Home Sweet Home

Home. Sigh. Nothing better than that:) The flight was very long with Alex being over tired and therefore Miss Cranky pants and crying for a couple hours. Then she slept for 6 hours straight! Thank you so much to those that came to the airport. It was so perfect! Once again, we are so very blessed. My brother made a video clip for us - feel free to view. Thanks Mano! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZDkaLzokZY
I have also update the pics with some last ones from China and a couple from here. Skylar and Alex are going to be best friends:)
Alex is very happy and doing way better than expected! Can't wait to see family and friends tomorrow!

Good Bye China, Hello Canada

Well the last day has arrived. This day brings many mixed emotions, all of which have to do with Alex. Moving her again, leaving all sounds, smells everything she knew before she met us, arriving home, Alex meeting Skylar, China, Tiger and of course family and friends. We had a great celebration last night with some close members of our group. It was one of the best times we have had together.
So what can I say to you? The words thank you just don't seem enough. You have supported us before we left, while we were waiting and now since we have been gone. Many of you have cried tears of sadness for us as we tried for 10 years to become parents and then tears of joy when we saw Alex's face. We are so very blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people. For those of you that have joined our journey while you are waiting for your children - your time is near and the wait is so worth it!
We appreciate all the advice and will continue to seek it out as we grow as parents. I will learn to get better at asking for help as this experience has taught me the many benefits of admitting when you can't do everything:)
I pray for each of you to have happiness and joy in your life. Each of us will find joy through different avenues. For me and my heart, my joy is found in small bundle once named Yang Xi Zi Di who was left on the steps of a restaurant in GuangDong Province on the day of her birth November 15 2006. She will be forever known as Alexandria Faith Vandernaalt.

One More Sleep, One More Sleep

At last we are almost home! Alex, Dad and Mom are weary and ready! I will post more tomorrow before we leave the hotel.
A reminder to anyone coming to the airport - we will be delayed due to customs and immigration for Alex. Not sure by how much but just so you know. Can't wait to see everyone and have a Tim's!

Great Wall, Great Climb, Great Pain

So I did it! I faced my fear of heights - yup I didn't know I had one either:) and climbed with Alex up quite some way and then climbed back down. For those of you that have climbed the Wall you will appreciate the balance required on the very steep steps. Many people commented on their way down (my way up) that I was one brave girl. I didn't fully appreciate those comments till I got to my stopping spot and looked down. Alex slept sweetly in my carrier and I sweated my a _ _ off in the 48 degree temp. Yup one of the 'hotter' days!
I am now believing that Alex was allergic to one of the medicines rather than having a heat rash. She has never gotten the rash again and she has also not taken the amoxicillin again. I will have her tested when I get home.
It was a great climb, one that I will never forget - especially tomorrow when I wake up in pain! We also went to the Jade factory, absolutely beautiful stuff! Tonight is our group pics because the twins are flying in!!!!!!! Very excited to see them and hopefully their medicals and paperwork will allow them to fly home with us on Thursday!
That's it for now. I am updating the pics as I type so hopefully you will enjoy!

Medical Review

Alex is in clean health! The doctor was a Chinese woman from Montreal and was wonderful. Alex is officially 18 pounds and is in the 25% and her length (can't remember the number) puts her in the 50%. I am not excited nor concerned about those numbers - they are what they are. Alex's lungs are clean - she had bronchitis. Her bum will take awhile to clear up as the bed sores were infected when we got her. Her one spot on her head from scabies will take another two weeks to go away - that is good to know. Her physical development puts her in the range of a 6 month baby but we have seen incredible progress since we got her and think she will catch up in no time. Her speech is delayed and will most likely continue to be for the best part of the year. Alex was already delayed with her speech and then we switched languages on her. Don't get me wrong we aren't saying that she should be actually talking just making multiple sounds - again according to the doctor. Her ears are alright and she responds to the bell when she is ready:) Sweet stubborn young lady.
Alex is still freaking out every time Brian leaves - even to go to the washroom. This behaviour began on the day he went to the orphanage and has yet to go away. I am not taking this as a rejection of me but more of a fear of him leaving her. Alex will only fall asleep at night with Daddy and in his arms. I say will only because it is not for lack of trying. The screaming is quite crazy if he even tries to lie her beside him. As we are in two seperate double beds, I am actually sleeping great:) Alex is waking up throughout the night to smell him, touch him and look at him. We are hoping that this resolves itself by the time we land in Canada otherwise we are very screwed when Brian returns to school - Mom I know you hate that terminalogy but really it captures my concern nicely:)
So that is it! Off to the Great Wall tomorrow. I hear that since the Great Wall was closed for the last two days all the tourists in Beijing will be climbing together tomorrow - can't wait:) Seriously I am pumped because what a wonderful experience to have with my daughter - she will be strapped to my front and we will climb together. TD Folk - bring on the stair climb!!!
Have a great day! Tomorrow will be a long one for us as we are also going to the Jade factory in the afternoon. I will try to post.
3 MORE SLEEPS!!! I may have made a mistake last time with my count I get confused easily!

Almost Home

So Peking/Beijing Duck, not really sure what the big deal is. It is sliced duck eaten in a fajita. I had heard that we see the duck head and stuff but nothing. I'm not sure I wanted to see that but at least I would have more to tell you!
So three more sleeps for me! So very very very excited. Mom, I think the vacuum is in the front closet by the front doors. If not, feel free to open and look everywhere. If any of my other houseguests have seen it please feel free to give mom a shout. Hoping you are able to use my computer at home.
So a couple things about our return.
Toronto - We arrive at 6:15pm on Thursday on Air Canada 0032 direct from Beijing. Those of you that can make it are more than encouraged to be there:) Can someone bring a video camera? Hoping that while you are waiting someone can tape welcome messages to Alex. We will not be staying too long so not to worry this won't take alot of your evening.
Sparta - Open House at 2pm on Saturday. I can't express how much Brian and I are not only looking forward to seeing everyone but also to eat some good ol western potluck food! It may be a very long time before we eat Chinese food again.
Alex and Guests - So I am going to try hard not to come across as a crazy Mom so please just hear me out. This comes from both Brian and I - it took him to be with Alex to really get it. It is important that for right now (I emphasize only for right now) that Brian and I be the only ones to hold Alex. You can play with her cute toes, curious fingers, pudgy nose, big cheeks - essentially anything that you and her would like - we just have to be holding her. We believe that this is the right thing to do for our daughter and we understand that some of you may not agree or even feel hurt by this decision. We are sorry and really don't want to offend anyone we just have to do what we believe is right for our daughter. We are not sure how Alex will react with moving again or being around all these white people:) she may be awesome and fine or she might be terrified - we'll wait and see!
So off to the hospital for the morning. I will post an update on her health later.

The Forbidden City

Today was just one of those days when everything seemed to go well with Alex. The last couple of days have been extremely trying. Yesterday and into last night all babies were struggling. We moved them. They have a new home again. It completely breaks your heart. I heard Brian telling Alex - next place is your real home. Alex has been fussy and I thought it was a rebelling against Mom thing - after last night it looks like it is both of us. After my struggles, Brian decided to take this one on. Of course it ended with Alex curled up beside him all night! This morning I woke up and climed into bed with her (two doubles this time around) and started snuggling. She woke up about an hour later giggling and playing with my hands and then my lips. We played for a bit and then I decided to get into the tub with her and have some more fun. It was a great morning.
Next we were off to the Forbidden City. Most of you know how much I hate crowds - welcome to China:) Everyone and their brother, sister, great aunt, long lost cousin twice removed, decided to come. Bumping into sweaty people is not fun. I have no clue what the temperature was but I do know that I have been back for 2 hours and my shirt, shorts and all undergarments are still soaked through! Too much info Mom? I carried Alex in the snuggly and low and behold - no rash at all this time. The ancient chinese secrets must be working:) I carried her for about 3.5 hours, I am very proud of this accomplishment - bring on the Great Wall!
The Forbidden City is amazing but I would really like to come back when the weather is much cooler and about a billion people just decide to stay home.
Tonight is our Beijing Duck dinner. I am actually going to try and do my hair! Alex is getting her Canadian Visa pic taken as we speak so she will also be ready for a night on the town. I will take some pics as I guess it is something to see.
I haven't spoken much about Alex's health as I want to see what the Doctor says tomorrow when we take all the babies for their medical exam. Alex should be doing alright. The other babies left in Guangzhou are not well and one stopped breathing last night and is on a respirator - please send all your prayers that way please as the twins and their Mom & Dad desperately need them.
I am trying to update more pics but new city new rules-hopefully you can see them www.dropshots.com/saritawv
5 More Sleeps!!:)!!

Finally in Beijing

Well we are here in our final leg. Thank goodness! I can't wait to get home. How many sleeps? Oh yeah 5 MORE SLEEPS:) Alex did great on the plane. I fed her on the way up and then she slept the 3 hour flight and woke up when we landed. I was a pool of sweat but she was an angel. I am exhausted and will update with some more pics tomorrow. We are off to the Forbidden City tomorrow and our Beijing (formerly known as Peking) Duck Dinner. Now that I am back in Beijing, I am reading about Chinese History and Culture in a book I received from a dear friend. It has been very helpful.
Thanks always for everyone's comments. Tara, I am jealous of the wine you and Michele were probably sharing. Aunt J and Mom your advice is very helpful. I hope I never lose the ability to share my emotions, it helps me so very much. I know my work pals have had to deal with it for years and have been so kind to just tease me about it! I have to say that I miss those morning chats and the time I could spend being so overly engrossed in myself. I think I get that back in another 20 years. let's see if I still need it then!
Hope everyone is doing well!

Alex's Old Home vs New Home

Well where do I begin? How about we start with Alex's old home and Brian's visit to the orphanage. He got on the bus at 8am and arrived back around 8:30pm - a very long day. It took fours hours to drive there but the nice thing was that he got to see the Chinese countryside. From the pics it looks beautiful. www.dropshots.com/saritawv
They arrived at the orphanage and were met by the Director. Brian does not doubt the genuine affection that both the Director and the Nannies have for these children - the only problem is that there is not enough of them for the quantity of children. The group was only allowed to go into one room - the room they say that our children stayed. The orphanage looks so big, you wonder what is going on in the other rooms. He was not allowed to videotape, only to take a couple pics. Some babies were lying on the floor as they did not have enough cribs. Makes you wonder what can be going on in the other rooms if they are showing us the best one. The pics Brian took speak for themselves. What you can't see is that the windows for this room do not have screens or glass, they are open. When it rains they push the cribs out of the way. I dunno. It broke Brian's heart and it certainly makes sense as to why these kids are so sick - can't really clean wood planks that well from one baby to the next and why they long to be held.
Afterwards they drove to the spot each child was left at. The pics also show the restaurant that Alex was found in front of. The restaurant is now closed and the building was falling apart. Brian said this was one of the hardest parts of the trip. Have I told you about these orphanage girls when they get older? They are rumoured to be the most stubborn head strong girls alive. I always thought that this was because most of them are only chidlren to parents who are well established and spoiling their kids. I just might be wrong. It turns out that something like 50 children were found in the 4 weeks span that Alex was found. Only 16 survived. The survivors are fighters and have an incredibly strong spirit.
So though I am glad that I got to stay home with my little love..........we got a screamer:) Alex screamed and screamed and screamed, pretty much from noon until 8:30pm when Dad got back. By about 6pm I lost my marbles and I am not sure who was crying louder - me or Alex. I had even broken down and borrowed someone's Baby Einstein DVD and tried that. I took her swimming - she stopped crying but it started to rain. I bathed her - she laughed but was very slippery for just me to have her in the sink. Believe me, if there was something I could try I did. I don't know what is going on. She is teething. She is her Daddy's girl. Could be either one. Very tough day for Mom. That is all I will write about that.
Off to Beijing tomorrow. I can't wait. I will post tomorrow when we get there. If anyone is wondering where I am getting the time to post......this is my only private time. My how my life has changed!

A day late

My apologies that I didn't post last night - ya know a daughter to raise and all:) Alex is doing great. I hate that she has this heat rash every time we step outside - everyone knows me and the heat, oh the irony! Yesterday she lasted 10 minutes before she broke out into huge red welts on her face. We were at a temple so I went back to the bus and hung out. Btw-the pics from yesterday will be loaded tomorrow, I only have the pics from today loaded. Next we went to a tea house. I bought lots and lots of tea, of course any time somone says drink this and you will be skinny, I am sold:) My intention is to buy 18 gifts for Alex. One for each Forever Family day for the next 18 years of her life - ending with a jade bracelet that I will buy in Beijing. So far I have bought one gift - a beautiful tea set. I have a ways to go. I am hoping that Alex and I can go shopping when Brian goes to the orphanage, I now have a stroller so it might be okay. I had to break down and sacrifice my bonding (carrying or carrier) and get the stroller as I was making her too hot.
Today we went swimming. Oh my, she loves, loves, loves the water. She was smiling and splashing. I am so very happy.
We also went to the police department to complete our final in province interview. Now all our official meetings and documentation are complete for GuangDong. We just have to wait for the passport which we will get on Friday and then we are so outta here on Sat morning. Can't put into words how much I want to come home:)
Tonight we went for Thai food again, I am enjoying the Thai food much more then the Chinese food. Less weird animal body parts to worry about.
Alex is waking up in the morning and as I am holding her she is touching my face and then reaching out to Brian's face and then she lets out this big sigh and smiles as if to say 'thank God they are still here' I love it! Yes I realize it could be gas or something else but this is how I choose to interpret it!
Four of the girls in our group have pneumonia, one more has a very bad bacterial infection and then all have multiple welts. I am blessed that Alex is not mroe sick then she has been. peaking of which - did I share that she is teething? Of course she is.....baptism by fire?
So that's all for my travels. Please keep the comments coming. Janette - Alex's middle name is Faith for that is what kept us going. Penny group 249 (sorry if I screwed up your name) - it is so worth it. I am in crazy love. Aunty Shelley - Congrats to you, your Mom and Dad and especially Tiffany. I hope the baby is well. As for everyone else, I really love the messages and you are all in my thoughts and prayers. If you are new here, please check out the pics at www.dropshots.com/saritawv

Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Thanks for the words Allison! As always you come through nicely for me! Unfortunately I had already sung her the wrong words to this song and many more. All my friends especially my TD ones will appreciate that:)
It is so bizarre being so far away and then logging in and feeling so close to home. Sigh, it has been a long day. Have I told you I hate zoo's? Canadian, American and yes even Chinese. The animals being caged up breaks my heart. I remember a few years a go Brian and I got it into our heads to go to the Toronto zoo, we lasted half an hour and then left crying. Not going to get on a soap box here because I just paid yet again to go to another zoo. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I thought that since I have to pass cages of turtles, cats and puppies in the shops outside of the hotel just to get to the bus to go to the zoo I would be okay. Not so much. Anyhow, I have included a few pics from the zoo and the nightlife outside our hotel.
Have I told you that I am in love? So wonderfully completely head over heels in love :) I was worried, you may not know that. What if after all this time, I didn't love her? It was up there with what if I forgot her some where or forgot to feed her - weird anxiety but anxiety nevertheless. From the moment I saw her picture, to the moment I held her in my arms - I stopped doubting. She is perfect. She is amazing. Most of all she is the most precious gift I have ever been blessed with. I can't wait to learn all the lessons that she will teach me. She is my angel.
Have a great day today! Off to bed - I have 12 hours alone with Alex tomorrow!

Temple & Pearls

Good Day! Today we visited a Buddhist Temple. It was very interesting and I was glad that we actually got to witness the Monks doing their chants and prayers. Only half our group participated in this outing as the children have not been up to it. Those that did attend had their children blessed by the high priest/monk. Brian and I chose to spend that time looking around, we will have Alex blessed within our beliefs when we return home. Alex did well with the heat today. I think Brian and I had a tougher time. I chose to climb the 17 floors of one of the pagodas. I was drenched but kept telling myself that I only have a few more days til I am climbing the Great Wall, I need to be ready.
Then off to the Pearl Market we went. I bought Alex a pair of pearl earings so now I have 3 gifts complete of the 18 I am intending on buying - oh boy!
We have 4 more days in Ghangzhou, then off to Beijing. Then 5 days in the big city and then we fly home - 9 more days. I can't wait.
So a couple people have asked how big Alex is. Well I still have no clue. If I go by my scale, which by the way states that I weigh 115lbs, then Alex weighs 5lbs. For my sake I think this is a great number for Alex - well perhaps not. I will continue to find someone else's scale to use as it is too hard to explain to a Cantonese person that the scale is not working.
K. Have a great day everyone! We are off to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow - isn't there a children's song that goes like that? I really gotta learn all those.

Good Morning. Good Night.

Just a quickie. I updated the pics from our temple visit. I haven't really shared with you my hair problems but from these pics you will start to see some of the issues with me and crazy humidity. Everyone is still saying that we are lucky because it is cool due to the typhoon. It rained last night so it should only be around 31 without adding in the 94% humidity:)
Mom, we are in Guangzhou. This is also the exit point for the Americans so there are many adoptive families walking around. Happy that Sky ate his food. I have been worried.
Lad & Mom. I will weigh Alex tonight. I ahve no clue how much she weighs. She fits into size 2 diapers and is one of the biggest babies.
It seems like there are many people reading this blog. I guess now everyone knows about me and my life:) Thanks for joining our journey.

A little about my Darling

Before I start going on and on about Alex, I want to thank our family, friends, old neighbours, teachers, TD peers - essentially everyone for your wonderful comments. I love logging in and checking to see what messages we have. I feel so far away from home that it is wonderful to know that so many people are thinking and praying about us.
Now on to Alex. As you know Alex was from an orphanage. She was in a metal crib with a wood plank for the last (almost) 9 months of her life. There were almost 50 other children in the room with 2 nannies to look after them all. She was hardly ever held and was kept on a strict schedule.
These girls don't cry, they have learnt from an early age that no one will come. Alex was very content when we would put her down on the bed or floor or anywhere. She didn't care. She is used to spending hours upon hours entertaining herself. Because of that Alex self stimulates - uses her hands, her mouth, her feet to entertain. The first day it was hard for her to even reach out and touch us with her hands or look us in the eyes. After stickers on my nose and constant touching she is starting to respond. Alex also no longer wants to be put down. She has realized that it is more fun to be held by us. She still will not reach out to be picked up but for the first time today when a complete stranger reached out and wanted to hold her (before I could yell 'step away from my baby'), she turned back into me and away from the stranger. I started to cry. This is great progress in only a couple days.
We have noticed that she is almost limp like and very quiet when we are out - originally this was all the time but has now decreased to only when we leave the hotel room. This is shock and way too much stimuli. I will be increasing the time we spend together in the room. As all of the girls are the same way, site seeing was cancelled for today and the orphanage visit has been postponed until Thursday. I will not be taking Alex back to the orphanage. I believe that this could be very traumatic for her, so crazy confusing. Brian is going to go and film everything for us including the restaurant where she was abandoned. I am writing a prayer for Brian to say at this spot for her birth mom - we are forever joined.
So that about covers it for Alex's emotional state. We knew that it would be hard for her coming from an orphanage but man is she beautiful and spunky and I know that with His healing she will be well.
Her physical state - oh boy! Her cough and congestion is getting better. She is quite the sweater but it is crazy hot. She has a rash all over her body especially her face so I took her to the hospital. Heat rash! You will see from the new pic that she is coated in lotion now. Of course there was an old Chinese remedy given as well and so now she has soaked in a fine blend of four teas as well! Her bum spots are getting better but not as quickly as I would like. Perhaps the tea bath might help? Her welt on her head (scabies) was shown to the doctor and I recieved ointment for that. The total visit including the costs of all the herbs and drugs? $11US:)
So I wanted to give everyone an update about Alex but I really don't want anyone to be worried as all these things - physical and emotional can be treated. So we will. Some quickly some slowly.
Before I log off. To all those attending the Watsa Family Cottage weekend - wish Alex could be there to meet everyone, learn a little tennis and play some ping pong. We will need to add a new competition - gymnastics. Alex is incredibly flexible:) Have fun, loving you all and wishing I could be there for the poker, laughs and multiple conversations at one moment!
Talk soon

Officially Ours!

So Alex is officially ours! No one can take her away from us, except of course a tall handsome man 20 years from now will try! I have updated the pics but viewer discretion is advised due to mature content:)
I have been able to read the comments both on the pics and on the blog. Mom, you are so sweet that you felt the need to comment on many picstures!
Alex is feeling better and we are loving her up completely:)

It's a Girl!

Alex is more beautiful in real life! Today has been a very emotional day. We flew in this morning and then scooted around unpacking, getting organized etc. and then the cribs arrived in our rooms! It was very surreal. Next thing we know we are ready to go to the Civil Affairs Office. There we had to wait behind a few other couples from another group that were adopting children that were around 2 or 3 years old. I don't think I will ever forget the terror in these children's eyes. And then our babies started coming out. Tears were non stop for everyone. As usual, I tend to only cry at the big things - broken nail, being mad at someone etc, so of course Brian shed the tears for me.
So let me tell you about my little love. She has the biggest, blackest eyes I have ever seen. She is very cuddly but also likes to push me away. Unfortunately she is quite sick. Her lungs are very congested and her breathing is laboured. She is just getting over scabies and has a couple scabs on her head. She has prickly heat on her back and neck. Alex has bed sores on her bum - her bum is very cute by the way. She also has some weird bruises in different spots. Needless to say she is running a fever. That being said, she is on drugs - both prescription and over the counter. She did eat (finally) and now she is lying sweetly in her crib while I finally leave the room and come down to post:)
Brian and I have not eaten. Probably will not sleep. But are definitely falling in love with Alex every breathing moment we have her.
So hopefully I can find a way to post some pics on the site. May be hard as I am at the public computer.
Congratulations Grandma, Grandpa, Mamagi (sp?), Papa, and all the Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. We have a beautiful addition to our family.

FYI..comments

As of today I am still struggling to read comments. Please don't stop posting comments though, my hope is to still be able to get them while in China. I will add all comments to her life book. If you have something urgent to share I think my Mom has my contact info, but certainly anyone who stays at our home does, Tara does and Simon & Tricia do.
Pics are now updated:)

One More Sleep!

Wow, we are almost there! I can't believe it. The bizarre mix of emotion has been replaced with complete excitement. I am thrilled that I will be holding my little love by this time tomorrow:) I have to pack the diaper bag tonight so that I am ready for anything tomorrow. We will be flying to Gangzhou in the morning and then will meet her at 2:30pm. Alex will have travelled on a bus for four hours before we meet her. That might be one tired and hungry chick!
So today Brian and I went on a boat cruise. Hopefully I will be able to update the pics as I have borrowed someone's computer and doing this in the hotel room with Brian reading over my shoulder.
http://www.dropshots.com/saritawv
The boat cruise was great and you will see from the pics that Brian loved both the hills and the water buffalo! We then came back to the hotel and I crashed. I am not sleeping well at night at all (you can tell from the bags under my eyes) and it is beginning to take a toll. I think the heat is making it worse - have I told you about the heat? It is like stepping into my car after it has baked in the sun all day when the humidity is in the high 30's and then closing the windows and turning the heater on. That is the best I can do to describe it. You stand outside and begin to sweat. I normally glisten :) but now I have huge drops coming off strange places on my body - too much info Mom?
So back to tomorrow.......wowowowowowowowow.
My next update will be as a Mom:)

Guilin or Bust

Today has been a very eventful day! Brian and I met our tour guide at 7:15am after a very restless sleep. Not sure if it was the time change or the anxiousness finally setting in! We had a great breakfast and then Jenny (pretty sure that is not the right spelling) took us to the ariport. We were at the airport by 8am for our 9:40 flight. Well the flight ended up being delayed and since we have no clue what anyone was saying we just waited - tried to ask no one spoke English. Finally at 12:30pm we boarded for Guilin. We arrived at 3:30pm and then promptly 15 minutes later, our driver blew the tire in his van. :):) LOL. The heat! Waiting outside in this temp and the driver's jack was not big enough so we had to call for another one, so reminded me of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. We checked in about 15 minutes ago and will be leaving in an hour for an acrobatic show. I am very excited about that. Tomorrow we are going on the cruise down the River Li for the day and then finally relaxing tomorrow night.
So today in the TD world, my project launches Nationally. Simon I will be thinking about you tonight as you step in for Tricia and myself. Have fun!!!
I believe Curt and Anna Marie are our current houseguests. I hope you guys are having fun.
I will continue to attempt to write every day. I am hoping to have time to add some pics tomorrow night.
Hope everyone is well:)

From the other side of the world.....

Arrived Safely

Hello,
We are on our dughter's soil! We are now going to grab something to eat and then crash. Tomorrow we leave for Guilin and will have more time to send a message and hopefully post some pics:) It has been a long journey but the reality and excitement is setting in. Mom please give Skylar a big hug for us.

Departure Day Has Arrived

The day is here to leave, but I am already getting ahead of myself. I first must thank everyone for their generousity this week:) Not only in gifts for Alex and myself but also in time, laughter, support, encouragement and for many of you - putting up with my endless tears. Saying good bye to my peers at work was tough. Crazy tough. I work with some of the best people ever. My friends and family who continued to check in on me throughout the week to make sure that my stress wasn't getting too out of control - thank you. To those that came this weekend to wish us well - thank you! To all the children in my life who have kept us afloat without one of our own - thank you. Done. I once again have tears streaming down my cheeks!
So I am a little scared. Okay alot. My turn to be a Mom after so much time and now I am scared - so crazy! We will leave our house at 9am, our friends Rick and Sue are taking us to T.O. to fly out. By the time you awake tomorrow morning we will be in Beijing:)
Hoping many Toronto folk can be at the airport when we arrive on the 23rd. Everyone is welcome for the open house on August 25th at 2pm. It is potluck and if you post a comment on this blog with what you are bringing, it will tell others what not to bring!
Please continue to check out pics at http://www.dropshots.com/saritawv . I have updated with pics of the house as my big sis has yet to see our home.
K. Signing off from Canada. Next post from China!
4 SLEEPS:):):)