Day 4: Ancestral Temples

I was a little nervous about going to "temples". I had a little bit of an odd experience in Tokyo, years ago. But, we thought it was important that we go to learn a little more about her culture. It's a big deal to be in her actual city (where she was found). So, we are trying very hard to get a feel for the culture here. Even though it seems like New York to us, it's still very different. Today, it was cooler. Wish I'd worn a jacket to the tour. But, it was more comfortable than the days before.

The ancestral temple was a former special home for worship and school for one of the larger royal fammilies. It's not functional anymore and the government owns it; but the architecture was amazing. No nails in the entire building. The carvings are beatuiful. We bought our tea sets here because they are guaranteed not to have lead in them (Okay, so I bought two sets. I couldn't help it. The cheaper "every day" set was cute; but not as amazing as the smaller more expenseive sets. We bought a fancier set for MJ for her wedding or something special like that). And we had a small tea ceremony with the ladies. It was wonderful.  We also saw these crazy bugs for sale. We bought small little charms for the boys. Hilarious. And we watched them hand paint artwork and the pottery.

 

This is most of our group, minus one of the families. Five more families come in on Friday!

 

Our guide, Rebecca, told us that China is known for some of these specific trades and it is important to preserve the culture by passing down the tradition of these hand made items. It was fun to buy some of these special gifts for Meili Joy here. We also found out that what we were calling "cherry blossoms" are actually Mei Flowers. Um, hello!? Rebecca was so excited that we were naming her Meili. She kept saying "that means beautiful. and it is a Chinese name!"

So, after the temple. We came home and she took her first long nap. My head and sinus' are horrible, so I started my zpac. Pretty sure the smog and cigarette smoke is getting to me. Then we decided to try to find a few more restaurants and stores on our own. So, for the families traveling behind us, here are my notes. We tried to find the Banana Leaf restaurant, and we didn't. We found the Saltan Turkish restauarnt though!

So, here we are going out to dinner. I had also bought a dress the day before in one of the boutiques, we figured I better be stylish and also used our "godmother" Aunt Abby money for a special boutique dress with a little petticoat skirt for Meili Joy. So, we have done the high fashion side of GZ now. The ladies in the store said "Oh, I have 'L' for you" meaning Large. And, they come way off their pricies when I showed any interest. It was pretty funny. And that was even in the mall. I am not loving that my flat iron doesn't work well. It's so fancy here, that I'm not loving being all grungy casual. But, that's probably just my vanity!

Soon to travel families:
So, come out of the front of the hotel, walk along the sidewalk, up the weird stairs w/ a ramp in the middle and down the subway stairs. Once down stairs, veer to the right (don't buy a ticket) and follow the Exit B signs, you'll come back up the stairs on the other side of the road. You can't cross the road there unless you do this, or walk to the other side, where the high bridge/cross walk is. I was scared to walk this. I had heard there were some very disturbing sights from disfigured homeless people and other situations. But, we did walk that way back after dinner. It wasn't too bad. We had taken the stroller, and that was hard. We went through the Friendship Store, and managed the floors. Floor 4 has the extra grocery story. Floor 6 is high end children's clothes. Nothing super special. And the mall is insane! Designer everything!

We walked down one of the side streets, and finally saw the Sultan Restuarant (under the Friendship Store to the left of the huge TV screen). It was a turkish restaurant that another adoptive family was coming out of. They said it was good. We ordered the flat bread and the appetizer dip that was yogurt (like tzaziki) and then split a mixed chicken & kabob meal. We also ordered the chick pea salad and the rice pudding and the other pudding and turkish tea for dessert.

She dressed up and put her headband on and all the bright colored hair ties that I had and that Abby had bought for me.

 

 

Okay, VPN back up. Hitting "publish". Wish I could load more photos; but they are only letting me load one at a time. I have to go back & hit "upload" and open the camera folder each time and start over. Oh, well! Thanks for praying!

 

 

Day 3 with Meili Joy

The only thing our agenda on our 3rd day with her was to go to the police station for passports. Again, we thought this would be a lot of down time; but we were tired. So, we all took our time getting up. Had another breakfast downstairs, and hung out in the room.

We took a walk through the "Gardens" of the Garden Hotel. Meili Joy liked these and we let her ride in the stroller. She really likes to go. She gets super excited when she sees me getting my shoes. She grabs her shoes and tries to put them on. Then when we are ready to go, she baby babbles at me and gets behind me and pushes me. She runs to the elevators and squeals when she hears the bell sound of the elevator arriving.

We have to hang onto her downstairs, the lobby is very busy and she wants to run around. We have been doing big breakfasts and sort of skipping lunches.

We did do some walking. We tried to find the grocery store again. We missed it; but ended up at Starbucks for green tea frappuccinos because she fell asleep in the carrier on me. Then, we went and found a cute dress in a boutique for me. Well, a shirt for me. It's a dress for most people here.

At 3pm, we all loaded up and headed to the police station. We had our passports on us. Our guide had us do everything in order. They took a photo of MJ and we weren't allowed to take photos in the building. We had to wait til 3 pm because that's how long our paperwork from the day before takes to process through the system, etc.

Our guide took us down anoter street, out the the other side of our hotel where the pharmacy is. She showed us a few stores and we found out the Cow and Bridge restaurant had opened here in GZ. Our friends had told us that this was a great restaurant for Thai food. We went with another couple who is from Greenwood, SC. This is their 2nd adoption, so they are pros. MJ threw a crazy tantrum before we went in. I was so scared that someone was going to take her from me. And both our kids were just crazy in the restaurant. But, maybe the fact that I forgot my "I'm allergic to lemongrass" card at home started the evening off great. The waitress literally called someone who spoke English and he talked to me. They brought out a stalk of what looked like celery; but they thought was lemongrass and put it on the table to show me. Anyhow, it was very funny. The couple we were with had great fun with us. I think everyone was glad when we left.

Prayer requests: sleeping. We want to do everything we can to help her sleep well and the best way she can feels safe and secure. However, we've found out she most likely is used to going to sleep on someone while they are standing up. And neither of our backs are doing well standing and holding her (in dead weight) for 30-120 minutes. So, we are really praying for wisdom on how to help her and not frustrate her at all; but also what we can physically sustain.

We will visit her orphanage on Friday AM (Thursday night your time). Please pray for this.

And keep praying for our boys, our health, our travel group, etc. We know that she's doing very well right now; but we are being very cautious and trying to trust the guides, our agency, and cotinuously rely on God's wisdom and strength.

But, y'all this little girl is amazing!!!!! We can't wait to get her home to meet her brothers. We know they are going to love her and she is going to be so excited to have them (well, at least she will be eventually).

Guangzhou

So, our sweet pea is from Guangzhou. Many parts of Ch**a are more remote country side, etc. But, our little girl is from GZ. And this sort of feels a lot like New York City. So, our first Gotcha Day was pretty low key. We ordered room service and ate in the hotel. Travis held Meili until she was asleep and she slept through the night in her crib. She woke up once around 11:30 pm. She went back to sleep after being held for awhile.

Travis and I were both pretty tired, too. So, we all went to bed early. It was so surreal to have walked through the day we had been praying and dreaming about. We still are so grateful for all the prayers and support. We couldn't believe how many people were setting alarms and online in the middle of the night praying for us.

Thank you. It is very crazy to finally be going through the motions, and trying to absorb as much as possible. And it is sort of as if you kick into auto-pilot. So, our prayers, are just "Here we go, Jesus, go before us."

The next morning we had our first breakfast and lots of time just hanging out in the hotel. We wonderered why there was so much "down time" in our schedule the first few days; but just getting ready, trying to navigate what we'll eat, what she needs, playing, facing getting dressed challenges (or rather not getting dressed) is a big deal. So, at 9:30 am, we headed back to the civial affairs office with our group. We were wondered if any of the children would be nervous. But, they were mostly playing together. One at a time, we went into a side office with a gift with us, and we were asked a few questions, with our passports. And we signed a form saying we wanted to adopt her. We promised to never abandon or abuse her and told them why we wanted to adopt her. Then we went upstairs to have our forms notarized and were asked more questions. And left a small gift, etc.
No one really looked at the gifts or smiled; but they were polite.

Then our guide ran to the bank for our orphanage "donations". We were given official forms and took a photo with the three of us as the "official" photo. And as far as Ch**a is concerned, she is legally our daughter!

She also was gulping down her water. We found out she could really care less about the formula. But, we sort of keep making it for her. She ate puffs and fruit and bread and noodles constantly for the first 48 hours. We didn't care. We just kept letting her know there is plenty of food. She gets very upset if you try to share a plate.

That night, we started the infatuation with the I Love New York shirt. Once she has a shirt on, she likes to stick with it for awhile. Again, we just go with it. The second morning, we just put her new clothes over her pajama shirt. After breakfast, she was attached to her new shirt, so we could take off the pajama shirt.

We ventured out of the hotel, which seems silly; but again, this feels a bit like New York to us. So, it's busy. Huge buildings and busy streets, and no crosswalks. Also, everyone told me that it's super "casual attire" here. I am assuming the provinces are more casual; but people are dressed in stillettos and even full sequin dresses even at breakfast. It's no wonder MJ is a fashionista. She's from this city.

For friend who will travel here, we walked out the side door of the hotel (passed the elevators and toward the bank) out the back door to the right, through the gates and toward Costa Coffee. Starbucks will be the to the right. There is a little mall there, and at 3F is Belgiannos. It was great Italian. They don't let you  bring your own water. So, we ordered cokes and then a bottle of Evian. They said "It's a big bottle". So funny. We drank the entire bottle between the 3 of us. Travis ordered the lasanga and we ordered saffron risotto and a penne pasta for MJ and I. They had a great sauce that was basically tomatoes with different breads. We were very early, and so, the entire wait staff just stood and stared at us. They really liked Meili Joy. She and I wore bows in our hair.

So, that was our 2nd night! MJ slept mainly through the night. But, was up for about 2 hours. Travis is the baby whisperer. She really likes to be held standing up. She doesn't know how to support herself, so she's completely dead weight. Obviously, I want ot hold her; but this is pretty brutal on my back. But, I also think she thinks he is cozier to sleep on. She definitely doesn't fall asleep without being rocked our held standing up. Travis also stands by the window and for some reason looking out over the city really calms her down.

(Again, no editing, etc. Forgive the errors. VPN only works intermittantly. Maybe someone can log in & edit for me!)

Baba's (Daddy's) Promise

Dear Meili Joy,

Today is Monday March 11th, 2013. A day your Mama and Baba will never forget.

This is your "Gotcha Day" and somewhere around 2 or 3 today we will embrace you for the very first time. This thought is hard for me to bare as I know how much joy it will bring to us, I must also in love acknowledge the pain it will bring to your foster family and the confusion that it will bring to you. At this early age of yours you are unsure of the change surrounding you, however we will walk this journey together. Side by side, hand in hand, day by day; we will be there for you the way our great Father in heaven will be there for us. We will comfort you when you are sad, protect you when you are scared. We will encourage you when you are down, and hold you when you are lonely. Mama and Baba will lay our hands on you praying the scriptures over you, that you might be led by the Spirit. We will embrace your uniquenesses and honor your heritage; all the while we celebrate your likenesses and cherish your name.

Today you will become Meili Joy Carpenter. Daughter to Travis and Jessica Carpenter. Sister to Austin James and Justus Reed, granddaughter to Sharon and Jerry Miner, Karen and Tom Lewicki, and Harold and Ann Carpenter. Amid these relationships you have cousins, aunts, uncles and greats and a special godmother. But above all these things you are a Chosen Daughter of our Father in heaven.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. (Romans 8:14 NIV)

You are beautiful, precious, chosen, and wanted.

You are desired, and loved. You are and shall always be deserving of respect and honor.

You are Meili Joy Carpenter.

With a never ending, never stopping, always and forever love.

                Baba.

 

 

 

This is the letter Travis wrote to Meili Joy around 4 am on her Gotcha Day.

Gotcha Day

We loaded our van at 2pm on March 11th to meet our daughter in the Civial Affairs office of Guangzhou.

So, what did we do til 2 pm? Well, Travis and I had arrived via train on Sunday, the day before. We went straight to our rooms after a somewhat bumping train ride through the countryside, and set down our things and went into a paperwork meeting with our Guangdong Province group until about 7:00 pm. By the time we went to order dinner, we had both hit the travel wall. Jet lag, fatigue hat caught up. Especially with me (Jess). It's so funny that you can be so absolutely excited; but the stress of travel, really still effects you. We are running into a few eating issues with me, since I've been on Gluten Free and hardly any pasta, white bread, etc for my EDS flare ups. I also can't eat anything with Lemongrass and a few other random things, since I've had three major angioedema episodes this year (one as recently as 2 weeks ago).So, reality of ordering food was a bit challenging. So, we've decided I'm probably going to go with a lot of white carbs and pastas and desserts. I'm pretty sure I'll come home from China 15 lbs heavier.

So, we were both exhausted after a quick dinner in the hotel. We woke up for the breakfast buffet here at the Garden. Then we spent the next few hours finally unpacking, settling in, organizing, getting our paperwork together, packing Meili Joy's back pack, and charging all our electronics.

I was so excited and nervouus. I was grateful for Spotify and worship music blaring.

At 2 pm, we met our travel group downstairs. Everyone chattered away on the bus, and I realized again my introverted-extrovert was showing. I could barely talk and make converstaion. As we walked down a short cut to the Civial Affairs office, I tried to breath it all in, looking up at the high buildings. Starting at the laundry out the windows. The low hanging pretty green trees.

We turned a corner to a sleek grey marble building. We walked up the stairs and into a strange wooden elevator. Up to the 8th floor, we were all seated in a big open room. We were told to get our cameras ready.

We saw a small little girl walk in with a nanny. We thought maybe she was Meili and realized she wasn't. Then out of the side of the room came our girl. She was wearing a cute blue and white outfit and holding the hand of her nanny. They walked her across the room. We were seated in the corner and caught a glimpse of her. Travis knew it was her. He was pointing. But, they took her behind the curtain.

A few minutes later, our guide started calling us all up quickly. We thought we'd have more time, one at a time to get our children, but she called us up next. I was so glad we could hand off our video camera on the ipad because we almost didn't get video.

We had been told she may scream and to offer her a treat and toy. When they told us we could go twoard her, they also had me go first and then Travis to follow. She just looked at me with a blank stare. I showed her the doll. She didn't care, so I figured I might as well grab her. She didn't cry. She just smiled. In the video, I'm more jittery than she is.

After we sat down, she just stared into my face. Looked me square in the eyes and stared. I kept telling her who I was, that we loved her, that Jesus had brought us all this way. That she was chosen and loved. She just sat for the longest time. She was "dead weight". She doesn't weigh that much; but she doesn't support herself at all when she is held, so she feels heavier.

We started going through the bag, and she loved the puffs. She had a little round cookie in her hand that she stared at for a long time. She finally took a bite. I also gave her a sucker, and she held it and then let me feed her. Later, I tried to take it from her hand and feed her when Travis was holding her, and she swatted me. We were pretty impressed that she reacted. All good signs.

So, we were in the office for over an hour. The other families with us, did amazing. One of the families was adopting a little girl who is 5; but her special need causes her to grow beyond her age. So, she looks more like she is 9 or 10. She was crying for a long time. Her Dad just stood and let her cry. I have to admit, I believe Lifeline really had prepared each family very well. No one seemed in shock about how their kids were reacting.

Travis and I were so grateful to so many of you for getting up and praying for us. We truly believe God's presence was with us. Meili Joy's shirt even said "Princess" on the sleeve in English letters.

Once she started eating the puffs, she didn't stop. She ate them all night. In fact, she has barely stopped eating since we met her.

When we got back from the Civial Affars office and the "Walmart" run. Travis had to go to a paperwork meeting for an hour and half. Meili Joy and I played. She didn't like for me to mess with her play, too much; but she wanted me to stay int he same room. She didn't like the other room or want to play on the bed. She loved her bracelets and etch a sketch. She sat and colored for almoss 15 minues. Then she lined up all her toys, took the forks and spoons out of the bag and lined them up.

We ordered room service when Travis came back. And she fell asleep on Travis around 9 pm. That is her normal bedtime. She really panicked and cried when we tried to put  her pajamas on her. So, we went with the ones w/o feet and let herr keep her socks on. She liked that.

She slept through the night in her crib by our bed.

(Photos to come. Cant' get them to load via blogger. And we are so tired that we don't feel like being on here, too long. Please keep praying for us, MJ, etc. Also, Jess' back and shoulder.)

Almost Gotcha Day

We are sitting in Guangzhou at the Garden Hotel. We head to the cival affairs office at 2 pm today. I was thinking we'd be bored waiting; but the time to actually settle in and feel organized is really wonderful.

I'll back up and cover some of our basics of our travel. We spent an amazing 20 hours in NYC, and we'll save that post for later. But, headed to JFK airport early Friday evening. We settled into the Admiral Lounge for British Airways. Our donated miles included all of this special status. It was great because we had run around like crazy people in NYC.

We bored the plane around 9:30 pm and waited for about an hour and half to de-ice. The fact that we had even made it to NYC the day before had been our first miracle. Almost all of the flights out of Charleston had been cancelled except Jet Blue. Jet Blue only flies this route for the flight we were on back/forth to NYC. Not gonna lie, the turblanance on landing at JFK was pretty intense. But, I was at peace about it. So, we weren't surprised when we had to sit and wait for de-icing in JFK later. However, we were not concerned about connections because our plane was stopping in Vancouver, and we weren't even leaving the plane.

Having the bonus gift of being in business class was wonderful. Our seats laid down flat. And they came with a duvet style cover and pillow. I had packed a neck pillow and other travel pillow, too. So we had plenty of great neck support. Since it was 11 pm, we were super tired. We started taking our homeopathic No Jetlag meds. And I took some melatonin and Airborne. I think we both slept most of the flight to Vancouver. I woke up every 2 hours or so, and slathered on coconut oil, salin nasal spray, eye drops (had taken my contacts out), and took our No Jetlag pills. I also had cayenne pepper in a  little spray bottle for my feet, etc. I think we took a total of 2-3 doses of airborne the entire trip. We had both been fighting sinus congestion, so I was trying to keep my skin and nose hydrated. I also had a pair of hospital grade compression socks on (thank you, Shar!). My feet started to swell at the beginning; but I kep the cayenee/water mix on them and my hands.

They fed us a dinner after leaving JFK and then again as soon as we took off in Vacouver. I had planned to blog; but I just felt that I needed to sleep and trying to disengage my brain. I was sad that I hadn't done my spotify offline correctly because I was missing some of my music.

Anyhow, the Cathay Pod experience was a huge blessing. I stretched out and did some pilates stretches every couple hours, too. I can not believe that I  flew/sat on an airplane for about 20 hours and walked off without pain. So, very grateful to Jesus for that extra blessing.

At one point, Travis and I ordered soup and cake at about 3 am. That was fun!

We arrived in Hong Kong at 8 am. They served us breakfast about 5:45 am on the plane. We both changes and I put my makeup back on, etc. It was hot when we were in the airport.
We waited for our
shuttle to the Sky City Marriott down in the 28-30 section. We were space cadets and went through Immigration first, and then got our bags and then walked through customs. We didn't even stop at customs. Just walked through the "nothing to declare" area.

We were greeted by  Angie's mom, Barbara, in the hotel lobby. The bus boys took our bags to our room, and we checked in. Travis ended up going down to eat about an hour later. We decided we would try to take advantage of being in HK. So, we took the hotel shuttle to the main subway station. It was like a classy mall, kind of reminded me of Keystone Mall in Indy. We bought subway tickets with our Hong Kong dollar (divide by 8 for the amount in US dollar). We road the subway line all the way to HK Station. We got off there, and got a taxi to the Tram Station Peak. Then we stood in a very long que for tickets. It was very funny, everyone kept moving in herds closer and closer to the tram. The line was super long; and jetlag was catching up with us at that point.

The tram is like a little train car on a rail that goes straight up the mountain. At  the top there is a big mall type area and you can look out over the city. We were so blessed to have a sunny clear day, hardly any of smog. We could see for miles.

We took the same transport back, and then realized we had no idea where the shuttles picked up. But, we made it back in time for dinner with Angie, Cameron and her mom. I had the buffet becuase I hadn't eaten much that day. Cameron ate mini octopus. Seriously!

We fell asleep at 7:39 pm. Out cold!
The next morning, we took our time waking up and headed to breakfast. Then we prayed over Angie and her Mom and Cameron and headed upstairs to pack. We took a taxi to the train station. We tried to take lots of pictures for the boys to se, like these double decker buses. So far, our souveniers for them are sighting buses from NYC and HK.

Packing Week

I am totally procrastinating at this point because I'm overwhelmed with packing. I am very eager to go; but I hit a wall with packing. And the problem is, when I am overwhelmed with packing, I over pack. So, I am stepping away from the crazy bin of things upstairs, and going to sit here and write a blog post! The good part is that the over packing seems to be all the gifts that we take for people. So, that means we'll have more room on the way home!

Many of you will know this; but here is the story of the last few weeks. On February 8th, at 6pm, I received an email from our agency social worker to call her. However, as soon as I saw the email, I called her and her phone was dead. Around 6:45, she was finally able to get her phone charged and tell me that we had Travel Approval. We had a record 7 day TA! That's a miracle. The average is 10-21 days.

Now, usually that means we are booking plane tickets within 24 hours. However, this was a Friday night. Friday night before Ch**se New Year. That means the US Consulate was closed. It re-opened very briefuly on the 14th and 15th; but that only allowed our request for a Consulate Appointment to be received. We were hoping to travel still on February 28th with a March 12th CA appt.

On the 13th or 14th, I received a call that due to some logistical challenges we were requesting March 19th as our consulate and not March 12th and we may not get approval for that until Feb 19th or 20th. So, this was quickly becoming the shortest TA wait, and longest CA wait in history.

I am going to tell y'all the flat out truth. I was devastated. I could not stop crying. I was frustrated, and even rather angry. I did not get it. That two weeks felt hard and horrible. Looking back, I also believe that the stress of waiting had just pushed me over the edge. I had not had a good cry about this in a long time. All the nerves and  excitement just spilled out. After I understood that our agency was making this decision for our best interest and so that they could be fully available for us, and that they had a team going in on medical trip with doctor's who volunteer their time and understandably dictate when they can go, I was able to see the bigger picture. The agency needed all their translators and team available for us, and they couldn't do that if they were spread out all over the country at the orphanages.

But, before I could grasp it all, I was a mess. And I didn't want to talk to anyone at the agency because I was so bummed and I just wanted to get on a plane yesterday. But, they were persistent in reaching out and allowing me to be emotional. I was even more impressed even though they aren't at all just putting on a show of being the most impressive agency in the US. They are living out the Gospel and entering into the nitty gritty of adoptive families.

As in typical-Jessica-fashion, after my big emotional drama, I was able to settle down and ask God to show me what he had for our family in the next few weeks. It quickly became very apparent that God had some things to do in my heart and Travis'. I wouldn't say that we were "benched"; but I would say that God pretty clearly let me know that I was not indeed ready to go.

A group from our missional community was heading to the Empowered to Connect Conference in Orlando. Travis and I had hoped to go to this; but we thought we'd be traveling during this conference. It seemed too close to travel to leave our boys, too costly, etc. However, God had a plan for that, and I ended up getting to meet a friend who lives in Florida who let me stay with her (for free) and two of our awesome JTM families let me ride down and back with them (for free). So, after a $20 ticket, I was able to sit for 2 days listening to the ETC team share about connecting and doing the hard work for children who come from hard places. As soon as I arrived in Florida, I knew that was where I was supposed to be. I knew God had some things to do in our hearts, and not just for Meili Joy; but for our boys, too. And again, time with our awesome community is invaluable. I think this is my 4th road trip with Sharon Lyon!

I came home, and Travis had experienced his own God-encounter weekend, and not just because he kept the boys for 2 nights without me home! That's his story, so I won't tell it; but it was really great to come home and know that God had planned to work on both of our hearts that weekend even being a part and in different ways.


So, on my 35th birthday, we received the call that we had our consulate appointment and could start booking our plane tickets! However, we were not sure at this time if we were going to be able to use the miles we were donated. Every time we went on line, all the dates required more miles than we had. We needed 55k or less for each leg of the flights in order to get all 3 of us home. Most of the options required 70k miles.

After spending 10 hours on the phone with American Airlines, my agency, a travel agent (who quoted us $4k for the tickets if we couldn't get the miles to work), we were able to figure out a route from NYC to Hong Kong. However, we had to buy round trip tickets from CHS to NYC and then use the miles but we would have been buying tickets from BJ to GZ either way. We did have to leave on Thursday night instead of Friday; but we got the first flight out of HK (we can't leave GZ until 7pm on 3/20). So, we are flying up to NYC a night early to spend the night with my BFF, Abby, who just so happens to be Meili Joy's godmother and was adopted from S. Korea when she was a baby. And we just so happen to clear customs in NYC on 3/21 in time to also let her meet Meili Joy. Can you so amazing? So very special.

And, it just so happens that miles we are using at 55k each way are business class... and many of you know that I have some issues with my connective tissue, and this is a big deal. We are so very grateful. This has been an amazing gift for us. The family donating them would like to remain anonymous; and we are respecting that. But, we are so grateful.


(Okay, again, it's taken me 4 times longer than necessary to try to type this all out. And if I don't hit publish now, I'll lose my window of time.)