See You on the Other Side of the World!

We're leaving tomorrow!! Suitcases are packed, chores are (well, almost) done, we are ready.
I feel the need to post the traditional 'day-before-we-leave luggage picture like everyone else, so there it is, minus my suitcase.

There's not really much to say right now, we're nervous and excited!!

PS: See that bright blue backpack that sticks out from the other drab shades of black? Oh, that's mine. Cha.

Six Days!

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Things have been going slowly.
But we got our travel approval, and we are leaving for China in six days!! Finally, after all this time. We're going to get up early and leave Friday the 14th. Thankfully we found a travel agency that hooked us up with flights straight out of Alexandria and straight to Guangzhou. With, of course, a few stops on the way.
Mom has been coughing pretty badly for the past week or so, and we received notice that the Chinese are now watching for coughing people as well as people with fevers. Some sort of illness that's going on over there is spread by coughing. So Mom's going to the doctor Monday. Pray that it goes away.

Our bags are halfway packed; we've bought endless snacks, tissues, germ-x---you name it, we have it. I'm having to learn what it means to pack light. I have this tiny suitcase, (Well, by my standards it's tiny) and I'm expected to put two weeks worth of supplies in that tiny thing? I keep looking at it and thinking, "How? How?" But I will just have to learn to pack sparingly, I guess.

We'll bring our camera and take lots of pictures. Hopefully blogspot will work; I heard some rumors that it was blocked in China, but I don't know if that's true or not.

Please pray for our safety, and that we won't be delayed by anything.
We are so excited!!

Tori

New pictures!

We received these new pictures of Kimmie a few days ago! She's precious!

Postponed! No!

Our trip is postponed to around mid-August. We found out this morning, and that was disappointing.
They say that it will take two to three weeks to get our travel approval, and then two weeks before we go. So at the least it'll be another month.
So Kimmie will be sticking around China for a little longer, I guess.

Update

Well we just got back from Florida, and received a notice that the Department of Homeland Security had received our notice. Which isn't a critical document to the adoption that we were all shouting happily over when it arrived, but I'm glad to have one more thing out of the way.
Mom, Dad and I watched an internet powerpoint presentation earlier instructing us on what to pack, expect, and prepare for in China. I think I must have been informed about packing at least a dozen times so far. We have to pack pretty light...ugh...I tend to pack lots of extra clothes when I go on trips. So it will be a challenge for me to restrain myself and only pack seven days worth of clothes, lol! We're staying for two weeks but it'll be easier and lighter if we bring one week's supply and wash our clothes there.
We just discovered that the airplane tickets went up several hundred dollars apiece, and probably will again, because we can't book in advance. It's going to be crazy expensive, between all the airplane tickets and hotel bills.
I can't wait. Two awesome things are coming very soon: a new sister, and a trip of a lifetime to see her home.

Travel Packet

We just received a travel guide packet in the mail today, along with a list of things to send to Kimmie. We're supposed to send her orphanage a disposable camera so they can take pictures for us of her nannies, her room, etc.
We didn't get the Hepatitis A shots...you need to get them seven months in advance, and we didn't know. Please pray that we stay healthy!

-Tori-

Getting Anxious...

Hello all! This is the beginning of my blogging journey to adopt my newest little sister, Hai Xiao Qian (soon to be Kimmie Xiao Williams). We've been in the process since September 2008, and as of today, May 31, 2009, we are almost there!
This week mom says that dad is going to get the visas this week from Houston. We want them to be ready to go so we don't have any more delays than necessary. All that we're waiting on now is for one document to make it to China, and another return. Then we get our dates and go!! They gave us expected travel dates: July 25; so it should be around that time that we leave. We'll be staying there for two weeks.

I plan to blog a bit to record and update everyone on the process, especially while we're in China. Hopefully we'll get internet in our hotel rooms.

I can't wait!
-Tori-