Copied from Thursday, November 25, 2010 China Travel Blog

Okay, I was really tired on this post below.  Not sure WHAT I was thinking, but I'll go ahead and copy it anyway...

Twas the morning of Thanksgiving... (4:29 am!)

and all through the house, the children were nestled...
all snug in their beds...
dreaming of plane rides and snacks...
and a new sister to add (to the family!)

Mother and father were busy at work...
making sure all the bags were packed safe and secure...
weigh them all 10 times just to make sure (that they aren't over China's 44 lb rule!)

Don't forget the cords to the cameras, laptop, video camera, DS and more!

Daddy will work on the last minute business work,
while mama stuffs the luggage and checks her list twice...er...
(Mama thinks she has checked her list about a gazillion times and it still isn't all checked off!)

Sleep will come soon (or so I have heard)
As the time of our leaving draws nearer and nearer (couldn't think of a rhyme!  It is 4:30 in the morning!)

So on this Thanksgiving night as you take a peak outside (plane leaves Chicago at about 8:00),
be sure to listen for the call from the air,
as the Burgess family exclaims to one and to all -
We're heading to China!  Come one and come all!
5 B's in a hive will be five no more -
we get our new sister (and daughter),
and become 6 B's in all (in the hive)!

Karen

(Copied from Saturday, Nov. 13th, 2010) Welcome!

Just a quick first post to welcome you on our journey to China where we will add a precious Lyric to our family of 5! 

We will be having a memorable Thanksgiving this year as that is the day we leave to get our daughter.  I'll have to plan some entertaining, fun things to do because we're spending 8 hours in the Chicago airport!  

The kids wanted to know if they will get extra food on the airplane - doesn't everyone stuff themselves (just like the turkey!) on Thanksgiving Day?  Hmm... I wonder if the on-board meal will include turkey, stuffing and cranberries? What the kids don't quite realize yet is that we aren't on the plane to Beijing until about 8:00 at night, so their Turkey dinner would have to be in the airport - maybe I can pack some cans of canned cranberries and a can opener in my carry-on...


Karen

Hello! We are back, are well-rested, and are doing great!

On our way to China!

We have been to the other side of the world and back again - bringing home with us our adorable new daughter, Lyric!  Thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers for us while we were away - and THANK YOU to Joe who took us to the airport and brought us home again - and to the Mast, Treen, and Glass family who tended lovingly to our home and our chickens while we were away.  I had expected at least a couple of chickens to die (usually lose a few in the winter), but they all survived and are much fatter than when we left.  One of them, (finally!), started laying eggs for us!  It's about time they started earning their keep around here :)

I had set up the other travel blog while we were away, but what I am going to do now is copy it all over into this blog and then delete it from the other.  This time, I'll get pictures added to it!

Karen

NEW TRAVEL BLOG!

Great news!  We have happily received our travel approval!  I created a new travel blog that is by invitation only for our travels.  If you would like to follow along please send me an email at kevkarb@yahoo.com and, please, tell me how you know me (like through a specific yahoo group, family member, friend on facebook...) so that I can approve you.  Otherwise, I will probably copy the posts from the travel blog onto this blog when we return and you could read it then.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us on this journey to our daughter.   We are still trying to raise money for the orphanage donation we have to make.  Any amount you can donate will help both our family with the adoption costs and the orphanage our daughter has lived in since she was 3 weeks old  - she is now 3 1/2.    I have heard that the orphanage is a good one - but that it is a poor one.  As a thank you for any donation you make we will put your name in a drawing for the chance to win one of the gifts on the left.  I would love to see the donation tracker on the right move closer to its goal and to present some of you with a great "thank you" gift from the drawing.

Please pray in the upcoming weeks that Lyric's transition into our family is a smooth one and that she attaches well to us.

Sincerely,

Karen

Orphanage Donation update and waiting for travel approval!

Call me crazy, but I really enjoy putting together yard sales (and not only because of the financial blessings we receive from them!)  I enjoy them because I get to meet and talk with so many wonderful people.  I pray that we were able to touch the hearts of some who we spoke with as much as what mine was touched!

If you take a quick look at the Orphanage Donation Tracker on the right side of the blog you'll see that we have already been blessed with raising just over $600 for the orphanage donation!  A huge thank you to everyone who donated and/or shopped at the sale!  We saw many people who donated even though they didn't buy anything and many who donated more than what we were asking.  People stopped to shop just because they saw our signs that said "Child Adoption Fund-raiser"!

On the left side of the blog are what I call "Thank you gifts".  Everyone who donates online, by mail, or in person for the orphanage donation will have their name entered into a drawing for the chance to win one of these gifts.  Not everyone will win (sorry!), but please know that you do have our sincere thanks and gratitude for the donation.  The donation is really also a fee for our adoption - so not only do you help the children, you are helping us as well.  It goes right to the orphanage where our daughter has lived since she was about 3 weeks old (she is now about 3 1/2).  We are praying that we raise way more than the required monetary donation, that way we can purchase and take with us physical items I'm sure they need more of - like jackets for this winter, diapers and formula for the babies, and shoes!

On the right side of the blog is where I'll post the names/blogs/websites of the individuals who donate items that are offered as the "Thank you gifts".   Please be sure to visit any links!  Anyone who would like to donate a "thank you gift" can send me an email at kevkarb@yahoo.com. 

If you want to be updated when we add to the blog, just fill in your information on the right side under where it says "Subscribe to Orphanage Fundraiser", and you will be emailed when we update the blog.

Oh - ways to donate can be found on the right side of the blog.  You can donate online through the chip-in button, mail a donation, or you can even make a tax-deductible donation!

On a final note - we are now waiting for Travel Approval from China to go get our daughter!  Yeah!

With sincere thanks,

The Burgess family

Adoption/Orphanage Fundraising Sale Fri 15/Sat 16th 8 - ?

Thank you to everyone for coming!  It was a great success!  And thank you to the family who let us have the sale at their house :) 

$5,250

This is the approximate amount we need to raise for the orphanage donation/fee.  It is called a donation, but it is really a set fee and will be determined by the exchange rate when we travel.  It goes right to the orphanage in Liupanshui City where our daughter has been living for the past 3 years of her life.  Our daughter, Lyric, won't benefit from it because she will have her family.  It is for the children that are left behind.  Some of these children will be blessed with families.  Many won't.  In China, orphans are allowed to be adopted internationally until their 14th birthday.  After that, I believe they can only be adopted in China until their 16th birthday.  And after that, no one.

$5,250.  That's what we have to raise.  It isn't what we want to raise.  We want to raise more than that.  When we are in China we will be going to our daughter's orphanage in Liupanshui City.  We have to see where she has lived for the past 3 years of her life.  She has been fed there.  She has been clothed there.  She has been held there.  We want to leave something concrete, like books, clothing, shoes, or educational toys.  Anything we raise, any donations beyond the $5,250 will be put towards purchasing supplies for the orphanage.  We are blessed with so much.  To be able to give, it's, well, it's good that we have the opportunity to do so.

This weekend we are having a fund-raising yard sale, and anything we raise will be put towards the orphanage donation/fee.  On the 30th of this month we are also having, with two other adopting families, a tea-luncheon.  I'll post more about the luncheon later, but the proceeds from that will be split with the two other families.  Our share of the proceeds will also go right towards the orphanage donation/fee.

If you would like to make a donation you can do this through the chip-in button on the left or you can send it to us at:
Kevin and Karen Burgess (Adoption)
P.O. Box 456 
Plainfield, IN 46168

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation we have been able to set up an account with a wonderful not-for-profit called Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries.  Their website is www.kingdomkidsadoption.org.  You can donate through their website by going to the "donations" button on the top right and then clicking on "Family Grant Donation" or you can mail a donation to:
Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries
1417 N. Lincoln St.
Spokane, WA 99201

All donors will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Checks must be made out to:
Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries and please, do NOT write our name anywhere on the check, but include a note saying where you would like the money to go (to the Burgess family). If you have any questions you can call them at 509-465-3520 or their email is ministry@kingdomkidsadoption.org. Just let them know you would like to make a donation for Kevin and Karen Burgess.


Please stop back by soon.  We are in the process of collecting some thank you "gifts".  Anyone who donates to the fundraiser from now until Thanksgiving Day (not including at the yard sale or tea-luncheon) will have their name entered into a drawing for an opportunity to win one of the gifts.  Some of the gifts include a gas card for $50.00 to Speedway gas station, DVD's and whole-bean coffee from Honduras!  I'll post pictures soon.

We would also appreciate prayers for the success of raising the orphanage donation/fee and for a smooth adoption journey.  Thank you!

The Burgess family