Travel Approval!

At 5:11 this afternoon, I checked my email for like the hundredth time today.  We've been praying specifically for our Travel Approval (TA) recently..... we needed it to come by today to have almost any chance to receive a Consulate Appointment (CA) before the two week shutdown to move buildings.  June 17, Lord..... we gotta have it by June 17.  We've had a whole bunch of folks praying for June 17.

My prayer has been, "Lord, I REALLY want our TA to come June 17, but, if it doesn't, Lord, I need an extra dose of that peace that passeth understanding.  I need You to make it okay that we don't get it on June 17.  But, Lord..... can we just get it on June 17?"  

Well, at 5:11.... NOTHING.  And I had decided to just call it a day and go to bed.  Hadn't cooked dinner yet..... Joe hadn't even gotten home from work yet..... but I was sorta done.  I was A LOT done.

At 5:13, my phone rang.  It was Joe.  He said, "Check your email."  I said, "I have.  Many times.  Nothing.  I've decided to be depressed for the rest of the day and go to bed.  Goodnight."  Joe said, "Well, check it again!  Cause we just got one from Karla!  We are going to China!"

It's time to get our girl.

First order of business:  text Jack (who's away at Strings camp)

Me:  "We got TA!  God is good!  He would have been good if we hadn't gotten TA, but I'm so thankful!"

Jack:  "Good indeed, good indeed."

Second order of business:  take Max out to dinner.  Where did we go?  Yogurt Mountain.  I'd been promising him that we'd go to Yogurt Mountain when we got TA, so, as soon as Joe got home, we decided to make it dinner! Don't judge.  I just got TA and don't care.

Third order of business:  make Joe a list.  There are funds to wire, crisp bills to get for exchange, VPNs to download, and MORE paperwork to look at!  

Our social worker will submit our request for a Consulate Appointment at the US Embassy tonight.  That date will determine our travel dates..... but it looks VERY good for travel NEXT WEEK.  

IT IS HIGHLY POSSIBLE THAT WE WILL GO TO CHINA NEXT WEEK! Please join us in praying for that because we have learned... things can happen.

I am beyond.  So thankful....so excited.... so nervous.....and so very, very blessed to be on this journey.

Mary Powell...... your babydolls are on your bed, your clothes smell so good and are hanging in your closet,  Jack's ready to read you some books, Max knows how to work the seatbelt on your push-car, and your Mama and Baba are praying for your heart every day.  Your family is coming, you darling thing..... We are coming soon.

Nothing.

Still waiting for Travel Approval.  Day 23.  Normally it takes about two weeks.  Word is that the new computer system is finally up and running and they are BEGINNING to process travel approvals.  A couple have showed up at other agencies, but we still wait.

As we endure THE WAIT THAT KNOWS NO END, life has become very interesting.  I check my email a million times an hour hoping to see "TA" in the subject line.  My stomach gets in knots every time I log-on to Facebook as I frantically search through my groups to see if anyone's received news.  EVERY time the phone rings, I RUN to it hoping that my agency's on the other end with good news.  I'm trying to get things done, but I sort of feel like I'm "killing time" and I'm seriously thinking about just sleeping in the car just in case we get the call that we can go.  Joe just kinda looks at me and shakes his head.  Blah.

 I'm not a super fun person to be around right now.  I'm trying so very hard to trust His timing and be patient.  I KNOW that we're close..... even if we have to wait another month or so, that's CLOSE, but I just want to hold my girl.  I want to see that smile in person and rub her fuzzy head and tell her that I love her and watch her interact with the boys and see Joe holding her and take pictures of ALL my people and put her in clothes that smell like Dreft.  I'm ready to be up all night when she can't sleep and to sing to her when she's upset.  I'm ready to figure out what she likes to eat and begin the process of helping her understand what it feels like to be part of a family.  I want her to know what a Mama is and does.

I'm ready and I'm tired of waiting.  Waiting stinks.

Mary, when you read this someday, I want you to know that as you spend your last few weeks in an orphanage in Shanghai, China,  I am DESPERATE to hold you.  I love you so much and am SO thankful that I get to be your Mama.  I pray for you CONSTANTLY and CANNOT WAIT to bring you home.

And Mary, as you grow up and have to wait on things.... do it better than your Mom.  Cause she stinks at it.

Aren't you so glad you stopped by the blog today?  Such a happy place....... Bleck.

Wouldn't take NOTHIN for my journey now.....

Sometimes, I get worked up about stuff.  I know, hard to believe, right?  Joe would tell you that I'm usually calm, unruffled, and roll with the punches like a champ.  (Wouldn't you tell them that, Joe?)  Well, this past week, I got worked up.  The adoption process has worn me slap out.  And here at the end, well, it's hard.  As of today, we are on Day 17 of our wait for Travel Approval (TA).  Not a terribly long wait, BUT:  there are problems.

Problem #1:  Two weeks ago, just as we entered the wait for TA, the CCCWA (China's adoption overseeing folks) shut down to "update their computer system."  We were told ahead of time that this was coming, so we didn't panic.  It was a long week waiting for them to open back up with their new and improved system, but we survived...... and then.....

Problem #2:  The computers didn't work.  Yep.  The computers in China that are supposed to create and print our Travel Approval (the LAST step and the ONLY thing keeping us from our girl) are broken.  Repeat:  the computers are broken.  THIS we did not anticipate, so there was a SLIGHT amount of panic amongst my fellow adopters.  But, the calendar in my brain assured me that it's just a few days...... we've waited this long, just be patient for a few more days.  BUT....

Problem #3:  Last week, you know - while the computers were broken - we were told that, during the week of July 11-24, the US Consulate will be SHUT DOWN over there to MOVE BUILDINGS.  And wouldn't you know it..... THAT'S EXACTLY WHEN THE CALENDAR IN MY BRAIN HAD US OVER THERE HAVING OUR APPOINTMENT WITH THE US CONSULATE!  Once you receive TA (which we can't get because the computers are broken), you are then allowed to make your Consulate Appointment date (which we can't make when we need it because the consulate will be moving offices.) So, big deal, right?  We can just get TA next week, right?  Ha, Ha - I say.

Problem #4:  Next week, the CCCWA (the people with the broken computers) are taking three days off for the DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL.  Repeat:  THE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL.  So, that leaves them just a couple of working days to get in there and produce our TA.  You tracking with me here? Have I lost you?

So, when you encounter situations like this, what do you do?  You run the numbers.  So I did.  And here's our deal:  We must have our Travel Approval in our hand by June 17 in order to possibly get a Consulate Appointment date BEFORE they shut down to move (!!!) or we'll have to wait until after July 24 to go to China.  And, because of the dragons, they only have like three more days to do it.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Except for this:  Our sweet social worker, Karla, posted some encouragement to all of us waiting families today.  Here's her quote:  "Adoption is truly a spiritual journey that will culminate in the gift of a precious child."

Her words were also comforting as we grieved with a fellow adoptive family.  At our travel meeting, we had the privilege to meet several sweet families also nearing the end of the process.  One family returned home Wednesday night after three weeks in China adopting TWO children.  Their son, who they knew was extremely sick but still proceeded in faith, knew the love of a family for three weeks.  Then, on Thursday morning, he went home to be with the Lord.  Another family who had also gone through the same horrific experience said, "We knew that we were, quite possibly, only supposed to adopt this child so that we could usher her into the arms of her Savior."

Honestly, I do not have problems.

 I figure the Lord's got me right where He wants me.  Helpless.  Clueless.  Sometimes sad.  Totally (and I do mean TOTALLY) dependent on Him.  Cause if it were easy, I might dare to think that I can actually handle this process - this journey - on my own.  Which I can't.  

And anyway..... a rough day in adoptionland is better than a good day NOT immersed in this wonderful, life-changing experience.

In the words of the Happy Goodmans (Joe!  A Vestal reference!!!) - "Well, if I could still I wouldn't take nothin' for my journey now!"

Mary update: FINALLY!

In the waiting room of adoption world, the ONE thing that keeps you sane once you've seen your child's face is seeing your child's face AGAIN.  Updates are, as I told my social worker, "a balm to my heart and my eyeballs."  I SO desperately needed to see Mary's face again...... the last pictures we had of her were with the original referral and were taken back in November!  Some orphanages are GREAT about sending updates.... pictures, video, descriptions, etc.  Well, not ours.  We've been yearning to see that little smile again..... YEARNING..... so imagine my THRILL when I checked my texts this afternoon and saw one from Joe with these pictures: (which I have no idea how to turn so they're right side up.....just tilt your head for the cuteness!)

My heart is full.  I have stared at these pictures ALL afternoon..... had a to-do list a MILE long and didn't get one thing done.  I have studied every inch of her..... and here's what I'm thinking:

1.  She looks happy.  This was the one thing that worried me a tiny bit about receiving an update:  what if she's sad in the picture?  It would totally break my heart.  So I was relieved that she still looks like she's got a great sense of humor.  Cause joy is important in our house.

2.  I will not be learning how to do piggie tails any time soon.  They shaved my baby's head.  I might have to have a word with them about this.  Do they not realize the number of HAIR BOWS that I have already collected?  I mean, I've already packed the Strawberry Shortcake hairbrush and the tiniest little elastics you've EVER seen.  Guess I'll be taking those out of the suitcase.  Dadgum it.

3.  She's brilliant.  Don't you just see it in her eyes?  I absolutely cannot WAIT to read books with her and work on colors and letters and stuff.  Gonna be a fun year of two-year old homeschooling!

4.  The shoes.  The kid next to her got cute red shoes and frilly white socks.  We gotta get that babe some cute shoes.

5.  We're going to have a wonderful time together.  By the time her hair grows out ($^$#@#$#$^!!!), we'll be settled into our new normal as a family.  We're gonna laugh and read and go to Disney and sing and play.

6.  We are blessed.  The Lord has led us to this precious little girl who waits on the other side of the world and we are beyond thankful to welcome her into our family.  I am giddy to see what He's got for us down the road.... for the boys, for Mary, for our family.  I.  Can't.  Wait.

I'll think about that tomorrow.

Much is happening.  MUCH.

First of all, Jack finished up his finals today and waved goodbye to RQMS as we pulled out of the parking lot.  He's finished at Rock Quarry.  He has been walking those halls from Kindergarten through 8th grade and is now moving on to high school.  If I REALLY stop and think about it, I get a little sick at my stomach, so I'll think about that tomorrow.

Yesterday, Max had 5th grade graduation.  He has finished up his elementary years and will be moving over to the middle school side of the building.  The graduation video showed some pictures of him in Kindergarten and I got a little misty-eyed seeing that little feller from the past.  He is precious and has learned so much.  He won't be walking down the halls of RQ elementary next year either...... growing up and moving on..... sigh..... I'll think about that tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for this year.  There are boxes filling up in my classroom and paperwork about Family Medical Leave sitting on my table.  It's starting to dawn on me that I'm not just packing up for the summer...... I'm packing up for a YEAR.  Someone else will teach in that room next year.  Someone else will hang reading and math anchor charts and gather kids on that carpet for a read aloud.  Someone else will recommend books from my classroom library and hang art on those walls. And I will be adjusting to a new normal. I'll be figuring out carpool and how to do a little girl's hair.  My head literally starts spinning when I think about THAT stuff, so I'm going to just think about that tomorrow.

In the past week, I've had TWO surprise baby showers!  My precious ladies Bible study at church AND my sweet fourth graders and parents surprised me with LOTS of pink!  We now have outfits and toys and books and a carseat and blankets and HAIRBOWS.  Oh, dear gussy..... in just a few weeks, I'm going to have a DAUGHTER.  Because I do NOT have time to have a complete come-apart.... and because this makes me want to cry EVERY time I think about it, I'm gonna have to think about that tomorrow.

This morning, we woke up to an email from the US Consulate in China.  Our FINAL piece of paper is in place...... this paper, called our ARTICLE 5, was picked up by our agency's in-country rep yesterday and has been sent, along with everything else we've spent the last year paperchasing to get in place, back to the CCCWA.  Once they're satisfied that everything is in proper order, they'll issue our TRAVEL APPROVAL!  Then, we get ON A PLANE TO GET OUR GIRL!  I get very sweaty when I start thinking about everything that's involved in traveling to the other side of the world to adopt a sweet 18 month old baby girl.  There's a lot to do..... and not a lotta time to do it.  And while I am THRILLED and SO VERY READY to go get our Mary, I must confess that I'm a bit nervous and scared every time I think about it.  So, I'm gonna think about that tomorrow.

So, here I sit, with NOTHING to think about today....... except how unbelievably BLESSED we are here in the Powell house.  In the midst of a whirlwind of change in our lives, I am sure of this:  WE  ARE BLESSED.

And even if the oven stops heating up (which is has) or the downstairs air conditioner stops running (which it has) or the to-do lists keep growing (which they have) or the price of airline tickets to China keeps climbing (which they are)..... I am at peace knowing how blessed we are.

And all that other stuff?  I'll just think about that tomorrow.

Cabled! And Artlcle 5 things....

We are getting VERY close to our Mary.  If all goes like the calendar in my brain HOPES it will go, then we should be waiting on our Travel Approval from China in less than two weeks.  Here's a rundown of what's happened lately:

Thursday, May 2:  we receive our official immigration approval in the mail - the USCIS also sends this approval to the NVC (National Visa Center)
Friday, May 3:  Mikki emails NVC to see if they received our stuff - they have not.
Monday, May 6:  Mikki emails NVC again to see if they received our stuff - Yes.... BUT.....
 
Pause:  This is where Mikki begins to have a come apart.  You see, this step is supposed to be very predictable.  These are the steps, this is exactly how long these steps should take:  period.  We have endured our share of waiting and unknowns and who-knows-when-things-will-move-forward-again and THIS part of the journey is supposed to move right along. There should not be any "BUTs" in this part of the process.

But..... when I sent Monday's email, I got a reply that said that they could not move forward with our paperwork because Joe's birthdate didn't match up in their system.  WHA?

So, I CALLED those folks.  I needed to speak to a human.  Liam from the NVC and I had a nice little chat on Monday night after Jack's TWO HOUR Tuscaloosa Youth Orchestra Concert.  Liam was VERY understanding, glad that Jack's concert went well (maybe I share too much....), and then explained that all I had to do was scan Joe's birth certificate and passport to them the next day.

So, I did.  And the next day, THANKFULLY, we were back on track.

Tuesday, May 7:  receive GUZ# in the morning.  Immediately emailed the NVC with GUZ# requesting our PDF (this is the golden ticket of this phase of the game)  Usually, the PDF comes about 24 hours later...... BUT.... (this is a good BUT), ours came that afternoon!

Which meant that on Tuesday afternoon, the NVC CABLED our PDF to China!  All paperwork on this side of the ocean is DONE!

Our agency then sends this PDF to their China coordinator who physically walks our paperwork into the Embassy over there:  this is our Article 5 drop off.  And then, two weeks later, she walks back in there to pick it up (Article 5 pick up!)  We are waiting to hear from our agency as to when our exact drop off date was, but I'm REALLY hoping it was some time last week.

Once our Article 5 is picked up, we are officially waiting for Travel Approval (TA!)!!! That's our invitation from China to get ourselves over there and get our girl!

BUT.

Yep.  I know.....

The last week of May (24-31 to be exact), the CCCWA who issues those Travel Approvals is switching over to a new computer system, so there will be little or no official notices being prepared.

AND, then, in June, China has what's called the Dragon Boat Festival and is shut down for three days (June 10-12 to be exact.)

So, when will we travel?  No clue.  I am still REALLY hoping for that last week of June.

In the meantime,  we make lists.  We finish up the last 10 days of school.  And we think about our Mary.

To Do Lists

There are things to do.

In my mind (and in the myriad of notebooks where I am making lists), I have separated the list of things to do into various categories.  There's the "at school" category, the "end of school year for the boys" category, and the "we are about to travel to the other side of the world to get Mary" category.

Details:

At School:
  After much prayer and discussion at my house, Joe and I have decided that I will take a one year leave of absence from school.  This will give me a WHOLE YEAR to help our family adjust to our "new normal" and help Mary with any transition, attachment, and medical issues that may come up.  Although I LOVE teaching school, I am thrilled to take this little "sabbatical" to focus on my family.  BUT, in preparation for being out for a year, I find myself approaching these last three weeks with an unusual sense of panic.  Not only is there all of the usual "I only have three weeks left with this group of kids and there's still so much I want to tell them!", there's NOW the added pressure of prepping my room (and myself) for a year off.  To-do list items on THIS list include such glamorous things as completing final assessments, cleaning the room, gobs of paperwork, and final summer check-out procedures.  More fun to-do items include finalizing plans for our Publishing Party and creating the class DVD for the year.  And all this needs to happen by the end of this month.  Yes.

End of School Year for the Boys:
With the end of a school year brings MANY events and projects and happenings for the boys.  We've already enjoyed Max's piano recital (he ROCKED "The Red Convertible") , Jack's Honors Night (Honor Roll and  one of the Outstanding Strings Students Awards), Max's "mixer" with the kids from the neighboring school as they all prepare to enter middle school together, and Max's children's choir musical at church (his last one!  Boo!).  We have also completed the infamous 5th grade suitcase project, Jack's career shadowing assignment, AND the 8th grade castle project.  (I MIGHT have a couple of these for sale to the highest bidder!!!)  The next few weeks will bring a flurry of orchestra concerts for Jack, Max's 5th grade graduation, and last day of school-type events.  And all of THIS will be done in exactly three weeks.  Halleluyer.

We Are About to Travel to the Other Side of the World to Get Mary:
Now that we have received our Immigration approval, we have entered the next little phase:  something about emailing to get a PDF so that our Visa application for Mary can be cabled to China so our Article 5 can be dropped off and picked up again two weeks later so we can start waiting for travel approval.  Since I really am SO very confused about ALL of that.... I decided to handle to-do items on the adoption list that I DO understand.  Here are a few of those things:  1) finish Mary's room, 2) call about travel immunizations, 3) prepare gifts for orphanage workers/guides , 4) obtain pretty much an entire pharmacy to take with us when we travel, 5) figure out what "compression socks" are cause apparently I need them, 6) find some big luggage to borrow, 7) get Mary some toys so she doesn't have to play with Star Wars figures and Nerf guns, 8) figure out what a VPN is and how it works and 9) continue obsessing over travel dates.

Yes.  There are things to do.

So.  What do you do when there are so many things to do that you can't possibly get them all done?
Well, in MY world, you pick the "FUNNEST" one and get to it.

So, the following are pictures of what we did today.  It was fun.  It is finished.  And I feel REALLY happy.  All that other stuff?  We'll get it done......

I present to you:  MARY'S ROOM......

Bed AND a crib..... we are ready for any sleeping arrangement she needs!

Books on the wall and dolls on the bed!

I'm ready to sit in that chair and cuddle my baby girl!

Rain gutter bookshelves are my favorite!  

We are ready for you, sweet Mary.  SO ready.

So, that's what we checked off the to-do list today.

Maybe tomorrow I'll figure out those compression socks.