Nothing Yet!

I feel like I need to post something but really don't have anything to say!

We were hoping to get our TA by the end of February but at this point it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Now I guess we'll take it one week at a time. Maybe we'll get it next week.

If we get our travel approval next week, we could be in China anywhere between late March and mid-April. We could possibly still be in China over Easter...which wouldn't be all that bad. We'll have new friends to celebrate with and maybe have an Easter egg hunt with. Who knows? We could even still be HOME by Easter if things move really rapidly! But, the thing with that is, even if we are home by Easter, we won't be going out to church and family things yet. All the reading and learning we've done says to just stay home and be hermits for a while while we establish a routine with our new child. So, just a heads-up for everyone to not expect us to accept invitations out for a while after we get home.

We bought some clothes today including a couple outfits to donate to the orphanage. We also have some children's tylenol and will eventually get some vitamins to donate also. We also bought, as a gift to the caregivers, some Baker's chocolates, made right here in Nebraska!

What's Her Name?

Our case worker came to the house on Thursday because he has to come every year for our NCHS update. We talked mostly about the adoption and how fast it has gone once we got into the international and special needs process.

As he was leaving he asked if we had a name picked out yet. We said "YES!" and didn't say anything else. He understood! We aren't telling anyone her name until we get off the plane in Omaha. So, that's another good reason to come to the airport and meet us when we get home. Not only will you get to see her, you'll learn what we have named her!

Visas are here!

We're ready to travel...once we get travel approval! Our passports with the Chinese Visas in them arrived today. They say we have to arrive by August 11, 2009. I don't think that will be a problem!

We visited our doctors yesterday and got prescriptions to have with us just in case. I also had a consultation with a pediatrician yesterday. He answered all my questions and has experience with other internationally adopted kids.

So... we'll get a few more items the next time we go shopping (like diapers) and eventually we'll get our travel approval.

Check back to the blog. When we get travel approval, it will be here!

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.