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.