The next two weeks

We have had many people ask us what our time in China will look like. So here goes.

 

It’s going to be hot, sauna like hot!

 

We are going to miss our kids at home. We know they’ll be having lots of fun and be well cared for, but the fact remains that we have not ever been away from them for this long.

 

We are praying facetime works. See above reason.

 

We will be about 14 hours ahead of the West Coast.

 

Here is our schedule:

 

June 27^th Head to LAX for a midnight departure. We have a layover in Seoul, South Korea.

June 29^th Arrive in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China around noon. It is advisable to try to stay awake on this first day to try to quickly adjust to the current time and fight jet lag. We will certainly try, but no promises!

 

June 30^th We will visit Chan Academy. This is also my 37^th Birthday.

July 1^st GOTCHA day!! One less orphan in the world day! Make that 147 million orphans minus 1.

Daniel is being flown down to Guangzhou from Tianjin. His home province is Guangdong, however, he was moved last October to Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village an hour south of Beijing. He has received excellent care there and he looks healthy. He is undoubtedly in better shape physically and emotionally than he would be in the SWI. Gotcha takes place at the Guangdong Province Adoption Center in the afternoon. Not sure what we’ll do all morning. I’m sure the clock will be going very slow at this point.

After gotcha we sign guardianship papers for Daniel and get to keep him overnight with us in the hotel. This is a time for adoptive families to spend with their child before signing the final adoption paperwork.

July 2^nd We return to the Adoption Center in the morning to complete the adoption proceedings. At this point, he becomes our son!

July 3^rd We review adoption notary books, apply for Daniel’s Chinese passport at the police station. 

July 4^th Complete Daniel’s medical exam required to apply for his US visa. We will visit Yuexiu Park in the afternoon.

July 5^th We will receive Daniel’s passport in the afternoon.

July 6^th Return to the medical clinic to receive exam results.

July 7^th Free day! We will probably head to Shamian Island for some shopping and to drop off laundry.

July 8^th We have our US Consulate appointment in the morning.

July 9^th Receive Daniel’s US visa at the US consulate in the afternoon. This is the last thing we need to be able to leave China with our son!

July 10^th We depart Guangzhou at noon

July 10^th 3:50 pm arrive on US soil with a new US citizen! We have been told that going through immigration will take at least an hour. Hopefully around 5 pm we can walk out and hug our other kids. Any of our local friends are more than welcome to come to the airport. This might be your only chance to see little Daniel for a while since we will be cocooning at home until we feel he is ready to venture out. If cocooning is a new concept to you, please read this excellent blog post.

 

Please pray with us for safe travels, health and well being for our entire family (at home and in China), and for Daniel who's life is about to change once again.