Waiting...

We are still waiting for the phone call from our agency today. I am truly going out of my mind with anticipation. Of all days, I forgot my cell phone. I left it in Dave's car when I went out for my massage last night. I am doing all I can to de-stress myself and I was told that I needed a massage. The stress is taking a toll on my body because I've been experiencing lots of headaches and aches and pains through my body. I'm calling these my labor pains! It's amazing how dangerous stress can be if you don't find a way to release it. I'm increasing my activity as well which I hear is another great way to release stress. I'm open for more suggestions if you have any.

What happens when we receive the call?

Dave or I will get a phone call from the agency telling us they received our referral. Because Dave and I want to be together to get the news, whoever receives the initial call will tell the agency that we will call them back within 30 minutes. We will both leave work and meet at the house. We would like to pick Jake up from school too, but he has PSSA testing this week. I figured that I could call the school to see if they are finished testing for the day. If so, then we will pick Jake up so he can receive the news with us. Once we arrive home, we will make the phone call to the agency. Dave borrowed a camcorder from a friend/coworker and we are planning to video record the call so we can share it with everyone!

The agency will only be able to provide us with little information in the beginning including:

• gender (we did request a little girl)
• child's name
• birthdate
• weight & height
• province
• orphanage name

The referral will then go to translation which will take about 2-3 days. Most of the information is in Chinese, so it has to be translated to English. Once the referral is received from translation it will then be ready for us to pick up. Normally the agency would FedEx the information, but since the LHAA office is only in Fort Washington, we will pick it up. We will review the information including her medical information and if everything is acceptable, we will sign the referral acceptance letter. The signed acceptance letter is then returned to China and we wait yet again, for travel approval (TA). The time for this can vary from 1 to 4 weeks. Once TA is received, the agency can make the China consulate appointment and travel arrangements can be made. Our agency is great in that they make all travel and hotel arrangements for our entire stay in China. That is one less stress/headache we have to deal with.

I think my biggest fear through this process will be the 13 1/2 hour flight to China. We are flying directly out of Newark, NJ because Philadelphia International Airport doesn't offer a direct flight to Beijing. I've haven't been on a plane for more than 3 hours at a time. I don't know if I/we can handle a 13 1/2 hour flight. Not to mention that China is 13 hours ahead of us. Basically we will loose an entire day, but will gain it back when we return. It's all so frightening, but so exciting the same time!

Please pray for us as we await the news of our little girl! We need all the prayers and support we can get. My family and friends have been so great through this process. We can't wait to introduce our little girl to all of you. Thank you for being such wonderful people!