1 Month Away????

It is quite possible that one month from today we will be arriving in Beijing. There is sooo much to do. From gifts to buy, to packing, and cleaning. Cleaning? Yes cleaning. I have this weird thing that I cannot stand leaving my home while on vacation messy. It is awful coming home to something that you have 'to do'. I know there are more like me on this issue, we've talked!
Anyway, the amount of anticipation and anxiousness I feel is overwhelming at times. I find myself constantly thinking o.k., what else can I do right now? I continually think about Nina-Li and pray for her safety and hope. I pray she has hope. Hoping for a family to come, hope for a new and better life. For if she has hope, she will possibly receive us as her family just a bit easier. I wake-up through-out the night now thinking of her and praying for her until I drift off to sleep again. We have spent the past 9 months doting and admiring just a few photographs that we have received. Yet, I still don't know if she knows that we are coming.
We made her a family album and mailed it, but we do not know for certain if she got it. I can understand why. I would understand if the orphanage waits until they know for certain we are coming. How heart-breaking it would be for a child who has been with out family to wait and wait for a family that doesn't come. Or, for a child to continually wonder when is this family coming? We don't even know for certain the date we will come, so how can a child understand the process?
This month the boys and I are working hard on homeschool, for we will be taking about a month off of the curriculum for our trip and adjustment back home. I am excited to give them the opportunity to see and experience the Chinese culture. That is one of the benefits of homeschooling. At least for our family. We try to give the kids opportunities to learn by experience as often as possible. I don't see the results right away. But, I do sometimes days, months or even a year later. When they are reflecting on what they did or telling a friend about it. The learning process seems to be more solidified when reading/learning are combined with experiences. When a child says 'Oh, I read about this.' or 'I remember seeing pictures of this.' OR when they are reading something and then say ' I remember being there or seeing that.' Sorry, going a different direction with my rambling.
Well, in short, we will try to communicate with everyone at home through this blog. I hope to do it as often as possible, given all electronics we are taking will not fail us!