The Visa's are in!!

Well we got our Visa's.  It's nice to get something behind us.  Its a small hurdle but is just nice getting things done and moving on to the next phase. 

Looks Like May 12th

Well, it looks like we are going to leave on May 12th not May 5th.  With much pleading to our agency, to no avail, the tentative date for us now May 12th.  Our agency said it is out of their hands and that all families that received referrals from the Jiangxi Province are being bumped to May 12th.  People with referrals from other provinces are leaving on May 5th.  Whoever said that adoption is unpredictable and a bumpy road was correct.  It will take 2-5 business to confirm the date.  Right now we are frustrated and upset.  Instead of four weeks and one day to go, we now have five weeks and one day to go.  In other news, we should receive our visa's via Fed Ex today. 

We Received Our Travel Approval!

We received our travel approval today!  Now we have to wait for our agency to schedule a Consulate appointment.  This step will take 2-5 business days and the Consulate and Civil Affairs offices are closed until Wednesday, more holidays!  Hopefully we'll hear something by Friday and THEN we can schedule our flight.  Our agency is giving out the same date of May 5th and also May 12th.  Our agency said that 28 people received their travel approvals today (just our agency) and that some people may have to wait until May 12th.  I immediately emailed our advisor and said we want to go May 5th, please please please.  She responded back to me that it was her plan to get us out of here on May 5th.  So it's sit back and wait time, again.  Our agency is recommending that if we choose to do the Beijing tour, which we are, that we may want to leave a day early.  We hadn't considered it before but are thinking about it now.  The way it stands now, we would leave on a Thursday and arrive in Beijing on Friday and tour all day on Saturday with our guide.  If we miss our flight and get there late, we won't get a refund.  The other reason would be jet lag.  The tour is going to last the whole day on Saturday and it might be nice to be fresh eyed and full of energy.