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Sunday, November 5, 2006 1:05 AM CST

Sunday, October 29, 2006 7:44 PM CST

Ni Hao from China. Sorry to not post sooner. We could not get to a computer until now.

A few minutes ago we were given a draft of our adoption decree from preview/proofing purposes. In about 45 minutes we are leaving to go get Baby O. There are no words to describe the excitement we are feeling right now. Those of you who are parents probably know how we are feeling though. Jay is trying to calm his nerves by watching some a football game on Chinese TV. Hopefully this will do the trick for him.

Our first couple of days were in Beijing. We arrived in Nanchang last night around midnight. So far the trip has been very gruelling. Over the last four days I have gotten a total of 8 hours of sleep. We are feeling pretty run down but are happy and having a good time so do not worry.

Will try to post again soon.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006 4:57 PM CDT

If I don't say it outloud, I don't think I will believe it...I am going to China TOMORROW. Can this possible be true????

I want to thank everyone for their support during our long journey to Baby O. There is no doubt that I lost my mind a few times. I was very lucky to have you all there to get me through. THANK YOU.

I look forward to introducing all of you to Baby O when we get back. In the meantime, if it is possible to access this site while in China I will attempt to post a few notes. If you are really lucky, I will get a photo or two uploaded.

-Korrie Sue (aka Mama)

Sunday, October 22, 2006 12:40 AM CDT

The fact that I am going to meet my daughter this week is completly blowing my mind. I am excited to the point where I almost can't function. I have the suitcases packed and have a list of things that absolutely MUST get done before we leave (such as wrapping up several work projects) but I can't seem to make any progress. Please send clarity vibes my way so that I can plow through this last minute stuff.

Saturday, October 21, 2006 7:48 PM CDT

We certianly had a busy Saturday today.

We started by going to the copy shop to make 5 copies of our passports and visas. Then we hit the bank to get a few forms notorized. We did not know whether to fill in Baby O's chinese names or her American name so just to be safe we did each form twice.

After that we split up. Jay went to the drug store for meds that we want to bring along. I went to meijer to the rest of the goodies for the gift bags we have been told we need to bring for various officials.

Later we met back at home and washed all of the items that still are not packed. Jay checked the whether and it is supposed to be pretty warm while we are there. I think I have decided not to bring Baby O's snowsuit. Please pray that I don't regret this decision.

Sleep tight tonight baby girl. Mama and Baba are almost there.

Thursday, October 5, 2006 2:06 PM CDT

We finally recieved our China Travel Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrive in Beijing.

Day 2/3 - Sightseeing in Beijing which may include the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall. shopping time.

Evening Day 3 - Flight to Province where Baby O lives. When we arrive, our guide will inform us as to when we will see our daughter. It may be that same evening or the following morning!!!

Day 4-8, 2006 - Processing paperwork in Nanchang.

Day 9, 2006 - Flight to Guangzhou.

Day 10, 2006 - Appointment with the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou

Day 11, 2006 - 2nd visit the U.S. Embassy for our ceremony and receipt of your daughter's visa to enter the United States.

Day 12, 2006 - Our guide will take our family of 3 to the airport fly to the U.S.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 3:05 PM CDT

Drum roll please…………We have plane tickets!

We will be heading to China at the end of October and returning as a family of 3 during the beginning of November. Can you believe it?

Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:25 AM CDT

Another hurdle has been sucessfully conquored...Our travel approval has arrived!

Our agency has requested a consulate appointment between Nov 3-7th. If their request is granted, we would leave for China between October 22 - 27th. I will know by early next week whether the request was granted. At that point, I will be able to determine our exact travel dates and book our plane tickets.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 10:03 AM CDT

Rumor Alert! An agency has told their families that China has mailed the travel approvals for families that received their referrals on August 25th (that IS the day we got our referral). This means that we could be on a plane headed towards our little girl in just a couple of days. Of course this all hinges on whether or not our agency is able to get an appointment at the American Consulate in China. These appointments are tough to get so our travel dates will hinge around when they have an opening. Please send good vibes to their appointment schedulers so that our little girl’s wait for a family can end quickly!!!

Monday, September 11, 2006 11:52 AM CDT

I spent 40 minutes at the Post Office today trying to mail a care package to our precious baby. It will be worth every minute if it gets to her. We sent her photos of her new mama and baba, her crib, her toys, and her kitties. We also included a blankie, a rattle, a treat for her caregiver, and two disposable cameras so that her caregiver can take some pictures of our daughter and the things she spent her first year with. I also tucked in some questions in an attempt to find out a little bit more information.

It is hard to believe it has been 16 days since we received our referral. I had heard before that all the pain of waiting instantly melts away when you get that picture. In fact, I had heard this so often that I felt like punching the next person who dared to utter those words. Funny thing is, it turns out they were right completely right. This little girl has completely lit up my life.

Many people have asked when we are leaving to go get our daughter. Unfortunately we don’t know. We are at the mercy of two governments for this. Currently we are waiting for China to send us a travel approval letter that allows to enter the country. After that, we can call the US Consulate in China to schedule an appointment for our daughter. Our travel dates will revolve around when we can get an appointment. We could be traveling as early as next week or as late as November.


PS. I posted a new photo today. It is pretty blurry but we think it was taken when she was just a day old.

Friday, August 25, 2006 1:28 PM CDT

10:25am - After 13 months and 3 weeks of paper-pregnancy, Korrie and Jay (soon to be known as Mama and Baba) would like to introduce Yu Er Feng. Her birthdate is December 15th, 2005.
Last time she was weighed, she was at 15lbs. She is said to like music and books. Her caretaker also says she is obstinate at times. We are over the moon!

10:23am – Nothing.

10:21am – Just checked the July families rumor site again. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. If I stare at my phone hard enough, will it ring? I just checked the volume of my ringer. I think I had it on as high as it would go but now I am wondering if I am confused and have it on the lowest setting. I better compromise and set it in the middle.

10:19am – Nothing new posted on the July families rumor site. Nothing in my email. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. This is so crazy. I have checked to make sure that my phone is hung up but I am thinking of having someone call me to test but I don’t want to tie up the phone line. Wonder what Jay is thinking. Wonder if he will email to find out what is happening. There has to be something going on under that cool exterior of his.

10:16am – Nothing yet. I don’t know if I should start working myself back down from this frenzy or not. One of the other families at our agency who will be getting their referral at the same time as us called our agency at 9:50 and found out that the DHL truck had not come yet. What a day for the truck to be late! Wondering when we should call again. Perhaps 10:30….13 minutes away.

Friday, August 25, 2006 6:36 AM CDT

I made it through the night. Jay slept like a baby. I didn't get in a single wink but I laid very still. That should count for something shouldn't it? It is going to be very ugly if our referral does not come and I have to sit at work for 8 hours without having had any sleep.

Speaking of work...I am at work now. The ringer on my phone is turned up high and I have my camcorder set up so that if THE CALL should come in, it will be captured on film.

Bring it on Mr. DHL Delivery Man. I'm ready!

Thursday, August 24, 2006 9:26 PM CDT

One of the gals in my group at our adoption agency spoke with our rep and was told that our agency checked with DHL and a package is scheduled to be delivered to our agency tomorrow morning. The package originated in China. This package could be anything including OUR REFERRAL.

Jay is trying to be very calm but he keeps slipping up and showing little signs of excitement. He wants me to continue gaurding my heart in case our referral does not actually arrive tomorrow. To late...I have already completely lost it. I spent my evening doing frantic last minute things. First I went to the store to find last minute things I wanted to add into our daughters care package. Then I came home and sewed a stuffed goldfish for her. Then I read the camcorder manual so that I would know how to capture the big moment on film. Of course, in between all that activity I have been rushing back and forth to the computer to check for rumors and referrals.

So far there have been quite a few families who have posted referrals. There have been quite a few suprises in this batch too. One family was referred a boy, another got twins, and a third recieved a 4.5 year old. Who knows, we may be in for a big suprise too!

Thursday, August 24, 2006 2:37 PM CDT

STORK ALERT...He is not at our agency yet...However, gals from 3 separate agencies have posted that they just got THE CALL and are now on their way to pick up their daughter's files. I can hardly type. This took like 10 minutes to type. I am shaking like crazy.

Jay says I need to get a grip because I need to pick him up in an hour.

Aunt Kristie says, "Holy Guacaomle!"

Thursday, August 24, 2006 11:22 AM CDT

This email just came in from our social worker and I think my heart rate just shot through the roof.

"Hi there, Checking in on you again. We hope to get your referral very soon. There are many rumors out there as I am sure you have seen. It may be mailed this week yet or next week sometime.....but you are now at the end of your wait. Thanks so much for your patience. I will call you immediately when that little face comes across my desk. Talk to you soon!"

I asked Jay if he was excited and he said, "WELL YEA!".

Monday, August 21, 2006 2:20 PM CDT

Today's rumor is that there is going to be a new rumor on Friday.

You know things are getting bad when mamas-in-waiting turn to writing cheesey adoption poetry. For your amusement, here is one of my faves...

Today the rumors are hazy,
The man in my life thinks I’m crazy.
I sit and I stare at the monitor’s glare,
Some might think I was lazy.
My workload is heavy, my house is a mess,
Will someone just give me an educated guess?
I sit and I wait,
Don’t care if I’m late,
PLEASE, just give me a date!

Thursday, August 10, 2006 10:28 AM CDT

I have been making googly eyes at the ridicously expensive Bugaboo stroller for some time now. It comes in pink, red, orange, yellow, etc. So pretty! Anyhow, I finally worked up the courage to ask my magic 8 ball if I was going to get it. The answer…UNLIKELY. What it really should have read was, “over Jay’s dead body”. So, I guess it is time to get real and go shopping for a stroller with a more realistic price. There are two Bugaboo knock-offs out on the market. One is sold at Target and the other is sold at Babies’R’Us. Now I need to ask my magic 8 ball if there is any chance of getting Jay to go check these out with me.

Thursday, August 3, 2006 10:28 AM CDT

As you probably know, I have been bugging my darling husband for months and months to talk about baby names. He has steadfastly maintained that he did not want to address the topic until we had a picture of our sweet daughter. Well, out of the blue today he sent me an email that asked what I thought about a specific name he liked. Well…I loved it so much that I got goose bumps and tears in my eyes. What I am trying to say here is that I think we have finally picked out a name. However, you are going to have to wait to find out what it is until we see her picture and can make certain that the name is a good fit. I have to say, it is quite a relief to have a name picked out. I’m off to doodle her name on a notepad a million times. Talk to you later.

Wednesday, August 2, 2006 7:55 AM CDT

Our adoption agency called this morning to tell us that we are getting our referral at the end of this month (August). She is predicting we will be in China at the end of October/beginning of November.

To see some of the sweeties who were referred in July click on this link:
http://www.julydragonflies.com/Referrals/babies1.htm

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 12:01 AM CDT

I consulted my magic 8-ball this morning. When I asked if I was going to see my daughters face this month the 8-ball said..."so it shall be".

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 7:05 AM CDT

Today's word is that one of the big European adoption agencies has stated that referrals were mailed today and the cut-off will be 7/13. Are you sensing the see-saw aspect of this all? Three days ago I thought we had no chance of making it this round. Yesterday I thought we had a very good chance. Today I am back to thinking we have no chance.

At least I will be able to sleep tonight. Last night, when I thought we had a chance, it took a lot of work to get my brain to shut down so that I would sleep.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 7:11 AM CDT

More rumors….There are two really good rumors, but both from only one person so I would not say they have a lot of credibility. One of the rumors says that an agency is telling their 7/27 people they will be included this time. The other good rumor says that a different agency is telling their 7/20 people they will be included in this upcoming referral batch. If either of these rumors come true….we will get our referral in a couple of days.

Of course the earlier rumor I posted still says that the cut off for the upcoming referral batch will be 7/13. Sadly, this rumor is coming from multiple sources who have given trustworthy information in the past. I just not prepared to write it in stone just yet….I guess I still have hope but I’m going to try really hard to not set myself up for heartbreak either.

They better send out those referrals soon or the suspense is going to kill me.

Friday, July 14, 2006 8:31 AM CDT

The rumor mill has taken a bad turn....a European agency that is usally a good source of rumors has told their families that the cut off for this round of referrals will be July 13th, 2005. Of course our paperwork is dated July 15th so...if this rumor is true we won't make it into this month's batch. I know this is just a rumor and that we still might make it, but I can't help shedding a few tears of dissapointment.

I must repeat 100 times today: I AM going to be a mommy. I AM going to be a mommy. I AM going to be a mommy...

Tuesday, July 11, 2006 12:59 AM CDT

The referral rumor machine is hard at work and it appears to be saying that we may see our referral at the end of this month. YES, I said THIS month. Don’t get ecstatic just yet, I have no idea of the original source or quality of this rumor. But, as best I can tell, they are saying that July is a definite possibility. I’d like to dance around the room but I am afraid I will appear very foolish tomorrow when the referral rumor machine reverses course and says that July is defiantly NOT a possibility....and Jay wonders why I can't sleep at night anymore.

Thursday, June 22, 2006 7:17 AM CDT

The big silver stork is in the air with referrals for families who got their paperwork to China before June 29th 2005. Our paperwork arrived in China on July 15th, 2005.

The stork is expected to fly again at the end of July 2006. There is a good chance we will be included in the July batch. As usual, nothing is certain.

Typically, travel to China occurs 1-3 months after referral has been received. October travel is unlikely because almost the entire month of October is a Holiday in China.

That is all I know for today.

Monday, June 19, 2006 7:23 AM CDT

Jay was out of town this weekend so I hit the garage sales Saturday morning. I found the most lovely Chinese baby doll at a garage sale. I was carrying her around looking at other items when the owner of the house excitedly exclained, "Your buying Mei Wah!". Curious abotu how she came to own the doll, I asked her if she had an Asian daughter. She said she did not and that her daughter and won $100 in a raffle when she was young and had choose to spend her money to buy Mei Wah. I told her to tell her daughter that I was adopting a baby girl from China and that the doll was going to be perfect for us and that Mei Wah would have a good home. The lady went away for a few minutes and then came back and said I could have the doll for free as her gift to my new daughter. Isn't that sweet? I was blown away by her kindness.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 12:53 AM CDT

As usual, I have been day dreaming about the day when I will meet my daughter for the first time. Thinking about this reminded me of one of the other big days in my life…the day Jay and I got married. As most of you know, we eloped in Nashville. Our wedding ceremony took place around 2pm. That morning, Jay and I ate a breakfast of chocolate milk and Krispy Crème doughnuts. A little later I got my hair and makeup done. After that we still had a few hours to go, so we went to a park and sat on a bench to watch ducks swim around in a pond. We were both so overwhelmed by what was about to happen that we could hardly speak. I don’t think we were particularly scared. We were just in awe of the moment. During the ceremony I remember Jay squeezed my hands for reassurance and we both shed some happy tears. I am betting that many of the same feelings/emotions will be running through my body when I meet my daughter for the first time.

Friday, June 9, 2006 11:15 AM CDT

Tick Tick Tick…There are two things I am thinking about to keep me busy.

1. I am looking for freezer meal recipes. I was thinking I would make a bunch up and stick them in the freezer. That way, when we get back I won’t have to worry about dinner for a while. If you have any recipes, send them along.

2. What should I bring with meeting where we will see and receive our daughter for the first time? What should I wear? Now, I know what you are thinking….she isn’t going to care what I am wearing because she will only be about 1 year old. I agree with that. However, it want to wear something that will feel soft and soothing to her so that when I hold her I will feel comforting. I was also thinking that maybe if I wore a beaded necklace would it would be interesting to her. As far as what to bring along, I hear that it is good to have some snacks and little toys handy to ‘buy’ her affection with if she absolutely is hysterical about going with us. I’m not sure what else. I am going to have to think some more about this one.

Thursday, May 25, 2006 3:13 PM CDT

We are officialy at the TOP of the list. Every family that applied before us and is using our adoption agency has been matched. There is no one in front of us. The next time our adoption agency recieves referrals it will be for us.

Now, to put that into perspective for you....the next batch of referrals is likely to arrive at our agency anytime between the next 30 days and the next 6 months. So, lots more waiting to do.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 6:37 AM CDT

Looks like Baby O is not going to make it home to her mama and papa this summer. Things continue to creep forward at a snails pace. The big silver stork is in the air right now and this time he is carrying matches for the families who sent their paperwork to China between June 7,2005 and June,15 2005. If things continue at this pace we will be matched in September and will travel to China to recieve our daughter in November. Looks like I had better pick up a snow suit.

Friday, May 5, 2006 1:51 PM CDT

Last weekend Jay and I trooped to the immigration offices in Kentwood to be re-fingerprinted because our fingerprints are due to expire soon. Now, I know what you are thinking...fingerprints are permanant, how can they expire??? Well, I don't know the answer to that question but I do know that we were required to pay another $140, wait in line, and have our fingers pressed onto the glass plate of a large machine.

We are slowly getting closer to the big day. Family who sent their paperwork in before June 7th have been matched. Our paperwork was logged in on July 15th.

Friday, April 21, 2006 9:27 AM CDT

This month I did a ‘parenting test run’. I stayed with my nieces, Brooke and Lauren for a weekend while their parents were in Florida. I am happy to report that all went well. We played lots of games including ‘right-side-up monkey’ and ‘obstacle course’. There were no fires and no trips to the ER. Amazingly, the whole weekend was completely tear free and I went home without any premature hair loss. I might make a good parent after all.

Thursday, April 6, 2006 7:37 AM CDT

As you can probably tell by the tone of my last few posts, things have slowed down immensely with the Chinese government’s adoption process. Some say it is because number of families who sent their paperwork to China last May was huge. Some say it is because domestic adoption in China is on the rise. Others say it is because of a baby trafficing scandal in the city of Hengyang that was reported on the front page of the Washington Post a few weeks ago. It is thought that because of this incident, the Chinese government has slowed/stopped making matches and is scrutinizing the files of every baby in every orphanage. I think it is great that they are being so careful, but I feel bad for the babies who must wait longer for families and for the families who must wait longer for babies.

As a fellow mom-to-be said…You can imagine a pregnant lady goes to see her doctor. Doc tells her, "Well miss, looks like things have slowed down. We are changing your due date from April to sometime in July, maybe August." What???

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 2:22 PM CST

I haven’t given up hope but I have to tell you that all this waiting has mentally exhausted me. Another soon-to-be mom pointed out to me today that it isn’t the wait that is driving everyone crazy it is the uncertainty and the instability caused by the uncertainty. I am a planner by nature and right now I have no clue how to plan anything in my life. For example, Jay normally likes to attend several out of state events every summer. So I am sitting here wondering if we should book hotel rooms or if we should skip it. Also, Jay has gotten several very good offers for out of state shows during the summer months. Should he turn the offers down and disappoint his fellow band mates or should he accept the offers? What if he accepts the offers and then has to cancel? This would make the band look very bad.

Life can not stand still indefinitely. It just won't work and it is making me a bit crazy. I know that at this point I need to get on with life as normal. So, how do you do that when there is no telling which way the wind will blow?

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 3:35 PM CST

As I sit here I find myself being happy and frustrated at the same time. I find myself searching for the least bit of information that will give me hope that a referral is coming soon. One of my colleagues asked me today when we are leaving for China, I told her that today was a bad day to think about it. This process has taxed even my most patient soul. My brain understands the process and respects the time the Chinese government takes to match families. My heart wants to go! I try to imagine a little girl sitting in a crib somewhere in China, dressed in five layers of clothing, who has no idea what changes are about to enter her life. That she is moving to a country where many different languages are spoken, and that she will be loved for the precious gift that she is. Will she like pink? Will she enjoy riding bicycles with her parents? I want to take photos of her building a sandcastle on our favorite beach. I want to see her awake in the morning, watch her fall asleep at night and kiss her knee when she scrapes it on the sidewalk. I want to hear the words Mama and Baba. I want to see her face when she tries Nutella for the first time, and have her learn how plants grow in a garden. So much to do. So much.

-A future adoptive parent

Tuesday, March 7, 2006 1:19 PM CST

I spoke to our adoption agency today. I phoned because our FBI fingerprints are likely to expire before we travel and I wanted to figure out the proper procedure for getting re-fingerprinted (This is required). We discussed finger printing briefly and then our facilitator said, "Spring is coming and soon your referral will too". This was music to my ears.

If you would like to see some photos of babies that were matched to families in May please click on the following link:
http://www.geocities.com/meidreams2005/referrals.html

Monday, March 6, 2006 6:16 AM CST

The following message appeared on the website of the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs this morning:

"The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before July 31, 2005."

The Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs is the Chinese government department that process all adoptions in China. Our paperwork was registered with them on July 15, 2005.

Thursday, March 2, 2006 6:39 AM CST

Other families who had their paperwork logged in during the same timeframe as ours have received word from their adoption agency directors that July families (that is us!) have officially left the review room and are in
the matching room. I can hardly believe it.

This means that we have between 1-3 months left before we recieve a picture of our daughter. I must go sit down now, my mind is beginning to spin with extreme excitement.

Friday, February 24, 2006 12:08 AM CST

I am breathless with excitement right now because the stork is in the air again. I know we are included in this batch but we are getting so close! My current prediction is that we are 2 or 3 batches away from seeing our daughter’s picture. That means that it could happen either at the end of April or the end of May.

Happy travels Mr. Stork.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006 1:23 PM CST

There are lots of RUMORS swirling around right now. Word has it that the stork is on the launching pad and is holding referrals for the rest of the May families. The files for June families are all in the matching room and the matching process will start on March 1st. July families (that includes us!) have been reviewed and are waiting to go into the matching room. August families are currently under review.

I am starting to get pretty nervous. I know I have all my ducks in a row but I keep running over my plans in my head again and again trying to make sure there is no detail I have missed. Do I have all our paperwork in order? Does my packing list have everything we are going to need on it? Have I picked out appropriate gifts for those who are going to help us in China? Do I know the right things to do to comfort our daughter during the difficult transition? On and on the list goes…

Monday, February 13, 2006 3:35 PM CST

I think we are making progress. There is a definite possibility that our paperwork has moved out of the review room and into the matching room in China. I don’t have official confirmation of this but this is what I do know….

Our paperwork was logged in on July, 15th 2005. A family whose paperwork was logged in on July 26th told me that they got a call today from China saying that something about their paperwork was out of order. The government agency in China that handles adoption has a reputation for being very orderly and processing things according to date so I am assuming that since did not get a call, our paperwork (which has an earlier date) has passed through review without any problems.

Monday, February 6, 2006 3:11 PM CST

Just thought I'd share that that China is now officially reviewing the paperwork of families who sent their packets to China in July! After review, our file will move into the 'matching room.' We are really getting close now!

Friday, February 3, 2006 8:26 AM CST

I have to tell you about my little slice of fun….

Yesterday I was feeling glum so I decided to pop into a store that sells baby clothes during my lunch hour. They were having a fun promotion that involved rolling a pair of dice. If you rolled a ‘9’ on the dice then you got 90% off your purchases. Guess what I rolled???? If you guess ‘9’ you are right. This meant that I was able to purchase 5 outfits that should have cost at least $20 each for just $2 each. Now that just might be the best deal I ever got!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006 2:17 PM CST

Your invited…

In February, our adoption agency we will be having a meeting for the family and friends of future adoptive families. The purpose of the meeting will be to answer any questions or concerns about the adoption process, as well as talk about what friends and families can be doing to support the adoptive parents. It will take place on Thursday, February 16 from 7 - 8:30pm in the Meeting Room at Adoption Associates.

Monday, January 9, 2006 11:40 AM CST

Jay and I started Mandarin class over the weekend. So far we learned the alphabet, the tones, and about 5 words. Needless to say we have a long way to go.

Mandarin is an interesting language for many reasons. All words are 1 sylabal. Every word has multiple meanings depending on which tone of voice you use when you say the word. For example:

"Ma" said in first tone means 'sesame'
"Ma" said in second tone means 'ma ma'
"Ma" said in thrid tone means 'horse'
"Ma" said in forth tone means 'curse'

As you can imagine this is a bit tricky.

After class Jay and I went out for Chinese food and practiced our new words on the waitress. To my suprise she seemed to understand. Yippie!

Saturday, December 31, 2005 7:38 AM CST

Six months ago our precious dossier for the adoption of
Baby O. was logged into the China Center for Adoptions
Affairs in Beijing. When we began this journey we were expecting to receive our referral in January or Februray 2006, but, as you know, there has been a slight slowdown at CCAA due to an increase in the number of adoption applications so we are now hoping for an April 2006 referral. The good news is that we're already 6 months into
our wait and it's been a productive 6 months for us.

It's been 6 months of hoping... hoping that our daughter, who is most likely already born, is safe, loved, fed, loved, comforted, loved, healthy, and loved. We hope that she is happy and cared for. We hope everyday that she is thriving and pray that someone is watching over her until we can get to China to bring her home.

It's been 6 months of worrying... worrying about internet rumors, avian flu, baby selling, delays at CCAA... worrying whether we'll be good enough parents, about attachment, racial issues, our daughter's self-esteem and cultural heritage.. worrying that we can't be there for the first few months of her life. We worry about her everyday and pray that someone is watching over her until we can get to China
to bring her home.

It's been 5 months of dreaming...dreaming about her eyes, her little lips, her black hair, her dark eyes, and her smile... dreaming about her personality. Will she be playful, active and mischievous or will she be quiet, contemplative, and sedate or will she be all of the above? We're dreaming of her present and her future. Will she
be a Nobel Prize winner in physics or will she be a Supreme Court Justice? Or maybe she'll be an artist or a farmer? We dream of her everyday and night and pray that someone is watching over her until we can get to China to bring her home.

It's also been 6 months of preparing... preparing for a new baby in our previously childfree home... preparing the nursery, the playroom, childproofing the house and the pool... preparing ourselves with CPR classes, first aid classes and parenting classes... preparing by reading every book available on adoption, race, attachment, and raising children. We are preparing by filling her closet, her toy chest, and her bookshelves, but we're also preparing by getting our hearts and our families' hearts ready to be
overflowing with love for our new child. We prepare to become parents everyday and pray that someone is watching over her until we can get to China to bring her home.

During the past 6 months, I've often wondered why the process to adopt takes so long. Babies are living in orphanages and foster care now and I'm ready to get on a plane tomorrow, so why must I continue to wait? Obviously, CCAA needs time to review potential parents and process all necessary paperwork and to make the child matches. However, in looking back at the process we've been through over the past 6 months, it seems to me that the wait also gives us,
as future parents, the time needed to hope, worry, dream, and prepare for the addition of our child. I just hope that our wait doesn't go on for too much longer!

-thoughts of a future parent

Thursday, December 15, 2005 8:17 AM CST

Good news, the stork has landed safely after his last trip from China in 2005. Referrals were received by families who sent their paperwork to China during the first half of April. To see a few pictures of the little blessings that will soon join their new families click on the following link: http://www.geocities.com/aprilpandas/start.htm

Tuesday, December 6, 2005 9:06 AM CST

Stork Alert!

Adoption Agencies across the US are sending out stork alerts to the families who sent their paperwork to China during the first half of April. By this time next week those lucky families should have a photo of their newest family member.

This also means that there are only two and a half months worth of families in front of us. We mailed our paperwork on July 1st and it was logged in on at the China Center for Adoption Affairs on July 15th.

I predict we are going to recieve our daughters picture for the first time on Apirl 23, 2006. What do you predict?

Monday, November 28, 2005 7:12 AM CST

Over the Thanksgiving holiday Jay and I went to Chicago. Chinatown was relatively close to our hotel so we spent half a day walking around and taking in the sights. The shops were fun to browse because they gave me a sneak peak at the kinds of things I will see when we go shopping in China. I think I already have my heart set on bringing back a sparkly golden piggy bank and a waving kitty statue which I am told is a symbol of good luck. We also had lunch in Chinatown. I didn’t know what to order so I just picked the first thing I saw on the menu. Unfortunately it was very bland and I didn’t like it much at all. Jay had orange chicken. He liked his dish very much.

The next day we went to Chicago’s Thanksgiving day parade. I loved seeing the bands, the balloons, the floats, and the Chinatown dancers. Of course I could not help thinking about taking our wee one to the parade with us next year. She will certainly love it but will defiantly need a snow suit. It was very cold out there!

Monday, November 21, 2005 2:26 PM CST

Jay and I have signed up for a Chinese language class. It meets 4 times in January. I am guessing we won’t learn much more than the basics since the class only meets a few times. However, it will be nice to be able to speak and recognize a few words while we are in China.

I have been debating whether or not we should take this class for a long time. It seems that most people in Northern China speak Mandarin and most people in Southern China speak Cantonese. Since we will be traveling to both areas I didn’t know which language would be more beneficial to learn.

We are taking a gamble and going with Mandarin. I hope this is the language used in our daughters region because I really would like to be able to say simple things like “Mama loves you” to our wee one.

Thursday, November 17, 2005 7:25 AM CST

Yesterday we received our first snow fall of the year. I can’t help but think about how next year when we receive our first snow fall our little girl will be here to see it. Plus, she should be old enough to do a little bit of sledding!

There is not too much happening on the adoption front right now. Jay and I both got our second round of immunizations. This time we got Hep A and a second Hep B shot. I was slightly less scared this time because I knew what to expect.

I have been pet-sitting quite a bit to raise extra money for our adoption expenses. Last weekend I sat for 2 black kitties named Dylan and Lucy. This weekend I am watching over 1 dog and 3 kitties. The dog is a husky/beagle mix named Daisy. The kitties are white, black and orange. Their names are Toby, Tia, and Tim.

Friday, November 4, 2005 1:49 PM CST

When we first started the adoption process we were told that there would be 6-7 months from the time we submitted our paperwork to the time we brought our baby home. Unfortunately this timeframe has changed. For some reason the government department in China seems to be slowing down their work. Now they are saying that the time from submitting our paperwork to China to bringing our child home is going to be closer to nine months. Obviously I am not thrilled about this news. I will be very hard to wait for three extra months.

To lift my spirits I made a list of the top 5 reasons why a longer wait will be a good thing.

1. A later referral means more time to save money. This means I might be able to take a longer maternity leave.

2. A later referral means more time to save money. This means I can
buy more souvenirs while in China.

3. A later referral means more time to knit cute baby things

4. Spring/Summer clothes will be easier to pack than winter clothes

5. A later referral means more time to read parenting books. As a
first time parent I need lots of `how to’ information.

Friday, October 21, 2005 12:59 AM CDT

Jay says I can’t go baby shopping any more. That means that I had to find something new to occupy my time….KNITTING! I started out small, with some scarves and now I am on to more complicated (and less square) things such as diaper covers. I may also make a baby blanket. We will have to see how the diaper covers come out.

Monday, October 17, 2005 11:04 AM CDT

A wonderful wonderful thing happended today. I received notice from my department director that the employment class of my job is going to be changed. This means that I will get much better benefits. Included in my new benefit package is an adoption benefit. Basically what that means is that my employer will contribute $3000 towards the adoption of Baby O. Can you believe that!!!! I have to say, I feel very blessed today.

Friday, October 7, 2005 7:57 AM CDT

I have been working on a photo album to send to China in Baby O’s care package. I hope this album will help ease her transition. So far, I have purchased a baby proof photo album by Sassy that holds 6 pictures. It has a handle on it that is like a chew toy.

I have decided that I am going to put in 2 pictures of Jay and myself. I will also included one of Baby O’s room and one of our kitties.

Last night I asked Jay to snap a few pictures of our kitties. He came back a few minutes later with a nice picture of Josie’s rear end as she was running away. Not quite what I had in mind.

Speaking of pictures….The stork landed on Monday. This time he brought information to the families who sent their paperwork to China in the first half of March. To see pictures go to http://www.march2005dtc.com/referrals/

It is a bit disappointment that the stork did not bring information to all the March families. This may mean that our information comes later than I planned. I will have a better idea about this after the stork comes next month.

Thursday, September 29, 2005 12:16 AM CDT

Stork Alert! Word has come that the stork have taken off from China and is carrying the photos of little ones who are destined to join families who sent their paperwork to China in March. Happy travels Mr. Stork.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005 2:58 PM CDT

After working up large amounts of courage I called my doctor to schedule immunizations appointments. In order to travel to China it is recommended that we be immunized for HepA, Hep B, Typhoid, and Tetnus. It is also suggested that we get a flu shot and have our polio updated.

A Canadian family returned from China last week with their new daughter who was infected by bacterial meningitis. Sadly, the little one is not expected to make it. I have heard that there is a vaccine against meningitis. I wonder if I should get that too. Also wondering about yellow fever, I have heard that this is going around in China. Something tells me that I am going to have a lot of holes in my arm.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 7:08 PM CDT

In the care package that I send to China for Baby I am allowed to send a list of up to 12 questions. These are the questions I am considering.

*********************************
Dear Director and Nannies,

Enclosed is a list of questions about our daughter XXXXXX.  Answers to these questions will help us to make the transition easier for her. Thank you very much for taking time to answer these questions.

(1) Who chose her name and why?

(2) Has she had any health problems or allergies?

(3) What medical treatments has she received?

(4) What are her favorite foods and activities?

(5) How would you describe her personality?

(6) Does she have any likes/dislikes/sensitivities?

(7) What makes her happy?

(8) Is she close to a particular nanny? What is this nanny’s name?

(9) Was a note or any other memento found with her?

(10) Do you have her finding ad? Can we have a copy?

(11) What else would you like to tell us about her?

(12) Does the orphanage need anything in particular?

***************

I would love feedback on these questions. Is there some question that I will kick myself for not asking????

Sunday, September 11, 2005 5:30 PM CDT

When I think about how much time Jay and I have to wait until we get our first glimpse of Baby O. the clock seems to be ticking very slowly.

When I think about all the things I need to get done before Baby O. comes home the time seems to be slipping away very fast.

There are two major things I need to accomplish very soon. The first is the nursery. Jay and need to repair a hole in the wall that was created when an air conditioner was removed. Then I can start to paint and decorate. The other thing I need to do is make a care package to send to Baby O. when we find out where she is. I am only allowed to send a shoebox sized package. I am thinking of including a warm outfit, a small stufed toy, a soft blanket, and a baby-proof photo album containing pictures of her new mommy and daddy. Other people have said that it is good to sleep with the blanket and stuffed animal for a few months so that it picks up our scent. I also plan to include some chocolates for her caretaker and a disposable camera. I will include a note asking her caretaker to take photos of Baby O. and her orphanage and return the camera to us when we arrive in China. Other parents who have done this have told us that they have sucessfully recieved the camera back about 50% of the time. I figure it is worth a try.

Saturday, September 3, 2005 3:07 PM CDT

The stork has landed and this time he brought news to the families who sent their paperwork to China in February of 2005. To peek at this beautiful new bunch of babies that are soon to be united with their families, click on the following link: http://www.geocities.com/dtc_feb_2005/referrals.html

Next up are the March 2005 families. Then its April, May, June....July!

PS. Notice the 7 month old twins who were refered to a very lucky family!

Tuesday, August 30, 2005 12:01 AM CDT

Stork Alert! Word has it that the stork has lifted off from China and that this time he is bringing the photos of some sweet little babies to families who sent their paperwork to China in February of 2006. I am guessing that the stork will land on Friday but with Hurricane Katrina on the loose, it may take longer.

Also, last night I received a delightful set of pink bibs from Grandma Jane. They were so cute that I promptly had to try on on Twiggy. Poor Poor Kitty…. Thanks Grandma Jane.

Friday, August 26, 2005 1:41 PM CDT

During my lunch hour today I picked up another car seat and a baby gate. These are the last big items we needed for Baby O. Baby shopping has been so much fun that it is going to be a bummer to not be on the hunt for anything. Plus the shopping has kept me busy enough that I have been distracted from watching the clock tick away the minutes from when we can go to China to bring Baby O home. I think I need to start sewing again….or else I need to learn how to knit.

Speaking of people who are impatiently waiting…the families who sent their paperwork to China in February are brimming with anticipation right now. The stork (also known as the DHL delivery man) usually brings referral information during the last week of the month. Nobody has heard anything yet. With only 3 work days left this month, I think some families are starting to worry that China is not going to release the information until next month. It would be really tough on those families and the babies if they ended up waiting an extra month. Lets hope this isn’t the case.

Thursday, August 25, 2005 12:40 AM CDT

When you are pregnant you have a pretty good idea when it comes to how much your baby will weigh and what size clothes you will need. When you are adopting it is a whole different story.

As you probably know, we are expecting a baby between 10 – 15 months of age. Because of this, I have been stocking up on 12 month & 18 month clothing. After chatting with a few other adoptive moms today, I am not sure I am going to have the right stuff.

This is what the other moms had to tell me:
Mom 1: Daughter is now 16 months old, weighs 18 lbs, and wears 9 month clothing
Mom 2: Daughter was 15 months old, weighed 18 pounds, could wear a couple 6-9 month things but was mostly into 12 months
Mom 3: First daughter was 11 months, weighed 15lbs, wore 9 month clothes, 2nd daughter was 11 months, weighed almost 20lbs and was solidly into 12 month clothing
Mom 4: Daughter is 12 months, weighs 14 pounds, and wears 6-9 month clothing
Mom 5: Daughter is 24 months, weights 20 pounds, and is wearing 12 month clothing. TINY!!!

Looks like I should go shopping for some smaller clothing. Poor Me! Ha Ha Ha

Thursday, August 18, 2005 7:16 AM CDT

I had decided to put the crib together in stages I hopes that this would allow me to not end up with 2 kitties sleeping in the crib. My strategy was to partially assemble it then leave it sitting so that the cats could fully check it out. Two weeks later I put the sides in and the mattress down. Much to my surprise, my plan worked. The kitties don't seem to have any interest. They have been there and done that and are ready to move on to the next thing!

Since it has been up I can't seem to keep from walking in to peek at the crib and day dream. It is hard to imagine Baby O. in her bed in China when she could be snug in her bed at our house.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 1:29 PM CDT

I learned today that the immigration office in Michigan that handles the approvals for all Michigan families adopting internationally has been shut down for an indefinite amount of time while it is reorganized and relocated from Sault Ste. Marie to Detroit. This means that no Michigan families will be able to get their immigration paperwork processed. Although we are past this part of the process and WILL NOT be affected, my heart stopped when I read this. I am so sad for all the families who desperately want to bring children into their lives and for the children who desperately need families. Please say a prayer in hopes that this is resolved quickly so that Michigan adoptions can move forward.

UPDATE: Upon hearing the above news, many families called their senators. Quick action was taken and resulted in the Sault Ste. Marie office opening back up. Yippie!

Monday, August 15, 2005 8:58 AM CDT

A big brown envelope arrived from the US Consolate in China on Saturday. It was full of the forms we will need while we are in China in order to obtain Baby O’s exit visa into the US. It was good to receive this envelope because it symbolically means that they are expecting us.

Also over the weekend, I had a chance to go baby shopping in Columbus while Jay attended a car show. I just got a few little things….some socks, a sleeper, a bottle brush, etc.

I am having a hard time finding crib bedding that I like. I wanted to do the nursery in bright pinks and oranges. Seems like virtually all baby girl bedding is pastel pink or purple. I may have to change my plans. Hmmm.

Tuesday, August 9, 2005 12:08 AM CDT

Big news! We got a crib!

On Saturday I set out on another round of visits to garage sales and stores that sell used baby items. This time I was not very successful at the garage sales. I think all I got were a few onsies and a winter hat. I was more successful in the stores that sell used baby items. I got a sling for carrying the baby around while in China and, a brand new pair of Oshkosh mary-janes. I also spotted a crib/mattress set with an extremely reasonable price tag. Since I don’t really know much about cribs I wasn’t sure if it would be right. So, I wrote the model number down and went home in search of advice. The more I thought about it the more I thought that this might be the perfect crib. The price was right, the color was right, it seemed to have all the parts, etc. With growing excitement, I piled Jay into the car on Sunday and set out to buy the crib. When we arrived I was crushed to discover the store was closed on Sundays. So, I went home and sulked for a few hours. Then I devised a plan to go back during my lunch hour on Monday and buy it. Monday rolled around and I was finally able to complete the transaction.

Yippee! Baby O has a place to sleep! Now I am on to figuring out how to assemble the crib and what I am going to use for bedding….

Friday, August 5, 2005 1:02 PM CDT

This the tentative list of things I am tentatively planning to bring to China for the baby. I planned for clothing to last 3 days in between washes. I am also planning on have enough food/diapers for 5 days. Once I have my bearings I will be able to buy more in China.

Please email me if you spot something I am forgetting. As a first time mom, I need much help in this department

50 diapers
100 Wipes
1 tube Diaper Rash Crème
Gynelotrimin for yeast based diaper rash
Changing pad

2 boxes of Enfamil formula travel pouches (16 servings)
Vitamins
1 Box Cereal
5 Jars Baby fruit (pears & prunes)
2 Bowls
Snack cup
Snacks (1 baggies of Cheerios & 1 box biscuits)
2 Spoons
3 Bibs
3 Bottles
3 Nipples
3 Toddler spouts
Bottle wash

5 Complete outfits
3 Pajamas
5 Onesies
1 Blanket
Baby sweater or coat
Swimsuit
Swim diaper
Bunting w/ hat (if travel in winter)

Baby Tylenol
Baby Orajel
Baby Sudafed
Lice Shampoo
Scabies Treatment
Digital Baby Thermometer
Baby Soap
Pedalite Powder

Snuggli
Stacking Cups
Inflatable Ball
Links
Book

Wednesday, August 3, 2005 6:47 PM CDT

Last weekend I hit the garage sales, thrift shops, and used children's stores hard. All my efforts paid off quite nicely. I got loads of great things at very good prices. Some of the things I got include a brand new changing table pad and a car seat. Click on the pictures section of this website to see pictures of these items.

I also made a second attempt at getting a crib. I saw one I like in one of the used kids stores for $75. The next day I dragged Jay there to see if he liked it. He didn't! One funny thing did happen though. Jay flipped through a few racks of baby clothes at the store and exclaimed, "this kid stuff is pretty cute!" I was quite suprised to see him getting into it. There is a first for everything.

Monday, August 1, 2005 7:50 AM CDT

After a long flight from China, the stork officially landed last Thursday. This time he brought information on babies for families who sent their paperwork to China between December 27th, 2004 and January 27th, 2005.

If you would like to see pictures of a few of the babies follow this link: http://www.redthreaddreamers.com/Lists/Referrals/ListViewNew.aspx

Hint: Click on the babies name to see larger and/or additional photos.

Last night I dreamed that our referral package had arrived. I opened it up to find 3 pictures of a little face with lots of hair peeking out at me. The girl in the photos was named Tan Fong. She was 13 months old and living in the Jiangxi province. I wish this dream were true!

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 2:23 PM CDT

I made a major diaper purchase. When Jay saw the 35 pairs of little pants his response was, “Holy cotton, Batgirl!”

If you haven't guessed by now, we are going to use cloth diapers on Baby O. I know you are probably thinking I am crazy, especially if you have cloth diapered a baby in the past. However, cloth diaper technology has come a long way in the last couple of years. In fact, today they don't use pins and you don't even have to fold them. There are not even rubber pants to contend with because the covers are made with ultrex, the same material that they use to waterproof ski mittens with.

Thursday, July 21, 2005 2:28 PM CDT

The paperwork may be done but I have still found ways to keep myself busy with baby related tasks.

On Tuesday I sanitized all the toys I have been picking up at garage sales. I also have a bunch of toys that my dad played with as a kid and that I played with. So far Baby O. has a toy box containing the following: 5 rattles, 2 balls, some wooden blocks, a fisher price little people set, a magnetic alphabet set, and some little bowling pins.

On Wednesday I went to a meeting at our adoption agency to prepare for traveling. The agency talked about what to bring with us and what to expect when we are there. We are only allowed to bring 44 pounds of luggage and that includes our clothing, my purse, and Baby O’s diaper bag, food and clothes. This is going to be really hard especially when you figure that a suitcase probably weighs more than 10 pounds.

Tonight I am going to the monthly waiting families meeting. I am hoping to meet 1 or 2 of the families that we will be traveling to China with. You may remember that we will be traveling with a group of 11 other families. If will be nice to get to know these people a bit before I am stuck in a plane with them for 24 hours.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005 3:27 PM CDT

STORK ALERT! The families who sent their paperwork to China in between December 2004-January 2005 are expecting to recieve pictures of their babies by the beginning of next week.

I dreamed last night that somehow I magically got bumped up into this group and was about to see a photo of my daughter. Of course, I woke up before I actually got my hands on that photo. I've got to work on making my dreams a little bit longer so I can make it to the good part.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 7:47 AM CDT

My dear friend Gretchen and I hit the streets last weekend in search of great garage sale treasures. It turns out that garage sales are a great place to find baby stuff.

Here are some of the goodies I picked up.
1. Baby gate to place at the top of a stairwell - $5
2. Baby carrier (backpack) - $2
3. Rattle - 50 cents
4. 2 vintage Asian dresses from a Vietnamese family – 50 cents
5. 1 pair corduroy overalls – free with purchase

Can't wait to go hunting again.

Thursday, July 7, 2005 11:07 AM CDT

Many of you may be wondering what happens after we send our paperwork to our adoption agency. First, they reviewed our documents to make sure everything was in order and that all of the documentation was correct. After our paperwork was reviewed and approved, it was assembled for its formal presentation to the Chinese Government. The documents must be in a specific order. Once our paperwork was correctly assembled, our paperwork was sent -along with the paperwork of 11 other families - to China. It takes usually four to five days for the paperwork to arrive in Beijing. That means our paperwork has just arrived.

After arrival the paperwork is registered, it officially takes its place in line. The first step is to get translated into Chinese. Also, the Registration Department is where the CCAA (The Chinese Government Department that handles adoptions) does an initial review of our documents to make sure we have the right ones, with the right seals. This part of the process can take three to four months.

Next, our paperwork goes to Department 1, commonly referred to as the Reviewing Room. In Department 1, our documents are more closely examined for content. The home study (social worker report) is reviewed carefully along with all of our other documents. If there is a problem, it usually is discovered here. If that happens, Beijing will notify us immediately so we can address the problem.

After Department 1, our paperwork moves into Department 2, or the Matching Room, as it is also known. Department 2 is where we will be matched with a child (referral). To match us with a child, the CCAA officials take into consideration our age and they review the pictures we have sent. They then match us with a baby or child that they feel is meant to be with us. The Chinese believe that a person's face reflects their personality and disposition. They try to match our disposition to that of the child.
Once we have been matched, the CCAA will send our referral to adoption agency. They will process the referrals as fast as they can and contact us with the basic information: sex, name, birth date, province, and health status. They will also have a picture for us.

When we receive our referral, we will review the information carefully and return our signed acceptance letter. Then we wait 1-2 months for permission to travel to China to pick up our daughter. We will be traveling in a group with the other 11 families who sent their paperwork to China on the same day we did.

Wednesday, July 6, 2005 2:26 PM CDT

Look above to see what I got for my birthday from Jay. For those of you who already have children you may think that getting a high chair for your birthday is not a very exciting thing. However, for someone with no children who has wanted kids for a long time, this is a very exciting thing. I am tempted to strap one of the cats into it to see how they look. Poor little kitties!

We didn't have any luck with purchasing the crib. Ikea was out of stock on the 2 models that I liked. We will try again soon.

Korrie Sue

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 8:39 AM CDT

Today is my 30th birthday. This means that I am now officially old enough to adopt from China. Our paperwork started its journey to China on July 1st. That means that the Chinese government will receive our adoption request just as I turn 30. Is that good timing or what?

To celebrate, Jay is taking me to Ikea this afternoon. We are going to get a crib and a highchair. These two items will be our first official baby purchases!

Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:48 PM CDT

Around noon today I handed over a very think stack of paperwork to our adoption agency. It took me 2.5 months to gather all the required paperwork and you better believe I let out a giant sigh of relief when I handed it off. Tomorrow our paperwork will be on its way to China and in 6-7 months we expect to receive a picture of our baby girl.

For those curious about what took me so long here is the list of all the steps I took to complete our paperwork.

4/8/2005 Made final decision to adopt from China
4/10/2005 Scheduled first Homestudy Visit with Social Worker
4/11/2005 Filed Preliminary Application with Adoption Associates
4/12/2005 Filed I600-A (US Immigration Form)
4/13/2005 Completed Korrie's Medical Exam for Homestudy
4/13/2005 Received Korrie's Medical Approval Letter for Homestudy
4/13/2005 Applied for Korrie's Passport
4/14/2005 Applied for Birth Certificate - Korrie
4/14/2005 Applied for Marriage Certificate
4/15/2005 Applied for Birth Certificate - Jay
4/17/2005 Completed 1st Homestudy Visit with Social Worker
4/19/2005 Scheduled fingerprinting appointment with the FBI
4/20/2005 Completed Jay's Medical Exam for Homestudy
4/20/2005 Received Jay's Medical Approval Letter for Homestudy
4/22/2005 Received Korrie's Passport
4/22/2005 Filed Michigan Child Abuse Clearance Request with the FIA
4/22/2005 Received Jays' passport photos
4/23/2005 Received Marriage Certificate from Tennessee
4/25/2005 Completed Medical Lab work for China (Jay and Korrie)
4/25/2005 Completed Intake meeting at Adoption Associates
4/25/2005 Filed Formal Application with Adoption Associates
4/26/2005 Received Korrie's Local Police Clearance
4/26/2005 Requested Korrie's Employer Letter
4/28/2005 Received Employer letter (Korrie)
4/28/2005 Applied for Jay's Passport (Application Denied)
4/28/2005 Requested employer letter for Jay
4/30/2005 Completed Fingerprinting Appointment with the FBI
5/3/2005 Received Jay & Korrie's 2nd medical approval Letter for China
5/3/2005 Adoption agency rejected Jay & Korrie's 2nd medical letter
5/5/2005 Applied for Jay's Passport (2nd Time)
5/7/2005 Completed 2nd Homestudy Visit with Social Worker
5/7/2005 Completed 3rd Homestudy Visit with Social Worker
5/7/2005 Homestudy worker notified us of FIA china abuse clearance approvals
5/10/2005 Requested a re-do of Jay & Korrie's 2nd medical letter for China
5/11/2005 Received Jay's Local Police Clearance
5/11/2005 Sent Birth Certificates to MI Office of the Great Seal
5/12/2005 Sent Marriage License to US Dept of State & Chinese Embassy in Washington
5/17/2005 Received Jay's 3rd Medical Letter for China
5/17/2005 Received Korries 3rd Medical Letter for China
5/19/2005 Completed financial audit
5/20/2005 Received Jay’s Passport
5/22/2005 Completed 4th (Final) Homestudy Visit with Social Worker
5/26/2005 Received apostil led birth certificate(Korrie)
5/26/2005 Received apostil led birth certificate(Jay)
5/26/2005 Received Apostil led Marriage License from Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
5/27/2005 Turned 1st batch of papers into Office of the Great Seal
5/31/2005 Got 2nd batch of passport photos (Korrie)
6/3/2005 Received Completed Homestudy Report
6/4/2005 Mailed remaining immigration paperwork requirements to immigration
6/7/2005 Received employer letter
6/23/2005 Received I-171-H (Immigration Approval)
6/24/2005 Got 171H Notarized and Sealed
6/24/2005 FedEx-ed Dossier to Chinese Consulate (Via Courier)
6/28/2005 Got 2nd batch of passport photos (Jay)
6/30/2005 Received Sealed Dossier from Chinese Consulate (Via Courier)
6/30/205 Submitted completed dossier (paperwork) to adoption agency

Are you tired just looking at that list or what???

Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:48 PM CDT

Around noon today I handed over a very think stack of paperwork to our adoption agency. It took me 2.5 months to gather all the required paperwork and you better believe I let out a giant sigh of relief when I handed it off. Tomorrow our paperwork will be on its way to China and in 6-7 months we expect to receive a picture of our baby girl.

For those curious about what took me so long here is the list of all the steps I took to complete our paperwork.

4/8/2005 Made final decision to adopt from China
4/10/2005 Scheduled first Homestudy Visit with
Social Worker
4/11/2005 Filed Preliminary Application with
Adoption Associates
4/12/2005 Filed I600-A (US Immigration Form)
4/13/2005 Completed Korrie's Medical Exam for
Homestudy
4/13/2005 Received Korrie's Medical Approval Letter
for Homestudy
4/13/2005 Applied for Korrie's Passport
4/14/2005 Applied for Birth Certificate - Korrie
4/14/2005 Applied for Marriage Certificate
4/15/2005 Applied for Birth Certificate - Jay
4/17/2005 Completed 1st Homestudy Visit with Social
Worker
4/19/2005 Scheduled fingerprinting appointment with
the FBI
4/20/2005 Completed Jay's Medical Exam for Homestudy
4/20/2005 Received Jay's Medical Approval Letter for
Homestudy
4/22/2005 Received Korrie's Passport
4/22/2005 Filed Michigan Child Abuse Clearance
Request with the FIA
4/22/2005 Received Jays' passport photos
4/23/2005 Received Marriage Certificate from
Tennessee
4/25/2005 Completed Medical Lab work for China (Jay
and Korrie)
4/25/2005 Completed Intake meeting at Adoption
Associates
4/25/2005 Filed Formal Application with Adoption
Associates
4/26/2005 Received Korrie's Local Police Clearance
4/26/2005 Requested Korrie's Employer Letter
4/28/2005 Received Employer letter (Korrie)
4/28/2005 Applied for Jay's Passport (Application
Denied)
4/28/2005 Requested employer letter for Jay
4/30/2005 Completed Fingerprinting Appointment with
the FBI
5/3/2005 Received Jay & Korrie's 2nd medical
approval Letter for China
5/3/2005 Adoption agency rejected Jay & Korrie's
2nd medical letter
5/5/2005 Applied for Jay's Passport (2nd Time)
5/7/2005 Completed 2nd Homestudy Visit with Social
Worker
5/7/2005 Completed 3rd Homestudy Visit with Social
Worker
5/7/2005 Homestudy worker notified us of FIA china
abuse clearance approvals
5/10/2005 Requested a re-do of Jay & Korrie's 2nd
medical letter for China
5/11/2005 Received Jay's Local Police Clearance
5/11/2005 Sent Birth Certificates to MI Office of
the Great Seal
5/12/2005 Sent Marriage License to US Dept of State
& Chinese Embassy in Washington
5/17/2005 Received Jay's 3rd Medical Letter for China
5/17/2005 Received Korries 3rd Medical Letter for
China
5/19/2005 Completed financial audit
5/20/2005 Received Jay’s Passport
5/22/2005 Completed 4th (Final) Homestudy Visit with
Social Worker
5/26/2005 Received apostil led birth certificate
(Korrie)
5/26/2005 Received apostil led birth certificate
(Jay)
5/26/2005 Received Apostil led Marriage License from
Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
5/27/2005 Turned 1st batch of papers into Office of
the Great Seal
5/31/2005 Got 2nd batch of passport photos (Korrie)
6/3/2005 Received Completed Homestudy Report
6/4/2005 Mailed remaining immigration paperwork
requirements to immigration
6/7/2005 Received employer letter
6/23/2005 Received I-171-H (Immigration Approval)
6/24/2005 Got 171H Notarized and Sealed
6/24/2005 FedEx-ed Dossier to Chinese Consulate (Via
Courier)
6/28/2005 Got 2nd batch of passport photos (Jay)
6/30/2005 Received Sealed Dossier from Chinese
Consulate (Via Courier)
6/30/205 Submitted completed dossier (paperwork) to
adoption agency

Are you tired just looking at that list or what???

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 12:23 AM CDT

Our paperwork is now at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. This is the last step in the ‘paperwork collection phase.’ If all goes as planned, the consulate staff will seal the paperwork today and our courier will pick it up tomorrow. As long as the consulate does not reject anything, our paperwork will go to China on July 1st. This will be the official start of the ‘waiting phase’. Some people like to call it the beginning of their ‘paper pregnancy’.

Friday, June 24, 2005 2:53 PM CDT

Stork Alert! The families who sent their paperwork to China in Nov/December 2004 are recieving pictures of their babies today.

Thursday, June 23, 2005 4:48 PM CDT

It came! It came! It came!

I went home during lunch today to check the mailbox. When I opened it up it was like a gold nugget was sitting there. I quickly tore open the envelope and there it was, our immigration approval, the last piece of paperwork I was waiting for.

I am very confident now that we will be able to send our paperwork to China on July 1. I am relieved that we won't have to add an extra month to our wait time.

Wish me luck at the office of the great seal and at the Chinese consolate.

Korrie Sue

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 10:20 AM CDT

The immigration officer who has to sign off on our paperwork is officially on vacation so I hope that our approval is in the mail.

My plan is to take a late lunch every day this week so that I can go home and check the mail. If the approval is in the mailbox, then I will not go back to work. I will go straight to Lansing to get the papers sealed. After that I will overnight the papers to the courier in Chicago who will take them to the Chinese consulate for final approval.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005 7:54 AM CDT

Today is the last day that Michigan's immigration orphan examiner will be in the office. She is going on vacation tomorrow. That means that if she doesn't get our immigration approval in the mail today we will not be able to send our paperwork to China until August or September.

I wonder how many days it takes the mail to reach our house from the Sault Ste. Marie immigration office?

Korrie Sue

PS. Check out the new photos I put in the photo section.

Friday, June 17, 2005 8:52 AM CDT

Last night I went to a ‘waiting families’ gathering at our adoption agency. There were families there who were at various stages of adopting from China, Russia and Guatemala.

One family, adopting from Guatemala, had just been been referred a 2 day old baby girl. They were anxiously waiting for DNA test results to confirm that the birth mother had legal rites to make an adoption plan for the child. After results come in they can go to Guatemala to visit their new daughter. After her paperwork is processed, they will make a second trip to bring her to the US.

When adopting from Russia, families also have to travel to Russia twice. There were some families who had just gotten back from their first trip and were flush with the excitement of meeting their child for the first time. There was also a woman who had received a referral for a 4 month old baby girl but has been waiting 7 months for Russia to give her approval to make her first trip. This poor woman is at her wits end and spent much of the meeting in tears. Her experiences have made me feel fortunate that our adoption journey had been relatively smooth up to this point. Waiting many weeks for birth certificates seems like a small struggle in comparison to knowing that your baby is growing up in a Russian orphanage without you.

The highlight of the meeting was a family who brought along their new daughter, recently adopted from China. She was so full of energy, happiness and charisma. I felt bad staring, but I could not take my eyes off her.

Another highlight was realizing that I was further along in the process than some of the other families. If feels good to be a ways into our journey and have some of the toughest parts behind us.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 8:19 AM CDT

I am floating on air at the moment. Our adoption agency (Adoption Associates) just called and said that they had emailed Immigration to see if Officer Teske was going to get to our approval paperwork before she goes on vacation on June 22nd. She said that she had everything that she needed from us and planned to get to it on Monday. This means that we have a real chance of sending our paperwork to China July 1st. YIPPIE! YIPPIE! YIPPIE!

Korrie Sue

Monday, June 13, 2005 7:50 AM CDT

As I said in a previous entry, we recently learned that the orphan examiner at the Michigan Immigration office is taking vacation between June 22 – July 4th. Her vacation creates considerable doubt as to whether or not we will get immigration approval in time to send our paperwork to China in July.

Well, things are no longer looking too good for August either. The following note appeared on our adoption agencies website on Friday, “Michigan families: Please make note that Officer Teske of USCIS will be on vacation from June 22-July 4 and July 14-July 20, 2005.” This could mean that we will not get our paperwork to China until September.

On the bright side, a family that sent their paperwork to immigration 14 days before us just received their immigration approval. That means we still have a small chance of getting approval before she goes on vacation.

Friday, June 10, 2005 7:27 AM CDT

We got a bit of bad news from our agency. They are telling us that they got an email from immigration saying that the orphan examiner is going on vacation until July 4th. This means that there is virtually no way we will get immigration approval in time to send our paperwork to China on July 1st. As a result, we will have to wait until the next batch of paperwork goes to China on August 1st. Plus, there is a small chance that the orphan examiner will be so backed up from her vacation that we will miss the August 1st batch too. This means we would get pushed back to the September 1st batch. Contemplating adding two moths to our timeline puts me in a bit of a foul mood. Don’t they know they are torturing me?

Tuesday, June 7, 2005 6:46 PM CDT

Tonight the Chinese adoptive families club met for a picnic at the John Ball Zoo Park. Jay and I went but we were too shy to introduce ourselves so we just sat at a nearby picnic table and pretended we were there to watch the baby geese. Are we pathetic or what? Anyways, it was fun to see all the little girls running around playing with each other. Maybe next month we will introduce ourselves.

Sunday, June 5, 2005 5:06 PM CDT

We made major progress this weekend. Our social worker dropped off her completed report. We were approved!

This report was immediately sent to immigration. If we get immirgration approval before July 1, we can send our paperwork to China on July 1st. If we don't recieve immigration approval in time, then our paperwork will go to China on August 1st. I am told that immigration takes 3-5 weeks so if we make it by July 1 we will do so by the skin of our teeth. Of course, it won't be the end of the world if we don't make it but I certainly hate to have to wait an extra month to be a mommy. I could use a few prayers on this one.

Last weekend I asked Jay how many pairs of pajamas he thought a baby needed. He said 7. Based on this input, I quickly converted our living room to a pajama factory and turned out 7 pairs of PJs. I made them in size 18 month. They look huge. Next weekend I may try to make 7 pairs of the next size smaller. We will see how ambitious I am feeling.

I added some new photos to the photo section of this website. Feel free to take a peek!

Korrie Sue

Wednesday, June 1, 2005 10:55 AM CDT

The families who sent their paperwork to China between the following dates were assigned babies last week: 10/21/2004 - 11/20/2004. This means that they will be traveling to pick up their new daughters within the next 2 months. I can only imagine how excited these families must be. To see a few photos of the new babies, click on the link towards the bottom of this page.

Last night I dreamed that Jay and I went to China to pick up our daughter. When we got there we found out she was 7 years old and spoke perfect English. What a surprise that was!

Korrie Sue

Tuesday, May 31, 2005 12:02 AM CDT

So much has happened since my last update, I do not know where to begin.

While we were on vacation I asked Jay what he thought we should name our daughter. In a joking manner, he spit out the first name that came into his head…Juniper. Later that evening we were watching a bit of TV in our hotel room. A commercial came on for a new cartoon about an Asian girl named Juniper Lee. I thought this was especially ironic because Lee is a family name on both sides of our family.

When we arrived home Thursday night from our vacation, our mailbox was full of many of the things that we have been waiting for. Our marriage certificate arrived back from the Chinese embassy in Washington DC with its approval stamp. Also, the long-awaited missing birth certificates finally showed up. I am so glad that I will not longer be racing home everyday to look into my mailbox.

When we woke up Friday morning we piled into the car and headed to the closest bank to get a few documents notarized. Then we drove to Lansing to take all our documents to the Office of the Great Seal. At this office, state employees looked at each notarization and attached a seal saying that the notarizations were authentic.

The only documents we are now waiting for are Jay’s employer letter, our social workers report, and our immigration approval. After we get these last 3 pieces the whole batch of documents will be sent to the Chinese consulate in Chicago. Then they are off to the translators and to China. We are getting very close!

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 8:19 AM CDT

Jay and I are on vacation this week. We were sort of thinking that this might be our last vacation without a child for a long time so we wanted to go somewhere and sit on the beach with a big pile of books. We figure we might not be able to do that again for a long long time. Anyhow, we are enjoying ourselves greatly.

Yesterday we ran across what seemed like a small flock of Asian toddlers. It was so fun to watch them and think that soon we would have a little one of our own.

The other positive side of this vacation is that I am far away from our mailbox. It is nice to not be rushing home to look in the mailbox only to be dissappointed that the papers I am waiting for are not there yet.

Korrie

Sunday, May 22, 2005 7:28 AM CDT

Yesterday was full of good things. I went to the mailbox and was suprised to see that Jay's passport arrived. This helped me get our mind off our missing birth certificates.

In addition, we had a garage sale to raise money for adoption expeneses. I can't say we made a lot of money but we did make some. To supplement this I put one of my 1960's Barbies up on ebay. The auction ends today and so far bidders have bid up the price into the $200 range. This is more than I paid for her so I am pleased.

Today is our last pre-adoption social worker visit. At this visit our social worker will bring her report. We will go over it and fill in any blanks or make adjustments to anything we do not feel is accurate.

Friday, May 20, 2005 7:33 AM CDT

UPDATE! I called the Michigan Department of Vital Records this morning and asked them if they had any idea what was happening with my birth certificate request. They said that they processed them on 5/11 and sent them on to the MI Office of the Great Seal. She said the Great Seal folks usually take about 2 weeks. Since it has only been 1.5 weeks I am going to try to be patient for a few more days. However, I absolutely must have them by next Friday so I still am tentatively planning on a trip to Lansing.

In other strange news, I have been spending much time lately wondering whether or not our precious daughter has been born. In the past I have said that I think she will be born in June. However, I have been having strong urges to send lullabies up into the sky. It is so hard to think that she might be out there in need of comfort with nobody to rock her or sing to her.

Also, we are having a garage sale tomorrow to raise money for adoption costs. We have never had a sale at this house before so I don't know how much traffic we will get. Wish us luck.

Korrie Sue

Tuesday, May 17, 2005 1:39 PM CDT

Good news today! I picked up the medical letter redo’s from our doctor. This time they looked good. I just faxed them to our adoption agency to get their approval. Hopefully our case manager will think the letters look good too.

Also, we are making progress towards getting the last bit of info to our social worker. A special thanks goes out to Aunt Kristie for helping us out on that one.

On the down side…still no birth certificates. It has now been 33 days since I mailed the application for them. It is looking more and more like I am going to have to go to Lansing to inquire. Ughh.

Monday, May 16, 2005 7:51 AM CDT

Note: the above picture is of a group of baby girls that arrived home with their new families last year. Aren't they adorable?

I opened up my email Monday morning and was surprised to see that our social worker sent us 6 emails over the weekend. Seems like she was writing her final report on us and had a few miscellaneous questions. She was after information about who would be guardian of our daughter if we were to die, how much are our vehicles worth, etc. She also wanted to schedule our final pre-adoption visit for next weekend. This means we should have our homestudy report by June. Yippie!

Friday, May 13, 2005 8:24 AM CDT

Still waiting on…

Birth Certificates – I mailed the application for these 29 days ago. The checks that I enclosed with the application were cashed about 25 days ago. I am going to go bananas if these don’t arrive soon. I think I am going to give them 2 more weeks and them I am going to drive to Lansing and see what I can find out.

Medical Letters from our Doctor – As you may recall, we are re-doing these because of our doctor’s messy handwriting and inability to follow instructions. I dropped them off for notarization on Wednesday. I just called to see how they were coming along and the nurse told me that they still have not been notarized. I knew I should have brought them a plate of cookies when I dropped of the new forms. Why-o-why did I not follow my instincts?

Jay’s Employer letter

Referral Letters – We needed to get three referrals from friends and 1 from a neighbor. The requests went out a couple of weeks ago and then Jay and I followed up with phone calls, etc. Everyone is now saying that they have mailed their letters. Once our social worker receives the letters she will finish our homestudy. Once our homestudy is finished we can complete our immigration forms. Once the immigration forms are completed we can send all our paper work to the office of the Great Seal and then to the Chinese Consulate. Then it is on to translation and then to China.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 12:08 AM CDT

Every day for at least the last 2 weeks I have been asking Jay to give me an update on how his notarized employer letter is coming along. Today I found out that the hold up is with the notary in his office. Apparently his notary commission is about to expire and he is waiting for renewal before he notarizes the letter for us. This is good because the Chinese government will reject all documents where the notary does not have at least 6 months left on his commission.

Jay’s other task for today is to go to the Grand Rapids Police department and get a criminal background check done. Assuming the GR police don’t find an extensive criminal record, they will write a letter saying that they do not object to Jay adopting a child. I got this done a few weeks ago and it went very smoothly. Hopefully it will go smoothly for Jay also.

My task for the day is to send our marriage license to the Tennessee Department of State for apostilling and then to the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC. I am sending it via courier because the Chinese Embassy does not accept mail. All documents must be hand delivered. Can you believe that???

Korrie Sue

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 10:42 AM CDT

Today the adoption agency sent us a list of information we should not share with others if asked. The agency pointed out that there will come a time when our child asks questions and he or she should be the one to decide if they want others to know about their birth history. By sharing this information with anyone else, we risk the possibility of our child accidentally learning something that could be hurtful or embarrassing before they are emotionally prepared to hear their full birth story.

Kinds of information that we are supposed to keep confidential include:
1. Birth parents names, information
2. Information on birth siblings
3. Reason for release or termination of parental rights
4. Place of abandonment
5. Orphanage conditions/previous living
6. Social and medical information

Monday, May 9, 2005 7:35 AM CDT

Last weekend we had our 2nd and 3rd social worker visits. The purpose of the 2nd visit was to do a safety inspection on our home. Yes, she went in every room and looked in every closet. Good thing I spent the entire day cleaning before she came! The one part of our house I was most worried about was our pool fence. We intend to replace it this summer but do not have the money to do it right this moment so we were hoping she would not find fault with it, thus allowing us to replace it on our own time schedule. In the end, the only thing she faulted was upstairs. Those of you who have been to our house know that our upstairs is a loft. We had 2 small cabinets pushed up against the loft wall. She pointed out that it would be easy for a little one to climb on top of the cabinets and then fall over the loft wall and down to the first floor. I am glad she pointed this out. I would never have thought of this.

For the 3rd social worker visit, Jay and I were interviewed separately. The purpose of doing separate interviews is to make sure that we both really want to adopt and that one of us is not forcing the other. Jay and I compared notes after the interviews and thought it was interesting that she asked both of us really different questions. She asked me about fire alarms, religion, discipline, and friendships. She asked Jay very detailed questions about our adoption process. I think she was testing Jay to make sure he was engaged in the process. I’m not sure what she was testing me on.

In the end, the social worker again confirmed that she thought we would be good parents. Only 1 more pre-adoption social worker visit to go. We think the next one will happen around the end of May.

Korrie Sue

Thursday, May 5, 2005 9:01 AM CDT

Yesterday I picked up two photos that I was having restored. One was a shot of myself with my sister and brother. The other must have been my first professional photo sitting as a baby. The restored photos turned out great. If you have photos that are fading I highly recommend getting this done. The process is a bit pricey but the longer you wait the worse the pictures deteriorate.

The thing that is really special about this is that Grandma Dee saved the outfit I am wearing in one of the photos. I am really hoping that I can get our daughter’s photo taken in this same outfit and then have the two pictures framed side-by-side. I think that would be very special.

Korrie Sue

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 8:41 AM CDT

Today is another good news/bad news day. Lets start with the bad news….If you read yesterday’s journal entry you will remember that I was fretting about whether or not our adoption agency would accept or reject my notarized medical form. Well, it was worse than I thought. Not only did they reject mine, they rejected Jay’s too. In addition to citing a few errors, our caseworker felt like our doctor’s handwriting was too messy. She said the Chinese government would think it was disrespectful to submit such a messy document. So, my solution is to neatly copy everything the doctor wrote onto a new form and ask him to re-sign and re-notarize the letters. I suspect a plate of cookies might be required as well.

On a more positive note, this journal is already paying off. Jay’s mom read the past entry describing how Jay was turned down for a passport due to a birth certificate problem. She told Jay that she had given us two birth certificates. We dug through our files and sure enough, there it was! So now Jay can get his passport and we don’t have to wait for the new birth certificates I ordered to arrive. This is a good thing!

Korrie Sue

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 12:59 AM CDT

Today I picked up the notarized medical forms from our doctor. He messed up a whole bunch of things on mine so I may have to get it re-done. There were silly mistakes such writing down his medical license number wrong and then writing over it with the right number. He also forgot to fill in the line where the results of my vision test needed to go. We will see what the adoption agency says about it. I just faxed it over for their review. On a more positive note, Jays form looked good so he should be all done with the health aspect of his paperwork.

Another thing I am doing today is buying a fire extinguisher and new batteries for our fire alarms. Our social worker is coming over for her second visit on Saturday. The purpose of this visit is to do a safety check of our home. She will give us some optional recommendations for ways to improve our home. If she finds anything serious, she can require us to make the changes before she approves our home. Say a prayer that she does not find fault with the fencing around our pool.

Korrie Sue

Sunday, May 1, 2005 6:08 PM CDT

Yesterday Jay and I reported to the immigration office at 10am sharp. We waited with a hispanic family, an asian family, and an indian family to get our finger prints taken. The process was very high tech. In fact, no ink was involved at all. A machine just scanned in each finger and recorded the information. Next, our finger prints will be sent to the FBI. We should get a letter in 8 days saying whether our finger prints were accepted or rejected. If they are rejected, we will go back and get them done again. If they are rejected a second time, we will have to get a letter from every police station in every town we have ever lived in. The letter must say that we have no criminal record in that town. Hope we don't have to do that. It sounds like it would be a pain in the butt. I have lived in 6 towns, mostly suburbs of GR. I think Jay has lived in 3 but I am not sure.

We are still waiting on the birth certificates to arrive. It has been over 2 weeks since I requested them. I hope they show up soon so Jay can get his passport.

Korrie Sue

Friday, April 29, 2005 2:10 PM CDT

I hate to admit it, but I am freaking out about our upcoming fingerprinting appointment. The appointment is scheduled for tomorrow in Kentwood. I just got done reading horror stories about people who have been rejected because their finger tips were too smooth. I have been applying lotion to mine all week so I think they look pretty good. I am not sure about Jay’s though. I emailed Jay and asked him to look at his fingertips too see how smooth they are. He emailed me back and said that he accidentally cut all his fingertips off. I guess this means he thinks my concerns are silly. I swear I am about to drive over to his office to get a look at his tips first hand.

Korrie Sue

PS. I got the notarized copy of employment from my employer. Another bit of paperwork down!

Thursday, April 28, 2005 1:34 PM CDT

Well, Jay had a bad experience at the post office today while trying to get his passport. Apparently there is a problem with his birth certificate. It was issued by the hospital but not certified by the county. Luckily I have already put a request in with the state for additional certified copies of our birth certificates. Hopefully the extra copies will arrive soon so that he can get his passport. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Korrie Sue

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 10:49 AM CDT

Last night Jay and I watched a DVD by National Geographic called China's Lost Girls. The DVD followed a group of families through the adoption process, provided information on the culture of China and talked about some of the social issues that bring baby girls into orphanages.

I cried and cried and cried during the footage of families recieving their babies. It was such a beautiful thing. I could hardly believe that Jay and I are going to have a similiar experience.

Korrie Sue

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 12:35 AM CDT

Yesterday we met with our adoption agency for an intake meeting. After the meeting they gave us the instructions for assembling the paperwork that goes to China.

In case you are as lost in the paperwork as I am, we have to assemble 4 sets of paperwork (the homestudy paperwork, the adoption agency paperwork, the immigration paperwork, and the paperwork for the Chinese government). We are done with the homestudy and adoption agency paperwork. Immigration paperwork is in process. Now I can start on the last batch. They estimate that it will take me about 2 months to complete this last batch. We will see if I can prove them wrong.

First items on my list for today...notarized letters from our employers and criminal background checks at the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Korrie Sue

Monday, April 25, 2005 7:17 AM CDT

Well, this morning started off with a bang (or maybe just a poke). Jay and I headed into the doctor's office at 6am to get the required blood tests done. Hope I don't have to do that again any time soon.

On a more positive note, we did a couple of fun things this weekend. We looked at my baby pictures and mom got out a box of my baby clothes. I was excited to find that mom had the dress I wore at my first professional portrait session. I really hope that we can get a picture of our daughter in the same dress. The tag says size 18 months so I feel pretty confident that it will fit. Keep your fingers crossed on that one.

The other really special thing that happened this weekend was that mom gave me a really large jar of coins and said that I could use it to pay for the crib. I counted it all out last night and it will be enough. I am so thankful.

Korrie Sue

Friday, April 22, 2005 7:23 AM CDT

I am sure all of your are sick of reading about my paperwork by now, but I really don't have to much else to report. So....here is the latest paperwork update.

I got my passport in the mail yesterday. The application said that it would take 4-6 weeks to process. However, it arrived about 1 week after I filed. This was a great suprise. Today, Jay has promised to get his passport photos taken. This means we will be able to file for his passport next week.

The paperwork that I am tackling today is the papwerwork for criminal and child abuse records. Basically the state police just need to say that there is no record of Jay or I as criminals/child abusers. Not exepecting any problems with this one!

Be sure to check out the photos section of this website. I have added three new photos of chinese babies in orphanages. These photos were taken a couple of years ago by a family who was there to adopt. While none of these babies will be our baby, it is nice to know what to expect.

Korrie Sue

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 6:45 PM CDT

Lots of news to share this time. First, Jay shared our happy news with his family. Everyone was very happy. Amy said that when she told Faith that she was going to have a cousin, Faith teared up. Amy said she had to remind her that her new cousin wouldn't be here until Faith graduated from the 2nd grade but Faith said she didn't care, she was going to tell everyone at school anyways. How sweet is that?

On the paperwork front, I got a letter from immigration today with the date of our fingerprinting appointment. This is real progress. The INS is reported to be the agency that is the slowest and most likely to cause delays. I was relived to hear from them and see that we are not lost in their paper shuffle.

I should also note that we had our first visit from the social worker who has to approve us and our home. The visit went very well. I could tell that she thought we were going to be great parents. Only 2 more visits to go before she gives us official approval.

I have saved the most fun bit of news for last. I have recieved my first baby gift. Over the weekend Grandma Kiebel bought me the most beautiful baby blanket and a very pretty onsie/pant set. I have been gazing at them with stary eyes ever since. Thanks Grandma!

Korrie Sue

Friday, April 15, 2005 9:15 AM CDT

The last couple of days have been filled with more paperwork. Are you suprised? I filed for apostilled copies of our birth and marriage certificates. I also sent away for my first passport. I expect the paperwork to start rolling in about 4 weeks from now. Governments take a long time to process this type of request.

I will get a much more immediate reward from my weekend plans. Mom and Dad are coming down to help Jay and I with some work on the house. The Bixby's are also coming. We are going to put a new roof on the cabanna, cut down some trees, and take the built-in air conditioner out of the wall of the nursery-to-be. While the last activity is the only adoption related activity on the list, it is a very important activity because the nursery gets very cold in the winter because of the air conditioner. Plus, it will be the first step towards getting the nursery ready.

I asked Jay last night about getting the crib and he looked at me like I was crazy. I think Jay needs more time to let reality sink in. He knows he is going to be a Dad but he is still processing what that means.

Korrie Sue

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 6:18 PM CDT

My major accomplishment for today was getting the immigration documents mailed. They take about 4 months to process so they should roll in right around the end of July.

Aunt Kristie was being a devil today. Despite repeated warnings that I did not have any extra dollars to spend (every penny is going into the adoption) she has been emailing me links to the most precious baby clothes. If that is not torture I don't know what it.

I have a few more adoption tasks to take care of before bed and then it is on to another day.

Korrie Sue

Monday, April 11, 2005 5:18 PM CDT

Today I turned the preliminary application in at Adoption Associates, the agency we have chosen to work with. I have the formal application all filled out and will turn it in when they request it. Hopefully soon!

Additionally, I took Twiggy and Josie to the vet today for their immunizations. This was a required visit. Apparently in order for our home to be safe all pets must have current immunizations. Not sure I am buying that one but I decided to comply.

Jay is not ready to think about names yet but that hasn't stopped me from thinking up a storm. My favorites are Trixie, Fancie, Violet and Tabitha. I am also wondering what name she will be given in China. I have heard that most Chinese adoptees are named by the orphanage directors since they are usually abandoned babies with no names. If possible I would like to work in a Chinese middle name.

Thats all for now!

Korrie Sue

Sunday, April 10, 2005 5:25 PM CDT

This has been a big weekend for us. After thinking about it for months and months, we finally decided to adopt a baby girl from China.

Needless to say, this decision has sent me into a whirlwind of activity. First thing Saturday morning I called my mom, and then my sister, to share the news. Everyone was very excited. My sister was headed into her storage room to dig out baby sized hand-me-downs. I can't wait to see what she has to share with me.

Next, I started on the paperwork. First I tackled the adoption agency application, all 17 pages of it. Then the immigration forms. Then the homestudy agency forms. It is Sunday evening and I am just finishing up. Needless to say, Jay is pretty tired of me following him around asking questions. How tall are you? How much do you weigh? Are you a criminal? Etc... You get the picture.

Tomorrow morning I am going to turn in the adoption agency application. After that I will schedule the required doctor visits for Jay, myself, and our fuzzy children. Let me tell you, they are going to be thrilled when they find out they are headed for the vet. Wish me luck!

Sunday, April 10, 2005 5:19 PM CDT

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