pics from day 1 in hong kong...

 so i'm finally getting around to putting up some pics from yesterday.  i wanna do that BEFORE today's pictures, so i won't forget what happened or get too far behind.  i've just picked out a few of my faves to share with you, but there are SOOO MANY!!! 

 above is the first view out our hotel window when we finally arrived thursday evening, and then below you'll see the view the next morning.  needless to say,the boys were mesmerized!!!

 below we are venturing out to find the subway station...

 little stores like the one below are tucked in the sides of the street pretty much everywhere.

 here we are BEFORE our subway ride...a little unsure...and hoping and PRAYING we got the right one.  there are only like a BILLION stops to choose from.  ha!!

 we finally made our way to a place called Ocean Park....a combo of a theme park/aquarium and part zoo.  it was LOTS of fun and the boys LOVED it!!  it was definitley the best aquarium i've ever been to in my life.

 i wish yall could see these in person....they're called spider crabs and were ENORMOUS!!!  even behind glass, all i could think of was...."what if THAT thing got out and on my head...you don't KNOW crazy!!!"

 we also rode this thingy...totally forgot what you call them.  the views were simply STUNNING!!!

 russ got a little tired..(okay...we were ALOT tired). ....but i love this picture of him:)

and that's day one yall!  thanks for looking.  we appreciate the prayers and all the kind words you've left for us!!!!

Hi everyone! First of all, THANKS for praying for us and checking in on us!! We appreciate it sooooo much!!!!! We had a pretty fun and interesting day today in hong kong. Before I go into detail, I should say......i'm not tying to give my parents/siblings heart palpitations. Ha!!! I know they're worried about us traveling, just like most parents do :)

Now.... While we are here in hong kong we are all by ourselves. There's no travel group, no guide (like there will be next week)...just Kevin and me (with our boys) trying to figure out where to go and how to get there. Probably should just stop the blog post now and let you imagine that. Ha!! No seriously, being in a place where you know not one person and can't understand many people and have NO idea where you're going is a BIT intimidating.

Today we went to a HUGE place called ocean park....a cross between a zoo, an aquarium, and a theme park. It was lots of fun and I have some great pictures to share with you in a later post. Kaden and Russ rode a BIG roller-coaster, and we saw pandas bears and other beautiful animals.

Really, The most challenging part was just getting there. We took a hotel shuttle to a busy shopping area and then had to locate (and navigate our way thru) the subway station. Next, we took another bus to the entrance of ocean park. Way. Way. Way......more complicated than it sounds. Then, when we got ready to leave we did the same confusing thing....only in reverse...and at after-work commuting time (I guess). There were THOUSANDS of people trying to navigate the subway...along with our family. I was SOOO glad to see the hotel...finally. It was around 7:30pm so we decided to order a pizza and have it delivered. Over an hour and a half LATER, the pizza restaurant worker told Kevin that our pizza had never been made and we said to just never mind ;). Because we were all ready for bed by 9/00pm, but had had no dinner, my hubby went down to the hotel lobby....and brought us all Ice cream for dinner. And that...my friends....is the sweet ending to the crazy day we had in hong king. till tomorrow :)

D


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Day one in hong kong

We're in HONG KONG!!

After a LOOOOONNGG day, we are finally at our hotel in hong kong. I've never been so glad to get OFF of a plane before. We had 3 different legs to our trip....first to Atlanta, then to Detroit, and then to hong Kong. The boys hung in there the best they possibly could...and even got about 5 hours of sleep during the last 16 hour flight.

We certainly appreciate the prayers....I can definitely feel them. Everything went pretty well...with the main problem being that we lost the biys' bag which contained both of their nintendo ds' and all games. Yeah...that's pretty bad.....and really painful for the boys...but it could definitely be worse :).

We're about to hit the sack, but here are a few pics I snapped.
LOVE TO ALL OUR FAMILY and FRIENDS!!!!!!

(below is our LAST meal in the states as a FAMILY of FOUR!!)















(above is view from our window)

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

ON OUR WAAAYYY!!!!!!

Yep...I still feel like I'm walking in a dream...(prob b/c I slept 3 hours last night. Ha!)...BUT we r officially ON OUR WAY to get baby girl!!!!!!! Can I get a WOOT-WOOT or maybe a HALLER-LOU-Ya, Y'ALL!!! So we packed until 1:30 am and got up at 4:00. Now kaden and Russ have experienced their FIRST flight (except kaden's when he was 18 months old) and we r waiting in Atlanta for our connecting flight to Detroit. Here are a few quick pics:













- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

While waiting...

Yes....we leave in just a few days and YES....I'm about to have a nervous breakdown. Ha!!! Seriously, I haven't packed a thing yet. Mainly because I'm never home TO pack anything. This is just a brief account of how we've spent our time lately.....

-- I've spent some quality time with this little man...who's becoming quite fond of baseball. This is the first year of kid-pitch so it's gotten more challenging for everyone. He's already taken a few licks by the ball while batting :(. BUT...he also got his first GAME BALL ....and his daddy was soooooo proud!!!! (so was I)!!






We went home to visit and enjoyed some time in the country with daddy and nancy....always a favorite place of my boys (and me). I love getting away from the busyness of where we live and soaking up the sunshine and peace and quiet of the country. We even enjoyed a little fishing.






Kevin and I enjoyed a very rare date night while the boys were enjoying "movie night" at our church. It was so nice to enjoy a great dinner and conversation with my favorite person in the world :)




I squeezed in another 5k and it was super special because I did it to encourage my precious sister-in-law as she ran HER first ever 5k. It was such a fun time for us both, and I look forward to running another race with her soon!! I love to run...and I sure hope I can figure out how to work it out to still be able to when we come home with lane.



Nobody but me looks this dorky when they run.....Why is my head all janked up and to the side??




I've also been LOVIN' on this spoiled baby.....who will miss her mama while I'm gone to china!!!!




I've also been decorating my baby girl's room....which I hope to share with you very soon. Thanks for checking in on us!!!!


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The story of her name

We like to use family names for our children. I don't know if that's just a southern thing, or an everybody thing, or just a Kevin and Demetria thing. Naming a child after someone in your family is ...to me....a way of honoring that person. It's also an outward expression of thanks and hope that the child will develop/possess some of the named-after person's good qualities/characteristics. We named our first son using Kevin's middle name, and they even have the same initials. Next came Russ, and he is named for both my grandfathers.

On to the story of Lane's name. When we were still praying/talking this over, we would go back and forth...day to day...like you often do with a major lifechanging decision. One day we were YES...let's move forward...and then the next day...WAIT...this is scary and uncharted territory!!! I'll never forget the day I was talking it over with God....OUT LOUD...IN THE CAR....and I jokingly said we can't do this...I don't even have a name for her. See, it was no surprise to God that it'd have to be a family name....and the one person I definitely would want to name her after would be my precious granny, Blanche. But honestly...I said that I couldn't name her blanche. I LOVELOVE my granny....but that'd be a HARD name for a little girl to carry off gracefully these days. And just like that....as soon as those words came out of my mouth....I heard very quietly the following sentence..."Her name is Lane.". I promise you I am NOT kidding...that's how it went down. And then it dawned on me...inside Blanche is the name Lane. See...bLANchE :):):). And that is the story of how her name began.

Much later, my sweet husband wanted to honor his mom by adding her name as Lane's middle name...Carolyn. And finally....after we saw her picture....we knew we wanted to keep part of her given Chinese name....Wen. And so.....we have the lovely, precious and meaningful name of Lane Carolyn-Wen Raper for our sweet one.

Interestingly, the name LANE means "Narrow path". This brings to mind the verse :
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13, 14 NIV84). It is our hope that sweet Lane will one day find that gate that leads to peace and hope in Jesus :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

One year ago, Easter weekend was the time we made public our decision to adopt internationally from china. In fact, Good Friday was the day we drove home to tell our parents face-to-face the news. We were somewhat nervous about it, because we had consulted no one for an opinion while praying over this decision. We really wanted it to be between us and God. While very surprised, our parents have been gracious through this process, and I KNOW they can't WAIT to see this face in a few weeks:



I love LOVE the fact that our story/Lane's story unfolded over Easter. What a perfect and beautiful time for God to present a picture of renewal and restoration He renewed my own hope in His promises and restored to me joy I had lost in years of grieving over not being able to have another child. He restored to my daughter a family and renewed hope for her future. More importantly, through his death and resurrection, He renewed hope for mankind....taking up our own punishment on the cross....and provided the way for a future for us with Him.

Jesus adopted us as his own sons and daughters....

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:14-17 NIV)

In other news....WE HAVE OUR TRAVEL CALL (TA)........and will be traveling to china to get our sweet baby girl in a few weeks!!!!!! We are soooo excited...and yes, a little nervous too ;). We appreciate your prayers as we make final preparations.

I'm planning on updating this blog very regularly as we get close to leaving and hopefully....while we are there as well. Maybe someone who is thinking/praying over the decision to adopt will stumble across this blog. Goodness KNOWS I stalked sooo many blogs of adopting families while we were discussing adoption between ourselves.

Thanks for checking in on us :)