Our Trip to China!

Day 1: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 - We flew out of Seoul, South Korea late Monday night. Our flight was only two hours, and China is one hour behind SK. We were picked up at the Beijing Airport by Peter, our personal tour guide while in Beijing, and our driver, Zhang. We were taken straight to our hotel, the Beijing Penta Hotel. We chose only 4-star hotels since we were going to be in China and didn't know what to expect. We would do it again in a heartbeat! The Penta was beautiful. We were very pleased with our rooms. Michael's and my room was larger than the boys' room. Our room:

Jamie and William's room:

This was the only hotel they had to share a bed. Their bathroom was really small. It was strange. Our rooms were next to each other, but they were so different in size!

We went straight to bed. We had a long day coming.

In the morning, we had a wonderful breakfast buffet. A huge breakfast buffet was included with every hotel we stayed. It was great! After breakfast, Peter met us in the lobby, and we were off for our day's adventure. First up was a Rickshaw Tour through Beijing's Hutong. The Hutong is the old narrow paths with lots of courtyard homes where common people live. They are like villages within the city. 

I loved the people and seeing them in everyday life. 

It was hard to get a photo into a courtyard, but I finally did. Most people have their doors closed. You enter the door and find another alley. Building surround a small courtyard and several people can live in this one little area. It was fascinating and humbling. Every American should see this firsthand. No one would ever complain about not having enough money for things. China is a very poor country. We are so very blessed.

I wish this picture wasn't blurry. There were several men sitting in a row eating lunch, and all of them had three onions. I'm not sure if they typically eat three onions for lunch or what, but I found it very interesting. 

That is all I'll write about today. More is coming. Stay tuned!

Up Next: Lunch in a Hutong and visiting the Lama Temple.

We are home from an 8-day vacation to China! There is so much to tell and so many pictures to share that I will write a trip report and tell you about different aspects of our trip. Since we have just gotten home, I'll give you a sneak peek of some pictures. I'll be back!

Wow! I have not blogged in a very, very long time. I'm not very good at it, but since I am keeping off of Facebook except to update my profile and cover photos every now and then, I thought I'd blog again. 

First things first. We got the boys!! LOL! Wow. I really haven't blogged in a long time. We met Jamie and William on October 29, 2012. They moved in with us on December 14, 2012, and the adoption was finalized on April 5, 2013. God moved in miraculous ways during a waiting process. I seriously need to write a book about it. 

Second, we moved to South Korea! Michael got here April 15, 2013. Victoria, the boys and I arrived May 27, 2013. It has been fantastic!

We are experiencing so many wonderful things here in Korea, and I love sharing those adventures. So, instead of sharing them on Facebook, I will share them here. Feel free to comment or say, "Hi!" if you stop by. 

I love exploring Korea. There is so much to see and do here, and I will never get to do everything, but I certainly will try. One of our latest treks was to Namisum Island also known as Nami Island. It was beautiful with the changing of the leaves. I definitely want to go back when we have more time to explore. I'll post some of my favorite pictures from that trip. Enjoy!

I have not posted in such a very long time. I'm so sorry. So much has happened and yet so little has happened. Michael deployed. Michael has returned and been home over two weeks. We are STILL waiting for news about adopting Jamie and William. It's hard waiting. We have left four messages with our caseworker since Michael came home. We haven't heard anything. Please pray for us as we continue to patiently wait.


Victoria goes to college in the fall! I can't believe our little girl is moving out. We have less than two months left with her. She is currently on a date and spends a lot of time with Sean so we are getting used to what it feels like to be empty nesters. It's nice and weird at the same time. 


So, while we wait for the boys, we will enjoy being empty nesters. One way we are doing that is by dating. I call it Project 52. This is not my original concept. I read about it here on the web, but I can't remember where I read it. Project 52 is simple: plan a date a week; however, you must take turns planning the dates. I should have taken pictures of our first two dates. I didn't even think about blogging about them, but perhaps it can inspire you to do something similar with your spouse.


Our first date was two weeks ago when Michael came home. He had a theme going. He said that when we met in Augusta, GA, and he wanted to take me out, I had never heard of or been to a restaurant called the Dizzy Chicken. So, he took me there. Here in Killeen, Michael had never been to Texas Land & Cattle, so he took me there in order to go somewhere that one of us had never been to. So sweet! He then took me to Starbucks. I couldn't figure out why. I don't drink coffee. When we dated, we would go to Barnes & Noble, pick out some books, and snuggle in some chairs and read. Sweet and simple. I refuse to go to B&N anymore because they sell porn now. I refuse to support them. So, he took me to Starbucks where we sat outside, and he gave me a present...a book. "The Love Dare Devotional" book is a new devotional that we can share together over this next year. It is the perfect gift to complement Project 52.


Last week we had our second date. I planned it. We had a double date with Victoria and Sean. We went to Dickie's BBQ in Temple. The food was good but the conversation and friendship were even better. Victoria is my best girlfriend, and I love hanging out with her. She is so amazing! Add Sean to the mix, and they are pure joy to be around. It was a lovely evening.


Tonight, we have another date! I'll be sure to take pictures this time. Stay tuned!

Preparing for Rain

For anyone who has seen the movie Facing the Giants, you'll remember the story about the two farmers who were trying to farm in the middle of a drought. One farmer did nothing since there was no rain in the near future. The other prepared his fields for rain. When the rain came, his crops were watered. We are preparing for rain. We are getting our house ready and in order "just in case." We have bought Victoria a new bedroom suite, and we are going to move her room to the "schoolroom." We now have a fire extinguisher in our kitchen, a fire escape route planned and posted in our kitchen, and our house has had a health and fire inspection. We bought a storage shed where we have locked up all of our cleaning supplies and the gasoline for the lawnmower. We also bought a little lock box to lock away all of our meds. We are praying for rain.

We got news last week though. The boys are legally ready to be adopted. This means that the parental rights have been taken away. However, mentally and emotionally, the boys aren't ready. The foster family is working through some things to help prepare them. Meanwhile, anyone interested in adopting the boys is being put in a file until time for the caseworker to begin the process of matching parents with the boys. I have to remind myself that God is in control.

I have tried putting myself in their shoes. I can't imagine being ripped away from my parents, never to live with them again. We have NO IDEA what the boys have gone through, but what we are learning in class is that no matter how badly these kids are treated or abused at home, they always want to go home to mom and/or dad. It is so sad, but think about it. Wouldn't you want to be with your parents, too?

We are praying for them, praying that they will come to terms with what has happened in their lives. I pray they will be able to forgive their family and accept a new one some day. Until then, we will continue to pray for rain and know that God is controlling all of this and knows what is best for the boys and for our family.

1% Chance....

We started our PRIDE (parenting) classes today. Praise the Lord! Our background checks went through without a hitch, and there was still room left for us to get into these classes. We are so grateful. The classes meet twice a week for five weeks. The last class is actually on the day that Michael was originally scheduled to deploy, but God worked that out, and Michael is deploying a few days later. God is so awesome!

We have been told that there is only a 1% chance of us being able to get the boys since Michael is deploying. They want both parents in the home. I must confess, I was so sad when I learned this news, but God's timing is perfect. He knows exactly what is going on, and I have complete faith in Him. I told one of the state employees tonight that we were willing to wait a year for Jamie and William. It will be like expecting twins! Please pray that no matter what, the best interest of the boys will be taken to heart. I don't want to have to wait a year, but if that is what is best for them, so be it. I just hope Victoria and I would have the chance to meet them and get to hang out during the year so we can start getting to know them.

We have gotten more confirmation, and once again, it came in the mail. I love how God uses our media to speak to us if we are willing to listen. This time, we got a letter from Focus on the Family about adopting children within the United States. How cool is that? We have NEVER gotten anything in the mail about adopting before, and now we have gotten two things. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us next.

Back to our classes...we have homework, so I better get to it. I have some homework due Thursday and more due in a couple of weeks. We are to answer questions for a Home Study Autobiography, but anyone who knows me knows I can't simply answer questions. I will write an autobiography and make sure all of the questions are answered with tons of descriptive words and hopefully a little humor as well. I can't wait to get started on it! (I am such a nerd!!)