As anyone who knows me well will tell you, I hate flying.  It makes me anxious.  I keep thinking of the time it takes for a plane to drop out of the sky and for the people on board to panic.  Since I will be in the air for 14 hours on Wednesday, I need to get used to the idea of flying.  I am going through a crash course in facing my fears because there is plenty of flying that will happen in China after we arrive.  For those interested in our itinerary it is:

March 15, 2012  Arrive in Beijing via UA851 @ 3:40 p.m.  Airport pickup.  Stay at Chang’an Grand Hotel.

March 16th, 2012  Orientation meeting at 10:00 a.m. Acrobatic show in the afternoon.

March 17th, 2012 Visit Great Wall, Cloisonne Factory.  Lunch included.

March 18th, 2012 Visit Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Hutong Tour.  Lunch included.  Flight CN7193 (17:05-19:20) to Nanchang.  Stay in Galactic Hotel.

March 19th, 2012 Receive Yue Lixin in the morning.  Adoption registration in the afternoon.

March 20th, 2012  Free

March 21st, 2012 Visit Teng Wang Pavilion.

March 22nd, 2012 Visit Jianxi Provincial Museum, or People’s Park depending on the weather.

March 23rd, 2012 Receive all documents.  Flight MU5255 (14:00-15:30) to Guangzhou (Canton).  China Hotel Marriott pickup.

March 24th, 2012 Medical Exam in the morning.

March 25th, 2012 Visit Guangzhou Folk Art Museum

March 26th, 2012 Visa Appointment

March 27th, 2012 Pick up visa in the afternoon.

March 28th, 2012 Flight MU 5316 (7:45-10:00) to Shanghai to connect to Flight UA836 @ 5:55 to USA

So, you can see a lot of flying is in order.  Kelli likes to point out that I drive the dangerous roads of Chicago every day, but I am in control in those situations.  So, it might be good just to relax and relinquish my control issues.

Today was a bit crazy.  There was a lot of shopping to do.  I bought formula, baby snacks, diapers (nappies), and supplies for Daryl.  We are leaving him with presents like an Asian Playmobil zoo and Kung Foo Panda 2.  We have not seen Kung Foo Panda 2, but we have heard that it is based in China and it has an adoption story.  Daryl will open a present each day.  The mothers at Westlake Christian Academy helped Kelli plan this out, I think.  We are also going to try and Skype.  I checked with our phone company and the phones we have will work in China.  We will take my phone and leave Kelli’s phone with my mother so she can text us.  My mother is nervous because there are so many things organised for Daryl to do while we are away.  I tried to reassure her that as long as she and daryl are in one piece when we return I will be happy.

After shopping I posted mail to the UK for Easter.  Kelli also sent in an entry for a writing competition.  Now that she has finished her thesis for her MFA (a memoir of being raised by disabled parents and then trying to make sense of infertility and adoption), it is a case of trying to get parts of it published.  After the adoption it is possible that Kelli will compile a book.  The adoption would be the final chapter in the first installment.

I got home to a wonderful pair of presents for Daryl and Lixin (Amelia).  The Coppens family, who first contacted us about Daryl, sent a special something for him and something else to welcome Amelia.  We are leaving those presents here for straight after the trip and then we will open them.  With those presents I got a very toughtful letter from the IRS.  Apparently there was an error with our 2010 taxes.  The first page tells me that we owe them close to $8,000 dollars.  However, upon reading the rest of the document it became clear where their error was.  My friend Gary, who works for Edward Jones, gave me some insight and the anxiety never really kicked in.  In fact Gary, being British, told me to Keep Calm and Carry On.  I will be trying to sort of much of it out as I can tomorrow with those directly involved, but we only have until April 4th.

daryl was a bit weepy and tired today because he has a cough.  We let him sleep on the couch this afternoon and he woke up disgruntled and had decided the cushions needed a little bit more moisture.  He was too sleepy to understand why he was being whisked away and changed by me as my mother cleaned the couch.  So he went from unsettled to restless.  We are hoping that he sleeps well tonight.

I also had an appointment with my dentist.  I was afraid he was going to take out my wisdom teeth, but it was only a consultation.  He has decided that he will take out my wisdom teeth in June.

There is a lot to pack and a lot to put in place still.  Kelli is a little stressed, but on the whole she is managing it well.  I will go down to Harvest Christian Academy tomorrow dressed in Revolutionary War attire.  If I get back alive, I will be able to dedicate the rest of the day to helping her get packed for Wednesday.

For those of you who are the praying type, there is plenty above to pray for.  We’d be grateful for any of that kind of support.