Rainy Sunday

I've done all the dossier work, waiting for the last two pieces from the consulate and it's a rainy Sunday. So I played around with the camera, bugged the dog and cat and took some pictures of some of my favorite Mia outfits. Yes, we have already shopped for her. "We" means mom and me - I think Mike thinks we're crazy shopping for her already but when you see a deal or something you just can't leave, you have no choice. You know what I'm talking about ladies! So here's some of my camera work!


This is Harman - I think he's trying to tell me that he's not going to share any of his toys with Mia. Actually, he's going to be awesome! He is so good with kids!




This is Coal. He's just going to be annoyed that someone else will be in the house, much less someone who's going to pull his tail. When our niece and nephew come to visit, he hides under the bed for days!



Now the outfits!
This came directly from Chinatown in San Francisco - a gift from my Aunt Tonna and Uncle Mike. I can't wait to see Mia in this on the famous red couch!

Mom found this adorable outfit.

Ladybugs are a symbol of Chinese adoption. Look at the feet! How cute!
It's crazy buying clothes for a baby that you won't see for a year, have no idea how old she will be, how much she'll weigh or if she'll be in a summer outfit at 9 months or a winter outfit. But it sure is fun to wander through the baby department and just dream of Mia!

Paperwork countdown

Our last two documents are in Houston for authentication as we speak. The countdown for completion of our dossier is here. I have everything else packed and ready to send to our agency. There they do a final review, translate it to Chinese and bind the dossier. Hopefully it will be on its way to China by the second week of August. This date is called DTC = date to China. This is a milestone date until we get our real milestone, the LID = Log In Date. The LID is the reference date how referrals are made. In China, it's first come first served so to speak. When referral batches come out each month, they are announced by dates. For example, a referral batch just came out this week and it included everyone from LID 6/29/05 thru LID 7/13/05. So once we have a LID we will be able to watch to referrals coming out and have a better idea how long we will have to wait. Those with a LID 8/05, one year earlier than us, will have had a 13+ month wait from LID to referral then 2 months until travel. Unfortunately for my "friend" who writes my favorite blog "Salsa in China", they have a LID of 7/14/05 so they missed this batch by one day! Hopefully they will pick up speed again and we won't have to wait as long. We'll see - all in God's time!

Let's celebrate!

It has arrived - we got our 171H in the mail today!! This is big! It is our approval from the Homeland Security to bring an orphan to the US - we fooled them! Just kidding! I am so excited! It is the last piece of paper that we need notaried (already took care of that since it showed up this afternoon), certified (mailing it overnight to my aunt Tonna in Tallahassee for certification Monday morning) and authenticated (got the envelope and return envelope stamped and ready to go)! When all of that happens we sent it and all the other documents, photos, passport copies, birth certificates, etc. to our agency for final inspection and then off to China! Hopefully that will occur by the end of August - maybe sooner. So exciting!!!!

Good news & Bad news - or should I say a speed bump

A little good news and a little bad news on our road to adoption yesterday. The good news is our authenticated documents have returned from the Chinese Consulate. I have not laid eyes on them yet because they needed to deliver them in person. I got the notice in yesterday's mail so I will get them from the post office today. Other good news, we sent our final cookbook off to the publisher. It was a little more work than expected but it was a fun project. They should be ready in 45 days! I sure hope our dossier is off by then. That's where the bad news comes in. We are waiting for our 171H and I got a piece of mail from Homeland Security yesterday. Of course I was hoping that it was the 171H. Unfortunately it was a notice that our homestudy needs more documents and an addendum. More documents - more time. I must keep telling myself, all in God's time. This is just a speed bump!

Another big step!

We were able to get to the Homeland Security office today, just a day after we got our letter, to get our fingerprints. This is our last big step short of some paperwork issues. Hopefully we'll get our 171H soon and then after we get it notarized/certified/authorized, we'll have everything for our dossier!

I have to blog - so much to tell!

What a day! First I got FedEx confirmation that our packet of 11 of the 13 documents we need to have authorized successfully made it to the Chinese Consulate in Houston. Of course this is an expected outcome but still it is something to celebrate. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get these back. I sent the 11 instead of waiting for all 13 and sending one packet as a kind of trial run so I'll know how long it takes when we have the 171H in hand.

The other thing was a little more unexpected - we got our fingerprint appointments from the Homeland Security/Immigration Dept! They just got the home study on Monday and we already have our appointment letter! I had no idea it would only take 2 days and yesterday was a holiday! The funny thing is the appointment time and date is crossed out and handwritten it says M-F, 8-3:30; so I guess we don't need an actual appointment. We're going to try to go tomorrow. How exciting!!!! The resulting 171H is the last thing we need before sending the packet to China!!

Is that a complement?

So today I had my first semi-offensive conversation about our adoption plans. I was talking to a man at the beach, best guess 55-60 years old, about the beautiful day and 4th of July plans etc and he asked if I had kids - the ever so common question for a 36 year old married woman - and I said hopefully we will be close this time next year; we are adopting. "Oh what a difference you will make in an orphan or foster child's life." So I choose to share a little more; "yes, we are adopting an orphan from China". "China! Why would you adopt from China?! There are so many kids here that need a home." Stay calm, this is an education opportunity..."there are a lot of kids in China that need homes also." "Let them worry about their own" was his reply. KISS - Keep it simple stupid - "All I can say is that's where my heart has told me where we are suppose to adopt". This should end the conversation right? Wrong. He replys, "One thing I can say about Orientals (I'm thinking to myself, Oriental is a rug dummy), they sure are smart." Can't an attempt at a complement still be a stereotype?

I know this was not a major interaction but it did give me a small glimpse of the future. I'm not the type to get mad at others ignorance of the situation. I found it interesting and a good practice run for things to come. What an odd conversation to have on the 4th of July!

Home study officially done

Finally! CCAI has received our home study!!! I'm not sure what took so long from our last home study meeting until now but now they have it and it has been sent to Homeland Security/Immigration Department. It will now match up with our I-600A and hopefully we'll get our appointment for fingerprints within the next couple of weeks. Also today I am sending a packet of most of our documents to be authenticated by the Consulate of China in Texas. They have to verify that the certification of the notartization is valid - if you don't understand, don't worry! It's just another step but a big one.

New Babies!

It's so exciting to see all the new referrals that came out at the beginning of this week (go to the link on the right, "Salsa in China" and there's a list of 20+ referrals in the June 26 posting). I know our referral is still 9-15+ months away but it's so exciting to read all the blogs and see all the beautiful babies. To know all of these familes thought they had a 6 month wait when they started and it turned into 12 months makes me feel even more excited for them. At least we know that the current wait is 12 months and that the trend it predicted to come down. I hope that it right. Congratulations and safe trip to all of these new mommies and daddies!

The little things that can make me happy

A couple of weeks have gone by since anything has really happened, but today we got our first Homeland Security mail. I knew it was not a notice for our fingerprint appointment because our homestudy was just sent to our agency the middle of this week, but it was a receipt for our I-600A & fingerprints applications. So you must celebrate the small things - Homeland Security knows where we are and that we want to bring Mia home. Now we wait for the fingerprint appointment; hopefully in July.

Our Home Study is Done!

I'm so excited! Our social worker is done with our home study report. She's putting some finishing touches on it and it should be off to our agency by the end of the week! This is a big step! It then goes to the Homeland Security/Dept of Immigration where our I600A is waiting for it. Once they match them up, they should be sending our appointment for our fingerprints. The final piece of paperwork we are waiting for is the approval which is called the 171H. Another step closer! Yeah!

Our Grace-Hope Child

A couple of things have occurred this last week or so, so let's catch up. First, we got our assignment for our sponsored child through Grace-Hope. (This is not "our child" - the one we are adoption. See the Grace-Hope posting if you're lost). Her name is Heather, or at least the name Grace-Hope has given her for this sponsorship. It's amazing to know she is out of an orphanage and being cared for by a family because of our sponsorship. I PRAY Mia will be in a foster home. What a major difference in a small child's life. I attached the link to the report we got about Heather so check it out. (not sure if the link worked so here's the complete address - https://www.grace-hope.org/(daazfhyvmaryanbsf1qo4pa3)/QuarterlyReport.aspx?ChildID=421&ReviewDate=06/07/2006 ) She's a real cutie! I expect/hope she will be adopted soon. She is a healthy baby so hopefully she will find her "forever family" soon. Until then, she is being cared for in a much better environment.

Next, Mike got his passport. I know this doesn't sound like much, but it's another check mark on our things to do list. I love checking things off the things to do list! Our social worker is working diligently to finalize our homestudy. I can't wait to get that in my hands. And I have sent in our I-600A forms to the US Immigration Department - this is what we need approved to bring an orphan in from another country.

I actually can see the end of the paperwork chase and the beginning of "The Wait". I think we still have a few more months of fingerprints and notarization/certification/authentication to do, but the end is in sight - I have more check marks than empty boxes on the things to do chart!

Grace & Hope

We joined the local chapter of Families with Children from China (FCC), technically First Coast FCC, which it's name is pretty self explanatory. My mom and I attended my first event with FCC the other night - a monthly meeting of the "waiting families" - those who have started the adoption process but are somewhere in "The Wait" phase. It was nice to meet others in our same stage but the most interesting part was the topic of the meeting - Grace and Hope for Children. This is an organization who's purpose is to get children of China out of the orphanages and into foster care. By sponsoring a child for $37/month, a child will get out of a situation where they are one of up to a dozen+ children per caregiver and puts them into a home. The family gets $35/month and according to the speaker, people are eager to be foster parents because $35/home is about as much as a salary. Can we imagine? A lot of people spend more than that on coffee from Starbuck's in a month. I have already signed up to sponsor a child. If anyone is interested, go to www.grace-hope.org (see link to the right). The website would have been a little difficult to understand if I hadn't heard from a volunteer one-on-one about their mission and cost etc. You have to go to "how to help" and then click on "click here to make an online donation". It walks you through whether you want to make a one time vs monthly contribution, which orphange, healthy vs special needs child etc. The man giving the presentation (his Chinese adopted dauther is almost 11 - the first adopted in NE Florida 10 years ago) had just returned from China in April when they were checking on the program and the kids and foster parents. He said when the kids get into foster care, they blossom. He also said when you go into the orphanages, you go into a room full of babies and it's quiet because they have learned quickly that no one comes to pick them up when they cry so they have given up crying. What a sad thought. It's awful that the process takes so long when there are babies just waiting right now to be picked up and comforted. Since I can't just jump on a plane and go get our daughter, not until every i is dotted and every t is crossed, at least I can put a child into foster care. I hope somewhere someone will do the same and get Mia into foster care. I hope she will spend the part of her life that we are not together in a place where when she cries, someone who loves her will come see why. Please do this!

Special Meeting and Big Happenings

The last 24 hours have been fun, complete with checking more "to do" boxes on the checklist for our paperwork chase. But first a little history. My cousin had a baby 3 1/2 months ago and when I came to visit the first few days after he was born, he was still in the hospital due to his premature arrival. It was at the time that Mike and I were still discussing international vs domestic adoption and talking to others about their experiences, their agencies, etc. While I was in town (Tallahassee), my aunt arranged for me to meet a friend of hers who had recently adopted their second daughter from China. I was so excited to meet her and her family because I had followed their trip on her blog just a few months earlier. I spent an hour or two with them that day. I went directly from their house to the hospital to see my cousin and the baby one last time before heading back home to Jacksonville. While in the waiting area my grandmother started talking to a family and I quickly realized that their daughter was adopted from China. They were so friendly and open to discuss their experience and we talked for at least an hour. It was so awesome because they used the same agency as the family I had just met with, the agency we eventually joined with, CCAI. It was an amazing experience. I had planned to met with the first family but just by chance met the second family not 30 minutes later. That meeting was so powerfully moving, that night I knew China was the path for us. After I got home and through a couple of discussions, we decided on adopting from China and using CCAI. So I fast forward. I was driving over to Tallahassee for the first time since January to visit my cousin and her baby and I thought of the family I had met in the hospital. I had stored their number in my cell phone. As I scrolled down there it was: "Kim from Georgia". I called, got an answering machine and left a message basically stating I was the one they met three+ months ago in the hospital and told they how much their openness and encouragement meant and that Mike and I had started our process. And if they wanted to return my call great, but if not it was okay, but I really just wanted to express my gratitude. Later last night the phone rang, the ID screen read "Kim from Georgia". I excitedly answered the phone - we talked for an hour! She said that when they left the hospital that night she told her husband she felt God had put her there in that hospital waiting room to talk to me. She said she almost didn't go to the hospital that night to visit her friend but last minute changed her mind. How amazing. God works in wonderful ways. She said they are thinking of adopting a second daughter and by coincidence, if they do her name will be Kelly. I plan on keeping in touch with Kim from Georgia as we continue our journey. I think it took talking with her again to realize how powerful that meeting was that night.

On my "things to do list", since I was going to be in Tallahassee, I brought some of my papers that have been notarized that now needed to be certified. My understanding was I could just walk in with the papers and they'd do it on the spot. So cool! I walked in all excited and handed 7 documents over and she looked at them, said they were wrong and handed them back. My jaw dropped. What?! I thought I read everything correctly and did everything correctly - I always read directions! I walked out and started crying! My mom quickly calmed me down, pointed out we could fix the mistakes and be back in there probably by the end of the day. She was right. I calmed down, when back to a computer to pull up the notarized instructions, fixed the documents and headed to my cousin's office who conveniently had a notary and she took care of it for me right away. Interestingly enough, the notary said she was adopted and was excited to be part of our process. We headed back to the state office, handed them back over and they certified them right there on the spot! That's 7 check marks!! I came out of the office this time jumping up and down! I'm so excited when I complete a step. This has been a big week!!

Third, Fourth and Final Home Study Meeting

Last night Mike and I met with our social worker Jeannie and 3 other people in the process of international adoption for a group home study. We discussed a lot of issues such as bonding, multi-racial families, discussing birth parents with our children, etc. It was very enlightening. Once the group was done, Mike and I met briefly with Jeannie about a few things such as child care plans and how much I expect to work after Mia comes. Then that was it - our home study is done! It was actually a very enjoyable process and really made us think and talk about issue we had not before. Now Jeannie will write up a home study report to be submitted with our I600A! I can't wait to get that in the mail! One step closer!

Second Home Study

We did our second home study meeting. This time was both Mike and me with our social worker first but mostly just with Mike. I think I was more nervous for Mike's meeting than I was my own! Maybe it's that "not in charge" feeling. But it all went very well. We will either have one or two more meetings and then she'll write her report and then we can submit our I-600A! That's our petition to the Department of Homeland Security for us to "process an orphan" from another country. That's a big step and it's even bigger when we get the final approval back. But don't want to get too ahead of myself!

First Homestudy Meeting

I just got done with my first homestudy meeting! My social worker Jeannie is very nice and knowledgeable. She has adopted from both Korea and China herself so she has great insight and experience. I feel like I told her my whole life story in the span of two hours. Mike's up next! I feel closer to Mia already!

Home Study begins!

We are finally starting our home study tomorrow! I'm so excited. I am doing the first visit alone with our social worker because her first available meeting time was in the morning and Mike can't take off of work tomorrow but I was able to. Now I have to get home early from work today and clean house! I know they say the house doesn't have to be spotless but it definitely needs a little attention. Our dog Harman, who I LOVE, creates quite a mess. He is all boy! He love dirt and doesn't think twice about trotting into the house without wiping his feet. Nor have I been able to teach him to put his toys away! But he's the only baby we have right now and he has us wrapped around his paw, so to speak! He's not spoiled at all! I can't imagine what we'll be like with a baby!

Our Cookbook

One of the things I'm working on during this time period is a cookbook. My mother and I have collected almost 300 recipes from friends and family member to publish a cookbook. Once we publish it, we're going to sell them to help with the adoption finances. After two invitros, our savings are gone and we have some unwanted debt. We hope to pay for the adoption as we go instead of going into more debt. It's been a fun project already. Hopefully we'll get it to the publisher by the end of May. If your are reading this and may be interested, please let me know. The books will be for sale probably in June or July and will most likely be between $12 - $15. It has main dishes, appetizer, cookies, sides, desserts and much more!

Few more things to do

We got the okay to start our home study last week but unfortunately both Mike and our social worker have been sick all week! I guess it's better than one being sick this week and another next week. I actually took Mike to the doctor because he had been coughing for a few days and we figured he could get his physical paperwork done at the same time. They wouldn't do his physical! I was so bummed. It was one of these "doc in a box" places where you just walk in. They told me you can only get a physical for adoption at the health department. I told them they were wrong, that I just did mine at my annual gyn appointment. Anyway, I have to find another doctor and actually get Mike there! He's not one for doctor visits. Hopefully we'll get started with our homestudy soon. It's weird because the first few weeks of this process, I felt there was so much to do getting paperwork and seeing the doctor and writing autobiographies and now this week I hardly did anything toward our adoption. Just a sneak peek at what it will be like after the dossier has been mailed and we start "the wait". The latest news is that the wait period has extended to 10-14 months! I go to sleep at night wondering if Mia is still in her mom's womb, when her birth date is, how old she will be. Now I wonder if she even exists yet! All in God's time. I have so much faith in that. Hopefully we'll start our home study this week and can send off our I-600A with our completed home study by the end of May.