Grateful

Hello Friends (new and old!),

I have heard many kind words about our travel blog from many of you and many comments of how cute Hattie is-we sure think she is adorable!

For those who have asked us, "what is the next step? " let me explain. We overnighted our LOA to the China team. We now are waiting for the Travel Invitation (TI). This is supposed to be about three weeks from the LOA. In the meantime, we are starting to fill out paperwork to apply for our Visas. We will send those in on August 1. We also have appointments with the travel clinic to go over any needed meds for the trip as well as to get copy's of our vaccinations. We need to have a Vaccination Affidavit for our appointment with the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou.

We have ordered curtains and a rug for Hattie's room and will work on getting that all set up this month.

We also are trying to figure out what to pack for her. So lots of shopping!

Thanks to all of our new friends( Guangxi and Bobai) we have lots of helpful ideas and suggestions and connections.

Thanks for following and being excited about the journey. We feel very privileged that China allows us to adopt a child and add to our family.

Wait for the UPS Guy Party

We were given notice yesterday to make sure we were home until noon on Wednesday. The UPS guy was to be here by noon to drop of vital China paperwork. I hurried and threw together "wait for the UPS guy" party with friends and family. We had a bubble maker ready to turn on, balloons on the porch, pink punch, Hello Kitty tablecloth and plates, pink cupcakes, kid friendly food for the kids and a nicer menu for the adults. People started arriving around 9 am to be sure not to miss the UPS guy. We had a great time playing, eating and straining our ears for the big brown truck. Babies were playing together on blankets on the lawn, bigger kids were hiding in the woods with light sabers ready to pounce on the UPS guy. I was running around with a Flip Camera in one pocket and my other camera in the other pocket with my day all planned. Well, by noon the kids were all hot and tired and getting crabby. The moms were all getting hot and tired and ready for their kids to have naps, but everyone was sure it would be any moment. By 1pm, I had called our agency and was informed that they should be delivering at anytime, but to call if they have not shown up by 4. I called at 4 and was told they need to deliver by 7pm. By 5pm, I was waiting on the porch and FINALLY heard the truck. I called for Kory and the kids and we all went outside. The look on the drivers face when I informed him we had been waiting for that package for over three years was pretty awesome!

Anyway, now we have our LOA. This means we can share our information and pictures. It also means we can send care packages to Hattie. Which of course, we did tonight! We sent her a birthday care package with pj's, a disposable camera, candies for the foster family, a soft Asian doll and all of it is in a special red Chinese bag with a note for the foster family to please fill the bag with her special items on the day we meet her in China.

This has been an interesting day. Full of ups and downs, just like the whole journey to international adoption itself. Stay tuned!

Getting Ready

We got the call last Tuesday morning regarding our referral.  After such a long wait, over three years, it really didn't seem possible that we were finally going to China.

It has been a blur of paperwork, researching, medical consults and appointments, lots of phone calls and reading and yes, some shopping.  Finally, we can buy pink and purple and dolls!

We plan to keep all of our friends and family updated through this travel blog.  We will be sharing our referral pictures and other specific baby information when we are given the ok to do so by our agency.

In case you are not aware, the travel blog will be the way for you to follow us as we journey through China to get Hattie.  We will post daily and share the daily pictures from China as well.

We are looking forward to a great adventure.