Our journey began in December of 2004. After almost 2 ½ years of trying for another baby, we felt that God was calling us to adopt.
After seeing an adoption video about Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman’s story of their adoption from China, we prayerfully proceeded into the process of a lifetime.
We logged our dossier (our stack of papers or “paper pregnancy”) into China on June 20th, 2005 (Brad’s birthday) being assured of a 6-8 month wait. Two weeks TO THE DAY after sending our papers, we found that we were expecting another baby.
Our fear was that we would not be able to continue with our adoption, but also that Joia would not be able to travel. This has all resolved itself with our ONE year long wait.
Ava Therese FuBin Farmer will join her brothers, Jack (4 years) and Caedmon (4 months) in August!! Please check back for more details and our trip of a lifetime!!
September 11, 2006
Home Again Jiggety-Jig
Okay, prepare yourself - this is a long post. But anyway, what time zone are we in?? I'm sure this is what Ava is asking herself as are we. Life goes on and we are home. It has already been a whirlwind 10 days and we are so excited to be home. Here are answers to all of your burning questions:
No, we did not get upgraded into Business Class. In fact, I think we got downgraded...we ended up by the bathrooms on a VERY full flight not to mention that our travel agency did not book a lap ticket for Ava. Soooo, we ended up waiting at the gate until everyone had boarded to purchase her ticket for $200...love it. THEN, we sat at the gate for 2 hours while they fixed a leak in First Class while we all sweated it out in the back of the plane with NO air conditioning...sooooo fun. However, the man sitting next to us decided to see if he could get into Economy Plus (lucky duck) and he moved so we had three seats to ourselves. I was looking for ANYTHING positive and Ava was a dream on the way home. She slept, played, ate, pooped (yay), slept some more...all was well in her world. The food was good and we were on our way home.
We got into San Francisco 1 1/2 hours late and some of the people who were flying on to other cities had to literally RUN to their gates...The plus for us (and for Larry, Kyndra and Cassidy - our Denverite friends) was that we had a 5 hour layover shortened to 2 hours. First thing we did, got the girls' visas stamped which means they are U.S. Citizens and then we went to eat where Kyndra and I had a salad and a glass of white wine (neither was possible in China). Our flight to Denver was uneventful and we arrived at DIA to a crowd of friends and family cheering and holding signs welcoming Ava home. I couldn't hold back the tears as I looked into everyone's faces and realized that we had finally brought our baby girl home...
We had a rough couple of nights made better by our friends, the Holmboes, who stayed overnight at our house to take care of Miss Ava while we reacclimated to this time zone. She has been getting better little by little and is starting to turn over her body clock...in fact, she has slept throught the night the past three nights.
Ava was baptized last Sunday and was a true champ. She wore the gown we had made in China out of silk and kept eyeing the priest everytime he called her name (she doesn't respond to her Chinese name anymore). The only time she cried is when he anointed her mouth with oil symbolizing her to proclaim God's word. Ha ha...she already has something to say. Afterwards we attended a baptism party given by some VERY dear friends who did everything so we wouldn't have to, in which she was passed to all sorts of admirers without so much of a peep. She is fitting in already and LOVES her cousins Gabi and Isabela (she started rolling over and over for them :))
Last week, we went to the doctor with both her and Caedmon. She and Caedmon are almost the exact same size!! (Caedmon is actually slightly bigger) Only she is 3 months older...Dr. McCall said she looks fantastic for an adopted baby and said she will only get better. Praise God!! We are still going to have to get her blood tested for all sorts of stuff (ie lead poisoning, HIV, worms etc) but I have a great feeling she will be clear of all that.
She is smiling more, laughing more, is completely intrigued by her brothers, her new room and all the people cooing at her, and LOVES her car seat (another yay).
Thanks for all your prayers, comments and words of encouragement. We are blessed to have you in our lives and hope you continue to pray for China and our little bird.
Here are some pictures to ooh and aah at.
September 02, 2006
Hong Kong
On the way home Gene had to spend the night in Hong Kong.
Find the story here.
August 31, 2006
Done! We'll See You Soon!
Jack: Our hearts are about the burst just thinking about hugging you and your brother along with your Mei Mei for the first time. We are almost there for a "family hug." We miss you and are so proud of you - our little superhero big brother... We told you we love you and Caedmon to China and back and, guess what? We are coming back...
Thank the good Lord because we are done!! Today at approximately 4pm China time we took "the oath" at this U.S. Consulate and we have received Ava's visa. We were told that she does not officially become a citizen until they stamp her visa on the port entry (San Francisco) but we don't care!! This means we come tomorrow no matter what!! (I'm sorry everything ends with an exclamation point...but I had doubts I would make this far and I'm ecstatic I did :))
We finished up our shopping today and actually had to buy another suitcase ($20 US) and, truth be told (and shocking to even me), I am sick of shopping. I am also looking forward to cooking my own meal, start to finish. Or just getting exactly what I think I'm ordering.
We also have not been confirmed for business class yet (which makes me nervous) so pray that there are two seats available for us. Twelve hours in coach with a squirmy 9 month old doesn't sound fabulous to us at all..
So, as we close on our time here in China...there are a few things we'd like to say. First, to the people who we would not be here without. Your generosity humbles and astounds us. THANK YOU! For all those praying for our family... we needed them, as always. Thank you! For those who checked on our boys, we are forever grateful...
We look forward to seeing each and every one of you soon...well, as soon as we recover from the jet lag...
Love to all and keep the prayers coming...
Joia
Posted by brad at 03:46 AM | Comments (2)
August 30, 2006
So Close to Coming Home
Jack: Remember when we would sit at our table and say "Who's missing?" and you would say, "My little sister, Ava."? Well, we were asking Ava today, "Ava, who's missing?" And we told her "Your big brother, Jack, and your little brother, Caedmon!" One more day in China, another day on an airplane, and we will be home! We can't wait to see you.
All the paperwork has passed through the US Consulate and is done!! All we have to do is drop in tomorrow for an oath, and finally head home! To pass the time and distract ourselves today, we toured a bit of this city. We visited a 1400+ year old Buddhist Temple, a traditional Chinese Family Temple from pre-revolution, and more shopping opportunities.
Interesting fact passed along today by our tour guide: 300,000-400,000 babies are abandoned every year in China. Only about half are adopted each year. Children who grow up in orphanages have no chance of good emplyment when they are 18, and usually have had a very unfortunate life. About 7,000 are adopted to US families, another 13,000 to 14 other countries, and, as now permitted by a fairly new law, the rest of that 50% are adopted in China. Please pray for these orphans, and that "the system" (we'll be ambiguous here) might be improved.
I mentioned to our friends that by this point in our journey it seems like these girls have always been in our lives. Everyone agreed. Was there ever really a time when they weren't part of our families? We'll let the pictures speak for themselves as, once again, we're exhausted by the time we get Ava to bed and sit down to record our journey.
August 29, 2006
Where Babies Come From
Jack: We miss you tons, buddy. I show your picture and Caedmon's to Ava every day and she is very interested in you guys. I can't wait for you all to finally meet. We saw some really cool Kung Fu outfits today... and they had dragons on them! Isn't that cool? We love you, and we'll be home in a few days!
Guangzhou is a bit different from the other parts of China we've been in, especially this tiny little slice of Guangzhou we experience.
In Beijing, there was our initial experience of being in China (coloring our perspective), but we still experienced a pretty international crowd (at the hotel and tourist stops, at least).
In Chongqing we got our girls (again, flavoring our perspective), but it was definitely mainland China. The hotel staff was getting better at English, but had a way to go, and there weren't many, if any, international tourists. They have only been open to international adoption for two years, so the locals gave a lot of curious stares and we were a spectacle wherever we went. I think the only other Caucasians (two at most) I encountered were there on business.
Now, in Guangzhou, the local dialect is Cantonese instead of Mandarin, and the White Swan is an experience unto itself. There are over 140 American families here finalizing their adoption, over 80 of which are through our agency, Chinese Children Adoption International (headquartered ten minutes from our house, right there in Centennial, CO). All the nearby shopkeepers speak very good English, and the area definitely caters to the American and international crowd that is constantly passing through here. But it's still very much China. Just a part of China that's seen a lot of American families pass through over the last decade.
Today constisted of getting a quick visa photo for the girls, a brief medical exam for them, light shopping, and a big stack of paperwork. Tomorrow the paperwork is delivered to the US Consulate, and in the afternoon we see a bit of Guangzhou. Thursday is a visit to the pearl market, then off to the US Consulate. And then we're done! Well, except for another really long plane ride...
Thanks to everyone for your comments. We read them daily and enjoy hearing from you all. Here's some more pictures for you... you've earned it.
Where am I?
Gene longs for home, but not in the way you would think.
Read about it here.
August 28, 2006
To The White Swan
We have arrived at the famous White Swan hotel in Guangzhou, in a riverside room, no less. It looks like Vegas on the river... lots of neon reflecting off the water. We left Chongqing around 4:40pm and found out how well the babies did at airplane rides. Ava was a champ! Our little bird can fly... She flies as good as her brothers (and they're frequent fliers). Our daughter has really opened up in the last day and a half... She is starting to trust us a lot more and realizes she's never had so much fun and so much affection in her life. We see a whole different personality than the scared little girl we met last Monday. We're very worn out from the journey, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow (for us, tonight for you) for pictures and details. Good night.
August 27, 2006
One More Day of Smog
Ugh. With our sinuses and eyes paying the price, we have braved one more extremely hot and polluted day in China! We were unable to find a church to go to today but had more of a low key day in our room.
Mom had to have a "melt down" day...I think the stress of all this travel and crying (Ava is my 'vocal' child now) had gotten to me and I needed to have a few hours to myself - taming the beast so to speak. After turning some of my anxiety and worry into "liquid form" as well as some much needed rest, Brad and I ventured to, yet again, to McDonalds. Good, fast and I can definitely say I won't be eating there once we get home for a WHILE.
We got back to the room and after a couple failed attempts to get Ava to sleep, decided to start packing before our group meeting at 5:30pm. Brad had the wonderful idea of putting on Baby Einstein for Ava and her verdict? LOVED IT! She was captivated for 27 minutes and even started cracking up at the animals (thanks Shaleane). Speaking of stuff she loves, I have to say...Lisa & Luis, her fave toy is the lobster teether...thanks for picking a good one!
Had our meeting in which we discussed everything important for the next leg of our travel and then headed off to dinner.
For dinner, we all went to the Cantonese Restaurant in our hotel for dinner with the Slocomb and Georgeson families. YUM!! Great food...VERY spicy...and as you can see, Uncle Gene will eat anything.
Tomorrow morning we receive Ava's passport and then on to Guangzhou. Last stop and BOY are we glad...we feel as though we've been here forever.
Keep all of us in your prayers....especially Miss Ava...
August 26, 2006
Saturday Sabbath
Jack: Are you still making your little brother smile? That's your job. And make sure Grandma Cheryle is being good. When Aunt Brenda and Sam get there be sure to give them a great big hug for us. Maybe you can show your cousin Sam the movie, Mulan, and tell him your Mom and Dad have been to the Great Wall and the Emperor's Palace. We miss you a lot and we love you!!
A day of rest. Today was very low key, and that seems to have been to Ava's liking. No big outings today. Mid-day one of the families invited everyone to their large room for the girls to play together. There are girls from two groups here... one group that's a bit older (like 12 months or so) who were from an orphanage about 2 hours away and had been in foster care, and Ava's group (all around 9 to 10 months old) from an orphanage about 5 hours away. When they were matched (late June), the orphange put them together to play and live and get to know each other. That's pretty cool, because now they recognize each other. The only other highlight was a shopping trip for Joia and a very fun dinner at the Steak House in the restaurant. (We skipped the optional tour tonight to see the city lights of Chongqing.)
This journey is long. It took a long time to get here (18 months, not to mention over 14 hours in the air). Pretty much the general feeling in our group the last few days has been, "OK, we've experienced China, we've got our girls, let's go home!" But we're waiting on paperwork. The time in Chongqing has been becoming officially the parents in the eyes of the Chinese government, and now waiting for their passports and visas to go to the US. All the paperwork takes up to 5 business days, I guess. And it is also time to get to know our daughters and let them get to know us. When we get to our next stop, Guangzhou, we do the US paperwork to make them our children in the eyes of the US government and American citizens (we even get to swear an oath). We miss our boys terribly, we miss our friends and family, and we miss American dining. Not to mention the whole language barrier that is more accentuated in mainland China than the port cities.
Please continue to pray for our families and those travelling with us.
Also pray for China... for their homeless, for their abandoned, for their justice, for their freedoms. In a city and a country so packed it is mind boggling to keep in in mind every person you encounter or glimpse is created and kept in existence by the same Spirit of Love. Do we notice the Divine Spark in every one we encounter?
