10 Days!

Wow…..just wow.  I can’t believe that we leave in 10 days/7 work days.  Yikes!  We have been busy, so I apologize for not updating in a while.

Slowly, but surely, our hotel reservations trickled in last week, and we were able to finish the Visa applications on Thursday and overnight to our courier in DC (The Assistant Stork – The name is hilarious, but appropriate in this case.).  The Chinese Embassy requires your Visa applications to be hand-delivered, thus the courier.  It then takes them a few days to review and approve the applications, and then prepare the Visas.  There is quite a bit of stress in our house about this, since there is not a lot of time to turn this around.  They also require your ACTUAL passports, so we pray that everything is returned safe and sound and IN TIME for us to leave on the 17th.

Many of you have asked if it is becoming more real.  The short answer is: “Not really.”  Philip and I were just talking last night about that.  We think that it will take the moment when we arrive in Changsha for it to finally sink in.  We attended our first adoption meeting in May of 2006, so it’s been almost 8 years since that first meeting.  My goodness - a lot has changed in 8 years!  After this long, it seems impossible that it’s actually happening.  With that said, it did become a little more real today because we received our itinerary.  That’s right – in black and white it tells us what day we are doing what and where; the times aren’t there, but I’m probably the only one that cares about that right now (HA!).  We will have a representative from the adoption agency with us in both Changsha and Guangzhou.  They will help us with translation, paperwork, logistics, etc.  Most people go to Beijing first, but we are foregoing the sightseeing there since Ansley will be with us.  We decided that hiking the Great Wall of China and visiting Tiananmen Square with a 4 year old was probably not the best idea.  Instead, to help get rid of the jet lag, our last outing as a family of 3 will be Disneyland Hong Kong!

Several people have asked:  why do you have to stay in China so long?  It looks like they keep us pretty busy:
Sun, April 20 – Fly to Changsha
Mon, April 21 – MEET YOUR CHILD IN THE MORNING (aka Gotcha Day)
Tue, April 22 – Adoption procedure in the morning (sign papers), registration, apply for child’s passport (The passport will be in her Chinese name.)
Wed, April 23 – Half day sightseeing:  YuLu Academy (I need to research this.)
Thurs, April 24 – Adoption Registration Certification Handover Ceremony
Fri, April 25 – Get her passport and all paperwork back; fly to Guangzhou in the evening
Sat, April 26 – Medical exam for child
Sun, April 27 – FREE DAY
Mon, April 28 – Re-check at the medical clinic
Tue, April 29 – AMERICAN CONSULATE APPOINTMENT – take oath, interview with office, and submit documents
Wed, April 30 – Receive child’s visa in the late afternoon (has to have this to enter the US)
Thur, May 1 – depart for home; arrive in Nashville around 6pm on 5/1

The packing is coming along.  I would say that we are 85% complete.  I haven’t weighed the suitcases, but hopefully we are under the 44 pound rule.  We still have several things to mark off the “To Do” list, but we are getting there.

Some people have asked about strollers and car seats.  We will buy a stroller or strollers (not sure yet) when we get to Changsha.  They are supposedly readily available.  As far as car seats….they don't really have car seats in China, so our children will be riding around China unrestrained (gasp!).  (Only about 5% of the population in China restrain their kids in vehicles, but there are reports that they are trying to remedy that.)  That makes me think of the days when I was young.  :)  If I'm not mistaken, my cousin was the poster child for car seat safety in Tennessee back in 1982, but I digress.  In any case, that should make for an interesting ride from the Nashville Airport to our house.

We are taking our Baby Bjorn, but I'm not sure how well Olivia is going to fit in it.  She is still under the weight requirement, so we'll see.  Other families say that it is a good bonding tool while you are out and about, so we'll give it a shot.

Speaking of bonding….I do have some anxiety around bonding.  I pray that we bond with her, and she bonds with us.  Some children have easier times than others.  "They say" (aka the experts) that grieving is to be expected, and that it is healthy for there to be grieving (aka crying).  This is the part that I D-R-E-A-D with a capital D.  I also have some anxiety about knowing what to do, how to comfort, learning what she likes/doesn't like, how she likes to sleep, what she likes to eat, etc.  When you are with a child from the moment he/she is born, you learn what to do, how to comfort, what they like/don't like, etc.  When you meet a child for the first time when she is over 2 years old, you don't know those things.  Don't get me wrong, I'm confident that we'll learn, but I hope we are quick studies in that department.  I would like to instill confidence in our new daughter that we kind of know what we're doing.  (ha) If we get a chance to ask the orphanage workers any questions at all, these will be many of the questions that I ask.  Does she like to sleep with the light on, does she sleep with noise, how does she like to be comforted, does she have a crib mate, does she sleep alone?  The list goes on and on…..I'm not sure how long we'll have with the orphanage workers, so I have to highlight my top 5 questions, just in case I can only ask 5 or less.

Those are just a few things on my mind right now.  I better close and do some more packing.  Once again, thanks for reading and for your support and prayers.  It really means a lot that so many people are interested in our journey.  Have a great week!
Jill