Well, only 6 more sleeps until we leave for China! At least I hope we sleep. Last night was restless for me, and for those of you who know me well, that is not typical. I have slept through many smoke and fire alarms in my life. I have begun the arduous task of packing, weighing, unpacking, and then packing again. Our in country flights only allow 44 lbs per traveler, and since I'm packing for 5 people, I'm having to be creative. Basically pack everything heavy in our carry-ons, and air in the checked luggage. That way we can get a complete workout hauling the carry-on luggage through at least 2 airports before we arrive in China. After all, we will be sitting for something like 19 hours straight, so we need to burn some calories, right?! I'm probably over-packing, as I'm known to do, but it's not clothes this time. I'm trying to pack as much "America-friendly" food as I can, since I have a 5yr old and 10yr old who will turn up their nose to anything that doesn't look familiar. This 40yr old has a tendancy to do the same, so EasyMac and Quaker oatmeal are my 2 new favorite foods. When we return, I will never eat them again. We are happy, anxious, excited, nervous, panicked, and stressed (not necessarily in that order). I admit to having a few of those "what in the world are we doing" moments in the last few days. Thankfully good friends and a patient husband have calmed those fears, and reminded me of that sweet little reward waiting for us in Xi'an. We've heard so many reports about his great personality and sweet spirit from those who have visited Starfish. We can't wait to discover these traits for ourselves. So for now, we ask that you pray for our sanity as we prepare for travel. Pray that we can focus our attention on the One who called us to this great adventure in the first place. Thanks!
Kelly
Praying, my dear, dear friends. I'm praying.
ReplyDeleteYou are right...He did call you and since He called you, He will continue to equip, sustain, fill, offer, hold and carry you all the way to, from and beyond. He is the Author of your faith and the Creator of your family. Know that we love you and we're here. God called us too...to walk with you, hold your hand, offer laughter when that's what you need, cry with you when that's what you need, help, celebrate and share in this beautiful, sometimes terrifying, fun, sometimes not-so-fun but always worth it journey called family.
Love you all,
Suzanne
Kelly, I love your post!! I can't wait to meet you and am excited we're in this together! I could just about copy and paste your post and put it on our blog, as it describes what I'm feeling too. What a precious comment from Suzanne, might I add! Love the way she said she was called too, to support you etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm praying for all of us as we pack, unpack like you said, and that God would calm all of our fears! See you this weekend!!!
Andrea Moura
(traveling with husband Fabio and anxious to meet our daughter, Rachel from Shanghai!)
Praying for you guys! You'll love Xi'an! Can't wait to read all about meeting your new little one!!
ReplyDeleteYou continue to be in our prayers as you make this journey to bring back that sweet little nephew of mine.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if you ever noticed but the family blog picture has a hole right in the middle of the kids!! Can't wait for that hole to be filled with that sweet little mischievious face of Aiden!
Love you all and praying for God's peace to be upon you as you prepare to travel.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI am Taylor's mom that spent this summer with Aiden at Starfish. We are praying for you and him as a new family is united. Taylor and I both can't wait to see you with him.