Merry Christmas Audra Qi Jia

Waiting...wondering...hoping...praying...loving...

We celebrate with joy and thankfulness this Christmas with our family here at home.

But a piece of our heart is half a world away...with a sweet little girl who means to world to us!

We pray that she is happy, healthy, and loved upon by those around her until we have her in our very own arms. 

Merry Christmas Audra!  This year we celebrate knowing and loving you.  Next year we will celebrate while having and holding you.

The video link below perfectly describes the feelings we have of waiting for our little girl during the holidays. 
(please note:  tissues may be needed...you've been warned!!)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xebv7muzxU&feature=player_detailpage

Third Day - Merry Christmas

 

There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn

Crying for momma's arms

At an orphanage just outside a little China town

There the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire

And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home

Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone

And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms

And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights

I'm warmed by the fire's glow

Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,

Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears

And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here

It's Christmas time again but you're not home

Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone

And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms

And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child

And we celebrate his perfect gift of love

He came to earth to give his life

And prepare a place for us

So we could have a home with him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home

Your family is here so you will never be alone

So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms

And I'll tell you from my heart, and I'll you from my heart

I wish you Merry Christmas

Supplement 3

Today we had to file a Supplement 3 to our I800A (remember that form?)  The I800A is submitted to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (our request for approval to bring a child from China into the USA as a US citizen). 

Anyway...our original I800A gave us approval for a child up to 60 months of age (5 years old).  But, the little beauty we have been matched with is 62 months old.  So the difference of 2 months means more forms to fill out and submit...and of course another fee to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  CRAZY!!!

LOA update:  today is day 12 of our LOA wait.  The average is around 60 days, however within the last week some people have received their LOA around day 35.  So, if we are lucky enough to have a wait of only 35 days we could potentially receive our LOA sometime around January 9th.  Which would mean maybe, just maybe, we could travel as early as the end of March!  Wishful thinking, but a momma can dream, right?!

Introducing....

 

Our beautiful daughter...

 

Audra Qi Jia

 

(this is the first picture we ever saw of her
and she stole our hearts in an instant!)

 

 

And her soon-to-be cousin...
 

 

Charlotte

 

 

No words necessary...
our hearts are full of love and thankfulness!

 





Pre-Approval

Today we found out that we have received Pre-Approval (PA) from China to adopt Nan Qi Jia!!!

Our formal application was submitted on Sunday evening which included some preliminary paperwork:

Our Nurture Plan
The agency's opinion statement regarding us
Financial information
Health information
Family information and photos

Now, China will begin reviewing our complete Dossier and eventually...in 2-3 long  months...issue our Letter of Confirmation (aka LOA) which is their final approval of us as adoptive parents for Qi Jia.  I have heard from others that the wait for LOA is the hardest and longest wait of the many waits in an adoption journey.  Now we have pictures of a beautiful little girl to look at every day, and that makes you want to jump on the next plane over there, scoop her up and bring her home!

In the past three days we have been blessed to receive many updates on Qi Jia...recent photos, recent measurements, answers to some developmental questions, CT scan images and even a video of her playing with friends!  We are very grateful that the orphanage director has been willing to provide these for us.  We had been told that some orphanages are not willing to give any additional information besides what is listed in a child's file.  We are so thankful that her orphanage is not one that is unwilling to provide updates.  We know that most likely we will not get any more updates on her until we receive our LOA.  In the mean time we will probably burn out our computer watching the video of her over and over every single day.  What a relief to see her in the video...she looks so happy, smiling and playing with friends.  And very active...crawling under tables (Aidan's favorite part of course!)  And by the way...Maura may have some competition for the title of "miss bossy pants" in our house...Qi Jia doesn't stop talking during the entire video...but I have no idea what she is saying.  I'm working on having it translated.

I am hoping that my next post will include pictures and some details about her.  We are waiting to hear confirmation that we can share photos and information about her now that we have PA.

If you can, please take a minute to say a prayer for our newest little girl....that she remains safe, and healthy until we can hold her in our arms and bring her home forever. 

A Roller Coaster Week

The past 10 days have been amazing, thrilling and emotionally exhausting! 

Let me start by announcing that we have been matched....we have finally seen the face our sweet, precious daughter.  We know who she is, where she is and what she looks like.  And she is beautiful....absolutely breathtaking!  I will share more about her when we are able.  We are so in love with her already...that fast...as if she has always been with us. 

Now let me share with you our journey to her these past 10 days...

Friday, November 23rd: 
At approximately 3:10pm our social worker sent us an email letting us know that the upcoming Monday night would be the shared list update.  And that although she was on vacation she would be up late Monday night on the computer accessing the shared list and *hopefully* finding some matches.  She also attached the file of a little girl whom she had just recently seen show up on the shared list.  As soon as I saw her email on my phone I was also getting a text from Sean to ask if I had looked at the file.  I quickly called him and we almost immediately decided that we were both very drawn to this beautiful little girl and that we needed to move fast.  By 3:45pm I had emailed our social worker back to let her know that YES we were very interested in this little girl.  Then time began to stand still...it was now the end of the workday on a Friday AND our social worker was on vacation.  Our fears escalated as the hours and days went by, and all the while we kept staring at the picture of the little beauty....and we became more and more attached.

finally....Monday, November 26th: 
Of course, I was at an all day conference where I didn't have access to my phone at all times.  As soon as the lunch break started I check my phone and there was an email and a voicemail from our social worker.  She has checked the shared list and YES this little girl was still there.  I email her right away and asked her to please lock this child's file for us (locking a file means that our name is assigned to it and other agencies and families don't have access to it).  She got right back to me and said that she was on her way to an appointment but that she would take care of it as soon as she returns. 
At 4:15 we received an email from the social worker letting us know that unfortunately the child's file had been locked by another family.  We felt crushed, defeated and let down.  We were so close and then it all just slipped away.  We were sad, upset and angry.  But the day was far from done.  Remember, it was Monday....the once monthly shared list update was happening that night.  We got ourselves together and geared up for a long night of waiting by the phone and computer.  Finally, by midnight...after a very long and emotional day...it was clear to us that we weren't going to be matched.  Fatigue took over and I fell asleep in bed with my laptop and cell phone...and a very heavy heart. 

Wednesday, November 28th:
With my mind and heart still full for this sweet little girl, I email our social worker and let her know that if this particular little girl ever shows back up on the shared list she should lock the file immediately then notify us. 

Thursday, November 29th:
This was "re-release night"...72 hours after the Monday night shared list update all of the files that were locked on Monday night but then never followed through with by a family (for any various number of reasons) are returned to the shared list and available to all agencies again.  So it's like Monday night all over again...can my heart take this???   Of course, I was at work this day, keeping myself busy, trying hard not to think too much about what the night might bring.  Then, around 8:20pm I casually checked my phone (for about the 99th time that hour!!) and there it was...an email from our social worker with "locked a file for you" in the subject line!  I opened the email but needed to read it over and over to make sure I understood exactly what it said.  By now I am shaking, crying, and rejoicing all at once...it's real...it's really real, she came back and we got her.  I headed directly to my office where a few of my co-workers began crying with me.  We were hugging and passing her beautiful picture all around.  I got a text from Sean and I immediately called him...we were both calm and relieved.  This roller coaster is over, we have finally found our daughter.  We are blessed beyond words!

Next step:  Our formal application to adopt this child in particular has been submitted tonight (after a very extensive phone conference with an International Adoption Physician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia this afternoon...but really...we were already in love with this child...nothing she could have said to us would have changed that!).  Now we are waiting for China to grant us Pre-Approval for this particular child.  We are hoping to have PA by the end of this week.  Then we can share more details about her with you.  Fingers crossed for a fast PA!

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers and support thus far in our journey.  We are blessed to be surrounded by so much love and we are thankful.

Matches?!

I have never been more anxious for the weekend to be over and for Monday to be here! 

Tomorrow night is the next Shared List update....which means maybe we will be matched.  Our program coordinator is on vacation but has assured us that she will be up late with her "China laptop" to hopefully do some matching.  The process starts around 8-9pm EST when new files begin to be uploaded to the shared list, and the whole process lasts until early in the morning.  Fingers, toes and everything else crossed that 30 hours from now we will have good news to share. 

There is other good news...we have lost some of our "competition" in the matching process.  Just recently, Tim and Dawn were matched with a gorgeous 5 year old little girl.  Can't wait to share more information about her.

Matching update

We received an email from our program coordinator last night....

The server at the agency is down and there is extensive damage to the agency's property...trees and wires are down.  They don't expect to be operational until Friday at the earliest.

The program coordinator was at home Monday night prepared for the shared list release when her power and internet went out at 7:30pm.  (Perfect timing Hurricane Sandy!)

Both of these outages combined left her unable to access the list and match families.  She did say that her power and internet connection at home have been restored.  As of last night, she said there really weren't any children remaining on the shared list that looked like a match for any of her families.  (I believe there are 4 families that she is trying to match this month)  She said she is prepared for the list re-release that will happen Thursday night, and is hopeful she can find some matches that night.  All of the families who "locked" a child's file on Monday night have 72 hours to make a final decision to accept the child or return the file.  So on Thursday night some children's files are added back to the shared list again.

We are anxious for tomorrow night, hopeful that maybe we will be matched and begin to move forward on this journey.

The Shared List & Frankenstorm

Tonight...finally...on the 5th Monday of this LONG month...China will be updating the Shared List and our program coordinator will be looking to match us.  Except...tonight is also the night Frankenstorm (aka Hurricane Sandy) is making her way through our little part of the world.  We have been anxiously awaiting this day for over a month.  Our LID (the date our dossier was registered in China's system and we became eligible to be matched with a child) was ironically the same day as the shared list update last month.  But you don't find out your LID until a few days after the actual LID so we missed last month by just a couple days.  Now we are worried that power outages and loss of internet connection will prevent us from being matched this month.  Who knows??  My heart is a little heavy since we have been looking forward to this night for so long.  We are riding out the storm...staying up late waiting for "the call".  Maybe...just maybe...

Any day now...

Today we had a conference call with the program coordinator of our agency to discuss the matching process.  We spoke in detail about the gender, age and medical conditions we are most comfortable with.  She informed us that now that our dossier is registered in China and we are eligible to be matched with a child at any time.  The waiting child list is updated once a month (usually on the 3rd or 4th Monday night of the month) and there is a mad rush of many agencies trying to match families with children at the same time.  BUT...she said sometimes children are added to the list on different days during the month.  So, she checks the list often to see if a new child has been added that could potentially be a good match for any of her waiting families.  Now we are on guard...on standby...anxiously awaiting the phone call or email that she has found a child for us.  And this could happen ANY day now!!  Although, I think we will likely have to wait until the next update of the shared list (probably on October 22nd) to see the sweet face of our child...there is the chance that it could happen ANY day now!  We are ready, we are waiting. 

"good news!"

"good news!" was in the subject line of an email we received from our agency on Thursday. That good news is that our dossier has been registered by China...aka: we have a log in date (LID). Our agency did not specify in the email what our LID was but that it was "this week". So I am assuming Monday 9/24, Tuesday 9/25 or Wednesday 9/26. You know my next conversation with our program coordinator will involve finding out our exact LID. Once I have the date I will insert it here...

(Update:  on 10-1-12 we learned that our LID was 9-24-12)

Next step: this coming Tuesday afternoon we will have a conference call with the program coordinator at our agency to review in detail with her the special needs and ages we are open to.

We are getting so close to being matched and seeing the sweet face of our child. I almost can't believe it.

Flapjack "FUN"draiser

A huge thank you to all of those who helped make our Applebee's Flapjack Fundraiser this past Sunday so successful.  Whether you attended the breakfast, donated an item for our raffle, purchased raffle tickets, donated money even though you couldn't join us at the event, or prayed for us and our little girls waiting half way around the world....we are so very grateful for each and every one of you.

We are still waiting to hear that our dossier has been logged in to China's system, which means we are eligible to be matched with a child.  I am hoping that one of my upcoming posts will be to announce that we have found our child, seen her face and have begun to learn all about her.

DTC!!!

We are officially on our way to China...

We are DTC (dossier to China) as of Monday, September 17th.  That's the day our agency shipped our dossier off.  That's it...one big step...now on to the next wait.

Next step:  we will get notified that we have a LID (log in date) which means our dossier has arrived in China and has been processed, at which point we are officially entered into their system to be matched with a child.

Our Dossier

 

After months of paperchasing to obtain all the required documents, and with the assistance and contributions of a few of you....our dossier is complete!!! 

Last week Tim and I went on the final road trips necessary to complete our dossiers.  On Tuesday we made the quick 3 hour round trip to Harrisburg to have our I-800 A forms certified by the Secretary of State.  Literally, we waited just 4 minutes and got right back in the car to head home...we were home by 10:15am.  Then, on Thursday we made the BIG trip to Washington, D.C.  We left home at 3:30am and arrived at the U.S. Department of State at 6:50am...and even then we were 6th in line.  They opened the office at 7:30am and we were out of there with our documents authenticated by 7:44am.  So, off to the Chinese Embassy we went.  After a quick stop at Kinkos (the Chinese Embassy requires you to submit a photocopy of every page of each document you present for authentication...sorry trees!) we arrived at the Embassy by 8:15 and were 2nd in line.  The lobby opened at 8:30 and we took a seat and waited until the counters opened at 9:30.  This time we were having our documents authenticated with same day service, and since we each had only 1-2 documents to be authenticated we were hoping to be able to pick up our documents earlier than the scheduled pick up time of 2:30pm.  But no such luck, our pick up slips were stamped with a pick up time of 2:30-3:30pm.  Bummer!  So we headed off to see some DC sites...the White House, the monuments and the Smithsonian museums.  We returned to pick up our documents with their fresh seals from the Embassy at 2:15pm and we were back on the road home!  A long but very successful day!

Presenting....Our dossier:

16 documents

68 total pages

1.   Family photographs
2.   Adoption application letter
3.   Copy of passports
4.   Sean's birth certificate
5.   Shannon's birth certificate
6.   Marriage certificate
7.   Sean's employment letter
8.   Shannon's employment letter
9.   Financial statement
10. Sean's medical form
11. Shannon's medical form
12. Sean's criminal clearance
13. Shannon's criminal clearance
14. USCIS I-800 A approval  
15. Home study report
16. 3 reference letters

Each document has been:
~Notarized
~Certified by the PA Secretary of State
~Authenticated by the U.S. Department of State
~Authenticated by the Chinese Embassy

This is a HUGE step, so much time and effort went into compiling our dossier. 

Next step:
Our agency will review the dossier for completeness and accuracy, then send it to China (hopefully by the end of this week).  That date is when we will officially be known as DTC (dossier to China)...and a whole new world of acronyms will begin!

Approved!!!

Finally, today...one week after we were informed of our RFE by USCIS...our agency emailed all the required documentation to our officer and 2 hours later she informed me that we had been approved. 

The Department of Homeland Security has approved our request to adopt a child from China! 

We are so glad this step is now behind us but we know that means there are new steps with more waiting ahead.  But at least we are baby steps closer to seeing our child's face for the first time....no, really, this is more than just a baby step!

Tim and Dawn received their approval the day after we got notice of our RFE...so they have been patiently waiting for us to also be approved. 

Next step:  Take the I-800A approval notice (aka I-797 form) to Harrisburg to be certified then to DC to be authenticated by the Department of State and the Chinese Embassy.  Then our dossier will be complete and can be sent to China.

Ugh...an RFE!!!

There are many acronyms in the world of adoption paperwork, but none more dreaded than the RFE (request for evidence). 
 
Our I-800A was mailed in to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration) on August 9th, the day after our home study was approved (that is the very earliest you can submit it).  On August 25th we received our fingerprint notice with an appointment date of September 14th.  But, not being the kind of people to sit back and wait...we went to the office this past Wednesday (August 29th) and walked-in for our fingerprints.  They were very kind, took our paperwork with the appointment date on it and allowed us to be fingerprinted.  We were beyond thrilled!  I had heard on-line of some people being allowed to do this, but there was no guarantee. 
 
Now the not so good news...

The day after our fingerprints I was able to get in touch with the Immigration Officer who will be reviewing and approving our I-800A.  She told me she would get right to work on it.  I was so excited!  When she called me back about 4 hours later I could hardly contain my excitement....until I heard that acronym...RFE.  She was apologetic but apparently just one little sentence had been omitted from our home study.  She is unable to approve us until our agency submits an addendum with that one...little...sentence.  It was Thursday at 5:00pm.  And just our luck, it is Labor Day weekend so our social worker was out of the office Friday and the earliest she can get it done is next Tuesday.  REALLY??  This stinks.   

The Paperchase

birth certificates, marriage certificate, financial forms, criminal clearances, fingerprints, physicals, reference letters, employment letters, photographs...

notarized, certification, authentication...

I-800A, I797C,  I800,  passports, visas...

Harrisburg, Washington D.C., China...

We have found ourselves consumed by "the paperchase".  And we are determined to break records for speed in getting our documents prepared to be DTC (dossier to China).  This is our goal in the next two weeks, to have each of the 13 documents for our dossier ready to be shipped off the China before the end of September.  But before that can happen there is so much to do...

First, and this was the easy part, we had each of the documents notarized at the local UPS store. 

Then, on Wednesday, August 29th, Sean's brother, Tim, and I took all of our documents on their first road trip, to the Secretary of State in Harrisburg, PA to be certified.  (Basically to have another form stapled on top of the document that says the notary who signed it is legit.)  We were in and out in about 45 minutes.  No bad...and only a 1.5 hour ride each way. 

The next day we went to Washington, DC (Thursday, August 30th) to have each of the documents authenticated.  Our first stop was the US Deparment of State.  They stapled another form on top of each document stating that the PA Secretary of State is legit.  And even that's not good enough.  So, the last stop of the day was to the Chinese Embassy to get their stamp of approval for each document.  Tim is a crazy traveler...so we were on the road to DC at 3:30am!  We arrived at the Department of State just before 7:00am, 30 minutes before they open for the day and there were already about 12 people in line.  Once we handed in our documents we only had to wait about 1 hour for them to be ready.  After that we found a Kinkos to copy each of our 12 documents and their certification and authenication papers, about 60 pages total so far, and we're not done yet!!  (The Chinese Embassy needs not only all of the original documents but also a copy of each page.)  Then we were off to the Chinese Embassy, which was only 2.5 miles from the US Department of State.  We arrived there at 9:45 and were on the road home again by 10:30 (we will have to go back next week to pick up all our documents...it costs way too much for same day service!!)  It felt really strange to walk out of the Chinese Embassy without our dossier paperwork.  Kind of like when you leave home and have that feeling like you are forgetting something.  We assured ourselves that our documents were safe in hands of the Chinese Embassy employees who handle these things everyday.  Then, as we left the parking garage and drove by the front of the building we heard the fire alarm sounding and saw everyone evacuating...all those employees that we had just entrusted our priceless documents to.  Still praying that was a false alarm!

We were home at 1:15, after 10hrs and 350 miles....all in a day's work to get our little girls home!

Next step:  once our I-800A approval arrives in the mail we will repeat all the above steps!!

We're "expecting"

Our home study was approved....finally....on August 8th!!!  We picked it up at the agency at 5:25pm (5 minutes before they closed for the day) and made it to the FedEx store at 8:45pm (just 15 minutes before they closed!) for overnight shipment of our I-800A...an application to the U.S. government to be approved to bring home a child adopted from China.

We are officially expecting...we have reached the point in our adoption journey that is referred to as the "paper pregnancy".  Up until this point we have only been discussing and preparing for our adoption locally.  It's been between us, family, friends and our adoption agency.  But that has all changed now that we have filed the I-800A form.  We have officially requested from  the Department of Homeland Security that US Citizenship and Immigration approve us to adopt a child from China.  From submission of this form until we meet and hold in our arms our newest child is approximately eight to nine months. 

We're expecting!! 

While this "pregnancy" will be easier in many ways (no morning sickness, no swelling or physical discomfort, no raging hormones to deal with) it will also be similar in many ways. 
We anticipate an emotional roller coaster as we navigate through the many steps that will lead up to the moment we are matched and see the face of our child.  That moment...the referral...will be quite similar to having a 20 week ultrasound during pregnancy.  The difference is that I remember going into each of my pregnancy ultrasounds praying for a healthy, perfect child.  This time we are expecting a child with needs, but who will be no less perfect than our children at home.  Exactly what that need is, we do not know, but we trust in the Lord that he will lead us to our destined child, and we feel peace knowing that He knows what is best for our family...even more so than we do! At that point we will see and know exactly who our child is, and we will be about half way through our nine month "paper pregnancy". 

We are anxious and nervous but also extremely excited about the long trip from home to China.  3 planes and 20 some hours of travel that will lead us half way around the world with a 12 hour time change!!  This part of the journey is similar to labor...not something you look forward to but a necessary step in the process of holding your child in your arms forever. 

During all the time in between we will be nesting...gathering all the documents, getting the bedroom ready, preparing our three kids at home, shopping for our new child, and packing for our BIG trip. 

We feel so blessed to be given this opportunity to grow our family.  Our hearts are full of love for this child who we do not yet know but is destined to be a part of our family.  We love unconditionally and pray every day for this child.  We are coming for you little one.  We'll be there....

An unexpected visit

I thought by now I would be happily blogging about our wait for I-800A approval.  But, unfortunately, we are still waiting for our home study approval.  By some unlucky coincidence, our home study was "pending" earlier this month during our agency's Hague re-accreditation visit.  And even unluckier for us, some changes were made to the home study process, and now our home study must be updated to reflect the new requirements.  So, we had a 3rd (unexpected) home visit on July 25th.  And now we wait....but not very patiently!!  Tim and Dawn are in the same boat as us and had their third home visit on the 26th.  We all are anxious to move on to the next step in this journey, anxious to be waiting for something else!  We have been in the home study phase for too long!

The Waiting Game

So, I was going to post yesterday about the awful process we must endure..."the waiting game".  Each time a document is due to be submitted we rush around making sure we gather all the necessary paperwork and have it organized, notarized and compiled exactly to the directions we are given.  Then, once that big rush is over all we can do is sit back and wait...and wait...and wait...for the approval, notary, certification, etc. that is needed for that particular document.  This part is really hard.  I am already preparing for the next step but I can't proceed.  I must wait as our paperwork sits on someone's desk in a huge stack until it's turn to get a "stamp of approval". 

 Right now we have been waiting one month for our home study report to be approved (our last visit was on June 11th).  There's nothing else I can do until that's done. 

Then...yesterday I got a email from our caseworker...she is planning to submit our home study report for approval TODAY!!  Once it is approved, notarized and in our hands we can proceed with the next step.  But I am ahead in this game...I already have the I800a form filled out and signed, copies of all the required supporting documents, and checks written out.  All I need is the notarized home study report and I can send it all overnight to US Citizenship and Immigration (hopefully by the end of this week or early next week).  Then the next round of waiting begins....

FUNdraisers

Our adoption agency will be referring us to an organization called Brittany's Hope Foundation.  Their Seeding Gift Program provides grant money to families in the adoption process.  For whatever funds we raise in their name, they will provide us with a grant in double that amount paid directly to our adoption agency to offset our remaining fees due.  We are so thankful to be a part of this "pay it forward" program.  Any grant money we recieve will have been provided by previous families that have fundraised, and the money we raise will go towards a grant for the next family that is referred to Brittany's Hope. 

So fundraise we will! 
We held our first fundraiser this past Thursday, June 21st.  It was "An Evening with Elvis" at the Lansdale VFW.  The tablecovers, centerpieces and place settings really transformed the place.  And Andy Svrcek, the Elvis Tribute Artist, was great!  There was dinner, entertainment, Chinese raffle baskets and a 50/50.  We are so very thankful for the love, support and generousity that so many of our family and friends have showered us with...many of whom bought 50/50 tickets or gave us a donation since they couldn't attend the event.  So many others helped by providing food, raffle baskets, door prizes, etc.  For those who joined us Thursday night...thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!  You made us feel so supported in this journey.  We ate well, laughed hard and raised nearly $2500!  Words cannot even begin to express how blessed we feel!

We are planning more fundraisers and will keep you posted.  We will host a Bingo event Saturday, October 13th at Calvary Church in Souderton.  And possibly a family pizza night, Mini-golf tournament, Casino bus trip and another Elvis dinner event.  But I am most excited to plan a Thank YOU party once we return home with our little girl and her new cousin, Tim and Dawn's little girl.  We can't wait to show you the two beautiful little faces that have found their way to our families because of your love, support and generosity.

Home Study

We have completed our two home study visits.  The first one was last Thursday morning.  The kids knew something was up because I was furiously cleaning the house for two days.  I found out on Tuesday afternoon (June 5th) that the social worker would visit our house Thursday morning (June 7th).  I have known since day one that this day would come...but I guess I thought I would have the luxury of more than 48 hours notice to get my whole house in order.  Riley is sooo sweet:  I found him Thursday morning struggling with the comforter on his bed, he was "trying to find all 4 corners".  He asked me if it was the day the social worker was coming...he wanted to make his bed.  My heart melted!  He has never attempted to make his bed before, but he knew it was an important day and he wanted to do his part.  The second visit was Monday afternoon, June 10th.  When she got to our house at 3:45pm the boys were just getting home from school and Sean was just arriving home from work.  We had exactly two hours to offer her because Sean had a doctor appointment at 5:45, Aidan had a baseball game at 5:45 and Riley had soccer practice at 6:00....welcome to our crazy, busy but wonderful life! 

1st visit: 
            interview Sean alone
     interview Shannon alone
     speak with Bud (Sean's dad)
     speak with Maura (the social worker hardly got a word in...we warned her!)
     House Tour

2nd visit:
      interview Sean and Shannon together
      speak with Riley and Aidan (and of course Maura wanted to talk too!) 
      time to ask the MANY questions that we have

Now we wait for our home study approval.  (although she "unofficially" told us that she was going to approve us)  Hopefully we'll have the 15 page notarized home study report in about two weeks.

Next step:   File the I-800A (request to be approved by US Immigration and Customs to adopt a child from China)  During the 2-4 month wait for that form to be approved we will be preparing all the documents for our Dossier (which is the official paperwork that is sent to China)...let the paperchase begin!


              

The whole process

I guess I have been really busy with all the paperwork...I haven't even posted yet this month! 

We attended the required all day Home Study Group on May 18th.  Now we need to complete two hours of reading material and a 2 hour online course and then we will have all the training done.  We have just a few more documents to turn in:  autobiographies, pictures and Sean's birth certificate (which has taken 32 business days, so far, to arrive from Harrisburg!).  Shannon's birth certificate arrived from Minnesota in just days.  Then round 1 of paperwork will be done and our application will be complete ...which sounds so good except... at the Home Study Group we received round 2 of paperwork. 

We hope to be able to schedule or home study soon.  Within 30 days of the home visit we should receive a copy of our approved home study...hopefully by mid-July. 

Then we will file the I-800A form (Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country....basically approval from US Immigration and Customs to adopt a child from China).  Once we submit the form we wait to receive notification of when and where to report for our 2nd set of fingerprints.   Sometime between 2-4 months after submitting the I-800A we will receive our approval letter...hopefully in late Sept or early Oct. 

During that 2-4 month wait we will be compiling the 14 necessary documents for our Dossier (the official application that is sent to China).  Each of these documents must be notarized, then certified by the Secretary of State (in Harrisburg, PA) and finally authenticated by the Chinese Embassy in New York.  It makes me terribly nervous to think about these documents traveling all around PA and NY!! 

We hope to be able to submit our Dossier to China in October.  Once it has shipped we should receive notification approximately 2 weeks later that we have been approved by China and logged-in to their system to be matched with a child.  Once a month China updates their database of available special needs children.  We could get lucky and have this date fall just 2 days after we are logged-in, or it could be 29 days after we are logged-in.  Our program coordinator will stay up until the middle of the night on the day the list is available and look through all the profiles to find the child who is the best match for our family.  She will "lock" that child for our family and we will have 48 hours to review the child's medical and developmental records with the International Adoption doctor at Children's Hospital and then decide if we want to accept that child.  Once we accept a child, we will travel to China in approximately 5-6 months...March/April???

That's the whole process in a nutshell....

A cousin from China too?!

This journey of ours has only just begun, and already we have been surprised by a very unexpected, yet amazing change in our path to China. 

Ironically, amazingly, miraculously...at about the same time we had contacted the adoption agency and started our journey in motion, Sean's brother, Tim, and his wife, Dawn, had also contacted the same agency to begin the process of adoption for their family.  And neither of us knew of the other's plans. 

I do believe that the Lord has a hand in this...with perfect timing...to make two families whole, all at the same time.  What an even bigger blessing it will be to bring two children home from the same place at the same time.   They will have each other to grow up with, share their heritage with...someone who looks like them...forever.  From orphans...to cousins!!

So now we are comparing notes, completing paperwork and hoping that the stars will line up so that we are matched with children around the same time and can travel to China together.  And return home two weeks later with an extended family that has grown by 2.

While I would like to think that I can plan every detail of this whole journey meticulously, just the way I plan our family vacations...this news reminds me that we are being led on this journey.  Guided to what is destined to be, with an outcome we do not have control over, but are blessed to be part of. Our eyes are wide shut and our hearts wide open...

"...a nice addition to the family"

...words directly from the mouth of our very matter-of-fact son, Riley.  He is a boy-of-few-words, but his words always speak directly from his heart and soul. 

We sat our three kids down last night and asked them how they would feel about having another brother or sister join our family.  There were a few confused faces, and some priceless comments...

Maura:  "Yea!"
Aidan:  "I need to think about it for a minute."
Riley:   "It would be a nice addition to the family."

Then we explained that this sibling would join our family in a special way.  Aidan guessed adoption right away, he even said "from a different country."  I think his little ears have been picking up on some of our "adult" conversations lately. 

Riley:  "I can't believe we're going to adopt a kid from China...it's AMAZING!"
Maura:  "Mommy, are they gonna stay at our house everyday...forever?"
Riley:  "It's gonna be kinda weird not understanding your sibling."
Aidan:  "No Riley, they know English AND Spanish!"

So, I think "the talk" went pretty well.  The kids seem open to the idea, even a bit excited.  It will be a long wait for them though...which is why we originally planned to wait a while before telling them.  But now, since we had to tell our neighbors, employers, doctors, etc. (because of some  necessary paperwork) we decided we needed to tell the kids before they heard it from someone else. 

And now that we have told them, I think the whole world will know soon.  Riley will tell everyone at  school, Aidan will tell all his teammates (and that's a lot of people considering that right now he plays ice hockey, flag football, baseball and soccer), and Maura will tell everyone at the grocery store, mall, post office, and every other place we drag her along to all day long. 

Now it seems so official, so real, so exciting!  And we feel so very blessed to be given this opportunity...we have closed our eyes and we are listening to our hearts, patiently awaiting our journey to whatever is destined to be, knowing that we will be led to a most precious gift.

The First of Many

A few days ago we received our application packet in the mail.  And so the paperwork maze begins...Yesterday we had what I believe will be the first of many trips to the notary (I think we are going to get to know these people quite well over the next year!)  This time there were only four documents to be notarized.  Here is an abbreviated list of all the paperwork we need to compile in time to be invited to the Home Study group meeting on May 18, 2012:

1.   Service Agreement
2.   Fee Policy
3.   Hague Training form
4.   Financial Statement
5.   Financial Statement for China
6.   Copy of 2011 1040 Tax form
7.   Medical examination reports for each household member
8.   Photographs of all household members and our home
9.   Letters from employers
10.  Certified copies of birth certificates and marriage license
11.  Four reference letters
12.  Release for photos and related materials
13.  Risks of intercountry adoption form
14.  Civil Rights Compliance form
15.  Child conditions form
16.  Declining a referral while in China
17.  Autobiographies
18.  Home Study questionnaire
19.  Child Abuse/Criminal history checks and FBI fingerprints

This will keep us busy for a while and pass the time while we wait for the next step of our journey. 

We have also been in contact with the International Adoption Physicians at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  We will be meeting with them soon to review the Medical Conditions List to determine which "special needs" will be a good match for our family.  These doctors will have an important role during our entire adoption process...

• They will meet with us before we are matched with a child
• They will review a proposed child's medical/developmental profile with us prior to us submitting the acceptance forms
• They will help us plan for travel to China and "in country" procedures
• They will assess the child shortly after we return home and assist us with obtaining the appropriate medical care and services

Please view the youtube video link below, it beautifully explains the "special needs" of children on China's Waiting Child list...It's easy to fall in love with every child in the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7nlaigXvX8

Our Journey Begins...

As you are reading this for the first time, maybe you have just learned about our journey, or maybe you have known for some time.  To each of you...WELCOME  and THANK YOU for joining us on this journey!  We are  so very grateful for the love and support of our family and friends.

How it all began....
We have often spoken about our desire to adopt the final child that would complete our family.  It always seemed so far off in the distance though.  Something changed recently, and we found ourselves thinking about adoption more often.  Then in March 2012 we felt a constant calling and knew it was time.  We could not deny the thoughts and feelings that were filling our minds and hearts.  So....

March 28th:  the first meeting with our adoption agency,

                           Welcome House of Pearl S. Buck International

March 31st:   we mailed our Facesheet of Applicantion

And so our journey begins...a maze of paperwork and waiting, more paperwork and more waiting.  We anticipate that our journey will lead us to China and end in approximately one year...when we see the sweet face of a young child with a mild special need that has deemed him/her unacceptable or unadoptable in his or her own country...and he/she will become ours, a part of our family, the end of our Red Thread.

It's going to be an amazing journey, thank you for coming along with us!