Coming soon...more travel information!

We received an e-mail from our agency today. We will receive our final travel packet tomorrow or Thursday and take part in a travel conference call on Friday. I can't wait to see the information about our in-China travel and find out when we'll receive Maggie. A friend who recently brought home her daughter told me that while she was in China, people who received referrals from the Hunan province received their daughters on Sunday. That would be September 18!

It's been an exciting day for us and for some of our Yahoo friends. Lots of referral calls were made today. Lots of beautiful babies. One friend even received a referral for twins! Tomorrow they will receive additional pictures of their daughters. Oh happy day!!

Jack's First Driving Lesson

Grandpa took the ol' jalopy out for a cruise on the gravel road this afternoon. When we cruised into the hay field, he let Jack take over the wheel. My little man was so excited. He always wants to drive my car. Jack took his first driving lesson pretty seriously. I wish I had brought the camera with us.

Flights Booked!

After being on the phone waiting for a customer service representative from Expedia twice today - an hour each time, I finally said, forget it, and booked our flights directly through United Airlines. So, our flights are booked for China! We are leaving September 15!! Please pray for safe travels. After all these years, it's hard to believe that we will meet Miss Maggie next month. I'll probably wake up from this surreal state when she starts screaming at me on Forever Family Day. Yes, I'm imagining the worst, praying for the best.

TAs & Visas!!

Our agency, CCAI, received our travel approval today! With the Mid-Autumn Festival taking place September 12, it looks like we will leave between September 14 - 16. I joked on Facebook that we are now accepting Frequent Flyer miles, but seriously, now is the time for that long-lost distant (and rich) relative to step forward. :)

Hopefully, we will learn of our definite departure and return dates in the next few days so we can book our flights. That's the next biggie on our list.

We also received our Passports and Visas today. We are slowly checking off our to-do things and getting closer to Maggie.

With TA's sent, there is hope that referrals are around the corner for the next group of people who are logged into China. Fingers crossed that it's a big batch!! I love referral time!!

Thanks Ruby!

For shedding light on what the "WWGFD" bumper sticker may mean. I had no idea it could reference a video game. I was assuming it was a religious reference based on "WWJD." I hope you are right.

My Sweet Boy

I'm usually the one who shuttles the kids to and from daycare, but sometimes Mike picks up the boys and when he does he often has candy like Starbursts. It's a fun "let's-go-ahead-and-spoil-your-dinner" treat that Jack and now Liam love. The other night, Mike was teasing Jack that it was more fun to come home in his car as opposed to mine. But Jack said he liked going in his momma's car and you want to know why - "because she gives me love." That's exactly what he said. Melt my heart. That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard him say.

Where Is Maggie Rose From?

Mike works with a man who is from China. When this co-worker saw our daughter's pictures today, he said she looked Cantonese, meaning she doesn't look like she comes from the Hunan province as stated in her paperwork. Did her birth parent(s) travel from a nearby province with Maggie so that no one they knew would discover what they were doing? Or, are Maggie's birth parent(s) Cantonese but moved to the Hunan province? Or, is there another reason? It's likely we will never know the answer but it gives us a tiny clue into her background.  

The Hunan province is located close to the Guangdong province. Cantonese is believed to have originated in Canton or Guangzhou, Guangdong.

WWGFD

Saw this on a bumper sticker tonight. I think you can interpret what it's supposed to imply. Sad, just sad.

The Amazing Race (In Our Living Room)

The boys were hyper tonight racing each other across the living room. Jack is still faster than Liam but you ought to see my thirteen-month-old fly.

Too fast to be captured on film.

Tonight, Liam gave me a kiss when I asked for one before he went to bed. Oh, how I love his little open mouthed kisses. So cute!

Noodle Head

Liam was all about putting food on his head tonight. Can you spot the noodle?

Ridiculously Cute!

Miss Maggie's swimsuit arrived in the mail today. I took a picture of it with a lotion bottle so you could see how tiny it is. The tag says it will fit a baby who weighs 12.5 to 16.5 pounds. Mike bets the suit won't fit her. My friend Shelley found us a 6 to 9 month suit at a very good price so I think we'll be in good shape in China.

Cute bow on the back! Love the ruffles!!

Little Girl Found

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to discover an abandoned baby in China? What would you do? Rumor Queen recently posted a link to this article describing one woman's experience. Like the author, I would have trouble letting go. My heart aches for the homeless children.  

The Waiting Game

When are we going to travel? Right now, I imagine it will be the first or second week in September. The good news is that our Visa applications along with our Passports are safely at the US Consulate. Hopefully, we will receive our Visas in a week or so. If anyone is looking for a courier, I highly recommend Denise Hope at There's Always Hope. She has been great to us.

Meanwhile, we're building a monster pile for our suitcases. All kinds of goodies for Maggie - clothes, prunes (hee, hee), diapers (etc) and then some snacks for us. We'll be taking plenty of granola bars and peanut butter for treats to tie us over.

Our agency released its monthly newsletter today. Last month, the agency received referrals for just three families - we are one of those blessed families. I had the great fortune of being contacted by one of the two families in our group. We have been communicating since then helping each other with the Visa applications and figuring out what to pack. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's nothing like being a member of the adoption community. I have experienced the warmth of friendship and kindness so many times from members of this caring community.

I ordered a 3 to 6 month swimsuit for Maggie Rose since we will be in three toasty locations during our stay in China. I hope to receive the suit soon and post a picture of it. My CCAI friend found us a 6 to 9 month swimsuit in case the one I ordered is too small.

Our Yahoo friends received their baby girls today. One friend posted about the day on her blog. Wow - it's incredible to see her precious pictures, knowing that we will have our own special day next month.

Now, we sit back and play the waiting game for a little while longer. We hope to receive our travel approval this week which will allow our agency to ask for a date with the US Consulate in China which will help them figure out our travel dates!

Big Men on Campus

The boys decided to play with their backbacks the other day. They had a lot of fun carrying them around. Liam loves it when he has exactly what Jack has. Well, okay, Liam had the Spongebob backpack while Jack carried around Buzz Lightyear, but still, Liam thinks he's pretty cool.

Serious backback and serious Scooby Doo watching.

"Look, mom. No pants." What a little hippie!

Care Package, Visa Apps, Oh My!

Since we received Maggie Rose's referral, time has flown.

First, we had 24 to 48 hours to send back our acceptance letter. Last week, I put together Maggie's care package consisting of a light blanket, rattle, Hello Kitty toy (thinking about you, Amy), photo book, camera, treats for Maggie and her friends and candy for her care givers. Fingers crossed that her ophanage will actually take pictures. We hear that families from her province often do not receive their cameras back. I also would love for Maggie to be able to keep her toys. I marked everything I could. The rattle was the only that I couldn't mark.  

Yesterday, I mailed our Visa applications. With some help, the four page application wasn't so bad, just time consuming. Today, I mailed our travel paperwork to our agency.

Now, I can sit back and wait for our Passports and Visas to be mailed to us. We still do not know with certainty when we will travel. However, we may receive our Travel Approvals in a couple of weeks.  

There are a few families in our Yahoo group that are leaving for China this week! They will meet their daughters next week. I am so excited for them. I can't imagine how excited I will be when we actually travel.