My bags are packed

After a busy day (make that a busy MONTH!) my bags are packed and I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

I leave from Richmond tomorrow morning at 8, land in Chicago 2 hours later, find something to do for 4 long hours :), then take a 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. Once I land in Hong Kong, I'll take a taxi to my hotel, try to get some rest, take a train the next morning to Guangzhou, and MEET JOHANNA AT 2:30!!!

I'm exhausted just typing all of that :)........

I'm very excited, but also a little nervous. I guess that's normal?

I found it comical that my flight itinerary shows NO MEAL PROVIDED for the 15 hour flight to Hong Kong (on a 747 no less!).....Yeah, pretty sure I'd be dead with no food for that long, so I'm hoping it was a misprint!

I'll let you know about the food!

Prayers Requests and Praises

Gabbey and I leave early Sunday morning for China. To say the past few weeks have been busy would be a gross understatement. I am very ready for life to return to normal, i.e. NO MORE PAPERWORK lol....Nevertheless, I wouldn't trade this time for anything, as it is bringing us closer and closer to our girls.

I will be bringing home Johanna Ling on this trip, and Brent will travel this fall for little Alyssia (who still doesn't have a middle name, but who has time to pick more names? NOT me! :))

I am nervous about traveling alone (with a baby!), but not scared. Just nervous. I tend to not think very clearly when I'm severely sleep-deprived, and that's when I usually rely on Brent, who can make good  decisions even when he's tired. Thankfully, I will be in Guangzhou the whole time (except for one night in HongKong on the way home), and we spent a week in Guangzhou for Gabbey's adoption, so it will all be very familiar!

The part I'm most nervous about is the bus/train ride from Hong Kong to Guangzhou.....it's much cheaper to fly into Hong Kong, but then I have to find a bus or train to Guangzhou, then take a taxi to my hotel from the station. With all of my luggage. And an exhausted toddler. In a country where taxi drivers do NOT speak English :)  Will you pray for me to handle this part of the trip well?

Once I get to Guangzhou, I think it will be great. :) I will have a guide to help with the language barrier and I know my way around Shamian Island, so I should be good to go!

Another adoptive mom has asked to share my story on her blog. Lord willing, I will be trying to take pictures/get an update of her little one that is waiting in Johanna's orphanage. She asked me to share a bit about our family and what our needs are.....so here goes:

We are the Bergey Bunch---Brent and Selina, and our "bunch": Eliana, Nathaniel, Noah, Ethan, and Gabriella. Our Gabbey was adopted from China last December at 15 months and is thriving and blossoming now! We committed to adopting another toddler last March (just 3 months after Gabbey's adoption) and will be traveling to get our Alyssia this fall. She's 2 weeks younger than Gabbey, making 3 two year olds to love on in our home :).....

Then GOD planted one more flower in our bunch when I opened an email from an adoptive mom who was trying to find a home for an aging-out girl in Zhongshan. I knew the moment I saw her face that I wanted to be her Momma. A week of prayer later, and we committed to our Johanna Ling as well. Because she turns 14 NEXT WEEK, this adoption had to be expedited so I could get Johanna AND finalize the adoption before her birthday. God has literally done the impossible, and so many of our dear friends have played a part in Johanna's story. I'll save that for another post, though.

Contrary to what it may seem, we are not wealthy, nor did we have more than a couple hundred dollars to put towards Johanna's adoption when we said "YES" to God. But, HE owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and we have seen His hand in every little detail of this process. God does not lead where He does not provide and it has been AMAZING to sit back and watch as He has paved the path to our sweet Johanna.

We would appreciate your prayers for the following:

---That God would give me calmness and direction as I make many decisions alone, in a foreign country, over the next two weeks. I will miss my husband and his wisdom, but I know God will be with me, even in China.

---That God would prepare Johanna's heart for her Momma's love. Her entire world is about to be thrown upside-down and we are praying for her to have a sweet spirit and to truly feel, accept, and eventually return our love. We want her to rest in the knowlege that we CHOSE her, we WANT her, and we LOVE her. Unconditionally. Forever.

---That my children left here at home would have a peaceful two weeks and be ready for Momma when I return :) It's going to be hard for me to be away from Ethan especially, because he's still such a "baby".  I will miss his "nuggles"....

---That God would work in the hearts of all who will be involved in Johanna's life, and grant us wisdom as we guide her down the path to a knowlege of a Savior.

---That family, friends, and acquaintances of our family would be warm and welcoming of our "new addition". She won't be a cute, cuddly baby, but she still needs the attention, acceptance, encouragement and love that every child both needs and deserves.

---That God would continue to provide the finances we need to bring our girls home. We do not know where all of the money is going to come from, but God has and IS using so many ways to show us that He can provide. He has even used some of YOU to bless our family financially, and we are humbled by your generosity.

I will be blogging (as time allows) from China and look forward to sharing our journey with you, our dear praying friends. Thank you for your sacrifice of love, and your support for our family. We appreciate you more than you will ever know.....

Family Camp 2011 at the Bill Rice Ranch

There's alot I have to say (write) regarding our upcoming adoptions, but before I get into all of that, I HAVE to share about our week at Family Camp.

Not wanting to send our little ones off (without us) to camp, we were looking for an alternative, a place where we could have fun, build memories, and grow in the Lord TOGETHER.

And The Bill Rice Ranch did NOT disappoint us! :)

The food was fabulous (not to mention I didn't WASH ONE DISH for a whole week!) the activities were family-friendly and enjoyed by all....

But for me, the services were the best part. Uplifting, Godly music and congretational singing coupled with strong, practical preaching. My idea of a good time :)

Really, the Lord convicted my heart in many ways this past week.....one of the "best" messages was on a "Grumbling Spirit". Oh, how I needed this one! My heart is so quick to think of myself, of MY needs or wants, of MY inconveniences, of MY schedule, etc, etc....I repented of this complaining spirit and I am striving to be more sensitive to the needs of others, and less vocal about the needs of myself.

I would appreciate your prayers for me as I'm being stretched this year as never before. We're adding three precious girls to our home in one year, and Momma needs to be Spirit-filled to accomplish all I must accomplish in my husband and children's lives. More than anything, I desire to glorify HIM in every aspect of my life. I want my marriage, my parenting, my words, my actions and my very LIFE to point others to the Saviour.

All of HIM, none of ME is my prayer.

Anyway, take my word for it, the preaching was good, and I needed it.

We were so blessed to be able to attend camp with some dear friends of ours from church, the Lewis clan. Their four children are some of our children's dearest friends, and it was so much fun watching them interact this week. Roy and Angela and Brent and I enjoyed sweet fellowship (especially late at night!) and we're so glad we could go to camp together!

I know this is alot of pictures, but I just couldn't narrow it down to a "few", so I'm posting all of my favorites from the week....

Playing fuseball with Everett, Emily, and Elise

Angela Lewis with Gabbey (who is fascinated by jewelry!)

Mealtime....one of our favorite times of the day! :)

Everett, Nathaniel, Eliana, Emily, and Elise

Who's this cute cowboy? Must be Noah!

Brent's mom sent us some new matching dresses for camp. Such a blessing in these busy days when my time for sewing is very limited.

Love these girls so much!

Where's ETHAN? :)

There he is!

Friendship....

Gorgeous Gabriella Mei! She's walking really well now and thinks she's ALL GROWN UP. :)

Had to throw this one in, so you can see that my toddlers are not always smiling! Sometimes they are downright cranky, especially when they're exhausted from getting up early and going to bed late at camp....

All-in-all, it was a wonderful week.

So wonderful, in fact, that we already paid our deposit on next year's Family Camp! We think Johanna and Alyssia need to experience camp with us next year, don't you?  :)

Exhausted, and Random Thoughts....

My day started at 6 this morning, packing and getting everything (and everyBODY!) loaded into our van. We seriously are feeling the need for a bigger van about now. :) Our mini-van does seat eight, so Johanna will have a seat, but Alyssia won't fit, so sometime between now and bringing her home, we need a bigger van. I've got too much else to worry about right now, though, so I'm not even going to think about how we'll work that one out.

Anyway, back to my day. We left at 9 am, drove all day (with not too many stops, no small feat for a long road trip with littles!) and crashed into our hotel here in Franklin, TN around 9 pm. All the children are sleeping, and I'm pretty sure I won't be too far behind them. :)

It was actually a good trip (except for the fact that there was NO leg room for anyone, due to the fact that I had to bring just about everything we own. Almost anyway.). The youngest two had a few moments of fussiness, but all in all, I was proud of them. Brent and I have had a few road trips where they've ALL been screaming or crying by the end of the trip, so this one ranked as a "good" trip lol.

The hardest part of the trip always seems to be the "finding a hotel" and "getting settled into the hotel" part. We didn't book in advance on the chance we weren't able to drive it all in one day, so we had to check a couple of hotels for pricing and availability. The children, by this time, were DONE, and quite honestly, so was I. :) I tried playing a game of "What animal makes this sound?" and thankfully, it was only about 1/2 an hour of torture stress.

I was thinking today, how the next family trip we take will be with Johanna (and maybe Alyssia, too!). Johanna has never taken a family vacation. I wonder what she will think of her first family trip?

I found myself counting down the days today. Lord willing, in 17 days I will meet our Johanna Ling! Oh, dear, now I just reminded myself of all I need to do before then!

Ethan (just turned 2 years) is positively adorable these days. His language skills have literally exploded and it's so much fun listening to him talk and having conversations with him! Today, he was full of cuteness in the car. I sat next to both babies (in the middle row of the van) and had a blast talking to my little man. I need to post a video of his voice before it changes again.....

Well, I'm getting too tired to think anymore. I think I'd better call it a night! Camp starts after church tomorrow. We're praying the Lord does a mighty work in our family this week.

Good night, all.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

Much to our COMPLETE surprise, CCCWA issued BOTH LOA'S this week!

This means we may be getting Alyssia on the same trip as Johanna.

WOW. I'm in shock.

Even if we aren't able to bring both home in July, we will be able to travel in August or September for Lyssie!

WOW!!!!!

Johanna's Adoption Chip-In

Several people have asked me how they can help with bringing home our Johanna Ling. With that in mind, I have added a chip-in link on my sidebar.

We knew when we committed to her adoption, that the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills was telling us to "GO" and that HE would provide. We did NOT have the money we knew we would need, but we know that HE does. :)

But sometimes He uses people to be a part of the miracles only HE can orchestrate. We have already been at the receiving end of these blessings, and we couldn't begin to thank you enough!

Please understand that we are not asking for money. We are simply providing a easy way for those who feel led to donate to be able to do so.

More than anything, we covet your prayers. Pray for Brent and I to have wisdom from God to parent all of our children. Pray for a calm spirit for me, as I balance the stress of adoption paperwork, travel plans, and the little ones who need me. Pray for Brent, who along with his dear mother, will be "holding down the fort" for us while I am gone. Pray that Gabbey will deal well with the jet-lag.

Most of all, pray for Josie. That even now, GOD will prepare her heart to be tender to the things of the Lord. That she will be open to our family and our love. That she will understand how very much we love her. That we would move heaven and earth (well, actually GOD is doing that!) to bring her home.

Thank you for your part, whether by prayer or by emotional or financial support. We are standing back and letting GOD write Johanna's story.

We have our LOA

It arrived via email last night! CCCWA was gracious enough to scan and send it to us, to save on mailing time. We will sign it, scan it to our agency coordinator and our I800 officer, and wait for I800 approval!

The important thing about this piece of paper???

It means China has reviewed our dossier and approved us to adopt Johanna!

SHE'S OURS, unofficially until the adoption finalization.

But she's ours :)