ARTICLE 5!!!!!

I got the email last night when I was at work that we have received our next approval, Article 5. This is for Lily's visa. Our next and final approval is travel approval which is issued by the CCAA in Beijing. Our file/paperwork was overnighted from Guangzhou to Beijing yesterday and should be there today/tomorrow. This last approval should take about 3-4 weeks and then we are off to CHINA!!! I can not believe we are finally at this point. It does not seem real. We are all excited but nervous as our lives will be changed forever once we travel. I know having a two year old again will be exhausting, challenging, loud and crazy (the last two adjectives are from my 10 & 11 year old). I am ready for this though, I think. I have wanted this for a long time. That is not to say I won't have those days of wanting to lock myself in the bathroom and cry. I know about those days, believe me I do. Did I mention I have a 10 and 11 year old? Lily will come with her own set of challenges. Attachment issues, grieving issues, surgeries, speech, etc. All these issues are real and will be difficult but we will deal with them as they come. One step at a time, one day at a time. Mostly I want to hold and rock her and let her know she is loved and is filling a void in our family. She is giving us a special gift. A gift that only she could give. I want to forget about all the possible issues and just love her for who she is. I am hoping that early September we will finally travel to meet her and be able to discover who she is. Who she really is. Not just a picture, not just a medical report, not just an update on her development and personality. Just her. I am oh so nervous, but oh so ready! Come on TA.

A Little Slice of Heaven

What a great beach day today. The weather has been so dismal here this summer. Unusually cold and rainy. Today was gorgeous. 75 degrees with little humidity. Perfect. We only live 2 miles from the beach so we headed on over for a few hours. The beach has always given me a sense of peace. I find it magical. I grew up on the beach. It's part of who I am. I love it. I can't live without it. My kids love it. I hope Lily will learn to love it. The feel of the cool, soft sand under your feet. The salty smell of the ocean. The hot sun warming your body. The sound of the waves hitting the sand. The sounds of children laughing. What more could you ask for?

We are so close!!!

I just found out we have our I 800 approval. It was approved yesterday afternoon. We only have a few more steps to go and then we are off to China! I can't believe it! The next step is for Lily's visa paperwork to be approved which takes about 3-4 weeks. This is done in Guangzhou, China. Then our file gets sent to Beijing to the CCAA and they review everything once more and then issue travel approval (about another 3 weeks). Once we receive TA we can go get our little girl. We are so close. I can not believe we have been in this process for a year and a half. We have been wrapped up in all this paperwork for so long it felt like it would never happen. Like it was just a dream. Or just part of our daily life. Kids, house, work, fun, adoption paperwork. Now it is starting to feel like it IS going to happen. We will have another daughter. We will be able to hold her in our arms and tell her we love her. I don't want to get ahead of myself here. We still have those last few approvals to get. We are getting close though! Hopefully the beginning of September we will travel. Keep us in your thoughts. We could use some positive vibes sent our way.