Sunday February 20th - Five weeks to Departure, Six to GOTCHA!

Only six weeks to go until Gotcha day for Lilah!

I keep finding it hard to believe that it has already been three weeks since we got our referral. I’m not sure whether to be thankful or panicked that time is speeding along. On one hand I want to meet Lilah ASAP. On the other hand, there are so many preparations to make.

This week, we finally decided that we are not painting Lilah's room, so it will stay yellow with pink and green accents. We have also decided to paint Naomi's room purple (her favorite colour and matches her quilt). Not sure if the project will be complete by the time we leave, but a mum can always hope.

To update you on the rest of our week . . .

Yesterday was spent celebrating Chinese New Year with our local friends. We had a house full of kids and adults alike. The kids played in the playroom (which we are glad is now not an office) while the adults chatted, got caught up on news, reminisced about previous adoption trips and celebrated the new souls who are joining our expanding group. In 2005, we will be adding at least 5 new children to our "family" and we are all very excited!

In reference to our trip, we have been researching fun things to do in Shanghai. Our plan is to travel three days ahead of the rest of our group so that we can adjust to the jetlag and spend some time with Naomi. Having already decided that this trip will be less cultural, and more of a family focused experience has changed what we kinds of activities are looking for this time around. There are some interesting museums and tea houses in Shanghai, but somehow I doubt that either of these will be “fun” for Naomi. Instead, our plans will likely include visiting the Oriental Pearl TV Tower (2nd largest freestanding building in the world), the Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts, Aquaria 21 and the Shanghai Zoo.

On Tuesday of last week, we received our flight itinerary for the Air Canada portion of the trip. We’ll be departing Toronto Airport on March 29th at 8:30am. We have a 1.5 hr layover in Vancouver, leaving at 12:05pm for Shanghai. The flight to Shanghai is our longest at 12.5 hrs and we will arrive at 4:35pm on the 30th.

Our return home will begin on April 14th, as we depart Beijing at 4:20pm. One of the fun things about crossing the international date line is that we actually arrive in Vancouver before we left Beijing. Our flight time is 10.75hrs and Lilah will take her first steps onto Canadian soil around 12:05pm (BC Time). We’ll have just under three hours to clear Customs, then Immigration in order to catch our flight to Toronto at 3pm. Our arrival at Terminal one will be around 10:30pm, where we will finally be able to introduce Lilah to friends and family who are able to join us.

I've posted Lilah's pictures in large size so that Grandma and Grandpa Klassen (who are vacationing in Florida) are able to see the photos of Lilah. In doing so, it reminded me that this little person has no idea of what is about to happen. While we continue in excited anticipation, she also continues to live life. I'm sure she's sleeping right now, but I often wonder what did she do today and who tucked her into bed tonight??? I hope they gave her a kiss.

x0x0x0