WE ARE HERE!!!!

Just want to let everyone know that we are in China.  The flight was great.  Instead of a 14.5 hour flight it was only 12.5 hours.  We did somehow get some sleep on the plane and the food was OK.  Elias was excited because he get a special kids meal.
We are tired and need to wind down. We will try and keep this up to date.

Destination: China

Three Day Left

It is hard to believe that we leave in 3 days.  We have gotten a lot done but we also have a lot to do.  Our families have helped us a lot through this journey and I have no doubt that they will continue helping us after we return home.  We cannot thank them enough.  We also have a wonderful church family.  I know that they will continue to pray for us.  I am not sure that we will ever be able to express how much that means to us.  We are surrounded by such wonderful people.  Our kids are going to be blessed to have our families in their lives also.

Our first stop in China will be Beijing.  We will be there for 2 nights then off to Xining.  Xining is passed the middle of China.  We are going to be in the beautiful mountains.  On Monday Jade will become part of our family.  We will have some paperwork on Tuesday but then we wait until Friday.  On Friday we get her passport and the next morning we leave for Nanning.  Nanning will be a nice change, the weather will be warmer and we will be closer to sea level.  On Monday Abram will become part of our family.  Again we will have some paperwork on Tuesday.  We will then wait for Friday to get his passport and leave that night for Guangzhou.  Saturday and Monday we will have to take the kids to the doctor.  On Tuesday the 14th we have our CA appoint to finalize their visas and citizenship paperwork. Wednesday we will get their passports back with their American visas.  Then it is off to Hong Kong for a night before we fly home.

I think that we are just as excited to go as we are to get home.  In our mind the trip is not done until we are in our house.

We know that God is going before us preparing the way. We are thankful for a living God who is in control of everything.  Sometimes it is hard to remember that when things get stressful, He is our rock and we know that He will be with us on our journey.  He has been in control of our journey from the beginning and his perfect plan is being done.

Two Weeks Left!!!!

In two weeks, we will leave to finish one journey and begin a new adventure. We fly into Beijing for a couple days before heading to Jade's province.  We are going to welcome Jade into our family on January 30th.  We have a week to spend there in the mountains before we fly to Abram's province.  Unfortunately, there is no direct flight between the kids' provinces so we are going to have a layover somewhere.  On February 6th  Abram is going to become part of our family.  We will stay there for about a week and then head to Guangzhou.  At the US Consulate there, we will finalize the paperwork and get Abram and Jade's visa's.  Then we go to Hong Kong for a night before coming home.

Steve is great at making list and organizing. It has helped a great deal with getting the house ready and packing. Elias is nervous, scared and excited all at once (I think we all are). He likes the idea of having a playmate (or 2 ) but not sharing us.  He has asked if we could all pray for Abram and Jade every night.  It brings tears to my eyes every time but it is something that I would not trade for the world.  I am trying NOT to get sick or overly stressed out.  It does not help that the cat I have had for over 12 years is not doing good.  I think we are going to have to put her down before we leave.  I do not think that she could survive three weeks away from home.

I have packing and cleaning to get done so I better get off of here. Thanks for all the prays.

Anticipation!

During the holiday season, we couldn't help but notice that we have been on this journey for over a year now. The paperwork has been frustrating, yet we have prevailed.  The wait has been torturous at times, yet we have survived.  We are now nearing the end of this part of the process, which is good because we are really tired of filling out forms and signing our names without having something to show for it.  We have been "getting ready" to travel for the past month by making lists (things to do, things to remember, things to pack... Steve likes to make lists), cleaning, arranging, sorting, tidying up, and trying to prepare both the house and ourselves for what is to come.
We got a call Tuesday telling us we got our travel permission.  Finally we were all set to travel and there was a little happy dance.  However, we were not sure yet when this trek was to begin, so back to waiting.  Our wait was not long.  Yesterday we got the wonderful call telling us when to book our flights.  We got the Consulate appointment we wanted and now it is time to start making plans.  We are going to China in three weeks.
It is so hard to believe that this day has finally come.  But whatever hassle, it is all for two good reasons...Abram and Jade.

Visa's

Last night while Steve and I were going up our lane, we were talking about how we should be getting our travel visas soon. I was hoped they did not come while we were gone because of how bad the wind was blowing. I was afraid that they would end up in a field a mile away and our passports would then be lost. Steve assured me that they would tie them to our door knob. As soon as he said that, I looked over towards the back door, and there was something tied to the knob. When we got into the garage, I jumped out and ran to the door. Sure enough, it was our visas. Now that we have that, we wait for our TA (travel approval).

Countdown!

We have received word that our paperwork has been submitted to the US Embassy in China. This begins the final process our paperwork will go through. In two weeks it will be picked up and taken to the C**WA (Chinese adoption authorities) for a few weeks for our official approval to travel. This would ordinarily set us up to travel in January. However...

When adopting two children from different regions, we will be required to stay an extra week for the second child (a total of 3 weeks). This year Chinese New Year is very early - starting January 23. As all government office shut down for that week, we could either plan to spend an extra week there or wait until February. So assuming there isn't some other delay (which always seems the case in the process) we will be spending the majority of February abroad. All of this is sort of a blessing in disguise. It allows us to have a relatively calm Christmas season and spend an extra few weeks getting ready.

On a side note, we consulted a doctor today concerning potential health problems that we could encounter with Jade and Abram. Most of it confirmed what we already suspected - mainly that we won't know the extent of their special needs until we get them home. Fine by us, we want them home too.