We're leaving next Wednesday!!

After a lot of worrying and obsessing (mostly on my part, of course) we finally have everything scheduled for China. Our agency called us yesterday morning and told us we have an appointment at the U.S. Consulate for March 17 and she will be sworn in as a U.S. citizen on the 18th. Once we got those appointments we were able to book our flights. We will be on a Continental flight leaving Atlanta on March 4 (next Wednesday!!) at 8 a.m. and connecting through Newark. We will then fly nonstop to Beijing and arrive there on March 5 at 3 p.m. The flight back will leave Beijing on March 19 at 4 p.m. and will connect through Newark before Atlanta. We will be back in Atlanta at approx. 10:30 p.m.

There is soooo much to do before next Wednesday and we are so excited!! Can you believe we will have Julia in our arms in a little over a week?

New pictures and updates!!

Thanks to a service that delivers care packages and calls orphanages for adoptive parents I was able to get new pictures and some additional information about Julia, plus a copy of her finding ad. A finding ad is a mandatory ad placed in the newspaper after a child is abandoned. It is required that a finding ad is published before a child is adopted so that birth parents have an opportunity to come forward and claim the child. We're thrilled to have these new pictures of Julia. Can you believe we're going to meet her in less than two weeks???? We hope to get our appointment for the U.S. Consulate either today or tomorrow so we can book our flights.

Here's some of the information provided to us from the orphanage by www.ladybugsnlove.com.:

What are her favorite toys?
She loves dolls and toys that makes sound.
What foods does she eat?
She can eat some noodles, rice and steamed bread.
Who chose her name and why?
Her name was given by our staff. Because 2008 is the year of rat, her name has a “Zi”. Xuan is given name.
Does she have a nickname?
No nickname. We call her Zi Xuan.
Are there any other children in her foster home with her?
There is another child from out institute whose name is Guo Xin You.
Is she walking?
She can walk by one hand holding onto handrail.
Her updated measurements:
Height: 78cm; Weight: 9.5 kg; Head: 43cm; Chest: 44cm; Teeth: 6; Foot: 11cm

It's official! We leave for China soon

This week I received what is probably one of the best Valentine's and birthday presents I could have received: We got our Travel Approval!! Our agency notified us today that they received our Travel Approval from China today and they expect us to travel the first week of March. They have tentatively told us to expect to leave on March 4! We are SO excited we can barely contain ourselves. We'll be travelling with a group of about ten other families.

Our agency is confirming with the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou, China, our appointment date to get Julia sworn in as a U.S. citizen and then we'll be able to book our airfare!! In the meantime we are going to be swamped getting things ready for her at home and getting packed. As soon as we get our final itinerary we'll post it for you, but I'm pretty sure we'll be flying into Beijing.

We were also fortunate this week to get an update on Julia. As of February 5 she is 13 months old and weighs 20 pounds!! I wish we had updated photos but we'll see her in just over two weeks!!

Other things going on:
Anna is doing great. She is still doing a lot of independent standing in the pool and we are thrilled. She has come so far and I'm so proud of her.

My stepdaughter, Kaitlyn, just bought a car!! She worked a long time to be able to get her car, a red Kia (UGA colors!!) and we're thrilled for her. It's so hard to go to college and work at the same time.

Our dog is still a pain in the you-know-what. He's got this thing now where after we leave for the day he'll take the loaf of bread or whatever happens to be on the table and eat it all. It's been cold/rainy so we don't leave him outside all of the time. Any ideas on how to break him of this would be appreciated.

My parents have figured out how to get revenge on my sister: give her son (Robbie, 1) M&M's!! He's wired for hours after he has chocolate. It's so cute though!!!