I can not stand this waiting! Yesterday at the gym I was thinking about Mia and I started crying. Yep, right there on the elliptical I was crying. I tried to act like sweat got in my eyes and that made me tear up. There weren't many people around so it wasn't too embarrassing.

My agency will send over a gift package for our child which of course we did, but I don't know when we're going to travel so I wanted to send another one. Our agency only has one type of gift package, but I found a company that has different care packages to mail to your child's orphanage.
Here's what I'm sending:

Product Description
This PJ package includes:1. One 27-exposures camera 2. One set of PJ 3. One nice blanket 4. Candies to nannies/foster family/kids 5. One letter translation is free 6. Girls get dolls ,boys get cars or other boy dolls

I can also send along a letter and they will enclosed a self addressed envelope with enough postage to get back to me. They can't promise anyone will write, but this makes it more likely.
I hope we hear something soon!!

So we are hope hope hoping to get our TA (travel arrangement) this week! Then we just need out CA (consulate appointment) which may come at the same time or soon after and then we can make travel plans!!
We are arranging and finishing up Mia's room this week and starting to pack so we get an idea of what we have and what we need!
I'll make sure to post a picture of her room when it's all finished!

So that's what a heart attack feels like

I got a call from my adoption agency Wednesday afternoon. The conversation went like this:

Hi! Is Elizabeth there?
Yes, this is me.
Hi Elizabeth, this is your travel advisor, I needed to talk to you about your passport you sent to us so we could get you your visa.
Um, ya. I sent both my husband's and mine in the same envelope. Oh My God, WAS MINE NOT IN THERE?!?! (beginning of heart attack)
Oh no, yours was in there... but you forgot to sign it.
Oh, thank God. OK, what was that? I didn't sign it?
No
Can you sign it for me?
No, that's against the law.
Crap.
I'll tell you what, I'll send the passport to you overnight, you pick it up, sign the passport and overnight it back to me, that way it will be here by Friday (the day they are due).
Well that's good in theory, but nothing is actually "overnight" to Alaska. You know that little asterisks that always says *except in Hawaii and Alaska
Well, let's give it a try. We are actually sending them out Monday, so as long as it gets here by then.
What happens if it doesn't? Will, will, will it delay our travel dates? (I started blacking out)
Oh no. nothing like that, you'd just have to pay a late fee. You'd still get your visa before you traveled.
Oh, thank God. OK, I will sign the passport and send it back ASAP. (heart attack subsides)

I told Graham about the call and he asked what the late fee would be. I said does it even matter? And miracles of miracles I actually got the passport the next day. It should be to my agency on Monday and once again all is right with the world!
Phew.

Look who figured out how to use the digital camera!

These are the pictures we are sending along with our letter to our Mia.

Mommy

Daddy

Yes I know I'm smirking and I need a haircut. I'm getting my haircut this afternoon and I'll work on not smirking in future photos.

XOXOXO

We get to send a short message that will be translated and two pictures of ourselves to Mia's orphanage. It took me a while to write this, but mostly because I was crying so hard. But they were happy tears! Here's what we wrote:

Dear Fu Yan Mei,
We were so excited to see your beautiful picture and even though we haven’t met you yet, we already love you so much! Our home is in Alaska where there are lots of trees and mountains and glaciers. We are so honored that we were picked to be your parents. We are hoping and praying that we go to China soon to meet you, and so you can be part of our family. We can’t wait to hold you in our arms.
We send you lots of love and hugs and kisses,
Mommy and Daddy

Visa

We just finished filling out our Visa paperwork and will send it off to our agency tomorrow. It's exciting to take one step closer to going to China and meeting Mia.

We send our referral approval paperwork to our agency last week, and our agency sent it to China last Friday. So now we just sit and wait for our Travel Approval (I think it's travel approval, or is it travel appointment) to come from China. That's when we'll find out when we go to China!! So a little more waiting, but that's OK because now I have a picture to look at!!