9 more days

9 more days until we leave for China. I am still waiting for our visas. Yes this is getting old. Chris the courier in NYC said they would be ready today then he will FedEx them to us. BTW a visa is a stamp they put in your passport so it is our actual passports that are in NYC. Praying they make it back here ok! 

Today we have to wire the rest of our fees to China. Let me tell you this is so much better than how it used to be done. You used to have to take something like $10k cash with you to China then exchange it to Chinese yuan.

I am sitting here now with ice on my leg because a shopping cart fell on my leg. Ouch! Now I will have a huge bruise on my calf. Rachel has an end of the summer cold which we will probably all get. I really should be packing! 

10 days to go!

School starts in one week and we are going to China in 10 days! And we still don't have our visas yet.  The courier assured me they would be issued tomorrow and then he will FedEx them to us. Other than that we are buying stuff for the trip and planning what to pack.

Over the weekend we celebrated Jan and Rachel's birthdays.  Our birthdays kind of get over-shadowed every year because of the start of school so we celebrate a little early.  Rachel is going into 2nd grade a she is not too happy because her friend is in the other class this year.  I'm sure it will all work out.

Even Dozen

We leave in 12 days! We're going to celebrate my birthday (it's a milestone), Rachel's 8th birthday and the first day of school (2nd grade) all in the next two weeks! Plus I work 5 days out of the next 2 weeks.

Starting to really think about things and how hard it will be for Anna to leave her foster family. It is the only family she has known. We probably won't even get to meet them. My biggest worries about the trip are the long plane ride and the language barrier.  I'm sure it will be all the harder for Anna.

Lucky Number 13

We're leaving for China in 13 days! The number 13 is not considered "unlucky" in China but the number 4 is- go figure! Picking up lots of travel size stuff and getting everything ready.  It's hard to wrap my head around packing for 2 weeks worth of clothes and stuff! Still waiting for our visas/passports to arrive.

panda cupcakes

Rachel had her "friends" birthday party at the lake yesterday.
It turned out to be a nice day even though it was a little chilly for August.  Can't believe she is almost 8 years old and starting 2nd grade soon!

And the winner is...

We had 135 puzzle pieces pledged for our fundraiser and we raised over $1200 towards our China adoption! A big thank you to everyone who participated! And now the winner of the $50 Best Buy gift card chosen by random number generator is... #35... Mike Hudock! Congratulations and thanks again to everyone! We really appreciate the support we got from our friends and family- we just can't thank you enough!  We're leaving in 16 days!

Last part of fees

Our passports are on their way to the Chinese Consulate in NYC for visa stamps.  They put a stamp in your passport and send it back to you so you can enter China. Praying nothing gets lost by FedEx!

Anna

 

We also got an update and a new photo of Anna!  She is 5 1/2 but only about 33 lbs.  She doesn't look tiny in her picture though- she always looks so happy!  We had sent her a care package a few weeks ago and she is holding some of the items we sent.

We are leaving in 3 weeks.  We have so much to do to prepare it's overwhelming!  We also have a tremendous amount of expenses.

The visas were $570, the flights to China were $5500, the China orphanage donation is $5000, and our in-country China expenses (flights, hotels, etc.) are $6000.

We are very thankful to the people who supported our fundraiser.  We got about $1000 in donations.  We will do the gift card drawing August 10.

We have applied for 4 small adoption grants.  We heard back from 2 of them that they are taking our application to the board for review.  Praying that we get something!

We have flights to China!

Guangzhou

Whew! We have flights booked to China! We are leaving in 4 weeks! And we have Gotcha Day in one month on Sept 1st! That is the day we will receive Anna.  Then we stay in China for about 2 weeks.  There is  lots of paperwork and things you have to take care of there.  On Sept 10 we will have an appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou.  Anna will have a swearing in ceremony to get her Visa to come to America! As soon as we land on US soil and clear immigration at the airport she becomes a US citizen.  We will also complete the legal adoption in China.  (When we adopted Rachel from Korea we had to complete the adoption in Summit County.) Anna will come home on a Chinese passport in her Chinese name YuanYuan.

We have passports, we have plane tickets, we are waiting for hotel reservations that our adoption agency makes and our travel visas to enter China. Now I'm off to go shopping because there is lots to get for the trip!