We're In China!

After 38 long hours of travel, we are finally in China! We got to the hotel at 4 pm on Sunday.

Stats from the trip:
Total travel time from home to hotel: 38 hours
Airports: 2
Planes: 3
Buses: 2
Cars: 2

We had bad luck with airline seating, and were very thankful to end the plane travel, at least for a week. Amazingly, our baggage made every flight along with us and was among the first off the plane.

Our driver was waiting for us at baggage. Driving here is every bit as scary as we’ve heard—lane markers mean nothing to anyone, there are very few traffic signals, and cars, busses, trucks, bikers, and pedestrians all converge on the streets at once. It’s a chaotic dance of human masses. Cutting off everyone—including police—is normal. We came within inches of having one bumper or another sheared off by a bus or car more times than I could count.

Our biggest priorities once we got to the hotel were food and sleep -- everything else could wait until morning.

Leaving Tomorrow -- Liya, Here We Come!

Tomorrow Dad and I will board a plane bound for China, and will return home two weeks later with a new daughter for our family. It feels surreal to all of us, and it hasn't really hit that we'll have a little girl in a matter of days. We've waited so long for this time to come that it doesn't seem possible the end of the process is here.

Bohdan seems to understand that Mommy and Papa are taking a plane to get Liya. Everything is ready -- bags are packed, paperwork is in order, and all the details are taken care of. It's probably a good thing that I have some housecleaning to do today so I don't end up pacing all day!

TA Received -- April 23

We got "THE CALL" at about 12:15 on Monday, April 23, that we have our TA! We leave for China on May 4 and will get Liya on the 7th.

I was watching the clock from about 10:00 on, knowing that our other paperwork arrived at AAC on a Monday around lunch time. By noon I was really watching the clock, and when Christy at AAC called to tell us our TA was here, I was expecting it! Jess and Dad were a little shocked when I told them it was here, and weren't sure what to say!

So I can finaly say...we're going to China!