Arrived!

I'm in Portland!

There won't be any new pictures in this post, but hey, I've finally broken my Internet silence, so I've got to pace myself.

I'm now 20w2d - a number I really couldn't have ever imagined reaching before. It's amazing to think that in just 16 weeks (plus or minus), I could be meeting my babies! Right now, the belly growth is really starting to accelerate, and I'm having a hard time imagining how big I'll actually be in 4 months! It's getting hard to turn over at night, and when I lie on my back for too long, I get up and am surprised at how sore my hips are! Time to start swimming, I think.

The big announcement, which I'd wanted to make in conjunction with some photos, is that I'm having two sweet boys! That's right, these fraternal twins took the word literally and decided to show up as brothers. I'm excited for them that they'll have each other through their lives, and I'll just have to raise them in the Confucian tradition and train them to take care of their mama when they get older, lol.


I wanted to take a minute and thank my friends for their concerned inquiries about Daniel's family in Chengdu, Sichuan. So far, we've accounted for everyone in Chengdu and in the village (Nanchong County), but we haven't reached Zhang Lin's family yet to hear that she's safe. She's in school up in the mountains, and of course we're hoping for an eventual report of her safety.

We've both been very moved by the events in Sichuan - Daniel's home province and the place I feel most connected to in China. He's actually going to be there for 3 weeks next month, and hopes to be able to help in some of the work there. I do know that Mercy Corps is supporting the relief efforts in Sichuan - here's the link in case you've been wondering how to help.

Finally, Laurie and her friend Phil are making good progress in their cross-country trip. If you didn't know, Laurie's my sister, and she's moving out here, too - she & Phil are driving my car and a bunch of our stuff out for me, since I was too pregnant (and ailing with this stupid gallstone) to drive. You can follow their trip on her blog and soon she'll also be posting on Travels with Swatchy.