A Special Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!! What a special Christmas we are having this year! Everyone seems to be doing well aside from a few colds, and I am especially enjoying each of the children on their vacation from school! Sarah is fitting in so well that it seems miraculous. She has bonded with our family, and seems to charm everyone she meets. She's such a sweet lovable baby with an adorable, funny personality. She gets a lot of attention everywhere we go. I think at first people are staring at her because of her cleft. Then she shoots them a huge grin and they can't help but smile back. What a gift from God she is!

The boys and Kimberly are doing fantastic too. Jack is still struggling with some separation anxiety, which he has had off and on since I was sick. He also complains of tummy trouble often, and we're thinking that's related. He is still my snuggle bug, even at eight, and I love it! Nathan loves Sarah and smothers her with hugs and kisses. He is adjusting to having to share Mom and Dad a bit. But he's excited to move up to big boy status at the same time. Daniel has really grown up a lot this year, and we are proud of his growth in character especially. He has even been babysitting for me some, and doing a great job. Kimberly is a gem to have around - so fun and helpful for me. It's so cute to see how crazy she and Sarah are about each other, although I think Sarah is finally starting to realize that I am her mother, not Kimberly. Kimberly is growing up too. In fact, we've started looking for a used car, since it will be so helpful for her to drive this April. She's thrilled.

We have had a few doctor visits for Sarah. Her routine blood tests have all come back normal. She will have her first surgery on January 12th to repair her lip. Then she will have another surgery to repair her palate at the end of June. She will probably be getting tubes in her ears during one of those. She also will likely have a nose touch up surgery sometime next fall. I'll keep you posted as her first surgery approaches. Please pray for her as these surgeries are painful, and somewhat complicated. She'll be going to the new All Children's Hospital in St. Pete. We hear it is really nice. Martin or I will stay with her constantly.

They're Home!

Martin, Kimberly and Sarah arrived at midnight on Saturday night at the Tampa airport! I went with Daniel and Jack, all of us eagerly awaiting to spot them walking down the hallway. Picking them up was a big party, because Martin's parents and his brother, Gary, and Stephen and Hannah went too. So far, we are all adjusting extremely well to Sarah and she to us. She fits into our family perfectly, like she's always been a part of it. It's so amazing to see her apprehensive of strangers and yet she's never acted that way towards us. God has answered my every prayer about that. What a dream come true she is - so adorable and sweet and fun-loving. She definitely prefers Martin and Kimberly still, but she goes to all of us. The boys can make her crack up, and her grin just melts your heart! Our biggest challenge right now with her is that she seems jet lagged and wants to be up for a few hours at night. Pray that she will adjust to American time soon. Thanks for all of your prayers and love for us throughout this journey. It has been such an incredible experience for us, and we are overjoyed and praising God for all of the many ways He has worked to bring this very special little girl into our family.

t's Thursday today, and Denise reminded me that I hadn't posted anything since Sunday.  I guess the reason for that is that each day looks like the one before.  Not that I'm unappreciative of being in China.  It's been a great experience, both for me and Kimberly.  Yesterday we had the famous Red Couch photos.  Every family that comes through Guangzhou usually stays at the White Swan hotel.  There are several red couches in one sitting area, and everyone gets their photos taken on the red couch.  Here's one of all the families that were part of our group.  We've made some good friends, particularly one christian family from Fort Collins, Colorado, the Atteberrys (they're at the bottom of the group photo with the boy in his mom's lap).  They adopted a sweet little 5-year old boy, Timmy, whom we knicknamed "T-bone".  That's because he has several surgery scars on his little chest that make him look like a street fighter.  He kept going around saying "Ya-ma-ha" to everyone. 

 

This afternoon we went to the consulate to finish Sarah's visa paperwork.  This was the final step of her adoption here in China, so we get to go home on Saturday!!!!  Most of the families in our group leave tomorrow, but we have one more day to get packed.  We can't wait to get home.with a set of chopsticks.  Totally not  

 

Earlier today, I explored the area around the hotel with a couple of the other dads.  We some some strange wares, including centipedes on a stick, live snakes, eels and toads, and various other things we can only guess at.  There was one young lady sitting at a bowl of live scorpions, counting them out one by one.

 

We very much appreciate all your prayers.  The whole process could not have gone more smoothly than it did.  Sarah has really taken to Kimberly and I, and so we pray that she will do so with Denise as well.  She had a cold, but is getting over that.  She does not have an ear infection, which was a big concern for her flight home.  Please pray that our travel time home goes well.  We fly from Guangzhou to Beijing, then to Newark, NJ, then back to Tampa.  It will be a very long day, almost 30 hours. 

 

Much love from Guangzhou,

 

Martin

Today is Sunday.  While many of you will be heading off to church, we visited a buddhist temple.  It is tucked in the middle of a lower income community, with apartment buildings all around.  The temple dates back to the 5th century, with beautiful architecture everywhere.  We were invited to attend a "blessing" for our new children.  It involved a buddhist monk chanting and beating a little drum, followed by a sprinkling of water, ending by bowing three times to the buddha statues.  Needless to say we did not participate.  Kim & I and several of the other christian families were acutely aware of the spiritual darkness in this place.  As I viewed the three large golden buddha statues, I could not help but think of King Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel and the idol he built.  Here were people coming to worship statues, offering food, money, and incense.  These people need Jesus!  Perhaps some of our little ones will be called back to China to share the gospel with them.     

 

Sarah continues to do well.  She still does not like to go to bed, and throws a big fit when it's time to go to sleep.  But during the day, we have folks around us ask if she ever cries.  It's really not fair to the other families that we got the best kid, although I know that when we get back to Florida, we'll have our hands full!  

 

Martin  

Greetings from Guangzhou

Sarah enjoys her first taste of Starbucks.

We're over the hump!  One week left and then Sarah will get to meet her momma.  Someone in our group recently commented, "this trip is just like the movie Groundhog Day."  It's true, as each day seems very similar to the one before.   We arrived in Guangzhou late last night (around 9pm), after a 2 hour plane ride from Zhengzhou.  The hotel is beautiful (http://whiteswanhotel.guangdonghotels.cn/), but the beds are still rock hard.  I did sleep a little better last night, but I'll be glad to be back in my own comfy bed.  The air quality is no better than Beijing or Zhengzhou, but the weather is great.  It's about 73 F outside, as opposed to the 40 F or so when we left Zhengzhou last night.  At breakfast this morning, we noticed that about half the guests at the hotel are families adopting little ones.  It's been interesting to talk to some of them.  At the clinic where the kids have to get a physical, I met a lady from Orlando.  While we still get the curious stares from some of the Chinese people, it's not the same as the other cities we've been to.  Maybe they're staring at me, wondering if I'm married to the pretty blond girl that's carrying Sarah around... ;)

 

So this week we'll be hanging around the hotel, shopping in the little shops around Shamian Island.  We found a reasonable place to have our laundry done (at the Crowne Plaza in Zhengzhou, it cost us about $60 for one load of laundry!)  Ofcourse we packed for cold weather, so we may need to buy a shirt or two to wear this week.  Oh, Kimberly's a bit happier, as we located a Starbuck's a block from the hotel.  Seems that Sarah likes it too.  We may have the beginning of another Starbucks junkie on our hands. 

 

Martin

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Doing Great!

Martin has had a hard time sending emails lately, so I'll give you a quick update in my (Denise's) words.  They are doing fabulous!  We are so grateful for all of the prayers, because it's unbelievable how well Sarah has adjusted and how smooth the trip has gone so far.  I have spent a lot of time talking to them and admiring Sarah on video through Skype.  We all love her so much already.  She seems to have the sweetest personality.  She is such a happy and content baby!!  Even now as she has a cold, she's still been so sweet and playful.  She has slept great for them, waking up only once in the past few nights.  She definitely likes to be held and snuggled - that's no problem for us.  Both Daddy and Kimberly are happy to oblige her.   She's so smart.  Kimberly has already taught her to sign "please"  when she wants something.  Can you believe it?  And you can tell by the way she's curious about everything that she's trying to figure it all out.  She babbles a lot, claps and giggles and reaches out her hands for hugs and to be picked up.   She waves bye bye to me on the video.  She even reaches out her hands to me!  

Yesterday, they got together with some other families from the group for a play time and also took Sarah for a swim in the indoor pool.  Kimberly said she took lots of pictures of her in her little bathing suit.  Martin said she loves the water.  He's hoping to teach her to swim before they get home (kidding).  Today, they are touring a museum in the area.  They will probably also visit the hotel nurse to check Sarah for an ear infection or sinus infection.  She's having a lot of cold symptoms and they want to make sure to treat her if she needs an antibiotic.  They'll be flying to Guanzhou on Friday, so hopefully Sarah's ears will be all clear before that.  

On my end, we are doing well.  My friend, Suzanne, came over with her kids for a fun visit to help pass the time and celebrate my birthday.  This was such a special birthday for me.  I felt very loved by my family and friends and by the Lord.  I have so much to be thankful for.  Sarah's adoption was finalized on my birthday.  What a sweet birthday present from God!  He has given me the desires of my heart in little Sarah.  And after years of praying and dreaming about her, the Lord brought it about on my birthday.  He is so good!

Please pray for one of the other families in the group.  Their baby has a severe heart problem.  She was blue in her face and all over.  They had to put her in the hospital for a while.  They called the doctors in the U.S. and were told that in her current condition she only had a 50% chance of surviving the plane ride home.  They made the decision to take her back to the orphanage today.  They might be able to come back and get her later.  In China she is not eligible for surgery until she is older.  Please pray for this little girl and for this heart broken family.  

I'll try to post more pictures if they come through from Martin.  Happy Thanksgiving!

The hand off is complete - Sarah becomes a Vreman!

Kimberly shows Sarah a few of her new toys!  

We can't believe what a happy baby she is!

Sarah is ours!!!! Yeah!  She is adorable!  (I'll stop using exclamation points, otherwise every sentence will have one...)   Today was the big day.  In the morning Kimberly and I joined 9 of the 13 families as they went to the local government office to meet their children.  We were one of the remaining 4 families whose children would be brought to the hotel at noon.  Kim and I were able to help film and photograph the families receiving their new kids.  It was wonderful!  I teared up just watching the other dads with their new son or daughter.  As noon approached, we got word that Sarah was waiting for us at the hotel.  All the families were about finished up, so we headed back to the hotel around noon, not sure if we would see Sarah right away, or what.  Well, we walked into the lobby, and sure enough, there she was with her nanny.  Because we had not yet done the formal paperwork, I could only sit a few feet away, admiring her beautiful face!  I had to run up to my room to get the necessary paperwork, so Kimberly stayed with the group.  I came back and we had an incredible first visit with her!  She has a great personality, and did not cry until we took her out of the bathtub a hour or two later (her caretakers had described her as active and obstinate;  we can see why!).  She giggles, she squirms (alot), she has explored the entire hotel room, and she is currently fast asleep after such a whirlwind of a day.  We praise God for such a wonderful gift!   She seems very healthy, has a little buddha-belly, and a great set of lungs to boot. 

 

Kimberly has been fantastic!  She is very helpful, an easy roomate, and even puts up with knowing that half the folks we meet think she's my wife! Ha ha!  So I make sure to introduce her as my daughter every time!  I'm so grateful to Denise, who is at home diligently taking care of the boys.  I know it is extremely hard having to wait two weeks to meet her new daughter, but we are grateful for Skype.  Denise was up at 2 in the morning just to be able to see her new little girl via the computer. 

 

Of the 13 families, there is one little girl that has cried often.  You can pray for Rob and Joanne, the girl's new parents...  We have been blessed to be part of this unique experience with the other families.  Many of them love the Lord, and so it's great to hear how God led them to come to China.  Tomorrow we all head to the registrar's office to make the adoption official. 

 

Well, it's off to bed... not sure when little Sarah will decide she wants to get up.   Thanks again for all your prayers!

Martin

Day Two

Well, today we experienced Beijing traffic!  I guess with 16 million people in the same city, everyone wants to get out of town for the weekend.  After another wonderful breakfast, we headed out to visit the Great Wall, and after several hours in bumper to bumper traffic, we made it!  (we did stop at a jade factory, but just like the silk factory, it was more of a sale's pitch than anything else.)  The Great Wall in incredible!  To think that they started this back around 200 or 400 B.C.!  Both Kimberly and I will be extremely sore tomorrow, but it was worth it.  We climbed up about 2 miles of stairs to get to the top of the mountain.  The views up there are majestic, not so much because of the wall, but because of God's incredible handiwork.  The mountains were all around us, and besides the smog, the scenery was breath-taking (or maybe that happened because I'm so out-of-shape!) ha!

 

We headed back to the hotel, but not before taking a rickshaw trip through Hutang, the old section of Beijing.  It was a bit chilly, but Kimberly felt like we were at the North Pole.  We chose to skip another "local" dinner with the group, and instead took a taxi back to the hotel.  We handed the driver the adress of the hotel, but he started talking to us in Chinese.  Thankfully our guide was still by the curb, and she helped us out.  Turns out the driver couldn't read the directions because he didn't have his glasses with him.  That was a great boost of confidence before he jumped into Beijing traffic!  :)  We made it to the hotel in one piece, then I convinced a frozen Kimberly to walk with me a few blocks to the market section of town.  Lots of neon and lights everywhere (kind of what you imagine when you think of a shopping street in China), including things to eat on a stick that shouldn't be on a stick:  scorpions, seahorses, and some rather large larvae or bugs of some sort.  Kimberly could not stand the smell, so we turned around and grabbed some dinner at KFC.  As we walked back to the hotel, 3 college age kids said hi to us in english, then struck up a conversation with us.  This was our first attempt at the local residents to practice their conversational english.  We told them we were there to adopt Sarah, and they were amazed that we would do so, even after already having 4 kids!  They kept telling me how young I looked (can you imagine?) and that Kimberly was such a pretty, young girl.  Like most of the folks we've met, they're amazed that I'm Kimberly's dad!!  Ha Ha Ha!   They invited us for a drink to talk more, but we decided we better head back to get cleaned up and packed, as we leave for Zengzhou at 8:00 am sharp tomorrow morning!  Just one more full day before we meet our Sarah!!!!  We can hardly wait!

 

Martin

This was the view outside our hotel room.  The houses in the background are part of the Forbidden City.

This was posted outside the bathroom at the Forbidden City - this hole in the ground got a 4 

star rating!

The First Day

November 19: It is just after midnight, and Kimberly and I are getting ready for a good night sleep.  The 13 hour plane ride from Newark, along with a 6 hour delay due to our plane needing a new fuel pump, has made the past 24 hours seem like a blur.  The trip went well, the highlight being a woman with a bit too much to drink literally dancing in the aisle beside us.  Kimberly sat next to a sweet elderly Chinese man who smiled with a broad smile and often said "Sank you" as she passed his food and beverages to him.  We have met four of the other families adopting with CCAI.  There are a total of 14 families in our group.  We are staying in a beautiful hotel, the Grand Hotel Beijing, and expect that we will both get a good night sleep.  Our day starts tomorrow at 9am sharp, when we visit Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, a silk factory, and an acrobatics performance.  Should be fun!   Thank you Lord for safe travel and good health for both of us. 

They're on their way!!

After leaving home at 4:30 am this morning, Martin and Kimberly took a 7am flight to New Jersey. Their flight to Beijing was supposed to depart at noon. They met four other families traveling in their group at the airport. There will be a total of 10 or 11 families from our agency traveling together to adopt. He said it was fun talking with them. They boarded the plane and ended up sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours. Apparently there was a faulty fuel pump that needed repairing. That's a good thing to find out BEFORE you get in the air! Thank you, Lord. :) They called me at 5:30 to say they were reboarding to hopefully take off this time. The flight is is 13 hours and 45 minutes long. They should be arriving in Beijing around 8:30 pm China time (7:30am tomorow our time). Thanks for praying!!

Martin plans on posting each day if possible. The problem is that China is a communist country and they block a lot of internet sites, including blogspot. He tried downloading a proxy before leaving home that should work, but we'll see. Here's their tentative itinerary, in case you're interested.
11/19 Arrive in Beijing - meet the interpreter at the airport and go to the hotel.

11/20 Tour Beijing
11/21 Free day
11/22 Depart Beijing for Zhengzhou on China Southern flight
11/23 Take a bus to the registration office to receive SARAH!!! Yeah!!! Sign papers.
11/24 Finish paperwork at the registration office.
11/25 Free time or optional tour
11/26 Free time or optional tour - receive passport for Sarah
11/27 Leave for Guangzhou on China Southern flight
11/28 Sarah's physical and photo for her visa
11/29 Rest, tour, shop
11/30 Free
12/1 Free time, optional tours
12/2 the U.S. Consolate appointment
12/3 take an oath at the U.S. Consulate
12/4 Receive Sarah's visa packet and prepare to leave for home
12/5 Leave for Beijing on Air China flight. Leave Beijing to come home - FINALLY!!! YEAH!!

We have a departure date!

Martin and Kimberly will be leaving on the 18th of this month! We are busy getting them packed and trying to prepare for anything and everything while they are there. We've been waiting so long and now it's actually becoming reality!! Yeah! This morning was orphan Sunday at church and the sermon was about living out James 1:27. The pastor brought out all the passages about how we are adopted into God's family through Jesus, when we accept Him as our Savior. He spoke of that moment when the seal was placed on the paperwork for his son's adoption. It was final! He was theirs forever. Just like we are God's forever when we give Him our lives. We are so thankful to have been adopted into God's family! We become His children and that will never change. Sarah will become ours forever soon, and that will never change! We are so excited about the blessings God has for our family through Sarah. We know that in a couple of weeks, just as in the birth of our other children, we won't be able to imagine our life without her.

Sarah & Nathan's Room

Nathan can't wait to share his room with his little sister...

We are thrilled to introduce you to our daughter, Sarah Rebecca Vreman!! After a long journey of much prayer and paperwork, Martin and Kimberly will be heading to China to bring her home in a few short weeks. I will be here caring for the boys and waiting excitedly by the phone for updates. She just turned one on November 2nd and is a healthy 22 pounds, according to her latest report. She is currently in a foster home, for which we are very grateful as we know she's getting better care than she would in an orpanage. As you can see by her picture, she has a cleft lip and palate, so she will need a few surgeries over the next several months. We are overflowing with joy and thanksgiving to God right now. Many of you know how long we have felt the call to adopt. A Bible verse that stood out to us in the very beginning of this journey came from a handwriting sheet that Jack was working on for school. It was right when we began to pray about pursuing an adoption from China. It's from Proverbs 16:9 "We should make plans, counting on God to direct us." We've wondered for so long - who will she be? What will she look like? When will she be here?

After having a private domestic and foster care adoption fall through, we were slightly apprehensive about opening ourselves (and our kids) up to another disappointment. I wondered, how will we know this is the one God has for us? What if it falls through again? Yet, the Lord has confirmed this decision over and over through prayer and different circumstances. He gave Martin a strong sense that she would be coming soon when we were on our mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Martin felt God was saying, "Ask me for her!" And he did ask God right then to bring her to us soon. One week later we received the phone call and email with her picture. Amazingly, a few weeks before that, the Lord graciously introduced us to another family who adopted a baby with a cleft lip and palate. Since receiving our match, we've been able to call them and ask them questions. They've given us referrals for the medical information we need, and each step of the way I've had this overwhelming sense of God's hand "directing us" as the verse says. It also reminds me of Isaiah 30:21 "Whether you turn to the right or to the left your ears will hear a voice saying 'This is the way. Walk in it.'"

This journey has been long, but my biggest prayer has been that God would let us know without a doubt that THIS is the child He planned for our family. We never wanted to look back and wonder. We asked God to make it clear and obvious. He has! Sarah will know and hear the story over and over of how the Lord has had His hand on her life.

He whispered to us years before she was even born that He had a special delivery for our family. We were so excited! We searched and waited. We filled out applications wondering, when will this happen? Who will this special child be? At first we looked in the logical places... a domestic child who needs a home. God answered softly, "No, this isn't the one." Then 2 sweet girls came into our lives. Surely they were God's special deliveries. "Only for a time," He said. Finally, He turned our hearts toward a far away land, in a distant culture, where the Light is sometimes hard to see. "Look here," He lovingly suggested. And then one glorious August night, we saw her! God's special delivery for us - her beautiful picture on the screen!

The day we saw her was very similar to having our ultrasounds with our biological children. That's really her. What will she be like? Is she healthy? I wish we could hold her! We also had new questions like, What doctors do we need to talk with about her surgeries? And we soon felt very strong emotions and concerns for her care and safety. We posted her pictures in several spots and have prayed for her daily. We have loved her deeply, even from across the ocean. Amazing the connection we have with just a picture. We know she is OURS!

Now, our labor and special delivery is fast approaching! It's been a very long pregnancy, but I think I look really great for a due date that's only a few weeks away!! :) Isn't God amazing? So mysterious and wonderful. So perfect. Psalm 68:6 says, "God sets the lonely in families." He knew she needed us. He designed her for our family and by His grace He's weaving her into our lives because according to His perfect plan, He knows we need her too! It's so exciting to be able to look at her sweet face and wait for the Lord to bring her home to us! Please pray for a safe and quick delivery!! We will keep you posted!

Psalm 31:14-15 "But I trust in you O Lord. I say You are my God. My times are in your hands."