Happy New Year!

In exactly two weeks, April and I will be on an airplane starting our journey to China.  In 18 days we will get to hold for the very first time our daughter, Primrose.  It is hard to believe that is has been 21 months since we began the adoption process.  It has been an incredible process, even with all of the hiccups along the way.  I highly encourage anyone who may be considering adoption.... DO IT!  Don't question whether or not to do it, you will rationalize yourself out of an amazing experience.

As we are just a few days away from 2014 I want to take this opportunity to say Happy New Year!  I want thank you, the reader, for caring enough to read our blog.  When we are in China, I will update regularly with all of our experiences with Prim and the local culture.

We got an update on Prim today, so that we would know what size clothing to take.  Here is what we found out, she currently weighs 23 pounds and 30.7 inches tall.  She will be 17 months old on the 28th.  According to growth charts, she is between the 25-50 percentile average growth.  According to the orphanage, she wears clothes that are suitable for 20 month old.  I was never good at clothing sizes when Belle was little, but this doesn't sound right to me.  So, even with the update we are still clueless about what sizes to take with us.  Oh well, we will just take what we can and figure it our then.

Last thing, and this is pretty amazing!  So we have been a little freaked out about expenses to travel and stuff.  We had taken out a loan for a certain amount that we thought would cover the remaining expenses.  When we booked our flights, it was about $1,200 more than anticipated.  Then when we contacted Lotus to book our in China trip, our estimate was high and left us with very little of the expense fund we are supposed to take to China with us in cash.  When we received our invoice form Lotus, it was approximately $1,000 less than expected.  So with our flights and in-country expenses, we have almost enough left over to cover our cash needed in China.  We also have enough to make up the difference in what we need from our canvas squares sales, small group love gift, and April's burlap craft sales.  Needless to say, we have all we need as far as funds are concerned, can I get an AMEN!

Now, we just need prayer.  Pray for safe travel.  Pray that our visas get back to us on time. Pray for Prim's transition to our family.  This will be overwhelming for her and I pray that it goes smoothly.  Pray for Belle's transition to Prim.  I know she is excited about her now, it may be different once she is actually here for good.  I have told her that she will be sharing her toys and stuff and she says ok.  The other day I told her she had to share my lap and she said, "Prim can sit on one side, and I can sit on the other."  This will make for one jealous Tinkerbell, our Yorkie.  Just pray for us in general.

Once again, Happy New Year!  Stay tuned for China updates.

Gotcha Day is Imminent!

Because I cannot contain my excitement, I have to type this while at work.  We just received an email that confirms our travel dates to go and get Primrose.  We are so excited that this process is almost over and after first seeing that beautiful face over 7 months ago, we can finally bring her home.

We will depart the US on January 10.  We will receive Primrose on January 13, exactly one week after Belle’s birthday.  Speaking of Belle, I think she is more excited than we are.  Every day she tells people about her little sister we are going to get after her birthday.

So, now comes the fun part.  Trying to figure out how to pack for 14 days, oh well at least we can figure it out over Christmas break.  Thank you for following our journey of adoption.  Be sure to visit our blog page regularly during Jan 10 – Jan 25.  I will be updating daily and with pictures of our angel in China.

Pray for us as we are about to finally go to China.  Pray for our transition with Prim and that is goes as smoothly as it can.  Pray for Belle as she will be away from mommy and daddy for 2 whole weeks!  Pray for April that she will be able to handle being away from Belle during this time.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 
Myke

Happy Festivus.... For the rest of us!

As we are approaching the holiday season, this episode of Seinfeld always comes to mind.  Any time family is gathered under one roof, anything can happen.  It is crazy to think that this will be my last Christmas with only one child.  Speaking of which, I have some great news on that front.

Tuesday (12-3) we received notification from the US consulate in Guangzhou that our Article 5 had been issued.  This is great news because now that means all we are waiting on is the CCCWA to assign us our travel date.  I talked with Steve at Holt and he said that as of right now, it looks like we will travel Jan 10.  That means that in approximately 5 weeks, we will be sitting in China about to receive our daughter we have been thinking about and praying for since first seeing her picture in May.

To say we are excited is an understatement.  We are already contacting the travel agency who is in charge of China adoption travel for Holt.  Now, our date is not official until the CCCWA assigns it, but Steve felt confident that would be our date if not earlier in January.

We have a slight dilemma though.  We are trying to figure out how to pack what we need to take with us.  Our church's "Sew in Love" group has donated around 40 blankets for us to take China to give the orphanage.  We have to pack all of our clothes and Primrose some clothes.  Not to mention we need something to occupy our time on the 13 hour flight to China, ok maybe we can get April some Valium since she doesn't travel well.

I wanted to share this update with you to let you know where we are in the process.  Thank you for following along on our journey.  I look forward to my daily China blogs and family pictures from China.

Keep us in your prayers.  I will update as soon as we find out our confirmed dates to travel.