Travel Arrangements!!!!!

I have to say that I'm surprised that they have come so quickly. Some have waited awhile before they received them. But here they are.

Travel Dates: 5/6-5/20
Gotcha Day: 5/10 or 5/11
Consulate Appointment Date: 5/18

Gotcha day is the day that we get to meet and hold Lily for the first time. And I guess everyone can see that it might be Mother's Day, or the day after. How sweet it will be to finally get to meet her on that special day that has been one of the hardest days for me. God sure has a way of working things out in his own time. Even if we don't meet her until that Monday, it will be before my birthday. So it's final we are getting to go to China. I'm sure that everyone but me has believed that, I guess that until I see her face in my eyes it will be just a dream.

So we will take our notebook computer with us to keep everyone updated. Just to let everyone know, we won't be taking our phones because of the long distance charges to it if anyone calls them. We will do everything by Internet. It seems that some of the couples that have traveled have had a hard time with the translation at the hotels in Province, so if you don't here from us for awhile we will update as soon as we can. But we do need to focus on Lily and making her first hours and days with us as peaceful and calm as we can so she will start her attachment process. There are different things that may help or hurt that process, so we need to address it as soon as we get her. Different people have told me how she will feel the love and warmth that we are going to give her, but that is not always the case. Most of the people that are reading this have children and can imagine that at 14 months old leaving their baby with a perfect stranger. That is how she will feel. So even with all of the love that we already have for her, she is still going to be mourning her Foster Mother, and care givers. So as I'm writing in China, please remember that she is going to be sad, scared and heartbroken. I'm probably not going to write on that much. I think that some of that is going to be painful, and hard reading for people that don't understand what is going on with this little girl, but please keep Lily in your prayers as we travel.