On Our Way....

When we first started thinking about traveling to China, we decided to make some connections in either Beijing or Taiwan where we have some friends to visit.  The way everything worked out, however, we found that if we wanted to attend Molly's Special Olympics games, there wouldn't be enough time for those connections.  So we chose to spend a day in Seattle instead.  Let's face it...Seattle is amazing.  I'm not the type of person who likes to take tours or do sightseeing, but Sophia was traveling along and I wanted her to have some great memories.  So we left our house at a ripe old time of 5 AM and landed in Seattle at 7:30.  We dropped off our bags at the hotel and headed straight for Pikes Place.

We started out by grabbing a coffee at the original Starbucks. 

With a warm coffee in hand, we roamed around Pikes Place Market for quite some time looking at all the beautiful flowers.  Imagine your little farmers market with crafts, gifts, flowers and multiply that by a ka-jillion.  And then add the yummy smell of fresh fish.  And when I say yummy....I really mean "plug your nose and don't breathe"!!! 

Next, we wondered down the pier until we hit the carousel.  Sophia was pretty excited about that one.  I just wanted to see an aerial view of where I was located....since I have a habit of getting lost continuously....

 

After the carousel, we took a nice long walk along the pier.  It was nice to just relax and walk next to the water.  Seattle has lots of random art all over the city.  This one was Sophia's favorite.



 Yea....kind of random.  Large blob that has a hidden face in it when you look at it from just the right angle.  We decided to make our own art after a while.  We call it "self portraits of some super freaky Montanans".

I know, right?  Amazing.... thank goodness we finally made it to The Space Needle. 

But instead of going to the top The Space Needle, we decided to do something even more spectacular......the Duck Tour. 



What???  Yea...that's right.  We rode the duck and it was awesome.  Funniest 90 minutes I've had in a really long time.  They pile you into this tour bus/boat and they take you on a tour of the city.  And then, you drive right into the water and it becomes a boat tour.  Our tour guide was perfectly normal.

I can't say for sure, but he had a slight hat fetish....

I don't know why everyone laughed at this hat....it looks like half the hats in Montana....

Sophia thought the underwear hat was hilarious....

Well now he's just being weird.

What a fun day.  This was, by far, the best part.  After dinner, we hopped onto the commuter train and headed back to the hotel.  We only got lost once. 

As soon as we plopped into our hotel, I realized which very important item I had forgotten....my curling iron and straightening iron.  The chances of sporting an afro are pretty darn high now.  Doh!!!  Tomorrow morning, we head to Guangzhou.  After walking all day today, an all day flight doesn't sound too shabby.  Hopefully my internet will work and I can keep blogging.  If not, we'll catch you all in 2 weeks!  One day closer to my Ava girl!  



2 Birthdays and Special Olympics

What do you do when you're hustling and bustling to get ready to go to China?  Well...you take off on a road trip for 4 days!  We had a lot going on this past week.  First, my little buddy had his 6th birthday! 

 My sweet Brady just gets cuter and cuter every year.  We had a big old birthday celebration for him and then we all grabbed our bags to go stay in a hotel for 3 nights for Special Olympics.  Brady didn't mind having his birthday cut a little short....because hotel swimming pools rule!  He grabbed all his new birthday goodies and we headed out the door.  Four and a half looong hours later, we were at our destination.  Holy macaroons....that was a long trip....especially when you get stuck behind an unlimited supply of rv's and campers.  Before we hit the hotel, we had to go pick up grandma from the airport.  Thanks to the painfully slow campers, we picked up grandma about 10 minutes late.  She didn't seem to mind the little wait....heck....she was just happy someone showed up to get her. 

The next day was filled with Special Olympics fun.  Molly competed in the softball throw.  Look at those muscles!!  She tossed that ball so far that she won 1st place!  A gold medal, baby!

Ok....so she may have been the only one in her age group.  But a gold medal is still a gold medal!

Yep - that's Miss Rodeo Montana right next to her.  I know you're all jealous.......

Later, the team headed to dinner and the opening ceremonies.  Molly met a nice lookin' fella along the way.

Hey there, cowboy..... you're just my size.  You don't talk much, do you?

 I had to separate them after a while.....the cowboy was getting a little cozy with my girl.

The next day, Molly swam one heck of a race in her swim meet.

What's this?  Gold medal again?  It's lonely at the top.....with the princesses.  This time, she got to hang with Miss Montana. 

We were all having fun.  Brady, Lily, and Molly were all digging having their grandma around.

And Molly only got her medals stuck in her hair once....

But the BIG fun had just begun.  We were heading out to the big dance!  Awww....they're such sweet kids.

When they're not crazed lunatics....nice moves Brady.  Did you learn that one from your Uncle Jeff?

The next day, Molly put on her running shoes.  The competition was fierce.  And when I say fierce, I really mean that she wasn't the only one in her age category.  She received a bronze metal this time in the 50 yard dash and fourth place in the 100 yard dash.  

I'm a firm believer that tough police dudes are just as awesome as princesses....

Oh wait....another princess ran to the rescue.  This time, Molly got to wear her crown and sash.  Yea...beat that one police dudes.

We came home just in time to bring my tall, hot cowboy some birthday pizza and ice cream cake.  Adam turned 38 today.  What a handsome hubby...he gets cuter with age.  Notice there's no picture here.  It's because I drove 4.5 hours home and was happy just to remember my poor hubby's birthday.  The guy is a saint.

What a great week.  Two birthdays and Special Olympics.  Thank you to everyone who makes Special Olympics possible.  There were so many volunteers who worked their booties off to make my little pumpkin feel special.  The police dudes, the princesses, the friends and family who bought raffle tickets (which by the way, none of you won....sorry), the coaches who work hard all year long, the unified partners who help my baby learn to swim, and all the zillion volunteers who make these events possible.  You all rock.

Next post - China baby!  Two more days....

Anxiety versus Anticipation

To say the last few months have been riddled with anxiety, would be putting it lightly.  Probably the wisest decision I made, in order to keep my mind off of the waiting, was to work during tax season.  I was able to sufficiently distract myself with W-2's, 1099's, and all that deliciously fun tax work for a full two months.  Apart from having to up my hygiene...aka..take a shower and put on clothing that didn't resemble my pajamas...I really enjoyed working again.  And the best part, it reminded me of how much I enjoy being a stay at home mom.  How does that make sense?  I'm not sure.

But God's timing is good.  As soon as tax season was over, I had to begin the visa process and all the fun trip planning.  And when I say fun, I really mean "hit me over the head with a frying pan because this is torture" type of fun.  What's the big deal, you ask?  Here's a small amount of items on my to-do list:

1)  Figure out flights and the best path...should we stop in Taiwan or Beijing where we have awesome friends that we can see?  Should we go to Hong Kong at the end to Disney?  Compare and contract the cost of each option and have travel agent find best possible price and route for each.  And then compare travel agents price to Expedia, CheapTickets, etc to make sure it is, in fact, the best price.

2)  Book flights for mom and step mom from Ohio to our house.  Detroit, Columbus, Dayton... can I use my Delta miles to help defray their cost?  No?  How about my Capital One points?  No?  Ok...move on.

3)  Which hotel in Guangzhou should we stay at?  Half my China facebook group says to stay at The Garden while the other half swears by The China Hotel.  My agency recommends The Holiday Inn.  But which one is farthest from traffic and closest to a park and fun things for a child?  Do I have any Marriott points to use?  Not enough?  Ok...let's sign up for Holiday Inn points so I can get a free nights stay.

4)  Make a binder with all our information, along with schedules to each of the moms who are helping.  That schedule must include a day-by-day schedule of what's going on with the kids (days off school, snack days, field trips, etc).

5)  Get crisp new money from the bank.  If it is not perfectly crisp and unmarked, wash it and iron until it's perfect.

6)  Buy gifts for all the random Chinese people such as notaries, nannies, etc.  Worst thing on my list because I don't know who these people are so how do I buy them a gift?  End result:  Scarves.  Everyone likes scarves, right?  Except me.  I hate scarves.

7)  Download VPN onto my computer so I can get in contact with my husband and family to blog and facetime.  Note to self:  Don't turn on my phone.  Bad Russian experience that cost us $1800 in cell phone usage fees.....

8)  Don't forget converters, adapters, computer, chargers, swimming suit, rain gear, every possible medicine I could need plus medicines I will never use......

9)  Pay ahead credit cards and make sure there's enough money transferred into our checking account that we don't bounce checks while I'm gone.  This brings back nightmares of my vacation last summer.....don't ask......but it involved getting on the highway to start the long cross country journey home and not having any money for the toll roads in my personal account.  It was all sitting in our business account....in another bank....where I didn't have an ATM card.  Doh!

10)  Make a reminder list for my hubby while I'm gone.  And then add all the reminders to my mom's daily schedule so she can remind my hubby that he has a list. 

11)  Have a breakdown.  Stuff my face with chocolate and Dr Pepper to take the edge off.

Ok...you get the drift.  So it's a wonder I can even function.  Anticipation?  That'll happen once I have my sweet Ava girl in my arms.  Anxiety?  Yep - that's what's happening now.  But for all those reading this that are just starting this journey or considering the process....it's worth the gray hairs. 

I800 Approved

Who received their I800 approval today????  Yea - that would be us (insert happy dance here).  In case you don't have a clue what that means, I'm posting a flowchart.  Being an accountant by nature, I like to see the whole process to understand it.  Either that, or I'm just a dork.

We recently received LOA (step 8) which meant that China officially matched us with our girl.  That means she's ours.  I know - crazy.  SHE'S OURS, PEOPLE!!!  Next, we were waiting on I800 (step 10).  That means U.S. Immigration was issuing her a visa.  We received I800 today!  So now, U.S. Immigration is sending that to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou (that's in China....for all of you who are still confused..or just can't focus).  Once the Consulate does their thing, we get to request travel dates (step 12).  I know some of my accountant friends are wondering why I'm skipping steps.  Just go back to preparing your tax returns and stop asking questions.  We are almost there.  So so so very close.  Painfully close.  COME ON!!!

New Pics!

With LOA, comes updated pictures.  Yea!!!  Is she not the cutest little munchkin ever?  I can see her personality in each photo.  This is the "Yea...I'm cute" photo....

This is the "You're taking too many pictures so I'm hiding from you" photo.....

"Oh fine!  I'll humor you and smile" photo....

"Obligatory chinese peace sign" photo.....  Does it mean "hello"?  Not sure....

"You've taken enough photos" picture...I can see the annoyance growing in her face....

"Ok....now you're ticking me off" photo.  I love this girl. 

I've taken enough pictures of my kids to know how she's feeling at this point.  This sweet pea has so much personality.  We are going to have so much fun!!

A Care Package

Ahhhh!!!!  We got to send my girl her first care package!  Now things are really real.  Not just paperwork real, but super duper crazy real.  Like...she's going to know she has a family coming for her real.  She is 8 years old, so this is a big deal.  She gets it, you know?  She fully understands it all at this age.  Anyways, she is getting a backpack filled with pj's, a stuffed animal, a pretty necklace, a picture frame of our family, lollipops, and a letter that Ann from Red Thread is translating.  To say I'm excited is an understatement.  :)

LOA

We were going on 2 months for our LOA wait, which is right around normal when things started breaking around the house.  Yesterday, the pump on our well broke.  Immediately, I knew our adoption was going to start moving.  My van started shaking and is making funny noises.  Yes, it could be due to the horribly cold winter, but the timing was just right.  I knew, without a doubt, we would be getting our LOA soon.  My hubby handed me the bill for the new well pump ($600) and immediately, I sat down to check my email.  BOOM!  An email from my agency saying we have soft LOA.  How did I know?  Because I've been going at this for over 2 years.....  Crap always breaks when the adoption starts moving.  I don't care though!  I'm jumping on an airplane in approximately 2 months to get my girl.  We are excited!!!