Flights are Booked!

Yes, that's right, we have booked our flights!  It was the culmination of a pretty hectic & stressful week.  Sorry for not posting sooner, but it's been a full weekend (Heather ran a 5K race Friday evening, and we just had a lot of other family activities and church events going on).  We now know for sure that "Gotcha Day" will be July 16!

This past Thursday the fares were still as low as we had ever seen them, but we had to wait until Friday morning for a final-final confirmation of dates from our adoption agency.  We were worried that the ticket prices could jump up, and we also didn't want to book prematurely due to a minimum $250 rescheduling fee per ticket.  So, we gave the airline a call and we were on the phone (mostly on hold) for about an hour.  A supervisor pulled a few strings and was able to hold the rate for us until 11:00pm Friday.  They also agreed to waive the reschedule fee should we have to change our flights after they were booked!  What an answer to prayer!

We're flying from Cedar Rapids to Hong Kong via Detroit on July 12, and we'll return home with the same layover on July 27.  We were able to get a bulkhead exit row on the long flight to Hong Kong, and we paid a small fee to upgrade to a bulkhead "economy comfort" row on the flight home with Helen.  That leg is more than 15 hours each way.  Ugh.

So, the end is finally feeling real and within reach!  The next step is to book all of our in-country travel (hotels, trains, guides, drivers to appointments, etc.).  Continued prayers for low travel costs (this time within China itself) would be much appreciated!

We're coming, Helen!  You'll be in our arms in 36 more days, and your big sister & brother will be waiting for you at home!!!