Josiah and Asher

Finally - here's a photo of Josiah and Asher.
For those of you who have been following this story, you know that Asher Fu Peng and Josiah Fu Jie grew up together in the same orphanage until 2 1/2 years ago when Asher joined the Manubens family. They were finally re-united as friends upon our arrival home on October 25. This photo was taken at the Geography Bee which both their older brothers, Andrew and Ian, participated in.

Matthew's Christmas cd

It's finally ready... The Fourth Dimension "A Day to Remember" Christmas CD. Our son Matthew and 3 friends (barbershop quartet) put together this collection of Christmas songs. It has taken a while to get it ready for our friends and family who helped us with adoption expenses, but it's ready now. We'll be getting it out this week. If anyone else wants a copy we have them for "donation" of minimum $10. It'll help us pay off some of the travel expenses. Send an email to me with your address. tnlangford@msn.com Thanks! And - Merry Christmas!

Lifesong for Orphans

I encourage you to look at: www.lifesongfororphans.org
You may want to consider gifting some of the projects they are involved in with helping orphans.

Thanksgiving will be here in 2 days

Every day is full of watching Josiah learn new things. I haven't had time to write on the blog. We use iGoogle to translate English into Chinese. It's wonderful that he reads Chinese so well. I was "telling" him about Thanksgiving. Then, all of a sudden he got excited and jumped up and down, ran outside into the backyard and started gathering up pinecones. Then he ran back into the house, grabbed a piece of paper and pen, saying "Jesus" - so I wrote "Jesus" on the paper. He ran back outside and proceeded to spell out "Jesus" using the pinecones on the lawn. Such excitement! I do think he's thankful.

Sunday morning we had some time before leaving for church and somehow we started looking at China on the computer - looking at Dandong on google maps. I think it stirred a little homesickness for the familiar in him. He has gone 6 days now without talking with a Chinese person. I'm thinking it's time for us to "phone a friend" so he can TALK and be understood. There are times I can tell he is grieving, just so many changes for him.

Last Wednesday our friend Suzanne from Houston was in town. AND besides giving the boys a fun ride in her convertible (rental car) - she brought Josiah a Chinese/English Bible. He loves reading it. Thanks, Suzanne!

On Saturday we went to a wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and another first for Josiah. He did really well, even as the day became long. We loved being with friends we hadn't seen for awhile.

We have so much to be thankful for... are you making a list? Personally I prefer making a "I'm thankful for..." list, more than my "wish list" for Christmas. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Home: day 10

We've had lots of firsts around here and it is so fun watching the joy on Josiah's face as he discovers and experiences things for the first time. *OKAY, let me explain about the name: Caleb Josiah FuJie Langford - yes, that's his name. We're calling him Josiah. It fits him. :) yes, some people are shaking their heads... saying, they were right. HA! I think he likes all of his names.

We had some sleepy days with the jet lag. The time change actually helped us. We skipped Halloween - just ignored the whole thing - had no clue how to explain it to Josiah and it's not a priority for us anyhow. We have enjoyed some of the candy, which we got on the "day-after" sale.

We went to church on Sunday. Matthew was home from college for the week-end, which was awesome. Josiah was very happy when Matthew gave him permission to play on his electric keyboard. The guys had fun "bonding" - including going with Jared and Gabe out on the lake in their boat. And, someone said something about Josiah "driving" the boat??

Another fun thing - Josiah has been able to play with Asher a couple of times. (Ashermeanshappy.blogspot.com)

We are home!

It's Wednesday (10/28) we got home Sunday morning (25th) after a horrible experience/14 hour delay leaving Newark. It was a disappointing ending, but we were so glad to get home. I had started getting a throat thing... Caleb has been a little sick, too, since being home.
Sorry about the lack of updates. I'll back-track a little.

10/20 was the Consulate Appointment - which our adoption guide went to with all the paperwork. We just had to wait at the hotel for her to call if anything was needed, which wasn't - so all went well there. We walked to the park that afternoon but it was rainy so didn't stay long. We went on the Pearl River boat cruise that evening.

10/21 Wednesday was the "swearing-in" ceremony at the embassy with about 60 other families. It was fun seeing and talking with some of the other families. We went back to Shamien Island after that for a little shopping and dinner at Lucy's. It was also my birthday!

10/22 Thursday - our check-out time was expended for which we were very grateful. Our guide brought the packets of paperwork and visa/passport at 5:00 for us and the 0ther 2 families with our agency. After that we left for the airport for Beijing. The flight was delayed an hour - getting us into Beijing around midnight. Rachel Heffield met us at the airport and we stayed with her at her apartment. Rachel's family lives in Orlando - she was in our homeschooling group - now works in Beijing as a youth pastor and counselor.

10/23 Friday - Beijing! Rachel had our day planned - we met up with Cindy (our Shenyang adoption guide who lives in Beijing) Caleb loved being able to TALK with Cindy. Saw the Forbidden City, Tianemmen Square, rode in the bicycle rickshaw, Terry & Rachel got their Starbuck's coffee, looked at lots of stuff on "sticks" and ate lots of different things. My risk was eating silk worms on a stick. Walked around the Olympic "Bird's Nest" - and then went home to sleep. It was an exciting and full day.

10/24 Saturday - had to get up early to ride to the Great Wall, about 1 1/2 hours - walked around the Great Wall - rode up on a gondola (ski lift) and tobogganed down! It was really awesome being there. I left my card in the ATM machine (HA!) not on purpose. And thankfully the card was captured by the machine - we called and it was to be destoyed. At least no one got it. I think leaving an ATM card at the Great Wall is a good story. The last time I used my ATM was in Kenya... I'm just not an ATM user. After the Great Wall we had to get to the airport. We got there fine - checked in fine - and then waited for a delayed flight. It was about 2 hours late - the flight was okay, but due to the delay there, and the inefficiency in Newark - we missed our connection home. We were suppose to be home 10:45 pm Saturday - instead got home 9:30 am Sunday. At least we're home.

10/25 - now... Terry is back at work, Andrew is getting into his school work, Cassi came over for 2 days, Tanya came by Monday afternoon/evening, I am getting over this cold, Caleb is adjusting and getting over his sickness (cold/tummy) - he is loving our piano and his room. He enjoyed meeting his jie-jie Cassi and jie-jie Tanya (older sisters) and is looking forward to ge ge ("guh guh") (older brother) Matthew being home this week-end. We are getting over the jet lag, but it has hit us hard at times.

It was so exciting when the Manubens family and Claire and her son John met us at the airport. Asher (FuPeng) grew up in the same orphanage as our FuJie - we were exhausted - and Asher was near tears he wanted to play with Caleb. They had a couple hours at the airport (waiting for our luggage - uh, 2 went to San Francisco, so we got them Monday afternoon) We'll get the boys together to play as soon as we are over our colds.

My sister posted from our emails while we were gone - and she posted the photos... guess I'll have to learn how to do that!

Good News

Monday-Oct 19th:
We are glad and thankful to report that the TB test was clear! We knew from the look of the quarter-size red mark from the shot that he had a positive test indication. The center where we had the medical examination had us pay for an x ray of Caleb’s chest. It took less than a minute, the doctor looked and said it was clear…followed by great relief. We are very thankful for answered prayers as this was the one major step we have heard about being a potential huge delay. We celebrated by going shopping, followed by lunch at Lucy’s for a hamburger, fries, ice tea with lemons in a Mason jar, and onion rings!

Tomorrow is the Consulate appointment which we don’t even have to go to, except Terry will be going with the guide to get a form notarized which we had not been informed about until we got here. The guide takes the packet to the Consulate and we were told to wait for a phone call if there is a problem. We were told our packets are in order and no problems are anticipated. We plan to take a Pearl river cruise in the evening to celebrate Nancy’s birthday.

Thanks again for the prayers – we are so grateful for God’s mercies.

Terry

our sunday afternoon

Sunday-Oct 18th:
We don't have easy email access here. The hotel we're staying at is very over-rated and we're not having a very good time. shenyang was fun. So far guangzhou is just... well.... we're doing what we need to do.The big thing now is Caleb's TB testing. He had the shot on Saturday and goes back in Monday morning. He has a huge red circle on his arm. We are so concerned. Most likely he will need a chest x-ray. Please pray that the x-ray is clear. This could be very critical... and complicated. We know God has a plan, but we would like to get home. If his check x-ray is not clear, we will not be given clearance for him to travel. Please pray....love to all...Nancy

from Shenyang to Guangzhou

Saturday, Oct 17th
5 pm our time… we are so mixed up with our time schedule… We are now in Guangzhou at the China Hotel. It is a very nice hotel although not on Shamien Island where the White Swan Hotel and all the nice little shops are. There are 2 other families with our agency here – sharing our guide, Elsie. This morning at 10 am we went together in the van to the Medical appointment. FuJie had his check up and TB test, which will be read on Monday at the follow-up appointment. We are a “pre-Hague” family (long story about adoption rules) so FuJie did not have to have his vaccinations re-done. Some kids have to have 7+ shots in one day. It’s our government, not China. And really a stupid thing if I may say. Many of these kids have already had the vaccinations (as Caleb has) and there is no logic in having them done again, other than ridiculous bureaucracy. Anyhow, I’m a little sleep deprived at the moment, so I’ll stop.

Yesterday we checked out of our hotel by noon, Cindy met us and we headed for the airport. We drove by the Olympic football/soccer stadium, and complex where they had Olympic volleyball and some other sports – on the way to the airport. Things went smoothly at the airport – with Caleb’s new passport and security and all – although it was a domestic flight, not international. It was about 2:00 so we went to eat at a restaurant – since our flights (us to Guangzhou, and Cindy back to her home in Beijing) were at 5:30. We ate – Terry taught FuJie and Cindy how to play Uno, FuJie taught us a hand game (which we noticed the servers were watching and then started playing, too)

At this point we were the only ones in the restaurant. FuJie loved having Cindy with us and talked up a storm with her. At around 4:00 we said good-by and headed for our appropriate gates. Then, we sat and waited with a few hundred/thousands of other people as a huge rain, thunder and lightening storm began… and the whole airport shut down. No flights coming in. No flights going out. We waited… and waited.. after about 6 hours, flights started leaving. Lots of angry, yelling people, security… We just sat. Several people sitting near us started conversing with Caleb, and for over an hour about a dozen or more people sat focused on him – asking questions, him talking & talking, and people nodding & smiling at us. Oh how we wish we knew what he was saying. Our flight finally left around 11:30 pm which got us into Guangzhou after 3:00 – getting to our airport around 3:45 or so – getting to sleep after 4 am… with a 10 am time to be in the lobby to leave for the medical.

FuJie did well on his first flight. I had given him some Dramamine before the long wait, so bit another in half right before we took off & gave another half to him. A couple of flight attendants answered all his questions, and when his ears started hurting on the descent, I summoned a young man flight attendant who promptly stuck a tissue in both ears and got him to hold his nose - it helped and the tears/panic went away. So – that all said – we are exhausted. We just had a couple hours of napping - Andrew and Caleb are playing Uno. We’ll walk down the block and around the corner soon for some activity and to go to Starbuck’s for the free WiFi – to send this email. Our room in this hotel is way too nice – due to our middle of the night arrival – and who knows what else – they put us in a suite. We have a big screen tv that swivels all the way around, tv on one side, a beautiful carving on the other side, dividing the area with the bed – from the area with the small roll-in bed and couch area.
At the medical appointment, Caleb again showed his leadership skills in his discussions with the 5-6 different doctors/nurses he met with… and we really didn’t need our guide to move us through the different rooms/stations as he just took his papers and asked the doctors where to go next and off we went. He was very scared going into the shot/vaccination room, and was relieved to just get the one little TB needle prick. All his fears, tears, and covering his eyes… turned to elation on his face when it was over “just like that.” (Kind of reminded me of Cassi…HA!)
We walked around Shamien Island – visited some of the little shops – ate lunch at Lucy’s and had “great American hamburger,” with US license plates and photos of American actors on the walls. Shamien Island is a place where all adoptive families come – as the medical facilities are there – the US Consulate use to be located there. Thus, the shops, etc. catering to adoptive families.
OK, now the funny highlight of the day: in the middle of the park is a garden/park/ playground area. Several brides & grooms have their professional photos taken in the park. We saw a few couples being photographed today. There was also a photo shoot with a couple of beautiful models taking place near the playgrounds. Andrew and Caleb went across the monkey bars… uh, and then so did Terry. All of a sudden a dozen professional photographers with huge cameras and light reflectors, had turned – forgotten about the beautiful models – and were shooting away at the crazy American man going across the monkey bars. Oh, it was truly very funny. SO, Terry did it again! It was a hilarious, spontaneous moment!

Tomorrow (Sunday) at 10 am we meet our group in the lobby to go to a different park. One of the families in our group is adopting a little boy who is blind. They already have an adopted daughter who is hearing impaired. The other family is adopting their 3rd daughter. They have their other 2 little girls with them, too. We’ll do paperwork in the afternoon with Elsie here at the hotel. Then dinner together tomorrow evening at a Cantonese restaurant.
We are thankful that, other than the 10 hour stay at the Shenyang airport, things are going smoothly. Caleb had one big melt-down right before lunch today, having his pouting spells when we visit shops – “mother, one, mother, one” so we are not buying things. We decided that we’ll split up, and purchase things when he’s not around so that he isn’t overwhelmed with it all. We also realize he is frustrated that he can’t talk with us – and we all were very tired. He really is doing great and is such an amazing person! He told Cindy at the airport that he was going to study very hard and take good care of Mother and Father. Because of his age they had shown him our profile and when he saw that we had our Masters, he said that he was going to study hard and go to the University, too. He was also very excited to see in one of the photos that we have a piano and he wants to play the piano.

Love to all…
NancyP.S. – to the Manubens – we didn’t go into the shops where you said the blankets are – We’ll be back on the island on Monday and on Wednesday. We did go into “Emma’s” and met the guy who has the “Jordan’s” shop. Did you have a favorite shop? We noticed they all have similar things… any advice? Our guide said to ‘bargain’ and usually to buy if half of what they say

more emails from China

Wednesday-Oct 14th:
we had a fun morning at Shenyang Forbidden City. here are some photos of the fun "dressing up as emporers/emporess" - Andrew, Caleb, and our guide Cindi.

Caleb had lots of fun talking with Cindi and our driver today. I can tell he loves to talk, so must be frustrated with us. one funny thing - he told Cindi that the word "O.K." was a very convenient word! He is really smart. We also discovered today a glimpse of his singing ability - he sang "Oh, Susanna" "Do,Re,Mi" and "Happy birthday" - all in chinese, of course. Oh, and Marty - I hope the family can handle another photographer... he is loving our cameras.Andrew is watching soccer on t.v. Caleb is listening to music with the earphones, and playing Gameboy. Terry is sleeping... and that's what I need to do. Tomorrow is a "free day" - no sight seeing, no paperwork. Cindi picks up paperwork for us - Caleb's passport, etc. I don't think we're spending enough money here at the hotel cuz when we got back to our room from dinner - they had been in our room. They had put the room service menu on our bed, as well as the bag for laundry with the slip of paper. They had hung the hotel robe in the bathroom... little hints around the room that , uh, perhaps we need to take advantage of all their services :)

Thursday-Oct 15th
it's thursday night 5:30 china time. today was our "free day" meaning no paperwork appointments, no scheduled sight seeing with the guide. We went to the breakfast buffet (as we have each morning, part of our hotel arrangements) and enjoyed another great breakfast. We have selections of Chinese food, Japanese food, European and American food (that's the bread and white stuff) as well as an assortment of fresh fruits, juice, tea, coffee. Terry and Andrew have usually had the omelet man make them a specialty omelet. I like the chinese vegetables, noodles, dumplings... and there is a really good pastry with almonds on it that caught my fancy. Terry goes for the coffee (no de-caf in china) and I like the green tea. The servers are surprised when I don't want the English yellow tea. Andrew has been brave in trying new things - but none of us have ventured toward the japanese vinegar, fungus, slimy things... whatever they are. Caleb is eating really fast, so we're working on slowing him down. He is a good eater and likes bananas, pears, apples... as well as the noodles. Green vegetables get a "no" from him. We ventured out and had a 15-20 minute walk (with a few thousand others) toward Carrefour - a version of Wal-Mart's competition - a 3 story store kind of like a mall. We bought some batteries, Dr. Seuss books in chinese/english, a chinese/english dictionary (with the help of a nice young man - who talked with Caleb - to make sure it was his dialect,) more water, AND a little battery operated car. Trouble getting the car to work right kept Terry busy for over an hour after getting back to our room... little disappointing, but Caleb was screaming with joy he was so excited when it would run! he was jumping up and down, so happy. Then total opposite despair when it quit working. It was real emotion. NOT like the kind we get with his "play pouting" when he wants something and we say "no." We get stared at alot when we're out in the public. the older people are very nice, smile, and sometimes talk with Caleb. But, we never see any other "foreigners" - there have been a few American men at the hotel, but not many. Caleb helps us out, like when we were checking out in the store, he had quite a conversation with the cashier girl... not sure what they said, but she smiled and laughed. I heard him telling one guy about Dandong, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Merca ("a-mer-i-ca") we're working on that one.We stopped at KFC for a snack/lunch before walking back to the hotel. That was interesting, too, as we never go to KFC in the US. Oh, and have i mentioned the traffic? The only way to cross a street is to make sure you cross with someone else, either someone walking or a bicycle. We haven't seen any wrecks, but i just can't quite figure it out. it's continual motion, cars, vans, buses, bicycles, walkers, bicycle carts, walkers, more bicycles... Very amazing. And lots of horn honking. andrew is starting to call me "mother" and says "thank you very much" - hhhmmm...Terry and Caleb are at the swimming pool. "yo-yo ma" means "do you want to swim." Ma at the end indicates a question. yo-yo is apparently "swimming" - We broke the rules the other day with having more than 2 from our room and we just didn't want to deal with the communication gap, so andrew and i stayed here. I washed out some "undies/t-shirts" and have them hanging in the bathroom on the convenient clothes line. tomorrow we check out before noon and head to the airport - leaving at 5:30pm for the 3 hour flight to Guangzhou. Caleb's first time flying... he felt a little car-sick riding to Shenyang from Dandong on the bus - and then in the van with us. He hasn't been in vehicles much. He is excited about flying but scared. Stepping on an escalator at Carrefour caused a little anxiety and hesitating but then he was on and said "whoo!" He had a nose bleed yesterday while we were at the Forbidden City. Our guide said it was very common with chinese children and he needed more water. (?) okay...we had fun this morning connecting with guh-guh matthew on skype. it was around 11 pm for him/ 11 am for us. We'll be at the Marriott China Hotel in Guangzhou tomorrow night. Medical appt. Saturday, medical follow-up on Mon, Consulate appt Tues, Swearing in ceremony on Wed, and all the paperwork, Visa, etc to us on thursday. We go thursday evening 8pm (3 hour flight) to beijing. We'll stay with Rachel - sight see Friday, Sat am, and leave out Sat 3:30 in the afternoon for the USA. this is all China times. We get back to Orlando Sat(10/24) 10:45pm Orlando time (which will be 10:45 am Sunday 10/25 in china) Flying on china Air in-country, Continental Airlines international. We appreciate your prayers for the upcoming paperwork, appointments. We pray that Caleb will pass the TB testing with flying colors. hope all is well with all of you -Love,Nancy

from China

emails from Nancy: (posted by her sister)

Friday, October 9th~We're in Shenyang, China."hello - it is so weird to be emailing from china! after 27 1/2 hours of traveling we are in our hotel room. the trip went well."

Saturday, October 10th-Happy Birthday to Cassi.

"hi, it's 6:30 am sunday morning for us - so saturday night for you. Happy birthday, Cassi! hope you are having a fun day! we can't get on Facebook or on the blogspot - but are HAPPY to be able to get on email.This morning at 10 we meet with cindy, the adoption coordinator, to do paperwork. Tomorrow morning we meet Jie! We are making a list of questions to ask the orphanage people when we get him tomorrow. if you have any questions, send them to us! last night we ate here in the hotel at the Cafe that is mostly for americans and europeans, although has mostly food we don't recognize. It is a buffet. One of the (English speaking, well a little english) waitress/girls followed me around. she was really sweet. She would say what each food was. When she said "dog, You try?" - I said "uh, no, thank you...." i had visions of Elly, and Ivy, and just couldn't try it. She asked if I wanted dumplings or noodles, so I said "yes, dumpling" I thought I'd get one or two - she came out with this plate with about 12 dumplings! And then came back with a bowl of noodles - Andrew and I ate the noodle soup with our chopsticks just like on "Kung Fu Panda"yum... "

Sunday, Oct 11th-Monday.

"we are to meet Fu Jie tomorrow morning (our Monday) at 9 am (this is sunday night at 9pm orlando) "

Monday, Oct 12th-Gotcha Day!

"We have Fu Jie (and you say his name "gheeah" and it goes up at the end in tone) symbols for words are written differently with the same word; Fu means "bless" and Jie means "purity" He is good. When we first met him, he was very reserved and cautious. He knew "mother" and "father." The orphanage director and nanny communicated through our adoption guide/coordinator and gave us lots of information. We signed our name about 15 - 20 times. Jie signed a paper, too, stating he wanted to be adopted. We promised we would not abandon him and that we would take good care of him. there were 3 other families in the same room. Lots of commotion, but no crying, HA! our guide said when there are little babies sometimes can be chaos. We went to lunch with the director, nanny, guide, and van driver (which the driving is a whole other story!!!) at a local restaurant. It was very nice... the 2 ladies from the orphanage said they were going to miss Jie very much - they feel like mothers to him. He will be missed by his school class and the 35 others at the orphanage. he came with a bag - a couple of toys, and notes & photos in a book. The nanny had prepared a gift for mother - a beautiful jade necklace. Jie, andrew, and I came back to the hotel so andrew could poop in a real toilet, instead of hole in ground. Terry went with the others to WalMart to buy water and stye medicine for Andrew's eye. Jie loves our room - I gave him a bath - he enjoyed jumping on the bed, but quit when i told him to - has LOVED our cameras, gameboy, computer, and Ipod. Andrew is getting him started on Mahler. He stood in the window of our 18th floor room - looked out - and said "Father".... waiting for Terry to get back from the store. terry is back - we are going to hang out in our room this afternoon. soccer is on tv. (It's two really bad english teams...my upward team is better...one guy tried to shoot the ball in the goal, and a guy blocked it, and then he got hit in the face...it's REALLY funny!-Andrew wrote that.) Jie is playing gameboy... I think all is good... we don't understand each other - but so far so good. He is smiling. He wasn't smiling at first - and looked really scared. But he is smiling."

Tuesday, Oct 13th-Terry's Birthday
"Today was registration at the same place we were at yesterday - the adoption office. It's a room on the 6th floor of a building with offices, and hotel rooms on some of the floors. Not a fancy building at all. It is the building where people come for all official business - marriage certificates, etc. Yesterday we signed several papers, starting a 24 hour "harmony period" within which time we could decide to not adopt. Today made it official. We signed a few papers, AND signed with a red fingerprint on a couple of documents. FuJie signed with his red fingerprint too.

We gave the orphanage donation, paid the registration fee and the notary. The nanny and the orphanage director said their final good-bye to FuJie when we took them to the train station for their ride back to Dandong. (They came on the bus.) The 2 other families had gliches in their paperwork, so have a slight delay. We are very thankful that all our paperwork went very smoothly! Thanks for all the prayers! The only problem we had was that I had counted the orphanage donation wrong and was short 1200 Y. We had to go to 3 different banks before we could exchange more money for that. I had counted money for 6 different envelopes after exchanging on Sunday, and just must have gotten confused :) This morning at breakfast the hotel staff welcomed FuJie and asked if they could bring a cake to our room for his "birthday." Since it was Terry's birthday - we had fun celebrating both occasions!

After all the registration, we went to Wal-Mart - bought a couple pair of pants, some water and snacks, "bite" lotion (I'm loving chinese meds!) The older women would get excited when they saw FuJie with us and would smile and congratulate him. He told Cindy, our guide, that he hadn't been in a store before. FuJie talks alot with Cindy and the other adults. We went swimming tonight at the hotel (and broke lots of rules... another story) and he talked up a storm with the lifeguard. It was his first time swimming - he used a ring - at first was really scared, but then after getting into the water, was okay. The lifeguard tried talking with me, he knew very little English. I fudged a little when he asked me if Terry was a doctor. I said "yes" - it was just easier. :) Sign in ladies dressing room: "warm tip: watch valuables" Time for bed now - tomorrow we sight-see at the Forbidden City here in Shenyang.Thursday Cindy gets all our documents and FuJie's passport. We will leave around noon for the Shenyang airport to go to Guangzhou (5:30 flight) FuJie is very scared to be on the airplane. He's having some trouble riding in the van - new experience for him - and feels carsick, but hasn't gotten sick."

xie xie

Nancy

thank you -

Thank you for your prayers - so many have called, given "trip gifts" for the boys, worked all day at the "Snack Shack" - and encouraged. We are grateful. We are excited and scared and peaceful... We leave early in the morning and will try to update the blog. So, try and check in. Love, Terry & Nancy - and Andrew. (and if anyone wants to make sure Matthew, Cassi, and Tanya are hanging in there okay, it sure would help one Mom out a little!) :)

Next Sunday we'll be in Shenyang, China

Today was a great day of worship this morning at church and tonight at Kyle's concert. God is so good! It is weird to think that next Sunday we'll be in China - meeting our new little son either on Monday. A group of very special friends met at the Manubens' home last night for a time of prayer for our trip. Asher is so excited that his friend Fu Jie is getting a family. We also enjoyed Ian's slide presentation of "Dandong, and what to expect in China" AND even ate some moon cakes. It's the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in China... have you noticed the full moon? Three more days until we leave!

6 more days

Each day is going by with so much to do. Just regular life stuff - not to mention packing, etc. Today we're extremely thankful that our oldest daughter, Tanya, is safe. She had a car accident today, totalled her car, but she is okay - AND it was not her fault. :)

Sunday we'll celebrate Cassi's 24th birthday a few days early since we'll be spending her birthday in China. We have our girls' "adoption day" Oct. 7 - 22 years! We used to go to Bryan's for breakfast until everyone decided to grow up and schedules became harder to coordinate. It's fun thinking back on that day. We had a moment of "oops, maybe he won't sign the papers" as Cassi was running around the big table in the judge's chambers. It was a memorable morning for sure!

It's available - order now!!

I am listening to the Fourth Dimension's "A Day to Remember" Christmas 2009 cd - and it is beautiful; simply totally awe-inspiring. Thank you Roberto, Nat, Jeremiah, and Matthew! God is going to continue to use these guys to bless many people with their music. And a huge "thank you" to Dana Meeks who was the recording engineer, even through all his illness the past few weeks. Christmas songs are: Joy to the World, What Child is This, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, The First Noel, Angels we have heard on High, and additional songs: When I Lift up my Head, Chord Busters.
You'll love listening to this barbershop quartet (16-18 year olds) - our Matthew (the bass) will be Jie's older brother.

The proceeds of the cd's we sell will go toward our adoption expenses. Minimum 'donation' of $15.00 + email me: tnlangford@msn.com and I'll forward our address. In the mean time if anyone wants to help me set up PayPal on our blog, I'm open for the help! ;)

we're coming to bring you home soon!

Here's a photo that was taken two summers ago. We leave in 14 days!

we got our airline tickets !!! (finally)

After much checking, prayer, and re-checking we finally confirmed our airline tickets! It was starting to get very confusing. A referral from one of the adoption blogs directed us to a fabulous travel person who has arranged many an adoption trip! (thanks, Sue!) We will leave Oct. 8 arriving the following evening in Shenyang (Liaoning province capital.) Our agency says we will most likely meet Jie on Oct. 11. We'll be in the province until the 16th when we go to Guangzhou. We'll have Jie's medical appointment the 17th and our consulate appointment is the 20th. There is a "swearing in" ceremony on the 22nd. That evening we'll leave for Beijing, staying a day for sight-seeing, and then getting HOME on the night of the 24th.

Update on our matching grant with Lifesong for Orphans: we met our $2000. (Thanks, everyone!!) so have $4120. with the gifts & grants. Our goal was $5100. for the orphange donation fee. We'll also have approximately $1000. in fees (medical, Jie's visa, etc.) If you'd like to help us out we'd really appreciate it. (the address is in a previous post) You can send directly to Lifesong - or to us. Just make sure the check is written to Lifesong for Orphans - with "Langford #961 adoption" in the memo - or with a note. You can call it in to them as well. 309-747-3556 www.lifesongfororphans.org (it's tax-deductible ;)

Remember how this all started? ... with our friends meeting Jie when they were adopting their son? They promised Fu Jie they would pray for him that he would get a family. Well, they have helped with our travel expenses. We are overwhelmed with the love that is being shown to our son. God is so amazingly good.

LifeSong for Orphans - we're close to meeting the matching grant amount -

Happy Labor Day! Terry was on assignment with the Army today - so Andrew and I enjoyed finishing up little projects around the house. We started clearing a special shelf for Jie in the school room. Terry got home so I think we're heading off soon to "play."

Thanks to all who have contributed to help with our adoption! We're about $500. short of meeting the $2000. for our matching grant with LifeSong for Orphans. If anyone wants to help us out, we would really appreciate it! The orphanage donation fee is $5100. - so assuming we meet the matching grant amount, we'll still need $1100. to bring it to that total. (and remember, it's tax-deductible through LifeSong for Orphans.) Remember to put "Langford #961 Adoption" in the memo part of the check - or with a note.

Lifesong for Orphans
Att: Langford #961 Adoption
PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744

We're planning to have one more garage sale on 9/19 - but with the travel expenses and all... yikes - we're just continuing that faith walk!

We had an offer from an adoptive dad - from one of the blogs - to donate airline miles, which would help with one (or part of one) ticket - IF we find good flights with that airline.

Thanks for your prayers...

we'll be getting on the plane to China in October!

Our Consulate/visa appointment is scheduled for October 20 (uh, anyone's b-day?, yup... mine!!) We will most likely travel Oct. 8 - perhaps meet our son on the 11th. It's getting closer... We'll know more of what the schedule will be like soon. Now just checking around to find good flights with a good deal. Keep us in your prayers. And thanks to all of those who have contributed to Lifesong For Orphans! We actually have not made the $2000. matching grant yet, but are close. If you'd like to help us with the orphanage donation fee we're still saving toward the $5100. (checks written to: Lifesong For Orphans are tax-deductible, too ;)

We have TA (travel approval)

Good news! We have our Travel Approval - and now are waiting for the CA (consulate appointment) - then we'll be able to arrange our flights to travel and bring Fu Jie home. Home, to his family, to start his life with us. We are very happy!

And... now the not so good news... we won't be traveling in September as we thought. Oct. 1-3 in China is their national holiday; and Oct. 4-8 is China's Mid-Autumn Festival. Thus, all offices are closed during this time. We'll most likely be traveling around the 8th or 9th. Just waiting, again, and learning more about faith in God and HIS timing. Also, in Guangzhou (where our last week will be) they have a big trade fair starting October 15 - November 4, which makes costs of hotels, etc. going up. But, again, God knows and will provide. We keep reminding ourselves of that! And, if any of you feel led to help out - remember "Lifesong for Orphans" - we posted the details about it August 19.

In Chinese adoptions the "ladybug" is a sign that something good is happening. Not sure when/where this all started, but we've had our share of "ladybug sightings" throughout this adoption process. Including on the day we got our I600 Immigration form - a ladybug landed on my arm! Well, our friend Tom Allen painted a ladybug on the July and October pages of his 2009 calendar. We got our LOA (letter of approval) in July - and now... looks like we'll travel in October. Just fun, don't you think?

Waiting for Travel Approval...

We are waiting for our TA: Travel Approval. Once we get that - we will travel within 2-3 weeks, depending on appointment times, etc. and travel arrangements. We've been checking flights, trying to see what's available. Amazing how things change from day to day. I'm certainly glad to know that God is working this all out. HE always has perfect timing.

We haven't quite made the $2000. for the matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans. I posted their address a few days ago, if anyone is inclined to help us out with the fees, etc. We are so grateful for the extra work we've had. Just yesterday I was able to work a 3 hour crisis intervention assignment. Terry has a couple more week-end assignments with the Army/National Guard. We still don't have what we need, but know that God will provide. We are thankful for our friends and family who have already contributed. Thank you so much!

College...

Sorry for not posting - Our fund-raiser with STEVE Pennington went well - we had a small group - but a fun and lively group. Steve was awesome! We have almost $1400. toward our $2000. matching grant. Terry had a week-end assignment with the Army and has another two week-end assignments coming up. We are so thankful for the extra work! We may get our Travel Approval any day now... and then that means we'll travel 2 - 3 weeks after getting our TA.

Matthew is now at college - he went on the 21st for a week of "choir retreat." We went down this Thursday afternoon & Friday for the opening week-end and parent events. Palm Beach Atlantic is a three hour drive for us. He's settled into his dorm room, has made some good friends, and has a cold! oh dear. Classes start on Monday - and we miss him around here.

We took a Saturday early evening dinner/movie break here at home - watched "Nemo" with Andrew, which is really a sad movie, especially in view of just moving Matthew out to college. But, OH! it does end well! One moving out... soon, one moving in.

LifeSong for Orphans approved us for a matching grant!

Great news! We were approved for a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans. Donation checks to: "Lifesong for Orphans" will be matched up to $2000. Also, now donations can be tax-deductible :) If you feel led to help with this, we do thank you very much. We are still gathering the orphanage donation fee, and of course, travel expenses. If you want to mail a check:

Lifesong for Orphans
Att: Langford #961 Adoption
PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744

Make sure you put in a note with: Langford Adoption #961

2 days until the fun night - fund-raiser with Steve!

Two more days until our evening with Steve Pennington of Pro-Kids. So much is going on - we're hoping the storms will stay away. In the mean time Terry got an assignment with the Army for 5 days, so he'll be leaving on Thursday... missing the fund-raiser, but earning, so we're happy for that. And guess where he'll be - St. Croix, Virgin Islands. HA! can you believe it... so hope he gets a minute or two of sun while he's there, and not just tropical storms.

Matthew's barbershop quartet sang at two churches on Sunday and were scheduled to record tonight, but the technician got sick. He's available to record with them on (can you guess?), yup- Thursday night. With Matthew leaving for college on Friday it's gotta be a go. Maybe it'll work out differently so they can be at Steve's show. They are recording Christmas songs - an album for a fund-raiser to help bring Jie home. Check out their Facebook "Fourth Dimension." Fabulous 4 guys! We are so proud of them.

That all said... I certainly hope to see some of you this Thursday night! Bring some friends with you to enjoy the show. Steve is unbelievably talented and all ages enjoy his entertainment.

Visa applications

We were suppose to apply for our Visas a couple of weeks ago... all the other paperwork was done. Then we went to the beach, have been busy with work, and oops - forgot!! So, finally we figured out how to fill out the applications and how to find a courier service in Houston. Cost for each Visa is $130. When I called one of the courier services they said it was $159. I was pretty discouraged thinking they meant this amount in addition to the Visa fee. After checking their website I realized their fee was $29. per application. Then it dawned on me that I should count the money we've been collecting in our "adoption fund" jar and our "Fu Jie" can from Aunt Susan from last Christmas. We need $477. for the three Visas, including courier fees. Wow - what a blessing! I counted quarters, dimes, nickels (put all the pennies in a separate jar- still have them) and the $$bills from our last garage sale. It totals $474.35! What a blessing - now, tomorrow morning off to the bank for the money order. They will LOVE me coming in with all that change! Then we'll FedEx these applications off and be one more step on our way to bringing Jie home.

Family fun night - Adoption fund-raiser with Steve Pennington: Pro-Kids

You are ALL invited to a fun evening for the whole family with entertainer Steve Pennington. Steve created Pro-Kids and has dedicated his life to making people laugh - using puppets, magic, stories, music, and of course, his corny jokes! You will enjoy the evening. Thursday, August 20, 7:00 - 8:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 4851 S. Apopka-Vineland Road, Orlando 32819. This is a fund-raiser for our adoption of Jie, hoping to help gather the funds for the $5100. orphanage donation fee. Please tell your friends, and bring them with you. Donations at the door (suggested minimum $10. but any and all donations are appreciated.) It will be a fun time and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

What a week of paperwork...

This has been a week of filling out papers, getting re-fingerprinted, signing & notarizing papers, getting police checks... A home-study is good for one year in the state of Florida, so ours is being updated. Also, Matthew had to get things checked out/signed since he's 18. We signed the document for China accepting Fu Jie to be our son - and that has been sent! It's wonderful to have things done! Today Terry, Andrew and I leave for a couple of days at the beach. Matthew heads off on an adventure camping trip with three friends - also a celebration for one of the guys who just finished his Masters in Engineering! Oh, and by the way, Matthew is having fun saving lives as a lifeguard at Wet 'N Wild. It has been a good week...

We have LOA (Letter of Approval)

We just got a call from our agency - we have our Letter of Approval from China! Our Pre-Approval was 6/16/09. We have LOA in 38 days! Usually takes 3-4 months... wow, we are so happy and scared and excited! Our Travel Approval will probably come within 6 - 8 weeks. Only God knows! And we know He is the planner of all this. Keep Jie in your prayers. Keep us in your prayers, too, as we continue this step by step walk of faith.

Every penny helps!

Our dossier is done, which included the home-study,many forms, documents, and fees... and is paid for. The first agency fee is paid for. We will have the second/final agency fee, the document fees in China, the orphanage donation fee, and of course the traveling. China requires at least one parent to travel and be there two weeks. We would like to both go, as well as take Andrew, to help with the adjustments. The orphanage fee used to be $3000. and last I heard has gone up to $5200. It went up when the value of the dollar went down. Pray for God's continued provision as we gather these funds together. Here's a simple, easy way you can help: register with iGive and put Langford International Adoption as your cause. Download iGive to be in your toolbar - then whenever you shop on-line, shop through iGive. They have tons of stores. Also, whenever you search, search through iSearch rather than google or whatever you're used to. Thanks!


http://www.iGive.com/LangfordInternatlAdoption
AND
http://www.iSearchiGive.com/LangfordInternatlAdoption

When we first heard about Jie

This was written in August 2007.

You can read more about this on Sera's blog: Ashermeanshappy.blogspot.com

Asher is from Jie's orphanage - Sera is his big sister, and I might add - an excellent blog writer.

"When we first met Jie, he was very sad looking. Our guide Hannah, went right over to him and Jie began asking her if she had found him a family. At nine years old, he has seen several of his friends leave with their families but no one has come for him.

The orphanage staff kept telling us that Jie is a very smart and good boy. He always listens to the nannies and is very helpful.
Jie attends a boarding school that is several hours away from the orphanage. He is a very good student and loves to learn, but he does not like the school because he has no family or friends there.

We told Jie that we would pray for a family for him. Jie asked us what did it mean to pray, so Ian explained that praying was asking God for something for someone. And Jie looked at us and asked "What is God?"
This little boy is so hungry and he wants to learn so much.
But he hasn't been given the opportunity to.

Like Asher, he was born with a cleft lip but he has had the surgery and is completely healthy. I don't believe his palate was involved because he spoke very well for being 9 years old. Asher sounds very nasally because of his palate and is hard to understand. Even though I don't speak Mandarin, I was able to clearly understand everything Jie said.

Jie wouldn't smile while we were there. He just looked at us and seemed to be asking if we could take him home too. When we told him that we would do everything we could to find him a family, he finally gave us a smile."

Journey to Jie

Our journey to Jie starting in August 2007 when friends met him while they were in China adopting their son. We personally started learning about international adoption and looking for his file in January 2008. It is our story of faith and trusting in God. We hope it is also his story of faith as well. He's a long way from home, but hopefully within a few months will be in our family and home.