Happy Easter

Happy Easter, Everyone! He is Risen, Indeed!
We had a great time this weekend at my folks who will also be taking care of Tucker (the dog). My younger brother and his family were with us on Saturday and my older brother came over on Sunday (we missed our sister-in-law and younger cousin!) My Dad, the marathon bike rider wanted to get a good bike ride in before his surgery (Jay and I are training for the USMC Marathon and decided to run, instead) and it was a GORGEOUS day! The azaleas in Nacogdoches are in full bloom everywhere, so it really felt like spring (note the pictures).
My Dad, who is filling in as interim music minister in Center, lead the congregation through a moving banner presentation representing about 15 of the names of Christ...I was very emotional and cried through the whole thing (note the lack of make-up on my face). On the way home, we couldn't help but stop and get a picture of Cam is the Texas Bluebonnets. This will be his last picture in the wildflowers as an only child...this time tomorrow we will be boarding our first plane to SFO on our way to Beijing. We will be spending the night in the Bay Area where we will have met up with out new friends the Grahams and the Uliassis and will be with them through our adventures in Beijing. We will meet up with them, again, in Guangzhou and travel back to Chicago, where our children will first step foot on American soil (I can't forget to pack the American flags!!)
Today will be spent getting the house thoroughly cleaned, finish the packing, and check off the lists!
Our next post will most likely be from California, then from Beijing.
Please continue to pray for my father, as he is undergoing surgery as we speak, and that Enyi will NOT get sick from his immunizations.
Kim

Fly Away in Seven Days!!

So I'm REALLY having a hard time concentrating at work...so I decided I better start figuring out WHAT Enyi is going to call us. So I referred back to the pictures we had sent to him in the orphanage and noticed that our "names" were translated on the front of the pictures. So here is some education for all of us.
哥哥 gege (pronounced 'goh-goh') or older brother
母亲 mama or mother
父亲 baba or father
祖母 zumu or grandmother (or geese, bon bon, grandma, etc)
爷爷 yeye or grandfather (or pop, papa, grandpa)
姑妈 yima or aunt
叔叔 shushu or uncle
表妹 biaoge or cousin
狗 gou or dog
Like any language, there are some variation based on female/male side of the family, older/younger cousin, etc...but you get the idea.
Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to meet our little one...and that we can get everything we need in THREE suitcases!
Kim

A Quick Hello

Good morning! We just wanted to let you know that we are finalizing plans for our intra-China travel and are working to to try to get get everything at the house squared away before we leave: Jay finished the taxes (check). Picked up a few gift items for orphanage staff, CCAA, etc (check). Made a list for packing to include medications, clothes, paperwork (check)...made another list of the lists we need to check off (check).

But we did get a bright spot last week when Kim's parent flew down to New Braunfels for a quick lunch visit. With them was our beautiful niece who was spending her Spring Break with "Geese and Pop". We drove over to The Gristmill in Greune, TX. It overlooks the Guadalupe river, which has more water in it than I have seen in the last few drought-ridden years...it was beautiful and we had a great time!.

We'll try to keep you up to date as plans progress. We leave in 14 DAYS!!!

Busy Schedule

OK,

So now we have a rough schedule and have officially purchased tickets to go!

April 2: Tucker (the dog) goes to Geese and Pop's

April 5: Pop has surgery

April 7: Depart US

April 8: Arrive Beijing-tour for a couple of days

April 9: EnYi's Birthday (so close and yet so far!)

April 11: Fly to Guangzhou

April 12: ENYI-GETS-A-FULL-TIME-FAMILY-DAY!!!

April 17: Medical exam- I think he gets ALOT of immunizations

April 20: American Consulate appointment

April 21: Oath-taking ceremony (we promise to love him and never abandon him)

April 22: EnYi gets his passport and we fly back to Beijing

April 23: Fly HOME!!!

So the packing rush now begins! We will post when and if we get any more news, but will be busy getting ready. Keep those prayers coming so that everything else goes smoothly. Also, please pray for Kim's father as he prepares to undergo surgery April 5th.

More to come!

Travel dates!

All,
Tentative travel dates:
Fly out: April 8
EnYi's Birthday: April 9 :-(
Gotcha day: April 12 :-)
Consulate Appointment: April 20
Fly home: April 22

We are considering a couple of days in Hong Kong at the end of the trip...will keep you posted! Yeah!!!!

Last Care Package to China

OK...so this will be the final care package that we will send to China. As mentioned earlier, today, Ann at Red Thread has put together a set of "Joe Boxer" jammies, a blanket, some goodies for EnYi and his foster family, a camera (so that he will always be able to remember them) and a letter that Ann has translated for his foster family to read to him. We had sent her a couple more pictures of the Ferland family to send along with the package, but am not sure what happened to them.

I still can't believe that this time next month, we could actually be home with him!!

We hope to share actual travel dates with you al tomorrow!

TA!!!!!

I just hung up the phone with our adoption agency and our TA has FINALLY arrived. We should know by tomorrow what our exact dates of travel will be!!!

THANK YOU LORD!!!!