This is it folks! The post Michael and I have been waiting to write and I think that you have been waiting for as well. We are going to get our girl! Our first born! Our angel from God! Her 2 year wait for a family is finally over and she is allowing our story as a family together to begin!
We received our Travel Approval (TA) when I woke up this past Friday morning. It was a miracle! Most TAs take 2-4 weeks we are told and ours came in 9 days. We really needed ours here quickly because we have a lot of time sensitive things going on in our world right now and as God has done throughout this whole adoption process....He answered our prayers. And I know many of you out there were praying for us as well, so we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We hope that all of you out there that doubt the power of prayer or that miracles do not happen anymore to take our story as proof that prayer really works and that miracles really still do happen. (Verses about prayer.. James 5:13-16/ I John 5:14-15/ Matt 6:5-16/ I Thessalonians 5:16-18)
What is next your might be wondering. We leave to pick her up on the 30th of March. The orphanage will bring her to us in Zhengzhou on March 31st. March 31st will be our "gotcha day." In the international adoption world Gotcha day is really important. Most families, from the blogs I read, continue to celebrate this day for the rest of their child's lives just like a birthday. They usually buy small things from China to give to their child each year on Gotcha day.
Back to the schedule.... we will get Chu Chu on that Monday and then probably travel Tuesday to her home town to do paperwork. Her home town is about 3 hours away from Zhengzhou, so that will be a long day. We drive there to do the paperwork and drive back. That is a long day and a long car ride with child that is just getting to know us. Please pray for safe happy travels. The rest of the week we will be waiting for her paperwork to be completed and just have bonding time together as a family. The families that will be coming from the U.S. to get their children usually do some sight seeing but it is optional for everyone depending on how your child is doing. And for us we do not really need to go sight seeing in China since we live here ;o) so we will most likely use it for bonding time and for Michael to get some work done but also to hang out with the other families and kids who will be staying in the same hotel as us.
At the end of the week we will travel to Guangzhou to the U.S. Consulate to do more paperwork. It is a holiday the beginning of the week so our appointment at the consulate is not until April 10.
We should be able to travel back home to Nanjing on the 11th or 12th. It is a 2 week process with a lot of down time in between because we are just waiting for paperwork to be processed. But is is excellent bonding time because no one else is around...especially for Michael who is working more than ever these days. So it will give him some nice uninterrupted baba/daughter time before he heads back to work. (baba is Chinese for dad)
That is our update for now! We will have our daughter in our arms in 3 weeks. We will continue to try and be diligent about posting updates on the blog. We will try and post pics from Gotcha day and weekly posts after that with pics of Chu Chu. Kids grow up fast and we know our friends and family who are far away will want to see her as she changes and grows.
Sorry if there are any typos or crazy sentences in this post. I usually try and reread the post but not today. ;o) We actually have a lot of little things to do to finish up getting ready for our girl, so I just can't be bothered today. ;o) I blog just to keep our friends and family updated on our life, I am no professional writer! ;o)
Thanks again to all of you who have been supporting us in all different ways throughout this process!
We received our Travel Approval (TA) when I woke up this past Friday morning. It was a miracle! Most TAs take 2-4 weeks we are told and ours came in 9 days. We really needed ours here quickly because we have a lot of time sensitive things going on in our world right now and as God has done throughout this whole adoption process....He answered our prayers. And I know many of you out there were praying for us as well, so we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We hope that all of you out there that doubt the power of prayer or that miracles do not happen anymore to take our story as proof that prayer really works and that miracles really still do happen. (Verses about prayer.. James 5:13-16/ I John 5:14-15/ Matt 6:5-16/ I Thessalonians 5:16-18)
What is next your might be wondering. We leave to pick her up on the 30th of March. The orphanage will bring her to us in Zhengzhou on March 31st. March 31st will be our "gotcha day." In the international adoption world Gotcha day is really important. Most families, from the blogs I read, continue to celebrate this day for the rest of their child's lives just like a birthday. They usually buy small things from China to give to their child each year on Gotcha day.
Back to the schedule.... we will get Chu Chu on that Monday and then probably travel Tuesday to her home town to do paperwork. Her home town is about 3 hours away from Zhengzhou, so that will be a long day. We drive there to do the paperwork and drive back. That is a long day and a long car ride with child that is just getting to know us. Please pray for safe happy travels. The rest of the week we will be waiting for her paperwork to be completed and just have bonding time together as a family. The families that will be coming from the U.S. to get their children usually do some sight seeing but it is optional for everyone depending on how your child is doing. And for us we do not really need to go sight seeing in China since we live here ;o) so we will most likely use it for bonding time and for Michael to get some work done but also to hang out with the other families and kids who will be staying in the same hotel as us.
At the end of the week we will travel to Guangzhou to the U.S. Consulate to do more paperwork. It is a holiday the beginning of the week so our appointment at the consulate is not until April 10.
We should be able to travel back home to Nanjing on the 11th or 12th. It is a 2 week process with a lot of down time in between because we are just waiting for paperwork to be processed. But is is excellent bonding time because no one else is around...especially for Michael who is working more than ever these days. So it will give him some nice uninterrupted baba/daughter time before he heads back to work. (baba is Chinese for dad)
That is our update for now! We will have our daughter in our arms in 3 weeks. We will continue to try and be diligent about posting updates on the blog. We will try and post pics from Gotcha day and weekly posts after that with pics of Chu Chu. Kids grow up fast and we know our friends and family who are far away will want to see her as she changes and grows.
Sorry if there are any typos or crazy sentences in this post. I usually try and reread the post but not today. ;o) We actually have a lot of little things to do to finish up getting ready for our girl, so I just can't be bothered today. ;o) I blog just to keep our friends and family updated on our life, I am no professional writer! ;o)
Thanks again to all of you who have been supporting us in all different ways throughout this process!
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| Mama and Baba are coming baby girl! |
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| Even Coco and Baozi are waiting by the window anticipating your arrival! ;o) |
So happy for all of you -- you, your husband, Chu Chu, Coco and Baozi. Sending warm thoughts your way as you travel to do all of the paperwork.
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