Xing and our travel itinerary arrive today!

First thing this morning I was greeted at the front door by our neighbors, the Ludwigs, and this adorable panda bear who we have named Xing (part of Grace's Chinese name which means "star".....it's pronounced like "Shing")! Thank you girls for such an endearing gift...he will be able to cuddle Grace in his big arms!

The other exciting thing that we received today was our in-China itinerary! We now know which hotels we will be staying in: Holiday Inn - Beijing, Sheraton - Xian, and The White Swan -Guangzhou. Sounds comforting! We found out we will actually be travelling to these 3 cities with 3 other families, although right now we don't know where our travel companions are from or any other details about them. Together we form Group #1614. We will be in Beijing from the 12th - 15th and then fly to Xian where we will receive Grace that afternoon at the Civil Affairs Office! (one day earlier than we first expected!) We will be in Xian for 5 nights and then on the 20th, fly to Guangzhou. This is the city where Grace will have a visa physical and some immunizations. We will also have our U.S. Consulate appointment there on the 24th. We will get Grace's U.S. visa on the 26th and then leave China on the 27th. All that time in-between will be for additional appointments, waiting, touring, shopping, and hopefully - sleeping!

Before we go there is a boatload of paperwork we have to assemble, last minute stuff to buy that somehow escaped my endless list-making, suitcases to pack (and probably un-pack and re-pack a few times)! So.....I doubt that I will post again until we arrive in China. I intend to post an entry with a couple of pictures every day or so ....so if that doesn't happen, then it was due to technical, physical or emotional difficulties!!!

Thank you all so much for the support, love and prayers that you have given us throughout this long process. We ask you to please keep those prayers coming! We will continue to share the trip details and our thoughts with you as we start the final leg of our "journey for Grace"!!

Her very own room!

Well, after 3 months we finally finished creating Grace's room! I can never finish a project without letting it "marinate" for months.... and I guess this was no exception. Many thanks to my neighbor Nancy for the beautiful carved oak head and footboard that is now Grace's bed! Rachel was the driving force getting the decorating completed this week...bringing boxes of books, movies and stuffed animals up from the basement. As she unpacked them there were lots of "Oh...I remember this!" exclamations as she found the perfect spot in Grace's room for all of it. The stuffed animals enjoyed some sunshine and fresh air out on our deck for 3 days as they needed some serious "airing out" after hanging out in the basement for years!

The "pis de resistance" was the string of colored butterfly lights that we tacked up around the window - a little magic....and a great nightlight! Here's some pics of Grace's little corner of our home!