No travel date yet

Everyone keeps asking but no, we don't know when we are traveling yet. We did email the agency and ask if they thought we'd get a more recent picture at this point and they really didn't think so. So, we go shopping for clothes and guess at her size. I'm getting 12 mo and 18 mo clothes right now. Please, don't anyone buy any clothes yet, though. Please wait till we get home.

The welding project went quite well today. We now have a gate for the basement door that the cats can get through but a child cannot.

We seem to do SOMETHING every day towards getting the room ready or packing or shopping. We rearranged beds last weekend and picked up a recliner from my brother today to use for a while, as well as crib sheets. I'm going to defrost the deep freeze tomorrow on my day off (Presidents' Day). It has needed it for quite a while and it's never been done. Sounds like fun, huh? Also, tomorrow we are moving into the 21st century and having 2 DVRs installed just in time for the digital switchover.

Oh! And yesterday, I got a Valentine from Beibei! It said "See You Soon!"

LOA Signed and Sent Back

We signed the LOA last night and got it ready to send out today. I made color copies of it and personally handed it to the UPS guy at work. It's on its way back to Holt who will then send it back to China. It needed to be back to Holt by Monday, Feb. 9 by noon in order to stay on track. If it was later, it might delay our travel. So they should receive it tomorrow and then I'm assuming they will send it early next week along with any others.

And... I'm assuming that "all the others" are the other families we'll be traveling with and meeting in China. It's kinda neat how God is working right now to bring certain people together for a single purpose. Even though we don't know who they are right now, we will soon. And then we'll have a common experience together and I've read that these groups have reunions with each other and get together to see how their children are growing. Something to look forward to!

So... the next wait will be for the Travel Approval (TA). We are also still waiting for a more recent picture and her measurements. We are SO excited to see what she looks like now!

LOA! (Letter of Acceptance)

Late February, huh? How about today? We received a voice message about 5 pm today from Holt saying that they received our LOA! He will overnight it to us and we'll receive it tomorrow. Now we will need to apply for our Chinese Visas and things will start MOVING! So, based on the time frame he gave me last week, we could be going to China in March!

This is a VERY good day!

What I found out today

I called Holt and asked questions today.

We were wondering if they could tell us ANYTHING about when things might happen. They gave me an idea... We may get our Letter of Acceptance around late-February, then about 4 weeks later we'll get our Travel Approval. THEN, 2 1/2 to 5 weeks after that we'll be on the plane to China! That would put us in China sometime in April. That's if everything goes at a "normal" pace. If things go a little quicker, maybe we'll be able to go in March.

They also said that the photo album was sent to Holt-China on Jan. 16. It takes 7-9 days to get there and then within 48 hours, Holt gets it to our daughter. So, she should receive it sometime next week.

Regarding our request for 1-2 more recent pictures and current height and weight, he was going to re-request that for a 3rd time today. Because of the Chinese New Year next week, he supposed we might see something the week after next.

So unless something big happens next week, I don't expect to post again until February.

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone on January 26. Year of the Ox, 4707.

Holt Received Package

I called Holt to make sure they received our forms, money and the photo album today and they did. Now we wait again...for approval and travel instructions. We're getting closer!

Package Sent to Holt

Today we sent off forms that Holt needs, our final adoption fees, and the little photo album that we put together for Beibei. They should receive it on Monday. Once they receive our money we are all set to be approved by the CCAA and once Holt then receives our travel approval, they can let us know. They would not let us know unless they had our money. That was a BIG step towards bringing our daughter home. Whew!

We are still waiting to see if we will get another 1-2 more recent pictures and her current height and weight.

Baby Stuff and Paperwork

Today was very productive. We went out and got probably the last stroller in Omaha of the type we were looking at. We also got a gate for the basement door. Problem is, the cats need to be able to get through it. Misty made it (eventually) but Sunshine hasn't yet. Tony may try to modify it a bit with his welding skills.

Since Christmas we've also gotten a car seat and a high chair. In total, all of these 4 items have only cost just just over $200 so we think we're doing quite well. We look for sales and clearances or something that would be more useful. Like the high chair...it's kinda neat. It is just the seat and tray basically and it just straps to a regular chair. Then later, it converts to a booster seat! We both went "hmmmm" when we saw that!

We also, today, took down the Christmas lights outside and I took down the ornaments from the tree. I'll probably take care of the lights and the tree itself on Sunday. Tony worked in the shop a bit, I watched the Husker game (ended up good, anyway!), and tonight we finished what we could on the Holt paperwork and filled out the paperwork for the NCHS annual update. We have to be current in Nebraska with our homestudy when we re-adopt her 6 months after we get home. Geez! The paperwork is something else! We're getting good at it, though!