Aiden @ Home

Safey Home!

After a very long day and a 3 hour flight delay from Newark to Dayton Aiden arrived at his new house at 2 AM Saturday morning. He spent around 30 minutes playing with his new sisters and everyone finally settled in for a few hours sleep. Aiden seems to like his new house, his new sisters, and even his new dog.

We'll post some more pictures a little later on - but we would like to again thank you all for your prayers. We would like to especially thank our friends Bev and Jerry for taking great care of our precious daughters, our neighbors George and Jackie for watching over our house, our dog Gertie, and making sure we had breakfast Saturday morning, and our friend Carol for keeping us in touch with home town happenings, and providing us a welcome home meal.

Aiden is home where he belongs!

Zai Jian Zhongguo (Good-bye China)

Thursday was another day of rain - but not as heavy as Wednesday. But it did mean no swimming. We took some time to get in some final shopping, take some more pictures, eat at the Thai restaurant one more time and of course, Lucy's for dinner. Right now we can't wait to get back home and get a taste of some Skyline Chili.

The highlight of the day was the trip to the US Consulate. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures there. There were at least 40 families there to get their child's visas and help make them US citizens. Two of the families were on their 4th Chinese adoption (still think we are crazy?)

We will be leaving the hotel at 6:45 AM Friday Morning(6:45 PM Thursday Dayton Ohio time) and arriving in Dayton at 10:30 PM Friday. We will fly from Guangzhou to Beijing, Beijing to Newark, then Newark to home. We will clear customs in Newark and Aiden will become a US citizen shortly after landing there. The flight from Beijing to Newark is approximately 13 hours. We will have been gone almost 15 days. It usually takes a good few days to get over the jet lag and feel normal again. We wish we could could just say "Beam us home, Scotty", but we are thankful it's not a month long boat ride followed by a week on a train.

Good Bye China - thanks for letting us bring Aiden home. To everyone else - catch ya back in the states real soon. To Mackenzie and Makayla - we can't wait to give you hugs and kisses at the airport!

Rain!

Wednesday was a day full of rain. We think caused by a tropical storm just off the coast. We got outside in the morning for a short walk and shopping trip - and then around 10 AM it started - and never stopped. You can get the picture - two boys - rainy day - no chance to swim to burn energy, small hotel room. Boy, are we ready to head home. Tomorrow doesn't look much better, but we can only hope.

We did get a chance to do some sightseeing, to two places we've never been before even though we've been to Guanghzou two previous times. We went to the The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, an ancient Buddhist Temple built in 537 and to the Guangdong Museum of Folk Handcraft. The latter had many displays of art including wood, ivory, and stone carvings.

The morning walk was done in order to get this picture. Why? Because we've had similar photos next to this same statue on previous trips with Adam and Makayla. We've met several families on their second and third adoption trip while we've been here (we are not the only crazy ones - we are in good company!). We've seen several children, like Adam, accompanying their parents back to China to adopt their new brother or sister. We got a chuckle today as one of the waitresses at breakfast tried to converse with Adam in Mandarin. He didn't understand her at all.

Aiden had a sad spell today as one of the toys we bought him this morning broke later in the day. It was a toy gun that lit up at the tip and made laser type noises. Well, the light stopped functioning and he become inconsolable for a spell. It probably broke due to some roughhousing between him and Adam. You can proably guess where the toy was made. Anyway, how do you communicate that these things happen and are a way of life when you can't use spoken language?

Tomorrow we head to the US Consulate to pick up Aiden's Visa and take the oath of citizenship for him. America's newest citizen will soon be home. One more post from China tomorrow - then the next one will be from Ohio. Thanks again for your continued prayer support and encouragement.

Guangzhou

Well Aiden did very well on his first flight - but keeping him in seat belts - especially when we get home - may be a problem. He does not like to be restrained.

We made it to Guangzhou and our hotel around 6:30 PM, Monday night. After being met by our guide we headed to Lucy's Grill for dinner. Lucy's is a little restaurant near the hotel where you can get an American style cheeseburger, fried chicken, onion rings, and such. It is frequented allot by Americans looking for a break from Chinese fare.

On Tuesday morning we went to have photo's taken for Adam's Visa and then had his medical examination. Guanghzou houses the US Consulate that deals in entrance Visas to the US. On Thursday we will have Aiden's Visa and on Friday we head for home.

We spent Tuesday afternoon having lunch at a Thai restaurant, then shopping at a Jade and Pearl market, back to the hotel for swimming, and then back to Lucy's for dinner.

Aiden, we are finding out, is the opposite of shy. He greets everyone with a loud Hello!" We've been asked if he responds well to his new name and the answer is yes. As we did with Adam we began by calling him his new name followed by his Chinese name "Aiden Yuan Peng" Most of the time now he will respond just to Aiden. We've been told he likes his new name.

Only two full days left in China. We are ready to come home. We miss our little girls very much and miss the comforts of home. We've met many new people on this journey, all coming to adopt. Most of them little girls like we did with Makayla, but other's with older kids. It's been great to be able to speak to other Americans and share stories.

Well - the journey home continues...

Let's Go Youyong!

The last two days were spent at the zoo, the park, and at the hotel swimming pool. Mostly though it was spent getting to know Aiden. We've learned for the most part he is a happy, playful kid - but at times will let you know he is unhappy when he doesn't get his way. And that's when the communication challenge is greatest. Sometimes we wish it were easier to explain to him what is going on or why we won't give him what he is asking for. But we've managed to make it through. Sometimes our communication consists of a mix of English, Chinese, and whatever other language comes to mind at the time.

Aiden loves the pool - to go swimming (youyong) - so we say Let's Go Youyong! He's learning to say "Water please" and "ice cream please". And he loves when we tell him "Good job!"

Yesterday we had lunch at Pizza Hut, one of the most expensive restaurants in Nanchang according to our guide. Pizza never tasted better! Tomorrow we leave Nanchang for Guangzhou and Aiden's first ever plane ride. Four more days in China then we can head home. Please pray that Aiden will do well on the plane rides - especially the long one on Friday from Beijing to Newark. The journey home continues...

Orphanage Trip

This morning we had the opportunity to do something that we could not do on our last two adoption trips - visit our child's orphanage. We had the privilege of meeting Aiden's foster parents and a couple of his foster siblings. Aiden had lived with this foster family for the past two years - the foster apartment is on the orphanage grounds. It was a very special time. We also visited a few sections of the orphanage where we were able to see several babies. The orphanage seemed to have many caregivers. Aiden's school was also part of the orphanage - he wanted to show us that but it was determined that that might be too disruptive.

Aiden didn't seem to be affected by the trip - in fact he seemed eager to show us around. But in the afternoon we could tell that he was missing his foster parents. We knew that time would come. Please continue to pray for him as he makes the transition to his new home. A late afternoon swim seemed to get his mind off things. By the way, Aiden seemed to be very close to the girl in the picture, his foster sister. He has been wearing (since we got him) a necklace she made for him. We've been told that she too will soon be adopted.

Aiden loves to play on the computer - where he has been learning the alphabet. He also likes to play on the Leapster (a handheld educational game system). We bought him some books to also help him with his English. Adam picked up a Chinese Sponge Bob book.

Tomorrow we take a trip to the zoo. The journey home continues...

Tengwang Pavilion and the Terrible Towel

Those of you who have been following our journeys know that we believe that each of children have been uniquely prepared for us by God. So it should also follow that we believe God has called each of our children to be Steeler fans. Many of you, we know, would be disappointed if you didn't see Aiden in a Steeler shirt holding the Terrible Towel. So here his, in front of Nanchang's most famous landmark, the Tengwang Pavilion. This pavilion was originally built over 1,300 years ago and has been destroyed and rebuilt 29 times. So in a sense - just like the Steelers, you can never rule them out - they keep coming back.

While at the Tengwang Pavilion we ran into Sissi, our guide from 4 years ago when we where here to adopt Makayla. Our current guide, Lilly, ran into her first. While they were talking we recognized her and she actually, after a moment, recognized us. In the picture, Sissi is on the left and Lilly on the right. Sissi, 4 years ago, tried to teach us Chinese nursery songs to sing to our little girls. Lilly has been wonderful helping us out with our boys as we tour and shop.

We have had the opportunity to meet several families from all over the U.S. who have come to adopt little girls. We also met a family today from New Zealand.

Adam continues to do well. We went swimming again today. Aiden and Adam are blowing bubbles as we type. Tonight he gets to say Hi to his new sisters over the phone. Tomorrow we are going to visit his old orphanage where will will also drop off some new clothes and candy.

Many thanks to all for the prayers. God has been amazing as always. We miss our girls and look forward to talking to them tonight. We think of our son, Jeremy, now in Bahrain, and how much we enjoyed his company on the last trip.

The journey home continues...

First Full Day with Aiden

OK back to the present,

Today we spent our first full day with Aiden and it was quite a day of discovery. We started the day with the boys just playing in the room. We learned that Aiden is very good at math as we would write down some addition and subtraction equations and he would solve them with ease. He also sang "Happy Birthday" in English for us and said the numbers 1-20 and most of our alphabet.

We went to a science museum where the kids had a lot of fun. Most exhibits were "hands-on" and they had a big play section. The museum almost didn't let us in because the boys were supposed to be in school. But our guide shared that they were adopted and not in the city schools.

Aiden went swimming for the first time. He was a bit scared at first but quickly adjusted and had a great time.

We also learned the need to learn a few new Chinese words to communicate things like "Stop (doing what you are doing)" and "Quiet' (he can get quite loud). Are guide has been great in helping us get a few points across.

He has a healthy appetite and uses chopsticks very well, and is not too bad with a fork. He needs to learn to finish the ice cream before he eats all the cone.

So all is well. We do miss our girls, Mackenzie and Makayla, very much. We missed Mackenzie's first loss of a tooth - but believe the tooth fairy made it to her OK. We wonder what it will be like for Aiden when he leaves China to a place where all he will here is English and the only Chinese he will here is short words and phrases that mom and dad have been able to learn.

The journey home continues...

Xi'an

OK - since we couldn't blog earlier - let us recount the first part of our trip. We decided to go to Xi'an instead of the customary Beijing trip because we wanted to see something different - and we really wanted to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. So we flew into Beijing, collected our bags and went through customs, then checked onto Air China and after a 1 1/2 flight delay we were on to Xi'an. We arrived there about 27 hours after leaving Dayton. We arrived Saturday night, spent all day Sunday and most of Monday sight-seeing and then left Monday night for Nanchang.

The highlight of our trip as we mentioned earlier were the Terra Cotta Warriors. They were made to be part of the emperors burial tomb from the first emporer or king of the Qin dynasty back around 22o something BC. supposedly to protect the tomb. Over 8,000 life size soldiers, chariots, and horses were believed to be made. They were found when a farmer was digging a well back in 1974. We got the autograph of that farmer!

We didn't realize how important Xi'an was to the history of China and how long it had been the seat of power in China. It is also the starting point of the Silk Road, a very important ancient trade route in China that also passes through Lanzhou (where we got Adam). We stopped at a silk factory and bought our girls (we miss you Mackenzie and Makayla) some silk scarves.

We really enjoyed our guide - and we had a guide all to ourselves. She told us that she didn't have a favorable impression of Americans adopting in China - but that changed with us. She was initially surprised at all the luggage we had for a two day tour - but when she realized we we at the first part of a two week adoption trip she was amazed at why we would would want such a large family and care for three Chinese orphans. She asked to be our guide next time we went to Xi'an.

We got stares from people when they saw us with Adam. Little did they know he has actually been an American afor almost 2 years and couldn't understand them. We get even greater stares now with both Adam and Aiden. We actually, in kind of an absurd way, enjoy that. Maybe because we've come to expect it and it confirms what we are doing is the right thing - God has called us to be aliens and strangers - we know that is meant in a spiritual sense - but everyone should get to experience what it feels like to be a stranger.

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.

Happy Birthday Aiden!

Today is Aiden's 7th Birthday! And though we are far away in person, we are celebrating with him and longing for the day we bring him home. Every day we are one day closer to doing just that. Please continue to pray with us that our dossier will be approved and we will get notice soon. We hope to be posting later this month with that great news.

Happy Birthday Aiden! We'll see you soon!

An Amazing 23 Year Adventure!

Today is our 23rd anniversary. Wow! We could never had imagined what these 23 years would bring back on that Saturday in Tampa, Florida in 1985. Really, who does? But we made a commitment back then to keep Jesus Christ at the center of our marriage relationship and He has honored that commitment. During this time Jeff has served 21 years in and is now retired from the U.S. Air Force. Our oldest son is 3 months into a career in the U.S. Navy. Our next oldest is in kindergarten. We've been to China twice to adopt 2 beautiful children and are waiting anxiously to go again. And though we don't see eye to eye on everything (really, who does?) God has united us and shown us at least one of the reasons He created us for - to care for orphans both in word and in action. He has shown us that life is much more better when we are giving back what He has given us. And we've found that when we allow God to do something in our lives that is bigger than the both of us could handle on our own - the results are truly amazing - because our God is truly amazing. We have seen Him provide in so many ways to allow these adoptions to happen. And when we see Makayla laughing, Adam practicing speaking letter sounds, or Mackenzie, Makayla, and Adam fighting like brothers and sisters do, we witness the handiwork of a great God. We have no idea what the next 23 years will bring (or even the next year), but we know that as long as we stay committed to keep Jesus Christ at the heart of our relationship - it will continue to be an amazing adventure.

Psalm 37:23-26
If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.

Logged In!

Our dossier was officially logged in with the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) on February 1st! For those unfamiliar with the process this is the beginning of the official wait period. For a special needs child it means we will wait about 3-5 months to get final approval (but we hope it's sooner). After that we will receive a "letter seeking confirmation" in which we will respond back that "Yes!" we still desire to adopt Aiden Yuan Peng. After that is processed (1 more month) we should receive a travel approval letter.

Last week we also learned that our package arrived at Aiden's orphanage. This package included some toys (hand picked by his soon-to-be-siblings) and a photo album of his new family. How exciting to know that Aiden now knows he has a family waiting for him!

On Its Way!

As of Friday, 1/25/08, our dossier is on it's way to China! We have been hoping for a China log in date in early February and it appears we are on track.

A little more about Aiden;

We found Aiden Yuan Peng Tkach on the WACAP waiting children list last October. There was a short video of him and we thought he was adorable. As we always do, we prayed and asked the Lord for direction and in a few days decided to inquire further about him with WACAP. Karyn was able to talk by phone with two other women who had information about Yuan Peng and his medical file. As the days went by we felt very confident that the Lord was directing us to proceed with applying to adopt him. We felt confident that his medical condition, which is a hemangioma on his elbow, was something that we could handle, even if there is more involved than might meet the eye.

Now as we wait for the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs to do their part, we get to send Aiden a small care package with our pictures so he can finally see a family at the end of the tunnel so to speak. Our Adam is looking forward to having a brother and a roommate so we can get their bedroom ready while we wait.

We'll keep you posted...

Why We Adopt (updated)

It is always amazing to see how God work's in each family when it comes to adoption. Each story is different, but God's purposes are the same. He really cares for the orphans. Our story began several years ago shortly after our son was born. We were told we probably would not have more kids and were lucky to have him. God had introduced the idea of adoption to us (especially to Karyn), but for several reasons (finances and getting comfortable with just 1 child) we never acted on it. Well, when our son was fourteen years old God blessed us with the birth of a daughter. We truly were not expecting that. After about a year God hit us again with the idea of adoption. What's your excuse this time? After raising an only child for 14 years the idea of raising our daughter with a sibling and playmate seemed like the right thing to do. Two years ago, Makayla came into our lives. She is a beautiful healthy Chinese girl from Jiangxi. She has truly been a blessing and Makayla (4) and Mackenzie (5) have been sisters and best friends ever since. But after the long trip home from China we told ourselves we were done. God knew differently - and Jeff couldn't keep Karyn away from our adoption agency’s (A Helping Hand) special needs list. In March 2006 God put Zhang Bei (Adam) on our hearts. He officially became part of our family on 22 October 2006. (see http://www.adamsjourneyhome.blogspot.com/) We said then that we were not sure if he was to be the last member of our family. It's amazing how many families go back and adopt again. Once you understand the heart of an orphan, and have seen what God can do, it's hard to forget them. We have also volunteered with AHH and held an adoption seminar at our church. We hope to do even more adoption ministry in the future.

In late summer of 2007 God placed a new burden on our hearts. Even Mackenzie and Makayla asked us "Mom, dad, when are we going to adopt again? We knew then we were going back, we just needed to know who God had prepared for us. Well, his name is Yuan Peng, soon to be Aiden Yuan Peng. God has truly given us a heart for adoption.

We covet your prayers in this journey. This will truly be an amazing adventure.

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Where We are in the Process (and how we got there)

Aiden's journey started back in early October, 2007. After finishing a special needs update to our homestudy in anticipation of adopting another special needs boy from China, our social worker directed us to a special needs list with WACAP out of Seattle. We were intrigued by a boy named Yuan Peng and started to gather information about him. It did not take long for us to feel that God had led us very specifically to this boy and we began the paperwork in earnest. We filed our application for the I-171H and started preparing our dossier. Any of you who have been through our previous two Chinese adoptions with us know how we waited and waited for that precious I-171H. Well, the irony with this adoption is that that document was processed very quickly this time and it was issued weeks before our other documents were completed.
We were approved by WACAP as prospective parents around the first of December. We were preapproved by the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) on December 21st. What a wonderful Christmas present. Our dossier is currently at our adoption agency awaiting transport to the CCAA. We are hoping for a log in date on or about February 1, 2008. We will have a 3 to 5 month wait for our confirmation letter, another month for travel approval, then another month or so to prepare to travel. Of course, we are hoping for the shortest waiting times all the way around so our hope is to travel before the Olympics. However, we have done this enough to know that we have very little say in when we travel. S o we will trust in God’s perfect timing. We just want to bring Aiden home to our family as soon as possible.