48 Hours

48 hours from now we will be on our way to Syracuse. We will spend the night at the airport hotel to avoid getting up at 1am and alleviate any worries about upstate New York weather being it's unpredictable self. Our flight leaves at 6:15am and we will need to be there by 4:30am. Hopefully this will make us tired so we can sleep a portion of the 14 hours on the plane to Beijing.

I just got off the phone with Christina Ortwein from Children's Hope International. She has been our contact person for quite some time now. I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart for being so patient with me and walking me through some very difficult days in early October.

I am busy today doing laundry and finishing up the packing. Doing all the things that need doing before travel - arrangements for the kids and the dogs, paying bills, cleaning, shopping for last minute items. I keep trying to see how little I can bring. We want to travel as light as possible.

Beyond the obvious reason for our travel to China it is our intention to soak up as much of the culture as possible so that we have lots of stories to share with Lilly as she grows up. We will be armed with a video camera, a digital camera and a true desire to learn about this country and it's people. China is so rich with history and beauty and we will make every effort to ensure Lilly remains connected to the country of her birth.