Happy New Year!

Yesterday we trekked to the lotus center and restocked on supplies for our stay. the rest of the day we stayed at the room. Joseph slept quite a bit, so Megan had a break from holding him. I was able to carry him a little at the lotus center and he tolerated my cart for a while but he still seems to prefer Meg to me. We think he still feels sick. he had a low grade fever and the diarrhea hasn't left yet. Joseph is still not sure what to make of us. Yesterday I cut up an apple and placed it in front of him. Wanting to interact with him I tried to see if he would give me a bite. when he would not, I took a slice and he reached out and took it back. I grabbed another and he did the same. we repeated it until his little hand was full. Joseph will trade toys, but if you give him food it is his. We were going to eat at the Italian restaurant last night but it was closed for another private party, and the price at the "Western grill" downstairs was ramped up for the holiday approx $50 US per person. So I was went on a Mcdonalds run. 30minutes round trip and lots of confusion even with a picture menu. (there is a problem with the translation of 2 of these or three of these, or inside or outside. The people try hard to accommodate us, we simply cannot understand each other:)Beijing and Hongkong have many more English speaking people, I am not sure about Guangzhou but will know soon enough. The skies have been pretty good, 6-8 miles visibility. Today we will go to the museum, tomorrow the orphanage in Luoyang.

Megan and the boys posing with the Vice Director and the Teachers from Luoyang orphanage









The proud big brother. Isaac is still smiling, he has experienced so much so far. I think he misses his ferret "Jack" and his sisters.

Day 3 in Zhengzhou

We had an interesting day yesterday. We had to go back to the registration office and the notary office to complete the adoption paperwork. Joseph seemed pretty content in the morning until it was time to leave. When we started dressing him in his coat to go, we heard him cry for the first time. Leaving the room caused him some anxiety and he wanted me(Megan) When we got back to the registration office he played cars with the other boys as long as he was sitting in my lap. The ladies from his orphanage were there again. He didn't seem to want to go see them at all. When we posed for pictures with them, the assistant director reached over and took him and he immediately cried out and reached back for me. They seemed very pleased with his reaction. From watching them interact with the other boys it seems evident that they genuinely care for the kids. Brian and I are very impressed with the way that the boys play with each other. They will share with each other and trade toys. You can tell that they have been worked with. The visit really threw Joseph for a loop, though. He was very emotional and scared the rest of the day. I think it was a confusing experience for him. He had a restless night sleeping with me wiggling all over the bed and climbed out of the bed and layed on the floor at 1 point. He woke up happy this morning and was warm with Brian and Isaac. He giggled for his daddy. I was quite pleased when I walked in from the bathroom and he pointed at me and said "Mama" until about 5 minutes later when he called Isaac's nintendo DS mama:)He He. He is definently coming out of his shell more today. Joseph also used the potty 1st thing this morning. We took a bus to the Lotus store as a group today and bought some stuff for our trip to Luoyang. Nanci, you were right , that was quite an experience! The plan for the next few days is tomorrow to go to the museum, the next day the Luoyang orphanage and Longmen Grottos, and the day after that the group will go to the martial arts show. We have elected to sit out the Shaolin Temple. We did ask if we can visit his finding site in Luoyang and also the old city gate replica that Nanci told us about. Thank you all so much for your prayers for all of us. This has been an indescribable experience. What an amazing love God has allowed us to be a part of, and this is only the beginning!Faith and Hannah, I miss you so much, but I know you are having a fun vacation with your Auntie Kathy and Grandma. I love you with all my heart and can't wait to be with you again soon and introduce you to your brother. I know you will be very special big sisters.

12/29/2008 Gotcha Day

Finally! we received Joseph Today!! We have showm the most emotion today. Joseph is adjusting to us slowly. He lets us change him and feed him, but he is very quiet so far and sits or lies down wherever we place him. I think that he is coping with this drastic change by shutting down :( He will play with his toys and eat whatever we offer him. He also tells us when he doesn't want something like a glass of water or a particular toy by pushing it awat from him. I try to turn the TV on for him some so he can at least hear chinese people and it seems to distract him well. We did not know if he has started talking yet, but when we were in the bathroom and he was in his crib I heard him speak something in chinese. He has a cute voice. I returned and he said nothing so I went to the bathroom again and he said another word. I returned to him and more silence. so far he has been a saint. helps to dress himself, holds his legs high when you change him. ( I am used to wrestling matches with toddlers!) Luggage arrived this evening!! so we have our necessities and medications for Joseph. His overall condition is good. He does have pretty bad diarrhea, our guide went to the store and brought us some smecta powder that we are supposed to give him to allieviate that. I figure i'll google it and find out what it does exactly. Other than that he has a little exczema and a rattly cough but our antibiodics we brought should do the trick. we examined his foot and it looks like he has been walking on it enough to make it swollen and discolored. he doesn't complain of pain though and you can touch it without reaction from him. Isaac is enjoying the trip and Joseph seems to like his company. I think he will be a big help with entertaining his little brother. Megan and myself are well, even with the stresses of time change, tight schedule and hanging out in cities of mulitple millions of people. Billions in Beijing i think. We have gotten along better and laughed through our grouchiness better than when we have been under much less stress. we miss you all. Keep praying for us! Evelyn believes that it is very likely we will be able to arrange a visit to the orphanage in the next few days so we will keep you all updated on the specifics. We hope to get pictures for those of you who are waiting and I know that Heather is planning on doing the same. The Thompsons arrived late yesterday afternoon after many flight cancellations, delays and lost luggage to find out that their son Drew was already here waiting for them. We are praying God will reenergize and refresh them. The other families are wonderful. We hope to be able to upload video of when we all met our chjildren yesterday but are having a few technical difficulties. We will try again later.

12-28-2008 in Zhengzhou

The body has a way of resisting change. I woke up every hour or so and struggled to sleep until our 6:00 goal. We ate a good breakfast and met up with two other families for our flight to Zhengzhou. The flight was on time and uneventful. still no baggage yet, but we are hopeful for tomorrow. The visibility is poor, maybe 2 miles at best and the haze from the pollution even filled the hallways of the airports. Otherwise both cities we have been to have been very clean. The people continue to be polite and kind. There have been a couple of beggars that were a bit aggressive, but gave up shortly as we walked on. We will meet with our group at 9:30 tomorrow for a short walk down the street to pick up our children. Nine more days of waiting and bonding in Zhengzhou, then we will fly to Guangzhou. I'll let Megan describe the Lotus Center that we shopped at tonight. Megan just said she was too tired to write tonight, but to tell Kathy we will Skype her and the girls tomorrow when we get back to the room, should be after 8:30 PM your time. Miss you guys.

12/28/2008

We are off to Zhengzhou this morning. Yesterday was a whirlwind tour of Beijing. We traveled to the Great Wall, Birds nest, and Tienanmen Square. It is quite incredible to see these historic locations up close. We also toured a Jade gallery and a place that makes ornate vases.We also went on a rickshaw ride and toured the home of a regular Chinese family. The people are direct in their questions and not afraid to ask personal questions. Likewise they did not mind my questions. The attitude of these people is surely something to be admired. The food is good so far, though the Beef and Coffee are not quite like home. Beijing is very efficient considering the number of people.Kade, we did get your comment, we hope you all caught some big ones yesterday. Katie, you and your family are very much on our minds and in our prayers as you welcome your new son.We will be meeting Joseph tomorrow morning, please pray for all of us.

We're in Beijing

we arrived around 7:00 local time on the 26th and met up with our guide Barbara who is very nice.
we went to our hotel room in downtown Beijing and tried to sleep. The flight went well all things considered. My flight was accidentally scheduled for standby out of Casper, so we were a little nervous when we arrived at the airport. The flight from Denver to San Fransisco was a blessing (we were upgraded to first class). We were delayed at Denver so the 3/4 mile run in San Fransisco was anything but refreshing. the run was in vain though because our flight left early. I ran ahead with Isaac and Megan trailed behind and accidentally left the secure area at the international flights terminal and I had all the documents. Thanks to cell phones we were reunited a few minutes later. It all worked out, because we went to different lines to try to arrange for new flights and ended at the front of each line at the same time. Our airline rebooked us for a flight that was leaving 2 hours later and it just happened that we needed documents from the line I was in to give to the people that Megan was in. we received our tickets and arrived at the terminal just in time to call the girls and board for Beijing. The flight was as good as we could ask for considering the length. I believe that like the rest of this adoption experience there are no real coincidences, just the ever present loving hand of God.
We just woke up and have a tour scheduled for the Great Wall and for the Birds Nest. luggage should arrive today. Brian

What an Amazing Christmas Gift, We are Going to China!

Our travel dates have been confirmed and our plane tickets have been bought. We will be leaving at 6:00 am Christmas morning. We will fly into Beijing on the 26th and then to Zhengzhou on the 27th. We will get our son on the 28th. Joseph will come home on the 10th of January.
As an extra blessing we get to travel with our new friends, the Thompsons. They have a little boy in Luoyang also. We will keep you all posted w/details as we learn them. Thank you for your prayers for our family, don't stop!

Still Waiting......

We Got Our LOA and new Pictures!!

I received exactly what I wanted for my birthday this week, our LOA! That means we will get to travel in the next 5-8 weeks, maybe over the holidays. Brian and I will also get to travel with 2 other families that we have met online during this process who are adopting little boys from Joseph's orphanage. That is an extra blessing.

Please pray for our family. I feel amazingly blessed that God chose us to be Joseph's parents, we are so richly blessed already with Isaac, Faith and Hannah. The kids are so genuinly excited about their new brother. They talk regularly about when he will be coming home, what they would like to get him, and how much they miss him. It is so cool to see God already at work in their hearts. There is a song on the new Nicole C. Mullen cd about the loaves and the fishes. I think about that alot. I am praying that God would take what we have, which isn't enough, but that in his hands he would multiply our love, energy, wisdom and peace, that we would love all of our children well and be faithful to Him.

Please Help Evan Find A Family

Please take a moment to read a little about Evan. He is looking for his forever family.
To:
LovingChinasChildren@yahoogroups.com


Evan is a kind, smart and sweet boy. Evan enjoys completing math equations and is
very,very smart. Evan also enjoys playing with friends and playing games. Evan is 7 years
old and was born on February 21, 2001. Evan has been attending school since he was 6
years old. Evan was fostered by a local family from September 2002 until March 2007
when he came to the orphanage in Beijing. I met Evan in October when myself and two
other social workers travelled to China to meet some very special children from a Beijing
orphanage. Evan was in the group of children assigned to me. Evan was a little boy who
really stood out. Evan was a polite and compliant little boy who was very well liked by his
peers. Despite his scoliosis, Evan was able to participate in all activities that were planned
and executed all of the physical components with ease. Evan is a very bright and polite
little boy who is proud when he accomplishes and new task and is praised often by the
caregivers in the orphanage. Evan expressed to me that he wants a home of his very own
with a mommy and daddy. Evan loves to sing and was not afraid to preform in various
musical numbers as well as a special marital arts performance when we visited. Evan takes
direction well and seems very mature for his 7 years. Evan was able to answer age
appropriate questions and seems developmentally on target for his chronological age.
Evan's sweet nature was evident when watching him interact with the other girls and boys
from his orphanage.

Evan's abilities are astounding and would be fostered so well in a home environment. Evan
is a handsome little boy who seems very well adjusted and interested in the world around
him. He is able to focus for long periods of time when he finds a subject interesting and he
loves dancing, singing, math, cars and art. Evan is not afraid to ask for help from a
caregiver when he needs it but is very self sufficient and can do a lot on his own. We have
pictures, medical information, assessments and video available for a family interested in
Evan. Please help us find this very special little boy his forever home.

Contact Lisa O'Neil if you are interested in learning more about this special little boy
email: loneil@adoptassoc. com

November 3, 2008

We received pictures today of Joseph at his friend Drew Fu Peng's birthday party at the orphanage. The cake is bigger than the kids! This special treat was sent by Heather Thompson and her family to their son Drew through a service called Ladybugsnlove over in China. These have got to be 3 of the cutest little kids ever!(I'm not biased at all) Thanks to the Thompsons for sharing, I am grateful that I have gotten to meet this family while we wait.

Update on Joseph

We received an update on Joseph from our adoption agency today with 2 new pictures. Here's what they had to say...



10/20/2008 update

Medical/Development:
His current health is good.
He can walk holding onto something.
He can say mama, baba and 2-3 word phrases.
He is being potty trained, but still need diapers. He does not learn color yet.

Personality:
They call him Zi Nian or Nian Nian.
His personality is outgoing.

General:
His sleeping and diet schedule:
6:30 am get up
7:00 am breakfast- milk, bread and congee.
9:00 am have a snack: boiled water and biscuits
10:30 am lunch—noodle, soft rice, mashed meat and vegetable.
11:00 am -1:30 pm have a nap
2:30 pm have a snack: rice cereal, steamed eggs and boiled water.
4:30 pm dinner—congee and mashed vegetable.
7:00 pm go to sleep
8:00 pm drink water
10:00 pm drink milk
He eats milk, bread, congee, soft noodle and eggs.
He is in the orphanage.
He received the package from the family.

Friday September 19, 2008 - Updated Photos!

A family that is over in China right now was gracious enough to get photos of Joseph for us yesterday. I am going to see if I can figure out how to link to this other blog to if you want to see more orphanage pictures and follow their journey you can, they have a beautiful family. Tamara's prayers have been a huge encouragement to me while we wait. The name of the blog is "Our Jacob." I've also been able to meet another mom with a cute little boy named Dang Fu Peng "Drew." Drew is Joseph's age and will hopefully be coming home in November. Their blog is called "Donnie and Me Plus Three."

September 15, 2008 This Is Home by Switchfoot

Thanks so much to all of you who are praying for Joseph and our family. Every time I hear this song, my heart aches for him to be home with us a little more. Maybe this is just a little glimpse of how Father's heart breaks as he waits and anticipates each of us coming to him. Right now, we are waiting on an LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from the Chinese government. That means that they have translated and reviewed all of our paper work in detail. Within a couple weeks of LOA we will receive travel approval from the Chinese government letting us know when we can go get him.