TRAVEL APPROVAL

WE GOT IT!!!!!!  I was on the phone with my agency today telling them how frustrated I was that it was taking soooooo looooong to get our Travel Approval.  Laura, one of our facilitators, was telling me that she understood and that because China observed a holiday the week before last that it might take another week or 2 to get it in.  She said if it wasn't here by the end of October they would call about it.  My heart was sinking as she was talking to me...darn holidays!!!  Then I asked Laura what time the mail usually came in so that I wouldn't be waiting around all day on their call.  she said it normally came in around 3:00.  She said they use DHL so they are always looking for the yellow truck and yellow envelopes.  She assured me that they were as anxious to get them in as we were.  About that time she said "Oh my goodness, I see our assistant walking towards my office with 2 yellow envelopes in her hand.  I guess the mail came early today. Wait here on the phone with me and I will open these right now and see if one of them are yours...Isn't your husband's name David?"  I said "What???  Is that our TA you just opened???"  And sure enough it was!!!!!  How CRAZY is that!!!!  Laura said that for all the years she had been working there she has never had anything like that happen!!  Of course, she got to hear me yell and scream with joy - then Ian came in the room to see what was going on - so I told him and yelled and screamed with joy too!!!  Laura said our phone call made her day - she couldn't wait to tell everyone!!  God is so good!!

So...onto the details!!  We have requested our US Embassy appt on November 26.  We hope to hear back from the Embassy tomorrow.  Our agency is about 99% sure that we will get that appt since it is so far off.  That means that we will leave here on Thursday, November 15 and we should be able to leave China on November 28.  The agency said that we should be traveling with 2 more families from their agency!! This is GREAT news because we thought we might be traveling alone!  One of the families lives in GA not too far from us so I am super excited to meet them!  We will all be flying into China on the same date.  We will sight-see in Beijing together - then we will separate from the other families as we all fly out to our child's province.  Then we meet back up together again in Guangzhou for our US Embassy appt. 

OK - so now I am going into super-get-ready mode!!!!  Holy Cow - this is all feeling sooooooo real now!!!  We have a daughter!!! 

Travel Approval Angst

 

Well...I am STILL waiting on our Travel Approval to come in from China.  I was told that China celebrated a holiday the week before last and all govt. offices were shut down.  So, I am guessing that is the hang-up.  I am PRAYING we get it this week!  I am sooooo ready to book our tickets!!!  Please pray that we get it this week!  I hope I post on here real soon with the news that we have TA!!

 

These are the most recent pics I have of Grace - I got them about 3 weeks ago.  I don't think I will get any more before we travel - but I pray I am wrong!  She looks HUGE in these pics - but I know these pics are decieving.  I am traveling with 12-18 month clothes but I am thinking she will be wearing 18-24 months during the winter and 2T in the summer.  I could be wrong but that is what I am thinking now.  Thanks for you prayers!