busy day

We received our Letter of Approval via Fed Ex yesterday. It was so great! I had lots to do in order to get it back same day to our agency. I had to fill out all of the travel papers, gather and notarize tax returns, w-2s and k1's, passport copies, notarize vaccination affidavit, create, notarize and send for authentication a power of attorney (for Scott), apply for visa's (for myself and Mckenzie), and on and on.
Meili took a nice long nap which helped so I could get it all done.
It is always a bit emotional to complete part of the process. We've been waiting for a long time to be able to complete this step and to enjoy the day! The letter of approval (loa) asked us if we were still willing to adopt Hong Yuan Xiu and we had to sign and date it. Then, after the rest of the paper work that came with it was complete I sent it off. I had such a peaceful feeling leaving Fed Ex. We are so close to having her home!!!
Wow, a family of 7... pretty hard to believe :)
I completely spaced off my scout training meeting last night... oops... sorry guys!
Oh, we had to decide who was going to travel before we sent stuff back - it is Mckenzie!!! She is sooo excited. We talked with her teacher about her missing school. She agreed that it would be a wonderful trip. Mckenzie wants to go to the Great Wall - I need to decide if I am tough enough to deal with the frigid temperatures of Beijing in January.
Hope all is well! Take care!
Melanie

LOA

HI!!! WE JUST GOT THE PHONE CALL FROM OUR AGENCY at 10:30 am!!! THEY RECEIVED OUR LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. WE WILL TRAVEL SOMETIME MID JANUARY (probably).
I am soooo excited!!! She is our daughter!!!
Our agency will fed ex the package today. We will sign and send back tomorrow. and then it will be off to China. China then will approve us for travel (this is taking 3 weeks)- then our agency will request a US consolate appointment at the end of the trip - once the consolate date is set we will plan our travel.
YAHOO (OR YABOO - for my good friend in UT)

Mckenzie's passport

We received Mckenzie's passport today. Now if only we would get our letter of approval... day 82 - but, who is counting :)

We are home! We had a fabulous week away. First we enjoyed a few days in Portland with Scott's sister and family and then 4 or so days at Scott's parents house (thanks to Kim and Vaughn and Loye for letting us come). We had a great time just hanging out and being together. The kids loved playing with their cute cousins... it was amazing to watch Meili, Maren and Paige play so well together. (she loved baby Abi (sp? - Abigail)and baby Isaac) And, finally the 5 year old boy cousins played really well together!!! Yeah!!! I love it when they hit the age of enjoying each other.

When we got home we were lucky enough to make it for my niece (on the other side) b-day party (they actually brought the party to us (thank-you :) ) Happy b-day Rylee!!! She had most of her cousins here to celebrate with her. Our kids are going to go through cousin withdrawl when they have to go back to school on Monday.

Today we have waited 80 days since Pre-approval. Our agency was closed Thursday (of course), and Friday so on Monday hopefully they will have 3 days worth of packages delivered and hopefully one of them will contain information for us. Mckenzie is getting very excited to go... Scott and I talked about it today and we are pretty sure she will be the one who goes with me.

I found this pretty song on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSV5xW-NLu8 I love the songwritter and singer... I think he is a Christian singer and he writes a lot of songs about adoption. If you have a second take a listen :)

Have a great weekend!!!

Melanie

Mckenzie's passport

Well, Scott and I decided that we should get Mckenzie a passport. We took her to Costco to get her picture taken and then raced over to the court house with her birth certificate to order it. It is taking the passport people 6-10 weeks to process them so we also decided to do an expedited service (with the holidays and then she will also need a visa and that will take time)... so, she should have it in two weeks. She is thrilled with the thought of possibly being able to go (she said that 15 hours on the airplane with nothing to do but read would be heaven). The boys love the idea of dad staying home... I think Scott likes the idea... I'm not sure how I feel...??? It is a safe country and I know we would be fine... in fact, we'd have a great time together. If he does not go I may make him promise to take me to Hawaii next summer for our 15th anniversary :)

Our agency is saying that Letters of Approval are just trickling out right now. 1 or 2 at a time/ week or two weeks. If this is the case we may not hear something in the next batch like we hoped. Who really knows... it is definately taking a lot longer than they and we thought. I think we are going to start getting Mckenzie's stuff ready (passport, shots, visa, etc) for back up in case Scott can not travel. She would love to go and I of course would love to have her with me... but, it is such an intense bonding period I would definately love to have Scott along. Guess we will wait and see :)

Day 65

Well, we have been waiting 65 days today (some wait a lot longer - some do not). It is hard not to become obsessed. Hopefully, we will hear something soon! It is looking less likely that we will be able to travel during the Christmas break and end of year. Typically 6-8 weeks is needed between the next form we are waiting on and actual travel. Hopefully news will come soon!
The kids are doing well. They get out of school next Thursday (they go only a half of a day) and are out until the Monday after Thanksgiving!! Wow, it is a long break. Parent teacher conferences are on Thursday and Friday and the next week is for Thanksgiving.
We have been trying to potty train Meili. I am done with diapers. Her skin is so sensative that she gets sores from diapers... It has been a long 2 days but hopefully it will get better. She understands but just doesn't like to do it.
Hope all is well.
Melanie

Love without Boundaries

Dr. Buckmiller and Emily are in China doing surgeries on some children. It looks like they removed a hemangioma today from a child. (This is the nurse and doctor that we will take Lili to.) The address to their work in China is: http://lwbchinablog.blogspot.com/

Another address to look at is http://www.chinesestarfish.blogspot.com/ (Thanks Sara and Jodie for telling me about it!!!)

Halloween

On Tuesday, Scott and I were scrambling trying to put a Luke Skywalker Padawan (? Davis insisted it all went together) costume together. When Reese and Mckenzie got home from school they thought they should have one too... so, they all ended up being padawans and I have to say they all looked pretty cute.
Scott and I went to Vegas Wednesday morning and my mom watched the kids for us (thanks again mom!!! we love you!). We had a great time going to a show, dinner, wandering around and spent a lot of time with my brother Ryan. He is doing so great and it makes us very happy to see him happy and doing well. While Scott was in his classes Ryan took me all around town... and to the NY, NY roller coaster... we had a great time... it has been a long time since we have spent this much time together.
It was soooo nice to get away with Scott!!!
No new news on Lili. Hopefully, we will hear something soon.
I hope all is well. Melanie

A few activities this past week

I just uploaded these cute pictures. We have been enjoying the nice fall weather.

The kids had a great time last Monday carving pumpkins. (Meili insisted that her pumpkin had ears... Scott was great to go along)

One afternoon after school we went to the park and played with Meili's little friend Maddie. (I had fun visiting with Lora :) I hope is ok that we posted her picture...)

And I took the last picture today. Greg and his family are here visiting (he is interviewing at the hospital here... we would love to have them live here!!!). The kids have such a great time playing! I about died when I went outside and saw only the top of Reeses head... I think they may be digging a hole for me to get Lili :)

Mckenzie is trying out for the school play today. She is very excited!

No news yet on Lili. We hope to hear something soon... in fact, in order for us to have her home by Christmas or the New Year we need to receive our LOA this week. I am hopeful but it really could take another couple of months to get... if only I had a crystal ball. I am very glad to know that she is in great hands and that she is being taken care of.

A Child's Right . org

I love the pictures shown on A Child's Right organization website. They went to Nanchang SWI (where Lili is) in May of 2007 and installed a water filtration system. To see the great photos of the orphanage go to http://www.a-childs-right.org/projects.html and click on China 2007, and go to photo number 98 (this is where Nanchang starts). It will tell you at the top of the page what each photo is showing. There are so many amazing people that go and volunteer to make the orphanages a better and safer place. Very amazing and I am grateful to this group who made the drinking water safe for Lili to drink!

Lili is 17 months old today

We have had this bird (the kids insist it is a pigeon) on our roof. I took the pictures last night and this morning when I woke up he was still sitting there. Reese is insisting that we call animal control this morning so the bird will survive but I'm not sure what to do. The kids are learning the waltz at school during PE. Here are some pictures with Mckenzie and Scott, Reese and Grandma Hunsaker, and Davis and Meili practicing the moves.

More information

I received this from Maury today:

Hi, Melanie! Today we received a little more explanation re the Loving Families that Yuan Xiu is in:

Loving family is one of programs in the orphanage. The orphanage offers apartments to six selected families and six children live with each family. Mothers stay at home to look after children and fathers go to work.

Sounds like a good program

Updated Developmental Information about Lili

Our agency is amazing! Maury (the lady we work with) provided us this information this morning. She is surprised that the orphanage gave us so much information... generally they keep care takers and foster moms name private but they gave us them. Yahoo (Yaboo :)) She sounds perfect! I can't wait to get my arms around her... have fun reading about her :) (Oh, when it talks about Loving Family this means a foster care situation with 5-6 children)

Hong Yuan Xiu—10-16-07


The orphanage would not like to provide more photos since they just provided some photos on 9/24.
She is as same as a normal child except for her hemangiomas. She can sit, crawl, run and walk. Her physical development is normal. She can say some simple words like baba (dad), mama (mom), chi (eat) etc. She has 4 teeth on the top and 2 on bottom. She is outgoing and restless. She is very smart. She has no primary caretaker but she is very attached to one caretaker named Liu Yu Ping. She stays in the childcare center in the orphanage along with all other children between 4-18 months during daytime and she stays in the Loving Family at night. Her mom in the Loving Family is called Zhu Nian Ci.

The Today Show clip

On May 8, 2006 I happened to watch the Today Show. I finally came across the clip that I remember seeing: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12644600/ This is of the litttle girl with the hemangioma on her nose. The doctor, Dr. Buckmiller, is the doctor who will do Lili's surgery. During the clip you will see 3 kids before and afters and I think the the third child's hemangioma (above the lip) looks similar to Lili's. It is great to see how well the children look after surgery. This aired right before Lili's (suspected) b-day... I have been going through my calendar seeing what I had been doing around this time - so this is fun to learn that I was learning about hemangiomas about the time she was born.

Lili's current measurements...

I asked for an update on Lili and they provided me with her measurements. I was hoping to also know if she was walking, talking, etc... but, this is what they provided... which is better than no info at all:
Date of Provide: Oct. 9, 2007
Per our request the orphanage provided the following measurements:
Name Hong Yuan Xiu
Height 73 cm (28.7 inches) (American charts- below 5 percentile; Chinese charts - below 3%)
Weight 9 kg (17.6 lbs) (American charts - below 5%; Chinese charts - 10%)
Head Size 45 cm (17.7 inches) (American charts 10-15%)
Chest Size 45 cm (17.7 inches)
Feet Length 11 cm (4.3 inches)
Teeth ?
Looks likeLili is teeny, tiny!!! Quite a change from that finding ad photo... :)

Lili's finding ad

Hong Yuan Xiu

Female

She was born on May 18, 2006. On August 18, 2006 she was found at the gate of the Welfare Institute. She has single eyelids, and a round face.

This is the finding ad and translation that was placed in a newspaper in China.

Her cute, chubby cheeks are so large that she can't open her eyes. Someone was feeding her well.

Our documents are still in China waiting for review. This week has been a week long holiday in China - it is similar to our Thanksgiving holiday (I'm told). Anyway, this means that nothing has been completed due to the fact that no one is working. Hopefully, they will get right back to work on Monday and quickly review our file so we can bring her home. (The Wefare Institute is the orphanage where Lili was found and is now living - Meili was found at the gate of a cancer hospital)

Info from Emily and update on our family

The nurse (Emily) that I am in contact with in Arkansas is so nice!!! I e-mailed her the new photos of Lili and she e-mailed me and said, "The hemangiomas on her scalp and back should not even be an issue, they are so small and not visible. The other two, I doubt will go away enough on their own, they are pretty good size. I agree, I think she has little bug bites, it doesn’t look like a rash or anything that has spread from a certain area."
It is so wonderful to have such a nice person willing to give us advice and help us. It will be fun to meet her in person.
Scott is headed back from Texas today (and I'm up early today because nice Delta called at 4:30 am to let me know his flight had been delayed). He has been there working since Monday. He will go for the whole week next week and then a week or so after that he'll go for another week. (We love this client :) )
The kids are doing well. They are loving school. We got the temporary permit yesterday so the kids will be able to go to school today in their actual school building (they have been going to a church down the street for classes). Davis cried and clung onto me tight yesterday. His teacher pealed him off of me and told me to leave. She craddled him on her lap and loved him and they told knock, knock jokes. It is nice to have a sweet teacher who is willing to cuddle the child when they are sad. He did really well after that and she told me in no way could I take him out of kindergarten and hold off a year (she is a good mind reader .:) )... anyway, of course I could but she really thinks he will be fine... (he might be but I may not be :( ). Reese, and Mckenzie are well and Meili (knock on wood) is enjoying her 1 1/2 hour toddler lab (2 times a week)... yeh!!!
Hope all is well.
Melanie

New pictures.......

Well, I guess we are going to have to wait for Leslie and Tavis to take some good pictures of Lili. Each time we get an updated photo of Lili I hope to see her cute face.... this is making me practice patience. :) I am sending all of the photos we get to the nurse and doctor who will take the hemangiomas off ... so hopefully, these will show her what phase they are in... to me it looks like they are resting because they have not changed much since the first photos... so, I'd guess soon they will start going down. I'll post more when I get an e-mail back from the nice nurse/doctor. She also has lots of dots on her face so I have asked if she has chicken pox or if they are just bug bites. I can't wait to get her... I'm starting to get impatient!!! 3 or 4 months to go.

Lili on 9/20

I received an e-mail from a lady who is in China on Friday. She said that she visited the orphanage and saw Lili. She told me, " I smiled and said hello to her while her caretaker was holding her. She seemed happy!" This was great to hear from this nice lady and hear that Lili looked well and is being taken care of.
We are getting a package ready to send to Lili. I made a small fleece blanket, a photo album for her (and the caretakers) to see what we look like, candy for the caretakers, a camera and I need to find something small enough to fit in the package for the other children. Hopefully she will get this... we sent one for Meili but we don't know if she ever got it... sometimes, you get the stuff back and sometimes not. Hopefully we will see soon.