Oh my! The busy times we have been having! ZoraLin has brought us great joy, we have moved to Texas, Zora started to walk the same time we moved and Rae has given up sucking her thumb and just the past two weeks is Potty trained!!
Another child has always been in my heart. Actually, I could add several kids to our home! However, the pull for another child from China has been very strong for me.
September 6th Mark, the girls and I attended Culture Day in Dallas. As we were looking at all the info there that day, we met Brenda Eckols from Adoption-A Give of Love Adoption agency from Denton, TX. AGOL also brings children to the USA to have surgeries. One child's picture jumped off the board at us. I didn't care what her special need was. She is beautiful! We talked to Brenda, found out about being a host family and told her we were very interested in hosting Chun Lian.
On October 3rd I called Brenda to remind her that we were anxious to host this child. We sent Brenda a copy of our home study. Chun Lian was supposed to be here November 10th. We then found out that her file is with an agency in Washington. Her file needs to be returned to China so she can come for her surgery through AGOL.
Sunday, November 23, 2003
Thursday, February 27, 2003
February 27, 2003
Nicholas, ZoraLin and I went to ZoraLin's orphanage yesterday. We were accompanied by Lori, McKayla and Becca. Tiffanie was our translator.
The ride to Taishan was bumpy. Nicholas moved to the back of the van so he could "catch" more bumps. ZoraLin was in her hip hammock and she promptly fell asleep and slept the whole two hours there.
We traveled through 5 "cities" to reach Taishan. Tiffanie showed us on the map which cities we would go through, but the map was in Chinese. I know one of them was Foshan. I recognized the name from the APC list. I have seen babies referred from Foshan.
As we left the White Swan we traveled for about 20 minutes through Guangzhou. The area was very "city like" with apartment buildings and industrial areas. Then we exited the city gradually entering more open areas with farm land. It was sad to see farm land with little shacks that the family's must live in. As this is spring here in China, the farmers had their soil tilled in preparation of planting. We did pass some farms that had many things growing. Those farms also had covers on some of the plants that looked like hot houses or mini green houses.
We also crossed over the Pearl River again about half way to Taishan. Tiffanie said that going north on the river you would be in Hong Kong in about 2 hours. That explains all the boat traffic we have seen from our hotel window.
As we drove nearer to Taishan we went through a very beautiful mountainous area. Tiffanie was telling me that Taishan City is a very beautiful city. It has many generations of people who have left the area and gone abroad to return with money which has helped the city financially. We could see that as we arrived in Taishan. The city has many beautiful new buildings as you drive in. It looked very clean. It is supposed to be a very diverse area and very wealthy.
As the driver did not know how to get to the orphanage, Tiffanie called the director who drove his car up so we could follow him. His car was a Mercedes Benz.
We had arrived at noon. Tiffanie said that the orphanage staff is on their break between noon and half past 2pm. She suggested we invite the director to lunch. This worried Lori! She was afraid to eat somewhere that she did not know what we might have. I said, "Look at all the people here, they are still walking and talking so I can't imagine the food will kill us!"
We followed the director to the orphanage which was very close to where we had waited for him. As we pulled up to the orphanage, I recognized the front gate from the picture we have. There was an older woman cleaning the sides of the street leading down to the orphanage. The streets were very clean.
Tiffanie visited with the director. He accepted our invitation to lunch. We thought that meant that we would go to lunch right away. The director wanted us to go see the facility right away so we would not have to backtrack after eating.
We went through a metal gate that entered into the courtyard. They had it planted with hedges and there were a few playground items. I recognized the playground area from ZoraLin's referral pictures. The area was much smaller than it looked in the photos. The director took us in a metal barred, locked door. This was his office. We walked through to a reception area with ornate wood chairs and couches without cushions. We sat down and the director handed us each a small bottle of water. Tiffanie then said to give the director our "gifts". I handed her the duffel of clothes and toothbrushes and she translated to the director what it was. I then gave her the red bag for the director. She told him it was his and he smiled and nodded to me. The bag has a mag light, Kansas notepad, pen and KS tornado magnet. Of course, they don't open the gifts in front of you. I then handed her the shopping bag that had 4 bags of goodies for the nannies as she explained to him.
We were told that we could not take pictures on the second floor where the babies were. I knew this would happen. We were then taken up the cement stairs at the end of the building to the 2nd floor.
As we walked up the stairs, one of the nannies came around the corner. Tiffanie said that the workers were also on their lunch break. We reached the top of the stairs and turned left where we then turned into the first door on the left. Entering the room, there was more workers and a baby in a little "springy" chair with an IV attached to her head. The IV she was receiving was in a small glass bottle. I figured it was an antibiotic. There was also a little girl of about 5 years old standing there. There was a table with a hot plate and pan with some sort of soup being heated up. To the right of the room, there was a big window which looked through to the next room. That room also had long windows so you could see into the next rooms. It felt like being in a house that was in the process of being built, sort of open without the walls in place, but yet the walls were finished.
We smiled and said Hello to the workers. They all had to come look at ZoraLin and fuss over her. Zora showed no signs of any recognition and seemed content to stay in the hip hammock.
One nanny then took us in and pointed to a crib and back to Zora. There was a baby in the crib so I had Tiffanie ask if that was Zora's crib mate? The worker picked the baby up and said no. Only one baby per crib. The baby was smaller than Zora but she looked just like her in the facial features. There were 4 metal cribs in a cluster. All 4 had a baby and pile of blankets in it. The bottoms were covered with a bamboo mat. To the right of the cribs was an area partially partitioned off with a metal fence that had an opening to the enter the area in the middle of it. The area, as was the rest of the rooms, had linoleum on the floor. There was a TV connected to the wall. It was on, but I did not pay attention to it. Inside this area was 4 older children. 2 boys and 2 girls. It was very obvious that these were special needs children. The older little girl who met us at first turned out to be one of the workers' children. I waved at the children, they just looked at us with blank stares.
I asked the caregivers what ZoraLin ate. They said only formula and cereal. We remarked that we were surprised she didn't eat table food. They told Tiffanie that the formula they used was very expensive and very good. (It was really full of lots of sugar)
I noticed some walkers against the back wall. Their cushions were almost black as they were so dirty. There was a little room back there that looked like a bathroom that was very dirty too. The floors where the babies cribs and the older children were looked fairly clean.
We were taken into the next room where there were approximately 12 babies in cribs. We were told these babies were about 6 months old. Then in a smaller room there were 3 babies that were 1 month and 2 months old. They had these babies all bundled up in clothes and blankets. The babies were so quiet. They just lay there looking at us.
We walked back to the main room where Zora's crib has been. I had been carrying my camera since the courtyard and I couldn't resist turning it on and snapping a couple of pictures! I now regret that I did not take more!
I had seen enough. So we headed back out on the balcony where I snapped a few photos of the courtyard. After going back downstairs we took some more photos of the courtyard and Tiffanie took some of us in the courtyard.
We then took off following the director again. I thought we were going to lunch, but it turned out we went to the place ZoraLin was found. It was in a very populated apartment complex by a building with many plants on the sidewalk. We took some photos and video of the area. Lori commented to me about how sad it was and asked me if I was affected by it? I told her that I was, but I felt it was important to visit the place and know as much as I could so if ZoraLin ever has questions.
We then followed the director to a restaurant for lunch. We were taken to a private room in the restaurant. We had told Tiffanie that we wanted to order conservatively and not things like snake or eel!
We sat down at a large round table that had a glass lazy Susan on it. We were first given moist towelettes to wash our hands, then the food started coming! We were given hot tea and bean curd soup for starters. The tea was good, but I did not care for the soup.
Then the main course arrived. We had cooked vegies with whole shrimp, baked eggplant, sweet and sour pork, a spicy meat entray, fried pork ribs, pastries and fresh fruit. Zora spilled my soup, fortunately. We were given the option of chopsticks or a fork. I tried the chopsticks on my rice and failed miserably even with Tiffanie showing me how! Nicholas, Lori and McKayla did okay with the chopsticks. I was surprised at how much Nicholas tried. Of course, the director was putting things on his plate for Nicholas to try.
The director then left us to go back to work. We shook his hand and said goodbye. It was time for us to head home. Each "family" had to give Tiffanie 200 RMB for the meal. It must have covered everything as we were not asked for more and we did not get any back.
As we were leaving Taishan I tried to to take many photos. I also whispered to ZoraLin that we were leaving her first home, but hopefully some time we can come back to visit if she ever wants too.
Our ride home seemed quicker and we were fairly quiet. Zora slept all the way to the hotel. I was trying to memorize all the sights we had seen so I might accurately describe them to Zora one day.
The ride to Taishan was bumpy. Nicholas moved to the back of the van so he could "catch" more bumps. ZoraLin was in her hip hammock and she promptly fell asleep and slept the whole two hours there.
We traveled through 5 "cities" to reach Taishan. Tiffanie showed us on the map which cities we would go through, but the map was in Chinese. I know one of them was Foshan. I recognized the name from the APC list. I have seen babies referred from Foshan.
As we left the White Swan we traveled for about 20 minutes through Guangzhou. The area was very "city like" with apartment buildings and industrial areas. Then we exited the city gradually entering more open areas with farm land. It was sad to see farm land with little shacks that the family's must live in. As this is spring here in China, the farmers had their soil tilled in preparation of planting. We did pass some farms that had many things growing. Those farms also had covers on some of the plants that looked like hot houses or mini green houses.
We also crossed over the Pearl River again about half way to Taishan. Tiffanie said that going north on the river you would be in Hong Kong in about 2 hours. That explains all the boat traffic we have seen from our hotel window.
As we drove nearer to Taishan we went through a very beautiful mountainous area. Tiffanie was telling me that Taishan City is a very beautiful city. It has many generations of people who have left the area and gone abroad to return with money which has helped the city financially. We could see that as we arrived in Taishan. The city has many beautiful new buildings as you drive in. It looked very clean. It is supposed to be a very diverse area and very wealthy.
As the driver did not know how to get to the orphanage, Tiffanie called the director who drove his car up so we could follow him. His car was a Mercedes Benz.
We had arrived at noon. Tiffanie said that the orphanage staff is on their break between noon and half past 2pm. She suggested we invite the director to lunch. This worried Lori! She was afraid to eat somewhere that she did not know what we might have. I said, "Look at all the people here, they are still walking and talking so I can't imagine the food will kill us!"
We followed the director to the orphanage which was very close to where we had waited for him. As we pulled up to the orphanage, I recognized the front gate from the picture we have. There was an older woman cleaning the sides of the street leading down to the orphanage. The streets were very clean.
Tiffanie visited with the director. He accepted our invitation to lunch. We thought that meant that we would go to lunch right away. The director wanted us to go see the facility right away so we would not have to backtrack after eating.
We went through a metal gate that entered into the courtyard. They had it planted with hedges and there were a few playground items. I recognized the playground area from ZoraLin's referral pictures. The area was much smaller than it looked in the photos. The director took us in a metal barred, locked door. This was his office. We walked through to a reception area with ornate wood chairs and couches without cushions. We sat down and the director handed us each a small bottle of water. Tiffanie then said to give the director our "gifts". I handed her the duffel of clothes and toothbrushes and she translated to the director what it was. I then gave her the red bag for the director. She told him it was his and he smiled and nodded to me. The bag has a mag light, Kansas notepad, pen and KS tornado magnet. Of course, they don't open the gifts in front of you. I then handed her the shopping bag that had 4 bags of goodies for the nannies as she explained to him.
We were told that we could not take pictures on the second floor where the babies were. I knew this would happen. We were then taken up the cement stairs at the end of the building to the 2nd floor.
As we walked up the stairs, one of the nannies came around the corner. Tiffanie said that the workers were also on their lunch break. We reached the top of the stairs and turned left where we then turned into the first door on the left. Entering the room, there was more workers and a baby in a little "springy" chair with an IV attached to her head. The IV she was receiving was in a small glass bottle. I figured it was an antibiotic. There was also a little girl of about 5 years old standing there. There was a table with a hot plate and pan with some sort of soup being heated up. To the right of the room, there was a big window which looked through to the next room. That room also had long windows so you could see into the next rooms. It felt like being in a house that was in the process of being built, sort of open without the walls in place, but yet the walls were finished.
We smiled and said Hello to the workers. They all had to come look at ZoraLin and fuss over her. Zora showed no signs of any recognition and seemed content to stay in the hip hammock.
One nanny then took us in and pointed to a crib and back to Zora. There was a baby in the crib so I had Tiffanie ask if that was Zora's crib mate? The worker picked the baby up and said no. Only one baby per crib. The baby was smaller than Zora but she looked just like her in the facial features. There were 4 metal cribs in a cluster. All 4 had a baby and pile of blankets in it. The bottoms were covered with a bamboo mat. To the right of the cribs was an area partially partitioned off with a metal fence that had an opening to the enter the area in the middle of it. The area, as was the rest of the rooms, had linoleum on the floor. There was a TV connected to the wall. It was on, but I did not pay attention to it. Inside this area was 4 older children. 2 boys and 2 girls. It was very obvious that these were special needs children. The older little girl who met us at first turned out to be one of the workers' children. I waved at the children, they just looked at us with blank stares.
I asked the caregivers what ZoraLin ate. They said only formula and cereal. We remarked that we were surprised she didn't eat table food. They told Tiffanie that the formula they used was very expensive and very good. (It was really full of lots of sugar)
I noticed some walkers against the back wall. Their cushions were almost black as they were so dirty. There was a little room back there that looked like a bathroom that was very dirty too. The floors where the babies cribs and the older children were looked fairly clean.
We were taken into the next room where there were approximately 12 babies in cribs. We were told these babies were about 6 months old. Then in a smaller room there were 3 babies that were 1 month and 2 months old. They had these babies all bundled up in clothes and blankets. The babies were so quiet. They just lay there looking at us.
We walked back to the main room where Zora's crib has been. I had been carrying my camera since the courtyard and I couldn't resist turning it on and snapping a couple of pictures! I now regret that I did not take more!
I had seen enough. So we headed back out on the balcony where I snapped a few photos of the courtyard. After going back downstairs we took some more photos of the courtyard and Tiffanie took some of us in the courtyard.
We then took off following the director again. I thought we were going to lunch, but it turned out we went to the place ZoraLin was found. It was in a very populated apartment complex by a building with many plants on the sidewalk. We took some photos and video of the area. Lori commented to me about how sad it was and asked me if I was affected by it? I told her that I was, but I felt it was important to visit the place and know as much as I could so if ZoraLin ever has questions.
We then followed the director to a restaurant for lunch. We were taken to a private room in the restaurant. We had told Tiffanie that we wanted to order conservatively and not things like snake or eel!
We sat down at a large round table that had a glass lazy Susan on it. We were first given moist towelettes to wash our hands, then the food started coming! We were given hot tea and bean curd soup for starters. The tea was good, but I did not care for the soup.
Then the main course arrived. We had cooked vegies with whole shrimp, baked eggplant, sweet and sour pork, a spicy meat entray, fried pork ribs, pastries and fresh fruit. Zora spilled my soup, fortunately. We were given the option of chopsticks or a fork. I tried the chopsticks on my rice and failed miserably even with Tiffanie showing me how! Nicholas, Lori and McKayla did okay with the chopsticks. I was surprised at how much Nicholas tried. Of course, the director was putting things on his plate for Nicholas to try.
The director then left us to go back to work. We shook his hand and said goodbye. It was time for us to head home. Each "family" had to give Tiffanie 200 RMB for the meal. It must have covered everything as we were not asked for more and we did not get any back.
As we were leaving Taishan I tried to to take many photos. I also whispered to ZoraLin that we were leaving her first home, but hopefully some time we can come back to visit if she ever wants too.
Our ride home seemed quicker and we were fairly quiet. Zora slept all the way to the hotel. I was trying to memorize all the sights we had seen so I might accurately describe them to Zora one day.
Sunday, February 23, 2003
February 23, 2003
I have written other things down in emails the past two days. It seems like we have been here for a week when in actuality we have only been here 3 days.
We are still not adjusted to our time changes. RaeAnne was wide awake at 3:30AM or so. She is congested and coughing. I gave her some Triaminic and next thing I know everyone is up. So then about 6:30AM we all fall back to sleep except Mark. I think I will just give up on trying to adjust. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't.
We did more shopping today. We ordered the rest of the granite etchings at Sherry's Place. Then Nicholas got to try his hand at thumb and palm painting on the street. A local artist showed him how. Of course, after he tried his hand at it, then they waned to sell it as a "souvenir" for 30 Yuan! I turned them down as I had taken photos of him doing it!
We walked down to Michael's Place. Visited with him awhile. Then Nicholas and RaeAnne discovered a new ride at the park.
Nicholas also had the chance to "pick" out the live snake he could have cooked for him at a restaurant. He got to hold the snake, but would not carry through with having it cooked for him.
Tonight we got together with Carol Anne Wall, her husband John and their new daughter Rachel. A very nice family. Had a good time visiting with them.
Tomorrow is the big day. We will get ZoraLin MeiHe! We are to meet Peter and his assistant, Tiffany, in the hotel lobby at 8:45AM. We will go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to do the paper work and get our daughter! I am starting to be nervous and anxious at the same time. After spending time with Carol Anne and Rachel tonight, I am ready to hold ZoraLin MeiHe.
We are still not adjusted to our time changes. RaeAnne was wide awake at 3:30AM or so. She is congested and coughing. I gave her some Triaminic and next thing I know everyone is up. So then about 6:30AM we all fall back to sleep except Mark. I think I will just give up on trying to adjust. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't.
We did more shopping today. We ordered the rest of the granite etchings at Sherry's Place. Then Nicholas got to try his hand at thumb and palm painting on the street. A local artist showed him how. Of course, after he tried his hand at it, then they waned to sell it as a "souvenir" for 30 Yuan! I turned them down as I had taken photos of him doing it!
We walked down to Michael's Place. Visited with him awhile. Then Nicholas and RaeAnne discovered a new ride at the park.
Nicholas also had the chance to "pick" out the live snake he could have cooked for him at a restaurant. He got to hold the snake, but would not carry through with having it cooked for him.
Tonight we got together with Carol Anne Wall, her husband John and their new daughter Rachel. A very nice family. Had a good time visiting with them.
Tomorrow is the big day. We will get ZoraLin MeiHe! We are to meet Peter and his assistant, Tiffany, in the hotel lobby at 8:45AM. We will go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to do the paper work and get our daughter! I am starting to be nervous and anxious at the same time. After spending time with Carol Anne and Rachel tonight, I am ready to hold ZoraLin MeiHe.
Friday, February 21, 2003
February 21, 2003
We lost the 20th as we went across the International Date Line while we have been trying to sleep.
We met up with our group in LAX. All four families are here. Not all of them are going to stay in Guangzhou for a couple of days. We also met a couple more families who are with different agency's. We had to wait for what seemed like forever to get our boarding passes. We couldn't enter the airport beyond ticketing until then and there wasn't any soda machines we could use. We were all starving by the time we finally could enter. So off to McDonald's with Shari's family to eat. The rest of the group arrived later.
We hung out at the boarding gate until they let us on the plane. RaeAnne was one very tired girl. She fell asleep before we took off and slept pretty good for quite a while. Thanks to a little boy at RaeAnne's daycare she will be sporting a scratch by her right eye for the trip :(
We were also detained in the security check point again. My lead film bag sent them for a loop and Mark had thrown in his toenail kit with scissors in it! They took the scissors, but he did get the clippers back.
I have no idea what time is is right now. Rae, Nicholas and I are awake, Mark is sound asleep. Nicholas is playing Game Boy, Rae is busy sticking stickers and I am exhausted! I hope they have our room ready when we get to the White Swan Hotel.
*A little side note here. We are packing 4 carry on's, Mark laptop, the diaper bag and the duffel bag with the clothes for the orphanage. We checked in four suitcases. Two of them totaled 82.4 pounds. The other two were 99.4 pounds. They put a 50# tag on one of the bags! No carry on only for us!
We met up with our group in LAX. All four families are here. Not all of them are going to stay in Guangzhou for a couple of days. We also met a couple more families who are with different agency's. We had to wait for what seemed like forever to get our boarding passes. We couldn't enter the airport beyond ticketing until then and there wasn't any soda machines we could use. We were all starving by the time we finally could enter. So off to McDonald's with Shari's family to eat. The rest of the group arrived later.
We hung out at the boarding gate until they let us on the plane. RaeAnne was one very tired girl. She fell asleep before we took off and slept pretty good for quite a while. Thanks to a little boy at RaeAnne's daycare she will be sporting a scratch by her right eye for the trip :(
We were also detained in the security check point again. My lead film bag sent them for a loop and Mark had thrown in his toenail kit with scissors in it! They took the scissors, but he did get the clippers back.
I have no idea what time is is right now. Rae, Nicholas and I are awake, Mark is sound asleep. Nicholas is playing Game Boy, Rae is busy sticking stickers and I am exhausted! I hope they have our room ready when we get to the White Swan Hotel.
*A little side note here. We are packing 4 carry on's, Mark laptop, the diaper bag and the duffel bag with the clothes for the orphanage. We checked in four suitcases. Two of them totaled 82.4 pounds. The other two were 99.4 pounds. They put a 50# tag on one of the bags! No carry on only for us!
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
February 19, 2003
We spent the morning running from room to room, checking and re-checking to make sure we didn't forget anything. Mark took Wyatt to the vet to board him. Wyatt knew something was going on. He ran and hid in his kennel and would not come out! The cats were also nervous.
Mark was following me around packing up things I was laying out. Now I don't know where half my stuff is! I was going to take a last minute picture of our suitcases, but the next thing I knew-he was loading them in the back of the pickup. Oh well! I guess we will have to take a picture of the bags before we check in-in LAX.
We arrived at the airport and very soon there after, we discovered we had not packed diapers! No one sold them at the airport, but Mark made a quick call to Janea and she came to our rescue, running out a dozen to us!
Going through X-ray was interesting. My film-leadbag made them rescan and search that carry-on. The woman told me I should have put it in my checked on bag. Mark's laptop bag was searched and they took him aside to run the wand over his body. As we were walking to our gate, they paged us to come board the plane! They were waiting on us! The kids and I arrived first and we did not have our ID's so they were not going to let us board the plane. Then they told us to go ahead out to the plane. Mark finally caught up to us. They have still not checked our ID's.
RaeAnne started crying when we were going through the checkpoint, but she has enjoyed the boarding and flight so far. She is busy putting stickers in her book. At the rate she is going through them, we might run out!
Mark was following me around packing up things I was laying out. Now I don't know where half my stuff is! I was going to take a last minute picture of our suitcases, but the next thing I knew-he was loading them in the back of the pickup. Oh well! I guess we will have to take a picture of the bags before we check in-in LAX.
We arrived at the airport and very soon there after, we discovered we had not packed diapers! No one sold them at the airport, but Mark made a quick call to Janea and she came to our rescue, running out a dozen to us!
Going through X-ray was interesting. My film-leadbag made them rescan and search that carry-on. The woman told me I should have put it in my checked on bag. Mark's laptop bag was searched and they took him aside to run the wand over his body. As we were walking to our gate, they paged us to come board the plane! They were waiting on us! The kids and I arrived first and we did not have our ID's so they were not going to let us board the plane. Then they told us to go ahead out to the plane. Mark finally caught up to us. They have still not checked our ID's.
RaeAnne started crying when we were going through the checkpoint, but she has enjoyed the boarding and flight so far. She is busy putting stickers in her book. At the rate she is going through them, we might run out!
Sunday, February 16, 2003
February 18, 2003
Bags are packed, tickets and passports arrived via FedEx this morning. I finished Nicholas' room today. The colors look pretty nice.
We have some rearranging to do in our suitcases in the morning and then off to the airport at 11:30AM. I still don't think it is really happening. I think reality will sink in at LAX tomorrow.
ZoraLin should be in our arms on Sunday!!
We have some rearranging to do in our suitcases in the morning and then off to the airport at 11:30AM. I still don't think it is really happening. I think reality will sink in at LAX tomorrow.
ZoraLin should be in our arms on Sunday!!
February 16, 2003
The day of departure is getting near. I have been waiting and dreaming about this trip for over two years. I don't think it has really sunk in yet. I am excited and at the same time worried. The world is such a place of unrest right now, but nothing will keep me from my baby girl!
We went to the Mall Saturday and purchased a whole duffle bag of clothes for ZoraLin's orphanage. We also picked up some really neat coffee table books of pictures of Kansas for the orphanage director, our guide and Lin.
I think I have made a pretty good dent in our packing. I am about to say "the heck with it" and just pay the overweight fees. Tomorrow I will look over our agency's recommendation list and finish up.
We went to the Mall Saturday and purchased a whole duffle bag of clothes for ZoraLin's orphanage. We also picked up some really neat coffee table books of pictures of Kansas for the orphanage director, our guide and Lin.
I think I have made a pretty good dent in our packing. I am about to say "the heck with it" and just pay the overweight fees. Tomorrow I will look over our agency's recommendation list and finish up.
Friday, February 14, 2003
February 14, 2003
What a wonderful Valentine's Day present we received yesterday! And today we received another gift. We will be traveling with our group as planned! We will need to be at the airport next Wednesday at 12 noon!
Oh my! Too many things left to do and no time to do them! I am starting to get nervous. I hope it is like riding a bicycle, something you never forget. I also am worried about RaeAnne's reaction to seeing Mommy with another baby. I have tried to explain it all to her. Time will tell what she has taken in.
Now for some much needed sleep! Good night Zora. Mommy will rock you to sleep very soon!
Oh my! Too many things left to do and no time to do them! I am starting to get nervous. I hope it is like riding a bicycle, something you never forget. I also am worried about RaeAnne's reaction to seeing Mommy with another baby. I have tried to explain it all to her. Time will tell what she has taken in.
Now for some much needed sleep! Good night Zora. Mommy will rock you to sleep very soon!
Thursday, February 13, 2003
February 13, 2003
RaeAnne and I woke up early this morning. We were up, dressed and out the door about 15 minutes ahead of our usual schedule. I ran some errands after dropping Rae off at daycare. Then it was back home to paint. Our bedroom is done and Nicholas' is 2/3rds done.
I was busy painting in Nicholas room when Kim phoned from New Hope. They had confirmed with the CCAA that our referral was on it's way. But they had not yet received it! She assured me that they would call as soon as they had it.
Finally, at 2:18PM THE CALL came!! Ning Mei He was born on 05/17/2002, a day after our anniversary! She is in the Taishan Social Welfare Institute in the Guangdong province. We will be at the White Swan the whole time. She is said to be healthy and her pictures confirm she is well fed. Janea was home for lunch when the call came. She snapped a photo of me taking the info on the phone. They were still busy translating so I gave them Mark's work fax number so they could send us everything to quickly look over. We finally received the translated papers about 7:15PM. We quickly read through them, signed the acceptance letter and faxed it back to them. Now we wait to see if we will get to travel with our group.
I made our referral announcements to our egroups. I would have crawled up on our roof and shouted it out if I wasn't so scared of heights!
Tonight I sat down and reflected on all the red threads. When we first sent our dossier off, for some reason I felt our daughter would have Mei in her name. Also I wrote back in April that I hoped her birthday was in May or June. Our facilitators name is Lin Ning Shen. We decided to use Lin in the name and then our daughters' Chinese name has Ning in it and part of KaeLynn Feng He's name. It was in the stars that we would be pulled to this child. RaeAnne turned 9 months old two days after being placed in our arms. ZoraLin will have turned 9 months just days before being placed in our arms. Daddy scoffs at all these "coincidences" but I believe!!
I was busy painting in Nicholas room when Kim phoned from New Hope. They had confirmed with the CCAA that our referral was on it's way. But they had not yet received it! She assured me that they would call as soon as they had it.
Finally, at 2:18PM THE CALL came!! Ning Mei He was born on 05/17/2002, a day after our anniversary! She is in the Taishan Social Welfare Institute in the Guangdong province. We will be at the White Swan the whole time. She is said to be healthy and her pictures confirm she is well fed. Janea was home for lunch when the call came. She snapped a photo of me taking the info on the phone. They were still busy translating so I gave them Mark's work fax number so they could send us everything to quickly look over. We finally received the translated papers about 7:15PM. We quickly read through them, signed the acceptance letter and faxed it back to them. Now we wait to see if we will get to travel with our group.
I made our referral announcements to our egroups. I would have crawled up on our roof and shouted it out if I wasn't so scared of heights!
Tonight I sat down and reflected on all the red threads. When we first sent our dossier off, for some reason I felt our daughter would have Mei in her name. Also I wrote back in April that I hoped her birthday was in May or June. Our facilitators name is Lin Ning Shen. We decided to use Lin in the name and then our daughters' Chinese name has Ning in it and part of KaeLynn Feng He's name. It was in the stars that we would be pulled to this child. RaeAnne turned 9 months old two days after being placed in our arms. ZoraLin will have turned 9 months just days before being placed in our arms. Daddy scoffs at all these "coincidences" but I believe!!
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
February 12, 2003
Is this really ever going to happen? If we hadn't been through the process before I would begin to wonder! Once again Patty says "Tomorrow!" This must be one very special baby! But of course she is! She is going to be ours!
All this delay does make our chances of traveling with our group slimmer and slimmer. I am holding on to my faith that we are waiting for the right child. I know she will be, I just wish she would hurry up and get here!
ZoraLin, you don't know how anxious your family is to meet you! We are even more anxious to hold you! I am begging now. Tomorrow PLEASE!
All this delay does make our chances of traveling with our group slimmer and slimmer. I am holding on to my faith that we are waiting for the right child. I know she will be, I just wish she would hurry up and get here!
ZoraLin, you don't know how anxious your family is to meet you! We are even more anxious to hold you! I am begging now. Tomorrow PLEASE!
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
February 11, 2003
Aaarrgghh!! No referral today! Patty says we have to be patient. We have to rely on the CCAA's word that they have sent out the referral. This is so frustrating! Day 448 today since our dossier was logged in. Well, I guess I want a Valentine Sweetie, so I guess we have until Friday. Then I will probably have gray hair or be bald as I will tear all my hair out!
Does this mean that ZoraLin will never be late the rest of her life? Or that she will always be late?
Does this mean that ZoraLin will never be late the rest of her life? Or that she will always be late?
Monday, February 10, 2003
February 10, 2003
They came to clean the carpet at 9:30 this morning. He said it would be dry in 4 to 6 hours, but it is still damp at 9:30 tonight!
Patty called from New Hope at 11AM. Lin has been in contact with the CCAA on Saturday and we will be getting our referral today or tomorrow!! The CCAA is going to let us fax our approval letter back to them. Hopefully, everything will fall into place and we will get to travel to Guangzhou with our group. Patty says our referral is from the Guangdong province, so we will stay in Guangzhou while the others travel on to Hefei. Then we will all meet back up for our consulate appointments. We are absolutely ecstatic! As Patty did not call back today, we should get our referral tomorrow!! This will be one long night! I am so anxious to know who our daughter is! Where is she? When was she born? What does she look like? Is she younger? We are also excited as we should be the only family in our "group". We should get to see where ZoraLin has spent the first part of her life. Oh My! Will tomorrow ever come?!! And if we are leaving on the 19th-I have too much to do between now and then!
Hang on ZoraLin baby! We are getting close honey!
Patty called from New Hope at 11AM. Lin has been in contact with the CCAA on Saturday and we will be getting our referral today or tomorrow!! The CCAA is going to let us fax our approval letter back to them. Hopefully, everything will fall into place and we will get to travel to Guangzhou with our group. Patty says our referral is from the Guangdong province, so we will stay in Guangzhou while the others travel on to Hefei. Then we will all meet back up for our consulate appointments. We are absolutely ecstatic! As Patty did not call back today, we should get our referral tomorrow!! This will be one long night! I am so anxious to know who our daughter is! Where is she? When was she born? What does she look like? Is she younger? We are also excited as we should be the only family in our "group". We should get to see where ZoraLin has spent the first part of her life. Oh My! Will tomorrow ever come?!! And if we are leaving on the 19th-I have too much to do between now and then!
Hang on ZoraLin baby! We are getting close honey!
Friday, February 7, 2003
February 7, 2003
I had been doing so well not calling New Hope. That is, until yesterday. I called and asked Patty what our odds of getting our referral in time to travel wih our group was? She said slim to none. Well, I hope they prove her wrong! I know that there is no need to worry about it. But I just keep hoping. I so hope that we hear something Tuesday or Wednesday. Mark actually thinks that the CCAA will mail our referral as they usually have done, but they have faxed them at times. Only God and the CCAA know at this time.
I have almost finished painting the bedroom. I will get the paint for the bathroom tomorrow. It is starting to look real nice. I didn't paint the last two days as planned. I was too stiff and sore!
We received our photo albums and tapes back from Pergamon Video yesterday. RaeAnne's story is absolutely beautiful! I cried so hard while watching it the first time that I had to watch it again. Mark was so thrilled by it. He said this is the most exciting thing he has seen. We had to go over to Uncle Don and Aunt Mary's with it. They were also impressed. Now I am more anxious to send ZoraLin's things to them.
We are on day 444 today. Nicholas is here this weekend. I guess he has not been keeping his grades up like he was supposed to. His mom is rethinking his going with us. I hope the decision is made before we pay for our tickets. Nicholas asked me tonight if KaeLynn gets better before we go, will we bring her home or ZoraLin? I told him that the CCAA will not let us bring KaeLynn home.
I had a wonderful surprise phone call this afternoon. Teresa Baldinucci from New York and the November group called. It was so good to talk to her! Last night we received an email from Lin in China. It sounds like she is doing everything she can for us on her end. She is anxious to see us, especially RaeAnne and sends her love to us all. I am anxious to see her too! Shari emailed tonight. She is also hoping we get good news Monday! I hope with all of us hoping and praying that good things will happen too!
I have almost finished painting the bedroom. I will get the paint for the bathroom tomorrow. It is starting to look real nice. I didn't paint the last two days as planned. I was too stiff and sore!
We received our photo albums and tapes back from Pergamon Video yesterday. RaeAnne's story is absolutely beautiful! I cried so hard while watching it the first time that I had to watch it again. Mark was so thrilled by it. He said this is the most exciting thing he has seen. We had to go over to Uncle Don and Aunt Mary's with it. They were also impressed. Now I am more anxious to send ZoraLin's things to them.
We are on day 444 today. Nicholas is here this weekend. I guess he has not been keeping his grades up like he was supposed to. His mom is rethinking his going with us. I hope the decision is made before we pay for our tickets. Nicholas asked me tonight if KaeLynn gets better before we go, will we bring her home or ZoraLin? I told him that the CCAA will not let us bring KaeLynn home.
I had a wonderful surprise phone call this afternoon. Teresa Baldinucci from New York and the November group called. It was so good to talk to her! Last night we received an email from Lin in China. It sounds like she is doing everything she can for us on her end. She is anxious to see us, especially RaeAnne and sends her love to us all. I am anxious to see her too! Shari emailed tonight. She is also hoping we get good news Monday! I hope with all of us hoping and praying that good things will happen too!
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
February 4, 2003
As the CCAA is closed all this week, I decided to get busy and do all the things I have been putting off. Yesterday I finished putting Rae and Zora's 100 Good Wishes into their albums. I will look for some brocade fabric to cover the albums with.
Today I make a good start on painting our bedroom. I hope to get most of it done tomorrow and then finish it Thursday and hopefully start on the bathroom. I wish someone would do the taping for me. That is the slowest part!
RaeAnne came home from daycare in a terrible mood. I could never get out of her why she cried half the night. I wish she could tell me what is bothering her. It is frustrating not to understand and my questions don't seem to elicit the answer.
The are talking about the possibility of snow tomorrow. Mark and I sat down tonight and discussed the likelihood of our traveling with our group. I am guessing the odds are we will not get to. I think the timing is going to be all wrong. Come on CCAA, prove me wrong!
Our dossier has been logged in 441 days today.
Today I make a good start on painting our bedroom. I hope to get most of it done tomorrow and then finish it Thursday and hopefully start on the bathroom. I wish someone would do the taping for me. That is the slowest part!
RaeAnne came home from daycare in a terrible mood. I could never get out of her why she cried half the night. I wish she could tell me what is bothering her. It is frustrating not to understand and my questions don't seem to elicit the answer.
The are talking about the possibility of snow tomorrow. Mark and I sat down tonight and discussed the likelihood of our traveling with our group. I am guessing the odds are we will not get to. I think the timing is going to be all wrong. Come on CCAA, prove me wrong!
Our dossier has been logged in 441 days today.
Sunday, February 2, 2003
February 2, 2003
We attended the Wichita Chinese Associations Chinese New Year Party last night. We had a wonderful time visiting with members of the Association and other parents of cute babies and girls from China. RaeAnne looked so cute. We need to get her more silk outfits. We don't have any in her size right now.
I notified our quilt lady and she is going to make ZoraLin a cuddle quilt. We have chosen some beautiful fabrics for the quilt.
We are hoping that the CCAA will hurry and get ZoraLin's referral to us very soon after they return from their Chinese holiday. We are anxious to see if we will get the chance to travel with our group. I also want to know if we will have to re-file our I-600 with the INS. Our I-171H expires 04/26/2003.
Nicholas is anxious to find out when we will travel too. He will come here this weekend. He will be surprised to find I "cleaned" his room this last week.
As hard as this all has been, we are hanging in there. We have been reminded by many that the red thread that connects us may stretch or tangle, but never break. Ours has stretched and stretched and lately has become very tangled, but we know we are getting very close to the little one we are destined to meet. We can not wait to engulf ZoraLin in a big family embrace.
I notified our quilt lady and she is going to make ZoraLin a cuddle quilt. We have chosen some beautiful fabrics for the quilt.
We are hoping that the CCAA will hurry and get ZoraLin's referral to us very soon after they return from their Chinese holiday. We are anxious to see if we will get the chance to travel with our group. I also want to know if we will have to re-file our I-600 with the INS. Our I-171H expires 04/26/2003.
Nicholas is anxious to find out when we will travel too. He will come here this weekend. He will be surprised to find I "cleaned" his room this last week.
As hard as this all has been, we are hanging in there. We have been reminded by many that the red thread that connects us may stretch or tangle, but never break. Ours has stretched and stretched and lately has become very tangled, but we know we are getting very close to the little one we are destined to meet. We can not wait to engulf ZoraLin in a big family embrace.
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
January 29, 2003
I made a special book to keep our memories of KaeLynn in. I gathered up all the information, pictures and emails that we have received about her. I have looked at and studied her pictures today, trying to see something that would give me a clue to what happened to our baby. There are so many unanswered questions. I know that most of those questions will probably remain unanswered. I don't know if the answers would help my heart heal.
I called and had our local travel agency cancel our tickets. They were more than happy to accommodate us under the circumstances. I also called Patty at New Hope to see if they had heard anything. They haven't and have no idea when we might hear something. She also hopes that we hear something soon. She feels if we don't get another referral right away that we will probably travel with the next group. She said that there are 5 families in Group 1 of 2002.
To occupy my thoughts, I decided to gather things to send ahead to our new referral if we have time. Mark said he was surprised by this, but our next referral is just as important. I also said we need to find another name. I do not want to refer to her as "our next referral" all the time.
I don't know why, but this afternoon a "calm" came over me. It sounds strange to say it, but it was like I had received a sign that everything will be alright. I feel that KaeLynn will be fine and have a happy life and that our new referral is truly the child meant for our family. That does not mean I am still not grieving, but I just feel that we had to hit this detour to reach the right child. It is almost scary to feel this, but I feel so comforted and calm now.
Tonight we, Mark, Janea, RaeAnne and I, had a family talk and we have chosen a new name. When we started deciding names in 1999 when we started our adoption journey, we decided on RaeAnne very quickly. KaeLynn started out as LeaLynn and changed many times over the next several until we stuck with KaeLynn. Tonight it took us less than 10 minutes for another name. It was like the name RaeAnne, the new name just feels so right. We wanted something unique so our daughters' will not have other kids in their class with the same name. We also some how wanted a small part of Kae's name in it. We decided to honor Kae and our facilitator in China, Lin. So our new daughter will be ZoraLin. Zora means "Dawn" and Lin is "good looking". By spelling Lin this way, we have combined two special people in our lives plus Mark's fathers' name was Lynn.
I feel better calling this child by a name and not just, our next referral. God forbid that we would have something go wrong this time.
RaeAnne and ZoraLin will know about KaeLynn when the time is right.
I called and had our local travel agency cancel our tickets. They were more than happy to accommodate us under the circumstances. I also called Patty at New Hope to see if they had heard anything. They haven't and have no idea when we might hear something. She also hopes that we hear something soon. She feels if we don't get another referral right away that we will probably travel with the next group. She said that there are 5 families in Group 1 of 2002.
To occupy my thoughts, I decided to gather things to send ahead to our new referral if we have time. Mark said he was surprised by this, but our next referral is just as important. I also said we need to find another name. I do not want to refer to her as "our next referral" all the time.
I don't know why, but this afternoon a "calm" came over me. It sounds strange to say it, but it was like I had received a sign that everything will be alright. I feel that KaeLynn will be fine and have a happy life and that our new referral is truly the child meant for our family. That does not mean I am still not grieving, but I just feel that we had to hit this detour to reach the right child. It is almost scary to feel this, but I feel so comforted and calm now.
Tonight we, Mark, Janea, RaeAnne and I, had a family talk and we have chosen a new name. When we started deciding names in 1999 when we started our adoption journey, we decided on RaeAnne very quickly. KaeLynn started out as LeaLynn and changed many times over the next several until we stuck with KaeLynn. Tonight it took us less than 10 minutes for another name. It was like the name RaeAnne, the new name just feels so right. We wanted something unique so our daughters' will not have other kids in their class with the same name. We also some how wanted a small part of Kae's name in it. We decided to honor Kae and our facilitator in China, Lin. So our new daughter will be ZoraLin. Zora means "Dawn" and Lin is "good looking". By spelling Lin this way, we have combined two special people in our lives plus Mark's fathers' name was Lynn.
I feel better calling this child by a name and not just, our next referral. God forbid that we would have something go wrong this time.
RaeAnne and ZoraLin will know about KaeLynn when the time is right.
Monday, January 27, 2003
January 27, 2003
The most unthinkable, unbelievable thing happened today. I was busy finishing firming up our travel plans and had posted to our Dec 2001 group when Patty from New Hope called. The first thing she did was ask if Mark was home. I then knew it was not a good call.
For some reason, which I am not completely sure of, the Huainan orphanage took KaeLynn to the hospital. They said that she was unable to crawl or stand by herself. They did a CT scan of her head and they say that her brain is not "normal." There are abnormalities. I felt like someone had punched me in the chest. The CCAA, our agency's facilitator, Lin, and our agency are recommending we decline Huai Feng He's referral.
We are so heartbroken and sick. We have had this child's pictures for almost one month. We are in love with this baby and now we have to decide if we should take her or not?!
I immediately phoned Mark, who came right home. We did a lot of soul searching and praying. We ultimately decided it would not be fair to our other children to take on a child with unknown handicaps. We have shed so many tears. Now the guilt is setting in. Why shouldn't we take her? But we don't have the resources necessary to care for her...we don't even know what resources we would need!
We phoned our agency back and told them of our decision. They will notify the CCAA and we will have to wait and see if we will be able to travel with our group or have to travel with the next group.
KaeLynn, sweetheart, we love you. You will always be our daughter. The one we didn't get to bring home.
I tried to explain things to RaeAnne this afternoon. She knew something was not right with Mommy and Daddy cause we were crying and hugging and kissing her. I don't think she understands but she knows we were talking about her little sister. We will name another referral something else. KaeLynn holds a special place in our hearts.
.
For some reason, which I am not completely sure of, the Huainan orphanage took KaeLynn to the hospital. They said that she was unable to crawl or stand by herself. They did a CT scan of her head and they say that her brain is not "normal." There are abnormalities. I felt like someone had punched me in the chest. The CCAA, our agency's facilitator, Lin, and our agency are recommending we decline Huai Feng He's referral.
We are so heartbroken and sick. We have had this child's pictures for almost one month. We are in love with this baby and now we have to decide if we should take her or not?!
I immediately phoned Mark, who came right home. We did a lot of soul searching and praying. We ultimately decided it would not be fair to our other children to take on a child with unknown handicaps. We have shed so many tears. Now the guilt is setting in. Why shouldn't we take her? But we don't have the resources necessary to care for her...we don't even know what resources we would need!
We phoned our agency back and told them of our decision. They will notify the CCAA and we will have to wait and see if we will be able to travel with our group or have to travel with the next group.
KaeLynn, sweetheart, we love you. You will always be our daughter. The one we didn't get to bring home.
I tried to explain things to RaeAnne this afternoon. She knew something was not right with Mommy and Daddy cause we were crying and hugging and kissing her. I don't think she understands but she knows we were talking about her little sister. We will name another referral something else. KaeLynn holds a special place in our hearts.
.
Saturday, January 25, 2003
January 25, 2003
Friday afternoon we firmed up our travel plans and I packed for Rae and Kae. I haven't tried to lift the suitcases yet. I hope they are lighter than they look! I still have one big suitcase empty and 2 carry on's empty, so we are really looking good for plenty of room right now. Of course, I need to fit Mark, Nicholas and my clothes in there. I will pack smaller amounts for us. Mark and I are going to take some old socks and underwear that we will make disposable. Mark has 4 pair of Docker slacks that we were going to try to sell at a garage sale. We will take those, he will wear them one or two days and then we will pitch them. I probably wouldn't get $1.50/pair and then we have more room for goodies on the way home!
Ann, who is making RaeAnne's DVD, called today. She said they should have it back to us within 10 days or so. I am anxious to see it. I will be nice to have a condensed version of the trip so we can watch it more.
Ann, who is making RaeAnne's DVD, called today. She said they should have it back to us within 10 days or so. I am anxious to see it. I will be nice to have a condensed version of the trip so we can watch it more.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
January 22, 2003
Visa applications are off to Lotus. They will received them at 10:30AM tomorrow. I spent quite a while on the phone with Kelley from Lotus figuring out when we are leaving and where we are going. She emailed me a tentative itinerary this afternoon. Then I passed on the info to Shari and Candi tonight. They will think it over and we will let Kelley know by Friday. At this point it looks like it will cost approximately $1000 more to spend 2 days in Beijing touring.
Now tonight, almost tomorrow, as I write in this I am wondering--do we want to go to Beijing or for less, stay in Guangzhou two days and then go on to Hefei? Of the decisions! Of course Mark doesn't care. I really want to see the Great Wall, but... I guess I will email Kelley and ask her how much we will save doing that. I also need to find a cheaper way to get to LA from here. Lotus wants $350.00 each for us to fly to LA on United. That is $1400! I am sure we can find something less expensive through an agency here.
I will email our group and let them know what the prices are and let them decide what they want to do. This will be our last trip to China for quite a while, part of me wants to shoot for the moon and see Beijing, but my practical side says stay in Guangzhou.
RaeAnne goes to day care tomorrow. She is laying here beside me wide awake at 11:30PM. She is going to be very hard to get up tomorrow! Somehow I managed to break the handle on the dryer today, so the repair guy is coming tomorrow morning. I need to start packing!
Hold on KaeLynn! Your family will be there soon!
Now tonight, almost tomorrow, as I write in this I am wondering--do we want to go to Beijing or for less, stay in Guangzhou two days and then go on to Hefei? Of the decisions! Of course Mark doesn't care. I really want to see the Great Wall, but... I guess I will email Kelley and ask her how much we will save doing that. I also need to find a cheaper way to get to LA from here. Lotus wants $350.00 each for us to fly to LA on United. That is $1400! I am sure we can find something less expensive through an agency here.
I will email our group and let them know what the prices are and let them decide what they want to do. This will be our last trip to China for quite a while, part of me wants to shoot for the moon and see Beijing, but my practical side says stay in Guangzhou.
RaeAnne goes to day care tomorrow. She is laying here beside me wide awake at 11:30PM. She is going to be very hard to get up tomorrow! Somehow I managed to break the handle on the dryer today, so the repair guy is coming tomorrow morning. I need to start packing!
Hold on KaeLynn! Your family will be there soon!
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
January 21, 2003
Kathy called at 9:36 this morning. We need to be in Hefei on February 23rd. Yippee! We will be with KaeLynn for her first birthday! In fact, we will be home. Our Consulate appointment is March 4th. I hurriedly called Mark and we made contact with Nicholas' Mother so I could drive to Great Bend to get his passport. RaeAnne and I then spent the better half of the day on the road. Many, many referrals came in today. Looks like most of the November bunch is finally getting their good news.
Monday, January 20, 2003
January 20, 2003
Referrals for the rest of the Novies are here! Some agencies were closed today for Martin Luther King day, so it will be a busy day on the November list tomorrow too. Our travel approval is STILL not here! I think not knowing the process, not belonging to APC or to a DTC list last time might have been a blessing! Of course, we traveled 5 weeks after our referral last time, so the wait this time is torture.
Our weather the past two days has been super warm, but now winter is coming back. I sent our check off for us to attend the Wichita CNY celebration February 1st. That should be fun.
Our weather the past two days has been super warm, but now winter is coming back. I sent our check off for us to attend the Wichita CNY celebration February 1st. That should be fun.
Sunday, January 12, 2003
January 12, 2003
Today was family day. We went out to eat lunch, then off to Walgreen's for Visa photos. Nicholas' Mom called about homework that he was supposed to have done. Seems he failed to do a report. We brought him home with strict orders to do his homework. The rest of us went to Towne East for a while. When we returned home, Nicholas was happy to report he had his report finished. He is going to have to put his nose to the grind stone and get his grades up or he will not be making the trip to China.
Tonight we received pictures via email of our travel mates, Scott and Donna's baby. She was born 3/6/2002, just one day before KaeLynn. She is adorable! All the babies are beautiful! I can't wait to meet them in person! Her name will be Rinn Lian Schepman.
Tomorrow is Janea's 25th birthday. I have presents and a cake to wrap tomorrow. I will also take Nicholas to Great Bend in the afternoon. He doesn't have school, so he stayed an extra day with us. I also have many appointments to call and make tomorrow. It should be a busy day. Maybe New Hope will call us with travel approvals!
Tonight we received pictures via email of our travel mates, Scott and Donna's baby. She was born 3/6/2002, just one day before KaeLynn. She is adorable! All the babies are beautiful! I can't wait to meet them in person! Her name will be Rinn Lian Schepman.
Tomorrow is Janea's 25th birthday. I have presents and a cake to wrap tomorrow. I will also take Nicholas to Great Bend in the afternoon. He doesn't have school, so he stayed an extra day with us. I also have many appointments to call and make tomorrow. It should be a busy day. Maybe New Hope will call us with travel approvals!
Saturday, January 11, 2003
January 11, 2003
We were in touch with the other two families in our travel group today. I visited with Candi Holloway this morning and Scott S. tonight. They are all anxious to go to China too. Candi's husband is military and may not be able to go, if not her sister will go. There daughter was born 3/10/2002. They emailed us a photo and she is a real cutie! I didn't get a chance to ask Scott if they were taking anyone along. They are going to email us a picture of their daughter who was born 3/6/2002. We are looking forward to meeting all of them when we go to China.
This is Kayley Holloway :)
I addressed all the announcements tonight. The new "Year of the Ram" stamps go on sale Monday. I will order some on-line to use on the announcements. KaeLynn was born in the year of the horse, but those stamps were issued last year and are 34 cents.
We found out that Wendy Schoof has received her acceptance from the CCAA to adopt a waiting child. Her daughter was born 11/20/2001 and she hopes to get to travel in April to get her. She will be named Keri Hope. Kira Joy is excited to become a big sister.
I addressed all the announcements tonight. The new "Year of the Ram" stamps go on sale Monday. I will order some on-line to use on the announcements. KaeLynn was born in the year of the horse, but those stamps were issued last year and are 34 cents.
We found out that Wendy Schoof has received her acceptance from the CCAA to adopt a waiting child. Her daughter was born 11/20/2001 and she hopes to get to travel in April to get her. She will be named Keri Hope. Kira Joy is excited to become a big sister.
Friday, January 10, 2003
January 10, 2003
PopPop and I returned from our "fun" day away to find out Patty from New Hope had called last night with some updates on KaeLynn. She is now 18 pounds! I hope that they are just a little on the high side! They said she now has 4 teeth. No wonder she has gained from 16.7 pounds to 18! I was sad that we weren't there for this milestone in her life. I still hope New Hope can get us there very soon!
Monday, January 6, 2003
January 6, 2003
A November DTC from Norway and two from Canada posted their referrals today. Someone posted that their agency is speculating that the rest of the November referrals might not come in until the end of February! I hope for the rest of the QBQer's that they are wrong.
I tracked our FedEx package to New Hope today. It was delivered at 9:41AM. I found out tonight that all of our travel group has accepted their referrals and our acceptance letters will be sent back to the CCAA tomorrow. Hopefully that means we will be receiving our travel approvals very soon. I have been in contact with Lotus Travel to see if it would be better to fly through Guangzhou or Beijing. They said it would all depend on how much advanced notice we have. I wouldn't mind going to Beijing 2 days early if it wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg. We will probably end up just going to Hefei one or two days early.
PopPop and I have planned our last side trip to gamble this Thursday. Once KaeLynn is home, there will not be any time for that! Plus the trip will have me in debt for a very long time!
I set up a Yahoo email account for Nicholas tonight. Then he and his Mom can email each other while we are in China. He is Scoobydodude@yahoo.com
I tracked our FedEx package to New Hope today. It was delivered at 9:41AM. I found out tonight that all of our travel group has accepted their referrals and our acceptance letters will be sent back to the CCAA tomorrow. Hopefully that means we will be receiving our travel approvals very soon. I have been in contact with Lotus Travel to see if it would be better to fly through Guangzhou or Beijing. They said it would all depend on how much advanced notice we have. I wouldn't mind going to Beijing 2 days early if it wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg. We will probably end up just going to Hefei one or two days early.
PopPop and I have planned our last side trip to gamble this Thursday. Once KaeLynn is home, there will not be any time for that! Plus the trip will have me in debt for a very long time!
I set up a Yahoo email account for Nicholas tonight. Then he and his Mom can email each other while we are in China. He is Scoobydodude@yahoo.com
Sunday, January 5, 2003
January 5, 2003
It has been a very busy time. We sent our acceptance letter via FedEx to New Hope Friday and I mailed a package off to KaeLynn at the orphanage. I put a photo album with KaeLynn's photo, pictures of the kids, us and one of the house. They are in a "sassy" photo album. We also put in a pink blanket with white stars on it, a stuffed turtle with a bell noise, a disposable camera with the instructions in English and Chinese and Dove chocolates and Hersey's Kisses. We hope to get the camera back with pictures of KaeLynn in her present home. Several families have done this and received some really good photos back.
I joined the Huainan egroup and we have been very impressed to hear how well the babies are cared for there. I have also offered to hand carry photos to the orphanage for families who have adopted from there. I have read how the nannies love to see current photos of their "babies." I think it will be so neat to see their faces when they see the photos.
Janea, RaeAnne and I went shopping at Towne East yesterday. Rae and Kae will be very well dressed! Today I started gathering things to pack. The weather in Hefei has been in the 30's and 40's during the day. The 20's at night. Guangzhou has been in the 70's so we are going to need a wide variety of clothes. I want to make sure we keep KaeLynn covered well so the "clothing police" won't scold us! Because of the weather changes we will be in, I am making sure I pack cold/sinus meds for all of us.
I joined the Huainan egroup and we have been very impressed to hear how well the babies are cared for there. I have also offered to hand carry photos to the orphanage for families who have adopted from there. I have read how the nannies love to see current photos of their "babies." I think it will be so neat to see their faces when they see the photos.
Janea, RaeAnne and I went shopping at Towne East yesterday. Rae and Kae will be very well dressed! Today I started gathering things to pack. The weather in Hefei has been in the 30's and 40's during the day. The 20's at night. Guangzhou has been in the 70's so we are going to need a wide variety of clothes. I want to make sure we keep KaeLynn covered well so the "clothing police" won't scold us! Because of the weather changes we will be in, I am making sure I pack cold/sinus meds for all of us.
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