It was just a normal day, and then...

I can't tell you how exciting it is to drive up my drive way and see my mailbox stuffed full.

Since we started this whole journey, anytime our mailbox is stuffed with a big white envelope, it is ALWAYS from our adoption agency. Today was no different! We have received our log in date. Referred to from now on as our LID. August 18, 2008. Our papers have been received in China. Beijing specifically. Even more specifically, our dossier is now at the China Centre of Adoption Affairs. This is big news. HUGE news! Time to celebrate news. Although we have a long wait ahead, the truth of the matter is that baby Lauryn is now REALLY coming home! Kyle and I couldn't be happier. We had a drink and toasted each other to our last couple of years of just us.

Baby Lauryn has been in our hearts since we started in December. We talk about her like she is here. I wonder about her often. I wonder about her biological parents and the turmoil they must be facing. I also thank them daily for giving us this gift.

Baby Lauryn probably isn't even born yet! Which is a crazy thought! But she has already given us so much joy. I can't imagine what she will add to our lives when she is here, in her room, in her home with her family. Goodness!

As soon as I got home, I torn open the envelope with one hand while dialing Kyle at work with the other hand. Kyle had already left work, so I called Mom. As always she dropped what she was doing (rearranging the living room) to talk to me and share in my excitement! She said that she wasn't just excited for us, but for her and Dad too! Baby Lauryn is already such a big part of our family. Johnson (our dog) even knows her name. We often say to Johnson "Where's baby Lauryn", and without missing a beat he's up on his feet, ears alert and looking around for baby Lauryn! So cute!

The pic at the top is our package. Enclosed was a letter and a travel package. What the next steps are, travel info. stuff like that. We will soon find out about the other families from our agency with the same log in date as ours. We can communicate with them and get to know them before we take the trip of a lifetime!!! Although we still probably have 30 months or more to prepare for this trip, how to you get ready to meet your baby?