Single digits, baby. Single digits!
The elation has been tempered with misery, as is often the case with adoption (and life in general I suppose). We first set the appointment for a gotcha day (when we get Tali) on Sept 2 and a consulate appointment (CA - US consulate appt in China to finalize things for our government) on Sept 9.
Then a cold wave of reality washed over us with the news that the civil affairs office in Guangxi (Talitha's province) is moving on August 20th and may need extra time to get her passport done. So we moved the CA up to Thursday September 12th and added a couple extra days to the trip. Annoying but no big deal in the end.
I spent this last weekend calling airlines, travel agents, hotels, hotel tell reward programs, etc. I looked up in country transportation and decided on a combination of flight to Nanning, overnight train to Guangzhou and a van back to Hong Kong. It was a bit of a task to balance hotels in three cities using points and cash and figuring out which hotels only allowed 2 people (like the matchbox rooms of Hong Kong) and which allowed 3-4, which hotels charged for rollaways and which had airport shuttles. Finished everything up Monday (thanks to good friends who watched the kids while I was on the phone for so long that my ear got overheated).
The cold wave of reality washed over us again on Tuesday with the news that the government has ordered the closing of Guangxi's civil affairs office on Sept 2 and 3. For a conference of some sorts. I hope it's a conference of the Kings and Queens of the Entire World for Global Harmony and Peace or something equally important. We were advised to postpone for a week.
That's right. The day after I bleed, sweated, and cried my way through days of travel arrangements.
The American in me wants to pick up the phone and demand that we adopt Talitha on the 4th and remind them that this is their fault and we already have our plane tickets.
I can't do that for a couple reasons. First and most important is the fact that I don't speak the language. It would just be minutes of my irate rantings to some confused and possibly stunned Chinese government employee. Second, I get the feeling that customer service is not high on the priority. Of course, that sometimes goes for government offices in America too. It's not like you have a choice whether to go to the DMV to get your license. "You'll take crappy service and poor attitudes and you'll like it" seems to be the motto.
So I sent a message to our contact to please beg and plead and pass along our abject adoration of them if they would kindly assent to getting Talitha and adopting her on the same day, Sept 4 (usually there's Gotcha Day then you make the adoption official with paperwork a couple days later).
I knew I wouldn't get a response yesterday as China is 12 hours ahead and sleeping during our day.
So I just wallowed in my own misery yesterday, wearing pajama pants at noon and watching clips of "Family Feud" on youtube. I didn't have any junk food but at several times considered drinking Hershey syrup straight from the bottle.
Matt and I prayed. That God would just have to take care of this adoption. We were helpless, absolutely nothing we could do.
Woke up this morning to the email that the civil affairs office in Nanning has graciously allowed us to get Talitha on Sept 4 and adopt her the same day. The passport will be done Monday or Tuesday after that and express mailed to Guangzhou, where we arrive on Saturday the 7th to await the medical exam and consulate appointment.
Do you ever have those moments when you are so overwhelmed with gratitude for the grace of God that you don't have adequate words to express it? That's it right now.
In lighter news, we are filling prescriptions, setting aside things to pack, making lists, getting ready to get ungodly amounts of cash from the bank and cut the big kids hair before we go.
Lastly, I leave you pictures of our recent rice dinner. Jack brought out his P.F. Chang's kids chopsticks to use ("I really need to start practicing, Mom") and Noah decided he needed chopsticks too. A single straw was brought in for the purpose and made for some entertainment for our meal.
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