...And so we wait

I couldn't think of a title for this post. So much I want to say...and I can't find the words. We are here in Guangzhou, sleeping tonight under the same moon and stars as our Yu Ying. Tomorrow she will become Jillian Snow...and so perfectly fill that empty place, we, her family, have been carrying around for four long years.

I could write about how prayers were answered for a safe (if not very long and brutal) flight. How we successfully maneuvered our way from Newark to Hong Kong to Guangzhou...and lost one day in the process due to time differences (but bonus for us because we travel BACK on Thanksgiving, thus giving us TWO Thanksgivings. But probably no turkey on Air Napon. We'll see..)I could write how Lia is a true travel rock star who is successfully charming everyone from taxi drivers to bellboys. How tonight that girl, so tired from jet lag she has barely eaten all day (please pray), asked for her crayons to make her mom and dad a card congratulating us. With a small attachment for her baby sister. How, as I type in this far-away from home hotel room, with my husband and my daughter sleeping away, I can barely keep the tears from coming...so overwhelmed with it ALL, I am.

But, instead, tonight, the detail I would like to remember from the last 40 hours is the conversation I had with our guide, Kelly, as we made our way to our hotel room this afternoon. She told me she had seen Jillian last week when she visited the orphanage with another family. She observed Jillian taking part in a class of some sort where she was singing. And dancing. With great enthusiasm. Be.Still.My.Heart. I asked if Jillian had been told that we were coming...and Kelly said that she had been. Kelly herself, asked Jillian if her Mama and Daddy were coming for her...and she said Jillian didn't answer. She just smiled.

Sweet Yu Ying...tonight you sleep alone for the last time. Tomorrow, you will know the great big love of a Mama, a Daddy...and a big sister. You will never be alone again. And that sweet girl?? THAT makes your Mama smile.

We will meet Jillian at 2:30 pm tomorrow (1:30 am EST). Please pray for all of us...but mostly that sweet baby girl sleeping somewhere out there...so very very close...