Guess who is 9?!?!

This special little lady had a birthday yesterday!

I can't believe my first baby is 9 years old already! How did that happen so quickly!?! She had a great day. The kids are on spring break right now so she got to have her party during the day yesterday. She wanted to go out for pizza and go bowling with her friends....so that is what we did.

She celebrated her special day with these special little ladies.

They had lots of fun...and we (Me, TJ, and my Mom) found it quite exhausting to keep track of 5 extra children in a busy bowling alley....but it was all worth it! Because our girl had a great day, and you could tell she felt so special all day.

Another picture of the group when they had just finished bowling.

Yes, if you are wondering that is an alligator (or crocodile...I don't know the difference). We went bowling at Uncle Bucks in Bass Pro.They have black light bowling, and the bowling balls come back to you via the crocodile's (or alligator's) mouth. They also have shark, and whale bowling ball returns. The kids thought it was great.,,,fun was had by all! Still can't believe my girl is 9....Happy birthday baby!

Oh...thought I would include this....apparently keeping track of all those girls was exhausting for Owen too! We found him sound asleep on the stairs after we got home....he was apparently too tired to make it up all the steps...HAha! Not to worry, we removed him from his precarious position quickly....that is after we first took a picture...HA!



Happy Thursday friends!

-katie

What a great day!

My day just got fantastically better. We got updated pictures of our sweet Cora today! I haven't seen a picture of her since she was 10 months old. And without further ado......here is our sweet 16 months old Cora....

I can't wait to get my hands on this sweet girl! We're coming soon Cora! I think these pictures will help my motivation to pack...HA!

-katie

I should be packing

I wish this is what my suitcase looked like...maybe a little more organized than that. I don't know what my problem is, but I am majorly procrastinating with the packing of the suitcases. Don't get me wrong, I am SO EXCITED to go get our girl, but I just haven't been motivated to pack ANYTHING yet. I did wash Cora's clothes that are going to China with us last week. Since we found out when we are leaving for China...(which is April 6) everyday I have thought....I should start getting things organized, but I still haven't even opened a suitcase.  I have roughly 3.5 weeks till it HAS to be packed....maybe I'll go shopping for some "going to China clothes" for myself. I am sure that will help me procrastinate for a couple more days ;-)

Hope everyone is having a joy filled day.....happy procrastination packing ;-)

-katie

Look what we got today!

This was part of the e-mail we received today.


Travel group: Hebei
Number of families:2
Travel phone conference: See attachment.
Escort: Pending
Beijing arrival: no later than April 8
Holt orientation: April 9
Date to province: April 10
Child handoff: Gottcha! April 11
Provincial city where you will stay: Shijiazhuang
Date to Guangzhou: April 13
U.S. Consulate visa appointment: April 17
Visa issued:  April 18
First recommended U.S. return date: April 19
The travel agency is currently working on our international flights and travel/lodging in China! We are thinking right now that we will be leaving on April 6, and will do a Great Wall of China tour.

Oh....happy day! Oh, I almost forgot to share. We got an update on Cora yesterday. (No pictures...bummer) She is not walking on her own yet. I don't wish her to be delayed with the walking, but it would be awesome if we could share this milestone with her! They say she is a healthy girl. She weighed 9kg (19.8lbs) I have no idea if this was with all her layers of clothes or not. And it said she is 79cm tall (31.1 inches) this seems tall to me considering her weight....so it will be interesting to see how accurate these measurements are.

-katie

2 little letters....that's right TA!

This will be short and sweet today. We got travel approval yesterday! We are hoping to leave the first week in April to bring Cora home, but we won't know for sure until next week. If everyone would please pray that everything goes smoothly with province and consulate appointments to keep us on the early April departure timeframe....I would definately appreciate it :-)

-katie

Waiting and a little more whining...

Well, February has come and gone with no travel approval from China....and today I have officially given up hope for travel in March. I sent our agency an e-mail the other day requesting an update on Cora. It is driving me absolutely crazy not knowing anything..we haven't got a new picture or any kind of update on her since September. (Poor me right!?!) I also don't know if she is still in the group home that she had been sent to before and after her surgery or if she is back in the orphanage. I am hoping she is still at the group home...as she would be getting more one on one attention there.

On a more positive note...here is some Cora cuteness! She was 10.5 months old in this picture. My baby girl is 16 months old today...goodness sakes, I just WANT HER HOME!

-katie

Packing lists

So the hubby and I decided that we should probably get busy with the packing for China. We have a date tonight after the kids go to bed to start our packing list so we can be organized. We have an exciting life....don't be jealous. With 3 busy kids and with me working nights and on weekend package now....we made a date so we would actually sit down and do this, otherwise another week will go by, and we will end up in panick mode when we start to pack.
Hopefully this will give us something to focus on while waiting for our travel approval.

-katie

p.s.- anyone that has been there done that....any advice is welcome ;-)