Heading Out!

Since the airport we are flying out of is over 2 hours away, we decided to head on up tonight and spend the night. It actually turned out to be a perfect plan; this way we had all day today to put the finishing touches on everything. If we'd waited to leave early tomorrow morning, it would have been mass chaos and the insanity would not have started our trip off very nicely! Now we are packed, the house is clean and in order, Libby is taken care of, and we are ready!

I still can't believe we've finally gotten to this point. I don't think it has really sunk in, even still. After all this time, it's finally happening...

Three Days From Now...

...we will be on a plane somewhere over the Pacific, on our way to China!! And in less than 6 days I WILL BE A MOMMY!!! OK, just had to say that!

Things are starting to get hectic here. As organized and calm as I've been (since I got everything ready to go a month ago when I thought we were leaving in a week), there were some things that I had to save to the very end, like cleaning and packing. Now it's down to the wire and I'm starting to get a little stressed. But, in 3 days it will all be done; even if it's not done, it won't matter because we'll be out of here!!

Last Check in the Box

Today we had our final travel meeting with our agency. This was the final check on the long list that I've been working so hard on for 5 months now!Well, there is still one more check missing:

We Have Flights!

I just finished booking our flights! And they are direct flights, on an airline I trust, and a Boeing 747- both ways! And we have window seats! What a relief! (For those of you who know me, you understand why all these things are so very, very important to me; for those who don't know me... it's a long story!)

October 7th it is!

We got word back from our agency's people in China, and they have booked us a hotel room in Guangzhou, meaning it's official! We will be leaving on Thursday, October 7th and returning on Thursday, October 21st. We can finally book flights!!

October 7th...

...we think! Mike called about an hour ago to say that the Consulate confirmed an appointment for us for October 18th, meaning that we would be leaving on October 7th and returning on October 21st. However, we still cannot buy plane tickets because we do not have a hotel room yet, and that is the week of the trade fairs in Guangzhou. We should hear back tomorrow...

And the Roller Coaster Continues...

Well, first of all, we are not leaving on Thursday. Mike from our agency called this morning to say that he had heard back from the Consulate, and they did not accept any of the 5 dates he asked for. In fact, they told him that their next available appointment wasn't until October 12th. The thing is, October 12th isn't even possible because of the holiday October 1-7. So Mike asked for 5 dates later in October, which would mean that we are back to leaving on October 7th, but, again, October is a tricky month due to the Trade Fairs in Guangzhou. There is no guarantee that we will be able to get a hotel room, even if we get a Consulate appointment.

So, basically, this is where we stand right now: we are waiting to hear back from the Consulate sometime next week to see if they chose one of the dates in October that Mike requested. If they did choose one of those dates, then we have to wait to see if our agency can find us a reasonable hotel room (reasonable being not too outrageously expensive, or too far away from the city). Then we will know when we are leaving.

I am not allowing myself to panic until we hear back from the Consulate. Leaving October 7th is not the end of the world; whereas I was completely ready to hop on a plane next week, it was going to be very, very complicated. I was most worried about getting a decent flight, but there were other huge holes in the plan as well. We were going to make it work, but having a few more weeks does definitely relieve some stress, too (if you're looking for a bright spot!). As long as we don't have to wait until the end of November...

Our agency just called, and the word from China was to go ahead and send us! So he has requested some dates for us for our Consulate Appointment. The new rule is that you have to request 5 dates, so he requested 3 for the 3rd week of September, and 2 for the last week of September. However, he doesn't think they will pick the last week since we have to be out of the country by Sept. 30th. He's assuming they'll pick one from the 3rd week of September, meaning we will be leaving on Thursday!!!

However, the tricky part is that we cannot buy plane tickets until we have a confirmed Consulate appointment. Due to the time difference (China is 12 hours ahead of the East Coast), we MAY have an answer tomorrow, but the Consulate actually has 5 days to respond so it could be next week before we hear anything. Since Monday is a holiday, that means we won't hear anything until Tuesday or even Wednesday- then jump on a plane on Thursday! Crazy, right?

If it's too close, we may have to skip the tour of Beijing. That would not be our first choice, however, since we need that time to adjust to the time zone and work off a little of the jet lag. And I would be totally bummed out since seeing the Great Wall is something I have really been looking forward to; I've been training for climbing it by walking up the steepest hill in our neighborhood! But we'll do what we have to do. If we skip Beijing, then we can wait to leave until Friday or Saturday (the 10th or 11th).

All this is just speculative at this point, of course. We have to wait until we hear back from the Consulate. Once we have that all-important Consulate date, our path will become clear!

OMG- TA!!!

Our agency just called- my prayers were answered and our Travel Approval just arrived! However, we were told we have some issues. What I heard was right: October and November are literally filled with various holidays, trade fairs, and even the Asian Olympics. If we cannot get in in September or October 7th, then we will have to wait to leave until Thanksgiving Day. I told Mike that I did not want to even think about not leaving until the end of November, so he said he would look into our only other 3 options:

1) We leave next Thursday!!! (OK- PANIC MODE!!)

2) We may have to stay an extra few days to a week if we go in September due to yet another holiday in the middle of the month. This will make our trip 2-1/2 to 3 weeks instead of 2.

3) We go October 7th (IF they can get us a hotel room in Guangzhou), but it will be about double the price.

He said he'd call back tomorrow with an answer...

Now I have to run! I am shaking... I have so much to do, just in case we are leaving in a week!

No News

(I wonder how many of my posts have had that same title? It does seem to be a recurring theme, doesn't it?)

Anyway, we have not heard anything. I was really, really hoping to get our TA (Travel Approval) last week, because that would have meant that we still had a chance of traveling in September- assuming, of course, that we could get a Consulate appointment. But, no such luck.

I should clarify that no one ever actually said that we would travel in September; our agency told us that our TA probably wouldn't come for 7 weeks, which would be the week of September 13th. Then there would be no way to travel and be home before October 1st, which is when we have to be out of China because that is when the country shuts down for their big holiday. But I have had the idea of traveling in September in my head since March, when we first got our referral; I knew it was possible, and I somehow assumed that if I thought enough positive thoughts and willed it to happen, the stars would align and it would work out for us. Silly me.

I heard that the Consulate in Guangzhou opened up some more appointments for September, which is great news for all those who now get to travel, but the reason behind why they opened up more appointments is actually bad news for us. Apparently they realized that October AND November were going to be very difficult for travel due to not only the Moon Festival the first week of October and the Trade Fair in Guangzhou at the end of October, but there are other festivals and such during those 2 months as well. So the Consulate opened up more appointments to try to get as many people as they could through before all the conflicts began.

But what happens to those of us who are not able to get in before the conflicts begin? Now I'm beginning to wonder: if we can't travel in September, will we have to wait until DECEMBER? Is there a chance that Caitlin will not even be home in time for Christmas? I had never even considered that to be a possibility; I had assumed that 2010 would be our first Christmas together. I really can't stand to even think about that, so I try to keep the negative thoughts out of my mind.

OK, enough gloominess and grief...

My very first adoption friend, Rochelle, told me way back at the beginning of this journey (2-1/2 years ago) something that I will never forget. I was freaking out for the first time; I mean, this was the very beginning of the process- we were just starting with the preliminary paperwork. I don't even remember what it was that had me so upset, but now that we've been through all that we've been through, I'm sure it was nothing compared to what was to come. But I was freaking out, and Rochelle wrote me that adoption is a leap of faith; if you know in your heart that it is right, then you have to close your eyes and take a leap. Rochelle, if you're reading this, you have no idea how much those words have helped me, or how many low moments they've gotten me through. Thank you!

Bad News??

I just read on Rumor Queen that the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou is backed up. This means that families are being delayed on traveling because they can't get a Consulate appointment right now.

Fantastic.

(Somewhat) Encouraging News

I spoke to our agency today, and I'm feeling a little more hopeful now! I e-mailed them this morning to ask if they could give even a vague estimate as to when we might expect to travel. They actually called right back to discuss it with me. They said that, of course, it depends on many, many things, but:

*The letter that we are now waiting for from the NVC, or National Visa Center (concerning Caitlin's Visa) should arrive about a week from when we got our I-800. That means it should come this Friday.

*Our agency has people in China who actually deliver the paperwork in person, but they are only allowed to come on Mondays and Thursdays.

*Once our letter from the NVC arrives, I will scan it and e-mail it to our agency. They have already sent the rest of our paperwork to China (I sent it to them weeks ago, since these last 2 pieces do not need original copies so they can be e-mailed or faxed), so once our agency forwards our copy of the letter from NVC, our agency's people in China can take it all and hand-deliver it.

*However, our agency has to have the e-mail before they close on Friday in order to forward it to China in time to have them deliver it on Monday. Our agency is in Kentucky; we're in California (3 hours behind), and our mail usually doesn't come until after 2 PM our time (5 PM Kentucky time). This means our paperwork will most likely not be delivered to the proper authorities in China until Thursday.

*Once the proper authorities have our paperwork, it is about a 7-week wait to TA, or Travel Approval. TA means that all of our paperwork is set and in order, and our agency can request a consulate appointment for us.

*Once we have our consulate appointment, it is about 2 weeks to travel.

So our agency did the math and said that, as of right now, we would be traveling on October 7th. HOWEVER, October is a tricky month! The entire country shuts down for the first week of October, until the 7th, then there is one week free, but then the last 2 weeks of October is the Trade Fair in Guangzhou, which is where the American consulate is. Our agency said that this really only affects us in one way, but it's pretty major: the hotels fill up and it's very hard to get a room. And even if you can find a room, you're going to pay dearly for it! So it is actually possible to travel in October, but not very easy.

So all this is just to say that there is a small chance that we could travel in early October, an even smaller chance that we can still get in in September, but probably most likely that we will have to wait until the first week of November. Of course, this is all still a huge guessing game at this point, but it's nice to at least have an idea- and to know that we are at least back on track!