Brown Envelope is Here!!

Kyle called me from home today and informed me that our "Brown Envelope" containing all the consulate documents we will need to adopt Abbie have arrived. Almost there!!! :)

Good Grief!

Suitcase Saga...

Hi All!

For those of you who know me well, know that I have had the worst luck with suitcases. On my first trip to China, Ericka and I did carry-0n only, which meant we had to buy a suitcase in Guangzhou to bring home all our treasures. By the time we arrived in the U.S., our $30.00 "Polo" suitcase was already hammered and missing at least one wheel and one handle. "Polo" went with me on my second trip to China. Throughout each our our nine Provinces and 14 flights, poor Polo continued to have little mishaps: it fell off a pile of luggage into sticky, gooey Kaifeng mud; it lost it's last three remaining wheels and all it's handles; and the hard plastic lining inside crushed into a million teeny pieces. Needless to say, Polo was a "gonner" and went out with the Tuesday trash when I returned home. Now, I am getting ready to go to China to bring Abbie home. Of course, I needed a new suitcase to replace poor Polo. So, off to Wal-Mart we went, where I promptly purchased a snappy red "Swiss Alps" suitcase that matches nicely with our other luggage. It is even made by the makers of the Swiss Army Knife! Ooh aah! On the way home from Wal-Mart, we decided to stop by the house to drop off our purchases before taking the girls to the aquarium. After Dan safely stowed our purchases and perishables in the house, he returned to the car and began to back out of the driveway - we were now aquarium bound. CRUNCH!!! "What was that?" asked Tracie. "Nothing." replied Dan. Much to my dismay, my brand new, cherry red "Swiss Alps" suitcase didn't make it to China. Actually, it didn't even make it out of our driveway. Maybe this time I will travel with nothing and just buy it all when we get to China! :)

The Latest in Fashionable Cycling Shoes

Daisy "Fu" Duke!

Oh Boy, What is Poor Abbie Getting into? Ha ha!

Some Silly Pictures of Abbie's Family at the Mall!

OUR LOA IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE RECEIVED A CALL FROM OUR WONDERFUL AGENCY TODAY. OUR LETTER OF APPROVAL HAS ARRIVED AND WILL BE IN OUR HANDS TO SIGN TOMORROW!!!!!! ONCE CHINA RECEIVES THE LOA FROM US, OUR TRAVEL APPROVAL SHOULD BE ISSUED IN 3-4 WEEKS.

WATCH OUT ABBIE, HERE WE COME!!!!!! HA HA!!!

DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY TRACIE (FREAKED OUT DAN)

On It's Way?

Hi Everyone:

I don't want to get my hopes up, but we learned today that our agency is expecting some TA's to arrive this week from China. We sincerely hope and pray that our LOA for Abbie is in one of those FEDEX envelopes. Cross your fingers for us! :)

Happy Friday the 13th!

In the past, Friday the 13th has always been a good day for me. I sure wish it meant our LOA was here. It is day 80, you know! Ha ha! Dan and I had a nice lunch together at a little Norwegian cafe called Finn's and we hope to just crash out and watch the mountain stages of the Tour de France tonight. We have been out riding every other night and Dan is getting really strong pulling the girls in their trailer. I am so impressed by my "Manimal!" :) Fortunately, work is quiet, the teenagers are busy (hopefully) doing chores so I will come home to a clean house...and otherwise, all is well! Have a super weekend!

Tracie

Passing the Time Away

While I was on the Internet, I found a link to some pictures and information about Shantou, Abbie's hometown. I thought one picture was particularly funny, because when I had the great fortune of visiting Shantou in March 2007, I went out for a hot pot dinner at the very same restaurant in the picture! However, my hot pot dinner not only included the standard potatoes, lettuce and beef you see in the picture above...it also contained intestine and cow stomach lining! To drink we enjoyed warm mung bean juice. Very quenching. Yum! I sure hope Abbie takes a liking to chicken nuggets and french fries quickly! Ha ha!

Tracie's Dream Bike

The 2007 Cervelo Soloist full carbon. Sigh.

4th of July!!

We had a fun filled 4th of July! We got up at 5:45 AM and hit the road on our bikes by 6:20 AM for the Tour de Riverton. We clocked in about 35 miles and it was wicked hot that early in the morning! Dan did a GREAT job pulling the kids in the bike trailer up the Copper Mine frontage road hill and I have a large bruise on my bum from a bike seat incident (we will just leave it at that! Ha ha!) After the ride, we enjoyed a great pancake and ham breakfast with some cycling friends. After running some errands, we went home and took a nap. Didn't wake up until 9:00 PM!! I frantically woke Dan up and he was so out of it. The girls were exhausted and were impossible to wake up too, but we finally piled everyone in the car and drove back to the Riverton Days park to watch fireworks. We laid down on a blanket and the fireworks were directly over our heads. Lucy was completely entranced! Grace just wanted to go ride the carousel and train. After fireworks, the girls road a little train and we enjoyed some treats (funnel cake, cotton candy and popcorn.) We didn't get home until nearly midnight!! It was one of those fun moments you will always treasure with your family.

Urgh.

Two months, one week and four days since we were logged in. Where are those LOAs?? Urgh.

Abbie

Here is a little picture of Le Jiao (Kristy), who is in the same orphanage as Abbie and one of her best friends! Guess whose little head is peaking out of a crib in the back?!! Our girl!!

New Pictures!

Just sharing some new pictures from our trip to the Living Planet Aquarium!

Happy 2 1/2 Year Birthday Abbie!

We have spent the whole weekend with computer trouble, so we missed the opportunity to wish Abbie a Happy 2 1/2 Year Birthday on June 29th! We love you Qian Qian and hope you bring you home real soon!

Love Mommy, Daddy and your brother and sisters! XOXOXOXO