This and That

Wow what a busy week.   Things are picking up speed in many ways.

Yesterday we celebrated the 8th anniversary of Shiyan's adoption day.  Hard to believe that it has been that long.  We had a great day and ended the day with dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. 

Today we made a store run to start gathering supplies for the trip to get Joshua.   Had to update some supplies in my medical kit and move into a new kit since the last one has seen too many trips over there.   We picked up things we will need for the trip and began packing our supply bag with toys for the boys, basic supplies etc.   Now that there is one bag packed and stored in the guest room it makes it feel a little more real.

We expect our Article 5 in the next week and then the countdown to TA (Travel Approval) starts.   We covet your prayers for the TA to be turned around very quickly.   We have a date that we hope to hit for travel and we can't afford to lose any time right now.   With a little miracle we hope to be headed across the big pond in just over a month.  There are so many things to get done in that time. 

We received an update on Josh on Friday and this will help us to prepare a few things that we were uncertain about.  This also helped us know some of the things we will need like bottles, diapers, clothing sizes etc.

We continue to pray for the workers there to be preparing Joshua for our arrival.  We pray that he will bond with us and Shaun quickly.  We pray that his hearing is good enough for us to be able to comfort him during this transition.   We pray that our Mandarin will be good enough to get through another trip and to communicate with Joshua and with anyone we need to speak with while there.  (tough language to learn and speak).  We pray for good health for us and Joshua throughout the time and travel.    We know that God goes before us and prepares the way.    We pray that we will be ready for any appointments that He has in store for us.

Overall we have a wonderful peace about this entire process but at the same time any time you know that you have a child that is half way around the world you want to move heaven and earth to get to them so you can care for them and love them.   We long to get there and become his parents.

Shaun seems to be getting excited.  He is starting to identify books and toys that he wants to show his new brother.   He is starting to ask questions about the trip and seems to be excited to travel.   I have to be honest I truly dread being in airports and on airplanes with him for over 24 hours but it is a necessary part of the process.  Extra prayers for Shaun to travel well would be appreciated.

All in all we are ready to get things done and get on the way.   Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the big day.