My favorite Fed Ex man, the same one whose picture I took the day he delivered my long awaited LOA, was back! This time it was him that got a grin, as my hair was wrapped up high in a towel . . . I quickly promised, "no pictures today" and signed for the, not one, but two envelopes he had for me!
The first package contained the official copy of our Travel Approval! Our invitation from China, as you will, to come get our daughter!
The second package contained our passports, (returning from the Chinese Consulate in Houston), freshly stamped with our Chinese Visas! Perfect timing!
About 30 minutes after the packages arrived, the phone rang and it was our coordinator, Ky. She was calling to let us know that our request for a Consulate date of May 28th had been granted! It was at this point that I quickly called Bryan home so that we could work on getting tickets secured!
Bry's lunch hour quickly turned into lunch hours, as he patiently punched in flights, crunched numbers and compared, while I talked to travel agents. By dinner time we were wrapping up, and with Bry's expertise and a little help from Wyman, at Delight Travel, we are officially BOOKED!
Thank you Lord for holding flights for us, and for Bry's perseverance in finding those flights. We are grateful!
We have tickets to flyyyyyyyyyyy! We will depart San Antonio in the wee hours of Friday, May 16th. We will go from SA, to Houston, to Los Angeles, on Continental. We will then switch to Northwest for the flight from LA to Tokyo, to Guangzhou, arriving in Guangzhou at 9:00 p.m on the 17th (Bryce's birthday). Total travel time, around 25 hours . . . WHEW. (We will do it all in reverse two weeks later, arriving home the evening of May 30th.)
On Monday, May 19th, I will take my littlest bird under my wing forever! The long wait is coming to an end. I am excited, nervous, joyful, scared . . . and trusting God to the best of my ability, to prepare everyone's hearts for what is to come, especially Teddi's.
Oh Lord, please keep your hand upon our littlest bird. Thank you Father for your provision thus far. Thank you for so many details that have been worked out, and for finances to cover the details! Thank you that you will be with us every step of the way . . . and that you go before us to make the way. Please prepare Teddi's heart for the upheaval that is to come, not only in her little life, but in the lives of those who have cared for her for the past three years. Be near us all Lord. In Jesus name, Amen!
A very good Monday, indeed!
Blessings~
Tina
7 comments:
Congratulations! How exciting for you. You must be going through AAI. Ky is our case worker for our daughter Bethany. We are still paperchasing. Wishing you safe travels.
Congratulation, Winder Family!! I can't wait to see that first family picture with your "littlest bird" in your arms. What a blessing! Love and prayers for you as you prepare for travel ~ Tracy
How exciting Tina! I agreed with your prayer at the bottom of the page and I will keep praying! That means you will leave next week! WOW!
Can't wait to follow your journey!
Praising the Lord with you!
Yea, congratulations! It won't be long now. You know I think the FedEx guy will probably become my favorite person too very soon! If you need anything, someone to watch the house, etc. just let us know. We are praising God with you! I am looking forward to following your journey while you are in China.
Sharing your joy!
Hey Tina,
I thought about you when I read this because I knew you would be traveling soon. I didn't know if you were planning on using your blogger to document your journey. I read that China is blocking blogger until after the Olympics. You can read about it.
http://gebea.blogspot.com
http://blessingsfromchina.blogspot.com
Kim
YEEEEHAWWWW!!!!!!! Isn't that the most amazing feeling? (Well, second to actually holding your baby!)
I am beyond excited!!!!!
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