, most fruit and vegetables have to be weighed before you can buy them. Normally, Eloise's 3rd Birthday Eloise had a great birthday! It started on Friday when JK and I brought in cupcakes to share with her Dragon's Head. Where the Wall Meets the Sea. Recently, on a trip out of town for a training, we got the opportunity to go to the furthest point Flower Face Last week we had to end the work and school day early because we had imposed traffic regulations because of Don't tell jokes while driving Here in China, just like everywhere else, they place important messages on street signs to remind you of driving safely. New Staff Meetings It's been several weeks since the year started and it's time that we reconvened with our new staff to see Ode to Brown Leather Belt You have served me well, brown leather belt. You've been hugging my hips for a long time. You definitely hold Ghost Festival It's quite common practice in China to burn fake money to appease or give money to ghosts or ancestors in Fixing a Bike The nice thing about biking in China is that it's very common. On the one hand there are a ton Lunch at School Having my office at the school building means I get to see my children periodically throughout the day. I don't Welcoming New Staff On Saturday we held our annual Welcome Dinner. It's a time that we kick of the year with a party Helping Make Oatmeal Micah really likes oatmeal. He would eat it everyday if I let him. Well, actually, he would eat cereal everyday, First Day of School '17 #2 Today was the first day of school for the rest of the children. Each one was excited and seemed to 1 2 3 … 8 Next »