It is officially eleven days until we travel! Words cannot express the excitement we feel. We are busily getting everything in order for our trip. I am so happy my profession allows me to be off in the summer. I couldn't imagine taking care of all these things and working all day too! Addison Claire's room is complete! Tonight, we get to go over to the director of our agency's house for pizza and visiting. Another couple that recently got back with their daughter is going to be there. I hope they are ready for all of our questions! Our agency director will be traveling with us to China. She is an absolutely wonderful person. We can't wait to make the trip with her.

Travel Approvals have arrived for us! We will be getting Addison Claire before her first birthday which is something we really wanted. We did get updated information on her. She is now 17 lbs. and 28 inches long. Her foot is 4.2 inches. Keep checking for updates as we get ready to travel. We are so excited and ready to go!

We have a baby girl! We received our referral call at 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, May 25th. We are so lucky to live close to our agency. We drove over and got the packet around 5:00 p.m. Her Chinese name is Long Mei Zhi. We have given her the name Addison Claire Meizhi Martin. Her birthdate is 7/25/05. She is 16 lbs. and 26 inches long. She is residing in an orphangae in the Guangxi province. She was abandoned at birth. She is listed as an active baby with a ready smile. She is fond of playing games, quick in reaction, laughs aloud, and impatient sometimes. Her favorite toys are the drum and jingle bells. She has zero teeth, is a moderate sleeper and sucks her fingers in her sleep .

We think she is aboslutely beautiful! We hope to travel at the end of June/early July. We have been floating since Thursday. It's the most amazing feeling in the world when you see that picture for the first time! We love her so much!

Just a little info on some things we are doing as a constant reminder of our daughter. I purchased a red thread bracelet that I wear daily. It has a tiny silver heart that represents Addison waiting for our hearts to be united. On the other hand, Nik is not wearing a bracelet. He has decided to grow a baby beard. Now I'm not much on the whole hairy face thing. This isn't your ordinary beard. This is a "I'm not shaving until we leave for China beard." Hurry up referral!!

We began our China adoption process in October of 2004. We were logged in with the CCAA on June 13, 2005. We are still waiting on a referral for Addison Claire. We will keep this blog updated with all the latest information and during our time in China which will hopefully be in July. We have truly learned the meaning of patience through this entire process. It looks like we missed the April referrals by just a few days so we're praying we will be in the next batch of referrals in May.