Long awaited ... Travel

Hi friends.  Sorry for the long delay without an update.  Our big news is that we finally have travel approval which means we are going to China to finalize the adoption of our daughter.  After the loads of paperwork and the even longer waiting on each and every step, we are nearing the end of this part of our journey which will begin the newest, and most exciting, chapter of our lives to-date.

We will be flying to Guangzhou, China.  The is in the province of Guangdong which is the same province where her orphanage is located.  Guangzhou is in the southern part of China where the weather will be hot and humid.  We will be staying in a lovely hotel (with a pool!) where many other adoptive families stay.  Our family day will be on a Monday.  Some call this "gotcha day" or "forever family day."  Our daughter will travel from her orphanage in Dongguan to Guangzhou to the CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption).  This is where we will be reunited and she will stay with us in the hotel for the duration of our stay.  During the first week of travel, the China portion of the adoption will be completed.  On the Monday following our family day, we will visit the US Consulate in Guangzhou to finalize the US side of the adoption.

We are hoping the entire process will be seamless since we get to stay in the same province the whole time (no intra-country travel) and she already has her passport from when we hosted her last winter.  We will do our best to post some updates and pictures during our travel, but we're not sure how reliable the wi-fi will be.

Since the last time we updated, we have helped two groups of summer host kids through the airport to fly back to China.  It was so great to see the kiddos who deserve their chance at a forever family.  Many kids were happy to see their friends; others shed tears at having to leave their host families.  Chris and I also celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary with a weekend away in Chicago.  We have also received two updates about our daughter.  We have learned that her favorite toy is a barbie which is one thing we sent in a care package.  We also learned that she has been very extroverted since her trip to the states.  She knows about the adoption and is excited about it.

We appreciate your prayers for smooth travel, a happy reunion, comfort for her as she grieves her friends, caretakers, and the only home she has ever known, minimal jet lag, and that the care package we sent over a month ago that is currently stuck in customs may arrive to her before we do.  Hopefully our next post will be from China:)