In The Moment

I have made a conscious decision to be "in the moment" this Christmas season... to let go of what doesn't matter and cling to those eternal moments that seem to exist outside of time.  Even with our trip to Ch*na coming up so quickly, I have had a strange calm resting within me.  Now, I haven't been 100% successful at this goal but those times when I embrace what is and fully enter into the "now" have reaped many blessings that I could not have anticipated.

Today Larry, Madeleine and I headed out to Ocean Beach.

We walked along Voltaire looking through the windows of the little shops and perusing the menus posted outside each little cafe until we found a new and different place to eat.  After a wonderful Japanese lunch we headed out to the pier soaking in the sun, breathing in the ocean air and laughing at Madeleine's impeccable sense of humor.

Some of you may be wondering about our trip... we are scheduled to leave the morning of Friday, January 10th.  Larry's mom will be staying with Isaac, Emma and Madeleine and Landen will be back up at UCLA.  My mom is traveling with us.  We will fly from San Diego to San Francisco, change planes and then fly to Seoul, Korea on Korean Air.  We will then change planes again and head on to Shanghai.  We will spend the night of 1/11/14 in Sh*nghai and then leave the next morning by bullet train for H*ngzhou, the capital of Benjamin Lilu's province.  On Monday morning, 1/13/14, we are scheduled to meet Benjamin Lilu and take him into our care.  We will finish out the week there as we wait for all of Ch*na's official paperwork to be completed.  We will then fly

from H*ngzhou to Gu*ngzhou where the U.S. consulate is located.  Benjamin will have a medical exam that is required for him to receive his visa into the U.S. and then we will complete all of the visa and immigration paperwork so that when we arrive in the U.S. he automatically becomes a citizen.  Our homecoming will be Friday evening on January 24, 2014.  I am praying that my resolve to fully experience each moment will continue throughout our trip despite jet lag, strange food in my tummy, home sickness etc.  Please continue to pray for us and for Benjamin that our souls will be prepared to recognize one another as family.