Uplifting Weekend (sorry, it's kinda long)

On Saturday, May 26th our adoption agency had their huge Memorial Day reunion at the zoo.  I called to ask that even though this is really for people who have already brought their children home, if we could still come.  Of course they said yes and I was thrilled.  I couldn't wait to be among people who truly "understood" adoption. The in's, the out's, all the abbreviations, the wait, the unknown and just the heart that adoptive families have.  I had kind of been getting down in the dumps with some of the not so positive comments people had been making about our adoption.  It has really quite shocked me!  Even complete strangers feel the need to give their 2 cents on the subject (which they normally know nothing about).  I guess it is just viewed differently then someone physically "showing" when they are pregnant.  I mean, I've been pregnant twice and I only received kind words and excitement from everyone.  But wow, is this time completely different!!  Even the guy at the bank had something to say...  We had been saving our change for a good 10 years now and decided to roll it all and take it to the bank to open a separate account for our trip to China.  When we explained what we were doing he asked  "how many palms did you have to grease to get this far?"  WE ARE NOT PAYING CHINA FOR A BABY PEOPLE!!  I kindly told him there is no bribery when adopting and in fact all of our money has gone to the US government (for paperwork, notaries, ....yada, yada, yada).  And another one I just love is when people say that it is quite an "investment"...my daughter is NOT an item on the stock market!  I truly don't think people are really intending to be rude, I just think they have pre-conceived notions on what they think adoption is.  I guess I just need to de-bunk everyones misconceptions. The fact of the matter is we are having another child, should it matter whether I physically birth her?  She will be a part of our family forever and in my opinion, blood isn't the only thing that makes a family a family. Don't get me wrong, we have several people that are truly  happy and excited for our family, and to them I am forever grateful.  But there are those that we encounter that are just ignorant to the subject and I have to remember that all people aren't going to "get it" and that is ok.  To those of you who are amazingly supportive and excited, I cannot thank you enough!  I don't know how I would make it through this process if I didn't have you all!   

Anyway, to get off my soap box now...We had an absolute amazing time being surrounded by all the families that have already traveled to get their children!  They all were so encouraging and supportive and excited for us.  And since we didn't have a child from China to show off yet, I decided to have tee shirts made so people would know we were on our way.  I had pink shirts made for my husband, myself, my son and daughter.  My husband's and mine said "expecting" from China on the front along with our chinese characters for mommy and daddy.  My son's said waiting on my mei mei (that means little sister in chinese) and my daughters said "my mei mei is on the way"  (mei mei is pronounced may may).

And on the back of all of our shirts was the chinese symbol for love.  Our shirts were a big hit and everyone loved them and I came home refreshed with my excitement meter filled back up!!  But the neatest thing happened when we were leaving.  See, ladybugs are believed to be good luck in the chinese adoption community and when one is sighted it is believed that a referral is not too far away.  Well, as we were walking out of the zoo to our car I looked at my husband's back (since he was walking in front of me) and I couldn't believe my eyes...right there sitting on the bottom of the love symbol on his shirt was a ladybug!  The first one I have seen this year!  It was just the perfect ending to the perfect day!  And in my opinion, it is God revealing Himself once again in this process and saying this is what I have planned for you, keep on pushing forward because you ARE doing the right thing.
"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west."   Isaiah 43:5

Wonderful Voicemail

Well, I came home today from a day of teaching first grade to hear a voicemail message from my agency.  She had wonderful news!!  She just received an email from China with our LID.  Our official LID is 5/11/12.  We are now in the CCCWA system and are able to get a referral.  The next shared list should be coming out in another week or so but I'm still not getting my hopes up as they told us it could take 6-12 months.  But still, I am way excited that we are one (very important) step closer!!!

Dossier To China Today!!!!!

dossier documents

Our dossier is officially on it's way to China today! WOOO! HOOO! This is known in the adoption world as your DTC (dossier to China). Ours is 4/23/2012.  Everything kind of revolves around this date.  This is a MAJOR milestone in the marathon of adoption.  In the next week or two we should get our LID (log in date).  Once we are "logged in" with China we are able to get a referral.  Granted, a referral probably won't happen for months and months since China only releases once a month and the list has been very small.  But none the less, we are making excellent progress and I can't believe we are this far along.  Now comes the hard part of just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for a referral.
  Please continue to pray for our little girl even though we don't know who she is yet...Pray that God keeps her safe and healthy while we are clear on the other side of the world from her and pray that when we do get her in our arms that the transition and attachment process will go smoothly.  Thank you so much for sharing in the excitement of each of our milestones! Today is a great day!!!

We Received our US Approval Letter!!!

March 29, 2012 ~  We received in the mail today our USCIS approval letter!  This is where the US department of Homeland Security and Immigration services reviewed all of our home study paperwork and approved our fingerprints that were taken on the 16th of March.  I didn't think this was going to arrive until late April or May but surprise, surprise!!!  I emailed our agency a copy of the approval letter and she will be sending it to Washington to the Chinese Consulate to get authenticated. This is where all of our dossier documents are currently and should be finished up in a week.  Once our agency gets the authentication back, our dossier will be on it's way to China!!!  Within a couple days of the paperwork arriving in China we will be officially "logged in".  That means we will be able to get a referral.  This phase is "the waiting phase".  It  could take anywhere from a couple of months to a year...just have to be patient and confident that God knows which baby is supposed to be our little girl and we will get her when the time is right.   Thank you again to those of you who are supporting us along this journey through your kind words, excitement and prayers.  We GREATLY appreciate it all!!!

Biometrics Done and Dossier on it's Way!!

March 16, 2012 ~  This was a big, exciting day for us.  We had our biometric appointment downtown Columbus today (fingerprinting for Homeland Security).  We also got all of our dossier documents certified by the Secretary of State while we were downtown!  On our way home, we stopped at FedEx and shipped our 35 document dossier to our adoption agency along with all the pictures they needed.  All 35 documents had to be notarized, certified in the county in which the notary is registered and then certified by the Secretary of State!  What a relief it was to ship that off!!  In the adoption world completing the dossier is like climbing Mt. Everest!!  Now, we have to wait on our approval letter from Homeland Security and as soon as we get that, we will send it to our agency and then our dossier will be on it's way to China!!  Woo Hoo!!  In the meantime, while we wait on the approval, our agency is sending our dossier documents to Washington to be authenticated by the Chinese Consulate.  I am so thrilled that we have crossed the hurdle of completing our dossier and I can't wait to get the news that it is on it's way to China!!  I'm just praying that everything goes ok with getting our US approval because when I had my prints taken the lady said there is  a 50/50 chance my prints will get rejected because she could not get a good read. (said my skin was too thin)  I'm really hoping that it all goes through without a hitch.  Thank you to everyone who has been supportive and praying for our journey to get our little girl!

Frequently Asked Questions...

Why adopt?  Why China?? I figured I should answer some of the most frequent questions I get about adoption.  Hopefully I do not offend anyone...my goal is to educate and answer some of the common questions I've been getting.  I think there are a lot of myths about adoption that people believe to be true...especially when it comes to cost and such.  

So lets go ahead and answer the price question....Isn't it really expensive to adopt??  Unlike what most think, we are not "paying" China for a baby.  It is the same cost to adopt from China as it is here, just add on the travel cost for our 2 week stay in China.  They do not receive any of the money other than document fees and what we spend on food and such while we are there.   There are fees along the way that add up such as background check/fingerprinting fees, social worker/homestudy fees, processing fees, fees to US Homeland Security to review our case and so on and so on.  Does it add up, yes. But are we paying China for a baby...NO.  There is just SO MUCH involved with adoption as far as paperwork and such and of course nothing is free...there is a charge for everything (even just getting a certified copy of your birth certificate and things like that).

Several people have asked me why don't you adopt here?? There are so many kids that need homes in our own country.  Yes, there are lots of children in the US that need to be adopted but I have been called to China.   Here in the US, the children are cared for in foster homes so their needs are (hopefully) being met by their foster parents.  In China, the abandoned babies are in crowded, unheated orphanages... they have no families.  

The main question I get the most is why?  What made you want to adopt? Why China?  Well, the adoption bug has always been in me.  My husband and I talked about it when we were teenage sweethearts before we were even married.  This was nothing new.  And I always knew it was supposed to be China, nowhere else.  Every time I would see a little asian girl for the past 15 years, my heart would just melt like butter!  And over the past 2 years every time I see one of those beautiful faces, my eyes fill up with tears.  I can't explain it, it is just in me.  However, I think the bible can explain it: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.  The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:14-16  The adoption "gene" originated with our true Father, our heavenly Father, who adopts us into His family through the gift of His one and only Son.  I mean, isn't adoption the most beautiful manifestation of God's unconditional love?? Why God chose to call us to China, I can't answer that question...I just know with every fiber in my body that China is where our daughter is!

Well, hopefully I have de-bunked some of the myths out there about adoption and maybe opened a few eyes as to why we are doing this.  I know I don't really have a concrete answer as to why and why China, but when God calls you to do something, you do it!!  

I800 Form Received!!

On January 26, 2012 at 8:49 AM our I800 form along with our Homestudy was received by the US government!!  They should be notifying us in the next couple of weeks to have our fingerprinting done.
So, between 2 and 3 months we should have our approval back.
 All of our papers are done for the dossier (the huge batch of documents that actually go to China).  Once we get our approval from the US government, our dossier papers can go to China.  And within a couple of weeks of our papers arriving in China, we will get "logged in"...in the adoption world it is a very HUGE milestone called LID (log in date).  Once we are logged in, the agency can begin matching us with a baby!!!
So, according to my calculations as well as my agency's calculations, our papers should be going to China by the beginning of May.  That means by the end of May we should have our LID!!!  Oh my goodness, if for some reason there is a miracle and we are actually matched on the first batch of referrals that means we could have her picture in June.  Although, I will be happy if we just have a picture before Christmas.  Since we are requesting a baby as young as possible with just a very minor heart condition they prepared us that it could be a long wait.  They only get referrals once a month, so it could be several, several months before a baby girl with a minor heart defect is available.  But, I am prepared to wait because I know God already has her picked for us and I believe she was born for us to be her forever family!

I800 form is on it's way!!

January 25, 2012 ~  Woooo Hoooo!!  I got a call from our adoption agency and they received our homestudy report which means they were able to send out our I800 form to the US government!!  This now begins our 3 month wait to get our "official" approval from the US government to adopt.  Once we get that, our Dossier is ready to go to China!!!

Timeline of Events 

November 30, 2011 ~  Application is faxed to adoption agency and they sent us an email saying that they have officially accepted us!  Got the contract signed and overnighted to the agency so they will have it the next day.  Up next...Homestudy!!  aaahhhhhhhh!

December 2, 2011 ~  Got the call saying they received our contract and we will be assigned to someone. Also got an email from the homestudy department with our application from Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services for Child Placement.  We will be e mailing that back on Monday morning.

December 5, 2011 ~  The 7 page application is filled out and sent via email for our Homestudy Application.  I hope we receive our big packet in the mail today.

December 13, 2011 ~ Fire Inspection

December 19, 2011 ~  WOW!!  So much has happened in the last 2 weeks...it has been a whirlwind!  We were going to wait to tell the kids about all this until the homestudy was done but there was no way.  There is so much we need to talk about and it was getting too hard to try to only talk about it when they weren't around.  So, we told Eli and Olivia the exciting news on 12/8.  I wrapped the book "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes" and made a little piece of paper that all hinted about the adoption.  They are sooo excited but they want her here NOW!!  We also went on our pre-training service on Dec. 10th up in Cleveland at the adoption agency.  We got to meet Uncle Joe (from China).  We learned so much about post-adoption troubles that day, very eye opening.  So, this week I have been a busy bee and literally got ALL the homestudy paperwork done and submitted!!  A total of 14 documents (and our autobiographies).  We have come so far in just 1 week.  I'm on a mission to bring my baby girl home fast!!  Here is a list of the documents submitted:
Medical Statement Forms for all 4 of us
Financial Statement Form
Release of Confidential Information
Fire Inspection
Employment Letters
Local Police Clearance Letter
CPR Verification
Pre Service Training
SACWIS
Autobiographies


December 22, 2011 ~ Social worker came for her first of four homestudy visits.

Talked to adoption agency and they said I am breaking records on getting all my stuff done.  Let's just say I am one determined mama!!  They gave me the go-ahead on beginning the dossier process!!  I can't help during the holidays to wonder what Christmas will look like.  Will we have a picture of our daughter and at least know who she is?  Will we maybe even have her home yet?  I'm just hoping that we get a referral before next Christmas.

December 26, 2011 ~  2nd homestudy visit

January 2, 20112 ~  3rd homestudy visit

January 5, 2012 ~  Mailed out I-800A form to the adoption agency via certified mail (form that goes to homeland security along with our homestudy report that the social worker does to get clearance from the United States to adopt) This will take 3 months to get back so the waiting game begins!!  I am praying that somehow it ends up on someone's desk that is super quick and it won't take that long.  All of our stuff can not go to China until we get this clearance.  ugh!

January 6, 2012 ~  Last visit with the social worker

January 16, 2012 ~  Doctor appointments for my husband and I to have more medical statements filled out along with blood work /  lab work done.

January 19, 2012 ~  Social worker mailed completed homestudy to agency.

January 20, 2012 ~  Got all documents of dossier completed except waiting on one.  Then I will take them all to be notarized, then to the clerk of court to be certified, then to the Secretary of State to be certified.