"A year ago, we were..."

Guangzhou, here we come!

It's funny to think how many times that phrase has crossed my mind in the last few days. A year ago, we were rolling out of bed in Beijing, grabbing a quick breakfast and heading to the airport for one of THE most exciting days of our lives! We were on the road to the airport at 6:30 am for an 8:45 am flight to Guangzhou. We were traveling with ten other families...all babies but one were traveling that day from Lianjiang, six to eight hours by bus, to Guangzhou. One other baby was coming from Dian Bai, a slightly shorter drive. I think it was on the bus ride to the airport that Amy, our guide, dangled a "surprise" in front of us. She promised that as soon as we checked in and got through security, she would have something waiting for us! We all figured out that it was updated info on our babies, so we were happy to hurry! There wasn't really a lot of down time at the airport...just about as soon as we got to the gate, we received our updates. I was really choking back the tears, then...partly due to the fact that I had missed so much of Caroline's little life and partly due to the realization that I was about to FINALLY get my hands on my baby! We were all fluttering around, comparing weights, number of teeth...even the size of their feet! Then we were off, and I can tell you that those three hours to Guangzhou were three of the longest hours of that trip! I should have figured out a way to sit by one of the other moms so I would have someone equally chatty to talk to! Instead I had to figure out a way to pass notes to Kristi Miller...who happened to be the one seated closest to me. At one point, I pulled a ruler out of one of the kids' backpacks and tried to figure out how big our babies' feet were...I think the measurements were a bit overexaggerated! Caroline's weren't nearly that big, and neither were Kylie's!

I love this picture of Kristi and Ian...

their faces pretty much say it all!

All the while we were on the plane, the Indianapolis Colts were playing in the Super Bowl, and it just added to the suspense of being on that three-hour flight! When we got on the plane, the Colts were behind. Within minutes of disembarking, one of the dads checked his Blackberry, and we found out that the Colts WON! We could not believe it...even more, we couldn't believe we had missed the big game! But it was more than worth it to be where we were!

Just one of the things I like most about our team...

"From the looks of the palm trees, we're definitely not in Beijing anymore!" Mickey is pictured with Alex and Nathaniel Freeman.

Literally, a grin on every face...

Alas, tonight, our big dreams of watching a repeat performance of the Colts' Super Bowl victory have been dashed. The Colts were out of the playoffs a couple of weeks ago, so we'll be rooting for Peyton Manning's brother, Eli, and the New York Giants...although we'd be rooting for anyone other than the Patriots...it's not personal, it's just business...but we will always remember with fondness what we were doing the day the Colts won the Super Bowl!


Now, I'm off to make some yummy football-watching snacks...more tomorrow, as we celebrate the anniversary of one of the most special days of our lives!