We are finally working on some things for our adoption. We have both applied for our passports and should receive them in about 4 weeks. We have also downloaded a program to create a will. It seems strange to make preparations for a child that isn't ours yet but it is required for our homestudy. We decided that if anything we're to happen to us Ava's guardians will be Michelle and Dan and they graciously accepted. Tomorrow I need to take a trip to Walmart to buy 2 fire extinguishers (which we should probably already have). They are another requirement for our homestudy. We also need to get our life insurance.

I frequently visit a message board called Adoptions.com It is a great forum where I can talk to other girls who have completed adoptions from China or are currently in the process. I have learned so much from these girls about the adoption process. They keep on top of all the current information coming from their agencies. The new talk is that there has been a great increase in families adopting from China. This is somewhat due to families switching from the not so stable Russian program. There is also talk of the Guatemala program shutting down in 2007. The increase interest in the China program has resulted in more families being paper ready than the number of babies that are paper ready. China is also trying to promote domestic adoptions but with the current beliefs of Chinese people it will be years before domestic adoptions are widely accepted. The China Center of Adoption Affairs is responsible for processing international paperwork. They have a small office in comparison to the large number of applications they receive. The CCAA prefers to work very closely with International Adoption agencies and strives to keep the adoption process as personal as possible. Because of this it is very unlikely that the CCAA will increase it's office staff. All of these factors could result in a longer wait for Ava. The current wait once your paperwork is submitted to baby is 10 months. There is speculation that the wait could extend to 18 months. The thought of having to wait 18 months for Ava is heartbreaking but she is worth the wait. We really feel in our hearts that our daughter is waiting for us in China. So we will stick it out if the wait does extend to 18 months. China still remains the one of the most stable international programs and is not at risk of closing. Wait times have fluctuated in the past from 14 months to 8 months. We will just keep our fingers crossed for a shorter wait. If it turns out that we have to wait 18 LONG months I will keep myself busy by shopping for Ava :)

We've finally moved!! It is so nice to no longer be in an apartment. I was thinking about how far we have come since we moved to Maryland. We took a step backwards to come here and now it is paying off. We are now in the position to be able to adopt and bring home Ava. Brian has been doing a lot of overtime and now my hours are picking up again. We would love to be able to pay for her adoption without taking any loans so it will be easier to adopt #2 someday. For the last seven years we have been buying things for our baby. We have just stored everything in boxes and put it all away. When we moved into the townhouse we decided to take it all out and put it in her room. Her things are so nice for us to see...It keeps reminding us why we are working so hard. My friend Michelle gave us a bunch of baby girl clothes. They are all hanging in her closet on little pink hangers. Our little Ava also now has her own portable DVD player courtesy of her Daddy. Brian got a free DVD player, since he already has one he decided to put the new one away for Ava. Knowing Brian our 2 year old will be in the backseat of the car watching a DVD, listening to her IPOD, talking on her cell phone while using her PDA!! My friend Angel has also bought her clothes and a picture frame. We recently bought books, a Big bird in China DVD and a stuffed bunny for Easter. Something tells me Miss Ava is going to be one spoiled little baby girl!

Now that we are moved and settled we can start working on her adoption. On Thursday we are going to apply for our passports. We will need copies of them for our homestudy so we want to make sure we have them for the summer. We also have to decide which agency we will use for our homestudy. We are considering World Child Adoptions and Creative Adoptions. I've talked to people who have used both and so far it seems that Creative adoptions moves a bit slower. We just cant wait to begin.

A new opportunity has also come up for us. Now that Brian has 3 years at his job we are now eligible to take temporary duty assignments. We are now considering taking a position in Toronto, Canada (don't freak out Angel) for 2-4 years. We would do this after we bring Ava home. This would allow me to be a stay at home mom because our living expenses would be covered by Brian's job. They will cover up to $3600 a month for a mortgage and utilities. They will also pay for us to move there and if I decided at some point to work they would pay for Ava's daycare. We would also only pay federal income taxes... we would not have to pay state taxes. Brian looked into flights and found that there are direct flight's to and from Rhode Island and Orlando. It is also only about a 9 hour ride to R.I. After our 2-4 years are up we will give a wish list of where we would like to be transferred. Our list would be:

Orlando, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Savannah, GA
Boston, MA
Baltimore, MD

It is a great opportunity for us so we are really considering it. It would allow us to make great money, while I stay home with Ava. It's kinda hard to pass up!!