Finally!

Finally, a little bit of news. I finally, after weeks of headache, I finally mailed off our applications for our Chinese visas. They normally take 4-5 days to process, and we leave in just over three weeks. For the four of us, the visas cost $770.00 to process!! I also sent the Power of Attorney forms to be couriered to Washington DC for authentication. The Power of Attorney is JUST IN CASE one of us ends up not going to China for some reason. With four children in our family, we have to be ready to change our plans on a dime. This last processing (authentication) of the POA is $230.00. Often, I get frustrated on how much these forms cost to process. Frankly, adoption is expensive, and the children are NOT the ones who benefit from all the fees. I know lots of people who would joyfully adopt children if it wasn't so darned expensive. And I haven't even begun to tally up the cost of the trip to China. I received an email from our agency stating that the internal flights (Beijing to Jinan, Jinan to Harbin, Harbin to Guangzhou) total $2500 per person. Times six. We are closing on our home equity loan tomorrow (on the cottage) so that we will have enough to cover the costs. I'm confident that it will be worth every cent; I just get a bit overwhelmed when I add up the fees. This too shall pass. I have the three boys (Ben, Sam and Leo) all packed now, and I just need to focus on the positive side of adoption. There will be two fewer orphans in the world. Two children will have the love and care of a big, loud, chaotic, loving family.