Before/After Packing

I feel like I have been packing for an eternity. But as the picture shows, everything is packed and by everything, I do mean almost everything in our house! So many good-byes in the last couple of days, but the hardest will be in the morning when we drop Becca and Isabella off at school. The emotions are so hard to describe... so excited to finally meet Ethan, but dreading being away from our sweet big girls, especially since they are just starting school. Praying for everything to go smoothly with grandma. Everyone had a good first day. It was the first time I didn't walk Ryleigh in to her classroom, apparently that's not cool in 6th grade!

Counting down hours...

This journey to our son has been a long road, but we are finally at the counting down hours stage, rather than months, weeks, and days! There has been so much to do to get ready to leave and while I know God's timing is PERFECT, I have had to wonder why we are leaving for China as soon as school is starting. The summer has flown by and I feel bad that my girls didn't get to do much of anything. I worked more at BB than I ever have in the summer and feel guilty about it now. Things have been so stressful getting things ready and feeling like there's so much last minute stuff! It is going to be a good feeling to be on the plane, knowing that I can breath a sigh of relief, even if I'm not leaving everything as perfect as I want to. I am so blessed with friends that are stepping in and making sure the beginning of the school year goes well at BB and also all the wonderful people who are helping Isabella and Becca adjust to HS. I think I am more nervous than they are! They don't have any classes except ELL together, so they are going to be on their own for the first time in their lives. It will be good for them, I think. I pray that they will make some new friends and enjoy their new classes. It's hard to believe that Reagan is starting second grade! I remember taking her to the class parties when Ryleigh was in Mrs. Bechtel's class and she always made herself right at home! She has some great kids her in class and I know it is going to be a super year for her! (Even missing these two weeks) It's equally hard to believe that Ryleigh is a sixth grader! She also has some great kids in her class and is looking forward to being at Hillcrest, even though she still misses Mrs. Starnes! We have been praying for our little Ethan, specifically that he will immediately feel safe and loved by us. Everything in his little world will be changing and I just want him to be able to be comforted by us. I'm afraid that the girls will be disappointed if she doesn't play with them right away. They are wanting it to be like playing with Caysie and the other kids his age at BB. I tried to pack toys that would encourage bonding, but realized I had too many packed, so I had to take a few things out. It's so hard to know what he will be interested in. I did buy a bag of suckers because his last update said he likes candy. Not sure why he gets candy when he's not even two years old, but hey, whatever might work, I'm gonna try! He has a pretty cute Spiderman toothbrush to scrub all the sugar away! I'm kinda bummed because I looked at our travel itinerary and noticed that the flight home is actually 15 hours. That is a looooooooong flight, especially for a not quite 2 year old. Prayers for that flight specifically will be very much appreciated! Mostly I am just ready to go. I am tired of thinking about so many plans, packing, paperwork, fundraising, longing for my baby, and wondering what our new normal will be like. It's going to be a crazy time, but I can't wait!

Travel Dates!!!!!

It has been quite the week at the Tucker house! Monday was a nerve wrecking day, as we knew lots of people were getting their TA and we really hoped to get ours, too. Our travel coordinator wouldn't answer our emails and we were pretty frustrated. Then on Tuesday, we went to run some errands. I checked Tim's email from my phone and saw we had something from Great Wall, but it wouldn't open (of course), so we went home to check it. It was an email about all the closings that are coming up in the next few months in China. I started to get a little worried and upset thinking that we were getting that information because it was pertaining to us, like GW thinks thought we wouldn't be traveling until September or October. Then, Tim opened an email from the Abba Fund, which was informing us that we had been approved for a no interest loan! So excited! As we were celebrating that, a new email popped up from GW saying we had our travel approval! PTL! So awesome to all be at home and be able to jump for joy as a family! GW gave us a few choices of dates to travel, which included leaving the 9th, 16th, or 23rd. We talked about pros and cons of leaving the 9th and the 16th (23rd was never an option for us :) ) We decided to check on the cost of flights and quickly discovered that the 16th was going to be cheaper by a lot. So, it took a couple of days, but we got our flights booked and we are very happy with the flights. We fly straight to Beijing from Chicago (yay, no layovers!) and on the way home we go from Hong Kong straight to Chicago (hooray, no layovers!) The most exciting thing is that our Gotcha Day will be August 20th! We can count down days now until we meet our precious son! We are discussing who will get to hold him first. I have been the one to hold all the girls first (even the big girls hugged me first!)so I think it might be nice of me to share that feeling. Then again, why mess with tradition! I am nervous that Ethan won't like me right away. That seems to be a trend with toddlers, that they don't warm up to their mommies first. It is going to break my heart, but I know if that is the case, it will just take time for him to feel safe and loved. I am probably overanalyzing, but I thought if Tim holds him first, then maybe he will be able to bond with me easier because I won't be the one he thinks took him away from his "normal" life. I think we are going to trust Ryleigh to do the videotaping and Reagan can be cute and charming(what she does best!)and be a somewhat familiar face to him. I can't even begin to imagine what this day will be like, but I am ready for it! We are preparing as much as we can for the trip. I know it's going to be difficult on Ethan. We have spent so much time preparing for him and he will have no idea what is going on. We have packed toys, candy, and snacks that will hopefully help him on the plane ride home. His paperwork says he self-soothes by sucking his fingers, so I know he can do that, but I want him to know we are there to comfort him and entertain him and love him to pieces! I have Reagan mostly packed and Ryleigh has a list made of what she is taking. We got all the girls' school supplies and they are all set for school to start on the 15th. Ryleigh and Reagan will go one day and then leave for China! I will be missing Bright Beginnings' start date and Open House, but thank the Lord I have the best staff EVER to make it the greatest year ever! God has blessed each and every aspect of the timing of this trip. Even though my timing would have had us go in July, I see now God's fingerprints all over the way everything is working out. Gotta remember to Trust and Obey, for there's NO other way! So in all the excitement of travel stuff, Tim and I both got extremely sick with a stomach bug that Ryleigh had last weekend. UGH! It was awful. Thank goodness the girls can fend for themselves, as we were both either in bed or in the bathroom all day Thursday. It was not a good thing to be down for the count at such an important time! But, we bounced back relatively quickly. Praying that none of the others get it. We have been blessed over and over again financially with this adoption and God laid it on a dear friend of ours to give us a huge gift of $600. I hesitate to blog about this, only because I don't want to seem like we are bragging about it. Then I thought about how many people need to hear how God is so amazing and how He does have it all covered. It is so humbling to receive so many gifts from so many people. Tim and I cannot think of a way to adequately thank so many generous friends and family members. We hope that we spend the rest of our lives being generous and finding ways to help other adoptive families. If a potential adoptive family is only being held back by the money, I want to reassure them that God will provide. We are down to the wire and He is still sending us blessing after blessing. We are surrounded by love and support and it is such an awesome feeling.