Author Archives: starghillrm

A few weeks ago my 13 year old daughter was upset because her science grade fell to an 89. (*I might write another post on perfectionism, but that’s for another day). She’s accustomed to school work coming easily, so this was new territory. I simply reminded her that 1) an 89 was actually not aContinue reading “We can do hard things”

… our China adventure has come to an end. For several reasons – reasons which I’ll categorize as ‘life happens’ – our China adventure has come to an end.  We returned to Cincinnati, OH last week, just in time for the kids to start school (see obligatory first day of school photo below!). While I’mContinue reading “And Just Like That….”

If you’ve been reading along for the past 2 1/2 years, you know that the number one perk to living abroad, for our family, is the travel.  Our trips not only provide a much needed respite from the hectic place China can be, but they also open us up to different cultures, histories and waysContinue reading “Traveling Like We’re Chinese”

“Somebody’s watchin’ me…” Ok, I won’t judge you if you weren’t able to finish the line from Rockwell’s mid-80s song:).  For those who do know the song, I’m sorry if it’s is now stuck in your head! If you’ve ever been to China, however, you know just how relevant this song is. Since we’ve beenContinue reading “I Always Feel Like…”

One of the best things about living abroad…actually  THE best thing about living abroad, is the opportunity we have to travel.  Since the move to China , we’ve been fortunate to travel to all kinds of places — from dream destinations like Bali, Indonesia to places we loved but had no idea existed, like Yangshou,Continue reading “Rest in an Unexpected Place”

One thing has become clearer the longer we are here – living in China can be hard!  After the novelty, proximity to great vacations, and adventures that await – you can’t underestimate how frustrating everyday living can be.  Whether it’s the distance from family,  off-putting sanitary conditions, sub-par medical care, or a translation gone wrong-Continue reading “Filling My Cup”

I’ve known that I was Black as long as I can remember. There was that one time in Kindergarten when I asked my mom if I could have “down hair”;  she promptly told me I could not, painted all my Barbie dolls brown, and then before I knew it, we’d moved to a more diverseContinue reading “Letting Our Hair Down”

Xin Nian Kuai Le (pronounced sheen neean kwai luh) Happy New Year, (again)! That’s right, here in China, we get to celebrate New Years twice; once on December 31st and again only a few weeks later.  Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday in China.  The timing is dictated by the lunar calendar but usuallyContinue reading “Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! 新年快乐!”

What did God do for you in 2017 and who are you going to tell? This was the challenge that the speaker gave to us during the last church service of 2017 at Guangzhou International Christian Fellowship (GICF).  And, as you can imagine, with our move to China just over one year ago, we have aContinue reading “Stepping into 2018 with Thanks!”

When people think they know me, before they even get to know me, I love to prove them wrong.  Think that because I’m a woman I can’t dig into math problems like the best of them? I just might mention my mathematics degree in casual conversation.  Think that because I’m Black, I’m going to walkContinue reading “More than Meets the Eye”