We have TA !!!!!!!

We got the call from our agency today - we have been given travel approval by the Chinese government!!!! Technically that means we could leave tomorrow. However we also have to work with the US consulate in China. The last thing we do before we leave China is get permission from them to bring him home(a US visa). We have heard that the earliest available appt with them is August 25. So, counting backwards the days we need in Guangzhou, Tianjin (where we get Andy), and Fuzhou (where we visit Rics grandparents) we now expect to leave around August 11th and return the 26th, exactly the time table I have been searching flights for the last three days. There has been, about this trip, such a strong feeling of being clearly led by God. So many things are different from what we originally expected when we began to adopt 2 other boys two years ago (when we thought only Jerry would go to get them) but everything about this feels soooo right. Which helps my Very Fearful self to be at peace. (I'm not saying I'd turn down an offer of someones antianxiety medecine for those plane flights however..8>) I'm writing from Lindsay and Travis's where I just found the sheet I have been looking for for Andy's bed (red, the last thing I needed, I think)

Fire Dept Picnic

Ric sat in the front seat with Jay and got to blow the sirens. Jerry and Ariel rode in the back seat and Amber rode on top!!

Rumors of TA

Today is Jerry's birthday (yesterday was Jay's, last week was Everett's and as you know, Andy's). I got an email from our agency today that they expect to receive 6 TAs next week and ours should be among them!!!! I am having a hard time breathing. That means we could leave a few short weeks from now. I think there are still a million things to do but at the moment I can't remember any of them. We could possibly be back before school starts for Ariel and Amber , which would be wonderful. Camila and maybe Katrina and Amanda will be managing them while we are gone. I am so excited!!
Tonight is the Fire Dept picnic when the kids get to ride around town on the back of the trucks. I can't watch ( I am a wreck seeing my kids up there. Ric will be INSIDE a truck) but I'l try to post a pix before they leave.

Ric and Andy's bedroom

After two days of searching my computer I found these!! It would have probably been easier to just go in and take new pictures. I really wanted to put them in a slideshow but I couldn't figure out how to download (or is it upload?) a program and get it here.

Andy's toothbrush

These pictures were taken in March when our dear friend, Kathy, visited Andy's orphanage and offered to take a package from us. What we sent had to fit in a 1 gallon ziplock bag. I repacked the bag many times and was surprised how much you can stuff in one of those bags. Of course, I sent pix of our family and a camera so Andy can bring home pictures of his friends, but my favorite gift was this - a vibrating firetruck toothbrush. Ric and Andy's bedroom is done in a firetruck theme and his Baba and big brother,Jay, are volunteer firemen so it was a small introduction to his new life. I've been trying all day to post pix of their bedroom but while I can find them on Kodak shareware I can't find them in my computer files. I need an older child to help but Ariel left for volleball camp today.

I have filled them with coloring books, crayons, toy trucks, playdoh, a small glove and ball, gum, candy and assorted surprizes for the boys to play with. We will take them both on 'gotcha day' when we first get Andy. Hopefully the bag will be enticing enough for him to overlook the fact that he will be leaving all he has ever known to go with these two Big Nose people who can't understand a thing he is saying.

Happy Birthday Wei Wei

Today is Andy's birthday. He is now seven. We had very much hoped to have him here to celebrate his birthday. Probably for him this day passed like any other day. In China, only the first birthday and the sixtieth are really celebrated. I did send him a package which should have arrived around this time. It contained more pictures of our family and toys from Cracker Barrel and Sugar Daddies and some other candy to share with his friends. Our only other package for him was hand delivered (in March, when we were still very uncertain whether China would allow us to adopt him) by a dear friend who put it directly in his hands. In fact, because this is a great orphanage we even have a video of him opening it! Often when parents send gifts to orphanages they are not even sure if their children get the things they send.

LOA LOA !!!

This is the treasured piece of paper we have been awaiting. It is an official document from China asking if we really want to adopt Zheng Li Wei. OF COURSE WE DO !!! We received a call from our agency July 8, saying they had it. They overnighted it to us and we signed it and overnighted it back.
The next paper we need is TA - approval to travel and pick up the child. We can leave anytime after it arrives, but that could be 2 weeks or 6 weeks so we are not supposed to book our flights until we have it. We (Jerry Catherine and Ric)will each have 6 passport pix taken on Monday and send them with our passports to a courier who will hand deliver them to the Chinese Embassy and return it all with our visas (permission from China to come to their country).
This is crunch time. The time to get everything ready in the house, assemble clothes toys snacks etc for the suitcases and be ready for the call. I aleady have some adorable matching outfits for Ric and Andy. Yesterday I got them Car PJs..there will be lots of photo opps in China.. (okay I know they aren't girls but they can still be cute, right?)