Daniel's Trip - We're HERE!

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.  I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.  Ps 9:1-2

We left the house at 2:00 a.m. Saturday morning - four airports and 33 (!!!) hours later we checked in to the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou, China - our home for the next 12 days!  Elisabeth and Noah did great - they are real troopers.  When we arrived at our home airport for our first flight (a whole hour and a half into our travels) Noah pipes up from the back seat of the van "I like go to China!  Where's Daniel???"  I hated to break the news to him, "Oh buddy, we are JUST getting started!"

We arrived at the hotel at about 11 p.m., but didn't get settled in to get to bed until 12:30 - and then due to the magic and joy of jetlag and crossing 12 time zones, all of us were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5 a.m.!  Lao Lao has the room next to us and she was able to get more sleep, thankfully.  The four of us had a fabulous time at the White Swan's magnificent breakfast buffet and then took a walk around Shamian Island, and the kids got to play at the park.  We then had a light lunch and all three of my babies are taking naps now.  But not for long!  We're meeting our guide, Elvin, in the lobby at 3:30 and we're scheduled to meet Daniel at 4 p.m. - only 2 hours and 9 minutes from right now!

I want to share one of the neat things that the Lord has worked out during this adoption. Several months ago I met (in the Yahoo group for parents adopting from Daniel’s orphanage) the mom who is adopting the little boy in the crib next to Daniel.  They only live 1.5 hours away from us!  Jennifer’s paperwork was logged in for Ian several weeks before ours was, but for several weeks there, due to a little glitch in their process, it looked like our family would travel to meet Daniel before they did.  AND THEN, they received their Travel Approval just last Monday, but they and their agency were on the ball about getting them over here ASAP, and now we’re going to meet our boys together!  Precious boys who have been crib neighbors for probably over 2 years, meeting their new families at exactly the same time, and then flying ½ way around the world to their new homes…1.5 hours apart!  Some people might call that a neat coincidence – our family calls it "A God Thing"! 

Our next post will have pictures of our newest blessing – I can’t wait!

In Him,
Joli

Have backpacks, will travel - moments before we left our house Saturday morning

One of our last pictures as a family of four

Wrestling - at exactly 5:17 a.m.!

Elisabeth and Noah giving Daniel's crib at the White Swan a test drive for him

Noah testing out some of the toys that are about to be put in Daniel's new backpack