We are here

Hi everyone,

We made it Hong Kong safe and sound. We spent 14 hours in one plane, 3 hours in the Tokyo airport and 4 1/2 hours in another plane from Tokyo to Hong Kong.....whew what a ride. We were so happy to be in a real bed with real pillows and real blankets.

We have had a little trouble getting online so I will make this short.

We tour the city today and then head out for Nanchang tomorrow. Tomorrow is "gotcha day" as some like to call it. We will get further details later today but we should have Faith in our arms by sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening.

Take care and thanks for your prayers,

Janet

Ready, Set, Go........

Wow, it's finally here, the day we leave our home for China. We have to hit several different stops before we get there but it seems as if we have waiting for this day forever.

Some of you have been with us E V E R Y step of the way, others of you don't have any idea what I mean by a long wait.

In the Spring of 2005 we began the paperwork for our second daughter from China. At that time people were only waiting about 6 months. Joylin was not even 2 yet and she had been home only a year. I thought by the time we got home with Mei Mei (little sister in Chinese) she would be about 3 and home for 2 years. We had a summer paperwork set back and I started in earnest in August. Three hurricanes came through South Florida in the Fall and retarded our progress because of power outages (our social worker worked from the public library for several weeks) and evacuations.

Our paperwork finally found it's way to China in Feb, Feb 15, 2006 to be exact. This is the date that would be one of the most important dates in our family's history. This is the date by which all things are decided in China adoptions. This is the date you tell everyone who asks when you are going, this is the date that your agency asks to look at your status, this is the date you use when deciding to join a Yahoo group to share your wait experience with other families. I was hoping to have a LID in December of 2005, oh well what would 2 months make? The wait time was slowing down a little but 6 months was so fast I didn't mind waiting a little longer. We waited for Joylin for 9 months.

While we were waiting, we decided to name our baby Faith. Faith is such an important element in our lives....faith in the Lord who sustains us each day, faith to have the ability to adequately parent a 4h child, faith that the Lord will place the perfect child for our family. We didn't realize it at the time but we would really need faith to wait, and wait, and wait. We don't know exactly why but the wait time came to a screeching halt. We ended up waiting almost 3 years to see our daughter's precious face.

The timing turned out to be perfect (was there any doubt?... well yes there was). We have moved twice, the first 100s of miles away from our home in the Keys, the second just down the street. We built a house and have been in it for several months now. We have friends, a great church and a good support system. What we only had faith for a few years ago has now become a reality. We are bringing our little Faith to a home that we love and a family that will love her.

I hope you can follow along and take this trip with us. We plan to post pictures often. Sometimes people experience techno issues while in China; therefore, I have changed the settings so I can read your comments through my email. If you don't see your comment it is because I have it set up to screen it, as soon as I read my email your comment will show up.

Take care everyone!

And away we go.......

Janet

We're going to China!!!!!

We just got word that we are expected in Hong Kong by the 31st of October. This means that we need to leave Atlanta on the 30th. Depending on our flight schedule we will probably leave home on Wednesday the 29th and spend the night there.

We are so much closer to holding our baby in our arms. Lord willing we will see her face for the first time on Sunday 2nd of November.

Hang on Faithee, here we come!!!

TAs are in!

We received an email yesterday letting us know that we have been approved to visit China. This means that we are one step closer to seeing our daughter's face for the first time. We hope to be traveling on Oct 30th but could go as late as Nov 6th. We should know exact dates by Mon or Tues. If we leave the 30th we have less than two weeks. I am pretty close to having everything we need but a baby carrier. I need to try a few out and purchase.

I am getting so excited but I have been realizing lately how much I am going to miss the kids.

more precious drawings

These are the drawings done by the kids after they saw Faith for the first time. Joylin was having trouble with drawing a picture of Faith so she opted to draw one of her with Faith. I hope this is the way it will always be. Jake is 12, Noah just turned 9 and Joylin is 5.

precious drawings

These are the pictures the boys drew just after we saw Joylin's picture for the first time.

Jake was 7 and Noah was 5.

Joylin's referral picture

I was given permission by Joylin to post her referral picture. We got her picture in March of 2004. This picture is of her at 5 months old. When we first held her in our arms she was 10 months. The height and weight for her was not updated so we had a time trying to figure out how much she would weigh. She is 5 now and a beauty!

Joylin's referral picture at 5 months

Good News!

We got an email from our agency informing us that the formula that Faith has been taking is not the tainted the formula that has been in the news lately. Thank the Lord! That was a great concern for us as we heard about all the sick babies a few weeks ago.

We are in the midst of compiling, notarizing and sending papers all over the world. I don't remember it being this hecitc after we got the call last time. Our group travel call is Wed morning. We won't know the date of travel at that time but we will get all the particulars about our travel to China.

I told Tim a few weeks ago that our life of leisure with 3 kids and 3 dogs was about to change. The dogs are a little too cocky, they need to be out numbered. We are so ready to have our precious daughter home with us. Even though we don't know her yet we miss her.

Janet

New photos

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your great comments. I'm not sure I've said this before but we are 'very' excited.

Here are the new pictures from our agency. We got the photos, medical information, and some information about daily life. We are expecting another package in a couple of weeks that is supposed to have even more details about our precious girl.

Some of the items of note: she sucks her clothes or fingers at night, she eats very well, she is a moderate sleeper and tends to be restless, she is attached to her caregiver, likes to play with other children, and can be obstinate. She sounds as if she will fit in with our family just fine. Did I mention that we are so excited?

I think the first photo you see is the same pose we posted originally but it's better aligned. The one in the car cracks me up. She looks so relaxed even though the steering wheel is broken. It doesn't seem to concern her one bit.

God is good,

Janet

Joylin just said......

"Mommy, she's so cute. While looking at Faith's picture. "I feel like I want her right now." Her words are exactly how I feel.

This afternoon we pick up the over nighted package with all her medical information and 2 additional pictures. I will try to put them on the site as soon as we get home.

Janet