july 9, 2011

end of day two in hong kong.  so tired and jet lagged, i can't see straight...  must get baby and go back home so body can sleep!!

camera batteries are recharging.  once they are charged, i can get my photos off the camera and post some here!  :)

maybe tomorrow...  off to guangzhou by train tomorrow (sun, 10th) around 1 pm (1 am east coast US time).  we get ben on the 11th.  soon!!!

july 8, 2011

WE ARE IN HONG KONG!!!!  it's almost ten pm and we are exhausted.  not going to write much.  we got here, supposed to tour victoria peak tomorrow and dim sum lunch, but not sure if we will or if we will opt out to get some rest.  off to bed!  :)

july 6, 2011

WE ARE IN NEW YORK!  :)  not as exciting as being in china, of course, hahahahaha!!!  but we are here and the kids are great - of course, we haven't left, yet...  but they are so comfortable with auntie lisa and uncle patrick that it is like being with family.  i think the baby is going to have the hardest adjustment to our absence because she has never been without us and sleeps with us at night...  even she'll do fine after a while, though.

can't wait to get on that plane!  want to get the travel part of the program over and done with!  we drive to JFK later today and stay over night for our mid-day flight tomorrow.  no photos yet, of course, because you all know how good i am with taking photos of stuff!!!  :)

i will try to update again once we are at the hotel in JFK. i

here are two more blogs for you to view:  my mom's

The Mountain Thymes

and auntie lisa's blog:

The Nichol's Family Journey

lisa promises to update while the kids are there!!!!  you can go see what they are up to while we are gone!  :)

july 4, 2011

it's only minutes away from july 5th.  seems like these two weeks passed so quickly since i last posted.  we leave for NY tomorrow.  it's here, already.  :)  can't believe we are about to travel to ben!  amazing.

we are super stressed about leaving the children behind, even though we know they are in extremely capable hands.  still, we are sick at heart about this part of the trip.  once we are there and fully involved in the huge process of having ben in our arms, i'm sure our focus will be on him and it will not seem so bad to have the children back here, at home in the US.

we will skype and call and make lots of contact with them and will miss them terribly.  :)  we will be home on july 20th very late or july 21.  i'm already looking forward to the trip home!!  :)

happy fourth.

CA!!!

our consulate appointment is confirmed!  we are going to china in two weeks!  :)  making airline reservations right now and getting our plans together with our agency in colorado.  should have ticket in a day or two and then let the crazy packing and errand-running begin!!!  :)

look out, baby boy ben!  we're coming to get you!!! 

TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE GOT TA!!!  notification arrived at 6:30 pm eastern time!  late in the day for the agency in colorado - right before they close!  they are very hard working people.  i would be willing to bet they rarely go home on time at night.

now we are anxiously awaiting our Consulate Appointment.  we will be notified of that date either tomorrow or friday and then can make our flight reservations and plans!  we will most likely be flying on july 6, 7, or 8 and be home about two weeks later.  seems like we will be in china before we know it!  now i can have more sleepless nights as we finalize plans!  boy, those two days in hong kong are going to seem like a vacation!!!!  :)

june 21, 2011

happy summer!!!  summer is officially here.  the weather has been wet, very damp and dreary for the last week and will continue to be for days to come, but right this very moment there has been a break in the clouds and the sun is out.  so nice to see the sun, again.

we thought our travel papers would appear yesterday, but they did not.  so, regrouping and planning for friday or next monday.  it's been a difficult week and we are ready to go (sort of!), but will have to say good-bye to our dear elderly jack russell terrorist, whichway, who was diagnosed with lymphoma last week.  not getting TA and having the extra time with him has been a very welcome reprieve.  still, we are anxious to go get our son and as time can not be stopped or reversed, we will ultimately be faced with making "The Decision."

it's never a good time to kill your dog.  we've lost at least one dog with every adoption and even lost a dog a year after olivia was born.  it's ironic that our process has gone so consistently in this way.  i guess it would have been different had we not had a house full of old dogs when we decided to build our human family, huh?

we are going to miss him terribly.  it was hard to lose buzz last year - very hard.  and losing whichway will be at least as difficult, but we want him to go before his pain becomes too uncomfortable and his quality of life changes.  i really wish he could meet ben, not that either whichway or ben would care!  ben's never seen a dog, ever and whichway is mostly blind and deaf, so it would probably just be a confusing time for him anyway.  and we don't want him in a kennel for 2.5 weeks wondering where the hell we are and stressing and potentially being in pain...  we didn't want this loss for the kids right before travel, but there is really no other option.  so, wanting TA, but not wanting it, too...