It's here...
The day before we leave has arrived and my eyes popped open at 4:00 this morning with that thought in my head.
I began to think about all of the changes that are fixing to occur in my life...and in my kid's lives (Maddox being the one to experience the GREATEST change).
I wonder if he knows that in less than a week he will be with his Mama and Baba (that's daddy in Ch*nese)...He has big sisters (jie jies) and a big brother (ge ge). I so desperately wish there was a way that I could communicate with him beforehand...To "break the ice"...
I'm getting on a plane tomorrow (well, technically, 2 planes ;) ) and I'm flying on the other side of the world to get my precious little gift from God...Finally!!!
Wow...
I will be posting here and on Facebook throughout the journey, and I thought I start off by listing our in country itinerary so that you guys would have something to "follow", so to speak.
First, let me tell you the schedule tomorrow:
We leave for New Orleans at a bright and early 2:00 a.m. (yay) I'm sure I'll be just beautiful looking...
Our plane leaves New Orleans at 6:38 a.m. and we arrive in San Francisco at 9:12 a.m.
We then leave San Francisco at 12:01 p.m. and fly 12.6 hours landing in Beijing at 3:15 p.m., their time.
NOW, remember...China is a full 13 hours AHEAD of us; so when it's 3:15 p.m. there, it's 2:15 a.m. here.
Once in China our schedule is as follows:
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY-- Sight Seeing in Beijing
MONDAY -- Fly out of Beijing in morning to Kunming, Meet Maddox in afternoon!!!
Better known as GOTCHA DAY!
TUESDAY-- Civil Affairs Appointment; Maddox officially becomes our son!
WEDNESDAY -- Adoption Appointments and Sight Seeing
THURSDAY -- Adoption Appointments and Sight Seeing
FRIDAY -- Fly out of Kunming to Guangzhou
SATURDAY -- Medical Exam for Maddox in the morning; Paperwork for US Consulate in evening
SUNDAY -- Sight Seeing and Shopping :D
MONDAY -- Consulate Appointment @ 8:30 a.m., then Oath-Taking Ceremony
TUESDAY -- Pick up Maddox's Visa; Depart from Guangzhou to Hong Kong
WEDNESDAY -- Fly out of Hong Kong; plane leaves @ 10:15 a.m. their time...Stop over in Tokyo...Land in Newark, NJ @ 4:30 p.m. (That's 18 hours and 15 minutes of traveling...yikes)
Leave Newark, NJ @ 9:00 p.m. and Land in New Orleans @11:19 p.m.
WHEW!!!
I'm sure when we get home we'll be exhausted, but I have a feeling the adrenaline rush may keep us from going to sleep right away...That and jet lag...
If Maddox is still awake, we will show him around his house; and I can't wait to show him his room!!!! *squeals with excitement*
Now, we have been praying over Maddox for almost a year. Since we first laid eyes on him and knew he was ours...We have been praying that he would adjust quickly and not have attachment issues.
We are praying that Maddox will be able to know, right away, that I am his Mama and Scotty is his Baba, and that WE are his primary caregivers. That he would function well with the big family environment that we have and that he would adjust quickly so that we can bring him to church and out and about for normal stuff without anxiety.
- Something that we feel we need to explain, is that we cannot just pass him around to be held by everyone immediately. It would cause a lot of confusion for him. Also, I cannot leave him for a long while....Not even in the church nursery. We have to make sure that he understands that we will not leave him...That he has a forever family. The good news is, that he WILL adjust...And he WILL realize that we will NEVER leave him, and that we will ALWAYS take care of him.
So, be in prayer for Maddox...That God would begin to prepare his heart, even now, for Gotcha Day...That the peace of God would guard his heart and mind; and that he would feel the love of God flowing through Scotty and I.
Pray for his health, that he would be well and healed and whole from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. Pray that he doesn't get motion sickness, as he has NEVER traveled in ANY way before and they will be driving him 4 1/2 hours to get to us.
Pray for Scotty and I, to have wisdom and favor in every situation that we will be facing in Ch*na.
Pray for protection over us; Scotty, myself, Maddox and our family back home.
We will be meeting several families in Guangzhou that I have become quite close to over the last 6 months. We have prayed together, supported each other, etc, and they are either leaving today or tomorrow to get their little ones in Ch*na! Pray for those families to have EXCELLENT experiences with their Gotcha Days and with their time in Ch*na with their little blessings.
Thank you all who have supported us in any way, shape, or form! God BLESS you abundantly!!!
I will post more tomorrow!!!
YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!
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