Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Where is Emma?


I thought I would include a map of China so that you all could see where we will be heading in order to be united with Emma.
We will first arrive in Beijing for about 3 days of sightseeing and to allow our bodies to adjust to the time change, then we fly to Guangzhou for the remaining part of our trip. Guangzhou is the capital city of the Guangdong province, which is Emma's province. The orphanage in Gaozhou will bring Emma to meet us in Guangzhou. We will leave Guangzhou and fly out of Shanghai back home.

(Click on the map in order to enlarge)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

We Have Plane Tickets

As of this evening, we have purchased our plane tickets to and from China. Next, our agency has people working on our in country travel arrangements such as in country plane tickets, hotels, transportation, etc.

I can't wait to find out the day that we receive Emma. For those of you not from the adoption world, this day is called "Gotcha Day". This is a day that we have dreamed about for years now. To think that we are this close just blows my mind. I'm thinking it could be June 12 but that's not confirmed just yet. Hopefully we will know the rest of the details soon.

I want to go ahead and apologize to all of you who are close to me that will have to put up with this crazy woman for the next few weeks. My life right now is similar to a pregnant woman whose water has broke, out in public of course, and doesn't have a single thing ready for the hospital. Heads up... Beware!

Travel Approval!!!

We finally have our Travel Approval!!! I received a call from our social worker this morning telling me that Emma's visa appointment is set for June 20th and that we will arrive in Beijing on Thursday, June 9th.

The travel agency is currently working on all the details and we should hear from them this evening. I'll post more of the details once I have them.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Second Care Package




As most of you know, we sent Emma a care package through the U.S. postal service the week after we received her referral. When I dropped the package off at the post office the lady gave me a "tracking number", at least that's what she said. So after a couple of days I jumped on the computer, put in the number and all it said was that it was in the local post office. I continued to check the tracking number and there was no change. I told Matt that I didn't have a very good feeling about this.

Well, last week I began to read other blogs, within the same referral batch, that had received updated photos from Ann at Red Thread. Ann, is a lady in China who has a business putting together care packages and having them delivered to your child's orphanage. She has a good reputation and a good relationship with the orphanages and therefore, is able to get updated information on your child. So, what's a momma to do? Send another package, of course!

The items we selected are very similar to the items we initially sent; A Hello Kitty photo album (with our pictures inside), a disposable camera, musical toy, candy for the caretakers and a letter.

At least I know she received one package.

What a Blessing!



As the wait for our travel approval is taking it's toll on my heart, I was blessed today with updated information and photos. I am so grateful to Ann at Red Thread for this gift. So, I'm choosing to focus on this blessing today. What a blessing!