We have been talking a lot with the kids about China, life in an orphanage and what Sophia has gone through. We know that Sophia is in foster care now, and has been for some time. She has also been called "robust" by her caregivers and they told our friends that she has never really been sick (not even a cold). The other interesting tid bit is that Sophia is VERY STRONG WILLED. As they put it, "what Sophia wants, Sophia gets"! It sounds like she will really fit in to this family!
The kids have tried to come up with an idea to give money to Sophia's orphange for children who have medical issues such as cleft palate, who can really benefit from bottles that help them drink better. Many of these orphanages simply do not have the funding to buy extra supplies that can be really expensive. The kids decided to make card sets and sent an email off to friends and family. They are asking for donations for Sophie's orphanage and will send homeade card sets to all who donate! What a GREAT idea! We are excited to see what comes in and this is a fun way to keep the kids hearts with us as we journey to China.
We sent in for our Visas and they should be here very soon. We hope to get some word about travel approval by the fisrt week of June! Pray for us! We would hop on a plane tonight if we could. It is hard for us to know Sophia is just sitting there waiting for us - but it calms us to know that she is coming home so soon!
Her room is almost ready. We have just a few things to hang up - but we have a twin bed set up beside her crib. We figured that during those late nights, a bed may be a good idea to snuggle with mama, so baba can get some sleep!
Let the countdown begin!!!!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
LOA CAME TODAY
What an awesome day!!! I kept seeing all of these LOA (letter of acceptance) come in from a waiting child group and did not get a call or email until 3pm from Cindy - she left two messages and then when I called back, Dave (the other American's Adopting Orphans owners) told me that our LOA was in. This is the piece that tells us beyond any shadow of doubt that little Sophia Hui Juan is OURS!!!! We feel so blessed and are excited to make the journey to bring her home! We go into American's Adopting Orphans to sign on the LOA and then it will be off to China!!!!! We then wait for two more items. We need travel approval and once we get that we need to make a consulate appointment. Our hope is to travel at the middle to end of June - Sophia baby.....here we come!!!!!!!!! We are blowing kisses from little Kent, Washington to little Kunming, China!!!! Love mama and baba
Friday, May 04, 2007
What is a cleft lip and cleft palate
Education on Cleft lip and cleft palate
As you are aware, our beautiful daughter, Sophie, was born with a birth defect of a cleft lip and cleft palate. Her cleft lip was repaired in China when she was seven months old. As far as we know, she will has not had her palate repaired. I thought I would post some interesting facts on clefts to help educate our family and friends who are not very familiar with this condition.If you rub your finger above your top lip, you will feel two ridges. Those are in fact the cleft scars of a non cleft-affected person. Those tissues naturally join by the fourth week of pregnancy.The palate is then formed out of the structure that begins as the tongue and palate. Between the fourth and eight week of pregnancy, the tongue drops down and the palate segments then move from the sides and fuse in the center. Run your tongue across your hard palate from side to side and you will feel the seam where the two sides fused.A cleft, therefore, is not something that is formed, so much as it is something that does not form. Everyone began life with a cleft. For 699 out of 700 of us, the cleft fuses before birth. For that one in 700, it fails to fuse.One child in 33 is born with some sort of birth defect. One in 700 is born with a cleft-related birth defect. It occurs most often among Asians, Latinos and Native Americans.The causes could be a gene passed down from the birth father or birth mother or from the lack of folic acid in the birth mother's diet, or from the pollution in the air.A parent with a cleft has a minimum of 5% chance of passing the cleft along.
Some famous people who were born with a cleft:
Reverend Jesse Jackson
Tom Brokaw
Mary Crosby
Stacy Keech
Cheech Marin (from Cheech and Chong)
I've listed two non profit organizations where you can learn more about clefting. With donations, these types of organization can provide the necessary surgeries all across the world:
www.smiletrain.org
www.lovewithoutboundaries.com
As you are aware, our beautiful daughter, Sophie, was born with a birth defect of a cleft lip and cleft palate. Her cleft lip was repaired in China when she was seven months old. As far as we know, she will has not had her palate repaired. I thought I would post some interesting facts on clefts to help educate our family and friends who are not very familiar with this condition.If you rub your finger above your top lip, you will feel two ridges. Those are in fact the cleft scars of a non cleft-affected person. Those tissues naturally join by the fourth week of pregnancy.The palate is then formed out of the structure that begins as the tongue and palate. Between the fourth and eight week of pregnancy, the tongue drops down and the palate segments then move from the sides and fuse in the center. Run your tongue across your hard palate from side to side and you will feel the seam where the two sides fused.A cleft, therefore, is not something that is formed, so much as it is something that does not form. Everyone began life with a cleft. For 699 out of 700 of us, the cleft fuses before birth. For that one in 700, it fails to fuse.One child in 33 is born with some sort of birth defect. One in 700 is born with a cleft-related birth defect. It occurs most often among Asians, Latinos and Native Americans.The causes could be a gene passed down from the birth father or birth mother or from the lack of folic acid in the birth mother's diet, or from the pollution in the air.A parent with a cleft has a minimum of 5% chance of passing the cleft along.
Some famous people who were born with a cleft:
Reverend Jesse Jackson
Tom Brokaw
Mary Crosby
Stacy Keech
Cheech Marin (from Cheech and Chong)
I've listed two non profit organizations where you can learn more about clefting. With donations, these types of organization can provide the necessary surgeries all across the world:
www.smiletrain.org
www.lovewithoutboundaries.com
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Some information about where Sophie is.....
Orphanage
Sophia's orphanage is said to be very clean and well managed. There are currently about 140 children taken care of in the orphanage and about 450 in foster care (around 600 children total). It’s hard for us to know for sure if she is in the orphanage or in foster care since they aren’t always forthcoming with this information, but most children do spend some time in foster care before adoption.
There are four foster care villages about an hour from the orphanage where families take care of the children in their own little community.
Yunnan Province and City of Kunming
Yunnan means "south of the clouds". The province is in the southwest corner of China bordered by Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.
Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan with approximately 3 million people. The city is situated on a 6,500 foot plateau. Due to its mild climate and beautiful scenery and history, Kunming is a well known tourist spot for all of China and is known as "Spring City".
There are over two dozen minority groups in the Yunnan province which makes for a variety of interesting cultures and customs. Because they are a minority, they are allowed more than one child . Each of these groups continue to carry on their traditions and wear distinct clothing and headwear.
Sophia's orphanage is said to be very clean and well managed. There are currently about 140 children taken care of in the orphanage and about 450 in foster care (around 600 children total). It’s hard for us to know for sure if she is in the orphanage or in foster care since they aren’t always forthcoming with this information, but most children do spend some time in foster care before adoption.
There are four foster care villages about an hour from the orphanage where families take care of the children in their own little community.
Yunnan Province and City of Kunming
Yunnan means "south of the clouds". The province is in the southwest corner of China bordered by Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.
Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan with approximately 3 million people. The city is situated on a 6,500 foot plateau. Due to its mild climate and beautiful scenery and history, Kunming is a well known tourist spot for all of China and is known as "Spring City".
There are over two dozen minority groups in the Yunnan province which makes for a variety of interesting cultures and customs. Because they are a minority, they are allowed more than one child . Each of these groups continue to carry on their traditions and wear distinct clothing and headwear.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Our Journey to Sophia
LOI is off!
Our letter of intent was sent to China today stating that we would seek excellent medical resources for Sophie and that we would take care of her in all of her needs and love her unconditionally. After China gets this letter, they will pull our dossier and review it. We are now waiting for word that they have accepted us and that we will get our TA (travel approval). Our agency is preparing us for a 3-4 month wait! We keep praying this will shorten greatly! We already miss our sweet Sophie!!!
Our letter of intent was sent to China today stating that we would seek excellent medical resources for Sophie and that we would take care of her in all of her needs and love her unconditionally. After China gets this letter, they will pull our dossier and review it. We are now waiting for word that they have accepted us and that we will get our TA (travel approval). Our agency is preparing us for a 3-4 month wait! We keep praying this will shorten greatly! We already miss our sweet Sophie!!!
Monday, January 15, 2007
OVER THE MOON!
We have been part of a pilot group for the waiting children in our agency. Our agency chose five families to travel together to China to pick up their daughters. We knew they had been reviewing all families and trying to pick the ones to go, and we got the call today at 3:43pm whle driving in our car that we were selected for a baby. We have her picture and will try to post as soon as we can figure out how. She is 15 months old and was born with a cleft lip and palate. The lip has been repaired and she will need surgery soon to repair the palate and she is SOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL! We are OVER THE MOON. We can not wait to bring little Sophie home!!!!! It is likely that we will travel in a few months. Hold tight little one, mommy and daddy are gonna get you as soon as we can! We love you!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Our Journey to Sophia
LID!!!!
Ok, words are not going to do enough justice to what we are feeling at this very moment. We checked our email tonight and got word from our agency that we are officially Logged in to the CCAA as of August 30th. It took 23 days from the date our dossier arrived to be logged into their system. So there a little piece of the Hopp family sits in a file, in China, waiting to be discovered and reviewed so that our precious baby girl can come home to her forever family! They say that the total adoption time it typically takes in China is about a year after being logged in, which means that if anyone at this moment were to make an educated guess, the time we will get our referral will be August 2007 with a travel time possibly in October. Things could speed up and things could slow down, but that is the beauty of God's time......it is perfect! Little Sophia, we LOVE you sooooooo much and are head over heels ecstatic that we are one major step closer to holding you in our arms baby girl!
Ok, words are not going to do enough justice to what we are feeling at this very moment. We checked our email tonight and got word from our agency that we are officially Logged in to the CCAA as of August 30th. It took 23 days from the date our dossier arrived to be logged into their system. So there a little piece of the Hopp family sits in a file, in China, waiting to be discovered and reviewed so that our precious baby girl can come home to her forever family! They say that the total adoption time it typically takes in China is about a year after being logged in, which means that if anyone at this moment were to make an educated guess, the time we will get our referral will be August 2007 with a travel time possibly in October. Things could speed up and things could slow down, but that is the beauty of God's time......it is perfect! Little Sophia, we LOVE you sooooooo much and are head over heels ecstatic that we are one major step closer to holding you in our arms baby girl!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
QUILT SQUARES!!!!!
Well, today was a VERY fun day!! We went to the mailbox to find our first two squares for Sophia's 100 wishes quilt! The first one was from Great Grandma Chris and Great Grandpa Norm Hopp. It was a beautiful purple square with pretty flowers and stems and leafs. It is whimsical in theme and we LOVE it! The next one was from Aunt Ruth and Uncle Rudy Baas. They sent us a pretty light green with white greenery on it. It almost appears to be Asian looking and will compliment this project! Thank you a million times over! Your squares made our day!!!
Saturday, August 19, 2006
A beautiful poem about a mother's love
Different Kinds of Love
There were two special women, they never knew each other.
One you don’t remember, the other you call mother.
Two very different lives together make yours one.
The first one like a shooting star, the other like the sun.
One gave to you the gift of life, one showed you how to live it.
The first one gave a need for love, the second was there to give it.
One gave you roots of heritage, the other your good name.
One gave you seeds of talent, the other gave you aim.
One gave to you emotions; the other calmed your fears.
One saw your first endearing smile, the other dried your tears.
The first one had to give you up, it was all that she could do.
The other prayed for her own child and then was led to you.
I hope you see my precious child, that you’re the product of,
not just one but two hearts, with different kinds of love.
By - John Trapani
There were two special women, they never knew each other.
One you don’t remember, the other you call mother.
Two very different lives together make yours one.
The first one like a shooting star, the other like the sun.
One gave to you the gift of life, one showed you how to live it.
The first one gave a need for love, the second was there to give it.
One gave you roots of heritage, the other your good name.
One gave you seeds of talent, the other gave you aim.
One gave to you emotions; the other calmed your fears.
One saw your first endearing smile, the other dried your tears.
The first one had to give you up, it was all that she could do.
The other prayed for her own child and then was led to you.
I hope you see my precious child, that you’re the product of,
not just one but two hearts, with different kinds of love.
By - John Trapani
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Have you been tagged - think about it....
I was tagged by another August DTC friend, so here it goes...
I am... a born again Christian who has been blessed with the most awesome husband in the world with whom I have had three fabulous children with one precious blessing on it's way from China!
I want... to live in a world that is peaceful
I wish... my children will continue to follow the Lord all of their lives
I hate... when people pass unneccesary judgement on others
I miss... the days when my children were little wee ones
I hear... singing, giggling, laughter and talking from my children
I wonder... when we will get to meet our fourth child
I regret... placing heavy weight on what others think of me
I am... not a quiet gal
I dance... crazily
I sing... and I love it - but it does not sound lovely!
I try... to be the best mon and wife I can be
I am not... always flexible and patient...a work in progress
I make... the most of my time by being very busy!
I confuse... my children with the many things to do for the day
I need... a date with my husband!
I should... be doing the many left over tasks at the house
I start... to write, but seldom finish
I finish... the tasks that are the most important to me (not necessarily the most urgent!)
I am... a born again Christian who has been blessed with the most awesome husband in the world with whom I have had three fabulous children with one precious blessing on it's way from China!
I want... to live in a world that is peaceful
I wish... my children will continue to follow the Lord all of their lives
I hate... when people pass unneccesary judgement on others
I miss... the days when my children were little wee ones
I hear... singing, giggling, laughter and talking from my children
I wonder... when we will get to meet our fourth child
I regret... placing heavy weight on what others think of me
I am... not a quiet gal
I dance... crazily
I sing... and I love it - but it does not sound lovely!
I try... to be the best mon and wife I can be
I am not... always flexible and patient...a work in progress
I make... the most of my time by being very busy!
I confuse... my children with the many things to do for the day
I need... a date with my husband!
I should... be doing the many left over tasks at the house
I start... to write, but seldom finish
I finish... the tasks that are the most important to me (not necessarily the most urgent!)
Thursday, August 10, 2006
quilt letter
To our wonderful family and friends,
As many of you know, we are adopting a baby girl from China. After months of chasing paper, our dossier is complete and now in China. We hope to have our referral for our baby girl in 2007. We have decided to name her Sophia.
We are creating a 100 wishes quilt to give to our daughter when we bring her home from China. We would love good wishes and/or prayers to be included.
To welcome and celebrate a new life, a tradition exists in the Northern part of China, to make a bai jia bei (100 wishes quilt) to welcome and celebrate a new life. It is custom that the family and friends contribute squares of cloth along with their wish for the baby. The quilt is then passed on from generation to generation.
How to contribute: There are two pieces to contribute
#1 Fabric: Choose a machine washable, 100% cotton fabric. It can be new or used/meaningful. Cut an 12X12 square. We are hoping to get lots of bright colors
#2 Wish/Prayer: This is the fun part! Use an index card and glue a one inch scrap of your fabric to it with your wish for our precious Sophia. Your wish can be simple or elaborate, handwritten or typed. It can be something you wrote, a favorite poem, bible verse or quote. You can even place a picture on it if you wish! Please remember to include your name on it. These wishes/prayers will be put into a album for our little girl to cherish forever.
All of the notes will be put into an album and when we look through it we will be able to match up the wish and the fabric on the quilt.
If you have more than one person in your family who would like to participate, PLEASE feel free to send more than one quilt block and prayer/wish. Remember, we need to collect 100 squares, so the more the better. Children are welcome to be contributors to this project!
We know that you all have busy schedules, but we hope you will be able to help us create this special keepsake to help preserve some of the Chinese culture for our daughter. This will be so incredibly meaningful to us as well as to Sophia as she gets older.
Love always,
Adam, Lisa, Savannah, Tyler and Brayden Hopp
As many of you know, we are adopting a baby girl from China. After months of chasing paper, our dossier is complete and now in China. We hope to have our referral for our baby girl in 2007. We have decided to name her Sophia.
We are creating a 100 wishes quilt to give to our daughter when we bring her home from China. We would love good wishes and/or prayers to be included.
To welcome and celebrate a new life, a tradition exists in the Northern part of China, to make a bai jia bei (100 wishes quilt) to welcome and celebrate a new life. It is custom that the family and friends contribute squares of cloth along with their wish for the baby. The quilt is then passed on from generation to generation.
How to contribute: There are two pieces to contribute
#1 Fabric: Choose a machine washable, 100% cotton fabric. It can be new or used/meaningful. Cut an 12X12 square. We are hoping to get lots of bright colors
#2 Wish/Prayer: This is the fun part! Use an index card and glue a one inch scrap of your fabric to it with your wish for our precious Sophia. Your wish can be simple or elaborate, handwritten or typed. It can be something you wrote, a favorite poem, bible verse or quote. You can even place a picture on it if you wish! Please remember to include your name on it. These wishes/prayers will be put into a album for our little girl to cherish forever.
All of the notes will be put into an album and when we look through it we will be able to match up the wish and the fabric on the quilt.
If you have more than one person in your family who would like to participate, PLEASE feel free to send more than one quilt block and prayer/wish. Remember, we need to collect 100 squares, so the more the better. Children are welcome to be contributors to this project!
We know that you all have busy schedules, but we hope you will be able to help us create this special keepsake to help preserve some of the Chinese culture for our daughter. This will be so incredibly meaningful to us as well as to Sophia as she gets older.
Love always,
Adam, Lisa, Savannah, Tyler and Brayden Hopp
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
OUR MIRACLE DAY!!!!
What were you doing on August 7, 2006 at exactly 11:47am? I can tell you that I was at Target with my boys completely unaware of the miracle going on across the world. It was at that exact time that our dossier arrive in China. Now we are officially DTC! We are one step closer to holding our sweet Sophia and bringing her home to a forever family to call her own. As we opened the letter we cried and cried and Adam made a comment that it was exactly the same excitement that we had as we saw each positive pregnancy test. We feel pregnant with this little baby - our hearts are already with her and we love her beyond measure. We feel so fortunate and blessed to know that in the near future we will have our precious baby girl in our arms forever!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
WE ARE DTC AUGUST 1st!!!!
Ok all of the sweat and tears and agony and calling Fed Ex with various tracking numbers has finally paid off. We mailed all of our last documents to Americans Adopting Orphans. We feel so blessed at this wonderful miracle that God has blessed us with. Already, although we do not know what Sophia looks like or what her little personality will be, we sense the fact that she is out far far away in China waiting for her mommy and daddy to come and bring her home to be with her forever family! We already love Sophia. Many would never understand this, but the wonder and love we have for Sophie stems from God's call on our lives.
Many have asked have asked us why we are adopting. We look like we have our hands full (the other day a woman from church stopped me and saw me and my children and asked me if I run a day care). I had to laugh, as all she saw was my little angels! It made me think of the very moment that God vividly revealed His plan for us. Adam and I were at a Steven Curtis Chapman concert and watched a music video that had screens that displayed children who were homeless and without forever families. I cried and cried and asked God what I could do. He planted a seed that night and this seed has been planted and ha began to bloom. After telling Adam about this call, he felt totally overwhelmed and was not ready to jump like I was (much like most things in our life). At this moment from October 2004 to now, I prayed. I prayed like I have never prayed before. I asked that God would make us like minded or that He would make it obvious that adoption was not for us. We talked infrequently generally about adoption, but never with any conclusion until April 2006 when Adam and I were on the couch just talking. He turned to me and pretty much out of the blue told me that he was ready. Ready for what? He was ready to adopt our baby girl from China!!!!!! I cried! I laughed! We hugged and embraced for a VERY long time. God is so good. He has taught me patience as well. But look at what He has done! Look at what He continues to do! Our children are so excited and already debating who gets to hold Sophia first.
Being DTC is a huge hurdle to get through as we are one step closer to meeting our daughter. We love you so much Sophie!!!!
Many have asked have asked us why we are adopting. We look like we have our hands full (the other day a woman from church stopped me and saw me and my children and asked me if I run a day care). I had to laugh, as all she saw was my little angels! It made me think of the very moment that God vividly revealed His plan for us. Adam and I were at a Steven Curtis Chapman concert and watched a music video that had screens that displayed children who were homeless and without forever families. I cried and cried and asked God what I could do. He planted a seed that night and this seed has been planted and ha began to bloom. After telling Adam about this call, he felt totally overwhelmed and was not ready to jump like I was (much like most things in our life). At this moment from October 2004 to now, I prayed. I prayed like I have never prayed before. I asked that God would make us like minded or that He would make it obvious that adoption was not for us. We talked infrequently generally about adoption, but never with any conclusion until April 2006 when Adam and I were on the couch just talking. He turned to me and pretty much out of the blue told me that he was ready. Ready for what? He was ready to adopt our baby girl from China!!!!!! I cried! I laughed! We hugged and embraced for a VERY long time. God is so good. He has taught me patience as well. But look at what He has done! Look at what He continues to do! Our children are so excited and already debating who gets to hold Sophia first.
Being DTC is a huge hurdle to get through as we are one step closer to meeting our daughter. We love you so much Sophie!!!!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Our Journey to Sophia Mei
Today marks a VERY exciting day in our process of adoption Sophia from China. We got the email from our agency that told us that they had finally gotten all of our paperwork and that we will be in the August 2006 batch of dossiers that are going to be sent to China. It seems that this paperchase would never end and it did! I just hope that the wait for Sophia goes as quickly. With the kids, it seems that life is busy and as a family we will be busy getting the baby's room ready and engaging in activities that will bring us closer to the culture that our new baby will bring into our family. I wonder what Sophia will look like and what her little personality will be. We talked and thought of the wonderful day that we get our referral and see our beautiful daughter. She could very well be born now. It is hard to say. A lot will depend on China and the time that it will take to process referrals. Right now the wait is at least 12 months. We are praying for the right time when the baby God hand picked for us is ready for us to bring her home. The wait, not matter how long is well worth the glory of spending our lives with this beautiful baby girl that we will call Sophie (short for Sophia). God is good. Today the excitement is that of the way I felt when the pregnancy test was positive for my children. We are officially "adoption pregnant"! :)
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
2nd trimester of adoption!
Today was a wonderful day in the process of bringing Sophia home! We have two remaining documents that needed authentications, and today we called Fed Ex, and they confirmed that both forms are to be to our Adoption Agency by Wednesday, July 25th. This means that as of tomorrow, Wednesday July 25th we are oficially DONE with the paperchase and now on to the 2nd phase of waiting to bring Sophia home! What a blessing! We could never have done this without the Lord and His hand on our lives. He is so good to us and merciful. It is exciting to know that He plans to grow our family through the miracle of adoption. We know that we have so much to thank and praise God for. Looks like we have gotten through the first trimester of adoption. Now we are feeling better and our energy is higher! Sophia, mommy and daddy can not wait to bring you home. We love you!
ADOPTION LINGO
Adoption glossary
Here you will find some adoption terms that are often used in the adoption community.
Dossier
This is a very large set of documents that the adoptive couple puts together requesting a child from China. The dossier includes a home study (written by a social worker), medical reports, marriage certificates, birth cirtificates, police clearances, employment verication letters, financial statement, FBI fingerprints, and numerous other documents and photos.
CCAA
The China Center of Adoption Affairs. This office is located in China, and is the place where our dossier was sent, logged-in, reviewed, and eventually where a match to our little girl will be made.
DTC
Dossier (documents) to China. This is the date that our dossier left the United States on its way to the CCAA in China.
LID
Log in Date. This is the actual date the the CCAA logged in our dossier. This is the date that the CCAA uses to eventually review dossiers, then match them with children. People with similar LIDs are grouped together for the review and matching processes.
Referral
This is the notification from the CCAA that they have matched us with a child. The referral usually includes the child's Chinese name, date of birth, weight, height, a medical report, photographs, and some notes about the child's disposition. Aside from actually travelling to China, the referral is the day that families most anticipate.
Here you will find some adoption terms that are often used in the adoption community.
Dossier
This is a very large set of documents that the adoptive couple puts together requesting a child from China. The dossier includes a home study (written by a social worker), medical reports, marriage certificates, birth cirtificates, police clearances, employment verication letters, financial statement, FBI fingerprints, and numerous other documents and photos.
CCAA
The China Center of Adoption Affairs. This office is located in China, and is the place where our dossier was sent, logged-in, reviewed, and eventually where a match to our little girl will be made.
DTC
Dossier (documents) to China. This is the date that our dossier left the United States on its way to the CCAA in China.
LID
Log in Date. This is the actual date the the CCAA logged in our dossier. This is the date that the CCAA uses to eventually review dossiers, then match them with children. People with similar LIDs are grouped together for the review and matching processes.
Referral
This is the notification from the CCAA that they have matched us with a child. The referral usually includes the child's Chinese name, date of birth, weight, height, a medical report, photographs, and some notes about the child's disposition. Aside from actually travelling to China, the referral is the day that families most anticipate.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Our Journey to Sophia
MAILING LIKE A CRAZY MAMA
Today, oh what a day! We have been waiting on two forms to come back, one that is from Adam's employer to verify his employment. His company had it notarized incorrectly twice and this was the third letter that needed to be authenticated so we were really nervous. We sent this form off to Florida (all forms MUST be authenticated in the state that they origniated in) and got it back today. Our authentications are two step - the first step is to send the notarized copy to the state office and the second step is to send the form off to the Chinese Consulate. After getting the employee from back from the state, we quickly went to Fed Ex and sent the form to the Consulate. They will be authenticating the form and then sending it directly to Americans Adopting Orphans for our dossier. When we got home from mailing the letter, another Fed Ex envelope was at our door!!!!!!! We peeled the sticky tape off and found a priceless jewel - our last - our final - our beloved 171H form that had been authenticated at the state level and was also ready for the Consulate to authenticate!!! So today marks the start to the end. Rather today marks the start to the beginning. We can finally breathe a sigh of relief. We have completed victoriously, the paperchase and now we enter the extended wait for our precious girl. Thinking that she may be ready to be born, or actually born already is almost too awesome of a thought. It is interesting how our focus went from getting forms filled and filed to now the wait for our daughter that was meant to be in our family from the beginning of time. We feel so blessed that God planted this seed of adoption, because we now know and feel the void in our home that only our baby Sophie will fill. Looking at our family's picture last Christmas, we wonder when Sophie will be here to celebrate the magic with us!!!!
A poem for our girl:
We wait in silence to hear your sweet cry
We wait and wonder
We wait and seek the wisdom of others
We wait, knowing God has handpicked you for us
We wait, knowing by you, our family will be complete
We wait, knowing that a piece is missing and wanting you near
We wait, praying for God to protect you
We wait, asking the Lord to bring people to love you
We wait, and we miss you although we have never met you
We wait, as every second ticks by and the countdown begins
We wait and we love you and we ponder the day
that our wait will be no more and you, Sophia are in our arms.
We love you baby girl!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
I could not have said it better
I read this today and it made me cry. It has the lovely words that truly show the beauty of adoption and the love that we have for our daughter.
LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD
Once there were two women, who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call mother.
Two different lives, shaped to make yours one.
One became your guiding star; the other became your sun.
The first gave you life, and the second taught you to live in it.
The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality; the other gave you a name.
One gave you the seed of talent; the other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions; the other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile; the other dried your tears.
One gave you up; it was all that she could do.
The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me, through your tears,
The age old question., through the years;
Heredity or environment - Which are you the product of?
Both, my darling, just two different kinds of love.
Author Unknown.
LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD
Once there were two women, who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call mother.
Two different lives, shaped to make yours one.
One became your guiding star; the other became your sun.
The first gave you life, and the second taught you to live in it.
The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality; the other gave you a name.
One gave you the seed of talent; the other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions; the other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile; the other dried your tears.
One gave you up; it was all that she could do.
The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me, through your tears,
The age old question., through the years;
Heredity or environment - Which are you the product of?
Both, my darling, just two different kinds of love.
Author Unknown.
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