Enjoying the holiday

Joseph was born about three weeks after Jay's class duties ended. We still have a little more than two weeks left before classes begin again. Our days are filled with tending to our two little ones, and we are ever grateful for Grammy's presence and help. We are preparing for two difficult transitions, (1) having to get back into a routine fixed schedule with due duties and (2) Grammy's pending departure in early March.

It has increasingly seemed that God blessed us (again) by having Joseph be born during this lull in time on our extended vacation for Spring Festival. He also came just before everything closed down and the country went on vacation when the New Year arrived Jan. 26th. Had he been born during that time and had we needed medical services, it would have been much harder to find good care.

We went back to the hospital yesterday and picked up Joseph's birth certificate. We hope to be busier next week, probably making a trip to Shanghai to get Joseph's passport and citizenship papers started. We also have a good friend from our former days in Changsha coming up to visit her family in Hangzhou. We are very excited about Gao Li's visit, she was one of our best friends during our time in Hunan. Another good friend from our days in Changsha is going to be visiting our friends in Shanghai this next week from Guangdong province, in the extreme south of China. It will also be a joy to visit with her if we have the chance.

Spring Festival is a time to re-connect with family and friends. We sure are enjoying ours.