homebound!

At this moment (Friday evening),
my China fellas are at the Hong Kong airport getting ready
for their dreadfully long flight home.

I simply can't wait for our new normal to begin.
And I can't wait to see my dear man.
I miss him terribly.

So, if you happen to wake up in the middle of the night tonight...
and/or when you wake up in the morning...
would you pretty please pray that their flight is going well,
that they are actually able to sleep, and that they arrive home safe and sound,
right on time?
Would you ?

Thank you, thank you.


And here are a couple pics from the other day when they
went to the zoo in GZ...

Those aren't real pandas.
It's hard to tell, I know.
But the children, they are real.
At least I think they are.
I'll let you know this time tomorrow night.

around the island and pool pics

Pictures are starting to arrive to me in a trickle.

But I love every one of them.

Keep up the good work, Super-K!

The boys make the rounds on the island...

(again and again and again)

K with Jordon

K with Kenny.

K with Michelle.

These folks have become K-man's extended family.

Anyone who utters a lick of English,

he gravitates to...and hangs on every last thickly accented word.



The boys are doing amazingly well.

They have so much fun together, which is a huge blessing!

And they absolutely LOVE the pool!

Long and lanky.

Just chillin'.

Mr. Silly Pants.

The comb-over.

Can't wait for these boys to finally get home!

And get my hands on that kid's hair.

photos

The infamous red couch photo.

The obligatory in-front-of-the-White-Swan-Hotel-waterfall
photo.

The travel group photo.
Ahem.An oh-so-adorable ice cream cone photo.

pool pics!

K and the boys went to the pool.
Even though it was hot and humid outside,
the water was only around 65 degrees...
but it didn't seem to bother these two sturdy boys one little bit.

Kelly said that Isaiah giggled and carried on so much.
So cute!

They both had a great time!

Again, the bangs taunt me.

So there you have it.
Another day marked off.
One week from tomorrow they will be home.
Forever!

I'm giddy.

where's my mama?

Super-K
(that's his new name as far as I'm concerned)
and the boys made it to GZ and are safe and sound in
a very nice suite at the Garden Hotel.
They found a Pizza Hut and said it was DELICIOUS.
I kid you not, he has yet
to eat at a Chinese restaurant.
Such a waste.

Here are some fun pics for your pleasure and mine.

My baby.
Where is my Mama?

Super-K enjoying his executive suite.
And here he is pretending to be an executive.

HH's first plane ride!

My fellas having some bonding time.

My baby.
Seemingly on a window sill.
No, Seriously, where is my Mama?

Just gotta say again how thankful I am for all of you.
Your comments, emails, text messages, and phone calls
are SO ENCOURAGING to me.
You make me smile and keep me going.

survival mode

I got a chance to briefly skype with Kman this evening.
Our connection was awful but we did
have a few minutes to enjoy each other's company.
Sweet.
He and the boys had just gotten up for the day and
he said that Isaiah got up and started marching around the room saying,
"Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong"!!
He was trying to wake up Hao Hao.
It worked.
And Hao Hao was all smiles.
So adorable, yes?!!

Then a few hours later K texted me to say they were at the
airport to catch their flight to GZ.
He told me he had just looked at his little "countdown" thingy on his
computer and it indicated that his trip was only half over.

Half over??

Half over.

So I did the only thing I could do.

I moved my coffee maker to my nightstand.

Oh, yes I did.
And as a matter of fact, yes...that is an unsightly stack
of reading materials.
And yes, that is a lovely encouraging card from a dear priend (which means, a praying friend).
And yes, if you look hard enough, that is
1/4 of a chocolate chip cookie that I will finish with my coffee
in the morning.
I'm in survival mode, as you can see.

Counting it pure joy, my friends...pure joy.

orphanage visit {a sobering thing}

It's official.
Isaiah Jack Dong Ji
and
Elijah Andrew Hao Hao
are our sons.

We now have six (gulp) kiddos.
Let the crazy begin.

Just after all the papers were signed for Hao Hao,
they headed to the orphanage
for the sad good-bye.

We had a care package put together for Xiao Dong (HH's brother)
but HH wanted to add a few things.
So they
went to Wal Mart and Hao Hao picked out some
snacks...and shampoo & body wash.

I need to say that this sibling relationship did NOT catch
us off guard.
We have known about it from the very start.
As you may recall, I posted about it a while back.
We did all we could to try to adopt him also.
It went nowhere.
And we were totally at peace that we were at the end of
making it happen.
Though this saddens us deeply, it is just the way it is.
We live in a fallen, broken world and things simply are not always fair.
It's not fair that these boys were left as orphans in the first place.
It's not fair that they have to be separated.
It's just not fair.

They will remain in constant contact via the internet.
Thankfully.

Meet Xiao Dong.

Hao Hao and Xiao Dong...brothers forever, even if they
are an ocean apart.

Hao Hao has no doubt looked forward to being on this is side
of the gift-giving for a very long time.
In fact,
Much to Kelly's surprise,
he had taken most of the gifts we had given him on Gotcha Day,
and passed them to his friends at the orphanage.
My heart.
He's a sweet, sweet boy.

There are so many beautiful faces there.

Kelly said there is no way I could have handled the emotions of the day.
It was too sad to see these tearful brothers part ways.
He said he felt like the bad guy.
Darned if you do, darned if you don't.
It was hard.

But Kel assured Xiao Dong that we will take good care
of his brother...that he can call or skype anytime.
We have given him the phone number of some dear friends in
Beijing who will help him if needed.

It's a sobering thing.
But I am thankful that Hao Hao's future is bright.
And I totally trust God's sovereignty.
He has a plan for Xiao Dong.
And though we all think America is the answer for these kids,
sometimes...it's not.

God is alive and on the move in China and I know that
there is great hope that Xiao Dong will come
to know Him as Savior.

Great hope.

please read...and pray

Hey...I need you guys to pray.
But first, please re-read this post from May 19, 2009, would you?

*******

Look at this darling girl!!

My friend Leah and her husband just adopted her.
Her name is Abbey
and she is one of Macy's friends.
We simply can't wait to see these two girls reunited!

This picture was taken when they visited the orphanage
after their adoption was finalized last week.

But what I'd really like you to take notice of is
the sweet boy in the background.

He is the only older child, out of 30+ kids in the Journey of Hope Project,
that still doesn't have a family coming for him.

He has heard nearly all his friends receive news of
a family coming for them.

He's watched so many other kids eagerly open care packages.

And, as you see in the picture above,
he's witnessed child after child walk out of the orphanage,
once and for all,
with their forever families.

And he continues to wait.

Older child adoption isn't easy.
Sometimes, it's downright HARD.

But really,
is it fair that any of us should have it easy
when this boy just wants a home to call his own?

If you feel God possibly calling you to adopt this boy,
please email me or contact WACAP.

And I would love it if all of you would join me
in praying for him!


UPDATE:
After much prayer, it turns out that WE are
this sweet boy boy's family!


*******

May 3, 2010
So today, almost one year after that post,
that sweet boy...our son...is finally the one who gets
to leave with a new family.
My heart leaps with excitement for him.
Although there are so many challenges and difficulties
that await him with the huge changes in his life.

Today, at this moment, my newest guy, along with his new
little brother and dad, are returning
to the orphanage to say
his final goodbyes, just like he saw so many of his friends do.

It is bitter-sweet.
Our new boy has a bright new future,
but he also leaves behind
a biological brother, who is too old to be adopted (by China law).

My heart aches as I think of how this might
hurt his heart...how he might try to hide that hurt...
or reveal it with unleashed emotions.

As you go through your evening...and during the night (should you awaken),
would you please pray
for this very special...and difficult day?

And also ponder this...
there are thousands...millions...of boys
and girls just like our Hao Hao,
who long for a day, that they too can leave with
their very own family.

oh-so-thankful for skype!

Skyping has been our lifeline.
LIFELINE.

Honestly, it is the best invention ever.
It even tops sliced bread.
Oh, yes it does.

I am so thankful, so thankful, so thankful.
Having this connection,
multiple times a day,
has been such a joy, I can't even tell you.

And so I figured out how to take snapshots
of the screen as we chat.


So here you go...

See?

You understand why it's so precious to me.

gotcha day {Hao Hao} pt. 2

Great pics from my incredible K-man.

Hao Hao
agreeing to be adopted...

Loving on his new little brother!
Those bangs on Isaiah are still a thorn in my side.

No adoption is complete without a trip to the local Wal Mart.
I think it's required.

More fun at the hotel!

Everything went well for K and the boys on this second Gotcha Day.
We skyped with them and HH is not nearly as shy
as we suspected.
He is all smiles and very animated.
Macy had a long conversation with him in Chinese,
explaining a few things and laughing a lot.
She said that HH said that Baba is so cute.
I love that!
And he readily called me Mommy.
Oh my heart.

I gotta run for now.
I hope to post a few skype pics that I took because they're so
darn funny.
I've got a lot going on so I will get to that when I can.

THANK YOU for praying for my amazingly brave husband.
He is sleeping now (I hope!).
Please continue to pray today as you think of him...

This ain't easy!

Talk to you soon.

gotcha day {Hao Hao}

I got an email from K-man early this morning.
He said Hao Hao (Elijah) is very sweet, doing very well,
and is being VERY helpful with Mr. Little Toot.

And the other thing he said (about himself) is that he's extremely
worn out and terribly homesick.

Please pray for a supernatural dose of energy, strength,
and whatever-else-he-needs-to-survive-this.

At the moment they are at dinner (Italian, of course).
Then we will skype with them.

I hope to have pics to post soon after that but if my
tired man isn't up to sending me any,
we'll just have to wait, I reckon.

plunger in my kitchen sink

So sorry I didn't post anything this morning.

No new pics from Kel so I just didn't have any good blog material.
Ya know?

However, I did have a photo-op here at home when
one of Lucy's little plastic cups got stuck,
right-side-up,
down into the garbage disposal.
Are you following this?

It took exactly three of us to shimmy it out,
after using a plunger.
Sigh.
Yes, a plunger.
In my kitchen sink.

I didn't take pics.
But I'm pretty sure you get the visual.


I got an unexpected skype call from my Honey a little while ago.
Gasp!
I love that man.
He and Isaiah were getting ready to leave the hotel
and head to the airport.

They will arrive in Henan at 11:30am (their time),
which is 10:30pm our time.
Right?
Yes, I think that's right.

Then...he gets Hao Hao (Elijah) sometime in the afternoon,
which will be early Tuesday morning here.

I hope to wake up early to a wonderful skype conversation!

I will keep you posted as I get info!

another happy birthday!

Today is a special day for a very special boy,
clear over in China.

A special day indeed because it's our newest son's
BiRtHdAy!!

12 years old!

After having such a fun day celebrating Macy's big day,
it makes me so sad that we couldn't shower
him with gifts, hugs, and love as well.

But we did what we could do,
which was, have a cake delivered to him!

And as a way to celebrate here,
and to do a little mini-fundraiser,

I thought it would be fun to give away a $12 Starbucks gift card!

If you would like to join in the fun,
a generous donation of $12 in honor of our boy's 12th birthday,
will add your name to the drawing!

Just click on the ChipIn icon on the sidebar to donate.


Oh, and I'll bet you'd like to see pics of our boy
getting his cake, wouldn't you?

Smile.

Swing on over to my private blog to see 22 of them!

If you don't have an invitation to view it,
please EMAIL me.
loriatjoyunspeakable@yahoo.com

Thanks, ya'll!!


I'll do the drawing tomorrow (Wednesday) morning!

Esther study update {and something exciting}

OK, gals.

Let's plan on next Tuesday, Oct. 19, to start our Esther study,

okie dokie?

What that means is, you will begin by watching the first video 

(the Introductory session),

then over the course of the week following, you'll do your homework. 

I'll post things throughout the week, so feel free to pop

in and comment as well!

Then we'll have a good hearty discussion the following Tuesday.

Some have asked exactly WHO is invited to join me in this...

EVERYONE!!

There are zero requirements.

You don't even have to tell me you're participating if you don't want to.

But for goodness sake,

please do tell me.

If I don't already have your email address, please send it to me.

There may be times that we want to share with the

group but not advertise it on my blog for the world to see. 

Oh and by all means, go ahead and get started if you want a jump start on it!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

NOW, onto something super exciting!!!

I got some new pictures of our boy!

Hot off the press!

(Well, a couple weeks ago)

And it's just killing me not to be able to post them here.

SO....I've started a private blog so I can post freely!

If you'd like to take a peek...send me your email address and I'll

send you an invite!

I will say this, however.

If you aren't at least vaguely familiar to me,

I may not let you in.

(SEE, it pays to be a follower and/or leave comments!)

NO OFFENSE,

it's just that the purpose of having a private blog is to keep it

from the unknown public, ya know?

 

approval {woot woot}

We got our immigration approval on Saturday!

Woo hoo!

Only trouble is...
they have listed that we have an additional
adult living with us.

Someone named Emily I.

Not sure what this means for us regarding our approval status.
I'll give them a call this morning.
Please pray that they will re-issue our correct approval
right away!

But in the mean time,
I sure wish Emily would pull her weight around here.

I think I'll put her in charge of dinner tonight.