Whoo-Hoo!!! Our LOA is IN CHINA!!!!

As you can see by the bold print below our LOA is in BEIJING! I expect that it will be received by the CCAA tomorrow morning or afternoon! Yeahhhh!!! :)

Package Progress
Location
Date
Local Time
Description
*BEIJING,CN*
*01/16/2009*
*11:11 P.M.*
*IMPORT SCAN*
01/16/2009
11:10 P.M.
IMPORT SCAN
INCHEON,KR
01/16/2009
7:47 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/16/2009
2:42 P.M.
THE PACKAGE WAS MISSORTED AT THE HUB. IT HAS BEEN REROUTED TO THE CORRECT DESTINATION SITE
01/16/2009
12:22 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
ANCHORAGE,AK, US
01/15/2009
9:47 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/15/2009
9:47 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/15/2009
5:50 A.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
ONTARIO,CA, US
01/15/2009
1:48 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
ONTARIO,CA, US
01/14/2009
10:22 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
SEATTLE,WA, US
01/14/2009
8:10 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
BREMERTON,WA, US
01/14/2009
6:10 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
PORT ANGELES,WA, US
01/14/2009
5:10 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/14/2009
4:54 P.M.
ORIGIN SCAN
01/14/2009
4:43 P.M.
PICKUP SCAN
01/14/2009
4:34 P.M.
PICKUP SCAN
US
01/14/2009
10:07 P.M.
BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

Our LOA is Enroute Back to Beijing, China!

Our adoption agency mailed our signed LOA back to the CCAA yesterday. Courtesy of technology I can "follow" the package until it arrives in Beijing, China. Once it arrives at the CCAA then we can officially begin to wait for Travel Approval! It is not as if I have time to sit and follow the UPS website all day long....but, I will be checking it often! It is something new for me to be obsessive-compulsive about. ;)

Package Progress
Location
Date
Local Time
Description
ONTARIO,CA, US
01/15/2009
1:48 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
ONTARIO,CA, US
01/14/2009
10:22 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
SEATTLE,WA, US
01/14/2009
8:10 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
BREMERTON,WA, US
01/14/2009
6:10 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
PORT ANGELES,WA, US
01/14/2009
5:10 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/14/2009
4:54 P.M.
ORIGIN SCAN
01/14/2009
4:43 P.M.
PICKUP SCAN
01/14/2009
4:34 P.M.
PICKUP SCAN
US
01/14/2009
10:07 P.M.
BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED Tracking results provided by UPS: 01/15/2009 8:16 A.M. ET

Emma's First Trip to the Dentist!

This morning had her very first dental visit! While she has accompanied Greg and I to the dentist in the past for our teeth cleanings she has never had her very own appointment. We decided that it was time to change that. Our dental office has the nicest staff EVER-seriously! The hygienist was very calm and patient with Emma. She explained what all of the instruments were for in toddler terms and allowed Emma to sit on my lap facing me while she cleaned her teeth. :) Emma was nervous but she was also very brave! I was proud of her, this was a very big deal given Emma's sensory issues. By the time the dentist came by to check out Emma's teeth she was less than compliant and made it clear that she was finished with the visit. Oh well, maybe the next time we will have better luck! Emma has no cavities or decay...check out the pictures below to see her nice clean teeth!!

We Have LOA!

We received our LOA today after waiting for 89 days! For those of you who are adoption challenged; that means that we received our Letter of Approval to adopt Sophia Grace from the CCAA. (That is the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs). Our adoption agency is overnighting it to us today and we will sign it tomorrow and overnight it back to them; then it is on it's way back to China! We should have Travel Approval from the CCAA in 3-4 weeks. Sometimes families receive it earlier than that, but with Chinese New Year starting on January 26 and running through February 9th nothing will be happening on China's end. I can't believe that I am typing this; we will be going to bring Sophie HOME soon! I am still sticking to my guesstimation that we will be traveling at the end of February. Three years ago we were saying the same thing about Emma, it is pretty neat that we are traveling at the same time to bring Sophie home. :)

We Can Breathe Again...

DAY NUMBER EIGHTY THREE AND GOOD NEWS...

Our agency heard back from our coordinator in China. There is nothing wrong with our paperwork and we should be receiving our LOA "very soon". : ) I get the feeling that we might be traveling at the same time that we did three years ago; late February/early March.

Yesterday Greg and Emma were discussing sharing her things with Sophie. She agreed that Sophie could have some of her baby toys and certain books. Greg asked her if Sophie could have her (stuffed) Teletubbies and she said "No"! ; ) I think that Sophie might be hearing that word alot from her big sister. *lol*!

Day Number 82 and No LOA-yet.

WHEN ARE WE GOING TO CHINA?!

Welcome to my pity party!

Today mark day number 82 for our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) wait. Two families that were logged in about a week after us just recieved their LOA's. Ugh. I am happy for them, but completely annoyed that ours has not come. Our coordinatior is checking with the CCAA to make sure that there are no snags, but we will not have any news for another day or two. I am sure that everything is fine, sometimes LOA's piggy back one another. It just seems SO unfair that we are experiencing another delay.

We are getting excited to return to China! I am starting to make "To Do" lists and today I bought a new diaper bag & travel size Clorox wipes. (If you know me, you will see the humor about me buying wipes). :-) We talk about China and Sophie every day. Emma recieved a book for Christmas called "My Mei Mei" and she LOVES it! She wants to hear it every day and I think that she understands that the book is about her and Sophie. :- )

So please cross your fingers or say a prayer if you are the praying type that I will have GOOD NEWS to post soon! :-)

Three Years Ago Today...

Three years ago today we received a call from Emma's Adoption Agency; Children's Hope International. "You have a daughter"! The woman on the other end of the line told us. THEN they faxed her picture to us and we saw Emma's face for the very first time. We learned that her name was Dong Can Ni. She was 20 months old and waiting for us at Yang Dong SWI in Guangdong Province. She was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL baby that we had ever seen. We were FINALLY parents! Emma still looks the same today. Just a little bit older and with hair. :)