In less than 24 hours...

We will be on a plane heading to China!!!

I really have been going 90 to nothing this past week, and my mind is still racing. I have wanted to make a post, saying all of the thing that have been running through my head, but I have not had a second of free time to sit still, much less sit at the computer and type out my thoughts and feelings.
I worry about my girls. Lily was sick last week, and now Madilyn. I hate it when they are sick when I am at home, how can I leave when my little girl doesn't feel good?
She started to do better today, so I hope it keeps up.
I was also not feeling great yesterday, but I really think mine problem is nerves.
I am still working on packing our bags. They are mostly done, and are under or just at the weight limit. The checked bags that is, our carry ons are over. Who in their right mind would limit carry on bags to 10 freakin pounds? Ours aren't even full, only really have a few things in them, but they are over by several pounds. Oh well, if we have to pay, then so be it, I'm tired of worrying about them. I will try to post a quick goodbye with some photos tomorrow before we go.
We decided to check Lily out of school early so she could go to the airport with us. I felt bad because she knew that Madilyn was going to get to go.
I started tearing up this afternoon when I was waiting to pick her up from school. I'm sure there will be quite a few tomorrow too! I've never left my babies before, except for a quick weekend getaway, and it is hitting me harder than I was expecting it to.
We are taking a small laptop, and we will be speaking and seeing them hopefully everday on it.
I bought the girls little surprises for every day that we are gone. The first is kids digital cameras. I figured they could take photos to show us what they did while we were gone. Some of them have an Asian theme to them. One is a globe, so they can understand how far we are from home.
Well it is getting late here, and my dryer just told me that the last load of clothes are dry, so I better go get more done, then hit the sack.

Testing!

Just a quick post to see if this works.  I set up the blog to be able to post from my email. This picture is just a random photo, from this computer that I am on now, I did not take it.

Updates galore

Sorry I did not post while dealing with the USCIS issue!

I don't want to even go there again, it's over and done with, so I will just move along.

Our approval came in the mail yesterday, and I immediately faxed and emailed it to our agency.

She forwarded it to their staff in China, and they were going to ask for an adoption appointment. She was also going to ask for an appointment at the American Consulates office.

She emailed me this morning saying "Congratulations!"

We were able to get an appointment for the same day as the rest of the folks in our group, so we will GET TO TRAVEL AS PLANNED!

Here is our tentative itinerary:

3/24 - Depart U.S.

3/25 - We loose this day traveling because of time difference

3/26 - Arrive in Beijing

3/27 - Beijing Tours

3/28 - Fly to Guangzhou

3/29 - Gotcha Day!

3/30 - 4/06 finalize adoption and shopping!

4/07 - American Consulate Appointment

4/08 - Oath taking ceremony

4/09 - Family picks up baby's passport with Visa AND Departs China to L.A.

4/10 - Welcome home Tessa!

Our travel advisor will send me the confirmed itinerary next week.

Now for another update.

Remember when I said that I had sent a care package to the orphanage?

Well this morning I received 4 updated pictures and measurements on little missy.

She now weighs in at 17 pounds.

She is 27.6 inches long,

and her little feet are 4 tiny little inches!

I was so thrilled to be able to get these updates, and I was just about in tears when I saw the first picture. I didn't think she could possibly get any cuter, I was wrong!

VERY wrong! Isn't she just a little sweetie heart?!

Throwing a pitty party!

Well crap!
I should have known something would go wrong!
Something always does when it comes to dealing with the USC!S.
Our fingerprints expire on March 30th.
Over a month ago I was told by our agency that we could not ask to be refingerprinted until 30 days before they expire. That would be Feb. 30th. We already had a referral.
I asked them (our agency) what would happen if it were cutting it that close. I was told that as long as we kept the receipt that they give us showing that we had them redone everything would be fine.
EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE!

Several weeks ago I went ahead and sent a letter asking to be reprinted, I explained to them that we would be traveling around the time that they expire, and we need to have them done asap. The earliest appt they could give us is March 9th. But they said if we went today that we could walk in anytime between 8 and 2. So we drove our happy little selves along to the office an hour and a half away, got them redone, and drove back home thinking, it was all behind us now, and we are home free.

Let me interupt this for a moment and mention that our travel advisor emailed the group this morning and told us when our travel dates are for.
We were suppose to be leaving on March 25th, Gotcha day is suppose to be the 29th. And we are SUPPOSE to come home on April 10th.

I got a call from our travel person late this afternoon (like almost 5p.m.) and was told that the Amer. Consulate's office will not give us an appointment because our fingerprints expire before the appt time of April 7th.
I asked the people that did our prints how soon they are in the system. Withing 24 hours.
But, the consulate's office still will not give us an appt. until they receive the updated file from (you guessed it!) USC!S!

I am as mad as a hornet right now. It is stupid fingerprints people. They don't change!
They are IN the system!

I asked if this would delay our travel and she said yes.

I called DH bawling on the phone, he could hardly make out what I was saying.

I will try to call the Atlanta office tomorrow morning, and plead my case, hopefully they will feel sorry for me, and hurry things along. If not, I've got the address to our State congressman's office, and I will pop in there to see if they can help me out.
The thing is, our agency was trying to get us there and back before mid April, the trade fair is for three weeks in April, and nobody travels during that time. Then right after that is Spring festival, so if we don't get to go with our group, we probably won't travel until middle of May.

Wish me luck.

TA's are on the way!

Just a quick update, we got word from our agency today that the CCAA sent our TA's yesterday. They are going to go ahead and schedule our adoption appointments, and as soon as our TA's get here, they will ask for an appointment at the American Consulates! We should know our travel dates very soon!!! Woop, woop!
Now I gotta get back to freakin out.