Should have been on the road by now

Phil and I should have already left for Anchorage, but alas we are stuck here. The bridge that was closed for the weekend and was supposed to open this morning at 5 a.m. did not reopen. They "say" they will be done working by 5 p.m., but then their word didn't count for too much this morning. We are going to head out at 4:30 and hope for the best. I am so impatient and ready to go and I did not need this added stress!

We still haven't decided if the computer is coming to China. We may post from there....we'll see.

It is an hour since I wrote this and now they are saying 7:00p.m.!

7th grade boat trip

Even though I was officially on leave from work starting Monday, I did opt to go with the 7th grade class on their annual Kenai Fjords Boat Trip. Usually I have to stay and teach the 8th graders, so It was a treat to get to go this year. We had beautiful weather and flat seas, although it was a bit chilly. We saw some sea otters, sea lions, thousand of birds and a pod of dall porpoise who swam right with the ship. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Travel Plans Set

I can't believe that a week from now I'll be touring Beijing. And just a few days later I meet Quin and life for all of us changes for ever!

Here is the itinerary
Tuesday, April 28^th – Wednesday, April 29^th  Leave Anchorage and Fly to Beijing

Thursday, April 30^th -Saturday May 2^nd
        Touring Beijing: summer Palace, Forbidden City, The Wall, Buddhist Temple, Acrobat Show, Tiananmen Square

Sunday, May 3: fly to Nanning, Guangxi Province

Monday, May 4^th GOTCHA DAY—MEET QUIN!

Tuesday, May 5^th Lots of paperwork @ several offices

Wednesday, May 6^th to Guilin by Train

Thursday, May 7^th see Elephant Park, Reed Flute Cave

Friday, May 8^th Guilin Li River Cruise and then fly to Guangzhou

Saturday, May 9^th U.S. Medical appointment

Sunday, May 10^th touring

Monday, May 11^th Consulate appointment (only guide goes)

Tuesday, May 12^th Swearing in @ consulate and fly to Beijing

Wednesday, May 13^th Beijing to Home (~7:00 p.m.)

--  "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle,  and the life of the candle will not be shortened.  Happiness never decreases by being shared."  -Buddha 

We're going to China!

click on the picture to enlarge

Yesterday I got my final piece of paperwork from China inviting me to come and adopt my daughter. Plane tickets are bought and we leave April 28th. On Monday May 4th we'll meet Quin in Nanning, the capital of the province. She'll be with us from then on and the adoption becomes official the next day (after hours of paperwork)!

Our in country plans are still being organized, but we'll spend a few days sight seeing in Beijing and Guilin before heading to Nanning.

Tomorrow is my last day of school. I am ready to pack and focus on being a mom.

After three long years my dreams are on the verge of coming true. I am happy, nervous and excited. Two weeks from today we'll be in China!

In Memory of Granny (Jean Margaret Glenn)

I wouldn't have missed my grandmother's funeral for anything other than this adoption. I know she would understand. The funeral is tomorrow, Tuesday. Since I couldn't be there I wrote something to be read in my place:
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In Memory of Granny (Jean Margaret Glenn)

Thank you all for coming to remember and celebrate the life of my grandmother. I am sorry that I am unable to be there in person. As some of you may know, after three years of waiting I am finally on the verge of flying to China to adopt my daughter. As I start down this road of motherhood I find myself reflecting on all the women in my life, and on what a great mother and grandmother Granny was.

While friends of ours would sometimes sound disappointed to have to go to their grandmother’s house, for Heather, Chris and me it was something we looked forward to with great anticipation. Granny would often take us for the weekend, as much to spend time with us, I think, as to also give her own daughter a temporary respite from three energetic and precocious kids.

I have many cherished memories of time spent with Granny. Sometimes when we were driving somewhere she would pretend to miss her turn and then say something like, “oh well, I guess we’d better swing in here for dinner.” When we were little she used to play this great game with us called the “tickle monster,” in which she would hide under the covers and we would try to get close without being grabbed and tickled. Spending time with Granny was always fun. Granny didn’t simply watch us, she engaged with us, she encouraged us and she loved us unconditionally.

My memories of Granny are of a sweet, loving and fun woman who always made us feel special. Granny would go to every school event, game, recital or other function one of us was in. She would take us to the park, take us to the beach, takes us roller skating, and take us on hikes. I remember when I was in school thinking how cool my Granny was compared to other kid’s grandmas, because my Granny went white water rafting and my Granny took us camping. How lucky we were to have her active in our lives.

I know that towards the end of her life Granny probably didn’t remember who I am, but I will always remember her and I will make sure my daughter knows her and loves her as I do. I hope that I will one day be the grandmother to my grandchildren that Granny was to us.

Making a come back

I am obsessed with the new Pet Shop Boys single, Love, Etc. I heard it last night and can't stop listening to it. I used to listen to them when I was in high school. I remember mowing the lawn at my grandmother & aunt' house while playing their tape on my walkman (that's so 1980s). What I think is cool is that Neil Tennant's voice sounds the exact same as it did in the beginning of their career.

You can see the promo video on YouTube by clicking this link: Love, Etc.

Lyrics excerpts

Boy it’s tough getting on in the world
When the sun doesn’t shine and a boy needs a girl
It’s about getting out of a rut, you need luck
But you’re stuck and you don’t know how, oh

(Don’t have to be) A big bucks Hollywood star
(Don’t have to drive) A super car to get far
(Don’t have to wear) A smile much colder than ice
(Don’t have to be) Beautiful but it’s nice

You need more
Than the Gerhard Richter hangin’ on your wall
A chauffeur-driven limousine on call
To drive your wife and lover to a white tie ball

You need more You need more You need more
You need more You need more You need more
You need love

I believe that we can achieve
The love that we need
I believe, call me naïve
Love is for free

The generosity of others

I had a very lovely "baby" shower on Tuesday. It was so nice of my colleague to host the shower and I was touched by all those who attended. We received two home made blankets, lots of art supplies, some great kids books, talking fridge phonics, some stuffies and dolls, kids gardening tools and some games.

I was surprised that some of Phil's coworkers were there as I didn't know they had been invited. Six of the women he works with got together and bought Quin a Radio Flyer wagon (I'll take a picture when I assemble it). It has wide, thick tread tires perfect for around here in Alaska. I think we are all going to have fun with that.

The cake was made by one of my coworkers. Around the outside are hand molded alphabet tiles out of chocolate. The cake and the baker were both very sweet.

Sad news

My grandmother passed away in her sleep Monday night. She was 85 years old and I think she lived a good life. She was well loved and is truly missed.

Homer Ash

Here are some pictures my dad sent me from during the ash fall even this morning in Homer. It was a sunny clear day. The ground was white with fresh snow from yesterday.

April Showers...

but not of the rain kind. Next week one of my colleagues at school is throwing me a shower for Quin. That is very nice of her and unexpected. On some of the yahoo adoption groups I am in people talk about how their friends or colleagues don't really acknowledge their adoptions, that they go to countless baby shower for coworkers, but no one really seems to may a fuss over them. My coworkers are very supportive. They are excited for me and are happy to listen to me blather on and on about Quin and the entire process. I only have two more weeks of school before I start my leave. If all goes as I hope, that will give me about a week off to make lists, pack, do laundry, etc.

Large ash fall in Homer

My mom called me this morning to say they were having a large ash fall. She said they saw the dark ash cloud approach and there was thunder and lightening (unusual for coastal AK--it occurred because the hot volcanic air mass collide with the colder air off the ocean). The ash fell for about an hour. Dad collected some ash for me for school--he said he has at least 5 pounds of ash.

The picture above was from the Alaska Volcano Observatory webcam at 7:41 this morning, about an hour after the start of the eruption. You can see the lahar (mudflow) coming off the summit as snow and ice melt and mix with the ash.

One peice of paperwork away

The UPS guy just walked up my driveway and I now have my tourist visa that lets me enter China (thank you Redoubt for taking a day off). I am only one more piece of paperwork away from buying plane tickets. I can't wait to get my Travel Authorization from China that says to come and get my girl!

So far, So good

It is a clear blue sky sunny day here. The temp is up to about 40 degrees and the snow is slowly melting (and then refreezing at night...)

Here is an aerial shot of Redoubt taken yesterday by the crew of scientist from the Alaska Volcano Observatory. You can see that the mountain is covered in ash and other pyroclastic deposits.

Today the winds are heading right to Seward, so if she blows tonight, we're definitely going to get ash.