Van Leaves Tomorrow! He's Taking Everything But The Kitchen Sink...

My water just broke...Well, actually it was my car's headlights. I am officially in "labor" with a 34 pound little boy that is two and a half years old. He is about to make his entrance into our family. There are no drugs. No epidural. It has been the LONGEST paper "pregnancy" in history I think. It has hurt quite a bit, but it has also been very, very joyful at the same time. I would say I am about 10 centimeters dilated now. And I won't be able to see him for two weeks. Daddy gets to "cut the cord" and play "catcher". Actually, Daddy is delivering Garrett. Hope he took some classes or read something along the way. I think I have been knocked out. Yes, I have been knocked out a time or two now. But I will forget all about the hard stuff once this baby is here, right?

The day is done, and we are as ready as we are going to get for the long journey to Inner Mongolia, China. The day started with Van's alarm clock going off at the break of dawn, and we got up to begin the final process.

Here is the rundown for today in a nutshell:

*keeping Gracie busy all day long

*breakfast sort of...Do Christmas cookies count? What about chocolate?

*gathering documents

*phone calls

*organizing folders for Van for Hohhot and Guangzhou

*cleaning up Christmas stuff

*dishes

*organizing travel toys for Garrett

*organizing medicines for the trip in baggies (Thank you, God, for ziploks! We should invest.)

*organizing clothing for Garrett

*laundry (I did five loads today: washed, folded, and put away!)

*organizing Van's clothing

*organizing gifts for the orphanage staff, foster parents, etc

*rechecking Van's documents for the trip

*lunch

*more of the above and then some

*organizing the food and snacks Van will take with him (Cheerios! I just realized I forgot the Cheerios!)

*packing the suitcase

*playing Cinderella's Castle game (Thanks, Lauren. LOL) too many times with Gracie

*playing shopping with Gracie..."Clean up on aisle four! Someone has completely wrecked my house!"

*reading books with Gracie (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom again and again and again)

*dinner (Ahhhhhhhhhh...We can rest and eat)

*taking pictures of the travel preparation process

*dealing with the dog, cat, cat throughout the day

*set up Gmail account

*testing our video conferencing capabilities so that Van and I can conference online while he is in China

*bedtime for Gracie

*Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! And she is asleep way too late.

And I have no idea what Van did all day, but I know he was just as busy as I was doing all of the other things we needed to have completed before his departure...Oh yes, I just remembered now...He took care of my car all morning and afternoon because both of my headlights blew out last night and had to be replaced at Good Year. And he put in Garrett's carseat. There are TWO carseats in there now. And then, he worked on everything else. He is still working now.

Are we tired? Yes! Are we excited? Yes! No doubt about it! The journey has just begun.

Here are the pictures of all of us getting ready for the trip. Enjoy. And stay tuned for more updates as my wonderful husband makes his way to China. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers please. And Garrett too.

We are taking Van to Dulles in the morning!!! I cannot believe that this day is finally here! Garrett has no idea what is in store for him.

Gotta go find those Cheerios...Man, that "contraction"...of my muscles as I got up off of the sofa... really hurt!