Saturdays Adventure

We spent today touring The Forbidden City, took a Huotong Tour, and went to a traditional tea party! All very neat things and so glad we did each of them.  The forbidden city was so intriguing because our guide was so knowledgeable and really liked to go into detail about each stopping point! We learned that the city was no longer used for emperors after 1911.  The last emperor was allowed to live there until 1923.  That was the end of the Ming Dynasty! Now I need to freshen up on my Chinese History to confirm these neat details, haha later! As we left the city we walked down a public path in order to get to our driver.  Charlotte warned us that we would encounter begging along the way, and to ignore them.  It sounds so harsh, but it is for the best.  These people often times have disabilities and they are used as pawns to beg for money.  Then their earnings are stripped from them, only allowing them a small amount.  It was heart wrenching walking by an elderly lady with no leg, huge crutches holding her up.  Also a man with no left arm and burns on 50% of his body, including his face.  He was signing a song with a microphone that echoed for a very long way. The list goes on, and it was hard to walk by. I have heard stories about these types of scenarios in Guangzhou and it being very evident that they are being monitored by a man close by, the head of the trafficking ring probably.  My kids were quiet, sad realities of this dark world.  Your heart wants to help them, but helping them is not what you think.  It would only go to enabling this disgusting scheme that is played daily by perfectly "healthy" human beings that are using these innocent souls as a means for their income.  It is just inhumane.  It is hard to move on from there...

I had to walk away from writing this for a little while to regroup my thoughts!

We went for lunch at a very teeny, hole in the wall, place.  Jason insisted quietly that the driver stopped too early? haha It was a dumpling restaurant that our guide raved about.  She was right, the dumplings were good, but when it comes to food it is hard to get past that visual exterior of the building that holds the food! We survived and then went on to tour the Huotong district, homes, and daily life of the people in the city. It was a very impoverished area, which ironically use to be the place to live hundreds of years ago! Today, there is no central heat or air, and in case you didn't know it gets COLD in Beijing!!!  These people work hard though! They also have a joyful happiness about them.  A memory I will cherish from Huotong is the simplicity of the people. They are very content pulling up a broken chair to join a card game in the middle of the street, hang laundry from a line that connects to their neighbors door, decorate their doorways for spring with paper lanterns.  They are just neat people!

We finished our day with a traditional tea party.  It was a cute little shop where they told us about the different kinds of tea, the healing benefits of each, it was a neat end to our day.  I told them that their tea tasted much better than my tea bags do at home, they laughed at me! Apparently, the left over leaves are used for the bag kind, aka bottom of the barrel tea, HA!!

Tomorrow we will see the Summer Palace and Tienanmen Square! Then we will hop on a bullet train and head to Tianjin, AKA JESSA!!! We will get her on Monday morning, early! I can not believe the nerves that are fluttering around inside of me for that meeting! Just praying for her heart, that she knows us, likes us, doesn't grieve too hard for the life she knew.... This is BIG!

 Breakfast like this,every morning!

 Karate Kid - must see it again now that we have been!

 The dumpling spot....



So tired!

Made it to Beijing safely! United's flight attendants don't hold a candle to Deltas, but it was overall a good flight! Our guide, Charlotte, met us at the airport and we took a 40 minute ride to our hotel. It is called Lee Garden Apartments, its lovely! We have a 2bedroom/2bath suite, kitchen, wash machine, perfect family stay here in BJ! Eating ramen for dinner and really hoping for a full nights rest! So tired! But we have a fun day planned tomorrow, I will press on! Here is a peak at our past 24! Thanks for praying <3

Big Brother

Last year his world changed completely in an instant! Now we are heading back to China again and he is going to be a big brother!!! He is so excited about "teaching Jessa the alphabet!" or so he says! I was slightly concerned about how he would handle the return trip, but he seems to be handling the plan rides and China chatter just fine! He is an amazing little kid. I can't wait to see their 4 year old interactions!!! Take off in 3.5 hours!!!

To the day....

Seven months ago tomorrow we saw Jessa's face for the first time! Seven months, to the day! I am just amazed when God does things like that! It is like He is stamping his big amazing seal of peace on whatever it is you're doing! I am thankful for those blessed reassurances that we are right where He wants us! The same happened with Jackzhen's adoption, except last year it was 9 months to the day! I am thankful for a two month reprieve this time, but just as amazed that He reminds us in little ways, "I got this!!!"

I got a text from a friend tonight that said this, "I can't believe what happened in under a year! So amazing. Jason's heart, finances, and paperwork?!!"

I think that it sums up so perfectly how completely and totally GOD is the orchestrator of this adoption, yet again! There is no way we could have done this so seamlessly on our own! But that is how God works! Zephaniah says that He delights in us, and I am living proof that He sure does! He may not always do what we want, the way we want, but can I just say, THANK YOU LORD, for not! I would have messed things up time and time again if He gave me what I thought I wanted/needed! So I will rest tonight with the peace that He has brought us here, in a modest seven month span, and I'n happy to go whereever else He leads us!!!

Tomorrow we board the first of two planes taking us to stand on the same ground as our Jessa! And it only took 7 months to get here! Awwwwesome <3

8/14/12-3/14/13



http://aldrich1999.blogspot.com/2012/04/9-months.html?m=0

Twas the Night Before the Airport....

And all through my mind, not a brain wave was working, not even my eyes.  That is how I feel right now.  I have prayed, packed, cleaned, crafted, organized, scheduled, blogged, updated, you get the idea.  As a family we have never been so prepared for a trip in our lives! I am sitting here tonight and just can't believe that tomorrow we will be leaving for the airport, TOMORROW! We are planning on staying at the airport Marriott because our flight is so early on Thursday morning.  Therefore, tomorrow is the day we say good bye to our house as a family of 6 and head out.  I have so many emotions running through my mind!!! Mostly just thrilled out of my mind, for JESSA, China, One Less, and to be making this trip with my honey and all of our children again! I am also just a tad excited to tour Beijing,  Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, The Great Wall, AKA The Most Amazing Field Trips EVER!!! Can I get a amen for home school??? hahahaha

Our flight leaves Tampa at 6:46am on Thursday.  We will connect in DC and head to Beijing at 1:20pm.  The flight is 14 hours L-O-N-G.......................................................

So excited, so so so excited!

He SHOWED me!

WOW~ I still can not BELIEVE the amazing news that we received tonight.  We got our consulate appointment! That is fantastic news, but what is even better is , WHEN!!!! After a week of watching other people get appointments, I knew there weren't many left.  Monday, 3/26 was still being given out, but by Thursday it seemed that 3/28 was all that was left! I was giving up hope on leaving next week! I did give it to the Lord and I knew that whatever he wanted, we would GLADLY take.  I was wrestling with the decision to wait a week to leave in order to save money, when my girl was just sitting in an orphanage alone!!! I cried out to God and told him that where he led, I would follow! I meant that! Call it over spiritualizing, but I felt like Abraham with Isaac.  Like He was testing me to see if I was all in! So tonight my favorite Kelsey called and said that she got our consulate appointment, it was set for 8:30am on MARCH 25TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am not sure how there was anything left at the beginning of the week, other than God had set it aside for us, for JESSA!!!!

AMAZED, I was, I am, still, so totally amazed!

My GOD can do all things, He supplies all my needs, He gives me the desires of my heart, He loves me when I don't deserve it, and He lavishes His love upon me! I am blessed, to be used by Him, to be loved by Him, to be HIS!

Thank you Lord!

Jessa Zhao Mae - MOMMA & BABA ARE COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS REMEMBER MY PRAYER REQUEST?
3-6-13 So my prayer to each of you that read this is to pray, please pray that somehow someway we can get a consulate appointment of 3/26 or 3/27 and avoid Friday travel altogether! I am well aware that God can be at work here in other ways and if He wants us there with a CA of 4/2 then I will take it with gladness, I just need HIM to show me that!   - HE SHOWED ME!!!

GUESS WHAT?

WE ARE GOING TO CHINA BABY

Our Travel approval took 14 days, pick up was 2/20 for those of you wondering! 

Now on to the consulate appointment scheduling!!! 

Prayer Request

If you are follow our family happenings on Facebook, then you know we have been waiting for 14 days on our travel approval! Of course it seems that I am obsessive over bringing our daughter home, and most days I am, however there are very good reasons to obsess over something like this!!! After you get approval for travel, you have to apply for a consulate appointment! They only give consulate appointments to children over 2 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  On those days, they only give 24 appointments, 12 in the morning and 12 in the afternoon.  We are hoping for a consulate appointment for the week of 3/26-3/28 because the following week, is a holiday in China!  We wanted to avoid that week for good reasons and now it seems like it may be the week we were meant to be there after all! The last few days the only CA ( consulate appointments)  that were given out were for 3/28.  Those Thursday appointments are not ideal because you have to spend two more days in China, basically twiddling your thumbs! But OF COURSE we would gladly take that appointment day to get to our Jessa! Now here is a small issue with that appointment for that particular week, Friday is GOOD FRIDAY!!!! What an awesome day to travel home on right?!?!? I thought so too, then I saw the plane ticket prices!!! :( They are $1000 more a person to travel home that day.  We are traveling with 7 people, S-E-V-E-N ! So now comes this mama's sadness!  I don't want to leave my daughter in China for another week because of the price of plane tickets........
I don't want to................. 
This stinks! STINKS..... So my prayer to each of you that read this is to pray, please pray that somehow someway we can get a consulate appointment of 3/26  or 3/27 and avoid Friday travel altogether!   I am well aware that God can be at work here in other ways and if He wants us there with a CA of 4/2 then I will take it with gladness, I just need HIM to show me that!

Thanks guys, we are so close!!!!

Hallelujah................

We have been waiting for 12 days for our travel approval.  It isn't a long wait compared to those waiting mama's who got caught up in the Chinese New Year!  However, there are some that got their TA in 7-9 days too, so of course that is where my mind goes! But bottom line God doesn't want me to consume myself with other people's situations! He wants me to consume myself with Him first, and allow his will to flow through us! There are times when I feel like I have come so far in my patience and endurance in the Lord during this second adoption, but then I hop on my DTC board or stare at her picture........... and I fall.......... I am so thankful for grace.

I talked to one of our pastors on Sunday, sharing with him the news of our process! I explained to him that most people wait 2-3 weeks to travel after they receive travel approval, but I wanted to hop on a plane next week! (Is it possible, YES! Is it common, NO! haha)  I told him that God has given me a very big, strong will and I don't know how far to let it take me sometimes! He reminded me that God also gives us the desires of our hearts, those desires have to come from somewhere! It was my peace for the day.  Even if my hopes seem too big, they are never too big for my God.  So to answer all of your questions about when, when, when, we are going!!! WHENEVER our travel approval comes, if we can get a consulate appointment for March 26th, 27th, or 28th - We will be on a plane March 13th!!! God knew what He was doing when he allowed me to be Jessa's mama bear! I will fight to get to her home as soon as humanly possible!

With that being said..................... Our amazing social worker, Kelsey, spoke with our China contact tonight.   She confirmed that our Travel Approval has been issued AND mailed! It should be here Wednesday!!! OH MY WORD!!! Did I just type that??? Can you see the tears hitting the keyboard??? Thank you LORD!!! Now we will wait and see if there is a consulate appointment with our name on it, and whatever date that is, I am at peace!

Your Mama, Baba, Jie Jie's and Gu Gu's are packing their bags, we are coming baby girl!!!!

Our Final Update

We purchased an O phone call a month ago, but because of Chinese New Year their response was delayed.  Today, day 9 of our travel approval wait, we got our update and to my surprise - PICTURES!!!

• 1.       How many nannies care for Zhao Zhao? (are they all women?)
• There are three female teachers at the preschool daytime.
• 2.       Does she have a foster mom and dad?
• She is in foster family now. There is foster mom and dad and another child.
• 3.       What size shoe & clothes does she wear?
• See her height and foot length and then buy her clothes (sizes in China are not always correct).
• 4.       What are her other measurements, height and weight?
• Height: 103cm; Weight: 16.8kg; Foot: 16cm.
• 5.       Does she have a favorite toy, animal, or thing?
• She loves dolls, blocks and puzzle.
• 6.       Does she have a close friend?
• Her closest friend is the child in the same foster family.
• 7.       What is her favorite food?
• She is never picky. She likes everything.
• 8.      Is this CWI part of half the sky?
• Yes
• 9. Is there something about Zhao Zhao that makes her unique and special?
• Zhao Zhao is a lovely child. She is very polite and likes to communicate with people. 

On cloud 9 as I read about my sweet daughter.  The pictures that followed were just icing on my cupcake! This was a great way to enter the weekend! Her face brightens my day ♥  Amazing to think that this is our final update, final pictures, final need for any of that! The next time I get a picture of my sweet JJ Mae, it will be on my memory card! Love you sweet girl, mama can't wait to show you how much you are loved xoxox