Changes in plans

So life throws us curve balls sometimes.  This is how last evening and today went. Since we planned to leave really early this morning for Chicago to visit our foreign student friend, Jack, we really hit the online classes HARD to get them hammered out before we left.  We had been studying about Chinese culture for probably four hours, when I decided to order a pizza.  It seemed to be taking a long time for it to arrive, when about 10:30 pm my cell phone rang.  I remarked to Ethan, "Good grief!  We aren't even a mile from the place and they got lost?"  because I expected it to be the pizza delivery person.  I answered my phone to hear a man with a very strong Chinese accent ask, "May I speak to Randi Lanz, please?"  Right then the doorbell rang, and Ethan and Tikvah ran off to get the pizza, leaving me with my mouth hanging open and wondering what had happened to Abigail to cause the Chinese authorities to call my cell phone instead of the agency! 

Yeah, it was Jack!  I hadn't heard his voice since Christmas of 2009, and just didn't recognize it.  He got in to New York from China to find that his flight to Chicago was cancelled.   He was on standby with no idea when he would get a flight.

This gave us a work day.  Our goal is to have all of our paperwork and documents in by the end of next week, so we really needed the day.  We were able to take our final test for what I call the "Monster Class."  This class was 19 sessions, each about an hour long, with one to three homework assignments per session.  Wow.  It was a hard one.  So we are DONE with our educational requirements!  The local agency required 40 credit hours (don't confuse that with actual hours, it took lots more!) and the placing agency required certain Hague Convention classes.  We are so, so happy to be through them.

Ethan spent the morning measuring rooms and learning a software to print out a diagram of our floor plan.  We have to post fire escape routes in each bedroom and on each level of the house before we get our fire safety inspection.  No, it still isn't done.

I spent the day cleaning, cleaning then cleaning some more.  We are required to take a photo of each room in the house, and of course I didn't want any photographic evidence that my house wasn't in order!  I cheated in one room  - our bedroom - where I hid two baskets of laundry waiting to be folded. Hey, I can't do EVERYTHING!   The rest is clean.  I'm pretty sure it isn't healthy to have a house this clean. (smile)

I got photos of every room upstairs, main floor and basement with the exception of Tikvah's room.  It isn't too bad, but not photo ready.  She has been happily playing with several neighborhood girls and then went next door to a birthday party.  I figure tomorrow will be soon enough on her room.

Ethan has gone to Lafayette to pick up James.  He is due back at Cedarville University by 8AM Monday morning, and we need to do things with him tomorrow to help him get ready.

And Jack?  Well, he got to Chicago but too late for us to visit today.  We are hoping to get away one day this next week.  It would really stink for him to be this close and not get to see him.  If you are wondering, Jack isn't his Chinese name.  We never could say his Chinese name, nor could anyone at Purdue apparently.  He told us to just call him Jack!