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Home
•
Itinerary
• Day
1
Leaving!
• Days
2-4
A 15-hour MRI and the Glass Wall Hong Kong Bathroom!
• Day
5
Refusing squat potties
• Days
6-7
Whoops, the trunk won't close
• Days
8-9
"Hip, Hip, HUBEI! Only 1 more day!"
• Day
10
GOTCHA!
• Days
11-12
Behind the Hokies
• Days
13-14
A visit to Elizabeth's finding spot, and the path her birth mother
took that day...
• Days
15-16
The 'Finding Ad' and leaving her Province
• Days
17-18
Ni Hao from Guangzhou!
• Days
19-20
Last days in her homeland through a little girl's eyes
• Days
21-22
I'm Coming Home
• Day
23
We have arrived!!!!!!
•
John
Meets Elizabeth
•
First Month as
a Family of 4
•
Special Update
•
The past 1.5
years
•
Happy Birthday
Elizabeth! |
O C T O
B E R 1 6
Hello
from 38,000 feet! We are currently somewhere
over the mid west United States, (Hello Scott cousins
in Bettendorf Iowa). After a 'polite' strip search by
security for Dave leaving Tri-Cities, we were on our
way. Our connections so far have gone well and when we
boarded our flight to L.A. we casually asked the
gentleman seated next to us where he was headed. He in
turn asked us.. and of course, we were eager to
explain about our pending adoption from China. You
won't believe this, he said humm, staying at the
White Swan by any chance?, yep, he had just returned
last year from a China adoption. Out came the pictures
of his adorable little girl. They used America World
and for the next while there we sat on the plane
talking to a total stranger who had recently completed
the process we were about to embark on. One more small
tap on the shoulder from above that He is with us. In
further conversation, we learned he happened to be an
Executive Vice President of Fox Sports. To bad Susan
was seated next to him, Dave would have appreciated
this a bit more :).
We will arrive in L.A. in a few more hours and check
into a hotel for the evening. Tomorrow is the killer
flight. We leave L.A. at 11:59 pm and if I recall, it
is almost 16 hours. We will then have a 3+ hour
layover in Guangzhou China before another short flight
to Hong Kong.
Thanks to our family and friends who surprised us by
being at the airport this evening! Mom, thank you so
very much for being such a help to us. A big thank you
to Dave's sister Gail and husband Jerry for taking
care of John while we are away. John is looking
forward to all the fun and exciting times ahead in Willamsburg (especially Busch Gardens!) Jerry, ask
John about his daddy riding the Apple Turnover!
We can't leave the U.S. without mentioning that our
entire adoption journey started long before we were
even aware it had started. Years ago, 2 Moms from two
separate families we had never met sat on their
living room floor wading through their own mountains
of paperwork and helping each other figure out how to
get through one of the most difficult bureaucratic
processes known to mankind. There were very few
internet adoption groups at that time, no support
groups, no assisted storks, etc etc... These 2 Mothers
formed a close friendship during the process, and when
they brought their own girls home from China, they
remained in contact and found the friendship growing
ever so strong. Gradually, a few more families
interested in China adoption heard about the 2 Moms
with the Chinese girls and a small group began to meet
semi regularly in an effort to help families new to
the process, and let the children that had already
come home from China bond with one another and see
that there were other families that were just like
their family. Today, the group that started with just
2 families has now grown to one of the largest China
adoption groups in a tri state area. Salute to Angela
Blevins and Linda McKee!
We first heard about the group now known as China
Angels in the early part of 2002. (Thanks
Delinda...) Thinking it would be 'informational' Dave
and I decided to attend one of the monthly meetings.
We enjoyed the company of the families so much began
to see how there was more than one way to build our
family. We watched as family after family prepared
their paperwork, received their Log in Date with the
Chinese Government, and finally receiving their
referral. As these families began returning one by one
from China, we were watching to see how things 'turned
out for them'. Each time, the tug became stronger and
stronger in our heart that this is what we needed to
do.
Just as we were about to send in our application in 2003, we found
out Susan was pregnant! Needless to say, we were ecstatic about
the news. Sadly however, in the fall of 2003, we lost the baby.
Several months later, continuing to see these dear families
retuning home from China with their new daughters, and so far so
good with adjustments, bonding, etc... (we were quite the
note-takers ;), we finally submitted our application. Even then,
we were thinking, hey, if we feel like this isn't what we should
be doing, then we can just consider our application fee as a
'donation' to the Chinese orphan cause. One step after the other,
Dave and I would look at each other and ask, "wanna
keep on going? ...and our answer was always the same.
Oddly enough the deeper we became in the process, the
more we knew this was the direction God had for our
lives. We can't say it was a lightening bolt from the
beginning, but rather in our case was a long process
leading up to this point. So here we sit on our plane
to China and marvel at the handiwork and intricate
plan, unknown to us, but woven by the hands of an
awesome God. |
Packing
light??
Just before
boarding (thanks for the pic Joel)
Goodbye
View of home as
our plane took off
The first leg (of
many)
Our room in L.A. |
