Deep Thoughts ( ;

Four more days to take-off! Tomorrow I can finally start packing (I've been trying to hold off). Today our church had a dear friend, Samson, pray for us during the service. And at least four different sets of people we ran into at WalMart tonight (gotta love small towns) assured us they would be praying for us. That means so much to us as we are heading off into the unknown (both culturally and with Josie). Samson "gave" us the following Bible verse from Deuteronomy 31:8, "The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you" and it follows, "He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Just the night before I told Chris I sure hope God is not leading us into a huge challenge; so I needed the reminder. We also discussed that if our plane were to go down (not that we are living in fear of that), we wouldn't be mortified of dying. We know where we are going. But we would have a terrible time thinking of Chloe and Michael growing up with that history. Chris decided this must mean he is a dad-to be concerned not for himself but for his daughters and son. So it is good to know our friends and family are praying for us. We are excited to go and also VERY curious as to who our little daughter is-what she's like, what makes her smile, how overwhelmed she will be, how receptive to us, how soon she can be potty trained (just kidding). Chloe practically beams when you ask her about Josie. Michael usually reminds us we are getting a little brother next.

Also, here is a link a mom sent out who had taken video footage of the Nanjing social welfare institute (orphanage) where Josie lives. Josie is not in the videos, but it shows the play rooms, some of the other children, and even a bowl of food (any guesses?). http://s89.photobuc ket.com/albums/ k239/AmyHeymann/ nanjing%20videos / All of the children have been found by their forever families and are just waiting. If you are interested in finding your own, just let me know and I'll give you CCAI's waiting child contact person. There are lots of 9-12 year olds who are running out of time and there are four boys on our agency's waiting list right now that no family has claimed.

Please Pray!

Here are the things I find myself having anxiety over and trying to "take captive." I'd sure love it if you would pray. Some of them are quite silly, but I usually don't hold back about myself with friends, even the silly things, so I'll let my blog reflect me.

*We leave town at 3 am. In my worst moments, I worry we won't leave on time and will miss the plane (and loose a substantial amount of money!).
*I'm getting my hair chopped off Thursday. See, I told you there were some trivial things on this prayer list! I would like to not have to dry long hair in China and not have to untangle it here. But I'd still like it to look nice ( : (Update: here's the pict. just for Leigh Anne! I had just enough hair to donate to Locks of Love!)*We need to pack our things and Josie's in two bags and they need to be less than 40# each. That may be plenty, I just haven't ever packed with a weight limit and don't want to panic at the last minute when I weigh my bag at 60#!
*We want to be a blessing to our travel companions. Please pray we will be good sports, willing to serve, and good listeners!
*Of course, our main concern is with Josie. Please pray for her attachment to us, our ability to anticipate and respond to her needs, and for our adjustment as well. We really don't know what physical or emotional condition she will be in.
*Lastly, pray for our health. Okay, maybe not lastly. I mean, would I rather be sick in China with a cute haircut or healthy with a bad haircut? ( :

Why China?

Most of us have heard about China's one child policy. Some know that China relies on their sons for support for the elderly since there is no "retirement" (son = social security; daughter = nothing). Others understand the worth of women in Asia is nowhere near the Christian view of the "crowning creation." But why did we choose China? If you want a glimpse of our heart, you may click on this link. But be warned, it is a NPR news story and is graphic. http://www.npr. org/templates/ story/story. php?storyId= 9766870

Pediatricians and Bunk Beds

First, I'd just like to say we have the greatest pediatrician! I was impressed back when we adopted Chloe and she caught that some blood work had been done before a blood transfusion and wanted to know if we wanted to re-do the blood work to make sure everything was still negative. I'd missed it, and I'd read the medical chart at least twice.

This time I called to see if she thought we'd need antibiotics (a lot of the children have ear infections or bronchitis) and she not only gave us samples (our insurance would not have covered a prescription until after the official adoption), she included dosages and samples of other OTC medicines we may need. She also included a list of other recommended items and put it all on a prescription pad so we won't have difficulty getting it into China. And to top it off, she gave us the Rx in powder so it will be lighter, and gave the yummy stuff so we won't have to fight Josie to take it if she does need it. What a blessing!

Secondly, we had a productive weekend! Despite all the activity surrounding our church's pastoral candidate visit, Chris set up the bunk bed for the girls and we re-arranged the furniture in Michael and Chloe's room and brought out the clothes for Josie (even though we don't know which size she'll be). We just have a little bit more baby-proofing to do!

Tentative Schedule

May 3rd Leave for China.
May 4th Arrive in Beijing, China.
May 5-6 Tour Beijing, adjust to time change.
May 7th Fly to Nanjing, China.
May 8th Receive Josie.
May 9th Register the adoption.
May 10th Tour and meetings.
May 11th Receive Josie's passport.
May 12th Fly to Guangzhou, China.
May 13th Tour Guangzhou.
May 14th Josie's physical exam and visa photo.
May 15th Meetings.
May 16th Consulate appointment (package delivered).
May 17th Oath at consulate and receive Visa.
May 18-19 Return home!

Trial Run

While we are in China, Kim E. will be receiving an e-mail from us which she will post on this blog. So, thank you, Kim, for your willingness to do this for us! This post and Easter photo are our trial run. The picture is Chris' family. All three sets of Grandpa and Grandma's children are expecting this year! So far we know two are girls!

Another Family Took a Picture!

I belong to an e-mail group of families who've adopted from Chloe's orphanage, so I quickly found one from Josie's orphanage as well. These groups do much to fill in the gaps of what is known about those first months or years our children were waiting to be placed in their families. I was happy to have one mother volunteer to take pictures when she visited the orphanage during her adoption process. Around 20 of us sent her our baby's name and date of birth. This is the picture her husband took of Josie. We think she looks sad and it makes us want to get her in our arms as quickly as possible. This mom said the babies were quite overwhelmed to have someone rush into their room and want them to pose for a camera; several were crying in their photos.

Tickets: Check.

Yeah!!! We have purchased our tickets! It is so good to have that part done. We will be flying out of a near-by city on May 3rd, early in the morning. We will arrive in Beijing at 3 pm on May 4th. We have just a tiny three-hour layover in Chicago. Yeah! Then we will leave China via Hong Kong (which is much closer to our final destination than Beijing would be) at 1pm on 5/18 and arrive back at our near-by city at 10pm the same day. I don't expect anyone will want to be there to welcome us at that hour! But we'll just have a couple more hours to get home. Amazing, huh? Who would have thought you could travel 1/2 way around the world in just 9 hours? Okay, so a 13 hour time change does make a difference. We'll actually be travelling with Josie for around 25 hours, depending on when we leave Guanghzou.

We "met" another family through the CCAI waiting child listserve and they are traveling from Chicago to Beijing and then Hong Kong to Chicago with us! They will be one of the four families in our group traveling to Nanjing to adopt a waiting child. One more month!

Time to Book Tickets!

CCAI called this morning. We are to be in Beijing no later than May 5th and will leave China with Josie An on May 18th! Our consulate appointment (on which the whole schedule hangs) is on the 16th. We will stay in Beijing a couple of days to recover from jet lag and get used to the 13 hour time difference. Then our group of four families, all adopting from the waiting child program, will fly to Nanjing where we will meet our children! Today or tomorrow we need to book our flights! I have e-mailed a travel agent who works with adopting families and am hoping to be able to use her. The travel agencies CCAI recommends are usually over-priced. Our other option is to call the airline directly. It is a bit tricky since we have two over and three on the way home. Also, it would be better for us to arrive in Beijing and leave via Hong Kong! Please pray for wisdom for me as I ask questions and decide what to do. Please also pray for good rates. Thank you!