I think I have to backtrack quite a bit. So here goes:
Several weeks back we were still waiting for our Article 5, which is essentially the last paperwork step needed by our government before approving us to go forward. The kind folks at the American Consulate in China reviewed all of our paperwork and approved us on November 30th. Our Article 5 was hand delivered to the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs, aka the CCAA on December 1st. We are now waiting on our FINAL approval which is called the Travel Approval and we would really love to get it this week. Once the Chinese officials approve us for TA, we buy our flights within 24 hours and then usually leave to China within two weeks. So, uh yeah, we are on pins and needles. Thank God, we have the holidays thrown in to make the time fly!
So backtracking. Right before Thanksgiving, Juni received some gorgeous gifts that I am positive she will love. Thanks Grandma D and Papa D! The gifts are so sweet and included Juni's first doll. I can't wait to take pictures of her playing with it and snuggling on the unbelievably soft blankie.
Also, thanks for the very yummy looking cook book. I love spicy food and experiment all the time. The boys seem to take it in stride and Steve loves all different kinds of food so Bob's your uncle. The recipes in this wee book look great and pretty easy to follow. Also the ingredient lists are pretty straightforward so I don't have to try to hunt down any lychees or dried sea horse... yet. Mighty hard to find in our neck of the woods!
So, we are almost up to Thanksgiving in our backtracking. One of the giant things on our to-do-before-we-go-to-China list was to buy a new car. Not because we missed having car payments or felt our old cars were about to go belly up. No, our reason for an upgrade was purely practical. We needed a car that would fit three car seats across the back seat. Yup, we are going to have three kids under the age of five. Life sure is wonderfully odd sometimes. Who would have thought that we would go from zero to three in three years? Again, we are the luckiest people in the world.
So, we needed a car and after researching everything, we got this:
and I LOVE IT.
Sam and Aidan love it too. And do you see that space between their car seats? We are going to fill it with the beautiful PINK car seat that I just ordered this evening and which should be here before Christmas. I can't wait to see the change in dynamic in the back seat. As it is, the boys giggle like crazed fools back there and often switch out toys with lightening speed. I'm picturing Juni's little pudgy hands intercepting a Buzz Lightyear or a french fry and how that's going to go over. Oh, did I mention the leather seats. No more crushed cheerios and unidentifiable goo embedded into the seats!
Whew. Okay, so that brings us up to Thanksgiving where we tested out our Honda Pirate on the ice-packed highways along the Columbia River Gorge. We plopped Nana down on the heated seats, threw in some Muppet songs and zoomed off on a white-knuckled drive to Oregon, complete with an 11th-hour bonus of changing a diarrhea-coated Sam on the bathroom floor of a McD's because the changing table was occupied with a vomit-covered wee urchin. (Perhaps too much info?) Anyway, barring that vivid drive, we had an absolutely marvelous visit with Uncle Griff, Auntie Melanie and Cousin Hugh, not to mention the surprise visit from Grandpa Jones. We had such a great time! Three boys ages 2, 3, and 4. Need I say more? When it came time to go, Aidan wanted us to leave him with his cousin, whom he adored, and pick him up in the spring. I had to assure him that we would be back again as soon as possible. Thanks again you guys and good luck Melanie with the next few months!
Since our return, we have been zooming right along with holiday preparation and getting ready for Juni. We painted the nursery a lovely soft buttery shade of yellow, bought some twinkly stars to hang near the windows and looked at rugs. The room is still under plastic wrap and meanwhile, our bedroom looks like a storage shed that has been hit by a tornado, with cribs and changing tables all cattywampus, mounds of baby toys resurrected from the basement and piles of pastel-colored girl's clothes waiting to be washed. It's on my list. Other items that top the list include things like getting our passport visas (next post), ordering large sums of brand new bills that we have to hand deliver to government officials in China (another post perhaps) and scheduling our last round of Hep B shots. These are just to name a few. There's also things like getting insurance, lining up pediatricians and buying gifts for the orphanage kids and officials. Now add getting ready for Christmas (decorating, shopping, baking, etc.) and planning my day around two amazing boys who are about to burst with excitement knowing Santa will soon be coming down our chimney and you start to see a tiny glimpse of our chaos. Oh and I forgot to mention that I am also at a critical phase of forming a non-profit. Laughter sure goes a long way.
So now bring on those TAs!!!
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