China....Here we come!

With our Consulate appointment firmed up this morning, we now have solid travel dates in hand..... We are going to meet up with our group in Hong Kong on Friday, June 13th. From there we will travel to Changsha, Hunan and Meredith should be in our arms by Monday, June 16th at the latest!!! We are working on flights and the overseas portion of travel, but we should have our reservations made within the next couple of days. To say that we are excited is truly an understatement!!!
Now all we need to do is pack......HA -- that should be easy!

A "moment"....

This morning I was writing an email to Trish, a dear friend from out of state who is coming to house-sit while we are in China when I had one of those "Oh Sh#*t" moments! I think this may have been the first time it really hit me that we are actually going to get on an airplane for 20+ hours, travel to a third world country, where we do not speak or read the language, pick up a child that we have never met before to bring home to be our daughter and spend the rest of our lives with. This actually sounds a little crazy!!! I went down to share my "moment" with Eric and ask him if he had experienced something similar. He assured me that in fact, he had had such a moment before and was surprised that it took me so long, because usually it is me that does the crazy stuff!
Well, I guess this must be normal - - at least I hope so! There is no denying that along with all of the excitement comes a little fear and apprehension, but I would not trade any one of these feelings right now for anything in the world!
Crazy or not Meredith, you are going to be stuck with us and we're coming to get you as soon as we can!!!

Travel Approvals Are Here!!!!

We got an email this morning that our travel approvals have arrived....Great news! Our agency now has requested Consulate appointments for our group and once these have been confirmed, we will be able to book our flights and be on our way to GO GET MEREDITH!! Perhaps my predictions will come to light after all........

My Prediction

Here is what my best guess is as to when we travel.....
Leave June 12th
Arrive Hong Kong June 13 (lucky Friday the 13th)!
Tour Hong Kong Saturday
Fly to Changsha Sunday
***Gotcha Day Monday June 16, 2008!!!
At this point, what happens after that I really don't care so much about as to predict!!
We got an indication today from our agency that travel approvals are anticipated next week. We'll see what kind of fortune teller I am......You probably shouldn't bet on any portion of this, but it is fun to think about!!
myg

Waiting on Travel Approval

We are in yet another waiting pattern....this one is for our official "okay to travel" issued by the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA). Once our agency receives this document, we will be able to request an appointment from the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. With travel approval and a confirmed appointment in Guangzhou, we will be able to book airline tickets! Our itinerary will look something like this: Fly from San Francisco to Hong Kong, spend 2 days in Hong Kong. Fly from Hong Kong to Changsha, Hunan. GET MEREDITH!! Spend 4-5 days in Changsha. Fly to Guangzhou for 4-5 days. Either fly directly to L.A. from Guangzhou, or return to Hong Kong and fly back to S.F. and then home. We will be travelling with a group from our agency of approximately 10 families, all adopting from Hunan. Our agency is arranging all in-China accommodations and we will always have an escort, stay at 5 star hotels and be well taken care of - -they are terrific! Evidently there is no warning when these travel approvals arrive - they just show up in the mail, so we are anxious to receive them and hope that it won't be too much longer. We should have our travel visa's procured this week.

Meredith's in Foster Care

We found out today that Meredith is actually in foster care in Miluo. Information is a little sketchy, but it appears the orphanage in Miluo, if it even exists, is very small. It is not unusual for the nannies to foster the children in their own homes. Apparently, that is the case with Meredith. She has been living in a home. That should be good for her development and ability to bond.

Her name is official...

We have officially agreed on a middle (and last) name for our child.... she will be Meredith MeiLynne Gardey. We will spare her the confusion associated with a hyphenated last name - - (Mom gets enough of that), and combine her Chinese name with her mother and grandmother's middle name. Dad got to pass on the last name :)
On another note, we have begun our paperwork for our Chinese Visa's and are in the process of meeting other parents in our travel group. We hope to leave in the next 4-6 weeks to bring Meredith home!
This is becoming real!!!!!

Big Sister

This is Meredith's big sister Lindsay and her boyfriend, John. Lindsay is excited to finally have a sibling!!

More Pictures

Here are the other two pictures we have of Meredith. Hopefully we'll get some updated pictures within a few weeks. These were taken in December.

Here She Is!!!!!

Isn't she beautiful?
We are just over the moon!!
Her name is Qu Mei , she is currently in the Miluo City SWI in Hunan, China.
She was born June 30, 2007. Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

Leaving for Denver...

Just to let you all know what to expect, our plan is to upload pictures and information to this blog as soon as we get it tomorrow! Please feel free to share this address with friends and family so that they can share in our happiness!
Thanks for hanging in there with us....it has been a long, long ride.
We love you!
Margo

CCAI Has Referrals

Referrals are in!!!!!!!! Below is what was posted today on the CCAI website. Because CCAI needs to verify the information, we won't know anything until Monday. We're going to go down to Denver on Sunday so we can be waiting at the door of CCAI when they open Monday morning. It's going to be a loooooooong weekend.

"5/2/2008Matches Arrived!!!

We did receive matches today for families logged in January 11, 2006. We are excited to have received these matches! We did not receive matches for our families that are expedited due to Chinese Descent. The CCAA has not verified with us the cut off date for matches at this time.
We are excited to be calling all of our families on Monday!"

Our Pets

We have three pets right now. Lexi the deaf Dalmatian, Zoey the Great North American Black Dog and Bert the Cat.