Update, New Photos, Visa's, & Airline Tickets

Today was a very productive day! With all my running around lately, I feel more tired than anything else. However, today we got tons done. What a relief!!

As you can see, we have new photos. These were taken around July 9. She weighs approx. 15 pounds and is now 8 months old. She is sitting up and has no teeth. Mike & I love that she is smiling in the first photo.

We have tickets!! We are leaving on thursday the 14th. She will be in our arms on Monday, Aug 18. So, off to keep checking my list and adding items and taking items off and then an occasional check here and there.

We have our consulate appointment!

We are know in the final stages of our travel plans. I can't believe that we will be leaving in 2 short weeks. We have so much to prepare for. My head is spinning!!

Always Time For Scrapbooking!

Many know that I'm a scrapbook addict. For me, I always find some time to do a little scrapbooking. It may not be as often as I would like, but I always find a little time. Well, waiting OVER three years for a photo of Savannah was one of those scrapbooking moments. We received our match on Tuesday and I had these done Friday night. I did have some tweaking to do on them, so I did them tonight. I probably won't have time to do much scrapbooking for a while, but at least I have a good start.

Where She Was Found

Many have been asking for more details on where Savannah was found. I got some additional information today. I guard found her at the entrance of the orphanage while on duty. The case was reported to the Police Station and she was brought in to be cared for. So, we don't really know the exact day of her birth. Her birthday was estimated to be November, 24, 07. She weighed 6.61 pounds and her height was 14.56 inches. The height doesn't make sense. It must be different than how the US measures length. I'll have to research that one.

We Have Our Travel Approval!

It is official! Our agency received our travel approval (TA) to pick up Savannah. This process is what takes the longest in our travel plans. It can take 2-5 weeks for approval. In our case it took 12 days. Now, our agency has requested our Consulate Appointment (CA). That can take anywhere from 1-6 business days. We are planning to leave in the middle of August, if things work together. Yes, that means we will be in China while the Olympics are going one. No we will not be anywhere near them. Our travel plans will be routed to avoid the CHAOS.

I can't wait!!! We are actually going to be leaving soon!

What have I been doing?

Since referral, I have been crazy busy. I've received more documents to complete for the adoption. I have never completed so much paperwork in my life. I have had to do more than usual because our adoption agency that we were using for out homestudy closed December 31. I've been working on the paperwork for that last month or so and just when I finish, I get more to do. So, this week we got everything notorized. One document we will have to do again.

I sent off Savannah's care package to her orphanage. The most important item is the disposable camera. I hope that when we meet her for the first time, they will give us the camera with photos of her and her environment at the orphanage. We also included a baby photo album of photos of her new family. Hopefully her caretakers will show her the photos. It is really cute, because, the handle is a teething ring. There's also a blanket, rattles, an outfit and some candy for the children and caretakers. Hopefully, they will enjoy it!

Yesterday, was my fourth trip to the post office this week. Hopefully, it will be the last for a little while. I sent of our VISA application to a courier service. It is not recommended to walk it in to the local consulate, due to the new requirements. Now, you must also turn in your flight and hotel itineraries in order to have a visa issued. That is a problem if you are taveling for an adoption because travel is not finalized until the very end. We may have only a week to ten days notice before we leave. The courier service we are using has a very good relationship with the local consulate that they work with. She has a way of getting around this glitch.

So, for now. We just have a few loose ends to tie with our paperwork and we wait for our Travel Approval, VISAs, updated medicals for Savannah and hopefully more pictures.

In the meantime, I have a ton of things to do to pack. You should see all the packing lists out there. I've also started her scrapbook. I'll have to post photos later. I'll update as we get closer.

About our Family Photo

I was in the car the other day thinking about posting another family photo instead of the one that I have. I used that one, because we don't have another and we were going to use it for our Christmas cards last Christmas. Well, I didn't send any out. It was depressing to have another Christmas pass without Savannah. While I was thinking about it, I realized that we took that photo on THANKSGIVING. That was the day that Savannah was born. We actually have a photo of the day she was born and I know what we were doing that day. That just amazes me!! So, this photos stays until I have one with ALL of us. I guess I will have to like the photo, but for totally different reasons than one would think.

More About Savannah

I've been on Cloud 9 since we got the call yesterday. I have her picture with me almost everywhere I go. Today, we got our FEDEX package with more photos and details about our little one. Here are a few more photos of our Savannah. They aren't the best of her face. They were taken in February from what I could read on her paperwork. Hopefully we will get more photos in 3 to 4 weeks along with updated medical information.

Here are a few facts about her:

• When she is asleep she is liable to suck fingers.
• Holds her head up when she is on her stomach.
• Locates the direction of sound/voice.
• Visually follows moving toys.
• Follows you with moving head from one side to another.
• Knows name, turns when called.
• Laughs aloud.
• Fond of listening to music.
• Responds to facial expressions of adults.
• Quick in reaction.

Boy, this has been a tough post. The formatting was all wrong and I couldn't get the photos lined up. Anyways, I'll update with new information as I get it.

Here She Is!!!

I can't believe that this little face is OURS! We got our call first thing this morning at 9:00 am. Everyone in the agency makes the calls. So, we got a call from Deb in accounting.

I was so nervous, I wrote her birthday wrong and couldn't even think of what to say. I was shakey and could barely talk. It is a good thing I had a list of questions to ask.

Her Chinese name is Guo Jiang Mian and was born on November 24, 2007 (Thanksgiving Baby). Guo is her surname, Jiang means river and Mian means to exert, encourage, strive, and urge. As is stands, she is still Savannah. We don't have a middle name yet. We wanted to wait until we were matched and knew her Chinese name.

She was found four days after birth and has been at the the Beiliu City Welfare Institute, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, ever since. In February, she weighed 11lbs and was 22 in. All of her medicals are normal and test are negative for HIV, HepB, etc.. No teeth at that time. We will get updated medical information in about 3 to 4 weeks.

Tomorrow, we will get a FEDEX package with more pictures and documentation. We will travel to china in 5-8 weeks. It really depends on when we receive our Consulate appt and they work backwards from there.

Today is the day the Lord has promised. He's always told me to be patient and that it will all happen in his timming, not mine. She is definately a gift from God!

"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" Luke 1:45

Referrals Have Arrived!

Our adoption agency has received referrals for Log In dates 01/23 and 01/24. We of course are 01/24. They will start making calls tomorrow after 10:00 Mountain Time. They do not call right away, because they need to verify and translate the information.

Tomorrow will be a HAPPY DAY! We will finally see her face.

Still Waiting!

We are still waiting for the stork to land in the US. It has been reported that referrals arrived in Europe last Friday. Our agency is very conservative, so we will get "The Call" 24 hrs after they receive the referrals. This allows them to translate and verify that everything is OK. It would be aweful to get "The Call" and to have your baby not available.

In the meantime, I'll be working a little bit. A friend of a friend needs some HR help. I'll be helping out for the next month or so. I'll update you all as soon as I hear something.

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

Stork Alert!

We are just waiting for the stork to arrive in the US.

Matching is Completed!

Matching has been completed!! Somewhere is our file with a picture of our baby. I'm not sure if they have left China and are in route or not. Once our agency receives the paperwork, it will be translated. I have no idea when or how long this will take. I'm going crazy!

False Alarm

Ok, so they weren't referrals. They were TA's for last months batch of referrals. Will they arrive before the 4th of July. That is the million dollar question.