It's always an adventure...

It's 4:45am on Sunday in here in Hong Kong. Our room on the 34th floor overlooking downtown Hong Kong is dark and the girls are still in their bed, but not really asleep. Fred is already up and went to the business center to print something out. I guess when you go to bed at 7:30pm, you feel pretty rested by 4:30am... plus it's really Saturday afternoon according to my internal clock, sigh. Since the breakfast buffet doesn't open for a couple of hours (thank goodness there's a coffee maker in our room), I figured now is the perfect time to update this blog.

So the trip started off smoothly on Thursday. My parents rode with us down to the airport along with Daniel and Sam. I got one last picture of the four of them and as I took it, it hit me this was the last time we'd have four kids and not five. 

Last family of 6 picture 

Last picture of the four of them

I had been talking to Sam about what was going to happen and how we were going on an airplane far away to bring home Joshua (always said with a smiling face, happy voice) so that he could play with him and be his brother. Of course most of this went over his head, but he DID get the part about the airplane. Daniel had mixed emotions and I knew he would miss us, but he was also happy to spend sometime with his grandparents and other family members who wanted to do special things with him. 
It was bittersweet saying goodbye to them at the airport. Sam got upset because he wanted to get out of the car too, but we were in the drop-off zone. I figured we needed to make it short and sweet, like ripping off a band-aid, that was the best way. It was also time for his nap and he was tired. I calmed him down by telling him that Mimi would get him a cookie after lunch. Yep, that did it. "Cookie"... that's all I had to say.  It's so hard to leave them for so long, but I know this trip would be overwhelming for Sam and Daniel's personality is not best suited for long plane rides, plus I knew they'd need each other. 

We were on our way to Hong Kong and had a stop in Tokyo to switch planes. A little over two hours into the flight, the captain announced that we'd be turning back and landing in Minneapolis because of a medical emergency on the plane.  Of course we prayed that the woman would be alright but were also concerned about the delay. Turns out the lady walked off the plane with the medics. Not sure what was wrong, but I guess a 10.5 hour plane ride to Japan wasn't in her best interest. So we sat on the ground, on the plane, for well over an hour. After refueling and having to juggle the flight attendant "legal" scheduling issues, we took off and were on our way to Tokyo... 3 hours after we were scheduled to get there. We kept waiting for word on whether or not they would hold the plane to Hong Kong. Never got any information,but as we got closer we realized we weren't making that flight. Fred, being the awesome travel manager that he is, called and got our room cancelled for the night in Hong Kong and got the Marriott points put back into his account. 

The girls were real troopers through the whole thing... they didn't know any better:) They had their candy stash that Ella had purchased with her money before we left and they had their own T.V. screen right in front of their face... life was good. I tried to get a picture of them with "annoyed faces", but they couldn't keep a straight face.

Their giddiness and bright eyes, faded as the hours went by. Ella was the only one of us who got somewhat decent sleep. Poor Shannon, looked miserable as she tried in vain to catch some shut eye. Fred and I didn't fair much better. What is about getting old that your knees hurt while your just sitting? Ugh, getting old stinks.

So by the time we arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport, secretly we were all kinda glad we weren't getting on another plane. And shout out to the Delta crew at Narita There were MANY people on the flight that missed connections, but they had it handling with new boarding passes ready to hand out and different tables set up for different locations, and water bottles to had out, etc. We walked through customs and the hotel reps were right there to assist, and we were on the bus to the Raddison within minutes. It was a well-oiled machine... and we GREATLY appreciated it. 

The next morning we were provided breakfast and bused back to the airport for our flight to Hong Kong. Delta purchased our tickets on Cathy Pacific since they didn't have flight leaving that morning. Somehow Fred was able to call Delta at the gate and get our seats changed to the bulkhead rows with no one in the middle seats, as Ella said, "This is like first-class, Daddy!"  He's THE MAN;)

Hong Kong is so cool, like a James Bond movie. Tropical island and bustling modern city and international shipping port all wrapped up in one.  We are staying at a very nice Marriott and has an executive lounge with an amazing view of Victoria Harbour.

The hotel gave the girls some teddy bears:)

view of Victoria Harbour from exec lounge

We keep telling the girls, this isn't China. It's gonna be MUCH different in Changsha. I think we've been warning them too much... but they are mature girls and have really been taking everything in stride. (Except that I think I may have freaked Shannon out too much about not drinking the tap water, because she was nervous to even swim underwater at the pool!)

  I keep having to remind myself and them what we are here for and while the plane flights and hotel rooms and buffets are fun, we are on a mission. We're busting Joshua out of his orphanage tomorrow and he's our son, our brother, forever. This trip is about to get real... and I CAN'T WAIT!  It's surreal to me that we will see him tomorrow morning!  The butterflies have been fluttering around in my tummy for the past 12 hours... we are so close now.  In a few hours we will be going to the train station to get on a bullet train to Changsha, Hunan.

I wonder what Joshua is feeling, what he's thinking? I wonder if he's nervous or excited? Afraid? Happy?  We shall see tomorrow... 

'Twas the night before China...

And all through the house, not a creature was sleeping (except the dog... okay, and the toddler.)  I think we're all a little excited around here. The bags are packed, the copies are made, the plans and preparations are as good as they're going to get, we are ready to go get our boy! 

Yep, the bags are packed up in the room with our sleeping two-year old whom we brought home exactly 8 months ago tomorrow (I guess Sam and Joshua are our "Irish Twins" as far as their adoptions go;)) Thank goodness it feels like Sam has been with us forever, it makes it a little more bearable to leave him and Daniel to travel across the world. I'm gonna miss those boys, but I think the two weeks will fly by and I know they are in good hands. It still seems surreal that we will get Joshua in about 4 days. Monday morning is "gotcha day" or "forever family day." He will be with us from then on, ours forever... and we are his. 

The girls are very excited about the trip, although they pretty much have no idea what they're getting into! I pray that everyone stays healthy and I believe this will be an amazing and life-changing experience for them. They will see things they have never seen before, and may never see again. They may experience emotions they have never had before and they may feel outside of their comfort-zone, but I think that's a good thing. I hope they leave China realizing that the world is much more than Cumming, Ga and we all live on this glorious planet together and we should do whatever we can to love each other, always. 

Last week we had a wonderful beach vacation in Ormond Beach, FL with my side of the family. It was great fun for the kids to play with their cousins and it was also nostalgic for me. Luckily, we got to visit the "jungle park." I grew up going to Ormond each summer and have MANY wonderful memories from there. One of my favorite places as a child (besides the beach) was this small local park we fondly referred to as the "jungle park." It's actually an acre or so of natural plants, bamboo trees, lily ponds and palms located at the corner of a busy street near the intercostal waterway. I think there is some art museum or something there, but we never went there. When we were young my grandma and mom would take my brother and I and my cousins there to let us run around. We loved it and determined it was THE BEST place in the world to play hide-n-go-seek. There were many wandering and meandering trails throughout this little park. Each trail would have multiple outshoots you could take and you could always wind up in a different spot than you had the last time you took that trail. As I was walking through the park last week, it occurred to me that one of the reasons we loved this park so much was that we had freedom... we were set loose and when we were running around on those trails, we could chose whatever path we wanted and no one could see us or tell us which way to go. Our goal was to not be found and take the path, not of least resistance, but the one where no one else had gone. It was exhilarating to be able to choose, and although sometimes we chose the wrong path and got caught, we still never regretted playing the game.

There are many people in this world that don't have the luxury of choice. They can't work hard and improve their status in society. They don't get to dream of what they want to be. They can't chose who they are going to spend the rest of their lives with or how many children they are going to have. When I step outside my bubble, it makes me truly appreciate my freedom, my ability to chose what I'm going to do with my life. I want to raise my kids so that they know that these are precious rights we have in this country and to never take them for granted... and to not hoard the benefits of these freedoms, but to make the world a better place because they can. 

There are many trails in our lives, many different paths we can take. Sometimes we start down one path that seems like the one we want to be on, but then it becomes clear that it's not taking us in the direction we want to go. When I get get turned around and don't know which way to go, I look to my compass. 

 I'm so thankful to be on this path... He led me to Sam and to Joshua. I'm sure it will not be an easy path, but it is a path rich in love and leading to peace. 

I know God has his arms wrapped around Joshua now as he prepares for us to come. Monday will be here before we know it and our life and his life will collide in a government office in Hunan, China. I pray that God allows him to feel safe and loved as he learns what "family" means. I pray that he is feeling well throughout our trip. His orphanage should be taking him for a blood transfusion sometime close to gotcha day. 

For those of you who don't know, Joshua was born with a genetic blood disorder called Beta Thalassemia Major. His hemoglobin level drops too low and he must get blood transfusions to raise the level to a healthy range. He doesn't get transfusions as often as he should in China because it is expensive and there is a blood shortage. We are blessed to live in the Atlanta area because there is an amazing doctor at Children's who specializes in Thalassemia and Joshua will be receiving top-notch care. He will also need to start taking iron chelation medication to help rid his body of excess iron from the transfusions. 

I guess it sounds kinda scary... and it is a serious condition that requires specialized care, but I believe his birth parents made an unspeakable sacrifice so that he could live, so just because it sounds scary, that's nothing compared to what they must have felt that day. It is my honor to be his mom, and when your child has a life-threatening disease, you do whatever it takes to make them better. Yes, we will spend a lot of time at CHOA... yes, we will have to stay on top of his health more so than our other kids... yes, we will have to make sure he takes his medicine everyday at the right time... yes, it's a lot of work parenting 5 kids, but I have no regrets. Things don't happen by accident in this life and I will keep trying to follow the path God has in store. It's more than I can even imagine:) 

Next post from China!! We fly out tomorrow afternoon and land in Hong Kong Friday night. Zai jian!

I love you to China and back...

So there's this little boy... and he's never known a family... and he doesn't have his momma or baba, no grandparents or siblings... 

 ...and he lives on the 13th floor of a big building with many other children and he rarely leaves this building.

... he has seen other children leave with the director to go meet their moms and dads... he has seen these children come back with their moms and dads and families to say goodbye... 

...and about a year ago an orphanage director had him and his friend stand in front of an American dad with a video camera and say “hello” and count, and recite a poem... and he knew why he was doing this... he knew he was waiting for a family to adopt him...that he had no family coming for him, and the orphanage was hoping a family would see him and chose him... 

...but it wouldn't be just any family, it would be HIS family. Let me ask you.... How did WE get so lucky? Because I don't think we chose him, I believe he was chosen for us. And I don't think that we should adopt him,
I believe that we are supposed to.

For those who haven't heard, we received Travel Approval from the Chinese government on my birthday, June 3^rd. Our consulate appointment, which is the “last stop” in the process in China, is set for July 8^th. We will get Joshua on Monday June 30^th . In our arms forever. We will hopefully be allowed to go visit the orphanage on Wednesday July 2^nd. So he can say goodbye.

I realized the other day that the video that drew me to Joshua was taken on Wednesday July 3^rd last year. Orphanage boys video

Almost exactly one year to the day since he stood in front of that camera, he will be our son. What a difference a year makes. And on top of that the boy standing next to him in the video, his friend... well, his family is waiting on Travel Approval as I post this. If they can't travel the same time as us, they will be right behind us. Both of these orphanage brothers will be coming home to the good ole' U.S. of A. and will be able to keep in touch. God is good. And we and his friend's family are forever grateful to Terri for advocating for these boys during her daughter's adoption trip. Just one person can make an enormous difference.

We were able to see a little video of him this week. Facebook video from orphanage  

A family who had just adopted their two sons from his orphanage was so kind as to carry a gift over. They were allowed to visit the orphanage and give it to him in person and video that for us. Of course he didn't open it, because in China that is not what you do. They usually do not open the gift in front of the gift-giver. But I hope he liked his toys and new Superman t-shirt... Superman was adopted you know:)

As for the rest of our life... not so settled. The house WAS under contract for a month, but the would-be buyer couldn't sell his house, so that fell through. To be honest, not a surprise. Would have been nice if it worked out, but I also really liked not having to clean the entire thing every other day when someone wanted to come see it.

We put it back on the market, and we'll see what happens. Found one house that is under construction that we love, but it's a bit out of the range we initially were looking in. For now, we are going to let the cards fall where they may. Since we are going on a beach trip next week and then to China, it won't be a pain for us to let people come see it.

I will say that I WISH everything/everyone was more settled. If we stay here, the girls will move to the basement but we need to have some renovations done first and then Daniel will go to Shannon's room and Sam will go into Daniels room with Joshua and Ella's room will become the play room upstairs. See? I have it all worked out in my mind, I just can't move any furniture yet... So for now, we are ALL still upstairs and Sam is still in our room in his crib (even though he could TOTALLY be in his own room or in a room with Daniel) but now since we can't move the girls to the basement in the next two weeks, Joshua will need to be in with Daniel and we are still stuck with... I mean, Sam will still be in our room.

Not as neat and tidy as I'd like it to be, but hey, come July 11^th all 7 of us will be under one roof and that's what matters.

I've, of course, been thinking about the adoption trip and about Joshua everyday. I follow the journeys of other adoptive families on Facebook. Some go seemingly smoothly, some are quite difficult, some appear to be going smoothly at first but then hit bumps in the road. Of course the bumps will be there. You have to be mentally prepared for that. Doesn't make it easy though when you hit that unexpected bump out of nowhere. And just hope it's not a huge pothole that throws everything out of alignment. 

But what if it is? 

What if everything was going along smoothly and you thought you were doing everything right and everyone was happy, but then it gets bumpy and all of a sudden there's a humongous pothole that you can't avoid? And then what? Well, you have to fix what is broken. Even if you didn't break it. Even if you did everything you could and it still happened and life is out of alignment. That's what you have to prepare for. That can happen to anyone, no? In adoptions, in parenting, in relationships, in life... when you are thrown for a loop, what do you do?

This is where my faith calms me. I don't know what I'd do without it. I don't know how people, good, strong people, face life-altering tragedies or events without it. God never expected us to go it alone, to rely on ourselves. Thank goodness! I'd be a mess for sure by now. Okay, a different kind of mess.

Knowing God is with me makes me feel safe. I couldn't do this without Him.

Even though I have in my mind how I think Joshua's personality will be, he may be nothing like that. Even though I have a rose-colored vision of how smoothly this adoption trip and transition into our family can be, it may be completely the opposite. But I'm not scared. I'm not nervous. We will be fine. I'm not going to wait until things get too much for me to handle to reach out to God. I'm gonna be doing that the WHOLE TIME! I ask you to pray for Joshua. For his heart to be unbroken, for his soul to find peace, for him to feel safe and to be able to accept our love.

People look at us and congratulate us on adopting Sam, they raise their eyebrows when they hear we are going back in a couple of weeks to adopt again. “You guys are great parents... you must be a supermom.” That's one thing I've noticed, when you get to this many kids, and especially if some are adopted, you are by default considered a “supermom.” Hey, I'm not gonna argue with the truth... ba-dum ching! But seriously, people. We try our best and are good parents, but we aren't perfect or “super.” (Although there are many times I wish I had the superpower of mind control around here, things would be much easier for me.) I'm telling ya, I get my strength from God. And I'm not even a “super-Christian” either! Nope, not even close. But I do feel I'm doing what God has intended for me to do, and that's a comforting feeling. And I look at Joshua's face and I see my son and I know he is mine, even though we've never met, and that is by His grace that is possible.

So we're off to China soon and when we come home we may be moving or we may be staying, either way, rooms will be switched and kids will be shuffled, but everyone will have a bed to sleep in one way or another. (As you can see, I'm REALLY letting this go, no it's not bothering me at all.)

We will come home the day before Daniel's birthday, and he reminded us that we will, as per Dri Family tradition, have to go out to dinner at his restaurant of choice on his birthday. And we will... Fred, Shannon, Ella, Joshua, and I may fall asleep at the table, but we'll be out.... probably at Red Robin...yum:) 

For the recored, Daniel also let me know that we could have his kid party the next day, it didn't have to be ON his birthday. Thanks, Daniel. Um, yeah, not gonna happen, buddy. Give Mommy and Daddy a week or so before we host a herd of 7 year old boys. 

Hopefully I'll blog again before we leave for China. I'm amazed at how quickly this adoption process has gone so far. If it weren't for this big family trip we have coming up, we could be leaving tomorrow. I feel some guilt that we aren't since I pushed for the medical expedite. (I had no idea it could happen this fast!) But I also believe this trip is important for our family and we couldn't move the date. 

I can't tell you how this story will end, nor do I want to know. I'm enjoying the journey. It's been quite a ride so far. I'm blessed.