The Adoption Journey of Olivia Grace Jones: June 2006

We've received our itinerary

We've received our itinerary for our trip now, so here is what we'll be doing:

Friday July 7th - Fly from Mobile to China!

Saturday July 8th - arrive in Guangzhou at 10:35 p.m.

Sunday July 9th - Rest in the morning and depart for
Nanning in the afternoon

Monday July 10th - Gotcha Day!!! Today we get Olivia Mei Grace!!!!!! The babies will be traveling by train today to Nanning, where we will all begin our new families!

Tuesday July 11th - Today we will do the paper work for the adoption. It will be final today.

Wednesday July 12th - Today will be a sight seeing day.

Thursday July 13th - Shopping in the morning and pick up notary books in the afternoon

Friday July 14th - Pick up baby's passports in the afternoon.

Saturday July 15th - Depart Nanning at 8:30 AM for Guangzhou. The flight is 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check into the White Swan Hotel. Get the medical and visa photos.

Sunday July 16th - Church in the morning. Thanksgiving Service in the afternoon. Zoo in the afternoon.

Monday July 17th - Consulate appointment. Afternoon - Jade factory

Tuesday July 18th - Swearing In and picking up girls visa's in the afternoon.

Wednesday July 19th - Depart for home in the early morning. Arrive at Mobile airport at 8:55pm, tired, but ready to show off our adorable little princess!

To all of our friends and family

6/22/2006

Christine and I have been so overwhelmed at all the kind words and prayers of support that so many of you have given us, and continue to give us. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful group of people from all around the country sharing this journey with us. You have all been a part of this journey, in some way or another, and you have all contributed to what Christine and I have gone through.

People often say that Christine and I are so brave and patient to wait through three failed adoptions in Russia, and to wait patiently for little Olivia Mei Grace in China. We don't really feel like we're anything special, and we certainly went through our times of doubt and frustration. During those times, we relied on each other, on you, our friends and family, and, most importantly, on our faith in Christ (see "Just Pedal" at the bottom of the page).

Every time I look at Olivia's pictures, and I see those beautiful eyes staring back at me so intently, that cute little mouth of hers, those ten toes wiggling, and that little patch of hair that is uncannily like mine, I smile. And I know that God has indeed shown Christine and I favor. He has entrusted us to raise this little princess, and all we had to do was wait and trust in Him. We plan on doing our level best, but we understand that there will be times when we'll need that strength from all of you, and from Christ. And He'll always be there - for us and for you.

Thank you so much for sharing this journey with us. We are looking forward to utilizing all the technology of the information age to share our journey through China and home with you.

Michael

Planes, trains, and automobiles

Today we got some wonderful news! We found out that we'll be leaving to bring Olivia Mei Grace Jones home on Friday, July 7th! We are SO excited!! We've actually scheduled our flights, and we know that we'll be back in Mobile on Wednesday, July 19th at 8:55pm. We have a lot of packing and last minute things to finalize now, and I'll be updating the blog more often, especially as it gets nearer to time to leave. Stay tuned!