Camp Video

Well, Bill is exhausted! He slept 4 hrs on Sunday and then was in bed by 10 PM Sunday night. Today though, he has spent mostly sleeping. He is not feeling 100%. I hope it's just exhaustion.
Yesterday we talked a lot about camp. He told me so many wonderful stories. And he showed me more videos that he took. They are great! I hope that he will put together a video DVD of his week at camp.
BMH did put together a little video clip of the week. It's great. Bill showed me last night and I cried. Today he received an email from David and there was a link to the video. So I thought I would upload it.
Enjoy the video. If you feel led to help out with Bring Me Hope, let me know and I will help get you connected. The kids had a wonderful week.
Enjoy the video!
Love,
Debbie

Wednesday

I can't believe it's already Wednesday. At moments it feels like forever since we've seen Bill. Then other moments it feels like he's been gone a short time. Right now it feels like forever since we've seen him. I think back to a week ago, when he was stressing out trying to get everything done that needed to be done before his flight to China. And now, a week later he has 2 more days of camp left.
I was able to chat with him online for an hour yesterday morning. We kept talking and I did not want to say "Bill I need to go" so we kept talking. At one point in the conversation (about 30 min into it) he said "Well I'll let you go to bed...." I did not know what he meant. Close to the hour mark, I said "I need to go make the girls lunch" and he said "Oh, I thought it was night time there. I was wondering why you were still up typing". :-)
He is having a great time. He said he was a little discouraged the first day. But he chose to put that stuff behind him and enjoy the moment. He has gotten to meet and know a lot of people & the kids. His heart has been touched. I can tell he wants to bring a few of the kids home. I wish it were that simple. He told me he has come out of this comfort zone and has acted like a complete fool. He's having a blast!
He told me he is eating food, not just junk food. So that is good. And he told me the ONE thing that he HAS to have is Pizza! So my mom suggested I have pizza waiting for him when he gets off of the plane. I remembered that there is a Pizza Hut at the airport. Unfortunately they close at 9 PM and his flight gets in at 10:30 PM. So I might just have to bring cold pizza, which he enjoys too.
He called home again last night. He was able to talk to the girls this time. They love that he is in China with the "big kids" or his "buddies" as Abby calls them. They were busy making signs for Bill last night to hold when he gets off of the plane. They are so excited.
Last night was the first night I heard tears. It was Abby. She was going to sleep and she wanted her daddy. She was sobbing. I told her he would be home in 4 days. And then I told her how we were going to have a sleepover with Grandma, Pop Pop, Aunt Denise, Colin & Dillon. She got excited and was able to calm down.
Right now I'm waiting to see if Bill will get online. It's about 8 AM so the kids should be getting ready for bed. I think he got online around 10. I have errands to run for him and I don't know if I should go now, or wait for him to try to chat.
The girls & I are doing fine. I'm nesting right now, trying to get the house perfect for when Bill gets home. My wonderful friend Kris said she would bathe the puppies for me while we are gone. They suddenly are so dirty and smelly. They were not this bad last week.
Thanks for checking of us and on Bill. Please continue to pray for Bill & Pete as they finish out the week. Please pray for their strength, health, wisdom, courage etc. Please pray for the kids.
Love, Debbie
P.S. The A/C guy was here at noon yesterday. It took 30 min to fix the air. YAY! It's fixed. Tiff was able to sleep in her bed again. :-)

Bill is at camp

Bill called today. I did not expect this. We got home from church after 12:30. We decided to go and get lunch. I figured Bill would be trying to sleep so we did not rush home. Well he was there waiting for us. The IChat is not working, so he called. You can read about his adventure on his blog.
When I came home, Kim sent me an email to another blog. Nicole has been in China the past week or two. She is at the camp with Bill. She has a lot of info and photos posted. Get a tissue. I don't know how Bill & Pete are going to be able to say goodbye. I'm not even there, and after reading Nicole's post I cried. Why can't they just bring the kids home? I know Bill would if he could. And I would be okay with that.
I will add Nicole's link to the side and you can also click on it here.
Thanks for your prayers. The kids come around noon (midnight our time). I can't wait to hear about their day.
Oh, as I was talking to Bill, I think he was getting swarmed my mosquitoes. He said it feels like camping. :-)
Love,
Debbie

Comments for Bill & Pete

Good morning all,

I thought I'd ask a favor for everyone who is reading this. Would you mind posting comments on Bill & Pete's blogs? I know they would love to hear from you. Just words of encouragement or prayers or just silly comments would be awesome. Even if you do not know them well, please post a comment. It's easy. Just hit the comment link under their post and then you can sign it. Bill's was set wrong the other day. I was able to fix it so everyone can post.
I would really appreciate it.
We did not get to talk to Bill last night. They were able to sleep late. He did email and I did track the flight and they landed 5 min late in Zhangzhou, Henan, China. Hopefully when we get home from church we'll have an email waiting from him.
Again thanks for checking on the guys and on us. I'm excited to see how God will be working in and through the guys this week.
Love,
Debbie

We talked to Bill again

I just love this IChat. It's great to hear Bills voice & see him. I talked to him at 7:30 this morning and then the girls just finished talking to him. He looks tired. It's about 9:30 PM Saturday night in China. They have been awake since before 6 AM. I'm sure the time change is starting to catch up to them too. Bill is currently trying to journal and get photos ready to post on his blog.
They had a great day of tours. He told me (and he might mention this in his journals) that they have raised the prices on things that we bought when we were there adopting the girls. Things that were $2 are now like $15. He could not believe it.
They check out of the hotel tomorrow and then catch their flight to camp. I pray they have good internet there. We might be able to talk to him once more before they leave Beijing. That would be tonight, our time.
Please continue to pray for safety. Pray for their flight out of Beijing. Pray for the week at camp. That the kids will have the time of their lives and that Bill & Pete will have a blast.
Until next time...
Deb

Another "call" from Bill

Well we sat and waited for Bill to wake up. He said he had to get up by 6 so they could get ready for the day of tours. So we turned on the IChat and waited. Around 6:20 he logged on. It was good to see him. He looked rested. The girls were funny. They wanted him to show them his room. So he picked up the computer and gave them a tour. He showed us their view and it brought back memories. Construction everywhere and SMOG! Very thick smog. I don't know how they are going to breathe today.
They are taking a tour of the Ming Tombs, The Great Wall, a Jade Factory & lunch. Not sure what else is on the tour. Hopefully some more of the Olympics. Bill is hoping to make it to the top of the wall this time. And I told him I did not need any more Jade from the jade factory. :-) All I would really like for him to bring back for me is an Olympic t-shirt or something related to the Olympics.
It was good to talk to Bill. He is excited. Abby & Jadyn asked to see the "big kids". They know he is going to China to play with big kids. He had to tell them that he will not see them for 2 more days.
After we talked to Bill, we talked to his mom. And she invited all 3 girls over to spend the night again. The girls were excited. They spent the night last night and loved it. So they were very excited that Nanny invited to come over again tonight. I have the house to myself again (well I still have the puppies). I don't know what I'll do. I'm sure there is nothing on TV that is worth watching.
I hope to talk to Bill when we get up in the morning. I can't wait to hear how his day went.
Thanks for the prayers & emails. We appreciate it.
Love,
Debbie

We've talked to Bill

Literally, we've talked to Bill. We are so excited. He got connected to IChat and it worked. I talked to him at 7 AM this morning. He was tired, but excited. He said the flight was great. Bill & Pete had great seats, with an empty seat between them. You can read all about it on Bill & Pete's blogs.
It was so good to be able to hear his voice and see him. They were going to go out and try to see some of the Olympic places. He wanted to talk to the girls but they were at his mom's house (they had a sleepover with Nanny). So he said he would call back.
Everyone was here by 9:30 this morning waiting. Around 10:15 he got back online. The girls were happy to see him. He looked really tired. He said he is ready to crash.
They are getting up around 6 AM and taking a tour tomorrow. He's excited about that. They will be making it back to The Great Wall. He hopes to make it to the top this time. I can't wait to get his update tomorrow.
Thank you for your prayers. They were definitely felt. Please continue to pray for them as they are in China.
Love, Debbie

Bill is on his way to China!

I just checked the flight status. He has left Newark. They are estimated to arrive in Beijing 16 minutes early. :-) Hopefully they will pick up more time and get in even earlier.
Bill called today from Newark. He talked to the girls. They were happy to talk to him, but did not seem phased that he is gone.
I on the other hand could not take saying goodbye. I know he knew I got choked up. I just sat there thinking that I will not hear his voice again until we see him Aug 2nd. He said he would call again and I told him he did not have to. He was going to board the flight in 45 min so I said that unless he had to tell me something, he did not have to call. The next time we'll hear from him is from China. I pray that he will have internet connection so we can get updates from him. We already miss him so much.
Thank you for your prayers. The girls & I are doing well. It's rest time now. I hope I can rest for a little while. I've already been up over 10 hrs.
Love,
Debbie

2:30 AM- FLIGHT CANCELED!

Well, Bill is packed & ready to go. All the stresses of packing and if he's bringing enough are gone. We were all in bed and asleep by 11 PM. Things were good.
At 2:30 this morning, the phone rings. Whenever the phone rings late at night or early (and I mean early) in the morning, it usually means something is wrong.
The call was from Pete. Bill answered. Pete said their flight to Newark has been canceled.
WHAT? Are you kidding? It's 2:30! They are supposed to leave in 2 1/2 hrs for the airport. Could this really be happening?
Bill is still on the phone with Pete right now. I have no idea what they are discussing. So I came out here to see why it is canceled. This is what was on Continental's website:

Northeast - Excessive rainfall and flash flooding loom for much of New England and Long Island today as a cold front creeps eastward through the region. It could be a difficult day for travel--both on the ground and in the air--around New York City, and maybe in Boston later in the afternoon or evening. Maine, however, could escape the brunt of the watery assault until tonight. A few severe storms will probably rumble over southern New England and Long Island during the day.

Now I think I heard Pete say they could take a flight out of Orlando today and still make the connector to Beijing. So why would Orlando still fly there if Tampa will not? Are they not supposed to leave today? I don't know. It makes me so nervous.

Please continue to pray. I will update once they have decided what to do.
Thank you in advance!
Deb

24 Hours

In 24 hours, Bill & Pete will be on their flight to Newark. I can't believe the time has come for them to leave. Bill has been packing & repacking. Originally he was going to take 2 medium suitcases. Now he's down to 1 medium and 1 small. I'll let you know tomorrow what he ends up taking.
Bill & Pete are both very excited. Pete just called and they have good seats on the flight over to Beijing.
Today Bill will spend doing last minute things, and then spending time with us. The girls know that he is going to China. Abby thinks that he's going to bring home a baby brother for her. Jadyn has not really had any thoughts. Tiff of course wants to go, and maybe next year she will be able to.
I have 2 photos from the university that they will be at next week. Bill was excited to see that the pool is indoors. And they have a gym so another good thing for Bill. He has been concerned about the sun and getting burned.
Please continue to pray for their safety and their health. Pray that the kids will have the time of their lives. Pray that lives will be changed for the good.
Thank you! I will be posting updates from Bill here and he hopefully will be posting from China. So be sure to keep checking his blog Princess Journals Dad
Love,
Debbie