And now there are three...

Baba made it to Zhengzhou! Woo hoo!

When David saw his Baba, he ran up to him with his arms stretched out. Jason picked him up and hugged him. David had that look of wonder in his eyes again, and said, "Baba", then kissed Jason. Wow.

We then came back to the room, and David and Jason played for a while with a balloon. They had a blast! Then, after a cup of milk, I put David in bed for a nap. He fell asleep quickly, even while Jason unpacked his suitcase. Jas and I talked for a while, and then Jason went to the bank with the group to exchange money. I wish I could have gone to the bank so I could spend time with the other families, but we didn't want David to wake up with me gone, and be scared. I guess there will be time to get to know the other families.

And I think it's good Jason gets the China bank experience too... though it won't be as exciting as my experience in Shanxi :-)  I'll bet a yuan on that.

Jason has hardly even seen a squatty-potty. In Shanxi, I hardly saw a western toilet or a fork. I guess I have the advantage, having had the "full" Chinese experience, eh? Nothing like feeding yourself and a small Chinese person with chopsticks at most meals. It's not pretty. Another day, another post...

I digress...

Today is all about Baba. What a beautiful day we had!

2 Corinthians 4:7  We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

All About David

OK, everyone, repeat David's Chinese name after me:

"You-Anne You-Anne"

Now say it really fast. OK, good! You did great! That's what we're calling him for now, until he learns his new English name. It's spelled like this: Yuan Yuan.

He is a doll! He is sweet, and content, and obedient. He is talkative (though I have no idea what he's saying hee hee) and he sings songs. He and I have traveled so much in planes, vans, buses, and taxis, and he is a happy little travel partner. He likes me (except when I tell him to NOT open the door or touch the computer :) and he asks me for kisses and hugs.

He is so cool.

He doesn't like every single food, but he eats just about everything. I know that someone at some point in his little life has brushed his teeth, read books to him, and sang songs to him. He likes his hands and face to be clean. He asks me to clean his hands after every single bite of food. He sleeps and naps well, and loves his bath. He plays with toys appropriately. He loves to walk up and down stairs, and jump off the bottom step.

I can't wait for his Baba to meet him tomorrow...

(((hugs))),
chris

GOTCHA DAY!!!

I'm a few days late!

Thanks for all the emails and fb messages! Being so loved feels good ~ like a big hug! Sorry I have been missing, I didn't have internet for two days... then I wasn't able to post, nor was I able to forward this to two different people to post for me... It has been a heckuva week, let me tell ya in another post though. New province, new access! Internet is super-slow, but it works so far.

We arrived at the Registration Office in Taiyuan Wednesday afternoon. I was soooo nervous and had such a gutache... My guide, Cindy, and I went into a big room with two desks, a couch, and a lady (who was the registration lady). I sat on the couch and they chatted. The door opened and two women came in with little David walking right between them!

Bestill my heart!

He looked scared, and had a death grip on a little car and a little doll. He looked around, and I could see him recognize me as soon as he saw me. He let go of his orphanage worker's hand and walked quickly to me with his arms outstretched. He said, "Mama!" and hugged my leg, then turned his head up and kissed me.

Ain't that the coolest most amazing thing You.Have.Ever.Heard!

He then climbed right up into my lap:



He sat there and smiled and looked around. He kept turning to me and looking at me with wonder in his eyes and saying, "Mama" like he couldn't even believe it. I was feeling exactly the same.

And that is when all the frustrations of the entire week just melted, and in that moment I knew God brought him to Jason and I.

Here is the rest of our evening (sorry for the sideways pic):
 

 



One hundred forty-three million orphans in the world, minus one.

 
Thank you, Lord...

Beijing Day

Ni hao! I made it to China! My guide, Cindy, has been taking excellent care of me! Beijing is a ginormous city, so yesterday afternoon after Cindy dropped me off at the hotel, and after traveling for 27 hours, what would a normal person decide to do? Take a nap? Rest? I decided to go for a walk. Around Beijing. By myself.

I totally blend in here.

I walked for about an hour and a half. I think I went pretty far, but I have no idea where I was! I only got a little lost (I knew the general direction of the hotel kind of) and I did find my way back by myself. It was an adventure!

Chris on the Great Wall of China

I slept great last night and think I adjusted to this time zone right away. Cindy took me to the Great Wall today. She wimped out and only walked partway up, so I kept going. I wish that someday I could hike a long ways on it. It is so huge and so beautiful and so old.

T minus 3 for the hubby.

Our first Gotcha Day is tomorrow... stay tuned...

(((hugs))) from China,
chris


John 14:27  I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.

T minus...

wait,

T minus zero.

I am at Denver International Airport and

GULP

leaving for China now!

When I think about it all I get all kinds of emotional. Sad to leave Josh for three weeks (he cried when I left). Sad to leave Jason. Anxious about traveling in my own little travel group of one. Anxious about being one of the only (maybe the only) American I see for the next week. Even a little sad, strange as it sounds, to not be a family of three anymore. Things are going to be much, much different when I get home, and I think it's OK to grieve the changes. But I am super-duper excited to be getting our munchkins. Super-duper excited to be a mom again. We have been wanting to have more kids for so long, and we love them so much already and we haven't even met them. I can't WAIT to hold them! And hear their voices. And make them smile. And teach them what it is to be part of a family. And to be their Mama forever!

We'll find our new normal, and it will be so much better than we ever could imagine. You know how I know that?

'Cuz this is all God's plan.

You know how I know it is His plan?

Because I never ever EVER thought in a million years that I would be boarding a plane to China to meet our sons. I couldn't-a thunk that one up if I tried.

So it's T minus 6 for the hubby. I can't wait to see you, Jas!!! I miss you already.

I'll be blahblahbloggin' at you all from the other side of the world next!!!

Munchkins, Mama is coming for you!!!

(((hugs))),
chris


1 Corinthians 16:13-14  Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.

T minus 1!!!

I am up way too early - I can't sleep so I thought I would get the info ready for family and friends who are watching Josh.

It's 4am and that's done. Now what?

Think they'll mind if I drive the papers to their houses now?

OK, I'll not do that.

I will share what we know about our trip now. We are asking for prayers for safe travels, patience with the process, 70 degree days, and for a peaceful transition for all three boys.

Here's our schedule:

7/23   Chris flies away
7/25   Chris arrives in Beijing
7/26   Tour the Great Wall (bonus!)
7/27   Chris takes the train to Taiyuan, Shanxi
7/27   GOTCHA DAVID!!!
7/28   Adoption registration appointment --
          this is when David officially becomes our SON!!!
7/29   Jason flies to China
          Chris & David fly to Zhengzhou, Henan
7/30   Jason arrive in Beijing
          Chris & David - free day
7/31   Jason flies to Zhengzhou -- meet your son, Baba!
8/1     GOTCHA SAMUEL!!!
8/2     Adoption registration appointment --
          this is when Samuel officially becomes our SON!!!
8/3     Free day
8/4     Free day
8/5     Receive passports
          Jason & Chris & David & Samuel fly to Guangzhou in the evening
8/6     Munchkins get their physical exams & visa photos taken
8/7     Free day
8/8     David has his TB tests read
8/9     Appointment at U.S. Consulate
8/10   Receive the munchkins visas
8/11   Leave for the U.S.
8/11   The munchkins become U.S. citizens when we land in L.A.
8/11   Fly to Denver, then WELCOME HOME!!!

That's all the brain cells I have. Over and out.


1 Corinthians 13:7  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

T minus 2!!!

...that's T minus 8 in man-time ;-)

I got lots done today and even managed to spend time with our #1 kid. Tomorrow we're going to the pool - just the two of us - to play and have fun mom & Josh time. The computer and the phone are staying home.

(other new best friend, Icy Hot, meet Tums)

There's still more for me to do, but it somehow feels manageable at this point.

I'm not even drinking heavily.

Really. :-D

I spoke to the coordinator at the cleft clinic I think we'll be using for the munchkins. We spoke for about 40 minutes about how the clinic works, the doctors, follow up, and what info we'll know at the end of our first clinic day like surgery schedules. Stuff like that. Cleft clinic appointment scheduled - check!

We received our final day-to-day travel plan schedule this afternoon. I think I'll share that tomorrow.

About 30 minutes after we received our schedule, we had our travel phone call with our agency director - what an amazing guy. Talk about someone who follows God's lead in their life. I think there were 2 questions from people in our group... we were a pretty quiet bunch on the phone call! I know Jason and I feel pretty comfortable with what to expect and how things should work. And we feel confident that our agency is right there should we need anything. What a gift!

Th-th-that's all, Folks!


Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

T minus 9.... wait, just kidding, T minus 3

WHAT???

Yes, you heard me correctly.

T minus 3! Crikey!

Surprise! We got a call from our agency today.

(my new best friend, Tums, enters the scene here)

Our agency has been planning to schedule our adoption of David on August 1. Apparently the provincial government is not doing adoptions from July 28 through late August, so they don't want us to show up on August 1. Go figure! Our options were 1) to wait until late August to travel to China, or 2) one of us would travel early to adopt David, then travel to Samuel's province and meet the other one of us, then proceed as planned.

Essentially one of us is leaving a week early and adopting David, and the other of us will be joining for the originally scheduled two-week trip which is when we'll adopt Samuel together.

Nuthin' like a little curveball to give you an ulcer, eh?

So Chris will leave in three days for China. Assuming the travel agent calls with the itinerary sometime soon... And Jason will leave in 9 days for China.

So far the schedule has been cleared.
The travel agent has been called.
Bags are halfway packed.
Been working on the work project and trying like h-e-double hockey sticks to finish it.
I made a list. I checked it twice.
I ate some more Tums.
Back to the work project now while I try not to think about why the travel agent isn't calling.

So much for avoiding spending three weeks away from home...


OK, really, back to work. Over and out.
~chris

Colossians 3:15  And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.           

T minus 10

China, here we come!!!

(I'm such a geek... I have been waiting for these "T minus" posts

 for the last 6 months...)

We've reserved our plane tickets! We fly away in 10 days! This is really happening! We're doing the happy dance!

Here's what we know about our China schedule so far:

    Fri, July 29 - fly away from here

    Sat, July 30 - arrive in Beijing and stay for 16 hours

    Sun, July 31 - Chris fly to Henan, Jason fly to Shanxi

    ????? - Gotcha Day(s)
    Fri, August 5 - Everyone flies to Guangzhou

    Tue, August 9 - U.S. Consulate appointment

    Wed, August 10 - Pick up the munchkins' visas

    Thu, August 11 - Fly away from China

    Thu, August 11 - Land in Los Angeles -- the munchkins are U.S. citizens now!

    Thu, August 11 - Land in Denver - welcome home!

(In case you couldn't tell, August 11 is going to be an extra-long day for us with a few extra hours thrown in just for fun while crossing fourteen time zones and the dateline and all that. God has a funny sense of humor like that.)

Later this week we should get our daily schedule from our adoption agency. They arrange all the in-country appointments and transportation. The only thing we have left to do is pack!

Oh, and get license plates for the car. And ship keys to my sister. And call insurance. And get some more papers notarized. And talk to the cleft clinic again. And clean the house. And go shopping at Target just one more time. And, oh there's more... OK, maybe we still have a few things to do...

Us yesterday enjoying some family time ~ right before our snowball fight!

Job 37:5  God's voice is glorious in the thunder. We can't even imagine the greatness of his power.

Letter to Our Family and Friends

Dearest family & friends,

It's finally time for us to go and bring our boys home!!! As David and Samuel's parents and forever family, we are committed to doing what we believe is best to help them thrive. This will take a lot of work on our part, and understanding and cooperation from everyone around us.  Because you care for our family, we want to share the following information to help you assist us in laying a strong and healthy emotional foundation for the boys.  Many of you have heard us talk about all of this before, but we wanted to lay it all out here in one place so that everyone can truly understand what we've been talking about!

FORMING ATTACHMENT  Attachment between a parent and child occurs over time. In a normal parent/child relationship, when a child communicates a physical or emotional need, a parent meets the need and soothes the child. This attachment cycle repeats over and over again, creating a trusting and secure relationship between the child and his parents. By God's design, a foundation of attachment is laid in the tiniest of babies that will profoundly impact their behavior, learning, health, emotions, relationships and values for the rest of their lives.

INTERRUPTIONS IN ATTACHMENT Children who come home through international adoption have experienced interruptions in this attachment process. The loss of their biological mother and/or father at an early age is a major trauma on their little hearts, whether they are a few weeks or several years old. Spending months or years in an orphanage disrupts the attachment process even further.

RECREATING ATTACHMENT  When David and Samuel come home, they will be understandably overwhelmed. They have lost the only caregivers that they remember, and everything around them is new and different. They will be just beginning to learn about their new environment, love and family; both David and Samuel did not experience God's design for a family in an orphanage setting.  The best way for us to form a parent/child bond with both David and Samuel is to be the only ones to hold, snuggle, kiss, instruct, soothe and feed them for the first couple months.  During this time, as part of the "cocooning" process, the boys will have structure, boundaries, and close proximity to us that is different than a child who enters a family at birth. Please be assured that we did not make these decisions lightly: our adjustment and parenting plan has been thoughtfully made based on many months of education, research, and prayer.

As we promptly and consistently meet all of their needs in a predictable, secure environment, David and Samuel will learn that we are their parents, that the world is a good place, that their needs make sense, and that they can trust us to meet their needs and love them deeply. We are, essentially, recreating the newborn parent/child connection. After the boys establish this important bond with us, they will be able to form other meaningful relationships and modulate their emotions, growing into healthy, well-adjusted young men notwithstanding the challenges in their little lives that brought them to us.

HOW YOU MAY HELP Please understand that we want nothing more than to have David and Samuel hugged, cuddled and cherished by ALL of you (they are, after all, totally irresistible!). Until they have a firm understanding of family and primary attachments, however, we would be grateful if you would limit your physical contact with them, and redirect them to us if you see that they are seeking out food, affection or comfort. Sharing this request is difficult for us because we have snuggled, cared for, fed and loved so many of your children, but it is necessary because of David and Samuel's circumstances.

Please set physical boundaries. It is important that other adults refrain from what is typically considered normal, physical contact with the boys. This will (for a while) include things like holding, excessive hugging and kissing. Children who have spent time in an orphanage are inclined to superficially attach to anyone and everyone, which hinders their most important, primary relationship with their new parents. Behaviors that may seem benign, such as being exceptionally charming or indiscriminately affectionate, may actually be examples of a hurting child who is unable to distinguish between the roles of parents and strangers. By setting physical boundaries as the adult, you will help David and Samuel learn the difference between you and us. Waving, blowing kisses or high fives are perfectly appropriate and welcome!

Please redirect the boys’ desire to have their physical and emotional needs met by anyone (including friends and strangers), to having us meet them. Orphans often have so many caretakers that they, as a survival mechanism, become overly charming and affectionate toward all adults, including those outside their family unit. It may appear harmless and as if they are simply being "very friendly," but it is actually quite dangerous for the child's development and should be discouraged until primary attachments have been established.

RISK If we seem overly focused on this topic, we are: this is too important to get wrong. Children who fail to establish a healthy bond with their parents may suffer the rest of their lives with Reactive Attachment Disorder, which causes severe interpersonal and behavioral difficulties into adulthood. While we want to let you hold and closely interact with David and Samuel, the risk is too great these first few months, and the potential consequences too devastating. We hope that you will understand and support us in making these tough choices for our sons’ long-term well being.

We are incredibly blessed to have so many friends and loved ones around us. Thank you again for your never-ending love, prayers and support during our adoption journey.  We will continue to rely on all of you as we adjust to life as a family of five!

Love,

Jason and Chris

Guest Post by Aunt Shel

Here is a little ditty from Chris' baby sista, Aunt Shel:


To my new nephews...

I'm so excited to meet you in just a few short weeks. A lot is going
to change for you REALLY quickly. Hang in there. You're coming into
a great family (meaning your mom, dad, and brother--me, you're just
stuck with, but I'll keep the cheek pinching to a bare minimum and
will NEVER use my spit to clean anything off your face).

The one area I am uniquely qualified to provide advice in is that of a
younger sibling--especially you, Sam, who will have two big brothers
now to deal with. So here's what I've learned so far...

1. My signature move: The Bicycle. Any time you are being chased
through the house, run to the nearest bedroom and jump on the bed on
your back. Then begin moving your legs very quickly like you are
riding a bicycle (waving your arms around helps too). Your attacker
won't be able to get close enough to hit/pinch/tickle and will soon
get bored and give up.

2. Don't let your brother's friends give you a nick name (like Little
GreenAss). They tend to stick longer than you'd think possible.

3. Practice your Three Stooges blocks. Although your brother may not
mean to actually poke you in the eyes, mistakes happen.

4. Take the order to "keep out of my room" as a challenge--there's
lots of cool stuff in there. Just work on not getting caught and wait
until you're about 40 before admitting that you still have and use the
things you "borrowed".

5. Groan and roll your eyes as you listen to your brother talk about
how your parents gave him earlier curfews, more rules, etc. than you
got (but be secretly grateful that he broke your parents in so you do
have it easier).

There are, of course, many advantages to having brothers as well.

1. You have someone to go on "sneak parties" with (this is where you
sneak into the kitchen and get snacks after your parents go to bed and
then crawl in bed together to talk and eat them).

2. Someone may step up and take the blame if, for example, you take
the car out before you have a license and use up all of the gas.

3. You ultimately become the best of friends because these are the
two people who've been through everything with you and understand you
better than anyone else.

This is the just the start of the advice. Know I'll always be here to
listen and help you with whatever you need.

Love,

Aunt Shel

Galatians 5:13  For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

GIMME A T!!!! GIMME AN A!!!!!

What does that stand for?

!!!!!!Travel Approval!!!!!!

Yes, peeps, it's true! We got our a-OK from Ch!na to come 'n get 'em!!!

When? you ask.

Not sure when we're traveling yet.

In the meantime, enjoy the trip through time...

Samuel's referral picture - our first look at him
Taken September, 2010 when he was about 11 months old

Most recent picture of Samuel taken July 6, 2011
He is 21 months old now

David's referral picture - our first look at him
Taken early September, 2010 when he was about 2 yrs 8 mos old

Most recent picture of David taken June 29, 2011
David is 3-1/2 years old now

We love you, munchkins! Mama and Baba are coming for you really really soon!

Stay tuned for more information to follow in a couple days...

Everyone, pray for August 1, 2011 Gotcha Day for the Oehlkers!


Isaiah 40:31  But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Down Dooby-Doo Down Down

in the DUMPS! That's where I was on Saturday. Grumpy. Mumbly. With a large black cloud over my head following me around all day.

Why? you ask.

Because I heard good news from a friend.

HUH????? That's messed up, Chris.

Yup. It's like all the years of us trying to grow our family came crashing down.On.Me.

I heard the good news and rather than rejoicing with them, I said to myself, "Self, why are we STILL waiting? This sucks." And I was angry. And frustrated. And feeling jilted. It was like over the years when I would lose a baby, and another friend or person at church or everysinglewomanintheflippin'grocerystore was pregnant. It was like when we were in the 7th or 8th month of the trying to get pregnant roller coaster ride with no luck and someone would say, "Oh woe is me, I can't believe I am pregnant again! When did that happen? I am so uncomfortable/tired/bloated/feeling fat/constipated/sick." Or "Oh I am so tired with alllllllllllllllll my children running around." Wah wah wah.

So the good news pulled all of my old "stuff" out of me. And I did not handle it well.

I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father loves me in the middle of my bad attitude.

He loves me SO much, that occasionally he takes the Good Book out and whacks me over the head with it.

I call that God giving me a Shot Of Perspective. He does it a LOT. (That's how I know he's paying attention.)

So grumpy-girl attitude on Saturday, and fast-forward to church Sunday morning.

WHACK!

The new sermon series at our church is "I have a friend WHO...." ~ talking about God's voice in the dark places people struggle with. This week's sermon was about Attitude. Ha ha. Things Pastor Rick talked about:

• Most things we have no control over.
• Your circumstances don't make or break you. They reveal you.
• What comes out of us is what's already in us.
• Your attitude reveals what is flowing out of your heart.
• We choose our attitude.

He gave an example of a jar full of water. He shook it, and some water came out. On top of the people in the front row (another good example of why we should sit farther back in church :-). He asked why the water came out. People said the lid doesn't fit, there is a crack in the jar, the jar is leaking. Pastor Rick said, "Because there is water in it." What is in our heart comes out.

Pastor Rick used God's voice in Philippians 2 to show us where we should be.

Philippians 2:1-4 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing,

BLAM!  I am listening.

Be like Jesus. He humbled himself to come alongside us. He loves unconditionally and fully. He thinks of others first, valuing others over himself. No. Matter. What. Even when life wasn't "fair". And He had a whole lotta that.

Our attitude is our choice. Someone said life is 10% what happens, and 90% how we respond. So I need to recognize that yes my hurt is a part of me, but it is only 10%. I need to choose how the other 90% of my attitude will be.

And if I choose to have a joyful, loving attitude No Matter What, then I will make God happy too.

So we're still waiting for our Travel Approval.

And Happy Chris is back. Thank you, Lord.


Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Weather Forecast

We are gathering appropriate sweaty-hot-weather clothes to bring on our trip, so I decided to look up the weather reports where we will be traveling in China...

Today's Weather Report:

Home:
Longmont, Colorado     High=86 degrees   Humidity=30%   Heat index=84 degrees

Our first couple days in China together:
Beijing, China               High=87 degrees   Humidity=37%   Heat index=86 degrees

Jason will travel here (kinda feels like home so far, eh?):
Datong, China              High=79 degrees   Humidity=32%   Heat index=79 degrees

Chris will travel here (I guess the humidity can be much higher... ugh):
Zhengzhou, China        High=92 degrees   Humidity=40%   Heat index=92 degrees

We'll meet here for the 2nd half of our trip (yikes!):
Guangzhou, China       High=97 degrees   Humidity=60%   Heat index=110 degrees
         (interesting fact=the humidity rises to about 80% at night, which keeps
             the heat index near 95 degrees all night long)

So glad we're planning to bring clothes that dry quickly :-D


Psalm 19:1  The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

Travel Approval... NOT!!!!

Hahahahahahaha  ~ Gotcha! No Travel Approval yet. Ooh I just CRACK myself UP!!!

I just checked out our agency's travel news page and looked at the TAs for the past 6 months. I actually circled the TA dates on a calendar to get a good visual. It is not common for our agency to receive TAs two weeks in a row. TAs were received last week and the prior week, and two weeks prior to that. So let's be real... I know God can do anything, right? But our chances of getting TA this week are slim-to-none.

So let's all not expect TA this week.

We'll pray we get it toward the end of next week... maybe the 14th or 15th? That would put us right at a 4-week wait for TA. Barforama, that's what I say.

Like that word? I just coined it myself. Barforama. Just rrrrrrrolls off the tongue.

In the meantime, we'll enjoy our summer and every second we have one-on-one with our son Josh. He sure is a cool kid :-)

And I'll wash the munchkins clothes. And fold them. And put them back in the drawers. Again.

And I'll sort through all the stuff we bought for the trip already.

And I'll go shopping for more stuff for the trip.
                             That reminds me... I think the munchkins need PJs.

And I'll make changes to our written instructions for the people taking care of our son and house and dog and cats while we're gone.

And I'll continue working from home until the project is done we get our Travel Approval (which I should be doing right now but I figure I only have half hour so I might as well blog :-). Priorities, right?
(((hugs))),
chris


Ephesians 2:10  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
    so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

God Bless the World Wide Web!

We are still waiting for our Travel Approval from Ch!na. As I shared before, the average wait for Travel Approval is 2 - 4 weeks. We are currently on day 16, so our TA could come any day! Everyone please PRAY that it comes soon!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also, please note that I added a new gadget (Follow By Email) on the left side of our blog. You can now get email updates whenever a blahblahblahblog post is added :-)   Thanks for adding this gadget, blogspot peeps!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Lord has given us access to so much information about our boys online. We have connected with families who are also adopting, people who know or who have visited our #2 son, families who are adopting from our sons' orphanages, and parents who have children with cleft issues. We are able to read Ch!nese newspapers (the English version of course LOL) and to learn about cleft lip and cleft palate. We are even able to know what the weather is like right now where our munchkins live. The world really is at our fingertips!

For all seven of you who read our blog on a regular basis, did you know that we have an international audience? Check this out... our blog has been read by people in the following countries:

1. United States (obviously)
2. Canada
3. Netherlands
4. Russia
5. Spain
6. Ir@n
7. Sweden
8. Germany
9. Mexico
10. Ch!na
11. Belgium

So number 6 and number 9 are the most interesting to me. And I am surprised that the one person in number 10 was able to view our blog.

So we give a great big WELCOME! to our international friends! Thanks for checking us out!

((((HUGS)))) and God bless!
~chris


1 Thessalonians 5:14   Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted,
pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.