Off to China we go!!!

Here we go!!! Cheesy smiles:-) I'm feeling giddy with excitement! We've been waiting for this moment for what seemed like an eternity. We started this process 18 months ago! Our flight leaves Orlando to Newark at 6:45am. We have a ride to the airport picking us up at 4:15am! I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight. Seriously does anyone sleep through the labor process;-) We will be meeting with some of the families we are traveling with when we get to Newark. A group of us have already bonded throughout the loooong waiting period. Now we will finally get to meet in person. The best part is that we will finally get to hold our daughter this Sunday! Oh and I also had my fill of all of the comfort foods from the good old USA days before leaving like Chik-fil-a, Panera, Chipotle and milk shakes. The next two weeks will be tough as I do not have an adventurous palate! But wait, this is no longer about me though, is it...

Terrorists and plane crashes and hurricanes...OH MY!

Nothing sets the mood like news that directly affect the most important day of your life! I already have issues with flying and these recent news reports aren't helping any. Oh please let us make our connection thru Newark on Thursday! I'm looking forward to traveling with other families in our travel group. We already looked into leaving Orlando a day or two earlier than scheduled but it just wasn't meant to be. The good news is that this stupid storm is now just that, a tropical storm and not a hurricane. It can still screw up flight schedules not to mention the turbulance, UGH!

Due to "storm preparations," my fury baby is now with the sitter a day early. I miss him terribly:-( He's having a blast.

Stay tuned...next few posts will be China or bust!!

Three more days until we travel....

I can't believe it, just 3 more days before we travel!!! The weekend was spent shopping for travel items and packing! Kylie's stuff is pretty much packed. Who knew babies needed so much stuff!?! One of my errands included my fury baby Bruiser pictured here. A friend of ours who also has a miniature pinscher will watch Bruiser for the two weeks that we are gone. I couldn't be happier because she knows his personality and loves him almost as much as we do. I still can't help but feel a little sad having to leave him for that long. My husband keeps telling our dog that he is getting demoted when we get back! I say I've got plenty of love to give and Bruiser will be loved just as much when we return as we have loved him for the past 5 years that we've had him. He is a wonderful dog, curious and quite the entertainer. He loves sunbathing and he loves people more than he cares for other dogs. He is however beginning to wonder why he is no longer allowed to play with the new toys...hmmm he'll soon see why:-)

Nine days until we leave for China

The reason we want to go to China...

"I didn't give you the gift of Life, but in my heart I know the love I feel is deep and real, as if it had been so. For us to have each other is like a dream come true! No, I didn't give you the gift of life, Life gave me the gift of you".

Good friends and good fortune...

A great surprise on Kylie's birthday! Our friends invited us over for a send off and they had a nice surprise waiting for us. Birthday decorations, cake, presents for our trip and for Kylie and fortune cookies like we've never seen before! Our friend Sara learned to write in chinese characters that same afternoon. The cake says "happy birthday Kylie, happiness and love". They had a full chinese spread layed out and we all ate with our fancy chopsticks and got to keep them as a souvenir:-) We then played games and had an absolutely fabulous evening with our wonderful friends.

A big thank you to Terry, Sara, Brooks, Mer, John and Lizette for your support, kindness, generosity and laughter. We FEEL the LOVE!!

TEN MORE DAYS!!!

Surprise baby shower!

Wow, this week was a blur! This is wonderful because the countdown is on and we only have 12 more days until we fly to China to get our baby girl!

On Thursday, my co-workers went to great lengths to surprise me with a baby shower!!! They were sneaking around and telling me all sorts of stories. I was supposed to be attending a surprise birthday party, except I was to arrive a few minutes later than the birthday girl....hmmmm. Of course, it wasn't as cut and dry as I just described it. This is just the short version of the story but that was just to give you an idea of what was going on. Everything happened so fast and I was surprised to see everyone there. I really appreciate all of the effort the well wishes, the great outfits, essentials and all of the love and support. I have to say THANK YOU Desiree and those who helped in organizing this beautiful shower in honor of our precious Kylie!!

I have posted just some of the pictures without the invitees as a common courtesy besides some are shy and I have not asked permission to post their mug shots on this site. Enjoy!

Kylie's birthday this week

Guess who's turning one on Friday...it's our very own baby girl. It was a heartwarming surprise to receive our very first and pretty birthday card for Kylie. Thank you Andrews family! On Friday, Aug. 18th I would love it if you would all post birthday wishes for Ms. Kylie so that I may save and share them with her later on.

The count down is on!! 2 1/2 weeks until we travel! Wowee:-) and we are r-e-a-d-y!! After all we've been waiting 15 months for this time to finally arrive.

This has been such an amazing experience so far. We have met so many wonderful people along the way and we continue to connect and develop beautiful friendships throughout our journey.

Chinese folklore says there is an invisible red thread connecting those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break.

We have CA's!!!

I am sooooooo excited. Today I received the best e-mail ever from my agency. It was confirmation that we now have a Consulate appt scheduled. We have booked our flights on Continental and we are leaving for China on Thur. Aug. 31st:-) The itinerary is as follows:

August 31: Leave Orlando to Newark at 6:45am, then Newark to Beijing at 12:48 pm.
September 1: Arrive Beijing (staying at the Wang Fu Jing Hotel) Recoup from hangover, I mean jet lag. Did I mention I hate flying?
September 2: Sightseeing the Great Wall and the Summer Palace
September 3: Sightseeing the Imperial Palace in the morning, then
fly from Beijing to Lanzhou to get KYLIE that evening!!!!
September 4: Registration and notarization
September 5-7: Sightseeing in Kylie's hometown
September 8: Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork and then fly to
Guangzhou. Stay at the White Swan
September 9: Photos and Physical exams for the babies
September 10: Local sightseeing and shopping!
September 11: Visa appt at 9:00am
September 12: Swearing in ceremony at the Consulate, get visas
September 13: Fly from Guangzhou back to Beijing then on to Newark
September 14: Arrive Orlando airport at 10:57pm as a family of THREE!

I am sooooooo excited that we are going to be staying at the White Swan. This is not only a very nice hotel where the infamous "red couch" photos are taken with all of the babies, but they also provide adoptive families with a wonderful souvenir. If we are lucky enough to get one of the souvenirs, I will make sure to post a pic for everyone to see.

Did I mention that I am sooooooo excited!?!?!?!

We have TA's!!!!!

Our agency received Travel Approvals yesterday. They turned those around and immediately applied for our consulate appt. The consulate appt will determine when we travel. We will definitely know next week what our travel dates will be. It's getting tougher to concentrate at work. I'm doing the happy dance today!!!!