Just talked to Ruthi - 11:54 p.m. Halloween night

I am so glad I downloaded Skype today! I hadn't even heard of it before this...well Ruthi mentioned it but I said I didn't have it and that was that. What a big "duh" on my part.



Ruthi said that some rules were changed at Beijiing and they considered Claude's power of attorney out of date - and instead of her staying there an extra week in order for the paperwork to be done - it was cheaper for Claude to get the emergency visa and fly to China himself. He will be there for a few days - and then Ruthi will be returning as scheduled originally.



Ruthi says that so far - Morgan Xie (pronounced Shay) will settle in as a sassy teenager. I think that means she will fit right in as a "McGava Girl!" Gracie Mei Qing (prounounced Ching), she says, will simply steal everyone's heart. Yesterday they visited the Great Wall - I know from past trips that it is a very tiring day, obviously if you've seen the Great Wall - you can understand. Apparently Qing decided she was going to the top, even though part of that was on her hands and feet going up stairs. Ruthi finally had to stop her as she know she would have to carry her back down - which she ended up doing part of the way anyway - piggyback! Ruthi is strong enough - mentally and physically - I think, to carry all six girls on her back to the top of the Great Wall and back down - if she made up her mind to do it.

Please keep the Coats family in your prayers - I sure hope the rest of this journey is easier than the beginning has been. Ruthi is very concerned about the girls at home, and how they are holding up emotionally. Kate, especially, was very concerned about her mama going away - I'm going down tomorrow for a quick visit. Ruthi said to take sugar cookie dough rolls because that is one of Kate's favorite things to do. I'll be in Walmart first thing in the morning arming myself with sugar cookie ammunition!

Goodnight all!

nan

A Few Hiccups

Well I have been getting sketchy information regarding the journey to China. Ruthi's Blackberry isn't working properly this time and she can't access her email account. But she is able to use "Skype" and called home when she got the girls. Jodi said they were a little camera-shy about getting onto Skype, but at least they got to see a little of their new family live on the web camera. Jodi says the girls are just beautiful. Their sisters, waiting at home for them, are so excited!

Now the hiccup- apparently Ruthi is in Beijing, where all the official adoption business happens. In four previous trips to China, there has never been a problem with paperwork. But this time, Beijiing discovered a problem - Claude's power of attorney had expired (I hope I am saying this right since I am repeating this second-hand). Claude traveled to Chicago Friday and was able to get an emergency visa, and jumped on a plane today to China. He will meet up with Ruthi there and all will be fine. There's no need to worry - like I said, it's just a hiccup.

Carrie, Randy, and Jodi are now in charge with the girls and Carrie says she is keeping them busy so they don't worry too much. I'm going to go visit tomorrow, and will be able to get the emails Ruthi was able to send so far (they haven't been able to forward them to me due to computer problems). I'm sorry I don't have more information...I will post more tomorrow!

Nan

The Travelers Are Together

Hello, Ruthi's sister, Nan here! Ruthi is scheduled to arrive in China Wednesday night. I heard from her Tuesday when she met up with her friend Carol - who is traveling to China with her. Carol is a great friend to Ruthi, she has been there through thick and thin and I am sure that Texan can handle anything that comes their way!

On the homefront - our neice Jodi is helping with the girls at home. She posted on her Facebook account Tuesday morning that she deserved a gold star - all four girls on the bus on time and even packed their lunches! Talk about a crash course in parenting. :)

Please keep everyone in your prayers, and I will update the blog as soon as I hear anything, I imagine it will be tomorrow night...

Nan

Finally Leaving! Oh my

I have one suitcase done and by the front door. The other is still next to the scales while I try to max out the 50 pounds I am allowed to take in each of 2 checked bags. My friend Carol has said she was treated to a special gift from the ladies she works with and she enjoyed a manicure today after work. She also swears she won't get any sleep tonight. Gee go figure..our flights tomorrow are early. 6:30 p.m. but unlike a lot of folks dealing with huge airports ours is so small that we can arrive at 5:30 a.m. and still get it all done and on the flight. That helps a bit I suppose.
Yesterday was Kate's 7th birthday and our family was here to help her celebrate it with a brunch and cake. That afternoon she said it was the best celebration ever!
I still cannot post photos of the girls, Morgan Xie, age 13 or Gracie Mei Qing age 9 but soon they will be shown to all!In fact sooner than usual as we land in Beijing Wed evening at 10:35 p.m., will get to the hotel hopefully by 1 a.m. and then we get the girls the next day. I hope they figure out quickly that their new mama does not always look like she was in a train wreck...I cannot imagine how tired I am going to be! I know God will provide....
Please say prayers for the girls to accept us and to not be overcome with fear, for safe travels and health to stay with us. My sister Nanette is posting for me while I am gone, normally you cannot access blogs from in China. Please say a prayer for the girls here at home, there was some crying going on yesterday, and the closer it gets to bedtime tonight I keep praying that the tears stay away. Both theirs and mine. Also include Claude and our niece Jodi-both here to manage the girls and keep control. Oh my!

We are going to China....

All right forward movement!!!!! FINALLY!!!! I leave on Tuesday Oct 27th for China by way of Detroit and Japan...first time ever being to those two places so I will be sure to take pictures. :)

We get home the night of Nov 14th into Peoria Airport after a very long day of flights again coming home thru Japan and Detroit. We had to do it this way just to be able to get home on Saturday into Peoria. My thanks to Marylin with China Smith Travel for working and working and working on these flights. We have used them for all of our adoption trips with great success!

Please say a prayer that we have safe travels, and that the girls will both be accepting of us as their new forever family.

I have set it up that my sister Nanette will post for me as I will not be able to access the blog while in China so she will get e-mails from me and post. Thank you Nan! Don't forget their is a 13 hour time difference :) so you may not remember what you are getting into taking on this task.

Also our sincere thanks to our niece Jodi for coming to stay for the days I am gone so the girls will have help with school work, matching their clothes, and getting on the bus in the mornings all the while that Claude paces the farm preparing himself for two more females in the group :)
Please say a prayer for his continued sanity as he is pacing.

Another time of waiting...

For those of you just getting to know us, we are currently waiting for Travel Approval (TA) for our 5th and 6th daughters. Our daughters that are waiting for us in Beijing China are Morgan Xie (we chose the English names and are praying that they like them) age 13 in a just a few days and Gracie Mei Qing age 9. This will be the 5th time for me to go to China, Claude will hold down the fort here with the girls while I and my friend Carol (from Texas), my dad and mom all head over to get the girls. So while we are waiting...
We say lots of prayers, that the new girls will adjust and accept to this huge change in their lives from everything they have ever known. That the H1N1 flu will not rear its ugly head and stop/delay travel. That our girls and sons here at home continue to do well and keep things under control. Kate had hives extremely bad last year from stress of me being gone. We pray they don't return. We also pray that our own health holds up and that our peace of mind stays peaceful :) during this huge time of travel and bringing home the new girls....
During this time we also prepare for situations like no English so we have Electronic translators, talking about the girls being scared, no English, adjusting, clothes for them, and just in general also about loving and accepting them.
There have been a few times that different things have hit us. The new van we had was all of a sudden not large enough for a family of 8. So we went van hunting which turned into a fiasco of buying a van that we 100% hated. Which sent us on another shopping trip to buy a great Suburban...seats 8! Yeah! Another when a bit of panic went over me that we will have one daughter with 2 years of English, one daughter with one year of English and TWO WITH NO ENGLISH!!!!! I am sure we will have moments of insanity. Penny-one year of English-the other day told Vicky to "stop talking so much! You make my head broke" see what I mean about the English? At least the meaning was there.
I have gotten out a suitcase. Not that I am packing but I work full time, have four girls at home, and life can occasionally get crazy so why wait to do something this important and chance missing / forgetting anything? And now I admit that I will pack and repack 15 dozen times...I will weigh each bag 15 dozen times so my luggage is not over weight...I just have to have a way to de-stress so I do it thru the packing.
Right now, even as I am typing, there are two families in China meeting their children for the first time. These children are from the same orphange as our daughters. We are saying, and asking, for prayers for these families for acceptance and Gods guidance thru the rest of their lives. We are also asking for a peek into our daughters beings and also for some photos of the girls. We have not seen their photos in a year...we wonder what they now look like! We have gotten their measurements so we know their sizes etc...But what do they look like? So that's it for now! Again, thank you for following our journeys! R

The awaited conversation

Last Saturday after church we went out to eat. As we were all munching away Addie leaned over and asked me "Mama remember when I was in your tummy?" and I just sank...why in a restaurant? So I said "Addie remember you weren't in this mommies tummy?" And I started to go on to have this dear 7 year old interrupt me and ask "So does that still make me a Mammal?" Talk about laughing...I still chuckle a week later...
Please keep Abbie Ault, a young girl from Princeville, in your prayers. She is very ill in ICU in the hospital. Until next time, Ruthi