Monday, January 10, 2011

Sunblock and sand

Hi everyone!! Believe it or not, we are on vacation in the Dominican Republic! We planned this family vacation this summer, assuming we'd be back from China by now, but you know what they say about best laid plans!!!

We felt that a vacation with my entire family was exactly what we needed after months of adoption stress! This place is amazing and so beautiful! We are having a blast. The boys love the kids club and often choose it over hanging with mom and dad! The pina colada's are easy to come by and I don't even have to leave my lounge chair! My grandma (83 years young) is having a great time, too!!! She isn't taking advantage of the free booze though!!

We watched the chiefs get spanked while enjoying room service and the ocean breeze blow through our room. Which made the beating seem less awful. But we have stopped telling people where we are from. Jude enjoyed a photo shoot with a yellow boa constrictor yesterday, which freaked mommy out, but he loved that snake! GROSS! Jack had nothing to do with the creature.

We flew out on January 6 and will be back in the states on Thursday. We have about 12 hours to get the boys situated at Grandma's and Grandpa's, run a quick load of laundry, load up the van with the China bags (already packed and at the kitchen door) and head back to the airport for our flight to CHANGSHA!!! We will be meeting our friends the Huffman's on Sunday morning. We established a friendship about 2 years ago (long distance) and cannot believe that it worked out that our girls are from the same area AND that it worked out for us to travel together! We are so thankful for them and are really looking forward to 2 weeks of watching our girls together!

Pray for safe travels for us over the next few weeks. Also pray for our boys who are spending 2 weeks without mommy and daddy. And don't forget to pray for our sweet girl whose life is about to change. Pray for peace and understanding for her, and for guidance and patience for us!

We also would like everyone to pray for the country as we struggle to understand the recent tragedy in Arizona. As we enjoy our freedom in this country, we see others who abuse it or jeopardize it. Keep all lawmakers and their families in your prayers, and those who lost love ones. Pray for the family of the shooter as they, too, will struggle to find understanding.

Love,
ang

5 comments:

Paige said...

Okay, no fair. The view from here is the weatherman predicting 3-6 inches of snow and the coldest weather of the season. Bring back some sunshine please! On a more serious note, I have been praying as you asked for Maire. I know she is about to have her life turned upside down once again. Little does she understand how much love so many people have for her. For now we will have to pray that God envelops her heart to make her feel His love and security. May you have safe travels and may your meeting with Maire be everything your heart desires. I have seen many people fall off the blog bandwagon once they arrive in China. PLEASE don't leave us hanging. I can't wait to see the picture of the beautiful little girl in her mama and baba's arms!!!

Amy said...

I was waiting to see a blog post and I can't wait for next Monday. Praying for all of you and Maire. Enjoy the sun for all of us!

Melissa said...

So many heartfelt prayers being said for you, for your family and travels, and especially for Maire. I'll have the tissues ready next to the computer and I'll be anxiously awaiting that first (and second, and third) post announcing that she is with you. My kids and I may even do the snoopy dance just in her honor! Blessings to you ALL!!!

frogglet said...

You are probably on your way here right now! Praying for your safe flight. I can't wait to meet you in real life!! We met another family this morning with their little one, We can not wait until Monday!

See you soon, love from China,
Cora

Mike and Barb said...

Oh, I'm so glad I get to follow along!! Thanks for the invite.
I wish I could come along to Changsha with you :-) We really enjoyed it there.
Many blessings, and I'm so relieved that you are finally on your way!
Love, Barb