Beauty

There is a practice session for the auditions for Beauty and the Beast, the school musical at St. Rose for 2011. Camille was one of only 3 kindergarteners who landed a role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat last year. Her school is K-8th, so it's difficult for younger children to land roles in the musical. It's a very popular extra-curricular activity at the school. Camille has worked very hard this year. She is a wonderful dancer, but her hearing loss makes singing difficult. Still, she works on it very hard and practices her singing regularly with her dad.
We're pulling for her in auditions next week! We hope she gets the part!

Itinerary

We received our itinerary. It looks great! I thought about posting it here, but decided it might be more prudent not to.

To sum it up:

We leave for Beijing on February 17. We'll tour there for a couple of days then head to Fujian. February 21 will be Jon Paul's gotcha day! We'll spend the next week filing paperwork and touring Fuzhou. Then we'll head to Guangzhou for the US side of things. Jon Paul will get a medical exam, he'll be sworn in as a US citizen, receive a permanent visa and then we'll be on our way. We're taking the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong for one last night's rest then we'll all be flying home!

It's going to be a whirlwind... and I am so excited! There is so much to do between now and then...

The countdown begins!

We purchased our plane tickets last night. It's now beginning to feel real. I have begun to make "lists"... of things that need to be done before we leave (22 days is not much time to prepare) of things we need to take to China... of things each of the dogs will need (they are being farmed out to seperate friend's homes) I think now that there is really nothing adoption related to "do", I'm creating things! Guess it's part of nesting.
Speaking of nesting, I bought a really cute, very masculine crib sheet and blanket and put it in the crib. Our little man can't sleep on pink floral crib sheets... I just won't allow it! :)

Well, we've got our consulate appointment: March 2, 2011. It appears as though we'll be traveling from February 17 - March 5. Pope's Gotcha Day will be February 21, almost exactly 2 years since he entered Hidden Treasures Home. We can not even begin to thank Deena and Mike for all they have done. And everyone along the way who has helped us.

We pray now for Pope. For a smooth transition into our family. We'll all be together in LESS than a month! It's so very exciting and nerve wracking... and this mom CANNOT wait!

TA!

I have never been happier to see 2 letters in my life! Our TA came today!

I am hoping and praying we'll be able to get a March 1 or March 2 consulate appointment... then we're on our way! Hang in there, Jon Paul... Mom and Dad are coming!

Amazing, amazing!

The internet is an amazing thing! We met a couple who just arrived home with their first child, also adopted from China. She has an eye condition that looks very similar to Jon Paul's. It's been fortunate to find her and read her blog. She has amazing posts about her daughter's appointments. One thing she did do is take her daughter to an occularist... something I had not really thought about for Jon Paul. They plan to have their baby girl fitted for a prosthetic eye. Again, not something I had considered. Thank heavens for networking!

Still waiting

Our agency received 2 TA's today, but neither one was ours. I am still hoping, praying that we will receive our TA before Chinese New Year which begins February 3. I realize this is all in God's hands, not mine. Mike and I were really hoping to leave for China in mid-February (I was thinking that perhaps our "Gotcha Day" might be February 21.) No matter... it will happen when it's supposed to happen.

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his word, as he seems to some, but he is waiting in mercy for you, not desiring the destruction of any, but that all may be turned from their evil ways." 2 Peter 3:9