We'll See

After a very long day yesterday, I sat at the computer to check email and update the blog. After checking email, I went to the website you're viewing. The computer won't open it. So i went to blogspot.com. And get this - everything is in Chinese! I was able to log in, thinking that once I got to my administrative page, I'd be able to read. Nope! Everything is still in Chinese! I don't suppose it matters too much. I've used the page often enough to know what buttons to push to publish. Still, I'm feeling a bit thrown.

Also, my computer tells me I have 16% of my battery power remaining. If I cut this short, please understand.

And now, the rest of the story.

Some of you may know that Dave and I had a bit of a wager going. I thought L-- would stay awake the entire plane flight. D-- disagreed. Since we never agreed on the terms on the wager, I never posted it. And good thing for me! After being awake from at least 3-5am the morning we left, and definitely suffering from the stomach flu, L-- was a model passenger. The family was all upgraded to business class (thank God... and thanks, Mike!) and L--, S-- and Dave spent the 1st few hours of the flight sound asleep. L--'s energy never rose to her usual self, and neither did her appetite. Any other day this would have been worrisome, but on a 14 hour plane ride it was a blessing. S-- never held down food, but bottles did her fine so we were able to prevent much mess. However, she still suffers from the flu and we believe she is mildly dehydrated. Although L-- seems to be over any sickness, we are just a bit worried about S--. Please keep her in your prayers.

As the pilot came over the speaker system to announce the details of the flight, he also informed us of an expected typhoon. We were scheduled to land in Shanghai at 1:35 yesterday afternoon. So was the typhoon. The pilot explained that they will land in plane in up to 35 mile per hour winds. If the current conditions had not fit this, we would have diverted for a few hours, or possibly a few days, until we could land. Watching the news, we learned that many flights were cancelled or delayed on Tuesday. But although he announced 30-35 mph winds at landing, we felt no turbulence and our family were no more ill than when we took off. The humidity was intense, and there was some rain, at times strong, on our 1 hour drive to the hotel. But I've seen much worse in St. Louis. Speaking with our agent this afternoon, offices and schools were closed both Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for the storm.

I'm beginning to fear that my batteries or my internet connection will fail, so more later. Thanks for the prayers - and please keep them up! Please pray specifically for the visa paperwork to go smoothly and for S-- to feel better. Good thing I packed some Pedialyte!