The Long's

The Long's
Wind River Ranch - where our journey to Chazz began!

Friday, April 18, 2014

Traveling

Dinosaur in Chicago

Getting ready for the long flight
Writing in her travel diary in Chicago
My sweets

Friday

We slept very well last night.  I really don't remember falling asleep. I woke up at 2 and took a Tylenol pm and didn't get up until after 7. Hanna slept the whole night. Jerry and I would really like a nap now (it's 2 pm), but we are going to try not to.  Today has been an adventure! Caleb took us to a big electronics store looking for the card reader. Several stores later, we found out there was 1 at the Apple store across town.  Luckily we had them hold it for us.  We went to a sticker store for Hanna and the kids and then to a wonderful lunch.  Tonight we are all going out for dinner with Seaman. We are excited to see him.  Enjoy the pictures and hopefully more later.








Thursday, April 17, 2014

We are here!

We made it, we survived!  The plane ride was a little brutal. 14 hours and you can't really get comfortable enough to sleep. I think we all managed an hour or two all combined, but not much.  We've basically been up since a little before 3 am Wednesday.  We have also made it to Darcy and Caleb's house and were treated to a wonderful pasta dish and pico!  We had a great evening meeting their kids.   Hanna even went and played on the trampoline with Burke and Greer.  They will enjoy the weekend.

We got to skype home and talk with the nosy and mom. They are doing fine and my house is clean! Thanks mom!  Just 3 days til Chazz!

Bummer. My adapter to get pictures from my camera to iPad isn't working. Hopefully I can get it to work later or we might have to go shopping for something different...  So no pictures tonight.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

We're leaving!

Sitting here this morning at the airport, just waiting for our first flight.  We have just a short layover before we board for the long flight to Shanghai. We should get there around 2 am.  I think I might have slept a few hours last night, but was awake well before the 3:10 am alarm!  All sorts of emotions today: excited, nervous, sad, humbled, scared (have I forgotten something important?), and just in awe of what God has done in our lives.  I'm a little shell shocked that we are actually leaving and I'm actually, finally adopting MingJian.  Seems so surreal.  Missing my big boys already and it's only been a few hours....  Next stop, Chicago!

Monday, April 14, 2014

Have plane tickets and itinerary!

This is for real folks! We are all set.  We have our paperwork, plane tickets, money (there's a story of prayer I need to share), bags almost packed, and itinerary.  We are ready. Just one more day of teaching and trying to sleep and we will be ready to take off.  I've always liked that old song, "I'm leavin on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again!" If you see me smiling, I'm probably singing that in my head.

Here's our itinerary:
Wednesday: fly to Shanghai
Thursday: arrive in Shanghi, travel to Suzhou
Friday and Saturday: visit with Selby's and Seaman in Suzhou and Shanghai
Sunday: rejoice for our King is Risen and fly to Shenyang
Monday: meet Chazz Jian Long! Gotcha day
Tuesday: register adoption
Wednesday: Shenyang Forbidden City
Thursday: Beijing Park
Friday: fly to Guangzhou
Saturday: medical appointment
Sunday: Guangzhou folk art museum and Hai Xin Plaza
Monday: Shamian Island
Tuesday: visa appointment
Wednesday: get visa and travel to Hong Kong
Thursday: tour Hong Kong
Friday: fly Home!

Friday, April 11, 2014

Spring Break

Wow, what a week it has been. We are so thankful for God's awesome timing. I'm quite sure I never would have been able to get all that I've gotten done to travel if I would have been working.  My list has gotten longer, but I'm almost to the point where I can sit here and relax, for a few minutes anyway.  My dining room table is full of things that we need to pack. We are really hoping to get everything in 2 suitcases and then bring backpacks. We've checked the weather, and oh goodness, summer has arrived!  We are thinking we'll mainly pack shorts, which take up less space!

We don't have our final in country itinerary, but hopefully Monday or Tuesday!  We leave Wednesday, fly to Chicago, then on to Shanghai. We will get there on Thursday afternoon (long flight - 12 hour time difference, but still long).  We will be in Shanghai until Sunday, Easter, then we fly to Shenyang.  We are so excited to meet our son!  We know we have to be in Guangzhou on April 29 for our consulate appointment, so I'm guessing we'll get there on April 27.  On the 30th, we will go to HongKong and finally come home on May 2.  It will be so wonderful to be home with our 4 kids!  Wow, 4 kids!

We are both working Monday and Tuesday, so we wanted to have everything ready before then. Goodness, it is so hard to believe that in just over 1 week, I'm going to meet and hug the son I've prayed for since 2010!

Update: 1 suitcase packed!

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

China!

We're going to China! We're going to China! We're going to China NEXT WEEK! More later, I'm going to be one crazy busy girl!  Thank you Lord for bringing us to this day! You are amazing. Thank you for the opportunity to give a child a family!  Chazz, MingJian, we are coming!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Travel Invitation!

Did you read that? Travel Invitation!  Ok, I admit it, I'm not the most patient person in the world. You'd think after 2 pregnancies and 2 adoptions I would have learned something about waiting for His perfect timing.  So on Friday, I decided that I would email our agency just to ask if they had any new info, just a hint at when they were thinking.  I checked and rechecked our email all evening long and nothing.

This morning, I went to the women's Lenten breakfast with two dear friends, Lana and Susan.  We had a wonderful time fellowshipping, worshipping, and praising our Lord and Savior.  We heard a powerful testimony about how God can change our lives.

When I got home, I checked email again and this time there was one!  We have our travel invitation!  We aren't even at the 2week wait yet!  We will know very soon, like Monday or Tuesday, when we are going to leave!  We are so excited!

Prayer Requests:
  Prayers for our travels
  Prayers for Brooks and Reese staying home
  Prayers for my mom and Jerry's parents taking care of the boys while we are gone.
  Prayers for our hearts to be ready for a new son and brother
  Prayers for Chazz that he'll be ready and excited for a family
  Prayers that Love breaks language barriers
  Thank you Lord for all you've given us and all You do!  You are a powerful and mighty God.

Stay Tuned.. Travel dates are next!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Brittany's Hope Grant!

We just received word from our agency that we have received a matching grant for funds raised up to $4000 from Brittany's Hope!  We are so excited.  We have raised $1776.  Thank you everyone who has helped us so far!

We have no new news on Chazz.  We are still waiting on travel dates.  Hopefully in the next week we will have more information.