Family and Friends

Many of you may want to know what we are going to do with our other daughters (Stephanie, 4 and Elizabeth, 2) while we are in China. Well...we are leaving them at home. Initially, we went back and forth about taking them with us, but then we realized that would be insane!!! Can you imagine taking them on such a long flight! Not to mention getting them to eat meals without battles - in a restaurant 3 meals/day for 2 weeks!! So, we decided to leave them here. However, we are very blessed, because we have incredible caretakers to stay with them. For the first week, Steve's mom (Nana) will be staying with them, and the second week, my parents (Momma and Bumpa) will come down. We are so grateful to them for being so willing and eager to take time off from their jobs to take care of their grandchildren. I will admit, I am very sad about having to leave my girls, but I also think that it is very important that both Steve and I travel to China. So, since I have to leave my girls, I could not think of anyone else I would rather leave them with!! Okay, I am aware that I may have to de-program my girls from spoiling grandparents - but I am good with that. I just want my girls to feel totally loved and safe, and I know that they will be well taken care of! When Nana is here, 2 dear friends have offered to help in way that they can -- Cynthia and Robin. They have offered to have Nana and the girls over for playdates, meet at the park, or they could even bring their children over to our house so that they can play outside on the swingset. All of these distractions will hopefully help Steffi and Liz to miss us less!? When my parents come, they will be bringing my niece, Mikael (12) and I am sure that she will help to keep the girls occupied. Please remember to pray for Steffi and Liz while we are gone - they are very excited to get their new sister, but have never been away from us for an extended time, and they could have a tough time. Thank you!