Progress

We have finished compiling the rest of our dossier. Last week we had it certified by the Secretary of State and today I'm sending to the courier in Chicago to have it authenticated by the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. Once that is done (next week) she will forward it to our agency where it will sit and wait for that one last piece, our USCIS approval. We are on day 30 of our wait, so if the wait times hold, we're about 1/2 way there. We are heading up to St. Louis tomorrow morning to do our fingerprints.

Eleven Years!!

Today Greg and I celebrate our eleven year wedding anniversary! God has blessed us greatly over the last 11 years and I can't wait to see what He has planned for us for the next 11!

Choo-choo

Anna is on officially on the potty train! Last week Anna decided she wanted to start using the potty ... we had not been pushing it, so we were surprised when she asked to go all on her own last weekend. She knows when she goes, she gets a "special MM (M&M)" (as she says it), so that has been very motivating! Here is a conversation we have now had several times as she is sitting there:

Anna: "Works!"
Me: "What works?"
Anna: "Anna's baum-tum" (bottom)

I cracked up the first time she said it ... I'm sure someday she'll just be thrilled I posted this! She also will say "Anna more pee-pee, Anna more special MM" - didn't take long for her to figure that out!

Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

I800a

We mailed our I800a yesterday! In a few weeks we will get a letter letting us know we can head to St. Louis to get our fingerprints done. I'm guessing we will get to do that the 2nd or 3rd week of June. Right now I800a approvals are averaging about 50 days which is better that it was a few weeks ago. The sooner our approval comes, the sooner we'll be DTC (dossier to China)!

"Just Anna"

That is what Anna says if we call her anything besides Anna. If we call her Anna Banana or Cutie Pie or Silly Billy or anything other than Anna, she just laughs and says "no, Just Anna", then we say "oh, okay Just Anna" and she flashes us the biggest grin. It's pretty cute.

In adoption news, our home study is now completed and has been approved by our agency. We're just waiting for our social worker to get us the final notarized copy and then we can send our I800a along with our home study to USCIS - my goal is do be able to send it Monday!

Here are some recent pictures of "Just Anna" ...

On The Way

Goodness, has it really been a month since I posted last?! It's been a busy month for us ... We officially started the paper chase to adopt from China again!!

Over the last month we have been working towards getting our home study completed and at the same time gathering all the necessary papers for our dossier. We have now finished our home study and our case worker hopes to have it ready for us to review early next week!

Here is an abbreviated version of how the process works: Once our agency approves our home study we will send it to USCIS for approval, which is currently taking about 50 days. While we waiting for our approval we'll continue to finish gathering the rest of our dossier documents and send them to be authenticated. After we get our USCIS approval we will send it to be authenticated and on to our agency with the rest of our dossier. At that point they will be able to send our dossier to China (DTC)... we're hoping this happens by the end of August or so. After we're DTC, we'll wait be waiting to hear when our log in date (LID) is and we'll also be waiting to be matched! Once we are matched there will be a whole slew of steps (and acronyms) to follow, so I'll spare you the details for now. :-) We're anticipating this adoption will take a year or less from now until the time we travel.

We'll keep you all updated as things progress. For now I'll leave you with a few shots of our sweet Anna ... she's going to be a wonderful big sister!

Enjoying the nice spring weather

Trying out her new wheels

Any toads in here?

Collecting rocks is serious business!

First time with sidewalk chalk (Anna, not Greg!)

China will now allow single women to adopt through the Special Focus Program!!

Big News from China! See the notice below:

Government departments and adoption agencies in receiving countries, In order to promote special needs child adoption and guarantee the basic interests of the orphaned and disabled children, CCAA decides to accept the adoption applications from female single applicants to adopt according to the requirements listed in this notice, starting from March 15, 2011:

•Female single applicants are allowed to adopt special focus children listed on the special Needs System of CCAA.
•One applicant can only adopt one special focus child at a time, with an interval of at least one year between two adoptions.
•The applicant shall have reached the age of 30 years and are under 50. For applicants over 50, the age difference between the child to be adopted and the applicant shall be no more than 45 years.
•The applicant shall provide her civil status certificate. Unmarried applicants shall provide certification for being single and non-homosexual; divorced applicants shall provide the divorce certificate of the last marriage; and widowed applicants shall provide the death certificate of their ex-spouse.
•The reason of being single and attitude towards marriage. Applicants shall have clear indication of willingness to appoint male figures as role models for the adopted child, and welcome male friends to join family gatherings.
•Applicants shall have received inter-country adoption training and training specifically for special needs child adoption so as to understand fully the physical and psychological needs of special needs children.
•Detailed nurturing and rehabilitation plan. Applicants shall be qualified personally and socially for caring special needs children and have wide social and family supporting network which can provide assistance any time.
•Guardians appointed by the applicants shall provide written statement as consent to act as the guardian of the adopted child. X. If the applicant has a stable relationship and lives with a male partner, t he requirements of couple applicants shall be applied.
•Applicants shall be healthy both physically and mentally according to the requirements by CCAA for prospective adoptive couples.
•Applicants shall be law abiding with no criminal records, and have good moral quality and conduct
•The family annual income shall reach $10,000 per family member, including the prospective adoptee and the family net assets value should reach $100,000.
•The applicant shall have good medical insurance which can cover the medical expense of the adopted child.
•Applicants shall be experienced in child caring or be occupied in child-related fields, such as doctor, nurse, teacher, child psychological counselor, etc. It's best that the applicants have already had successful experience in caring for special needs children.
•The number of children in the applicant's family under the age of 18 years shall be no more than two, and the youngest one should have reached the age of 6 years old.
•Applicants shall be fully prepared for adopting a special focus child.
•Social workers shall provide the following information fully and timely in the home study reports besides family visit interviews: Adoption motive. The decision to adopt a special focus child shall be well-considered. Applicants shall be capable of caring for a special need child and be responsible for the well-being of the child.

If you would like to know more about the special focus program, about some great agencies out there that can help you, or about the 2000+ children that are waiting each month, please send me an email or a blog comment and I will be more than happy to help you!!

As The Time Goes By: URGENT: Qiong Needs a Family!

In China, when a child turns 14 they "age out" of the international adoption program ... Please click on the link below to read about Qiong and please pray for her...

As The Time Goes By: URGENT: Qiong Needs a Family!

Our little snow bunny

Last year Anna didn't care for snow at all ... this year was a different story! We told her before her nap on Saturday that we would go play in the snow when she woke up. She woke up from her nap yelling "MAMA" and I went in her room the first thing she said was "Dada, Mama, Anna, snow". She couldn't wait to get her snow pants and boots on and get out there. Anna's language has really taken off lately. It's so fun to hear her say little sentences. Her latest is on Saturday mornings when we bring her in our bed to snuggle before we all get up ... we say "guess what day it is" and she says "weekend"! Then we say "what does that mean" and she says "Dada, Mama no work". Too cute!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the Year of the Rabbit. Anna had fun making some bunny
cookies to share with her friends today ...

Our beautiful, 60 degree weekend, turned into 8 below and a foot of snow this week ... great for snow ice cream!!

Stay warm!

Happy Weekend!

It's going to be 60 degrees tomorrow! Not bad for January! Hope you all have a nice weekend and don't work too hard!

5 new China Special Focus referrals received at our agency

Our agency has 5 new files of some sweeties ready to find their forever family! If you are interested in any of these children, feel free to email me directly or email Laura Bussa at AAI ( lbussa@adoptassoc.com ) and she will be glad to share any of the files with you.

To see pictures, please visit AAI's password protected website at http://www.adoptionassociates.net/international/waiting_children/
User name: waiting_children
Password: focus2010

Here is a brief summary of each of the kids (I have several additional pics of Jaxon & Ryan as well as some more info on their special needs):

1. Jaxon - born July 2009
Jaxon is in foster care and is diagnosed with post-operative congenital anal atresia/rectovesical fistula. His report indicates he is on target developmentally, is extroverted, likes to listen to music, likes to be cuddled and he is described as "lovely". An updated developmental report and recent pictures are included with his file.

2. Kristin - born January 2004
Kristin is described in her report as a "beautiful, sensitive and cute girl". She takes anti-seizure medication daily for epilepsy. While this medication is helpful, she is still experiencing seizures 1-2 times per week. Her report describes her as extroverted, but shy in front of strangers. Kristin likes to play with other children and loves to play with dolls. Her report indicates she likes to help caretakers, and is adored by both her caretakers and teachers.

3. Luke - born June 2008
Luke is described as quiet and he gets along well with other children. He likes colorful toys and understands and speaks the language well. Luke likes to listen To music and is on target developmentally. He is diagnosed with a deformity in one finger on the left hand, two fingers on the right hand and two toes on his right foot. His report indicates that he uses his fingers well and can grasp small items as well as use a pen for drawing. He walks easily without help. Please note that there is a dark shadow on the side of his face in this picture. He does not have birthmarks or other markings on his face. An updated picture has been requested.

4. Madelyn - born July 2004
Madelyn is an active little girl diagnosed with post operative anal atresia and two webbed toes on her right foot. She is described as a very active an adorable girl. She likes to play with other children and her report indicates she has a good memory. We have recently received updated developmental information and new pictures.

5. Ryan - born May 2010
Ryan is a young baby boy diagnosed with congenital heart disease. He likes to be held and played with and smiles often. His report mentions that he is curious and likes to be cuddled by caretakers.

Happy Forever Family Day, Anna!!

We will never forget that moment when we turned around and saw Anna for the very first time. Greg and I were both speechless. Anna was the sweetest little pink bundle in world!

We couldn't feel more blessed to have Anna as our daughter, she brings us more joy than we could have ever imagined!

Here are a some shots taken in the last couple of weeks. Our baby is such a big girl now!