Kinda China

Where has the time gone???  Somedays I sit here and think time is flying by while other days it seems to just barely tick by.  Keith recently described the wait as "torture" and I have to say I agree.  It seems like forever since we first laid eyes on our little Maili and yes we have been blessed with photos along the way but still this waiting is hard.  Another friend of mine recently said I've been pregnant for 21 months!!  Yes, very true.  And while I am not usually the patient type :) I've learned to take deep breaths and sit back and wait.  My recent fortune from a fortune cookie said...."Time and patience are called for many surprises await you."  Boy, am I ready for those surprises!

So to pass the time, here's what we've been up to lately....

Two weeks ago we traveled to Chicago to visit friends and get our visas for China.  We had a great time hitting our favorite spots...Ghirardelli for yummy sundaes, the Lego store, Navy Pier, Rainforest Cafe.  We also headed over to Chinatown to give the kids (& myself) a little taste of the sights & sounds ( & smells) of what we would soon be experiencing on our trip.  I forgot how much they like to burn incense ( I better pack  a lot of Motrin) and it was quite funny to try to explain to the kids who Buddha is :)

We also set up Maili's room!  Now, it's starting to feel real.  I can't believe she will be sleeping in that crib before we know it.  Thanks Becky for the super cute bedding!!  Minus a few finishing touches we're ready to go.

Originally we reported that we would probably be traveling in late August/early Sept and it looks like we are headed for mid to late September.  We had a little hang up with our immigration approval getting ready to expire so we had to get fingerprinted again and fill out some more paperwork :) but things are now moving along.  We are currently waiting on "Article 5" which is the last step before they issue our travel approval.  Once travel approval is issued, we kick in to fast gear to buy our tickets and make all of our arrangements for the trip.

I also made a new friend :)  She just happens to be the adoptive mom of another baby at the Shanghai Healing Home!  We found each other online through one of the yahoo groups.  It was so great to talk to someone else who is going through the same process.  She sent me a link of more pictures of Maili!

And here she is taking a stroll with one of her little friends....

We found out a few weeks ago that our sweet baby girl had her palate surgery.  We were informed early on that her surgery was scheduled for June sometime but were not sure if they would go ahead with it or not.  Our friends that visited the healing home reported that indeed she had the surgery and was recovering really well.  We can only hope and pray that everything went smoothly and that she has had a lot of love & care during this recovery time.

Hopefully our little care package will make her feel a little better...