Video is working and a quick update

The video is working now.  Go back down and look in the post from a few days ago.

We are making progress in all of our travel arrangements.  We got our travel itinerary from our adoption agency yesterday and can see so many things coming together.  We weren't sure what type of room we would be in in Guangzhou (that's where we'll stay for the 2nd week of our trip) but we knew we were staying at the Garden Hotel.  Today we found out that we'll be in a room that is like a small suite which is awesome.  The real suites were much more expensive.  We also didn't know if all 6 of us would be allowed to stay in a single room but we were.  Not sure yet if we'll have 2 double beds or 1 king.  We're taking egg crates for the children to sleep on and may be ordering some air mattresses.  This is truly an adventure! 

We've worked out most of the food concerns.  Some of you don't know but my girls have to eat gluten free due to Celiac Disease.  We have a suitcase full of gluten free food and I have printed off a card in Chinese that will help explain at least to our 2 different hotels what our concerns are.  Thanks to a sweet friend from our homeschool co-op I think we've at least got some safe things for them to eat. 

Our agency thinks that Jake is still with his foster family.  This is a huge praise.  Oftentimes the orphanage will move the children from the foster home back to the orphanage because they think that's better for them.  I sent a letter 3-4 weeks ago requesting that he remain with his foster mom and dad because Jeff and I think one transition is better than two.  It hurts my heart to think of how many caregivers he's already had.  Please pray that he will have a special love for us right away...that God somehow miraculously would calm his sweet spirit and speak to his heart and let him know that it's okay that he trust us. 

I could bore you with the details of travel because they are so incredibly interesting to me and help me to feel one step closer to my baby boy, but I won't.  Or maybe I will.  Let me think.  What else exciting have I learned today?  We will actually get to do some touring in Jake's province (Nanning) and in Guangzhou.  But much of that depends on how Jake is.  He will be our first concern.  We will have 3 days in province before we get Jake.  We learned that we will be united with Jake on Monday, June 24th.  We will then complete the adoption the following day at the civil affairs office it looks like.  We will then hang out in his province until Friday when we leave to go to Guangzhou.  I could go on and on but I'd better do some other things.

To any of my DTC Winter Friends:

Bought my sparkly silver ribbons today!! 

I tell you, I'm not a good blogger.  I don't just automatically think about blogging.  It's just not yet natural.  I wouldn't have thought of it tonight if I hadn't been thinking about my new little guy.  I was just looking at another mom's site and thinking about how close we are.  Tomorrow will make just a week til we fly out of RDU!  It's hard to believe that in less than 2 weeks we'll be united with our little guy.  I can't wait to see who he is, what he likes, what he dislikes.  I just want to learn all about him and hold him.  I am praying for his little heart.  I pray that just a sense of peace and calm will come over him and that he'll know, somehow, that this is all good and that there's a God who loves him so much.  There's times that I think "how did God do this?  How did he meld two hearts on opposite sides of the world together?"  It's amazing to me that He's always known, before I ever thought about Jake, that the day would come where we would be mother and son.  I am in awe of God's hand in our lives.  It's way beyond my comprehension how He weaves things together in our lives and makes this beautiful tapestry.  Sometimes, actually for me it seems like most of the time, we can't really see what He's doing.  But then the day comes where we can look back and see what He was up to.  I must believe that because He is allowing our adoption to move forward that He has brought all of these things about.

{All that was written last night....see...I'm not a good blogger!)

This morning all the children were at camps which was really helpful.  I bought food for the girls to take on our trip (we need to eat gluten-free in China) and presents for officials and the sweet foster family.  I have been blessed by such good friends at our taekwondo program, through our homeschool co-op and church.  Several sweet ladies stepped in to do things for our tkd camp that I did last year.  I couldn't have done it this year.  My hands were full and they knew that.  What a blessing!  There are many around me who are so selfless.  I want to be selfless and yet I find myself dwelling on...guess who...myself!  We are so prone to wander.  Prone to leave the God we love.  For who?  Often for ourselves.  But the good news is that we don't have to live ashamed and that by His grace He made a way for us to live in fellowship with Him.  Oh the sweet, sweet blood of Jesus!!  He has taken my payment.  And His grace and forgiveness are enough.

Better keep this going....

Well, it's technically tomorrow (Sunday) and it's 12:30am.  And I have spent many nights like this...up late way after everyone else.  I have been preparing for the arrival of little Jake for a while, but mostly it's paperwork, keeping up with my China facebook friends on the latest things that I need to know and ways to pray for them all.  I know I need to change that because I'm constantly tired.  We got more done with our travel arrangements today.  Right now we're having to fight to get seats for us altogether for the long legs of our flights (Detroit to Hong Kong and back) which are 15 hours in duration.  I think we've worked out a way to get us altogether, but it involved some begging and pleading of sorts.  We keep being blessed by attendants who want to do their jobs right but who also really want to help us so they go the extra mile and check with supervisers, shift things around, etc.  Well, better run for now.  Cleaning up Jake's room which used to be our craft room.  Still doing some final sewing and then the sewing machine must go out.

We're going!!!

Well, I am just not a blogger apparently.  I thought back in March when I made my one entry, "well this was fun...I can do it again".  I think I even posted that I might do it each day.  But life has just been so, so busy.  I do see value though.  Especially given we're getting ready to travel and really want to be able to posts pictures, prayer requests, and updates.  We want others to join us in this journey because it seems bigger than us.  It is!!  It's a God-sized thing!  We want others to be encouraged to consider adoption or one of the many, many other ways that you can be a part of caring for the orphan. 

Just a quick update and then maybe I'll post later tonight..

We got our travel approval on Tuesday.  I just couldn't believe it.  We thought at the very earliest that we'd get it on Friday or early next week and so to get it this early was just unbelievable.  Actually the date on the TA was May 31, 2012 (just 1 week since pick up of Article 5).  All this means something to my China adoption friends.  You wait and wait and wait some more so you mark each wait and learn all the while to wait better.  I'm just not a good waiter.  I've gotten a lot of practice with this.  Many of you prayed and tracked with the medical challenges that we faced for a couple of years, and that was a lot of waiting and uncertainty.  This journey has been like that in the waiting aspect.  All of my sweet family knows this isn't my strong suit.  But God is faithful when we seek Him to help us to grow and like a good parent gives us what we need to be holy and not happy.  Honestly, can't always say I like it because I'm just like a little kid at heart sometimes, but I know it's for my good.

The first order of business after getting TA is to get a Consulate Appointment so we began liaising with our adoption agency Tuesday evening.  This turned out to be more of a task (and also a harder wait) than I had anticipated.  We probably are traveling at the worst time possible humanly speaking....but also at the best because it seems to be God's perfect timing for us.  We can see His hand all throughout this adoption.  I wish I had logged in all the many, many times that He has heard and answered prayers.  Okay, back to the travel.  Turns out it's the high season in terms of travel to China, the dragon boat festival and the US Consulate is closed on July 4th.  Without boring you with the details, all three of these things made it difficult to get any seats on planes and so finding good deals was really not an option.  But where we saw obstacles, God has opened doors.  We had some sweet friends step up and transfer points towards one airfare and even some new friends donate points for our hotel.  What a blessing!

We, of course, are beyond excited to be united with Jake.  We already love him so much.  Please pray for him.  Pray that he will grieve as he needs to (he's leaving everything he's ever known) but that he won't grieve without hope and that God will give him peace and comfort and surround him with His love when he is grieving.  Pray for safe travel for us.  Not everyone knows this, but I used to travel for my work all over the country and some internationally.  I never really feared flying too much.  But as I got older I started to become afraid.  Help me to rest in the Lord and to remember that perfect love (such as comes from the Father) casts out fear.  Well, better run.  Many more things I want to share, but hopefully I will find some time to do that tonight.  Please overlook any blogging faux paus I may be making....I really don't know what I'm doing.  But I'm just trusting.  Seems to be the theme of my life these days.  Oh Lord, grant me all that I need!

We got new pics, video, measurements

We received a batch of pictures on 5-21-12 and were thrilled beyond measure.  We had been requesting an update since early February just to see if Jake was able to walk, talk, if he had grown, how he was doing and had resolved that we just weren't going to know until we went to China.  So you can imagine how thrilled we were when we got a whole batch of pictures, 6 video clips, and new measurements.  So, so thrilled.  In this video he is looking at a care package that we sent him.  He is looking at pictures of us, our cats, and dog.  His foster "baba" (dad) is showing