This is the 25th installment in a series of columns I am devoting to the adoption journey my wife, Claudette, and I started in 2005. Hank Bond, publisher and editor of the Greenup Beacon, asked that we share our story with you. Maybe you have an interest in adoption or know someone who does. If so, I hope this information is helpful. We adopted our daughter, Josie Claire Siyan, from China in 2007.

While in China, we communicated with our friends and family members via a blog we set up prior to leaving for our two-week journey throughout China.

In a post titled “On our way home!,” dated Feb. 7, 2007:

“It's 4:54 a.m., and we're getting Josie ready for our trip downstairs to the bus and then to the airport.  My next update will be tonight from home (which will be morning here in China!).  Pray that the flights go smoothly with no delays (and Josie sleeps a lot!).

In a post titled “We made it home!,” dated Feb. 8, 2007:

“Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that Claudette, Josie, and I made it home safely this evening.  Brock, Blake, and Josie are in their toy room watching television and playing.  It is now 1:39 a.m., and we have been up for 34 hours straight!  Therefore, I will download and post additional photos sometime later today.”

“Thanks for following our journey.  It has truly been the journey of a lifetime.  Stay tuned as we'll be posting updates on a regular basis.”

In a post titled “Our arrival at Columbus airport,” dated Feb. 9, 2007:

“I downloaded some photos from my father-in-law's (Larry) camera featuring shots of our arrival at Port Columbus International Airport yesterday evening.  As I stated in a previous post, we had an entourage awaiting our arrival.”

“It's 11:44 p.m. and Siyan is still going strong.  Papaw Larry is watching the news, Cousin Brittany is playing with Siyan and Blake, and Cousin Tanner and Brock are playing PlayStation games.  Mommy, Mamaw, and Aunt Paulette made a run to Walmart for Claudette's first Walmart fix since coming back to the U.S.!”

“We're in the process of planning a big party for Josie Claire Siyan Hapney.  We'll let you know when and where that will be ASAP.”

“We are so glad to be home now.  As Dorothy (Judy Garland) said in the 1930s during ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘There's no place like home.’  There is nothing but loads of truth to that sentence.  I told Claudette I don't ever want to hear anyone say anything negative about the United States of America.  Visit a country like China and you will understand very quickly what I mean.  Even with its flaws (it's an imperfect world after all) the United States of America IS the greatest country on Earth.  We take much about our lives in the U.S. for granted.  We are fortunate to have had an opportunity to learn a great deal about Josie Siyan's culture and had many great experiences in China.  There are some beautiful places there; however, it's still not home.  And we're glad it's no longer Josie Siyan's home.”

“While I thank all who have helped us during our adoption process and those who have followed our journey, in addition to Josie's orphanage nannies and the director for taking good care of her for the first 2.5 years of her precious life, Claudette and I would like to thank God for giving us a very smooth time during our travel to, while in, and our travel from China (two-week stay there).  Again, when He's at the center of what we do, things are the best they can possibly be!”

Next week I will feature a wrap-up column about our “Journey to Josie.” As I bring this one-half-year column series to a close, it was a wonderful opportunity to revisit one of the most important times during our life. The hand of God was there guiding us the entire way. For that, I am thankful.

Terry L. Hapney, Jr., Ph.D., is a professor in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University, and an eastern Greenup County native. He may be reached at hapney@marshall.edu.

Josie Siyan stands in front of one of the planes we flew on during our final travel day (heading home).

Josie Siyan had one final wardrobe change prior to meeting our big family at the airport in Columbus!



The entourage that met us at the Columbus airport was a sight for sore eyes! Parents (grandparents to Josie), sister (aunt to Josie), and nieces and nephew (cousins to Josie) were there to greet us after our two-week stay in China. We left the airport and enjoyed Josie's first taste of Bob Evans on our way home from Columbus.