We made it to Seattle on time but only had a chance to use the restroom, grab a couple of bottles of water at the tourist trap and run over to the gate before we had to board. A few minutes later the pilot came on and notified us that a navigational system issue was being worked on by maintenance…and that with “tonight’s flight over parts of Russia and China, believe me folks, you and I both want this system in working order”. Er, ah, ok Mr. Pilot Man, do what you gotta do. About an hour later we were notified that maintenance could not fix it nor find a replacement part so Delta Headquarters was working on rerouting us over “somewhat friendlier parts of the same countries.” OK, that was just too much to wrap our heads around, so we’ll just sit here in the plane for as long as it takes you do whatever in your professional opinion is the SAFE and right thing to do. After another hour, the Captain proudly announced “the various required Embassy paperwork has come through and Headquarters has released our new route…basically folks, the worldwide regulations just got re-written in a matter of 60 minutes.” Heh, heh…God moves mountains people.
The flight was long (11 hours), no doubt, but not really that bad. A few naps, a few movies and a little restlessness, but overall not too bad. The really good news is our in-country guide, Mary, was still waiting for us when we cleared the rather easy customs process. Hooray for Mary!
So we’re here. We’re tired. But we have arrived. And I’m sure there will be more to say about what China has looked like, felt like, sounded like, and yes, even smelled like so far later. But for now, before signing off for an interesting night of sleep (been pitch black ever since an hour after we got on the plane in Seattle at 5 PM Fri…and now it’s just past bedtime 12:30 AM Sun?!?!), we’ll simply say good night to our family and friends on the other side of the world.
And for the last and final time….hold fast Maggie…Mommy and Daddy are HERE !
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Layovers…
And here we sit, 1:05PM in Minneapolis, 12 degrees outside, waiting for our flight to Seattle and then on to China, where a little girl who has no idea her world is about to be rocked…much like she has rocked ours in the last two and a half years. And we long to see and hold our boys, even though it’s been a mere six hours. The goodbye was bittersweet, tight hugs on both ends were delivered and received, tears were shed. And again, God was there. Now, we focus on the task at hand…bringing what until September 2010 had been at best a thought…an idea of something wonderful to come. She is real now. And in some # of hours (too difficult to calculate sitting in MN)…China’s Monday morning (1/10)..it will be more real than it has ever been. God, we turn to You to prepare our hearts and hers for what is to come in the next few days. And we thank You for what has transpired to now. We hope to post more later, but after the upcoming flight I will make no immediate and definite promises. Thank you to family and friends that have responded to the call (silent and otherwise)…this could not be happening without you and we are overjoyed to have you share in this blessing. And your prayers have been and will continue to be felt and appreciated. From the bottom of our hearts….
What a Crazy Week
Things have been kind of crazy this week. Monday (1/3) morning we received our TA (Travel Approval), with the primary thought being that we would not be traveling to China until mid-February due to the Chinese New Year celebration. Tuesday morning (1/4) we received an email that our Consulate Appointment had been set for 1/26 and we needed to be in China on 1/16…”would that be ok?” Would that be ok?! Heck yeah that would be ok. So the somewhat hastened but still manageable task of planning, booking and packing for a two-week trip to the other side of the world began. Then….we woke up Wednesday morning (1/5) to an email from our China travel guides explaining that a quick review of our file indicated our daughter was in Beijing. Uh, yeah…so far, no big revelation. “If your daughter is in Beijing, you have an extra week of appointments and process so can you be here on 1/9?” Keep in mind this is the morning of 1/5…and “be here on 1/9” means we would need to leave the US on 1/7 to ensure plenty of time for travel. WOW! Talk about some emotions running through a person’s body. Book tickets, book hotels, gather up funds to pay for the aforementioned tickets and hotels, pack THREE weeks’ worth of clothes for us and Maggie (ok just one week…laundry service the rest), prepare to close down the house, make arrangements for mail, bills and whatever else happens around the house within a month’s time, gather funds for remaining adoption expenses, go over and over and over and over adoption paperwork to make sure we take what we absolutely need (and bring along most of the rest just to be sure), charge batteries, gather cameras and computer and associated cables, and a plethora of other mind-numbing activities…and oh yeah, close down the year-end financials at the firm and make sure the next two payroll cycles are entered and in place (bills paid, instructions for keeping it going rendered, etc.). Whew. And then figure out a way to say goodbye for three weeks to two of the most awesome big brothers in the entire world. All in a matter of 36 hours. Done. Accomplished. God showed up as he always does) and showed off. It’s the only explanation we have.
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