We're in China!

My girls and my parents dropped us off at the airport in our hometown at around 7:30 a.m. on the 27th. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but it is now 9:17 p.m. on the 28th, and I've only had a catnap or two on the plane! We are exhausted, but we don't have any plans until tomorrow at 1 p.m. so I think we will just sleep until we wake up!

Beijing is very big and crowded. The pollution is not nearly as bad as it was in Guangzhou in 2006, but the roads and the drivers are just as scary! We were in a huge bus, and the driver would just change lanes and expect smaller cars to get out of his way, turn left in front of oncoming traffic, etc.  There is lots of honking and beeping and yelling going on. Our road was blocked by a police car at one point, and our driver got out to yell at the cops several times! The police ended up moving the barricade in the middle of the road so we could go by! It was amazing. (we were kind of wondering if the two other families and us would end up spending the night in jail with the driver! Richard thought it would make a great story...)

3 days until Andy day!

I can't get to blogger in China, so I hope these posts are coming through! Let me know if they look ok, please. Pictures to follow.

love you all
Monie and Richard

We leave for China tomorrow!

We are so excited to finally be going to China to meet Andy, but it is a little bittersweet since we will be leaving our girls at home. I know that they will be in good hands, though!

Our schedule:
Jan 27 - leave for China
Jan 28 - arrive in Beijing
Jan 31 - fly from Beijing to Lanzhou, MEET ANDY!!!
Feb 01 - officially adopt Andy
Feb 05 - fly from Lanzhou to Guangzhou
Feb 06 - medical exam
Feb 08 - Consulate appointment
Feb 09 - group oath at the Consulate
Feb 10 - get Andy's passport
Feb 11 - fly from Guangzhou to Beijing, COME HOME!!!

I hope to be able to post pictures and updates from China, but if it doesn't work, I will post once we return home.



Zai jian! (goodbye!)

ice storm!

last update on Andy before we go to China

We got another update on Andy today. This will be the last update we get before we leave. It looks like we might have to return his 18 month size clothes and buy 24 month/2T!

He is:
81 cm tall = 31.8 in tall
13.5 kg = 29.8 pounds
12 cm foot length = 4.7 in = size 5 shoes?

We also found out that he is in foster care.

They told us that the orphanage's digital camera is broken, so we can't get any pictures until it is fixed, which may not be until after we travel.

finally, Travel Approval!

we have waited a long time...

We got our travel approval yesterday, 1/4/10, eight months after we were matched with Andy. Our consulate appointment has been confirmed, travel has been booked, and we will leave for China on January 27, and return on February 11 (just in time for Emily's birthday!)

We should find out exactly what day we meet Andy sometime this week or early next. I will let everyone know! My best guess is the Monday after we arrive in China.

I hope to be able to post updates here on our blog from China, so you can all follow along on our trip.

We are all very excited!

We have our LOA!

Our caseworker called this morning to let us know that our LOA arrived at the agency today. She is overnighting it, and we should have it tomorrow. Then I will make copies and overnight forms and copies and paperwork to other places!

It is currently taking about 8-10 weeks to get Travel Approval, so we are not expecting to be able to travel to China until the New Year.

current stats:
DTC 4/23/09
LOI 5/4/09
LID 5/8/09
PA 5/15/09
LOA 10/26/09!

Snow!

October 10 seems a little early for snow! It's coming down pretty fast, but luckily the ground is too warm for it to stick.