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up early

I wish I could say I couldn't sleep this morning because I'm starting the daunting task of labor but I think it's just the after affects of a latte I had yesterday afternoon. Caffeine really works on me for a long time.

It's Sunday morning here in Beijing. For the last 2 days we've had rain and gray, cloudy skies. Looks like the same for today.

For lunch yesterday, Mom and I went to a quaint (which is rare in such a hugely populated land) French bakery for lunch. There's nothing much better than a ham sandwich on a freshly baked croissant. What other sandwich requires no mayo or mustard? None that I've met. And what can top a cheese danish and freshly brewed cup of coffee to top it all off? Again, obviously nothing other than a piece of baklava and fresh coffee. So, it was a nice lunch.

We get to attend our 4th service at the International Fellowship here today. I'm amazed at the openness and acceptance of the people. Every couple of days I get a call or text message from one of the ladies just checking on how we're doing and how I'm feeling. Another couple just had their 2nd girl on Thursday and since we were at the hospital already we dropped in to see them. You have to feel pretty comfortable with folks to do that after just seeing them a couple times. We're all really enjoying the fellowship.

As I type my sister and nieces are sitting in the business class cabin of a Delta flight from Atlanta to Shanghai. It's a direct flight and one that Delta just started in March. My nieces are flying for free and Jana for a steeply discounted price - in international business class. That's not bad.

They should arrive on Asian soil around 1pm today (Beijing time) and then they'll take a short flight to Wuhan. Dad will be excitedly waiting for them at the airport. I imagine a few tears will be shed. Last night (9:30pm BJ time) Jana emailed us via her cell phone to tell us they were on the flight. At the same time I was skyping with Dad. The technology that allowed me in Beijing, Jana in Atlanta and Dad in Wuhan to all communicate together with the only delay being the time it took us to push SEND is astounding.

Looks like Jana, the girls and Dad will fly up here mid week to either see What's-Her-Name or wait for What's-Her-Name with us. We've got the room and so we might as well all be together! Mom will be a great tour guide for them and I'm glad that they'll get to see Beijing.

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