Leaving on a jet plane............

SO that is not an original title but considering it is 6:47AM and this is the third time I have "woken up" today - that is all you get! HA..... We leave in 4 hours for Detroit and then catch our connecting flight to Hong Kong around 3:40! The oldest monkey, sweet pea, is awake with me! We are sitting on the cold bathroom floor giggling about everything and trying not to awaken the crazies in the other room! 9 months ago today we started the paperwork and today we board a plane, I LOVE how my God does things!!! To everyone that was praying for Jillian, our prayers were answered! She is 100% back to her normal little self! I even had to give the girl a dose of chamomile last night to help her calm down - oh boy was she just a ball of fun - HA :) Thanks for following our journey to the J-Man.... This is a great adventure (thank you very much Mr. Steven Curtis Chapman!!!)   <3Mandy.....

Prayer Time....

Well here we are, feeling very blessed, staying at the airport Marriott, enjoying a good night sleep before our plane departs for Detroit at 10:35 am! As we did our nightly prayer, this was an excerpt from Jillian's... "Lord, thank you for Jackzhen. Help he to know that we, you know, like him!" I love the tender thoughts she has in her little heart, and I think he will certainly know that we LIKE him, no worries my girl.... Off to bed I go, 7am will be here soon!!!!! Hong Kong here we come!!!

9 Months........

We leave tomorrow for China, CHINA! I am so ready to be on a plane and even more giddy about meeting my son.  Although we are very well aware that this adoption may not be easy, there will be a grieving process that our son has to endure, we are certain that God is preparing his heart and ours,  to handle it! I was looking over paperwork tonight and I was elated to read a few dates from the beginning! We entered this adoption process on July 5, 2011.... AND.... We are traveling April 5, 2012 - 9 months to the day (my first kiddo to come on time!!! Score 1 for Jackzhen!!!)  I have said from the beginning that just as my children grew in my womb, my son Jackzhen is growing daily in my heart!!! AND OH BOY is there love in this heart for him!!! My prayer now is for Jackzhen... I pray that he would be able to see our family with joy, with an ounce of understanding, and a whole lot of inquisitive desire! I pray that he is ready to join this Aldrich Family in forever, I pray that he adapts well to the change, and certainly that he bonds with each of us! Please pray with me today for Jackzhen, for his little heart, because his mama loves him SO much!! Thanks everyone xo

'

From Clorox to Co-pays........

I sit here WIDE awake, with sweet anticipation of this next chapter in our lives! Today was supposed to be a day of cleaning, but instead turned into delegating and a doctors appointment!  My sweet Jillian Bea spiked a fever today that made me turn from clean freak to nurturing mama! Thank the Lord, it appears to be an innocent virus, did I really just type that?, but none the less my baby is under the weather and that is NOT my idea of a good day... I am grateful to my dear mama who spent her day walking in my shoes! She did laundry, cleaned, organized, and sorted! I was able to take JB to her appt and not worry an ounce about my other two monkeys or the mountain of work that awaited me at home! So, the day wrapped up nicely! My house is clean, we are packed, and Jillian is on the way to recovering! Thanking my Lord for this mama of mine, she is pretty fantastic!!!  As if that was not enough joy for one day, I was also blessed by a friend that picked up travel medications and lunch for us, a friend that dropped off last minute things, that I didn't have of my own, and a friend that brought dinner, despite her "full plate" in life right now!  Oh Jackzhen, you will be so loved by all of these awesome people!!!

Delta Delta Delta

Soooo after researching tickets and prices and talking to our travel coordinator, we have plane tickets and an intinerary!!!! That is a huge wait lifted.  We are leaving from Tampa on April 5th at 10:35AM *a day earlier than expected* and flying to Detroit, where we will catch our next plane to HONG KONG, CHINA!!!!  oh my goodness, this is fantastic.... As I type this I am grinning ear to ear, I can NOT believe it is here!!! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek~

 I have met a lot of terrific people through this process and I am excited that my new friend Laura Beth and her family are going to be taking the same flight in Detroit to meet thier son, who is also named "Jaxson"!!!! I am thrilled about sharing this 15hour and 50minute flight with someone we know!!! Thank you Lord for another little glimpse of you!!!

GOING TO CHINA!!!!!!!

We are going to CHINA!!!! We got our travel approval on Tuesday March 27th!!!! This week has been amazing to say the least... After getting our TA we had to put in for a consulate appointment! This appointment is the finalization of our adoption on China soil - it is the LAST step before we come home.  I asked Kelsey if she would put in for the week of April 17th because we REALLY wanted to travel to China around April 6th! Trade fair is quickly approaching and everything will cost more, so she agreed to try for that week!!! We were celebrating our amazing news that evening, when my phone rang again, it was Kelsey!!! She told me that she could not believe it but that our CA was already approved and they approved April 18th! We were elated and began dancing in the living room one more time!!! That meant that we could officially leave April 6th and meet Jackzhen for the first time April 9th! I still can't wrap my head around the fact that this is it, this is it!!!  We are finally leaving!!! It has been 9 months of a paperwork roller coaster.  It put the saying "hurry up and wait" to true meaning for our family! God's hand has been all over this adoption from the beginning! He burdened our hearts, led us to this perfect child, and has carried us through this process the entire way! There were times when I would fall on my face crying out to God, "Please hurry!".  I would remind him that Jackzhen needed us and we needed him, but He knew all that.  He would comfort me through my amazing husband, supportive family, a song on the radio, a friends kind words, and remind me to focus my eyes back on Him and let Him continue what He had started!  Though sometimes just a glimmer, my faith never failed! I chose to trust God and He indeed carried this awesome adoption through! I heard a song on the radio yesterday and again found myself blubbering away behind the steering wheel - it hit my heart and spoke to me in such a way that I could not contain myself.  The words to the song went like this....

Welcome to your life
You’re everything you’ll someday be

There’s a weight off my shoulder
There’s laughter in the air
You are the answer to every midnight prayer

You’re mine to love
We have all been waitin’ on you
You’re mine to love
Come into these open arms
It took some time to wait it out
But I see it now, you’re worth all the dreaming of
You’re mine to love

SERIOUSLY!!!! This was written for my Jackzhen, because he is mine to love!!! And he is worth all the waitin'! Thank you Jesus for loving me even in the midst of my doubt, thank you for never giving up on me, and for allowing me to mother this amazing little boy! I have heard the adoption quote many times through this process that says, "not from my womb, but born in my heart!" And I contend that this is true to the fullest meaning of the phrase!

Blessed beyond measure to be given this love in my heart~ In a few weeks there WILL be ONE LESS orphan in this world ~  Now I have to do laundry because we are going to CHINA!!!!

His pouty little lips....

I am working on some picture work tonight and much to my amazement, I got an email from Ann with more pictures! This was a great surprise as I have been daydreaming all day about our travel approval.  Seems like the travel approvals are trickling in again, a FB friend of mine that had a pick up date 3 days before me, got hers today!!! We are next... Soooo this little email is helping me pass the time and ease the anxiety.... Here is my sweet son and his pouty little lips.... He is wearing the gray vest we got him for Christmas!!! I can't WAIT until we can take those silly pink arm cuffs off of him - he will trade them for some swim trunks and arm floaties SOON!!!!

Did I mention how much I love him???

Jackzhen 101

I asked a few questions with our last package, here are the responses.... He loves soft foods so it only makes sense that he does not like hard foods right?!?! whatever that means, hahaha - I will definitely steer clear of candy canes and candy apples!!! HA

他最喜欢的食物是什么？What is his favorite food?

答：他最喜欢吃软质的食物，如：面包，蛋糕，肉碎等。

     He most likes to eat soft food, such as: bread, cake, no meat on the bones and so on

他最不喜欢的食物是什么？What food does he not like?

答：他最不喜欢吃硬质的食物，如：带骨头的肉，硬质坚实的水果。

    He doesn't like eating hard foods

他晚上睡觉时需要什么东西吗？Does he need anything to go to bed at night?

答：他晚上睡觉时喜欢吮手指，趴着睡。

He loves sucking his finger, bending over to sleep

他害怕什么东西吗？Is he afraid of anything?

答：他害怕突然被大的声响惊吓。

He was afraid that sudden noise frightened

他是害羞还是喜欢说话的？Is he shy or does he like to talk?

答：他的性格活泼，聪明；喜欢说话、唱歌。

His disposition is lively, clever; like talking, singing

他会一些英语吗？ Does he know any English?

答：他能说一点语句，如“Good morning、Thank you、I love you”

He can speak a little English, such as“Good morning、Thank you、I love you”

他最喜欢的玩具是？ What is his favorite toy?

答：他最喜欢踢球、有声响的电动玩具。

He most likes playing football   The sound of electric toys

Making a Joyful Noise.......

I was browsing on baidu.com tonight and came across an article about Jackzhen's SWI.  I was totally giddy when I scrolled down to see that part of the article mentioned Jackzhen (QiuQiu) and his outgoing spirit! He grabbed the mic from the reporter and sang his song! here is a little clip from the article... "Wu Zhenqiu prominent children 2-4 years old class, they like to sing, the teacher play the piano and will sing along to the music."  I am a proud mama and I am thrilled about teaching him new songs so he can keep making a joyful noise!!! Not much longer little one!!!

A Cable, An Article, and A Tooth ! ! !

What a day this has been! We woke up to an awesome email telling us that we have been cabled, (see the post below for what the heck that means).... Then at 9:00 tonight I received a phone call from my favorite Kelsey, that our paperwork had already been dropped off in China!!!! That means we have an Article 5 drop off date of 2/24 and our pick up date will be 3/9!!!!! This is so great, I don't have to go through another weekend without answers!!! Thank you Lord!!! AND as if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, my Mason lost his 5th tooth - Oh happy day!!!

Cabled!!!!

We've been cabled!!!! This is fancy wording for "U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and State have begun communicating electronically about our adoption case". The next step is for our agency's contact to drop off some paperwork at the U.S. embassy in China for review. This step will take two weeks and after our Article 5 pick up, we will then be in line for travel approval!!! Oh my mercy, it is really starting to hit me that we will be in china in a little over a month!!! Oh Jackzhen, we are so close baby!!! I am preparing our fifth and final box to our boy!!! Oh so happy about that!!!!

refresh..... refresh.....

That is what I have been doing all day to the email app on my phone!!! I am waiting on an email that contains a PDF letter that states that my visa petition has been forwarded to the "appropriate Embassy"

This is the last step of this process that I have any "control over" I say that SO very loosely!!! After I receive this letter I will email it to Kelsey at Faith, she will then send it to their in-country rep, it will then be dropped off at the US Consulate, seriously another approval?!!?! UGH!!!!!!!  The date that it is dropped off is known as our Article 5 drop off date! Yippee!!!  Two weeks later it will be picked up and it will be delivered directly to the CCAA for Travel Approval!!! Sounds great, but thennnnn there is about another 2-3 week wait on travel approval - ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I am so thankful that the first part of this process happened at a very busy time of the year, because I didn't really notice how agonizing this process is until now.........  I just want our "forever" to start right now!!! I am totally having a childish temper tantrum because I am sick of waiting on red tape and SLOW people............. But please know that through this tantrum I do trust that God really has a plan here and I know that I am whining for NOTHING - He really has taught me so much through this adoption and I will, truly, never be the same!!! I just long for my son.... to hug, hold, read, tickle, play, snuggle, laugh, and teach......... I just want him home...... refresh...... refresh............ night♥

The Best Surprise EVER!!!

We sent a box to Jackzhen in October. In the box were colored pencils, canvas coloring boards, and a few other goodies for him! We also sent a letter thanking them for taking such good care of our son and asking them to send us some of his art work! We included a self addressed stamped envelope as well. Ann, from the Red Thread, delivered our package to the orphanage. She did inform me that there was a good chance that we would not receive anything. It is not typical of orphanages to respond to families like that due to lack of time, staff, and probably even desire :( - but none the less we gave it a go! To be honest, after December I forgot about the box because it had been two months with no word. Well today I met Jason to drop the kids off with him and he had a surprise for us!!! It was a package and the sender was Zhen Qiu Wu - JACKZHEN!!!!

Oh my word, were we thrilled!!!

Attached are the pictures of our happy gift!!!

 

Thank you Lord for these small glimpses of you this week - I am so thankful that your timing is so perfect! We will wait on you and be glad in it!!!