Day 2 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been an adventure! We began the day (Saturday) - just hanging out in the room watching TV until about 8:00. Then we headed down to the concierge to get our tickets for the shuttle to Ocean Park. Shuttle didn't leave until 10:30 so we decided to venture out - blindly - with no map walking around a huge city. We had time so we wandered. About 15 minutes of walking - we saw a hospital,  Dental school,  Health education centre, and about four universities - we landed in the heart of one of Hong Kong ' s street markets.  Amazing!!!!

There was clothing & fresh food galore, including fresh meat hanging all around. We even saw a booth filled with CANDY! We ended up purchasing grapes for 10$Y/pound = about $1.41. After thoroughly washing them in bottled water mommy enjoyed them....oh yum!

After that we got lost! Well not really - but really - we had wandered through many streets and tents just taking in the scenery and not paying attention to our directions. Needless to say - after we found McDonald's - we probably spent 20 minutes retracing all of our steps. We made it safely back to our hotel with no regrets. Actually we would have gone back later in the evening to eat at a hometown type restaurant - they are everywhere - but we were too tired.

At 10:45am we took the shuttle to Ocean Park. We arrived at the park gate at 11:00am. This is a fairly large attraction site in Hong Kong. It's like an Omaha Zoo, Sea World and Disneyland all-in-one park. Wow! We walked a lot, got good exercise, rode some rides, waited in lots of lines, and even had some amusement park food. It was so cool to see pandas,  sharks,  and many other ocean animals. We even rode a cable car. Ocean Park is right next to the Ocean. Just gorgeous views....breathtaking!

We have noticed the culture seems much louder than the US. It must be that their language is defined by the pronunciation of words. Well, mommy fits right in with having ONE volume. LOUD!

A bit exhausted we tried to find our free hotel shuttle back from Ocean Park. We decided to take a cab because mommy and Jeremiah were sick of waiting and we knew it was only about a five minute ride back (cheap ride). That ride was short and sweet.  Costed 51$Y = $7.21. Yeah!  (We missed the memo that the hotel provides free shuttle TO Ocean Park - not To and From) Ha!

Hotel = Pillow = Sleep at 8:00pm. We crashed for the night.  Joys of jet lag and a long day packed with fun.

Hong Kong is beautiful but how we long to arrive in Chongqing. We fly out Sunday at 12:20 in the afternoon and arrive at Chongqing at 2:30. So at 12:30 am CST we will be in Kalyn's city!!!!!!!

Praising God that he has kept us safe.  We pray that he is prepare Kalyn's heart as he has prepared ours.

WE ARE IN LOVE WITH A CHILD WE HAVE NEVER MET! To God Be The Glory!!!

Jeremiah's High = the Ocean Park
Jeremiah's Low = I was tired

Daddys High = Ocean Park and the cable car was pretty cool
Daddys Low = I am tired

Mommy's High = The cable car ride next to the ocean.
Mommy's Low = the darn shuttle waiting.  Free doesn't always mean convenient and on time.

**My camera battery died from taking pictures all day at Ocean Park.  I wasn't able to download any photos to post online.  I will once we are in Chongqing and can use our outlet converter.**

Day 1 - Flying to China

We started the morning bright and early on Thursday being woken up by jeremiah at 3:00 am. Someone was excited!  We checked in at the airport and began our trek across the ocean at wheels up 7:17 am CST.

So far no delays, no unexpected drama, - except when daddy decided to catch the skylink train in the DFW airport just as the the doors were shutting so mommy's luggage barely made it and her heart skipped a beat or TWO - and we have had our share of very interesting airplane food.

Check out the photos from our journey so far.  Jeremiah was amazed at the difference in airplane sizes. He loves the American Airlines personal TVs that offer movies,  channels, & games like bejeweled!

We are at our hotel and will venture out to tour Hong Kong on Saturday.

Thank you for all the prayers. We are trying to relax before we have a toddler to chase around in just 3 days.

Jeremiah's high: we got to china

Jeremiah's low: waiting

Daddys high: we finally made it

Daddys low: the airplane seats were too small and i have permanent bruises on my thighs.

Mommy high: I have actually been really calm today for the most part 

Mommy low: that flight was hard on the joints

Unconditional Sisterlove

We are going to miss our girls at home while we are away. They are so excited for "Meet Kalyn Day" even though they will be over 7,000 miles away sleeping soundly at the very moment he enters our lives forever. Precious....unconditional sisterlove...bigger than the world love...forever Kalyn will be loved! 

Our family has loved Kalyn since we first laid our eyes upon his handsome picture 238 days ago. 

We let God LEAD, we let God LOVE, we prayed for God to give us patience, and he did. We prayed for God to provide, HE HAS PROVIDED! Praise be to God!!!!!!!

In anticipation for the LONG two weeks away from the girls we have put together some little goodie bags for them to enjoy. Inside each days' bag are little items to keep them busy, items with symbolism, items for celebration, and a lot of love notes.  Everyday that we are away is one day closer for them to meet Kalyn. 

**Please pray our VPN & wifi works effectively --not to check emails, ha!-- but so our ipad can connect to FaceTime with the big sisters back home.

Only 16 days and we will be a FOREVER FAMILY OF SIX when our flight arrives in MHK.

Mommy, Daddy, & the boys love you Karah Roo and Jennah Bugs!!! 

(On Wednesday am when you recieve this in your email we are only 24 hours from lift off to China--Kalyn here we come!)

T Minus 5...4...3...days!

T minus 5...4...3...days! We are so close. As you can see one child has dropped off the map. Jeremiah has been insisting he go to bed early since Sunday night when he found out we leave for the airport at 4am on Thursday. Haha!

Gifts of Thanks

Sorry to all our facebook peeps. You may see this info twice.

It is customary that adoptive parents bring gifts of thanks for the orphanage director, nannies, guides, and drivers. We are blessed to be able to tell those who have cared for Kalyn THANK YOU. We are blessed to be able to share our son and our journey with our guides and drivers. Their job taking us around and making sure we fill out papers correctly is ESSENTIAL. We are Blessed to be able to THANK everyone in-person.

We are giving Forever Stamps that celebrate Kalyn's bithyear. The year of the snake.

Premier Jewelry for Kalyn's nanny, our guides, and other various women serving in a leadership role at the orphanage.

Daddy's alma mater and our geographical defaulted collegiate gear. Go KSTATE WILDCATS! For our guide in Chongqing, the orphanage director, and our driver.

Lastly pens that have inscriptions so we can thank people for their caring hearts. So they will always remember our son.

Enjoy the pictures!  These blogs csn be up to 24 hour delay to your email bix. That being said.....as of Sunday we have 4 days until we leave for China, 8 days until we meet Kalyn, and 18 days until we are home and a FOREVER FAMILY OF SIX!

Please keepnusvin your prayers. We have had a crazy week of strep throat and nasty stomach bugs.

Pray for health, safe travels, and calmness in the slight emotional storm.

Blessings to you!

9 DAYS and ZERO minutes!!!!

Everyday we pose for a picture after removing yet another ring from our countdown paper chain. This chain-decorated by the "middle" sisters-signifies our wait to travel, wait for the BIG "Kalyn Day", and wait for the amazing "Forever Family Day" when we arrive back home to reunite with our daughters. 

Our itinerary is set, firm, and booked!

Please pray for our journey and our time in China. **That we may stay safe, be content, have patience, and remain healthy while we begin to bond with our son and soak up as much of his birth country as we can.

January 29th (early morning) fly to Hong Kong

January 30th (late night) arrive in Hong Kong (13 hours ahead of CST)

January 31st Rest - Relax - Recover - Tour Hong Kong

February 1st Travel to Chongqing via another airplane

February 2nd "MEET KALYN DAY" (This will actually be while you sleep Sunday night)

February 3rd-6th Live Chongqing, Tour Chongqing, Dine in Chongqing, Begin to Love Chongqing

February 6th Travel to Guangzhou via another airplane (Kalyn's first ever airplane ride)

February 6th-9th Live Guangzhou, Tour Guangzhou, Dine in Guangzhou and visit with the many other families that we have met via social media!

February 10th - Consulate Appointment so that Kalyn can become a US citizen when he arrives on US soil.

February 11th - Travel by TRAIN from Guangzhou to Hong Kong (Trains are a first for everyone except mommy - YEAH!)

February 12th - Travel home! YEAH! Home forever Kalyn! Arrive at Airport LATE night.

Planes - Trains - Automobiles! We will ride in a lot of different modes of transportation over the course of the next few week.

9 days and ZERO minutes until LIFT OFF!!!!

Enjoy the few pictures we have taken of our countdown. We have been posting them on our Facebook Page "Bring Kalyn Home"

A Child Waits...No Longer!

Our family received another blessing today. We were selected to receive an adoption grant from the A Child Waits Foundation. This was the last and final adoption grant that we applied for in December. Kalyn will wait no longer as an orphan with the help from this generous foundation.

Formed by Cynthia and Randolph Nelson in 1998, A Child Waits Foundation's mission is to save children from living their entire childhood in international orphanages without the warmth and love of a family. Every child deserves a family and our goal is to unite children waiting for parents, with parents who are longing for children. (http://www.achildwaits.org/)

From the depths of our heart we thank Mr. and Mrs. Nelson and fellow board members for selecting our family to receive this $2,000 adoption grant.

Kalyn will feel the LOVE and WARMTH of our family in just under 16 days.

Please visit the website of A Child Waits Foundation to learn more about Mr. and Mrs. Nelson's own adoption journey and the many families who have had HAPPY ENDINGS!

http://www.achildwaits.org

Photo Credit: http://www.achildwaits.org/Grant%20Program.htm

 

2 weeks!

Correction. We leave in less than 2 weeks. Oh my....we better get packin'. Our chain is getting smaller!!!

14 days until lift off AND we are fully funded!

Praising God that we are fully funded!!! AMEN! Thank you to all of you that have donated in ANY WAY! We so appreciate you sharing your gifts. Trust me, Kalyn is worth every ounce given, saved, and sacrificed.

We leave 3 weeks from today. Woohoo!

You can follow our journey on Facebook as well. We created a private page so that folks can choose their level of notification. Click on the link and request to join.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/595284613936304?view=group&refresh_sidenav=1


One thing we are being purposeful about before we leave is spending quality time with our girls.  Leaving them will be hard but coming home to bring them their little brother will be priceless.  #theblessedmoments -ice cream with Jennah!

A Special Request...

 

Dear Family and Friends

In a short time we as a family will embark on an adventure that will take us half way across the world to a different time zone.  A different time Zone to a handsome little boy who unbeknownst to him will become part of our family.  As this occurs we would like to take a moment to outline some request that we have.   

While we would greatly appreciate your help and support we must also have the best interest of Kalyn in our thoughts.  These requests are out of necessity in order to best bond with Kalyn and meet his needs.  Many of you will think these request are very harsh but we assure you that they are meant to help us all undergo a process called “Cocooning” and are not meant to hurt anyone’s feelings.   Cocooning is a process where the parents and children maintain a low status while connecting with the newly adopted child.  This is intended to allow ample time for a connection to take place and to establish the paternal /maternal bond.  Kalyn must know that we are his parents and are going to provide for his needs. 

Imagine being plucked from your current home, town, Country, the food you eat, and the people that understand you.  Now imagine you get dropped off in a foreign country where people eat different, you know no-one, you have no idea where you are, and you cannot understand what people are saying.  While this seems unrealistic and the possibility of this happening is slim, it will be Kalyn’s reality.  Therefore the more cooperation we have from friends and family the sooner we will hopefully be able to assimilate.  Below are our requests:

1.       We will be leaving on January 29^th for China and will be returning to Manhattan Kansas on February 12^th.  While we would love to have family and friends there to greet us when we arrive it will be important to understand that our ability to visit with you will be limited. 

2.       We must fulfill all his needs, therefore we will not allow anyone to hold him or give affection to him.  This unfortunately must include all grandparents, family and close friends. 

3.       While gifts are welcomed they must be given to us.  These gifts will then be given to Kalyn at appropriate times by us.  It is imperative that we give him the gifts so he understands that we are responsible for his needs. 

4.       Visits must be short and sweet.  During a visit if Kalyn approaches you for anything we ask that you resist the urge to assist him.  We ask that you simply point to us and get our attention.  Any break in this can cause a major setback that could take a while to recover from. 

5.       If you feel the urge to help we ask that you help in one of the many ways listed below.

a.       Simple meals: including freezer meals

b.      Transportation of our children if needed.

c.       Gift Cards: Walmart, Target, Dillons, HyVee, etc

d.      Groceries

e.      Lend an ear – I’m sure we will have a lot of exciting things to talk about. 

f.        Pray – Pray for Kalyn’s healing, Pray for patience, understanding, and perseverance.

6.       Know and understand that family outings will be limited.  This will include Church, school events, community events, etc. 

While the above items are just a few of the things we can currently think of we hope you will understand.  We have been very blessed with such a great network of family and friends.  You all have shown us so much love and the love that Kalyn will eventually get to experience from you is just unbelievable.  This has been a 15 month journey that would not have been possible without all your support and prayers.  Watch for upcoming post!!!

 God Bless

As of 1/6/14 we fly to China in 23 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!

***************************************************************************
Posted December 25, 2014 (original was deleted--oops!)

Merry Christmas from China! We received some new pictures of Kalyn wearing the new coat and pants we sent him. #so blessed

 

28 days!

28 days until lift off! We have our flights booked and just recieved our in-country paperwork that was overnighted to us. Yippee! We are getting closer. Now...what to pack!