Day 1 Travel

I have wanted to write this down for days now but have struggled to find the energy to do so.  Jedidiah had his first nights sleep last night so I think my mind is ready for this...or not, we shall find out.

I have become very aware that I am not the best communicator.  Both my written and verbal expression are any thing but poetic and sometimes I feel like I am no longer capable of using big words. (Being a stay at home mom can rob you of such things;)  Nonetheless I find writing helps me process experiences better and release feelings I have been holding on to.  I find freedom in getting the information stored in my head out.  All this to say that I may never fully be able to convey the depth of all that took place in Hong Kong, with it's roller coaster of emotions and all the experiences we had while there, but I will write it down anyway.  I want these memories saved for later when ten years down the road I want to remember those precious details we may have forgotten.  So with all that said here we go...

Our journey started June 30, 2011 when we said good-bye to the girls at 9:30am and headed to the airport. (Mia thanks again for the ride-that was a huge blessing! And it was nice to catch up a little too!)  We arrived four hours early and were checked in and ready to board with three hours to spare.  Josh and I walked around the airport for a while just to get some exercise and tire out our legs since we would be sitting for close to 16 hours.

Once on the plane I looked at Josh and we both felt it, the reality that we were finally on our way to get our son.  It was really happening, wow!  The flight was loooooong and I will leave it at that.  Once we landed in Hong Kong, after a short stop and plane change in Taipei, everything just seemed to flow.  We arrived at 11:30pm so no one was able to pick us up so we just took things step by step and before we knew it we were in a taxi on our way to the hotel.  Let's talk about this taxi ride for a second.  First it was very startling when your driver is on the wrong side of the road and you find out that is the right side after all.  This taxi driver drove like we were in a pin ball machine driving quickly and not slowing much for curves yet we never hit anything.  This man should be a race car driver, really!

The other thing that shocked us about this ride too was it only cost $7.00!  Half a mile will cost you that in the US.

After gathering our luggage we checked in to The Kimberly Hotel, unpacked and went to sleep.

Tomorrow would be Monday and we would be on our own to tour this place our son called home.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow Josh and I will say good-bye to our three sweet girls and head to LAX.  I am tearing up as I write this because I am going to miss these girls so much!  Josh and I have never been away from them for more than 3 days and even then we could not wait to come home and see them.  We will be in contact with them through real time, face time something like that.  Even though it will be hard to wave goodbye there is such joy in knowing that we are so close to seeing Jed....holding him, hugging him, kissing him and loving him!  I can not wait to hold him in my arms and touch his sweet baby skin and hair.  I have a picture of what it will be like and hope it's as sweet as my thoughts.  He has been the cute boy in the numerous pictures we have for far too long.  I am ready to meet our son and bring him home.

The reality that we are going to get Jed is also a little bitter sweet because I have feared that he would be sad when he left his foster family.  I spoke with another mom, who has adopted from Hong Kong, and she told me that if Jed cries it's good because he needs to grieve too.  I had never thought about it this way and so thankful for this renewed perspective.  Yes Jed may cry but that's only because he was so loved and he needs to release the sadness from losing all that he knew.  I will love him through each tear and hope that he quickly realizes that he is with his mommy and daddy and that everything is just as it should be.

I appreciate so much the love and care that his foster family have given him!  They will forever be a part of his family and ours.  I look forward to meeting them and hopefully giving them peace about where Jed is going.  It must be so hard for them to say good-bye too.  Jed has been a part of their family for a while now and I know, because I saw it in the video, that there is a deep love for Jed.  I hope we walk away from this family with them knowing that Jed will be loved for who he is and supported in the best way so he can succeed in all areas of life.  This little boy, our son, will know that even though his foster family is not around love is!

FYI...Hong Kong is one day ahead so when we meet him on Tuesday it will be Monday here.  Four days until he is in our arms...Oh I can't stand the wait!!!

If you don't mind please pray for safe travel and that everything goes smoothly.  Josh checked the weather and it looks like it might rain and possibly be very windy.  This make it kind of hard to be venturing out with a little one.  But who know after all it is a very warm rain and we may just have our first dance in it!

Four Days Away

We are only four days away from traveling and I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of just how close we are to leaving.  I'm a little panicked that I won't get everything done because Saturday seems so close all of the sudden.  Before we do any kind of travel I like to do laundry, clean floors, bathrooms and organize misplaced items.  It always makes me feel good knowing that I left my house spotless for our return home.  This will not be the case, I'm sure, because the girls will still be here but as long as I see it perfect when I leave I'm okay.

I was going to post our itinerary but Josh and I are not sure what we want to visit and see while we tour Hong Kong.  I will try to update my Facebook page with daily posts about our plans.

I will admit that I am overwhelmed right now.  So much to do in such a short time.  I will also cling to this quote as I continue to prepare for Saturday and ultimately bringing our son home.

Pete Scazzero once quipped, "If doing the will of God, meant that Jesus, the Son of God, was sweating blood in the garden, why do you think for you it should be a cake walk?"


Hope your day was good!

The Plan

Josh and I sat down two nights ago and made our flight and hotel reservations!  It felt really good to do this!  Everything is starting to feel so real now and I am overwhelmed with joy.  We will leave on June 30th from LAX at 3:15 and fly home July 6th with arrival at 2:05.  We will meet Jed on July 3rd and get to spend the day with him but he will spend one last night with his foster family.  On Thursday we will gather his stuff and say good-bye to his foster family.  This is sure to be an emotional day.  This will also be a great day because Jed will be ours for the rest of the trip!  The adoption won't be finalized until 6 months after he comes home though.  With the Hong Kong program the agency gets guardianship of Jed until they complete 3 home visits and send the reports to Hong Kong.  Once this is done and everything is cleared we will go to the Santa Barbara Court House and finalize the adoption.  I can't wait until this is all final and we get to move forward with our family as a family!

Hong Kong itinerary coming soon.

The CALL

We got THE call that will take us to the end of our adoption journey.  We have travel dates!!!!  I was at Scottish Rite when Gwen called with the news.  Because I woke up feeling sick and had a terrible headache this news sent my body into over drive and I thought I was going to throw up.  Luckily I didn't.  It felt so great to finally be at this point!  Sarah was with me and wanted to tell everyone the good news then the phone was passed to me so I could give the details.  We made call after call until I needed a break.  Trying to absorb all this excitement was overwhelming.  I decided to stop all calls when another mom, at speech, started asking me questions about the adoption.  She said it was really nice to be seeing all this take place.  We had a great conversation not only about adoption but about Down syndrome too.  It was so nice to share our story as the final phone call came in.  I was so excited about the news that i could not sit down and my mind was racing.  Picture this:  your sitting at home reading a favorite book, all is calm and the house is quiet when there's a knock at the door.  You open the door to find someone yelling run run a tornadoes coming, run, run fast, run run run!!!!  I came home and began a search for flights, hotels and anything that would help me with planning.  I decided I needed time to relax and focus...to regain control of my mind.  I took a shower and went to bed.  I prayed and breathed and prayed and breathed until all anxiety was gone and my my was clear.  I went to sleep with no plan but a peaceful heart!

Today I am focused on getting some plans set.  I will update once this happens.

Oh my heart is happy!

Been Thinking.....a lot

I have found myself thinking more and more about the moments that are soon to come.  The moment we get THAT phone call and can make travel plans.  That moment we land in Hong Kong.  That moment I see our son for the first time.  The moment we take him to be with us FOREVER.  The moment we come out of the airplane and see our girls after a long week away, this is going to be a precious moment for sure! The moment I actually do have him on my walks on the bluffs.  In my thoughts I try and imagine all the details of what will take place in each moment.  I day dream hard about these things.  I have found myself so lost in thought that I actually forget I'm in the shower or on a walk.  About a month ago I was walking on the buffs so focused on the details of holding Jed in the Bjorn while I walk and how it will fell to gentle caress his hair, while we make our last steps towards home, and that moment became so real I felt his hair in my hands.  This moment snapped me out of my thoughts quickly.  It was so surreal.  I have these moments were I feel like I know what Jed's skin feels like or how his weight in my arms is so familiar and I know, with a deeper sense, that he is my son.  I am longing to scoop him up and hold him so tightly, to kiss him, to assure him that he is one of God's beautiful creations.

I also think a lot about who he is and how he expresses himself.  How will I, as his mom, know what his cry means...is he hungry, tired, lonely, hurting or simple wanting a snuggle.  I honestly don't like the idea of having to learn about my son.  I feel like I should know these things already.

I had a dream, a real dream, the other night that we received our travel notice.  It was nothing like I expected it to be.  It seemed very underwhelming to anyone I told.  I know this won't be the case when we do finally get that news.  I'm not sure what it will be like but I can't wait to find out.

since I cannot share photos of Jed I will share a picture of my sweet girls with you.  Enjoy!

                             

Getting Closer

Yesterday we were told that Jed went to get his physical for his Visa.  One step closer to coming home.  They sent four new pictures and we can see the changes already.  He looks older but still super cute and really happy!