A new life in our world

Today, we got the email from our agency's travel department, letting us know we have TA (travel approval) to go to China. We picked our dates to be in China, and the travel department will now request our consulate appointment from China. They have told us to expect our consulate appointment maybe Monday or Tuesday, and then we can book our flights!
We've chosen to travel around the 23rd or 24th of July, returning around the 8th of August.

Well, a lot of people have asked, so I'll tell you that when I first got this picture I didn't want to put it up. It felt private somehow, because it's so intimate. But M. convinced me that it was selfish not to share it. In his mind, there is no more perfect picture to describe what we are feeling.
This photo was taken just a few days ago and sent to our agency with her measurements. In this picture, the nanny is holding the photo album we sent in her first care package for her to look at. The album has pictures of the whole extended family, but in this photo she's looking at mine. It's an amazing thing to see this tiny girl who, so far, we have only known in pictures, halfway 'round the world, looking at "us" for the first time. It's a bit mind-boggling.

On an entirely different note - here's something I was thinking today as I drove around running errands in preparation for our travel. As I listened to the grim stock market numbers, I thought the following: I am not entirely unhappy at the idea of our daughter coming into her new life here in the US during this economic sea-change.
Sure, it's nice to have a strong economy, and none of us enjoy the uneasiness in the pit of our stomach that comes with uncertain times like these. We have to tighten our belts, worry more, watch where every penny goes. But in all honesty, I think we are coming out of a very long phase of vast and really unconscionable overindulgence in our nation. I think we have learned to spend too freely, acquire too obsessively, and live to easily on money that we don't have.
I think that the consumer mentality that has gripped much of our nation for a long time now has become rather appalling. I think this change has been a long time coming, and I hope this downturn in the economy will stimulate some massive changes in our national psyche, our lifestyle, and our attitudes. I have to say that I feared for children coming into a world that could produce that Super Sweet 16 show, and others like it. I feared for what sort of adults those children would grow up to be.
On balance, I would rather see our daughter grow up in a climate where we have to learn how to save and think about what we spend, where we have respect for our environment, where we do not live outside our means for the sake of vanity and acquisition. I would rather she grow up in a world where the imagination reigns supreme throughout childhood, and where the sheer number of toys and gadgets are no longer the benchmark.
This is my hope for her. I don't know how much this economic downturn will change our national psyche, but I hope it will bring us back down to earth. I am willing to tighten my belt, drive less, budget better, be more frugal, live through some lean times. It is after all a small price to pay if it means that our daughter grows up with a healthy and balanced attitude toward the world and her place in it.