Just a Quick Post

We leave Wednesday and our travel plans are still a little sketchy....I know hard to believe. We are the first family from our agency to go to this province. This is what we have so far.....

9/5 Flight to Beijing

9/6 Arrive in Beijing, check in Capital Hotel

9/7 Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Hutong tour riding
Rickshaw with lunch, Dinner with Beijing duck (LOL this is how it is worded from our agency, sounds like
Beijing duck is a cartoon character)

9/8 Great Wall, lunch and Acrobatic show, dinner

9/9 Fly to Taiyuan

9/10

9/11

9/12

9/13

9/14

9/15 Flight to Guangzhou

9/16 Sightseeing & Pearl Market

9/17 take visa picture & Medical Check, Guide will deliver the visa
Paper to USC, family has free morning

9/18 2:45pm, Bus to the USC for the group oath, and get baby’s visa,

9/19 Leave hotel to the airport, back to your sweet home


We are anticipating meeting Sophie on the 9th in the afternoon,or the 10th in the morning. The hole in our plans basically is our time in Taiyuan. I will make changes here if I find out anything before we leave on WEDNESDAY!!!

I am not going to China for this


First let me be honest that when we decided not to stay at the White Swan I was a little disappointed for about 5 minutes. The WS is all part of the "experience". But you know this is not about an experience, although I am sure it will be like nothing we have ever experienced as a family. This journey is about a baby girl. Sophia June XuCan. Our daughter. We will make our way over to the WS to see if it can live up to the hype. We will eat breakfast there; I love some good American breakfast food! We will take the red couch picture, and the waterfall picture that you have all seen a hundred times before. What I can't wait for is getting to know our girl and sharing the "experience" of becoming a family of five.

Here is my favorite photo of Sophie, here is the reason for our 17-hour plane ride, months of waiting and waiting some more. We love you Sophie. We will be there very, very soon!!



**** The reason we chose to stay at the Victory Hotel was due to cost. The WS would have been $220 more a night!! That's alot clams for a Barbie!*******

Back To School for the TBG Gang!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for students. Ben and Hannah are excited about the first day....well Ben is!! Hannah can't believe that her "summer vacation is over already!" Hannah helped me pick our my "back to school" outfit. No cash for a new one this year....saving every extra nickel for shopping in China! For those who have BTDT please post any advice about traveling that you want to share. Ms. Hannah's mom sent me a great email with lots of advice. Well off to bed my freakin' alarm clock is set for 6:00am.......ugh summer is over!

We're Goin' To China!!

Can you believe it!!!! We are leaving on September 5th coming home the 19th. TBG Day will be the 9th or the 10th. We are waiting for our agency to get our final travel plans together. Chris, (the travel expert that he is) scored some seriously good prices on our airline tickets. This weeekend I need to double check our paperwork that needs to come with us to China, do a little more shopping for stuff we need and then I will pack labor day weekend. Wahooo! We're Goin TO China!!

IT"S OFFICIAL......... WE GOT TA!!!

We officially got our TA today!!! We should know our CA appointment tomorrow or Wednesday. Then Chris goes in to his travel agent mode. Searching high and low for the most affordable airfaires to China! I will post our travel schedule etc. as soon as I know something.

Hang on Sophie Mommy, Daddy, Ben,Hannah and even Papa are coming to China just for you!!!

We love you! XXOXOXOXO

Maybe Tomorrow....

I hope to have official news to post tomorrow concerning our TA. Chris is ready to make some serious travel plans! I have started packing, double checking the documents that we need to bring with us to China and oh yeah panicking! Back to work tomorrow, but I will have time to get the odds and ends that I didn't get to last week ......right???

I Know How to Have Fun!

Hannah and I sacked out on the couch at 8:00 last night for the much awaited High School Musical 2. The boys ran for the hills.....or to their rooms to watch preseason football. Chris would have watched with us if Hannah asked, but she just wanted to hang with Mommy. We had some ice cream and were transfixed by Troy's blue eyes and Gabriella's beautiful voice. (Well Hannah was anyway. I'll take hanging on the couch not doing anything, even if it means I have to watch HSM2) We didn't move until it was over at 10:00! A nice time spent with Hannah.....I just hope she doesn't ask me to watch it again!

Back to Work Monday.....

School for teachers starts Monday. I had to move all my stuff to a new classroom....or half of a room at the end of the school year. I have been working unpacking my room for the last few weeks while Hannah was at soccer practice. My room is all set for kids. The first week back is filled with meetings and trying to get my schedule set for the year. I am sad that summer is over....but it looks like I will only work for about two weeks then head to CHINA to bring Sophie Home! We are all excited. I have packed Sophie's stuff and Hannah is working on packing her carry on right now!

Do any of you remember "Free to Be You and Me" with Marlo Thomas??? When my sister and I were little we used to listen to this record ALL the time! That is Rosey Greer singing. I am pretty sure he was a big football player in the 70's

Well I am off to enjoy my last day of summer vacation.......

TA Rumblings

Sohie's name in Chinese Characters

The waiting children boards have been pretty quite for the last two weeks. No LOA or TA announcements. But this week there have been rumblings that TA’s are on the way. I have every reason to believe the we will hear something tomorrow! Then we WAIT just a bit to schedule a CA appointment. Chris is in charge of all travel arrangements. He will work with the travel coordinator to get it all together so we can be in CHINA the first week of September! I am desperately trying to keep myself together. I can’t get too excited. There is still so much to do at home and at school. I feel a little sick to my stomach. I have to focus at the tasks at hand; getting ready to travel, getting the kids ready for school, making arrangements for school work etc for the kids, getting myself ready for school, scheduling appointments for Sophie when we get home with our doctor here and her doctor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Holy _____ people I am going to China to bring Sophie home!!!!!

What I learned in the First 3 Hours of my Sunday Morning

1. It is good to check email and laugh so hard that it helps you wake up a little quicker.

2. Friends that make comments thinking its going one place but it ends up at another…crack me up!

3. Did you know you could delete a comment that you make on any Yahoo board that you belong?

4. I didn’t need to delete MY comment but friend I am referring to in number 2 did! LOL still making me laugh 5 hours later.

5. Ben was on his cell phone for 2 hours talking to a girl from school….while we were all sleeping.

6. I should take the cell phone with me when I send Ben to bed.

7. There is nothing like bacon, eggs, toast and hashbrowns for Sunday morning breakfast.

8. My husband is becoming impatient with the wait….duh welcome to my world and the world of many of my peeps.

9. The best time to go to the grocery store is when everyone is at church Sunday morning.

10. I looove Sundays. It is the only day of the week that Chris doesn’t work and we don’t HAVE to go any where. ( for those of you concerned about our souls we go to church Saturday night)

TA We are Ready Now.......

We got our new "no fee" I171-H today! Yippeee we are cookin now! It took only 5 business days. NC USCIS office you ROCK! Now China please feel free to send us our TA this week. You have approved our Visa's for travel. We would loooove to visit your beautiful country in late August early September. Yes we know it will still be very hot but we can handle it. It was100 degrees today in NC. Please China send our TA this week, we cannot wait to get our hands on our little Sophie.

Girlfriend Gifts

Sorry that I am late posting my thank you's from our blogger gathering ( ha! thought you heard the last on that!) Not only are these ladies funny and smart they are super generous too!

From the hostess with the mostess! Thanks Melissa!

From the lovely Connie, Thanks!

Some super cute shoes from Tawni to Sophie!

Check out this little photo holder from the very creative Catherine

Thanks Heather I loooove my bracelet!

Homemade pickles from Angela (SW) sent to me via UPS. Angela brought some pickles with her to Melissa's and we ate them all up! I must have carried on quite a bit about those pickles since she sent some to my house! She also made a yummy ladybug peanutbutter cup but we ate it already....

This cute little bag of goodies is from Stacy. Can't you tell she is a teacher!

From paradise this sassy little bag tag from Tracy! Love it!