Beautiful little Chloe enjoying Barney!

 Wal Mart delicacies!

Day 2 - It's Official

It's official!  
This morning we got up, ate breakfast, and then met our guide at 9:15.  She took 
us to the civil affairs office where we signed the paperwork and made it 
official with inking our thumb in the red ink.  They proceeded to ask us 
questions about caring for her and then we went to the notary office where we 
signed some more paperwork and answered the same questions.  It only took about 
an hour to do both and that included driving.  For those of you who haven`t been 
to China, the driving is like something I have never seen before.  I gasped so 
loud within the first minute of being in the van that he turned around to make 
sure I was ok.  Cars coming at you in all directions... want to turn left, ok 
just go, turn right in front of a car, no problem.  People on scooters 
everywhere!  They park wherever, however, block people in, its CRAZY!!  Im 
thankful to be back in the hotel and somehow I managed to not get car sick!  
After our two appointments our guide took us to Walmart.  It is 3 stories and 
they have people stationed in different departments to help you.  The "fresh" 
food is eye opening and NOT for the weak stomach.  Stuff I had never seen before 
and quite frankly I don't care if I do!  HA :) I'm trying very hard to be 
adventurous and to embrace the experience, but I think I'm failing.  I'm a 
creature of habit for sure and the whole food thing is very challenging for me.  

Chloe has handled everything very well.  She played yesterday, ate well, took a 
bath without any complaints and went to bed like a champ!  She slept this 
morning until almost 8 when we were making more noise to wake her up.  She ate 
some eggs and a little sticky rice for breakfast and even drank some milk.  She 
rode in the van without any problems today and no complaints.  She did want Jeff 
to hold her when we were in some of the buildings but other than that she acted 
like it was all no big deal.  She is not speaking (Chinese words) but makes a 
hum sound frequently and tries to say stuff but it is more of a sound than an 
actual word.  We knew all of this ahead of time though so we are anxious to get 
her home and get her started in therapy. We are the only family this week that 
is adopting so we are looking forward to going to Guangzhou on Friday and 
hopefully meeting some other families.  Not having anyone, anywhere that looks 
like us is weird... but gives us more of a understanding of how she might 
feel... we look different, talk different, and we are total strangers to her.  
We are resting in the room now and will go out later for a walk in the park and 
to eat dinner at a local restaurant.  The hotel provides a breakfast buffet in 
the mornings that has everything from danishes, to eggs & bacon, boiled eggs, 
soups, noodles, and even chicken feet.  There was all sorts of stuff that I was 
afraid to look at but the selection was quite large.  Yesterday we skipped lunch 
and ordered Papa Johns for dinner.  One medium cheese pizza was $21!  I thought 
that was a little much but since they deliver it to the hotel door maybe not.  
Thankfully I have a piece of pizza saved in the fridge if dinner is not ok.  :) 
I'm telling you I think I brought more food with me than clothes... ha!
Keep the prayers coming! Pray for continued peace and ease for Chloe and us and 
for our kids back home.  I am a little home sick and I have 13 days to go so I 
need to let go and let God!  He has carried us this far, he will carry us 
through to the end.  We are incredibly blessed that God has chosen us to be her 
parents, and although the road won't be easy, we know He will be with us every 
step of the way.  
I read this this morning and thought it might help someone else too...
Don't worry.  God is ALWAYS on time! TRUST HIM!
Much love to you all!
Jeff & Katie

GOTCHA

Here she is!  Miss Chloe Hope Taylor!  The exchange took about 20 minutes and now we are in our room playing!  She has been happy and smiling, and especially keeps staring at my blonde hair!  We gave her a baby doll and she does not want to put it down - she LOVES it!

An Update From China!

Just a quick note... We made it to our hotel. 31 hours up and we are both ready 
to lay down and sleep! All went well, everything was on time, etc. 
Our guide, Penny was very nice and rode with us on the 45 minute journey to our 
hotel. The driving is very interesting to say the least. I'm really not sure why 
they have lanes as they pretty much ride in the middle, don't use turn signals, 
but do flash to bright lights frequently. The van was a stick shift... Kevin I 
thought you would especially find that interesting. :) 
We are exhausted, but here with our luggage so that makes me happy! :) 
We meet Chloe at 3:30 tomorrow! 

T-minus 8 hours!

One last post... tomorrow is the big day!  We leave in less than 8 hours!  PRAY, PRAY, PRAY that we have smooth flights, no delays, and few tears as we say goodbye to our 4 kiddos in the morning!  We love you all and can't wait to share this journey with you!
Our HOPE in Him!
Jeff & Katie

COUNTDOWN... only 4 days and we are OFF!

It all seems surreal!  I can't believe that we are leaving Friday morning!  Our bags are all packed so it's just a few finishing touches on the school supplies, kids clothes, grocery shopping for the kids while we are gone and I'll be ready.
While we are in China I will try to post updates, pictures, etc. provided that I don't have any internet problems.  I'm told that I won't be able to get on Facebook, so those of you who would like to receive updates, you can enter your email address near the top of this blog, where it says "subscribe" and you will automatically get updates as they are posted.  I have put our itinerary on the right hand side of this blog too, for any of you would like that info.  We are super excited to be flying into the Augusta airport on Sunday, August 11th at 8:03pm.  Please feel free to welcome Chloe home!  And don't forget to wear your RED, WHITE, OR BLUE!  If there are any last minute flight changes we will try to update the blog so that you know.
Please continue to pray for us!  Some specific things you can pray for are:

• No flight complications, delays, etc.  Especially on our way there this is extremely important since we are scheduled to get Chloe about 18 hours after we arrive in China!
• For our health, the kids health at home, and Chloe's health
• For our 4 kiddos that we are leaving behind and my sweet parents that will be taking care of them, along with some sweet friends that are helping too!  We couldn't do this without the help and support of so many
• For Chloe's transition, for peace, understanding and comfort
• For me that I will embrace this journey and not worry about my other 4 kids that will start school without their momma.. not to mention 17 days away from them will be very hard! 

And, one day soon, I will share this AMAZing story that I heard today!  All the way from Texas, a sweet family has been praying for Chloe, even raising money to go toward her foster care in China, and all the while, I had no idea!  But God did!  God painted a picture for me today, and once again I STAND AMAZED IN HIS PRESENCE, AND WONDER HOW HE COULD LOVE ME, A SINNER CONDEMNED UNCLEAN!  

Precious friends, when we are called, we must LOOK UP, don't look back... God's got this!  

Our Hope In HIM!

Jeff & Katie

TRAVEL APPROVAL!

The moment we have been waiting for.... TRAVEL APPROVAL!  It has been so cool to see how God works!  His hand has guided this entire process.  A little recap....
We received our I-800 approval on June 13th.  It was delivered in China on June 18th.  It was then picked up on July 2nd and the approval was sent so we could get travel approval.  Travel approval usually takes 2-3 weeks on average.  On Sunday night, July 7th I couldn't sleep.  (not too uncommon right now) I checked my email every 10-15 minutes... I had this "feeling" that we would be notified that we had gotten travel approval.  It was a crazy thought, it had only been 6 days.  I began praying to God.  I knew it was HIS perfect timing, not mine.  You see, we had exactly one week to get the approval, or we would have to wait another two weeks to find out because it just so happens the consulate in China, where our adoption will be finalized is closing for two weeks to move their office to another building.  And so, I continued to check my email, as it was Monday morning in China and I knew they were working.  So the night went on, Monday came and nothing.  And so, we waited.  On Tuesday I found out that my "feeling" was right on, God was moving mountains and our travel approval had been mailed from China!  So then, the next wait... for the approval to travel from China to California (where our agency is located), all before Friday so that our consulate appointment can be made.  In TWO DAYS, the approval arrived!!  Yes, God was flying that plane for sure! :)
So now what?  We wait for confirmation of our consulate appointment, but how things look is we should have her in our arms on July 29th!!
We have a lot to do, plane tickets, packing, etc.  We will miss open house and the first day of school so I will work on gathering all of their school supplies before we go too.  Anna Kate has cried and cried because she wants to go with us and she doesn't want me to miss her first day of middle school.  Oh how I wish she could go, but I she can't.  Please pray for her that she will be distracted and not sad the entire time we are gone.  Please also pray that the plane tickets are "reasonable" as this is the most expensive time to travel to China.  We had budgeted $5000 for both of our tickets and her ticket home but we aren't sure if we will be able to do that.
We are so blessed with friends that have prayed for us, supported us, and rejoiced with us through this entire process.  Praise the Lord for his goodness and mercy!
Much love to all of you!
Katie

P.S. - Some have asked if they can help.  Here is a link where you can make a donation (in any amount) if you wish to help us with this last part of the process.  https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T5LJ4KSG5TRNG