Lions, Tigers, and Lockdown, oh my!

We are frantically packing, organizing, and buying last minute things as we prepare for our long journey to bring our daughter home. In just two days we will be on our way to Beijing!  Wednesday, May 1, 2013 to be exact (but who's counting?!)  As we make our way half way across the globe, our little tiger will be turning 17 months old.  We will finally have her in our arms just one week from today.  I must admit even as I write these words, there is a part of me that wondered if this day would ever come.  Our journey has been a rocky one, but it's amazing how easily the past can be washed away.  Once we received the referral for little tiger, everything fell beautifully into place.  The struggle was finally over.  And while the waiting period was difficult at times, we knew in our hearts this magical moment would arrive.  In the past, I'd say one of my biggest human challenges was with patience...not anymore! Adoptive parents must be the most patient people in the world!  

The basic rundown of our journey goes a little something like this:  Leave on May 1, travel to Beijing.  Arrive the next day.  Sightsee with several other families from the same agency.  Eric and I are looking forward to seeing the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.  We will take lots of pictures, don't worry!  We have heard however, the smog is almost unbearable in Beijing, so we're not much looking forward  to that.   But hey, gotta pay to play, right? On May 5, we will travel down to Guangzhou, and on May 6 we will finally have little tiger in our arms!  From the 6-16 we will have a lot of down time, a few appointments, and then we'll travel home.  The one "big outing" we are hoping to make is a trip to the  Zoo.  We feel it is important to show our daughter large animals, seeing as she will be living with two of them back home!  Our dogs...they aren't exactly small creatures.  Sweet, but definitely not small...

And then, the real work begins.  We will be going into "lockdown" mode for roughly two months upon returning home.  Lockdown is probably one of, if not the most important step in the international adoption process, and one we are taking very seriously.  "Lockdown" is the technical term for a two month intensive attachment and bonding period involving just Eric, myself, our daughter, and our two dogs.  In the simplest terms, we will be teaching her what a family is, learning how each other ticks, and working to bond in a healthy way so that we do not have struggles later on.  Basically...it's either "pay a little now, or A LOT later on."  No one, not even her grandparents will be able to come over during that time (I know!!)  After a while, we will slowly begin integrating family members and close friends.  And a while after that...open season!  We hope everyone understands we are not trying to be rude, or selfish by "keeping her all to ourselves" during this time...we are simply following the advice from our agency, social workers, other adoptive parents before us, and mounds of reading material and attachment/bonding training.   We ask that everyone be patient with us during that time as we build our family into a healthy and strong foundation.  Xie Xie! (Thank you!)

We have been told we will have internet access in our hotel rooms, so I am hoping to update our blog throughout our journey.  Facebook is blocked in China however, so I will most likely send updates through our dear friend, Sarah Jane and she will post on our behalf.

We are elated, anxious, and truly over the moon in love with this next chapter in our lives.  Love and light to all,
Crystal