Dear Mei Mei,
Your family has made this blog of our journey to find you to show you how much we love you. When we heard that the American adoption agency had a little girl matched to our family we were overcome with joy and anxiety! When they sent us a picture of you, you were the cutest little girl we had ever seen. They sent us your medical information, and we are so thankful that you have been very well cared for and that your surgeries were successful. They also told us things about you, like how you love to sing and dance and play; that you're outgoing, and love other children. We love how precious you are, and know that you are perfect for your new family. We have been praying for you and will always continue to pray for you. We showed your picture to some of our close friends, and they are so excited to meet you and are praying for you! We think and talk about you every day! We love you so much already, and cannot wait to meet you and be your sisters and friends for the rest of our lives.
With all our love,
Allie, Jenna, and Emmi
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Very thankful am I
Hey all. This is certainly a new adventure.
We had some difficulties in Dec with the mail service (competing with Christmas mail in Chicago). Finally we were able to get everything through to the Chinese consulate in Chicago and got our dossier back on Dec 30. We made copies and shipped it to our agency. They started the matching process on Jan 3 - est 2 months. We received our first candidate on Jan 6 - 2 months were compressed down to 3 days.
Since then we have been having medical records evaluated and exchanging questions between us, Holt and Chinese officials. All is coming back very positive - so we are committed to going foward. Current estimate is 6 months - but these estimates can vary.
I must say that getting photos and records has snapped things into perspective hugely for me - the reality / gravity / magnitude of what we are doing has come home in both an exciting and sober way - so your prayers are deeply needed and appreciated.
I love my family and the opportunity that we have to love and give together.
D
We had some difficulties in Dec with the mail service (competing with Christmas mail in Chicago). Finally we were able to get everything through to the Chinese consulate in Chicago and got our dossier back on Dec 30. We made copies and shipped it to our agency. They started the matching process on Jan 3 - est 2 months. We received our first candidate on Jan 6 - 2 months were compressed down to 3 days.
Since then we have been having medical records evaluated and exchanging questions between us, Holt and Chinese officials. All is coming back very positive - so we are committed to going foward. Current estimate is 6 months - but these estimates can vary.
I must say that getting photos and records has snapped things into perspective hugely for me - the reality / gravity / magnitude of what we are doing has come home in both an exciting and sober way - so your prayers are deeply needed and appreciated.
I love my family and the opportunity that we have to love and give together.
D
WE'RE MATCHED!
Like I said before, this path we're on is paved with exclamation marks!! It's official - we have been matched with our new daughter - her initials are C.S.Q. She will be 5 years old when we go get her - she's adorable!
Our dossier is in China now, along with our little girl's information, and sometime in the next 2 - 4 months, China will notify our agency of their agreement!
We know a lot about her already - she loves to sing and DANCE, has a ready smile and is considered "outgoing". She had a few medical issues at birth that have already been repaired, thanks to a generous child welfare program in China!
She's living in an orphanage in Jilin province (borders on North Korea!!), and that's where we'll be going to get her after a few days in Beijing.
Still so much to do! Looking into recommended vaccinations, packing lists, touring opportunities, language classes, journaling, reading lots of books about geography, history, culture and so on and so on!
We are planning to post a picture of our little sweetie on Facebook, but have to be very careful of her privacy and that of the orphanage and the overall process.
We still refer to her as Mei Mei, which means "Little Sister", and we've learned to pronounce her real name, but it's a difficult name to pronounce, let alone spell! Again, for the sake of privacy, we're not posting her real name.
Thanks for being with us on this amazing journey - for praying and hoping.
Our dossier is in China now, along with our little girl's information, and sometime in the next 2 - 4 months, China will notify our agency of their agreement!
We know a lot about her already - she loves to sing and DANCE, has a ready smile and is considered "outgoing". She had a few medical issues at birth that have already been repaired, thanks to a generous child welfare program in China!
She's living in an orphanage in Jilin province (borders on North Korea!!), and that's where we'll be going to get her after a few days in Beijing.
Still so much to do! Looking into recommended vaccinations, packing lists, touring opportunities, language classes, journaling, reading lots of books about geography, history, culture and so on and so on!
We are planning to post a picture of our little sweetie on Facebook, but have to be very careful of her privacy and that of the orphanage and the overall process.
We still refer to her as Mei Mei, which means "Little Sister", and we've learned to pronounce her real name, but it's a difficult name to pronounce, let alone spell! Again, for the sake of privacy, we're not posting her real name.
Thanks for being with us on this amazing journey - for praying and hoping.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Actively looking !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our completed dossier arrived at the Holt home office in Oregon Monday. After emailing a few final updates to them, I received an email back from them, stating: "We are actively looking for a girl for you and hope to call you with a good referral soon."
When they find a girl that they think will be a good match for us, they'll send us a picture and any and all information they have on her. We have 2-3 days to make a decision to accept the match.
Then the Chinese government begins the process of reviewing our dossier & the child to make their decision. That can take up to 4 months. In this amount of time, the child is not told that she is being considered for adoption.
When the Chinese government has approved it, however, the child is told, and we can begin corresponding with her! Some creative ideas for corresponding with her are to make videos of each member of our family introducing themselves, writing letters (obviously), etc. If the orphanage or foster home she's in will facilitate it, she can send correspondence to us also. We may also receive extra info on her, maybe updated physical and academic status, maybe more pictures - depends.
Then the U.S. government spends another 2 months or so on approving her for immigration.
When they find a girl that they think will be a good match for us, they'll send us a picture and any and all information they have on her. We have 2-3 days to make a decision to accept the match.
Then the Chinese government begins the process of reviewing our dossier & the child to make their decision. That can take up to 4 months. In this amount of time, the child is not told that she is being considered for adoption.
When the Chinese government has approved it, however, the child is told, and we can begin corresponding with her! Some creative ideas for corresponding with her are to make videos of each member of our family introducing themselves, writing letters (obviously), etc. If the orphanage or foster home she's in will facilitate it, she can send correspondence to us also. We may also receive extra info on her, maybe updated physical and academic status, maybe more pictures - depends.
Then the U.S. government spends another 2 months or so on approving her for immigration.
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