10 Years in the Making!

Welcome!  This blog will tell the story of our trip to China.  This isn't just a vacation.  This is a heritage tour for Lydia who we adopted in China on Valentine's Day 2006 when she was 8 1/2 months old.  It was one of the most special days for our family.  We can't imagine life without our sweet girl and are so thankful God has led her to us.  We are traveling to China with Lydia so that she can experience as much of the sights, sounds, people, and culture of China as she can in a two week trip. 

It will be the first time Lydia remembers traveling internationally and the first time Jake has ever done so.  Violet will be staying home with family.  This is just too big of a trip for Violet.  She would not remember it or enjoy it. 

We are leaving on June 10, 2016 and will return June 23, 2016.  Our tour will begin in Beijing where we will visit the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, and the Great Wall, among other sites.  From there we will fly to Chongqing which is the municipality where Lydia is from.  Within Chongqing, we will go by train to XiuShan county which is specifically Lydia's starting place.  Craig and I did not get to visit XiuShan 10 years ago when we adopted her because there was not a good way to get there.  Now there is a train (a 12 hr train ride) to XiuShan so we will all get to experience it together...Lydia for the second time and the rest of us for the first time.  We will then return to Chongqing City and head on to Guangzhou where Lydia got her visa 10 years ago to travel home to the US.  The US Embassy is in Guangzhou and so all American adoptions of  Chinese children must pass through Guangzhou. 

This will be a very fun and action packed trip, but it will be a very emotional one.  We do not have any birth family information, therefore, we will not be meeting any relatives of Lydia.  She has known that her whole life and understands the system of Chinese adoption.  She will, however, get to be in a country where she looks like the majority for a while and get to see with her own beautiful eyes what China is like instead of gaining her knowledge through pictures and stories from us.  Her best friend, otherwise known as her brother, will be there to support her as well as Craig and I who adore her and cherish her in every way. 

We've waited 10 years for this trip and are thrilled that the time has come.

Stay tuned!

Carla