Article 5 pick up!

Today our Article 5 (lets just be honest, I am not sure exactly what that is... )was picked up from the consulate. It is some documents having to do with immigration. So now we are in the FINAL- I can't believe I can say that- wait... which is for TRAVEL APPROVAL!! woohoo!! Due to Chinese New Year, the express mail has shut down for the week, so our documents will not be able to be delivered till next week Feb 3rd at the earliest. ~sigh~ But I am glad he gets to celebrate Chinese New year one last time in his birth country. The travel approval wait is estimated to be 2-4 weeks, however, I am hopeful that it will be closer to the 2 weeks. Our agency is very generous in their wait times.

Yesterday and today were more snowdays for us here in Michigan!! I do love the break from the monotony once in awhile. Today, however, we managed to get both of our cars stuck at the end of our driveway! Dan got the car stuck when he tried leaving for work, and after failed attempts at pushing it out I suggested trying to drive the van out of the remaining space in the driveway. Epic failure! Dan spent awhile on the phone with the insurance company getting them to come help, he worked at home for awhile and then decided to have John help him push the van out. They got the van out, and Dan left for work with me home and a stuck car!! John, the neighbor, and I were able to get the car out before the tow truck arrived. Then we were on our way. Whew! Both days we took our time getting dressed and ready, then headed to have lunch with friends and spent most of the afternoon hanging out with friends. It was fun for everyone! None of the kids had naps either day so it was early bedtime- win, win!

This afternoon when we got home I decided we should pull out puzzle we are making with the donations we received for our adoption and put it together. Not all of the pieces have been written on yet, so we could only work with what we had. John, the kids, and I made a little progress and then things went crazy so we put it away to get dinner ready. After the kids went to bed I pulled it out and asked Dan to help me work on it. He of course, came up with the good excuse that he had a "ton" of work to do for work. I complained at him a little more and he agreed to help. :) I told him he only had to do 5 pieces and then he could work again. You would think that should only take about 5-10 minutes right?! Oh no, about 45 minutes later he found his 5th piece with a big sigh of relief!! I think I found about 30 or so in that time.  Lets just say you may or may not want him on your team in a puzzle competition :) In his defense we didn't have all the pieces to work with, AND I told him its "cheating" to look at the picture while putting a puzzle together.  He was really stressed that he had to match colors and shapes (his brain doesn't work like that as easily as mine). It was good bonding time, and quality that we got to spend together. Its been awhile since we have done that.
Here is a picture of our progress.

Our puzzle piece progress

This is for all my adoption buddies, a panda bear shirt and leggings that I fancied up!!  I really enjoy sewing new things. This is Addys Valentines outfit I made for her. :)

Our Snow day "pool party"

The stuck vehicles. Kinda funny, Im sure the neighbors giggled as they drove by. 

Its getting exciting!

Last week was a very stressful week trying to get a few of the last pieces of paperwork filed before Chinese New Year. I spent about 5 hrs last week (NO JOKE) on the phone with the National Visa Center, trying to locate our paperwork, and get the details I needed to file our DS-260 (immigration form) to bring our little guy home. But we got all the papers we needed and it was turned into the embassy in Guangzhou this past Monday. Hopefully they will be picked up Jan 27 (or sooner), because of the holiday next Monday they could be delayed. After the papers are picked up, they will be mailed to Beijing which starts our final wait for Travel Approval. The travel approval wait can be up to a couple weeks. Our prayer is that the papers will be picked up on the 27th, and China will want to clear their desks (which they usually try to do) before they leave for a week vacation on Jan 31st. It would be very lovely to get our Travel approval before Chinese New Year (CNY). If we don't, China shuts down to celebrate the new year, and reopens Feb 10th. We would expect to get travel approval the week of Feb 10th, if we don't get it before CNY. THEN we will be able to leave 1-4 weeks after we receive the TA. I hope that makes sense, its a little bit complicated because of the CNY. I would really love it if we could be in China around my birthday Feb 18th. Thats only if everything goes perfectly. We really ask for prayers that our paperwork would not experience any additional hold ups or delays. We can really feel all the support and love from so many around us, thanks for continuing to pray us through this crazy adventure.

One of the details of the paperwork last week included finalizing a name. I bet your all dying to know, but for now we are going to keep it a secret! So many of the details of this journey we share that its fun to have something for you to look forward too. :) I will tell you... It is not Nolan, and it does start with "A", and our kids don't even know so they wont be able to help you :)

The emotions and excitement are beginning to take over. It makes me super sad thinking about being away from my kids for two weeks, but I also feel super excited about holding that sweet little boy, being in China (my dream!), and there being one less orphan in the world!! I try not to think about everything very much because it just makes the days drag on, but really its not that far away!!

Yesterday one of the friends I made in my facebook adoption group left to pick up her baby girl! Its been so fun watching her story unfold. Knowing that she is in China now, getting her baby tomorrow makes it definitely seem more real.

In the meantime I have been getting little things I know we will need to take with us every time I go to the store. The kids and I have been doing some crafts, and getting ready for valentines day. And I have discovered a new hobby- Sewing! I love it!! I got a sewing machine for Christmas and already I have made 6 burp cloths, 2 curtains, a shirt for Addy, a headband, and a sleeping bag for Avis doll. :) I really enjoy it and Avi thinks its fun to help. Im trying to stay busy to keep my mind off all this waiting. :)

We did get an update to hold us over while we wait a little longer. Our little buddy is walking, saying "mama" (melts my heart), and sleeping ALL night! Below is a new picture!! I love his hair! He's getting big!!

Thank you all for your prayers, keep praying that we can be in China around my Birthday!! God can move those mountains.

Soon Buddy, soon!!