Sunday, May 26, 2013

Travel Approval!!

So we were down to two steps, travel approval from Chi*a and our official consulate appointment (needed to complete Emma's visa process).  Time for Travel Approval (TA) ranges from 8 days to close to 30 with around 2 weeks being the most common.  I began to get antsy on Monday the 20th.  TAs are delivered to the agencies and typically come in batches.  I was really stalking the Facebook groups to see if any TAs were coming through.  Our agency is in California, so I would hear about other TAs before there was any possibility of hearing about ours.  No TAs on Monday.  Tuesday is not a typical day that TAs come because of shipping schedules, so I was fairly relaxed and not AS obsessive on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, the TAs started coming through.  I might have been a tad obsessive about checking emails and Facebook, and it might have gotten worse as the day went on.  I was finishing up some work packets and had gotten in the car to have some documents notarized at the bank.  I checked my email while I was stopped at a light, and THERE IT WAS!!!  We had official TA after 14 days.  I immediately called Mark (Chase was with him).  I might have been updating them both throughout the day about the number of TAs that had come through :-)  No, I wasn't obsessing at all, why do you ask?  I cannot describe the feeling of having received TA.  I absolutely could not think straight.  My mind was racing a million miles an hour.  It was a giddy and miserable feeling all at the same time.  I emailed our agency with our top 5 choices for consulate appointment.  Actually, I emailed her 3 times because I was afraid my first email was not clear.  I clearly have issues.  We had our consulate appointment time later that night which means we now have our official travel dates.  We will be leaving on June 12th and will return late on the 28th!  We leave in 2 weeks, 2 days, 18 hours, and 7 minutes. But who's counting :-)  At this time, plane tickets are purchased and in-country travel is being finalized.  It should be finalized early next week.  Now, I need to wrap up work, try to get this house in order, and pack!  I cannot wait to meet my sweet Emma Grace.  Please pray for her heart as this transition will be very difficult for her.

1 comment:

  1. Congratulations!!!! I am so excited for you!! I will be praying for Emma Grace and your family.

    ReplyDelete