T'was the Night Before China ...

... and all through the house. Not a creature was stirring...

Okay, so that isn't quite the scene here at our home tonight. It is 1:30 a.m. and we are still up. Partially because we know we couldn't sleep if we tried and partially because we just recently put the last items in our suitcases. It seems like this last week or so has been one giant blur. Somehow I am already at the night before departure and I have no idea how I got here! These past few days we have been buying, and planning, and packing and buying some more; trying to make sure we have everything.

Mind you...I tend to pack the largest suitcase I can find when just going on a weekend trip...so packing for two-and-a-half weeks in China, where we are about to get our daughter and have no idea what one might need for a one-year old and no idea of the size of clothing. Well....let's just say our house looks like a tornado hit it. I heard from a few people that we will probably need smaller clothes than we had anticipated for Isabel. So, we have spent part of the last few days purchasing smaller sized items for her. Currently we have packed many items ranging from 6-12 months; tops, pants, dresses, skirts, long sleeved, short sleeved. And although I feel like we have covered all the bases, I am positive we will discover there was something we forgot.

I have also been operating in "mommy mode" as a good friend of mine called it. I am not really a "high maintenance" nor a "prissy girl." However, I rarely go anywhere without makeup on (for the protection of others) and pretty much always have at least run a brush through my hair. Well....these last few days that has gone out the window. My hair has gone straight into a scrunchy and the other day I realized (after we had a house full of guests) that I started to put on my makeup and never got past the chap stick. I have been worrying more about what we need for Isabel and hadn't really put too much thought into if I had everything I needed by way of clothing, toiletries, etc. I guess that is what this is all about....putting the kiddo first before we worry about stuff for ourselves as parents. This is how it should be, and we love it...

These past few days we did have a few brief moments of panic....not over anything in particular....just random moments of "freaking out." But then we would get it pulled together and press onward. We have found our place of calm...it no longer matters that I never cooked all those meals and put them in the freezer for when we get home, if we are leaving the house in tip-top condition, if we remembered to pack everything on our list, or that we don't have the child protector locks on the cabinets yet... All that matters is that we are getting on a plane in a few hours and will be on our way to Isabel. In a couple weeks, we will return home and we will be a family. Everything else will just fall into place...

While we are in China we hope to post almost every day (although I am not naive enough to think that will always happen). But we will post often. We should have pretty good access at all of our hotels. The first couple nights we may still be a bit jet-lagged and I may not write too much. We will get Isabel Sunday night (which will be Sunday morning for y'all back home). Some of you may be at church at that time...please think of us and remember us in your prayers as half way around the world we will finally be a family of Two and a High Chair!