Packing lists, yes already.

I am trying to keep myself busy while I wait for our dossier to be authenticated, so, I decided I need to start picking up the things we will need for the trip a little at a time. In order to know what to get, I had to know how old she is and what part of the country she is in, and what time of year we might be traveling. Since getting the referral, I know that she is 4 years old and wears about a 4t in clothing. She lives in a sub-tropical climate, which means, even in winter it only gets down into the mid 40's during the day, and we will likely be traveling in the Fall at about mid 60's to 70's during the day. The last few days of the trip will be in Guangzhou, which is even warmer, so, we may not need the warm coats unless they are expecting cold temps, which we will know when we get a bit closer to traveling. I am planning for that contingency by leaving room in our carryons for the coats.

I've divided the packing into several lists. A list for each of us, Tim-myself-Matthew, and a master packing list. I also have a running shopping list that will be updated as we get the things on the list.

When packing for a trip like this, you consider the fact that you won't be far from a Walmart or other store, but, you may have a sick or grieving child that would prevent getting out to the store for at least a few days. Also, it will be a two week long trip, and while we will have the laundry done a few times, we don't want to risk running out of clean clothes, especially if we get stuck in China due to weather or some other unexpected delay.

The last trip to China to bring Myleigh home I took a veritable medicine cabinet, and while I didn't use hardly any of it, I was so glad I had it. This time, I will again bring plenty of American medicines, enough for all of us for two weeks.

I won't need to bring too many clothing items for Holly, since we will be taking her shopping in China, but, again, not knowing what her health or state of mind may be, I will bring several outfits to be on the safe side.

In case of lost luggage, I always distribute clothing evenly among all the luggage so no one gets to China and finds they have no clothes to wear because their suitcase got lost or misdirected.

My packing lists are on the side bar if you're interested.