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!

Family Shot!

Health Check Up Day

We have been in Guangzhou for three days now. As Kennedy says "Everyday in China is a big day!!" Having the Ng's with us takes us to many exciting places here we would never normally see. Thanks to them our pallets have also expanded by leaps and bounds, probably so have our waists. By the end of the day the kids are all so tired, they just fall into bed. It's been a lot of fun. We know next week we'll have alot of down time with everyone leaving so we will make the most of it now. The first day back was a group tour which went to the Buddhist temple for a blessing. We opted out of that to visit a market where the middle to low class buy food. Wow! Pick out your live chicken or fish and have it killed and prepared right before your eyes. How about some live turtle or scorpion as an appetizer?? Once I got over the smell it was very interesting. Then off to group shopping and big reunion pizza party that night. Yesterday was health check up day. Landon did well. He may be far sighted. We will investigate further when we get home. He weighed in at 20.5 kg and 110 cm tall. The afternoon was filled with more sightseeing and shopping with the Ng's. Today was the first relaxing day for the boys and I. Big paperwork day today for daddy- The boys and I did our first school day together, then went exploring round the hotel, as we are right in the downtown erea. Tonight is a dinner and a boat cruise on the Pearl River.

Kennedy's Photography!

Landon and Dad- Bumber Boats

Excited for first Plane Ride!

Goodbye to Maggie

It was hard to say goodbye to Maggie, our guide in Northern China, she was so wonderful. We grew quite attatched to her in the week we were there. She was a tremendous help with Landon and did an excellent job guiding through all the paperwork. We were so happy to get to meet her darling daughter on the last day.

A Little Update!

It’s been an incredibly eventful couple of days. I’m sorry we do not always have the opportunity or time to get online. I’ll give a quick overview of the last few days. Wednesday-the day after adoption day we traveled 4 hours by bus to Dalian which is Landon’s home city. If you look on a map it’s a coastal city down at the bottom of the peninsula, west of North Korea. Dalian is a beautiful modern city. The architecture is amazing, it reminds Michael and I of Boston, lots a brick buildings with amazing sky scrapers, also a beautiful park in the center of the city. At night the outsides of the buildings are all lit up. The people are very kind; they seem to be fascinated and pleased with the idea of adoption. We went directly to the government office to apply for his passport. Michael got sick on the way there. I think he may have overdone the Korean barbeque the night before. We ran into Wu Fai and his family again at the government office, his new daddy was sick as well. Michael’s lasted about 24 hours. Thankfully he is feeling much better now.
Thursday was a very special day for us, probably the most emotional for me. We had the opportunity to visit his orphanage in Dalian. I had seen pictures of it online so I knew a little what to expect. It is definitely one of the nicer orphanages in China. Everything was very clean, they were expecting some reporters to arrive after we left. We found out that Landon was in foster care for a year
at age 3 then back to the orphanage, he has been with a different foster family for the past 6 months. They do not come to the orphanage when they are in foster care, and their official education doesn’t start until age 7 at a different location at a school for older children. I think he has had very little schooling. He can write his numbers but that’s about it. He is eager to learn and is copying our English very well. He also likes his new name, but of course it’s going to take a little time for him to always respond to it. The orphanage was a peaceful place very clean and pleasant. We were not allowed to take pics of the children, but did get many pics of many of the rooms. Wu Fai’s family did the tour with us. We found out that he and Landon actually had beds next to each other. Wu Fai was obviously attached to several of the nurses there, giggling and letting them play and hold him. Landon did not seem to show any emotion or attachment toward any of the nurses. Perhaps Wu Fai had spent more time there??? I allowed him a little more freedom here inside the orphanage to wander on his own, but he kept finding me and holding tightly to my hand. When it was time to go we were outside the front doors for a while talking with the nurses and taking pictures. Landon on his own accord went and got on the bus two times, we brought him back out for pictures. He was obviously ready to get out of dodge. With interpretation on the bus home we asked him if he was going to miss the orphanage. It was a definite no. We also asked if he was going to miss his foster family. Again, a definite no…He will miss his friends, but he clearly understands they’re at their foster homes. After lunch at Pizza Hut –(puts American Pizza Huts to shame)- we spent the rest of the day at the beautiful central park. Landon thoroughly enjoyed riding a water bumber boat with dad. Kennedy’s having a great time. It’s wonderful to have the girls here.

Friday, bus ride back to Shenyang. Stopped at convenient store for snacks and potty. The toilets here are squatters. Takes some getting used to. Landon enjoyed his snack of seaweed and dried fish and oreos- or something similar. I tasted the seaweed and about chucked. We’ll have to stock up on this before we come home, he loves it and it’s very healthy.

Back in Shenyang for one night, the hotel is so nice here. You can sure feel the Olympic spirit and excitement in the air. So many preparations to prepare for all the tourists. Today is 12th , the Olympic torch will pass through on the 16th. We are flying back to Guangzhou today to meet up with the rest of the group. Did I tell you that there is another family from Redding adopting. We were shocked when they did introductions…but we have not had time to talk with them yet. Love you all and please keep praying for our safety and health. The driving and traffic is crazy…Landon is still have issues with diarrhea- so many new foods for him. Every night is like a 13 course meal. We are moderating his diet, but it’s hard to know what is causing it. I wish you could see him eat! Have you read any curious George books lately? Well that about sums it up… He was so sweet last night. Pat asked him if he received hugs and kissed from his foster parents. He said no. She asked him if he liked having hugs and kissed from mommy and daddy. His face lit up and he said yes I like it! One thing he has been doing is if he sees us kiss, he will run over give us both a hug and want a kiss from each of us. He knows he has a good thing going!!!! I’m out of time, we have to get the airport. I will post pics tonight. We will have free available internet in Guangzhou.

He's ours!

New Shoes!

London is doing very well. After the adoption, we headed out to visit the second emperors of China's tomb stone. We are so thankful that Landon is small enough for daddy to carry. Michael and Landon are developing a special bond. He told our guide that no one has ever carried him before.... He also told her later that he was happy that we were going to be his mommy and daddy. Michael promised him that we would always love him and take care of him, and that he would never have to go back to live in the orphanage. He got a big smile at the sound of that. After the tour we had Korean bareque, it was very tasty. Here's a few more pictures.

Happy Adoption Day!!

Today was another very special day. We are officially now the "Estoos Seven". After another amazing breakfast at the hotel, we headed back to the civil affairs office to adopt Landon Bo. When we walked inside there was his friend Wu Fui. They were happy to see each other. What is so neat is that they have been able to go through this process together. Because they came from the same orphanage and there is only our two families they have made all our official appointments back to back. After this was over it was a big trip to a department store to buy Landon his first pair of tennis shoes. Daddy enjoyed this as much as Landon.

A close up!

Brothers at Last!

Kennedy's Photography!

First Family Picture!

What An Amazing Day!

We started the day with a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and then we met up with the Ng's. There's nothing like traveling halfway around the world to get to visit your friends that live in the same state. Who is this Ng family you may be asking? Well, for those of you who do not know, let me just briefly share.. Shortly after we moved to Southern California, Michael met a physician at UCLA named Phil Ng. They hit it off and quickly discovered that they were both Christians. His wife Pat is a pediatrician and they have two adopted daughters from China. After one of their lunches together, Michael called me to tell me that God had been working in his heart and that he realized that God didn't bring us to California just for a job promotion, but that it was the realization that we had a daughter waiting for us in China... Yes, this was certainly an ordained encounter and how the seed of adoption was planted for us.. so now you all know. Our families enjoyed getting together for dinners as they lived in a nearby community, they were a great help in walking us through our adoption with Kylee.

As a ministry the Ng's travel back to China once a year with USA Affairs- (our agency) and help adoptive families. Pat helps with the babies as often they are sick when coming home. They also help with some other organizations, and as a bonus their two daughters have had the opportunity to visit many different provinces in China. Of course we were elated to get a call from them that not only were they coming with our group, which is spread all over China, but that they were going to come North and be with us for two weeks. We feel so honored and blessed.

After breakfast we headed to the civil affairs office, which was only about 5 minutes from our hotel. Of course it's very warm and the humidity is high here. So with lots of sweat and my frizzy hair we headed in anxiously excited not sure what to expect. We went upstairs in the elevator and came out to a hallway which led into a big room. We came around the corner and there he was waiting by the door with a cautious smile. We were shocked and overjoyed with how little he was. He's about the size of a 5 year old, just a little bigger than Kylee, and sooo cute! We kneeled down to his level and he said in Chinese "hello mamma and daddy". We told him how much we loved him and were so happy to be his parents, and that we have been waiting for him. He seemed happy that we were there. We gave him hugs and showed him pictures from a little photo album we brought for him. He was very interested in these as we were telling him about his other siblings. He got a big smile when we showed him a picture of Kylee, his Mei Mei.

He loved the soccer ball Kennedy brought for him, and a back pack (from Michael's team) with some goodies. After we stood up to take in our surroundings, we realized there was another family there also picking up their son from the same orphanage. It was obvious he and Landon were friends, as after our brief introduction they were back to playing. They play so rough, lots of play hitting and very territorial! We enjoyed meeting them, they were from South Carolina. I took some pictures of the boys. We signed the papers to be his official guardians for 24 hours. Tomorrow is adoption day! Later, while in another office doing paperwork he was trying to get out into the hall, he was trying to find his friend. So great to have Pat to translate and talk to him while Michael and Maggie were finishing paperwork. When we were done with civil affair photo we said goodbye to his friend Wu Fei and he seemed willing and happy to leave with us.

Back to the hotel for more paperwork, while the kids all played. He was so excited, running around playing with these balloons that fly all around. This kid has a lot of energy! Kennedy was having a ball. He really enjoyed some legos we brought with us. He was proud to call out Baba (daddy) and show him what he had made. He is so sweet, we can't keep our hands off him. He's not completely sure about all this hugging and kissing, but by the end of the day he was kissing us both on the lips and he told Kennedy in the elevator that he loved him.....


We went to McDonald's for lunch and boy was that exciting! He is such a ham, I'm not quite sure where they got "quiet and shy" in his referral report. I'm certain this will not be the case. We love hearing him talk and all the little sounds he makes. Lot's of little grunts and noises. So funny! He is so precious we just can't hardly believe he's ours. It's amazing how all the little trials we had getting here just melted away the moment we met him, so worth it all!

We were told by the orphanage director that he was very excited the night before that we were coming and he wanted to know from her more about his new family. He was wearing a t-shirt some shorts, (no undies) and some little blue ripped sandals. That is all he came with. His feet were just amazingly dirty. It's also very obvious he has had absolutely no oral hygiene. Dr. Orlando is going to have a heyday in his mouth. We brought him some clothes but most of them are way too big. He'll grow into them. I couldn't wait to put him in the tub, but their was not time, so we just put a new shirt on him.. He loved matching with Kennedy. We spent the rest of the afternoon touring the Forbidden City, the palace of the first emperors of the Quin dynasty. It was so great walking around getting to know our little boy. Kennedy has been so helpful- modeling the way.. Later we had a prearranged group dinner. Wonderful Chinese food. Landon was so excited about the food. He unfortunately got sick that night after his tub. Throwing up and bad diarrhea...poor little guy.. Is there a Dr. in the house? Yes, thankfully two- and they can communicate with him too which is so great. Despite him getting sick this has been such a wonderful day. He did not have a single tear....(which I'm sure it's coming) We are just amazed at how smooth it has gone, thank you to all of you that are praying for us. We know God is doing miracles. Tomorrow is his official Adoption Day!

I'm having trouble posting pics. I will try again tomorrow.

1 More Day!

We arrived safely in Shenyang, this is the city they call China's (San Francisco)- We were greeted by our tour guide, named Maggie. She is a such a sweet girl, so helpful and accommodating. I think we are all getting a little delirious from not enough sleep. 30 min to the hotel, Maggie gave us a rundown of tomorrow's events. We will have breakfast at 7:30 and then go to the Civil Affairs office to meet our little "Landon Bo." We can't wait! We have all analyzed every young Chinese boy on our way here, we are all trying to guess how big he will be. The referral pictures we have are over a year and half old, I'm sure he's changed a ton. It is a four hour drive from his home city-Dalian, so he is staying the night in Shenyang tonight with the orphanage director. We have been prepared by others to expect a difficult first couple of days, but we are also expecting God best in this situation. We are also expecting our friends the Ng's to arrive tonight. I'll share more about this later. They will arrive tonight around 11:00, but we need to go to sleep so we will see them in the morning. Sweet dreams my precious little one!! Tomorrow is a new day.

We have arrived!

We have arrived safely in Guangzhou. After 17 hours of flying so far we are tired, didn't sleep real well on the plane, but excited to be here. We were greeted by the China team and taken to the Baiyun Hotel. After a quick shower we were taken by bus to the famous Dim Sum lunch where we met the rest of the adoptive families. It was great to see Norman- the director and the China team members again. They are so wonderful. It's amazing to me how they remembered us. Since we are the only family headed North to Shenyang, we finished lunch and were taken back to the airport for another 4 hour flight. We had a close call with our luggage as we needed two cabs (very small) to get the three of us and 1 china team member to the airport. Our luggage was loaded into both cabs trunks. While we were waiting a couple of teenage kids got into the first one without us knowing and the cab started to leave. My quick action Michael took off after the cab hollering "stop". There were some very sharp words that ensued between our China team member and the taxi cab driver. We were thankful it was all in Chinese... He apparently thought that they were with us. Thank you Lord-that would have been a bummer.

We're off to China!

Happy 4th of July! We are all so blessed to live in America; what a perfect day to begin our adventure! We are so thankful and excited that "our season" God's perfect timing has finally come. Our second adoption journey has certainly been a long one, but in light of eternity what's 821 days of waiting right? Kennedy, our 10 year old son, will be traveling with us to China, and thanks to our daughter Kalahan we now have a functioning blog. We will do our best to keep it updated, especially for our three kids at home. I can't imagine, short of adoption, ever leaving them for this amount of time. (Three weeks and three days) We know they are in great hands but we are really going to miss them. Thank you for keeping our family in your prayers during this time.

George Washington said during his farewell address:

"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations, cultivate peace and harmony with all."

-so appropriate especially for today