First Day of Classes

Today was the first day of classes at Indiana Wesleyan University. I have to say that my mind isn't really on school right now!!!!! I'm going through the motions, but my mind and heart are in China. I'll only teach for one week before we leave for China....then after we return with Caroline, I'm taking the rest of the semester off.....thank you, God, for paid family leave. I'll get back to school in January.

Some of my colleagues are taking research sabbaticals. I think I'm taking the best sabbatical of them all......bonding with my little Caroline at home until January.

Children's Sermons

It hit me today that in four Sundays I will be taking Caroline up to the front of the church for her very first 'Children's Sermon.' Wow.

Getting Ready to Go to China!

The new fingerprint expiration date documents arrived in the mail on Friday. Perhaps you heard the big sigh of relief from me! Thank you so much, Officer Krieger for getting this done!

I booked our flights yesterday. We are flying from Chicago to Seoul, South Korea, to Guangzhou.

I can now start to get excited and have fun preparing for the trip. I have a HUGE pile of things that I plan to pack (not including clothes)....it is a mountain of stuff! But, it includes all of the recommended medicines, baby formula, baby snacks, 'mommy and grandma' snacks, gifts for the nannies and officials, potential medications for me (and mom), and toys for Caroline. We even need to take tissues with us...apparently restaurants and restrooms don't commonly keep tissues handy!

AND, today Mom and I made a trip to the Indianapolis Babies R Us in Greenwood to purchase the crib/toddler bed/mattress (had to drive 2 hours to get it), and a baby gate for the top of the stairs. We are going to hold out to get other needed things until after upcoming 'Caroline' showers.

Still pinching myself. Is it really happening?

Going to China in September - Oh My Gosh!

The good Lord takes us down curvy paths sometimes....and the last 48 hours have been curvy for sure. But ultimately, God is in control....God is good, ALL THE TIME.

All along I thought I'd be traveling in October. The plan was for Anne and I to make the trip together and Mom would stay home. WELLLLLL..........we are now traveling Sept 17-30, and Mom is now going along with Anne. Very stressful couple of days, but I'm now feeling some relief that we now have a plan. Oh my goodness, SO MUCH TO DO.

Mom and I had a very nice visit with Maryann and her beautiful daughter Bella, and Jennifer and her gorgeous daughter Malia...both girls are Caroline's age and from China. It was wonderful connecting with these moms and to see little ones who will be special friends of Caroline.

I'm still a little shell-shocked that I'm actually traveling in less than 3 weeks and I will meet my precious Caroline in 23 days.

TA Today

Got the email today that my TA is being sent. Yay! Now, the mystery is whether or not I will leave for China on Sept 17 or Oct 9. Waiting for God's plan to be revealed. I'm hanging on and trying to keep my blood pressure down.

More Fingerprinting for Mom

Today Mom got a notice from USCIS that her fingerprints did not pass.....so, as quickly as she opened the notice, we got ready to make the trip to Indy to have her fingerprints done YET AGAIN. We played the 'need the appt expedited' card and handed the form to the nice lady behind the window. So, the prints are done, and we wait for them to be processed. We do know that she won't have to have them done again if there is a problem. They probably do the exact same thing as the FBI did for Mom's state fingerprinting check. When her prints did not pass, she had to have a 'name check.' OK, whatever, just get it done. No, I'm not the least bit impatient. :)

Butterflies, Butterflies, and More Butterflies

Soon after I made the decision to adopt (well, this is after God gave me a big nudge to start the adoption process) I had a very strong feeling that butterflies would play a part in the process. That may sound very silly.......and the fact is, I have no idea what that means. I did decide to decorate Caroline's room with a butterfly theme, but I think there is more than a superficial reason for this butterfly thing.

Butterflies evolve from a caterpillar.......there is this metamorphasis that takes place....perhaps that is a sort of analogy of what will happen to Caroline. She will become a part of a forever family that will encourage her to grow and become someone very special. I want to give her the 'wings to fly' so to speak.

The reason for this blog entry is this: today I was sitting outside while running a garage sale at my house. Several times today I saw beautiful butterflies. They were bright yellow with black around the edges. They were fluttering all around us (Mom and I). I've never seen so many butterflies at my house before.

I considered this another 'God moment'.....another sign that God is providing encouraging moments for me as I prepare to bring Caroline home. I feel that these 'God moments' are His way of confirming that this is part of His plan.....His schedule......His desire for me to be a mom to Caroline.