Tour of Beijing

Today was absolutely incredible--we saw things today we never dreamed we would see. We toured the Forbidden City-it was beautiful and much bigger than we expected. Our guide provided us with tons of history which made it very interesting. Tian an men square was cool, but extremely crowded. We went to a silk museum and saw how silk was made using the silk worms. But the highlight of the day was definitely the Great Wall--Dave and I had to keep reminding ourselves that we were actually there. It was a very hazy day, but we still could see it very well. We climbed up to the second tower--harder than expected. The stairs are uneven and UNSAFE--going back down was scary. It was worth the climb when we got to the tower--the view of the wall winding up and over the mountains was breathtaking. We have already bonded with the families in our group. They are from all over the U.S. and getting to know them has been an added blessing to the whole experience. Tomorrow morning--early, early, we fly to Guangzhou. We get Grace the next day!!!

We're in Beijing!!

I am EXHAUSTED!!! Probably due to not sleeping the night before we left. We left our house at 5:00am and arrived in Beijing 2:00am CST--21 hours later! We flew to Chicago first--then boarded our plane for Beijing at noon and left around 12:40. It was a 13 hour flight--we arrived at 3:00 pm Beijing time. We are thankful we made it safely and thank you all so much for your prayers. We see the Forbidden City, Tian An Men Square, and the Great Wall tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have pictures to post. We have a very nice guide who met us at the airport and will take us on the tour tomorrow. It just so happens that we flew to Beijing with another family from our agency who is also adopting. Tomorrow we meet up with 5 more families and will tour with them. Gotta go find something to eat now!

We're on our way!

Tomorrow we leave for China--it is really surreal! We drove to my parents' house in Louisiana on Monday because Emma, Gabe, and Hayden will be staying with them while we are away. We drove back to St. Louis on Tuesday--it was very hard to leave them and we miss them already. I HATE when our family is not all together. The kids are really doing great though--I am so proud of them. They believe in what we are doing and support it wholeheartedly and are ready to bond with their new sister. Dave and I are spending the day getting packed and ready--my stomach feels a little nervous. I think I'm more afraid to fly than anything. Anyway, we covet everyone's prayers! We have been told we will have internet access in our hotels so we plan to update this along the way, so keep checking! We get to Beijing 3/20--fly to Guangzhou 3/22--get Grace Songshi 3/23!!!

Our Adoption Journey

Over 2 years ago, our family received a calling from the Lord to make a difference in the life of an orphan. It was at this time that we decided to adopt a little girl from China and to name her Grace because of the grace of our Saviour. The journey has been an incredible experience, sometimes filled with joy; sometimes filled with heartache; sometimes filled with fear. Through every single moment of it, our Father has walked with us, clearing the way and making it possible to get to where we are today---at this writing, 6 days from leaving for China and 10 days to holding the daughter and sister that we have earnestly prayed for in our arms. We cannot share our experience with you without bringing glory to the One who deserves it. Some bumps along the way include the fact that I (Whitney) have failed fingerprints a total of 4 times---a case that the immigration office in St. Louis has "never" experienced. The Lord saw fit to put people in our path that helped us to work out this very important detail. Over the last few months since we received our referral we have experienced SO MANY blessings! We prayed---we believed---and we received! Every single thing we asked of the Lord, He gave faithfully. We have seen His power--we have experienced it first hand--and we are THANKFUL beyond words. And for our other 3 children, Emma, Gabe, and Hayden...their lives have hopefully been impacted forever and will continue to be as they have witnessed and experienced every bit of the journey with us.