Portraits December 2009 (No words needed)

Because I have a sister, I'l always have a friend.
Emma and Meilynn

Meilynn Grace Shiyue

Emma Sophia Mingjing

Sisters
Emma and Meilynn

Meilynn

Emma

OK, Now that I am a little calmer, NOT!

So what an exciting time!  I was such a scatterbrain last night.  I asked a fellow blogger if I could copy her explanation of what happens next in the process and she said that I could!  So here goes!  What a confusing process!

In case you are excited because I am obviously excited, yet asking yourself, "what does that mean?," basically the LOA is THE referral notice from the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs. That means that they have officially said that Xiao Huan can be adopted by us. Now we wait for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve our form I-800 (a petition to classify a Convention country adoptee as an immediate relative). Once they do that, then they send our information to the National Benefits Center who will give preliminary approval for Lily's Visa to enter the US. Then that approval gets sent to the US Consulate in Guangzhou where they combine that approval with a copy of our LOA to "magically create" the Article 5. At that point the Article 5 gets couriered to Beijing to the CCAA who will then grant our travel approval. Once our TA arrives at Lifeline, they try to have us in the air within seven days.

Sound about as clear as mud? Yeah, me too. I don't fully understand what happens at all the steps, or why they are now separate steps opposed to the much faster process getting a TA used to be, but that is the outline of the process. We're looking at somewhere between 40 to 60 days, yet another wait with an unknown end. Ugh.

So guess who just arrived at my door?

Yes!!!! The FED EX MAN!!!!!!

And guess what he brought?

A Package!

And guess what was in it???

The LOA!!!!!!!!!!! Now I need to meet Mike at the FED EX to make copies of it and sign it and then the above process begins.  My agency sent a letter to start looking at flights and Visa's.  We are planning on taking Emma and Meilynn and we are hoping that our oldest daughter Kami will be able to go along to help.




  We have a new name!!!  Well at least a new middle name!!!  Here is the story,  I hope it is a little clearer than what I put together last night.We have made a little name change for Lily. We decided to keep the name Lily
that the agency had given her. None of the names I like fit her sweet little
face and Lily seemed just perfect. The change is in the middle name. We were
going to call her Lily Faith Xiaohuan, but when I was at the girl's choir
practice last night I got a message that Karla from my agency called. She said
that nothing was wrong but that she wanted to talk to me. I knew it was too
early for LOA so I thought she might have a question for me or even might be
asking me if I was interested in adopting a child that is aging out. (There are
several on our agency's list and we are approved for two. As I drove home the
girl's and I were listening to Christmas Carols on the radio. Just as I passed
a house with a HUGE lit up NOEL, the first Noel started playing. In my mind I
thought if by some miracle I get home and have LOA, Noel would be a beautiful
name. WEll I walked in the door and told Mike that the agency had left a
message on my phone had he talked to them. He said yes, I just talked to them
and they want you to call. We have LOA!!!!!!! I could not believe it. When I
crawled into bed all I could think about was that her name should be Lily Noel
Xiaohuan. So this morning I told Mike my little story and he agreed that we have a Lily Noel.
It won't be long now Lily Noel XiaoHuan.

GIVE ME AN L, GIVE ME AN O, GIVE ME AN A... WHAT DOES THAT SPELL?

LOA, LOA, LOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ON DAY 49!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I was watching rumor queen today and I knew that Non Special Need Referrals were arriving today and I thought that maybe some LOA's would come to clear some people off of the chart before me.  But in no way did I think that we would get LOA today.  The average wait is 80 days!!!!!!! God wants Lily home!  I saw one person get their LOA with a LID like mine but they had some different circumstances.  They were a 1600 family.  (In the adoption world this would mean that they move a little faster through the system because they are pre-hague)  If you did not understand that don't worry.  I took the girls to ballet and then we went for Chinese food.  By the way my fortune said, " I will find happiness in mind and heart."  After dinner we went to choir.  I got a text message from my home phone telling me that their was a missed call and when I checked it, it was from my adoption agency.  Karla said to call her, but not to worry there was nothing wrong.  So I thought it was a question about something or maybe she even had some new information on Lily.  I tried calling her back, but she did not answer.  When I got home, I asked Mike if he got a call from Karla.  He said, "Yes, she wants you to call her, we got LOA!
What??? I could not believe it.  So I called her and now I have been up filling out the next part of the adoption work that I will overnight to her after I get my LOA from Fed Ex!!!!!!!!!!  She said we could travel as soon as February, but with the Chinese New Year, we may have to see what will be available.  So I will still expect March, but if February happens yeah!  I know God has a perfect timing for this.

On a side note,  we had decided on Lily Faith Xiaohuan for her name, but when I was driving home from Choir and thinking about what the call was about, we drove by a big sign that was lit up, NOEL, just as the first NOEL played on the radio.  We have to put her name down on these forms I am filling out and I think that Lily Noel Xiaohuan feels right.  Mike is in bed now.  I will ask him what he thinks.

Hang on Lily, you will soon have a family!!!!!!!!

I need to kick into high gear here.  I haven't even asked for quilt squares for her 100 Wishes Quilt!!!!!!

We need to get her a bed!!!!!  And move Emma and Meilynn out of cribs.

Build shelves in the closets so we don't have three dressers!!!!

and so much more!!!!!!!!!
Wow!  we are going to China!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving 2009

As I look through my pictures I realize that because I was the Hostess I missed taking pictures of so many things.

The day before Thanksgiving my Mom came over to  help me get the Turkey ready as this was only my second Turkey in 29 years of marriage.  We have always gone to my Mom and Dad's house and Mike's Mom and Dad's house for Thanksgiving.  My specialty is pies.  So I needed a little help in preparing.  My Mom came over the whole day and washed dishes behind me as I made 2 pumpkin pies, an apple/peach and a berry pie.  It was a really fun day spending it with my Mom and my girls.  We have so very much to be thankful for, but the most important thing I am thankful for is my family.  I know that it is time to cherish every moment.  Mike lost his Mom over a year and a half ago.  I cannot imagine my life without my Mom.

Here is our 23 pound Turkey.  It was so good!

Meilynn and Emma get to lick the beaters.  Daddy is the whip cream maker in our house.  He always makes the whip cream and it is the best.  Just like his mommy taught him.

Meilynn is our little sweet eater.  She loves sweets!

And if it is not Chocolate, Emma will be right there with her.

My family likes to play "Train".  Emma is sitting on Aunt Debbie's lap with big sister Kami and Grandpa.  Can you believe it was 80 degrees?  I still had a fire going.  It is just not Thanksgiving without a fire.

Daddy and Meilynn feeling a little stuffed.

Aunt Debbie and her friend Tom.  See I do have a fire going!

Playing  with the Tinkertoys.

Meghan's husband Nick and Great Aunt Claudia.  We are so thankful that Nick has been healthy since his open heart surgery in May.  

Grandma and Meilynn.

Like I said, I did not get the photos that I would have if I had not been the Hostess.  I would have loved to have a picture of the pies and the table but most of all I should have taken a family picture since we were all here.  I didn't get any pictures of Meghan or my cousin Kim and her husband Damon and their kids.  It was a very special day that I will always remember.  Next year, when Lily is here we will get that family picture.

Tiny Bit of Lily News!

I am so desperate to see a new picture of Lily or hear something about her.  My agency's coordinator in China was talking to Lily's orphanage the other day about another girl.  They started talking about Lily and informed the coordinator that they are tutoring Lily in English!  Now, I am not quite sure what that means.  It may mean that someone at the orphanage knows a little English and is teaching her some words.  Or it could mean the actually have a tutor working with her.  They also said they would send a new picture soon, but they also said that to Ann of Red Thread (the person I sent the first letter to Lily through) and I never got one from that.  It was great to hear something!

H1N1

On November 11 I took the girls for their 6 month check ups at the Dentist.  We are very lucky in that the girls have great teeth.  No cavities which is a blessing in itself since so many children adopted from China have problems with their teeth.  When we adopted Emma she had no teeth.  She sprouted four while we were in China.  She never got the four baby teeth on the bottom gum.  She only has two where there should be four, but you would never notice.  In fact I did not notice until I saw how many teeth Meilynn had.  The Dentist did an x-ray, and the good news is that all four are present in the permanent ones that are under the gums.  She will probably need braces to make room.  Meilynn has a cross bite that will also require braces, but this is nothing new to us.  Mike, Kami and Meghan all had braces.  I am the only one in the family that skipped braces.

The morning of the Dentist appointment, Meilynn didn't want breakfast.  This is highly unusual for either of my girls.  They love to eat.  After the Dentist I went to lunch with the girls and my two sisters.  By this time I knew that Meilynn had a fever and that she was getting sick.  When I got her home she had a temperature of 102.  Meilynn is the one that had the febrile seizure last year due to temperature, so I was really worried.  The Dr.s told me then that it can reoccur, but usually they don't happen after age 6.  When that happened last year it was the scariest thing I have ever gone through.  So I was worried about her.  Mike was away for a few days so I was on my own for this one.  I started alternating the Tylenol and Motrin every three hours to keep it down, but even with this she was running 102 degrees.  I was up all night, making her drink, taking her temp., giving her medicine and washing her down.  The next morning I called the Dr. and was able to get in.  I wanted to know the cause of the fever so we could treat it and get the fever down.  By this time Meilynn was complaining of a sore throat as well.   She still had the fever at the Dr.'s and she said it was most likely H1N1.  I was shocked.  I thought it was just a cold or something.  I would have never come in this soon if it had been Emma.  I was just afraid of the fever.  We started Meilynn on Tamiflu right away.  They took Emma's temperature to make sure she was ok and she had no fever, so the Dr. recommended the H1N1 flu mist.  We gave that to Emma, but by the time we got home she had a 101 degree fever.  So the next day she started on the Tamiflu also.  They both ran high fevers and I was constantly giving medicine, juices, baths etc.  I was never so glad to see Mike.  The good news is that they are both recovered fully, and that we did not get it!  That is a miracle in itself, since I was sneezed on constantly.  I am thankful that we were able to get the Tamiflu, it is on short supply here.  The girls both lost a couple of pounds.  Meilynn was back to 27 pounds and Emma 28.  I think that they will have no problem putting those two pounds back on.  I didn't take any sick pictures, I was just to beat.  Here are Dentist pictures I took with my I-Phone, before I knew that Meilynn was sick.

Meilynn, sick baby!

So what is happening on our adoption of Lily?  We are in the wait phase.  We are waiting for our LOA.
Letter of Acceptance.  The average wait for this process is roughly 85 days.  I think we are somewhere near day 36 or 37.   After that we will quickly do more paperwork and then wait again anywhere from 2-4 months.  This part has been getting longer and is the new part due to the Hague Treaty.
I tried to get a good picture of the girls holding Lily's picture and the matching Hello Kitty dress we bought her but the girls were so silly that day.  They talk about Lily, especially Emma every day.  During the girls sickness, I ordered the beds for the girls.  Right now, Emma and Meilynn are still in their cribs, but in different rooms.  We expect that Lily has never slept alone so we decided the girls would share.  The problem was that both wanted to share with Lily, so we are putting all three girls in the same room to start.  We ordered bunk beds that can be split to make two twins and also another bed.  That way after Lily is home we can decide the best sleeping arrangements for everyone.  As Christmas nears, I think of Lily and what are lives will be like next Christmas.  We pray for a smooth adjustment, but realize there will be many peaks and valleys in becoming a family.  There are so many unknowns.  Sometimes I look forward to it with excitement and some days with fear.  I know that our lives will be forever changed and I know that God has asked us to open our hearts to another daughter.  We are so blessed with everything that God has given us, we cannot wait to accept this blessing too.
Vicki

Halloween Tease

I am so behind in posting.  Life has been really busy and we have been on the go.  I was away on a girl's retreat in Virginia for a week and life just seems to be going by at a whirlwind.  Here is a little tease from Halloween.

Rosetta and Tinkerbell

I love this one of Meilynn

My little fairies.  The girls have already decided that Lily will be Silver Mist

Emma

WE MEET THE REAL HELLO KITTY

Today a dream came true for Miss Kitty Boo Boo and Miss Tippy Tails too!  They met the real Hello Kitty at a mall not too far from us.  Meilynn has loved Hello Kitty from day one.  For those of you who know her you know what a traumatic event it was when she lost her favorite Hello Kitty at a Hotel.  The girls were so excited to meet her and were not afraid of her at all.  They chose a Hello Kitty for Lily to have when she comes home.

While we were out meeting Hello Kitty, Daddy was working on his new shed.  He has worked really hard to get it done.

Meilynn and Emma one morning before pre-school.

Meilynn looking sweet

Emma

LID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!OCTOBER !4

I am off to take the girls to preschool.  But, I just had to post that we received LID today, October 14!  Now the  countdown can begin!!!  I will post later!

DTC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and Christmas Stocking

Finally our papers are off to China! or as in the adoption world DTC (dossier to China)  What this means is that we are in the wait mode again.  First we will wait to hear when our dossier gets logged in.  Because of the Moon Festival and a 60th anniversary celebration in China everything will be closed down for a week.  So we won't be expecting to hear anything right away on our LID or log in date. Some LID dates can be a week after DTC or some a month or more.  The LID is important because you can begin counting for your LOA or letter of acceptance.  The LOA is the paper telling us that we have approval to adopt Lily.  When we get the LOA then it is our turn again to process some more paperwork as fast as possible.

Sending the papers off is a big relief.  I went down to Fed Ex to make copies of everything.   This was almost impossible since our State Department and the Chinese Consulate had both put staples in places where I could not fold back the pages to make copies.  You cannot remove any staples or alter the documents in any way.  I needed two copies of each page.  One for us and one for our agency.  I had made copies before sending to those departments so that I would only have to copy the certifications, but it was still tricky.  I had a copy machine that was not cooperating and had to ask several times to restart it.  Then I moved to another machine with no more problems there.  Then I had to check and re-check and re-check to make sure that each was stapled to the right pages and to make sure that I had everything.  It is a process that would be easier with someone to help you.  The whole time I am thinking about what these documents mean and it is a scary feeling to think that leaving one thing out might make the process take longer.  Finally I had it ready and sent it off.  It weighed almost 3 pounds.  I overnighted it to Lifeline so it could get there on Friday and so that they would be able to send it to China that day. Whew!  I got notice on Friday that they had received it and they had sent it on to China October 2.

That same day I came home to find the stocking I had made for Lily that matches my childhood stocking that my Grandmother made for me.  Emma and Meilynn have the same one!

Paperwork Progress for Lily

After getting the 1800A approval I made copies of everything and sent the originals to Sacramento through a courier  to be taken to the State Department for Certification.  The only document that did not go was Mikes birth certificate since he was born in another State.  I have another courier. that will receive all of the documents from the first courier by fed ex  and take them to the Chinese Consulate for me in Los Angeles.  So these precious documents leave my hands and I entrust them to the courier.  I track all parts of the trips that the papers take.  I thought I was being so careful.  Everything made it to the State Department and through certification fine, but today when my courier to the Chinese Consulate got my things she noticed that I had a copy of Mike's birth certificate but not the original.  I messed up because the first courier did not need this document, because it was certified in another state, but the second needed it for the authentication process at the Chinese Consulate.  Thank goodness she noticed before she goes tomorrow!  So I dropped everything and met her husband half way between their office and my house.  We don't want to be even one day late in this transaction because the Chinese Consulate will be closed for a week beginning October 1.  They take about 4 days to process so I needed them to go tomorrow!  Whew!

So I am guessing if my courier gets them back in 4 days that would be next Tuesday.  Then if she gets them in the mail overnight to me I will get them on Wednesday.  Then I can photocopy everything and send it to my agency to send to China.  Of course in China they will also be off for this Holiday, so I won't get a Log in Date until after the Holiday.  I will be so excited to get this part done.  Then no paper work for about 90 days, and then the mad rush begins again with about four more forms.  Sorry to bore you with all of the details, but I get asked a lot, what is happening.

1800A APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ball is in my court now!  We got the 1800A approval today!!  We got it back so much faster than I expected. So now I have to get it notarized.  Unfortunately I cannot find a notary until Monday.  Then I will fed ex it  along with all the other documents for our dossier to a courier in Sacramento for State Certification.  When I get that back I either drive to LA to the Chinese Consulate to  leave it all there for Authentication or I find another courier to avoid driving there with the girls, ugh!  Then I will have to go back to pick it up and then finally I can send my dossier to my agency to send to China.  At that time we have our DTC (Dossier to China Date) and wait for our LID (Log in Date).  Then the long wait for LOA (Letter of acceptance)  and then all of the new things required for the Hague Treaty are done.

 I like when the ball is in my court so I am in control!

 On another note, I got this from Ann of Red Thread showing the letter she sent to the Orphanage and a picture album we sent to Lily with her letter.  She said she would get it in two days.  So if the orphanage chooses to give it to her, she may now know that she has a family.

Soccer? or not

Last Saturday was our first soccer game.  For those of you that know us our older girls started playing soccer when Kami was six and Meghan was 5.  We played soccer all the way though High School and Kami played four years for UCSD and won two Division II Championships.  Mike and I both coached and played.  Mike became the  Head of both our local AYSO and eventually the head of the local "club" team.  We said that when we adopted we were never going back to play soccer and we hoped that our daughters would develop a love for the cello.

As you can see that  did not last long.  Here are Emma and Meilynn before their very first soccer game.

This is their game look!

The Soccer Banner,  I think someone is color blind.  We are the Pink Unicorns.  Do you think that those shirts are pink?

It looks like Emma is getting it, right?  Well this was before the game.

Well, this is what they really looked like in the game.  They stood next to each other and wouldn't do a thing.  And when Meilynn subbed out, Emma cried for her sister to come back.  And just when I thought that Emma might do something, she was running to the sideline to tell me that she needed a hug.  We will see how tomorrow goes.  Cello here we come!

A play-dough cake they made for Lily.  Emma cannot stop talking about her.  She packs little bags of toys that she is saving for Lily.  Today she asked me if when we went to China to get Lily, if we could also get a baby.

Lily's care package I am working on.  Nuts and chocolates for the care takers, tooth brushes for the older kids, stickers to share.  Crayons, pens, glow bracelets, a bunny to snuggle, hair things, some Hello Kitty treats a dress and a Dora press light.

I am really trying to start doing a letter a week.  This week is Dd week.  One of our activities was to form cookies out of cookie Dough.  Daddy also took them for donuts.

Silly Sisters!

Letter to Lily

I was able to copy this picture off the video we have.  We have sent a letter to Lily using Anne of Red Thread China.  We also sent her 10 pictures of us.  I had such a hard time trying to figure out how to start such a letter.  I asked for advice from my Yahoo Group Friends and they were all so helpful in giving me examples of their letters.  Here is what we wrote to her and her caretakers.

Dear Director and Nannies,

We are very excited to be adopting Yang Xiao Huan.  We look forward to bringing her home as soon as possible.  We would love to come right now, but as you know it takes time to complete the adoption paperwork.  We hope to be there sometime between March and June.  Of course if things go faster we will be there sooner.  We would appreciate it if you would read the following letter to Yang Xiao Huan and show her the photographs of our family.  Thank you for taking care of her.  We will always be grateful. 

Dear Xiaohuan,

We want to let you know how happy we are to be asking for you to become part of our family.  We live in California in the United States of America.  We have a large family.  You will have a Daddy, Mommy, two older sisters, (one who is married) and two younger sisters (who were also born in China.) 

Your little sisters ask about you every day and cannot wait to meet you..  We will love you, feed you, play with you, and take care of you forever.  We cannot come to get you until we do a lot of signing of papers, both for China and the USA.  We will come as soon as all of this is done.  We hope sometime before next summer.  We have seen your picture and think you are beautiful.  We are sending pictures of our family with this letter.  We hope you are well.  We know that the idea of leaving China may be scary, but we will do everything we can to make you feel comfortable with the change. 

We cannot wait to meet you and hold you.  We think about you every day.  When you look up at the moon at night, know that we are looking at the same moon and thinking of you.

Love Daddy and Mommy

My agency also will let us send packages through the facilitator in China, so I am getting that together to send to her also.  

I also received an e-mail from a family that is leaving this weekend to go to China to pick up their new daughter.  Their first daughter is from Lily's orphanage and they are requesting to visit.  Many orphanage visits have been put on hold due to the swine flu.  But if by some miracle they allow the visit they will try to see Lily and take pictures of her.

I am trying to decide if I should make a new blog for Lily.  The adoption website I used for Emma and Meilynn's adoption are no longer taking anymore new referrals.  So I can continue on this blog, make a new one just for her, or use another service.  I will let you know what I decide.  In the meantime pray for Lily and that she understands the letter and is happy for the news of a family.

Vicki

THEY All HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON......Introducing our LILY

Every call has a beginning…
A quiet moment when God whispers a promise to a mother’s heart
A holy place where a father bows and faithfully accepts the journey
set before him.
A miraculous morning that unexpectedly dawns…
Casting its first light on a chosen threshold.
A gentle knock… a closed door opens.
A sacred invitation sent by the Father…
Leads to the other side of the world.

Where lonely hearts stare out orphanage windows
Praying for someone to care.

And then one morning…
On an ordinary day
An orphan’s life changes…
God sends them a second chance…

Through you






The one thing that my daughter's referral pictures all have in common..............they all have that haunting look to their faces.  In all three referral pictures there are no smiles.  And the eyes, what they say to me.  Urging me to come as fast as possible.

 We have this picture and a video.  The video has her best friend that is being adopted also so I cannot share it.  If I can somehow figure out a way to edit that so only Lily is shown, I will.  In the video they are telling her to count and sing.  She does it, but I don't think she understands what is going on.

Introducing our sweet Lily living in the Guangdong Province, China.  She is six years old.  Her birthday in June 5, 2003.  We  are working on a middle name and then she will also have the name the orphanage gave her for a middle name.  She is not attending school yet.  Here is the information we got in June.

Yang Xiao Huan eats everything. She has 4 meals a day, 7am, 11am, 3pm and 7pm. She likes to eat rice, congee, steamed bread, apple. She has very good appetite. She takes nap from 12 tp 2pm. Then sleeps from 9pm to 7am. She is a very pure, active and lovely girl. She can talk so much, sing songs, put clothes on, count numbers. Her mental development is very well. She doesn't go to the day care yet. She can walk, run and jump very well. She has many good friends. She enjoy playing with other children. Now she is 106cm, 16kg, 53cm chest, 17cm foot, full mouth teeth  That is 41.7 inches tall and weighing in at 35.2 pounds.  

We would love to be able to hire a tutor for her so that she would not be so far behind when she gets home.  She has always lived at the orphanage and have found her in a few pictures throughout the years.  Emma and Meilynn know that we are going to adopt a little girl older than them and that it will be a long time.  We have told them that we hope to travel to China before Meilynn's 5th birthday in May.  They relate most things involving time to birthdays and holidays. 

Yang Xiao Huan, referral picture, May 2009

Meilynn Grace Shiyue, referral picture, Feb. 2007

Emma Sophia Mingjing, referral picture,  May 2006


WE CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THAT FIRST SMILE!!!!!!!!!!