Packing Like Crazy, Crazy Like Packing!

Hi, everyone,

First, Catherine! Yes, I got your comment and I was so excited to see Austin in my box! I'll e-mail you soon, ok? Can't wait to catch up. Please tell Tim I said, "Hello from Monday." :)

I have been away from the blog for several days since the retreat, and a lot has been going on in our household! When I came down off of the mountain, literally and figuratively, chaos began! I came home to Ava having a 104.4 fever, of course, late Sunday night, and the nurse advised us to bring her on the Children's if it got close to 105. Well, thankfully, her fever broke and we were able to tuck her in bed with her penguin humidifier very late Sunday night. We had tried the Infant's Motrin alternating it with Infant's Tylenol every four hours AND a sponge bath or two, and nothing was helping to bring down the fever most of the day. Crazy virus I'm guessing. Monday, she woke up and felt much better and her fever was completely gone by Wednesday. She had no other symptoms but a high fever. Go figure!

Since then, I have been a crazy woman packing and making lists for China! I need to tell you guys, though, that something bizzare has happened on my playlist! Number three is NOT the Britt Nicole song that used to be on there! It's some weird heavy metal just odd song. THANK YOU KAREN! Hopefully, you guys just skipped right over that or thought I was a weirdo one. I took it off tonight.

On another note, we had a small crisis in our family tonight. Ava was missing her purple blanket, and I knew that she had left it at preschool. This is her number one comfort item, and she is not fooled with the pink one, even in the dark. I had gone back to the church earlier today and "searched the world over," to no avail. Later tonight, I reached her teacher and she told me to look in the stove. I remembered that the kids have a play stove with all these drawers and doors. When I got to the church, Ava was balling at home with Ben, and there was only one lonely car in the back of the parking lot. I thought it was a lost cause, but much to my surprise, the door opened! That never happens this late at night. So, sure enough, there was the purple blanket stuffed in the back of the stove. Everyone in our house is sleeping better tonight.

Lately, I've needed a gigantic purple blanket for comfort as I try to get all of this China stuff together! We leave the 13th and have asked sweet Brynnan Webb to house sit for us. Every day, I'm marking items off of a long list of to dos, and if you've e-mailed, called or texted me, I promise that I've received each and every one. I just have not had a single second to respond. Thank you so very much for encouraging me/us. We need it right no as the time draws nearer.

Since I've blogged, we have found out that we will have Maia on the 19th of September, and because that's a Sunday, her orphange director will bring her to the hotel in Nanchang where we'll be staying! I can not imagine standing there in the lobby waiting for her to be carried through that door. They may come to our room. Not sure at this point. We plan to be up and blogging the whole time we're there and I'm planning to use the journeytomaia site to chronicle the last leg of this journey. That's the site I began with, and it's going to be something I'd like to keep for Maia in hard copy. Plus, there is a massive firewall in China, and I think it would be easier for me to use this site. As it gets closer, I'll give you instructions on how to "follow." I so need to buy waterproof mascara!:)

Also, some of you are leaving comments and blogger is moving them to a spam folder and I can't get them out. I can read them, but they're in spam land. So, I apologize if you don't see your comment! I am reading them, and they always lift my spirits.

Ok, it's time to find my beloved pillow...

Talk to you again real soon!

Oh, PRAISE! Today, officially marked the day that we are finished with all adoption paperwork this side of China to bring Maia home! Hallelujah!

Lots of thoughts and there's a lot more I could say, but for now, I'm going to go find my pillow and collapse on it.

Love to all! I'll be back soon with more pics!

Emily