Waiting for Travel Approval

We are still waiting on our TA, but we are hopeful it will arrive in the next week. We are so happy that travel is coming soon - we cannot wait to get Aimee into our arms. We are hoping we can leave around Feb. 7th and receive Aimee on the 9th. We will spend our entire time in Guangzhou since Aimee is in Guangdong province. This makes the trip very easy. Aimee lives in Huizhou City, which is about 30 minutes NE of Hong Kong. We will most likely visit her orphanage with her several days after we get her. Sometimes these visits go smoothly, but you also hear of visits with lots of tears and anxiety. It has to be an extremely emotional time for any child making this huge transition. And at 4 1/2 Aimee is very capable on knowing what is going on. I cannot imagine how scary that would be. There she will be, leaving all that she has ever known, leaving the only family she has ever known, and going with these strange new people. We have sent her a photo book and some small presents, so at least she will know what we look like, and hopefully will be a little accustomed to our faces. But that still can't make up for all the concerns she will likely feel in her heart. Can you imagine trusting a new set of parents to take you away and take care of you at her age? This is when we will surely be relying on God to give her peace.

We are not taking Abbey and Alex with us on this trip. We felt we needed to have some alone time with Aimee -- and we also know we are just not energetic enough to wrestle 3 pre-schoolers in China:) The kids grandparents will be keeping Abbey and Alex and we are very grateful for their help.

Attached is a picture of Aimee that we received awhile back. She is so adorable. We hope to see smiles on that cute face not long after we get her.

Take care and thanks for your love!