It is Sunday and pretty laid back here. We decided to stay at the hotel today for a few reasons. The city is insane with cars, mopeds and pedestrians and the food at the hotel seems to better than outside restaurants. The place we went last night had chicken that was mostly bones and skin. It is also so smoggy outside it burns your eyes to be out for more than a few seconds. We get Reese tomorrow morning at 10:30 just down the road. (if we don't get squished on the way) Kendall was talking in her sleep last night about her! Our lives are about to drastically change for the better. I got an email from the director of Hope Foster Home that she has a scrapbook of Reese's that she wants to send to us. what a cool thing. I am sure not everyone adopting from China gets something that special.
We are planning on swimming at the hotel in a little bit and than having dinner at Mamma Mia's in the hotel also. Maybe Kendall will find something to eat that she likes. She is doing so awesome and I am so proud of her.
Stay tuned for gotcha day tomorrow!!
Here are some pictures of our hotel, outside the hotel and the smog!

Well, we finally made it to Zhengzhou!! After being on the plane for way!! too long - 19 hours total - we are ready to collapse. Kendall did absolutely awesome - what a trooper. I woke up on the plane at one point and she was passed out in my lap - I didn't even know she was there. We found out that we won't get Reese until Monday but maybe God knows that we should rest a bit - or at least I should! The hotel said they will bring a crib to our room because most Chinese families have kids her age in one. We will see what she thinks. She won't have one at home. Pictures of our 5 star hotel will follow later - I have to see if I can figure that out next! Keep praying!

Is she not the cutest thing!! Hope Foster Home had this picture in their May news stating that she has been adopted and will be missed. I cannot believe that I will finally see and hold her in less than a week. Please pray for an easy transition for all!

Kendall is patiently waiting to go get her sister!!I sure hope it is slow at work this week because my mind certainly won't be there!!

Well, I have always said that I felt like Moses at the beginning of our adoption process. Telling God to send someone else, someone that was more prepared.... I wouldn't trade this experience for anything now! But now I feel like Job. I think that God is testing my faith. I found out this week that I will not get 70% of my pay while taking time off for Reese to bond. I thought, "ok God, I was hoping to pay the adoption off with my grants but maybe we will have to survive off that money for awhile." Then, the child support that we were receiving (that I never expected to get in the first place) stopped, as suddenly as it started, this week. That was putting an extra $800 dollars a month in our pockets. I know that God has gotten us this far and He won't let us down now - but I surely don't understand it. I praise Him for all He has done and trust that He will continue to lead us to Reese - no matter what our finances look like. Please keep us in your prayers!

We have our plane reservations!! We fly out on June 7, 2 weeks from today. The time (I hope) is going to whoosh by! Kendall keeps telling me that there is no way that I am more excited than her - this is her 1st sister and my 2nd daughter! Still, I cannot wait - but packing, working, and swimming in Poppy's pool should help pass the time. Speaking of packing...where to start?
Here are our flights.....

6/07 NW1516 (1200N/1259P) Grand Rapids/Detroit
6/07 NW25 (230P/425P) Detroit/Tokyo (arrive Tokyo on 6/08)
6/08 NW9 (650P1035P) Tokyo/Guangzhou
Takes the airport shuttle to check-in New Airport Hotel - Pearl Hotel CSN in Guangzhou
6/09 CZ3157 (1150A/150P) Guangzhou/Zhengzhou
6/20 NW10 (820A/200P) Guangzhou/Tokyo
6/20 NW12 (355P/240P) Tokyo/Detroit
6/20 NW292 (518P/604P) Detroit/Grand Rapids
NW = Northwest Airline, CZ = China Southern Airline

We got our travel approval!! Now I know that God did not want us to travel on June 1. If our approval would have come one day earlier we would have...to me, that's saying that He has a specific plan.
AGCI is setting up our exit interview in China and then we can make our reservations. It is hard to believe this is really happening. I will keep this site updated with our exact travel dates as soon as I have them. We can leave on June 8 but it may be sooner if the prices are better. Don't stop the prayers!!