Gotcha Day!

How to describe this day! Wow, God is so very good to all of us! After a reasonable night's rest (despite very firm beds and this persistent 3 a.m. wake-up thing), we all were excited and anxious to get ready for the day. We had a good breakfast, then shortly after that we left for the civil affairs office. 

So different from where we received John-Nathan. With John-Nathan we were the only ones there, but with Jack we were amongst many waiting families. Some were waiting to see and hold there little ones for the first time and others were there to complete the adoptions.  It was a full house and it was a teary-eyed scene to watch: precious little souls whose lives were changing in an instant.  And although they couldn't know for themselves that it was very good thing, they sure knew that SOMETHING was different, and most, quite frankly, were letting people know that they didn't like it!

Jack got out of the van with his nanny, who immediately pointed us out.  He had a smile on his face and came to us warmly.  It wasn't a "I go up to every stranger this way" kind of greeting, but more like he was actually familiar with us.  From there it's all kind of a blur, amidst the flurry of photos, video, paperwork, and other families milling about.  We got to speak to the nanny a bit, too, before she left.

We trekked on back to the hotel, for some play time in the room, before getting carry-out. (Funny that our guide said that Chinese food wasn't good taken out from the restaurant…)  After lunch, Celinda got him down for a nap, and Peter took the kids to play some ping pong and explore the hotel further.  Four more days here in our home-away-from home, until going south to our NEXT home-away-from-home!

Jack woke up in a good mood from his nap.  We have been playing in the room since then.  It will soon be dinner and evening routine--whatever THAT will be!  Julianna's Mandarin has definitely come in handy.  She says that she and Jack are on about the same level!

Tomorrow we will finalize the adoption here in town, before heading to his home town where we will apply for his passport and visit the place that has been home to him for nearly three years: Maria's Big House of Hope.

Progress

We said goodbye to our guide and driver this morning in Beijing and caught a 1-hour flight to the city of Zhengzhou, which means that the moment we have been working towards is one night's sleep away!  There is excitement in the air along with a few messed up body clocks that produce a few grumpies (just being honest!).  Also, just being in a foreign land produces some stress! Appreciate continued prayers for us all.

We did have a fairly relaxed time in Beijing...the highlight being our visit with Ying (former colleague of Peter), her mother, and her precious 7-month old Ruthie!  Since Ying's mom is a professional cook, we ate an incredible lunch there.  (we;ll try to get a picture or two up of this...) So good to see them again. We missed seeing her husband Chris who was out of town on business.

Enjoy the video Julianna put together of Beijing (if it works...).

We do thank all of you that prayed us through the long travel day!  It went so smoothly for all of us! Keep praying. 4 flights down 3 to go!  We are glad to be settling in a bit...actually unpacking the bags so we can find things!  We are not ashamed to admit that we went to Pizza Hut and Wal-mart today, for a little taste of home (somewhat).

This afternoon three of us swam and played ping pong, before having a picnic dinner in the room.

As we were eating, the doorbell rang (yes, there is an actual doorbell), and it was an older woman, uniformed for the hotel, holding a blue banner which said...

Of course, I (Peter) didn't know what she wanted. Was this some ritual, where they came around and bid everyone goodnight?  When I said that I didn't understand what she wanted and yet she seemed to to want to come in to our room, I granted her access, and we all snickered under our breath as she proceeded to place the mat on the floor between the beds, turn back the bed covers, and place a candy and sign which said "Sweet Dreams".  We're definitely not accustomed to such treatment!

We will leave for the civil affairs office Monday morning at 9:20. Hopefully Jack will be in our arms between 10 and 11 (9 to 10 p.m. CST Sunday night). We will have a 4 hour round trip to his city (Luoyang) on Tuesday both to apply for his passport and visit his orphanage and most importantly Maria's. Please pray for this day, and our little guy.  His world is about o be turend upside down--and ours!  We love him so, and we would appreciate your prayers as we begin to bond to one another in the coming days. (CR & PR)

Here are a few scenes from the last couple of days...

Over Alaska

Proof that we were over Alaska

Poor J-N couldn't figure out what time it was on the plane!

We had about the same shot 4 years ago, but with only three of us then! 

(And it was about 15 degrees hotter then!)

The Rider is happier than the Ridee.  So we went to get a real ride...

Rickshaw Riders!

Along a canal 

How many ladies can get on one bicycle? This and other amazing feats at the Acrobat Show. 

The Sanders will be glad to know that yes, this did include the beloved peacock gestures!

We will post more in depth when we arrive in province tomorrow.  

Keep the comments coming, as they keep us going!