Hong Kong, Day 1

Just a quick post to let you all know tht we made it to Hong Kong! It was a long flight. Garrett did great on the long flight. He took a nap, ate and then slept for seven hours! That was from Detroit to Tokyo. It was wonderful! Now the Tokyo to Hong Kong leg was a different story, as we were all ready to be off the plane. Eighteen hours of flying is too much for anyone. Garrett was loopy and noisy and we were all ready to be at the hotel. Caelan rode wonderfully, as expected:)

We are going to take it easy today and then tomorrow we are going to Disneyland. I will try to post pictures soon.

In Detroit

Well, the first part of our journey is complete:) We are in Detroit, waiting for my dad to get home from work so that we can head out to the airport. We will leave here in 45 minutes and our plane takes off at 3:30pm. Next stop, HONG KONG!!

Cookies

For my friends who are waiting for LOA's, PA's, and referrals, this is for you:



I can't wait to hear all of the good news when we get back!

Tap and Ballet Rehearsal

I am trying to figure out how to load video, so I will start with Caelan's practice tap and ballet routines.

You Know You’re an Adoptive Parent if…

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love & family.
3. You can’t watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. You spend your free time surfing blogs about families who’ve experienced the blessing of adoption.
5. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child’s “real” parents.
6. You’ve taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.
7. You believe that God has a heart for adoption.
8. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
9. You know what the word “Dossier” means, and you can actually pronounce it correctly.
10. You’ve welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
11. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well that you are the blessed one to have him/her in your life.

(Anonymous)

More Pictures!!!

I got the rest of the pictures:) Here are a few!

The Countdown is On!!

I just adjusted the time zone in my ticker so that it shows China time!! One less day of waiting- WOW!

New Pictures!!!!!!!!

The woman who visited Lia's SWI last week emailed me eight photos this morning. I am going to include a few here. She said that she has some others as well! What a wonderful morning!

A Gift

We have just received the most precious gift. A family traveled this past week to Lia's SWI. I got the following email from her this morning:

"we saw your daughter and got loads of photos of her. i'll try to send a few in the next day or two. she's very sweet. she was quiet when we saw her - but all the kids were very subdued. she has a lovely smile. you're very lucky to have such a gorgeous wee girl and it's fantastic that she'll soon have a family. the swi made us very welcome and it was so rewarding to go there"

I will post new pictures as soon as I receive them!

Tickets!

We have booked our tickets. Our trip will be a little longer than we expected because we got a later consulate date. We are all leaving on Tuesday, April 29th. We will arrive in Hong Kong on the 30th at 11pm. We will rest up, sightsee and go to Hong Kong Disney before going to Guangzhou on Sunday, May 4th. Lia Day will still be on May 5th. Caelan and my parents are coming back on Tuesday, May 13th, but the rest of us have to stay until Saturday the 17th. Caelan is coming home early so that she will not miss her recital, and we will be able to go on Sunday, though we will miss the Saturday performance.

One Step Closer!

Hooray! We got a call from our agency this morning! Our TA is on its way. They expect that they will have it before Friday and are planning on us getting Lia on May 5th. We will likely leave On April 29th or 30th and spend a couple of days in Hong Kong before heading to Guangzhou to finalize the adoption. We are still hoping to be back home in time for Caelan's dance recital on May 17/18. YEAH!!

UPDATE: Our agency has our TA!!!

Waiting, still

No word on our TA. I am hoping this week, though the time keeps dragging on and on. Spring break was restful, as we spent the entire time taking care of two very sick kids. They both are feeling better now, though I am going to double check things with Garrett's ped today. Caelan will be back at school this morning.

Sigh...

Our bags are packed. Yes. I am ready!