July 4th is our arrival day, but also the 6 year anniversary of the death of my stepfather, Jesse. This journey has been a roller coaster, but it is so exciting to me that every major "milestone" has occurred on a significant day for our family. We received the approval to pursue Lindsey on January 6th - the anniversary of my oldest child's death. We received our LOA on May 16th - Lindsey's first birthday. Lastly, our TA was mailed out on June 11th - my son Jesse's 5th birthday. Quite significant in my mind. I look forward to updating the site!!!

If anyone wishes they can e-mail us at my Yahoo or gmail addresses: jesse4chelsea@yahoo.com; ktatakis@gmail.com.

Have a happy July 4th!!!!

June 14th, 2007
Today started out with a bang for us. Steve left to go fishing in the valley, and just after the North Birchwood exit a moose shot out of the ditch and ran into his truck. He is fine but the truck is not. We are down to one car for a bit. Thank goodness I am off for the summer. After waking up early and dealing with that we got "the call" from our agency!!!! We have our travel authorization on our table with our paperwork. We leave July 3rd and arrive July 4th in Beijing... then we tour until July 7th. We leave for Fuzhou (adoption city) in the Fujian Province on July 8th. We get Lindsey on July 9th. I don't have the rest of our "plan" yet. I know our consulate appointment is July 17th and we come home on July 19th.

May 29th, 2007
I wanted to write and let everyone know we have purchased tickets with tentative dates. We were advised to do this by our agency as the seats to China are filling up FAST. We are guessing at our travel dates and chose Northwest Airlines as you can change your ticket without a fee. We are leaving July 9th and going to tour Beijing July 11-13th. We then fly to the Fujian Province to get Lindsey and the adventure goes from there. I don't have an official itinerary so will not list anything... but wanted to tell everyone!!! It is exciting to have seats even if we have to change them. Happy summer to everyone.

May 22nd, 2007
Just a quick update for everyone. First, I don't know how accurate the weights are that I get because the latest update from China is that she is 10.3 kg or just about 23 lbs. Her height is 78cm or 30.7 inches. Somehow I am not too worried about her weight... she looks great. Perhaps the weight was taken with her clothes on . Oh, she has two teeth on bottom and two on top. I am told she is standing and taking steps when she holds someones hand. We are excited as well because our Letter of Approval has arrived back at the agency. Things are moving now!!

May 18th, 2007
The FedEx man made it to my work at about 12:30 pm today. I think he thought I was a bit "nuts" because I greeted him at the door. I had our Letter of Approval in hand, actually on my table. Steve was driving back from Prudoe Bay and we will sign it tomorrow and it will head to our agency on Monday.

It is kind of funny because now I realize how much we have to do. I just started writing thank you cards for gifts we received on May 5th at the baby shower. We have to apply for our visas, get Lindsey's room ready, and wait for our travel approval. That is basically when the agency says, "yes, you are going." We will receive travel approval once a CA (consulate appointment) is made for us at the American Consulate. The day we receive Lindsey is also known as "Gotcha Day."

Things are moving now, it is exciting. I think of Chelsea a lot and I really think she played part in the Letter of Approval coming when it did. That makes me smile. Lindsey will surely know how wonderful her big sister was. Jesse is telling everyone he sees that he is a big brother! This includes the man at the checkout counter, as well as the parents picking up their kids at the gym play center. This is a great early birthday present for him as he turns 5 on June 11th. We very well may have our travel approval by then!!!

May 16th, 2007
We have not heard from China regarding our Letter of Approval yet... still hoping we will hear soon. We just have to wait and that is hard sometimes. Lindsey turns one today, May 16th, and the package we sent 3 weeks ago was misplaced at the office in China and found on May 15th and delivered!! I am just keeping busy with my swimmer and soccer player son, Jesse.

Jesse graduates from preschool on May 21st and turns 5 on June 11th. I have stuff to do that is for sure. I'm posting some pictures of our "Chelsea Memorial" halibut trip we took over the Mother's Day weekend...

Steve took Chelsea out in 2004 and we all went in 2005. It was a fun, difficult trip. We fished in the waters off of Ninilchick, Alaska... Our fish were small compared to previous years.

We plan to take Jesse when he turns 6 and then Lindsey when she is old enough. It is great fun reeling a halibut up in 300 feet of water that is for sure.

As soon as we get our Letter of Approval look for photos to follow...

May 5th, 2007
I had a baby shower that my friends threw for me...