Thursday, May 5, 2011
WE MADE IT!!!!!

Ni' Hao from China!!!

What a long and exhausting day......we've been up for 27 hours! We are exhausted, but wanted to give a quick update to let everyone know we arrived safely. Our flight was pleasant and really LONG....13 hours! We met another adoptive family that was on our plane. They are with a different agency and are bringing home a 5 yr. old litte girl. We hope to see them along the way, even though they are staying in a different hotel, some of our itinerary is the same. After the flight we went through customs and them walked through a sea of Chinese people, some holding signs and others waiting for loved ones. We found the sign that read BETHANY and met up with our guide Joy. She is a sweet girl who will be helping us the next couple of days. When we met up with Joy she mentioned that there was another family from Bethany on our flight and we were to wait for them. Dan & Wendy found the BETHANY sign and off we went to our hotel. This family is super sweet. They brought their 2 children along who are in high school and middle school. They too, are adopting a 5 year old little girl. It is so exciting to share this crazy journey with others who truly understand all the emotions you are going through. When we arrived at the hotel we got checked in and then met Joy back in the lobby so that we could walk to a grocery store to get some bottled water. That's when we met Audrey, another adoptive momma, who is bringing home a 10 yr. old to add to her 4 other kiddos! We journeyed to the store and got what we needed. That was an experience!!! Joy recommended that we not take pictures. I'll try to get some at another store so you can share in the experience, but I can't relay the smells!!!

We are exhausted and I keep nodding off as I write this. We are heading to bed and are so grateful that we have a few days to get our bearings here before meeting Emma Claire. The next couple days will be spent taking in the culture. We are very much looking forward to learning more about our Emma's culture!

Love to you all! Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers! We can feel your love and prayers on the other side of the world! God is SO good to us!!! We love you Avarie, Evan & Ella!!! Have fun with Grandpa and Grandma!!! xoxo Good night!