COUNTDOWN TO CHINA....China....and home again (A hobbit's tale...just kidding)
Hi Friends and Family!
We are so close to leaving for our life changing adventure. God is good and will continue to remain good whatever comes.....HOWEVER, we are praying for smooth sailing for our 14 hour flight, traveling with our entire crew!
Feelings up to this point? It's hard to put into words.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's funny looking back and seeing time at work. that entry above was from prior to our leave to China. but the effects of time hold true for all things...time will continue regardless of whether or not we take advantage of it and "make the most out of every opportunity".
So here is sit looking backwards and reflecting on our amazing journey through adoption. And our new title as a 'blended' family. I wasn't sure how things would shake out to be honest. Would he be okay with us, would our bio kiddos be okay with him, would we be feel like his parents....would we love him just as much? typical questions. without a lot of reassurance, other than knowing that God was going before us... and you know what? that was enough. So we packed way too much (hind sight is 20/20) and woke up super early. and headed for the airport to start this brand new adventure of world travel and growing family with all 5 of us wondering what lie ahead.
bags checked and carry ons carried we boarded from GR to Detroit. easy peasy. next we had a 5 hour lay over before we started our 14 hour flight to beijing....yeppers, 5 HOURS to shoot the wind at the detroit airport!
i remember reading a blog from a very wise mom who wrote, "keep it fun, regardless of everything else, keep it fun"
cue heelies. i have a love/hate relationship with heelies or wheelies....but the kids love them and they saved our sanity while we waited to board our plane to Beijing, during our 5 hour lay over in Detroit! and while we waited in the airport coming home from beijing to detroit...HOWEVER, let me just put out this disclaimer: do not operate while under the influence impulsivity and/or poor decision making processes. for example, while carrying a tray of food and beverages to your families table, while sipping on a straw, while ....breathing. you get the idea. it's a gamble. you take the good with the bad. they are fun for the kiddos but also can be very irritating in small confined spaces for the parents.
I feel like the past month and a half our life has been a movie projector on fast forward. I look back now trying to string together the events that brought us to where we are today and my mind swirls with details. but being a women of small words with a "get to the point" mentality, I think it can be distilled into a few words, being loved and loving. for all of us, big, small, bio, orphaned...it almost seems trivial to type it but at the core of every heart is the need to be loved and the need to love in return. so with the need to 'complete' this entry and not have it looming over my head. i will tell you all,the answer to the heartfelt question of, "how are things going". we are learning to love and receive love in different ways. we are growing in grace with one another and also many days short on patience. BUT GOD. but God, restores, revives, renews and brings us into a place of meaning and acceptance. He forgives and enlarges our ability to keep going with purpose. and for that i am grateful. i am grateful that out of the millions of mom's and dad's out there for Xia, He choose us. He has brought through this adoption a child who loves to smile, laugh and bring joy out of the discover of new things. things are going well. and i'm so thankful we leaped. we would have missed so much.
as my friend says so poignantly, adoption is for families. thank you to all of you who have prayed and walked with us as we walked this journey. it's not over by a long shot, in fact it's just begun!!!
not all adoption stories are the same because each child is so unique. but each child is in need of a forever family.
if you've thought of adopting, let me encourage you to pursue it! it's doable. you're adding another little life to your family who would otherwise grow up without a family. it's work sure, an adjustment, yes. but it's worth it and your life will be enriched because of it (the person and the process).
oh, and Andy (Xia) screamed pretty much the ENTIRE 14 hour trip home. just to bring a little closure to the beginning of this entry.
Cheers Friends!
HUGS!!
Christy =)
We are so close to leaving for our life changing adventure. God is good and will continue to remain good whatever comes.....HOWEVER, we are praying for smooth sailing for our 14 hour flight, traveling with our entire crew!
Feelings up to this point? It's hard to put into words.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's funny looking back and seeing time at work. that entry above was from prior to our leave to China. but the effects of time hold true for all things...time will continue regardless of whether or not we take advantage of it and "make the most out of every opportunity".
So here is sit looking backwards and reflecting on our amazing journey through adoption. And our new title as a 'blended' family. I wasn't sure how things would shake out to be honest. Would he be okay with us, would our bio kiddos be okay with him, would we be feel like his parents....would we love him just as much? typical questions. without a lot of reassurance, other than knowing that God was going before us... and you know what? that was enough. So we packed way too much (hind sight is 20/20) and woke up super early. and headed for the airport to start this brand new adventure of world travel and growing family with all 5 of us wondering what lie ahead.
bags checked and carry ons carried we boarded from GR to Detroit. easy peasy. next we had a 5 hour lay over before we started our 14 hour flight to beijing....yeppers, 5 HOURS to shoot the wind at the detroit airport!
i remember reading a blog from a very wise mom who wrote, "keep it fun, regardless of everything else, keep it fun"
cue heelies. i have a love/hate relationship with heelies or wheelies....but the kids love them and they saved our sanity while we waited to board our plane to Beijing, during our 5 hour lay over in Detroit! and while we waited in the airport coming home from beijing to detroit...HOWEVER, let me just put out this disclaimer: do not operate while under the influence impulsivity and/or poor decision making processes. for example, while carrying a tray of food and beverages to your families table, while sipping on a straw, while ....breathing. you get the idea. it's a gamble. you take the good with the bad. they are fun for the kiddos but also can be very irritating in small confined spaces for the parents.
I feel like the past month and a half our life has been a movie projector on fast forward. I look back now trying to string together the events that brought us to where we are today and my mind swirls with details. but being a women of small words with a "get to the point" mentality, I think it can be distilled into a few words, being loved and loving. for all of us, big, small, bio, orphaned...it almost seems trivial to type it but at the core of every heart is the need to be loved and the need to love in return. so with the need to 'complete' this entry and not have it looming over my head. i will tell you all,the answer to the heartfelt question of, "how are things going". we are learning to love and receive love in different ways. we are growing in grace with one another and also many days short on patience. BUT GOD. but God, restores, revives, renews and brings us into a place of meaning and acceptance. He forgives and enlarges our ability to keep going with purpose. and for that i am grateful. i am grateful that out of the millions of mom's and dad's out there for Xia, He choose us. He has brought through this adoption a child who loves to smile, laugh and bring joy out of the discover of new things. things are going well. and i'm so thankful we leaped. we would have missed so much.
as my friend says so poignantly, adoption is for families. thank you to all of you who have prayed and walked with us as we walked this journey. it's not over by a long shot, in fact it's just begun!!!
not all adoption stories are the same because each child is so unique. but each child is in need of a forever family.
if you've thought of adopting, let me encourage you to pursue it! it's doable. you're adding another little life to your family who would otherwise grow up without a family. it's work sure, an adjustment, yes. but it's worth it and your life will be enriched because of it (the person and the process).
oh, and Andy (Xia) screamed pretty much the ENTIRE 14 hour trip home. just to bring a little closure to the beginning of this entry.
Cheers Friends!
HUGS!!
Christy =)
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