Away we go!!!

The day is finally here!  In less than 48 hours we will meet our son.  Goodbyes to the kids at home were hard last night.  Rosie cried off and on for the last two days, with lots of hugs and many prayers in between.  I'm not sure Love Bug understands exactly how long we will be gone - 13 days is a big number for a 4 year old.  I packed a treat bag for each of them for each day we are gone and had them laying out in the dining room for the last few weeks.  We explained to Love Bug that we would be gone until she had opened the last bag so the other day, as I was talking to her about us leaving I asked her, "Love Bug, what will be changing when mommy and daddy come home from China?"  She paused for a minute, looking up at the ceiling, and then with wide eyes, replied, "All of my presents will be gone!"  Ha!  Glad to know she has her priorities straight ;)  T-man is our rock.  He has helped me a ton with last minute details and even cleaned the house with me yesterday but when it came time to say goodbye last night, I felt warm tears fall on my arms as we prayed with him.  They are all excited to meet little man and are going to love him like crazy, but this two weeks is going to be stretching for all of us.

We loaded up the van at 3am this morning and headed to the airport. I think I slept a few hours off an on through the night last night but my mind and heart were racing.  Mostly I just laid awake praying for all that is ahead.  Little Man has most likely been told what is ahead for him but at 2 years old, I am certain he will be a very scared little boy when we first meet him.  As I prayed last night, I remembered Jeremiah 29:11 and how true it is for our little man:  "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares The Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.'"  My stomach has been doing somersaults since yesterday and as I prayed that God would calm my anxious heart He reminded me how clearly He is in control of this journey.  "Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."  I have been reminding myself of this Truth all morning.  

We are now on a layover in Detroit until we board our plan to Shanghai.  Our last layover will be in  Shanghai with a final destination of Fuzhou.  All told, we will be traveling 34 hours - phew!   We can hardly stand the wait until we meet our son but so excited it is just hours away.  We arrive in Fuzhou at 11:00 pm China time on Saturday - we will check in to our hotel, get some rest (hopefully) and meet Little Man at our hotel on Sunday afternoon.  He will be with us for the entire duration of our trip after that.  I'll try to post once we land in Shanghai but for now, goodbye to the USA and Ni Hao China!