New Blog!

We've created a new blog - The Tkach Adoption Journey at www.TicTkachs.blogspot.com. For updates on Adam and the rest of his family please come visit us there.

Adam in 2008

Wow, more than a year has past since our last post and much has happened. Adam had his first cleft palate surgery done in January 07 and was a real trooper through the whole process. The year has been spent taking speech therapy and going to preschool (he's in two, one in the morning and one in the afternoon). He's been a great little guy who has a love for toy cars and the Disney movie Cars.

We went to our November Cleft Palate Team appointment with the belief that we were mainly there to schedule his next surgery for January 2008. The surgery was to be a fistula repair and lip revision. The fistula is a small hole in the palate that opened up since his first surgery, not uncommon for those who have cleft palate repair when they are older. However, when we got there, the oral surgeon decided that Adam was mature enough and his current bone structure was good enough that he is ready for his bone graft surgery. Therefore, sometime this summer we will schedule the bone graft and fistula repair surgery. The lip revision will wait one more year. Scheduling the surgery will be tricky until we have a better idea of when we will be traveling to get Aiden, the newest addition to our family.

On the speech front, after what seemed like months of very little progress, Adam has recently made great strides in the last two months in his articulation. He is more enthusiastic about practicing and he works hard when he goes to see Miss Sara every week. We are hoping the fistula repair this summer will help clear up some of the nasality in his speech.

Adam is very excited about getting a new "older brother" this summer. He can't wait to have a room mate. He is also playing indoor soccer at the YMCA (Dad is coaching). He loves soccer.

We appreciate your continued prayers for Adam and will try to keep current with on his progress.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Adam has been home over 2 months now. Wow! Christmas was an exciting time. He enjoyed the lights, the festivities, the presents... "Share" has become a big word around the house. Adam continues to impress us with his understanding of his new language. He has also managed to learn to say a few words. One of our favorite times with him is right before bed time when we have a devotional time with him and his sisters. Adam tries real hard to repeat the prayers we say. He says "Amen!" really well. During the past month Adam received his official "citizenship" letter from President Bush and a social security number. This month, the real "fun" begins. He will have surgery on his palate on January 10. He will also have tubes put in his ears to help his hearing. He will need to wear splints on his arms for about 3 weeks to keep his hands out of his mouth. All in all, it will be a challenging month for him, but we know that God will continue to do more than we could ask or imagine (Eph 3:20).

4 Weeks Home!

Wow.

Its hard to believe Adam's been home for 4 weeks now. Life is surely not the same. Adam is doing very well. He had his first medical checkup last week and he is a very healthy, albeit skinny child. We are waiting on getting an appointment with the cranio-facial team at Dayton's Children Hospital to talk and learn more about his upcoming care.

Adam has adjusted fairly well. He gets along with Mackenzie and Makayla like any little brother would with slightly older sisters; they play, they laugh, they hug, they fight, they scream, they cry, they hug, etc.. And while his speech isn't that great, his understanding of the English language improves everyday. And yes, he is beginning to say a few words like Mama, No, night-night, and Steelers!. He addresses his sisters as "Enzie" and "Ayla".

Adam is also enjoying the Holiday Season. He loves the Christmas lights and really enjoyed putting ornaments on the Christmas trees (we have 2). We're not sure what he thinks about that fat elf in the red suit yet. He loves playing with our toy nativity set.

He has done well at church. We have put him in the 3 year old class with Makayla. He loves to participate as best he can. He is shy at first with people but warms up quickly.

And yes, he still tries to get into everything he can. We have added more child safety locks in the house and are doing our best to teach him his boundaries.

We still covet your prayers as he continues to develop. Pray also for wisdom for Karyn and me as we get ready for his medical care. Many thanks to all who have prayed and helped - and special prayer to the MOPs group for providing several meals upon return. We'll post again soon but as always enjoy the pics - and drop us a note.

Where's Adam? Part 3

On November 1st at 1300 CST at the Chicago O'Hare Int'l Airport, Adam Zhang Bei (pronounced Jong Bay) Tkach became the newest citizen of the United States of America. At the same time, our connecting flight announced it's final boarding call. Because we still had a good 30 minutes to get to the gate, we got to enjoy an additional 3 hours in Chicago. But finally at 6 PM EST, we landed safely in Dayton and Adam and his sisters met for the first time!

The girls and Adam enjoyed the evening together. The language barrier did not seem to matter. Adam enjoyed exploring his new house.

Many thanks to friends and neighbors for watching over our girls and house the past 2 weeks. The peace of mind you gave us was priceless. Adam's next big step will be to take care of his cleft palate. We'll begin that process soon and keep you informed.

Where is Adam? He is home with his forever family!

Last Day in China

Two weeks ago we set out on a journey that actually began last March when God placed Adam on our hearts. The 13 hour plane trip from Chicago to Beijing was tough and we are not looking forward to the return trip tomorrow from Hong Kong to Chicago except that it will bring us, and especially Adam, home. This has been a truly remarkable journey. We met great new friends in our travel group, not just friends, but brothers and sisters in Christ. We'll remember the stares form the suspicious Chinese people, wondering what we are doing with a Chinese child, and how their suspicions turn to joy when they realized we were adopting an orphaned child and giving him a new life. We'll remember all the new places we've seen, the remarkable beauty that is China. And we'll remember the places we've been to before, that were not only a part of Adam's journey but our Makayla's journey as well. We'll remember the greatness of God, who brought Adam and us together, and has gone before us every step of the way. And we'll remember all the precious comments we've received from you all, who kept us close to home during the past couple of weeks.

Last night we went on a cruise up and down the Pearl River in Guangzhou. The lights of the buildings and streets were absolutely beautiful. Adam seemed to enjoy the cruise. At the hotel last night, we were startled to hear loud booms, only to realize that someone outside was treating us to a fireworks display. This morning is another relaxing morning, to be filled with packing and maybe some swimming. Adam loves the pool as long as he is being held. The pool here is actually very large, with a beach area and a wave generator.

This afternoon we head to the U.S. consulate to pick up Adam's visa and take his oath of ctizenship. They won't let us take pictures there. After the ceremony we will share one final dinner with our travel group. We wake up at 4:30 AM Wednesday and begin a 37 hour day that will end at home!. This is probably our last post from China. We'll post again from home by Thursday.

Mackenzie and Makayla - We'll be home after 1 more sleep!

Psalm 139

Today was a fairly relaxing day. I am posting this before we go on our River cruise so we won't have pictures of that till tomorrow. The internet here gets extremely slow at night. Today, I just want to share some thoughts and a scripture. Before we left I posted a segment on why we adopt. When I look at Mackenzie and Makayla play together, and marvel at how well Makayla has become a part of the Tkach family, there is no doubt that God had planned for her to become a part of this family. Adam too, has been uniquely created to become part of our family. You can look at each of the children in our adoption group and see how God has perfectly placed them with their new families. It’s absolutely amazing to behold.

Enjoy the pictures and Psalm 139:13-18

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Home in 2 days!

Red Couch Photos

Today (Sunday) we began our day in Christian fellowship with our travel group. We all met in a hotel room, shared prayer requests, sang, prayed, and one member of our group gave a sermon. It was a very special time.

In Guangzhou there is a hotel called the White Swan. We stayed there when we got Makayla. It is a tradition for all travel groups coming to Guangzhou to take groups pictures of their adopted children on a red couch in the White Swan. So today, we went to the White Swan to do just that.

The rest of the day was filled with shopping. We bought Chinese dresses for our girls and a couple Chinese outfits for Adam. We also bought souvenirs to commemorate our trip. In the afternoon, we went swimming. Adam continues to do well. He is a happy kid with great energy. He can be a little shy but warms up quickly. He loves to play. He can be mischievous.

Tomorrow we will enjoy a night cruise on the Pearl River.

For the most part, Guangzhou is a beautiful place to stay if you have to stay somewhere for 4 days. But most of all, we miss home and especially Mackenzie and Makayla. Girls, we’ll be home with your new brother after 3 more sleeps. We miss you so much.

As always thanks for your prayers. They are felt.