Getting Closer to Travel

Despite some things grinding to a halt due to the storm, fortunately this time around our paperwork has not been affected. On October 30th our Article 5 was picked up from the US Consulate in Guangzhou and forwarded to the Chinese authorities to begin the final step - travel authorization, aka TA.

Essentially, China confirms that all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed - that we have satisfied all of the requirements of the US and China under the Hague Convention - and then they send us a

 Notice of Traveling to China for Adoption 

which I will carry back to China and hand over to the provincial authorities 

when I complete Lucy's adoption. 

Don't get excited! We don't have TA yet, 

but a prayer or two that we are one of the fortunate families receiving fast approval processing would be appreciated. As things stand right now, it looks like my travel dates (Nov 24 - Dec 8) are good!