I've been washing and sorting little girl clothes. I have the cutest outfits. I'm a little embarrassed; after all, I KNOW she's not a Barbi doll. But hell, it makes me happy, and it's a harmless vice.

J took all of our passports to the Chinese embassy in DC to get visas ($50 x 7). They should be ready on Tuesday. (Please God don't let them lose them!). We're still waiting for our travel approval. It's been about two weeks, so another week or so sounds about right. I've been looking up flights on a couple of websites. It would be ideal to be able to get a United flight out of Dulles which is direct to Beijing. We'd have to hire a van or maybe take a shuttle from BWI. It will be on the steeper end of what I hoped to pay, but if it's direct, who can complain?

I've been composing an email to the assistant director of the orphanage (or Social Welfare Institute). I think I'm not technically supposed to contact the orphanage directly; the central agency in charge of adoption in China likes to maintain control. Um. Whatever. But people do contact the SWI's all the time. I've been told that Director L (so formal- kind of like Chairman Mao or Madam Chiang Kai-shek), is a very nice woman with some command of English. While I'd love an update on C, what I'm really hoping is that they will be able to obtain the surgical report for me. I've been told that if you give them enough time, they can do it sometimes. If it means breaking the rules by contacting the SWI directly, I'm willing to do it for such essential information. (I may wait until after TA, though; I'm not stupid).

I'm also trying to include a message for C's foster mother. I can't imagine what she must be feeling. There's so much I want to say, but I'm not sure how the translation would work. I just want her to know that the child will be well loved and cared for, and that we'll do our best to give her a happy life.