I need 2!

2 days to go and I have so much to do- I need 2 of me! Reminder please do not try to call or text us in China unless it is an emergency - international calls are $2 a minute! You can iMessage me if you have an iPhone and if we are both on WiFi. 

Today is Rachel's 8th birthday - happy birthday Rachel! 

Pray 4 us !

4 days to go!

Here are some specific prayer requests for our trip to China.  

(Remember China is 12 hours ahead of us.)

8/29- Pray for a safe trip from Cleveland to Chicago to Beijing.  It is long plane ride. Pray that everyone does well and we get some sleep. Pray for good health and safety for all of us.

8/30- We arrive in Beijing very late at night China time.  Pray that we can get on China time and get over jet lag quickly.  Pray that we find our liason in China, Ms. Cai.

8/31- We have a 4 hour flight in China to our province Guizhou.  Pray for being able to find our guide Vickie and check into the hotel ok. Pray that no one gets sick in China and that our flight is not delayed.

9/1- We will meet Anna today.  She has about a 3 hour car ride to get to us.  Pray that she is ok and accepts us.  This will be the hardest day of her life.  We are asking her to leave her foster grandparents- the only family she as known.  Please pray for her to be comforted.

9/2- We do the adoption paperwork today. Pray that things go smoothly with the officials and that we get her passport promptly. Pray for the language barrier.

9/3- 9/5- We will have Anna at the hotel for a few days .  Pray that she begins to bond with us.  We are in a province with very few English- speaking people and hardly any Westerners come here. Pray that we can communicate with her.

9/6- We travel to Guangzhou. Pray for the plane ride- it is probably Anna's first plane ride. Pray that we find our guide Lucia and check in ok at the hotel.

9/7- Anna has a medical exam today to clear her to come to the US.  Pray that she does well and every test is negative!

9/8-9/9-  We have a couple of free days.  Pray that Anna is adjusting to us and that we are adjusting to her.  Pray that we are enjoying our time as a family of four. Pray for good health and good communication.

9/10- We have an appointment today at the US Consulate.  Pray that everything goes smoothly with our paperwork. Pray that we get our Visa promptly tomorrow so that we can leave.

9/11- Our last full day in China.  Pray that everyone sleeps well. We will drive to Hong Kong tonight. Pray for safety driving. Pray that we don't have any typhoon warnings!

9/12- We return to US today from Hong Kong via Tokyo.  Pray for good weather and no missed connections to Chicago and Cleveland.  Pray that we clear customs and immigration in Chicago quickly.

9/13- We will be home in Ohio.  Pray that everyone is adjusting well to the new family dynamic. Pray that no one is sick and that our house is ok.

9/16- Lee goes back to work. Rachel goes back to school. Jan will be home with Anna.  Pray that everyone transitions well.

It may take a few days for Anna to adjust to her new surroundings. We may have to limit visitors for a short time depending on how she is adjusting. Thank you for understanding. We won't turn down any meals though - the cupboard will be bare! 😊

Number 5!

5 days to go! Uh-huh! I really need to start packing! I have to work 3 of those days so I don't have a lot of free time. 

Today is my birthday! But I am at work. Later we are going to the Aeros game. 

8 is Great!

My dear little Rachel turns 8 next week right before we leave for China. We are leaving in 8 days! She is going to miss 2 weeks of school. Lee is taking 2 weeks of vacation time and I am taking a personal leave. Because I had minor foot surgery last month I pretty much used up all my paid time off except for a few days.  However we got some good news this week - I can't really say what it is at this time, but trust me - I'll fill you in later.

Been checking the China news channel on our cable and there was a massive land slide in Guangzhou that closed the train station and stranded thousands of people in Guangzhou- yikes! There has been bad flooding in China. There was also a volcano eruption in Japan- we are flying home through Tokyo. I hear the Narita airport had high-tech toilets - we shall see!

10 days to go!

School starts in one week and we are going to China in 10 days! And we still don't have our visas yet.  The courier assured me they would be issued tomorrow and then he will FedEx them to us. Other than that we are buying stuff for the trip and planning what to pack.

Over the weekend we celebrated Jan and Rachel's birthdays.  Our birthdays kind of get over-shadowed every year because of the start of school so we celebrate a little early.  Rachel is going into 2nd grade a she is not too happy because her friend is in the other class this year.  I'm sure it will all work out.

About Our Family

Welcome to our blog.  Our family is Mom- Jan, Dad- Lee, and Rachel age 7.  We adopted Rachel at age 17 months from Korea. Last year we decided we wanted to adopt again from China.  We decided we wanted to bring home one of the 2,000 special needs children in China who wait for a forever family.

The Silk Road was an ancient historical trade route that linked the East (Asia) with the West (Europe).

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress."  James 1:27