China Intinerary

We area leaving for China next Wednesday, August 31st.  I can't believe the day is almost here when we will meet our sweet little boy.  We are very excited and very nervous!  We appreciate any and all prayers for a safe travels and a successful transition.

Itinerary for Jiangsu Province

Date	Week	Itinerary
Sep. 1	Thu	Arrive in Beijing at 3:15 p.m. on United flight 851. A guide will receive your family at the airport and help you check in at the hotel.
Sep. 2	Fri	Vist the Great Wall and Summer Palace. Have a Chinese lunch.
Sep. 3	Sat	Visit the Forbidden City and do a Hutong Tour.
Sep. 4	Sun	Transfer to Nanjing
Sep. 5	Mon	Meet Carsen at the Jiangsu Civil Affairs Bureau in the morning.
Sep. 6	Tue	Complete the adoption proceedings at the Jiangsu Civil Affairs Bureau in the morning.
Sep. 7	Wed	Visit the Xuanwu Lake and have a Chinese lunch.
Sep. 8	Thu	Visit Xuzhou SWI
Sep. 9	Fri	Receive Carsen’s Chinese passport in the afternoon and fly to Guangzhou
Sep. 10	Sat	Complete the medical exam and review paperwork.
Sep. 11	Sun	Visit the Chen Clan Academy and have a Chinese lunch.
Sep. 12	Mon	Visit the Yuntai Garden.
Sep. 13	Tue	U.S. Consulate appointment at 10:00 a.m. to deliver paperwork and do oath-taking ceremony.
Sep. 14	Wed	Receive Carsen’s U.S. visa at the Consulate in the afternoon. Departure for Hong Kong by train in late afternoon.

TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!!

Today we were informed by our agency that we have our Travel Approval! We now have to request an appointment at the US Consulate. We are requesting one the week of September 12 or the 19th. Depending on which appointment we get we will either leave for China on August 31st or September 8th. We should know more about our itinerary by the first of next week, but either way we will be hugging Carsen for the first time in 2 or 3 weeks!

An update and new pictures

We received an update and new pictures today of Carsen. He is now 31 inches tall and weighs just over 20 pounds. He can crawl and stand holding onto something. He is a good eater, he eats fruit, rice, noodles, vegtables, congee and meats. He likes to play with balls, noise making toys and things that are brightly colored.

Officially Awaiting Travel Approval

We were notified by our agency today that their in country facilitator had picked up our Article 5 from the US Consulate and forwarded it to the CCCWA.  That means were officially waiting on the final step, which is Travel Approval, then we will be able to travel to meet Carsen!  Travel approval usually takes 2-4 weeks, then travel typically occurs 1-3 weeks later.  We really, really hope to travel in early-mid September.  It is really starting to feel real, like this might really happen.  We are getting anxious and excited, trying to get some things prepared ahead of time so we are runny around like crazy at the last minute.