Leaving on a jet plane in the morning

I have to tell you that the sheer joy exuding from Caleb this morning was priceless. I wish I had the video camera rolling. He's been counting down the days each morning until "We get on a plane to get my sister Madeline!" When he woke up this morning he said, "Mommy, only one more day until we get on a plane to get my sister Madeline! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! He squealed and did his little happy dance....and my heart just melted. He's been such a trooper these last few days as we finish up our last minute shopping and packing. These last few days have been quite emotional for me, as I reflect back on doing the very same thing almost three years ago. Caleb has grown in so many ways. I'm simply amazed, and we're truly blessed. He is such a gift to us.

I have to share a photo with you that I received from Melissa, Iris' mom. Iris and Madeline are friends from the orphanage. Melissa and Joel had the privledge of traveling a few weeks ago to bring Iris home. While they were there, they captured a photo for us that was just perfect for our daughter, whose given name is Jin Bei.



Well, as we wrap things up, we have managed to hang some things on the walls in Madeline's room. The monogram paper mache letters are hung over the big girl bed....without their paint. Yup. I never got around to painting them. But I was determined to get them on the wall! LOL. The bed still needs some pillows and the headboard refurbished. (And yes, Colleen, that is the rocker you gave us on the left side of the photo!)



The chinese art over her toddler bed and sofa are just so cute and perfect. The parasols we bought from a photographer during our art festival last year. He photographed them in Laos. And the color, pattern, and repetition couldn't be more perfect. In fact, we went back to the festival the next day to order a bigger size! Please pay no attention to the college treasure of a floor lamp gracing the floor between the beds. It will be replaced with a night stand and table lamp at some point soon. And then we'll be able to hang another parasol photograph we purchased from the same photographer.

Some close up shots of the art work
The Chin*ese characters say "Compassion for the earth and all who inhabit it"
Wall cards for numbers 1-10 in Chin*ese

I guess I didn't make it clear in my last post regarding the bedskirt. But the queen size bed in there is not for Madeline just yet. She will prayerfully be sleeping in her toddler bed (the same bed Caleb slept in when we brought him home from Ch*in@). The big girl bed is for later, as well as mommy/daddy and guests when the time comes. Madeline "took over" our last possible guest room. So we desperately wanted to have a big bed in there for the "big kids". While her bookcase has some books that Caleb has passed on to his sister (and a few we've purchased), it is still being horded by mommy and all her sewing/photography stuff. Yep, she has to share her closet with mommy too because it's waaay big for a 2yo, and I have no place for all my photography gear.

I still have plans to paint my lanterns on canvas to go to the right of the window. No, I'm not an artist. But I have no shame and will make my feeble attempt at adding yet another personal touch to Madeline's room. I still want to hang some lanterns somewhere in the room. And now that it's pretty much in place, I can get a better idea what I want to do. Same goes for those unpainted letters above the big girl bed. Although her room isn't 100% ready for her, our hearts are....and so we can't wait.

We'll be blogging as much as we can while we're in Ch*in@, at least once a day. Hopefully our internet connections won't be too slow, so we can share lots of photos. Thanks for following our journey. Next post will probably be from the airport tomorrow!