Up, Up and Away!!!

Oh my goodness, I can't even think straight as I hustle around to get everything done!! My mind is complete mush and I can't even put a simple sentence together!!(maybe because I haven't slept in days!! lol)  I can't believe this day has finally come.  I've never had so many emotions running through me at the same time. It is completely surreal.  I've watched many, many of my friends go before me and have watched their journeys and have been so excited for them, I just can't believe it's my turn.  Anelyn (aka Anley) only has 4 more sleeps without her mama and baba! While this is so exciting, my heart also breaks.  She has no idea what is coming, she has no idea that life as she knows it is almost over as a new life begins.  I can't even fathom what she will feel. She will be so scared and confused but I know my girl will be brave and I know that our Heavenly Father can give her peace and comfort when we can't.  Please friends, pray for this.  Pray for her heart, her health, her attachment/bonding....everything.  I have so many prayer requests, I don't even really know where to start.  We will be taking 7 flights total over the next 2 weeks, 4 of those with a 17 month old!! eeeek!   Pray for all the flights, the paperwork, the touring, our health, Eli and Olivia...the whole nine yards.  I wanted to give our itinerary so y'all can follow along.  Here's what it looks like:
6/18 ~ flight leaves for China 10:16 am (first flying to Detroit, then begins our loooong flight)
6/19 ~ arrive in China (2:40 pm China time...2:40 am US time)
6/20 ~ touring the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and Hutong Land
6/21 ~ The Great Wall, Jade Factory and Summer Place
6/22 ~ Fly to Nanchang
6/23 ~ GET ANELYN!!!
6/24 ~ paperwork (Anelyn officially becomes a Rings!!)
6/25 ~ rest
6/26 ~ Visit the orphanage, meet foster mom, and finding spot
6/27 ~ rest/shopping
6/28 ~ fly from Nanchang to Guangzhou
6/29 ~ Anley's medical check, visa photo, visa paperwork
6/30 ~ Tour
7/1 ~ CA appointment!!
7/2 ~  guide picks up visa
7/3 ~ Fly back to Beijing
7/4 ~ Fly home :)  Arrive at airport @ 7:00 pm (those coming to the airport please meet in baggage claim.  We are flying Delta)

Since I am scrambling around today and don't have much time I am going to re-post the blog post about how it will look after we are home.  (please take a moment to read)  From the bottom of our hearts we can not begin to thank everyone enough for their support and prayers during this journey!!
Ok, baby girl mama's coming!! Thank you Jesus for giving us the heart for adoption, we are forever changed!!
"I will gather your children from the east, and bring you from the west" Isaiah 43:5
"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you" John 14:18

Stuck...AGAIN

Just wanted to give y'all a brief update on where we're at now.  We are still on our very last step, just waiting for them to print our TA (the official  invitation from Ch!na to come and pick up our daughter).  All paperwork is done at this point and they just have to print it.  Well, since nothing has gone normally with this adoption, why should the last step be any different??  They were closed all last week doing a system update (should've gotten TA last week).  But I thought, at the longest it will be Monday.  Sunday night rolled around (which is Monday morning over there) and I got an email from our rep in Ch!na saying they were having problems with the new system and to call back tomorrow.  So I thought for sure last night I would've gotten the email that they finally printed it (it would be Tuesday morning their time).  Well, got an email that she called and the TA department was out doing "group activities".  Seriously??? All I could picture were chinese people out in the back country singing kumbyah and doing trust falls!! Like, you didn't get any work done last week because of the closure, you're closed next week because of the Dragon Boat Festival... can we please get these mama's to their babies please??  My wonderful agency is doing everything they possibly can to get this done for me, but unfortunetly it is out of their hands.  We are on day 14 with no end in sight.  Most everyone gets TA between 7-14 days...unless you're the Rings' :)  I'm just completely baffled by all the "unheard of" delays we have encountered. I was prepared for one or two, but every single step?? Nope, not prepared for that.  I've already gotten the award for the most delays the agency has ever seen!! yay me!! That was one award I could've done without! lol
So anyway, here we are stuck again.  I had it figured out to leave next Tuesday if we got TA at the beginning of this week but that is looking more and more not possible.  We truly should've traveled  in March but ya know, that's  a different story.
 The only thing I can somewhat relate this to is you know when you really have to go to the bathroom...I mean REALLY have to go and the closer you get to the toilet, the harder it is to hold?? Then you get to the bathroom and someone is in there, and not only one person, but there is a line of like 100 people?? Yeah, that's pretty much what it is like the closer and closer we get.  Except multiply that times a million because it is your child.
So, come on people, I don't care if you can't print on the new system...get a piece of paper, napkin, toilet paper..anything and write it with a blooming crayon for all I care!! lol
I know God's got this and I know His timing is perfect...And I also know satan is still fighting, still trying to destroy Anelyn's redemption story but I've got news for him...This mama is and will continue to fight and fight until she is where she belongs!!  I hate that she is 6 months older than when we first laid eyes on her but I know God can make that time up once she is in our arms.  So friends, just continue to pray...pray that these roadblocks will get out of the way once and for all!!!