36 hours

We leave in 36 hours! Work is behind me, schoolwork is checked off and the only thing I have to concentrate on now is...Lauren!!! I thought this picture I saw on Seventh Diamond's blog was perfect for how I am feeling today. I'm packing our things tomorrow. There is little room left for us after packing all of little miss Lauren's belongings! :) Gosh, someone pinch me, I must be dreaming!! One week from today I will be holding her!

I will be posting as often as possible at our travel site that is linked at the right. If I am not able to post due to censorship, Steph, my wonderful dear friend has offered to post for me. So, we'll see how this all goes!

Love you all!

Six Sleeps!

This week is so surreal. I am working 85 hours this week to get all my shifts in before I leave and to get as much clinical time in as well. So, it's helping to keep me sane by just waking, going to work, coming home, sleeping. As I go throughout my day, there are moments when it hits me that we are leaving next week and that I will be holding Lauren in 12 days and it just brings a smile to my heart. It is absolutely incredible to be finally reaching this point after this long, long wait. I started a journal 2 nights ago that I am writing letter's to Lauren in. I plan to continue this and give her the journal when she is older.

You know how there are different stages to pregnancy? well, I'm finding there are stages to adoption as well. My heart is changing from "I'm waiting" to "I'm a mom" and I find myself trying to do everything I can to help her lead the life God has chosen for her. My mom has been such an amazing role model and I think of her often and it reminds me of all she has done for her children throughout our lives. I am praying Jesus shows me how to lead and love Lauren the best that I can.

Let the Packing Begin!

My guestroom has looked this way for over a month and I am finally rolling clothing, assessing our needs and packing! Lauren's things are almost all packed now. We have a total of one checked bag each (44lb max per China requirements) and one carry-on (which we are each carrying a backpack). I thought I'd post what we are doing to pack in case it helps anyone else. It's a small miracle to pack for this trip! ;)

Dan's backpack will have our original documents for the adoption and all electronics such as cameras, laptop, extension cords, batteries, mini surge protector (those following us soon--go get one of these), and hand sanitizer.

My backpack will have copies of all adoption documents, plane ride items such as playing cards (the deck that is in Chinese characters that my sweet secret pal, Steph gave me!),books, an outfit each for Dan and I,tylenol,and of course, hand sanitizer! :)

I'm packing our checked luggage as if I'm planning on losing one of them. I like to plan for the worst and hope for the best. So... I have Lauren's clothing, Dan's clothing, and my clothing separated into each piece. I split the bottles, drop-ins, diapers, etc. into the two luggages as well. As I packed clothing, Dan cut out the directions to all over the counter medications and then rubber banded the medication to the directions and put them in a ziplock bag(This way it cuts down on space). I have put all OTC medications, lotions, baby wash, nail clippers,etc. into a rectangle tupperware in which I will use to wash bottles, nipples, etc. when in China.

I bought a "heating coil" from REI that Steph recommended. This nifty device boils water quickly. I plan to use this to warm water in a large cup and then warm Lauren's bottles in this. ~note to Steph~ can I make coffee with this? Is it safe to drink the water after I use this coil?
I plan to give Lauren a morning bottle and an nighttime bottle for the purposes of attachment and bonding mostly. During the day, she will most likely eat her normal table foods, etc. This of course, will be guided by what her nanny tells me when we meet.

Dan has a money belt in which we will be keeping our money "crisp" and I pray we can hand it over to the officials soon after landing.

To you, my awesome friends who are going on this journey soon, I'm also writing down everything I put into each bag and I will post this. As far as formula, I am bringing one can of Similac Sensitive, just in case I need it. I may end up buying what Lauren has been on in a local store or maybe her nanny's will give me something. If not, I know the sensitive is better for digestion and figure, we can start there.

I cannot tell you how excited I am. If I'm not working or at clinical, I HAVE to be doing something toward our trip to China. Yesterday Dan and I watched "Wild China" on the Travel Channel for 2 hours. I go to bed looking at Lauren's face and she is the first thing on my mind when I awake. I am so in love.

Today, being Dan's first baba's day, Lauren gave him a sweet card and a Red Tie. :)

Travel Site

I have created a new site that I will post to and update with pictures while in China. I have heard from numerous people that they have been unable to access blogs while in China, so I have followed Steph's lead and created a travel site on Shutterfly. I'll copy it here and I've also added a link to the right margin for future reference.

http://ourjourneytolauren.shutterfly.com/

23 sleeps until China! ;)

Our Anniversary Weekend

What an amazing time away. We sat by the pool reading, listening to the waterfalls all around, and talking about our past 10 years together.


Each night there was entertainment at the open lobby bar. So relaxing...we sat under the stars, enjoyed a glass of wine, and listened to the beautiful music.


On Friday afternoon there was a Native American Dance that was so fun to watch!This hoop dancer was extremely talented! He could "jump rope" with a small little hoop!


Danny wrote me a letter that was absolutely beautiful, I will cherish it forever. It's the greatest gift I have ever recieved from him.

What an amazing journey we have had together this far. I am forever grateful to God for placing Danny in my life and allowing me to live each day with this incredible man. We know this 10 year anniversay also marks a chapter in our lives that is soon to close and a new, exciting, wonderful chapter is to start. Just 3 weeks until we make the most miraculous trip we've ever taken. We will hold our daughter for the first time and I cannot even fathom how that will feel. We are so incredibly blessed...

Cautiously Excited!!

Just back from our wonderful anniversary getaway and I have good news! We bought our tickets to China yesterday! We received news from our agency that we have now been given confirmed approval from Guizhou adoption center and the ACIS for us to travel! I thought my friend Bella stated it perfectly...we are cautiously excited!

We had to laugh when we opened our hotel door Friday morning to the USA Today lying at the door step with a picture of two little girls from Hong Kong wearing their H1N1protective masks on the front page! :) This is going to be quite the trip. There is a pretty high probability that we may be quarantined while there, but we really don't mind at this point. Just get us to Lauren! :)

We stopped by REI on the way home and bought a few more travel items including a luggage scale. I thought I'd leave you a link to Waiting for LaurenElizabeth's blog. She has a great, detailed travel list and great travel tips. When going to her site, click on 2008 in the archives on the right and you will see her travel tip posts.

24 sleeps until China!!!

Anniversary Get Away

Tomorrow Dan and I celebrate our 10th Anniversary. What an amazing 10 years...we are headed now to the Gainey Ranch Hyatt in Scottsdale for 3 nights. We have never stayed here before, but it has amazing amenities. Gondola rides, pools, sand beaches, outdoor bar, spa, etc. So.. after just spending 6 hours at the computer finishing school assignments...I am off to spend hours just looking into Danny's eyes. :)

Speaking of eyes, we will see Lauren's eyes face to face July 12th! We received a wonderful email today that notified us that Guizhou adoption center is now stating we can pick up Lauren on July 12th! This means we will leave approx. July 7th! We are just waiting for one more confirmation from the US embassy and we can then book our flights again!! woohoo!

I'll post later with pictures of our trip!

Buying Bows

Last night Dan and I met with a few of our travel group members that live nearby and had dinner at Mimi's. We had such a good time! One of the girls has been to China before and had great tips! One I hadn't thought about was to call our bank and credit card company to let them know we would be traveling in China so they wouldn't deny our purchases. Also, she said we can easily go to ATM's and get money using our debit card, so no need to bring Yuan with us. What a blessing to have met these wonderful people in our group and I look forward to our trip even more now!

This morning, I am up shopping for bows! Seventh Diamond has started her own shop and her bows are unique and wonderful! Click on the picture above to go check out her boutique!