My good friend and adoptive mom has told me on several occasions that Satan does not want this trip to happen, and we will see him trying to steal our joy.
This happened last night.
I started to get our travel documents together and went to get our passports and my daughter's was not there. I immediately began praying, and asking many of you to pray, that we would find it. After turning our office upside down for two hours, it was no where to be found.
I had my first panic attack of the packing process and broke down on the phone with David when he called to say he was on his way home. David, as always, was calm and assured me we would find it.
In his Super Dad form, he walked in the door and saved the day. As soon as he saw our printer, he remembered that he had scanned Alana's passport to send to our agency several weeks ago. Sure enough, he had left it in the scanner! Why didn't I think to look there?!
This incident just reminded me how much we covet your prayers throughout this whole process. I told a friend yesterday that I have never experienced this many emotions all at once...excitement, fear, joy, worry, etc. There are going to be highs and lows on our journey, but the end result will be worth it all!
I am posting our itinerary so that you know where we will be and how you can pray for us each day.
Wednesday, June 3rd:
First of all, can I just say how God's timing is perfect?! This happens to be our 15th wedding anniversary. I couldn't think of a better gift. David and I never would have dreamed 15 years ago that this is where we would be, and we can't thank God enough for this gift.
We leave today for Beijing. We will fly out of Chattanooga at 6:29 a.m. with a connecting flight out of Dallas. I called yesterday for an upgrade so that we could have more leg room on this 15 hour flight, but the cost was more than we were willing to pay. We are praying that the economy plus seats will still be available when we check in and we will get them for FREE instead.
Thursday, June 4th:
We arrive in Beijing at 2:15 p.m. Our guide will pick us up from the airport and we will check in to the hotel and begin our jet lag recovery. Beijing is 12 hours ahead of us.
Friday, June 5th:
Today will be a sightseeing day. We will visit the Great Wall, the Cloisonne Factory, and Bird's Nest (National Stadium). We are excited to get to experience Aiden's culture and take pictures for him to see in years to come.
Saturday, June 6th:
We will visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, explore the culture and folk arts of Beijing on the Hutong Tour, see an acrobatics show and rest somewhere in between all of that.
Sunday, June 7th:
Today is when the butterflies will kick in full force. We will leave Beijing and travel on the bullet train to Zhengzhou, the capital of Aiden's province, Henan. I am apprehensive about taking the train and making sure we get where we need to be. We will also have to carry all of our luggage with us. I am trying so hard to pack light for this reason, but I am not sure I am succeeding so far.
Monday, June 8th: Aiden Day! (a.k.a. Gotcha Day)
Today we meet our son! Please pray that God would be preparing him for the moment that he leaves everything he knows behind and travels several hours to meet us. My heart hurts for him and the grief and confusion he will experience on this day. As excited as we will be to finally hold him and love on him, we know it is going to be incredibly hard for him.
Tuesday, June 9th:
Today we will adopt Aiden, and he will finally be part of a family! We will travel to the city he has lived in for 2 1/2 years and apply for his passport. We are still unsure if we will get to visit his orphanage. Please pray that we are able to do this. We want to see where our son has spent his short life and see his friends and caregivers. We want to be able to share with him as he gets older as much as we can about his life in Nanyang.
Wednesday, June 10th:
Today we will go to Zijingshan Park and spend time getting to know Aiden. Please pray that we are able to meet his medical needs while in China. We feel we are prepared as we can be but know that the information we have about him may not be completely accurate. We have been blessed with an incredible doctor that will be performing his surgeries when we return. She has said that we can contact her anytime we have questions while in China.
Thursday, June 11th:
Today we will fly to Guangzhou. This will be Aiden's first time on a plane!
Friday, June 12th:
Aiden will receive his medical exam to clear him for travel to the U.S.
Saturday, June 13th:
Today we will rest and tour Guangzhou.
Sunday, June 14th:
We will visit Shamian Island and shop for items to give to Aiden for his upcoming birthdays.
Monday, June 15th:
Today is our Consulate Appointment where Aiden will be sworn in as a U.S. citizen! The visa he receives will make him an American citizen as soon as we touch ground in the U.S.
Tuesday, June 16th:
We will pick up Aiden's visa in the afternoon and then head to Hong Kong for an overnight stay before flying out the next day.
Wednesday, June 17th:
We begin our 24 hour journey home today. I am most anxious about this flight. Please pray that it will be uneventful and that Aiden will travel well. We will arrive in Chattanooga at 9:45 pm. and can't wait to see our family and friends!
We are leaving Avery and Asa behind with our friends and family. We know they will be in good hands and will be super spoiled when we return, but every time I think about leaving them, my heart hurts. They have photo books, gifts to open every day, videos for Asa of us reading his night time stories to him, and count down maps to help them see where we are each day as we are away. Please pray that the time will fly by for these two, and they will be ready to receive a new brother when we return.
Our prayer is that we will continue to allow the Lord to guide us through this process. It is hard to believe we are almost there! Thank you for walking with us through this journey!
"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." ~ Proverbs 16:9
This happened last night.
I started to get our travel documents together and went to get our passports and my daughter's was not there. I immediately began praying, and asking many of you to pray, that we would find it. After turning our office upside down for two hours, it was no where to be found.
I had my first panic attack of the packing process and broke down on the phone with David when he called to say he was on his way home. David, as always, was calm and assured me we would find it.
In his Super Dad form, he walked in the door and saved the day. As soon as he saw our printer, he remembered that he had scanned Alana's passport to send to our agency several weeks ago. Sure enough, he had left it in the scanner! Why didn't I think to look there?!
This incident just reminded me how much we covet your prayers throughout this whole process. I told a friend yesterday that I have never experienced this many emotions all at once...excitement, fear, joy, worry, etc. There are going to be highs and lows on our journey, but the end result will be worth it all!
I am posting our itinerary so that you know where we will be and how you can pray for us each day.
Wednesday, June 3rd:
First of all, can I just say how God's timing is perfect?! This happens to be our 15th wedding anniversary. I couldn't think of a better gift. David and I never would have dreamed 15 years ago that this is where we would be, and we can't thank God enough for this gift.
We leave today for Beijing. We will fly out of Chattanooga at 6:29 a.m. with a connecting flight out of Dallas. I called yesterday for an upgrade so that we could have more leg room on this 15 hour flight, but the cost was more than we were willing to pay. We are praying that the economy plus seats will still be available when we check in and we will get them for FREE instead.
Thursday, June 4th:
We arrive in Beijing at 2:15 p.m. Our guide will pick us up from the airport and we will check in to the hotel and begin our jet lag recovery. Beijing is 12 hours ahead of us.
Friday, June 5th:
Today will be a sightseeing day. We will visit the Great Wall, the Cloisonne Factory, and Bird's Nest (National Stadium). We are excited to get to experience Aiden's culture and take pictures for him to see in years to come.
Saturday, June 6th:
We will visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, explore the culture and folk arts of Beijing on the Hutong Tour, see an acrobatics show and rest somewhere in between all of that.
Sunday, June 7th:
Today is when the butterflies will kick in full force. We will leave Beijing and travel on the bullet train to Zhengzhou, the capital of Aiden's province, Henan. I am apprehensive about taking the train and making sure we get where we need to be. We will also have to carry all of our luggage with us. I am trying so hard to pack light for this reason, but I am not sure I am succeeding so far.
Monday, June 8th: Aiden Day! (a.k.a. Gotcha Day)
Today we meet our son! Please pray that God would be preparing him for the moment that he leaves everything he knows behind and travels several hours to meet us. My heart hurts for him and the grief and confusion he will experience on this day. As excited as we will be to finally hold him and love on him, we know it is going to be incredibly hard for him.
Tuesday, June 9th:
Today we will adopt Aiden, and he will finally be part of a family! We will travel to the city he has lived in for 2 1/2 years and apply for his passport. We are still unsure if we will get to visit his orphanage. Please pray that we are able to do this. We want to see where our son has spent his short life and see his friends and caregivers. We want to be able to share with him as he gets older as much as we can about his life in Nanyang.
Wednesday, June 10th:
Today we will go to Zijingshan Park and spend time getting to know Aiden. Please pray that we are able to meet his medical needs while in China. We feel we are prepared as we can be but know that the information we have about him may not be completely accurate. We have been blessed with an incredible doctor that will be performing his surgeries when we return. She has said that we can contact her anytime we have questions while in China.
Thursday, June 11th:
Today we will fly to Guangzhou. This will be Aiden's first time on a plane!
Friday, June 12th:
Aiden will receive his medical exam to clear him for travel to the U.S.
Saturday, June 13th:
Today we will rest and tour Guangzhou.
Sunday, June 14th:
We will visit Shamian Island and shop for items to give to Aiden for his upcoming birthdays.
Monday, June 15th:
Today is our Consulate Appointment where Aiden will be sworn in as a U.S. citizen! The visa he receives will make him an American citizen as soon as we touch ground in the U.S.
Tuesday, June 16th:
We will pick up Aiden's visa in the afternoon and then head to Hong Kong for an overnight stay before flying out the next day.
Wednesday, June 17th:
We begin our 24 hour journey home today. I am most anxious about this flight. Please pray that it will be uneventful and that Aiden will travel well. We will arrive in Chattanooga at 9:45 pm. and can't wait to see our family and friends!
We are leaving Avery and Asa behind with our friends and family. We know they will be in good hands and will be super spoiled when we return, but every time I think about leaving them, my heart hurts. They have photo books, gifts to open every day, videos for Asa of us reading his night time stories to him, and count down maps to help them see where we are each day as we are away. Please pray that the time will fly by for these two, and they will be ready to receive a new brother when we return.
Our prayer is that we will continue to allow the Lord to guide us through this process. It is hard to believe we are almost there! Thank you for walking with us through this journey!
"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." ~ Proverbs 16:9