Update

It’s been a while since we posted an update on some of things going on in our lives in China. So here’s a quick rundown:

We got both our air and sea shipments last week. It was like Christmas, Hanukah, Easter, and Graduation all rolled into one. The joy was immense. Juliet was so thrilled to get her toys. Annie was elated to get her things to turn the house into a home. Scott had never been so happy to see a case of Right Guard in his whole life. We also received the digital camera charger so we’ll start posting pictures soon.

The maid (Mae) has been with us now for 3 weeks – working about 30-35 hours a week. We didn’t know how we would like having someone else in our house so much and worried that we wouldn’t like having a full time employee. That reluctancy was dashed in about 12 minutes – Mae has truly changed our lives. The house is always spotless, as she does a great job cleaning. Having all our clothes neatly folded and pressed is glorious (though Annie had a “Sleeping with the Enemy” moment the first time she opened her underwear drawer and each pair of panties was meticulously folded).

Mr. Chen (our driver) is rapidly learning English. So much so that we’re worried the world’s biggest backseat driver (Juliet) is going to make him quit. “Why are we going this way?” “Why is this taking so long?” “Does he know where he’s going?” There’s nothing like a five year old who’s lived here for a month questioning a man who’s been a driver in Shanghai for 20 years.