Gotcha Sam!

Gotcha Sam!
We have our son!!! WOW... what a day. Nick and I are so thankful to God for this precious gift. He is beautiful and so sweet and so lovable!!!!! We got to the civil affairs office about 10am. We waited in a room with two other families (besides our three) who were also getting children. They bought their babies in first then about 10 minutes later we saw them walking outside and coming in. Sam was first and we recognized him immediately!! They walked in and said "Jin Hao" and Nick was the first to hold him. At first he just looked at us... then the water works started and he cried very hard for about the next hour. They were huge tears and it just broke our hearts! He was very close to his caretakers and he was confused and scared when they gave him to us. It was really good for him to cry because it means he can attach to his caregivers and that is what we want. After 30 minutes we got back on our bus and headed to Walmart. Sam was so exhausted from crying that he went to sleep in my arms. I waited on the bus while Nick went with the others to buy water, formula, and a stroller. Sam slept the whole time and awoke when we got to the hotel. In the room I took off the three layers of clothes (he was soooo hot... his hair was wet). We changed his diaper and then he ate yogurt, congee, and cheerios! He loves to eat (YEAH)!! He is now sitting on the bed playing with his daddy. He is smiling and playing. He is also very lovable... he hugs on us and lets us kiss him!! Nick and I are so in love with him!! He is walking and he loves the stacking cups and his ball. We have to go back to the civil affairs office in the morning to start the adoption paperwork. Thanks to everyone for your prayers!! He is a gift from heaven and we couldn't have asked for a sweeter baby! Nick just goot him laughing! I can't wait for everyone to see him! Love to you all... the Moss Family of three!

Great Day, Great Wall

Ni Hao! We are writing this while waiting in the airport in Beijing for our flight to Nanjing which has been delayed! We are having a wonderful time in China! We got up this morning and after learning how to brush our teeth with bottled water and keeping our mouths closed while taking a shower, we went downstairs and had breakfast in the hotel buffet. They had lots of good food.. just like in the U.S. (scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, waffles, etc.). We even got to drink the orange juice and the water! After breakfast we went to a local store and purchased some bottled water and snacks for the day. People are everywhere walking and riding bikes…. And the drivers in China would fit right in driving down Atlanta Highway and Talladega!!! After we checked out of our hotel we went and had lunch at The Friendship Market which is connected to the Cloisonné Factory. The food was great… it tasted just like Ming’s or Asia Bistro!! We ate shrimp, pork, chicken, vegetables, and noodles. We then toured the Cloisonné Factory. The art of making Cloisonné is very tedious but the finished product is absolutely beautiful. We did some shopping afterwards and I got some awesome Christmas ornaments. Our next stop was the Great Wall. The wall is manmade but the mountains surrounding the wall were designed by God and they are beautiful!! It was very windy and cold but we managed to climb up a little ways. The steps are very steep and uneven. We then came to the airport and since our flight was delayed we ate dinner at KFC!!! This KFC was huge.. about the size of a grocery store! Doris, our guide, had to order for us. It tasted just back home! By the way, our guides, Mrs. Pat and Doris, are taking great care of us. Doris somehow managed to talk the airport baggage person into not charging us an overweight fee. She told them that our extra suitcase was donations of medicines and they did not charge us! The Lord is truly looking out for us and we can feel everyone’s prayers! We just learned that we will be getting Sam at 10:15am Monday morning… that will be 8:15pm Sunday night Alabama time. Please be praying for all three families as we start bonding with our children. The other families are the Schmidt and the Gallahue families. Well I guess the next time I post we will have our precious son!! We cannot wait to hold him!

They Have Landed!

(Sherry- Posting on behalf of Nick and Susan)
Nick and Susan are in Beijing. I spoke with them this morning around 9:30 am our time and they had just arrived at their hotel. Susan was having trouble posting on the blog so she emailed the message to post to me, however I still have not received it. Hopefully I will get it soon and can post on the blog for her. Until then I will try to keep you informed on their behalf. She was happy to finally be there and she said everything went fine. They plan on touring the Great Wall tomorrow.

(The email they sent for today finally came). Here it is.

We have arrived!


By the grace of God we have made it to China! I never thought the day would come when I could post that!! God graced us with safe travel. We made it to Beijing 24 hours after we left Montgomerry airport. All our flights were on time and everyone was very friendly and helpful. And to everyone who knows Nick and were praying for his anxiety..., let me tell you those prayers were answered!! He was so calm and cool as a cucumber!!!! We were both so touched (and surprised) by all of you who sent letters (via Joetta) for us to read on the plane. We felt each of you with us. Our family is so blessed to have all of you in our lives! We get to sleep in a little tomorrow. We do not leave to tour the Great Wall until 11am. Our flight leaves for Nanjing at 8pm.... and of course the big day comes Monday morning. We still do not know the time... and we will not know until we check into the hotel tomorrow night in Nanjing. We should get Sam around 9 or 10am Monday morning which would be about 7 or 8pm Sunday evening in Alabama. We will post again tomorrow night. Love to all of you and keep those prayers coming!!!

Ready, Set, Go!

We are so relieved that our bags our finally packed and we will soon be leaving for the airport. We had to repack and shuffle around a bunch of stuff to get all the bags under 50 pounds. We each have 2 carry-ons and a total of 3 checked bags. We are leaving for the airport at 4:30am. Our flight doesn't leave until 7am, but our travel agent wanted us at the airport by 5am. While we are in China you can email us at suzedmoss@yahoo.com. The next time we post will be from China. Love to all of you!

Counting it all Joy

Sam's Baptism Jumper

Donations for Sam's orphanage

Kim and Suze

Promoting Adoption for National Adoption Month

5 days until we leave and time is really passing quick! Today, a dear friend of ours, Kim Hendrix, interviewed Suze on WSFA's Alabama Live to promote adoption. November is National Adoption Month. You can watch the interview by clicking http://www.wsfa.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?clipid1=1942379&at1=News&vt1=v&h1=Local+Family+Prepares+for+Adoption&d1=352867&redirUrl=www.wsfa.com&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage . Above are some pictures. We also wanted to send a special thank you to everyone who donated medicine for Sam's orphanage. We know they will be very grateful for the supplies. Also pictured above is the outfit that Sam will be wearing when he gets Baptized. Thank you to our dear sweet friend Dot (Aunt Dot to Sam) for purchasing the suit.... it is such a special gift and we will forever cherish it! We also want to send a special thanks to Judy and Jerry... (Sam's Mimi and Papasan).. we love the both of you very much for and we Praise God for Him bringing you into our lives! Our Sunday School class prayed over us yesterday and you could truly feel the presence of our Heavenly Father. God's timing is perfect and we know there is a reason for us to be getting our son during this season of Thanksgiving! Please pray that all of our flights arrive and depart on time (and that our luggage arrives with us)!!God Bless you all! We will try and post again before we leave!! We should be able to post every day while in China.

Giving Thanks

Suze and Jo having "Royal Tea" at Gracie's Tea Room

Ray and Sandra Grace having breakfast with COTW families

Lindy, Mae Mae, and Grandma Pat

Beautiful Mae Mae

Having dinner with our dear sweet friends from church.

(Left to right) Nick, Judy, Jerry, Suze, Brad, Gayle, and Dot

Psalms 107:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever".

We are so blessed! This is such a great time of the year: changing of the seasons and Thanksgiving. What a perfect time to get our son! God's timing is perfect and in less than a week we will be off on our incredible journey of a lifetime! We have been very busy packing and buying last minute items. I am sure we will pack and repack many times before we get it right. There is a 44 pound weight limit on all checked baggage in China! We have got Sam's suitcase packed and we are starting to work on ours. Today is my (Suze) birthday. To honor the occasion, Joetta treated me to Royal Tea at Gracie's Tea Room. It was so much fun and very relaxing!! Earlier in the day, several Children of the World families enjoyed at reunion breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We can't wait for Sam to be part of this wonderful COTW family! Our agency director is affectionately known as "mama" or "grandma Pat". She has helped unite hundreds of children with their forever families! She will be traveling with us next week and so we will be in very good hands!! Friday evening, our dear friends Judy and Jerry treated us to dinner at Sommer's Place. We were joined by some other friends from our Sunday School class. God has put so many wonderful people in our life over the last year! Today for my birthday, my "twin" Sherry took me to lunch and then we went shopping for some last minute items on our packing list. Tonight, Nick and I will just relax and order pizza. We are enjoying every minute of preparing for Sam! I will post again in the next few days before we leave!

Sam is growing!

We got good news today from our agency. They got an update on Sam's measurements! Weight - 10 kg (22pounds), height - 80 cm (32 inches), head -46.5 (18.6), chest- 48 cm (19.2 inches), foot - 12 cm (4.6 inches). That means he has grown 2 inches and gained 2 pounds since our last report in August! We are praising God for Sam's growth and obvious good health. He is 4 inches taller than the other children in our group!! We also found out we will be visiting his orphanage. It is a 3 and 1/2 hour drive from Nanjing so it will be an all day excursion. God has laid it on our hearts to give something to all the other children who are still waiting on families. Pat, our agency director, says they can always use infant and children's Tylenol/Motrin and diaper rash cream. We are going to collect some donations of these items from our Sunday school class, family, and friends, and take to the orphanage.
We also have our itinerary.
Leave Montgomery 7am Friday November 23 (fly to Atlanta, Detroit, Tokyo, then Beijing)
We will arrive in Beijing on Sat night
Sunday morning we will visit the Great Wall and the Olympic Venues. We will depart to Nanjing in the afternoon.
Monday morning - Gotcha Day!!!! (this will be Sunday evening Alabama time.. please keep us in your prayers between 8-10pm)
Tuesday - Complete the Adoption process
Wed- visit the orphanage
Thurs - Sight seeing and pick up notary books
Friday - pick up passports and depart for Guangzhou
Sat - Medicals, zoo and jade factory
Sunday - Church - lunch together at the Cow and Bridge
Monday - go over consulate paperwork
Tuesday - consulate app
Wed -Swearing in ceremony at the consulate
Thursday - return home (we will get back in Montgomery around 8:30pm)
14 days until we leave!! WAHOOOOOOO!!