Hello from the other side of the world!

Simon, Tami and I have made it safely to Beijing and are settling nicely into local time. I wake up early (I can easily blame that on my Nykamp genes) and want to lay my head done when we're having diner (I can easily blame that on the aftermath of our busy daytime schedules) so it's been fairly manageable. Our flight was long--about 13 hours from Toronto to Beijing--and I did consider a parachute at about 9 hours, but we survived and Simon was able to sleep the last 4 hours of the trip. A large over-exhausted, 10-year-old flopping around in a confined sleep area was less than ideal but once he got comfortable he was able to get some much needed rest. Upon arrival (around 4:30 pm local time) and pick up by Shawn and Trixi (my sister-in-law's sister and her Chinese husband) we dropped out things at home and then went out to one of their favorite dumpling spots. Dumplings are one of our favorite things at home so having dozens of varieties to choose from was a treat. Beijing traffic is crazy! Trixi has done a wonderful job of taking her midwest driving skills and becoming one of the locals (she has been here about 9 years) but there are times that Tami and I just close our eyes. Lots of honking, congested streets and locals dodging between traffic on foot or by bike--generally without a care about the traffic flying by them. Simon has thoroughly enjoyed riding beside the many Bentleys and pink cars that feel these congested roads. The first day Trixi had set up a tour through Beijing's bell tower and the Hutong region. We were pedaled through these by bicyclists in our little carts. We learned about how to figure out what kind of people lived through these ornate doors or very simple doors based on markings above and beside the doors. A Hutong is a home with a central courtyard and living quarters on 4 sides. Most have been converted into regular homes, but they maintain several in this region for historical purposes. Once Simon got over some initial shyness he made conversation with our driver and several of the other drivers who were waiting to give people rides. It was so fun to see people gather around to watch this "big" little kid tell them about his family and the school he attends in the US. They all complimented him that his Chinese was very good--yeah, Excelsior Elementary! Yesterday we spent the day at the Summer Palace. You can google it to see fabulous pictures of this area without the masses of people that were in attendance with us yesterday. Beijing is a massive city and Monday through Friday this week are their Labor Day holiday--which means people everywhere! Being tall and a different nationality certain helps us stay together, and also gets lots of stares! Trixi is about 7 months pregnant, blonde and about my height, she gets attention wherever she goes. It's unheard of for someone in her condition to be out in public. My favorite is when the older women just shake their head in disgust and her naive ways! Last evening Shawn gave us a fabulous cooking lesson for dinner and we fell into bed in preparation for today's trip to the Great Wall. We get a great workout every day and I've been warned that today will be a day filled with steps--Simon couldn't be more excited, as you can see from the pictures he embraces every huge flight of stairs as a challenge to his youthful legs--Trixi, Tami and I not so much. I leave you with the images and faces of our trip so far.

The bags are packed, the anticipation is high...

The bags are packed and we're counting down the hours until we're boarded and headed off on our adventure. I will do my best to post pictures and an update every couple of days. Our flight leaves Minneapolis tomorrow at 10:30 am, we fly to Toronto, have a 2 hour layover and then lift off to Beijing at 4:30 Toronto time. We will land in Beijing at 4:30 local time which will be about 3:30 am central time. We will be tired, but excited. It's really great that at 44-years-old you can still feel so excited about something that you can't sleep at night and you have butterflies in your stomach. It's also a thrill to watch Simon's excitement as we count down the days. Tami arrives this evening and we will do our best to stay up late so that sleeping on the plane tomorrow comes more easily. We've been informed that springtime is well underway in Beijing and we should hit the height of their spring flowers! I can't tell you how excited we are to see something green... Next post -- China!

Stay Tuned for "Day at the Lake"

Book photo taken! Eagerly awaiting the release of "Day at the Lake"--spring 2013

Wordy Wednesday by Abraham Lincoln

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.

Wordy Wednesday

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~Albert Einstein

Dude,...

Okay, so my boys can't start a sentence to one another without using the word, dude. Dude, you're sitting on my jacket...Dude, can you pass me the salt...Dude, wouldn't it be cool to be a Jedi? Okay, it just goes on and on and on.

I was going to remind them that I had actually given them each names and could they please use them. But then I realized that it's a boy's way of using some sort of endearment. Like Eric saying to me, "Sweetie, can you give me a hand with this?" I wouldn't ever correct him and remind him that my name is Dawn.

So I'll let my boys continue to inject "dude" into every sentence and I'll smile a little bit because they're being kind to one another and they don't even know it.

Holding On and Letting Go

It's not poetic justice
That has me waiting all this while
It's the way a loving father
Deals with his child

So this is how I'm learning
Holding on and letting go
Sometimes yes and sometimes no
It's sometimes yes, sometimes no

This is a favorite song of mine that often comes to me when I need it most. As I look upon surgery week for Eric, I want to cling to the miracle that I know God is capable of doing, but I also feel like I need to be strong and prepare for the disappointment of it not working out the way I have prayed it will. I want all the prayers that go up on Eric's behalf to be answered with a resounding heavenly, "Yes, it's fixed!" But I also know that God's answers are perfect and perfectly timed and that they may not be the answers that I so desperately want. So here I stand in between holding on and letting go, trying to find a comfortable place to rest for a while.