We leave tomorrow (June 21)

To try and explain the past week would be impossible. Let me just over-view for histories sake-
It started out with last Tuesday and getting our Embassy appointment, but through some confusion, a request was made on our behalf to change it. Then that request was cancelled at our request, but we didn't hear for two days what date had been confirmed. After two days of me asking when we should be in what city, and no answer, I just started making hotel and flight arrangements on Saturday. Website for hotel in Nanchang was down all weekend. After trying six times to get Air China website to accept our credit card I finally gave up and got the tickets through Travelocity on first try. Monday morning finally got on website for first hotel in Nanchang and got a room.
Then Tuesday morning got an e-mail from local adoption agency with information for travel that had completely different dates. So many phone calls and e-mails went by to make a new plan.
So here we are last day before travel and everything seems to be set for the moment.

Travel date

We received our appointment with the consulate for July 9th at 8:30am. That means we need to be in Nanchang on June 25. Our plans are to fly on June 21st from DFW to Chicago, then to Beijing. That flight doesn't get into Beijing until 11:30pm on the 22nd (local Beijing time).
We plan to stay there until Sunday the 24th when we will catch a China Air flight to Nanchang. Most likely we will get Natalie the next day.

Travel Authorization

Our TA arrived today. Now we submit five dates that we wish to have our interview with the US consulate in Gauangzhou. We are requesting the week of July 9 - 13- which will have us departing around June 22.
So, the race is on for final preparations.

We have a name

Things are getting close. We expect to get our travel authorization early next week. All last minute preparations are moving along. We can't say when we will travel exactly, but we are shooting for the last week of June.

We have finally agreed on a name. Natalie Victoria Frank

Embassy Response and Visas!

Yesterday we got an e-mail from the Embassy in China that our paperwork had been processed. The next step is for our facilitator to take that paperwork and the letter of intent we signed back in January, to the CCCWA. The CCCWA will then send our travel authorization. When we get the TA we send five options for appointment dates to the US Embassy in China- That appointment is for us to fill out paperwork and get a US visa for Qui Miao. When we get that appointment confirmed, we will travel two weeks prior to that appointment date.

Today we recieved our visas to travel to China.

Visa Application

We sent in our applications for our China visas yesterday. Part of being able to do that was the requirement that we have some kind of travel plans. So here is what we know:
We were given two "possible" travel dates of June 17 or June 24 (of course we were strongly reminded these are not set in stone).
We will spend our first week in the Galactic Peace International Hotel in Nanchang, China. (sounds like something out of a Hollywood Sci-fi.
Our second week will be in the China Hotel in Gauangzhou, China.
I googled them both and they look nice. Of course we will post pictures to see reality.

Paperwork to China

We received notification today from the USCIS that our paperwork has been sent to China. All we are waiting for now is our authorization from China to travel.