30 Things We Did During Our First Year of Marriage:

This is just a rough list of SOME of the many great things we did this year!!! 

1. Moved to China
2. Saw the Great Wall (again) =)
3. Traveled to SEVEN different countries: China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, & Macau. (Ok technically HK & Macau are considered part of China, but we still had to go through customs and get a stamp)
4. Added pages to our passports because they were full
5. Became SSI scuba certified
6. Lived in a dorm room
7. Celebrated every holiday (except 4th of July) with just each other
8. Made the local newspaper
9. Learned how to save money (lived only on one paycheck...saved the other)
10. TEFL certified teachers
11. Taught cute Chinese children English
12. Got involved at our church with the youth group & began teaching Sunday School
13. Went on a mission trip to Cambodia
14. Began cooking homemade pancakes...now we eat banana pancakes every Thursday morning (Thanks Aunt Grace for the recipe)
15. Joined the local gym...we're the only foreigners!
16. Hang dry all of our clothes- not because we want to...
17. Swam with a whale shark
18. Enjoyed many "Skype dates" with family and friends.
19. Saw movies in 3D in Hong Kong
20. Went to Hong Kong for random trips for imported foods, electronics, and fun
21. While living in another country, we still managed to receive monogrammed gifts from family...our Christmas stockings
22. Learned how to cook on an electric hot plate
23. Baked banana bread, brownies, cookies, and a cake in a toaster oven with no temperature setting other than bake, broil, & toast
24. Tried food from all over the world
25. Attended our siblings graduations separately...since Katie and Max graduated on the same day!
26. Bought over 100 pirated movies...I don't think that's a good thing...
27. Had 2 suits, 5 dress shirts, & 1 dress made for under $500 US dollars!
28. Ate at Outback in Hong Kong
29. Joined a small group at our church and we meet every Wednesday night for food and fellowship!
30. Learned how to love each other more and more each day!!


This year has been full of fun, laughter, love, and adventure! We're so blessed and thankful for all the support!! We're looking forward to many many more years together!!!


Here are some pictures to recap our year! 

On the Great Wall

Our first big breakfast we cooked: pancakes, 

hashbrowns, eggs, & bacon

Some of the students Jordan teaches

In Hong Kong on New Year's Eve

In Hong Kong watching Avatar for Jordan's 24th birthday at an IMAX 3D theater

Our 1st Christmas tree...noticed the monogrammed stockings...thanks Mom! 

Jordan in the local newspaper after finishing our first 10K Mountain Road Race

In Malaysia at the Petronas Towers

In Thailand with our scuba instructor and friends Emily and Murray after we were officially certified!

In the Philippines on the longest underground river

In Cambodia during our mission trip.

Our 1st Anniversary Weekend! =)

This weekend Jordan and I celebrated our 1st Anniversary in Macau. Macau added yet another stamp to our passports and we enjoyed the weekend at the Grand Waldo Hotel. Macau was once owned by Portugal and has some delicious food, beautiful views, and a great night life. There are some beautiful hotels with some outrageous casinos. We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend...can't believe it's been 1 year since the greatest day of my life!!! =)

Here are a few pictures!!!! 

Before going to see ZAIA...Jordan in his new tailored suit & shirt...

At the Venetian after watching ZAIA (cirque du soleil)...fabulous by the way!

Outside the Venetian

We ate dinner at the Hard Rock on Saturday night! YUMMMM!!

I'll post the rest of the pictures on Facebook really soon! =)

Getting Ready for Cambodia...

Tomorrow we leave for Phnom Penh, Cambodia with 15 other youth and adults from our church! We leave Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon and will return Monday May 3rd. We've had lots of fun preparing for the trip and raised over $2,000 US dollars between bake sales, hot dog after church lunch, and T-shirt sales. We are using the money we raised for activities such as feeding a group of about 100 children lunch one day, buying some soccer, volleyballs, and jump ropes for the kids, and we're also taking about four suitcases filled with donated lightly worn children's clothes, toys we've purchased, and a school supply kit.  We have a music team and a puppet show team who will be doing a little program during our visits with the children. We have a packed four days and plan on seeing over 450 Cambodian children during this week. Please be in prayer for us as we embark on a great adventure to share God's love during this trip.

Here's a link to some quick facts about Cambodia: http://www.visit-mekong.com/cambodia/fast_fact.htm

Thank you so much for your prayers!! Can't wait to blog again soon and share everything with you!

God Bless,
Tyler & Jordan

"I've never been bowling before"

Last night, we went bowling with some of our friends/co-workers from school. We started the evening at a Northeastern China style restaurant and then went bowling. On our walk toward the bowling ally, we stopped for a photo shoot with these large bull statues that are randomly under one of the walking bridges. Bowling was a blast, especially watching two of the three Chinese girls learn how to bowl! We played girls on one team and guys on the other and I took a picture of the girls score board after the first round. Note: I am bowler #2...but please check out bowler #4's score... =) It was hilarious!!! Besides the fact that the bowling ball weighed as much as them, trying to explain in English and Chinese how to bowl was an experience. We finally reverted to the picture that was on the wall with the directions. What a night! I spoke with the girls today, and they all complained of being sore from such physical activity. Oh China...