Time for Shots!

Robert finally squeezed it in his schedule to go get his travel immunizations. Round one completed! I already received my shots, since I went to China in July 06 on a mission trip. I do still need to get the final Hep A & B. (They're not my favorite thing to do) Guess I'll be doing that tomorrow. Yipee!

I'm thinking that if we finish all the items on our To Do list (with the exception of packing), then our RA will come quicker. Well, maybe wishful thinking! I am glad we're NOT traveling this month, as there are snow storm conditions causing travel delays, besides the fact that it is REALLY COLD! I'll wait until it warms up, thank you. Stay warm over there Alanna!

DVD of Hefei

The Frederickson family traveled to Hefei in July 07 to adopt their child. They so graciously took video of all the children in the classroom and baby areas. We watched the video today and got to see small clips of Alanna in motion! What a wonderful gift! Thank you Frederickson family!!

Here's a portion. The quality is not as good as the actual DVD though.

Bought 1st outfit

Rob & Holden went on a little weekend trip to play in the snow. Braden and I decided to catch a movie and roam the mall (not so much fun for him). I bought our first outfit for Alanna from Gymboree. I'm guessing she's a size 3T, according to her measurements. This may be her only outfit from this store, unless we can catch the sale rack!

Sent Visa Applications

I mailed our visa applications to AWAA. Normally they are only valid for 3 months, but for some reason, AWAA said China has extended it to be valid for 1 year. Maybe because of the olympics? Well, at least that will be one more thing off the check list!

Sent Travel Documents

I faxed in the requested travel documents to the travel coordinator to start making travel arrangements for our trip to China! We are expected to travel 90-120 days from our LOI.

According to the sample itinerary, we will most likely fly into Beijing and sight-see for 3 days. Then fly to Anhui to meet our daughter, then Guangzhou and, of course, more paperwork! The trip will last about 14 days!

Medical evaluation complete!

Our physician offered to read Rob's TB test on Saturday, provided he attended the men's breakfast at our church, rather than waiting until the following week when he'll be in the office. This completes the last piece of paperwork for our home study update! (Well, except for our GBI fingerprints. But that's a matter of waiting on them to send the results.)

Received Pre-Approval (PA)!

I received an email from Melissa that the CCAA has processed our Pre-Approval (PA) to adopt Qing Fang! What a nice suprise! I was told it would take about a month...but we received it a week after our LOI. Hopefully our RA will follow this quick time frame!

Update from orphanage

We received an update on Qing Fang from the orphanage today. AWAA had their liason ask the orphanage a few questions concerning Qing Fang, one being if they would perform a hearing test. Her file did not indicate she ever received a hearing test, so we wanted to rule this out as a problem for her speech delay.

"She has no hearing issue. There is no need to do the hearing test. Her language delay was caused by her intellectual delay. She is receiving language therapy and she made a big improvement. There is no need to do any other therapy."

I'll take this as good news that she can apparently hear fine.

Received Travel Packet

OK! Now this is all starting to feel a little bit more "real"! I received our travel packet today that tells us what to expect, our Visa applications and some other info. We still have several months to go, which I guess is a good thing at this point. We are still a long way from gathering the remaining funds, so we may need the extra time. I was reminded today, listening to a segment on Focus on the Family about orphan care. "When the Lord guides, the Lord provides!"

We know He has led us and gotten us this far, we're trusting Him to bring Alanna home!

1st Day at New School

The boys started at their new school today! I think I was more nervous than they were.
We homeschooled for a few years, then they attended a Classical Christian school for homeschooling families, which was a half day program. With all the financial changes in our business and family, we decided it was best to send them to the local public school.

They are now in separate schools-a first. And, they had their first experience riding the school bus! Starting in the middle of the year is also not the easiest. I was glad to hear they both had an awesome first day. They were excited that the homework load is much lighter! :)

Acceptance Submitted

I received email confirmation that our Electronic Acceptance was sent to China today! Yipee!

We are working on completing the paperwork for our Home Study update. Rob's medical evaluation update is the last thing we need. Once the update is received, we'll then need to renew our I-797 form to allow us to bring Alanna home. Thankfully, they allow us one free extension.

We will be waiting for our Pre-Approval (PA) from the CCAA. We should receive this in about a month.

Electronic Acceptance in process

I called Melissa at AWAA today to check on the status of our Acceptance (LOI). She was working on it, and hoped to be able to finish submitting it today. The website was having some problems, so she may need to finish it tomorrow. The wait for (Travel Approval (TA) begins!