Final Countdown!

Yes, it's finally here! We leave on Friday morning!! We fly to San Francisco, then a fun 12 hour flight to Beijing. We will stay in a hotel near the Forbidden City on Saturday night, then go PICK UP OUR DAUGHTER on Sunday morning!!!!!! At New Day Foster Home we will have the opportunity to express our thanks to both the New Day staff and Sarah's sweet foster family. I can't even imagine what this will be like.

I have been so busy trying to get everything ready for home, school, and the trip. I think I am just about there, but there are still lots of loose ends to tie up.

Thank you to all family and friends who offer to help and for your encouraging words! We wouldn't be able to do it without all of your love and support!

Will try to post pictures of Sarah's room if I get a minute. If not, then you'll know why!

And now, strap yourselves in and hold on tight, this is going to be quite the ride!!!

P.S. Do you like my airplane picture? I like this happy airplane. It helps calm my nerves about flying! :)

Pumpkin Patch!

While getting ready for our trip, we have celebrated two birthdays and also visited our favorite pumpkin patch. It's a tradition, no matter how busy we are. And this year definitely takes the cake for "busy ness"!

Good news!!!

We found out this morning that we WILL get to meet Sarah's foster parents!!!

I need to make a list of questions to ask them! How cool is this???

I'm sure I'll be an emotional wreck, but what an opportunity to meet them and a sense of closure for all of us.

Consulate Appointment Set!

We have a confirmed consulate appointment for November 12!! This means that we can get serious about booking flights and making travel plans.

I have so much to do that I don' t know where to start (literally). I am trying to do at least one thing every day that will move us in the right direction. When people ask me if I am excited, I say, "Yes!" because of course I am, but I am feeling a ton of different emotions right now.

For the most part, we are VERY excited, but I am worried about leaving the boys. We rarely leave them, and never for this long. So I am a little nervous about that. And I am such a "home body" and love my little routines that I think this jaunt will definitely throw me for a loop, to say the least. But maybe it's not a bad thing to be thrown for a loop every once in a while. :)

We have decided to spend some extra money to be able to fly into Beijing and visit New Day Foster Home. It really wasn't a hard decision to make. I feel a real connection with the good people there who have been so kind and accomodating to us throughout the journey. We are hoping we will get to meet Sarah's foster parents when we visit New Day. Waiting to see if this will be a possibility.

Birthday Boy!

Logan had a birthday party on Saturday with some of his friends.

We went to a place with lots of big, inflatable slides! It was fun!Jason came to the party, too. Here he is on the slides with Logan. Happy birthday, sweet Logan! You are a smart, happy, kind, and great kid! We are proud of you and are so thankful that you are part of our family!

Last care package arrives!!

We sent Sarah a talking picture frame and recorded both of our voices so she will hopefully recognize our faces and voices when we see her for the first time. I call these pictures the "Calamine lotion" picture series because she has a big dollop of white lotion on her forehead. :)

All blog readers with little girls-- I seriously need some "toddler hair styling" lessons. Do you see all that hair?? Hmmm. Maybe I can manage a pony tail. Maybe!

I knew today would be busy, after a long week of no news because of the Chinese Moon festival holiday. We got an email with new pictures of Sarah from New Day, and a phone call from Morgan regarding our travel plans and consulate appointment. It looks like we will be leaving on Oct. 31. We have a couple more travel issues to iron out, but hopefully we can purchase tickets soon. And I literally have a thousand things to do before the end of the month. Sigh. Trying to stay focused, but my brain is like mush.

Sarah is 18 months old!

We got Sarah's monthly update today, but no picture. Hopefully we'll get some pictures when she opens the care package we sent. I hope.
Here's the monthly report:

This report was written by Sarah Mei's foster family.
Whenever we finish eating, Sarah Mei will take some food to feed the cat, which is always meowing outside. At night, when grandmother is wondering if she is sleepy, she will use her little finger to point to her eyes to show that she is tired. Then her grandmother will put her in bed and tell her to wait for milk. At this time, she will wait quietly, drink her milk, and then fall asleep slowly. Today her Grandpa was playing with her in the backyard. He pointed at the moon and told her what it was. She remembered the word "moon" at once. Sarah Mei is really smart!

I'm glad she has been around animals a little. Maybe our 2 outside dogs won't scare her too much. Such a nice update. We are so excited to finally bring her home, but my heart aches for her foster family. Hopefully we'll be able to send pictures and keep in contact with them through New Day Foster Home.