3 WEEKS!!!!!

Until we leave.....3 weeks 5 days until we are with Mia. Where has the time gone? In full panic mode, dh and I realized that we are fully prepared with stuff for Mia while in China, food, clothing, toys, medicine, but we had practically nothing for when we return. Are we nuts? I think we were just so focused on on preparing for travel, packing for her, getting our final paperwork in..that we missed the boat, lol. I think our brains fell out of our ears on referral day and we didn't even notice, we were so happy.
Honest to God, I shake my head at our idiocy..So this weekend we went out and bought diapers, formula, bathing stuff and toys, all for when we come back, :o) My husband said at the store, "I just realized how unprepared we are". Huh, ya think?? Obviously we weren't thinking, it's not like this adoption snuck up on us. I mean, hello, it has only been our reality for the past 3+ years.

This does not bode well for our elderly years.....I had better get the name tags and notes with our address printed on them ready now...

It's so surreal.....

to imagine that this wait is almost over. We received visa's yesterday, our tickets by Fedex today and got our itinerary from our agency today. The paperwork is completed, all the T's are crossed and I's dotted, now all we have to do is wait for 10/21 to get here....

I am looking out into a future that is unknown to me. It's not that I didn't "know" this day would come, it's just that I am amazed that it's almost here.

A dream really will triumph over reality, once it is given a chance..............

Hey maybe this thing is going to happen after all!!!

We got our TA today! Whoo hooo!! We will be leaving on 10/21 returning on 11/7 and 10/25 is Mia day!! I was so prepared to have to wait thru the weekend. Our agency wasn't even expecting the TA's to arrive, but arrive they did!! This part of the journey is almost at an end. Honestly this past month has flown by..getting our TA today was almost as good as referral day...almost...

Updated Pictures!!!!

I think the yummy cuteness speaks for itself! We also got a picture of her with her foster mom. I am so happy about that!

Look at the those cheeks, OY!!

Mia's doing good!!, no pictures though...

Got updated information from my agency today....

• Weight: 13lbs, up from 11lbs
• Lenghth: 24 inches, up from 22
• Head and Chest: 15.76 inches (is that good?)
• Foot: 4.14
• Teeth: 0

I am so happy about this, because it means that she is healthy and growing! I wish we had updated pictures. Maybe, I will get them from the care package we sent. I wish we had pictures of her and her foster mother, I would so love for her to have that, I would hope that it would mean alot to her when she is older and able to understand all this.

No Travel Approval yet, I am thinking we will receive that information sometime this week (please). I know some people who already know when they will be traveling, I am jealous! Oh well, need to practice being patient for a little while longer!

Where Mia is...

I found a map of Jiangxi, the province where Mia is from. If you look up in the upper left hand corner to the left of Nanchang, you will be able to locate Tonggu, the county where Mia is........My agency said she was in foster care, but I think that she has probably been back at the orphanage since our referral... Clicking on the photo will enlarge it

I also found a Yahoo group for Tonggu families!! How awesome is that! I am so excited to get to know families who have children in the same orphanage. So far I know of two other families with our agency, whose children are from the same province, same orphanage. Possibly our children might even be "friends" and play together, that makes me feel so happy for her...I don't want her to be alone..*sniff*
Oh and another site I found, http://www.redthreadmaps.com/, where you can order maps of your child's province that they can customize for you, clothing, pictures, gifts...all kinds of things. It is definately worth a look see, I will probably order some things for around the house and her room...

Talked to the pediatrician about Mia's medical records..

The doctor pretty much confirmed what I was wondering, that Mia was born premature, maybe about 6-7 weeks early. She based this on Mia's weight (4.4 lbs) at birth, her small size for her age and how she had trouble eating when first placed in the orphanage, among other things. Doctor says there is no way to know for sure, but she also thinks that Mia is doing well, since she is gaining weight, proportionate and her cognizant and motor functions are in line with a baby's Mia's age, had she not been premature. She did ask for updated medical records, just to be sure that any new information, will show Mia improving more. She thinks Mia will do most of her catching up when she is home with us,,,,uh can I bring her home today, please!

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since our referral this time is flying by. There is so much to do and we still haven't been contacted by our travel advisor...I think I'll call the agency tomorrow. I would have thought we would have heard something by now....