Change of plans!

Well... I originally was looking for plane fares for the 26th of October.... Now I am looking at the 3 rd and 4th of November. Our consulate appointment was not the one Cheryl had told me they would be asking for and it is now the 15th !

That is good in that Aubri is happy to not miss Halloween, Andy is happy we won't miss Halloween with him and I will not be playing catch up for parent teacher conferences. It is also super news that we will be in GZ with the same family we traveled with to go get Andy! I cannot wait to see them and their new son! It is sad, though, in that we will not have Sera sooner... I know that makes no sense, having waited this long. It isn't an insurmountable sadness, but I had been feeling such a sense of relief that she would finally be in my arms within the next month. OK, it is just a week or so difference....I can/will cope!

We sent off another care package, this time to a bit different address for the Dr who helps with the center. Hopefully it will arrive and Sera will know us when we arrive. I know she will be so scared. I just cannot imagine the fear....

I was moaning today to colleagues and worrying about being in her province for a week without much English around and feeling frustrated with communication, like it was last time. I then sat back and realized that she is leaving everything she has ever known and won't even have many familiar possessions for quite a while. Andy left people who loved him, but he also had experienced so much in life already. He had traveled, he had vacationed, he had been to amusement parks, he even had dance and gymnastic lessons with his foster families. Sera will have spent her time working on skills she had never learned, but will not have been out much, will be frightened of new things like grass and will be stared at and have negative comments made about her, due to her facial deformity, to boot while she is in China. It definitely puts my concerns about our time there at a trivial level, at best...

Lots of things left to do. At least I have another week! Having been really ill with kidney/colon problems at the start of school and just barely able to go to work, let alone get anything done at home, has put me behind in so many things and I am just now starting to begin to catch up. I feel much better now and am finally no longer drinking caffeinated or sugar free drinks. I was really messing up my health that way and now I really am starting to feel like a different person and have more energy. Good thing!! I know I will need it with 3 little people here!!

For some reason, my dad decided for me that I should also have my back porch rescreened in with windows instead of just screens, so that is underway right now, on top of everything else. All dogs, even our old Pasta doodle, had to stay in the house all day ( 11 hours) today , without access to a dog door and they actually did great. I had no extra messes!! I am cleaning out the closets to have room for Sera ,and getting rid of things that are no longer needed and really in the way, and have a pile of laundry a mile high tonight and am absolutely worn out.

I hope I get this all done before I have 3 kids to keep me falling behind further! But right now I am bleary eyed and crashing...I guess it time to quit, even this ,and it is bed time. More can be done in the am. A..n..d I have one more extra week to get it done...