Leaving in 2 weeks!

We received our embassy appointment for Monday, October 22.  That means we will be leaving in 2 weeks and meeting Kora on Monday, October 15!  We decided to go so soon because Megan and Jason have a week off of school for teachers conferences/convention Oct 15 through the 19, so they won't have to miss so much school.  Although, sometimes I think that is part of the reason Jason is so excited about going to China.  I will post an itinerary of our trip when we have it finalized.  And now there is so much to do in so little time.  

Travel Approval!

We received our travel approval today so we were able to submit our request for our consulate appointment at the Chinese Embassy which is one of the last stops before we can come home once we're in China.   Once the consulate approves our appointment date, then we will know exactly when we will be leaving and coming home.  I'll post another update when we know our schedule.  In the meantime, we are very excited!

More paperwork

Just when I thought we were to the end of filling out paperwork, now it's time to complete our Visa applications.  4 pages long each, filled out 4 times.  Plus, the passports with the visa applications need to be hand delivered to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago so we have to use a courier service to drop them off and pick them up.  It took me a couple of hours yesterday to get all the paperwork ready and sent off.  But it is worth it to be ready to travel when we get our travel approval. 

One Step Closer

We received our Article 5 letter today from the US Consulate in China.  That means we only have one more step left before we can plan our dates to travel.  It will probably be another couple of weeks before we receive our travel approval.   It was very uplifting news to receive this today.  Not being able to plan anything in the next 1-2 months because we don't know when we'll be leaving and getting back has started to get frustrating.  So hopefully the travel approval will come soon.

Third Day

Here is a link to a music video that our family really likes.  It is Children of God by Third Day.  I think the video speaks for itself. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jO7xhU_Pw

More Photos!

We received more updated pictures of Kora from a different family who was visiting the orphanage late last week.  It's such a wonderful thing what the families of children from the Yangxi orphanage do for each other.  We hope to pay it forward and take pictures for another family when we visit the orphanage.  Here is Kora pictured with one of the Nannies at the orphanage.  I love seeing her smile.
 

 

The mother who took the picture told us this about Kora:  "There are about 30 babies in her room right now. Just a few months ago there were about 42. Most have minor special needs. Your daughter's crib was in the middle of the room. When we walked into the room all the babies were awake and content. Most were moving around in their cribs. No crying or really any noise for that matter. The nannies in the room seemed very nice. Your little girl was content the whole time we were there. When I began taking her picture she smiled on her own. She is beautiful and looked very healthy and well cared for."

 

I should make a note about the previous picture I posted with Kora in her crib.  It is just a metal crib with a wooden bottom.  No crib mattress for any of the babies for a variety of reasons.  I'm sure it will be a very emotional day when we see where she spent the first year of her life.