Tianjin or bust!

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go... This is our last post from home. We'll be up before the sun tomorrow to catch our first flight. Twenty-four hours and fifteen minutes later, we should be in Beijing. Of course with the 13 hours we lose, it will be Thursday evening before we arrive. We'll try to post from the road!

Finally, a little boy's room!

Just in time, Micah's room is done! We just love the sports theme. Very cute and all boy!

So many toys already!This room comes with a doggie!We know he likes to play with balls...We can't wait for a little boy to move in!

Sippy cups for Micah

Ah, all the accessories that come with adopting a toddler. We've got every kind of sippy cup there is! Grandma and Grandpa are excited to meet our little guy.

Yay! I can post video! I'll have to learn to edit my clips though - it took forever to post from here in the states!

Year of the Rat

Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Happy Chinese New Year 2008!
The Year of the Rat!
2008 Feb. 7

Other Rat Years: 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2030

People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox.

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.

Legend of the Red Thread

There's a legend that says we are joined to those we will meet by a red thread. I don't know if it's actually an old Chinese legend, but it is a mantra in the adoption community. Adoptive parents feel that there is a bond between them and the child they will eventually adopt that will never break and will eventually bring them together.

The Red Thread was the the theme for last week's First Friday meeting. Three families, including the Eric & Heather shared their red thread stories. The first family held the end of a skein of yarn and handed it to the next family. As others in the room were mentioned, the skein traveled around and the red thread wove back and forth around the room, creating a visible reminder of the lives intertwined around this adoption journey. The skein ended up on our laps and the group prayed for our upcoming trip. I'm amazed at the journey we've taken and how it's led us to our son.

For pictures of this cool event, be sure to visit Michael & Amy.

I'm thankful for the thread that connects us to family and friends, some of whom we almost never see. But we know that the thread will never break, and that connection is sure. Many of you reading this blog are part of our Red Thread Story. We'd never be where we are if not for you all. Thank you and God bless!!!

We've got our itinerary!

2/13 Leave ATL for Beijing (connect through Detroit and Tokyo)

2/14 Arrive Beijing - check into Novotel Peace Hotel - crash

2/15-16 Tour Beijing

2/17 Depart Beijing for Tianjin. We're traveling by bus rather than by train because of the intense train traffic in China during Chinese New Year. Check into Harbor Center Hotel

2/18 Forever Family Day. Receive Micah, complete orphanage paperwork and apply for his Chinese passport.

2/19 Registration Office to register adoption. This is the day Micah's adoption becomes final and is also Uncle Kurt and Uncle Dan's birthday. How cool is that?

2/20-22 Free time in Tianjin

2/23 Leave Tianjin for Guangzhou Check into White Swan

2/24 Free day

2/25 Micah's physical exam

2/26 Free day

2/27 Consulate Appointment

2/28 Oath

2/29 Free day

3/1 Leave Guangzhou for Atlanta. Connect through Tokyo and Detroit. Arrive home and crash

Post a picture from email

Here's a test post to see if I can post a picture from email.