One More Week

One week from today we will be on our way to China!  It's kind of strange, since last time we left 6 days after TA, but we're not as rushed this way, and probably much less stressed.  We have booked all flights, both across the ocean and in China.  Hotels are booked, in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.  Train tickets purchased, trip to House of Grace scheduled.  Every day we check more things off the to-do list.  

Please continue praying for us as we are in the last days of having our family as it is.  Pray for Samuel as he goes through his last days at House of Grace.  Pray for each of us, that God would continue preparing us for how our lives will be changed.  Pray that He would knit our hearts together as a family.  Thank you, friends.

AAC at the Denver Zoo!

Have I mentioned that we LOVE our adoption agency?  They have family events every couple of months, and it is so much fun to see old friends and meet new ones every time.  Today was the AAC family day at the Denver Zoo!

Brittany and Brad have a zoo pass, so they met us there.

AAC friends!  Cynthia and Emma, Caylie and me, Vickie and Maleah & Willow and their cousins.

 AAC Staff -  Nicole, me and Caylie, (Of course my eyes are closed, haha.) Christie, Alexa and Karen.

And more AAC friends!  We met Emily and Dave at our adoption training in the fall of 2012.  They brought their little Olivia home from Korea last year.  Regina from AAC is with Emily.

My friend Juleanne.  She has 3 beautiful China girls. 

Caylie and LiLi, Juleanne's daughter.  These girls are from the same orphanage in Fuzhou, Jiangxi.  They also were in kindergarten classes across the hall from each other this year.

I didn't take a lot of animal pictures, but the giraffes are my favorite.  :)

The last thing we did was take a ride on the carousel.  Last year we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs for the AAC event, and Caylie was TERRIFIED of the carousel.  (See this post!)  This time she started out the same, clinging tightly to the post with that look on her face.  Jim and I kept telling her how fun it would be, but she did not believe us!

However . . . as SOON as the ride started, she started whooping and yelling about how FUN it was!  Silly kid!  

It was a fun day.  :)

First Reservoir Day of the Year!

We used to get season passes to Aurora Reservoir every year, and we would spend hours out there a couple of times a week with friends.  But friends have moved away and kids have grown up, and we don't get out there as much as we used to, by far.  We got a pass in 2013 when we brought Caylie home, but last year we were too busy.  This year I'm thinking Samuel will enjoy going, so we got a pass again.  We went out for the first time on Tuesday.

I'm going to email these pictures to Samuel, so he can see where we'll be!

Cute baby Tessa.

Tessa and Brittany.

 Justin and Caylie building sand castles.

The water is still pretty cold for swimming, but they ventured out a little bit, because I told them I wanted a water picture for Samuel, haha.

We're Going to China!

Flights are booked!  We are headed to China on the 24th!  We got our Travel Approval on Monday the 8th, and our Consulate Appointment date the next day.  Flights were booked yesterday with the help of the fabulous Katie at Adoption Airfare.  And now we're working with our agency's in-China rep on hotels and in-country travel.  We're on our way!

We had planned to be leaving the first week of July, and Samuel had it written on his calendar that he would meet us in Guangzhou on July 6.  So it was very fun to celebrate with him last night the news that we will instead meet him in Guangzhou on June 29!  He is very excited, and so are we.  While we were Skyping, we showed him the room and bunkbed he will share with Justin.  He had a big grin on his face the whole time.

We will fly to Beijing on the 24th and spend a couple of days there visiting the Great Wall and other touristy sites.  Then we'll fly to Guangzhou on the 28th and meet Samuel the next day.  We've had fun talking to him about all the things we will do there.  He is especially happy to know that we can go swimming at the hotel every day!

Please pray for all of us as we get ready for this journey.  The adoption "process" is almost over and the real journey is about to begin.  Pray for Samuel's heart as he leaves everything he knows and comes to a place that is so different.  Pray for him as he becomes family with us, and grows to understand what it means to have parents and siblings.  Pray for our other children, that they would have much grace with their new brother, especially in the early days of newness, tiredness, and language issues.  And please pray for Jim and I, that we would stay attuned to God as He leads us in this new adventure.  Thank you, friends.

Memorial Day Fun at the Park

After our cookout on Memorial Day, most of us went to a nearby park.  It was sunny and warm, after three weeks of rain.  Lots of fun was had!

Tessa on the swings.

Caylie and Tessa. Yes, my 6-year-old fits in a toddler swing!

Caylie, Brittany and Tessa having slide races!

Keelan and one of his boards.

Sisters

Uncle Brandon and Daddy Brad with Tessa.  I'm sure they were paying complete attention.

Cute face girl!

Jim and Caylie

Brittany learning(?) to skateboard.

Jim and me

Caylie and Keelan.  She liked that little horse.

Sweet baby girl.

Wheeeee!  (A roller coaster??)

Hmm. . . 

Two Years

Two years ago today, this little girl was brought to us in a hotel in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.  She was scared and she was sad, but God has been healing her heart since that day.   She has learned to trust and to love.  She is beautiful and happy.  We love you, Caylie JiuChang.

  You can read about that day HERE! 

On another note, God is working in our current adoption, as well.  The website that I wrote about in my previous post is finally up and running again.  We are officially in the final stages of our wait to bring Samuel XuDi home!

Adoption Setback - Please Pray

We are at a standstill in our adoption process.  All the steps have gone as planned until now.  We are at the stage where we need to fill out an online form to apply for Samuel's immigrant visa.  This is called the DS 260.  However, the website - belonging to the U.S. Department of State - has not been working for the last nine days.

 Everyone who is at this stage in their adoption process is now being held up because of this.  People are writing their senators, contacting government agencies, and doing everything they can to get someone's attention, but still nothing is fixed.  It is completely unacceptable to me and soooo frustrating!

I just want to go get our boy!!  It makes me crazy to think that something so simple is keeping me from doing that!  I want to hug him and love on him and bring him into our family.  But I can't.  Not yet.

But the thing is, God knows.  He knows all that is at stake, not only in our adoption, but in so many others.  He knows the hearts of all involved, and He is working everything together for our good and for His glory.   Please pray with us that whoever is in charge of fixing this thing will know exactly what to do, and do it quickly.  Pray that this problem will be resolved and families can bring their children home.