How much longer?

Wonder how many times a day I hear that question?

2.5 more weeks until we are waiting on our travel approval...our I800 was approved last week and we were cabled yesterday.

Translation: The US approved our family to bring home Evelyn, and they sent this approval to the embassy (in China) so her visa can be generated.

We can leave to pick her up once our CA (Consulate appointment) has been booked, it all depends on the availability.

Here is some Parker from the past week...

Swim lessons, he is doing much better in the private lessons vs the YMCA. Eveything depends on his mood these days.

I normally think, sleeping pictures are creppy (remember the Elf on a Shelf business?) I went to get him for soccer and he looked like a sweet baby.

He is constantly saying how "sad' and "unhappy" he is Evelyn is not home. I do think he will be happy to have her here but I am prepared for some regression. He keeps saying how I am going to carry both of them up the stairs, at the same time. He tells me...you have two arms, you can do it!

We are in go mode around here!

Quality time with Daddy

Happy Father's Day to all of the men who touch our lives. Each year this makes me realize I never reflect on birth fathers and the role they played in my children's early lives. Were they sad? Do they even know these about these precious children?

As for Jim, I knew all he cared about was golfing. He does not go as often as he would like (read once in the past two years). So he made some plans with friends, and I told him we would seek out some of his favorite things when he got home. We were all set to go to a local brewery, right outside the local state park and eat at the Seoul Grill Korean food truck that comes every Sunday. Well the truck was not going to be there, so I found their location for Saturday. I decided to factor in getting a hodduk at the end of our night (these are fried dough stuffed with honey and nuts...imagine how they smell as you pass them on the streets of Seoul..Jim and I stood in the freezing cold eating one.)

All Parker cares about is spending time with both of us together, so that was our plan!

Dinner at Twenty Tap (named after the 20 craft breweries in Indiana and on draft) Parker and I split a vegan bahn mi..that is my kind of pub menu!

Before that we decided to roam the grounds at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Jim had not visited the 100 acre (outdoor exits that kids can climb all over). The summer solstice fest was going on so there were breweries set up and a concert.

This cage..uh, art exhibit is going to be placed on an island in the lake by the IMA. Where someone will live...we were free to wander in the cage before it was moved.

He loved playing on "funny bones"

Parker had just said "I am so happy!"  

Happy Fathers Day!

After 91 long days we can finally say....

Friday was turning into a dark day...I was at Costco, shopping for the Korean Focus picnic. My China facebook was blowing up with LOA's...I counted 15.

I knew my agency had got their DHL shipment and it contained 10 LOA's...I was told mine was not included...and they closed for the weekend. So I went to work, in a grump mood. Luckily some drug reps had stopped by so I had a cookie and then a bagel.

I was talking with my co-workers around 7PM, I saw an email from our agency with LOA..YES YOU GOT IT. In BIG shouty capitals.

When our dossier went to China I had bought our celebratory bottle of Moet...and Saturday we cracked it out. This is the final step we needed...they approve us to be her parents.

 He had apple juice...

CHEERS!

Everyone keeps asking...what's next...

1. Adoption agency files I-800 Application with supporting documents
2. I-800 approved, Provisional Approval Notice sent to family in the mail
3. I-800 approval forwarded to the National Visa Center
4. NVC forwards approval information to U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou
5. U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou sign off Article Letter 5
6. Article Letter 5 sent to CCWA
7. CCAA issue Notice of Travel (TA)
8. Secure Consulate appointment date (CA)

Most families are seeing this process Take 2 months...a few in even less time.

We are ecstatic to be at this point and have quite a few things to get ready...we need visas, have to prepare travel, immigration documents, trust me we will be busy. And I need to wade through the mountains of clothes I have bought for Evelyn and decide what to pack!