Monday

The Director and his wife arrived at the Dolton hotel around 1 pm on Monday. Brent got to meet them all, then they went out for a nice lunch. Alyssia was getting tired at this point, so they all went back to the hotel for a nap, then headed to Walmart and dinner together.

When they finished with dinner, they all joined Brent in his room and Skyped with me! I was able to meet the lovely people who have raised our daughter since she was only 5 days old. They clearly love her and are very proud of her. Brent was able to ask many questions and get to know Alyssia a little bit under a stress-free environment for her. SO much easier and better for her than just being handed to him on Gotcha Day!

The Director mentioned that they might stay the rest of the week at the Dolton with Brent. At first, I didn't think that was a good idea. (and it still might not be, in many ways) If Alyssia is able to go "back" to them, she may reject Brent altogether....But, the more I thought about it, if I was giving my sweet little Ethan up for adoption, I would surely want to hold on to him and stay close to him until the very last second that I was able to.  So, while it may be harder for Brent and Alyssia, for the sake of this loving couple who have invested so much time into our daughter, it's okay if they want to "stick around" for a few days.

Their hotel room is just down the hall from Brent's room, so hopefully they aren't able to hear her if/when she cries. Ideally, she will see that her "Dad and Mom" want her to love her "American Daddy" and it will help in her transition.

Please pray for wisdom for Brent. Today (Tuesday) is officially Gotcha Day, AND they're finalizing the adoption today as well.

On a less serious note-----isn't she just the sweetest little thing? She blew Mommy some kisses on Skype and I so wished I could have reached through the screen and touched her for a moment. 

Meeting Daddy and Annie (the guide) in the lobby of the hotel.

A trip to Walmart. She especially loved the toy section :)

Her "American Daddy" bought her a toy...

Holding onto Daddy's finger!

 Ready to buy her toy!

Foster Dad and Mom. Forever Daddy.

First Skype call with Mommy!!!

Gorgeous!

I have ALOT to blog about.

And NO time right now. It'll have to wait until my six kiddos go to bed tonight.

But, Brent DID send me ONE picture! :)

Isn't she just gorgeous?? Wait until you see her smile!

6 Words

I received a skype message from my husband at 7 am this morning.

It contained six little words:

"You are going to LOVE her!!!!"

He's apparently fallen in love already. I can't wait for my turn!

The guide, Director and his wife, and Brent are headed to dinner together. They are supposed to skype me when they get back so I can "meet" all of them.

SO excited. So nervous. So hurting for this dear family that has loved our girl all this time.

I've received several questions regarding they whys and hows of Alyssia being fostered.
It is not uncommon for children from the orphanages to be placed in foster homes. What IS uncommon is that the Director took Alyssia in. I won't go into all the details, but he and his wife clearly love her. Unfortunately, even if they wanted to adopt her, they could not. Adoption in China is only for childless couples. It is NOT very accepted. This couple already has one child. They CANNOT adopt her. It is just not an option in China.

I find comfort in knowing that the Director prepared Alyssia's paperwork. He had to sign it, making her available for adoption. He knew.

So while my heart is aching for this couple, at the same time, I'm so very thankful for the care they took in raising my baby for this long. We will do everything we can to keep them updated as Alyssia grows.

Hopefully the next post will contain pictures!

I am almost sick in anticipation of seeing her little face for the first time.

I am quite sure that I am "going to LOVE her!!!"

Husband Hacker in Changsha

Good morning to all from China. As I am sure you will quickly come to realize, this is not Selina. :) I will not give you any dillusions to think that I will be able to write about this trip nearly as well as my lovely bride. She has a gift for this that I don't have. I will, however, do my best to share with you some of the things that happen while I am here in China.

As Selina posted earlier, Friday evening was a tough night for the kids.......and daddy. I am sad to say I am the one that started all the crying. I was tucking Noah in and he gave me a big hug. That's all it took. I debated on whether to post this or not but decided to for the simple reason that men are so often taught and expected to "suck it up" when it comes to this kind of thing. Men, it is ok to to show our families how much we love them and still be strong. Selina and my children are simply amazing!


 I am not going to get into the flight etc.. As anyone would say...."it's long". Ok, now that we have that out of the way we can get into what my guide, Anne said to me when she picked me up at the airport. She has some exciting but unexpected news for me. The Director that has been taking care of Lyssie is going to be staying in my hotel. I should be able to meet Lyssie today for the first time! Gotchya Day will still be on Tuesday but I will have the opportunity to spend some time with her. I am also learning that this little girl has been loved very much by the Director and his family. I am truly torn. On one hand I can't wait to have little Lyssie. On the other hand, my heart breaks because this little girl is loved but can't stay with what would be a "good" situation here in China. I am so thankful for God's goodness though. Lyssie will have a chance to hear the gospel and grow up in a chrisian home. That, for me is what it is ultimatley all about. Showing her the love of Christ, by the way we love her.
 
I will add more after my visit with Lyssie. I will take pictures, as instructed by my lovely wife. :)

Here We Go.....Again :)

Brent's bags are packed and waiting by the door. Men don't really get into having their picture taken with a suitcase, so there aren't any cute pictures to post tonight.

Our three oldest children cried tonight. HARD. For Daddy. Because they're sad he's leaving. Because they've experienced this before and it's just a LONG two weeks, especially when you're the ones being left behind.

Johanna surprised us the most. She started crying and just couldn't stop. She sobbed in my arms for over an hour.

I think it's a combination of missing the Daddy she finally has, to missing the only home she's ever known.

It was the first time she's shown this kind of emotion. I'm thankful she wanted me to hold her while she "let it all out".....

Adoption is not for the faint of heart, folks.

But it IS what God has so clearly called us to do. And I KNOW with every part of me that God will not call me to something and then forsake me.

He's right here, holding me, loving me, helping me. He's the voice I hear when I'm holding my daughter and feeling the gut-wrenching sobs flood her little body.

It came so easy, loving our biological children. These broken, abandoned, neglected girls? They take a heaven-sent, grace-filled, on-your-face-before-God DAILY kind of love.

In the midst of our tears tonight, I'm so very thankful.

Thank you, God, for the privelege of showing these girls YOUR amazing love.

Weekend in Words

We took our children for a quick weekend get-away. I took a total of TWO pictures! Seriously, what is wrong with me?

Um, I was too busy taking care of six children to take their picture. :)

Anyway, back to our weekend. It was spent in breathtaking Lancaster County, PA. I grew up in Pennsylvania, in the heart of Amish and Mennonite country, and I simply LOVE going back.

Our children were thrilled to finally get to see "Joseph" at Sight-and-Sound. It was amazing! A lovely family tradition. We've seen three of their productions now.

Noah, on the trip home today, said, "Daddy, I'm going to be like Joseph." Daddy replied, "How?" Our adorable 4 year old said then, "I'm not going to do wrong, I'm going to choose to do right!"

He got the moral of the story, don't you think?

Sunday we visited the sweet people at Charity Christian Fellowship. Charity is a "plain" church, and run much differently than the average church. The men and women sit on separate sides of the room (although visitors are welcome to sit together), the service lasts for 3 hours, there is no nursery or children's programs, no choir, no instruments, no "modern" clothing......

What there IS at Charity is a beautiful spirit of worship, in both the acapella singing and the preaching/teaching. There is hospitality like we've never known in a church---we've been there 3 times and been invited over to MULTIPLE families' homes for lunch each time. There is a simple beauty, innocence, sweetness to the faces of the children.

It was, completely, a lovely weekend. Lots of great family bonding time. Sweet memories with good friends.

We needed it.

Especially since Brent is booking his ticket tonight.

He leaves in FIVE days.

Life in the Bergey Bunch is about to change.

Again.

Our Sweet Alyssia

Brent will be traveling soon for our youngest little China-girl, Alyssia.

We never thought, when we began this journey, that we'd be bringing home THREE girls in less than a year.

God. Is. Good.

And I'm so thankful His mercies are new EVERY morning, because I desparately need His wisdom as I parent these precious children.

I have lots of pictures and things to share about how Johanna's adjustment is going.

But today is for Alyssia.

We got new pictures this morning, and OH MY GOODNESS, she's about the sweetest thing I ever saw.

And to think, she sat on an agency's list for months and was never "chosen". Of course, we're thrilled that WE get to be the lucky ones to have her in our family. :)

She's absolutely darling!!!

Isn't her hair something else? LOL

Here's what we know so far about our little Lyssie:

She will be two years old on September 25th. She was born with an arachnoid cyst in her head. It is rather large, but so far it has not caused her any problems. We will take her to a neurosurgeon when she comes home to have an MRI and discuss any treatment.

Alyssia's Chinese name is Yong, Qi Guo. She is being fostered by the Director of the orphanage. This is wonderful as far as her one-on-one time, her development, her bonding with "parents", and her inclusion in a true family setting.

Unfortunately, it usually means that she will have a harder initial adjustment period, since she will feel as if she's been "kidnapped" from her "family".

We are so very appreciative of this Director and his wife for loving our sweet Alyssia for so long. I can only imagine their feelings right now, as they do know Brent will be coming soon. They asked us to send some pictures of our family and house so they can prepare Qi Guo for her new Daddy and Momma.

But as a not-quite-two year old, she's not going to understand. Her heart is going to break.

Please pray for us, that we can help put the pieces back together.

Please pray especially for Brent, who is traveling alone and will be dealing with Alyssia for two weeks without me.

Pray my Momma's heart can handle my hubby and baby girl being so far away. I am confident he will do great. I will be honest and say that I am sad to miss Gotcha Day and all of the "firsts" that will follow.

Alyssia is described as active, stubborn, and very bright. I'm sure she'll fit in just fine with our "bunch"!