Best. Day. Ever!

Big News! We got a double dose of joy today as we received one very welcome piece of news after another.  This morning we got a Lucy update including new pics and her current height & weight (she's now 30 inches tall and 22lbs).  And if that wasn't enough to set our hearts atwitter, a mere six hours later we received our Travel Approval letter from China!  That's right. We're going to Chiii-na, we're going to Chiii-na!

The TA is the thing we've been waiting over a year to receive - it's basically China giving us permission to go over there and get our little girl.  So, when are we going?  Well, it's a bit complicated. Things should move "pretty quickly" now as we are waiting for just one more thing - the Consulate Appointment (CA) which should arrive anywhere from 1 to 5 business days from today.  Normally things would be moving "very quickly" at this point.  Normally. The reason we are moving "pretty quickly" and not "very quickly" is...wait for it...all of China is shutting down for the next five days for the Dragon Boat Festival, which (based on intensive screenings of Ni Hao Kai Lan episodes) is a pretty big deal in China. So it could be late next week or even early the following week before we get the CA.  Now, some of you may have paused there for a second and thought, "Why is the US consulate shutting down for three days for the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival?"  And my answer is, "Good question! I have no idea!"  When in Rome...or Guangzhou...I guess. And also, you know those same folks are going to get July 4th and 5th off too - it is the American Consulate after all!  I want to be understanding but all we want to do is go get our little girl.  But I digress...

So...the day we get the Consulate Appointment we will know our exact date of travel.  Purely speculating here but we think our CA could be at the end of July so our departure date for China would be mid month sometime - maybe around the 15th.  There really is no telling until we get that CA though.

All joking aside we COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!!!  Until then, Melissa and I will be packing our bags, counting our money, filling our prescriptions (Cipro anyone?) and thinking non-stop about our little angel in Nanchang.  And I'm pretty sure Melissa needs to make another Gymboree run or two. Praise God, we are nearing the home stretch.  Special thanks to all the friends and family who have prayed with/for us to get to this date. He is Good, all the time.

Hang on Lucy Lu, we're coming for you!