Things are beginning to move very fast now....

Do you remember when you were young and were told to go to sleep the night before something very big and exciting like taking a trip to Disney World or waiting for Santa Claus to drop off Christmas gifts? Remember that feeling…it was hard to keep your mind off of it and at times difficult to go to sleep because so many things were running through your mind. Do I ever remember that!  I must say, both Sonja and I are getting increasingly excited and somewhat anxious. As of today, we have a week left before we begin our journey.  Now it is feeling like crunch time. We are working hard to close up all of our loose ends so we don’t forget something or neglect to do something that will cause unneeded stress when we are gone. Sonja continues to work on Zoe’s room, believe it or not I have not bothered to go up as I do not wanted to place any additional stress on her as she works to get it completed. Sonja has also been shopping for girls clothes.  I can honestly say I am truly out of my element now. I am leaving all the shopping up to Sonja as she has taken the lead on that and enjoys it very much. Must say...it's a lot of pink...

I am very thankful for all of our friends who have offered help, guidance and good old advice.  Although I may not have been taking notes, I paid close attention to all the suggestions and plan to put them to good use. Sonja’s sister Brenda and family brought over a nice doll canopy bed which we know Zoe will love.  Thank you for such a nice gift. I am sure we will find one or two dolls and maybe a toy dinosaur or two resting in the canopy bed.  We have also been lucky enough through e-mail to meet some wonderful people who have been involved in Zoe’s life.  Meilin, Dann and Lisa have been very gracious in sending us both past and current pictures and sharing tidbits about Zoe which not only helps us to get to know her just a little better but helps us in our planning as we prepare for our trip to China.  We really appreciate all the pictures, video's etc.  Most of all, I think both Sonja and I are touched by how much each of them care for Zoe which makes it clear that  Zoe is a very special girl and we are so lucky to have been matched with her.

I am also very thankful for our son Nathaniel. He has had tough three or so months. When we asked him whether he wanted to go on the trip with us. It was a very difficult decision for him. As you know he loves to play baseball and he has really jelled with the coaches and players on his new team.  He ran to the schedule to determine how many games he was going to miss.  Needless to say, it was a lot of games…I think he said around 12-15 games depending on our return.  Talk about kind people, his coach offered him to stay in Omaha at their home for up to two weeks so he could play. How nice is that? Nathaniel really struggled but ultimately decided to go to China. What a tough decision for a 14 year old. But I am glad he had the opportunity to make it. I know when we get there he is going to be wondering how the team is doing and rest assured will be at times wishing he had stayed back so he could play. I know he is bummed because he will not have access to facebook and will virtually have no way to track the success of the Ralston Rams baseball team while we are away.  It is a very good team and a lot of great boys that Nathaniel has become good friends with. 

Finally, we were notified that Nou Nou (Zoe’s nick name) was transferred from Beijing to KunMing on around May 15th.  We were told she was very brave for her first plane flight as she did not cry and did not get air sick. Hopefully it was a fun experience for her. The next few weeks should be very stressful for Zoe as she left the people she knew and trusted, traveled hundreds of miles with new people she is unfamiliar with and now is waiting to meet her new parents.  Although exciting…how scary would that be for a four year old. So a lot to do in a short period of time.  Thank you all for all the well wishes and thanks for looking in and reading our blog….