tomorrow, tomorrow, i love you, tomorrow

so.  we're here!  taiyuan (tie-u-an), china - the capital city of sarahjoy's province.  we flew in this morning (note: NO extra baggage fee!) and have spent the day hanging around and preparing for our little girl.  the hotel rooms is, well, a bit miniature.  so we have had to be creative in how to get all of our stuff in here and also be able to walk.  however, it does have a huge mirror that takes up the entire wall of the shower - not quite sure what that is for but it might make for some fun bath time with itsy bitsy.  taiyuan is a smaller city than beijing, a mere 15 million people.  we will receive sarahjoy tomorrow afternoon and officially 'register' the adoption.  then we will take her to datong (dah-tohng), her hometown, on tuesday to get her passport.  makes sense, except that datong is a 4 hour ride from here.  so she will come to us tomorrow via a 4 hour ride, and then we will turn around on tuesday and take her back (4 hours) and then return (4 hours) the same day.  our guide said the business we need to take care of in datong will take about 10 minutes.  seems seriously inefficient to me and downright tortuous for sj but oh well, we got to do what they tell us!  let's hope itsy bitsy likes sitting on laps and looking at books. eric and i are both feeling a lot different this time around.  i can't really put my finger on it - maybe it is simply that ignorance is bliss and so there was not nearly the aprehension with lydia as there is with sj.  we know a lot more of what the possible difficulties are, and beings that lydia was the absolute most perfect and easy adoption, i suppose we are anticipating that at least a few of those difficulties will come our way this go round. we are also all alone in taiyuan.  there are no other families with us - just me and the lover staring into each other's eyes all.day.long.  i am afraid come wednesday we will have run out of things to talk about!  it is freezing outside so we are sort of sequestered in the (miniature) hotel room.   we feel a bit isolated.  lonely.  disconnected from the outside world (NOTE:  we love comments on the blog!!!!!)  unlike last time when we were with 2 other families adopting from the same city as us, this time we are it.  no one to talk to, no one to share experiences with, no one to video or take pictures while we are getting sj, no other little girls to play with (or note how much cuter our little girl is than them...)  i feel a bit like a caged zoo animal with throngs of visitors staring at me.  so far they aren't throwing me anything good to eat (HELP!!!  get me out of here!  i need a diet coke with ice and fajitas from chili's!!!!!!)  however........................WE ARE GETTING SARAHJOY TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!   we are so excited.  a new daughter, tomorrow!!!!!!!   a new little sister, tomorrow!!!!!!!  we have been talking, praying, waiting for her for two years and tomorrow it will all culminate in being handed the little miracle we have been given by God.  it is a bit surreal but as i sit in our (miniature) hotel room and the (miniature) metal crib is right next to our bed it is becoming more and more real.  we have her toys set aside, her snacks put away.  her blanket folded in the crib and her dollies ready to receive some love.  tomorrow, exactly 24 hours from now, she will be in our arms.  wow.  i know i have said it before, but we are so thankful for all of you.  so many of you have contributed financially to this journey and for that we are eternally grateful.  we absolutely could not have done this without your help.  tomorrow, your investment will be realized.  i hope that in some sense you can feel the excitement.  and many, many of you have prayed for this moment.  your prayers are what have brought this miracle to fruition.  thank you, thank you, thank you.  i cannot wait to let you see our miracle in our arms. (and please note the serious lack of people in the pictures as well as the flag blowing straight out...did i mention it is FREEZING!!!!!!!  even 20 million people in beijing know better than to be outside.)