Aiden and Adam

It's A Boy!

Sorry for the silence - lack of a power converter kept us from getting online. But we are up and running just in time for the special announcement,. As of today Aiden is officially a Tkach! and 100% boy. Here's a first hand look at Aiden and Adam shortly after they met. They hit it off in grand fashion.

We couldn't have asked for a better "Gotcha" moment. Aiden is a great, easy going, very polite, very happy little boy. He is full of energy, He was well prepared for this moment (an awesome answer to prayer!). The language difference has been interesting but not a problem and we've already learned from each other. We met him at 1030 in the morning and had all the paperwork processed by mid afternoon. He is ours! Aiden and Adam played well together all day. Aiden showed off some of his great artwork and math skills. He shared with us some of the food and toys he brought with him. We went to Walmart (yes Walmart) and bought him some new shoes (and a power adapter so we could get this blog going).

The days prior to our arriving in Nanchang was spent in Xi'an, home to the headquarters of several Chinese dynasties for over 1,000 years. It is well know now due to the discovery of the Terra Cotta warriors about 30 years ago, We'll post a few pictures later. The Terra Cotta warriors are viewed by many as the Eight Wonder of the Ancient world and in our opinion was more exciting than visiting the Great Wall.

Thanks for your prayers - they are felt and heard. More to come as the journey home progresses.

Random Musings Before the Trip

We’ve been asked if each trip is easier because we’ve done this before. The answer is both “yes” and “no”. Easier in the sense that we’ve gone through all the paperwork and know what to expect for the most part on that side, and we've been to China before. “No’ because each child is different and brings a new type of expectation and yes, anxiety. Aiden is 7 years old, twice as old as Adam was when we brought him home and more than 4 times older than Makayla. He’ll bring along his own set of expectations and anxieties, none of which we are now privy to. There is a language difference that will be more evident and Jeff realizes that his meager attempt at learning Mandarin will fall woefully short. Aiden will be leaving a place that he has called home to a whole new country, where the people talk different, look different, and probably smell different. He will soon be the stranger in a strange land. And yet, his whole life is ahead of him – filled with new wonders and new joys – and new siblings – one he probably won’t even meet for a year and three others who will be his constant companions.

Aidan is coming home to the home God has called him to. We are so privileged to be that home.

Adam and Makayla were born miles apart and 2 months apart but have been brother and sister for over 1 ½ years. Adoption is amazing. People ask if they are twins. Makayla and her sister Mackenzie are inseparable. They are as close as sisters can be. Adoption is amazing. I had to post this video, (1) to see if I could , and (2) because I am so proud of how Adam and Makayla worked together, Kayla really wanted to score a goal and Adam had been scoring goals all season. We asked him to help his sister out this game. See the results. Yes they have their fights, that is even more evidence that God has brought them together as siblings. We can’t wait for Aiden to be part of all this.

Finally, our pastor preached on Sunday from Mark 9:33-37 (yes we were paying attention!). Mark 9:37 says (Jesus speaking to the disciples after taking a little child in His arms) “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes me…” Thanks Pastor for the confirmation! Off we go!

Travel Set

Our travel plans are made. On Friday June 13th we will be leaving Dayton for Xi'an via Newark and Beijing. We'll spend a couple days in Xi'an before heading to Nanchang on the 16th. On June 17th we will go to the Jiangxi Provincial Civil Affairs Office in Nanchang where we will meet Aiden and welcome him into our family! We'll spending the rest of the week getting to know Aiden and doing some sightseeing and shopping while we wait for paperwork to be processed. On June 23 we head to Guangzhou for a Visa interview with the American Consulate, more paperwork processing then on our way home on the 27th. Now it's on to praying, preparing, packing, and getting ready for 2 weeks of Chinese food.

Travel Approved!

We received approval to travel today! Final itinerary is being worked out, but by this time next month Aiden should be home! We will be travelling to Xi'an for a day or two of sightseeing and getting used to the timezone, then on to Nanchang where we will be united with our new son! Check back frequently for details as we get them. Check out the Xi'an and Nanchang Wilkipedia weblinks on the right if you would like to learn a little about these cities.

Earthquake Relief

We have had several ask if Aiden has been affected by today's earthquake in China. The answer is "no". As far as we know our travel plans should not be affected either. But please keep that as a matter of prayer.

Here is a way you can help orphans affected by the quake.

A Helping Hand has started an emergency relief fund to help China's orphans in the areas devastated by the earthquake. If you want to join their efforts in helping Chinese orphanages to recover from this disaster you can send your donations marked "China earthquake relief". You can make your donations on line at https://www.worldadoptions.org/help/payonline.php or send to A Helping Hand, 1510 Newtown Pike; Suite 146; Lexington, KY 40511.

Now it Gets Exciting!

Today we received a "Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopter" from the China Center of adoption affairs. We checked the box that says "We accept the adoptee mentioned above", signed the letter and it will be on it's way back to China (through our adoption agency) tomorrow. The application for our Chinese Visa's will go out soon and hopefully within a few weeks we will have travel dates. Aiden will soon be on his way home! Please check out the updated prayer list on the right side of this blog so you will know how to best pray for us. We truly believe this is a "God thing" and are so dependent on Him every step of the way. Otherwise we would be just crazy! And please check back often as we will begin posting more frequent updates. Feel free to post your comments - we love to here from you all.