This morning we got up a little early (remember – China is 12 hours ahead of us) and had Riley call Peyton (Yu Ke) at their orphanage.  Be warned!  This is over two minutes of almost nothing but Mandarin.  However, it IS entertaining to watch Riley (periodically falling into English while making her point) try and find someone to answer, then finally finds a boy who does not know which girl she wants to talk to, then does not want to walk into the rain to find her, then finds a girl that will go get her, and finally we get to talk with Peyton!  She says Hello to BaBa (dad) MaMa (mom) and JiJi (little brother), and at the end she blows Kelly a kiss (battery died on the camera. Of COURSE it did!).

In all, a fun conversation.  She says she is ready for us to come get her and bring her home!  It can not come quick enough!

Cameron

Ok.  That is not true.  NOTHING is packed yet!  But plane tickets are purchased and we leave for China on Friday, November 4.  That is the end of next week!  All those things you thought you had PLENTY of time to finish are now coming due at frightening speed.  Add to that we are spending late evenings filling out paperwork and planning the in-country portion of our trip as we deal with the in-China staff working twelve hours ahead of us.

But we look forward to meeting the new additions to our family!  And Jessie and Riley are looking forward to getting to know their new sisters and vising their old orphanage for the first time since leaving three years ago.  To make things even better, our niece, Taylor, is going to visit us the first week and help with the transition!  She is spending a year in Beijing working at an orphanage.  You can visit her blog at:

https://taylordiatte.wordpress.com/

At this point we are planning to visit both orphanages the first week, which makes for a busy schedule in Huainan.  We will go to Madison’s orphanage one day and then the orphanage of Peyton, Jessie, and Riley (and Ali!!) another day.  Between all the official appointments we have to make and the visits, that week should fly by!

The second week we will travel to Guangzhou to get the girls their medical exams, a consulate appointment, and the required visit to the zoo and circus.  That week looks like it could be a blur also.  Less than two weeks in county almost seems like a vacation when you have been used to staying there just short of three weeks the last two trips.  And the fact that we have stayed in both cities several times before makes planning maybe a little bit easier??

I may not post again until next week, unless something exciting happens.  Prayers continue to be appreciated.  For the girls and the dramatic changes that will be  in occurring in their lives.  For Jessie and Riley that they help with the girls adjustment process and that they are prepared emotionally for their orphanage visit.  And for the kids left here at home.  And a million other things that have to happen in the next ten days!

Cameron

We are out in rural Ohio camping with two other families …

… and we received notice that we our travel approval!  We could be traveling to China in about two weeks!  Will update early next week when we know more!

Cameron

A late night post, but it is morning in China!  We received notice that our Article 5 was approved by the US Consulate.  We should have more information in the morning, but for now this appears to be a big hurdle that we have gotten past.  Next step is Travel Approval, which we hope comes wth the next two weeks.

God continues to be faithful. We are blessed by the prayers con earning this situation. Our departure date is coming quickly!

Cameron

The last several weeks have been filled with all the emotions that are so commonplace with international adoptions.  The emotional highs of the process moving forward and the inevitable disappointments as paperwork gets delayed and items out of your control materialize!

I’m a little embarrassed that it has been so long between posts.  It is like having your first child and you have a million pictures of them doing everything from crawling to eating dirt.  By the time you get to the fourth child you are lucky to find a birthday picture!

This is always an exciting time of year as we have eight birthdays between September 21 and October 22.  In fact, this past week we had four birthdays!  Kelly, Brittany, Luke, and myself all celebrated over the last seven days.

We also found a little time to head out to the beach!  We went down to Orange Beach, Alabama, to spend a week with friends in the sand and sun.

It also gave us the chance to make a couple of stops to see some of the girls that Ali, Jessie, & Riley grew up with in the Huainan orphanage.  On the way down we were able to spend the evening with two families who came up to our campsite on Mount Santo in Birmingham, Alabama.

Then, on the way home, we stopped for lunch in Montgomery, Alabama, as we connected with another old friend and her family.

Now we are in the holding pattern of figuring out when we will be heading to China.  Everything had been moving along pretty smoothly until the U.S. Consulate put a hold on everything this week, requesting additional information for Madison.  This is to be expected as there are ALWAYS some delays in the process.  But the fact that we have to be in China to finalize Madison’s adoption prior to her birthday on December 5 makes the timing especially stressful!

But God has worked through issues like this before, over and over again, and there is no reason to think that He won’t work through this situation also.  We rest in the assurance the He has the best in store for both Madison and Peyton and this little hurdle will only be a chapter in their adoption story.

Thank you to everyone who donated and helped us reach the required matching amount with Brittany’s Hope.  I was a little stressed the other day over finances (again, a common feeling with anyone who has adopted, especially as the time to travel approaches) and then we received a donation to cover all the girls airfare home.  It was another gentle reminder that God has every aspect of this adoption in the palm of His hand.

If anyone still would like a set of Leah’s Note Cards, the are still available here:

http://www.ckbphoto.com/store/

I know I said this earlier, but they are much prettier than what you see on the webpage.  Everyone who has received them has commented on how vibrant and beautiful they are.

Thank you so much for your prayers and your support.  Every child we have adopted has benefited from this and I know that Madison and Peyton will also.

Cameron