A Word from Mom

I apologize to all our avid readers who were so disappointed that our blog seemed to abruptly end, but for those of you who know Scott - well, you know. Anyway, luckily the rest of our trip was uneventful and we made it home safely. We only had about 48 hours in Guangzhou, but we still managed to help out the local economy. The highlight of our time in Guangzhou was when we got to meet the family of a child we were sponsoring through Grace and Hope Charity. Addie is a beautiful little girl who was under the care of the same SWI as Emma was back in 03. We had been sponsoring foster care for Addie for about six months when her new mother posted on the Qichun yahoo group and mentioned her birthdate. I put it all together and Lyn Briscoe and I have been emailing each other since we found we had this common bond. It is more than mere serendipity that we were able to meet Addie and her family in Guangzhou. Imagine the odds of being able to meet the child whom you've been sponsoring while in China adopting another one of your own. It's staggering. The photos are all on the other computer, so I'll have to add some later.

So as I sit here by the side of the pool watching all three girls swim, I am amazed at what life can bring. Here are three wonderful, beautiful, confident (and LOUD) girls who are so far away from their beginnings. And Josie, who could be angry, sad, and scared (and rightfully so) is happy, outgoing, and the easiest of the bunch (yes, this is the honeymoon period and things will probably change) but I'm still in awe that after all the adversity this little girl has overcome, she still has the capacity to love and be loved. The world could learn a lot from her.

We're Outa' Here!

This is the moment we've all been waiting for: the night before our departure from Changsha. At 7:30 tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, we'll be in a van on our way to Changsha's airport, and by 9:55 we'll be on a short flight to Guangzhou for the last phase of our trip.

The last couple of days here have actually been decent. For one, the weather has improved. The last 3 days have been sunny and about 78 degrees. We've also found some pretty nice parts of the city that have broad pedestrian shopping districts, nice shops and restaurants, and plenty to do. Unfortunately, our hotel (see pic of hotel with Colleen, Danielle, and the girls in the foreground...it makes our hotel look nicer than it is inside) is nowhere near these parts, so a taxi ride is required. Why we weren't put in one of the nice hotels near these districts I'll never know. One block from the shopping areas is a Crowne Plaza, and perhaps 5 blocks away is a very modern looking Sheraton. I've managed to buy some cool Beijing Olympics gear (t-shirts), and the girls have found some stuffed Olympic characters, pens, pencils, papers, etc. The local Pizza Hut has become one of our haunts, too. See a couple of the attached pix for images of the family walking and shopping in this district.

Here's another good reason not to stay in this hotel: you can be caught in a falling elevator. Today, our incredible babysitter, Danielle, boarded an elevator on our 19th floor. Once the doors had closed, the elevator immediately fell 4 floors before braking and eventually coming to a stop!!!! I mean, the damed thing just FELL!! Danielle screamed for help, which came a few minutes later. Neither we nor the hotel know why it fell, and the hotel has been incredibly unhelpful. Here was their one and only expanation/excuse: the recent earthquake near Chengdu might have caused the fall. It took everything I had not to laugh in the hotel manager's face and then knock his lights out. Rather than admit that his hotel is a pile of ****, he chose to blame a failing elevator on an earthquake hundreds of miles away. When I asked him how the other nearby hotels would respond if I called and asked them if any of THEIR elevators fell 4 stories, he averted his gaze and seemed to understand the utter stupidity of his excuse. I still have not received anything resembling a sincere apology, and they certainly have not taken any real responsibility, in spite of the arguments I've made. For all this, Danielle held up like a trooper and I say again that Danielle is the best thing that's ever happened to us.

We all had a lot of packing and organizing to do tonight, so we chose to go back to our favorite restaurant and bring back some take out. The 6 of us settled in my room to eat and the girls had a sort of picnic on the floor (see pic). After dinner, everyone broke to their own rooms to give the girlies a bath and to pack.

So here I am, spending my last night in Changsha. I wish I could say that it's a bittersweet moment and that I look forward to returning someday. I don't. I'll always be thrilled, of course, that this is the city that gave me my third daughter, but that doesn't mean I like the city.

I've got to keep this blog short since I still have packing to do and it's getting late. More in the next day or so from the much more enjoyable city of Gaungzhou. Best to everyone back home!

Getting to Know Each Other

There's good news and there's bad news. First, the bad news: this city is NOT a place to spend 8 days. So if any of you are thinking about vacationing for a week or two in Changsha, think twice. Have you ever noticed that none of the major game shows offer all expenses paid vacations to Changsha as a prize? There's a good reason for this and I commend the folks at each show for their sound judgement in prize giving. Now the good news: all this time in one place has allowed us all to get to know Josie with very few distractions.

The last two days have actually been pretty uneventful overall. The biggest challenge has been keeping busy in a city where finding things to do isn't all that easy. We've made a few trips to Walmart (that ought to put things in perspective for my readers). And, while we were there we were a source of great curiosity for the locals. In fact, no matter where we go in Changsha we are stared at unceasingly by the locals. We must be a real sight, though: three Caucasian adults with three Asian kids. As they stare at us in stores, in restaurants, and on the streets, I wonder what they're thinking. Are they happy to see three of their children in good hands, or do they somehow resent us for taking their kids away? Do they reflect on the situation their country faces with population issues? Are they concerned, or is this not a real issue to the average guy on the street?

We have grown SO tired of the hotel's boring buffet that any excuse to eat out interests us. McDonald's was our lunch destination yesterday, and a cab ride brought us to Pizza Hut today for lunch. We also did some shopping at what appeared to be a very upscale shopping mall afterward and the girls (especially Josie) got some clothes. Josie's having fun picking out her own clothing for the first time in her life, and it's a blast watching her. And, of course, there's the hotel swimming pool...which is good for killing about an hour each day. Danielle even got in the water today, which must say something about how eager she was to stay busy!

We also finally found a GREAT place for dinner. It's right across the street from our hotel. It's a very sophisticated Chinese food restaurant three floors high. Last night, our group went there and had a DELICIOUS meal with first class service. We liked the experience so much, in fact, that we talked our friends the Russells and our guide Linda into going back tonight. Linda, of course, called ahead and got us a private dining room with an enormous round table for 12 in the center and two or three personal servers. Now THIS is the way to eat! And, it didn't cost us anything extra. We all ate heartily and, by the end of the meal, the kids were going nuts with fatigue so we had to get them back to the hotel and to bed. It's funny: our kids are getting 9-10 hours of sleep per night now, but they are wiped out by 6:00 each night. Annie will take any opportunity to sleep during the day and it's become a struggle to keep her awake during the day so she'll sleep soundly at night. Josie gets tired too, and yesterday she literally fell asleep on her feet in Colleen's room (see pic)! I think the Emm and Annie are both getting tired of being away from home and living out of hotel rooms. For that matter, so am I. It is impossible to express how anxious we all are to get back to Naples...our homes, our towns, our friends and family, our lives. Of the three trips we've now made to China to adopt, this has been by far the toughest psychologically. One week from today, though, we'll be on our way home.

Josie is really doing well. She loves playing with her new sisters, and one of her favorite activities is/are arts and crafts. She's a little like Emma in this respect. The two of them spend a lot of time drawing, cutting and taping papers, gluing things together, etc. Josie and Annie also play well together, even thought one is almost twice as old as the other. Having spent so much time in an orphanage (4 years), and a considerable amount of time with foster parents (2.5 years), Josie is not quite as mature as the average 6 1/2 year old, psychologically and emotionally. This will absolutely change in the coming months, but for now she identifies well with Annie. Even though Josie is almost a year older than Emma, it's extremely easy to still see Emma as the senior member of the trio who has two younger sisters.

Josie is incredibly goofy. It will take some work getting her to learn how to behave properly in different situations (at dinner, while out shopping or at a restaurant, etc.). She is prone to really goofy behavior, which can be hysterical. But it can also be annoying at times. We always keep in mind, though, her background. She's a product of her upbringing (such that it's been). It also makes things more difficult that we cannot really communicate with each other verbally. This isn;t a big deal. She's a wonderful, happy, energetic, and DECENT little girl. In fact, a funny thing happened today. Josie asked me yesterday to buy her some Oreo cookie bars while we were at Walmart. Today, all the kids were in my room and she saw the package. In her way, she asked me if she could have one and I gave her one. The first thing she did, though, was to hand it right to Annie. I reached in and grabbed another one for Josie and she handed this one right to Emma! Finally, she took her own. But she was very careful to make sure her sisters had their cookies before she took her own. I think that says a lot.

Let's see, what else have we done? The girls watched movies on Danielle's computer (see pic), and they looked like the three cute sisters they are. We went to a really lame park near the hotel today, which had some playground equipment left over from the Ming Dynasty (see pic). But the girls had fun running around and burning off energy until the drizzle forced us back inside. We were also invited to visit the actual orphanage that Josie called home for 4 years. Colleen, went, but I couldn't bring myself to go...it would just be too hard, emotionally, to see the place and the kids inside who have essentially been passed over. See included pix of the outside and the inside of the orphanage taken by Colleen. She was not allowed to photograph the kids or the individual rooms. Sad.

Soooooo...tomorrow we are scheduled to go to a major local park and to the Changsha zoo. At least these are activities that will give us something concrete to do. On Sunday we're scheduled to go to Changsha's embroidery museum (hold me back!). But again, at least it's something to do. Apparently, they've embroidered the crap out of everything for centuries here in Changsha and as a result have developed a knack for it. To all you pro-embroidery types out there: I hold no anti-embroidery biases and, if pressed, could probably find something I own that's been embroidered. But a museum? If anyone wants a t-shirt or a shot glass from the museum, let me know. All right, I'll stop. Colleen's gonna kill me when she reads this.

It's off to bed now. All our love to everyone back home. And again, thanks to all for the comments you've submitted. We love them!

First Day As New Family

Wow...it's been a long day! But don't get me wrong, it's also been a wonderful day. The good news from the beginning was that Josie slept through the night and got a solid nine hours. It took her a little while to get to sleep (lots of stimulation yesterday), and Colleen told me this morning that in the dark last night Josie was sobbing quietly in bed. That made us both a little sad, but we weren't surprised. As happy and goofy as she's been, this still has to be tough for her. It must have all hit home a little last night when the lights went out. As always, though, Colleen comforted her and before long she was sleeping away.

The big event today was the trip back to the civil affairs office to meet with Chinese adoption officials. We swore a few oaths, promising to care for Josie at all times, signed a bunch of documents, had our official family picture taken, and made the whole this officially official in China's eyes. As far as China is concerned, we are now Josie's parents. See pic of family between signing ceremonies.

After this, our group and the Russell group went back to the hotel for 20 minutes to change clothes and then headed out again in taxis to Changsha's Super WalMart. We wanted to buy Josie all new clothes, shoes, toys...all the stuff she's never had before. It actually took her awhile to believe that we were serious, and that whatever caught her eye would be hers. I was especially touched when Colleen found me on the other side of the store and told me that Josie was running all over asking for "Baba" because she picked out a cute little dress that she wanted me to see it. She was very proud of herself. We also had to buy a lot of clothes for the orphanage to give them as a donation. For my part, I bought a 4 GB thumb drive for my computer since I just learned that my hard drive is completely full (thanks for the idea, BL!). Emma and Annie also managed to get themselves a few things, although Annie faded pretty quickly right smack dab in the shopping cart (see pic). Too funny!

By then, we were all starving and simply could not handle another buffet at the hotel's restaurant. We all desperately craved a good ol' fashioned McDonald's. As luck would have it, there was a Mickey D's right across the street and we all shot over there as fast as we could. But DAMN IT! The place was closed for some reason that the guy inside couldn't make clear to us. ARGHH!! In a pinch, though, KFC would suffice, and we walked across another busy intersection to get to some. Since NO ONE in this city speaks a lick of English, ordering at the counter was a struggle, but we got it done (or, Colleen got it done...dad did pretty well, too!).

After gorging ourselves, we headed back to the hotel and took the girls down for a swim. Josie was surprisingly comfortable with this, and we suspect that she's been swimming before. She wasn't willing to get out of the pink water donut Colleen brought for her, but she was thrilled to be in the water and was all smiles. Being the swimmers they are, Emma and Annie were all over the pool, but they made a nice effort to play with Josie (see pic). As I mentioned in my last entry, it's tough to find ways to fill the 7 or 8 long days in the adoption city. Having a pool is a blessing, even if the water is a little cold according to small, reliable Chinese sources.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing arts and crafts, grocery shopping at a little local place, and just resting. Dinner was at about 7:00, and it was a little sad because this was the last one we'd have with my folks. They leave tomorrow for Beijing and then to NYC. I cannot begin to say what a joy it's been to have them share this experience with us. With Emma's and Annie's adoptions, we were only able to tell them about the trips. Now, we were able to share the whole thing with them. We'll always have this memory of having them along, and for that we're very grateful. Dad and Sandy: we love you! Thanks for everything!

So that's about it. We have 5 more full days here in Changsha, which is 5 too many. Why all these days in this city? Because we're waiting for the Chinese government to process Josie's passport and get it to us. Not much to do here in the meantime. If this were Hong Kong, Beijing, or Shanghai, we'd be in great shape. There would be Starbucks. But not here. Here, there is a place called Milo Coffee right across the street. They've even ripped off the Starbucks logo. But it stinks. Wasn't it Shakespeare's Richard III who said "A frappucino, a frappucino...my kingdom for a frappucino!"? I know how the guy felt. If anyone who works for Starbucks reads this blog, feel free to send a mocha frap to the Grand Sun City Hotel in Changsha...room 1909.

Before I sign off for the night, I'd like to thank everyone who has left a comment on the blog. You have all been so generous, caring, supportive, and kind. We appreciate everything you've written to us, and in a very real way your thoughts and wishes help keep us going over here. We look forward to thanking all of you in person very soon. God bless!

Josie's Here, Part II

Here are a few more photos from our big day!

Josie's Here!!!

So today was the big day: we got Josie!

We began the day relatively calmly, without much fanfare. The whole gang met downstairs for breakfast at about 9:00. Once finished, Colleen asked for some time alone (read: without the 2 girls) to gather paperwork, fully unpack and get the girls' clothes organized, and generally "nest" (as she put it). There were only a few hours until we got Josie, and Colleen was in what was the equivalent of labor. To give her some space, Danielle and I took the girls down to the hotel's swimming pool. The pool is huge, and we had the whole thing to ourselves. The girls had a blast, Colleen got to get everything ready, and we all managed to kill a couple of hours actively. This is especially important given how agonizing the wait can be on the day of adoption. We all also managed to get in a little grocery shopping at the local store.

By noon or so, it was time for lunch, which was also uneventful. I will say, though, that the nerves were starting to set in. After lunch, Danielle watched the girls in her room, and even gave them a bath and got them dressed while Colleen and I got ready in the other room. I'll say it again: Danielle has been a life saver! Colleen and I were ready by 2:15, and Danielle had the girls bathed and dressed as well. It was go time. By 2:30 we were in the lobby and ready to go (see pic of whole group). Our fellow travelers, the Russells, were ready to go, too...this would be their first child, and were were very excited for them.

The bus ride to the civil affairs office was exciting, and we were all in good moods (all except Annie, who fell asleep). 15 minutes later, we alighted from the bus and headed into the lobby and rode the elevator up to the third floor. We weren't out of the elevator for more than 1 minute before the ladies from the orphanage showed up with the girls. So there we all were, unexpectedly thrown together in the third floor lobby. We knew Josie immediately from her pictures, and she was just as cute as we thought: a little skinny thing with very short boyish hair and a cute little grin!

We were all a little surprised that the meeting that was supposed to have taken place in the reception room down the hall actually happened a few minutes early. Still, we couldn't pretend like our daughter wasn't there, so we began to slowly approach her with big, gentle smiles on our faces. At first, Josie seemed to like the attention, and the ladies that brought her to the office carefully explained to her that this was to be her new family. Understandably, Josie began to get a little emotional and shook her head as if to say "no". At this point, we all moved out of the elevator lobby and into the reception room. Josie was still a little upset at how things seemed to be turning out, but it occurred to us that an offer of some gummy candies might get her attention...and they did. I offered her a few and at first she refused. To make things funny, I smiled and slowly moved them toward my mouth to see if she'd change her mind. She watched and I could tell that she was beginning to reconsider. I quickly and a little goofily plopped them into my mouth and smiled. This made her smile, and her facial expression was sort of like "you're funny!" I knew we were on the road to some good things here: she was smiling and interacting positively with us. A few more candy offers and giggles later, Josie decided a gummy candy wouldn't be so bad after all and we all started snarfing them down while laughing hysterically. This was so fun!

From this point on, it was all laughs for the rest of the afternoon and evening...literally. We didn't know what to expect, but in our wildest dreams we never expected the whole process to go this smoothly. Colleen had everything in order, and it was nice to see her so gently interact with Josie at first. Colleen knew just what to do, and Josie responded so well to her. After my goofiness with Josie, Colleen gently played with her, using Model Magic, crayons, and other little toys. This was an experienced mommy in action, and it made me happy to watch my wife get to know my new daughter. Where the heck would our family be without Colleen???? One of the most gratifying parts of the whole thing was how well Emma and Annie hit it off with Josie. They broke the ice slowly at the civil affairs office, but on the bus back to the hotel they were having a blast together in the back row of the van (see pic), picking on Daddy and giggling as they all poked the back of my head and tried to hide behind the seats. Back at the hotel, Colleen got everyone settled in her room and the 3 girls broke out the art supplies. It turns out the Josie is every bit the arts and crafts girl that Emma is, and they all had an amazing time drawing together, dancing to "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini", and eating Oreos between brown-toothed giggles. I also learned how much Josie likes to be tossed up in the air (see pic).

By 6:00 it was time for dinner and the whole group assembled yet again in the hotel's main restaurant. Josie made it clear to us that she was hungry, and seemed thrilled to be walked into a restaurant with a HUGE buffet. One of the Chinese women who works there helped us by taking Josie by the hand and walking her past each dish and asking her what she wanted. By the time Josie was finished, she had a HUGE plate of food assembled. She seemed especially fond on pea pods, soy, fish sticks, and some other green veggies (bok choy). It was wonderful to see her with all the food she could ever want in front of her, and I was comforted by the thought that she would always have as much food as she could ever want for the rest of her life. Never again would there be economizing or limits...she'd have as much as she wanted whenever she wanted it, which is as it should be. It weas also special to watch Colleen walk Josie up to the ice cream bar, where 7 or 8 flavors awaited her. After looking things over, Josie settled on pistachio, vanilla, and chocolate, and we were happy to give her a scoop of each. Needless to say, the tucked into this and it was obvious to even the meanest intelligence that ice cream was just fine with her. It was cute to watch her get tired as dinner progressed, too.

After dinner, it was upstairs to the rooms where there was a little more play time and then the change into jammies. All three girls were still having a great time together, and it wouldn't be long before they all climbed into the same bed wearing the same jammies (see pic). Already, we looked a lot like a new family.

So now, here I am at my desk while Annie sleeps behind me. Across the hall, Josie is sleeping with Colleen, and Emma is sleeping with Danielle (bless her heart for not minding Emma's invasion of her room...and bless her heart for taking all the still photos today during the adoption!). Tomorrow will be our first day together as a family of 5, and I have every reason to believe that it will be as wonderful as today was.

Today was very special. Earlier in the day, I asked God to bless us with patience, understanding, and compassion as we welcomed a frightened new girl into the family, not knowing how things would go. It turns out the God was far more generous than we could have hoped (as He always is). Instead of needing patience, understanding, and compassion, what we ended up needing was energy, art supplies, and strong mouth muscles for all the laughing and smiles. Josie is an absolute live wire who is going to fit into our family dynamic seamlessly and make our family even better than it was before. There will, of course, be challenges: her hip (her limp is not NEARLY as bad as we thought...she runs and jumps all over the place!), the language barrier, and getting adjusted to a new life in Naples. But, all things considered, these are only challenges, not problems. We'll deal with them together, as a family. For now, though, we have a wonderful little girls who is full of energy and smiles, and who seems to have adapted quickly and beautifully. From the bottom of our hearts, we are very thankful.

Macao!

Yesterday, we had a very cool day. We planned to go to a Sea World-type place about 20 minutes outside the city, but at breakfast my folks told me that they were going to spend the day in Macao. The more I thought about that idea, the more I liked it. Luckily, Colleen liked it too. After all, how often are you this close to a fascinating place like Macao? It would be far more educational to show our daughters this former Portuguese colony that to let them watch dolphins jump over bars and through hoops, too. The more they can see and experience, the better. Dolphins be damned, say I.

So, off we headed to the docks, bought tickets on the hydrofoil ferry, stopped off for a Starbucks in the terminal, and settled into leather seats for the 70 minute ride to Macao. Once again, Colleen and Danielle got motion sick. I did a little research before leaving and saw that the best place to go was Senado Square, a very European plaza-type place with a gorgeous mosaic surface made of 2 inch black and white tiles. Here and throughout the rest of old Macao, the European (Portuguese) influence was obvious: the shop fronts, the churches, the place names, etc. Our first stop, since the girls were "starving to death" was McDonald's. After that, it was straight into St. Dominic's church, which was beautiful. Upstairs, in what was basically the church's attic and belfrey, was an exhibit of the church's religious artifacts from the past 400 years. We loved it and, somewhat surprisingly, so did Emma. She was very curious about the various pieces of art, the priests' vestments from centuries gone by, candlesticks, crucifixes, etc. We also stopped to light a candle in the church as we asked God for His blessings during this adoption process. Again, compared to jumping dolphins, this wins every time.

We then headed through the crowded, narrow streets of old Macao on our way to the ruins of St. Paul's church (only the massive front edifice of which still stands...an odd sight). On the way, we passed hundreds of little shops that sold everything from spices to herbal medicines to hand-carved wood crafts to pounded meats. The smells and sounds were fascinating and wonderful, and the girls had a ball. One vendor came out and gave a strange looking cookie to Emma. Being a good sport, she tried it but did not like it. Another vendor got her to try a free piece of pounded spicy meat, and this she loved (see pic of Emma sampling the vendor's wares). Again, dolphin's are worthless. Travel and experiences are priceless.

We finally made it up to the ruins of St. Paul's and enjoyed about an hour there. In addition to the ruins, there was a surviving crypt (see pic of Emma looking at bones), and a wonderful little museum that housed some of the former church's artwork. Emma had a lot of questions about some of the more graphic painting of the Crucifixion, by the way. She was also fascinated by the whole story of the Virgin Mary. This struck a chord with her. She seemed to like the idea of a perfect woman who was an overseeing mother figure. She also liked one painting where the Virgin was stepping on a snake, and understood very clearly the good-crushing bad" message. I was very proud of her.

We made a short drink stop (see pic) as we began to re-trace out steps back to the taxi stand. It was hot and sunny, and it had been a long day. But we had been somewhere new, and the girls had had a very special experience. They had seen a new culture, witnessed history, saw the world from a new angle, and had come to appreciate (in their own way) a world other than their own. This is a VERY good thing.

The ferry ride back to HK was pleasant and uneventful. The girls slept the whole time. When we got back to the hotel, we all rested and got ready for dinner. My dad and Sandy (who were also in Macao the whole day, although their visit was limited to the new and ultra-massive Venetian hotel) were back as well, and planned to go across the harbor to an old navy haunt of my dad's for dinner. Our group, on the other hand, headed down to the hotel's main restaurant for a quick and easy dinner before heading to bed for a well-deserved night's rest.

Today (Monday the 5th), was a big day: we left HK and flew to Changsha, about a 75 minute flight north. This is where we'll get Josie tomorrow. Needless to say, it's all starting to hit home for us. The flight was easy and, after having to wait about 30 minutes for our transportation to show up, we finally got all our million pounds of luggage loaded and headed to the Grand Sun City Hotel.

Changsha is like the other two cities we've been to to adopt Emma and Annie: big, pretty dirty, and very character-less. The Western influence is gone. Construction is everywhere, as is traffic, noise, soot, etc. The hotel looked okay as we pulled up, with a massive, shiny lobby and well-dressed staff. But when we got to our rooms (the 4 of us plus Danielle...my parents had a suite up on the top) we saw that beauty truly was skin deep. The walls were stained, the carpet was stained, there was no shower curtain, and the furniture was old. However, the hotel was thoughtful enough to leave a box of CONDOMS in each of our bathrooms. You gotta be kidding!!! Where the hell am I? Colleen and I were pretty bummed since this will be our home for the next 8 nights. Just when we were the most bummed, though, we turned on the TV and got ESPN. And on ESPN was a YES Network feed of a Yankee game!!!! This brightened us up a LOT, and we took it as a sign from God, as if He were saying "Have faith you two, things will be okay. And just to show you that I mean business, here's a little Yankee game for you to watch while far from home."

Still, the rooms (we had 3, one for self and wife, one for the kids, and one for Danielle) sucked. I ran into my dad who told me that his suite up on the 19th floor was nice. With me it was the work of a moment to head down to the front desk to see if we could trade up. Turns out there were three available rooms up there and I asked to see them. Sure enough, they were WAY nicer than the dumps down on the 11th floor, and I said "Switch me!"

So here I am in room 1902 with Annie sleeping behind me as I type. Next door are Colleen and Emma (the rooms aren't adjoining, so we had to split up, each staying with one of the girls), and across the hall is Danielle. We are all very happy to be staying in new rooms.

So tomorrow we get Josie. The emotions are odd. On the one hand, we absolutely cannot wait to welcome her into her new family. On the other, it feels funny to know that our little family of four is going to change. Of course, the change is for the better, but this will be an adjustment. We felt the same way when we went from being a family of three to a family of four...but look how beautiful that turned out to be! Net-net, though, we're counting the seconds until we get our Josie tomorrow (the 6th) at 3:00. Let's hear it for families of five!!! We are so incredibly blessed, and it's times like these when you realize it the most.

Anyway, that's about it for now. More once we have our new bunny! Thanks to all for reading and for all your support.