China Countdown ...

Hi all:

Big news! We've been waiting for months and finally got our travel dates!

What am I talking about? Actually, "who" would be more accurate. Because this is the little lady of whom I speak:

Lilly Jian

In a couple of weeks we're leaving for 17 days in China to pick up this adorable darling who is being adopted by my dear college buddy, Gail, and her family. Here they are:

The Family

Gail and I have been great friends since our junior year at Messiah College and get together once or twice a year though she's in Maryland and I'm in Connecticut. The cutie in the middle is Abigail Lian (Abby) who Gail and Pete adopted from China in 2004. I was honored to accompany them on that trip and am just as thrilled to go back with them to get Lilly.

Unfortunately, it's just at this time that I have an unconscionable amount of work to do at the office, so I'm gonna' be out of my mind busy for the next two weeks trying to get it all done before The Big Day. So I probably won't be posting much until then ...

However, I'm planning to bring my laptop on the trip and hope to blog daily about China, specifically Beijing and Guangzhou. In the meantime, check out the family's lovely website chronicling their

Journey to Lilly

It's a wonderful site with lots of information about China and the adoption process for any of you who are interested in bringing one of these precious ones into your home. Abby is a delight! I'm thrilled to be her honerary "A(u)nt Hedder."

The countdown begins ...

hrh