Thankful!!

It's 10:30 on Thanksgiving night and also exactly one week since we have been home. Almost exactly a week ago, after 27 hours of travel, we came down the escalators at the SA Intl Airport. There Hailey and Hannah met for the first time and we received a welcome home that we will never forget. We were blessed to have so many friends come to welcome us back and to meet Miss Hannah. She was so excited that she slept through the entire event! We were also so blessed to come home to a stocked fridge a pantry and welcome home balloons and signs for each kid. We really have awesome friends!



Once home, we were able to see the girls interact with each other. Hailey seemed excited and wanted to show Hannah all of her cool toys. Hannah was a loyal subject and delighted Hailey by partaking in whatever toy/game Hailey placed in front of her. Finally at about 1:30am it was time to get the girls to bed - Hailey in her room and Hannah in her crib that we set up in the guest room. Hannah cried some that first night, but did eventually fall asleep. The sheer exhaustion of such a long day took its toll on all of us and we all slept hard. The girls woke around 10 the next day and the boys slept until 3pm!

The question I get the most is how are the girls doing with each other. The first day was rough - Hailey had a hard time sharing (her toys and her Daddy) and Hannah resorted to her Kung Fu smack attacks when she didn't get her way. There were lots of tears that first day. Each day the girls do better and better with each other. Of course we have daily episodes of hitting, not sharing or jealousy crying, but we also have plenty of time when the girls are happily playing with each other, sharing and laughing together. It's a big adjustment for both of them and I'm so proud that they are doing so well and trying so hard. We are doing our best to give them each lots of praise, affection and love. It's a process and it is cool to see how God is knitting us all together more each day.



This week we have had some trouble getting Miss Hannah to sleep. We had 2 nights that took 6 or more hours, yes HOURS, to get her to fall asleep. Thankfully, the last few nights have been much better. She understands it's bedtime and feels comfortable enough to allow herself to lay down and let me cover her up. After getting Hannah, she has changed sleeping spots 3 times as we switched hotels along the journey. Poor baby was so stressed those first few nights as she adjusted to yet another new sleeping spot. I'm glad she is getting the rest she needs and therefore so are we!




Hannah amazes us each day with her progress. She seems to understand the things we are telling her and she is saying more English words all the time. She seems more secure here in our house and with her brothers and Hailey. She is an amazingly brave, strong and feisty girl. She is sweet, lovable and a total blessing! I'm so thankful for the gift of all of our kids. Each one is a unique and wonderful blessing. I'm so grateful to have experienced becoming a parent through adoption. God has displayed his redeeming love for me through this process. He goodness is evident in the gift he has given us in Hannah. The journey to the other side of the world to get her was a thrilling adventure for us and the boys - a trip full of memories that are so precious! God's glory is best displayed when he makes the impossible, possible. He is found in the ordinary parts of our daily lives, but He is never ordinary. I'm thankful that He laid an extraordinary journey before us and we said yes! Oh, what adventure, blessings and love we would have missed if he hadn't said yes. More importantly, to walk God's path for my life is so much more fulfilling than my own narrow trail. He has used this journey to display his goodness, glory, love and power of redemption to our family. I'm so very very thankful.

Hong Kong Disneyland - A Fabulous Finale for our Trip!!!

Here are some pictures from our last day in China that we spent at Hong Kong Disneyland.





















We fly home in just 11 hours. We can't wait to see Hailey and have all 4 kids together! We land in San Antonio on Nov 17th at 7pm (United flight 862). If you want to come and welcome Hannah home, we would love to see you!

This might be the finale of our China trip, but the adventure of being Hannah's family and being a family of 6 is just beginning. Please continue to pray for us and Hannah. God has been so good and I'm confident He will knit our family together nicely. Thank you for being a special part of our journey to go get Hannah!

Blessings from China (one last time)!

Chris, Amy, Travis, Chase and Hannah

It's a Tradition

We Aggies love a tradition! Taking a picture of your newly adopted chid on the red couches at the White Swan Hotel is an adoption tradition. Look at our little China doll!!!

Garden Hotel

We loved our stay at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou. They cater to adoptive families so nicely. Here are she pictures from our final morning at the hotel.







A final goodbye to Elvin (our guide) as we drove away!

Plane Ride and We Are Here

Plane Ride

I'm writing from somewhere over Russia! We are 9 hours into our flight. We have another 4 hours and 40 minutes to go. We were delayed leaving Chicago due to the baggage sorting system having mechanical troubles. We sat on the plane about an hour and a half before we were able to go. So, that makes the time stuck in the plane about 15 hours. We are all doing very well though, so I can't complain.

Our plane has 3 seats on each side and 3 in the middle. The boys and Chris have the middle 3 and I'm on the aisle seat next to them. I'm sitting next to a nice couple from North Carolina (hi Carol and Tony) that are going to China for a "trip of a lifetime"! They are very nice seat mates and have heard all about our adoption? They will actually be coming home via Hong Kong the same day as us. Their flight is about 2 hours before ours, but we are hoping to see them in the HK airport so they can meet Hannah!

The boys are doing amazingly well. They are sitting next to each other and aren't touching each other and driving each other crazy! Praise Jesus!! The seats have consoles in the head rests and you can access various TV shows, movies and games. Of course, the boys are loving that! It took them all of about 2 minutes to figure out how to change the default language to English and find a phineus and Ferb episode! They have also played their DS games and had a few snacks. Chase slept on the flight from SA to Chicago. He and I both did. My idea to keep them up on the first flight so they would be tired on this one was a total fail as Chase and I quickly fell asleep. Travis was awake on the first flight and I can tell his eyes are getting very heavy. I take that back, on second glance, T-man is now asleep. Chase has decided to lay his head down too. Chris watched a movie earlier but is now asleep too.

I'm doing well. I have slept, listened to music, read and now I'm typing this. It has been cold in the plane for much of the flight. I think every flight is cold, but this time even Chris dug out his jacket. I'm wearing a shirt, a sweater, socks and I have a blanket over my shoulders and a fleece blanket over my legs. I've been like this for the entire flight and I'm just now getting warmed up. The Baileys (free in intl flights!!!) I had a bit ago has helped too. ;-)

We have had a lot of people ask why we are going to China. It is so cool to hear Chris tell that we are on our way to adopt a little girl. He smiles and has such a sweet tone in his voice. I can tell he is so excited! The boys are always excited to share about Hannah too.

I will save this for now and post it when we get an Internet connection.

We are here!!!

Now i'm writing from our hotel room in Beijing...

We arrived in Beijing around 5:30 pm on November 2nd (4:30 am Texas time). We got through customs, got our baggage and then found Angela, our guide. It was rush hour, so Angela warned us that it may take an hour or more to get to our hotel. We made good time and got to our hotel and got checked in. We are staying at the Lee Garden Service Apartments. We have a suite that has a bedroom with 2 queen beds, a separate living room/ dining area and a small kitchenette. It is so nice! It is more space than we need, but we are grateful to have the extra space to spread out. Angela came to our room and helped us get settled as we waited for our luggage to come up. Then we left here and went to dinner at a nearby McDonald's.

McDonald's is a meal that I would hate in the states, but being in a foreign land somehow makes McDonald's super yummy! This was always our experience in Korea and it still holds true. The boys were pleased with the dinner experience as well. We had eaten on the plane, but the food wasn't good at all. On the way home a chinese vendor did a few magic tricks for the boys in an effort to sell us his magic kit. We ended up buying one and the boys were so happy. It comes with a video and book (in english and chinese)so when you see us after we are back the boys may do a magic trick for you. You have been warned! Now we are back at the hotel and we have showered and gotten the luggage organized. We are going to head to bed soon.

We were scheduled to see the Great Wall on Saturday, but Angela thinks it would be smarter to go tomorrow than Saturday. It will be much busier on a Sat than a Thurs. We agreed, so our plans are to tour the Great Wall and Temple of Heaven tomorrow.

We have Internet all set up in our room. We can receive emails and update the blog and Facebook easily! We are so thankful for all of the well wishes and prayers from all of you. I'm having trouble adding pictures, so I'll try to work on that tomorrow.

Blessings to you all!

Amy, Chris, Travis and Chase

Sent from my iPad

On our way

Hi all! We are sitting at the O'Hare airport ready to board our flight to Beijing! It is a 13 hour and 40 minute flight! Yikes!!! We will be in the air for a long time!!! We are excited! The boys are excited and having fun! I can't believe we are finally going to get Hannah! We will be in Beijing for a few days, then we will proceed to Chengdu (where Hannah's orphanage is). We will get her on Monday Nov 7th. It will still be Orphan Sunday in the us when we get her that Monday morning! Cool, huh!!! We will spend about 5 days in Chengdu finalizing adoption paperwork and then proceed to Guangzhou. That is where the us consulate is located and we need to go there to get Hannah's visa to come home. We will spend our last day In hong kong before we fly home on November 17th.

Sorry I've been neglecting the blog lately! We have been BUSY!!!! We have been packing packing and packing some more!!!! We also ran the chosen marathon this past weekend - Chris ran the full and I did the half. We were joined by many friends and family members to make the day extra sweet! Now the soreness has worn off and we are ready for what lies ahead. We pray for God to go before us and work miraculously is Hannah's heart that she would trust us easily and not be too afraid. We are praying for our Hailey at home who is in good hands, but so far away. We miss her do much already. Chase cried in the car this morning because he missed her so much. We trust God with it all. His faithfullness has been our comfort.

Check back here often to see what is going on. We should be able to update the blog in China. If you are used to reading my blog posts because I send you the text and the link via email, I'm not sure if I can do all of that in china, so bookmark this website and check back often. We love you all and welcome your prayers.

Amy

FAQs - The Final Chapter

Hi All. I wanted to add 3 more questions we often get. So, here goes...

1. What paperwork is needed for the Dossier?

The Home Study and the Dossier both require a lot of information, so I'll tell you about both. First you start compiling the documents your Social Worker is going to need for your Home Study. Here they are...

Official Birth Certificates of each family member
Marriage Certificate
Copy of latest tax return
Copy of Medical Insurance Cards
Copy of Drivers Licenses
Floor Plan of Home
Photos of our front and back yard
Immunization Records of any pets
Physical for each member of the family
Autobiography for Chris and myself
3 Reference Letters
Personal Data Form
Addresses for the last 10 years
Certification of 10 hours of Adoption Education for both of us
Extensive Application (Including Financial, Medical, Employment info)
Child Abuse Clearances from each state we have resided in since we were 18
The Social Worker will also make multiple home visits where they will interview each family member (yep, including the kids) , tour your home and discuss adoption, family, parenting issues with you.

With all of the info collected the Social Worker will draft your Home Study report. It ends up being about a 13 page document. Once you have your official Home Study complete (signed and notarized by your agency and Social Worker) you can file your I800-A. This is an application sent to USCIS requesting permission to adopt an orphan from China. This approval requires your fingerprints to be run through the FBI database and takes about 2 months to complete.

During that 2 month wait we compiled our Dossier documents...
Application Letter
Birth Certificates for parents
Marriage Certificate
Employment Verification (signed by employer) for both of us
Financial Status Certification (signed by your CPA - no, we couldn't sign our own)
Physical Exam for each of us
Police Clearance Letter for each of us (we had to go to the local police station for this one - FUN)
Agency Agreement Form between our placing agency and our Social Worker
copy of 1st page of Passport - both of us
2 passport pics of each of us
6 family pictures
Home Study Report
1800A Approval Letter

All of these items (except pictures, passport copies, birth cert, and marriage cert) needed to be notarized. Then, all the items (except pictures and passport copies) needed to go to Austin to be Certified by the Secretary of State. The SOS looks up the notary on each document and certifies that the person is indeed a true notary in the state of Texas. I made a trip to Austin to get this step done. THEN, all the documents (except pictures and passport copies) need to be HAND DELIVERED to the Chinese Embassy to be Authenticated. The Chinese Embassy will verify that the SOS Certification on each document is correct and authenticates it (adds a flashy holographic sticker to the back of each document). The closest Chinese Embassy for us was the one in Houston. We used a courier for the majority of the documents.

When we finally got our I800-A approval (2 months after we sent it in) Chris and I were more than ready to get our Dossier in the mail to China. We had already moved all of our other documents though the notarization, certification, authentication maze. We did this so that we could send the completed documents to our agency in California so they could review them and make sure everything was okay. Remember, if a document needs to be changed, it would have to go through all the steps and this would eat up precious time. So, when our I800-A approval finally arrived, getting it notarized, certified, authenticated and sent to our agency was the only thing standing in the way of getting our Dossier to China. We got the approval notarized the same day it arrived in the mailbox. The next day, I drove it to Austin to be certified and then a day later Chris and I made the trip to Houston to get it authenticated. Once we got that last precious document in our hands, with the cool Chinese sticker, we headed to Fed Ex and sent it to our agency. The next day our Dossier was in route to China. Running all over the state of Texas allowed us to process our last document in record time and get our Dossier off to China!!!

Getting all of this paperwork together and through the notarization, certification, authentication maze is referred to as the paper chase. When your Dossier goes to China, you are considered officially done with the paper chasing portion of the journey. The rest of the process is not without forms and more paperwork, but nothing as bad as the paper chase.

2. How much does it cost to adopt from China?

It's about $30,000 to $40,000. Travel costs are the big reason for the $10,000 spread. You are required to go to your child's province to get them and sign adoption paperwork. Then all families have to go to Guangzhou China where the US Embassy is located. There you get your child's medical check and US Visa to come to the US. If your child is in the same province as the US Embassy (Guangdong province), you just need to go to Guangzhou. If your child is from another province (like Hannah) you will need to go to 2 places. We are going to 4 places during our trip. We are starting out in Beijing so we can tour the sights there. Then we will fly to Hannah's province. The next stop is Guangzhou to go to the Embassy and finally, we will fly home from Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a quick van drive or train ride from Guangzhou and it was cheaper for us to fly home via Hong Kong. The extra in-country flights add to the trip costs. Traveling in the summer is generally more expensive too. We are taking the boys and that adds to the costs as well.

I hate to cover the cost of the adoption without mentioning what the Lord has done in our journey. Chris and I intended to start the process about a month ago. Yep, would have been in the thick of our paper chase about now. But in Nov 2010, Chris felt the Lord's prompting for us to GO. We allocated the money for the application fee ($500) from our personal budget, stepped out in faith that God was calling us to begin, and filed our application without any idea where the rest of the money would come from. God has blessed us with the funds we have needed (often right before we needed to make our next payment) and we are nearly there. This is his plan. Hannah is his child. He just wanted us to be obedient. He has provided and I have no doubt he will continue to do so. If God is calling you to adopt, He will make a way even when you don't see one.

3. Why are you adopting from China when there are so many children in America who need a family?

Simply put, God called us to China. The daughter he had designed for our family long ago was in China. We prayed about both domestic and international adoption, but over and over God confirmed that we were to adopt from China.

Let me just say, that this question is often asked with complete curiosity and a desire to understand how we came to the decision to adopt specifically from China. But, sometimes, this question is asked and it is clear that the inquirer thinks that your decision to choose a Chinese orphan over an American child, needing to be adopted or fostered, is inappropriate. Prior to beginning this journey, I would have never guessed that the issue of domestic versus international adoption could be so heated. Some people (including many within the adoption community) can be very passionate about domestic versus international adoption. But, in God's eyes there are no foreign or domestic orphans, just orphans. MILLIONS of children around the world need the love of a family. I rejoice when any child gets one! Whether they are from China, Ethiopia, Haiti, Russia or Dallas, San Antonio or Austin, it's always good to rejoice when there is one less!

Ok, that's it! I hope I have answered everything you ever wanted to know about adopting from China. Stay tuned beacuse we leave in just 15 days! It won't be long now!

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

FAQ - Part 3

Here is the final installment of FAQs.

1. Why does it take so long? or Why can't you just go and get her already?

Adoption just takes awhile, but the China SN program can be one of the quicker international adoption processes. There are US requirements, China requirements and tons of paperwork and it all just takes TIME. Here is a general breakdown of what the steps are and how long each step took us....

Select agency and Complete Home Study - 2.5 months

Apply for I800A (US permission to bring an orphan to American and obtain citizenship for them) - 2 months

During the 2 months of waiting for our I800A approval, we completed all of the documents that we needed for our Dossier. A week after receiving our I800A approval, our Dossier was sent to China!

Formal recognition that China has received our Dossier - 2 weeks

Wait for China to translate and review our Dossier and then issue our LOA (official China approval to adopt Hannah) - 2 months

Apply for I800 (US permission to bring an Hannah to American and obtain citizenship for her) - 2 weeks

Notify Visa center and US Consulate in China of my I800 approval - 1 week

Apply for Hannah's US Visa - 2 weeks

Wait for our Travel Approval from China (last step) - 11 days

After 8 months, 2 weeks and 5 days, we have completed all of the necessary steps and were approved to go get Hannah!

Now we are in the process of making all of our trip arrangements and we will leave on Nov 1st to get our daughter!!!

2. Are Travis, Chase and Hailey excited?

Travis and Chase are very excited! They were excited about getting a new sister through adoption from the first time we talked to them about it. They are so happy to be going to China and can't wait to see Hannah. At age 2, I have no idea what Hailey understands about all of this. We talk about and pray for Hannah every day. If you ask Hailey if she has a sister she says yes, she says her sisters name is Hannah and that she is in China. So, Hailey understands some, but I don't think she has any idea of how much things are going to change. This will be an adjustment for Hailey, but I hope that in time, Hailey and Hannah will be wonderful sisters to each other.

3. What does Hannah know about you? Does she know she is being adopted?

Hannah is 18 months old, and I can't imagine how she could comprehend the concept of adoption. Orphanage life is all she knows and she is too young to understand the concept of a family. It seems that she has a nanny that loves her very much, so it will be a shock for her to be removed from all she knows and to suddenly be with us. We have sent 2 photo albums so she has at least seen our faces before. Sadly, that will be little comfort to her as she begins to process this sudden and extreme change in her little life. Some children of this age deal very well, relatively speaking, with being adopted and others grieve very very hard. I'm sure the loss of her nanny will be so hard for her. There is no way to know how Hannah will handle this enormous change. We are praying each day for God to prepare her heart for this change and the love we have for her. I can't begin to fathom the adjustment this sweet daughter of ours will have to endure to accept our love and eventually reciprocate it. God has begun a good work and we trust that he is faithful to complete it. We believe that Hannah's adoption day is not the completion date, but that the good work continues as He knits our family together after we come home. It may be a quick process or a slow road, but I confident that God will complete this good work.

4. Will you adopt again?

I don't know. Honestly, that one is up to God. We decided we were done after Hailey, and clearly God had other plans for our family. I've learned not to declare myself "done" anymore. I'm very content with the 3 kids we have now and thrilled to be adding Hannah to the mix. So, we will just see what happens. I'm trying to stop making such declarative statements about what I will and won't do in a lot of areas of our life. We are rolling with God's plan (or at least doing our best to) and following his lead. Hannah could be our last or we may be buying a 15 passenger van in a few years. You just never ever know!

Well, I think that wraps up the FAQ series! If you have a question, please still send it to me and I'll be sure to answer it. I hope you were able to learn more about adoption, orphans, China or Hannah through these questions and answers.

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6

We got our TA!!!!!

We got our TA (Travel Authorization) from China today! This was the last thing we were waiting on! Now we are busy making our travel arrangements and setting our in-country appointments. We expect to leave on Nov 1st, get Hannah on Nov 7th, and return around Nov 17th. All of this still needs to be finalized, but it's close to accurate!

To make today even greater, it was Travis' 8th birthday! Chris was "Father of the Day" in Travis' class today. Chris and Travis talked about China and adopting Hannah. Hailey and I joined them for lunch and had cupcakes with his class. Not even an hour later we got the email from our agency that they expected our TA to arrive today!!!

Travis had decided weeks ago that he wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory for his b-day dinner. Right before we left, he changed his mind and picked PF Chang's (mommy's favorite) in honor of our TA. What a great place for a duel celebration!!! It was a wonderful dinner! The boys and Hailey ate great! We had some yummy desserts, sang to Travis, and he opened his gifts!

We are blessed beyond belief with the 3 kids we have and so thrilled for the extra blessing we are going to get! God's goodness astounds me and I'm so grateful. We will keep you posted on our plans as they get set.

Also, I haven't forgotten about the last FAQs. I'll eventually post Part 3. We have been so busy with Chase's bday on 9/14, Travis' today, the boys bday party 2 weekends ago, and marrying off Chris' brother Joel this past weekend! All this celebrating has left us exhausted!!!

FAQ - Part 1

We get a lot of questions these days about our the adoption process, Hannah, and China. So, I thought I share some of these questions and answers with all of you.

1. I think the most asked question we get is "WHEN do you go get her?"

On Sept 1st our Article 5 was dropped off at the US Embassy in Guangzhou China. This paperwork includes our US Visa application for Hannah. The Embassy will review it and verify that everything is in order for Hannah to be issued her Visa when we are in China. It takes two weeks for the US Embassy to issue our Article 5 letter. So, our agency will pick up our letter on 9/15. They will overnight the letter to the Center for Adoptions in Beijing. This completes all of the paperwork necessary to adopt Hannah. At that point we wait for the office to see that we have completed all the necessary steps and issue our TA (Travel Authorization). TA is the formal invitation for us to come to China and adopt Hannah. It takes about 1-3 weeks after they receive the Article 5 letter to issue our TA. After we get our TA we can start making our travel arrangements. Most people travel to China about 2 weeks after getting there TA. So, a recap: 9/1 - 9/15 we are waiting for our Article 5. Then TA should arrive sometime around 9/25 - 10/6 and we should be able to travel in October or November.

2. How long do you have to be in China and who will make the trip?

We will be in China for a little over 2 weeks. We are planning to take the boys with us. They are old enough to understand what is happening and not be jealous of the special attention we will need to give Hannah. From the very beginning, both boys have been so excited about adopting a baby sister from China, so it will be nice for them to experience meeting her in China and being a part of easing her into our family! We think Hailey, at just over 2, would really struggle with understanding all of it, so she will hold down the home front with Mimi (my mom). Hailey and her Mimi are best buds, so I'm sure Hailey will have a wonderful time on her Mimi vacation.

We will fly into Beijing and have a few days of fun sightseeing with the boys - Tienneman Square, Forbidden City, Sumer Palace, Olympic Park and of course, The Great Wall of China. After that we will travel to Hannah's city, Chengdu. We will be in Chengdu for about a week. We will have our "Gotcha Day," sign adoption paperwork that will make her officially a Halvorson, we will do other paperwork and gov't office visits to acquire her passport and we will tour Chengdu. Chengdu is known for its spicy food like "hot pot", beautiful brocade embroidery, and the Panda Reserve and Research Center where we will get to see more than 50 giant pandas and some rare red pandas too. We are anxious to tour her birth city with her. After that we will go to Guangzhou. This is where the American Embassy is located. We will go here for her health inspection and to receive her US visa so she can COME HOME!!! We will either fly back to the US via Guangzhou or Hong Kong, which is a short train ride away. In China, Hannah will be sworn in as a US citizen because as soon as her little feet touch US soil, she will be an American!

3. How old will Hannah be when you get her? and What will the age difference be between Hannah Hailey, Travis and Chase?

We should get Hannah when she is 19 months old. Hannah is 8 months and 3 weeks younger than Hailey. If both girls start school on time, they will be one grade apart. Chase is about 4 years older than Hailey and Travis is 2 years older than Chase. So, by the time Hannah comes home we will have an 8 year old, a 6 year old, a 2 year old and an almost 2 year old.

4. Where is Hannah and what are her current living conditions?

Hannah lives in Chengdu China. It's a city of about 14 million people and it is the capital of the Sichuan province.


Hannah lives at the Chengdu Children's Welfare Institute (or orphanage). Her orphanage is affiliated with Half the Sky Foundation (HTS), a charitable orphan care organization. Because she was so sick on arrival, she qualified for a HTS foster care program that provided her with a dedicated nanny. She has had the same nanny since she was admitted to the program, about 2 weeks after coming to the orphanage. Her nanny is in charge of the care of Hannah and 3 other children. Having this dedicated nanny has allowed Hannah to develop and personal relationship with her caregiver. I can only imagine how difficult it will be difficult for her to leave her nanny, but the fact that Hannah has received love and given love is critical in her development. We expect that she will grieve the loss, but this relationship will help as she learns to accept our love and eventually reciprocate it too. Oh, I so hope we get to met her nanny and thank her face to face for caring for our Hannah!

By the latest reports of others who have visited Hannah's orphanage, it is very clean, colorful and much like a nice day care center. There is a playground outside and it seems the children get to go outside each day. I've heard that over 600 children are at her orphanage and that there are approximately 50 cribs in the baby room. The cribs are metal with a thin grass mat at the bottom - no soft mattress or cushy covers. It's sad, but typical of institutionalized care in China. We will get to receive Hannah at her orphanage, which is rare in China. Most gotcha days are at civil affairs offices. I'm not sure what our opinions will be of her orphanage or how much of it we will even get to see, but I do know that there is not one momma I know that would want her child to be in one of these places. Not one! Frankly, we are getting antsy to get her out of there and get her home.

I will post more questions and answers tomorrow. I don't want to bombard you with a never ending blog post. If you have questions you want answered, I'd absolutely love to hear from you. If you have a question, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer it!

Forever Grateful

I have become Internet friends with a wonderful Christian momma named Shelly. Shelly and her hubby are adopting a precious little boy, George Mason. George Mason and Hannah are at the same orphanage in Chengdu. In late July Shelly found out that they would be traveling to get George Mason in August and offered to take a care package for Hannah with them. She also said she would ask to meet Hannah if the staff would allow it. We were thrilled! We knew that it was a long shot that Shelly would get to meet Hannah, but we loved the opportunity to get to send her something from us. We sent Shelly our package a few weeks ago. We sent another photo book filled with pictures of Travis, Chase and Hailey holding a photo collage of Hannah. We wanted Hannah to know that we have received her beautiful pictures! We sent bows for her hair, a disposable camera, a letter in Chinese, pictures that her brothers drew and a soft snuggly pink bear. Here are some pictures of what we sent.

These are the pictures that were in her photo album


Shelly and her husband David left for China last Friday. They got their adorable son, George Mason, a few days ago and while they were at the orphanage they GOT TO MEET HANNAH!!! I'll be forever grateful for the priceless gift this family has given us! There is nothing like knowing another momma has seen your baby! Shelly and David were so selfless to be worried about meeting our Hannah on such an important day in their own lives.

Here is what she wrote on her blog about meeting George Mason and Hannah.

George Mason Day!
The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes!
Psalm 118:23

George Mason, Shelly and David

We drove to the orphanage on the northwest side of Chengdu and along the way had a wonderful conversation with Susie about Chengdu, China, children, and life in general. She is such a wonderful guide and shares so much from her heart with us. I woke up very early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Thoughts and prayers being lifted up for my son. Praising God for His miracles that allowed us to travel back to China to adopt our newest Bao Bei (treasured baby). So overwhelmed by God's faithfulness and His deep and everlasting love for His children. Asking the Father to open the door of Mason's heart to love us and be loved in return. Praising Him for all the doors He has opened along this journey, and giving every fear, every worry, every longing in my heart over to Him to comfort. On the road to the orphanage, my heart was so calm, so joyful, so looking forward to seeing our little one's adorable face. What better place is there to meet your new child than to be centered in God's goodness and so full of His love for me. :) As we pulled up to the orphanage gate, David was a bundle of nerves. Excited and scared, my smiles and lightness calming him. We walked into the beautiful lobby painted with colorful murals for the children, and walked up to the 2nd floor. The children where napping so it was very quiet and we were able to just rest and fill out some paperwork for about 20 minutes so that Mason could finish taking his nap. :) The orphanage staff were very happy to meet us. They were smiling and kind and the young lady in charge of the adoption paperwork even spoke English, which was a major shock having adopted in a province where no English was spoken at all. She told us that Yang Yang was very cute and a very naughty boy. lol! Which Susie assured us was the Chinese translation for saying he was "all boy" and "very active". :) As the children were sleeping, we were unable to take a proper tour of the orphanage (CWI), but just walking up to the room where we would meet Mason, we could see play rooms and rooms with cribs too. The hallways were decorated with wonderful murals painting on every wall and cute die-cuts hung up on windows and from the ceilings. The rooms were darkened for nap time and all the toys were perfectly lined up against the wall and put back in there bins. It was very, very clean and felt like being in a well-run preschool so colorful and welcoming. There was a sign posted that said "no photos" and so we didn't take any; however, it was too dark to have gotten any good photos anyway. The orphanage worker assured us that in Mason's report there would be lots of photos of the classrooms where he plays, and she was right! Before we met him, she handed us a baby photo album full of photos of him from infant to now and also a treasured keepsake - baby Memory Book. Because he is in a Half-The-Sky orphanage, he was assigned a specific caregiver from the time he entered the CWI. The nanny or ayi that nurtured and loved him for 2 years, prepared a report on him as he grew and took photos of him and most precious, she stamped his handprint and footprint as he grew - seeing his newborn handprint and footprint made my heart instantly melt. Oh how tiny! We looked over the photos in the report also and Dave laughed and beamed to see his son actually smiling and giggling too. :) All of the photos we have received from the updates, he wasn't too happy in them. So it was so great to see him full on laughing and having a great time! It is such a beautiful keepsake for him and of course my heart hurts for my sweet Jessa not to have something like this to share with her, but again I am reminded of the Father's protection over each of my children through their baby years in China. One completely loved and cared for in a Christian foster home and the other nurtured and loved by one ayi who took the time to share her stories and insight about our son in this wonderful book recording his early months for us to cherish.


We chatted so more and then I pulled out the wonderful care package gift that I had brought from a friend who is adopting a beautiful baby girl also from Mason's CWI. I didn't even have to explain what it was or who it was for! lol! The ayis in the room with us immediately saw her photo and KNEW her! Oh she is soooo loved! They smiled and quickly said they would bring her in the room too so that we could give it to her and take photos for her family. :) Thanking God for another open door! So as the ayis left to prepare the children, I reached in the bag we brought and took out the best toys and candy I could find. :) Smarties candy, and Frosted Cheerios, a toy cell phone and a little toy that lights up and spins, and 2 little cars. All lined up on the coffee table in front of us waiting for Mason's arrival. David and I sat next to each other on a black couch facing the door and through the door window we could see the ayis coming bringing with them both children!


This next part is for my friend Amy:


Adorable Hannah came in the room first and she was too precious for words! Wearing a little dress and sandals. Such a tiny peanut maybe wearing 12 months clothing, so petite, yet so brave! I got up and kneeled down on the ground with the children. Slowly giving them the treats we had brought. Hannah was the first to come to me and she LOVED the Smarties! :) She also loved the light up toy too. As I handed her the pink bear, I told her "From your Mama with love for you." She was very timid because the ayis immediately began smiling and nodding their heads in approval, interpreting to her what I had just said, and trying to make her say "Mama, Mama" over and over again. To be honest I was a little overwhelmed by that too. ahahaha! They took the photo album and poured over it oooing and ahhhing at the pictures of her siblings waiting for her to come home. So very cute how interested they were and how adorable they thought all the photos were. I could tell she was their FAVORITE! And to be honest, she immediately stole our hearts as well. So precious! Even the orphanage adoption staff our in love with Hannah - all the office workers came out from behind their desks to see her receive the gifts you sent. We took photos and video and I will send them to you when we get back to the States - they told us not to post on the internet so I don't want to ruin it for other families who might want to send something to their sweet kiddos by way of another adopting family, since I know there are several waiting families. :) It was such a gift to meet your daughter and I'm praying you get to travel soon and when you do bring Smarties! hee hee! :)




And so, you may be wondering what was George Mason doing this whole time? Well, he was just relaxing. lol! He sat on an ayi's lap (not his ayi though, they told us that would have been too hard on her and him for her to bring Mason to us - so she didn't come to meet us - I was sad, but she had said her "goodbyes" to him and was crying so it was better for him to come with the other ayis) Anyway, he took a few Smarties from me and went back to the ayi and was captured by the oscillating fan whirring overhead. lol! He just kept staring at it and then came back for some more candy. :) The ayis tried to get him to come to me, but I wanted our first meeting to go slowly and calmy so I shook my head when they were pushing too hard. Eventually, on his own he came over to me to investigate the light up/spin toy. Then my heart spilled over and I couldn't contain the JOY as my arms wrapped around our little boy and for the very first time I held him! My smile so big, my heart so full! David taking lots of video and our guide taking lots of photos for us. Have I mentioned how much I love our guide, Susie? :) Then, it was David's turn to "work his magic" as he said. He knelt down and showed Mason how to work the toy. It is just small enough that he can hold it in his hand and use his little thumb to push the button. His eyes got so big when it would light up. :) We could tell he was scared, but he was also very, very brave. His heart racing a hundred miles per hour. Choking back his cries of terror - for a such a little baby boy, he was trying so very hard to be grown up. Which broke both of his new parents hearts, we wanted him to cry if he felt scared and saw how much he tried not too, maybe they teach them that in the orphanage? I don't know, but it was hard. As we left the CWI to head back to the hotel, we went through the back door which leads out to the playground and we were sooo blessed to see lots of children playing...as we watched we were glad to see so many smiling faces. The older children practicing their English with us, "Hello! Hello! Hello!" and waving enthusiastically! ADORABLE! Mason squirmed around in my arms so that he could see the little children that were all lined up like a little train and walking back inside. David video taped a litttle bit of that moment as well. It was very cute and we could see that the children really love being outside. Their playground is awesome with lots of things to climb on and play on and even a little carousel that has animals for them to sit on that spins them 'round. :) So now it was time for us to get in the van, after one last photo of our family in front of the orphanage. As we climbed in Mason's heart finally could take no more changes, he screamed and cried and was feeling so out of control. But again, Susie to the rescue. She immediately comforted him and told him he was safe, that we love him, will feed him, and make him very happy. She told him not to be scared. I gave the little comfort I had in Chinese "boo coo, boo coo" and she told me how to saw "good boy" also in Chinese which sounds like "gui gui". He responded immediately. He snuggled into my arms and although he was scared and his eyes full of tears - he has not screamed like that since. He has cried when he is afraid of new places and new faces, but no screaming tantrums. So thankful for God's merices! We rode back to the hotel and once we were in the room we introduced him to more toys and more treats. lol! David has the room set at sub-polar temps, so I knew he would be freezing. The only long pants and shirts I brought were his pj's - so we put those on him with some socks. Susie told me, "Yes, that's better." :) Oh, he is brave! He is cuddly! and more than anything HE IS OURS! :)



Isn't that AWESOME!!! It sounds like our Hannah is a special little one and so so LOVED! Oh, how I long to meet her! Shelly has pictures and VIDEO - are you kidding me!!!! I can't wait!

Please join me in praying for George Mason and his precious family. My God give George Mason comfort and peace and may he give Shelly and David patience and comfort during this adjustment phase. If you want to follow their China journey, you can at: heartheldhigh.blogspot.com