Yeah Baby....

I think this was a quote I heard sometime in the wee hours this morning, after Mike reeled in a 30 pound King salmon! Our good friend Brian took us out on his boat today, and I love the exuberance these two boys show in this video, that I just had to share. We headed out at 5 am this morning, and Mike brought in the first only fish this morning around 6. The girls had a blast "fishing" and a good time was had by all. Dinner tonight was delicious, and we still have five freezer bags full for later:)

Special Visit...

Yesterday we had the opportunity to spend some time with friends we made while adopting Jaelyn. Conner is from the same orphanage as Jaelyn, and we had the pleasure of welcoming our children into our families on the same day. We had not seen them since May 2006, so it was wonderful to see them again and see how much Conner had grown. We think he looks very much the same as he did then, only bigger, and is still a very sweet boy. We also got to meet his sister Lauren, whom he is very close to. Like our girls, they are only a few months apart in age. What a good looking group of kids:) Thanks to our friends for looking us up while they were on the West Coast!

2006 (look how young Josh looks too!):



2009:

Heng Feng Video....

Tomorrow we get to share about our China Mission Trip with our church, so in the tradition of last years trip, we have again created a video (well mostly Mike, but I helped some), that I am sharing with my blogger friends first:) The song is set to The Motions by Matthew West. The lyrics say a lot of how we feel, that if we all stepped out of our comfort zone and gave our everything, think of what Christ could accomplish through us! Check out the words:

This might hurt
It’s not safe
But I know that I’ve gotta make a change
I don’t care
If I break
At least I’ll be feeling something
‘Cause just ok
Is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions

No regrets
Not this time
I’m gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love
Make me whole
I think I’m finally feeling something

Thanks for the many of you that were praying over our time there, and please continue to pray for the children still in orphanages, the nannies who tend to them, and the people of China.

A great time by all at our annual summer campout (minus the one evening of rain and lightning, and a drunk neighbor)!

Cash for Clunkers...

That's right, Cash for Clunkers, and boy, did we have a car that fit that description:) Today was the day the government program officially began, and I read where so many car dealers were accessing the website this morning that it crashed! We never set out to help Kellen buy a new car, but when we found out we could get $4,500 dollars for our 1991 Pathfinder (we bought Betsy when I was pregnant with Kellen, and it needs work and new tires), we couldn't pass the deal up. On top of that, we got 0% financing on the remaining balance, which Kellen will be paying monthly. Mind you, the car is the most basic Chevrolet Aveo (remember when you had to roll your windows up???), but it will be perfect for Kellen the gas driving back and forth to classes (40 min. one way), not to mention we don't have to worry about it breaking down. Mike had actually gone down yesterday to work out the kinks with the dealer, so all they had to do today was fill out the government paperwork, then Mike could sign on the dotted line. We were all a bit sad to see Betsy go,

but now we're busy thinking up names for the new car. Hmmmm, I'm thinking the color might have some influence on the name:)

HengFeng Diaper Change...

We've been home nearly a week now and find ourselves thinking often of the babies back in HengFeng. I also find myself praying for the nannies, that they have enough energy and love to go around to all the children in their care. They work very hard at what they do, but they really have too many babies to give enough attention to. The director told us that they were saving one of the air conditioners that we purchased for an upstairs room, as their goal is to hire another nanny to bring the ratio of nannies to children down (one nanny to six babies under a year is not ideal). However, the only rooms left are upstairs, which means even warmer rooms during these hot months, so a working air conditioner is a must.

Mike took this video of me changing a babies diaper in the same fashion that the nannies do, only I am much, much slower! Also, notice one layer of the diaper is actually a shirt sleeve! I wish my own children would've held as still as this little one did for me:)

Last Day and Finally Home!

Sorry to leave everyone hanging, but when we got to Beijing, we did not have internet service. On arriving back at the Beijing airport, us crazy Americans had fun on the carts at the airport.


After we arrived, most of the team went shopping at the Pearl Market, but Kristen, Mike and I headed off on our own adventure. On our walk to Tiananmen Square we were approached by three friendly art students (6 years studying calligraphy and Chinese style painting) who took us to see their art exhibition....didn't realize they were eyeing us as customers, but we got away without having to make a purchase, and enjoyed the educational sidetrip. A couple minutes later we were walking around the square, buying postcards and "gold" medals from the peddlars. Again it was raining, lightning and thundering, but not nearly as bad as at The Wall. The peddlars tried to sell us umbrellas, obviously not knowing we were in our element, being from the Pacific NW! The real adventure began as we figured out the Subway system so that we could meet up for dinner with the rest of the team. Their system is clean and simple to use, not to mention cheap. No matter where you go, the cost is only two yuan, which is around 30 cents!

Our last meal together was Peking Duck, but most were missing the delicious food we ate and HengFeng, not to mention, ready to head home. The West Coast group had to be up and out very early, so we said our goodbyes that night. A latte and souvenirs from Starbucks helped us get rid of the last of our yuan and pass the time. Not so fun was the crazy landing we had in Tokyo, in 25 mph winds (some of us enjoyed it though!), but shortly afterwards the runway was closed. This made both the LA flight and Seattle flight delayed, so we got a little more time to check out the fancy toilets in the Narita airport....notice all the electronic buttons, with options such as "fake flush," "music," and "powerful deodorant." Too funny! The groups then parted ways, and 10 or so hours later, we landed in Seattle.

The trip was a success on many levels. We know of at least one adoption already taking place from HengFeng, and can't wait to welcome her into the US! Hopefully we are able to hear of many more of the children getting their forever families. For now we will keep them and the nannies in our prayers.

Here are our two beautiful girls that welcomed us home. They are modeling their newest Chinese fashions!