Travel Approval!!!

Earlier this week we finally got the call that we had received our Travel Approval...that, in a nutshell, means that we've finally been given the o.k. to head over to China to bring MeiMei home!!  Woot Woot!!!  We've established our Consulate appointment (Wed. 2/19) and it looks like Gotcha day with MeiMei will be Mon. 2/10.  Travel plans are still being worked out, but I think we'll be leaving later in the week of 2/3.

The last time I had talked with our agency, they thought that travel would be more likely to be mid-late February or even early March.  I was bummed, but resigned to the fact.  When Madison called, I about fell out of my chair.  The Noodle immediately asked "Are we going to China tomorrow?".  I laughed and told her no, but it almost feels that way--the short turn around time should be interesting!  We've gone into full "nesting" mode--tubs, bins and boxes have been hauled out of the attic so that we can go through them and start packing.  It was fun to take a walk down memory lane and while I spent all afternoon sorting through clothes, the Noodle was perfectly content to play with the Noah's ark and mega blocks that had enthralled her for such a long time a few, short years ago.

We've also established a travel blog because Blogger is one of the websites banned in mainland China. While I don't think we'll be posting anything that will concern the Chinese government, the Great Firewall still doesn't care for Blogger.  That being said, the site that we'll use while in China is part of the BabyJellyBeans website If you go to babyjellybeans.com and locate the "search for a website" box, you can type in MeiMei's first and last name and find our page.  If you're experiencing difficulty with it, leave me a note in the comments.

Stay tuned.............

Update on Meimei!!

I was so excited to open up my inbox yesterday and get an update on Meimei!!  Not only did we get another little glimpse into her personality--but we got 3 new pictures!!!

"She can walk by herself. She can walk downstairs and upstairs, chasing with playmates. She lives in the foster family inside the orphanage. There are two older girls, one older boy and one younger boy. She can talk now. For example, if foster mother says "meimei", she will say" what's the matter?". If the little boy cries, she will go to ask "didi, what's wrong with you?” She is active and extrovert in the foster family, a little shy outside."

The Noodle and I both laughed when we opened them--such a sweetie :) After reading the little blurb, I think she definitely sounds like her big sister...especially the last sentence!  Still no word on a travel date--sigh.  Still, we'll hold onto the good news and focus on that!

100 Good Wishes Quilt

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in some parts of Northern China for making a Bai Jia Bei (100 Good Wishes Quilt).  When a baby is born, family and friends donate to the child’s mother fabric scraps from old clothing with a written wish for the new baby.  A quilt for the child would be made from the scraps.  It is said that the luck, energy,prayers and good wishes from all of the families and friends who contributed the fabric surround the child when she is wrapped in the quilt.  The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

We started late last Spring preparing to make MeiMei's Bai Jia Bei quilt.

Stuffing letters requesting fabric and wishes...

Such excitement when the first quilt square comes!

Mid-Summer J started sketching out the design...

Then it is time for the cutting of the fabric--good tunes help make the cuts straighter ;)

Laying out of the fabric by color...

Piles of fabric to be stitched...

pinning and ironing makes the sewing easier...

Getting closer now--just working on the borders...

Ta-da...the finished product from the front side...

...and the backside

Close-up

***While I made the top and bottom, a woman from our old church has a HUGE quilting machine, so I enlisted her help.  She was feeling rather sick that day, so it ended up that I hopped onto that big 'ol thing and did some of the quilting myself (eek!) before I finished it off with the binding.

Now all we need is MeiMei to wrap up in her 100 Good Wishes Quilt!

2014

I have never been a huge New Year's Eve fan--lots of hoopla and "pressure" to make it The.Best.Night.Ever.  What I've found, though, is that the way you spend NYE, is usually the way you spend most weekend nights--last night was no exception for us.

We had a very nice (early) dinner with Lollie and Papa and then came home, got the Noodle in bed (yeah for re-established bedtimes!) and then just hung out.  Lights were out by 10:15, which if you know us, is actually a late night.  Ha--no doubting that we're true party animals!!

Today we finished taking down the Christmas decor and getting the house back to normal before Grandma, Grandpa, Lollie and Papa came over for dinner.  We ended last year and began this year with what is important to us--being surrounded by family.  Cheers to 2014!