Shopping Day

We went to the Pearl and Jade market today and spent pretty much all our cash (wink, wink). We bought jade belly Buddhas for the girls and one for me. Joe got a jade piece traditionally worn by Chinese men. The Chinese believe that wearing jade around your neck protects you for your whole life. The fascinating thing is that grade A jade, the highest quality, starts out colorless (a luminous white) with only a tiny pin prick of color. This dot of color shows you what color the piece will become over many years. The Chinese believe it is the spirit of the wearer that makes the color come out over time. As the piece ages, it becomes completely saturated with the color of the pin prick.

We chose the belly Buddha (the Buddha we traditionally think of in the West, although the majority of Buddha images are very thin and feminine looking) because he is believed to bring happiness. I figure happiness is really all you need in life. Essentially nothing else matters if you are happy. Conversely it is equally true as well that nothing else matters if you are unhappy. Plus, I call Grace my belly Buddha because just looking at her brings much happiness and joy. She is full of laughter and has the biggest, warmest and most engaging smile. She IS happiness.

Also, we bought very nice pearls to give to both of the girls on their 16th birthdays. We got the "best quality" and I believe we received a fair price. Katrina wanted to wear hers right then and there. She really didn't like the idea of having to wait until she is sixteen.

After nap time, we took the girls to the swimming pool. It was hysterical. I wish I could have gotten a picture of Grace's face when we first got into the pool. She warmed up to the idea almost immediately. When we went to the side of the pool for Katrina to jump into the pool, I put Grace on the side and asked her to jump to Ma Ma. She made the absolutely cutest face. I can't begin to describe it, but I'll try. She arched her eyebrows about 1/2 an inch, had a wild look in her eyes, held her mouth sideways in the funniest crooked, wide-open smile and looked excited, anxious, eager and tentative all at the same time. Too bad we didn't have our camera in the pool for those first looks of amazement, wonder and joy. Let's just say she's a total water baby. Here's our first water baby about to take a dive into the pool. See the look of the joy on her face.

I'll probably have more to say tomorrow, but I'm pretty tired right now. I think I'll get to bed early tonight. Hopefully I'll stay asleep all night. Good night.