Getting Ready to Go!

Wow - it's been a busy few weeks... haven't had time to blog lately so I have some catching up to do! We finally got our travel dates and itinerary confirmed. Thank God for my dear husband - when it comes to travel, paperwork, and all the other last-minute detail-oriented stuff, he's taking care of it ALL. All I have had to take care of is getting the nursery ready, packing, and making sure we have everything we need for Maddie. Of course, that has meant doing some shopping - much to my dismay (NOT)!

I'm not the only one who has trouble resisting all the cute baby clothes. Last week, Doug came home from working in Atlanta with another outfit. It is pictured below. I'm thinking we'll dress Maddie in that before we get on the Delta flight from Shanghai to Atlanta and that should secure us an upgrade into business class. (Fat chance, but it certainly doesn't hurt to dream!)

We have a friend who will be house sitting and taking care of the critters for us while we're gone. Dee - thank you so much for doing this for us! We think Red & Squirt will have a much easier time adjusting to the baby because they don't have to be uprooted while we're gone.

Here is a summary of our itinerary. Doug, Mom, and I will fly out of South Bend bright and early on Tuesday morning 2/24. After more than 26 hours of travel time we will arrive in Beijing Wednesday evening (China time). We will spend a few days in Beijing, sightseeing while we begin recuperating from the jetlag and adjust to the time zone that is 12 hours different from here. While in Beijing, we will visit the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Olympic Village, and see an acrobatic show.

On Sunday 3/1 we will fly from Beijing to Nanchang. That afternoon, we will receive Maddie! OK - even as I type this, I'm having one of those fleeting moments of reality setting in. It still seems so surreal most of the time. I just CANNOT WAIT to hold my daughter!!

We will stay in Nanchang until Friday 3/6. During that time we will complete the adoption procedure for China. We will then fly to Guangzhou where we will wait for things to be finalized by the US Consulate. During down times, we will be spending lots of time bonding and getting to know our daughter. We will also have time in both Nanchang and Guangzhou to do some shopping and sightseeing. We will return home on 3/11.

Below are some updated photos of the nursery now that shower gifts have been put away.

Our little fashionista already has two closets full of clothes! All the hanging clothes are 6-12 month sizes. The two tubs on the top shelf of the big closet are 18 month clothes. Obviously, we're not hurting in that department!!

Much to our delight, our Sit 'n Stroll was delivered this week. I was concerned that it might not make it in time, but it got here - just like everything else along this journey... all in perfect time. You would think that I'd quit doubting that things are going to happen in time!! The only thing that we are still waiting for now is our new debit cards and we are praying those will be here today or Monday. (long story - I'll explain that one at another time)

We will be taking the Sit 'n Stroll with us to China. It converts from a stroller into a carseat/airplane seat. While we're not crazy about taking an empty carseat to China, this will save us big-time when we come home. That way, Maddie will be able to sleep comfortably (we hope) on the return international flight.

Dear family and friends - we ask for your continued prayers while w are on this trip of a lifetime. We will keep you updated through this blog as often as we can during our time in China.

Much love,

Beth, Doug, and Baby Maddie