In just 30 minutes we will head to the local civil affairs office to get Reed and Grace! We are giddy with excitement and still humbled by God's tender mercies in how he's answered our prayers! Hopefully we can post some pictures tonight!
Our Family
Sunday, July 13, 2014
30 minutes!!
In just 30 minutes we will head to the local civil affairs office to get Reed and Grace! We are giddy with excitement and still humbled by God's tender mercies in how he's answered our prayers! Hopefully we can post some pictures tonight!
Zhengzhou
Once again, we were up at 2:00 am - bright and early! I'm realizing the closer we get to Reed and Grace, the less I am sleeping due to excitement. Hoping to get a bit more rest tonight, so this will be brief!
We had a wonderful trip on the bullet train and got to see much of the countryside and farms, which was fun. Travis and I also took short naps. ;-)
Once we arrived in Zhenghzou, we could immediately tell how different it was - as one of the other gals said, it felt like we'd arrived in the "real China." Beijing had a much ritzy feel in comparison.
Our guides have been wonderful and we have been able to learn so much about Chineses history and culture. We learned today that Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan Province, and one of the poorest areas in China. Three years ago Apple moved their largest iphone factory here, as they can pay their workers the lowest wage here. Sad. Nissan also builds their cars here.
I have to say I was terribly embarrassed when our guide loaded us into the van for the hotel. It was an older Toyota Sienna (No AC) and again, think TINY. I felt I had packed quite resonably for 16 days/6 people, including a lot of food, gifts, and baby gear. However, only ONE of our suitcases could fit in the back of the van, and the others were wider than the spaces between seats. Both men were dripping with sweat trying to shove the suitcases into the van. In between explaining the Apple/ipod factory, they were pointing out the local Starbucks where we could get our coffee. It was terrible! I am already trying to figure out how to dump off one of these suitcases here. Don't worry Liz - it won't be yours!
We got situated in our hotel, exchanged money at the bank, and made a trip to Wal-Mart, which was a true cultural experience! NOTHING like Wal-Mart in the US. Think of the old Woolworth dime stores, but selling dried ducks and live frogs and turtles in the seafood department. Surprisingly, there were no takers in our group. We did buy nearly $50 of candy to take to the children in the orphanges, as well as some snack food and bottled water for us. No drinking the water in China, or any produce that's been washed!! Pictures to come - maybe in the middle of the night if I'm up again. :-)
The best part of the day was that we got some updated news on both of our babies. We discovered that Grace left Shanghai Healing Home this morning for a 17 hour overnight train ride to get here. She is traveling with her nanny and will be handed over to another nanny from her orphanage in the morning, who will bring her to us. Their are traveling wiht Jeremiah - Danny and Amy's little boy. I am sure she will be terrible confused, as well as exhausted. However, I almost cried to know that God answered our prayer and that she did not have to return to strangers in the orphanage for a period of time, as is usually the case, but instead got to stay where she has been almost all of her life.
The update on Reed did make me cry. We don't know for sure, but it appears that the orphanage he is in has apartments in it. In those apartments, families live and will foster 4-6 children at a time. Their is some indication that he has been living in one of those family situations - again a HUGE answer to prayer for us!!! We spent the afternoon pulling together an additional gift for this family - candy for the kids, Dove chocolate, a scarf, and necklace (thanks Valerie!) for the Grandma who we think has been caring for him. I could not find a single piece of paper or card in Wal-Mart to write a note, so I cut up a pretty envelope that had been given to me here (courtesy of the front desk's childrens scissors) to make a card. The gifts are in a pink bag with red tissue paper!! Again, no luck at Wal-Mart. Hopefully our guide is right about the family; we'll find out more tommorrow or Wednesday when we go to his orphanage.
The additional bit of info we were able to garner, was in regards to the Show Hope facilities. We knew Show Hope had two facilites in China and that Reed had been cared for at both. We've made plans to try and vist Maria's Big House of Hope on Thursday. However, we did not know that the second care facility is located IN Reed's orphanage. It sounds like we will get to visit there as well on Wednesday while at his orphanage and I am also hopeful that he was there for an extended amount of time while recovering from surgery.
Please pray for us to sleep tonight and for our big day tomorrow if you think of us! We will receive our kids sometime between 9:30 and noon here, which is 7:30pm - 10:00pm Colorado time! We'll post again when we can!!!
We had a wonderful trip on the bullet train and got to see much of the countryside and farms, which was fun. Travis and I also took short naps. ;-)
Once we arrived in Zhenghzou, we could immediately tell how different it was - as one of the other gals said, it felt like we'd arrived in the "real China." Beijing had a much ritzy feel in comparison.
Our guides have been wonderful and we have been able to learn so much about Chineses history and culture. We learned today that Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan Province, and one of the poorest areas in China. Three years ago Apple moved their largest iphone factory here, as they can pay their workers the lowest wage here. Sad. Nissan also builds their cars here.
I have to say I was terribly embarrassed when our guide loaded us into the van for the hotel. It was an older Toyota Sienna (No AC) and again, think TINY. I felt I had packed quite resonably for 16 days/6 people, including a lot of food, gifts, and baby gear. However, only ONE of our suitcases could fit in the back of the van, and the others were wider than the spaces between seats. Both men were dripping with sweat trying to shove the suitcases into the van. In between explaining the Apple/ipod factory, they were pointing out the local Starbucks where we could get our coffee. It was terrible! I am already trying to figure out how to dump off one of these suitcases here. Don't worry Liz - it won't be yours!
We got situated in our hotel, exchanged money at the bank, and made a trip to Wal-Mart, which was a true cultural experience! NOTHING like Wal-Mart in the US. Think of the old Woolworth dime stores, but selling dried ducks and live frogs and turtles in the seafood department. Surprisingly, there were no takers in our group. We did buy nearly $50 of candy to take to the children in the orphanges, as well as some snack food and bottled water for us. No drinking the water in China, or any produce that's been washed!! Pictures to come - maybe in the middle of the night if I'm up again. :-)
The best part of the day was that we got some updated news on both of our babies. We discovered that Grace left Shanghai Healing Home this morning for a 17 hour overnight train ride to get here. She is traveling with her nanny and will be handed over to another nanny from her orphanage in the morning, who will bring her to us. Their are traveling wiht Jeremiah - Danny and Amy's little boy. I am sure she will be terrible confused, as well as exhausted. However, I almost cried to know that God answered our prayer and that she did not have to return to strangers in the orphanage for a period of time, as is usually the case, but instead got to stay where she has been almost all of her life.
The update on Reed did make me cry. We don't know for sure, but it appears that the orphanage he is in has apartments in it. In those apartments, families live and will foster 4-6 children at a time. Their is some indication that he has been living in one of those family situations - again a HUGE answer to prayer for us!!! We spent the afternoon pulling together an additional gift for this family - candy for the kids, Dove chocolate, a scarf, and necklace (thanks Valerie!) for the Grandma who we think has been caring for him. I could not find a single piece of paper or card in Wal-Mart to write a note, so I cut up a pretty envelope that had been given to me here (courtesy of the front desk's childrens scissors) to make a card. The gifts are in a pink bag with red tissue paper!! Again, no luck at Wal-Mart. Hopefully our guide is right about the family; we'll find out more tommorrow or Wednesday when we go to his orphanage.
The additional bit of info we were able to garner, was in regards to the Show Hope facilities. We knew Show Hope had two facilites in China and that Reed had been cared for at both. We've made plans to try and vist Maria's Big House of Hope on Thursday. However, we did not know that the second care facility is located IN Reed's orphanage. It sounds like we will get to visit there as well on Wednesday while at his orphanage and I am also hopeful that he was there for an extended amount of time while recovering from surgery.
Please pray for us to sleep tonight and for our big day tomorrow if you think of us! We will receive our kids sometime between 9:30 and noon here, which is 7:30pm - 10:00pm Colorado time! We'll post again when we can!!!
Day 2 - Beijing
This morning we got up bright and early once again (3am - part jet leg and part excitement I think) and spent the day at the Great Wall. It still feels surreal to be here.
We spent two hours hiking up and down, and it was quite a bit steeper than I had anticipated. Good for working off all that ice cream and the mile long breakfast buffet!
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| You can see, the step behind me is almost as tall as my knee! |
It was close to 100 degrees, so we were all soaked with sweat by the end. We thought we would take a “shorter” way down. We wound up getting a bit turned around and were late to meet our group. I don’t think our sweet guide Jean was very happy with us and Danny thought we were dead.
On the way home we got to drive through Olympic Village and see the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube which was a treat. We also saw the housing for the athletes and where many of the other events took place.
We have really enjoyed getting to know the other families we are traveling with, and have quite a bit in common with many of them - Caleb and Mason have enjoyed making some new friends as well!
Tomorrow we are up at 5:30 and headed for Zhengzhou on the bullet train. Reed and Grace will only be orphans for one more day!!!!
Hooray For Internet!
It's 8:23pm in Zhengzhou and we just got our internet working on the computer for the first time. So thankful! Caleb and Mason are asleep and I am going to try and post a few quick things I've written over the past few days...
Wednesday morning we departed Denver and flew to Beijing, via Chicago, where we met up with another family from Denver, also traveling and adopting with CCAI. (Our agency). They are adopting a sweet little boy who is from Grace’s orphanage, and like Grace has spent most of his life being cared for at Shanghai Healing Home in Shanghai. Once in Beijing we met up with the more families who we will be traveling and adopting with over the next 16 days. All together we now have 8 families with us in addition to ourselves.
The flight was good; Caleb and Mason were in heaven, as they got to watch Captain America and play video games on their own TV screens - for 13.5 hours! (A REAL treat, since we don’t own a gaming system!) They did sleep for a bit as well.
The highlights were getting past the turbulence (Daddy and Mason loved it) and flying over the North Pole. :-) I actually slept for the majority of the flight.
We arrived after midnight Beijing time (14 hours ahead of Colorado) and slept until about 5am. Our hotel is a beautiful 5 star hotel, complete with some unique features!
The “double beds” are really more of a twin size (quite cozy
;-), and Caleb and Mason are opting to take turns on the floor. I am struck by how tiny everything is here (including the people - we are on day 4 and we haven’t seen an overweight person yet!). The ironing board is about half the size of my one at home, and the back of the toilet is maybe 4 inches deep - it doesn’t even hold my pajama pants while I shower!
;-), and Caleb and Mason are opting to take turns on the floor. I am struck by how tiny everything is here (including the people - we are on day 4 and we haven’t seen an overweight person yet!). The ironing board is about half the size of my one at home, and the back of the toilet is maybe 4 inches deep - it doesn’t even hold my pajama pants while I shower!
The other unique room feature is the glass wall between the bathroom and sleeping area! Fortunately, their is a mini blind to close. :-)
On the first day we were able to tour the Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City. (Forbidden to the common people.) There were literally thousands of people who had traveled from throughout the country to pay their respects to Chairman Mao’s embalmed body(!!!). The line had to have gone on for miles and I thought he must have just died. Nope! 1977. It was Black Friday and Mardi Gras put together in one.
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| This ones for Addie! This was just a duck in front of a restaurant. |
Afterwards, we took a Hutong Tour through old Beijing, riding through narrow alley ways in a rickshaw cart and pulled by an elderly man on bike.
We stopped for lunch at a local families home, which was a fascinating experience. They cooked about a dozen traditional foods, which we ate off of tiny plates, and sat around a tiny (maybe 4 feet?) round table. We got to see the kitchen afterwards - 2 burners on the stove and maybe 2 feet by 2 feet of counter space.
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| The preperation space was the area in front of the cutting board. (Slice of log) |
That afternoon the boys and I swam and walked to the infamous “Snack Street” where we saw everything from roasted scorpions to bbq baby ducks with heads still on. We passed! Travis stayed home and finished online school for the week.
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| Snake on a stick |
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| Baby ducks anyone? |
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| Roasted Scorpians |
That night we had dinner with our new friends Danny and Amy (from Denver) at local restaurant, which was fun and just over $20 for 3 entrees and an appetizer. Our boys think Mr. Danny is SOOO funny!
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| Breakfast! |
We’ve had a lot of fun and MANY good laughs about the food we are getting to try. Many times we have no idea what it is. The hotel has an unbelievable breakfast buffet where we get to sample all kinds of local foods each morning. Travis took a bite into a delicious looking croissant to discover a stick of something. Vegetable? Meat? A root? Not sure. Danny recommended the dumplings with fig jam; to which another Dad explained it was not fig jam but bean curd. ;-) He wasn’t joking.
The song “This is the Great Adventure” by Steven Curtis Chapman keeps running through my mind. Before I accepted Christ I thought the life of a believer would be B-O-R-I-N-G. Restrictive. No fun. Instead, I’ve found it to be quite the opposite - more like an exhilarating high speed adventure. (Especially being married to Travis ;-)) The Lord’s plans for my life have been so different than mine - I thought I was going to live in a ritzy home, play tennis, and drive a BMW - snobby I know - and yet I am so thankful for the better life God choose for me!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
To God Be the Glory!
I had wonderfully grand visions of a pancake breakfast and final Bible Time as a family this morning before we left. HA HA!!! Here is what we were doing 30 minutes before departure!!!
- The Lord allowed us opportunity to raise cows and
sell them as grassfed beef.
- CHASE covered $1200 of expenses (in addition to the
forgiven credit card debt) by giving us money to open
savings accounts (we did 2!), checking accounts (2
more!), and cash back on a credit card.
- Lastly, God has provided in ways that aren't
necessarily monetary. We signed up for hotel credit
cards and the incentive points have earned us 10 free
hotel nights in China out of the 16 we will be staying.
And these are just the biggies. It has been a completely wild and crazy ride and grown our faith more than we'd ever imagined!
A few more recent answered prayers have been in regards to our trip -
- We've been praying that someone is pouring love on
both Reed and Grace and that Grace would be able to
stay at Shanghai Healing Home until we come for her.
(It is customary for the orphanage the child originated
from to call them back at some point once they have
been matched with a family.
- In addition to the wonderful care we know
Grace has been receiving, we recently
found out that there is a Christian couple in
Shanghai who have been volunteering with
Grace. We have been able to communicate
with them, and they've told us that they have
loved her like their own daughter and their
greatest prayer is that she would come to know
Jesus as her Lord and Savior! We've also
discovered that she is still at Shanghai Healing
Home and will be there until this
Sunday, the day before we get her!!! We are
still praying that Reed had someone in
his life loving him as well!
- We had desired to travel to Shanghai and see where
Grace has lived since 3 weeks of life, however it is an
11 hour train ride from where we will be, which would
require at least one extra day of travel and extra
expense. When we went to buy our tickets, it was
cheapest to fly through Shanghai on the way home,
AND we are arriving home one day earlier than is
typical!!! Not only will we get to meet Grace's full time
nanny and see where she has lived, we'll also meet the
couple who has been volunteering with her and loving
her!
- One of our biggest prayer requests was that God would
provide a GREAT plan for who to leave our kids with at
home. We have a wonderful Grandma who is a
tremendous blessing to us, but is watching our nieces
and nepews this summer. Our dear friend Liz Grove
was willing to help, but only available during a 3 week
period in July. Praise the Lord, God lined up our dates
to travel EXACTLY during Liz's availability. Grandmas is
sacrificing all of her free days as well, in addition to
many loving friends who will be offering relief to Liz!
- Lastly, we have been blessed with the most wonderful
family, friends, and church family! They have prayed for
us, encouraged us, generously blessed us with their time
and gifts, and sent countless texts, emails, phone calls,
etc. over the past few days. We've even had dearf
friends stop by bearing ice cream, pizza, cookies and all
sorts of other treats. These gals know me well!!!
Boarding in 10 minutes so next time you hear from us will be in Beijing! Thank you for all of your prayers!
We checked in our bags, which had to be 50 pounds or less. They weighed in at 48 lbs, 49lbs, 49.5 lbs, and 50lbs. (Thank you for the luggage scale, Mia!) Almost 50 pounds of it is gifts and resources we are taking as gifts. (David Platt, Seeds Family Worship,etc. ;-) We made it through security just fine, although we realized at 10pm last night that Travis' drivers license had expired over a year ago. Minor details. Not sure how we secured passports on that one.....
As we've been doing our last preperations, we've also been reflecting on all God has done to bring us to this point. In many senses, we feel like He has parted the red sea for us many times over, and we wanted to create markers, so as not to forget.
- When we first felt God stirring our hearts towards special needs orphans in China we knew we did not meet 3 out of the 4 requirements - our family size, our income, and our net worth. China was willing to overlook our family size if we'd adopt a special needs child (which was exactly what we were interested in) and the financial requirements were where God truly parted the sea.
- When Travis first suggested we adopt two, God brought my heart on board (and gave me a true peace and excitement!), but once again, not only did we not qualify to bring home two children, but one had to be considered severe needs by China's standards. This would typically be things like brain damage, cerebral palsey, etc. As much as we would love to bring home any child, we also knew that we had limitations in this season of life and would probably not be able to give a child with severe needs all that they needed. To bring home two children also most likely meant that we would need to spend an extra week in China, traveling to two provinces to get the children. We gave it up to the Lord and he worked it out amazingly! Our little girl is classified as severe because she needs glasses and has fluid trapped in her ears (!) and both Reed and Grace are in the same province - keeping our trip in the typical time frame!
- Over the course of the past two years, we feel like God has used this time and process to grow us immensly. We've come to understand our own adoption and identity in a new light. We've been renewed in our vision (both now and long term) for the Great Commission, as international adoption has a very distinct dimension of the Great Commission. We look forward with anticipation to see how God will use this down the road. Lastly, we've grown in our parenting. At times it has been painful, but I think God has done (and is doing!) a great work in our family, and especially in Travis and I's lives. We pray it will bear great fruit!
- It has been AMAZING to watch God provide and get to be a part of it! I know most people think they can't afford adoption - we knew we couldn't! In fact, this was Travis' biggest concern when we set out. And yet, God has provided over and over and over again. Close to $50,000 of over and over. I have to share just a few of the ways...
-Through several Grants ($25,000)
- By filling an ARC truck
- Many numerous gifts from generous friends
- We won a drawing from the Home School Legal
Defense Association (we don't even belong!)
- We got all kinds of crazy refunds - from the doctors
office for more than we'd even paid
(we tried to return it but they insisted it was ours),
from the propane company, we even
got a lawsuit settlement from the State of Colorado
vs the People for some lawsuit we'd
never even heard of. When I looked up the guilty
party, he was an apparent drug dealer. Not sure
how we got involved.....
- Here was a really crazy one. We aren't big credit
card people (don't worry family - I definitely got the
Morgan gene) and we ALWAYS pay them off.
However, somehow, we missed one and rather than
getting fined, CHASE cancelled the card and forgave
our balance?!? I've never even heard of this
happening...
 |
| I had to take a picture for this to be believeable! |
- The Lord allowed us opportunity to raise cows and
sell them as grassfed beef.
- CHASE covered $1200 of expenses (in addition to the
forgiven credit card debt) by giving us money to open
savings accounts (we did 2!), checking accounts (2
more!), and cash back on a credit card.
- Lastly, God has provided in ways that aren't
necessarily monetary. We signed up for hotel credit
cards and the incentive points have earned us 10 free
hotel nights in China out of the 16 we will be staying.
And these are just the biggies. It has been a completely wild and crazy ride and grown our faith more than we'd ever imagined!
A few more recent answered prayers have been in regards to our trip -
- We've been praying that someone is pouring love on
both Reed and Grace and that Grace would be able to
stay at Shanghai Healing Home until we come for her.
(It is customary for the orphanage the child originated
from to call them back at some point once they have
been matched with a family.
- In addition to the wonderful care we know
Grace has been receiving, we recently
found out that there is a Christian couple in
Shanghai who have been volunteering with
Grace. We have been able to communicate
with them, and they've told us that they have
loved her like their own daughter and their
greatest prayer is that she would come to know
Jesus as her Lord and Savior! We've also
discovered that she is still at Shanghai Healing
Home and will be there until this
Sunday, the day before we get her!!! We are
still praying that Reed had someone in
his life loving him as well!
- We had desired to travel to Shanghai and see where
Grace has lived since 3 weeks of life, however it is an
11 hour train ride from where we will be, which would
require at least one extra day of travel and extra
expense. When we went to buy our tickets, it was
cheapest to fly through Shanghai on the way home,
AND we are arriving home one day earlier than is
typical!!! Not only will we get to meet Grace's full time
nanny and see where she has lived, we'll also meet the
couple who has been volunteering with her and loving
her!
- One of our biggest prayer requests was that God would
provide a GREAT plan for who to leave our kids with at
home. We have a wonderful Grandma who is a
tremendous blessing to us, but is watching our nieces
and nepews this summer. Our dear friend Liz Grove
was willing to help, but only available during a 3 week
period in July. Praise the Lord, God lined up our dates
to travel EXACTLY during Liz's availability. Grandmas is
sacrificing all of her free days as well, in addition to
many loving friends who will be offering relief to Liz!
- Lastly, we have been blessed with the most wonderful
family, friends, and church family! They have prayed for
us, encouraged us, generously blessed us with their time
and gifts, and sent countless texts, emails, phone calls,
etc. over the past few days. We've even had dearf
friends stop by bearing ice cream, pizza, cookies and all
sorts of other treats. These gals know me well!!!
 |
| One last famiy picture! Addie told me she wants us to only be gone ONE day NOT TWO! :-( Praying the time goes quickly! |
Boarding in 10 minutes so next time you hear from us will be in Beijing! Thank you for all of your prayers!
Saturday, July 5, 2014
The Lord Himself Goes Before You....
... and will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
This is one of the many verses I keep meditating on, as I've vollyed between truth and eating too much ice cream.
The past few months have been an exciting time as a family - we've had a lot of fun rearranging the house, staining toddler bunk beds, and traveling through the refiners fire. (Maybe not "fun" but worth every bit. :-))
The 4 yougest will all be in a room down the hall from Mom and Dad.
Travis built the girls' beds!
We (meaning Mommy :-)) also started packing. Everyone got a good laugh out of this, since it didn't even include our clothes (or gifts, diapers, - you get the idea.) This was where the ice cream came in....
We've taken advantage of Travis' new schedule and had the opportunity to do some fun things that may be harder to do over the next year - a road trip to El Paso, visits from family and friends, swimming lessons, Attending the CHEC conference with the kids, Visiting the Denver History Museum, and painting the front of our church building!
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| Getting our garden ready |
We've gotten updates on Reed and Grace and finally received our travel approval on June 19th - more quickly than expected! We were thrilled, as it worked out perfectly for the dates our dear friend Liz was available to stay with our little people at home.
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| Getting ready to head to the rodeo. |
Our itinerary is as follows..
July 9 - Depart Denver
July 10 - Arrive in Beijing around 10:00pm
July 11 - Tour Beijing
July 12 - Go to the Great Wall
July 13 - Take bullet train to Zhengzhou
July 14 - Get Reed and Grace!
July 15 - Reed and Grace become Polks!!! Travel 2.5 hours to Pingdingshan to Grace's home city and orphanage to get passport and hopefully see where she was found.
July 16 - Go to Zhengzhou Social Welfare Institute (Reed's orphanage), get passport and hopefully see his finding place.
July 17 - Travel 2.5 hours to Maria's Big House of Hope (Steven Curtis Chapman's Ministry) where Reed lived for a time and had surgeries done.
July 18 - Paperwork day
July 19 - Fly to Guangzhou
July 20 - Free Day (I think!)
July 21 - Medical Exams and Visa Photos
July 22 - Free
July 23 - US Consulate Appointment
July 24 - Receive Visa's and fly to Shanghai
July 25 - Visit Shanghai Healing Home and Depart for OUR HOME!!!
Thursday, February 6, 2014
God is Good!
We had another neat encounter with the Lord today. :-) As much as we are looking forward to traveling to pick up our little peanuts, there are a few details that are a bit tricky. One is that Travis is in school, and this summer will most likely be one of his more difficult semesters (pharmacology). He only goes to school on Thursdays, and as we've looked at the "typical" trip, it looks like we'll be gone just over two weeks, but missing three Thursdays which equals three full days of class. We committed to praying that God would somehow work out this minor detail, as he is on a three year track with a set group of people that take all their classes together. In other words, there is no opportunity to take the class later.
Today at school, they had a meeting regarding the upcoming summer semester. As it turns out, for the first two weeks (in May) they will be meeting for two days each week. After that (when we should be traveling) the rest of the class will ALL be ONLINE!!!! Only God could orchestrate something like that. :-)
In other news, we celebrated Caleb and Mason's birthdays at the end of January and told them that they are going to get to travel with us to China. They are thrilled! We gave them each a new camera and a backpack with some snacks, a travel bible, hand sanitizer, and a book for the plane.
We also settled on names! Reed Daniel Hao and Grace Katherine Mei.
Reed means "blessed", which we are praying that God will bless his little life, Daniel is after Daniel in the Bible (and all of our boys are named after a great man in the Bible), and Hao is his current Chinese middle name. It means "precious". :-)
This adoption journey and our adoption into God's family is all a result of His grace, and so Grace seemed like the perfect name for our little girl. Katherine is my middle name, and Mei means "beautiful"; Mei Mei is little sister. Mae happens to be my Grandmother's (also a Laura) middle name.
We had a great time last week putting together care packages for them, and we had to prayerfully consider what to send! They had to fit into a shoebox sized box and could not weigh more than 4 pounds.
I wound up making little tabby blankets that my friend Heather taught me how to do, and we sprayed each with my perfume and Travis' cologne. We also made little photo albums of our family and included a picture of our house. Our agency had sent us the chinese characters for "Mama" "Dada" "Big Brother" and so on.
We put in a disposable camera for each, candies for the nannies, a little alligator for Reed, and a little Asian blanket doll for Grace that I had picked up on clearance months ago at Kohls. We also sprayed both of those with our perfume and cologne! We had one recordable story book I had gotten at a garage sale brand new (thanks Sam Alvarado!) that we recorded for Grace. Because of the facility she is in, we are quite confident that it will be played for her. We considered buying one for Reed, but they are quite pricy and we weren't sure he would ever see it. Instead we sent a little hanging giraffe, with the hopes that someone will hang it on his crib.
Off to China they went on Monday, and we were told it would take about two weeks for them to arrive. Praying they make it into our little ones precious hands quickly!
Today at school, they had a meeting regarding the upcoming summer semester. As it turns out, for the first two weeks (in May) they will be meeting for two days each week. After that (when we should be traveling) the rest of the class will ALL be ONLINE!!!! Only God could orchestrate something like that. :-)
These two are the same age for 5 days each year
and they love it!!
and they love it!!
In other news, we celebrated Caleb and Mason's birthdays at the end of January and told them that they are going to get to travel with us to China. They are thrilled! We gave them each a new camera and a backpack with some snacks, a travel bible, hand sanitizer, and a book for the plane.
With their "boarding passes" :-)
We also settled on names! Reed Daniel Hao and Grace Katherine Mei.
Reed means "blessed", which we are praying that God will bless his little life, Daniel is after Daniel in the Bible (and all of our boys are named after a great man in the Bible), and Hao is his current Chinese middle name. It means "precious". :-)
This adoption journey and our adoption into God's family is all a result of His grace, and so Grace seemed like the perfect name for our little girl. Katherine is my middle name, and Mei means "beautiful"; Mei Mei is little sister. Mae happens to be my Grandmother's (also a Laura) middle name.
Packing up the boxes together!
We had a great time last week putting together care packages for them, and we had to prayerfully consider what to send! They had to fit into a shoebox sized box and could not weigh more than 4 pounds.
I wound up making little tabby blankets that my friend Heather taught me how to do, and we sprayed each with my perfume and Travis' cologne. We also made little photo albums of our family and included a picture of our house. Our agency had sent us the chinese characters for "Mama" "Dada" "Big Brother" and so on.
We put in a disposable camera for each, candies for the nannies, a little alligator for Reed, and a little Asian blanket doll for Grace that I had picked up on clearance months ago at Kohls. We also sprayed both of those with our perfume and cologne! We had one recordable story book I had gotten at a garage sale brand new (thanks Sam Alvarado!) that we recorded for Grace. Because of the facility she is in, we are quite confident that it will be played for her. We considered buying one for Reed, but they are quite pricy and we weren't sure he would ever see it. Instead we sent a little hanging giraffe, with the hopes that someone will hang it on his crib.
Off to China they went on Monday, and we were told it would take about two weeks for them to arrive. Praying they make it into our little ones precious hands quickly!
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