Packing Day!

I did it! I conquered the packing today but it was not an easy undertaking, not at all. To say I'm exhausted is a gigantic understatement. I started this morning at 7:30 and I wasn't finished until about 5:00 this evening. I only stopped long enough to eat a few quick bites. Now remember, I had everything gathered in our "packing room", so it's not like I was starting from scratch.





It did take me some time to take things out of packages and then think through what needed to be in our backpacks, what we wanted in each of our carry-on luggage. Then on to the checked luggage. I was trying to be smart about what should go in each piece but it seemed to at least all fit nicely. But... would the weight be within the limit? Now that's a whole different story. That's where my day started to go down hill fast. The first big piece of luggage I weighed was one in which was loaded down with everything for Emma. Guess what? The weight was under the limit by several pounds. Yeah!


I then moved on to the other two suitcases, one is Matt's and the other is mine, but when I went to weigh mine, I was over. No problem, I'd just move a few things around. Wrong, still over. This went on for about an hour and 45 minutes. Until I finally got it. At least I hope the airport scales agree.




Here's all the stuff we bought for Eli to do while on this long, long, long plane ride. Not to mention, the hours of Looney Tunes he can watch, thanks to Kyle. Plus, we have the Carnahan's Ipod loaded with Adventures In Odyssey, music and other stories.


Even Ethan got in on the packing. Here he is testing out the eye mask. Momma wants to make sure I have the best sleeping environment possible, eye mask, pillow, blanket and Tylenol PM.



And finally, for all those who really know us...

One Week To Go

I can't believe after 6 years of waiting we are now down to 1 week. I'm not sure the reality has completely sunk in yet. I've been nesting like crazy these past couple of weeks getting everything cleaned and ready. I'm almost there, we have everything purchased, most everything gathered in our "packing room" and it's just waiting for me to tackle the biggest undertaking yet... packing. Another China mom put it best, it's like fitting an elephant into a purse. Come Saturday I'll let you know if I've been able to accomplish the impossible.

I feel pretty calm, which is completely against my nature but maybe because God is at work. Yesterday I received a devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries and it was written by Marybeth Whalen entitled "Purse, Bag or Sandals". The story begins in Matthew 10 when Jesus instructed His disciples to go minister to the lost sheep of Israel. When He sent them out, He sent them without anything, no purse, bag or sandals. They just obediently went.

I don't know about you but the idea of heading out to China without having prepared my packing list (all 6 typed pages of it), or leaving without visiting my local Target about 5 times, or leaving without cleaning every single square inch of my house, would ultimately lead me to having a complete melt down. I have often worried, "what if I forget something we really need?", or "what if it doesn't all fit into our suitcases?" Then as I continued to read the devotional, Marybeth stated "Being prepared feeds my illusion that I can somehow control my future". Wow, you talk about the Holy Spirit convicting someone. I need to let go, I'm not in control anyway.

Back to the story of the disciples. It doesn't just end in Matthew, but if you skip over to Luke 22:35 Jesus said to them, "When I sent you out without purse and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?" And they said, "No, nothing."

God has called us out to minister to one little girl on the other side of the world. If He has called us out, why would I think that we would lack anything. What it really boils down to is, we just need to be united with our daughter. Nothing else matter.

As I go off to bed tonight, I'm reminded of one of my favorite verses.

Psalm 46:10 ~ Cease striving and know that I am God.

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)

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.

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!