China Itinerary!

This is the second time I've tried to post this... Blogger was not cooperating this morning and I lost everything. =(

This picture perfectly illustrates what my stomach has been feeling over the past 24 hours or so!

I'm sooo excited!!!

We got our China travel itinerary yesterday... we will meet Kelly Elise for the first time on June 10th, 2008-- my dad's birthday.

It will actually be June 9th here in the States, SOOO, to begin the official countdown... we will hold Kelly in our arms for the first time in JUST 10 days!!!

We will fly out of LAX for Hong Kong on June 5th at 12:56pm. We will arrive in Hong Kong at 6:45pm on Friday, June 6th. (China is 15 hours ahead of California time, so if it's noon here, it's 3:00 in the morning there, on the next day.)

We will spend Friday night in Hong Kong. Our agency booked us in a very nice hotel called the Regal Kowloon.

On Saturday, June 7th, we'll do a tour of Hong Kong with our travel group, then we'll spend Saturday night there. We have a free day in Hong Kong on Sunday, June 8th, so Clint's looking forward to exploring Hong Kong on our own, especially since he was there back in 1989.

He's feeling very nostalgic about the whole Hong Kong experience, so he can't wait to check out some of the old spots he visited back then.

He's making me very nervous to be quite honest! We are polar opposites when it comes to adventure! He is "Mr. Adventure" if ever there was one. He loves the unknown!

I, on the other hand, hate it! I like to know what to expect and to stay in control... I like to keep things simple and safe... but Clint loves to head out with no plan, no guide, and just follow the end of his nose!

Sooooo... pray for us!

Honestly, I love that he's like this. He stretches me and helps me to broaden my horizons. I trust him implicitly, so I know we'll be fine. It'll be fun to see Hong Kong through Clint's eyes, so I'm thrilled to see this part of the country with him.

We spend Sunday night in Hong Kong, then we fly out to Guangzhou at 10:20 on the morning of Monday, June 9th.

June 9th is "Dragon Boat Festival Holiday" in China, so no business is done on this day. (I need to research this holiday- I know nothing about it!) We will check into our hotel, the Victory, get settled, and prepare for the next day-- Gotcha Day!!!

I am so overwhelmed at the thought of Gotcha Day. My heart feels so full... I'm amazed and full of wonder that this is actually finally going to happen. This is the day that everything we have prepared for over the past 18 months has been building up to... this is what all this waiting has been about.

We are finally going to hold our baby girl in our arms. My eyes will feast upon her little person and every one of her beautiful features... her eyes, her nose, her mouth, her ears; her fingers and toes; her wrists, her cheeks, her chin, and her hair. I remember doing this with Caleb and Camrn the first time I laid eyes on them. I remember studying every one of their features. It's one of the most amazing and wonderous experiences for a mother.

I will hold Kelly and finally know exactly how big (or little) she is... I will finally know if she's teeny-tiny, like so many say she may be, or if she's really as healthy as she appears in her pictures. I will hold her and she'll be a real, three-dimensional person... no longer a one-dimensional picture, and a mystery to me.

I will begin to be a student of Little Miss Kelly. I will learn what she likes and what she dislikes... I will study her expressions and her body language and be attentive to every move she makes. I will try to understand the unspoken cues she's gives me, and reach out to her and attempt to begin to establish a relationship built on trust and love with her as I keep myself open and available to her for whatever she needs.

The best word to describe how I'm feeling is overwhelmed. That might sound bad, but it's not necessarily. Yes, in a sense, the overwhelmed feeling has hints of inadequacy attached to it, but more than that, this overwhelmed feeling is a feeling of privilege and honor, to be entrusted with this precious little life. I'm also overwhelmed with joy... humongous, monumental, indescribable JOY.