This is the fifth 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 to you.

On Jan. 8, 2007, we received the phone call from our adoption agency that we had been waiting on for a very long time. Our TA (travel approval) had arrived, meaning we would bring our daughter—Wu Si Yan (Josie Claire Siyan Hapney) home! Our consulate appointment was confirmed for Feb. 6, 2007. We would leave for China on Thursday, January 25. We would arrive back home on Thursday, February 8.

An entry in our website I set up so we could communicate with friends and family members during our two-week stay in China stated:

“We are so excited that Josie is finally coming home to her family!!!”

The TA came after waiting exactly 111 days.

On Jan. 24, 2007, another entry read:

“We are on our way to bring Josie Claire Siyan Hapney home! Due to the possibility of inclement weather, we decided to travel to Columbus tonight versus in the morning. We will fly out of Port Columbus International Airport at 10:39 a.m. to Chicago. From there we will fly to Beijing and spend a couple of days touring before we fly to Josie’s province on Sunday afternoon. We are expecting to get Josie Monday morning (though hoping it is Sunday evening.)! Please pray that all of our flights are on time, they are very smooth, and that Josie’s transition into our family is smooth as well. “Stay tuned,” as we’ll be updating this site as often as possible, adding new photos and overview of what’s going on each day.”

My Dad, Terry Hapney, Sr., and our two biological sons—Brock (6 at the time) and Blake (5 at the time)—rode up to Columbus with us the night before our flight in our Chevrolet Trailblazer we had at that time. There was a chance of snow the next day and we were fearful of bad roads. Therefore, we drove up the night before to stay in a hotel to ensure we did not miss our flight.

Brock and Dad were very happy to see us off. Blake, on the other hand, was not a happy camper. In fact, we have a great photograph of Dad, Brock, and Blake at the hotel before they left that night to drive our vehicle back home to Ironton (where we lived then). Blake looks angry in the pic! He was already missing his Mommy and Daddy and we hadn’t even left the U.S. at that point. 

On January 25, we arrived at the Columbus airport prepared for our two-week, whirlwind trip around the world. We knew ahead of time that we would visit, basically, three climates while in China. In Beijing the weather was in the 20s. In Nanjing it was in the 40s. In Guangzhou it was in the 80s. Try packing light for a trip like that!

We took off from Columbus headed to Chicago on January 25. Once in Chicago, we ran into one of the couples we’d spend time with in China. They were also adopting their daughter from China.

An entry in our website dated Jan. 26, 2007, stated:

“We FINALLY made it to Beijing! What a day! I’m going to try to keep this entry brief, as it is 10 minutes until 1 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27 in Beijing (11:52 a.m. Friday morning (1/26) in Ironton!).

Needless to say, we are worn out. Our flight from Columbus to Chicago was uneventful (the way we like it). That all changed once we arrived at O’Hare in Chicago. Our flight to Beijing from Chicago was supposed to leave at 12:42 p.m. (1:42 p.m. in Ironton). However, it didn’t happen. We sat in the plane for five hours before taking off, thanks to a radar problem. So, 18 hours later we arrived in Beijing and took a bus to our hotel. We’ll write more tomorrow!”

Next week, I will write about our time in Beijing, during our “Journey to Josie”!

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.



Blake (who is unhappy Mommy and Daddy were going to China for two weeks; the boys did not go on the trip), Papaw Terry Hapney, Sr., and Brock

Terry Hapney, Jr., Brock, Claudette, and Blake--on our way to Columbus to leave for China to bring home Josie Claire Siyan Hapney in January 2007.

Leaving for Beijing at the Chicago airport.