We received our T.A.!! That all-important, long-awaited acronym for TRAVEL APPROVAL from the Chinese government.
That is the last proverbial hurdle and we are now on the home stretch, one week from the plane ride to the other side of the world--YES!!  Immediately followed by UGGHH, the plane ride to the other side of the world. The 18 hour detention with a bunch of strangers that no amount of Ipad apps or peanuts can effectively shorten, but it's all part of the adventure.
Robyn woke me up at 1:00 am this morning to let me know that our agency had secured the date that we had hoped for for our consolate appointment: Sept 27. That made our gotcha date Sept 17, and things suddenly got very real. It was an answer to our prayers earlier in the day as our agency had told us that it might not be until November, and Sept 27 was our only hope (apparently the whole Chinese government shuts down for certain holidays for months at a time). As I was trying to get back to sleep a loud summer storm passed through dumping rain and hail--a sound we haven't heard all summer with the drought here in Iowa. It sounds corny now, but I couldn't help but think of God's faithfulness with our travel approval and the generous rainfall, two things long awaited and finally delivered the same night.
Planes, trains, and automobiles. I've been working with a travel agent that specializes in international adoption most of the day. I have a white board full of options. Endless combinations of airports, flights, trains, vans, dates, and even passengers (yes we are still figuring out exactly who is going). The tentative plan is for me to go with Miranda for the whole trip (9/13 - 9/30) and possibly for Robyn and Carson to be there for a week or so at the beginning. We'd also like to stop by Shepherd's field, the orphanage where Calvin is now. We'll have it nailed down sometime tomorrow morning.
Tonight (morning in China), Calvin will finally be told at the age of 6 that he has his very own family now, and they are coming to get him soon to take him to his new home. I put some family pictures in a slideshow and uploaded it to youtube and they will show it to him after they tell him. That's a blessing and only possible because we are have contact with some people at his orphanage. This is the very simple video I uploaded: