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.

Who wants some cake?

It's been awhile since we posted something, but as you can imagine, we've been very busy! Yes... we've heard from a lot of you about the fact that we haven't updated lately. :~)

We (and by we, I mean Jennifer) were able to get all of our paperwork completed. This includes our travel Visa's and the I600A form that extends our I-171H form which allows us entry back into the States with Ella.

In fact, we've already received our travel Visa's back...



The government did receive the I600A form so we are just waiting for the extension now. Shouldn't be much longer!!!

Last weekend, Jennifer and I celebrated her 40th birthday, father's day and Ella's first birthday in Traverse City, MI. We had a great time shopping, eating and just sitting on the beach. We had a great time just hanging out and lounging around!







And, most importantly, Ella turned one on 6/21. If you recall, we were able to send a birthday care package to her through BlessedKids.com. The package included a teddy bear, blanket, disposable camera, birthday cake, pictures of Jenn and I and a letter from us translated into Chinese, of course.

With this particular package, the toys and stuff are delivered first and once the delivery confirmation comes through, the birthday cake is delivered a couple days later. We were so excited when we learned the toys and such were delivered on 6/19 and her birthday cake was delivered ON her actual birthday of 6/21! VERY COOL!

When Adele from BlessedKids.com emailed us to let us know, she said she had eight other photos to share with us... so, click the photo below to view all eight of them!

HOW EXCITING IS MY CAKE?



I CAN HANDLE THAT!


Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, sugar!


HEY! It's my cake. That's okay, there's plenty to go around.


I think I'm going to be sick, now.


I don't really know what to say...


Me and my little buddy enjoying a sugar coma.


So, the next big question is when do we travel? Well, we wish we knew! We SHOULD (emphasis) receive our TA (travel assignment) within the next week or two. The TA comes from ISS (International Social Service).

Where's Ella?

We are learning more and more every day. There are so many wonderful people who have adopted sharing their experiences and information it's just wonderful. They are sending us all sorts of things.

First of all, where is Jiangxi? It is in the southern region of the People's Republic of China. Mountains surround Jiangxi on three sides; and is centered on the Gan River valley.

With, roughly, 44,000,000 in the Jiangxi Province, it is a rather poor province when compared to its neighboring provinces.

Nanchang, the region's capital and the most densely populated city, is one of China's largest metropolis. This is where we will fly into and where "gotcha day" will happen.


View Larger Map

So, now you know where the province is... where is the orphanage? Thanks to the folks at wolfetoe.com below is an image of all SWI in the Jiangxi province. Locate Nanchang and follow the train tracks southwest. Nanchang is located near the center to the southwest of the big lake.



Here are some images from June 2005... again compliments of wolfetoe.com.

The main building:


The courtyard:


So, there you have it... it seems like a nice place... but nothing will compare to her room we have waiting for her!

Here's to a quick six-to-eight weeks!

It's all about Ella...

What a busy weekend we've had... yesterday we did errands that were all about Ella. It was kinda fun except for the trip to Babies R Us... I walk out with a headache every time!

Her first birthday is coming up this weekend (June 21) and, unfortunately, we won't be able to share it with her. BUT, thanks to BlessedKids.com, we were able to send a care package. The package includes a cake, blanket, teddy bear, disposable camera, pictures of mom and dad and a letter from us translated to Chinese. She should get it by Friday.

We were able to thank the orphanage caretakers for showing her special care during her year there. When we pick up Ella, the caretakers typically have her take all of those things with her (except the cake, of course). So we should be able to have photos of the days between receiving the care package and our gotcha day.

If you didn't already know, Ella was born in the year of the Ox. People who were born in the Year of the Ox are the supremely self-assured, generally patient and thoughtful, they measure their words and speak clearly when it matters most.

Born to lead, Ox people can be quite stubborn -- but also stubbornly loyal to those they love. When opposed, their fierce tempers are legendary. So you never want to cross an Ox.

There are no gray areas within an Ox's narrow scope of vision, and they only see things as good or bad. They possess an excellent memory and can often recall verbatim a conversation weeks or months after it has occurred.

Ox people are also generally good with their hands, and together with sterling leadership abilities are often successful as DOCTORS or SURGEONS!

Famous people born in the Year of the Ox: Johann Sebastian Bach, George Clooney, Walt Disney, Clark Gable, Richard Nixon, Barack Obama, Vincent Van Gogh.

WOOHOO! She is BRILLIANT!

It's only the beginning...

So, Jenn and I have been at each other's throats the last few days. The reason? Well, we have a TON of work to get done... oh, and we're a bit anxious!

Folks keep asking... well, what types of things do you have to get done? Don't you just get on a plane now? We wish it were that easy!

Because our I-171H expires on 8/26/10, we have to go through a renewal process. If this form expires before we return from China, there is a chance we won't be allowed back into the country. So, instead of taking the risk... well... we want to renew it. The renewal of that form requires a homestudy update. So, our Michigan post-placement agency had to meet with us to get that process going. I'm happy to report the homestudy has been completed and will be submitted early next week. Once that's done, we will begin the renewal of the I-171H. Hopefully it will get renewed in time!

We also have to apply for our Visa because we will be traveling to mainland China. A visa or travel visa is a document which gives us permission to travel into a China and stay there for a set period of time. To get a Visa, we either have to do it in person, have a courier or a friend/family member go on our behalf. The Chinese Embassy for Michigan is located in Chicago... so we're using a courier. That will go out early next week and we should have our passports stamped and back to us within a week.

This morning we are going to our credit union to order money. That's right... we have to order un-circlated or clean, fresh, unmarked $100 bills for our trip. Our agency recommends traveling with $9,000-$12,000 worth of cash. I keep saying I'm going to buy one of those silver briefcases with the handcuff on it. That won't bring any questions as I go through security at the airport, will it?

Then there's little things that we need to do... like housework... clean garage... clean hot tub... wash the clothes we've already purchased... put the stroller together... put the high chair together... etc. etc. etc.

So, what am I doing blogging? I gotta get busy...

Love to all!