Goodbye China!

Well, Makayla has asked me to write the final blog as she is busy packing and preparing for the trip home. We are thrilled to be able to say we are actually on our way home! We had a little bit of a scare last night as Landon started scratching and developed some mysterious spots. If it was chicken pox we would not have been able to leave the country until next week. Thankfully, this morning they were mostly gone. Makayla thinks it may have been a slight reaction to the vaccine he received last week... Whew! We had our mandatory health check this morning and we are in the clear!! We leave the hotel today at 3:00 pm and head to the U.S. Consulate for his swear in and to receive his visa. We fly out of China at 9:00 pm. We are now in the hotel room packing an preparing for our flight to LAX (arriving Friday evening around 7pm'ish). We will then have one more overnight in LA and the off to Redding on Saturday morning! We are eager to introduce Landon to G&G Estoos, Yeh Yeh, Aunties and the rest of the family waiting at home! He has had the opportunity to talk on the phone a couple of times (in "loud" Chinese) - he has pictures of everyone and is excited to meet them! We are all also very excited about - Grandma Sandee's cooking when we arrive.

The three weeks here in China have gone remarkably fast - we have seen and done alot here in China! Every day has been full! But the most important accomplishment is that we have grown our family here in China! Our children now number FIVE!!! Landon has come a long way in a short period of time (in spite of a our language challenge) - one of the China team members who went to the zoo with us commented "It is amazing how Landon really knows what you are saying" - he really does seem to understand just fine. One of my best moments here was when Landon told one of the team members he really loves his "Babba" and "Mamma" and wants to come home with us! There have been other special moments as well - Landon really has a tender heart - he really loves his brother Kennedy (we are soooooo glad he came with us!) - and he loves to share - whenever we get a treat - he always insists that Mom and Dad have a little bit of his first before he has some! He also loves to pose for Mom - every time he sees the camera come out of her purse - he knows exactly what to do! He is also very organized - he loves to keep things orderly and neat and always likes to tuck in his shirt! We are excited for you all to meet your new brother, grandson, nephew, cousin & friend... Landon Bo Estoos! He is all that!

In closing - I just want to thank you all for your prayers for us all - both here in China and in Redding - we are truly blessed to have you all in our lives! We want to thank God for his favor and faithfulness upon us - we have all enjoyed resting in His peace and presence with us here in China! He is an Awesome God - and we thank Him for our son - Landon Bo!

Biggest Impression!

One of the things we have noticed on this trip is that as a result of the slowing down of Chinese adoptions and tighter regulations more older and special needs children are now being adopted. At age 13-14 you "age out" of the government orphanage system here and you are then in most cases left to fend for yourself. Michael asked me the other night who or what has made the biggest impression on me while we were here. Well, two families actually. Last Sunday we had the opportunity to attend a Christian church on Shamian Island called Christ Church. They have an 11:00 Chinese/English service. They speak Cantonese here so I don't think Landon caught much if any of it, but it was great to be in church and hear the Chinese people singing praises to Jesus. The sermon was on "A true heart of worship". It's a wonderful thing to now be able openly meet in a Christian church, especially in a communist country. This certainly hasn't always been the case. After church, we ran into a family that adopted two Chinese daughters and now a son. This son who was newly adopted had survived third degree burns all over his face and body. He also lost both of his hands, not sure about the condition of his feet, I don't believe he could walk but I did not want to pry. You could just see the love between father and son as he packed him around on his back. What a miracle child, and now he has a loving home and family... The other family was one in our group, the Maas Family. Elllen and Martin are 52 years old and they were here adopting their 6th Chinese daughter. They have 1 biological daughter who is 22 years old. She was at home taking care of the family. I knew the first day after introductions she was someone I wanted to get to know. They are a wonderful Christian family whose motto has been "One daughter at a time". After visiting one night late in our hotel room, we were so humbled to hear their story...I won't go into all the details but the level of sacrifice to which they live and the hardships this family has faced were both inspiring and challenging to Michael and I. So there you have it.. my biggest impression.... people taking care of the business that we believe God holds closest to His heart... Caring for orphans, or for that matter any child who needs a home. We are so thankful to be a part!

I also wanted to let you all know that Ming, the 13 year old Chinese boy, adopted by our friends the Bowser's in Moses Lake made it home safely. He was the older boy in our Christmas Video -(children waiting to come home section.) I wanted to let you know because I know many of you have been praying for him. The whole Bowser Family was actually in Guangzhou the day we flew in and flew out. We did not get to see them but Ming is doing great and we will hopefully get to meet him in August in Moses Lake.

Here's a few pictures from our farewell dinner. The one with the man and the kids is Norman, the director of our agency. All are children adopted from China, except Kennedy of course. The last picture is Ellen and Patrick Maas and their new daughter Lydia.

Farewell to Friends!

It's been four days since we said "goodbye" to the precious Ng Family. What a blessing it was to have them with us, and get to spend time with them. Besides the fact that we saw and did so many amazing things with them leading the way, I know their presence here made such a difference in Landon's transition to our family, and of course Kennedy also enjoyed having the girls to hang out with. They are a wonderful witness to this organization and were such a blessing to the team for their medical advice, which was much needed with this group. We will miss them and always be grateful for their love and generosity to our family.

We are on the final countdown! Three days to go. I guess there has been some advantages to being the last family here. Norman, the director of our agency is still here in China. On Sunday, he asked us to go and visit a new property with him where he is considering having the next group stay in China. As an adoptive family he wanted our opinion. Of course it received a thumbs up from us. It is a very secure new European property. Basically 5 star mini condo units. Very nice.. He then asked us if we wanted to move over for the rest of our stay and give him more thoughts after. Of course we said "Sure" It has been such a blessing as our 1 room hotel was getting a little cramped. The pool was under renovation, and you had to pay 20.00 to swim at a neighboring hotel and pay extra for the gym facility.

This place has an amazing pool, free workout gym, large master suite, dining erea with table, living room, 2 TVs, great bathroom, full kitchen and own mini washer and dryer. Back at the hotel we paid $50.00 for 1 lg load of laundry at a supposedly cheap company that came from downtown. What a blessing to now be able to do our own laundry, and even come home with clean clothes. Michael enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how to run the little machine with Chinese directions. Needless to say, we are very comfortable here, certainly a great change of scenery for our last week. The moms of future trips will really appreciate this place. Thank you Lord, for this unexpected blessing!

After our little experience with send out laundry back at the hotel, I opted to do hand washing in the room. A cute little story I'll share is that Landon came in while I was washing clothes in the sink and jumped right in to help- this kid loves to work.. He obviously is very accustomed to this method of laundry, as after we wrung out the clothes I was standing up on the edge of the tub hanging them on the clothes wire. Landon was picking up the clothes throwing them around his shoulders in layers like a pro waiting to hand them to me. It was so cute! He is in training in many ereas, but he is a great worker and helper, loves to help with the luggage, or whatever else needs to be done. I have had the boys make the beds and keep things tidy even though we have maid service. (There's no maid service at home) He is so efficient in helping pack that back in Dalian he even packed the hotel clock. Oops! Luckily I happen to notice before we left the hotel.. He takes very good care of and appreciates his little belongings. He has a backpack with his little items in it, and makes sure they're all put away just so. The first few days he wanted to take it everywhere, now he understands it will be here when we get back. His favorites are his 4 little matchbox cars and his dominoes. He is also very proud of his growing teddy bear collection from McDonald's happy meals. I think he has seven now. How gross!! Have we eaten there that many times????

Landon is not much into coloring or drawing. I think he hasn't had many opportunities to explore this basic arena of art. He didn't know how to use scissors... but loved the glue sticks. We think he has been living in the country for the past six months in foster care. We're hoping to get a little more information about this on Friday when we see Sarah our China team girl who is taking care of us this week. We were just sent some pictures via email from the orphanage . We were hoping for older ones, these are fairly recent. Landon has a great deal to say about this place in some of the pictures. It looks like he is standing in the back of a house, maybe his foster home? Of course, we can't understand him...So hopefully Sarah can interpret. From what we have put together, it does not sound like it was such a great place. The other day Michael was having a little father-son love fest with Landon, talking to him as if he could understand all that he was telling him.. He was saying how much he loved him and how special he is, and how sorry he was that it took us six years to get here...... It brought tears to my eyes...

We did an hour of school this morning after breakfast, went swimming, watched Garfield and then walked to the mall for dinner-Pizza Hut and Japanese Creme Puffs- Just amazing! We certainly aren't coming home any thinner. Today I got to do the run across the pool, jump and rescue maneuver after Landon inadvertently stepped off the shallow ledge and went under. He has loved the tub from day 1-----His all time favorite activity.. I am thankful we have a few days of swimming lessons before we come home. Thank you all for your continued prayers. More tomorrow- Sweet dreams!

Zoo Pictures!

Bummer! The video apparently didn't work, I quess you'll have to settle for just pics for now. Love and miss you all!

Landon's Debut

Off to the Zoo!

Landon is sitting on my lap and we are want to fill you in on our day today. We realize we have about the last 3-4 days to catch up on, but we will do that later. Today we had a nice breakfast in our new accommodations, (more on that later too) and headed for the Zoo. This was Landon's first trip to the zoo, he was so fascinated with all the animals. He and Kennedy were able to catch gold fish in little wading pools. This was a highlight for him.. Kennedy really enjoyed an animal circus show. They had a bear and monkey riding bicycles all by themselves, it was a hoot! We will add a few pics from the zoo in a few minutes. Michael and Kennedy are down working out, and Landon and I are feeling a bit creative, but let me tell you the story first. When we were in Dalian, about day 3, (the day Michael was sick in bed) I was exhausted and the boys were full of energy and I was not up to taking them out alone, so I got out the Lego's and let them play in this big window seat that looked out over the city. I was working on something and heard Kennedy singing, then I realized it wasn't Kennedy. Landon was behind the window curtains singing what sounded like opera at the top of his lungs in front of this large window 18 stories up overlooking his home city. It really was a moment. Michael of course woke up and we all had a big belly laugh together. I was able to get a little of it on video, but I can't download it until we get home. He doesn't care to sing for strangers but with us he will belt out at the silliest times, like in the elevator, etc. He just gave me a little sampling and I recorded it on my camera. I will try to download it now.. Enjoy!

Saying Grace!

Isn't he precious! We feel so thankful to have the opportunity to expand our family and share God's amazing love for us through adoption. We are also thankful how quickly Landon has bonded with us and accepted our love. He had never before heard of Christmas or the name of Jesus. We look forward to the day when he fully understands God's love for him and His plan for his life.

Well our internet is free here in Guangzhou, it just does not always work. I'll give a quick overview of this past weeks events.

Kennedy and Landon really enjoyed the boat cruise on the Pearl River. It was very beautiful as the sun went down and all the buildings downtown lit up.

Thursday, one of the babies was diagnosed with chicken pox...everyone's plans for the day were diverted and we were all taken back to Shamian Island for another health check. They brought in specialists to check the children. Landon had not yet received any chicken pox vaccine so we went ahead and had it done there. It only took four of us to hold him down--this kid is strong and loud! Thankfully none of the other babies or children came down with it. This was a very good thing as they were mostly scheduled to fly back to the US the next day. We felt so bad for the family whose daughter had it as they were quarantined to their room and the father had to leave for Germany... mom and baby had to stay. The U.S. consulate did not want any of the families to come to their appointments in fear that there might be more exposure. The consulate actually came to the hotel and set up so they could complete the swear in ceremony and the babies and children could receive visas. This apparently has not been done before. Since we are on a different time schedule our appointment is on Thursday. Later that night was our farewell dinner, everyone was a little tired after all the excitement and nerves of the day, but it was very nice. We had such a great time getting to know the families on this trip, and of course seeing the China Team again. They all loved Kennedy! He gave a couple of impromptu speeches and told some jokes on the bus. They all enjoyed and were impressed of how he entertained the crowd....We have had to watch him very carefully here in China, keeping a hand hold constantly while outside. People want to take pictures of and with him, touch him, smile and giggle in his presence. I think as his mother he may be getting just a little too accustomed to all the attention. So much more to say - it is late, I will pick this up tomorrow!