CA CONFIRMED!

Can you believe it? Something went right AND in a timely manner! We got our first choice for the Consulate Appt, Aug. 25!!! Too much to do now, more later! Thanks for your prayers. God is so good!

TRAVEL APPROVAL! It's here!

Yes yes yes! It's really here. I got the call today around 12:15 while shopping. I actually missed the call if you can believe that. My phone was in my purse, but I must not have heard it ring. Weeks and weeks of waiting for the call, and I missed it! Good fun!

So, we are hoping to get a CA (Consulate Appointment) for the 25th. I will post the itinerary later. Gotcha day should be Aug. 17th!!!

I am sooooo happy. In two weeks, I'll be on a plane to China. WOW! Thank you to everyone who has followed our journey and prayed for us. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am. :)

Thoughts of Summer

So our temps were in triple digits today. I am not accustomed to this, and yet it was a glimpse of our trip to China. It looks like temps from Beijing to Nanjing to Guangzhou range in the upper 80s to lower 90s. I hope it stays that way and goes no higher. This 101+ degree stuff is not for me.

So I was thinking about the question I get asked a lot as a teacher, and that is, "How's your summer?" This particular summer I only get asked that by those who I haven't seen in awhile and don't know I'm adopting. The words I really want to say is, "This summer has been the worst summer of my life." All the PAPs (prospective adoptive parents) out there, especially waiting for TA, know what I'm talking about. This wait is horrific. For two weeks, I did basically nothing but stalk the internet forums and blogs just looking for word that TAs were mailed.

But for all of the bad comes good. The PAPs know what I'm talking about here: That feeling of, "Oh my goodness, we are really doing this. We are really going to China and bringing a child home with us!" It hits you like a ton of bricks at the oddest of times. I won't be sitting in front of the TV with my lap top when K-bear is at her friend's house because I will be cuddling, swinging, walking, talking, and loving on my new son. It's going to be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but we're up for it and more than ready. As ready as we're going to be.

Although so far this has been the most boring summer of my life, by the time it is over, it's going to be life-changing, and we'll never be the same!

We are hoping for TA tomorrow! Between the heat and the anticipation, I'm not sure how I'm going to sleep tonight.

No TA, but good news!!!!

I got an unexpected call this morning. Evidently my agency found out that my TA has been issued. This most likely means it was mailed today and is on it's way! We should see it Wed-Fri, and then we can request a consulate appt, then we can celebrate! Tentative departure date is Aug. 12th.

But I've had my hopes up before, so I'm just going to keep praying and hoping that all will work out. I feel so much better now! Tyson, we're coming buddy! Hang in there!

The road to Tyson, Part 5

I had no idea this story was this long, but I guess that's why it's a journey!

So we had been praying about what to do. It was early/mid November, and we just needed a break through. We were scared and nervous. On one hand, we felt like if we had doubts about his small stature and measurements, we should not adopt Li Chen. But on the otherhand, that's what sn international adoption is. There will always be doubts no matter what. More information usually means you have more questions! The door wasn't closing all the way. But at last, Dan said he truly felt we shouldn't move forward, and I cried and cried, knowing that if we weren't both on board 100%, we shouldn't move forward.

So I woke up the next morning and I was checking my email. I get a verse of the day, and here's the verse I read:

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

This verse is in response to God chosing David to be the next King of Israel. The Lord doesn't see people as man does. David wasn't the biggest or strongest--God rejected those. God looked at David's heart. At that moment, I knew Li Chen, our Tyson, was meant to be ours. I called out to Dan to read the verse. When we soaked in the context of the verse, we both had tears. We knew that this is bigger than us. Maybe it's not so much us choosing Tyson, but God choosing us for Tyson. We could have a child with perfect measurements, but that child may not be meant for us. I believe God made us go through all of this to see if we could really trust Him. And when we were about to give in, God clearly spoke to us and answered our prayer.

I got to school that morning, and my told my good friend and teaching partner Lori about how God finally made it clear to us. She asked, "What time?" As it turned out, at the same time as this was happening, Lori and our pastor's wife were praying for us and our adoption! Lori has been with me on this journey everyday, and without her, I am not sure how I would have coped on a day to day basis.

So, there were still moments of thinking...we're really doing this?! Wow! I still didn't make a big deal about it in the adoption community, but slowly I began to blog and be part of the sn adoption community. It took me a long time to feel safe, but my prayer was answered. God made it abundantly clear, we are supposed to adopt this little boy.

Am I still nervous? Yes, who wouldn't be! I'm traveling across an ocean to a place I've never been to adopt a boy who needs a cleft palate surgery. Well, I guess when I put it like that, it's scary. But really, I'm excited beyond belief. I am going to be a mom, Dan is going to be a dad, and K-Bear is going to be a big sister!

So that is my story of how we came to the decision to adopt Tyson. I hope it helps someone out there. Obviously, I don't know how this is all going to turn out, but as I wait for TA, I can tell you that God has stretched my faith into places I didn't know existed. He has reshaped my heart, and all I can do is give God the glory.

Now, let's get Tyson home! My prayer is for a TA this week so we can be home before the end of August with Ty. Can you pray for us too? I know so many of you are. I am truly blessed to have everyone reading this in my life and following our adoption journey as we travel to Tyson!

The road to Tyson, Part 4

We left off with the locking of Tyson's file--Chang Li Chen's file. I am going to give the short version of teh next 2 months.

We had both decided that as long as we got positive news from the doctor, it was a go. So we talked to a doctor who specializes in looking at adoption files. It was a 12:30 conference call. I was at school and arranged with our fabulous, wonderful PE teacher (who also happens to be a great friend!) to take my students for an earlier PE time. Dan was sleeping from working graveyard shifts. 12:30 on the dot, the call came. First, the doctor thought he looked great! She knew a lot about cl/cp, as she had also done a similar adoption. With that said, she was very concerned about his measurements, particularly his head measurement. This little peanut was not even on the US/CDC growth charts in height, weight, and head circumference. This could lead to some problems down the road. Also, in his pictures he was propped with pillows, and we figured that he was 11 months old. But he had also just had surgery. Did this mean he had a serious developmental delay, or was he just behind due to his rough start in life and would get back on track? The hard part was we weren't quite sure when the measurements were taken, but we figured it had to be between 8 and 9 months of age. His lip repair was at 10 months, so what the doctor wanted was updated measurements and to find out if he was walking yet.

So this was not what we expected. We had expected a clear "YES" or "NO". Not a "Let's get more info..." Well, that ended up not being so easy. First we tried a service to get the info, but of course, early October was "Harvest Festival" so all was shut down for the week. I waited a few days into the next week, and I finally emailed this service, and the email back said that the orphanage would not reveal any information. I called the agency in hysterics. How can we make an informed decision with no information? On one hand, there was medical risk. On the other hand, any referral is going to have risk, and there were too many good things about little Li Chen. First, his sn was one we knew we could handle. Second, he was sponsored by Half the Sky, which means he has experienced love and hopefully attachment and bonding. Third, in his pictures you could see him interacting with people, and most of his paperwork showed a child who was on track, other than not sitting up unattended. But my own daughter, who was one month premie, was not sitting up without a pillow until 8 months.

So my agency asked CCAA for updated measurements and asked some questions. We knew we many not get the info in a timely manner, and if not, we may have to pull our LOI. I was a wreck. I walked around with this heavy heart and guilt. Maybe we shouldn't have put in our LOI. We thought he was fine, but now we didn't know.

Finally, on October 31st, we got the update. He had grown, and he was now bearing weight on his legs and walking holding onto things. For a 16 month old in an orphanage, this is very typical, so we very happy about that. His length/height was now on the chart, but weight and head circ was not, but he had made growth and was closing the gap to getting on the charts. We forwarded this on to the IA doctor. She still was hesitant about his head size, and the following week she sent me a huge article about people with microcephally, which just means that a person has a headsize that is more than 2 Standard Deviations from the norm. In plain terms, it means a small head, and mental retardation, low IQ, etc... can go along with this condition. I just thought he was proportionally small, so he'd be OK. Some doctors believe this to be true, others do not. They believe small head=small brain.

I began locating blogs, asking questions, searching yahoo groups, and anything else that would help us make our decision. Is he OK? Will he be OK? Could this get any worse? We prayed, our chuch connect group prayed, our friends prayed. Our prayer was for God to make it clear whether or not we were supposed to adopt Li Chen. And everyday, God did not make it clear, and we were more confused and frustrated.

And then one day, it was clear. Until the next post...(I told you it was a LONG story!)

Our day at the beach!

On Wednesday, when I thought this wait couldn't get any worse (hahaha!) I decided that we needed a night away. So I booked a room at a hotel at the beach for a night. Here are some pictures. In the NW if it's not raining, it's a good day! So even though it may look cloudy, we still had a great time.

Another weekend, no TA

Ugh! Could we speed things along, just a little bit? Tyson needs us, and we need him! Next week will be 9 weeks waiting for TA. I remember back in December when I was trying to figure things out for timings. People had Consulate Appointments 2 months after their LOA. Well, 2 months after LOA, I'm still sitting here, and my son is still there. I am still over a month away from a CA. I am starting to get very worried about things like growth, attachment, long-term issues, etc... He should not be there this long, and I hope someday he can understand this process and know that we did everything we could to get him home. I hope he realizes it is the powers that be who let him down, not us.

So Monday is the key again. If we get TA on Monday, we'll travel August 5th. If not, then we hope for the 12th of August. I really hoped we'd be able to spend part of our summer with Ty. That dream is slipping away. Sorry for the sad post, but that's how it is.

MORE INFO:
I just spoke with my agency. It is now reported that TAs were NOT mailed. My agency is getting conflicting info from C2A2 after being told earlier in the week that TAs were being mailed out this week. So based on this info, the best we can expect is TA next Wed. OK, I am in tears and may not stop crying all weekend.

The road to Tyson, Part 3

So we left off on our trip to get our fingerprints in Seattle, with a slight detour to our agency's office in Tacoma.

At 10:30 am, we arrived at our agency and sat down with our sn coordinator, and we actually looked at the shared list! It was amazing, and more kids had been added the night before. When we saw this little boy, Chang Li Chen, we were very interested, but with the emotions still running high, we were hesitant. He had a repaird cleft lip, unrepaired palate, and a smile that could light up a room! We looked at a few more kids, and when we went back to look at him again, there was one less file, and we couldn't find his name! Our hearts just dropped...we were in disbelief, but yes, that's how fast it happens with the shared list because it is viewed world wide. But, we did find him, and we LOCKED HIS FILE!!! So wow, what a morning! We already had an appt with the UW international adoption doctors because I made the appt with the first referral, so we just called them to give them our new story and sent them the new file of Li Chen.

When we walked out of the agency, we felt good, like a weight had been lifted. We did not go in with the intention of locking another file. And if we hadn't thought his file was gone, I don't know if we would have locked it. But I'm telling you, I was looking at the same computer screen, and his name was not there. Then it was. When we thought he wasn't there, that's when we knew we wanted to adopt him.

The wave of emotions in 24 hours was amazing, to say the least. Cleft lip/palate was a need I kept coming back to all the time, but we were open to others. Somehow, I knew that would be the need our child would have. And yet, our journey on our decision to adopt him was not over. Not even close.

The road to Tyson, Part 2

September 2008 would prove to be a life changing month.

After submitting my special needs (sn) checklist to the agency, I found Rainbow Kids. As I was looking, there was a little girl on there with a sn that was one we checked off on our list. As fate would have it, she was with our agency! So I took a shot in the dark and emailed our agency. The next day I got an email back to call the agency. We never discussed that little girl, but it sure got the ball rolling. I learned about the shared list and how it worked. The coordinator asked about our gender preference, and we said either. She said, "Are you sure?" I couldn't imagine why not. Our homestudy was written for either gender. She said we might even matched in September! Our I-800A was already at USCIS, so we should be logged in (LID) to China by the end of November, and travel by April if we were matched this month. Wow!!!

So each night I wondered if the shared list came out. The next day I'd be teaching, with one eye at my computer seeing if I had that email I had been waiting for. Finally one morning, there it was: Call the agency. We had been matched with a little boy! I don't want to go into the specifics on his sn, but we thought it was one we could handle. But it was worded very strangely. Nevertheless, we were so excited and began to write our letter of intent. I also had to stay after school and write sub plans because the next day happened to be our finger print appt in Seattle.

That night, something was bothering me about the wording of his sn. I began to research synonyms for one of the words, and I suddenly had a heat running from my neck to my spine. If it was in fact what I thought it was, we could not handle it. We slept on it, and when I woke up I knew we couldn't bring this child to our family. My husband agreed 100%. To go from thinking you've found your child to letting him go is so gut wrenching. My heart just ached that we couldn't accept this referral. I was very angry with God. Why would he place this child's file in front of us, knowing full well that we could not handle his need?

So we dropped K-bear off at school, and off we went to Seattle. Our appt wasn't until 2, so we decided to go to IKEA and where ever else the road took us that day. We left emails and voice mails with our agency saying we could not adopt this child. On our way, our agency called us back and told us it was OK to not accept the referral, and it was actually very common. They asked us to stop by the office because they would show us how the shared list worked. Through my tears, I said OK.

If you are reading this, and you have declined a referral, you know how hard it is. It sucks. I thank the Lord that I had that day off for finger prints because there is no way I would have been able to teach that day. One thing we did know now, it was very clear what kind of need we could handle and wanted to take on. We had been nervous about cleft lip/palate, but now, it was a need we were very interested in. It was a need we knew would fit with our family. We were still open to others, but for some reason, I always came back to this need. I had read the cleft palate story and had done my research on it.

So here we were, feeling like something had died within us. Our family had 4 people for a short time, and now it was back to three. The only word I can describe it as is empty. The roller coaster of emotions in 24 hours, from the elation of the referral to the sadness of declining the referral, all within a day. I was literally ill. We knew God did this for a reason, but why?

Until next time...

The road to Tyson, Part 1

I've been asked in many ways: What is God trying to teach you? I've asked God that many times, and I've asked myself that many times. I have read 1st and 2nd Samuel trying to figure it out. I am faithful to God, I do what he says, but I'm not perfect. I relate a lot to David (not the whole cheating thing of course) in that he wanted to do what was right, but he has weaknesses. My weakness is my impatience. I tend to blow a fuse now and then. I am also a mover and a shaker. I have no problem making things happen with a phone call, and email, or an in-person visit. If there's one thing you don't do, it's waste my time! So I am trying to stay positive and keep my eye on God. I know I am supposed to get something out of this, but what? More faith? patience? love? strength? endurance? maybe all of these things! Or, maybe it is to share my journey and faith and encourage others in their adoption process. I have learned so much from others as they have shared their stories, so maybe it's time to share mine. Not just the good, but the bad and the ugly too. Adoption is a beautiful thing, and so is giving birth. But when I had K-bear, I was shocked at how truly disgusting the actual birth process was! My beautiful dd K-bear was the result. And Tyson will be the result of this long, arduous road, which is not always rosy.

So then I think of the road to Tyson. How did we get here? If you have read my timeline on the side of the blog, you have a basic idea. But what you don't know are the heart wrenching details, some of which I have never shared with many people, only my closest of friends. I'll start with some of the amazing things that God did just while assembling our dossier.

1. The day I met with our agency and chose to officially adopt was Good Friday, March 21, 2008.
2. Whenever I was in a hurry to mail something to the agency, there was ALWAYS a close parking space at the post office with a short line.
3. When we had our medicals, we knew we had to have the paperwork notarized in front of us and the doctor. We prayed before we left, and when we got there, the Dr's office had it all worked out! We told them the situation, but we didn't act on it. They did! Wow!
4. We actually had our dossier almost ready in 2 months.

You see, God could have closed this door many times. He could have said, "No, this is not your road," and closed the door. But he didn't.

At the end of May 08, our social worker told us that the USCIS decided Dan needed child abuse clearances from every country he lived in: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia. We had to give those countries six months to respond to our requests. I figured then that this was over. In August, we were ready to give up, but there was something in me that just couldn't give up. After a lot of tears, we got a call in August that said Dan didn't need the clearances because those were combat situations. So at last, the homestudy was complete, and on Aug. 22nd, our paperwork was received at USCIS. We soon got fingerprint appointments for Sept. 18th.

So all summer I became numb to the process. So now, I needed to get our pictures for our dossier done, and to get our special needs checklist done. This was one thing I did work on throughout the summer. I researched on the web, I ordered books, read blogs, and joined yahoo groups. I was a sponge, soaking up all the info I could find.

This is a good place to stop. The point is, I think, that God could have closed the door, but he didn't. He kept it open. I was so excited! Little did I know what would happen in the month of September.

If this was a book...

...this would be the part that I would be reading and thinking, "Get on with it already!"

No TA...again, which means Tyson spends another week in the orphanage. We now hope to leave August 5th. Yes, I said August.

Map of Jiangsu Province--where Tyson lives

So if you have figured out where the province of Jiangsu is, you might want to check out this map of the province. Tyson is in the city of Changzhou, in the southern part of the province. That is where he was found, so we assume that is where he was born, although we'll never know for sure.

When we go to China, we'll stay in Nanjing, which is the capital of the province of Jiangsu. Tyson will be brought to us here, known as GOTCHA DAY! Most orphanages are not allowing visitors right now due to keeping the H1N1 virus away from the kids. That I totally understand, but I think it might be nice to at least visit the city of Changzhou. I'm not sure how far it is, but I've heard a few hours. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me! I am not sure Kacie would do riding in a Chinese taxi for a few hours. She gets car sick just going 45 minutes on good highways with steady cruise control.

So Changzhou is where Tyson is, and Nanjing is where we will be staying in province for about 5-6 days. Nanjing is east and a little north of Changzhou. It looks like both cities are on the Yangtze River.

A new week...almost!

It's Saturday, and a beautiful one at that. I just stained a section of our fence, and I finally decided it was OK to start preparing for Tyson's arrival again. You see, last week I stopped everything. I did not shop, did not work on his room, nothing. In fact, I closed his bedroom door because I cried each time I stepped or even looked in there.

But it was nice to know on Thursday and Friday to not expect anything. That should sound depressing, knowing that your TA will not be coming to you, but it was a relief just to know that it would not be arriving. Waiting and expecting is excruciatingly painful; but I cannot control when it will arrive. I have heard that in addition to my TA paperwork being in the wrong department, the person who signs TAs at C2A2 has been sick. If someone did sign AND mail them Friday, only then will we see them Monday. I just think that is a slim chance for us.

I do expect to see it next week and leave on August 5th. I think that is the reality. And even though it ticks me off, I have to be OK with it. Do I have a choice? No, I don't, and that is what God is showing me. He's in control, not me.

No TA, but got info as to why

I guess it would help if my paperwork from the US Consulate was in the right department at CCAA. That would surely help speed things up, don't you think?

I am soooooooo angry. I'm sure you can figure out what happened.

I have truly lost faith in this whole system. If God is trying to bring me down to an all time low, it's working. I should be getting ready to be on a plane next week. Instead, my paperwork sat in the wrong department for two weeks. CCAA says they are processing it as quickly as possible, but we probably won't see anything until Monday at the earliest. If it's not here by then, then our travel is delayed another week.

I'm sure there's a reason, but I just don't get it. So God, when you want to reveal your plan...I'm ready to know what it is, because right now, I'm just beyond any emotion. I'm almost numb.

I love my dogs!

Actually, only the pug (Rocky) is mine. The Boston Terrier (Sadie) is my mom's dog, but I love her like she was ours. This video was taken in Spring at least a 1.5 years ago, maybe even more. And it's quite long, so don't feel like you have to watch it all. They don't play like this anymore, after all, they are now over three years old.

I have nothing to report on the adoption at all, so enjoy the video! (oh, you may want to pause the music at the bottom of the page) :)
Jolene

No TA today...7 weeks since LOC

Our TA did not come today. If our TA can be here by next Monday, we will leave the 29th. Our agency is going to call today to make sure it is being processed. My son has to live yet at least another extra week in an orphanage. We will now not meet him until August.

I am sickened and saddened beyond words. Kacie will miss her summer camp. Football party in August will not happen. Less time to help a sub prepare for the new school year. The summer is slipping away, and Tyson isn't here to share in it.

This sucks. Period.

Where we are going--the tentative plan

I have had several people ask me where we are going in China and will we get to do any sight seeing. The answer to that is yes, we hope! Here is a map so you can see where we will be. There are 4 flights total. But this is always subject to change. For now, here's what we hope/plan to happen.

1. Sea Tac to Beijing. Beijing is on the east side of the country. Here Dan, Kacie, and I will see the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiannamen Square, and other tourist areas. Approx 3 days.

2. Beijing to Nanjing. Nanjing is the capital of the province of Jiangsu. Nanjing is about two hours from Tyson's orphanage in Changzhou. Tyson will be brought to us in Nanjing because that is where all of the provincial offices are that will make the adoption final. Approx 5 days.

3. Nanjing to Guangzhou. Guangzhou is south and then slightly east of Nanjing. Guangzhou is the home of the US Consulate. All adoptive families go through Guangzhou. Tyson will get his medical examination here to get his immigrant visa to enter the US. When Tyson steps off the plane, he'll be a citizen. We will stay at the White Swan hotel, and from what I hear, it is very nice. But, it will be hot!!! The end of our stay will be our consulate appointment (CA) and the swearing in ceremony.

4. Guangzhou to Sea Tac. I am leaving with one child, coming home with two. I am not sure if this has fully hit me yet, and I am not sure how the logistics of Sea Tac to home will work out.

PRAYING FOR TA TOMORROW! I am not sure how many more days I can handle this.

Status of TA and Travel

There is still no TA, so I had counted out leaving the 22nd. However...we have one more day. So, if TA comes Monday, we can still leave as early as July 22nd. If it comes after that, we'll be looking at July 29th. So that's where we're at! I really hope this is the last long weekend I have to wait on something.

If TA comes on Monday, travel may not be established for a day or two. If you look at the clock on my blog, you'll notice that day here is night in China. Therefore, the agency has to wait and call in the late evening to be China's morning in order coordinate the travel plans. We leave on a Wednesday. Not sure why, that's just how our agency does it. The agency makes all the travel plans, which is good because I'd be clueless. This all centers around the consulate date. The consulate date is the last thing you do, then everything is scheduled backward from that.

Please keep praying that no one on our plane to China has H1N1, and pray that we will make it there safely. Also, continue praying that Tyson is healthy and growing! Thanks!

A beep, or a ring?

High pitch noises were never so important. If my cell phone beeps, it means I have an email, which means my agency might be telling me that DHL did not bring my TA. So every time I get a beep, my heart sinks. But alas, no emails from my agency today.

If my phone rings, home or cell, I jump 5 feet and and run to the phone. But, alas, no calls from my agency today.

So now it's 4:30 and the day is over, and tomorrow, I'll do it all again, and hopefully with better results. Come on TA!

No TA today...6 weeks since LOC

I didn't expect TA today, but one can always hope. I am now on that roller coaster again, holding my cell phone until 2:30 everyday, hoping it will ring and my agency will be on the other line saying, "Your TA has arrived!" But it didn't ring today.

The RQ stats at this point do not look good. The average is 22 days after your paperwork goes to CCAA to get TA, which would put us leaving not until August. I don't know what day mine was sent, so I am going off of the day I found out, which was June 30. That makes today 7 days, which is why I would not expect to see TA until at least Friday at the earliest. However, I am only one week behind a family with my agency, and they received their TA last week, so if you go by my agency's timeline, this week is certainly in the timeframe.

I probably won't post again until I get TA since the journey to Tyson is now at a red light until we get that precious green one! Praise God that my paperwork sailed through the I800 paper trail with no issues!

And now we wait for TA...just that one last piece of paper, Travel Approval! At that point the consulate date is set and we can make travel arrangements. Oh, and at this point, Kacie is going.

Thank you for your prayers. I appreciate every one of them!
Jolene

Happy Fourth of July...a day early!

I will probably not post tomorrow, and since I'm sort of stuck to the couch now, I thought I'd post quickly. I am not feeling well, but I'll be OK. It's not a flu or anything like that. But I certainly didn't get all the stuff done yesterday that I wanted to, but I made great progress! I went through all that I have and still need to get. Wow! I still need 2 more large suitcases! Kacie will get one (assuming she goes) and we need one just for gifts and other items for Tyson. The good thing is that when we give the gifts in Nanjing, then we'll have more room for shopping! The question is...how will we fit items we buy in Beijing into our bags before we go to Nanjing? We think we might take an extra bag in our suitcase. I am glad I'm doing all this now. I really hope TA comes next week so we can leave the 22nd. And when TA comes, I know my brain will shut down, just like it did for LOC.

I also started washing Tyson's clothes. He has plenty of new and used clothes, more than I thought. I have a plastic bin for the 4T and up clothes so I don't have to deal with those til we need them. We dressed Kacie in a lot of sweats and sports clothes, so I set those asside for Tyson. The hand me downs make great day care clothes--no worries about stains! I have also been buying some clothes too, especially for China. The funny thing is, who knows what's actually going to fit! He has quite the assortment of Seahawks and Mariners clothes already. Now we need to get some UW shirts.

Well, Happy Fourth of July! I can't wait for Tyson to be a US Citizen and join our family. Our plan for tomorrow is to actually go to a wedding! Our town has a big festival on the Fourth, and Kacie just loves it. So she and I will hit that in the afternoon, then my friend gets married near there at 4:00. We'll go to the reception, then come home to do fireworks. Dan has to work, of course. So Happy Fourth, and be safe!

I'm getting out of here today!

OK, all this stuff is giving me a migraine. TB test, quarantine, waiting for TA, oh yeah...AND I'm bringing a child home who has special needs. Did I mention I'm a little stressed?

I am outta here! I have some stuff to do today, thank goodness. I think I'm going to print out some packing lists later and start inventorying what I still need to get.

I heard I need a thermos because kids don't drink anything cold. So how do they drink juice? Anyone who has BTDT is welcome to comment! I need all the help I can get!

Have a blessed day!--Jolene