The Countdown begins

Two weeks! It's amazing to think that two weeks from now, we'll be flying to Guangzhou, China to begin our travels to Lanzhou, where we'll meet Iris for the first time. Our lives will transform in numerous ways! We continue to make final arrangements and more decisions about what to bring (or not), prepare Iris's room and arrange for care of the household, especially our dog Ho Gao. We are trying to imagine our house overrun with children's toys, clothes and smells.

There are so many wonderful people giving Iris special gifts. If you are one of the many, xie xie! The clothes are adorable, but we can't take them all with us to China. We're overwhelmed! Yet the anticipation of nearly two years will culminate in September. September 15 is the mid-Autumn Moon Festival in China. By then, we will have been parents to Iris about a week and will have the chance to share that day and years of festivals to come with Iris. We just wonder how she's changed since her cute picture was taken in late April. We would love an update on her size and development, but our agency can only request it; no guarantees.

I think she'll enjoy next spring and summer in the sandbox that Brian built for her. Take a look:

The travel dates are set

It's time to celebrate! The 3rd call came yesterday afternoon and the itinerary for our China Trip was faxed to Brian. We went out to Gary Chu's for a quiet delicious meal, then came home to look over the papers, while enjoying glasses of champagne (Korbel, of course!).
So, the plan is to fly to LA and leave with the group from there to southern China on September 5th. The 2nd day in China, we'll fly to the province where Iris is and finally hold her in our arms. We'll spend several days in Lanzhou, then fly back to Guangzhou to await US Consulate visas. On September 23rd (Lord willing!), we fly home and begin parenthood, American style.
There are many details to be worked out until we leave, but we are really excited and as prepared as we can be. All this nesting is paying off. I (Cindy) will feel weird to start teaching my ESL classes for one week and then, leave for the semester. Well, my colleagues understand and have been very supportive and encouraging. At this point, I just thank and trust God with the travel details each day. Now, back to the phone calls and finalizing travel arrangements.

Showering of gifts

It's been a few weeks of well-wishes, baby clothes, quilts, a car seat and so many other special gifts from dear friends and family coming into the house. We chose to schedule some baby showers before we travel because who knows what frame of mind and physical shape we'll be in after we return. One thing is for sure, Iris will be well-loved! Friends are thrilled for us, but they keep saying, "Your lives are going change dramatically!" Then, some people laugh. Hmmmmm...are we ready to be mom and dad? I think it's full speed ahead. The rollercoaster ride has only begun, huh?

There are still a lot of unknowns that makes this journey the more special: How big is she now? Will she be crawling? How comfortable is she with crowds of people? (Even though she's in China, she's in foster care.) The list of questions can sometimes feel overwhelming.

FANTASTIC NEWS! This afternoon, we got our 3rd call (itinerary) that was faxed. Whoo hoo! Tentative dates are: Leave LAX on September 5th Return to CA on September 23rd. Now the final "push" begins. It's truly packing time! Check back here to see if we're still alive.

Here are some photos of friends and family who can't wait to meet Iris:

Waiting for Travel Dates

It's August now and we're still waiting for travel dates. So, what are we doing besides asking ourselves, "Wonder how Iris is doing?"

Well on August 2nd, Brian went on a Flume Ride on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe with friend Dan and brother-in-law Justin. It was a long day, but much fun with near perfect weather! Take a look:

From August 3-9, Cindy went with a group from a Windsor church to "Gleanings for the Hungry" in Dinuba, CA, south of Fresno.

It was a hot week of sorting, turning and laying out 10,000s of rejected and donated peaches and nectarines daily for drying out on the field. It was hard and slimy work, but the teamwork of about 75+ people processed 63,000 lbs. of dried fruit! Despite mechanical breakdowns and a slight dwindling number of volunteers, we set a record for bucketing dried peaches of over 900 shipment pallets. Here are glimpses of the whole operation:

Watch a video of the peach assembly line here,

At the end of the week, here's what we saw this...

Well, for over 25 years, the Lord has blessed this ministry and countless people in all these countries have benefited from delivered gleanings of dried fruit and dehydrated soup mix. AMAZING!