The Mission - Accept It

Parents: Mark and Stephanie. Both 36, well educated and successful in their careers. The Objective: Procure through adoption a female baby from The Peoples Republic of China and bring her home to Texas.

Selected American Name: Emma (aka Emma-Bug).

The Cost: Sell a Kidney and you'll be in the ballpark. This, of course, does not include travel expenses, which could equal a lung.

Travel Timeframe: Could be January, could be March. Definitely sometime in 2006(ish).

Current Theory: China doesn't really require all of the information that constitutes the "Dossier". The Communist officials just like the idea of dicking with the Americans and watching them do back flips - through flaming hoops - with our hands tied behind our backs.

Current State of Mind: Ebbs and flows from crawling out of my skin with anticipation to completely having to separate myself to save my sanity, which was pretty much shot somewhere around the 171-H wait.

Mantra: Will it ever end? Will it ever end? Will it ever end?