Two China Dolls and a Prince!

This blog chronicles the story of 2 of our adoptions, both older children when they came home. It begins in 2008 and will continue in the hopes we can be of encouragement and information to anyone thinking of older child adoption.



Tuesday, August 26, 2008

UPDATE WITH PICTURES!! HALLELUJAH!!




WE JUST GOT THE MOST AMAZING THING! It had been awhile since we'd had any info on Judi, so I went through the same service we did back in March. Well, two weeks later, here it is, and holy cow, we actually got two pictures!! Remember, Judi is in Kunming; this is a notoriously hard orphanage and foster care to get information out of, so we are truly blessed by these pictures! The funny thing is, pay special attention to the measurements at the end. These indicate she is only 33" tall and weighs 24.5 lbs; the March update had her at 36.6" and 28 lbs. Wonder how it's possible for a kid to shrink 3 inches?! I think I tend to believe this set of measurements because she sure looks tiny in the pictures. Isn't she just scrumptious? All my fears have literally been washed away; it feels so right in my heart to look at these new pictures and think of her as a "Cavender". The kids were just thrilled to see her, and Jazmin is carrying around copies of her pictures in her many purses!
1. Is she showing any evidence of effects from her diagnosis, i.e. learning difficulties, seizures, physical delays?
No.
2. We would like to send a care package, when would it be given to her?
After we receive the care package we will forward it to your child in appropriate time. (I guess it means after their make sure you ARE her family-after you sign the document).
3. What is her personality like?
She is fairly introverted. She is very sweet and she talks gently.
4. Is she in school or receiving any education?
No, she is not in school. She is receiving education from the foster family under orphanage¡¯s guidance, such as play games, sing songs, etc.
5. How long has she been in foster care?
We have mentioned when she was sent to the foster family in the file sent to CCAA, you may ask your agency.
6. Does she have foster siblings?
She has two sisters in the foster family. One is bigger and another is smaller.
7. How does she sleep?
She sleeps well.
8. Does she sleep alone or with a family member?
She sleeps alone.
11. Height: 84cm; Weight: 12kg; Head: 46cm; Chest: 52cm; Teeth: 16; Foot: 13.5cm.


Wednesday, August 20, 2008

MY BABY STARTED SCHOOL TODAY!!

My babies (even the big ones) started a new school year today. Jessica is in 8th, James is in middle school now (6th), and Jazmin, that little baby we welcomed over 3 years ago, started kindergarden today.
She had her outfit all picked out a week in advance, and loves her new Princess backpack with matching lunchbox! We got her haircut (but so short!), but she does look cute, like a little pixie!
I at least managed to wait until they got on the bus before I cried. Then I got myself together and went in to enjoy my nice quiet house!
When they all got home, they were full of talk; sometimes, I have to pick one to speak at a time, as they all want to be the first to tell about their day, and I only have two ears! Jazmin had a good day, but she fell asleep on the bus home; I think the "no nap" thing this year is going to be the hardest part for her; the teacher said it's because the state has so many learning requirements now, they need the extra time; isn't that sad, that now, even in kindergarden, you have to "buckle down" and get to work!
Have to go now and feed 3 hungry kiddos!
Debbie

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

WE HAVE OUR I-171H!!!!

In adoption land, this is the absolute best news ever! This was our last big hurdle to getting our dossier to China; finally after soooo long and soooo many delays!! We should have been DTC in June or July, but because of the homestudy and immigration delays, now it looks like we won't have Judi until 2009! This is so frustrating on so many levels; and many others are experiencing even more angst because on April 1st, the Hague treaty went into effect.
This is a new set of regulations the USA and other countries agree to abide by in international adoption. By paying attention to our adoption Yahoo group, we squeaked in under that date, and so we are one of the "lucky" ones who did not have to submit an I-800 instead of an I-600. The Hague has slowed everything down to a crawl; a process that took about 6 weeks is now taking over 3 months! Many families are just lost in the bureaucracy and there is absolutely nothing they can do. There are also much stricter homestudy guidelines and almost every family is having to redo their homestudy to comply. I thank the Lord every day he led me to that Yahoo group and told me to "pay attention"!
Debbie

A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING GOIN' ON......

Wow, what a rollercoaster ride! We're being transferred to Heritage Adoption Services, an agency that is tops by all accounts; I got my dossier back from Adoption House and Heritage has it. All we're waiting on is official approval of the transfer by the CCAA.

In the meantime, I had not heard or seen our approval from immigration. I have emailed and called and gotten no responses; I keep thinking something must be wrong. I finally got fed up and called in the big guns; Ike Skelton, our Missouri State Rep. Sometimes, families have to do this to find anything out or get things taken care of. Their office called immigration for me and when Ike Skelton calls, people listen! I found out they wanted additional information from usI wonder how long this would have taken if I had just sat back and waited?
I have a feeling I know what it's about; my homestudy agency failed to include in my homestudy a copy of their license agreement; my old adoption agency didn't catch this, our new one did! Stay tuned.........