Hellooo Everyone : )

I finally started blogging after nine months! Who-hoo! We have had so many great experiences with Jeremy. He is just a bundle of joy and I cannot imagine my life without him. God has really blessed us. Jeremy is finally starting to talk. He is saying so many words! His smile can light up your day with just one glance and- even when he's cranky- we love him soooooo much.

Jeremy absolutely loves Lucky (our bird). Whenever Lucky is out of the cage Jeremy goes " Bir? Bir?" And we always crack up when he watches Lucky flap her wings. When she flaps them he will watch her and then when she finishes he shakes his body like he has the goosebumps and walks away. It's so cute!!

Jeremy has definitely been a light in our lives. He always laughs and plays and loves on us. He gives us kisses and hugs and when someone comes home from work or school or just being out Jeremy gives us a hug hello. He is such a good kid! I cannot even imagine what out lives would be like without him. Oh wait I know, it would be like this: .................blah blah...........blah blah blah...........blah. Jeremy's laugh is so adorable. When my dad tickles him it is just so funny to watch!

Jeremy has been saying so many words. He says mama, Da Da, Jenna, Ju-Ju, cup, bye-bye, car, no, truck, open, apple, snow, move, thank you, sit, go, bus, let's go, book, shoe, see you, where are you, I know and that's all I can think of. He obviously doesn't say them all exactly correct, but you get what I mean.

Here are the most recent pics on the computer. I haven't got a chance to upload any other ones, but eventually I will.

October 12, 2010

December 5, 2010:

: )

Overdue Update

Hi everyone!

Jeremy is doing great and is adapting perfectly! Our little man loves to eat, play, and be held. He is so cute and he is saying "uh-oh" now. He is very curious and loves things that light up and have buttons. Jeremy knows how to wave good-bye and he is almost walking. He has been taking a few steps here and there.


Jeremy is just a happy sweet boy. I cannot believe how well he fits into our family. He uses his little arm A LOT and he is very strong! That arm is certainly not holding him back! Everyone who sees him melts immediately. All the kids in my class and all my teachers were so excited when we went to get him and when we came back. I have a feeling he will change our lives as much as we have changed his.

Jeremy loves my dad. It is so cute because whenever he sees him Jeremy laughs or smiles his adorable smile. It's weird because it feels like Jeremy has been here for forever but he hasn't. Sometimes we're like "Whoa we went to China with a family of 4 and came back with a family of 5!" but other times its like "Yeah so?". It is so cool to me that we saved Jeremy from possibly living on the streets and begging for money to stay alive. He doesn't have to worry about who his real family is because we are there for him and will always be.

More pictures are soon to come I just have to load them from the camera onto the computer. : )

Visiting Gateway Acadamy

On Friday we visited Gateway Acadamy. We know a friend from our church (Sue) and she teaches second grade there. She has been telling her class about our journey ever since we started and they were so excited!. So when we were going to get Jeremy we prom ised we would bring him in for "show and tell".

When my mom and I (Julia was in school) walked into the classroom they were like "Aww. He's so cute". They just fell in love with him. They had a whole blanket set put on the floor with all different types of toys for Jeremy to play with and they each sat near a toy. At first Jeremy didn't want to be away from my mom or me, but after a while he felt comfortable and was laughing and babbling. Everyone just loved him and it just seemed so awesome to me how kids we have never even met could be so excited about our little man. He is truly blessed and truly loved and we are blessed to have him in our family.

Here are some pictures of Jeremy in case you were wondering how he was doing. : )

One Month Since Gotcha Day

Well it is hard to believe that one month ago today this precious boy came into our lives. It has been so amazing to see how he is changed since we first got him. When Jeremy was placed into our arms we noticed that his middle finger had no nail and it was all cracked, red and looked like it was infected. When we asked the nanny what had happened she said that he would bite his finger nail and he bit the nail off. Jeremy no longer puts his finger in his mouth and no longer bites on his nail. We also noticed when we were in China that Jeremy would cry and throw his body back and hit his head. Well he does not do that anymore either. He also would cry and scream when you had to change his diaper. Well he has gotten used to that too. Jeremy has had to get use to the car seat, stroller, a new room (without 30 other babies with him) and lots of new food. He loves all the new food and is a great eater and likes everything you give him, he loves being pushed in the stroller checking out all his new surroundings, and likes riding in the car seat next to his two big sisters that take such great care of him.

Jeremy has been showered with love from the four of us and we all feel so blessed and honored that the Lord has chosen him to be a part of our family. What an amazing boy he is. Nothing at all stops him. We are blown away everyday by his smile and by the things that he can do with his little arm. When I think back on all that it took for this very moment to arrive it is truly amazing. God has had his hand on this entire process from day one. We have walked by faith and not by sight from the very first application that we sent into America World. I remember Jim and I signing the application letter and praying "Lord we are going to trust You for the finances and every detail of this journey because we don't know how this is all going to happen but if this is Your will then You will make it happen. Not our will but Your will be done". Well the next day a check came in the mail for the exact amount that we needed to send our application to America World to start Our Journey of Love to Jeremy. I must say that God continued to supply the money when it was needed, helped with the months of paperwork and the timing of it all and gave us the strength and peace we needed as we waited for our time to travel.

The moment we walked into the Civil Affairs Office and saw Jeremy along with the other babies we saw the face of Jesus. It was a moment I will never forget. It brings tears to my eyes now as I type thinking how much the Lord LOVES each one us and how He has our lives in the palm of His hands. People would say "How do you love this child and you have never met him?" Yes, the Lord has knitted this bond of love for him in our hearts. We took him just as he was an orphan with the clothes on his back and a past that is unknown to be a part of our family. Now what is ours is his and he is no longer an orphan but is a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a nephew, and a friend. Our prayer is that he truly knows the love of a family and the love of his heavenly Father. This same love is how the Lord loves us and the same way he takes us in and makes us a part of His family. He loves us just as we are and wants to shower us with His love and give us what is His and make it ours.

That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

This verse comes to mind as I am writing this: "I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you." John 14:18

Home at Last!

Hi everyone! I am so sorry I have not written since we have been home. It has been busy here getting used to being home and having a new baby brother! : )

As we exited the baggage area of the airport we walked a little and then we saw the crowd of people waiting for us. It was so nice to see everyone there. As soon as they saw us they were screaming and clapping. The kids were in the front holding banners and there was one big banner that Ellie made that said "Welcome home Jeremy and Seacott family!" It was so awesome! As soon as we got up to the crowd I think we were all attacked with hugs. I probably got a hug from every single person there.

Afterwards some people came back to the house and we ordered some good NEW YORK pizza. It was good to be home....... That night Jeremy slept in his forever home with his forever family. And we all slept in our comfy beds. The next day we got visits from lots of people and the same thing on Saturday. On Sunday he was the church celebrity and everyone loved him. During worship he clapped at some parts and enjoyed sitting on Andy's and Aaron's laps (Julia's friends). : ) On Monday we had to go back to school.....sadly. When everyone saw me they came up to me and asked me about the trip and I had to promise everyone I would bring in a picture of Jeremy. On Tuesday I brought in the picture and everyone loved him. At first he was my class celebrity,but now I think the whole 7th grade in my academy knows. Crazy, huh? Even my teachers love him. My math teacher thought he was adorable. She wanted to come over to play. Haha......I wouldn't mind. : )

Jeremy is doing great! He loves us and says "mama" and sometimes "papa", but not as much. We are trying to get him to say Jenna but that's not going too well...he just babbles. He sleeps through the night and plays constantly. His laugh is so adorable and we found a really ticklish spot under his ribs. He is growing in all four of his molars so he has sometimes been restless. The kids at church just love him and he is easily passed around to a bunch of people. He likes Dora the Explorer a lot, but he doesn't like Ni Hao, Kai-Lan as much. It's funny. He loves my dad and he is walking only if he holds on to something. He also walks if you hold onto his arms. He is starting to stand up by himself without holding onto anything today. That looks like a good sign. I will start updating regularly, I promise. I will also put up pictures.

I took a video.....that was my job.....while pushing a carriage. : )


Here is the video of our fans ; )



And for those of you with Facebook....my dad just added some pictures from the airport to his profile (thanks to Teresa!).

We're Home!

We got home Thursday and we have not been able to blog until today. Jenna will do a full update later today after school but I wanted to let everyone know that we got home safely. We are all trying to readjust to the time difference although Jeremy seems to be doing better than all of us. He's sleeping through the night (mostly) and is as happy as ever.



Here are some videos from Gotcha Day.

The past few days

Hi Everyone! Sorry I have not blogged regularly we have been busy here.

On May 8th Jeremy went to his doctors appointment in Guangzhou. Only my mom and dad and granma went. Every child has to go. Poor Jeremy had to get 5 shots! When he got the shot in his one arm he did not flinch. Then when he got the shots in his legs he cried a lot. And when he got the shot in his second arm he cried too. I felt so bad. Now on his little elbow he has a black and blue. I feel so bad for him.

Here are some pictures from May 8:



On May 9th we went to a shopping area called Shamian Island. It was really nice. I only went with my grandma and my aunt Titi Lu. The rest of my family didn't go because they wanted to stay home and rest. Jeremy was not feeling the greatest after his shot the day before. After the shopping me and Julia went in the pool in the hotel with Titi Lu. That wasn't such a good idea because now the day after that and today I have been having a stuffy nose and headaches....stupid pool. :) After that at 6:00 our guides treated us to dinner that they owed us from the first Sunday we spent in China. It was good but all I can say is that I can't wait to eat some good New York pizza and some milk!!

Pictures from May 9th:



On May 10th we had a choice of going to a museum or going to the Shamian Islands again. Our whole family and another family were the only ones who wanted to go to the museum so we went. The museum was really nice. It was like a museum of how life was like in Old Guangzhou long ago. It had a nice garden too. We had a good time and after the museum we went to a statue. It was a statue of five rams symbolizing the beginning of the city of Guangzhou. We got back to the hotel just in time because it started to rain.

Pictures from May 10th:





Today we went to the Consulate to do our oath taking ceremony. (I do not have any pictures because we were not allowed to take our cameras inside.) First the lady talked about some important stuff concerning the babies immigrating to the US and then she asked all the parents to stand and raise their right hand. Then she made them repeat the oath after her. It went very quick and after that we went to the hotel. Before the Consulate me and my dad went on a diaper search and found nothing. After the diaper search we got Starbucks coffee and it was very good. I had not had lunch yet. When we got back to the hotel my stomach was feeling a little funny, but I didnt think anything of it. Turns out the coffee (especially on an empty stomach) was not such a good idea.

You have a problem going to the bathroom? Drink Starbucks coffee in China on an empty stomach! You will feel squeeky clean! WARNING: Possibility of gas, stomach pains, and rumbling in the stomach.

Two more days until we come home.
: )

Gods Heart: Adoption

Our last Day in Nanjing: May 6, 2010

May 6, 2010 was our last day in Nanjing. We went sightseeing out on a lake and some islands. It was really nice. Right when we had strted in a trip I was in a bad mood because I had woken up too late and was rushed to get ready. When we got there the other 2 families who went to Nanjing with us got their babies together for a picture with Jeremy. After the picture a old man marched up and just planted himself right in front of Jeremy and just started staring at him and his arm. Now, you must remember I was already really mad so I got really ticked off. I hestitated at first, but then I went up to the guy and came in front of him casually and just started staring him down. I must have looked really nasty because he gave me a little weak smile that said "Sorry...." and walked away quickly. After he left I felt confident and successlful! Hehe! My dad came up to me cracking up laughing and he had to hold on to me to stand up. At first I didn't know what he was laughing at, but he told that he found it very hysterical. Ah.....good times, good times. And for the record, after that "staring contest" I was in a very good mood. : )

Friday we arrived in Guangzhou and went to the hotel. They didn't have adjoining rooms in the hotel so we got a cool suite the 5 of us get to stay in. It is really nice. It even has a flat screen tv! Oh yeah! :D

Here are the pictures from May 6th:

Finalizing the Adoption

Here are some pictures from yesterday that we took. We were not able to upload them yesterday, but we got it working again today.

Enjoy!

Tomorrow we fly from Nanjing to Guangzhou for our consulate appointment.

Jeremy Says Goodbye to his Home at the Orphanage

Today my mom and dad signed the papers saying they wanted to adopt him and after that we went to the Social Welfare Institute of Nanjing, where Jeremy lived for the beginning of his life. When we got there the nannies where sticking their heads out of the window and yelling Jeremy's chinese name: Shao Tang. It was so cute! I can not imagine having a job like that. You get so attached to the children and then they get adopted and you probably never see them again. It is very sad. My heart was breaking when the nanny from the Half the Sky Foundation (Jeremy's nanny) was saying good bye to him and holding and playing with him. It was so sweet! You could tell that she really loved him and he really loved her. I wanted to cry. And I want to cry as I type this! : (

At the orphanage we got to see where the babies slept and played and also where they played outside. We are very fortunate they let us go into the orphanage. Some orphanages don't let you so we were happy about that. When we got back to the hotel we fed him and ate lunch and then we gave him a nap. he slept for 2 hours straight and then after that we went for a walk around the hotel in the out door mall. It was fun. We bought a few things and then got Papa John's for dinner......again! : )

Tomorrow we are going sightseeing in Nanjing. I think we are going to a famous lake, but i am not sure. Jeremy is doing awesome and so are the other babies of the two other families we are with. WE are trying to put Jeremy to sleep, but he is crying a lot tonight. We do not know why. Poor baby!

Our Little Boy!

Well what can I say? Our little guy is amazing. God has blessed us again with another amazing gift.


While Jeremy was living in the orphanage he was enrolled with an organziation called Half the Sky Foundation. This organization comes in and works one on one with the kids. They give them the love they need until they are adopted and if they are not going to be adopted they are the closest thing to a really family that they will have. Besides the love that they receive they also play, excercise with them and more. It is a wonderful organization and Jeremy was blessed to be a part of it. If you want to learn more or donate to them you can check out their website. His nanny from Half the Sky made a beautiful memory book for him. It has pictures of him when he was a few months old, of him playing, his first birthday party and many more wonderful moments. The book is written in Chinese and is colored in so beautiful. Can't wait to show you all.


The girls have been so wonderful with him they are going to be the best big sisters. They love him so much and he loves seeing them play he starts laughing and he loves all the kisses and hugs they give him. It is so cute to see him laughing.


Jeremy's little arm does not seem to stop him at all. It is amazing what he can do with his arm. Please pray for him he seems to have a bad cold and cough and a low grade temp. (not that you would ever know it because he is just so happy and does not complain) He also likes to suck and bite on his middle finger and his nail has fallen off. We are putting some antibotic cream on it and hope it will look better as well. He is 22lbs and has some chunky legs so cute you wanted to just eat him up.


What an amazing experience as we walked into the civil affairs office and we all saw our babies sitting there with their nannies. We really did see the face of Jesus at that moment and experience spritual adoption in the flesh. Words just can't express the emotions of that beautiful moment.


What a joy it was to see the other two families that we are with receive their beautiful baby girls. I am so thrilled for them. One of the little girls is a month older than Jeremy and was in the same orphanage as he was in. In the book that I was telling you about that the nanny made for us, the little girl and Jeremy were in each other pictures they were buddies which is so sweet. I love the way God takes care of every detail.


Well we will be heading to the orphanage today looking forward to seeing where Jeremy spent the first year of his life. We will share more on that tonight. We fly out of Nanjing on Friday to Guangzhou where we will meet up with the other 16 families in our group and meet all of their children. I am so looking forward to that. We will be in Guangzhou until the 13th when we head home!


Love you all and can't wait to see everyone : ) Janet

Gotcha Day!!!!!

WE GOT JEREMY TODAY!!!


He is sooooo cute! As soon as we walked in, my mom recognized Jeremy. He was wearing an orange hoodie with blue over-alls. When we went over to Jeremy and started talking him, he reached out to my dad for him to hold him. It was so cute! Then Jeremy reached out for me! I was so happy. After that he went to my mom and then Julia. My mom and dad had to sign a few papers and then we went to a supermarket.

The supermarket was huge. It was like and everything store. It had every type of thing you could buy. From groceries to flat screen TVs to clothes. It was like a Walmart, but bigger. We bought a bunch of stuff there. It had a bunch of different types of meat that looked really gross and it had snakes and turtles for sale for you to eat! It was very sad. I like turtles! Anyway, after the supermarket we went back to the hotel and we played with Jeremy for a while. Then we gave him a bath and he loved it! He was splashing his little arm all in the water. It was very cute.

Jeremy is so silly! When he burps he laughs and his laugh is so cute! He is such a good boy. He doesn't cry at all really, but he has a bad cold. His chest is all congested and he has a juicey cough. Poor boy! :-(

Tomorrow we are going to go the the orphanage that Jeremy lived in before now. We are so excited! That is the day we will be giving the nannies their gifts and everything else. We are so excited!

I have a video of when we walked into the Civil Affairs Office to get Jeremy but it won't upload onto blogger so as soon as we get home I will put it on the blog.
:D

Our First Day in Nanjing

Today we left Beijing at 12 o'clock and landed in Nanjing at 1:30. When we got to Nanjing we met our guide at the ariport and then she took us to the bus. We took the bus to the hotel we are staying at. It is a nice hotel. The lobby is very pretty and there is a piano sitting in a fountian. It is very cool. (Oh and by the way, there are little cute goldfish in the fountian.)

Once we got to Nanjing and settled into the hotel, our tour guide showed us around a little outdoor mall right outside our hotel. There where various types of stores and there was a McDonald's. YAY!! Anyway, after that we went back to the hotel and hung out for a while. My aunt found an indoor pool so she went swimming for a while. Since there are two other familes traveling with us, they came down to our room and we went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant in the outdoor mall. We had a little trouble eating there because no one there spoke English! One lady in our group only speaks a little Cantonese and the people in the restaurant speak Mandarin so that didn't help us. So we had to use our hands to try to tell them what we wanted to order. The lady's husband brought a little book with Chinese words and when the lady couldn't figure out what we were trying to tell her he would use the book. What was very funny was the fact that we either ordered more food than we thought we did or they misunderstood us because by the end of the night we had a ton of food that we didn't even eat! It was so funny. The food just kept coming out and they would keep bringing it to us. It was never ending! : )

After dinner, Mommy, Daddy, and I walked to a nearby mall (not the outdoor mall) to look for a Pizza Hut or something along those lines. We eventually found a Papa John's and took out take out for Julia and I. It was very good. I never knew I would be so happy to have Papa John's! : )

Tomorrow is the big day! We are excited, but it still doesn't feel real. It feels like it's just a story. Everyone has probably felt the feeling before. We will video tape when we get him and post it on the blog tomorrow. We can't wait! : )

Beijing Photos

Beijing Sightseeing: Day 1 and 2

Hi everyone! Sorry I have not blogged for a while, but this part of the trip consists of very busy days. When we arrived in China on Friday the 30th, we went to the hotel after waiting for some other families. After we got to the hotel we ate dinner and went to bed.

Yesterday we went to Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tian'anmen Square is the center of Beijing. There is a monument to all the soldiers that have died in war. There is also a building to honor Chairman Mao, who the Chinese people respect very much. After that we visited the Forbidden City. This is where the emperors lived for about 500 years. To get there we had to cross a street. This was another adventure because we had to go through a tunnel under the street. It was wall to wall people. I've never been so crowded in my life! Inside the Forbidden City we looked at all the beautiful buldings and the beautiful garden.In the Forbidden City there were bathrooms and when we were about to walk in ladies from our group were standing outside looking disgusted. They said there were trenches and it wasn't a flush system! It was just a hole in the ground. And on top of that there were no stalls! Ew! So we didn't go into that bathroom and Titi Lu found a bathroom with toilets. Then we went to lunch. After that we went to the pearl factory where they showed us how to make pearls and how to tell if they are real or fake.

Today is the best part of the trip so far. It is very exciting and funny and full of adventure and gross things........WARNING: PREPARE YOURSELF. So this morning we went to a church (it was in English) and after that we went to the Jade factory where they told us how to determine which piece of jade is better and the different types of jade. After the jade factory we went to lunch and we didn't eat much! : ) After lunch we went to the Great Wall and this is where the adventure begins..........

The first thing that happened while traveling to the Great Wall was the traffic. There must be no driving laws here in China because people just drive wherever they want! I am surprised there was no car accidents! There was so much traffic because in China it is a national holiday (the Chinese Labor Day) where they get the weekend off. The Spring has been a cold one and this weekend the weather is warm so it seemed like everyone wanted to go to the Great Wall. So, instead of it taking us an hour to get to our destination it took us 3 hours. It doesn't sound that bad, but some of us had to pee. : ) So, (this is funny) a guy in our group had to pee really, really badly. The bus was traveling really slow so he got out of the bus and went out on the side of the road to pee. As he got out of the bus and went further out, the bus started going faster and the guy was being left behind. Soon enough the whole bus was looking out of the back window of the bus laughing hysterically and video taping it. Meanwhile his wife is having a panic attack. So, he eventually caught up and when he went into the bus everyone clapped. It was so funny!

Then before that I think Julia had been saying she had to go to the bathroom for a while. After he came in she was already saying she had to go, but there was no where for her to stop and pee. So soon enough she was crying and crossing her legs that she had to pee so badly. I also was starting to feel the urge and I was like "Oh no!" Eventually after 3 hours of sitting in the bus we saw the Great Wall in the distance. When we got a little closer, Maggie, the tour guide, told the bus driver to stop and we all got out. As she led everyone to the Great Wall, we found a police station and went in to find a bathroom. Daddy was carrying Julia. Maggie asked for the bathroom and the guy pointed and we ran there. When we got to the bathroom, it was the potties that you have to just squat (it is basically a hole in the ground with a flushing system) so I was like "oh no", but Julia had to go so we went into the stall. I told her to take off her pants so she would not get herself wet so she did that and then I went too. Surprisingly it was not that bad, but I prefer a toilet. So after we went, that problem was solved and everyone was happy again. A couple in our group was supposed to fly out tonight at 8 but because of the traffic they had to make it tomorrow.

The wall was awesome! It was so huge. We climbed up as high as we could before we had to return to the bus. There were so many people there. The views were great and it was really cool to actually be on the Great Wall of China.

After we climbed the Great Wall, which was amazing, we were going to go to the bathroom before we went on the bus and experienced that whole fiasco again. Problem was that the bathrooms where disgusting! The floor was wet with like an inch of pee, water, and whatever other disgusting things. The toilet paper was everywhere and the trenches where overflowing. In the actual toilet it looked like diarrhea was on the toilet and even the Chinese ladies were disgusted by it. It was so gross! It looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a month! Yuck!!

In China this week everyone is like a super star. People come up to you and ask you to take a picture. It's so funny! They are so happy when they take a picture with you. It's like they think your so special! Haha....

Tomorrow we will fly to Nanjing and on Tuesday we will get Jeremy. I will post more tomorrow. : )
Jenna

China!

We arrived yesterday, Friday, and today is Saturday, May 1st, I think. The flight on Thursday went well and went relatively quickly. It was 14 hours and we lost 12 hours to the time difference so it felt like a really really long day. Everyone seemed peppy when we got off the plane but all that energy quickly waned as we waited for the bus to take our group to the hotel.

Today we are going after breakfast to Tian'anmen Square, The Forbidden City, the pearl factory, and the Summer Palace.We will update inmore details and pictures later today or tonight hopefully.

Our Itinerary

FRIDAY, April 30th- Arrive in Beijing

SATURDAY, May 1st- Beijing Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace

SUNDAY, May 2nd- Beijing Sightseeing: Church Service, Great Wall

MONDAY, May 3rd- Flight to Nanjing, Jiangsu Province

TUESDAY, May 4th- GOTCHA DAY!
Meet Jeremy Shao Tang Seacott
Civil Affairs Appointment

WEDNESDAY, May 5th- Sightseeing & Shopping

THURSDAY, May 6th- Sightseeing & Shopping

FRIDAY, May 7th- Flight to Guangzhou

SATURDAY, May 8th- Child’s Medical Exam

SUNDAY, May 9th- Free Day in Guangzhou

MONDAY, May 10th- Consulate Appointment

TUESDAY, May 11th- Consulate Oath-Taking Ceremony

WEDNESDAY, May 12th- Pick-up Child’s visa

THURSDAY, May 13th- Flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai
Depart from Shanghai

Plane Tickets!!

See this plane? Well that's going to be what we are in on Thursday the 29th! Ok.....maybe it won't be the same exact plane, but you get the idea. We got the plane tickets for China this past Thursday. At first the lady from AWAA asked if we would want to travel on Wednesday instead of Thursday, but my sister and I have NYS ELA testing so we can't. A couple of the people we are traveling with are going on Wednesday, but leaving the same day as us. There are at least 20 families traveling with us. We found out that one other couple is traveling with us to the same province as us. They are adopting a girl from the same orphanage as Jeremy. Isn't that cool. What's even cuter is that they are the same age! Isn't that adorable! : ) I am so excited!

We will be leaving on April 29th and coming back on May 13th. We are so excited that we get to finally bring our little Jeremy home! We hope to be updating the blog from China and will try to post all the pictures on it too.

:D

HERE WE COME CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday we got word from AWAA that our TA (travel acceptance) should arrive at the adoption agency any day now. So that only means.......................................................................WE'RE GOING TO CHINA! They said we are going April 29th. We are so excited! My mom got a call yesterday morning a little after 10:00. My dad had just put the last nail into wall for the last picture in Jeremy's room and "voila!" the phone rang. Who was it? None other that AWAA (American World Adoption Agency)!

When I got out of school, my mom was late so I went into Ellie, my best friend's, car. We were waiting there and then I see my mom come up to the car. She opens the door, gets in, and says, "We're going to China!!!!!!" We were so excited! Ellie and I were screaming our heads off and I had to close the van door because it was so loud! Then all of a sudden Ellie started crying and then I started crying. I don't know if Camille was crying or not, but my mom started crying again. Happy tears!!!



When we get more info I will blog again. Now that Jeremy's room is done we can put his clothes away and then hopefully start packing really soon so we don't leave it for last minute! (His room is really cute!)

: )

A long overdue update

Since Jenna has been doing most of the posting and I've been super busy, it's been a while since I've posted anything. A lot has gone on since my last post in February - mostly just work on the house. We needed to move our girls upstairs to make room for Jeremy so we did a little remodeling work upstairs. We had started planning a lot more work but decided to scale it down in order to complete before our expected (or should I say "hoped for") travel dates. We had thought (hoped) we'd travel by the end of March. We were told we'd travel by the beginning of April.

Uh, nope. Still waiting. And waiting and waiting.

Anyway, we added some doors upstairs to be able to access some crawl spaces for storage, added insulation, electric outlets, made a new closet, improved an old closet and painted the whole thing. Then Jeremy's room was painted and a border put up. And when I say "we" I really mean a whole crew of friends and family. Wisdom tells me not to name everyone as I will definitely forget someone. Friends and family just simply jumped in and volunteered their time to do all we needed to get done. It was a seemingly simple job but became almost overwhelming in combination with working and helping the kids with all their schoolwork and all the other elements of life as we know it.

We are so deeply appreciative for all of the people who helped and advised us every step of the way. Thank you so much!

We could not have done it without you all. Much more sleep and sanity would have certainly been lost had we tried. Thank you all so much! It really came out beautifully.

More thanks also go out to all those involved with giving a shower to Janet for Jeremy. Several of our friends at church wanted to bless Jeremy and us and did so through the shower. So many people showed up and Janet was totally surprised! The night before the shower there was a tremendous storm that knocked out power to almost 4500 people here on Staten Island. Of course, the hall had no power either! That morning there was some talk of moving the location but to where? We had no idea of a place we could move to on such short notice that could fit all those people and the food. Should we postpone it? Many thanks go out to our friends who stepped in and provided generators for the party to go on as scheduled. It was a huge help after all the planning that had gone into the shower.

It is truly a blessing to see how many people are already loving Jeremy and anxiously waiting for him to come home. There was even one friend who was trying to search over the internet to find a phone number to someone in charge in China to ask what was taking so long! Some of the teenagers and young kids we know are also anxious for him to come home so they could hold him and take care of him and play with him and be his big brother.

Yesterday we went to the airport and welcomed some friends back from China with their newly adopted beautiful daughter Hanna! It was such a joy to see them home again with their third daughter. It was so nice to see Hanna's older sisters, Samantha and Courtnie, totally loving on her and so happy to be home. We went out to dinner with their family and friends at Fuddruckers. It was a good time. We hope to speak to them very soon to get all the details of all of their travels!

So here we are waiting for the call that will let us know that our Travel Approval (TA) has arrived and that travel arrangements can be made. We will hopefully be travelling with Suzette and her family when they travel to get their Lia. Janet and I have said that we feel like we are in limbo as we wait to travel. All of us here are nearly bursting out of our skins waiting for that call. We know God is fully in control and His timing is perfect (no matter what we may think of it) so we are waiting patiently (most of the time) for that call.

Kevin Laue: One-Armed Basketball Player

This kid is awesome!!! He is so determined. This just goes to show that if you set your mind to something you can do it! You have to be determined. Kevin only has one arm, but he is playing basketball and is an awesome player too. This video sends a great message!!!

Itty Bitty Update

Hello everyone, sorry I have not updated anything for a while. I have been loaded with projects and reports and don't have time to have a life, let alone write on the blog! Haha. Anyways we got an email from the adoption agency and they said we should be getting a call any day now. They also said that when we do get a call they will give us a shorter notice for when we are going to travel than they usually would give. (Which is less that 2 weeks). Because of Chinese New Year, all the offices were closed so that slowed things down a lot. On top of that there is a new director of the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) so that slowed things down even more because they had to change some things around. So now we are still just waiting. The agency said that things are picking up and will be moving along faster now so that should be good.

We just got word that the next group of people got there TA and are leaving on April 15! When we heard that we were really disappointed. Doesn't that stink?!? Oh well. Whatever God wants is fine with us. We continue to pray we will go soon and that Jeremy will be safe.

I will continue to keep up the updates. You have my word! Haha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEREMY!!!!!

Guess what! Today is our little boys birthday!!! Happy b-day brotha!!! He turned one today and even though we don't have him for his birthday, we are still thankful that we will get him soon. We pray everyday that God will protect him and keep him safe. We sent him a care package and on Monday we were emailed 8 new pictures of Jeremy! We were so excited! He is even cuter then he was when he was younger except that it looks like he has a bit of a cold. : ( Poor guy! Here are some of the pictures that they sent us. We didn't include some of them because some pictures made his nose look really red.

With the email we also got an update on him. He can't walk, but can stand up if he touches a chair or wall. He can say mom and sometimes dad. (Probably in Chinese). He loves to go on swings and eat cookies. He is kind of outgoing. He likes people to talk, play and play games with him. They said that he is a very good child and does not cry a lot. They said even though he had one hand he has a very strong will and grows as well as other children. This is very good news. We continue to pray for Jeremy. We will let you know if we get anymore updates. : )

While I'm Waiting by John Waller

The road to Jeremy has been long, but we will wait. It seems to get longer and longer each day, but while we are waiting we will continue to serve God. We will continue to worship Him no matter what gets in our way. : )

Waiting......Waiting.....and More Waiting

Yes......we are still waiting for Jeremy. We are still waiting for the TA (travel acceptence). We can travel any time now. We're getting restless but God's timing is perfect.

We went shopping for some of his clothes! I walked into the baby clothing store and was almost abducted by the cuteness! They had such nice clothes. Anyway, at first my mom was just looking and picked out one thing, but then I took Julia with me and we went and looked around the whole store. I started picking out cute stuff I liked and soon I had a whole bunch of clothes in my hand. We got a lot of stuff. All of us were picking up cute stuff we liked and adding it to the bunch of clothes I was already holding (I wanted to be in charge of holding the clothes.....hehe). We had a little bit of trouble picking a size because we don't know Jeremy's size so it made it really difficult, but we mostly got 12 months and 18 months. When we were almost done shopping Julia came up to us and showed us a pair of the cutest baby glasses on the face of the planet! I almost died......literally :). On the arms of the glasses it said "Cutest Dude" with a monkey on it. (It matched the bathing suit we got him LOL.) We bought them, of course. Then we also got him a cute baseball cap and some shoes along with all the clothes.

Then we went home and showed my dad all the stuff. When we were done he just smiled and said "Jeremy is going to be a very well dressed kid." Yes, yes he is. :D

Adoption as Basic Christianity

Adoption as Basic Christianity

Steve Burchett, a pastor of Christ Fellowship of Kansas City, writes:

Does this mean that every Christian should adopt? Definitely not. The church is one body made up of members with a variety of gifts and callings. However, the “body life” language of the New Testament reveals that though you may not adopt personally, you will eagerly uphold those who do with your prayers, listening ears, and resources (cf. 1 Cor. 12:14-27). The entire church will have a part in caring for these children and giving them what they need most: The good news of Jesus Christ.

On a trip to the Philippines, I was privileged to visit an orphanage. As I was walking away from one of the living areas, I heard a little girl crying out, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” I said to the director of the orphanage, “What’s she doing?” She responded, “She thinks you’re her daddy.” Some would tell the church that story and ask, “Do you hear the children calling?” That’s the wrong question. The better question, upon a consideration of James 1:27, is, “Do you hear God calling?”

Read the entire article.

7 reasons why you should consider adoption in 2010

I found this at http://takeyourvitaminz.blogspot.com/2010/01/7-reasons-why-you-should-consider.html. It sums up how we feel in a nutshell even though we didn't fully understand it all when we made the decision to adopt last year.

Here are 7 reasons why you should consider beginning the adoption process in 2010. While they are simplistic and overlapping at points, each represents an eternal truth or significant reality that has transformed me and my family over the last year.

1. Adoption is a reflection of God’s grace to us in Christ.
2. You were once Fatherless and now have a Father.
3. You were once without a family and now have a family.
4. Adoption is the wisdom of God’s mission in the world. (Ephesians 3:10)
5. Adoption is an aspect of true religion. (visiting orphans)
6. There are 145 million orphans and vulnerable children in the world, who
   Jesus considers His brother and sisters.
7. The sacrificial love and patience involved in adoption will transform you
   and your family.

Amos Story by Aaron Ivey

We will find a way to get Jeremy home. Hold on little bro! We're on our way!!! This video is really great! His son is in Haiti now and they are waiting to get him. Pray they can bring him home soon! :( Don't worry Amos is safe they spoke to him on the phone. His daughter is already home.

FYI it's called "Amos Story" because when he wrote this song he was in the process of adopting a little girl and a little boy from Haiti. The boy is Amos and the girl is Story. Don't worry I thought it was about his- soon to be adopted- son Amos' story. But hey, you learn something everyday.

Text message key: FYI= for your information

Referral Acceptance!!! Here we come Jeremy!!!!

Yesterday we got our REFERRAL ACCEPTANCE!!!! They called when we were in the supermarket at 3:03 p.m. It was so hard to keep in our excitement. My moms face lit up and in a little while she was crying right then and there in the middle of the vegetable section in Stop & and Shop. When I got home I ran around screaming. LOL We are so excited. They said that we could be traveling in late March or early April. We are hoping that we will have him for his 1st birthday on March 10th. We are so thankful to Jesus for continuing to give us the money and the patience to wait for this little boy. Now he can finally be ours! Here are some pics of Jeremy that we can finally show you.

WE LOVE YOU JEREMY!!! Come home soon! We keep seeing God's faithfulness during this process and we know we will see it to the end and beyond!

Butch Lumpkin- Awesome Golfer!

Butch has no arms and yet he is a pro golfer. He won't let his disability get in the way of his life. He doesn't mind that he has no arms. I was reading the comments to this video and wow! All the comments were positive and thanking Butch for inspiring them. This one guy has made a difference to people both with and without arms. He has shown positivity towards his disability and will not let it stop him from golfing.
Watch this video:
Meet Butch Lumpkin - Golf Video Golf Channel

Missing Jeremy

Lately we all have been looking at Jeremy's picture. He looks so precious and cute. Man......we miss him. We go up to his picture and kiss it and talk to it.......weird I know, but that's the Seacotts for you. I think my mom is the one that is the most restless. She always asks when he will come home. All our friends and family love him and seem a little restless too.

At least we are not alone. Our friend Debbie, who we met through adoption, is waiting for her third child. It has been awhile since they have been waiting and now they finally got a referral. We are very excited for them. The baby I think is 1 month younger than Jeremy and they are naming her Hannah. She also has a limb difference. I know they will be awesome friends.

........I already yelled at Daddy for saying that they should marry. He's to young!!!!!! (We were kidding don't worry. We're not going to marry him off.) He he.........

Patrick Henry Hughes

This video is very deep. Patrick is a baby born blind and without the ability to walk. He has not given up with the disablilities he has. He plays the piano and is in the marching band at his college. God has given Patrick an amazing talent to play the piano. He is happy with the way he is and he doesn't care that he can't see and that he cant walk. He has learned to adjust to his surroundings. If he can do it........I know Jeremy can do it also. Very touching........