Leaving Tomorrow Morning :-)

This is my last day to post here while we are away picking up Ashlyn. Our blog website will be continued at http://www.youbelong.net/thebartons. Please subscribe to this website by going to the JOURNAL tab and subscribing on the left to get our updates. Please post comments anytime you have a question or for anything. This blog is blocked in China, which is why we created the new one for our journey while in China. Please pray for our safe journey there and back and please pray for our family to have as smooth a transition as possible! We pray that everyone here stays healthy and safe while we're gone!

God Bless!!!

Not sure how long the youbelong website will be available, but I made a scrapbook about our trip to to Ashlyn that can be viewed:

http://www.cmphotocenter.com/sbpreview/StorybookPreview.aspx?StorybookID=462060&CustomerID=504614

2 Days Left!

Only two more days...I can't believe it! I am not packed yet. Our washer broke this morning, so at lunch we had to go purchase a new washer so that we can do laundry tonight to start packing. Thank you Mikey for helping Jason unload the washer and dryer! I get to try out my new front load washer tonight :-) Looks like my phone's battery died also...I'll worry about that when I get back. Also, my sister went to the ER this morning in pain and it turns out that she has a kidney stone. Hopefully it will pass tonight and she'll be pain free tomorrow! What a long hectic day.

Hopefully we get some of the packing done tonight so that it's less stressful tomorrow. We will need to leave our house by 4:15am on Thursday to get to the airport 2.5 hours before take off. We're going to be so exhausted. Good thing we're doing the whole Beijing experience first so that we can somewhat catch up on sleep and adjust a little to the time change before we meet Ashlyn. Don't forget, tomorrow will be my last post to this blog and for the entire trip, I will post on the new website. On the new website, you can select the Journal tab and subscribe to my website. I think it will let you know when I update the website. Anyway...please pray for us that we don't get so stressed out over getting ready and the lack of sleep that we make ourselves sick ;-) I'm so excited about going, but nervous also. I pray that God will help Ashlyn, and Kaylyn, with this huge transition and adjustment and that she will be accepting of us as her family!

3 Days Until Lift Off!

3 days to go and we got our intra-China travel itinerary today...

Beijing:

Date	Time	Events
11.20	4:25 pm	Pick up family with UA851 , and send to hotel.
11.21	9:00am	Sightseeing Tour to the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tian An Men Square
11.22	8:00am	Send family fly to Guangzhou with CA1351.

Guangzhou:

Date	Time	Events
11.22	11:00am	Pick up family with CA1351 , and send to hotel.
11.23	2:30pm	Family goes to Civil Affairs to pick up child.
11.24	9:00am	Family goes to the Civil Affairs Bureau to do the adoption registration, and then go the Public Notary office to do the paperwork.
11.25	9:30am	Test the TB for child.
	2:30pm	Shopping for child.
11.26	9:00am	Sightseeing tour to Zhong Shan Memorial Hall.
11.27	9:30am	Sightseeing tour to Yuntai park.
11.28	9:00am	Sightseeing tour to Six Banyan Trees
11.29	9:00am	Sightseeing tour to Chen family Temple.
11.30	2:30pm	Gets child ’s passport .
12.01	9:30am	Taking child’ visa picture and doing medical examination for the child and get the result for TB.
12.02	10:30am	Guide goes to American Consulate to hand in family’s documents, and hand in visa fee in the afternoon.
12.03	3:00pm	Family goes to AC for oath- taking ceremony.
12.04	3:30pm	Guide goes to AC to get visa.
12.05	9:30am	Send family away with CZ3613, and then they will arrive into Pudong at 11:50am.

4 Days Until Departure!

We just had a "baby" shower for us, thrown by my wonderful husband. It was very nice...even my best friend Sundi from Lakeland came all the way over to share this moment with us! There was a lot of family and friends and I just want to thank everyone for everything. You all mean the world to me and I wouldn't have it any other way :-)

I forgot to show the letter I wrote to Ashlyn from the last care package. She should have received the care package by now:

Our dearest Xiang Ling and foster family,
We are coming soon to meet you. The date we have been given to meet you is Monday November 23^rd. We are so excited that we’ve already started packing and getting everything ready. We have enclosed a picture of your bedroom and also one of us (mommy, daddy, and your big sister Kaylyn). I hope you enjoy the pajamas, book, doll, and necklace we are sending you. Also enclosed is some candy for your foster family. Well, hopefully by the time you get this care package it won’t be much longer until we get to see you!

We love you and are very much looking forward to coming to China to meet you and make you a part of our family.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

6 Days to Go!!!

We will not get our intra-China itinerary until Monday! But I have started our new blog site for those of you who would like to follow along with us in the journey to China: http://www.youbelong.net/thebartons

I will still post to this blog until we actually depart. I will post the link to the other blog site again before we leave.

We are on our count down to leaving Thursday, so only 6 more days to go! I am starting to pack and get things ready today :-)

US Consulate Appointment Confirmed!

Our US Consulate appointment was finally confirmed and we were able to book our tickets today for leaving on November 19th and coming back December 5th. Ann at Red Thread also emailed me and said that Ashlyn should get her last care package by tomorrow. Here are some pictures of her care package. When we hopefully get our finalized itinerary tomorrow, I will post it. I'm so excited that we are going and so stressed about packing this weekend and hoping we pack all the right things! If anyone has any ideas, please don't hesitate to let me know...

Tentative Schedule

This is our tentative schedule...still need confirmation of US Consulate appointment, which we'll get on Monday or Tuesday. Then we have 24 hours to book our flights.

November 19th - Departure from Orlando to Beijing.

November 20th -Arrive in Beijing and meet the other families in our Group when we reach China.

November 21st - Beijing Cultural Tour: The Great Wall, Tian'an Men Square and the Forbidden City (full day touring).

November 22nd- Travel to Guangzhou.

November 23rd- Ashlyn will be delivered to us and we start bonding with her.

November 24th to 27th- Sightseeing and all official paperwork will be done this week (Receive Ashlyn’s passport).

November 28th- Have Ashlyn's brief medical exam.

December 1st- Consulate Appointment (Guide takes our paperwork to the Consulate for review).

December 2nd- Oath-taking ceremony.

December 3rd - Pick up Ashlyn’s exit visa in the afternoon.

December 4th– Morning departure from Guangzhou to the Orlando. The cool thing is, we'll leave the morning of December 4th from Guangzhou and we'll arrive in Orlando the evening of December 4th!

We Got It!

We got our TA today! The agency said they probably won't get us out on November 12th, but most likely the 19th. That's 2 weeks from today :-) We don't have official confirmation about the appointments, but we will know by tomorrow morning so we can start making travel arrangements and get our itenerary. If we leave the 19th, our Gotcha Day will be the 23rd and consulate appointment will either by the 30th or Dec. 1st and head back on the 3rd. This is so exciting! Now I have to start getting things ready for travel!!!

God is good!