...and bring a surprise

It's been a while since I've written and a lot has happened. First, I'll explain the title.

Who doesn't love a surprise? We've taught Sophia to love surprises, which are usually a little treat after dinner or school that she has to find through a map. Anyway, Josh and I have been traveling like crazy people lately and while explaining that I was off to Singapore, but Yeh Yah and Nai Nai would be around, Nai Nai told Sophia that she would come over to the house to play with her after school. Yaya replied, "That would be great.....and bring a surprise." We couldn't believe our ears. Anyway, it gave us all a chuckle and yes, she did get a surprise.

Now, other surprises we've had lately.
-Benji's vocabulary explosion. He's up to about 100 words and can repeat just about anything you tell him to.
-Benji is addicted to Queen's "We Will Rock You" and has discovered that it can be played on every device around the house, from our desktop, to iPad, iPhone and iPod and in the car. He will sing it until you put it on for him, so it's basically on repeat on all our devices. So if you see us and we are humming "We Will Rock You," please excuse us.
-Not that it was a surprise, but we had an amazing, wonderful international Thanksgiving celebration with friends from Sweden, Germany, Brazil, Peru and of course the good ole US of A join us, including Josh's parents.
-Sophia loves going over to Yeh Yeh and Nai Nai's house for visits, although we tried a sleepover, but got a call around 9 pm for a pick up. ;)
-how similar Benji and Sophia are. Benji also poops behind curtains now just like his sister did.
-after 3 trips to the public safety bureau in Beijing to change Josh's parents' visas, we found out you can't get a multiple entry visa in China, so they now have to leave the country every 30 days. They are now on their first trip, to Tokyo! We are thinking about Hong Kong or Singapore for Christmas. Let us know if any of you will be in either of those two cities!

On a much sadder note of surprise and shock....
One of our dear ayis, Liu Qing, aged 35, who has worked for us for five years was found dead last Sunday under very suspicious circumstances, but the police are ruling it a suicide, although those who knew her don't believe that she could have left behind her 14 year old daughter. On the eve of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the lack of human rights in China hits too close to home. Liu Qing is a migrant worker and human life is not valued here as it should be and the police will not investigate any further. Liu Qing worked three jobs a day and smiled throughout. She had a heart of gold and was a big part of our life in Beijing. We miss her smile, her warmth, her shuffling feet around the house. She has taken care of us, our children, our parents and our friends and we were honored to be able to buy her and her husband plane tickets home so she could see her dying father a few years ago. We pray for peace for her family and will seek out ways to ensure her daughter is taken care of.

All of this reminds us how fragile life is and to live each moment meaningfully, so go ahead and delight and surprise someone!