Still no LOA

So we are 64 days post DTC and not LID and no LOA either. We've purchased a bed, a mattress, crib sheets, a car seat and a stroller. We've gotten boxes of clothing from other people so we are ready to go. Now all we need is our daughter.

The one thing we still need to get is a baby/toddler carrier. I've found the one I want but it's going to be a while before we buy it.

This wait is driving me crazy!

The Wait

This wait is killing me. I want to go and get my child now. Not in 4 months. She's sitting there, staring at walls when she could be here learning and growing and bonding. It's making me crazy. I have never been good at waiting and this is testing my limits.

Waiting stinks.

Update on Progress

So our dossier is in China. It seems as though magick is at work for us. Our USCIS paperwork was in hand 7 days after the fingerprinting was done! That's a record for our state. Might be a record for the US. But we are currently waiting for a log in date and I'm beginning to get antsy. I want my child. She turned 3 on Monday. No cake. No presents. No one noticed.

Our agency has had a minor shake up in that two people are moving and won't be there anymore so we are dealing with new staff. I'm glad our process is over, the paperchase part or I'd be more freaked out about it. We still need to get a CPR class done before we travel. SIGH I am not looking forward to that.

No more news to report except that we are waiting....

Homeschooling...

So as I've mentioned before we are homeschooling the boys. I've gotten some math books to help with that and we've already begun learning. Both boys balk about reading anything and so tonight I asked them to read aloud from a book of Greek Myths (santized for young minds) and Liam completely fell apart. He said he didn't like to read aloud and would not do it.

Both boys know that they are on a trial period this summer. Too much trouble from either one about something I've asked them to and I'll toss their skinny butts back in public school. So after some wrestling with Liam, I find out that he doesn't like to read out loud because it's embarrassing. More wrestling and I find out that kids in school were laughing at him for making mistakes. *SIGH* Why do kids have to be such little jerks? What is wrong with parents that they can't raise kind and compassionate children?

Anyway, after a bit of fighting, John read the first myth, Liam read the second and I read the third. Apparently not as devastating an event as he thought it might be.

Where are we in the adoption process?

We have sent our homestudy and fee to the USCIS office in Jacksonville and are waiting for them to contact us for our fingerprinting appointment. There is no telling how long that will take. It's a government agency and they do what they will do. So we wait.

We are also waiting for our passports. They are late. I need to call my congressman's office and find out what they have found out about them. It doesn't get to be a real headache until after the USCIS appointment. But the dossier can't be sent to China without them.

Our other documents are being certified and authenticated by our agency and will be ready to go once these last few pieces are in place. Then we wait for China to decide to send our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) and then the TA (Travel Approval) about three weeks later. We don't know when we will be in China yet. But it's looking like it might be over the holidays. Of course that's just a guess.

We are both impatient to go and get our daughter. She will be turning 3 on 20 Aug, and it makes me sad we won't be with her for her special day.

For the love of a child

I suppose I started this blog because of the adoption and I should write something about what it means to me. We've been thinking and talking about this for the last 6 yrs. There was always something that stood in the way or something reason not to proceed. I made promises not to blog about this adoption so I'm not going to go into everything. Those who I want to know about it already know the story.

We are all very excited about Xian Yi and this adoption and are eagerly awaiting being able to say we are DTC (Dossier to China) very soon. This adoption has proven to me that there is order and a plan to the universe and things happen for a reason. This child was born to be ours and we have been waiting for her.

I hope that you (the family) understand how difficult her transition to our family may be. She may have behaviors that persist for years after coming home. If any of you have the fantasy that she will adjust by the time the wheels of the plane hit the ground, you need to change them. She will take as long as she takes to adjust and for a while after we come home life will be orchestrated to make her as comfortable as possible.

In other news, for the love of our boys, we have decided to homeschool them. Public school is becoming increasingly liberal and it's becoming harder all the time to police what they are being taught. But more importantly we could see the public school system grinding the love of learning out of the boys and we were seeing behaviors coming from peers that we didn't like. So, we've already started. We've planted a garden with vegetables. We've ordered books and games for math and critical thinking. The boys are very excited about it and so am I. I'm also terrified. Unschooling takes some more creativity than using a curriculum but I think it's the right choice for the boys.

OK, that's the family news for this week.

Fred Thompson for President

I've added a link to how Fred Thompson voted during his stint in Washington. I can't say I agree with every vote he made but I think if you look at his record he's pretty moderate for Washington today. I hope he runs and the Republicans aren't stupid about who they nominate. I really wish both parties would practice some moderation in their nominations rather than focusing on getting the other party. They've become so focused on winning and crushing the "competion" that they have lost sight that they are playing games with human lives.

We are a two vehicle family once again

We sold the red truck today. I'm kind of sad since it was John's and it was like having a bit of him here all the time, but the proceeds will fund our adoption so that's a good thing but it's not like we needed three vehicles anyway. That's also like he had a hand in getting her home. I like to think he would have been happy about Xian Yi.

We are stil waiting for our homestudy which has yet to arrive...GRRR....but the upside is that our passports should be here in a couple of weeks. We are getting close to being done, and we know that the agency is authenticating our documents now.

Inspiration comes from everywhere

I'd like to begin collecting quotes that I find important and putting them in one spot, since I don't have much on my blog yet I thought this would be a good project. Some just touch me, others remind me of special people I know or knew. I hope these inspire you too.

Karen
PS) If you aren't mentioned here it doesn't mean you won't be eventually...


For Grim, until I met you I did not understand how brightly we can shine:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God; your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
NELSON MANDELA, inaugural speech, 1994


To NCers, my life is more open and beautiful because of you:
"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
NELSON MANDELA

For Fox, there are no words that need to be said...lym:
"Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and look up at the stars, to be satisfied with your possessions; to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness, and to fear nothing except cowardice, to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts, to covet nothing that is your neighbor's except his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends...and to spend as much time as you can, with body and with spirit. These are little guideposts on the footpath to peace.
HENRY VAN DYKE

A blog for me

I've never done this before but I've thought about it. Time I moved into the technology age I guess. This is a private blog because the information about our adoption has to remain private until Xian Yi is home. So, if you have gotten a link to this blog, enjoy it but don't share it around.

This is Xian Yi, she lives in South China just a little ways from Hong Kong. Her birthday is 20 Aug 04. We are currently waiting for our passports, homestudy and USCIS approval to be able to send our dossier to China. We hope to have her home by the Yule.