Stressing dreams...

Stress is a something else.

Jenn told me the other morning about her dream... picture it:

It's August 4, 2010, 7:32 p.m. on a Delta flight somewhere over the western United States.

Jennifer: Kevin, do you have the money?

Kevin: No, you said you got it.

Jennifer: I didn't get it. You told me you got it.

[both look at each other and say ] &%*$

But what I didn't tell her is that I had a dream that night also. No dialogue, though.

I was sitting in bed about to get up for the day and yawned. At that point all of my teeth just fell out. YEP... just FELL out.

Of course, there's a meaning to that, right? I Googled what it meant and, basically, it means I'm stressed. But there are many interpretations. Here they are:

- fear of rejection
- fear of growing old
- fear of embarrassment
- inferiority or lack of confidence
- I put my faith, trust, and beliefs in what man thinks rather than in the word of God
- In the Greek culture, a family member or close friend is very sick or even near death
- In the Chinese culture, there is a saying that you are telling lies
- Symbolizes money

I like the last one the best. :~)

But, these dreams symbolize to us that we are stressed. As I said earlier, this is a moment in time. But our subconscious is being revealed through our stressing dreams.

Yep, a moment in time...

Anxiety is something and is associated with uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry.

There are seven days until we leave. And, there are 16,543,102 items left on our to-do list, yet, I'm not sure where to begin. Some of the stuff is major... like getting our moolah. Others are minor, like trimming the side bushes. But, all are important for us to get done now.

The room is ready.
The house is set.
Itinerary has been set, modified, set, changed, set, finalized.
Work is, well, almost organized.

But this is a time of change.
A time of anticipation.
A time of joy.
A time of excitement.
A time of fear.
A time of birth.

Yep, a moment in time.

We're leaving on a jet plane...

Yep, it's true! We leave in less than two weeks! August 4, to be exact.

Jennifer and I will be on Delta Flight 0027 leaving Detroit at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4 direct to Hong Kong... arriving at 7:15 p.m. August 5.

Our itinerary looks like this:

August 8, 2010 (Sun): A.M. The family travels with ISS staff from Hong Kong to Nanchang OR ISS staff meet the family at the hotel in Nanchang. P.M.: Meet Ella at the hotel

August 9, 2010 (Mon): Adoption Registration & notarization

Aug 10-11, 2010 (Tue-Wed): Wait for notarized documents and passport

Aug 12, 2010 (Thurs): Notarized documents collected by ISS staff

Aug 13, 2010 (Fri): Ella’s passport collected by ISS staff. P.M.: Travels from Nanchang to Guangzhou

Aug 14, 2010 (Sat): Visa medical

August 16, 2010 (Mon): Medical report collected by ISS staff. Visa appointment date

August 17, 2010 (Tue): Visa ceremony

August 18, 2010 (Wed): Ella’s US Visa collected by ISS staff. PM we will head back to Hong Kong by train.

We will be on Delta flight 0026 leaving Hong Kong at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, August 20 and arriving in Detroit at 12:10 p.m. on the same day.

Tickets have been purchased.

The schedule is finalized.

It is actually for REAL!

So excited!

Right here, right now...

Yesterday, we received communication from our caseworker at Lifelink with regards to our "Hotel Reservation Worksheet".

We have organized our preference of hotels and rooms:

When Jennifer and I arrive in Hong Kong, we will book our own hotel... so, that's to come.

But, when we go to Nanchang, we will be staying at the Gloria Grand Hotel. We will be in Nanchang for five nights.

When we head to Guangzhou, we will be staying at the White Swan. We will be in Guangzhou for five nights.

After Guangzhou, we will head back to Hong Kong and stay at the Regal Airport Hotel.

Also, yesterday, we received a letter and receipt in the mail for our renewal of our I-600A. In the letter it states that the current processing times are 3-4 months. Um, our current I-171H (which once the I-600A is approved, we get the I-171H) expires on 8/26/10. Four months later after processing time would put is in October. Somehow, I don't think I want to stay in China until then.

The reason why the delay is because our government is consolidating and centralizing into one office. This took effect on June 28... 10 days after the Michigan office received our paperwork.

So, I've spoken with with USCIS, Senator Stabenow's office and NBC (National Benefits Center). Yeah, it's been a fun day. I hope - HOPE - it's all been straightened out... but we will see. I have to call them tomorrow to speak with Officer Merck to verify the email receipt. GEESH! Once they get our stuff in their system, it shouldn't - SHOULDN'T - be much longer.

But, I did find out a few things today... ISS (International Social Service) is wanting us to travel either August 8-19 or August 15-26. Of course, we will be front-loading a couple days in Hong Kong but we're thrilled that we have an idea.

We are still waiting for the travel invitation. Hopefully, it will come very soon.

For now, we are living in the moment.

Ready, willing and waiting to go...

We have been reminded of the lack of posts made over the past two weeks... and that it's time for an update...

According to Rumor Queen, the European Agencies received early June referrals Travel Assignments. Which, hopefully, means we'll receive ours early this week. (fingers crossed)

The wait is becoming harder each day. Knowing we'll be gone in a few short weeks and meeting Ella for the first time has been on our minds since the referral.

That said... we have been busy... some of you might say we're nesting... others would just say we are organizing. :~)

Of course, my uber-organized wife (complete with spreadsheets, highlighters and charts) has purchased everything Ella will need for when we get there. And, because of that, she wanted to get her suitcase packed so we won't have to worry about it when the time does come. Honestly, I think it took us an hour, but her suitcase is packed.

Here you'll see just an ordinary suitcase:
























But here, you'll see a suitcase packed full of hopes, dreams and, now, reality:
















Inside this suitcase consists of more than 100 items (excluding clothes). Yes... you read correctly, more than 100 items... EXCLUDING clothes. Oh, and you might ask... where are the clothes? They are in a secret compartment wrapped in Ziplock bags. Because they take up less space when you remove the air. They don't even take up 1% of the actual suitcase.

The items recommended we take includes an actual pharmacy (in case she has a cold, diarrhea, flu, etc), a blanket, bottles, a couple books, diapers, snacks, sippy cup, bibs and the list just goes on and on.

Jennifer has already created an Excel list of categories... for her, for me, and for miscellaneous items that we should not forget. Please note my list is blank.

As I type this she is yelling at me saying that "you could not have done this without any planning. If so, we would be at Meijer at midnight the night before we leave." Yeah, she's probably right.

But the point is... we're ready. We are overly ready.