I'm getting really excited - things are slowly coming together. August seems to be flying by but at the same time seem to be going so slow! The nursery is just about done... here's what I've done with the nursery so far....

I cannot believe that 2 weeks from today I'll be on an airplane traveling to China, to Julianne! Packing has been a huge challenge because travel within China only allows us 1 luggage per person at 44 lbs. (So I can get to HK with 2 pieces pp but then we'll need to leave a couple of luggages with Kit's auntie!) Typically this should not be a problem, since we can purchase clothes while we're there; but the BIG problem is that I'm not sure if there's a wide selection of clothes in my size! So I need to pack with that in mind.

Michelle had suggested that I pack by rolling all the clothes so I have tried that and it seems to be working. I've taking lots of suggestions from people, like packing with ziploc bags and taking all things out of the box if possible. I hope that I can successfully pack for the occassion!

2008 - 08 10 Julianne's Baby Shower

(Click picture to view all the photos)

Thanks to Joyce, Michelle, and Roz for putting together such a great time for all of us in such a short time!

Thanks to all my friends and family for being there and sharing in our special day! Julianne cannot wait to meet mommy and daddy's friends and all of her relatives!

Love,
Julianne, Jen & Kit

Friday - 5th Day 1: Fly To Hong Kong

Saturday - 6th Day 2: Arrive in Hong Kong. Stay overnight.

Sunday - 7th Day 3: Fly to Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. Check in to Gloria Hotel.

Monday - 8th Day 4: Meet Julianne!!!! Paperwork.

Tuesday - 9th Day 5: Go to Adoption Center, Notary Office, and Public Security Departement.

Wednesday - 10th Day 6: Sightseeing.

Thursday - 11th Day 7: Sightseeing. Receive notary papers.

Friday - 12th Day 8: Do more paperwork. Receive Julianne's passport. Fly to Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and check-in to the White Swan Hotel.

Saturday - 13th Day 9: Physical exam for Julianne.

Sunday - 14th Day 10: Sightseeing. (Maybe visit Kit's Aunt in Shenzhen, China)

Monday - 15th Day 11: More Sightseeing...

Tuesday - 16th Day 12: Visa interview at U.S. Consulate.

Wednesday - 17th Day 13: Take an Oath and receive Visa and drive to Hong Kong

Thursday - 18th - 27th Day 14 - 22: Visit with Kit's friends and family.

Saturday - 28th Day 23: COME HOME!!!

We purchased tickets today! So we're leaving Friday, September 5, 2008 and returning to Manchester on Sunday, September 28th. Yeah!!!! It'll be pretty hectic but I'm sure the three of us will manage - here's what our travel looks like:

Friday, September 5th - Manchester to Newark
Friday, September 5th - Newark to Hong Kong (16 hour flight - arriving Sat. Sept 6th - Yikes!)
Sunda, September 7th - we leave for Nanchang, China
Monday, September 8th - GOTCHA DAY!!!!
Friday, September 12th - travel by airplane to Guangzhou, China
Wednesday, September 17th - travel to Hong Kong by train
Sunday, September 28th - return to US (we have a 7 hour layover in Newark on the return trip! . . . . . . . . . . .

I'm hoping that I'll have internet access in all of the above locations so that I can at least post pictures. We just got a camcorder as well so I will try to post some videos of us -

Oh my gosh, it's getting really close! I'm so excited....

Love,

Jen & Kit

Got the email today. We're one step closer to leaving for China!
We got the email today saying that we're approved for travel by China. Next steps is to get our Visas done through a contracted travel agency in NYC. Hopefully CAWLI will have scheduled an appointment with the American Consulate in Guangzhou so that we can finalize our tickets & hotel arrangements.

It's been about a week since I last posted and I still have not received our TA. We are anxiously waiting for the approval and for the China Visa to be approved. Someone in our travel group got word from our agency that we should receive our TA next week and we're still on target for 9/6 travel date - which means we meet Julianne on 9/8.

In the meantime, I'm preparing the nursery and making sure I have all my ducks in a row. There's a new Baby's R Us opening in Manchester so I might go pick up some letters tomorrow J-U-L-I-A-N-N-E to be exact to hang in the nursery. I haven't decided if that's what I want to do since her name is so long. Maybe I just hang J-A-T instead? Thoughts anyone?

I spoke with CAWLI today and they are guestimating that Kit and I will be traveling around Sept 4th - with Monday, Sept. 8th as our "Gotcha" day. Gotcha day is the day we become our forever family... :-)


Kit and I will probably skip the Beijing portion of the trip (most families head to Beijing and visit for a couple of days before they go to the province to pick up their child) and head right into Nanchang, about 3 hours away from the Poyang County SWI. The nannies will bring the children from the orphanage to the hotel early in the morning and will meet Julianne around 9am!!!!! We will be in Nanchang from Sunday night through Friday evening, heading to Guangzhou on Friday night. Julianne will officially become a US Citizen in Guangzhou at the American Consulate... at that point, we'll be ready to come home.


Not quit yet though... sorry ;-) We've decided that we're going to stay in HK for about 2 additional weeks so we'll probably be home by the last week of September.


Can you see where Jiangxi province? That's where Julianne is right now. . .