OATH DAY

Sorry we did not blog yesterday.  I was a little under the weather (the China food bug got me). Our apologies. We all just kind of relaxed and enjoyed our last free day in Guangzhou.  Today was "Oath Day" and that took around 4 hours from start to finish. There were 33 families adopting with us and they told us that there have been 3,400 kids adopted this year. This means that there have been 3,400 children's lives saved! We met several wonderful families and two of them have 9 children, more adopted then biological. I think that this is just awesome! Our Oath today went something like this:

We promise to take care of our son.

We promise to love him unconditionally.

We promise to provide a shock collar for him when necessary. Ha!

Not really, it's just a formality that is necessary to adopt a child and he is officially OURS! We pick up his passport on Friday. Collin is calming down some and we can't wait to get him home to some consistency. Oh, how we are loving this little man of ours! We have taken some fun pictures for you to see. Only 2 more days in China! Much love.

MONDAY IN CHINA

Today was Monday in China, Collin's TB test was negative. Thank goodness they did not test for mischeiviousness! As you can see, his pull-up is on the wrong end. Pretty little Sophie is posing like a princess, and we had some fun taking camera shots of the kids. Unlike yesterday, we did not go to church, but quite the opposite, we went to a buddhist temple. Our guide told us that over 80% of China are practicing buddhists. It was eye opening to hear about their religion and watch the people put every ounce of faith they had into a golden statue. It is really amazing as we walk the streets of Guangzhou that almost every westerner we meet is a Christian. I believe that God is calling out His people to save His children more today than ever before. It has been very encouraging.
The food has been tolerable, but Chipotle sounds mouth watering at this minute. We have a free day tomorrow, not sure of our plans yet... maybe we will go shopping for a change. Ha! Doug says he can't bear one more day of shopping, unless he has his Starbucks. We are now counting down the days until we leave. Only 3 more days....where is Jack Waterway when you need him? Much gratitude to all of you.  Love, The Duty's

"GREATER THINGS ARE YET TO COME"

Not unlike any other day, everyone wants a picture with Brooke. She says she has never been more stared at in her life! Gaungzhou has many statues, and it was fun taking a few pictures of them with the kids. Collin brought lots of laughs from the crowd when he tried to kiss the statue of a little boy who would not kiss him back and Sophie was trying to see what the man was taking a picture of. Collin is getting more friendly with me everyday, but still much prefers his daddy. We have enjoyed negotiating with the local shops today.  Those crazy Americans always want something for nothing! Ha. The highlight of our day today was church this morning, Collin behaved very well...he went to sleep. :) I was overwhelmed with emotion as I watched chinese christians take the Lord's supper, worship and raise their hands to the same God that we know and worship. As we sang "shout to the Lord all the earth let us sing, power and majesty praise to the King," it was amazing they could sing this song in a country who does not recognize Jesus Christ as King, but it was awesome! The song "greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city" kept going through my mind. It was standing room only and some were even turned away because of room. God, please save these people for your glory. As I watched them singing and looked into some of their eyes, I knew I would be in heaven with them some day. Wow! What a tremendous experience, I cannot express with words the blessing I received and also seeing Collin in church for the first time blessed our hearts. We recently finished a Bible study called "On Mission with God", this trip was not just about going to pick up our son across the world, but being in the center of God's will and doing exactly what He has told us to do. Oh how we have received the blessing. Thank you again for your prayers and all the emails of encouragement, please keep them coming. Love to you all!

We also would like to take this opportunity to thank two of our dear friends for all of their efforts. The first is Michelle Younger for doing an excellent job of updating our blog because Doug and I are technologically challenged. Thanks Michelle you are doing a great job as usual. Second is Carol Vander Meer for giving us guidance, direction, and keeping us on track throughout our journey. We couldn't have made it this far without you Carol. We love both of you and the rest of our friends!

SOMEONE CALL SECURITY!!!

Hello to friends and family. We made it to Guangzhou, but not without an ordeal. Security was called becuase Collin was acting so crazy, I think they thought that we were trying to take him illegally. Pretty tight security here. Sending a few pictures (everyone wants a picture with Brooke). Collin was trying to escape his stroller and got his first big bump.We are taking bets on when he has his first broken bone! Brooke gave him hair horns, looks pretty natural don't you think. The tree is a Banzai tree and we dedicate it to Jack Waterway and Dave Sternasty. Collin is happy in his time out chair.....we are in trouble! The weather here is beautiful, about 75 and we hear we are coming home to snow. We are going to church in the morning and no other plans for the rest of the day. We sure miss our travel group from our first China visit.  Being here has brought back many memories. Collin passed his medical exam and we found out that he will need another pallet surgery.  We were not suprised by that news and we're just thanking God that he is healthy and full of life. Sophie is doing well, but needing a little extra attention these days. Brooke says that she could stay here for a month, but if that's her decision we are leaving without her. Ha! Thank you for your continued prayers, you don't realize how much we appreciate them. More pictures tomorrow. Love to you all!

SWEET AND RAMBUNCTIOUS!!

Sorry we did not update the blog yesterday. We had a big day of shopping and we were all pooped and went to bed early. Brooke had a blast finding lots of bargains and the best part of the day, was when we found a Papa John's Pizza which was delicious. Sophie has been a great big sister watching out for him and being patient with him. Let's just say we have been seeing more of his personality. My gratitude goes out to all of our friends who have prayed for a rambunctious boy....your prayers have been answered. We are definitely going to need a time-out chair. To all of my Friday lunch ladies, no more mellow lunches at McDonald's. Ha! All kidding aside, we have prayed for a sweet little boy that is all boy and God has given us the desires of our heart. Just hope we can make it through, he is wide open. Collin is still much a papa's boy, but is making strides with us all. We went to the zoo on Thursday as you will see some pictures, then we went to a museum and Collin wanted to help the guide point to pictures. We have had a few more silent tears, but over all he is doing wonderful. Yesterday when he cried, Sophie said, "Stop it! You're making tears come from my eyeballs too!" Such compassion. Still struggling with jetlag and only sleeping 5 hours a night. This is for the birds. Please continue praying for our little man's adjustment. Even though we have only had him four days, he has always been our's, we just had to wait almost 26 years to get him. Thank you Lord for your blessings.

ADOPTION DAY!!

Today is day two with Collin. He ate a big breakfast and then we were off to the Civil Affairs Building to legally adopt him. He was very solemn when he woke up this morning, but as the morning progressed, we got to hear him giggle and more of his personality was coming out. He is still having emotional times of sadness and quiet tears, but overall is adjusting very well. We are very impressed with his motor skills and are amazed at how smart he is. He went swimming for the first time, however the water was a bit cool so he was not crazy about it, but likes being in water. He is still very attatched to his "papa" or daddy and won't let him out of his sight. He slept with daddy last night and we found out that he snores... now Doug knows how I feel. Ha! Tomorrow is a free day and we are planning on going shopping to the likes of Brooke. Still suffering from jetlag and we're hoping to catch up on our sleep tonight. Sophie has adjusted wonderfully, which was a big worry of ours. God has taken care of every detail. Should we be suprised? He is so good and we are so blessed. Love to you all, -Pam

WE HAVE HIM!!!!!

We finally arrived at our hotel room after 27 hours post take off.  When we met our guide Alan he said that we are going to get Collin at 10am Monday, November 29.  We didn't get much sleep last night because we were all so excited. We picked Collin up at his orphanage which was an hour and a half away.  We were able to see where our little boy spent the first 3 years of his life.  We arrived at his orphanage, they were waiting for us. Very poor conditions and many children there.  Right away I recognized him, he just stared at us when we bent down to speak to him.  I could not believe this was finally happening and the nannies were very nice and answered many questions for us.  Then it was time to go.  As I was leaving a seven year old girl was crying and reached for me to take her too.  It broke my heart and the only consolation is that I know she is going to be adopted soon by another family.  Collin was very happy coming with us and eating candy, until in the van he realized that nobody around him was familiar.  Then his lip puckered and the tears came, he cried himself to sleep.  When we arrived at the hotel, he woke up and began to cry again.  He is such a sweet little boy and we could see in his eyes that he was scared to death.  We did lots of hugging and holding and after about an hour and a half he began to play and things looked brighter.  He was pretty dirty so we gave him a bath then we all left to go out and eat.  He is still having unstable times, but I think he is learning to love us and I know that we are definitely loving him.  Tomorrow is another day and we hope we can see more of his personality in the days to come.  Thanks to all of you for your prayers and most of all we thank God for this huge blessing He gave us today.  We just sit and stare at him because we cannot believe he is ours.  We will blog more tomorrow.  Love to all of you, Pam

On their way to get Collin!!

Doug and Pam ask that we give a quick update.  It's 9pm here and 10am Monday morning in China.  Their guide is on the way to pick them up to go get Collin at his orphanage.  It will be a 2 hour drive to the orphanage and then they will meet their son for the first time!! Please be praying for them all!  Doug and Pam will have a more detailed update for you probably by morning.....with photos! 

For Him<><
Travis and Michelle 

Boarding......next stop Beijing!!!

Yes, we were up early this morning leaving a not so happy dog, but excited for our long journey. We arrived at the airport at 6:30 for our first uneventful flight. Brooke, Sophie, and Pam were upgraded to first class, while Doug was in the back with the toilets :) We had a 3 hour layover at the Chicago Airport, where we found some resources to make a sign for Sophie. She is bouncing off the walls with excitement. We took a quick family picture before boarding the plane for Beijing. We will have more updates when we get there and maybe some interesting stories.



Here We Go!!!!

We are currently in Chicago waiting for our flight to Beijing!!!  Stay tuned.......

Monday we will celebrate two very special occasions.  Finally, we will welcome Collin into our family and we will celebrate the birth of our 3rd daughter Brooke.  Happy Birthday, Brooke!!

OUR SWEET COLLIN

Our Sweet Collin

One last road to travel

One last way to go

One more day to forever

Just to let you konw

The wait is finally over

The journey now is through

So now this comes to let you know...

Dreams really do come true.

We are coming to get you Little Man!
We love you!

Collin age 2 years and 10 months 

Our Itinerary

11/27	Sat	Depart US
11/28	Sun	Arrival in Beijing & connect flight for Chongqing directly
11/29	Mon	Adoption process full day with guide
11/30	Tue	Adoption process full day with guide
12/1	Wed	Hechuan SWI visit
12/2	Thu	Half day sightseeing
12/3	Fri	Morning free on own. Afternoon receive passport. Depart province for Guangzhou
12/4	Sat	Visa physical for your child
12/5	Sun	Free
12/6	Mon	Get Physical results
12/7	Tue	Free
12/8	Wed	Visa Interview
12/9	Thu	Oath and Half day sightseeing.
12/10	Fri	Get visa then leave Guangzhou for Hong Kong
12/11	Sat	Fly home with your new child!

Surprise!!

More details and our itinerary will follow in the next few days!!  Please enjoy the updated pictures below of Collin.  We received these after sending him a birthday care package in August. 

Collin's third birthday in the orphanage

Collin is king for the day dressed in his finest

Collin enjoying some of his birthday cake with friends