Thursday, November 21, 2013

Time's a Wastin'!

We leave in two weeks!  Yes, two weeks.  I am excited, stressed, overwhelmed, excited, stressed, overwhelmed, and excited!

Imagine you are getting ready to travel to a foreign country AND you are having to buy all your Christmas presents before you leave AND you are finishing up your job and preparing all the stuff to pass on to your replacement AND you would like to decorate for Christmas before you leave AND the list goes on. 

That's what is going on in our household!  It is crazy good.

For those who will be following, we will try to blog every day, but we will just have to wait and see how that goes.

Remember, China is 14 hours AHEAD of Alabama time.

Here is our basic itinerary:
  • Friday, December 6, 6:23 p.m. fly to Washington, DC.
  • We will spend the night in DC because there is a 15 hour layover. This will give us to time to recharge (literally and figuratively), take showers, sleep a little, and have a good meal before we have to endure airplane food.
  • Saturday, December 7, 12:20 p.m Eastern, leave DC
  • Sunday, December 8, 3:30 p.m. arrive in Beijing
  • Spend the night in Beijing
  • Monday, December 9, GOTCHA DAY! We will take the train to Shijiazhuang and travel to the orphanage for Gotcha Day. This is unusual as most Gotcha Days take place in the Civil Affairs office.
  • Spend the night in Shiajiazhuang
  • Tuesday, December 10, finish up paperwork to finalize the province part of the adoption. We will take the train back to Beijing.
  • Wednesday and Thursday, December 11 and 12 we will tour Beijing.
  • Friday, December 13, fly from Beijing to Guangzhou.
  • We will be in Guangzhou until Thursday, December 19. Not sure of our exact itinerary, but there will be a medical check up before Tuesday, December 17. I will post that week's itinerary when we get it, the day we arrive in Guangzhou.
  • Tuesday, December 17, Consulate Appointment.
  • Wednesday, December 18, Consulate issues Zoe's VISA. She can legally leave China and travel to the United States!
  • Thursday, December 19, 12:30 p.m., fly from Guangzhou to Beijing.
  • Thursday, December 19, 6:25 p.m. leave Beijing to fly to DC.
  • Thursday, December 19, 7:00 p.m. arrive in DC (nothing like going back in time....) also, Zoe becomes a US Citizen the minute the plane lands on US soil. :)
  • Spend the night in DC.
  • Friday, December 20, 4:50 pm. depart DC.
  • Friday, December 20, 5:55 pm arrive at Home Sweet Home!
Specific Prayer Requests:
  • Safe travels for the entire trip - airplanes, vans, buses, trains, boats - we will experience just about every  mode of transportation while we are gone.
  • Everyone to stay healthy while we are traveling. 
  • Zoe's adjustment - this will be a hard thing for her because she is older and because she has been in foster care for over a year. She will probably be very attached to her foster parents and will probably grieve this loss very deeply.
  • Zoe's attachment to Jeff and me and for her to begin to build relationships with Kayleigh, Noah, and Marissa.
  • Zoe's physical, developmental, and mental health. As most of you know, we do not know what we will find when we get there. Please pray that God has done miraculous things in her little body in this last month and that all of her "issues" are "fixable." 
  • Zoe's medical evaluation. She will have to have a TB test. Please pray that this test will be negative. If it is positive, well, let's just say our stay could be extended and our costs will rise, and that will be another medical issue that we will have to deal with.
  • Kayleigh's adjustment as a big sister. Her world is about to be rocked!  Pray that she will know, even in the midst of this change, that she is still loved and wanted and that she will see quickly how fun it will be to have a younger sister. 
  • For all of us to ENJOY this journey, even though it will be hard.

Our adopttogether account is still active if anyone feels a nudge from the Lord to give.
https://www.adopttogether.org/bring-zoe-home