Mother's Day, Visas & Article 5

Mother's Day has always been a bittersweet holiday for me.  I love to celebrate my mother and the other mothers in my life but for myself it has always been a reminder that I was not a mom.  This year was different.  I do not have Cooper with me yet but I know he is my son and I can finally say I am a mom!  I got a card from him thanks to Ryan.  Of course it made me cry!

First Mother's Day Card

We are moving closer to traveling to China! We sent our passports to a courier service in Chicago.  They have to be dropped off with a hefty check to allow us to come into China.  We got them back a few days ago.  It is so nerve racking to have your passports in the mail! Then yesterday we received our Article 5.  Don't ask me what it is because it doesn't really matter but what it means is we are one step closer to picking up our boy! Next thing we are waiting for is our Travel Approval (TA) from China.  The TA allows you to come to China to finalize the adoption.  We should hopefully get it in a few weeks.  We are thinking that we will travel sometime in June.  Once we get the TA our adoption agency (CCAI) will request an appointment at the US Consultant office in Guangzhou.  This is a very important appointment.  This appointment will make Cooper a US citizen once he gets to the United States.  This is a big deal.  Once we get the appointment our agency creates a timeline for when we need to arrive in China.  They will let us know and we will probably only have a week to two weeks to get there.  I can only imagine how much our plane tickets are going to cost! Oh well, it will all be worth it in the end!

Chinese Visa

Love this outfit from my friend Amanda!