2 days!!!!! ..... but who's counting right??

So the panic that set in last Monday has not really subsided! The packing has begun, well it's been going on for a few weeks now, but now is crunch time!! I've got to get everything a baby will need for 2 weeks in a suitcase, plus everything I'm going to need. Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a hard time packing lightly!!! This is going to be a challenge for me. Trying not to be exessive about the things I want to take. I can do laundry there, so not as worried about clothing, just worried about shoes!!! LOL!! just kidding! Well, I do love my shoes, but will resort to taking one pair of flip flops and wearing my tennis shoes... let me just say, that alone is a sacrifice for me!

I'm taking everything I can think of for a baby! Bottles, clothes, diapers, wipes, toys, blankets, anything else, I'll buy when I get there!

Here is her special blanket & her coming home outfit! Since she's automatically a US citizen when we touch down on US soil, I wanted to buy her soemthing "American" to wear home!

I've also bougth the kids red, white & blue necklaces & American flags to wave around at the airport when they come to welcome their sister home!

And just incase you are wondering what the adoption journey looks like.....

This is the binder of paperwork I've collected over the 5 years this journey has taken us! A lot of blood, sweat & tears went into this binder!.... and yes, it is the biggest binder you can buy, and it's overflowing!!

These last two pics are of the travel paperwork. Lots of documents needed just for the travel portion of this journey to Elise!

Adoption is a journey, a journey of the heart! Without the right heart, attitude and motivation to adopt a baby it is easy to lose sight of the prize when you are caught in all of the "paperwork"! The prize awaits you at the end of the journey. It's like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You wouldn't have taken the journey, or climbed the rainbow, if the prize was right in front of you! Although this has been a long and often frustrating journey for me. I do believe God put me on this journey for a reason. And even though I had no idea it would be 2011 before I recieved this gift, God did. He planned this from the begining, he sent me out on this journey, he knew full well I would stumble, I would get frustrated and I would cry. But, God also knew I needed that (still not sure why LOL!!). Maybe I needed it to appreciate the gift a little more, to make the exciting moments that much more meaningful. Whatever the reason, I am grateful to be on this journey. I am honored that God chose me to be the mother of this beautiful little girl. I am amazed at the children God placed me in charge of! I am in awe of God and his awesome wonder!!! I know God will protect me on the final stage of this journey, I know he will protect my family while I am gone!

Pray for travel safety, paperwork to get there, pray for Elise to have an easy transistion into my arms! I've been dreaming of this day for years, but that precious little baby doesn't have a clue that her entire world is about to be rocked! I will look & sound different than anything she has ever known and I pray that she doesn't encounter too much turmoil over the changes in her life. Thank you!!! This is my final post before leaving! Be sure to bookmark the blog address. Facebook is blocked in China, so you will have to check the blog, not FB!!!