Picture

Okay, so I should have tried this with a picture earlier. Trying again! These are my babies...Ginger is on the left. She rules the house! Jackson is on the right. He pretty much does whatever Ginger says to do.

Test Blog

Just checking in to see if this works. John and I have been spending the evening tackling the To Do List again! One week from tomorrow we will be on a plane to China!

Last relaxing weekend

Well, John and I had the opportunity to get away this last weekend and we took advantage of it. We went to Garner State Park and met my parents for the long holiday weekend. It was so relaxing I did not want to leave. I read an entire book and John kept himself busy bird watching. We went hiking on Saturday and the weather was beautiful, too cold for the water though. We are back home this evening and ready to tackle the big China To Do List again! This is officially my last week of school and then we are off to meet our son. I forgot to post the itinerary the other night so here it is below...a rough draft for now. Our request to visit the orphanage was denied which is bothersome, but we have no control at this point. We really just want to get there and meet Longji.

5/7 Arrive in Beijing
5/8 Tour Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tian An Men Square
5/9 Fly to Guangzhou
5/10 Meet our Son! This is known as "Gotcha Day"
5/11 Civil Affairs Office for registration and Public Notary
5/12 TB Test for Longji and shopping
5/13 to 5/16 Sightseeing days
5/17 Get Longji's passport
5/18 Medical Exam
5/19 Our guide goes to the American Consulate for documents(not sure what we do...maybe more shopping)
5/20 Oath-taking ceremony
5/21 Train to Hong Kong
5/22 Fly back home

Just checking in...

Tonight I went for a run and it is amazing how far my mind can wander when I am having a good run. I couldn't stop thinking about our "Gotcha" moment and what it is going to feel like. Am I even going to be able to put it into words? John and I decided that we would like to visit the orphanage if they allow us to and also visit Longji's "finding place." We went back and forth about the orphanage, but we ultimately decided it was something we wanted to experience with Longji. The orphanage has to give us permission so we will see.

As for preparing for our travels, I continue to tackle the never-ending To Do List. It feels like once I cross something off of the list I end up adding two more items. I checked out a blog the other day that suggested making business-like cards with our names, state and city address, phone number, e-mail and blog address to share with others that we travel with or simply meet on our trip. She said she was constantly looking for paper and pen to share this information. What a fantastic idea...add it to the To Do List. I have made attempts to contact pediatricians who are familiar with international adoptions, but have been unsuccessful. It is still on my To Do List though. And as far as lists go, I just finished making one for my house guests who are taking care of Ginger, Jackson, Sammie and Buddy, my house, mail, yard, plants...you see what I mean. Tomorrow I will post the itinerary as we know it now.

23 days!

And the countdown begins...well, it began 6 months ago, but who is counting anyway. We got our detailed itinerary today along with hotel and intra-China flight information. It is a lot to take in, but all worth it! Now I have a list of questions for the agency so we will be in contact with them over the next few days. Will keep posting as we know more!

Plane Tickets!

We purchased our tickets! We fly to San Francisco and then Beijing. Coming back we take a train to Hong Kong from Guangzhou and then fly back to the United States. We're getting closer...

Our Shenzhen Superman

We will meet our Shenzhen Superman (he is the one on the left) in about one month. Tomorrow we will hopefully receive our consulate appointment and then we will be able to book our airline tickets. Since we are a month away from travel we are hoping to get tickets at a good price. At this point, I don't care how much they cost...I just want to meet my son. The picture on the right is actually a birthday card that was given to John's uncle Ed back in 2007. Aunt Rita sent the card to us a while back, with Ed's permission of course, along with a note of encouragement about the adoption. I decided I would frame it and hang it up in his room. Thank you Uncle Ed and Aunt Rita!

The Lonely Lego

Okay, so I have to share this story...in honor of Ms. Shelley, our school librarian. She came into my 3rd period class a few weeks ago with a big box of Legos for Adam. When she walked in and handed me the box she made a comment about a missing Lego...out of 1000 pieces! I giggled, along with my entire class, and questioned the missing Lego, "Did you actually count every Lego?" SHE SURE DID! She knew exactly which Lego was missing, a small red translucent piece. And she continued with, "I am sure it will turn up somewhere." I shared this with my family and we have been giggling about it since. Then today, she walks into my 1st period class with the infamous small red translucent Lego! I about fell over. It was hilarious and I had to share the find with my 3rd period. Ms. Shelley rocks! I can't wait to share this story with Adam one day.

As for the significance of the Lego...in China, red is a good luck color. More importantly, the lonely Lego finally made it "home" which is where Adam will be shortly.

Happy Anniversary!

John and I celebrated anniversary #6 yesterday. He brought home some beautiful flowers for me. It seems like we were just counting down the days to our 5th so we could officially adopt from China...I love you John!

Travel Dates!!

We received unofficial travel dates today. They will become official on Monday when the agency receives our package from China. We leave May 6th and will meet Adam Longji on May 10th, the day after Mother's Day. I can't wait! Without a doubt the best mother's day gift ever!!! Will keep posting as more news comes in. What a day this has been for us!!!

Our Birthday Boy!

Ann from Red Thread China sent us 14 beautiful birthday pictures early this morning. Oh, he is just adorable!!