Our China Itinerary

February 26th--Arrive in Hong Kong and tour Hong Kong for the next two days.  Shon and I will enjoy some sightseeing together as we acclimate to the time change.  We are hoping to see a lot of history and are taking a harbour dinner cruise on Saturday
February 28th--Fly to Guangzhou and get settled into our hotel where we will be for the next 11 nights
March 1st--We will receive Jax at the Civil Affairs Office in the afternoon
March 2nd--Adoption registration and notarization.  Jax will be officially OURS!
March 3rd--Medical exam and passport application for Jax
March 4th--Guangzhou Folk Art Museum and Six Banyan Temple Tour.  We may choose not to do these activities as we would rather have a full day to visit True Children's Home in Dongguan where we will meet Jax's foster parents who raised him and loved him for 2.5 years of his life.  We will also have the opportunity to meet the surgeon and visit the hospital where Jax had both of his cleft surgeries.
March 5th--Guangzhou Zoo
March 6th--Free Day
March 7th--Prepare the U.S. Consulate documents
March 8th--Visa appointment at 9AM
March 9th--Go to the U.S. Consulate to take oath at 2:15PM
March 10th--Go to the U.S. Consulate to pick up Jax's visa at 2:15PM
March 11th--Fly from Guangzhou to Shanghai, to Chicago, to HOME!!  Yeah!

Off We Go....

Well here we are...off to China!!  As we left Wichita for Chicago early this morning, we had a mix of emotions and were sad to be leaving our precious four children behind, but our eyes are set on the plan that was placed in our hearts just over one year ago.  In some sense, it is hard to believe that we are on this journey again nearly two years after bringing Jaida home.  It seems as though our journey to Jax has been long and arduous and on the other hand it is hard to believe that we will be meeting our new son in just four short days!  I can't begin to imagine what is going through his little mind at this point and what he will be feeling when he sees us for the very first time.  My prayer is that his nannies have been preparing him for this big change and that God has prepared his heart in advance to accept us as his new family.  His world is about to be turned upside down and we will be the culprits.  We know our faith in God is big enough to overcome all obstacles and He will be with us through it all.  Thank you so much for all of your prayers, well wishes, and warm thoughts we have been receiving over the past week--it has been comforting to know that so many are with us on our journey of the heart...again!

We have landed safely in Chicago and will be boarding our flight to Hong Kong in about three hours.  I will be posting our itinerary in my next post, so you will all know what each day of our trip holds for activities.  On Monday, March 1st in the afternoon we will have Jax in our arms forever!  Stay tuned for daily updates!   

Thankful Thursday!

Many of my blogging friends have a catchy theme for each day of the week that they post on and since yesterday was Thankful Thursday, it only seemed fitting as we countdown our days to Jax AiZhe…to post on what I am thankful for:

• That one week from today, we will be leaving on a plane from Wichita to Guangzhou, China
• For our many friends and church family who have been praying for us and with us throughout this journey over the past year
• For my Mom who listened to me with an unbiased heart and mind when I told her I thought we were being called to adopt AGAIN, a specific little boy from China, when I myself was thinking I must be “crazy” and quite frankly was expecting the same response from her, but didn’t get it—Thanks Mom!
• For family who have never questioned our decision to go back to China for our fifth child and second adoption
• For a sister who is lovingly providing Jax with a wardrobe of amazing clothes
• For Love Without Boundaries for blessing me and so many precious children
• For True Children’s Home who lovingly cared for Jax and provided for two of his cleft surgeries
• For Jenny Smith who is truly one of God’s angels doing His work
• For my three AMAZING “older” kids…Mikayla, Ty, and Josh who have been our biggest cheerleaders during both of our adoption journeys to add a sister and a brother to our family
• For “Nacho” who has advocated for her new older brother Jax since the very first time she saw his picture in our referral packet
• For Jax’s Foster Parents who loved him and cared for him for 2 ½ years of his life and showed him what a family is and what unconditional love is
• For the Orphanage Staff who are preparing Jax to meet his new Mommy and Daddy and who are getting ready to let him go nearly 5 years after his arrival
• For a God who planted the seed of adoption in our hearts three years ago and has been with us through both of our journeys
• For how God has stretched Shon and I in so many ways that we never thought possible
• For a husband who loves me with all his heart despite all my flaws
• For Gma & Gpa Gerber and Gma & Gpa Cunningham who will be taking care of our precious four children for us—We are blessed indeed
• For new couples that we will soon share this adoption story with in China
• For God who literally opened the doors of Bethany Christian Services of Kansas the month we found Jax on their adoption list so we could adopt him
• For a little boy named Jax who will soon know the love of a forever family
• For Shon’s willingness to travel this journey of the heart with me with complete faith…again!

Please know you have each played a part in our journey and we are blessed by each of you! We are busy getting ready and very excited to meet our son and brother, Jax, in just 10 days!

Sunday Snapshot

Every Sunday, I am going to try to post a "Sunday Snapshot" where I focus on just one of our kids, so you can all get a glimpse of them and what they are doing in their life at that time.  I thought this would be a great way to be sure that each child has a day just for them--since we have so many children these days!  I know it is Tuesday and not Sunday, but to say that things have been a little busy would be a HUGE understatement!  When I logged into our blog today and looked at our "ticker" on the side and read that it said "9 days Until We Leave For China!" I was just completely shocked!  I can't believe it is almost time to go get our Jax!  We really should start packing don't you think?!

So, back to our Sunday Snapshot!  This past Sunday I wanted to highlight our oldest daughter Mikayla, who I can't believe will be Sweet Sixteen in May!!  It is so hard to believe...that "I" could be that old :)  Mikayla is a wonderful daughter, sister, and friend to all who know her and don't know her!  She is kind, giving, patient, funny, intelligent, beautiful, and just an all around great kid!  Who would have thought that this premature, 1 pound 12 ounce baby, who once looked like an alien baby with ears that didn't fit her body, would grow up to be the "woman" I have described above!  We are so very proud of her! 

I wanted to focus on her this week, as she underwent her cataract surgery yesterday and she is doing very well.  Thank you to everyone who lifted her up in prayer--God is so good and she is recovering nicely.  We have an amazing doctor who operated on Ty's cataract a year ago and he has had awesome results!  We are hoping for the same for Mikayla.  Enjoy her fun snapshots!