I know this is an odd picture to put with the title, but just hang in there and you will soon understand! Yesterday Dawn came over with Maria to surprise us with this delicious Swedish Tea Ring. I wish I had thought about getting a picture of her and Maria holding it. (hmmm...maybe I could persuade her to make me another one...!!) It was so cute to see Dawn with her Santa's hat on and a this beautiful Tea Ring in her hands. She told me she knew we were going to be getting up early in the morning and probably wouldn't have time to fix breakfast so she thought she would have our breakfast ready and waiting for us. This was just too kind. It was so pretty I hated to cut it but the aroma that lingered in my kitchen called me to cut into it. Dawn you are way to good to me!!! Thank you for your sweet spirit and generosity!!!!So, this is the reason for the picture of Ellie with Dawns Swedish Tea Ring.
We didn't go to bed until 1:00 am knowing we were going to have to be out of the house by 4:15 am. We really aren't very bright but I guess we've got this far so we must not be too far gone!! I was so afraid of oversleeping that I couldn't get to sleep. I finally got to sleep and woke up 2:45 am and couldn't fall back to sleep. I decided to get up and started doing some laundry and woke Stephanie.
We made it out of the house just as planned 4:15 on the dot. Jonathan, Jason and Ellie spent the night at their Grandma's which made things a lot easier. We arrived at the Immigration office by 7am just as we were told to. They never even opened their doors until 8. We were told to get there early because we had missed last weeks appointment. At 7:30 cars started coming so I hurried and got out of the car and waited outside for the doors to open. There was no way I was going to let anyone get in before me. I figured if I was going to get up that early, travel that far and get there before everyone else I should be the first one in. As I sat on the bench in the cold all I kept thinking about was our little girl in China and how we are trying so hard to get to her. I know we are doing the best we can do and everything is out of my hands. God is in control and He will determine how quickly it will go. Every step closer we get makes it feel more real.
Stephanie and I had to have our fingerprints done twice. For some reason our prints were not showing up well. I really wasn't surprised, this happened when we were preparing for Ellie. The woman who worked with us was very kind and she took our prints with ink as well just as a precautionary. She knew we had come from far away and wanted to be sure to get it done right the first time. Scott just went in there and come right out!!! His prints took instantly. I am praying Steph and I will not have to retake them because that will just delay things again.
