LID!!!! LID!!!! WE ARE LOGGED IN!!!!

I know I have been so absent lately. Great news though! We are LID as of July 20, 2008!

That means that our paperwork is IN China now, and the CCAA is working on review and translation of our documents. The next step would be LOA, I think, which is where we sign a letter of acceptance from China stating that we indeed want to adopt our son, Van Garrett Chenguang. We also just found out that we need a "Power of Attorney" document for Van to take to China with him since I will not be travelling to China with him. So, that is our next big hurdle as we wait.

Travel to China still appears to be sometime in November... more than likely....around Thanksgiving, they say.

I have so many things to update everyone on here, but will wait until later to have pictures to show as well.

Gracie and I flew to Alabama recently and spent an entire week with the family. It was great to see everyone. Gracie had a blast with her cousins. I had a great time visiting with all of my sisters, Connie, Kathy, Polly, and Kristina, and my brother, Eric. I am including some pictures from our trip together. We missed Daddy, but he had to work and save his vacation time for the China trip. I would have called all of my Alabama friends, but I had a NASTY eye infection that would not go away. So, I was afraid to see anyone with that going on. But I'll be back in October hopefully for my niece, Rebecca's, wedding. While in Birmingham, we went by my childhood home, the home my father built almost 50 years ago. It has been remodeled and is GORGEOUS! But it doesn't look like "The Eitzen House" anymore. It is on the market right now for $750,000 and that price had been reduced from $800,000. It is amazing and shocking to see it now. My silver baby cup is buried somewhere in that yard! We never found it, but Mother always said she knew it was there somewhere because I took it outside when I was young and never came back with it. (I know...Why did she let me take it outside? Maybe I did it without permission, who knows!)

Couldn't Be Happier...

Happy Anniversary!

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DTC!!! We are DTC!!! FINALLY! We are DTC!!!

DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC DTC!!!

397 Days Later... We are FINALLY DTC!!! How does that happen? I am still at a loss as to how this dragged out as long as it did. But it did, and I do believe that we will go down in the record books for this particular paperchase. It happened!

As of July 8, 2008, our dossier has been sent to China!!! It has been a LONG time coming, and we are completely and totally exhausted and anxious to get Garrett home. But we are also simply overjoyed that this moment has finally arrived. So, as Gracie would say, "THUMBS UP, BABY!!!" We are DTC!!!!

New Videos of Garrett in China!!! More Surprises!!!

Van, Gracie, and I cannot believe it! What an incredible day! We received four new videos of Garrett in China this afternoon, and one additional picture of him with his foster ba-ba (daddy). These are such precious treasures allowing us to see him in good health and growing so strong. We cannot wait for Van and Niels to travel to China for our beautiful son. Knowing that the China Care Foundation is really not supposed to be sending these pictures and videos out to us makes receiving them even more special. Take a peek into the life of our son. What I have noticed about the pictures and videos so far:

1. The picture of Garrett eating and sharing an ice cream cone with his ba-ba...I absolutely KNOW this is a sign he is joining the right family (OURS) with the way we eat ice cream around here. LOL. Also, notice the way Garrett and his ba-ba are holding hands and the way his ba-ba has his hand resting around him...I can tell there is so much love between these two. His ba-ba must be a very sweet, caring man.

2. The videos...Some of the videos are sideways so turn your head or your monitor so you can view them. :) Garrett's hair has been shaved again. Must be hot there in Inner Mongolia this time of the year. He is definitely not bundled as some of the Chinese do to their children. He is wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts. Garrett is feeding his ba-ba snacks (chips, no less!). This tells me again that they have a close relationship, and is a pretty good sign I think that he is attached to him. Garrett is TALL for his age. When I first saw the video, I immediately thought about how BIG he is, and that he is NOT a baby anymore. And he is not yet 2 years old...He will be two years old at the end of the month (the 26th), but Garrett is solid for two! I can also tell that he is talking in the videos. He says "Ma Ma" when he reaches out his hand with the bag of chips as is to say "Open them for me". He also says "Ba-Ba". I noticed that he loves snacks and tries to open the bag with his teeth. It looks like one of the women pays for the chips so this must be some kind of a local snack store. There is a sliding window there and someone from inside reaches out to him. These videos are so sweet!

Stay tuned...There will be a very important announcement in a day or two regarding our dossier...Hint hint. We are THRILLED that we are so close to getting our boy home!!!!

4th of July with Delores and Grace

Happy 4th of July, everyone! Man, I miss that southern BBQ...That was the only thing missing today. That southern food sticks with you no matter how far you wander off. You just crave it on days like today. Virginia is "the south", but we do not have BBQ like we do at home. Regardless...What a wonderful day we have had today! Our friends, Delores and Grace, came to our home to celebrate the 4th with us, and we had the best time. The girls had a blast together, and we hardly heard a peep out of them all day because they were having so much fun catching up for lost time. We haven't seen them in a long time so today was VERY special. The girls are just pure joy. The connection between them is very special and very evident. Delores, Van, and I just sat around talking, catching up, watching movies, laughing, eating, researching some things on the computer, and having a relaxing day together. We had the girls decorate their bikes and get dressed up for the 4th in their best red, white, and blue. Then, we took them out to ride on the sidewalk in their own little July 4th parade. Even our buddy, Sugar, got dressed up for the occasion in her cutest doggy duds and bandana. Even Bindi, our cat, got into her patriotic spirit today and cat napped in the "America" basket on the dinner table. It was lots of fun! Here are some special pictures from the day we spent together.

Just dreaming of the day...

Just dreaming of the day when these two beautiful children will be side by side in one picture...brother and sister...together forever! Can these two be any cuter? I cannot wait to see them in action!