I'm so excited! Because in just 6 more days, we will be on our way to Guangzhou for 6 MIL-free days of bliss as we visit the US embassy there for my husband's visa interview.
You'll recall we were notified in October that we could schedule the visa interview. So why did we wait until now? Well, there were several factors that made us decide to wait. One of them was that we were busy assembling all the supporting documents we need to present to the interviewer at the consulate. We wanted to make sure we had everything ready and organized. My parents were a huge help during this time and we seriously don't know what we'd have done without them. Thanks Mom & Dad! Another reason to wait was quite simple: I have 2 months of paid vacation in January and February. With us being ready so close to the end of the school year, we figured it would be easier to just go during my time off.
We'll be leaving for Guangzhou on Sunday the 16th. On the 17th, Jeremy will have to go for his medical exam. For people in China applying for an immigrant visa, they must get a medical exam done before having their visa interview. You can only go after you set your interview appointment. And there are only 4 hospitals in all of China in which you can go for this service. They will not accept it if you go elsewhere. One of them is in Beijing; one is in Shanghai; one is in Fujian; and of course, one is in Guangzhou. We decided it would be easiest to just go to Guangzhou early to get this done. He'll pick up his results the day before his interview. Then on Thursday the 22nd, it's interview day. Even though we're prepared with all of our supporting documents, we're still nervous. But we're thinking positively. We've been married over 4 years now and have 2 children together. This kind of process is designed to weed out fake marriages and it's quite obvious ours is the real deal.
Jeremy has booked us a hotel room that's about 200 meters from the embassy, and very close to that hospital where he'll get the medical exam done. This way, if they don't allow the children and me in for the interview, we can walk back to the hotel and wait for him. The hotel isn't anything luxurious. In fact, I worry how I'll endure it for the 5 nights we'll stay there, but it has a refrigerator, microwave and WiFi so at least we'll hopefully feel like we're at home. The idea is to save a little money so we don't have to eat out for every meal. We hope to see some of the sights while we're in Guangzhou to keep from just waiting around the hotel. We'll return to Qingdao on the 23rd.
This whole thing has the added bonus of giving me a vacation from MIL! Yay! 6 days of not having to put up with her. Wonderful! That's almost as exciting as a spa getaway! Almost.
See, last week, we were all sick and her help was very appreciated. Until the end of the week when we were all better and she was just hanging around here, sleeping on Raelynn's bed in the afternoon. GO HOME. Yeesh. It made me wish school was back in session so I didn't have to be home. It's exhausting having 2 kids and being at home. How any of my friends do it is a mystery to me. My hat is off to you! Working gets me out of the house, though I do miss the baby. A lot. But now that I'm home with her, I'm always beat. I'm trying to cook for Raelynn and attend to the baby's needs. So between feeling inadequate and sick, I also felt depressed. And lonely. I miss my husband. He has to go to work each day so I'm left alone with the kids. I could take them somewhere but before our big trip, I think it's best to keep them sick again, so here we are at home.
And MIL has come by today, but just in the afternoon. Which is fine because I needed time to write. And bake a cake for Jeremy. It's his birthday but I hope in just 10 more days, he'll have the best gift of all - his visa to the US!
So all week, stuck in the house until the weekend. But this weekend, we will head out to Guangzhou and be free of the troll. Of course traveling with small children really isn't much of a vacation, but I hope we'll at least have some fun family moments in there. Then when we get back, there's just 3 1/2 weeks until my parents come visit us for Chinese New Year. It will all go by so fast, I know but I'm praying that we will have lots of wonderful things to celebrate very soon!
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