How much longer?

Hmm, I kinda feel like a little kid squished in the back seat of our old Audi with my little sister riding to Ohio to visit our grandparents. Mom and Dad tried so many evasive tactics over the years to prevent us from asking how much longer until we got there.

There was the money strategy where they gave us a roll of nickels before we left Charlotte. Each time we asked the dreaded question, we had to give them a nickel. What we had left at the end of the trip was ours to keep. Of course as we got older this transitioned from nickels to dimes to quarters...

There was the take "take the magic shortcut" strategy which of course involved us falling asleep. Mom would tell us that Dad could drive twice as fast when our eyes were closed and before you know it, the lull of the tires would have us snoozing. I think that is the root of my problems falling asleep in the car to this day...

And then of course there was "the look" from Dad when we would ask. For any of you that know me, you also know "the look." It can stop many in their tracks. I learned it from the master...

By the way, none of them really were that successful...

And right now, I'm asking the question again. This time it isn't about when we are going to get somewhere, it is about seeing the picture of our beloved daughter. Funny how I love her so much already and have yet to know anything about her beyond the fact that God is preparing us to be a family.

I'm glad that this next week is going to be so crazy busy. It will help take my mind off the wait. I almost have to laugh when I consider the coming madness...

We are heading to Annandale, Va in the morning. We are stopping by Elon to pick up a "my first Elon" t-shirt for the baby and to stop at my favorite Blue Ribbon Diner for lunch. Ahh, good memories from college days... Then we drive on to spend a few days with Ian's dad, brother and sister (soon to be Grandpa M____, Uncle Josh and Aunt Rachel) in Annandale. We're off for dinner with my high school partner in crime, Craig and his wife. Then after dinner we go back to his dad's to visit with Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim. Tuesday we are meeting our family coordinator at our adoption agency. We figured that after all the emails and phone calls we should put a face with the voice... Wednesday we plan to spend part of the afternoon in DC's Chinatown ~ not as big as Chinatown in San Francisco, but closer to us, so it will have to do for now ~ and then we will have dinner with my cousin Chad and his girlfriend. Thursday morning we are going to my Aunt Carol and Uncle Larry's for Thanksgiving and will have our turkey meal with my aunt's sisters and extended family (fun how our families blend so well). Friday it is off to see my cousin Melanie's new house and visit with her and her hubby Reid and their precious daughter Ella. Saturday we begin our trip home but stop in Stephen's City to have brunch with two couples that Ian went to VT with(Brian and Kelly and Amy and Mike). We'll continue south from there and stop again in Blacksburg to eat dinner with two more couples from VT(Matt and Kelly and Andrew and Vanessa).

Crazy huh? Yeah, we're gonna need a little time to recover from our Thanksgiving trip. I know that we will be running all over the place like crazy people. I'm so excited about seeing so many members of our family and so many friends that we don't get to see often. It is going to be exciting, but I know on the forefront of my mind will be the question...

How much longer?