Well, the uncertainies regarding travel and when we get Rebecca have been eliminated and we know where we are going and when. We leave early Friday morning, our dear friends, the Montgomery's are taking us to the airport. We depart Raleigh-Durham at 8:00 AM and catch our connection to Hong Kong at JFK. We will arrive in Hong Kong Saturday night (their time) and then Sunday morning catch a plane to Nanchang, Jiangxi. On Monday March 2, 2009 we should have Rebecca in our arms and officially celebrate "Gotcha Day!" It also happens to be my niece's birthday so it will be a double celebration from here on out. Gotcha Day will be exactly 3 years and 1 day since our application was accepted. Its been a long wait.
We'll be in Nanchang for a number of days, then fly to Guangzhou, and wait several more days to get Rebecca's visa and passport. We will land in Raleigh on Sunday March 15 @ 5:40 PM. This trip is about 5 more days longer than expected due to the consulate appointment, but nothing else is extraordinary about the timing.
Ray and I will be posting pictures and logging in when we can, so stayed tuned to this station! Thank you everyone for your thoughts and especially for your prayers!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Travel Dates Still Pending!
This has probably been the hardest part of the wait so far. We still do not have confirmed travel dates yet and probably will not have them until next week. So, right now we are facing the possibility of confirmed travel dates on Wed. and leaving for Hong Kong on Friday. Yikes!! The other scenario is we leave the following Friday March 6th. So either way its a bit painful. We either have two days notice and have to really hustle and probably pay more for the tickets or we wait one more week. Waiting one more week just seems like an eternity at this point. We want to get to Rebecca as soon as we can - comfort comes from knowing everything is in God's hands and He is in control and we can trust that. Its still achingly hard.
We've had fun getting ready. I bought an awesome baby carrier that will work great with our back issues but still be able to keep Rebecca close to us at all times. Ray bought a video camera and has been studying and practicing using it. I wonder if we'll have someone there who can video both of us getting Rebecca so Ray doesn't miss the moment playing videographer?
We have had another FedEx incident so they are really getting on my last nerve and I've now become a big UPS fan. I've been waiting for LL Bean packing bags that deplete all the air out of your clothes and flatten them to make more room in the suitcase. FedEx says they were delivered to our front door last Saturday. We have no package, so now have to hunt down what happened. UPS delivers packages to our back door, inside our screened porch! What Can Brown Do For You? Keep you from having to worry everytime you are supposed to get a delivery!
Time to go clean the house and wait...
We've had fun getting ready. I bought an awesome baby carrier that will work great with our back issues but still be able to keep Rebecca close to us at all times. Ray bought a video camera and has been studying and practicing using it. I wonder if we'll have someone there who can video both of us getting Rebecca so Ray doesn't miss the moment playing videographer?
We have had another FedEx incident so they are really getting on my last nerve and I've now become a big UPS fan. I've been waiting for LL Bean packing bags that deplete all the air out of your clothes and flatten them to make more room in the suitcase. FedEx says they were delivered to our front door last Saturday. We have no package, so now have to hunt down what happened. UPS delivers packages to our back door, inside our screened porch! What Can Brown Do For You? Keep you from having to worry everytime you are supposed to get a delivery!
Time to go clean the house and wait...
Monday, February 16, 2009
Trip to Washington, DC
We now have our travel visas and can travel. The question remains, when will we travel? It could be as early as Feb. 27th or the following week on March 6th. We should obtain confirmation of travel dates tomorrow or Wednesday! In the meantime, I took a trip to Washington to get our visas. I stayed with my sister who lives about an hour away. I found the embassy ok, but was so taken aback by how plain and unassuming it was that I convinced myself it wasn't really the right address. After confirming the address with my sister, sure enough, it was the embassy. It didn't look much different from the DMV except there was a security guard and metal detector. I pictured grand halls, expensive rugs and lots of officials walking around. I watch way too many movies!!
I dropped off our applications around 10:30 and killed time until 1:45 pm when I could go retrieve our passports/visas. At Starbucks I introduced myself to a woman who was also applying for a visa and asked why she was traveling to China. She is a nurse/flight attendant who volunteers to fly to China to escort medically needy children back to the States for treatment. She was returning to China with a 3 year old who was brought to Shriners for treatment for burns on her face. Wow.
I had a pleasant lunch at Shanghai Tea Room and tried to eat my lunch with chop sticks. You know how the sticks come attached at the top? Well, I thought 'hmm, maybe if I leave them attached they will be easier to use.' My server came by and took them from my hands and said 'here, take apart' and snapped them apart. Ok, that didn't work. So, then I tried to eat my lunch with the sticks when the host saw me struggle, he just came by with silver ware and smiled. I tried!
By 2:00 pm, I had our visas in hand and headed back to my sister's house. I got a crash course in child care and the flu when I got back! Long story short, I ended up staying 3 more days to help with one nephew in the hospital and one at home (who also caught the bug before I left). It was a wonderful blessing that I was there to help and for me to get good hands on practice, plus spend lots of time with the boys. Its not all pink booties and smiles, is it????
Thankfully, both boys are home and on the mend and none of the adults appear to have caught the bug...lets hope...
Ray and I had our travel call early last week too. That was very informative and we are now so excited to go!! At times it will be hectic, at times it will be intimidating but for the most part it will be a magical time in our daughter's home country and precious time spent bonding with her. Stayed tuned for travel details posted later this week!
I dropped off our applications around 10:30 and killed time until 1:45 pm when I could go retrieve our passports/visas. At Starbucks I introduced myself to a woman who was also applying for a visa and asked why she was traveling to China. She is a nurse/flight attendant who volunteers to fly to China to escort medically needy children back to the States for treatment. She was returning to China with a 3 year old who was brought to Shriners for treatment for burns on her face. Wow.
I had a pleasant lunch at Shanghai Tea Room and tried to eat my lunch with chop sticks. You know how the sticks come attached at the top? Well, I thought 'hmm, maybe if I leave them attached they will be easier to use.' My server came by and took them from my hands and said 'here, take apart' and snapped them apart. Ok, that didn't work. So, then I tried to eat my lunch with the sticks when the host saw me struggle, he just came by with silver ware and smiled. I tried!
By 2:00 pm, I had our visas in hand and headed back to my sister's house. I got a crash course in child care and the flu when I got back! Long story short, I ended up staying 3 more days to help with one nephew in the hospital and one at home (who also caught the bug before I left). It was a wonderful blessing that I was there to help and for me to get good hands on practice, plus spend lots of time with the boys. Its not all pink booties and smiles, is it????
Thankfully, both boys are home and on the mend and none of the adults appear to have caught the bug...lets hope...
Ray and I had our travel call early last week too. That was very informative and we are now so excited to go!! At times it will be hectic, at times it will be intimidating but for the most part it will be a magical time in our daughter's home country and precious time spent bonding with her. Stayed tuned for travel details posted later this week!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tentative Travel Dates!
Ok, the solid ground I was walking on yesterday just gave way again today. We received the email this morning stating the tentative travel date of Friday Feb. 27th! If that is not confirmed, then it is likely to be the following week on March 6th. Either way, its coming quickly!! So, we will be going to Hong Kong, Nanchang, Guangzhou w/connection to Hong Kong, then home again. The trip will be 12-14 days long. We will meet Rebecca in Nanchang, spend a few days there to finalize the adoption, then on to Guangzhou for our US Embassy appointment to get her passport and visa approval. Stay tuned to this blog during that time, as Ray and I hope to post updates along the way.
I am taking a quick trip to Washington D.C. next week to get our visas processed at the Chinese Embassy. I'll stay with my sister Wednesday and Thursday night; she lives just outside the city. I'll go to the embassy Thursday morning as soon as they open and request an expedited approval. For a few extra dollars they will have it ready by 2:30 pm that same day. I'll then head back to NC on Friday morning. Nice bonus, I get to see my wonderful, fabulous nephews, Jacob and Joshua and an old college buddy while I'm there.
I also have more of the FedEx story that is rather sweet and left out of yesterday's narrative. When I arrived at the FedEx station, the man who had called me earlier to tell me the status of the package came out to the lobby to ask if I found the station ok. I said "yes, and do you know what is in this package?" And he replied, "Yes ma'am I do, that there is a life-changing package you've got!" as he grinned from ear to ear. A life-changing package, indeed!!
Stay tuned...for travel date confirmation and other ramblings from this very excited mom-to-be!
I am taking a quick trip to Washington D.C. next week to get our visas processed at the Chinese Embassy. I'll stay with my sister Wednesday and Thursday night; she lives just outside the city. I'll go to the embassy Thursday morning as soon as they open and request an expedited approval. For a few extra dollars they will have it ready by 2:30 pm that same day. I'll then head back to NC on Friday morning. Nice bonus, I get to see my wonderful, fabulous nephews, Jacob and Joshua and an old college buddy while I'm there.
I also have more of the FedEx story that is rather sweet and left out of yesterday's narrative. When I arrived at the FedEx station, the man who had called me earlier to tell me the status of the package came out to the lobby to ask if I found the station ok. I said "yes, and do you know what is in this package?" And he replied, "Yes ma'am I do, that there is a life-changing package you've got!" as he grinned from ear to ear. A life-changing package, indeed!!
Stay tuned...for travel date confirmation and other ramblings from this very excited mom-to-be!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Two weeks since THE CALL
I think I am finally walking on solid ground. Since the call its been like walking on air and not really being a part of this world completely. The excitement and anticipation and sheer joy after a 3 year wait have made it hard to concentrate. I don't know how Ray gets any work done!
Some highlights of the last two weeks...first, we were supposed to receive our FedEx package on Friday, the day after the call, by 10:45 AM. It didn't come, it didn't come, lunch time came and went and it didn't come. So I called FedEx to have it tracked and had a very funny conversation with the customer service person. She struggled with the name of the agency, was distracted by a sneeze, then asked me what was in the package. I said, "my baby is in that package." And, very seriously and sincerely she replied, "we don't deliver babies." I think I was stunned for a moment, then explained it was a PICTURE of my baby with original documents. "Oh," she said, "its a letter, then." Inside I was screaming, "YES ITS A LETTER AND ITS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE BY NOW-WHERE IS IT?!" Then I remembered that FedEx "doesn't deliver babies" and chuckled to myself the rest of the day. It really was a gift because otherwise, I would have been frantic and probably not so nice when FedEx finally called me back.
So, it was decided that it would just be easier and quicker if I went to the FedEx station and got the package myself, so at 3:30 pm, I finally had the package in my hands. With permission from Ray to open it as soon as I got it, I actually shared it with the FedEx people who helped me finally get our package. They were very happy to play The Stork role and got a kick out of the whole story.
We also received permission from the orphanage to send a care package to Rebecca. Oh happy day! So, we packed a onsie (which we slept with first, so it would have all our smells), socks (to satisfy my baby sister who insisted I buy some immediately!), a wrist rattle, small photo album w/pictures of family and Schatzie (of course), lotion for the nanny and a disposable camera for them to take pictures until we get there and then return the camera to us.
The last item in the bag was a note to Rebecca from "mama" and "baba". A friend's mother graciously agreed to do any chinese translating we needed. It has been a delight getting to know Kathy and have her help us with this. She labeled all the photos, translated the note, wrote instructions for the camera and the lotion. I'm learning a lot about Chinese culture, insights she has about Rebecca, plus she's just a hoot! Its been one of many gifts we have received as part of the adoption community. Its wonderful.
I had mixed feelings as I was preparing this package. Tears of joy welled as I pulled the items together and wrote the note. I felt like I was reaching out and touching Rebecca. Then I felt great sadness as I drove away from UPS thinking about how I wanted to be going to Rebecca instead of that package - the package was never going to adequately convey how we feel about her and we are so ready to have her in our arms...but patience, we've waited this long, we can wait a little longer.
Still no word on when our exact travel dates are, which is typical. China is just now getting back to work after the Chinese New Year Holiday and there are a number of things to arrange before we find out. We have a travel meeting via phone next week to review the paper work and logistics of travel in general. Packing for this adventure is a full time job in and of itself, so keeping busy is not a problem and the best way to cope with the wait.
Some highlights of the last two weeks...first, we were supposed to receive our FedEx package on Friday, the day after the call, by 10:45 AM. It didn't come, it didn't come, lunch time came and went and it didn't come. So I called FedEx to have it tracked and had a very funny conversation with the customer service person. She struggled with the name of the agency, was distracted by a sneeze, then asked me what was in the package. I said, "my baby is in that package." And, very seriously and sincerely she replied, "we don't deliver babies." I think I was stunned for a moment, then explained it was a PICTURE of my baby with original documents. "Oh," she said, "its a letter, then." Inside I was screaming, "YES ITS A LETTER AND ITS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE BY NOW-WHERE IS IT?!" Then I remembered that FedEx "doesn't deliver babies" and chuckled to myself the rest of the day. It really was a gift because otherwise, I would have been frantic and probably not so nice when FedEx finally called me back.
So, it was decided that it would just be easier and quicker if I went to the FedEx station and got the package myself, so at 3:30 pm, I finally had the package in my hands. With permission from Ray to open it as soon as I got it, I actually shared it with the FedEx people who helped me finally get our package. They were very happy to play The Stork role and got a kick out of the whole story.
We also received permission from the orphanage to send a care package to Rebecca. Oh happy day! So, we packed a onsie (which we slept with first, so it would have all our smells), socks (to satisfy my baby sister who insisted I buy some immediately!), a wrist rattle, small photo album w/pictures of family and Schatzie (of course), lotion for the nanny and a disposable camera for them to take pictures until we get there and then return the camera to us.
The last item in the bag was a note to Rebecca from "mama" and "baba". A friend's mother graciously agreed to do any chinese translating we needed. It has been a delight getting to know Kathy and have her help us with this. She labeled all the photos, translated the note, wrote instructions for the camera and the lotion. I'm learning a lot about Chinese culture, insights she has about Rebecca, plus she's just a hoot! Its been one of many gifts we have received as part of the adoption community. Its wonderful.
I had mixed feelings as I was preparing this package. Tears of joy welled as I pulled the items together and wrote the note. I felt like I was reaching out and touching Rebecca. Then I felt great sadness as I drove away from UPS thinking about how I wanted to be going to Rebecca instead of that package - the package was never going to adequately convey how we feel about her and we are so ready to have her in our arms...but patience, we've waited this long, we can wait a little longer.
Still no word on when our exact travel dates are, which is typical. China is just now getting back to work after the Chinese New Year Holiday and there are a number of things to arrange before we find out. We have a travel meeting via phone next week to review the paper work and logistics of travel in general. Packing for this adventure is a full time job in and of itself, so keeping busy is not a problem and the best way to cope with the wait.
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