12 hours and counting

Hi Friends and Family,

We made it to cold...very cold....Shenyang, Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Flying in, snow covered the ground. It has been cleared in the city, except for the dirty snow drifts on the side of the road. After checking into our hotel, we headed to Pizza Hut as promised to Chrissy for being such a great help in Beijing. Madeline and Mom then went to bed early while Chrissy, Mia and I went swimming.

In 12 hours we get guardianship of MingZheng! We are all (finally) ready and excited. To be honest, we have struggled with all the reasons why we should not be doing this and have worried about the difficulties of adopting a 3.5 year old and of just having 4 children. It has been a matter of obeying what we believe is God's will for us more than something we yearned for. Our feelings have gone back and forth, from excitement to fear. But no more. The visit to Harmony Outreach got my focus off of me and the challenges that lay ahead for us. My love and concern is now focused on MingZheng and I can't imagine life without him...anymore than I can imagine life without Madeline, Mia or Christian.

We have a digital camera and will post pics as soon as we can!

Press on.

Tommy