The Countdown is On!

That's right...we're a mere FOUR days from being on a plane to China! It has been a ridiculously busy week, and we know that the weekend will be even busier, but it will be SO worth it! We leave for China on Tuesday morning! We will be in Beijing for a few days to do some sight-seeing and adjust to the 12-hour time difference. We have booked a private tour for the three days we are there (ooh...so fancy!), and we will get to see all of the major sites. Then we are off on flight #2 (well, really flight #3 as we have to fly though Chicago to get to Beijing on Tuesday) to Kunming, the city where Hannah is! We'll arrive the evening of March 28, and we are scheduled to get Hannah around noon on March 29 - exactly four years to the day after we sent our paperwork to China! We will be spending a week in Kunming, finalizing the adoption, getting Hannah's passport, and soaking in the sights and sounds of her city. We're excited to have a few extra days here before flying to Guangzhou, the city where the US Consulate is. In Guangzhou we'll be getting Hannah's visa and taking care of all of the paperwork to ensure that the moment we set foot on US soil, she will become a US citizen! We'll be taking the oath at the US Consulate and flying home on April 10. It's a long trip - longer than we had anticipated, due to a few weekends and a minor holiday thrown into the mix (Tomb Sweeping Day anyone?), but I'm sure it will be wonderful. Anyone who knows us knows that Chris is a super traveler and Mara isn't at all (prescription-strength Dramamine = packed!), but it will all be well worth it. And my mantra is that 15 hours in coach is better than 15 hours in labor! :)

This all also means that we will be celebrating Passover in China. Mara has been saying all along that we would be in China for Passover...sure, we thought Passover 2007, but still...Passover. :) "My First Passover" bibs from Auntie Shana, Passover picture books, and a box of matzah are packed. Not really how I anticipated celebrating her first Passover, but Passover in China with Hannah is way better than Passover at home without her.

We're mostly ready to go here. Her room is ready for her, and we are starting to get packed. Sure, the house isn't as clean as I would like (my plan of getting all of the carpets steam cleaned will just have to wait until we get home!), but it doesn't matter. All that matters is that in just over a week, Hannah will be in our arms.