VISA granted!

Thank you so much for the prayers - Joshua's visa home went through without a problem!!! The correction didn't cost anything as the error was not on our part. Two answers to prayer! The corrected documents will be mailed to us in the states next week and his visa was granted! Today is my birthday, so it was a great gift to know we will be heading home in just "2 more sleeps" as Lilly says. I can't wait as I SO MUCH MISS MY FAMILY! Also, I can hardly wait for the girls to get to know their brother. Josh LOVES to watch the video I took of the girls and will often go to my video camera and say "Mei mei and Jei Jei" (means little sister and big sister).

Here are some pictures from today!

What a handsome little man! He's drinking his favorite yogurt drink. Terrie ... do you recognize the clothes? I've been told several times that he is always dressed so nicely! Many of his outfits came from you. Thank you!
Here we are at an outdoor museum in Guangzhou. Mom and Kirk, we were at this museum with Lilly. Kirk you just walked around with Lilly and Bernie. Mom ... we shopped.:) Joshua fell fast asleep and a travel mom let me borrow her carrier. Josh slept most of the time on my back. He just woke up when this picture was taken.

The famous "red couch" at the White Swan Hotel on Shamen Island. This is the best shot we could get with the children. Josh picked his nose the whole time. He seems to like to do that.:)

Tomorrow, most of the families (including us) will be heading to Hong Kong for one night. Our flight home goes from Hong Kong to Newark to HOME! Everyone in our travel group is WONDERFUL! The stories of the Lord's leading them to their children are equally as amazing as ours. I can't help but think how we are blessed by these amazing children! I am humbled and so thankful that the Lord has chosen us to be Joshua's family. He's an amazing little man and I can hardly wait for each of you to meet him! God is SO good!

Kirk ... I miss you tons and am bummed that I keep missing talking to you! I will try to call you in the AM (which will be tonight for you) as it is the last time I'll be able to use my phone as it is being picked up tomorrow. LOVE YOU!!

Fun Times!

Today we shopped and just had fun with the other families. Tomorrow morning, our guides take over our paperwork for Joshua's visa - please pray all goes smoothly and without any issues! Robin shopped up a storm ... OK, I did too!:) But I do believe she out shopped me ... well, I guess it was a close tie.:)

Joshua is doing great and is singing and talking a lot, but I can't usually understand him. We have our way to communicate of course. I know he understands what I am saying (yes, I got stopped 3 more times today from Chinese people stating how smart he would be and how handsome he is), but at this time he just uses gestures to talk to me. At one time today, he put his arms around my neck and starting playing with my hair in the back - just like my sweet Jessica! It was a great moment as he also flashed me a HUGE smile! He is sleeping well and doesn't wake up screaming like he used to. Doesn't wake up happy ... but neither do I.:)

Kirk, Lilly and Jess - only a couple more days and we'll be HOME!!!!! I love you!

Mommy

PR

Hi everyone,

We have a request of you ... there was an error in two of our documents in the translation of Joshua's Chinese documents. I didn't catch it (can't read Chinese) and didn't catch it until I saw the translated documents during our final "paperwork" party today. My heart sank and one of the other mom's said I lost all color in my face when I noticed it. Yes, on the verge of tears again! They have Joshua's Chinese last name incorrect, but thankfully it is correct on the Chinese documents (as I've been told by our guides - again can't read Chinese). Our guide said that it should not be a problem as it just needs to be translated again - which may cost us $ ... again. So please pray that it is easily corrected without cost to us!! And of course ... NO delay in us getting home as these documents are needed for Joshua's visa! No one can say that adoptive moms don't go through labor!:)

On happy note, Joshua is doing better and better each day. His personality comes out more and yes, I think he may be a little stubborn! He woke this AM again and asked for mama. He picked up the phone and said in Chinese, "I want to call Baba (Kirk)!" (One of the guides translated that for me). His receptive skills are amazing as he understands what I ask him to do. However, the only English word he has said is "bye-bye".

Be sure to scroll down for some pictures from today! Off to bed!:)
Love,
Brenda

Handsome little man

Sweet kisses!

Not a lot of time as Joshua won't let me type. Here are some pics from today! I LOVE THIS LITTLE MAN!

Kirk, Lilly and Jessica. I love you VERY much and can hardly wait to kiss you too!!!

Guangzhou!

My handsome little man!

Our Travel group




I love ice cream!

... and butter :)

Our wonderful guide Lisa!

I love anything electronic

After an exhausting day yesterday, we finally made it to Guangzhou last night around 11 PM. Our hotel here is lovely and it is SO wonderful to connect again with our travel group. What an awesome group of people! It was so fun to see each family with their beautiful children.

I've been stopped several times by the Chinese people "telling" me that Joshua is very handsome and will be VERY smart! We know that, but it's nice to have it confirmed here in China.:)

We went to a beautiful park (the same one Kirk and mom we went to with Lilly), but it was raining. After that, KFC and swimming! I am not sure if Josh has ever been swimming and he was a little scared, but seemed to enjoy it.

Tomorrow we have Josh's medical appointment and SHOPPING!:)

Kirk, Lilly and Jessica ... I LOVE AND MISS YOU!!!!!

Just for Lilly

Hello my sweet Pumpkin Pie!

Thank you for your special post to me. Joshua is still sleeping. He is really excited to meet you and Jessica. Do you remember the video we took before I left for China? Josh likes to watch that and will point to you and Jessica. He may be a little scared when he first meets you, but in time I know that you, Josh and Jess will have many adventures together!

I am SO proud to hear what a HUGE helper you have been to Maw and Poppy! YOU ARE AN AWESOME BIG SISTER! SO fun that Uncle Jeff, Auntie Karen and Chad have been able to come over and play. Be sure to let them know how much mommy appreciates that! I also heard that grandpa Hallgren came over to play with you too! (smootches Grandpa)

I bought you and Jessica some special presents yesterday and will do some more shopping for you too! Tell Maw that I will get lots of shoes for you and Jess too!

Daddy should be home soon and I've told him to give you special hugs and kisses to you and Jess from me!!!! I miss you very much, but I'll be home soon too.

I LOVE YOU and can hardly wait to go on our "adventures" before bed and can hardly wait to play catch!
Mommy

Guiyang

Joshua is still sleeping and I have time before we head out. I just wanted to post about the city of Guiyang. We have family here and I have come to love and appreciated my son's homeland. It is SO evident that he was greatly loved, nurtured and cared for! I will miss those who call him "Mondee" (not the correct spelling, just phonetically spelled) meaning "fat baby" as he was the cutest, roundest baby! He was called that with the deepest love. Although it has been rough at times with missing my girls and Kirk's departure, I love our extend family here! They are beautiful people with incredible hearts. We are blessed to have gotten to know them and greatly blessed because they gave us an incredible gift - JOSHUA!

Scott P - I think back to my first email to you and am praising the Lord that I "stumbled" across your video!

GOD IS SO GOOD!
Brenda

Sweet music

A belly laugh ... I got a belly laugh from Josh! It is amazing to hear that sound when what we've mostly heard are cries.

Tomorrow we head for Guangzhou, so I may not be able to post as we don't get in until late. As soon as we are up and running there, I'll post more pictures.

Kirk ... I miss you like crazy and Josh has called out for his Baba many times! I am doing better than when you left.:) You honestly wouldn't believe the change in him already. Give the girls BIG HUGE HUGS from me! I LOVE YOU!

Denene - you're a hoot! Thanks for "stalking" us - you're a blessing!

A yummy snack from Lisa. Josh ended up making a little mess with it. :)

Also, I posted 2 times today, so be sure to scroll down to see his smile ... it will make your heart melt!

A Great Day!

Despite the fact that is was raining (and has been every day in Guiyang) today was filled with so many blessings ... too many to list in fact! Everyday more and more of Joshua's personality is cominng out. I even captured some smiles on film. I love this little man - he's amazing!

The peace of God

It isn't even 6 AM her is Guiyang and I can't sleep. Not because of nervousness, but because of the peace of God! When Kirk left yesterday, I felt scared and alone. I knew Robin was still here, but Baba (Chinese word for daddy) was gone. Several times yesterday, Joshua cried for Kirk - almost as much as we cried for his precious grandpa! He also called out for mama (meaning ME ) in his sleep! Then it hit me - had Kirk not left, I would not realize the connection Joshua has already made to us! Do I still want Kirk and the girls with me? YES!!!!!!! I can't even express how much I want to hold my girls!!! But the Lord has a plan and I know that this time Joshua and I have together is priceless!

Today we are going to a play area that Joshua is familiar with and will do some shopping in the afternoon. Believe it or not, I haven't made many purchases. Leaving that for Guangzhou! Tomorrow we head for Guangzhou and can hardly wait to hook back up with the other families in our travel group! I know that Josh will love being with other children as well! The children in our travel group go from ages 18 months - 9 years old (if I recall correctly).

Please pray for Kirk as he is soon boarding a plane from Hong Kong to fly home. I don't have a way of getting in touch with him until he is home.:( He will arrive back in the states on Thursday night (US time).

Lilly - Josh LOVES playhouse Disney and PBS Kids. It will often help him stop crying when he is upset. I am sure you will be able to teach him how to use the computer better than I can! I sure do miss you and can hardly wail to kiss that sweet face of yours!

Jess - I can hardly wait to get a sweet hug from you. I sure do miss your smile and kisses!

I love you Lil and Jess VERY much!

Maw and Poppy - THANK YOU for loving the girls while we are gone! We'll probably have a HUGE phone bill when we get home from all the times I call home.:) Thanks for understanding!

Haven't taken any more pictures, so no new ones to post.:) Hopefully, tonight I'll get a chance to post more.

Thank you for the many posts - I LOVE reading them and they are such an encouragement to us!

Brenda

Let's try pictures again:)

Kirk left this AM for Hong Kong and then will head home tomorrow. I have to admit there were a lot of tears on my part. Joshua has asked for "baba" a couple of times today too. I'm doing better now as keeping busy helps.

I took these pictures today and we have had many smiles from sweet Josh. Haven't been able to capture it on film yet, but will keep trying.

On another good note, Lisa our guide (love her!), has some great pictures from "gotcha" and is going to put them on a disk for me. (note to self ... remove the memory card before hitting ANY buttons!) :) We are the first family we she has ever worked with and couldn't have a sweeter spirit! She works very hard for us and we are thankful for her. I can't help but think that there is mighty plan for her life too! She cried as much as we did on our "gotcha" day. She even cried with me as we said goodbye to Kirk - such a tender heart she has.

Joshua is napping right now, so I thought I would attempt to post some more pictures. (Yes, I have removed the memory card!)

Love you all!
Brenda

Sweet dreams son!
"I'm finally playing, although I did a little coloring on the duvet - on accident of course."

"Could I be ANY cuter?!"

This is one of my favorite pictures. He's looking out the window and watching the cars go by.

Doing better every day

I'm done beating myself up about the pictures and will post more when I get to Guangzhou as I a sure there is someone in the group that will know what to do.:) We do have wonderful video of our "gotcha" moment and Robin has pictures as well as our wonderful guide Lisa!

Joshua slept MUCH better last night and is still sleeping. Once when we was crying, he called out for "baba" - meaning Kirk! He allows me to hold his hand, pick him up and I do believe he is also bonding to me. Kirk is leaving this AM for Hong Kong, spends the night there and then will catch his flight home tomorrow. I can't imagine being here without him, but I know the girls at home will be very happy to have their daddy home too! Besides, we are not far behind! Please pray that his journey home is smooth and uneventful. He is pretty much on his own once he leaves Guiyang, but our guides have written everything down for him in English and Chinese. But we still covet your prayers for his journey home.

We had the opportunity to learn a little more about Joshua. His Chinese name ShengYuan, means, "great man from a land far away". The Lord in his infinite wisdom knows! We were told that he is very active and can sometimes be a little "tinker" (meaning stinker) and he has a "killer" smile! We saw that a little yesterday when we were at the zoo. That little half smile we saw, melted our hearts!

I am very homesick for my girls and it has been hard knowing that Kirk is leaving this AM. But I also know that there is an amazing little boy here that needs to get to know his mama. Robin has also been a wonderful support.

Lilly and Jess - we love you and daddy will be home soon. I am sending him home with TONS of hugs and kisses from Josh and I! He's going to LOVE his sisters! I miss you.

Scott P - you are right on! Our "family" here is amazing and we are incredibly blessed!
Love you all!
Brenda

Sick to my stomach

I probably won't post any more pictures because I really don't know what I am doing and just deleted all the pictures from my camera! Thankfully I have the pictures I put on this blog as well as pictures Robin has taken. I just can't believe I did that - no more technology for me! I will post daily to let you know of our happenings. OK, I need to stop crying now - I'm totally sick to my stomach! On a good note - I do have my video of our "gotcha" moment. God is good all the time!

Still sleeping

After a long day of crying, Josh fell asleep around 9:30 last night. He is used to sleeping with his grandpa, so Kirk and I took turns last night sleeping with him. It is around 7:30 and he is still sleeping. He woke up several times throughout the night crying out for his grandpa, but would fall quickly alseep when we rubbed his back. Thank you for the many posts and continued prayers. Next "paperwork project" is his passport, so please pray all is processed quickly and smoothly!

Today we are going to a park and I'll try to post some picutres later.:)

Love you,
Brenda

Lilly and Jess - we love you very much and can hardly wait for you to meet your brother! Sending you HUGE HUGS and KISSES from China!

Krista - congrats on your new little boy too! 2 cousins, "delievered" on the same day! We love you!

Karen S - How did Monday go? We are praying!

Josh Update

If you didn't see the pictures, be sure to scroll down to see our beautiful boy!

It has been a hard day for Josh, he has cried most of the day saying, "Go" (pointing to the door) and "Grandpa". I know he is mouring the loss of his precious grandfather and it is hard to go through this with him. We know it will take time and the Lord is in control! I can only imagine the mixed emotions his foster family is having as well. They love him and that was SO evident! But they also rejoice in knowing he is with his forever family. Please continue to life him up in prayer!

He's ours and he's a CUTIE!

Meet our son! He is amazing! Transition has been a little rough (a lot of tears - but actually better than I thought). We were able to meet his foster family and the love flowing from them is amazing! We can tell they are just wonderful people! I can hardly wait to fill you in on this moment with them when we return home. Joshua is very attached to his grandpa and has been crying for him. However, he seems to have already attached to Kirk! I can't get real close to him yet, but that is OK. We will just follow his lead. Besides, when Kirk heads home, he won't have much of a choice. :) We are going to head to lunch now. I'll try to post more tonight.

WE ARE BLESSED!

2 hours to go!

Well, Kirk and I didn't sleep very well last night - a little too excited (and maybe a little nervous too), We certainly appreciate the posts, they keep me going!

Please keep the prayers going to the throne - many details are still ahead of us.

OK, next post, I promise pictures!!

HUGE HUGS
Brenda

A bundle of emotions

We just arrived in Guiyang and are hours from getting Joshua! We are exhausted and a bundle of emotions! (OK, probably mostly me) We will meet our precious son at 8:30 AM on Monday (which is 8:30 PM Sunday night in the US).

We went to the International church this AM and is was a wonderful time of worship! They sang, "I could sing of your love forever" and it has been going through my mind all day. And we have been singing of His love forever!

Lilly and Jess - I miss you like crazy and can hardly wait to hold all 3 of my children!

Next post ... we'll include pictures of Joshua!

Love you all!
K & B

China sights

We are still quite jet-lagged, but went to see many sights. Once again, the Great Wall is impressive! I stood there still amazed at the blessing of being in China and the gift of our son! Tomorrow night we leave for Joshua's province (this will be Sunday AM for those in the US).

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Kirk and I took a similar picutre of us loooking out of the wall with Lilly's adoption.

Kirk, Myself and Robin at the Summer Palace

We're in China

After an uneventful flight (that actually went kinda fast), we are finally are settled into our hotel. Yes, we are exhausted as we have been up for over 24 hours - just a couple of naps on the plane. When we arrived to our hotel room, our guides had these beautiful flowers waiting for us.

I am going to stay up long enough to talk with my girls and then we are heading to bed. Tomorrow - the Great Wall and other famous sights!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Brenda

Lilly and Jessica - mom and dad miss you very much, but we know you are having a blast with Maw and Poppy! WE LOVE YOU!

Ready to GO!

Well, we are packed, showered and ready for our LONG flight to China! We are leaving in about 10 minutes. I don't think any of us slept well, but hopefully we'll sleep on the plane (haha). I have to admit that I am feeling nervous, excited and a little scared all rolled into one emotion. I already miss my girls like crazy, but know they are in the awesome hands of the Lord and my parents!

Joshua's gotcha day will be Monday! Thank you for your prayers and for joining us in China. Next post will be from Beijing!

All our Love,
Kirk and Brenda

PS My dear friend Robin is joining us on our trip. Please keep her in your prayers as well!

Bags are packed!

Our bags are packed and we are ready to go! I can hardly believe it! Mom, dad and Robin all come in tomorrow. Bright and early Thursday AM we head to the airport. I'm surprisingly calm right now. Tomorrow ... will probably be a different case.:) "Gotcha day" will be March 30th!!!!

Thank you for your prayers!
Brenda

Spring has sprung??

We hope so! We love going outside to enjoy the sunshine!

Travel Meeting

Today we had our travel meeting via a phone conference. March 30th will be our "gotcha day!" One week from today ... we'll be flying the friendly skies! Can hardly believe it!! Yikes ... I've got a TON to do!

Packing our bags and a couple of cuties!

I've started pulling items together for our trip to China! The guest room, soon to be Joshua's room, is filling up with "don't forget this!" items.

My sweet sister-in-law, Melany (check out her studio at - melanyhallgren.com - she's amazing!), is letting us borrow her great digital camera for our trip so I can post pictures while there. Below are a couple of shots with the new digital camera.

I'm so excited for my brother to come home! I hope he likes my baseball hat and overalls!

This is Jessica's serious (with spaghetti on it) face. She's such a hoot, because I'll say to her "so serious" and this is the face she makes.

More Referral Pictures

I realized I hadn't posted these referral pictures of Joshua. He's a year older now from when these pictures were taken.

He's such a cutie!!!

Tickets booked!

Yesterday we booked our flights to China! This is really happening! Two weeks from today ... we'll be on the plane! We are SO excited and SO ready to complete our family!

Return date!

We just found out that we'll be returning to America on April 9! So our travel dates will be March 26-April 9. Joshua's US consulate appointment is April 7th ... my birthday! What a great present!

We have a Date!!!

On Friday afternoon, we received a call from America Aworld that we received our Travel Approval!!! This is the last major step before we get on a plane!

March 26 ... we'll be flying the friendly skies!!! We don't have an exact return date yet, but were told we should be home by Easter with our son. I can hardly believe it!!

We're coming soon sweet Joshua!
Praising the Lord!
Brenda

Care Package is in China!

I received an email today from our courier - Joshua's care package is safely in her hands! She will now deliver it to Joshua's province orphanage who will then make sure it gets to his foster family. Lord willing, he'll be looking at our photo album by Friday! Thank you for your continued prayers and please keep them going before the throne! It's almost in Joshua's hands!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

Care package sent

We are anxiously awaiting for our travel dates to bring home Joshua. The projected time of travel is still the end of March, beginning of April. I sent off a care package to Joshua last week. Please pray along side of us that he receives this entire package unharmed. I put together a little scrapbook of our family along with pictures of each of us and various pictures around our house. (A coworker's daughter is fluent in Mandarin and translated the captions for us!) Our prayer is that Joshua's foster family will spend time daily going over the scrapbook with him so he will recognize us! One family who just came back with their 2 year old son, also sent pictures and said the album was "well-worn." When her son first saw her, he called her Mama!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

We serve a God of miracles!

I was VERY discouraged on Tuesday and was even questioning if we should adopt and the Lord sent me encouragement in an unbelievable way! A coworker asked what part of China Joshua was from, so I goggled it (to show her on the map) and up pop a video that was put together by a group that just came back from China in June 2008 - the exact province our son is in! It was wonderful to see the city he is from. I would love to tell you more and can do so personally. The Lord truly writes an amazing story!!!!

Thanks for your continued prayers!
Brenda

RA RECEIVED!

Today we received our referral acceptance for our son! This document (which is the "BIG" document you wait for!) came to us at God-speed! The normal wait from pre-approval to referral acceptance is usually 3 months. Joshua's came in 23 days!!! Below is his picture as we can officially share his picture now!

MEET JOSHUA!

We do covet your prayers as we still have about $13,000 we need to raise! Looks like we'll be on a plane to China in MARCH to bring our son HOME!!!

我爱你!

We serve a MIGHTY God!

Thrilled beyond words!

Kirk, Brenda, Lilly, Joshua and Jessica

Lilly's birthday pictures

Pictures from Lilly's 5th birthday!

Happy 5th Birthday Lilly!

Today Lilly turned 5 - yes ... 5! She is such a little lady.
We love you dear Lillian!

I promise to post a picture soon. I can't seem to let go of my 35mm camera and go digital.:)

Christmas fun!

"We found our tree! YEA!"

"We love our tree too!"


"Is it time to go home yet?"

"I love my Barbies!"

It's a BOY!

Yes, you read this post title correctly - It's a boy! To make a VERY long story short, the Lord moved us in a direction we never imagined. On December 5th, we were prepared to "pull our file" from China. I placed a call to our agency's family coordinator and it changed our lives forever! She asked us a simple question, "Have you ever considered a boy from China?" After intense prayer, we walked through the door the Lord opened and on December 10th we were looking at our beautiful son's face! Joshua is just over 2 years old and was born with a correctable medical condition (that has already been surgically corrected) and is healthy and adorable! He is in foster care (what a blessing!) and is a typical 2 year old hitting all the developmental milestones. We can not publicly post his picture yet, but email me privately and I am happy to tell you all about him! The process of adopting a "Waiting Child" is different and the timeline is unpredictable. However, we anticipate travel some time in early summer. The process is 4 fold:

#1 - EA (electronic application). On December 12, 2008: we submitted our application to China for Joshua.

#2 - PA (pre-approval). December 30, 2008: We received this TODAY! This is where the "waiting child department" in China recommends that our application for Joshua is "pre-approved" and is moved on to the next stage.

#3 - RA (referral acceptance). This is where China gives us the official stamp of approval to adopt Joshua. This is the "big" document! We are waiting for this approval.

#4 - TA (travel approval). China gives us our specific "gotcha day" date and consulate appointments to complete his adoption in China.

We have no way of estimating the timeline. But again, we hope to travel to China early this summer.

We certainly appreciate your prayers as we are stepping out in faith to bring our son home. We are trusting the Lord to provide the finances (we need to raise around $13,000!) and prepare not only Joshua, but Kirk, Lilly, Jessica and myself for our expanded family!

Praising the Lord!!!
Brenda

Santa ... The face says it all!

Lilly and Jessica went to see Santa today. Lilly excitedly ran up to Santa and was SO excited to talk to him. Jessica ... well ... the face says it all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Happy 4th Gotcha Day Lilly!

Four years ago today, we met our precious Lilly for the first time! I still can not believe how time flies!

We celebrated this amazing day by ording pizza (Lilly's choice - I was voting for chinese food!) and watching her video from China. She had more questions than in years past. "Why didn't I grow in your tummy mommy?" The Lord graciously gave us the words to say and she was so excited to see herself as a baby. At one time, she pointed to the screen and said, "Hi me!"

Life with Lilly is such a gift. My eyes are full of tears as I think of this amazing day 4 years ago!

We are blessed because of you dear Lillian Jeanette Zhan Hallgren!

WE LOVE YOU!

Dad, Mom and your baby sister Jessica

LID ... Halloween ... and More

Hello everyone,

Well, we just hit the second anniversary of our LID (Log In Date) for our 3rd daughter. Can hardly believe that it is taking this long! Our agency is telling us to expect another 2-3 year wait! So we are faithfully praying about if we should continue. We are not spring chickens!:) We would certainly appreciate your prayers as we seek the Lord in this manner!

Below are some adorable pictures of a Red M&M and Tinkerbell. They had a blast and so did we.

Thank you for your continued prayers!