I should know better by now than to expect something from the U.S. government by a certain date (other than a tax bill, that is). Mother's Day arrived without the I800 approval we'd been hoping for - but according to the timelines of other adoptive parents who are just ahead of us in the paperchase, we should receive it soon. (The internet, by the way, is an amazing thing. I have made so many helpful contacts and long-distance friendships during our adoption journey, mostly via the internet. I sometimes wonder what this process was like for parents prior to chat groups, blogs and email. It's hard to imagine...)
There was an adorable little girl at Mass this morning - a rambunctious, 16-month-old Chinese cutie. (I had a chance to speak with her mother while we were both in the vestibule with our toddlers, who needed a little break from Mass.) Patrick had noticed her as we took our seats at church, remarking how pretty she was in her little brown sundress and jeweled sandals, running up the aisle with her father close behind. I realized that she is probably about the same size as our daughter, and my heart ached a little that Ellie is not here. Samuel was quite taken with the little spitfire during our brief stay in the vestibule - he just stared at her while she proceeded to take away the children's bible he had in his hands, never protesting and never taking his eyes off her. He may as well get used to having a little sister to contend with!
We spent some time this weekend fixing up Ellie's room. I'm not much of a girly-girl, but I have to admit that it's been fun decorating in shades of pink and purple! We've gotten lucky with some hand-me-downs and Craig's List/garage sale items, but I splurged on some bedding from Land of Nod. (It had some ladybugs on it - couldn't help myself. I found it before we received our match with Ellie. More on ladybugs and adoption here.) I'll post pictures when Ellie's room is all done - we're just waiting on some curtains I ordered, after a lengthy search for reasonably-priced blackout curtains for her east-facing room that would complement the bedding. (For what it's worth, the whole "nesting" experience is not that different from being pregnant. There's just a lot more to worry about in terms of the paperwork, travel timing and preparations - and most of all, having to be away from the boys for two weeks. So that puts a bit of a damper on the excitement, but at least I don't have random people touching my belly and exclaiming, "Haven't you had that baby yet?" or any of the other inane comments pregnant women have to endure. It's a good trade-off.)
Keeping our fingers crossed for our I800 Provisional Approval this week - once we receive that, the latest timing stats put our travel approval about 7 weeks away, with our trip occurring 1 to 2 weeks later. We're sending out our visa applications this week - can't wait to see the stamps on our passports, giving us permission to enter China...
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