One week to China

Its finally getting to be time to go!  After a year of waiting, we are packing, Mema is coming to stay with the boys, I've got Skype set up on my computer, the last big check was mailed to the adoption agency, and all of our documents and medicines are gathered.  (Guizhou is a province which has malaria, so we have to be prepared).  A group of my wonderful surgery girlfriends have made Yu Ping a beautiful quilt, and some of my best North Idaho girlfriends threw me a shower.  My neighbors, friends, and family are pitching in to help while we are gone and my boss isn't working me very hard this week (although I have to work Friday and we leave on Saturday!!).  A new friend that I met online through an adoption chat group sent me new photos of Yu Ping (her daughter was in the orphanage with her and she had pictures of them together ~ small world!).  It was such a wonderful gift to see my daughter playing with her friends in China (she is the one in the back of the photo posted above)!  We have also been put in touch with 3 other NW families who will be traveling around the same time as us, and who will be staying in the same hotel with us the 2nd week of the trip.  Its so nice to be creating a social network with other adoptive families.  It would be wonderful for Yu Ping to have relationships with other adopted Chinese kids after she arrives in the US. I keep waiting for the nerves to kick in, but so far I am only feeling excitement!  I am hoping to post to this blog everyday while we are in China.  Not only will it be a great way to communicate with folks back home, but it will be a nice keepsake for our daughter.  One word of warning ~ I am not very computer saavy.  Posting to the blog in China is different than posting in the US.  If you are following along, and aren't seeing any new posts, its only because I couldn't figure it out!  I won't be able to email or facebook and phone calls are very expensive, so keep your fingers crossed!!