Just miles away....

This morning, we ate another delicious breakfast at the Intercontinental Hotel's breakfast buffet. I promise you, it was the most vast and varied display of food you've ever seen in your life. And one of my favorite choices was the fruit smoothies served in tall shot-like glasses. The mango banana smoothie was so good!

And this was the view out the window at breakfast. Breathtaking. I hated to leave this beautiful city. Even the view from the lobby was amazing.

We got to the airport by 9:30 am. And we were soon on our way to Kunming in the Yunnan province.

As we flew low over the surrounding area of Kunming and landed, I was listening to the song "Faithful" by Steven Curtis Chapman. The following thoughts flashed through my mind...

Developing a heart for China my sophomore year of college when I wanted to do a summer stint with Campus Crusade....Visiting an orphanage in Romania almost 7 years ago and knowing I wanted to adopt one day....telling my parents that I was going to adopt a little girl from China when I got married....praying that God would place Scott and me on the same page and give him the desire to adopt as well....Scott looking me in the eyes in November 2008 and telling me, "I'm ready...let's move forward."...Dreading the due date of the twins we miscarried and then God redeeming that day as we saw our Grace's face for the first time in referral pictures. God is so faithful. As the lyrics to the song pounded in my ears, the pilot flew our plane closer to the ground. My eyes scanned the land before me, wondering if Grace might be anywhere near. And as our plane touched down, I realized I was finally in China. We were finally in the city of my daughter's home, and most likely the location of her birth parents. The combination of recognizing God's faithfulness and being just a few miles away from Virginia Grace suddenly overwhelmed me with emotion, and tears began streaming. I can't believe we're here.

Our guide for the week, Hellen, greeted us outside of baggage claim. The driver took us to our hotel, and we spent the afternoon unpacking, getting settled, and resting. We ate dinner at the Bluebird Cafe, across the street from the hotel. It's definitely different being in mainland China as opposed to Hong Kong. The people here know a lot less English, so we've been trying to brush up on some basic Chinese questions and phrases.

A housekeeper brought a crib into our room earlier, and I place all Grace's dolls, toys, and blankets in there. I just keep staring at the empty crib in wonderment....we'll soon have a baby girl here with us!!! The guide said we will get her on Monday morning (Sunday night central time).

I would love to write more, but I am completely exhausted. I will write more tomorrow. Happy Friday to you!