Travel Itinerary

Kittye here. Since we are leaving for China in three days, I thought it might be a good idea to post our travel itinerary. :)

7/30 – 5:45pm - Leave Nashville for LA

7/30 – 11:50pm - Leave LA for Guangzhou, Guong Dong,

China

8/01 – 6:20am China time - Arrive in Guangzhou China time

(that’s pronounced “guang-joe”)

Notice we skipped 7/31 all together - weird!

8/1 – 9:55am - Fly to Changsha (the capital city of Caroline's

province, where we will meet her!

8/2 - 9:30am - WE MEET CAROLINE AT THE CIVIL

AFFAIRS OFFICE!!!!!!!

For the next 10 days or so, we will be busy with lots of appointments, which you can read about on this blog.

8/13 - Fly out of Guangzhou late for LA; arrive in LA 6:50pm

(it’s like going back in time)

8/14 – 4:50pm - Arrive Nashville, and we’re HOME!!!

The days are busy getting ready to leave. The girls and I are cooking like crazy, putting food in the freezer for the people who will stay home. We’ve also had great fun sewing clothes for Caroline. This has been a wonderful time of bonding for us and has in a sweet way connected us to Caroline.

Speaking of those staying home, Lindsey will primarily be running the show, with several other wonderful people helping care for them in our absence. Strangely, these two weeks were the only ones we couldn’t cover as we planned who would care for our kids at home. It has really been a test of faith to wait and watch for God to reveal His plan for our babies at home. As always, He is faithful and good, and has provided the perfect team! He has provided caregivers in ways that He alone could do, and we give Him glory and praise. PLEASE PRAY FOR THE ONES AT HOME and for those caring for them. It’s a stressful time for them. Michael left for the grocery store the other day, and John Michael asked if he had gone to get Caroline. hehe The whole thing is more than some of them can grasp.

Michael has been super busy wrapping up things at work, and staying on top of our paperwork. The paperwork at travel time is very time-consuming, but he’s a pro and gets things done well and fast.

Today is our 25^th wedding anniversary. What better way to celebrate than to add another BABY to our family! (I totally did not see THAT coming 25 years ago!) As I type, I can hardly believe it’s been 25 years since we made a covenant with God and each other, to love each other - for better or for worse…and we’ve seen both ends of that. We could have never imagined our life together looking the way it has/does, but our loving Father had such wonderful plans for us. He has been so faithful, though so many times we have not been faithful. He is so good! Thank you, Father, for allowing me to love and live with Michael for 25 years. It’s been wonderful traveling this path with my best friend.

We got our T.A.!!!

(These are some pictures that we took in Washington.)
After months of waiting, we finally got our T.A.(Travel Approval). WE ARE LEAVING IN 15 DAYS!!! SO EXITED!!! I can't wait to have our new baby in my arms. We arrive in Nashville on the 14 of August. Gotcha day is August second, and our oath-taking ceremony in China is the 12. YAAAYYYY!!! The days are flying by, and soon we will have our new addition. Going to China are my Grandmother, Mom, Dad, Ben, Annie, and Yours Truly!!! The only problem is the 17-hour plane ride(without layovers):(... But I'm sure we'll find something to do, like watch movies, play games, sleep(maybe), talk, read... that sort of thing. We purchased a soft and cuddly doll for Caroline, a peanut ball that builds the brain, a colostomy kit, a new bowl, sippy cup, and we have made countless dresses and blankets. In fact, we will probably smother her with all of the dresses and blankets and diapers and skirts and shirts and pants and bottles and formula and Cheerios and granola bars and other small items. Caroline is going to make new friends... I can feel it! Some of our neighbors have just adopted a baby from Ethiopia and I'm just sure that Caroline will love her. We are so exited to get our baby home!

-Emily

July 16 2010

Visa applications, etc.

Kittye here. Emily is worn out from volunteering at camp this week, so I'm updating for us. We have settled back into life after our trip to the beach and D.C., with lots of paperwork. Somehow we didn't receive the email that our visa applications had to be in by June 22, and just figured out TODAY that it needed to be done last week...trying to get it FedEx tomorrow. We received our Article 5 last week and looks like it's 3-5 weeks until we get travel approval, then hope to travel 2-3 weeks after TA. Hang on Caroline! It won't be long now!

We celebrated Gigi's 6th and Will's 10th birthdays in June, and Michael turns another year older on the 4th of July! (He will then be as old as his aged wife. Someone get him a cane! We plan to celebrate with fireworks, Mississippi Mud Cake, and best of all, ALL of my children will be here with us for his birthday for swimming and speed scrabble.

Tonight Ben played fiddle at Amber Falls and did a fantastic job (should be on YouTube soon), while we sat on our blanket and enjoyed music and a picnic put together by helping hands. Annie made bread, David popped popcorn, Annalise made Blondies and carrot sticks, and I filled in the gaps. The breeze was light and cool, and as we looked out over the beautiful landscape, we felt refreshed and reminded of God's goodness and greatness. He is so, so good.