Dinner with Facebook Friends in China

Tonight we ate with some friends I met through email and Facebook... we have watched each other's journey's to our daughters, prayed for one another, and encouraged one another. Julia is 4 (pictured in the red dress), Talia is 3 (in the striped dress), our little Amaris is 2. (still at her orphanage). Gabriella has been home from China for 2 years, she is in the white dress in the middle, age 5.  

Todd is flying solo and doing a phenomenal job with little Talia Mei in the striped sailor dress... even without his amazing wife Mary Jane Postiglione... our family is in the middle,  me (Patty), Tyanna, Gabriella (adopted July 2010 from Guilin) and my husband Jason, and Barry and Karen Rapp with little Julia. Julia is a giggly little bundle of Joy bringing such excitement to her new mama and baba... she is a smart little princess... she covers her mouth everytime she laughs... much like a pre-teen who sees a cute boy for the first time. Talia loves to talk and sing... she is such a little princess too... I hope to have the girls stand together in a day or two... especially next to Gabriella... home for 2 years. Julia and Gabriella were 3 pounds a part at Gotcha Day.

This is little Julia...

This is Talia...also a little one...

 Gabriella had so much fun playing with them at the end of our dinner together.

Unfortunately, most of the photos were blurry at dinner because a setting on the camera was messed up. I guess the good thing is that we all had cameras, and we are getting the kinks out (ie. all the bad photos) before we get Amaris tomorrow.

"Happy Mother's Day Baba"

Later in the evening last night, I gave Gabriella the little present she made for Baba at preschool.

She squealed in delight... followed by a bunch of giggles.

"Happy Mother's Day Baba!" she said. Baba laughed and said, "It's always Mother's Day at our house Mei Mei. Do you mean Happy Baba's Day?"

No one told her to give Baba a hug and kiss... she did everything on her own. She is so loveable!

And It Goes On and On and On!

Isn't there a recently popular song that has the phrase, "and it goes on and on and on... I raise my hands up in the air sometimes saying ayo I got to let go".... okay... I don't know the words, but what I think I know... is what is now stuck in my head...

As I began to type, it was 11:11am PST... which makes it 2:11am here in China. It is not time to be up!

I went to bed following my last post, COMPLETELY exhausted... not because of anything I did, but because I think I am still dealing with the jet lag (despite my No Jet Lag pills). When I woke up, I was ready to roll out of bed, shower, and get the day started... until I looked at the clock... MIDNIGHT! What? I am totally ready to roll.

Back to bed I went... this time I was sure it was time to get up... I was so thankful for a full nights sleep... until I looked at the clock... 1:30am.

Next time I woke up, I woke up to Gabriella saying, "Ba" (short for Baba - which means Daddy in Chinese)... I thought, that is weird... she actually slept through the entire night... it has happened a few times, but this time, I was especially grateful for the uninterrupted sleep.

When I heard her little voice, I was kinda excited. "Awesome," I thought. We FINALLY did it. She is like clock work. She and the dogs wake up at exactly 6am... because breakfast is from 6-10am at our hotel, I thought we could just get up and go. But, there was just one small problem... it is only 2am.

Whatever!

I didn't want to go back to bed... so, I am typing about this night going on and on and on! And now, I have a writing buddy playing beside me. 



Tyanna said this is the song Dynamite... most of the words don't seem appropriate, but the stuff in my head is... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F39vGt3l-gs

One More Sleep!

Tomorrow is Father's Day!  We will finally get to hold our precious little princess.

Gabriella has been keeping a chart for us...

 

There are no words to say what I am thinking about what tomorrow will look like. We do all that we know to do while chasing Amaris' paperwork, but it is never enough. We guestimate dates that we might receive paperwork, how big or how small our kiddo will be, what her personality is like, what she might eat, whether she will bond quickly or not... there are an endless number of thoughts and questions.  

Amaris' life is about to change... she will see people of a color she has never seen before, we will look different, smell different, and eat different foods... we will talk in a language she is not familiar with, will have different habits, and sleep in different types of beds.

We will kiss her, hug her, and tell her we love her over and over again... all day... things she has probably never had done  before. We can tell her "I love you" in Cantonese, but we were told she probably has never heard those words before, so just speak them in English.

Imagine, if your life was about to change, what would you do?  What would you do if one minute you were doing all that you knew to do and the very same minute, you were handed to complete strangers, told this was your mama and baba, and one of the only people you knew and trusted just left you forever...

Tomorrow won't be easy for Amaris... but, it will change her life and her destination! Thank you to all of you that have faithfully followed our journey to Amaris and prayed for her, her health, her bonding, etc.

She will ride a 6 hour train from MaoNan to Guangzhou.

Two More Sleeps!

We have two more sleeps until we hold Amaris (pronounced: Uh - mare - is).

We had the option of a king size bed for the 5 of us, or two double beds. We chose the two double beds. Jason and I have slept in them before and are quite comfortable... well, these "double beds" are twin beds... fortunately we were all exhausted, so no one moved last night.

We'll see how it works for us... I am thinking that the king bed is bigger with less opportunity to fall out of a bed. I am grateful we didn't have to get a second room for Tyanna. 

Thought I would share photos of what our hotel room looked like before we moved in. 

 

Our Guide Eva

We rounded the corner after grabbing our gazillion bags from the airport (which my adopting girlfriend April had asked if I had Sherpas to help with), and we finally met our guide Eva.

We actually are the only family with Wasatch at our hotel right now. Eva will be with us for the entire trip.

She had a wonderful driver... we never had to worry about our safety or close our eyes once! That's a bonus in China!

We've Landed!

Our flight to China has finally arrived. We left our home about 10:30AM on Friday, June 15 and arrived in Beijing, after an 11 hour flight about 6:30pm Saturday, June 16th.

It wasn't without our first hiccup... Jason thought it would be okay for Tyanna to follow everyone up the escalator while we went to the elevator... Uh, NO! I told him it wasn't a good idea to be separated... and, he learned quickly. 

We walked confidently to the elevator, having passed a security guard who never questioned us, opening a large door for us (then locking it again)... then passing a second security guard that did the same. We then entered an elevator (because someone who had access) was just getting off. We ended up on a floor we shouldn't have been on, in hallways that are only secured by officers (MEAN ONES), and very little help or signage anywhere. By this time, we were terrified because several minutes have no passed and there doesn't seem to be a way to get on and off elevators... someone else helped us to the tiny service elevator and then we were really lost.

When we finally gave up, two officers approached us wanting to know who we were, how we got where we were, who let us in, and what we were doing... and then didn't listen to us... we were escorted to the appropriate elevator (which was nice) despite the fact that he was a complete jerk.

While we were getting on the elevator, I smiled and said, "I guess it's a good thing we are nice people" or something like that, and he agressively said, "You know I am supposed to put you both under arrest, question you, and get your stories"). Geez! What I wanted to say after that (but held my tongue to avoid setting him off) was: "We are just two lost parents, with a preschooler in a walker, holding our mochas from Starbucks, trying to find our now-lost teenager and airplane that is about to take off so that we can get to China to adopt our special needs baby... waist your time on the others please!"

Ironically, once we got where we were going, everyone lined up to board, but the sweet girls (and guys) came to our family and let US board first. Take that Mr. Security Officer! I am thankful God was with us during that scary ordeal... especially since we were in our home town.

So, now we are at the beginning of the line with preferred treatment (unbeknownst to them about our ordeal we just came out of), and we are about to go down the ramp. They didn't understand that Gabriella would need to have her walker to go down the ramp. So, as I do when someone doesn't get it, I step her out in front of her walker and let her go. She fell towards the person that wanted her to walk the rest of the way to the airplane. Well, she, and the others, got it! Ironically, we had to do that EVERY time... apparently the Chinese have never seen someone in a walker. We dropped it off at both planes, but had to pick it up at baggage... go figure...

We had a wonderful flight... only one small dip with turbulence, which screams were screamed. Both girls did great... watching movies, listening to music, snuggling, and playing with the ipad. 

This airplane got us to Beijing. It was 8 passengers wide. We got 4 of the seats in the middle of the plane. Hainan Airlines was very friendly to us.

This photo was taken at almost 1AM on our second airplane that flew us from Beijing to Guangzhou... so, this is as good as it gets... the two new jie jie's excited to meet their little mei mei tomorrow.

 

It'a now about 1:30AM. We were the very last ones to get our luggage... yep... all 10 suitcases, PLUS Tyanna's backpack and large purse, Jason's backpack, and Gabriella's walker. 

As I take this photo, I am wondering... what in the world is our guide going to think? I hope she brought a large enough van... oh geez... what if we have to take 2 vehicles to the hotel? I guess we will know in about a minute.

And, We're Off!

Gabriella has helped us countdown the number of sleeps since our CA (Consulate Appointment) was announced. I knew I was going to need some help, because we were just 7 days from leaving... and, my sweet husband STILL believed we wouldn't/won't be in China until July.

She gets so excited to choose the perfect princess sticker for each day.

While packing, re-packing, re-packing again, re-packing later that day, re-packing the next day, etc... etc... for some reason, we (that would be the "mouse in my pocket" and I) decided that Corban and I would work together to change 3 bedrooms as well. We did almost everything but the beds. A couple weeks after we return, we will paint the NEW "castle" room and then move the beds.

For now, we will just admire our fun little princess closet.

BOYS OUT!

PRINCESSES IN!

And, while we were diligently packing, we celebrated a couple birthdays this week, and I somehow made time creating 5 new matching hairbows for the all of our little princesses (Gabriella, Amaris, and those coming: Giavanna, Annabella, and Amelia/Mia). I knew that matching outfits and hair pretties were a big thing, but as I packed for this trip, I realized I was making sure the girls underwear matched as well. Hopefully, this won't be a big deal for long. 

So many thoughts are racing in my mind, and it's funny how easily side tracked I seem to be getting. The bank clerks and Costco employees have seen me daily, but they always remark about how calm I am. I think it's just God's peace. 

I am realizing that in just four days, I will probably never iron pajamas again and one day very soon, I will look back and think, that was really dumb. Did I REALLY iron pajamas?

I am sure I will still iron everything else... including their jackets before they wear them... I think it is just a part of me. It's interesting to see what we thought before our life totally changed... I know my life is changing once again... and, I am SUPER DE-DUPER excited.

The thrill of holding my littlest princess, one of two princesses I KNEW I would someday adopt... just makes my heart smile that she is FINALLY arriving (18 YEARS LATER); but, while I typed this sentence, I realized something else I had never thought about, I was pregnant with Tyanna during the time the Lord gave me the vision of our two shoulder-length, dark-haired, tan-skinned girls... and now, Tyanna is 18... when I think about this wait, if you had asked me if I thought I would have waited this long, I would have said, "Not a chance!" I knew this vision was from the Lord so I faithfully hoped, faithfully prayed, faithfully spoke, and faithfully and prayerfully believed. Viola!

God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above ALL

that we could ever ask or think!

We Got Our CA

We received our CA on June 7, 2012 for June 27, 2012. What I love about this date... is that because China is a day ahead of us, it makes this day June 26, 2012 for us... the day my mom entered Heaven just 2 years before...

God is so amazing. While Grandma Nai Nai left us, Amaris is joining us just 2 short years later.

We are Traveling to China!

As I write this, I found out just a couple hours ago that we got our TA (Travel Approval) to get our baby Amaris... our baby we waited 18 YEARS for. There were so many days and nights I cried my eyes out for two little baby girls I knew that I would someday meet and hold in my arms.

I am STILL SHAKING throughout my entire body.... little tingly shakes. So weird!

Anyway... 

I am requesting our Gotcha Day for Father's Day, June 17th.

I am requesting we adopt Amaris June 20th... the day God showed her to me, one year before

We were chosen to be her family June 23, 2011.

I am hoping for our CA (Consulate Appointment) for June 26th... the day my mom met Jesus!

It could happen... so, I am putting the other baby to bed now and dumping those suitcases that I have thrown stuff into over the last couple weeks and start REALLY packing.

Still deciding if we will play in Beijing for a couple days. That means we will leave in just 7 DAYS...

Thank you Jesus for your faithfulness. Everything is in your time and these dates are in YOUR hands.

We Got Our TA!

I have been sitting at my computer for literally 2 weeks paper-chasing much of the day for Giavanna (ANOTHER little one) until midnight or later each night (unless I was preparing for Tyanna and Jordan's graduation).

I have done 100% of the paperwork for Amaris' adoption... but, MY HUSBAND got the most important call... it's probably because he is just that awesome. 

So, after he received the call from our agency, he decided to call me... MUCH LATER... it wasn't until he thought... "I don't know what TA means, but my wife probably does"  At one point, he even thought it might be fun to just let the Fed Ex man let me know.  

I told him I was going to call our agency in the 4pm hour, and he told me that's when they actually called him. He got the first call from our agency at 1:49pm, but it went to voicemail. Our second call from our agency came at 4:36pm. Yeah!

So, how did I finally find out?

He texted me: "Do you want to go see Amaris next week?"

I sweetly responded: "not responding to this" (with a smile)
Why would he get my hopes up? Silly boy! I am expecting our TA Friday!

Well, because he knew something that I didn't know.

Marilyn, from our agency, asked if we could leave for China next week. OH MY GOSH! What?

So Patty, When Do You Think You Will Get TA?

The question, in the adoption community is always this:
"So, when do you think you will get TA?"

In everyday language, that translates to: 
"So, when do you think you will be heading to China to get your littlest princess?"

Referral Photos in Chinese File, received in June 2011. 

Additional Referral Photos in Chinese File, received in June 2011. 

Photos received in August 2011. First photo update. 

Christmas Photos received in December 2011. Second photo update. 

Chinese New Year Photos received in February 2012. Third photo update. 

  

   Birthday Photos received in February 2012. Fourth photo update. 

   

  

Our journey to Amaris has been nothing but miraculous, and I just think it should end that way as well. Our adoption agency chose our family, out of quite a number of families, to be Amaris' family.

There was never any doubt in my mind that she was ours... because God POURED ON His miracles one after the other and it was absolutely, undeniable, that THIS BABY was ours... down to every-single possible aspect.

This was the precious baby we waited 18 years for.


I think it would be just wonderful, if we landed in China on June 23rd.
This date is special for two reasons: 
1. On June 23, 2010, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I called my mom. A couple hours later, she had two brain aneurisms and died. Medical science revived her and kept her alive a couple more days.
2. On June 23, 2011, our agency, including my now good friend Kathy Junk, chose our family to be Amaris' family.

If we arrived in China on June 23rd, our Gotcha Day would be June 25th.

This would make our Adoption Day, June 26th. 
This date is special because this was the day that my mom entered into Heaven and met Jesus face to face.

I would love for her Consulate Appointment to be July 2nd, but it doesn't seem like it could be...
I think there are about 10 days between the adoption and the CA...
This day would be special because July 2nd, 2010, my mom celebrated her 44th wedding anniversary with my dad, their daughter Kimberly and an un-born, un-named son... in Heaven.

As I look at my calendar and guestimate days... I realize... we actually could be in China before June 26th... making our CA date even possible to be June 26th...

So, I will stop thinking and guessing... although it is fun... and, perhaps, I will go start packing instead.

It's interesting, that we started packing with Gabriella about 6 or 7 months before we left to get her... and, then we re-packed perhaps as many as 20 times before we actually left for China.

Article 5... Done!

If you had asked me in November 2010, when we started this adoption to Amaris when I thought I would get my Article 5, I would have confidently told you about September 2011. 

You can imagine my surprise getting it 18 months later. But, here it is... Praise the Lord! 

I appreciate my adoption friend Courtney and her blog: http://www.china-adoption-online.com that easily explains each step in the adoption process. She does such an amazing job making everything so understandable. 

The Article 5 letter comes as a result of the consulate reviewing our new daughter's visa application (the DS-230) and they make sure it meets the qualifications for an immigrant visa. They sign off that everything is in order for the adoption to be completed. It has been picked up in China (China's date: 5/24/2012) and it will be delivered directly to the CCCWA for our Travel Approval. 

Am I "Buying Time" Again?

Each delay makes me gasp... but, then I remind myself... there has got to be a reason I am "buying time" with EVERY SINGLE step in this adoption.

We know that we started at the right time. I asked God to send us a ladybug back in November 2010 when we could start our process. Three weeks later, He sent one right to the room in my doctor's office. He (God) even had me bring my camera to the office to document it. That's an amazing story you can read under "November" of this adoption timeline on the right.

This is definitely an opportunity to truly learn to TRUST in God and HIS timing.

I think it would be interesting to find out how many days I actually have "bought" over the course of this adoption journey to Amaris... and her sister. Adoptions take 9-12 months... Amaris will be in our arms in June (technically)... which will have taken us  20 months... and, that is WITHOUT her sister.

This photo of Amaris was taken this week, one year ago!

We thought we would be bringing home Annabella at the same time, but God surprised us with a little Giavanna, who we never knew about, and who we believe will be home by Christmas 2012.

My dossier is being positioned for some reason... each step has had a delay of a few days... oh, how I wish I knew the end of THIS dossier story.  We will use it to bring home Giavanna. And, we are HOPING and PRAYING that we can use it to bring home Annabella and Amelia as well.

I am grateful that God is in control and that I have learned early on to trust Him.

My sweet little princess is waiting here in 

79-90 degree F weather this week with 86% humidity and NO AIR CONDITIONING

April 17:   Requested our now 18 year old (then 16 year old) to be fingerprinted
April 18:   Received our I-797C to get her fingerprinted
April 25:   Tyanna walked in for her fingerprints 21 days early
April 30:   Tyanna's fingerprints were approved
May 1:      Tyanna turns 18; received email about Tyanna's fingerprints being approved on April 30
May 3:      Received I800A and I800 in the mail, BUT a date was incorrect
May 7:      I emailed NVC about my NVC letter, received an email back with my GUZ #
May 8:      I800 date fixed and approved, NVC issued the letter to be cabled to the US Embassy in China for Amaris' passport
May 9:      I received the NVC EMAIL and cable that needs to go to China
May 10:    Cable is now in China
May 17:    Notified that our I800 had Amaris' Chinese name spelled wrong; I also received the I800 corrected cable hardcopy via snail mail
May 21:    Our officer at NVC corrected the Chinese spelling of our daughter's name, emailed me and re-sent it to China
May 24:    Day we were SUPPOSED to receive our original Article 5, before it had to be fixed


There is a quote:
God has a reason for allowing things to happen. We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to trust His will.

Just waiting and hoping and praying I get to see this seal later today or tomorrow and that our paperwork will still be on schedule for our TA (Travel Approval) to China.

We are Cabled!

On May 1st, Tyanna's 18th birthday, I received an email that her fingerprints had been approved and her I800A and our I800 were on their way in the mail. We received them May 3rd.

I decided to email the National Visa Center (NVC) on Monday May 7th. I was delightfully surprised to receive a response back that afternoon with my GUZ #. 

The next day, the NVC approved us. I received a confirmation email of this approval the following day, TODAY, May 9, 2012. 

Because I had checked my email before 7:30AM, I quickly forwarded the NVC letter to our agency and got an immediate response back. 

Our Letter Seeking Confirmation (LSC) was submitted at 8:10PM this evening. 

It appears to be a standard 2 week wait for Article 5. I am guestimating that, that means our Article 5 will come on Thursday, May 24th. 

Travel Approval (TA) is said to come within 2-4 weeks of receiving Article 5; however, my adopting girlfriends are currently getting their TA's within 10-14 days. 

If this is true, we could have our TA as early as June 4th. Some say possibly June 7th and as late as June 14th. 

Everything is happening so fast now. May Jesus protect your heart and lungs Princess Amaris. Mama, Baba and your jie jie's are coming soon!