We made it!

Well we finally made it!  Man o'man what a long flight!  Washington airport was huge and we felt like we went over the river and through the woods to get to our gate but we made it!  Then we felt like sardines on the flight!  The flight was really long but not too bad until we got ready to land and the turbulence was really bad so I ended up getting sick several times, as did many people on the flight!  Our luggage made it and we met George,our guide, who had us a driver to get us to the hotel.  That was an adventure.  It was similar to New York city, cutting people off and honking horns!  But we made it and got checked in.  We have already Skyped with the kiddos and they seemed good!  We have been to get some bottled water and are now ready to settle in and sleep!  We are exhausted!  Thanks for the prayers! And I will update when we can!

Love, Renee

Leaving for China

What a morning! We told the kiddos goodbye, not easy! After several tears we were out the door! Pawpaw came up to get them off to school, thNk you pawpaw! And We made it up here fine, thanks Grana! And God was with us weighing our bags, they weighted 44lbs exactly! That was the max! Woo-hoo! I know that God has all this under control and that we are going to have a great trip! Not sure when we will be able to update again, but just know that we will as soon as we can! Thanks everyone for helping with our kiddos and taking care of things while we are gone! We can't wait to meet our new daughter! I can't believe it is finally happening! We are really getting her and bringing her to her forever home! Can't wait! Love, Renee

3/18/12

Well the time is getting closer and closer to getting our sweet girl home!  So tonight we, well Tony, put the car seat in the car, as you can see below!  It looks really funny seeing a car seat in our car again!  I think are ready for her to be in her forever home!  We have been packing, making plans for the other kiddos and trying to make sure everything is ready.  We are really excited but also getting nervous about this trip!  We can't wait to meet our sweet daughter and see her country!  We really do appreciate everyone's thoughts, prayers and comments on Facebook to us, keep them coming!  I will post more about packing later! Packing for 3 for 2 weeks in 2 bags is not easy!   But on that later!

Renee

Final Paperwork and Conference Call

3/14/12
We have received our final travel packet and had our conference call!  Our trip is totally planned out and I really can't believe it is here!!!  We leave 1 week from tomorrow and fly into Beijing.   We will be there a few days and then fly to Zhengzhou where we will get Emery.  We will get her on Tuesday, March 27th, which will be Monday, March 26th here!  The 26th is actually the same day my Mom passed away a few ago.  She is still giving me signs that she is involved!!!  I sure wish she was here on earth to share in this joyous event!!!!

We had some friends come in last week from getting their beautiful daughter.  It was wonderful meeting them at the airport.  We can't wait to bring Lily a new friend home!  They have been so sweet to go over their trip with and tell us what to expect! 

This past Sunday The Langfords that go to church with us met us for lunch!  They have the sweet girl Sara from China!  She is the little angel that melted Tony!  We had lunch and then they came back over to our house and they told us all about their trip to get Sara!  It was wonderful hearing all their details and seeing all their pictures!  We are ready to go!

The kids are getting excited and a little nervous.  They know that life as they have known it is going to change!  But they are looking forward to finally getting her home.  It seems like an eternity to them!  And it's really just been a little over a year!  We truly have been blessed!  I just pray that God continues to lead us to her!

Thanks for all the prayers and I will keep you posted!
Love,
Renee

We Are China Bound

3/7/12
We have everything approved and ready for our trip! We will be leaving on March 22nd and return on April 4th! I still need to pinch myself to see that this isn't a dream and that it is really happening! We are all so excited! I must admit that I am totally stressed out and worried about leaving the kids here but I'm trying really hard to have faith that everything will work out and be fine for them! But it is not easy! We have only left them for 2 nights, certainly not 2 weeks! We are planning to Skype while we are there so hopefully that will help! We will be flying into Beijing and thence will fly out of Hong Kong coming home! I'm not sure that I will be able to post on here while we are there but I do plan on emailing And having it posted on here! We really appreciate all our family and friend's support and prayers during this journey and the best is yet to come! Please continue to pray for us and I will do my best to keep you updated on our trip!
Love,
Renee

Consulate Appointment

3/6/12
We received our consulate appointmet today! I talked to the travel agency and got a tentative itiniary. It has to go to the agency for approval! But I'm pretty sure it will be approved! Stay tune and I will update once everything is confirmed!
Thank you Lord for leading us on this journey! I know you have a precious angel waiting on us!
Love, Renee

Travel Approval

3/2/2012
Wonderful news! We got travel approval today! We are hoping to leave March 21st and return around April 4th! We are over the moon excited! I can't believe it is finally really happening! I can't believe I will have that sweet girl in my arms in just a few weeks! This is a undescribable feeling! We have been waiting for this day and I really can't believe it is finally here! Please keep those prayers coming that we get out consulate appointment. That is the last thing we need! We were hoping to leave on the 14th but there is a conference in Henan and all the hotels are booked! My fingers and toes are crossed that this travel plan will work! I will keep updating as we get info! Thanks for all the love, support and prayers!!! Love, Renee