Just Thoughts and Ramblings as the Big Day Approaches...

We are all clearly getting so excited that we leave for China in just 10 days!! The piles of items to be packed, which I have been stacking in Lilly's room, is growing. The suitcases will come down early this week to start the process of filling them, and then taking half the things out to stay home (I usually find that I pack twice the amount I need to first time around...and am always so much happier packing lighter!).

I wanted to share some of the things funny (yet heartfelt) things Anna has been saying lately, as she gets ready to welcome home a little sister!

• While changing in the locker room after her swim meet last weekend, we were discussing the fact that I will not be her swim coach once we have Lilly home, since I will need to be with Lilly and not on the pool deck with all the swimmers... Anna's response was "but I don't want to have any other swim coach." THen she proceeded with "and that reminds me of another thing! I don't want LIlly to ruin my birthday party!" (mind you, her birthday is not until June, but apparently she has already given this a lot of thought). When I asked her to explain, she said "it's just hard to have a birthday party for a 9 year old with a toddler walking around saying 'goo goo ga ga' and speaking in Chinese. Everyone will be looking at her." Ahhh....the root of the issue, I believe, is she is afraid Lilly is going to steal the show, and Anna might somehow--even when she is the birthday girl--be forgotten or ignored.

• Even though her birthday is so far, birthdays are important things in the life of an 8 year old. So, rest assured, my precious ANna, that we will not forget your birthday and will not allow your little sister to overshadow the celebration of YOU on that day!! Lord help us remind Anna of her worth and her uniqueness in all the earth! And praise God that Anna is articulate and unafraid to express what she thinks and feels...(even though we are working on learning to temper when and how those things get expressed!).

• Just a day or two after this conversation, as we were walking home from school, Anna exclaimed "I get to teach Lilly lots of things! I can teach her English!" and she smiled broadly, clearly relishing the thought that she had an important role in her sister's new life in our family. I am so glad, once again, that Anna can express how she feels. And I am thankful that she recognized that she will be one of Lilly's prime teachers! And Lilly is a lucky little girl to have a big sister with such a command of the English language to be one of her English teachers!

On a separate note, poor Jared has had fevers for the past 2 days...please pray that he will quickly feel better (so he doesn't have t miss any school since such a long absence is approaching) and that the rest of us stay healthy.

Here are a few more photos of some of our preparations for Lilly. This is Anna and her friend Katie helping to make a fleece blanket and pillow for Lilly. And I can't remember if I posted this one of Anna helping me get the paint job started on Lilly's room...the transformation is amazing!