Made it to Chengdu!

Well....that was a long time traveling......we left Kansas City Saturday morning at 7:49am and got into Chengdu at 2:30 am the morning of August 6th (today).  We were supposed to get in at 11;45pm but the flight was delayed a couple of hours.  Our poor guide, Ray, waited all that time for us, thank goodness!  Got to bed around 3a.m in our "rustic" hostel.  It's a pretty laid back atmosphere, the restaurant is good, lots of food for little money.  We're going to a different place tomorrow morning before getting Jaxon though, because they didn't have a triple room available here and the beds are definitely NOT big enough for two boys!
Went over to the bank this morning and tried the ATM which didn't work, then finally was able to get some money exchanged to eat breakfast...we were so hungry....good thing we had licorice and granola bars to tide us over while we figured it all out. 
I did manage to melt my curling iron and fry the power strip I brought, but a helpful person bought us an adaptor (the one I brought is apparently a converter/adaptor and "juices" things up a little too much!).
Now that  we've got all our electronics figured out and have Skyped with our family today, we're ready to explore. 
On another note...James had a good flight :)...he struck up a conversation with a girl..a Chinese student on her way back to China...she practiced her English on him and her friends took about a million photos...he was happy!

Tomorrow is Gotcha Day...about 2:45pm.  Counting down the hours...weird to think we're in the same city as Jaxon, but I wanted this one day to rest and spend time with James.
See you soon!

FINALLY LEAVING!!!!!

This is it.    Bags are packed, flights are booked (within 4 days of departure), the all-important paperwork is packed.   We leave tomorrow at 7:49 am.  I've spent the last two days literally glued to my computer as I had to make some of the hotel arrangements and book some of the in-China flights myself.  I have gained a new respect for travel agents everywhere :).  But finally today, I booked the last China flight and figured out our Chengdu accommodations as a glitch came up.  We are winding up staying in two different places but we will be able to switch before we get Jaxon, so as not to have to pull him in different directions so soon after Gotcha Day.

Speaking of Gotcha Day, it is Wednesday, August 7, in the afternoon!  5 days from now, we'll have 5 kids!  I am both nervous and excited; not a good combination on the stomach.  The girls are sad we are leaving, but some of our friends are going to invite them over for sleepovers so the time should go fast.  I reminded them that Jessica and James had to wait for us when we went to get them :).

We'll get back on August 22nd (our first day of school) in the early afternoon, and sleep for the next few days I hope!  In the meantime, we'll Skype with the family during our trip.

Speaking of Skype, that is an amazing thing!  We got to "see" Jaxon last Monday night over Skype and talked with him for about an hour.  He looks like a funny, easygoing kind of kid and he had lots of good questions for us too.  Overall, I think it gave us an idea of at least who to look for on Gotcha Day :)!

Bon voyage...my next post will be from somewhere else.................

A new picture of Jaxon!

This picture was taken just this past Sunday (Monday China time).  Zane, the boy on your right, is the one being adopted that day by our friends, the Verhulsts, from Independence. Jaxon, whom James claims he will continue to call "Lucky" is on your left and was just apparently woken up by Zane to snap this picture.  Keep in mind it was about 3pm in China and Jaxon was sleeping!  Guess teenagers are the same on summer vacation all over!  We've been told Jaxon is asking when we are coming as his birthday of August 21 is approaching fast.  Soon, son, soon!  Actually, we plan to leave anywhere from Aug. 4 to the 6th depending on when our Consulate Appointment in Guangzhou winds up being.  "CA" is the last appointment in the adoption process; after that, Jaxon can legally leave China and come home with us.  So hopefully, within the next 10 days, we will have our son and James will have his brother!  I think it is finally sinking in to James that he's about to fly 9,000 miles away from home; I can't wait to share this experience with him!  God has truly blessed us in leading us in faith and ability to adopt from China not once, not twice, but THREE times; Jazmin, Judi, and Jaxon may not be children of my body, but they are and will always be the children of our hearts. 

LAST "OFFICIAL" FUNDRAISER!!

A friend in the online adoption Yahoo community has made a beautiful necklace with one word that describes our journey to Jaxon...click here to see it: 

http://jubileesjewels.com/faith-necklace


Through all the paperwork, ups and downs, positive and negative comments, fundraising woes, waiting with bated breath for the next important piece of paper, this word has kept me going.  By purchasing one of these necklaces, 50% of the sales price will go into our LifeSong account towards our travel for Jaxon.  Time is short and the funds even shorter!  Just click on the link to see a description and the price; thank you so much for supporting us and Jaxon!

Hot, Hot, Hot.......

Today we had our garage sale in Warrensburg and I am so happy to say it was successful!  We raised more than I had expected (and i had set my expectations pretty low so as not to be disappointed again!).  What was interesting was that some people would say, "keep the change for your adoption", and others were like, "will you take .50 for this?", when it's marked $1!  Seriously?
Jaz and Judi were real troopers and stayed outside with me til about 11, then went into our friend's house to stay cool.  Jr came around noon and brought me lunch, and then Jessica and James came and helped me break down the sale; that was a job in 105 degree heat!
The first fundraiser I've held that actually worked well!  It's all due to our friends from church who let us use their house and gave so freely of their time and home; they are the true embodiment of Christian service!
Have to say it will be a looooong time before I attempt another sale for ANY reason....or at the very least, no more in July!

Update on the adoption:  we've received the second I-800 approval and are now waiting on the NVC (National Visa Center) to issue their approval letter which leads to Article 5 which leads to TA(travel approval) which leads to CA (Consulate appointment) which leads to TRAVEL.  We are on task to travel by 7/28; so exciting!

Been awhile....updates and happenings....and LOA!

Finally catching up on things!  We've been so busy with softball, baseball, and basketball games we've been gone almost every night!  Summertime is definitely NOT our "downtime"!

The biggest news is that on June 21, we got our LOA!  This is the second and final approval from China to adopt Jaxon.  This means they have looked through our huge file and our homestudy and decided we can be Jaxon's family FOR SURE!  Now we just wait for another immigration step which leads to TA, or Travel Approval (yes, another approval).  At that point, we can book flights.  And this is where we need some prayer; we could be looking at $2,000 or over for flights because it's summer!  That was NOT figured in our "adoption budget".  So please pray that a) either a miracle occurs and we can find them for under $1500 apiece or b) that our last grant we applied for says yes!

Another piece of news is that we did hear back from one grant we applied to and received a small grant for $100.  And we received $140 from a garage sale Seth's family held for us and Zane's family in KC.  Praise God for the little blessings and thank you, Stacey and Michelle for holding that!

We are trying to organize another garage sale (I know, I'm a glutton for punishment) at a friend's home in Warrensburg.  Was hoping to have it this weekend but James has another baseball game and I hate to miss his games; already missed too many this summer, so we might have it the weekend after July 4th instead.  Not to mention we have 3 softball games this week (Jazmin's team is THE LAST undefeated Leeton team; woohoo!) and  a social worker call (to do with the adoption), and I've caught the "summer cold".  Next week nothing is going on before playoffs, so I'll have all my evenings free to set up the sale.

Another area we need a little prayer for some decisions....Jr's car is giving us fits (it's old), so a friend has a Chevy Tracker for $1,000 (150,000 miles).  We're thinking we could get $500 to $1000 for Jr's Jeep on Ebay or something and we need something with better gas mileage.  Not the best timing, but does anything happen EXACTLY when you want it to? 

We had our Chinese school picnic Saturday night and it was so great to reconnect with the group.  With Jaxon being here in August, we plan to make a concentrated effort to go to the monthly get-togethers again when they begin again in September.

And last but not least, Happy Birthday to me today!  Won't mention how many years, but it's been quite a ride!

Winner of the Kindle Fire is........

ANNE VERHULST!!   She is the lady adopting SongSong, the 2nd of the 3 Amigos!  Congratulations to you, Anne!
We had 14 entrants and the proceeds will pay for one of our visa fees, so thank you to all who entered and donated; you are so very much appreciated!