And We're Off !!!

Sort of. We flew 35 minutes to Seattle and now are waiting out a six hour layover, before flying all night direct to Beijing. It feels a little anti-clamatic to have flown so little and to be now sitting around for so long, but really, without kids, layovers can be quite relaxing. I've read two magazines and knitted half of a head wrap thingy which is more quiet-time activity than I've enjoyed in the past month combined.

Saying goodbye to the kiddos was not as hard as I had expected. We didn't leave until 9:30 this morning so we had all been up together for three hours and while, early on, we snuggled and I had my teary moment, by about 8 they were saying, "When are you guys leaving???" I think they were ready to get on with the Grandma spoiling and fun that they knew was imminent. I was thankful for that.  

Between the frenzy of the past couple of weeks and the reality of a long-held dream coming true, Caleb and I seem kind of in disbelief that we are really here on the journey part of this adventure. Our sage reflections have sounded something like this:

"4 kids, really?"
"I can't believe we're really doing this"
"Wow, it sure is quiet" 
"Oh, look at that little baby." 
"What a cute family with all their kids." 

Bear with me, as I trust I will have deeper thoughts to share the deeper we get into this.

Here is a general itinerary of our two weeks in China:   
*Arrive in Beijing at 11:40 pm Thurs night (we will be 16 hours ahead)
*Friday: tour The Great Wall and Hutong Lane
*Saturday: tour The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square
*Sunday: Fly to Rosalie's Province (Shaanxi)
*Sunday afternoon (I get butterflies just writing this): Rosalie's Forever Family Day (Okay, and teary just writing that)
*Monday: Adoption processing and paperwork at government offices
*Tuesday: free day and shopping for baby supplies
*Wednesday: Tour to see the Terra Cotta Army (so excited about this!)
*Thursday: Optional tour to the Wild Goose Pagoda (we'll see if we're up to it)
*Friday: Fly to Guangzhou 
*Saturday - Wednesday: various appointments at the U.S. consulate, medical appointments for Rosalie and getting her U.S. Visa.  We will have several open days for sightseeing.
*Wednesday 3/13: take the train to Hong Kong
*Thursday 3/14: Arrive home in Portland at 8:45 am and reunite as a family of SIX!  

Thank you to all of you back home who are praying for us, taking care of our kids and sharing in our excitement.  We feel very loved and blessed.