A much needed break

Last weekend, we took a trip to Galveston.  It was so nice to just get away from all of our stresses for a couple of days and just have fun!  The timing couldn't have been more perfect because the morning we left was the morning that we got our email from USCIS that we were cabled.  I had planned on taking our laptop in case we got that all important email so that I could send it on to our agency but I was able to do that before I even woke up the kids and we left the laptop at home....ahhh.  So, having zero that we had to do with the adoption, I was able to leave that stress at home too!  Well, mostly...it's always...there.  But we were able to get away and we all needed it.  We had such a great time and the kids were awesome, even with our car dvd player deciding to quit on us and having to drive all 6 hours back home with NO MOVIES!

Here are some pictures from our fun trip!

Cabled!

This morning we woke up to an email in our inbox saying that our I800 approval was sent to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou , China. So I emailed our agency a copy of the letter and that is OUR last step that we have to do! Now documents for something called the Article 5 have to be dropped off and then our Article 5 will be picked up 2 weeks later and then we will be waiting for our travel approval from China. Once that happens, we plan our trip!

Surprise!

We got some new pics from a therapist who visited Liana's orphanage and was able to see Liana while she was there!  Apparently, she was a little shy and didn't want to leave her nanny but was willing to take a sucker. :-)  Such a blessing to get new pictures.  Every little piece of her that we can get is just so precious! 

I-800...check!

I decided it was time to call USCIS and see where we're at in our wait.  I wasn't really expecting anything much from calling but I found out that our I-800 was approved yesterday!!  That was super fast!  Only 10 days from the day we sent it to approval!  It's so nice to go through a step faster than average after our long LOA wait!  This makes me feel like maybe September travel might be possible...maybe?  Oh, I hope! 

I got another special surprise today too!  I got a sweet gift from another adoptive mama who is also adopting a child from Liana's orphanage.  She has become a truly great friend of mine and has been so supportive during this crazy process.  No one really understands how hard all of this is like another adoptive parent! 

Thank you, sweet friend!

I think it's time to start nesting.  And, actually, I think it's already started.  I sewed about a million blankets this week.  I am a novice at sewing, to say the least, but I really wanted to make a soft, cozy blanket for Liana because, ya know, Texas has such terribly cold winters.  Ha!  I'm pretty sure I wore t-shirts when shopping for Christmas presents last year.  So, I made her one normal sized blankie, one bigger one for when baby blankets are out and two doll blankets with the scraps (one for Ella and one for Liana).  Then, Ella was jealous of her dollie's blanket so I made her one.  Ridiculous?  Maybe, but it was fun anyways.  Now Erik and I just need to clear out the guest room, sell the bed and paint that khaki colored room (gag) lavendar to match her lovely bedding.  Then I need to find a dresser and some things for the walls and we'll be set.  Hmm...that's quite a bit of stuff to do...I better get on it!

On to the next step

Yesterday, we received our LOA in the mail.  What a beautiful sight!  Erik ran home from work and signed it before I ran it back to FedEx and sent it back to our agency.  We only had it for about an hour.  I can't tell you the feeling I had when I marked the box to "accept" the "adoptee."  I wanted to check it, circle it, use a few exclamation points and draw some hearts around it but I didn't think that would be acceptable so I left it with an "X" in the box. 

I also sent our I-800 to USCIS yesterday.  You may remember (haha) back in January, we had to apply to USCIS for approval for Erik and I to adopt from China.  That was the I-800A.  Well, now we are sending the I-800, which is to apply to USCIS to adopt Liana specifically.  No problem because they've already approved us to adopt a little girl her age with her special needs so this should be an easy step.  I checked the tracking and they've already received it, so we'll hopefully have that approval within the next few weeks and then we can move to the next step.  It's so nice to not have to wait for months at a time between steps anymore.  Everyone says that after LOA, everything moves quickly so I'm really looking forward to that!  It's time to get Liana's room ready!



L....O.....A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh, we got it!  WE GOT OUR LOA!!!  China gave us our Letter of Approval, saying basically, yep, this is a good match!  We were on day 106 of our wait and I'm happy to say goodbye to the Century Club.  I am so, so relieved and happy to be moving on to the next step...finally!  So, now we have a few more steps which take around 3ish months total and then we will go get our girl!  It's feeling so much more real now. Our agency said that there's a small chance that we could travel in September if things move quick for us (please, God!) but more likely October.  I am really hoping for September for 3 reasons, 1- it's the month Liana turns 2 (we won't make it in time for her birthday but it would still be nice), 2- there's a trade fair in China in October that makes travel there much, much more expensive, and 3- well, it's sooner!  We just want Liana with us as soon as possible.  We're coming, Liana!  As soon as we can!!