For real?!?!?!

It is Monday morning...the week that I leave for China. We will be leaving at an ungodly early hour on Friday morning...and arriving in Beijing, China a mere 18 hours later!

Here's a quick run-down of my itinerary and then a link to a new site where you can follow along if you wish!

Oct 20: leave St. Louis at 6:45am - arrive in Beijing at 2:30pm Oct 21
Oct 21 - 23: tour Beijing
Oct 24: MAYA DAY!
Oct 24-26: Hang out in ZhengZhou for a few days getting to know my daughter!
Oct 27-31: We'll be in Luoyang, the city where Maya has been living
Oct 31-Nov 4: Guangzhou with a gajillion other adoptive parents and their new kiddos
Nov 4: Return home!

There you have it! Maya will be in my arms in just 7 days. It's so hard to believe that after all this time, my dream is coming true!

I'm hoping to be able to post to our travel blog each day, but I'm not sure that I'll be able to. If you'd like to follow along, click on the link below and you'll be taken to our new travel blog.

The journey begins...

Michelle (and Maya!)

2 weeks.....

In just two weeks, I will be doing this..........


The picture above is my good friend Robin and her baby girl Lauren. Their "Gotcha" Day was just 12 (or so) hours ago. Congratulations, Robin, Rob, Mikayla, Nicholas and Lauren!!!

One VERY happy baby! A picture of Lauren just 4 days with her forever family. What a sweet baby girl she is...and what a gorgeous smile!

Testing....

Hey there!

If you are reading this...and are inclined to help me out...can you please click on the Flickr link on the right side of this screen (you'll have to scroll down a bit) and see if you are able to view my baby shower photos? I'm testing out a site that I will (hopefully) use to upload photos during my travels to China.

Let me know if it works (or not) by leaving a comment. THANKS!

A wonderful day!

What a wonderful baby shower! I now understand why they call it a shower. Being "showered" with good wishes and gifts for Maya was exactly what I would call it. We had beautiful weather for the shower....it was held outside at my sister-in-law Stephanie's house. The decorations were awesome (as you can see)....the food was fantastic...and I had a great time celebrating this amazing journey with friends and family. Maya - you are one loved little girl. I cannot wait for you to meet your new family and friends!


More photos can be found here!

Gotcha, Metcha, Forever Family....

...whatever I choose to call it, October 24, 2006 is THE day. The day that I have been working towards for the past 21 months.....a day that will NEVER be forgotten. It's the day that I will have Maya in my arms.

I can't wait, baby!

May, 2005

I was looking over my timeline for this adoption process and saw the following two significant entries from May, 2005 - Maya's birth month. Interesting!

May 19, 2005 - Had a VERY weird dream this morning about giving birth to a baby girl named Maya..odd thing is that I was still very much in the process of adopting Maya from China. All I can say is...huh? So..I'm jotting this date down to see if it might be a "red-thread moment"

(this remains my one and only dream that I've had about Maya during this long process)

May 26, 2005 - My dossier papers went to CCAI today!!

(the completion of my paperwork...back when I thought that I would receive a referral in January or February of 2006)

17 days / 3 weeks

It is really getting REAL! Dad and I leave for China in just 17 days.

Maya will be in my arms in just three short weeks.

I am experiencing a wonderful mix of emotions...excited, nervous, overwhelmed, but most of all happy beyond belief that I am this close to meeting my daughter.

My friend Robin is leaving in just over 24 hours to meet her new daughter Lauren. I'm so happy to be able to watch her journey unfold - and it will give me something to look forward to every morning when I wake up and check out her blog!