Flag Day!

It's finally here!

We are going to Shenyang, China!  It was one of our top choices, one of the ones we added late to our list of highs.  We won't be leaving until April of 2013, which is great.  It's that much more time to get us prepared and spend time with family.  NJ will have a good year of Kindergarten here and we will have plenty of time to have the baby and get settled as a family of 5.  Plus J will be 2.5 years old by then, much more manageable on the plane, I hope!  Baby girl will be 9 months old and NJ will be 6.5.


What an awesome experience.  It only lasted maybe 45 minutes but the energy in the room was contagious and it was so encouraging to see everyone genuinely excited for one another.  They flashed the picture of the flag of the country on the screen, announced the job title, and revealed the name of the FSO who will be going there and presented to them a mini flag of the country in which they will be serving.  I think a lot of people got their high choices.  I am thrilled for everyone.  I even got teary eyed several times because I was so happy for these people whom I don't even know!  Crazy pregnant lady...  Even J had a blast, despite the fact that he was sleep deprived and recovering from an ear infection.  After each person was called, he clapped and said "Yaaaaaay!!" and said "Byyyyyyye!!"  It was nice to have Mom and Dad Lindsey and Cousin Neely join us.  We all went out to Uncle Julio's afterwards to celebrate, since crazy pregnant lady was craving tamales.

We are excited.   The more I research and think about it, the more excited I get!  I've been reading a few blogs written by expat families who are there.  Shenyang is a big industrial hub and there are many international corporations there.  So in addition to meeting Chinese people, we will be interacting with expats from all over the world.

The diplomat and the diplotots

This blog probably won't get THAT exciting until April of next year.  I might have to fill in with stories of the kids and the new baby.  But I'm sure there will be mini adventures along the way as Nathan and I start learning more about Shenyang, start our Mandarin training (can't wait to see my blonde husband busting out in Chinese!) and as we handle the logistics circus.