The Rest of the Story (Sort of...)

And now... for the rest of the story; well sort of.  For those of you that are followers, you'll somewhat understand why this next segment of "the story" is a bit cryptic, as it needs to be. (We've learned quite a bit about gatherings here that have given us a whole new and appreciative perspective, all resulting from our initial bond with Xiao Qian and others acquainted with her.) When we arrived at our hotel room yesterday, Xiao Qian was so excited to share with us just about everything she had in the two bags she brought with her (about the size of shopping bags to give you a perspective). She pulled out pictures and lovingly tried to describe the people in them, candies (as I previously mentioned), and... among other things, the Bible. That was over-the-top cool in and of itself, but she then also pulled out a sealed envelop with a letter in it. In that letter, it described how special Xiao Qian (known as Alysse - pronounced A-leese) is. She (the author) described her personality, her joy, her bigger than life disposition, and her angelic nature. She told us we were blessed beyond our wildest imaginations, and that if we ever needed help or wanted to know more, that we should give her a call because she lives not too far from here and would love to assist (of course she left her telephone number too). As Victoria read the letter out loud, in the presence of Xiao Qian and me, my dear wife started to cry tears of joy, tears I've seen before, tears unquestionably generated by the Spirit. We didn't hesitate, went to the computer and dialed the author of the letter up on my Voice-Over-Internet. We made an immediate connection and she described to Victoria that she tried to come to the Civil Affairs Office to say "good-bye" to Xiao Qian yesterday, but was told the official union between us would occur in the afternoon (which it originally was, but was then providentially moved to the morning hour shift). She then drove to the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island (only blocks from where we're staying) thinking that all adoptive families stay there, only to find out we were not. Disappointed, she left Shamian Island (with a close friend who was with her this entire time) and was resignated a reunion and final farewell just wasn't going to happen. Victoria told her where we were staying, and she immediately told her driver (after finishing some quick shopping in Guangzhou) to make hay and make way toward our hotel. She eventually arrived, knocked on the door, and two lovely women (Westerners) hugged Xiao Qian like she was one of their own (turns out she practically was/is - there's more to that story, but cannot share it here). We then spent the next two hours in Xiao Qian's suite (all five of us) talking of history, story and abundant evidence of amazing grace, mercy and love that can simply only come from above. One of the women spoke enough Mandarin to communicate fairly well with Xiao Qian, and the other just communicated with physical affection rarely seen in these parts. We were told by them that of all the girls to adopt in this whole world, if they had a choice, this is the one they'd take home (and let me tell you, they meant it - they just swooned over this girl). And Xiao Qian? Why she was in her element, clearly content and at peace. We then all sang a familiar song/melody together (we in English and they in Mandarin), and then lifted honor, all directed up. The four of us (not including Xiao Qian) were unquestionably stunned as we hugged to say "Zai Jian". We agreed that we would try to connect later this week and spend a day together at one of the homes, enjoy a meal and praise. I simply cannot put into words how profound all of this is, and just how astonished Victoria and I are. All adoptions are unique, there's no doubt, but let me assure you, this one just seems highly unusual and to be the result of years and years of prayers, long before Victoria and I ever dreamed of adopting yet again. Now I (we) can see so clearly how the way was paved for us, beginning with our first inquiry to adopt yet again, the announcement to our children a little over one year ago, and all of the details leading us to that unforgettable day yesterday.

So our dear loved ones who have stood next to us through this entire journey thus far, that is the rest of the story (at least what we know so far). We cannot wait to take each day from hear on out and see what's in the next chapter in our small little world. Now perhaps you might be able to understand why we feel this is a dream, but aye it is not. (By the way, your notes ("Comments") on our blog and in facebook are precious. We're receiving and reading each one with care. Know that we'd like to respond to every one of them with a special note of thanks, but please understandably accept this as a consolation for now.)

Xiao Qian says she slept very well last night - more testimony to inexplicable peace. After breakfast we bought some playing cards and taught her Go-Fish, which she loved. This turned out to be a perfect ice-breaker because it forced her to interactively use her English skills with us and to also make eye contact. She smiled and laughed a lot through the entire game. (She says she plays a mean game of Uno too. We're going to find out the next time we can put our hands on a deck.) Then later today our poor, but brave new girl had a simple medical examination, but received five, that's five inoculations. She seemed to yell, cry and laugh all at the same time, blurting our Mandarin phrases heard throughout the clinic - such is the character of this little one. We then all went out to enjoy a meal with our guide, Jeff, and another wonderfully gracious family from Tennessee who adopted a girl with Down Syndrome (and let me tell you, if you watched that family together your upper garments would be soaked from tears - they're walking demonstrations of love that knows no bounds). After that we went to the Guangzhou Folk Art Museum and were enraptured by watching Xiao Qian be amazed by the beauty of the most incredible embroidery you've ever seen in your life. She also seems to love Chinese history (as interpreted through our guide, although she says that Chines literature is her worse subject in school), and other fine works of art requiring the utmost of patience and detailed orientation.

Here are just a few other things we've observed about our new daughter:

• She likes to eat spicy, pickled chicken feet.  (She gave me one today and laughed her head off after I screamed because it just about blew the top of my head into smithereens.)
• She appears to be very crafty, enjoying manually dexterous activities.
• She's timid, but seems confident and comfortable in most any situation.
• She doesn't shy away from physical affection.
• She has a low voice for such a petite little thing - we love to  hear her talk.
• She's a good eater, and especially likes vegetables (and chicken feet).
• She's patient, as evidenced by repeatedly teaching us little Mandarin phrases (giggling under her breath), as we gingerly force her to speak more English.
• She's remarkably drawn to kids and seems to light up around them, helping where she can.
  
• She's... this list could go on forever, and so much more of this flower to unfold before us.
  

Tonight we went for a walk together, all three of us (with long moments of silence due to our language barrier), bought an ice-cream cone (she seems to like ice-cream too), and came back to the room where Victoria and I dozed off while she QQ-ed with some of her friends. Before we went for that walk, we all came into the hotel room together, and Victoria and Xiao Qian laid on the bed next to one another while Xiao Qian permitted her MaMa to tenderly stroke her hair and arms. What a satisfying sight that was. When Xiao Qian was finished with the laptop, she told me so in her broken English and I followed her into the suite. I then held her hand, prayed with her, and said, "Wan an" (Good-night). She smiled and said the same back to me in Mandarin. She then told me she was going to take a shower, so while she did that I wrote on a piece of paper in Pinyin the following:

"Xiao Qian,

Wo Ai Ni. (I love you.)

MaMa & Baba"

I placed the note on her pillow and put two little origami stars on top of it. 

"Sweet dreams our little angel."

Living the Dream, No, the Reality

I am going to get right to point, but I don't know where the point begins and where it ends. Let me put it this way, the day has been like one we never dreamed, nor like one we may ever live again.

It all began at 2:00 a.m., as most of you know by now based upon the last post, "Correction", made in the wee hours of the morning. After fiddling with the Internet we finally connected with a few of our family on Voice-Over-Internet, and boy was it sweet to catch up with everyone. Hearing how well all of the children were doing back home was just the first of many clear evidences of God's grace today. Why it even sounds like Poppy is over-the-top content with Austin and Meagan (& Barret), which for a "Mommy-cling-on" is saying quite a lot. There's no other way to explain it but that it's supernatural.

Our arrival at that Guangdong Civil Affairs Office began with our introductions to a few other adopters, but all from other countries (e.g., Canada, Spain, etc...). I believe we were the only Americans there. Many had waited over four years to get their children (like Victoria said to me at that moment, "No one was meant to be 'pregnant' that long"). Those moments with these long-suffering souls literally caused Victoria and my tears to flow (which were right on the cusp anyway). Such anticipation and such longing to love and embrace. (Jumping ahead to our departure from the Civil Affairs Office, I walked up to one couple from Spain and congratulated them as they held their fresh young boy in their arms. I also said, "Four long years." The mother replied, "I've forgotten it all." Such are the pangs of child-"birth".)

We arrived before the children, so after sitting in the office for about fifteen minutes or so we heard the elevator gongs chime and they all marched into another back room without making any eye contact with the future parents. But we spotted her, Xiao Qian, right away. She had a beautiful white and gray sweater on (we now know it is brand new because she wanted to look beautiful for us), and the sweetest little smile on her face; it was almost angelic. She had her hand on the shoulder of a younger child, (maybe four or so, also from her orphanage), and was so tender with him. You could tell she was concerned for his well-being. A few minutes later our guide came over to us to tell us she couldn't wait to come out and meet us - he had to hold her back and tell her to be patient.

After signing a few more papers, we were told we could greet Xiao Qian. She walked out of the side room with a meek little smile and hugged Victoria, and then greeted with me a nice hug too. These hugs had substance to them, let me tell you, and that's something because we were not sure she'd even want to touch us at all. "O' God, thank you", I said under my breath. What a precious gift He gave to us at that moment. As far as I was concerned, I was satisfied for the entire day - I didn't need anything else. But..., it just kept getting better and our cups overflowed. We exchanged pictures and gifts, met other officials, talked (through a translator/guide), and the whole while her timid smile never really seemed to go away. (Except once in the car when we went to the store to purchase some things together - Victoria said she could see her countenance drop and she lost color in her face. After Victoria gingerly told her, via the electronic translator, that it was O. K. to be sad, she replied, also electronically, "Everything is O. K., I am happy".)

When we arrived back at the hotel, we gave her some more gifts, sat around and tried to awkwardly communicate with one another, neither one knowing the others' language very well. She pulled little things out of her back-pack and showed us candy, packaged marshmallows, origami's (we even made several together - she showed us how), and looked at pictures of her friends.  We also allowed her to call a few of those friends, and even "QQ", a child's Chinese version of facebook, with them. She struggled to navigate with an American keyboard and very little English skills, but was satisfied to connect with familiar people.

But are you ready for the blow-away part?  Her it is - as we're getting to know her while lounging around the hotel room she pulls out her Bible. That's right, her Bible. We ask her about it, and then decide to make a phone call to someone who God has used to have a profound impact upon her life. And that was just about half way through our day, and that person is...

... and on that note, I'm going to sign off and keep you hanging, because I'm barely hanging on myself. It's almost 11:00 p.m., Xiao Qian just turned off the lights in her suite (poor thing, it's got to be just more than a tad bit uncomfortable for her), and we're pretty pooped.  But I (we) cannot wait to, as Paul Harvey used to say, tell you "the rest of the story".

(The pictures are obviously of various moments throughout our day. Enjoy them, knowing that we're enjoying and loving Xiao Qian with today's events giving great evidence of God going before us. We're also dripping in His grace by prayer. We have thanks that are inexpressible. At dinner tonight I asked Victoria if her head was spinning and as overwhelmed by grace as mine, and she said it just keeps getting better.)

Living the dream..., no living the reality of a remarkably gracious God,

Correction

O.  K., so this time warp thing is killing me (us) right now. Victoria and I woke up @ 2:00 a.m. and just couldn't go back to sleep. While lying there, I realized my mental clock was fast forwarded last night when I stated we would pick up Xiao Qian at 1:00 p.m. (PST) for you. It's actually 6:00 p.m. for you. So, if you think of it, that's when we (& Xiao Qian) need your prayers most.  We simply cannot thank you enough.

We just G-Chatted with Annie, so that was nice to connect with her. I tried using my Voice-Over-Internet to talk to her, but it only worked one way from Annie, so it was a bit frustrating. I did finally get it to work, but alas only after Annie had to run off to work. 

The room accommodations here are just perfect, meticulously planned by the Lord. We have an adjoining suite (albeit small) that has it's own bathroom. We'll bring a roll-away into the suite tonight and that way Xiao Qian can have just a little bit of privacy, something I'm sure she'll want and need. We're very grateful this worked out so well.

I now know that my post from last night went through (wasn't really sure since we can't see it), so it looks like this e-mail posting is working for now. I am going to ask my son, Austin, to release my Comment Preview requirement so that if you want to post comments they'll automatically go through. Up until then, I had set it up so that I previewed all comments before they were posted, but I cannot post a comment to Blogger from China. (Too much information for you, I'm sure, not to mention boring. Listen, it's 5:00 a.m. here. What do you expect from me?) By the way, we do see your comments through e-mail here in China, so please keep them coming. They're a huge source of encouragement to us.

O. K., I'm going to sign off, try to sleep a few more winks, and then we'll get this show on the road.

We love you and miss you,

Tomorrow Is Xiao Qian's Day!

So this is the first of what we hope to be many posts from the mainland of China via e-mail interface into Blogger. Those who have recently paved the China adoption way ahead of us were right, Blogger is blocked and we cannot access the website (facebook is also blocked, so we cannot give status updates or view this web page for the remainder of our visit here). Again, the formatting of our posts isn't going to look quite the same, but it's the pictures and the content that count, right?

This morning we had a very nice, leisurely time together. I couldn't sleep much, but Victoria slept like a baby. We enjoyed a wonderful Asian buffet breakfast (reminiscent of the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island for those fellow adopters who have ever stayed and dined there), and took a short stroll around a small portion of the Hong Kong Bay near the hotel we stayed in (picture above of Victoria in the area). It was your typical overcast day in China, never really seeing the sun. My orientation is all vertigo when I'm in China because the sun is all I know in unfamiliar terrain in order to gain any sense of bearing, and it rarely seems to shine here. (There's a spiritual metaphor in there somewhere, but I'll spare my children writing about it here as I'm accused by them of doing that far too often). As wonderful as Hong Kong is, what I (and I believe I write confidently on behalf of Victoria) loved most about the time was the time in solitude together. I am very in love with my wife, especially at times like these because aside from Jesus, all we in these foreign, unfamiliar lands have is one another. And what I love about her most at times like these is her sense of adventure and enthusiasm to take risks for Jesus. I can tell she's in the wheelhouse right now, the sweet spot of walking with Jesus and one another, and it makes me not only happy, but very much in love.

Our train ride to Guangzhou went off pretty much without a hitch. In fact, we sat across the aisle way from a few foreigners (to China that is, and maybe to Californians as well) from Alabama. I couldn't help but overhear their conversation and decided to butt in and introduce myself. Why? Because Victorian and I could tell they were here for the same reason we were, to adopt. They're so excited and so joyful. This is their first (by way of adoption that is), so we were able to exchange some stories about our experiences, especially with Special Needs children (like they're adopting, even a cleft lip/pallet, like Willow). We will no doubt see them tomorrow at the Civil Affairs Office as they miraculously welcome new little ones into their family. (By the way, the train stopped in Dongguan, Xiao Qian's home town. So strange to literally be there, pass through, knowing all the while we were so close. Two of the pictures from the train are posted above - I hope.)

We spent our evening reflecting upon all of our children, and our past adoptions of Poppy and Willow. (We sure miss them all a lot, and it's only been a few days.) Walking through the streets of this, what is now, old turf stirs up emotions that bring such satisfaction to our souls. The Island is a bit tore up right now due to massive renovations everywhere you look, but that didn't cloud the good memories. In fact, we went to one of our favorite spots for dinner right next to the water and enjoyed some exceptional Thai food. (And Zoe &  Dave, our bosom partners from Texas that shared in our joys of adoption together during our last visit to China, we drank and toasted a Tiger beer together in honor of you. We miss you.)

We're now back at the hotel prepping ourselves for a rather exciting and emotional day tomorrow (Victoria's doing that by snoozing next to me, and it's only 8:30). It will all start at about 9:00 a.m. (was moved up from the original afternoon time slot), which is about 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (PST) for you. We'll probably meet up with Xiao Qian about an hour after that. In speaking with our guide, Jeff, today, he reminded me of something I have thought of all too often, but not within the last few days. She will come into our lives tomorrow with a whole set of unknown (to us) expectations of  us; our personalities, our humor, our mannerisms, our affect, you name it. Like most of life, there's a good chance we won't match up with many of those (my reflection upon Jeff's reminder). And so we must be ourselves and just love, love, love, with patience, patience, patience. Eventually, expectations will vanish as reality becomes the dream we/she could never conjure up on our own.  This is a God-thing, and this is the wonder of salvation.

Tomorrow is Xiao's Qian's day. It's her day, in deed.

We love you, Xiao Qian.

Thoughts On A Long Flight

Awhile back Victoria purchased a book for me entitled, “Adopted for Life” (Our Blog Title), written by Russell D. Moore who himself adopted boys from a Russian orphanage some time ago. I always wanted to read a good book about adoption that viewed it from a wholistic perspective, incorporating physical adoption into an earthly family for those like our girls from China AND our spiritual adoption into the family of God for those who are found in Jesus. Although I haven’t read many such books, this one might be one of the best.

While reading it on the airplane to Hong Kong, a few paragraphs jumped out at me that targeted much of what Victoria and I are feeling about adopting an older child that can cognitively discern what’s happening round and about her, and will also have a strong memory of her past before she ever knew us. Some of our biggest fears and concerns are for her transition and matriculation into our family from what she’s known her entire life while living in China, regardless of how bad or good it was. The bottom line is that she does not have a mommy or daddy, and she, like us all, need them.

Here’s what Russell Moore says about this roughly one-third of the way through his book:

“We cannot consider our adoption as children of God without turning to the cross. When Jesus is stapled to this Roman torture device, He bears the full weight of the curse of an orphan creation. The apostle Paul is able to speak of us as receiving adoption as sons only because Jesus becomes ‘a curse for us’. In the Gospel account, the Holy Spirit announces, ‘for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’ – so that in Jesus Christ the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith’ (Galatians 3:13-14).

On a Friday two thousand years ago, a Roman soldier strikes a spear into the dead, bloodied flesh of this Man. Some government employee pulls spikes from the carcass melded to wood, then goes home and scrubs off the blood of Christ as he washes up for dinner. He may toss his children in the air with hands still embedded with the blood of Jesus under his fingernails. The body removal has to happen before dark; His body can’t hang on that tree overnight because Israel ‘shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance’ (Deuteronomy 21:23).

But God lifts Jesus out of His hole in the ground and gives Him the universe as His inheritance. The curse is lifted – for Jesus and for all who are found in Him.

The trauma of leaving the orphanage was unexpected to me because I knew how much better these boys’ life would be. I thought they knew too. But they had no idea. They couldn’t conceive of anything other than the status quo. My whispering to my boys, ‘You won’t miss that orphanage’ is only a shadow of something I should have known already. Our Father tells us that we too are unable to grasp what’s waiting for us – how glorious it really is. It’s hard for us to long for an inheritance to come, a harmonious Christ-ruled universe, when we’ve never seen anything like it.

We just can’t imagine ‘the glory that is to be revealed to us’ (Romans 8:18). That’s why it’s so important to have ‘the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints’ (Ephesians 1:18).”

This was an encouragement to Victoria and me today, who just a little over 48 hours from now will receive Xiao Qian as one of our own. By the time you receive this you’ll know we successfully made it to Hong Kong after a long, 15-hour cramped flight across the Pacific Ocean. The views of the snow-white mountainous peaks of Alaska and northeastern Russia were stunning on a day where we never saw the sun set. We’re both at peace, comforted that our family in California is well cared for, and even in spite of a very frustrating attempt to revive my cellular telephone/Blackberry that went kaput on me just hours before we took off. I doubt I’ll have mobile service while in China, something I desperately attempted to meticulously plan in advance to guarantee for 24/7 connectivity. I believe this was from the Lord, and am accepting it as His way of both refining me (I couldn’t have been more frustrated) and releasing me from work-related stress when my mind needs to be solely devoted to Xiao Qian, Victoria and my family in California.

(Austin & Barret, we’re sitting next to a very nice man on the airplane from Shenzhen and we’ve been communicating by way of the translator. It works, although the conversation is slow and simple. He could stroke Chinese characters like there’s no tomorrow and the translator picked up almost his every word. I guess we’re just pretty lame when it comes to writing Mandarin.)

Will sign off for now, as you’re probably getting tired of reading (I have nothing else to do but sit here, read and write/type.)

Gratefully in Jesus,

Our Last Night Home (for Awhile)

O. K., it's almost 11:00 p.m. and we're exhausted. Ready to hit the hay for last evening in our home for awhile. Victoria, Barret and I are sitting in the study room right now musing about how surreal this all feels (Victoria's actually talking to Annie on the phone, and Austin & Meagan are sawing logs, as are Poppy and Willow). Barret just said, "I can't believe Xiao Qian's going to be my sister." This is really happening, after all these months of planning. It all started to feel this way when we picked Austin & Meagan up at the airport last night, and it's been hitting home ever since.

We're excited, we're packed, and we're ready for one of the longest days of our lives, and for a miraculously beautiful shift in our family and in the Kingdom.

This will be a short entry. I'm/we're going to bed. We love you, and will try to write as soon as we can. Thank you, again, for all of your support, love, encouragement and prayers.

Warmly in Christ,

Burning

A colleague and Christian brother of mine (who also happens to be one of my very best friends, behind Victoria) just sent me this quote from J. I. Packer's "Knowing God" (one of my top-ten books that I read many years ago). It hit me so powerfully that I just had to post it here:

"A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives or dies, whether he has health or sickness, whether he is rich or poor, whether he pleases man or gives offense, whether he is thought wise or foolish, whether he gets blame or praise, whether he gets honor or shame--for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God's glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it--he is content. He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him. Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal."

May we all be consumed by this one thing, to please the One who is the One.

Burning,

Paydirt!!

Woo Hoo!!

Our Visa's were just delivered to our front door step!

Now we have everything we need to board that airplane!! (We have another post for today as well, below.)

T-Minus 4 Days (To Lift-Off)

This is a relatively quick post to keep you up-to-date on the latest and greatest surrounding our impending rendezvous with Xiao Qian:

1. Yesterday I purchased an electronic translator, which has already proven to bring some comic relief to our family. When I brought it home last night, Barret and I tested it out. We were quickly reminded that our Mandarin is deplorable, our writing of Chinese characters completely debauched, and we're totally tone-deaf when it comes to deciphering the four Mandarin intonations. Xiao Qian will either laugh her head off at listening to and watching us, or she'll completely fall apart wondering who these goofballs are that are now her immediate family.
2. Tomorrow night our wonderful son, Austin, and his sweet wife, Meagan, arrive from Colorado to stay at our home and hold down the fort in our absence. We keep telling them how over-the-top appreciative we are of their sacrifice and love. What a tremendous thing they're doing. And they keep telling us it's no big deal, but they may feel differently in a couple of weeks. (Poppy and Willow, and Barret, are really looking forward to seeing them. What an answer to prayer.)
3. Thursday I travel with Austin to his satellite office in San Jose to drop him off while I go to Palo Alto, CA to pitch some new business for our firm, Hines. We'll have a lot of good time in the car to catch up and just pray for one another. I'm really looking forward to that. Victoria will have the whole day to give Meagan the "lay of the land" around our household.
   
4. On Thursday evening we'll have a nice meal together (we'll have everyone but Annie - boo hoo). I am hopeful that we'll be able to dedicate some time in prayer together and commit our next two-plus weeks into God's care. We'll probably finish up our packing that evening too.
5. Friday morning we'll get dropped off at BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) for the first leg of countless to get us to the other side of the globe and back. Our flight leaves at 11:44 a.m. from San Francisco International Airport and arrives in Hong Kong at 6:35 p.m. the next day (their time, which is 2:25 a.m. - PST - our time). It's almost a 15 hour flight, so it's long and grueling (but we've done this before). I think Victoria and I are least looking forward to saying goodbye to Austin, Meagan, Barret, Poppy & Willow that morning (and even Annie all the way from San Luis Obispo).
6. We'll spend the night in Hong Kong that evening, and then have a nice breakfast there and slowly make our way to Guangzhou, China by way of train so that we can get there and check into our hotel on Sunday evening (the middle of your Sunday morning, while you're probably sleeping - which is what we'll wish we were doing right about that time while recovering from copious amounts of jet lag).
7. The next day (our Monday) we'll connect with Xiao Qian between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. our time (that's between 10:00 and 11:00 on Sunday night - PST - for you). So, if there was ever a time to pray (provided you're still up and awake) that would be the time.

I think that's it for now. We'll try to make another post or two before we cross the Pacific Ocean. While in China we're going to do our very best to post Blog entries, but we're told that "Blogger" is blocked. We think we've found a way (through a fellow adopter that's recently returned from China) to circumnavigate the "block" and post anyway. The posts may not look as clean and formatted as the ones from the U.S.A., but at least the information is coming through.

Many thanks to all of you. The flood of support, encouragement and love is starting to become overwhelming. Our facebook accounts are overloaded and we cannot respond fast enough, and sometimes not at all. Please know that's not an indication of our appreciation and gratitude.

We love you all,

Sooo.... Go and Have A Good Time.

"Sooo... go and have a good time", is pretty much what Victoria and I thought we heard the girls say when we told them this morning that they were staying behind and just Mom & Dad were going to China to bring Xiao Qian home. Of course, it wasn't in so many words, but I have to say that it was completely supernatural, so much so that Victoria said her jaw was figuratively laying on the floor after the conversation was over.

So here's how I laid it out, in so many words (without a whole lot of pre-planning because I've found that over thinking these types of things only makes it more awkward, although I was a bit nervous to be quite honest). I decided to take the perspective that the glass is half full rather than half empty. Believe me, this is quite counter to my natural inclination. I told the girls (Poppy was the one that we were most concerned about) that Mommy and I prayed real hard to God that He would arrange things just the right way so that everything would work out perfectly to bring Xiao Qian home. And furthermore, that He answered our prayers by allowing their big brother, Austin, and his wife, Meagan, to come home for two whole weeks while Mommy & Daddy could go to China and find Xiao Qian. This means that they get two whole weeks with them (Don't they look like a lot of fun?) and Brother (how they affectionately refer to Barret) all alone (lucky them). And..., they may even get to go travel to San Luis Obispo to see their older sister, Annie, and... they will get surprises and/or notes everyday from Mommy & Daddy while they're in China. Willow was her usual Chinese jumping-bean (Is there such a thing? If not, she's a first.), hard to contain and probably not giving much consideration to what I was saying, and Poppy was intently processing the whole thing with her eyes darting to and fro, but nevertheless with a slight grin on her face. I have to believe Poppy was thinking that this was a pretty good deal. I never said, "You're not going to China", rather I said, "You get to stay and be with the family, lucky dogs."

So, when you sift through all of that, I guess one could say that it's no big deal. But not Victoria and me. We say that this is a God-thing, and He's a big deal. (Thank you, Francis Chan - "Forgotten God", for helping me see the Spirit, Jesus and God in more of everything, rather than little in anything.) We know Poppy all too well. And we also say this is an answer to prayer, many prayers, perhaps from you. So to that we say, "Thank you, thank you, and thank you." In fact, we cannot thank you enough. This may have been one of our biggest reservations about leaving.

No doubt the next three-plus weeks will have their trials (for the girls in particular), so we'll all need to continue in prayer for them, but the highest first hurdle was cleared with room to spare. So now we can indeed go to China and have a good time, just like we think we heard the girls telling us..., just like we know we hear the Lord telling us.

Having a good time,

Telling the Little Ones soon...

Our little girls don't know YET that they will NOT be accompanying us to China... Poppy came along last time and she just assumes that she'll be coming this time too.

We have been waiting for the "One week to go" time frame to sit down with them and share the plan for this time. You know, if little ones are told TOO soon they have too much time to think about it and you feel that you are just prolonging their potential sadness. TOO long and they are not prepared mentally and may feel somewhat abandoned. So... this Saturday is the day. I have asked Tom to do the talking with me at his side. We expect Poppy to take it pretty hard... she is so close to me and would rather I not go ANYWHERE without her. : )

Last week she found an empty suitcase that I had laying around and she rolled it into the kitchen where I was cooking and said, "Mama, can I start to pack for China?" Ouch. I said, "Oh, it's too soon to think about that yet honey..." (liar,liar, pants on fire!).

Anyway, I sure am enjoying their sweet kisses and smells and the adorable things they say and do knowing I will be away, on the other side of the world from them, for 2 whole weeks.

I have NO anxiety about their care as the Lord has surely provided the most PERFECT situation with Austin and Meagan coming. But I know their little hearts will have an ache nevertheless... And when we return, we will return with another family member and they will need to find their "new normal" just as the rest of us will. It is all a lot for a little one to absorb. I trust the Lord will go before us and that He will minister His grace and love to their little trusting hearts. I am always comforted that in God's Sovereignty He moves in our lives in such an orchestrated manner that what is GOOD for us and Xiao Qian (this adoption) will be GOOD for ALL of us. Not easy, mind you, but VERY, very GOOD.

Here is a picture I took of Willow today. She naps while Poppy is at Kindergarten and about 20 minutes after I had tucked her in, I peeked in her room and saw her asleep but STILL holding her book up. My first thought was that she'd heard me coming and was faking being asleep! (She does that... little stinker!) :) So, I stealthily waited outside her door hoping to call her bluff and laugh with her at her silliness. Well, that little monkey really WAS asleep and she held that book up for a good 30 minutes at least! (I kept checking!)

Yesterday I made contact with the Asst. Principal of the school where Xiao Qian will attend. Tom and I had always planned on enrolling her as soon as we'd all recovered from jet lag. We want her to have the tools to learn English and become communicative with us and her new culture as soon as possible. But lately we have felt ill at ease about matriculating her so quickly. We have felt our need to just BE together for a time... a few weeks perhaps? Our local middle school has an ESL class first period and Tom and I began to wonder if they might let us take JUST that for a time. Well, the Asst. Principal was so supportive that I was literally choking back tears when we hung up. She will allow us to wade in, so to speak and bring our new daughter to just the morning session for a time. She had other helpful suggestions and ideas too and I thanked her profusely. :) This has put our hearts to rest. It will be a steep learning curve for all of us in the weeks to come.

Would you please pray for our Poppy and Willow as they hear of our plans this weekend?

Thank you our friends.

ALSO, if anyone has a question about anything regarding our adoption of Xiao Qian, just leave it on the "comments" below and we will answer it the next day... it's fun to share it all...