a short jump out of the fishbowl

• It's that time of year again in our neck of the woods. The time of year when we see kids as little as 6 years old carrying lighters around and setting off firecrackers. That time of year when an overabundance of roosters and hens are hanging out on the neighbors' balconies in preparation for the big slaughter. That time of year when we notice fewer and fewer vendors each morning at the market as people return home for the biggest holiday of the year. Chinese New Year is on January 23 this year. It's a rip-roaring, firecracker-setting, LOUD and spectacular holiday.
• But tomorrow, our family is heading south for a little, OK, BIG vacation. This will be the longest vacation we've ever taken and we are excited! Several months back when we didn't think we'd have any of our usual meetings to attend this year for work, Kevin and I decided to go ahead and spend the money to head to our favorite nearby country for vacation with some great friends. As it turns out, we do have some business to take care of for work later in February in the same country, but we didn't find out about that trip until after we already purchased tickets for this trip. Even so, we still think it's so worth the money to go ahead and meet our friends and have time to play together as a family. I think this is the longest stretch we've ever gone without leaving the mainland, a whole year. (That might not sound like a long time but we're feeling it.) Small annoyances like people cutting in line, repairmen who only half-repair something at our house, and people shouting "foreigner, foreigner!" really should roll off our backs after 7 years in this country, but we still feel the culture stress at times. It's time to get out of the fishbowl for a few weeks. Kevin and I were laughing together the other day because lately, when strangers come up and touch our girls' hair (which of course makes them run away), Kevin has been known to just go up and touch their hair, too. Just to mess with them. He does it with a smile but do you think we might need to leave for a few weeks!? Ha!
• Grace and I worked through December and didn't take much of a break with home school, knowing we'd be taking this big break in January. She's doing such a great job and is reading and has been such a joy to teach, but I can tell we both need a break.
• I'm really hoping that during this vacation Kevin and I can really rest in Him. It's amazing how when vacation mentality hits, we tend to also take a break from good habits like spending time in His word. I plan for this time to be different. I'm also looking forward to finishing an amazing book on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. A friend recommended this book to us and if you have a kindle, I would highly recommend it, too.
• Go eat some Chinese food on January 23 and roar or something. It's almost the Year of the Dragon!