One week to take off

We got our visas back in the mail, and I'm relieved. Its a little scary to put your original passports in the mail! And we got our final travel packet yesterday.

Here's our itinerary:

• June 8--United Airlines, Atlanta to Chicago leaving at 8 a.m.Chicago to Hong Kong arriving on June 9th (my birthday, woohoo!) at 3:10 p.m. (Jimmy thinks we'll be tired and want to crash.........Not on MY BIRTHDAY, BIG BOY! We better sleep on the plane! Our guide is Joann and she will meet us at the airport.
• June 10th -- tour Hong Kong on our own (we are a group of 2 families and the other family is going strait to Guangzhou)
• June 11th--Fly to Guangzhou on China Southern at 1:00--arriving at 1:45.---we'll be picked up by our guide, Kathy. Meet with Kathy that afternoon to do paperwork, fees and gifts.
• June 12th ----Gotcha---at the Civil Affairs office in Guangzhou--sometime in the afternoon.:))))
• June 13th---Adoption registration paperwork and apply for Amelia's passport. Shopping trip for baby supplies if needed.
• June 14th---Take Amelia to her physical exam and to get her visa photo. We'll be walking to the clinic.
• June 15th---One parent meet with Kathy to prepare paperwork for the US consulate appt.
• June 16th---Receive Amelia's Adoption Registration Certificate
• June 17th-18th---free time, rest, shop, take optional tours
• June 19th---Receive Amelia's passport
• June 20th---Appt. With the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou--Kathy will actually attend this on our behalf.
• June 21st---Appt at the U.S. Consulate for the swearing in ceremony.
• June 22nd---Leave Guangzhou for Hong Kong on China Southern at 8:25. Fly Hong Kong to San Francisco on United. Fly San Francisco to Atlanta on United arriving at 6:26 p.m.

Welcome home Baby Girl!

Thank You Leigh Anne!

I have received many beautiful and special gifts for Amelia, and I treasure them all. I had to post this one because its from my friend that I fondly refer to as my China inspiration. Leigh Anne adopted 2 little China darlings, and watching her navigate the process to bring home her first daughter, inspired me to want to go get one of my own! Thanks LA for the gifts and inspiration :) 2 picture books (the lamb is a stuffed animal/book) and a mommy heart pendent

TTraditonal chinese dress from China Sprout

The Stork Flew In Yesterday!

CCAI was referred 43 babies with 2 sets of twins!

Congratulations to all the new families!

you just cant beat referral day........I used to find it surprising that so many people seemed to stay on the boards after adoption. Now, I totally get that. The China adoption community is a huge extended family and I'm quite sure I'll continue cheering on the referrals for years to come.

Waiting families, Hang in there! The wait is emotionally draining and sometimes downright painful. But your child is waiting for you, and I find myself wanting to say all the things that others used to say to me: "you wont remember the pain of waiting when you get your referral" "you'll get the child your meant to have"

I do actually remember what it felt like to endlessly wait, because it wasn't that long ago for me. But I can say, that the joy of getting my referral, makes every waiting minute more than worth it.........And I know you'll feel the same.

I know....You're thinking "Easy for you to say.......You have yours!" Yeah, I know, I used to think the same thing. But just wait.........You'll be saying that to someone else before you know it.

Update on our baby

We are so thrilled to get an update on our little baby. We did not get a picture, but did get updated height, weight, and measurements. She weighs 16.5 pounds and has 2 teeth!

They also sent the following comments:

Personality:
They call her Xin Chu.
She likes being held.
She is a happy baby and likes to smile to everyone.

General:
Her Schedule:
Meals: 4:00 am, 8:00 am, 1:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 9:00 pm
Bedtime: 9:30pm~7:00 am
Nap: 11:30~2:30 pm
She is eating: formula, juice, mashed fruits, yolk, mashed liver.

sounds like she's a good sleeper, huh? lets hope that transfers well.

Even though we didnt get a picture, I am just THRILLED to get this. Oh, my tummy feels like jello! I cannot wait to hold my baby!

surely there could never be a more thankful mother than me :)

Travel Dates

June 8th -June 22nd

Gotcha day ----June 12th

Last..but certainly not least!

Who says you cant go home again????

Here are pics of my baby shower in Birmingham, Alabama. Yes, thats right, I'm about as southern as they come. Jimmy and I moved to Atlanta about 3 years ago. We love it here, but miss our wonderful friends and family back in Birmingham.

Well, you know it takes a lot of wine to get me through a baby shower( if its my shower that is) without crying, and frankly, my mom and nana were there so it wasnt that kind of shower ;)) so yes, here is my brief emotional break down which occured while reading the first few pages of ---I Love You Like Crazy Cakes---to the group. you know the page that says something like: "There was a woman who had lots of friends but needed a baby.......that woman was me." Well, that woman WAS ME. and when I read that line.........well, the rest is history. Dont ever think you have to have pregnancy hormones to become a complete baby sap. it happens to the best of us. I've cried in front of most everyone I know! and now all of you!


Daphne, I've taken this poster EVERYWHERE . My friend, Tracy painted the above tiles complete with ladybugs
Southern cooking..........cant beat it. I had a lovely cake with dragon flies..trying to get it to load......will hopefully add it later.

The girls/ladies at this shower have known me all or most of my life. One of my favorite things was that everyone went around and introduced themselves (although many of them already knew each other) and shared, either how they met me, or a funny memory we have together. I just love that kind of stuff---told you i'm a sap. anyway, it was funny and quite a walk down memory lane. It was so special to celebrate this occasion with them. After all, they've seen me at my best and worst; being graceful and behaving badly; and have loved me during both.
Thanks for making my day so special, girls.........and so much fun! I'll never forget it.

Area Adopters descend on the Sonia and Hugh

Twins, Evelyn and AmeliaCharleigh and Mary Clare

Mary Clare and Emily


Had a great time at the local family bonfire/cook out. Thanks for hosting Sonia and Hugh!

Pics are courtesy (stolen) from Daphne and Lisa, as I was so enamored with our little crawlers that I forgot to pull out my camera ....oops

Birthday Dinner in Hong Kong

Wow. Things are moving fast now. Even though we have 2.5 weeks before we leave, still........It feels fast...........And exciting!!!!

As of now, we are scheduled to fly out of Atlanta on June 7th or 8th. My birthday dinner (June 9) will be in Hong Kong! Woo! (and yes Tracy! We're flying out most likely on YOUR birthday) anyway............

June 11th we fly (or take the train--we're considering this) to Guangzhou, where we'll be for the rest of the trip.

We get our sweet daughter on June 12th at the Civil Affairs Office. And here's the best part...........Sonia and Hugh and baby Kailee will be there for our Gotcha day. How cool is that?

Our first 3-4 days in Guangzhou will be Sonia and Hughs final 3-4 days there. We'll be in the same hotel and Sonia has graciously offered to be our photographer/videographer for our gotcha day.

I cannot wait to hold these babies and see them play together. The culmination of months of paperwork and hoping and dreaming and planning, and its all the more special to share it with good friends.

We'll fly home on June 22 and arrive in Atlanta on June 23. Oh and by the way, we need someone to pick us up from the airport! :)

Amelia Rose, we are almost there!

We Have Travel Approval!!!

We Got TA!

Not 5 minutes after I finished that last post, the phone rang and it was Heidi from CCAI Travel Dept. Going "guess what? I'm holding your travel notice!"

She said they were just as surprised, because they had no notice from China that ours was included in this batch. We were starting to get antsy because we hadn't been notified to download travel packet II yet, and that usually comes 1-2 weeks prior to TA. So......

we got the TA and all the packets at once!

I've got errands and paperwork to do, but I am operating on pure adrenaline, so it will be a piece of cake.

We will either leave June 1 or June 8th.

She also said we can wait and request a consulate appt. on the same day as our friends, Sonia and Hugh, (who are expecting TA any day) and possibly do our last week in China together, and have our Consulate appt. on the same day!

Lian Xin Chu

Here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!

getting closer

Day 42 ...........................

and we just got an e-mail asking for our 400.00 post-placement fee. woohoo!

We've also been notified that we can download the waiting family support packet and the post placement packet.

this can only mean one thing.........we are getting close to

TA!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm positively buzzing...........I feel like I've had 14 cups of coffee.

Come on TA!

Alabama Girls

Group Photo at my Birmingham Shower. There are a couple of people hiding behind the front row. We used the tri-pod for this picture and the front row had to scramble to get in place. have you ever used a tri-pod? its wierd. its like you smile, smile, smile, and just when you get tired of smiling it snaps the picture. very nerve wracking ;0

And in other news............

Well, lets see............On the aforementioned (is this really a word?) weekend trip with my Mom, we attended my final baby shower. It was wonderful! With aunts, cousins, and long time friends. The newest friend there......... I've known for 6 or 7 years. The oldest friends? Since kindergarten.......... This was an intimate gathering that involved a hilarious stroll down memory lane. I laughed until my sides hurt. I'll post pics later. My friend, Kellie, took them on her camera and she'll send me the CD when she gets a minute. She's the mother of an active toddler though, so I'm not gonna rush her!

Oh! This is cool. I got an e-mail from Tracy of the "One more Tracy" blog---link to the left. If you recall, she's the one who sent me an e-mail from China (when she was there adopting her dtr, Mary Clare), to tell me that she asked about Amelia.

Anyway, she e-mailed that her dtr's finding ad is listed on the same page as Amelia's. Why is that a big deal? Well, think about it. These little girls were abandoned in the same city just a couple of months apart, taken to the same orphanage, and listed in the same edition of the paper. Then they were adopted a whole continent away, by parents who live in the same town and know each other! What are the chances of that? Especially with the thousands and thousands of people adopting Chinese babies all over the world? And from orphanages all over China? Incredible.

Happy Belated Mothers Day!

Well, I'm a day late and a dollar short mentioning Mothers Day, but I spent this past weekend out of town with my Mom, and came back pooped. Its been a whirlwind week!

I couldnt let mothers day pass without some kind of post though.....not on THIS blog! Ya know, I've been waxing poetic for a year now about how much I want to be a mom, how excited I am to become a mom, how my dreams are coming true....etc.etc. and some of you may be going..........Enough already! We know your happy! we know you're excited! we know you're becoming Amelia's Mom!

so instead, I thought I'd tell you what a great Mom I have!

When my father died 13 years ago, I not only grieved but struggled with terrible guilt. I wasnt a terrible daughter, but I was in my early twenties, trying to establish my independence (hence........not so into being daddy's little girl) and thought I knew IT ALL. Heck! I still think I know it all ;)))

So on my mothers 65th birthday, I decided there was no way I would let her leave this world without me thanking her for all the little things she probably thought I didnt notice. This was her 65th birthday present..........65 Thank Yous.

I'm not going to share them all here, because frankly, some of them are personal, and because I dont want to boar you silly.

Here are a few though.......as a reminder to my mom of how much I appreciate her...............and to create some real good karma, so maybe Miss Amelia Rose will appreciate me one day! of course, I have big mama shoes to fill.........

Selections from 65 Thank Yous.............For Your 65th Birthday

1. Thank you for taking me to church, but for teaching me that God is everywhere, and available to everyone.

2. Thank you for never being too busy with your own life to be involved with mine.

3. Thank you for not putting up with too much bad behavior.

5. Thank you for taking 6 giggling 15 year old girls to the beach for spring break. You were the only mom crazy enough to do that.

7. Thank you for teaching me that its never ok to embarrass or humiliate someone........even when they greatly deserve it.

9. Thank you for bestowing on me a love of books. They have taken me to times and places I will never see, and will take me on exotic journeys to come.

10. Thank you for crashing waves, seagull cries, and sand between my toes.

11. Thank you for taking me to the Christmas Wonderland at Lovemans Department Store every year of my childhood.

12. Thank you for sharing your love of animals, and for the many pets that graced my childhood.

13. Thank you for my pony "Thunder" who had a thunderous personality and landed me on the ground more often than his back!

14. Thank you for towering mountains, majestic views, and hikes that nearly killed me.

15. Thank you for signing me and 7 other 18 year olds into the Penthouse (on your credit card) for senior trip and trusting us not to DESTROY IT.

16. Thank you for every field trip and holiday party you ever helped with at school.

21. Thank you for every Birthday party.

23. Thank you for not freaking out when I left college in the middle of the semester and went to work for Club Med. That was way cool.

27. Thank you for catching lightning bugs with me on summer nights.

28. Thank you for my childhood playhouse and all the work that went into "redecorating it".

34. Thank you for being a woman who has demonstrated the concept of "over, under, around, or through...." as a way to overcome obstacles. It has served me well.

35. Thank you for the piano lessons; you were right. I do regret that I didnt continue them.

37. Thank you for countless hours of listening to me prattle on about my plans and dreams; even though I rarely asked about yours.....

40. Thank you for vacations in the camper. those were real family vacations.

43. Thank you for encouraging me when I sought infertility treatment;and for crying with me when it didnt work.

47. Thank you for raising me in a home that I'll always remember as the safest place I'll ever know.

50. Thank you for every Halloween costume

52. Thank you for sending me to school in first grade (with loving encouragement) even though I threw up every morning. What a quitter I might have become if you hadnt helped me to hang in there. (can we talk seperation anxiety?)

53. Thank you for always being a mom who listened to cool music and wore stylish clothes. I have always been proud of you.

54. Thank you for eating the many cakes that I baked in my easy bake oven.

57. Thank you for giving me a little grit to go with my sugar, if you know what I mean.

59. Thank you for taking back all my Christmas presents the year that I opened them on the sly. I deserved it. And thank you for buying other gifts to replace them so I would have something to open on Christmas morning.

60. Thank you for roots and wings.

63. Thank you for trusting me to make my own decisions.

64. Thank you for nursing me through scarlet fever, chicken pox, and any number of colds and flus.

65. Thank you for 32 (now 37) years of unconditional love.

Happy Mothers Day Mom

Waiting

Waiting for Travel Approval

Day 36

May Showers (cont)

Invitation posted in the elevator at work. Wow. my co-workers completely overwhelmed me with a lovely baby shower. I already knew that I work with some great people, but they really outdid themselves and it means alot to me. Even though I am comitted to staying home with Amelia for a while, and part of me is looking forward to a break from the 9 to 5 (or 7:30 to 4 in my case!) its also kind of bittersweet. I'll miss my job. I'll miss my co-workers, and most of all, I'll miss my residents (I work in a nursing home and have become quite attached to my ladies and gents)

See what I mean? these gifts covered a whole corner of my kitchen. I've got them spread out in a nice little display for daddy.

I think you'll agree...........the dress to the right isnt just a dress...........no, I think this qualifies as a frock fit for a little princess!

Is there any question we're having a girl????

Some of "my ladies" at the nursing home---they've reassured me that I've got lots of extra grandmas for Amelia. They did an activity the other day that involved a word scramble..the topic being "what we'll need for baby Amelia" The top of the list was "babysitter" too funny! I'm going to miss these ladies! where else can you go to work and be called: sugar, honey, dahlin, baby, etc. and not be offended?

Thank you AG Rhodes for a wonderful baby shower, and three and a half years of gainful employment. Dont think your getting completely rid of me..........Amelia and I will be back to visit ;0

Tick Tock

waiting for TA.........31 days down.............

over half way there :)

China Mom Celebratory Lunch

. My fellow waiting China moms surprised me with a celebration lunch on Friday, and we had a great time!

Miss Emily at her first big girl baby shower. She kept us laughing and acting like fools, because she has the most adorable giggle.

this is a funny picture, although not flattering. yes, thats right, I was boohooing over the bottles. I dont know,,,, when I opened that very basic baby care item, it just hit me that I'm really gonna be a MOM! WOW! 

, 

checking out the cuddle factor on Amelia's new blanket knitted by Auntie Sonia 

Lisa's famous Lemon Curd Cupcakes 

May Showers

A girl can never have too many matching purses and hats


The hostesses with the mostesses

Roses are red, violets are blue

what was once a dream

has now come true

---from my shower invitation

couldnt have said it better myself!

Thanks for a lovely baby shower girls!