Did I lose a day?

We.  Made.  It.

Good grief, this was one long trip!  We left Friday morning at 2:45am with a first flight out at 5:30am.  Then it was on to Atlanta and New York.  We left New York at 2:50pm and flew for 13 hours.... we arrived in Tokyo, Japan, at around 3am (our time) which was 5:00 in the evening on Saturday (Japan time).  Then, we hopped on our final plane and arrived in Shanghai at 9:45pm local time.  After an hour drive to the hotel, we checked in at around 11:30pm. The boys and I finally realized, as we tried to remember where we were and what time it was, that we'd lost a day.  Totally didn't have a Saturday at all.  But that's okay.... that just puts us one day closer to Mary!

We're all settled in here in Shanghai, China..... we slept well last night, ate a good breakfast this morning, and are meeting our guide at 1:00 to go to the store for supplies.

Here are some interesting figures:

Time spent traveling: 32 hours, 14 minutes, 28 seconds (from house to hotel - yes, we set a timer!)
Number of bags (all of which arrived safely.... Praise the Lord!): 7
Miles traveled: about 8,800
Airports visited:  5 - Birmingham, Atlanta, JFK in NY, Tokyo, Shanghai
Number of airplanes: 4
Number of movies watched on Delta planes:  SEVERAL
     **Mikki's movies:  Bride Wars, Grease, Pretty in Pink
     ** Joe's movies:  A Beautiful Mind, The Bourne Legacy, Walk the Line
     ** Jack's movies:  The Blind Side, The Hobbit, School of Rock, Avengers
     ** Max's movies:  School of Rock, Father of the Bride, Fantastic Four, Avatar, Dark Knight
Hours Mikki has slept in 48 hours:  approximately 2

The trip was long, but very, very smooth.  We experienced no delays,  were able to find our gates and connecting flights easily, took time to explore each airport a bit, and have remained healthy so far!  The toughest part was the LONG 13 hour jaunt from NY to Tokyo.  Along about hour 8, we got a little bit tired.  We were having trouble resting, we'd been up for FOREVER, and we realized that there were 5 more hours on that plane.  We were VERY excited to get off that ride.

My favorite moment of the entire 32 hour journey was, without a doubt, when the captain of our last flight came over the intercom and said, in Chinese and later translated into English, "Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of Delta Airlines, I'd like to welcome you to Shanghai, China."

I just about lost it.

Knowing that I'm in the same city as our girl is surreal.  That's the only word Joe and I have decided REALLY fits what we're feeling.  Excited, nervous, anxious, grateful, humble....YES.  But this entire scene.... we've thought about it, prayed about it, talked about it, dreamed about it..... and now we're living it.  SURREAL.

We are all settled in here with two adjoining rooms and we're resting a bit before meeting our guide downstairs.  We've facetimed with the folks at home, arranged all of Mary's stuff in the room, eaten a good breakfast, and will go to the store for supplies in just a bit.

In less than 24 hours, we'll go get our baby girl.

Here's what we know is happening in the next couple of days:
   Sunday (that's today):  shop for supplies
   Monday:  GOTCHA Day! We meet in the lobby at 9.  Get our daughter at 9:30.
   Tuesday:  return to office for official adoption paperwork
   Wednesday:  half day of touring with our guide, Maggie/ free evening
   Thursday:  half day of touring/ free evening
   Friday: fly to Guangzhou for second leg of journey

Here are a few shapshots of travel day! (in no particular order..... cause I'm tired and I ain't fixing it.)

It's 3:00am here.... we've looked better.  Excited and happy!

Happy to get front row seats with LOTS of legroom on the long flight!

The movies on the flight were a lifesaver.  God bless you, Delta.

In-meal flight.  We did not love this.  Except for Joe.  He eats everything.

It got rough there for a while...... (Max gave permission to post this, by the way)

ALMOST THERE!  I heart these map features.  You could watch the little plane fly up and over Canada, through Alaska, through part of Russia, into Japan... and then land in SHANGHAI!

ALL of our bags arrived safely.  One less thing to worry about.

Max was happy to see the omelet station at breakfast.  (So was I.... I'd been promising him that there would be one even though I actually didn't KNOW if there would be one.... )

Big plane.  Long flight.  GREAT experience, Delta.  Good work.

It's 11:00 pm in Shanghai.... but to us, it's 6am in the morning.  Loading up in our van! Our guide, Maggie, was a bit late to the airport, but she arranged for our driver to meet us.  We didn't know him.... and he didn't speak English.  But our name was on his sign..... when we waved at him, he called Maggie on his phone.... she said, "You can trust him.  Get in his van."  Uh.  Okay.  Got in the van and started praying REALLY hard that this was legit.  It was, Maggie showed up, and all is well.

Toilets in Tokyo are fancy.

Joe says there's nothing better than a warm posterior shower.

Well, that about sums it up!  We're off to the store!  

And tonight, Mary will go to bed for the last time as an orphan.  God bless that sweet baby girl.  Please pray that she transitions well and is full of PEACE.  

For this child, I have prayed.......