Bringing Home Nicholas

Travel Website

2006-01-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

The new website is up and running. Here is the link to direct you on your way! :-) Of course, there's not much on there yet, but feel free to click around and start exploring. We leave home on Tuesday, January 31.

Amazing, but true, our day has finally come.

Red Thread Kids Travel Website

For those faithfully hanging in there....

2006-01-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy the last few days getting everything ready and coming to the sudden realization that we will be the parents of 3 children soon! We were already wondering how we will manage summer breaks, when we found out that the preschool program we want for Nicholas is only in session 3 hours a day.

As always, we will find a way! We have been led every step of this journey, and I don't expect that to change any time soon! :-)

I want to let everyone know that we will be posting to some different web pages for the duration of our travel. I will post the link here before we leave, but the new website will allow us to post not only pictures, but video as well. SO you can really follow our journey! We are excited beyond belief...only 17 more days till we begin!

The Dates....

2006-01-11T14:23:00.000-08:00

Official Departure date from SFO : February 2, 2006
Arrive in Beijing on February 3, 2006
Rest on February 4, 2006
Tour on February 5, 2006 (Terracotta soldiers)
Tour on February 6, 2006 (Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square)
Fly to Province on February 7th- Gotcha day!
5 full business days- 2/7/06-2/13/06 (for China passport processing)
Fly to Guangzhou on February 14th- AC medical appointment
Guide takes visa paperwork to AC on Feb 15, 2006 at 9:30am
Visa Ceremony on February 16, 2006
Depart for Shanghai, China on February 17, 2006
Rest/Visit on February 18, 2006
Rest/Visit on February 19, 2006
Official Departure date from China: February 20, 2006

That's the situation as it stands now! I have been in a flurry of paperwork and I'm loving every minute of it! :-)

HURRAY HURRAY TA TA!!!!!!

2006-01-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

It has arrived!!! We are in a whirlwind of paperwork, dates, and photocopies!

It looks like the agency will try for a 2/14 CA - which would put us in China about 2/4, but we'll go a few days early.

We should know the CA within 48 hours!!!!

Hang on Nicholas, we're almost there!!!

The Part Where I Pout

2006-01-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

Can I just say, "IT'S NOT FAIR!!!"

I do completely understand and respect that China has a responsibility to it's children and finding them the best possible homes. I know that some agencies translate their files first, then log them in and mine does it the other way around. So there are all sorts of good, logical reasons.

But my DTC to LID was 26 days. People that sent their files 3 days earlier had their files logged in week earlier than mine.

Now, people who sent their files in 2 weeks after mine have gotten their Travel Approval, and I don't have mine. In fact, my agency updated me today that mine file is still in review.

I know that we will not get a consulate appointment until after the Chinese New Year. I think I've accepted that. Justin and I have decided it would be a treat to travel during CNY - a once in a lifetime experience despite many shops/sites potentially being closed.

Nicholas's birthday is in February. I wouldn't mind being in China during that time, but please let my gottcha date be no later than his birthday! I will drive my family and coworkers crazy if I am still at home in another month!!!

Day 71 and Counting

2006-01-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

Still No TA. I'm very sad.

Happy New Year!!!

2006-01-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

We are now on day 69 of the WAIT. I have been forbidden to say the "a" word (adoption) at home until January 10th. Hubby said he needed a break. LOL. I, on the other hand, am still obsessing over every little rumor.

We are now #10 on the big list of families adopting waiting children. Granted, this is only a yahoo group list, and there are probably a lot more families out there, but I have watched our names rise from the bottom to now the top 10, so it's a big deal to me!

The new rumor is that all October LID's are in the matching room. A family with a LID of 10/27 (one day after ours!) got their TA on 12/30. Our agency is closed today for the holiday...but I am praying that tomorrow holds good news.

Any news would be good at this point! :-)

Package found...no TA for us

2005-12-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

I will crawl back in my hole to continue waiting. I'm very sad. Looks like we have to start praying for January.

Package still missing...

2005-12-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

No update from the agency yesterday, except to give their holiday out-of-office days. I feel bad for them. People are upset that mail has been lost, but it is out of the agency's hands. They are trying to get the information another way, but people are already stressed with the holidays and emotions are running high. I hope that answers arrive soon for everyone, but they will come just as they are meant to and not a minute before.

I joked with my husband that our TA must be in the packet and God knows we won't be functional at work after it arrives, so that's why it's delayed. It will arrive tomorrow, the day we are scheduled to leave town for the holidays anyway so I won't be a disturbance to my co-workers.

Maybe we'll get really luck and get a CA appointment in the first half of January. We might not even have to go back to work before we need to head out to China, as the CA appointment is the last thing you do before heading home to the US - you've already been in China nearly 2 weeks at that point, and J and I are planning on heading to China a few days early to better adjust to the time zone changes.

In any case, we are packing tonight for both our holiday and China. We are heading to my family's in CA, and will be leaving our China suitcases in their care since we have to head out through San Francisco anyway. I've had Nicholas's suitcases packed for weeks, but I'm a little nervous about tearing through them all again tonight and making sure I have everything. I'll make an inventory list of each bag, so I can resist my OCD urges to open them again at a later date before we leave!!!

Please keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow. It is our son's 7th birthday and a TA would be a great way to celebrate. OF course, I think I said that for our anniversary on 12/14 as well. :-)

NO news...

2005-12-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

One family from my agency received their LID, but no word on anything else at this point. I'm pretty sure that means the envelope has arrived. I'm hoping my TA is at the bottom of the stack and they just haven't gotten to me yet! I can wish, anyway. I do have a 38.9% chance of getting my TA today. I'm thinking 12/26 might be our day. I'll try not to hold my breath, but all this waiting has me cranky. :-)

TA's in the wind....

2005-12-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

It has been 4 weeks since the last TA's were sent for those on my yahoo group of special needs adoptions from China. Yesterday, they began again. Someone got one with a LID of 10/18. My LID is 10/26...SO CLOSE!!!

My agency was told that they had a package of non-special needs TA's mailed ...sometimes they throw in a few SN ones, too! Please keep your fingers crossed and say prayers that today is our day!!! It is also our anniversary (when dh & I started dating) so it would be a GREAT day!

I have become obsessed with the "probability" of getting our TA on any given day. I used the last 6 months worth of data from my yahoo group and calculated our percentages on each Monday. Then I started playing the "what if" game. What if I separated out the agencies...does that make a difference? What if I eliminate everyone who is single or who had to wait for a family size waiver? Does that make my odds better?

In the long run, the TA will arrive when it was meant to, and not a day before. In the mean time, I will continue to drive myself and my husband crazy with my numbers!!!

Back to work to think about what today might hold in store for us!!!!

Home again

2005-12-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

China was FABULOUS!!! I shopped my heart out and fell in love with the country. I cried when I left, and I cannot wait to return.

There is a 1% chance we could get our TA today. My agency got 20 on Friday from the non-special-needs program, and are expecting about 20 more today. I am hoping China threw in a couple of waiting child TA's as well. There are two of us waiting on the same SWI and we would love to go!!!

This group was told to expect to leave for China on 12/21 or 12/23. What a wonderful way to spend the holidays!!!!

Keep your fingers crossed and if you have any access to fairy dust, now would be a good time to break it out!

Leaving for China....

2005-11-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

Not for the adoption, sadly, but just for very short vacation. My mom is a flight attendant, and I have decided to try and distract myself from the TA wait by going to work with her. I'm not sure a trip to China is the best solution to distract me, but the shopping surely cannot hurt! :-)

Besides, it will give me a chance to test my posting skills from China. I will be exploring Shanghai, the city we will be visiting on our way home at the conclusion of our adoption adventure. Justin has bravely agreed to stay home with the children, giving me a true vacation and "girls adventure" out. I am very lucky to have such a great husband.

More Ladybugs...

2005-11-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

A dear friend gave me a card today...it is COVERED in LADYBUGS. For those that don't know, and my friend does not know.....Ladybugs are the symbol of Chinese adoption. Seeing ladybugs is a sign of good news coming from China.

Families are starting to wonder if we will get our TA's before China shuts down for the New Year. I pray that we do!!!!!

With all my heart, I am ready to go. I know everything happens for a reason, and in it's own time, but please let it be our time!!!

Wow oh Wow!!!

2005-11-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

I belong to a yahoo group for people adopting special needs children from China. We keep statistics about how long processes are taking depending on the order of your paperwork.

We have slowly watched our name move from the bottom of the "waiting for a TA" list to somewhere in the middle. Our name seems to move up about 4-5 spots a week.

On Monday morning, we were #50 on the list. Then a FLOOD of TA's came in. If everyone on the list ahead of us with a LID on or before where the TA's were coming in yesterday...then we are now #24 on the list. That is a HUGE one day jump. I think I saw about 20 TA's for certain on my various yahoo groups.

And CHI - another agency - doesn't seem to have given any out yet! Their coordinator was out of town yesterday and it appears that no one was notified if they recieved any TA's.

Today should prove to be interesting!!!

The average time from from LID to TA is about 70 days...some got theirs yesterday in only 38 days. YIKES!!!! Please let that be us!

We would get our TA about December 3!!!

LADYBUG SPOTTED...

2005-11-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

Well, our friend was correct yet again!!! We received our LOG IN DATE of 10/26/2005 today!!!! This is the day that our file was finished being translated and can now be reviewed for final approval!!!

The average time from DTC to LID when we sent our file in was only 18 days, but recently it has been taking over a month. We were hoping for for a 10/18 date, but I know of many people with dates in early to mid-September that have a LID of 10/24, so it looks as though God has smiled on us once again and pushed our chart ahead a little.

Best of all, one of the other families from our agency also adopting from the same SWI got a LID of 10/24 (well, good for me, not for her...) but that means we will probably receive our TA's at the same time and travel together!!! We are both adopting 3 yo boys, so we will be able to support each other very well!!!

I am so thankful to have received this bit of news from the CCAA!!! We all push for better dates and want the CCAA to get our file through fast, but I have to look at it from anther perspective. China is working very hard to place these children. If it is taking longer than usual, that must mean that more families are in the process of adopting these precious children and there is much more work for the CCAA to do. They have a tough job, and the do it well. Everyone is always so amazed at how the child they were matched with fits into their home!!! The CCAA must have some remarkable people working for them!!!

It's a boy

2005-11-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

I saw this and I couldn't resist posting it! :-)

Ladybugs in the Wind

2005-11-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

We have a wonder family friend who means the world to us. She began as Matthew's preschool director, and we just fell in love with her. She was my shoulder to lean on through Justin's deployment and is like my personal cheerleading section. She is a wonderful woman full of genuine goodness and grace.

She also has an amazing ability to ask St. Jude to look out for our family and give us a boost with our adoption. 3 times she has stopped me and asked it I had received our next bit of info...our Pre-Approval, our court approval, or our I-171H. At my "No" responses, she said a prayer each time and told me "In Two Days".

We saw her tonight when we picked the children up from afterschool care. She asked us to share our news with her. We had to explain we may not hear anything for months. She smiled, said her prayer...and told us Friday would bring us news. If anyone has the ability to interceed - it will be her! Honestly, she just has such a good heart. I don't know how else to properly describe her!

Keep your fingers crossed, and feel free to add your prayers!!!

Just my luck

2005-10-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

Kristen was not able to see the boys. It sounds like they had some translation problems. She did find out that the other two boys being adopted through our agency were in the same room as her daughter, so they are hoping to have some pictures on the camera they sent with their care package. Nicholas is, unfortunately, in a different room. I'm sad, but resigned. I'm just going to have to wait until I get to China to see him for myself!

I think he's a little older, and that may be why he is in a different room. I hope he isn't sad. Kristen said the children are very well taken care of and go to preschool and music class.

Blog Spam

2005-10-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Why do people have to post ads in my blog comments? Do they have nothing better to do? Really - enough is enough on the spam. I love getting comments from people, but I get excited that I have a reply, then I open it and someone wants me to buy construction materials! Huh?!?

Kristen has not yet posted on her family website about her visit to the Wuxi SWI. I am trying to stay very busy at work (although not too busy to stop and post). I will keep you all updated as soon as I hear from Kristen!

Today is special...

2005-10-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I will make it until tonght!!!

One of our fellow GWCA Wuxi family was finally untied with her daughter yesterday. Today, they travel back to the SWI to see where their daughter has been raised. They have been told they will not be allowed to visit the children's area. However, they were told if there were specific children they wanted to see, those children would be brought out to meet them and pictures could be taken!!!!

She has requested to see the 3 boys that are being adopted by others in our group, including NICHOLAS!!!! I would be so excited to get new pictures, and a "westerners" evaluation of his size and health, you know, one mom to another!!!

She posted her last update at 9pm last night, so I am hoping for another posting tonight. One of her posts was at 1am....and I cannot stay up that late, but I may not be able to sleep with anticipation, either!!!

We have been making some plans for our own journey to China. We are going to drive to my parent's house and leave our van with them. We will take the airport shuttle to the airport in San Francisco, and leave from there. When we are finished in China, instead of returning through Bejing, I think we will head to Shanghai to visit friends there and return home from Shanghai. Then mom & dad can pick us up at the airport, with the children if they don't come along with us....and we will be able to rest a couple of days in California before heading home.

Planning makes this seem like a little more of a reality. I have been the one from the beginning trying to encourage Justin to let his heart go and accept that Nicholas will join our family. He has always been waiting for the other shoe to drop and for someone to tell us we can't complete the adoption. Suddenly, he seems to be very sure that everything will be ok, which is good because now I'm starting to freak out!

I have Nicholas's suitcase packed already. How about I just show up in China? Do you think they'd let me take him home!?! LOL! I'm just too anxious to keep waiting!!!

Everyone say a prayer...

2005-10-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

There is a new director at the CCAA ( the central adoption agency in China). It is not yet clear if this person is the overall director, or the director of the reveiwing room, but he is already impacting adoptions. Every time a new director moves in, the rules change a little. Several people this week have been told they are no longer approved to adopt for past medical history or age.

I think Nicholas was meant for us, and I cannot imagine any reason we would be denied at this point. But the denial are coming out of the reviewing room, where our file hopefully now sits.

I pray that this new director helps speed up the review process, and that he positively impacts our travel time to complete our adoption. But all settle for just keeping things on track.

Justin still has yet to let people at work know he is adopting. Other than his supervisor. He had to tell her because she will be out on maternity leave when we are estmated to be going to China! He did FINALLY submit through human resources for FMLA (family medical leave act) to take time off when the time does come.

On a happy side...Kristen and her husband left this morning for China to pick up their daughter, Brooke, who is also at the same SWI as Nicholas. She has been kind enough to take pictures of all of us still waiting and the children we have been matched with in the hopes that she will be allowed to take pictures of our children. I think we have more of a chance of getting pictures this way than through the CCAA!

Nicholas

2005-10-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to try and post a picture of Nicholas. We don't have many...only 3, but we will make up for that later. And we plan on getting this little guy to smile, so stay tuned!

Care Package

2005-10-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

My translated letter arrived today thanks to Adele Hall ( www.blessedkids.com ). She translated a rather lengthy letter for me explaining the contents of my package and asking the items be given to Nicholas. She has an excellent template to work from. She also translated a list of 17 questions for us about Nicholas's likes and dislikes. I am sending a box of chocolates to the staff of the SWI in the hopes that someone takes the time to answer at least some of the questions! I strongly recommend her services. Adele also translated a small card (about a 3 X 5) that I laminated and we plan to carry to China with us. It explains who we are and why we are in China, and also that we promise to educate Nicholas and teach him respect for his beautiful homeland.

We also are sending a disposable camera and asked that someone take pictures of Nicholas in his daily activities so that he may have a treasure from this time in his life. Someday, I think it will be important to him.

I also sent a security blanket, a small toy, and an outfit. We still really don't have much clue on sizes. Our report from June indicated he is almost 36 inches, 32 lbs. But that seems so small to us! American size would put him at a 2T. We originally thought that our report was from August of 2004, so we were anticipating a 3T or 4T by now. WRONG!!! I bought 3T stuff, mostly, so I'm hoping we are ok.

We just went through the children's closets to clear the clutter of too-small clothing. I usually post it on Craigslist or Freecycle to give away, but I boxed up all of Matthew's too-small stuff and put it up in the garage. I guess it will be some time before Nicholas needs size 6, but Matthew had several pairs of shoes that he only wore a couple of times before outgrowing!!! Matthew is tickled at the thought of Nicholas wearing his favorite outfits that he didn't want to part with. It made the closet cleaning a much easier experience than usual!

Big Brown Envelope

2005-10-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

We got our envelope today from the US Consulate in China. It means we are officially ready to bring Nicholas into the US. Now, if China would just get with the program and process our dossier...we could get this show on the road! :-) By "averages" our file should be logged in today. It will still be quite some time before that date gets reported to our agency, if we find out our LID at all!!! Keeping fingers crossed...............

Not a match

2005-10-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Some of the information I was told about the little girl was inaccurate. It appears now just to be a bunch of coincidences. She was not from the same city, but a city about 30 km away. Everything else seems to be pretty accurate. I can't confirm the immunological disorder, but her lab profile does seem to fit. It's not a close enough coincidence for me to bug China about it at this point, but I am going to keep my eye on her. Rumor has it deaf children can be very hard to place...especially if they're older than two.

I know of two families considering adopting her...and I hope for her sake she finds a home quickly.

Back to waiting for Nicholas!!!

So I lied...

2005-10-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

There is something new...I'm just not sure exactly what it is yet.

We got the word that there is a little girl on a waiting child list who was abandoned in the same spot as Nicholas exactly one year to the day later. She was also estimated to be 18 months and was given the same birthday, exactly one year later. So she is 2 yrs 7 months. She was also very underweight. She is also deaf. I've been told she has the same immunological disorder. I'm trying to confirm all the facts directly with her agency before I twist my head around the implications of this too much.

I did exchange e-mails with the parents that are considering adopting her last night. They were very curious about the similarities, but haven't really expressed an opinion yet. They want to compare the pictures.

I thought maybe I was crazy considering the possibility there may be a relationship, but everyone I've spoken to seems to think this can happen. I guess truth is stranger than fiction.

Nothing New

2005-10-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

I've been transferred to the "Waiting TA" group. Which is great because I'm back in the hands of the WONDERFUL Beth at GWCA. I'm convinced Beth could move the moon if it was required of her. I'm thinking there's probably no way we'll travel in December. My morning update from Beth explained that for their purposes, DTC and Log In Date (LID) are the same, so they won't start counting our 65 days until they have that date to work from.

The only good news is that LID's are coming quickly right now...an average of 18 days. That only adds less than 3 weeks to our process. I can't remember why I've obsessed about completing this adoption this year...maybe it was just the children's school break. But I really think I'll keep my sanity as long as we have Nicholas home in February for his birthday. I really can't see any reason why we wouldn't travel in January at the very latest. I can still hope for December, though!

DTC

2005-10-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

It finally officially gone....now we just wait for a log-in date! :-)

Wednesday

2005-09-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

I still haven't heard anything from the agency...so once again I'm hoping that this means everything is ok with the dossier!!!! I know my Pre-Approval has been attached to the paperwork. Grrrr!!! I heard a rumor that the CCAA will be closed all next week, so that may delay my log-in date. I'm having a peaceful day with regards to the wait today. We will travel when we are meant to and not a day sooner or later. I have to accept that. Today that's easy. We'll see what tomorrow is like! :-)

Dossier Update

2005-09-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently, my case worker is off today. But there is another woman at the agency in a different department I love dearly. She is always willing to be my vent recipient.

Anyway, she told me my caseworker was out and of course she has no idea about what happened last week.

BUT>>She actually took the time to go look up my file and found my name on the list of dossiers to be sent to China on 9/30/2005. She said the dossier was good-to-go, so that means no more hiccups this week.

I may not travel in 2005, but I'm confident we'll get Nicholas home before his 4th birthday. I can still pray that my dossier will be logged in with the others send in September, and maybe it will help me catch up to those traveling in December. {{Sigh.}} Back to the waiting game.

You know what they say about "assume"...

2005-09-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

I should have known. There cannot be any step of this process that is not a hassle. My agency emailed my work address on Friday that they received my paperwork after the Wednesday deadline, so it wouldn't be reviewed until this week.

The deadline is 10 am on Wednesday.

My dossier was signed for at 0956.

You do the math.

I could fight and fuss about it, I was 4 mintues early...but the fact still remains that our case manager didn't look at the paperwork and it wasn't sent. I can't change that. Another week passes us by.

It will take a miracle to get us to China in December.

The Simple Life

2005-09-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

I didn't hear from the agency today to tell me anything was wrong with the paperwork, so I'm going to assume that means it's headed to China tomorrow morning!!!!

Tonight we had our second ASL class. Both my children got removed. LOL! It's not as bad as it sounds. Most of the students in the youth class are older, but Rachel and Matthew apparently are ahead of the class in signing skills. They were playing a game, and R & M were on the same team and kept winning. The older children got upset, and started pestering and name calling. The children ended up in tears and were taken out to calm down.

The director decided that they would probably do very well in the adult class, so next week they are off to sign with me. BTW, I decided to stay in the preschool parent class. The instructor is wonderful and has lots of tips about how to introduce signing that I think will be very helpful to me. Besides, it's fun to do with my family (even if we did get in trouble for talking too much!)

It was another late night, but luckily tomorrow is a teacher work day so there is no school and we get to start enjoying our 3-day weekend.

HURRAYYY!!!!

2005-09-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

THERE IT IS>>>>>>A COMPLETED DOSSIER!!!!!!!! And now it's gone. My fate is once again in the hands of Federal Express. Let the Travel Approval (TA) wait begin!!!!!

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

2005-09-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

I just checked Fed Ex's tracking......my docs are already back in Phoenix and delivery is scheduled by 1030 am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be DTC this FRIDAY!!!! One more quick call to the agency to ensure I have everything I need.....I'll be back later with the official word!

2005-09-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our first day of sign language class. We've been learning on our own up until now, but since the school year started, the Phoenix School for the Deaf has their regular night class for families. We packed in me, my two children, their best friend, my MIL and FIL and SIL.
A woman told a couple of stories, and another teacher interpreted for her. The children didn't understand why the teacher was speaking, because they actually understood the woman signing. It was a great eye-opener for them. They have seen me sign for years, but it is far different to see a room full of deaf people sign together. They were in awe.
We split into classes, and I signed the children into the childcare program that I thought would cover sign language with the children. They were left in the care of 3 of the school's teachers...all deaf.
I went with my In-laws to the basic class for parents of infants & preschoolers. My family loved it.
About 1/2 way into the class, the woman who told the stories, who is the program director, came into my class with my daughter. She told my my daughter was upset because she had been left in childcare but needed to learn to sign for her brother. So they came and found me and asked permission to move my kids into a youth beginning signing class. (That's where I thought I'd left them, but the directions were a little muddy.) So off the kids went.
The children started a class for children with a deaf instructor who does not speak. They loved the class and were very upset to learn it was only once a week.
I always feel I have a basic grasp of sign language, but that my level is very beginner. But happily last night I realized the class I was in wasn't going to cover anything new to me. I was able to explain this to the director, who agreed to let me try the advance class next week. :-)
All in all, the day was a GREAT success. My kids were so happy to be included in the deaf "culture" and were so comfortable in the surroundings and with the school staff. They all agree that sign language is much more expressive than spoken words, and it makes story telling much more impressive.
I think we are going to do right by Nicholas, after all! :-)

9/10 ths of the way done!!!

2005-09-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

The documents arrived last night!!! I took them to the secretary of state office when it first opened this morning, then shipped them all off to the courier in L.A. Provided Fed Ex delivers on time, she said she will take them today, and have them back to me on Tuesday. So my dossier should be at GWCA Wednesday morning. I can't believe it's so close to done!!!

Just shoot me now

2005-09-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Everything happens for a reason, I know. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. I have every document I need to take to the state...except our homestudy report. They had to write a "short" version for China. It went back and forth for a few days between my agencies, then was fed-exed on Monday. The zip was wrong, and now it's in La-La land. I called fed ex yesterday when the envelope missed it's 1030 deadline, and they corrected the zip and rerouted it. But it didn't make delivery. Then today, it's again past 1030 and still not delivered. I was hoping to have this all done yesterday, but since I missed it, now I have to wait until next week to send this off to China, as my adoption agency only sends stuff to China on Fridays.

I guess I should consider myself lucky...I've heard some agencies only send a package to China once a month.

65 days from next Friday would be about November 27th. That would still give us plenty of time to get a consulate appointment in December. December is ideal travel time for us. Kids are out of school mid-month so they wouldn't even miss anything there.... please say a prayer for us!!! I'll go crazy if I can't spend Christmas with my new son.

Waiting again

2005-09-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

And not the good 65 day wait for my TA! :-( I am waiting for my adoption agency to approve my homestudy so that I can get it authentiacated and send it off to China. Unfortunately (for me), my agency got 105 baby referrals from China on Friday, and they have to sort through all those ASAP!!! I understand, that's 105 families who have been waiting 6 months for this "delivery". They must be so excited and want to see their babies NOW. But I want to go get my baby NOW! LOL!! I am trying to take deep breaths and stay calm. But I'm ready to explode out of my skin!!!

Everyone (if there's anyone out there) please do a "read the report" dance for me. If I don't get all this in by next Friday, I'm going to cry!

IT'S HERE!!!!

2005-09-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

OUR I-171H ARRIVED!!!!!!!! NOW I JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH IT!!! :-)

Pouting

2005-08-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

No I-171H yet. I really was hoping the trend of paperwork coming quickly would continue. I had very strange dreams last night about actually traveling to get Nicholas...maybe it's a good sign the form will be here today.

Drum roll please.....

2005-08-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

Ever hear the expression - when God closes a door he always opens a window?

My social worker called and the Judge signed our homestudy!!!

WE ARE CERTIFIED TO ADOPT!!!!!

It only took 2 working days, not the 2-3 weeks predicted.

AND - the agency already sent it to immigration so we may have our I-171H form by Monday! We may get our dossier to our adoption agency by 9/1 after all!!!!!

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!! I could really get no better news today!!!!!

Step by step...

2005-08-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

We are getting there! I have reached a new peace with the whole process. As long as I do all I can every day, then I cannot worry about the things that are out of my hands. God brought us this child, and He will bring us together in his own time.

Our homestudy agency has finished the report. It has gone to the judge. The judge only works on Thurdays on adoptions. I hope and pray that ours was the only one he had to read yesterday and that he also signed it already. If not, I hope he gets to it soon. We were told it could take 2-3 weeks.

I think I will take all our Arizona documents to the state office on Monday. Then all I will have to take are the homestudy and I -171H when it arrives. I won't send everything on to the consulate until it is complete, but this small step will let me feel like I am getting SOMETHING done. :-)

I feel very much for the adoptive parents that are seeking newborns here in the states. I have ready many blogs about families that so desperatley want the joy of raising a newborn and are waiting to be picked by a birth mom. That journey would be so tough. At least with Nicholas, we know he has been abandoned. There is no worry about someone coming to reclaim him (ok - I do worry about it a little, but not like these families face). I am not being judged in comparison to other families. They looked at our family, decided we would make good parents, and we were matched with Nicholas. No birthmom contact as she struggles with her choice of parenting or adoption.

We do think about Nicholas's birth parents. I cannot imagine the struggle of making the choice to give up a child, especially in China to give up a boy over a year old. His mom must mourn for him every day. I wish there was some way I could reassure her that he will be loved, he will grow and be happy, he will get an education and have the life that she hoped for him when she placed him on that doorstep.

Nicholas, I'm coming...not too much longer!

I hate waiting

2005-08-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

Our homestudy didn't get submitted on time because I missed on part of the questionnaire. I've got that settled now, so it should go to the judge this Thursday. (He only reads them once a week). If I'm very lucky - it will be the only homestudy this week and he'll sign it right away. Wishful thinking, but hey, I can hope! My SW says it should be done within two weeks. That could mean Sept. 1, the day I wanted my papers to go to China. But worst case, on Sept 1 I'll be able to send the homestudy to immigration, and it usually only takes them 1 week to return the oh-so-important I-171H that is government approval to make Nicholas a US citizen and bring him to the states. If we got that back Sept. 8, I can take it to the state capitol for certification on the 9th, then overnight it to the courier in L.A. to take it to the Chinese Embassy. I'd have it back in hand on the 14th, and to the adoption agency on the 15th. (But who's counting). LOL!!! If it doesn't make it in the mail on the 16th, it will be mailed to China on the 23rd. Then the Average 65 day countdown begins...putting us at November 29th. Sigh. But December travel is good!! It just seems so far away!!!

OK - now that that bit of obsessing is over, we are thinking we won't be taking the children to China with us. Rachel has been very ill, and isn't allowed to eat much in the way of food. She is on a mostly liquid diet, and today we introduced small bites of fruit. They are not sure she will be up to rice by November/December - and it seems cruel to take her to a country where that is the primary food. She's lost so much weight, her rib cage completely shows right now. She will be fine, but I don't want her back sliding by being dragged around China.

So - it may just be Justin and I traveling. Which has it's own advantages anyway, and it saves a lot of money. :-(

It's August!!!!

2005-08-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

This is the month I will finish my paperwork and put the ball back into China's court!!! Hurray!
Everyone's passports arrived yesterday, so we are one visa shy of being able to travel! Our homestudy will be submitted on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed for a quick reply from the courts!!!!

Where has my patience gone??

2005-07-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

I want to go to China and bring Nicholas home NOW!!! I've had it with the waiting. I try to be so good...but today has been really tough! I found a bunch of picture blogs from families currently in China. They were so sweet but they broke my heart. I know we'll get there, but today, 3 months seems like 3 years.

Fingerprints done!!

2005-07-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

The fingerprinting process went well today. No big surprises although they did have to do mine several times to get them right. It was very "CSI ish" digitally scanned and the whole bit! They did have to pass my drivers license around the office to laugh about how much I look like Harry Potter! Grrr!! But it's really true. The picture is awful! (No offense to Daniel Radcliffe!)

All is Well and Calm again!

2005-07-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Fed Ex just hadn't updated their website. The package arrived on schedule at the courier so there are no hiccups there! Hurray!

We finished our last homestudy meeting on Saturday. It was very enjoyable. If anyone needs an Arizona homestudy agency....Adoption Journies AZ is great. They also have a China adoption and I believe a Russia adoption program. It is a small company, but that means lots of individual attention! I must say, our primary adoption agency, GWCA, is larger - but we always feel like we're they're only client from the treatment they give us! I guess we are just very fortunate to be having a great all-around experience with all aspects of this adoption.

Fingerprints are tomorrow...then it is sit back and relax (yeah right!) until the rest of the paperwork arrives!!!

Looking back, I am just amazed at how fast this is going!!! I would strongly recommmend the Waiting Child program for anyone who feels they can handle a child with a special need! To me, their needs are so minor - and many of them repairable - it is worth looking into!

On an off topic note...my children had a Karate tournament on Sunday. Both did very well in their 6 events. Matthew placed 2nd in the "Walk with Danger" competition. Rachel placed 3rd in "Strongest Kick" and 1st in "Walk with Danger". For both of them, it was the first time they placed. The "Walk with Danger" event was the last event of the day and they were both exhausted, but they tried so hard and made us very proud that they kept their spirits up and put so much effort into it all day!

We were also overjoyed to see a child with hearing aids at the competition. I am certain that Karate will be a great sport for Nicholas, should he enjoy it...but it's always nice to see someone with a similar situation!

Sigh...is it time to go to China yet???

The Emotional Rollercoaster

2005-07-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

We have another oops. I prepared a Fed Ex package yesterday to go to a courier service that hand carries documents to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. I put the Fed Ex in the correct pick up location in our office. Today it is gone...but Fed Ex has no record of it!!!!

I can't wait until this paperchase is over! :-(

YIPPIE!!!

2005-07-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

I am not allowed to explain how.....but the fingerprint issue has been resolved happily and we will not have to wait the additional 3 months! My social worker is a wonderful woman!!! :-)

There's People Out There?????

2005-07-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

First, an appology! I never imagined anyone would actually be reading this, much less leave me comments. The little comment thingy caught my eye today, and WOW.....I am shocked!!!! Thank you so much!!! I appreciate the links from other blogs/websites. The bracelet orders continue to roll in, and I was kind of wondering about that!

Now I feel kind of bad about whinning so much. I know this adoption is happening fairly quick... we really only started in March/April, so I've only been at it a few months. But I really want Nicholas home FAST. The sooner he starts learning a language...the faster his world will open up. And I'm concerned about his immunity disorder. I want him seen by a US doctor as soon as we get him home. I already picked out all the specialists. :-) Little do they know what they have in store for them!

Again, thank you for reading! If you have blogs, I'd love to read them!!!

A glimmer of hope...

2005-07-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

I left messages yesterday with EVERYONE I thought might be able to help me. My homestudy Social Worker called and said she had the phone number for the CIS caseworker. One woman handles all the adoption cases, and the SW says she is a very reasonable woman.

Some of my online gang also found me the webiste for an internal CIS memo that explicitly states there are exceptions to waiting until the homestudy is complete. Basically it says the wait is a guidline and not intended to be the "rule". It pretty much states that as long as the adoptive parent understands the prints are only good for 6 months and they still request an appointment, then go ahead and let them get their fingerprints done. At $70 a pop, you think they'd be happy if the prints expire and the parents have to do them again!!!

The Government is out to make me crazy

2005-07-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

We realized that Justin got scheduled for military duty before our homestudy will be certified by the state. No biggie, he doesn't need to be around for the certification. However, Immigration in Arizona has decided they will not fingerprint anyone until the homestudy is certified. So Justin will not be able to get his fingerprints done until after he returns in October. I went to the CIS office today and asked it they would PLEASE fingerprint him before he goes...but they said no exceptions. I filed an appeal to the case worker, but she has 5 business days to reply by mail, and by then it's probably going to be too late.

They did say that Justin could get his prints done in South Carolina near the base, but the nearest USCIS office is either 120 miles away in Charleston, or 110 miles away in Charlotte, NC. The odds of the Army giving him permission for a day trip like that are very slim.

This will push our adoption back about 3 months. I'm so frustrated and heartbroken. We'll probably miss Nicholas's 4th birthday at this rate.

Why do they make this so difficult??? :-(

:-(

2005-07-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Work denied my PTO for the 18th and 19th. No trip to China for me. I am heartbroken. We are training new people at work, and no one will cover for me for those two days.

SHOPPING!!!

2005-07-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

With PA in hand, I finally could justify a little shopping. Most families send a package as soon as the PA arrives. I however, have Mom. She's headed to China on 7/8 and will attempt to hand deliver my package for me! I bought a cute shorts outfit (and one to match for big brother!), a small manga doodle, and a blankie.

Mom goes back to China on 7/16/2005 and if all goes well this visit and she actually gets to see him...I'll be going with her!!!!! :-) I may get to "meet" my son in 14 days!

PA! PA! PA!!!

2005-07-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

IT ARRIVED TODAY!!!!!!!

NICHOLAS IS OURS!!!!!!

MUST FINISH HOMESTUDY!!!!!!!

Baby Steps!

2005-06-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

We have finally pulled together all the documents we need for our "paperchase"!!!! The last of our documents was notarized TODAY!!!!!

I cannot do anything else until my passport arrives (tomorrow or Tuesday) Then, with passport in hand, I will be able to send our documents to their individual states for apostille and the area Chinese Consulates for authentication. We are having family hand carry these documents from here, so our packet should be ready even before the homestudy is certified by the state!

It may not seem like much of a milestone, but you should see my cheat-sheet at home! I made a huge graph of all the steps we needed to take...and MOST OF THEM ARE DONE!!!!

Now - if that PA would just hurry up and arrive! Today is day 20 of the wait! The "average wait" is up to about 47 days, but someone just received theirs in 19 days. {Sigh} I'm not very good at waiting!

New Information

2005-06-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Day 13 of the PA wait! But we did get new information today on Nicholas! He has grown! Our last update was from almost a year ago, so our agency requested an update and it arrived very quickly!

He is now almost 36 inches tall and 32 lbs. He is keeping right in his growth curve, so everything looks great! He has been ill, but is fine now. He has had frequent respiratory infections and was hospitalized in April. :-( He was diagnosed with "transient hypogammaglobulinemia" which sounds bad but is a common childhood disorder that is usually outgrown. It basically means that his body doesn't build up immunities so he gets sick easily.

This disorder can cause frequent respiratory and ear infections. We may have our first glimmer into what caused his deafness.

Other than that - he is reported to be very independant and can do simple gymnastics.

As for the paperchase, etc.... all we are waiting on is my birth certificates. All the others have arrived. I'm not sure what the hold up is.

Waiting Waiting Waiting

2005-06-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

I will go back and fill in the blanks, but for now - here's where we stand today:

Our LOI (Letter of Intent) was sent to China on 6/10/05. This is our letter expressing our desire to adopt Waiting Child #10, Xi Weiyi. We had to include personal information and a lot of information about how we plan to care for Xi Weiyi, aka Nicholas, once he comes home. Because Nicholas has a "special need", we had to show we were prepared to address that. Nicholas is deaf. It was actually very easy for us to put the letter together, as we are very ready to bring Nicholas home! I've seen the school he will go to, interviewed the staff, checked with the local children's hospital on a plan of care.... it's all ready.

Now we just wait. The average response from China arrives in 35 days. They will send back a "Pre-approval" (PA). Pretty much it says they approve the adoption pending we get certified by the state and the US grants his immigration and we don't get arrested between now and the adoption. :-)

The homestudy is about 1/2 way done. We still have to finish the last bit of our autobiography, then schedule the last visit. This goes to the state for judicial approval. The earliest this will happen is August 6. (Here in AZ you have to first submit fingerprints, then wait 60 days before the courts will address it!)

In the meantime, we are still paperchasing. That involves compiling birth certificates, marriage license, letters from the police department, employment letters, medical letters and so on. Each of these must be notarized, then sent to the state they were issued in for Apostille - kind of a verification of the notary. THEN they go to the regional China Embassy for Authentication. Once all those are complete, we will have our Dossier.

We are also waiting on Immigration (CIS). We filed an I-600A petition to adopt overseas. Once it when the homestudy is complete and approved, this will complete the I-600A. We'll get an appointment for FBI fingerprints, and once those are submitted we wait for the I-171H document to arrive that will allow Nicholas to come to the US.

Whew - tired yet...there's more. The Dossier, the homestudy, and a copy of the I-171H then go to China (DTC - for dossier to China). China will log the file in and issue a log-in-date (LID). They usually tell the adoption agency what the LID is and then China issues a Travel Authorization (TA) about 75 days later. The travel time frame is usually 6-8 weeks from teh TA date.

THEN we can go get Nicholas and bring him home and start our journey together.

Under construction

2005-05-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

Stay posted! Updates soon!