I should have posted sooner, but if have been a bit busy. ;-). Dirk and I are sitting at our gate waiting for our flight to China! There was some drama getting our tickets because the airline miles weren't redeemable as they promised, but we were still able to put them to good use and here we are. I mean, we can't exactly back out now just because of an airline ticket, now can we?
We left our kids at home with my step-mom and they are all having a blast! I gave Daniel and Lila each a journal in which I had written them a letter each day we will be gone. They both lit up when I gave those to them and I hope that helps them to feel connected and loved. Since Nathan is much too small to read, I didn't give him one, but I spent a long time last night explaining what was happening so he wouldn't be surprised to wake up and find us gone. We planned to leave at 5 am so I knew that once I tucked them in, it would be a couple of weeks before I saw them again. I woke up a little after 4 and laid in bed wondering whether to get up or try to get a little more sleep. Not long after, Nathan got up and turned his light on. That is very unusual for him so I went to check on him and he was so sad it almost broke my heart! He seemed happy to see me and stroked my hair (one of the things he used to do as a baby!). I went and snuggled with him for quite a while and explained that we were going to leave soon but Grammy was downstairs and would play with him, etc. he seemed much more at peace and I left with him saying, "I love you, Mommy!" My heart went from broken to melted!
While we were driving, Grammy texted me and said that when Nathan got up, he went into our room and asked where Mommy and Daddy were. She told him that we were going on an airplane to China and he asked her, "to get baby sister?" And she said yes. He then had a huge grin and jumped up and down clapping. The other 2 have been great too, she said. Such a blessing!! I just hope they can keep this excitement and bravery up for a while. It will be a long wait!
We will get to Guangzhou on Sunday night at 9:20 (Chinese time) and we will meet Mei-Lin on Monday. Not much time to get over jet lag so I am hoping we can manage to stay awake and be tired enough to sleep through the night "tonight". I have been feeling like I am getting sick for a couple of days now so hopefully that clears up as well. I think it's some kind of allergies that I never used to have. At least that's my guess. It's just a ton of sinus drainage giving me a raw, sore throat and not much else. Maybe China won't have whatever it is that is cause of this nonsense.... Hopefully! ;-)
I will try to update as I can.
