It's official: TRAVEL APPOINTMENT!!

I had a feeling today would be the day!! When I got home from school I checked my messages, and Morgan (from our agency) had called to say he received our travel appointment today!!

It looks like we will travel at the end of October and return home on Nov. 14. Not all confirmed yet, but it looks that way. As soon as it is confirmed, we will be able to purchase plane tickets!

Then the mad rush will begin, getting all the packing done, preparing for my substitute, etc. etc.

I have a feeling that time will really fly by now!

And today Sarah turned 18 months old! One more month to go!

Ouch!

Dave and I went to the doc today to get some shots for our China trip. We both got 4 shots each and have to go back for some boosters in a month.
In other news, I am fighting a nasty sinus infection that is really dragging me down. Got an antibiotic for this while we were at it.
Stay tuned for some new photos of Sarah's bedroom! Been working on it for a while now, and we are finally making some progress.

Care Package #6-- Last one!!!!

Here it is--- the last care package!! I don't plan on sending another one, because hopefully we'll travel at the end of October or early November. This time we are sending the foster family a calendar and assorted jelly bellys. We are sending Sarah a Farmer "See and Say" and a counting book. I am also sending three fall outfits for Sarah.

The bag of blue objects are large plastic tweezers that I got for the New Day preschool. The preschool teacher had a "wish list", and these were on it, so when I went to Lakeshore (LOVE that store-- best teacher store ever), I picked these up.

I also got new measurements for her from New Day. Sarah now weighs 22 lbs, is 32 inches tall, and wears a size 7 shoe! That puts her in the 75% for height and weight (I checked a Chinese girl growth chart) for an 18 month old. Apparently her feet are HUGE, as she wears close to the same size shoe as Jason does. But I am not sure about this measurement, so I may email to double check her shoe size!
Yes, it is starting to feel real! Woo hoo!!

Fridge pictures

"A picture is worth a thousand words..." Two pictures are worth even more! These pictures have been next to each other on our fridge since January. The picture of Jesus Christ watching over our little one pretty much sums up our feelings about our adoption journey.

Hopefully the journey won't be much longer now! We have applied for our visas and I'm going to my doctor next week to get some shots!

It's here.. and it's gone!

I thought the DHL envelope might be waiting for me at noon today, but it wasn't.

I waited around the house for an hour or two, then went in the backyard with Jason for a while. When we came back in, there it was, propped up by the front door!

I had planned on confronting the DHL guy and asking him if I could take a picture for my blog! (seriously!) But no such luck. Those DHL guys ring the bell and MOVE!! They are almost always tearing down the block in their truck by the time you get to the door. Ah, well-- took the photo for posterity.

So I brought it inside, ripped open the envelope, and was engulfed in a mass of paperwork, a fee schedule, visa petitions, and other fun stuff.

The LOA was just one piece of paper that asked us if we still want to adopt our little one (ARE YOU KIDDING?) and had a spot for both of us to sign and date the paper. It had a cool Chinese seal on it, and was written in both Chinese and English. (which was a good thing! :)

So Dave came home early from work so we could get some of the forms notarized and then he ran the LOA and other forms over to Fedex so they could be sent off by 5:30.

Then we went to two soccer games in the cold, windy rain!

I'm having a hard time sleeping, as of late. Will need to work on that. Must be a symptom of my "paper pregnancy."

OUR LOA IS ON ITS WAY!!!!

First photo of beautiful Sarah

More recent picture! (15 months)

WOOOO HOOOO!

I got home from school today at 12:30 and immediately checked my messages. Just one, from MS (Multiple Sclerosis society) saying they are coming to pick up my donation tomorrow. Sigh.

But then I checked my caller ID and I saw "Unknown Caller", which usually means it is AAC calling (our agency)!

I thought, "Why didn't they leave a message?"

Probably nothing new, I figured.

So I start going about my business, when the phone rings.

Unknown caller.

I start to shake. This has got to be it!! I take a deep breath and answer the phone.

It's Morgan, and he has some great news!!! Our LOA (Letter of Approval) is in his hands and he is sending it DHL this afternoon. We should have it tomorrow!! WOOOO HOOOO!

What's next, you ask?

Well, we sign the LOA, send it right back to AAC by express mail, and they mail it back to China.

Then we wait for travel appointment (TA)-- usually about 2 -4 weeks. Then we can get travel dates and GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. WE WAITED 98 DAYS FOR LOA AND IT IS FINALLY HERE!

HAPPY, HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!

Our prayers have been answered, and MIRACLES HAPPEN every day! Amen!!

Discouraged...

On Wednesday two families from my agency with similar log in dates (June 3) got their LOA's. I was pretty upset because usually the LOA's come in bundles, and ours wasn't included in the bundle.

I called our agency and they contacted CCAA (Chinese office that handles adoptions) on our behalf and were told (again) that our paperwork is in the LOA department and we should receive it shortly, maybe next week. Even express delivery takes 2-3 days, because of the time difference.

At this rate we won't travel until Christmas!! Well, hopefully that's an exaggeration, but please! We thought for sure we'd be gone and back by now. The clock is ticking, and I feel like I'm the only one who is worried by the fact that she is growing up without us. Some days it seems like she is a pen pal and we get to watch her grow up through photos.

This whole process has been agonzing and very, very hard. There are some days when I don't think I can stand it any longer, but then I get through another day. And another day... and another... hopefully we are getting closer.

WAAAAAAAHH!! I think I need some chocolate.