We made it!

Whew... we have made it to Beijing. The time change is killing us. We sat at dinner tonight nodding off. We ordered what we thought was a pesto pasta dish with grilled chicken. We got the pasta, no chicken. Hmmm ?? Not really crazy about the hotel (River View) There is no view! Only very old buildings that look very dirty. I guess bars on windows is universal.
We feel safe in the hotel. :-)
Tomorrow is a full day of sightseeing. We'll have more to post after tomorrow.
Jason and "Andrew... I miss you guys!
Love,
Cindy and Mark

And We're Off!!!!!

It's only 11:33 p.m. and we are finally all packed and ready to go. Since we have to be leaving for the airport at 4:00 a.m. it leaves us a few hours to spare! I have double checked and triple checked the luggage, paperwork, passports, etc. Mark says this is our trial run to see if we could make it on the Amazing Race. I'll have to keep you posted on that.
I had fully intended to post photo's of the nursery, but now I'm just to exhausted. We appreciate the e-mails and phone calls. More than anything else, we appreciate the prayer cover. Please pray for our safety, our health, and quick return. Hang on Lydia... We're coming!

Showers of Blessings!!

This day has been full of emotion! My peers at BCPS gave Lydia a shower and I was very humbled by the thoughtfulness and care that went into the event. I have to say I am so very blessed to work with such a great group of educators.

The gorgeous white dress is from the family of the student that I Para. I know God gave him to me for this point and time. I will miss him dearly.

Another photo is Mark showing off his "favorite" items of the shower. Having him in attendance was "dinner and a show!" He made certain that with each gift opened that he roared out an exagerated AWWWWWE. (Note to self... no husband at next shower) :-)

The two cuties who studied every gift I opened are my Pre-K friends. The one on the right gave me all of the church shoes she has outgrown. Thank you Olivia, Lydia is gonna love all those shoes! They also picked out an adorable outfit!

I can't end the post without thinking of my beautiful daughter who will be one year old tomorrow. My heart hurts as I think about her birthmother who will also be thinking about her in a completely different way. I pray for the Lord to bring peace to her. I pray for the Lord to give her a reassurance that the little baby she lovingly placed where she knew she would be found quickly, was indeed found safe and sound.

Pray for us.... pray for her....

Cindy

Time to Travel!!!

We got the official word today to purchase our tickets. We fly out of Jacksonville on 3/5/09 and return 3/18/09. Our official "Gotcha Day" is indeed March 9th!
How great is our God??
We are very happy to have Mamaw coming to keep the boys. I have absolutely no worries. My boys will be in good hands, the church will be in good hands, and my sweet student Justin will be in good hands.
Packing is coming along, I have managed to organize various stacks for each of us. Thank the Lord I am done Thursday! I will not return until the fall. You gotta love the sound of that! My school is throwing a shower for Lydia this Thursday. I can't express how wonderful it is to pastor in such a caring community. Both of our local newspapers have contacted us to do our story.
We are blessed beyond measure!
Don't quit praying now... we need you now more than ever.

Cindy (for Mark,Jason, Andrew, and Lydia Joy)

China Here We Come!!!!

We got our call for travel approval this afternoon. The wait is almost over!!! Looks like we will be leaving in 2 weeks, and guess what??????????? Our very possible gotcha day is that inescapable date of March 9! (reference post from early January) If it is not our gotcha it will likely be the day her adoption is finalized. Don't you just love how God weaves it all together??

Also, Andrew was playing in a tennis match today and his opponent happens to have 2 sisters adopted from China. They were at the match and I was so ADD from the good news and having those sweet little faces to look at it was hard to focus on the game. (Sorry Andrew) Andrew pulled out his first win of the season!

Stayed tuned for exact dates to come!

We thank you for your prayers!

Cindy

Still Waiting....

We are on pins and needles this long weekend! I have heard from our agency that our TA is on the way!! I worked up the courage to ask how soon would we travel after receiving the TA and she said... usually about 3 weeks!!! Wooo Hoooo!!! Now I really don't know what has been more difficult, waiting for 3 years without a picture, or 5 weeks looking at one!
There are a few things to ground us back into reality. Jason has gone to see his girlfriend who lives over an hour away for the day. It was excruciating watching him pull out and drive off-alone! It is one of the hardest things I've had to do as a mother. Why do they have to grow up??? Andrew has began his Tennis season and is loving every minute of it. Mark and I celebrated our anniversary watching him play his first match of the season. He played hard, but lost.
As usual... we ask for your prayers,

Ephesians 1:5,7
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Christ Jesus...and it gave him great pleasure... he is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son.
Love,
Cindy (for Mark, Jason, Andrew and Lydia Joy) :-)

Hurry up and wait!

Today is Lydia's 11 month birthday! We were hoping for our Travel Approval before the Spring Festival... that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Oddly though, I find myself unwilling to give up as so much of our process has not followed the normal channels.

We have had some very special help getting our nursery ready. We are very thankful to Aunt cheryl and Uncle David along with Josie and Emilie as well as friends Frank, Allyson and Molly. We could not have done it without you guys! As you may have guessed by now... purple is our new favorite color. Her nursery is lilac and light green.

I found this map online, it reflects our upcoming journey. The closer we get to our TA the more butterflies I have about leaving Jason and Andrew here. For the record... Jason has never wanted to go to China with us. He is my old man in a 17 year olds body. Andrew was initially open to going, however, as tennis season has arrived and he holds the #1 boys single slot he has become unwilling to compromise his hard work. He also feels an allegience to his team. So we are left to ralley friends, family and church family to assist with their supervision in our absence. Please pray for me as I am increasingly unhappy about the boys not going. It's just not natural to leave your flesh and blood behind as you travel halfway around the world!

As you may have concluded by viewing the photo of the toilet, there are a few things besides the boys to be missed. Mark and I ate Chinese last night in honor of the Chinese New Year and I helped myself to some steamed white rice. This is what kept me alive while in China the last time. As soon as I smelled it I felt like I was sitting at the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza in Chengdu!

Please know that we have read and treasure all of your kind words of encouragement and congratulations! We love and appreciate you all very much.

Remember us when you pray,

Cindy (for Mark, Jason, Andrew, and Lydia)