Photos from Beijing --Forbidden City

Views from within the Forbidden City. We had a great visit there. It was sunny and chilly but not too cold.


The Bird's Nest Stadium that was built for the Olympics

The Day Before

We leave tomorrow for China. As fate would have it we all three have the flu and feel terrible. I still have to finish packing and go to the store to get the food items. I have given up on the hope of cleaning so we can return to a perfectly clean house.

The up side is that I don't have the energy to be nervous.

Our Travel Itinerary!

Jianna's Sixth Birthday!

We received some new pictures from the orphanage! These were taken in November 2010.

We ordered a cake and had it delivered to Jianna Ai Pei for her 6th birthday on November 16th. Here she is holding the cake box.

The cake reads, "Happy Birthday Ai Pei". It was decorated beautifully!

It appears they had the cake at the primary school she attends. Maybe at recess?

We Leave In Less Than Two Weeks!

I found some pictures of Ai Pei on the Fuling Kids Website. These were taken in July 2010!

Our Consulate Appointment is on January 19th and we are leaving on January 5th!

Making Plans

We don't have our iternerary or Consulate Appointment confirmed yet but we expect it any day. In the meantime we are doing much to prepare for our upcoming trip. I've been looking at flights and hotels until my eyes ache. The very good news is that it is less expensive to travel this time of year and that is going to save us a bundle.

Putting in our leave requests makes this so much more real. We are getting so close!

TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!

We got our travel approval. Our agency asked us if we wanted to travel in January or the end of February. REALLY? You had to ask???

We are so excited!

Another Step Completed!

We asked about our Article 5 today which was submitted on November 4th. It seems like it has taken a long time for it to get here. This was the message I received:

"Your article 5 was picked up on 11/18, and forwarded to the CCAA on the same day. It takes the CCAA 3-4 weeks to issue the TA."

So we are on to step 8! We are almost done!

STEPS AFTER LETTER OF APPROVAL TO ADOPT:

1, SUBMIT YOUR I800 TO USCIS (SUBMITTED 10/05/10)
2. WAIT FOR PROVISIONAL APPROVAL FROM THE NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER(NBC)
(2-4-WEEKS) (OURS WAS RECEIVED ON 10/23/10)
3. NBC FORWARDS YOUR I800 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (ABOUT A WEEK)
4. AWAIT LETTER FROM NATIONAL VISA CENTER STATING THAT YOUR FILE HAS BEEN
CABLED TO GUANGZHOU (ONE-TWO WEEKS)
5. YOUR AGENCY WILL WALK YOUR LOA AND DS230(CHILD'S VISA APPLICATION) INTO THE
CONSULATE AT GUANZHOU. (THIS ONLY HAPPENS ON MONDAYS OR THURSDAYS)
6. WAIT FOR THE ARTICLE 5 (2 WEEKS)(Received 11/18/10)
7. ARTICLE 5 IS WALKED INTO THE CCAA IN BEIJING. (11/18/10)
8. WAIT FOR TRAVEL APPROVAL.(TWO TO FOUR WEEKS)(AFTER THIS WE CAN GET A
CONSULATE APPOINTMENT).

She knows about us!

Adele from "Blessed Kids" sent us an email confirming that Ai Pei received the birthday cake and her presents! This means that she knows that she has a family! I don't know why, but this makes me very happy. We sent pictures with the cake also just in case she didn't get the package we shipped to her from home with the photobook.

So she has seen us. I wonder if she will always remember the day that she saw the pictures of her new family. One of the unusual things about older child adoption is that a child will be able to remember the first time she sees her parents. I so hope that she gets the photo album with all the pictures of extended family and our home and pets.

So now maybe the orphanage staff is talking to her about meeting us and flying on an airplane for such a long journey and trying to prepare her the way that we are talking to Nathan about it.

Nathan Plays With Puppies

The weather was close to eighty degrees here today! We spent some time outdoors playing with puppies. The puppies are seven weeks old now and so much fun.

Nathan decided to roll across the front lawn. I love watching him play with puppies.

Jianna's Sixth Birthday

Ai Pei had her 6th birthday on November 16th. I never imagined last year that we would be missing this birthday as well but, alas that is the way of international adoption. We sent her a cake and presents so hopefully she received them okay in China and is enjoying them. I picked up a little cake and we remembered her birthday here.

It made me sad. Birthdays are milestones that remind me I am missing so much of her young life. I pray that wherever she is, she is feeling loved and cared for.

Next year, baby girl...

Four Years With Nathan!

Four years ago today a beautiful baby boy was placed in our arms. We are so blessed!



Here are some pictures of our Together Day.

Letter from National Visa Center

We received the letter from the NVC which is step 4 in the process indicated below! This is really happening!!!

Provisional Approval from USCIS

We received our provisional approval today. Here are the steps we have remaining. I am sad that it looks like we aren't going to be able to travel in December after all.

1, SUBMIT YOUR I800 TO USCIS (SUBMITTED 10/05/10)
2. WAIT FOR PROVISIONAL APPROVAL FROM THE NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER(NBC)
(2-4-WEEKS) (OURS WAS RECEIVED ON 10/23/10)
3. NBC FORWARDS YOUR I800 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (ABOUT A WEEK)
4. AWAIT LETTER FROM NATIONAL VISA CENTER STATING THAT YOUR FILE HAS BEEN
CABLED TO GUANGZHOU (ONE-TWO WEEKS)
5. YOUR AGENCY WILL WALK YOUR LOA AND DS230(CHILD'S VISA APPLICATION) INTO THE
CONSULATE AT GUANZHOU. (THIS ONLY HAPPENS ON MONDAYS OR THURSDAYS)
6. WAIT FOR THE ARTICLE 5 (2 WEEKS)
7. ARTICLE 5 IS WALKED INTO THE CCAA IN BEIJING.
8. WAIT FOR TRAVEL APPROVAL.(TWO TO FOUR WEEKS)(AFTER THIS WE CAN GET A
CONSULATE APPOINTMENT).

LOA!!!

We finally received our Letter of Approval! This means that China has completely approved our adoption! YIPPEE!!! Now we are able to send her care packages and she will hear for the first time that she has a family.

Not This Month

It looks as if we are not going to get our letter of approval this month. We really are going to be cutting this close if we are to get our travel approval by November 21st.

This weekend we are having a garage sale, partly to clear away some of the clutter and partly to raise some money for our trip. Part of that "nesting instinct" makes me want to purge the house of all unnecessary items.

Updated Pictures

These are from a few months ago. We had to get them from our agency again since our computer crashed.



Ron and I think she looks mischievous in these pics. We might have another strong-willed child on our hands. Jianna is from Chongqing in the Sichuan province. The ladies there told us that they are known for spicy food and spicy women. Some adoptive parents refer to their girls as "spicy girls" and they seem to have that character.



It looks to me like someone was trying to get her to smile and she is refusing. I laugh at the lively gleam in her eye as she enjoys being uncooperative. I guess we will have to wait to see that smile.

LOA this week?

Will this week bring us our final approval from China? I hope so. Each time a Friday draws near and I realize we didn't receive it, I feel so sad. I have saved most of my holiday leave for the trip. If we don't travel in December I will still have to use it and that will cut into the time we get to take off with Jianna once she is home. I know it will all work out in the end but the waiting and not knowing is really hard.

Sometimes Veggie Tales Say It Best

Think of me everyday.
Hold tight to what I say,
And I'll be close to you,
Even from far away.
Know that wherever you are,
it is never too far.
If you think of me,
I'll be with you.

An Argument For Adopting Older Children.

I love the Love Without Boundries organization!

There are many people who say that it is wrong to adopt a child and to take him or her from the country of birth. (Ironically, the people who argue this never seem to have adopted any children themselves). This seems even more of a concern with older children who are already used to the culture and country of their birth. It is always a concern, especially with those of us who long to bring these children home with us.

In this recent post, Amy explains why it is not a negative to take an older child out of the country of their birth.

http://www.lwbcommunity.org/adoption-of-older-children

There were some things in here that I didn't know.

Back To School!

Nathan finally started back to school! He was about a week behind the other kids because of a nasty case of chickenpox or as he called them "chicken pops".

He is doing another year of preschool instead of moving onto kindergarten. His teacher recommended it because he just turned five in July. It looks like this will work out better with our trip to China since he won't fall behind if he misses a couple of weeks. Next year, he will start kindergarten with his sister!

Kudos to Daddy. I wasn't able to make it home for his first day because of the Officer shooting. :( I asked Ron to dress him cute and take photos and he did both very well!

Getting Closer!

It's time to jumpstart this blog again! We have had our dossier in China now since July 30th and it shouldn't be too much longer before we get our Letter Of Approval (LOA). Then we have the final batch of paperwork and then it is off to China! We are so hoping to get her before the end of the year.

We are starting to get all the little things around the house that we will need for two children. It makes it seems so real! We are so excited!



We have matching car seats for the Mini Cooper. There's not a lot of room back there! It makes it more real to Nathan to see places for our daughter.

Happy Birthday Nathan!

My beautiful baby boy turned five years old today! It's amazing how he keeps growing. He talks constantly now and makes jokes and sings and I just love listening to him. We are so blessed with this happy, wonderful son.

He's Gone Country

Nathan Sings ABCs.

Paperwork and Deadlines

We are working hard to get all the paperwork finished for our dossier for Ai Pei. We have our homestudy complete but are waiting for it to be typed. Our physicals are finished and our birth/marriage certificates are back.

We need to send our certificates to the state department still I think and then they go on to the Chinese Consulates.

I am concerned that we are running behind and may not meet the deadline.

I have been shopping for Ai Pei and getting things ready for her room. I can't stand the thought of not getting her!

Fu Ai Pei

We have our pre-approval!!! We are on our way to becoming Pei-Pei's family! We are so excited!



Last month we saw Ai Pei's file on the CCAA shared list. She was a little older than we were thinking for our next child but I saw that she was from Chongqing and I was intrigued. It didn't take long for us to realize she is a part of our family.

She is in an orphanage near Chongqing City which means that we were miles from her when we were in Chongqing to get Nathan! We are very excited about going back to get her!

So now I can start shopping for little girl's clothes! :)

Imagine This - Cleft Healing Home

The little smiling girl with the wild hair toward the end of the video is Lin, a girl we sponsor! I'm sure it won't be long until she is adopted.

Nathan and Kitty October 09