Anticipation...

That's what our whole day has been so far.  Anticipating the rest of the journey that G. has had us on for the past year - anticipating the moment we first see Maylynn - anticipating how she'll react to us and us to her - anticipating how the next 24 hrs and 24 years will go... ANTICIPATING! So many feelings going on right now - but mostly excitement!  We will be meeting our guide around 2:30 (11:30pm your time) and then we are supposed to get Maylynn around 3:30.  After we get her, i think we will just be coming back to the hotel to get to know each other.  I guess that we have 24 hrs. to decide if we want to keep her.  So, then Tuesday afternoon we will go back to the office and finish the paperwork to get her passport etc...

 

This morning we were able to skype home and talk to Taylor, Hayleigh and gma V.  Brayden is on his way to camp with his buddy Aidan - we are hoping that he has a great time - it's the first time he'll be at a camp away from home without dad as his counselor. After breakfast, we took a walk by the lake.  It is a very nice walk but it's very hot and humid - we went swimming afterwards (love the pool here - it's perfect temp) I think i've been swimming more here these past 2 days than the whole summer at home!  The weather and trees (palm & banyan) really remind me of Hawaii.  We are just cleaning up now and preparing what we will take to meet Maylynn (her little backpack with a few toys) and about 5 gifts for the officials etc...

 

There was an interesting newspaper article here the other day about some areas in China encouraging qualified couples to have a second child as "an effort to tackel the burden of an aging population."  Here are the "baby rules: The rule restricts only 35.9% of the population, mostly in medium-and large-sized cities, to one child.  But urban couples who are both only children can have 2 children.  In rural areas of 19 provinces, couples are allowed to have a second child if their first is a girl.  This applies to 52.9% of the population.  In addition, more than 11%, mostly minority groups, is free to have 2 or more children."  Our guide also said that domestic adoption of healthy children is really popular here but not of special needs children.