We Have Made it.. Halfway

Too much luggage. And i am tire and irritated!

   Today is December 9th. I am now sitting the the Seattle airport (bored out of my mind). This morning was rough. We woke up at 4 a.m. to get everything ready and left the house at 5 a.m. so that we could arrive in the Memphis airport on time at 6:30 a.m. We unloaded the car when we arrived and as soon as we opened the trunk I was amazed. My family has never packed for anything this big and that was when it hit me that we were actually going to another country, culture, religion, and people. So I just had to take a picture (as you can see blow. My grandmother dropped us off at the airport and it was very hard to say bye to her. I asked her before if she would cry and she said probably on the way home. And that got me very upset. I have never been 2 weeks without talking to my grandmother except for at camp. My grandmother always goes on almost every vacation with us. And this is going to be the most important vacation of our life and she won't be there. But she is in charge of taking care of our house and cars. I was very upset to leave her but it is going to be worth it.
   We have arrived in Seattle and it wasn't a pretty flight. That's all I am saying. I can't wait to get to China be done with airports for 2 weeks. I do not feel good at all and I am tired and irritated!! At least We Have Made it.. Halfway.

Just My Luck

   So today is December 8th and today at school we had a 60% day, which means we got out of school at 11:45. Right after that, some of my friends threw me a baby shower for Sophie. I didn't feel very well all day and at the baby shower, I could not keep my head up. I kept dozing off and coughing. So when I got home around 2, I slept for 5 hours! I still feel horrible and I have visitors coming soon! This is not good because 1. I feel awful and I don't want to get them sick 2.) I look HORRIBLE! 3.) I am not even packed to leave for China and I don't have the energy to get up and pack and 4.) I am about to fall asleep and they aren't even here. GREAT. I was already dreading the plane ride and now I have to suffer it while I am sick. This shows me that I am not supposed to drink after people who have been sick. Ugh!! My throat hurts, my back hurts, I can't quit coughing, I am exhausted, and I leave for China tomorrow. I don't know what to do. I got some medicine from Doctor Mont Berry and it makes me feel a little better but not like I should. I felt fine yesterday. But not today! Well anyways, I just wanted to share what I am feeling. This is Just My Luck.

Blink of an Eye

   Oh my goodness! I am leaving for China in less than 24 hours! I can honestly say I am loosing my mind. I do not know what to think. I don't think it has actually hit me yet that I going to have a new sister in a week, make that 6 days! This is will be the time of my life and it has happened in the blink of an eye. Just 12 months ago I had only 2 siblings, and a year later, I will have 3! This process will have taken my family exactly a year. The day we started the process was December 10th, 2009 and the day that Sophie will be with us forever is December 10th, 2010. How weird is that? God has been with us the whole way. There have been ups and downs throughout the whole year and without Him we would not have made it. For you who are reading this, if you don't get anything out of reading my blog, the one thing I want you to understand is that whenever you are going through rough times if it's a death, a breakup, stress, anything, God is there for you and He will help you through it all. It might not turn out the way you want, but in the end it's His plan and you have to understand that and let Him handle everything. If you just give everything to Him He will take care of it. I promise. He has always been there for me and I know he will be there for you. He has made this process so easy to work with and so understandable. At times my family and I just felt like falling to the ground and giving up, but God stepped in and took control. He cleared this process up and made it absolutely incredible. And we haven't even gotten her yet! Tonight is my last night in Tupelo for 16 days and I can't even think what to expect in China! I mean it's not like I have been there before. I have seen pictures and videos but those are nothing close to the real thing. I am looking at my overpacked suitcase and wondering if I have everything. It's not like if you don't have something you can just run to Wal-Mart and grab some clothes. China has Wal-Marts but they are nothing like the American Wal-Marts. What if I get there and don't have enough clothes, or it is too cold and I don't have enough warm clothes! Ahhh! My suitcase is already stuffed! I can't fit anything else into it! Great! I am stressing out! But it's gonna be all right. I am gonna make it. Just relax Lauren. Relax. It will happen in the Blink of an Eye.

Macbooks

So, if you haven't noticed, my high school gave the kids macbooks. I love them, but they are so distracting and my grades are not as good as they could be. They are fun for taking pictures though. And even though right now I have 6% left, I don't care. Blogging is way more important than school. DUH. Anyways, I am supposed to be studying right now, but I'm not. I have 5 exams to take tomorrow and I haven't studied for any of them. This is not good. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Even Mickey is in the Christmas mood

If only it looked like this is good ole Missippi

  Well I know that I am in the CHRISTmas mood. Are you? I really hope so. Not only will i come home Christmas eve with a new little sister, but I will have had the best experience of my life just happen. God has blessed my family with the privilege to travel halfway around the World and experience another culture, different religions, and Asians. I am super excited. I can honestly say that this will be a Christmas I will never forget.

Sophia Grace Bean

SOPHIE

   So this is my little sister from China. Her name is Sophia Grace but we call her Sophie. She will be 2 in April. She is the highlight of my life. I love her so much already, and I don't even know her yet. God has blessed me and my family with a wonderful child that will soon be here! Her room is right across the hall from mine and every morning I get the privilege to wake up and see her room that will one day have her in it.

   My family and I will be leaving December 9th and coming home Christmas Eve! We leave on a Thursday and fly form Memphis to Seattle, Washington. From Seattle, we fly to Beijing (13 hours on a plane!). We will arrive on Friday and will just relax and sleep. Then Saturday we have a private tour of the Great Wall! Then that afternoon we get to go to -the real- Old China Town. And Sunday, we get a private tour of all these historical places. Then Monday, we fly to Sophie's provence (which I don't know how to spell), called GuanZjou? THEN, Tuesday is the special day! It's the day that Sophie gets put into our hands! We finally get to meet her! And we get to spend the rest of our lives with her from that day, December 14th.

So Now I'm a Blogger?

   I can officially say that I am a blogger. I am not too familiar with how all this works, but I guess I can figure it out. I have heard from many people that blogging is fun and is starting to be the new trend. So I thought I'd try it out. And so far it's been fun, the first five minutes. Right now, I am watching Hannah Montana, sitting in a cozy, warm bed, and eating fried chicken. Just what I need after a long day. If you don't know already, my family is adopting a little girl from China, and we have to travel December 9th to go get her. That means all of my exams will have to be taken in 2 days on top of extra tests. This has been a stressful week. And I hate to say it, but this is the first time i have completed all of my homework. I am pretty proud! Well I hope you readers enjoy my "blog".