Seeing The Unseen

So a week ago Rob and I packed a little bag and headed off to Shanghai for 2 whole days and nights!!!! Yippee!!!!! We haven't had any real time alone to relax in well.........It's pretty bad that I have no idea right? We did have one night to ourselves for our Anniversary this summer, but of course it was coupled with our summer traveling schedule so it was only minorly relaxing. If we had loads of disposable income we would love to travel the world, but alas we don't. But what we do have is a wonderful sister and brother-in-law who were willing to watch our kids, and a wonderful family who gave us a little Christmas gift to enjoy. We haven't seen much of China, really only our own city and Beijing, so we decided Shanghai would be a great place to start. We flew into Shanghai on a Wednesday morning and got down to exploring. We walked around the Yu Garden which is just beautiful. Then we of course did a little souvenir shopping (since we bribed the kids with...

So it seems like all of my conversations these days are centered around satisfaction. This week I have discussed it in person, via e-mail, via facebook, via skype with lots of women who I love dearly. I have begun to marvel at the number of times it has come up and the knowledge that despite our different ages, cultures, positions in life, situations in life, we are all so similar. Maybe in part it's the dreary winter weather that never seems to end, coupled with the desire to peer around the corner a bit and discover spring. Maybe it's the circumstances that we find ourselves in. But mostly I think it's just that void way deep down in our souls that is always whispering that we haven't quite found it yet. If I could just have..... I would be satisfied. Over the years my blank has been filled in by many different objects of desire, some silly, some important, some good, some bad. But if I'm honest with myself there is almost always something in that blank. ...

So Chinese New Year is finally winding down. There were a few fireworks tonight, but nothing much. We had a fun week relaxing and celebrating. Chinese New Year is a strange time to be here. It's almost like watching Christmas without really participating. Everyone everywhere travels home, to whatever city or village they were originally from. People travel for hours by bus, trains, and planes to make their way home. Stores, restaraunts, banks, post offices, schools; everything closes for the week. Life essentially grinds to a halt. Our ayi is gone for a month. Rob is off of work for a month. Our Chinese lessons are done until March. Of course there are always a few things open, but the quiet around our house is a little weird. The weather was nice though, so we had a good time playing outside for a bit, walking to the beach, spending time with friends and visiting a playground or two. It was nice to spend time all together with Rob's family with no particular agenda...

Last week we had some new friends over for dinner. We were also babysitting our niece Ella. It was an entertaining night. They brought along a turtle that they were house sitting. It was in a small cardboard box. It was a BIG turtle. My friend warned us that it might bite, so just not to put your fingers in front of it's face. The kids were fascinated and also terrified at the same time and I have to admit so was I. As we ate dinner and talked, much to the kids excitement and horror, the turtle got bored and climbed out of the box; it wanted to explore the house I suppose. My friend put it back in the box, but repeatedly through the course of the night, the turtle would climb back out and go exploring. It was quite the surprise to happen upon it when you rounded a corner. The kids would randomly discover it in their room, or the office and scream loudly, running for cover :-) After they went home, the kids went to bed. Ella was sharing Robbie's huge bed with him, and...