Coming to you LIVE from China!

WHEW! We made it. Though our flights were long and VERY crowded, we are extremely grateful for on-time flights and traveling mercies, thus far. Our plane touched down at 0500 this morning (Sunday, here in China) and we sailed right through customs and immigration.
We were immediately met by our guide, Kelly, who also happened to be our guide during our previous adoption, so it was great to see her and catch up. She told us that she has seen Kai a couple of times, already, and remarked about how cute he is...and smart:-)

It is now almost 1100 a.m. and we are fading fast, so in an effort to avoid sleep, we took a stroll around the area. We found a Starbucks (YEAH!) and walked through one of the many open air markets where the locals were slaughtering and skinning all kinds of birds, fish, turtles, snakes...you name it...yummy??

Jay is now trying to finish a paper that is due for school, so I am taking the opportunity to post a few pictures from our travels the last 36 hours. (last picture from Memphis, sitting on the floor next to computer charging, our plane, Chinese breakfast of congee with shrimp, local site in GZ)

We were thinking of going for a run together, through the park across the street, later this afternoon...making every effort to keep moving and avoiding sleep all day...will post pics of that adventure...if it happens!

Sure miss you all and appreciate the continued prayers as we prepare for the big day, tomorrow!!

Kim

Almost Packed!

Well, it's midnight and I guess it serves us right for waiting until the last minute to pack...we are almost done, except for printing out a few more copies of our passports and adoption paperwork. We keep telling ourselves that this will help to set our clock to the Far East time zone (but I can rationalize just about anything...I'm not proud of it).
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers...keep 'em coming!
And please don't judge the state of my bedroom...I'm practically in labor with a 2.11 year old!!
Next post from China!!

Travel on Friday!

So the big day is almost here! We leave on Friday and head to LAX (via Atlanta, go figure) then on to Guangzhou! We arrive early on Sunday morning, China time, and will meet Kai on Monday at 2:30! We decided to forego all of the pre-adoption sight-seeing this time around and just get in there, get our boy, and get home as soon as we can.

That being said, we are still required to stay in Kai's province the entire time...which also happens to be Guangzhou...which is where we spent our time with Cael.  So, I have been surfing the net looking for "different" things to do, this time around.  According to several sites, there is supposed to be some pretty good hiking trails around the area, so we have at least two days that we have asked to be dropped off for the day and just explore and have a picnic.  We will have Kai with us, so I purchased a toddler backpack sling kind of thing so that we can more easily carry him when he gets too tired to walk. This contraption will also be nice for the couple of temple visits we have, since many of them have a ton of stairs and are not stroller friendly. Stand by for a full report on its effectiveness from the "other side"!

Meanwhile, we have NOT packed a thing and this is SO very different from our last adoption where we had been packed for two weeks, before we left.
Oh well...life is a bit crazier these days: Jay is trying to wrap up two more classes before graduation this spring so that he can graduate with his accounting degree on time...in addition to trying to make sure the boys are caught up in school before we leave. Yesterday, Jay's dad arrived to take care of the boys and the dog (who is VERY confused-note the "take me with you" look) for us and today was my last day of work...so tomorrow...we pack!

Kai Update

I can't believe it! I requested one last update on Kai before we travel to China. I was told that we should do it now because when Chinese New Year starts, we may not get any updates. So imagine my surprise when I had an update this morning before 0800! What a great way to start the day.
Isn't he gorgeous!?
It sounds like he is doing well and very healthy (by orphanage standards) and we are so very thankful. This is also the first picture we have of him standing (something we were sure he could do, but had no verification) and he is wearing shoes (ditto on the last comment).
Please confine to pray for an easy transition for all of us. 4 weeks to go!

Travel and Gotcha Day

Today, we received confirmation of our consulate appointment...that means we are on our way!
It looks like our Gotcha Day will be March 4th! We will leave here on March 1st and arrive on the 3rd...ugh! We are dreading the flight but at least at the end of that journey will be our littlest boy.
I guess we need to settle on his full name, since we will have to make a plane reservation in his name, and it will have to go on his passport...
So much to do...more to come!

TA!!!!

YEAH!!! We finally received our travel authorization this week!  It looks like we will be leaving at the tail end of February and home about 10-12 days later.  That means that we will be able to celebrate Kai's 3rd birthday here at home!  You cannot even imagine how much that warms this mama's heart.
Now we just have to work out the details of the older boys, the dog, Jay's last semester of school....so much to do in the next month and we can't wait!
In the meantime, we continue to pray for an easy transition for all of us.  Sometimes, I am overwhelmed with all of the emotions that we are about to go through.  For Kai, he will leave the only life he has ever known, and walk away with people who don't look like him, don't speak the same language, or even eat the same foods.  For our other boys, they will have to make room in their hearts, routines, and bedrooms for a toddler!  Jay will now have to learn to teach school with another little person who will want his attention but not yet ready for preschool...but we are ready.  We have been waiting and praying for this for nearly 2 years!!!
Stand by for more information on travel plans...we hope to have our consulate appointment confirmed on Tuesday...after that, we can schedule our flights!

We're coming little buddy!

Merry Christmas from Tennessee

Memphis Zoo!

Our apologies for the delay--again--in getting an update out to you!  We moved to TN this summer and are absolutely loving it here.  We are enjoying a bit more room than our last house and are now anxiously awaiting a travel date to China to get Kai.  In case you haven't seen him, he is gorgeous!  Doesn't he look like a total ham in this picture?  He will fit in JUST fine with this crew.

Kai

If you notice on the left, we have also updated our timeline with this adoption.  While the moves have delayed the process this time around, it looks like we may end up in China around the same time of year...go figure.

Anywho, we will try to be better about updating as we draw closer to bringing Kai home, but in the meantime, want to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!