I had emailed my favorite Social Worker to find out if our paperwork, which was due to be picked from the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China and forwarded on to the China Center for Adoption Affairs in Beijing, was taken care of. IT TOTALLY WAS---ON MONDAY!!!!!
We are now officially waiting for Travel Approval. Fwuuuuuu. (Large sigh of relief mixed with anxious excitement.) We are ready to go anytime. It's just that pesky paper we need in order for our agency to coordinate appointments for us to get Jadyn and complete the adoption paperwork.
The upside is....this is our last paper to wait on. The downside is......we are approaching a very difficult time to travel to China. October 1-5, Friday-Tuesday, is the National Holiday, offices are closed. Then the Canton trade fair in Guangzhou (our exit city) most of the middle of October - November 4th---travel is possible, but more costly then. The Asian Games are in Guangzhou November 12-27th also, making it more costly, but possible to travel. So......I have heard rumour that agencies like to avoid travel groups during these times, but I am hoping for the best! God has a plan!
I think I said it before, there is a group from Bethany Christian Services going the end of October, but we would need a miracle to make that one. I believe in miracles!
Today, I found a stroller at a great price and a great coupon on top of it. Yesterday my cousins graciously offered for us to borrow their crib mattress (thank you!!). Things are shaping up, gear-wise.
Travel-wise, we have borrowed luggage, thanks Mom. I would love to use airline miles to upgrade on the way home, but don't know how that works, just yet. Plently of clothes for Jadyn, baby care essentials, a few toys.......got an email from someone I met online who just returned from Wuhan adopting their daughter from the very same town Jadyn is from. I have already picked her brain. So why can't we leave tomorrow? Oh yes, Travel Approval, plane tickets, hotel reservations..............details!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Travel Visas
We hired a service: There's Always Hope to do the legwork for us. Denise Hope is an adoptive parent and provides visa and document authentication services. She came highly recommended to us, and I also now highly recommend her. She does other countries too, not just China. Keep her in mind!
Please pray for our paperwork to be picked up on time next week so it can be filed with the China Center of Adoption Affairs to issue our LAST STEP. The Travel Approval. These have taking 7-21 days to be issued--here's to hoping for 7!!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Please Consider
Dear Family and Friends,
As we prepare for the arrival of Jadyn, we have learned that while decorating the room and stocking up on baby essentials is important, even more important is the emotional health of our baby. In her short life, our daughter will have gone through more changes and life altering experiences than most adults could handle. Imagine how much harder the changes will be for her. While she may not consciously remember the events, she will still experience immense loss, including feelings of grief and trauma. She's already experienced the loss of a birthmother and will soon experience the loss of familiar and comforting caretakers as well as the sights, smells, and language of her birth country. Her world will turn upside down. She will struggle with feeling safe and secure and may lack the ability to trust that we will meet her needs. Keep in mind, she may not be in the best place right now, but it's HER WHOLE world.
We have prepared to meet her emotional needs so that she will learn that we will always take care of her and we will always keep her safe. We need your support. In order to form a strong and healthy attachment we may allow her to regress so that she has the opportunity to go through all of the emotional stages with us despite her chronological age. Although it may appear that we are spoiling her, we have been advised that it is best that we meet every need quickly and consistently. Until she has learned that we are her parents, we will need to be her primary caretakers at all times. It is essential that we always hold her, feed her, and do all of the nurturing. You may wonder how long this will take, but the timeline is different for every child. We will follow her lead and trust our instincts as her parents rather than worry about what society expects. It could be a few weeks, days or even months--attachement is not a destination, but a process.
We have all been waiting anxiously for Jadyn to arrive but she has not been waiting for us. She may show her grief and confusion in many ways and we are prepared to help her through it and prove that we are her family and this truly is her last stop. We trust that, as our family and friends, you will help us to do what is best for our daughter, and we thank you in advance for your support and understanding.
This letter was taken from a wonderful source on parenting a toddler. We took their recommendations and modified the above letter to fit into our situation. Sometimes this kind of stuff is easier to read than to hear. I am so willing to answer any questions you may have.
We are prepared for a very difficult transition, but are hoping for a very smooth one! Keep us in your prayers. Thanks!!
As we prepare for the arrival of Jadyn, we have learned that while decorating the room and stocking up on baby essentials is important, even more important is the emotional health of our baby. In her short life, our daughter will have gone through more changes and life altering experiences than most adults could handle. Imagine how much harder the changes will be for her. While she may not consciously remember the events, she will still experience immense loss, including feelings of grief and trauma. She's already experienced the loss of a birthmother and will soon experience the loss of familiar and comforting caretakers as well as the sights, smells, and language of her birth country. Her world will turn upside down. She will struggle with feeling safe and secure and may lack the ability to trust that we will meet her needs. Keep in mind, she may not be in the best place right now, but it's HER WHOLE world.
We have prepared to meet her emotional needs so that she will learn that we will always take care of her and we will always keep her safe. We need your support. In order to form a strong and healthy attachment we may allow her to regress so that she has the opportunity to go through all of the emotional stages with us despite her chronological age. Although it may appear that we are spoiling her, we have been advised that it is best that we meet every need quickly and consistently. Until she has learned that we are her parents, we will need to be her primary caretakers at all times. It is essential that we always hold her, feed her, and do all of the nurturing. You may wonder how long this will take, but the timeline is different for every child. We will follow her lead and trust our instincts as her parents rather than worry about what society expects. It could be a few weeks, days or even months--attachement is not a destination, but a process.
We have all been waiting anxiously for Jadyn to arrive but she has not been waiting for us. She may show her grief and confusion in many ways and we are prepared to help her through it and prove that we are her family and this truly is her last stop. We trust that, as our family and friends, you will help us to do what is best for our daughter, and we thank you in advance for your support and understanding.
This letter was taken from a wonderful source on parenting a toddler. We took their recommendations and modified the above letter to fit into our situation. Sometimes this kind of stuff is easier to read than to hear. I am so willing to answer any questions you may have.
We are prepared for a very difficult transition, but are hoping for a very smooth one! Keep us in your prayers. Thanks!!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Another Step Down (or up?)
I received word today that our documents were dropped off at the US Consulate in Guangzhou (pronounded gwahn-joe, fka Canton)!! There is a standard processing time of 2 weeks before they are ready to go on to the next step, which is to Beijing to issue our Travel Invite. It's just the process, no speeding up or slowing down, it is what it is.
We applied for our travel visas. I dropped them off at the home of an adoptive parent who started a business that takes care of paperwork for families adopting and also offers travel visa service, authentication for other countries too. Here's her link: There's Always Hope. She lives in the suburbs of Joliet and a quick trip down I80 for pickup and delivery is quite worth the fee she charges, and the peace of mind. We should get those back next week.
This is the car seat I purchased yesterday because Target had a fab price on this Britax.
We applied for our travel visas. I dropped them off at the home of an adoptive parent who started a business that takes care of paperwork for families adopting and also offers travel visa service, authentication for other countries too. Here's her link: There's Always Hope. She lives in the suburbs of Joliet and a quick trip down I80 for pickup and delivery is quite worth the fee she charges, and the peace of mind. We should get those back next week.
This is the car seat I purchased yesterday because Target had a fab price on this Britax.
I figured saving $150 and getting this one was a great decision. Britax has a reputation for being one of the best on the market, so that sold me--along with the many recommendations from some of my forum friends, plus it's just cute.
Another great email I got this morning was a picture of our 2nd care package to Jadyn. This will be delivered in the next few days.
Disposable camera, panda, blanket, translated letter and a box of Mooncakes. Hopefully we will get some pictures of her daily life. They will be so precious to her when she is older. The Mooncakes are for celebrating the Moon Festival. I will do a post on that soon. There is so much tradition and symbolism in the Chinese culture and while we don't embrace superstition and ritual type things, we do plan to celebrate, culturally, Jadyn's heritage.
Time to go fix the dishwasher, and then start my Great Wall Training Program (aka-Swallow Cliff Steps). There a few things in life that we know we do or don't want to do. One thing I am sure of is, when touring the Great Wall--I DO NOT want to say that I was too out of shape to climb to my heart's content! This is the Great Wall of China, people! Not trying to be judgemental for those of you who chose not to make it as far as they could--just a personal goal.
Happy Tuesday!
Friday, September 3, 2010
I800--What's the big deal?
Well, this 8 1/2 x 11 piece of official paper is what is necessary to physically bring Jadyn into the USA. It is the beginning of her immigration. It means all her information is verified and she is available for adoption according to the Hague Treaty. While we got a copy of it to submit with her visa application on Monday, we got the actual paper copy today in the mail. Hallelujah!
It's starting to come together. The very soonest possible travel would be the middle of October, but it could very likely be the middle to end of November. That is extremely hard for me to fathom at this point. I know that in the grand scheme of things another 6 weeks does not really matter, but I feel like it's similar to being 6 weeks overdue. OK, not really, but you get the point--maybe 2 weeks overdue?
The next step is where Jadyn's visa application is submitted to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China and then when they are done with it, it goes back to China Center for Adoption Affairs in Beijing, who will then issue our travel invitation. At that point, our agency will arrange travel. Whew, can't wait!
Time to buy a carseat: this is what I have my eye on:
It's starting to come together. The very soonest possible travel would be the middle of October, but it could very likely be the middle to end of November. That is extremely hard for me to fathom at this point. I know that in the grand scheme of things another 6 weeks does not really matter, but I feel like it's similar to being 6 weeks overdue. OK, not really, but you get the point--maybe 2 weeks overdue?
The next step is where Jadyn's visa application is submitted to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China and then when they are done with it, it goes back to China Center for Adoption Affairs in Beijing, who will then issue our travel invitation. At that point, our agency will arrange travel. Whew, can't wait!
Time to buy a carseat: this is what I have my eye on:
Sunshine Kids Radian xtsl
This carseat should take her from now until she is in middle school.
I do believe we need a bigger vehicle. I love my Prius, and it would suffice for a family of 5, but we do have additional passengers quite often and there are so many other options. I think Toyota Sienna. Time to get shopping!
Deb
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