Pre-Baby Day!

We are here in Nanchang in the Jiangxi Province. Today is the day we'll meet our daughter. It's exciting but we're also nervous, first-time parents to be. We hope that we'll be able to take care of her and respond to her needs.

But, let me go back a couple of days.... "Hubbie" & I flew to Hong Kong on Monday. It was the longest flight. We boarded our flight early Monday afternoon, and with the time change, we arrived in Hong Kong Tuesday evening. "Hubbie" counted down each hour. We arrived safely and stayed overnight at the Regal Airport Hotel. It was a very nice room Due to the overcast sky and forecast of rain, we decided to stay on the airport grounds and didn't venture into the city.

On Wednesday afternoon, we boarded another flight from Hong Kong to Nanchang. This flight was much shorter (only an hour and 40 minutes long). Nanchang is quite different from Hong Kong. It's harder to get around without knowing Mandarin and "Hubbie" was able to use what little he knows. Our guide, Karen, was very helpful in making sure that we got to the hotel okay.

Well, we'll soon be meeting baby for the 1st time later this morning. We'll try to provide an update if we have a chance.

Leaving for China

We attended the travel meeting at HAI earlier this week and will be leaving for China on October 29. It has been quite a week....everything is happening so fast. We obtained our travel visas and are now trying to get everything packed. Baby day (the day that we meet our daughter) will be November 1.

We have Travel Approval!

We were informed by Maggie at HAI yesterday morning that "Hubbie" & I have travel approval from China to bring baby home. The next wave of "waiting" will be for Chris, the HAI coordinator in China, to schedule our Civil Affairs appointment in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province and then an appointment with the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. We'll be finding out more information in a week or two about appointments scheduled. Maggie made it very clear that we cannot book any flights or hotels until we have the appointments scheduled. And so...We're waiting and preparing for our trip and for baby's arrival...But it just seems that things are rolling along in the right track.

This week was pretty exciting. Everyday we have heard from our agency on one thing or another. We have an update on baby's weight, height, head circumference, chest circumference, and foot length. She has gained 3 lbs since July. But...We won't really know exactly how much she weighs until we see her because the physicians weigh her with clothes on. Who knows how many layers of clothes she had that day she was weighed?

Maggie called to say that they'll be trying to schedule our Travel Meeting for next week. We'll be going over exactly what is to be expected of us (i.e. documents, gifts, $$$, etc.) next week sometime. At least "Hubbie" & I know that during the 1st leg of our trip to Jiangxi Province, we'll be traveling with one other HAI family from No. CA. The other 2 families will remain in the Guangdong Province the entire trip. It's getting closer to the day we'll meet our "baby girl!"

Introducing Our Daughter

"Hubbie" & I would like to introduce our daughter! She was born on March 6, 2007 (a "Golden Piggy"). She is currently being cared for in the Guixi Social Welfare Institute in Jiangxi Province, China. We are looking forward to being united with her soon.

These pictures of her are from July of this year.

We have a DAUGHTER!

"Hubbie" & I got the news yesterday afternoon at about 1:50pm. It was a surprise for me. My co-workers & I went to lunch and were shopping at Party City for a Halloween costume for my co-worker's little boy. When we were waiting in line, I received a phone call from "Hubbie" who said that some families were receiving referrals. I informed him that I hadn't heard from HAI yet....and so my co-workers & I rushed back to our office so that I could view what "Hubbie" was talking about on the "net." When I got back, the computer network was down, but I got the call from Maggie, the China Adoption Director at HAI, who said..."I have good news for you...." "Hubbie" couldn't get in on the phone call with me and since I was still in a bit of shock, I asked my supervisor/co-worker to listen in on the referral call. The rest of the afternoon and evening was a bit of a blur. I know that I was still trying to do some work.

Our little girl's DOB is 3/6/2007. She is from the Jiangxi Province (Southern part of China).



We will find out more tomorrow afternoon when "Hubbie" & I meet with Maggie at HAI to go over the referral package.