It is hard to believe that it has been 7 years since we brought our sweet Ginger home to her forever family! But it is true, as evidenced by the 7th annual Family Day celebration we hosted for our fellow adoptive families last weekend. Our girls are growing and thriving and amazing us every day.

 Ginger and I are preparing ourselves for her first return to her homeland this month. We will participate in a 10 day Heritage Tour with 12 other families in which we will visit Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu and Yangshuo. During that time we will visit many cultural and historical landmarks, as well as the infamous "matching room" in Beijing, where children awaiting adoption are matched with their forever families. We will have the opportunity to walk along the Great Wall, attend a tea ceremony, enjoy Sichuan opera, and hold a baby panda in our laps!

 After that we will venture out on a personalized tour with our dear friends Kriss and Olivia Kokofer, who we adopted with in 2009. Ginger and Olivia were at the same Orphanage and have grown up together in the Bay Area. The four of us have hired a guide who will take us to the girl's home town for a few days and back to their orphanage to visit. In addition, we will be visiting with Ginger's foster mother and going to her home in Shanggao County. She is eagerly awaiting our arrival What an amazing opportunity for us! We are both exited and a little nervous, and I imagine this trip will bring tears as well as smiles for us both.

 David and Cuyler will not be joining us this time, as we want this first trip to be as easy as possible for Ginger, and to keep the focus firmly on her. We could not have done it without their support, though, and I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to introduce Ginger to her homeland. We may not all be going on this trip, but the whole family has planned and sacrificed for this momentous occasion. I will keep you up to date as much as I can. 14 days to lift off!