Great Wall of China

Yesterday (Friday) we were able to go to the Great Wall - it was amazing.  It is over 3000 miles long!  A lot of the pictures are at the Great Wall with his wonderful Foster Family.  
Over the last day or two Aaron has developed a cough and has had a fever, so please be praying for his health as we prepare to leave Beijing and move on to Nanchang.  

Hope you enjoy the pictures and I will be writing more soon :)
 
Niki

Seeing China with Aaron

Well, many more pictures today!  

Yesterday (Thursday) we got out a little and went and got some snacks and things we will need for Aaron when we move on from Beijing.  So, some of the pictures are on our shopping excursion.  In the afternoon, Deanne took Ryan and I for a bike ride through some Chinese neighborhoods and a market - yes, I was a little uneasy! - but I did it and really got to see some interesting things!  So we got some great pictures :)
 
Aaron is doing great.  He is really warming up to us both, and we are so thankful for the way that God has put all of this together.  We are staying with some of the kindest people we have ever met.  This foster family is amazing, and they love Aaron so much, and have done so much to help him with this tough transition.  
 
Today (Friday) they are taking us to see the Great Wall, and Tienanmen Square, and for us to buy some more suitcases!  Yes, we need many more suitcases for Aaron's things :)
 Thanks again for your continued prayers!  Love you all :)

Hello from China!!

  

It is hard to believe that this is actually happening and we are really here! You never know how long 12 hours really is until you sit on an airplane for 12 hours! It was a LONG flight.  But we are so thankful to be here :)

Aaron and his foster family picked us up from the airport. It was super exciting! He was dressed in a suit and tie to meet us :)  He was pretty shy to start with, but he warmed up quickly to Ryan.  He is already calling him daddy :)  As for mom, we are getting closer and playing games as we get to know one another.

Today we are going to meet his teacher at his school, and then to do a little shopping.  Tomorrow it sounds like we are going to do some sightseeing.  So I will post more pictures in a day or two.
  
Thank you for your continued prayers for us and our kiddos at home, who sound like they are having a great time with Granny, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins :)

 

Packed and Ready

The time has finally arrived and we are packed and ready. After many of months of anticipation we are ready to set out on an adventure of a life time to bring Aaron home.  Although we are so ready, our hearts are very torn having to leave our other 3 here. We would really appreciated your prayers tomorrow as we meet my mom with the kids, for safe travel and a peace that we know can only come from the Prince of Peace.

Below is our itinerary while in China as well as some prayer ideas :)

9/12 - Kids to mom - Safe travel and peace for ALL of us

9/13 - 5:30am flight from Albuq to San Francisco then on to Beijing - Safe travel and rest while we fly

9/14 - Arrive in Beijing (remember they are 14 hours ahead!) Aaron and his foster family will pick us up! -  Pray that Aaron will be comfortable and not afraid when we meet

9/14-9/18 Staying with Foster Family in Beijiing - Peaceful hearts as we get to know Aaron and begin transition                                                                

9/18 - Fly to Nanchang and Aaron will "officially" be ours - Gotcha Day :) - Please pray for Foster Family when we leave, Aaron's heart, safe travel & smooth process with paperwork                                                                                            

9/18-9/23 Many official meetings during the week - Safety and clarity, smooth process with Chinese officials, bonding with Aaron  
                 
9/23 - Fly to Guangzhou  - Safe travel

9/23-9/29 In Guangzhou completing paperwork - Safety and continued bonding with Aaron

9/29 - Train to Hong Kong - Safe travel

9/30 - Fly HOME!! YEAH!  - Safe flight and for Aaron to have peaceful travel

And please keep Averi, Nathan, and Connor covered in your prayers daily - peace in their hearts and a calm spirit, safety and to have a good time while we are away.

I plan to be blogging frequently and posting pictures - so stay tuned! Thank you for your continued prayers and support - God is so good and he is ever faithful. 

We are on our way, sweet boy!

13 days and counting...

Well, we can't believe the time has really come! Only 13 days from today and we will be on our way to China! There are so many things to do and prepare in the next couple of weeks.  Our tickets are booked and the travel agency in China has almost all of the preparation done and organized on their end.  And the packing has begun!
Averi, Nathan, and Connor are super excited and ready to stay with Granny and all of our family at the ranch as well as with some wonderful friends here in Rio Rancho.  We will be skyping with the kids 2-3 times a weeks while we are away, hoping that will help this mama's heart :(  It is going to be hard to say "see you soon" to my precious kiddos.
We have been blessed to skype with Aaron and his foster family twice and again this coming Saturday.  He knows all of our names and will point to each of us.  His English sounds really good, and he appears to be an active little boy! He is absolutely wonderful! We are so thankful for his foster family for all they have done and continue to do for him and us.
Next week I plan on putting our day to day schedule for our time in China on the blog, with prayer ideas for each day.  We will covet your prayers while we are traveling and in China.  So, if you have a group or some awesome prayer warriors, we would love for you to share the schedule - we can never have too many people praying!
I also plan on updating the blog every day or so to let you know how everything is going along with pictures of Aaron and China. So, if you want to follow along, sign up to recieve blog updates and I think a friend of mine is going to post my updates on my facebook page - I will not have access to facebook while in China. 
It seems so surreal.  We have prayed and talked about this time for over 6 years, and now, in God's time, we are finally going to be bringing our little boy home.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and encouragement :)

More pictures :)

Love that smile! In the picture with his foster mom they are listening to the book we sent:)

Update From China, Getting Close to Travel!

We are finally seeing the light at the end of the long adoption tunnel!  Today we were so excited to get an update on Aaron as well as some information from his foster famly.  Below is a new picture received today:)  This picture was taken at a group foster home he has been staying at while his foster family has been in the United States on vacation. 

I am a little partial to his foster family! I am so excited they are back to China and have him with them again :)  His wonderful foster family has so kindly invited us to stay with them the few days we are in Beijing! We are so excited to be able to meet them and really get to know the wonderful people who have taken such great care of Aaron.  What an absolute blessing from God! Our agency also told me today that we can now correspond with the foster family - I am so excited! I am emailing her TODAY! In the whole scheme of China adoption - we are totally spoiled by our amazing American foster family!

We are in the FINAL waiting period.  So, right now we are waiting for our travel approval from China, which we are praying comes within 2-3 weeks.  At that time, or a day or two after, we will have our travel dates.  It still looks like we should be traveling the middle of September.  Things are really starting to move quickly!  I have actually got the suitcase down and have started a little packing - you would not believe all of the items that are suggested that we take!  I bought some clothes for Aaron the other day, at Old Navy (2 American flag T-shirts to wear home!!), it makes me super excited but also super impatient!!

We aprreciate your continued prayers for Aaron and for us and our kiddos here.  I will post as soon as we know our travel dates, and I plan on blogging while in China so you can all follow along :)