Journey to Kinsey

2006-06-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Colby and Tyler are really loving T-ball. We have been at the ball fields three nights a week for the past several weeks. In honor of Colby's birthday-- I thought that I would share a picture of him playing ball!

2006-06-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th birthday Colby Brett! (June 10th) I thought that I would add a few sweet pictures from Colby's first and second birthday. It is so hard to believe that he is 4!! Time has really flown.

2006-06-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

Fun in the sun!! The Stallings boys are really enjoying summer vacation (and so is Mom). This week we have been busy with: swiming, playing T-ball, karate class, playgroup, and swimming lessons! And we are leaving for Disney in one week!

2006-06-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a ticker to show how long we have been waiting since our LID! It has almost been a month already! So, here is to a quick wait.

2006-05-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks I have hit a few garage sales in our area! I LOVE garage sales! Yes, I did break down and buy a few things for Kinsey. She now has 8 outfits!! I bought 9 month, 12 month, and a few 18 month. If she can't wear them, I am sure there will be no problem finding someone who can use a few outfits. It was so much fun to actually purchase a girly outfit. After three boys, I can finally buy PINK and cute dresses!

The 100 Good Wishes Quilt swap with my April 2006 yahoo group is about to begin! My mom helped me find some very cute material with ladybugs. She has washed the material and is even cutting it for me!! Thanks Mom!! I have written my good wishes for the families. I will mail out 8 X 8 squares of material and the good wish to all the participants. There are families participating in the swap from Canada, Norway, and Australia! Kinsey will recieve material and good wishes from all over the U.S. and abroad for her good wish quilt through this swap and another swap with my May 2006 DTC yahoo group. I can't wait until the matierial starts arriving in the mail!

2006-05-21T23:55:00.000-07:00

This photo is from the Wishes firework show at the Magic Kingdom. For all of those soon-to-be parents who are waiting to be united with their baby; Wish Upon a Star because Dreams Really Do Come True!!

2006-05-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

Walt Disney World here we come! This weekend we bought our park tickets for the upcoming summer trip to Disney. We will be meeting the mouse in 4 weeks! My brother, sister-in-law, 3 nieces, nephew, mom, and dad will be going with us! We will be touring Disney with 7 children under the age of 7! I had to post this picture of Cinderella's Castle that I took last summer. The castle is one of my favorite things to photograph!

2006-05-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

LID!!!!!! We have a log-in-date! CCAI in China has now accepted our dossier. We are doing the snoopy dance in Tennessee! Max loves Snoopy! LOL! Can you tell we are excited?? Our official LID is May 17th. That means the official countdown in on! It is really going to happen! Oh my goodness, we are going to have 4 kids! Who would have ever thought?? So much has changed for us in just a little over 6 years.

Max and I went to an all-day International workshop on Saturday. My mom watched all the boys- all day!! Thanks Nana. We got to meet a few other couples and learn some new things. We got a wonderful notebook full of goodies. The best part was at the end there was a pannel of parents who answered any questions about their international adoption experience. Their kids played in the room with us. Our social worker's beautiful daughter from China was there!

2006-05-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here we are Halloween 2004! We did the Wizard of Oz theme. Max was the Scarecrow, Kim was Dorothy, Tyler was the very tall Tin-Man, Colby was the cutest Cowardly Lion, and Nicholas was a precious Toto! ENJOY!

2006-05-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

Wacky Wednesday picture day! I am learning how to add some photos to the blog. Our family LOVES halloween. We dress up together in a different theme every year. This is from Halloween 2003. We dressed up as The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs!
I hope this works!

2006-05-13T04:31:00.000-07:00

Our dossier arrived safely in China!! We got the e-mail yesterday that our dossier arrived in China and had been safely delivered to CCAA!! I hope we hear soon about our LID (log in date). That is when we can officially start the countdown!! Things are moving!

2006-05-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

I wanted to share this information with you. It is also research done by someone on one of my Yahoo groups APC (adoptive parents China).

Does China celebrate Mother's Day?

Is Mother's Day, a western holiday, even recognized, much less
celebrated in China? Yes. It certainly is. I came across this article

http://english.people.com.cn/200105/14/eng20010514_69871.html

about Mother's Day in China. Apparently, not only is Mother's Day recognized
and celebrated in China, it is done with the popularity of floral gift
giving, much like we do here in America. And the flower that is most
prominently given is the red carnation. Very interesting. As you'll
read from the article, the red carnation is very symbolic: the dense
petals symbolize a mother's love and care. Perfect. But I was looking
and searching for more.

As I read further along, I came across a Chinese government sponsored
program known as Project Happiness. Project Happiness began in 1995 as
a way to help rural, poverty-stricken mothers out of "poverty,
illiteracy and poor health conditions." Essentially, the the program
has been providing small loans and personalized training for poor, rural
mothers from one-child families. I found several articles on Project
Happiness and became more and more intrigued as I researched. Click
here:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/chinagate/doc/2003-07/24/content_248402.htm

and here

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-08/18/content_3373714.htm

to read more.

As Kinsey gets older it would be really neat to share with her the tradition of the red carnation for Mother's Day!

2006-05-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

I found this very detailed info on one of my many yahoo groups that I am a member of to find out everything that I can!

I thought that it gave so much great information!! This was written for someone who is just researching China adoption. I spend MANY hours reading and reseraching online before we decided on our agency.

The China adoption program is one of the most reliable and stable of
the international adoption programs, and China is the country from
which more U.S. citizens have elected to adopt from than any other
country since the year 2000. According to the USCIS immigration
statistics, U.S. citizens adopted 6,859 children from China in 2003,
7,033 in 2004, and 7,906 in 2005. Children available for adoption are
mostly girls, infants to 6 years of age. About 5% of the children
adopted from China are boys - some people request "only a boy" and
some people request "a child of either sex" and let China surprise
them. If you ask for a girl, however, you will almost certainly get a
girl. Older and special needs children are also available. The
children typically reside in orphanages, although some may have been
in foster care. To view the 2004 2004 USCIS Immigration Statistics, go
here:

http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/yearbook/index.htm

Travel required: At least one parent (if married) must travel to
China. Only one trip is required, lasting approximately two weeks. The
parent(s) go to their child's province of origin to pick her/him up,
and remain there for 5-6 days to complete China's paperwork
requirements to finalize the adoption. The new family then proceeds to
Guangzhou (formerly Canton) to complete all USA immigration paperwork.
If only one parent (of a couple) travels, the child enters the USA
under an IR-4 visa, and a "readoption" is required with the second
parent present to complete the adoption process.

(If adopting from a country other than the USA, for example, Canada:
the second half of the journey will be completed at the Canadian
Embassy in Beijing. Time required, and visa and re-adoption
requirements will vary from that given in the paragraph above.)

China requires two post-placement reports be completed by a social
worker (at six and 12 months). Additional visits are required if only
one parent of a couple travels and re-adoption is not completed in a
timely manner. Some agencies have tighter restrictions, and Illinois
recently enacted a law requiring a 30 day post-placement visit - this
is not sent to China, however.

Explore international adoption -- here are a sprinkling of sites:

http://www.jcics.org/ (Joint Council on International Children's
Services)
http://www.internationaladoptionnews.com/ (excellent info about
researching agencies, etc.)
http://www.ethicanet.org/
http://international.adoption.com/
http://www.comeunity.com/

Pick up a DVD copy of "China's Lost Girls" from National Geographic's
website or Amazon:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/

Read about adoption (China and your adoption agency will require a
certain amount of reading/study) -- here's a comprehensive reading list:
http://heartborn.org/reading.htm

Attend adoption seminars given by adoption agencies and other groups:
http://www.inciid.org
http://www.resolve.org/

Join your local chapter of Families With Children from China (FCC) and
attend Waiting Family Meetings, adoption seminars, and cultural events:
http://www.fwcc.org/

----------------------

There are over 100 agencies in the USA licensed to facilitate China
adoptions. For a complete list of agencies who are Joint Council on
International Children's Services (JCICS) members, go here:
http://www.jcics.org/Country%20Programs.htm#China

In terms of numbers of adoptions completed annually from China, the
largest agency in the USA is CCAI (Chinese Children Adoption
International) of Centennial, Colorado, which facilitates close to
1,000 adoptions per year; next largest is GWCA (Great Wall China
Adoptions) headquartered in Austin, Texas. Both of these agencies have
branches all over the USA, and ONLY facilitate China adoptions.

Other extremely well-known and respected USA agencies include: CHI
(Children's Hope International), Holt, Harrah's, WACAP, AHH, AWAA,
Bethany Christian Services, CAWLI, Dillon, FTIA, Gladney, Journeys of
the Heart, Lavida, Spence Chapin, Pearl S. Buck Welcome House, etc.
etc. You can easily look these up on the internet, then send an email
and request a (free) information packet. CCAI's video will make you
cry!! (I recommend you build a spreadsheet to compare fees and
services; a sample spreadsheet is available in the files of APC, the
adoptive parents China yahoo group (see link below)). Here are links
to some of the most widely recognized large agencies as noted above:

CCAI: http://www.chinesechildren.org/
GWCA: http://www.gwcadopt.org/
CHI: http://www.childrenshopeint.org/
Holt: http://www.holtintl.org
Harrah's: http://www.hfsadopt.com/

China's fees are set in concrete and mandated by their government, as
are the USA's USCIS (formerly INS) fees. China's agents do not expect
or accept cash bribes (unlike Russia and FSU adoption officials),
altho small gratuity-type gifts are appreciated.

China's government has ONE agency which handles all international
adoptions: the CCAA - China Centre of Adoption Affairs, in Beijing.
The requirements (age/income/number of children in the household) to
adopt from China are listed on the CCAA website (although the
translation is not always ideal). There are also unwritten general
guidelines, for example, CCAA typically prefers to refer twins to
families that do not already have children in the home, with parents
earning over $100,000 per annum... altho there are exceptions made to
these and other unwritten guidelines on a case-by-case basis. CCAA's
website (English version) can be found here:

http://www.china-ccaa.org/frames/index_unlogin_en.jsp

Note that US adoption agencies generally have more stringent
requirements than China's, to ensure the agency maintains a high
success rate for completed adoptions (no agency likes to have a
dossier rejected by China; it reflects poorly on the agency, not to
mention it is devastating to the prospective family).

--------------------------
YAHOO GROUPS

"Why China? Why not adopt an American child?"

The adoptive parent will be asked this question many times. Your stock
answer will vary depending on who is doing the asking, and will
benefit from careful consideration and reflection in advance. Many
parents choose some derivation of: "All children are equally deserving
of a family, regardless of where they were born. My daughter was born
in China." Joining an adoptive parents' group (such as the Yahoo
group A-Parents-China or APC) provides a place for discussion of this
and many other nosy questions you will be asked in the grocery
check-out line, at church, by relatives, etc. Other topics your agency
will require you to research and consider: issues confronting
inter-racial families, raising your child with an appreciation for her
birth culture, how to deal with abandonment questions/issues as the
child matures, medical/health issues, adoption disruption, etc. etc.

There are literally hundreds of Yahoo groups pertaining to China
adoption. The oldest, largest (over 17,000 members) and most active
online China adoption discussion group is a-parents-china, or APC for
short. The Files and Archives and Links are invaluable, and the Photo
gallery is wonderful!! Join this group here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/a-parents-china

If you are Single, absolutely join the Single-Adopt-China (SAC) Yahoo
group for advice and support:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Single-Adopt-China

-----------------------------

The Non-Special Needs (NSN) adoption process is often likened to
pregnancy. From start to finish, currently (Dec 2005) one can expect
roughly 15-18 months to bring home a child from China. The time will
vary considerably, depending on the couple's ability to complete the
requisite paperwork and the USCIS's ability to approve the coveted
I-171H or I-797C form (permission to adopt a foreign-born child). The
process can be broken into three parts:

1. Most people take 3-6 months to complete the "first trimester" or
"paperchase"... this involves a home-study as required by their State
of residence, plus the assembly, notarization, certification,
translatation, and authentication of all paperwork into an adoption
dossier.

2. Once the dossier is mailed to China and logged in at the CCAA, the
family enters the DTC (Dossier To China) or "second trimester" phase
(also known as The Wait, The Long Wait, The Interminable Wait).
During this currently 9-10 month period (two years ago The Wait was 14
months, six months ago it was 6 months, so clearly, this time frame
varies considerably), CCAA reviews the dossier in The Review Room, and
if all paperwork is in order, the dossier progresses to The Matching
Room where the parent(s) are matched with their child through what
many new parents feel is a mystical, magical, heaven-inspired process.
China adoptive parents often refer to The Red Thread legend to explain
the miracle that results in exactly the right child being matched with
exactly the right Forever Family: "An invisible red thread connects
those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or
circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."
--An ancient Chinese belief.

3. The Referral is then sent to the adoption agency - the parent(s)
receive the long awaited Call, and then the translated medical and
developmental information about the child -- along with (typically)
three photographs are presented (via Fedex or an in-office visit). The
parent(s) are given several days to review the Referral package and
decide whether to accept or decline the child they were matched with.
Most parents (95% or better) accept their Referral, which is then sent
back to China to generate the next two critical steps: TA or Travel
Approval, and CA or Consulate Appointment. This "third trimester" is a
frenetic time of activity, as the new parents await approval from
China to come get their child, obtain visas, make flight arrangements,
and pack pack pack!! Travel is generally 6-8 weeks after Referral,
and the in-country stay is generally about 12 days (not including any
tours arranged for before or after the adoption process).

------------------------

The Special Needs (SN) or Waiting Child (WC) adoption process has some
similar steps to the above process, but also some notable differences,
with generally a shorter timeline, as well. For more info on adopting
a Waiting Child, visit this website:

http://www.waitingchild.org/

and join this Yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WaitingChildrenChina/

------------------------

Adoption costs: China is one of the least expensive international
adoption programs (altho Africa and Haiti are MUCH less expensive than
China). Typically a couple adopting from China will spend $16-$19,000
for ALL costs including agency fees, orphanage donation (~$3000), US
and China government fees, plus travel. As a comparison, typical costs
for Russia, FSU countries, and Guatemala run $23-30,000. Domestic
adoption can run $5-50,000. The US federal government provides a
$10,000.00 tax credit for the year in which the adoption is completed
(there is a bill in the House which will hopefully increase this
amount). Some States also provide a tax credit and/or allowances, as
do some companies. Note that China adoption expenses are generally
spread over a 12 month period (or longer).

-------------------------

Age of children referred: China considers children under two to be
"infants". It is extremely rare for a child to be referred who is
under six months of age (the orphanage makes a nominal attempt to
locate the birth parents and posts a Finding Ad in the local paper,
and then must assemble and send in the child's dossier). Most children
referred are between 10-14 months at time of "handover" to the new
parents. Many parents ask for AYAP - As Young As Possible. In general,
younger parents can be expected to be referred younger children.
Agencies will usually tell a couple in their late 40's to expect their
referral to be between 12-24 months old, however, the CCAA often
assigns children differently from the expected way. That's where the
Matching Room magic comes into play.

-------------------------

NOW that is a lot of information!!!!!!!! WOW!!!

2006-05-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

DTC Date: May 9, 2006!!!!!!!!!
I got the e-mail from CCAI that our dossier was mailed yesterday afternoon!!
WOW!!!! We have reached another milestone.

CONGRATULATIONS, Max & Kim,

Your dossier was sent to China late yesterday afternoon (5/9/2006)!

Here’s what to expect for the next month:

The CCAA will receive your dossier in approximately 3-5 days. We will e-mail you your Dossier to China (DTC) Information Packet as soon as we know that your dossier has been received by the CCAA. The current referral timeline will be discussed in this packet.

The CCAA usually logs in dossiers within 4 weeks of their receipt. Your dossier may be logged-in this or next month. This Log-In Date is called your LID, the date that you may “count down” to your referral. As the CCAA is the ultimate authority in logging in your dossier, we are unable to estimate your LID.

The CCAA will notify us of your LID within the next 8 weeks. The date will be posted on your personal on-line Parent Access Network (PAN) page of the CCAI website, www.chinesechildren.org, the instant that we are notified of it.

Again, congratulations! If you have any questions about this e-mail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Congrats on hitting this milestone,

Kim

Kimberly N. Malsom

2006-05-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't posted in awhile-- I thought I would catch everyone up on the news. Our dossier still hasn't left for China! Our dossier passed critical review on April 27th. There was a National Holiday in China from May 1st through May 4th and CCAA was closed during that week. I am waiting to hear anytime that our dossier is on its way to China. Our agency did send out dossiers on May 4th and another batch on May 8th.

I went to a wonderful class last night on making adoption lifebooks for your children. I love to scrapbook and have been scarpbooking since 1999. But, I wanted to go and get as much information as I could about making a lifebook for Kinsey. A lifebook is her adoption story. It will include the entire journey to get to her. I will detail the paperchase, referral, travel to China, and Gotcha day in this book for her. This will help her understand her adoption. I will also put in some research information on China. I also want her to know all the books that I have read and all the yahoo groups about China that we joined to gather information!

I have made lifebooks for all of our boys- it does tell their adoption story, but each book is unique. Tyler loves to look at his baby book/scrapbook and ask questions about everything.

I will keep you posted when we get a DTC date. Hopefully, today is the day!!

2006-04-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

We passed critical review! We got the e-mail from the agency this afternoon! Now our dossier documents are onto translation! China is celebrating the Labor Day holiday there from May 1st through May 5th. SO, our dossier won't be mailed to China until May 4th. We will update our blog when we are DTC!!
Here is the e-mail from our agency:

Kim and Max –

Just wanted to let you know that I completed the critical review of your dossier and it looks great! So, MANY congratulations as I have moved your dossier into our Translation department! It should be there a little over a week simply because our mailing schedule has had to be altered to accommodate the CCAA’s closure for the Labor Day holiday in China. So, keep an eye on your email as we’ll send you another message when we are able to send your dossier!

We’ll be in touch soon. Happy celebrating!

Respectfully,

Jen Winkelmann, MA
CCAI Dossier Department

2006-04-17T03:29:00.000-07:00

Several officials from China visited our agency on April 10th and April 11th! The officials from CCAA (they actually match us with our children!) came to Colorado and enjoyed two days at CCAI.
Here is a letter posted on our agency's website about the visit.

Dear CCAI Families,

CCAI was honored to welcome a seven-member delegation from the China Center of Adoption Affairs on April 10 and 11, 2006. The purpose of the visit was to exchange ideas on the online system for the Waiting Child Program that CCAI has been assisting the CCAA to develop, and to show the CCAA’s appreciation for CCAI’s outstanding charitable efforts in helping orphanage children. The delegation’s visit was also intended to send a strong message to the adoption community that China adoption will continue for years to come. The Director General of the CCAA, Mr. Lu, met with some adoptive families currently waiting for their child match. He expressed how much he appreciated their love for Chinese children and asked for the families’ patience and support in light of the current lengthened wait. Lily explained to the delegation about the 18-month limitation of the I-171H, the I-600A re-filing process for a new I-171H, and the costs associated with the process. Mr. Lu expressed his understanding about the emotional and financial impact the lengthened child match process has on our waiting families. He assured us that the CCAA will continue to work diligently to manage this challenge of “more-dossiers-than-reported-children” at the CCAA. We will continue to keep you updated with any information. As always, please feel free to contact us at any time.

Warm regards,

Your CCAI Staff

2006-04-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

We are in critical review!!!!!!! Our agency e-mailed us today that they recieved our I-171h in the mail. Our dossier is complete and now it is in critical review! This means that our dossier is checked over 3 times by three different dossier specialists. It can take 10-15 business days. We hope it will be very quick because we did fax over every document before we paid to get anything sealed! We still might make April DTC. Max and I will keep you posted.

2006-04-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

It is 1:30 p.m. and my dear husband just called to say the I-171h is in the mail!
He is such a great guy- he ran all over town today.
First of all he had to meet our social worker Stephanie at 10:00 and pick up the notarized copy of the I-171h. Stephanie also had a Fed-Ex envelope ready that was addressed to the Assistant Stork and a return envelope that was addressed to CCAI agency in Colorado. The next step was to get it county sealed. He got it county sealed very close to our agency's office! That was nice. After that, he had to go to the bank and get certified checks for the United States Department (U.S. seal) and to the Chinese Consulate People's Republic of China. As if that wasn't enough running- he had to drive to downtown Nashville and get a State of Tennessee seal! Then the wonderful envelope containing our last document was dropped in the mailbox around 1:20 p.m.
I will keep you posted when our agency finally recieves it! What a great day.

2006-04-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

I got on the CCAI website last night to check to see if there was any news about referrals coming soon. There was a letter from the directors of CCAI Josh and Lilly. When we applied to CCAI it was a 6-7 month wait from the time your dossier got to China until you got a referral. Since November, the time has increased to 10-12 months until referral and it could be a lot longer. Everyone has been wondering why the slowdown? Josh and Lilly posted a letter to CCAI families. Here it is....

Dear CCAI Waiting Families, Spring greetings from Josh and Lily! As an agency that values open and honest communication, we want to share with you our thought on the recent referral slow down. As a result of “more-dossiers-than-children” at the CCAA, the child match wait in recent months has lengthened. While fluctuations in the timeline are a normal part of international adoption, there is no doubt that this delay has created anxiety, uncertainty and frustration among our families. As adoptive parents ourselves, we understand and empathize with you completely. Honestly, we don’t know how long the delay will last this time or how it will impact your individual situation. However, we have been assured repeatedly by the CCAA that China adoption will continue for many years to come. We know for certain, after participating in this up and down journey with more than 6,600 families, that you will one day be united with the child you are dreaming of. “When” is the question, not “if.” We will keep you informed of all verifiable information we receive directly from the CCAA. As we have always said to you, please feel free to write or call us at any time. Our “open ears” and understanding hearts are always available to you. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you. We truly appreciate your trust and support. Yours, Josh and Lily

There are plenty of babies in the orphanages- just not "paper ready" babies. What that means is that there are so many dossiers in China now and not enough babies that are ready to be adopted. For a child to be "paper ready" in China it takes a long time. They have to be declaired an orphan which means they have to be in the orphanage or foster care for at least 6 months. China places "finding ads" in the newspapers when a baby is found and gives birth families time to claim the baby. There is also a big push to get some Chinese families to adopt these babies. So it is taking longer for babies to become "ready to adopt". They also have to have physicals and the orphanages have to fill out lots of papers for the CCAI (the agency in China that works on adoption) on each child that is adoptable. We can only hope that referral time speeds up during our "wait". I will keep you posted as we hear from our agency.

2006-04-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today was the day!! Our I-171h arrived from Memphis today! It is the last piece of papework needed before we can be DTC (dossier to China). Let me fill you in on what has been going on the last month. It has been a nightmare. In early March, after waiting 11 plus weeks for the I-171h to arrive, I called Memphis to get a status on our application. That was when we found out that we needed an addendum to the homestudy. Our Social Worker Stephanie was wonderful and faxed Memphis that morning (of course she didn't hear back from them), but made some changes and mailed the new homestudy to Memphis on March 13th. We waited, not so patiently, for a few more weeks. On March 24th I called Memphis again to get a status only to find out that we were still "in the pile" to read and check the updated homestudy. This is after Officer Williams (from Memphis) had called our social worker a few days before and told her that we were "good to go!" We were getting very different messages than our social worker and I was very upset and concerned. There had to be some kind of mix-up. On April 1st, as I checked the mail I see THE BROWN ENVELOPE from Memphis! Max and I rush to open it together thinking that the nightmare was finally over! The letter was actually a denial! It was a denial from a previous application from 2003! In November of 2003 we had started the paperchase for a baby girl from China. We had just mailed in our application and had been fingerprinted. Then a miracle happened and we got the call about our son Nicholas. We were able to adopt Nicholas domestically and did not complete our application for China at that time. So, in 2006 we get a letter from Memphis stating that our 2003 application is denied! You have got to be kidding! I knew there was problem. On Monday, April 3rd I contacted my social worker, the Memphis office, and 2 Congressmen. I e-mailed, phoned, and faxed everyone that I thought could help. Our social worker also phoned, e-mailed, and faxed all day for us! One of the Congressmen we contacted e-mailed Memphis for a status. They got a response back that our application was approved that day. And that brings us to today! We finally got the approval in the mail! Max is going to get it notarized, county sealed, and State of Tennessee sealed in the morning. After that he will mail it to The Assistant Stork in Washington D.C. The Assistant Stork (courier that takes documents to get seals) will recieve it the next day and take it to get the United States seal and the Chinese Consulate seal in Washington D.C. After that document has all 5 seals it will go to CCAI for approval. Did you get all of that? It will be a week or so before our agency in Colorado gets it. Hopefully by the end of April all our documents will be in China! We will keep you posted.

2006-03-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

I am really going crazy with the poems on this blog, but I just had to share this one too!
Max and I prayed for kids for so long and we have been blessed with 3 wonderful sons!
We can't wait to go half-way around the world to meet our daughter. During referral time, I always think of Kinsey. Has she been concieved yet? We just pray that the Lord protects her and her birthmother until we can be united.

Dear Sweet Daughter

As a girl I had a common dream, to be a Mom someday.
My baby would have eyes of blue and hair the hue of hay.
But now my dreams have been transformed.
New visions fill my head.
Now the tresses that I long to stroke are raven black instead.
And in my dreams those eyes are not so big or blue or round.
Now in my dreams their almond shaped and colored cocoa brown.
And in my dreams my arms can stretch across enormous seas.
They reach half-way around the world and hold you close to me.
As you grow in your mother’s womb, carefully knit together,
you are also growing in my heart, where you will stay forever.
And in my dreams the moment that your mother says good-bye,
I’ll be right there to comfort you and hold you as you cry.
Our features may not look alike; we’re different as can be.
But still I know the Father has created you for me.
And though I have not seen your face, or held your tiny hands,
and though we are half a world apart in very different lands,
I’ll be right there to get you, just as soon as God allows.
But till’ he says the time is right, I give you this vow.
I’ll pray for your protection every day on bended knee.
For God to hold you in His arms, until you’re here with me.

Written by: Gail Leubecker

2006-03-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share this beautiful poem with you today. I am going to keep a copy of this and put it in Kinsey's scrapbook.

This week my agency CCAI recieved 112 referrals for people who had their Dossiers in China between May 12th and May 24th- 2005. There were 114 babies referred because their were 2 sets of identical twins! How exciting! To think this is only from my agency. There are a lot of very happy families this week. Our day will come!

Adoption

You first came to us in an envelope with letters, forms, and such.
Just two tiny little pictures with nothing warm to touch.
You grew in our imagination, in our hearts, and in our minds.
You brought us greater joy than we ever thought we could find.
A phone call started labor pains which lasted till we met.
Strangers brought together- a day we won't forget.
You blossomed as you were planned in our hearts, our lives, our home.
Our child of chance, of plan, of will- you're now our very own.

- Author Unknown

2006-02-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

We still have not recieved our I-171h. I contacted the Memphis office again yesterday and it could still be a few weeks! We have already waited 10 weeks. We will keep you posted on when we get the "golden ticket". The Memphis office has 1 person that works on all the adoption petitions and paperwork! They are "training" someone right now- which is why things have slowed down even more than ususal.

2006-02-24T21:28:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you a picture of our best friend's daughter Aliyah. She is 4 years old now. She is 3 in this photo. It is so amazing that both of our families will have 3 boys and 1 little girl from China! When I get to thinking that we will never make through the wait-- I talk to our friends and look at pictures of Aliyah and know that it will happen soon!

2006-02-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

No I-171h this week!

We have had a hard week. Our I-171h has not arrived yet. I has been 10 weeks. There are other people that we are in yahoo groups with that have theirs in 2 weeks or even less. Of course, they are not having to use the Memphis office. It is frustrating. I keep trying to remember that this is all in God's timing and not mine! It is just so hard to keep checking the mailbox everyday! I will keep everyone posted.

2006-02-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

We're going to Disney!

Today is the day that I want to share a little bit about ourselves. I (Kim) am passionate about several things in my life: family, adoption, teaching, Disney, scrapbooking, and photography! Max is very passionate about: family, UK basketball, soccer, Titans Football, and traveling.

A few weeks ago we found out that we are taking a family trip to Disney this summer! Our whole family, my mom & dad, brother & sister-in-law, nephew & 3 nieces! THE WHOLE FAMILY! My brother's 4 kids have never been to Disney. I am so excited that my parents will get to be at "The World" with all 7 of their grandchildren. What an adventure it will be with 6 adults and 7 kids (all under the age of 7!)

Our family went to Disney last summer with our very best friends Greg & Amie and their 4 children. Greg and Amie have a beautiful daughter named Aliyah who is 4 years old. She is adopted from China. They also have 3 boys. So, we have a little experience being in "The World" with lots of young kiddos.

When we travel to Hong Kong for our adoption- my plan is to hit DisneyLand Hong Kong while we are there! I would love to take Kinsey to Disney right before we travel back home. But, we may try to go right when we arrive in China before our "Gotcha Day". It is a tough decision-- we would love to experience Hong Kong Disney with our daughter, but we do not want it to be difficult on her. We are not sure how she will bond or if she will be sick. Can you tell that I am a planner?

Have a magical day!

2006-02-18T04:41:00.000-08:00

We have decided to decorate Kinsey's nursery in Ladybugs!! I know... I know... it is a bit early to be decorating, but we are now starting to "collect" things for her room. As a mommy to three wonderful boys, I am so excited to decorate a "girly" nursery. Why ladybugs? Read more and find out!

What's the big deal about a ladybug you ask?
Q: How about the significance of ladybugs? A: Many adoption websites, books, announcements, and other items feature ladybugs. Interestingly enough, this has no roots in Chinese culture (although they are red). The basic story is this: Several years ago in China, as the international adoption programs were beginning to take off, there was a fall season where the ladybug population grew unusually large. This was thought to be a lucky charm for those that were adopting, so now whenever ladybugs are seen, it is said that more beautiful children are being referred to wonderful waiting parents.

2006-02-18T04:21:00.000-08:00

A Red Thread to China

A red thread was cast today
From us to a child so far away.
This thread symbolizes an attachment of hearts
That distance alone can’t keep us apart.

Her mother and I are caught in a chase
That time alone will bring us to face
This loving young child we want so much to greet
With love in our hearts before we did meet.

This tiny, thin thread may stretch, tangle or fray
But our love for her grows stronger each day.
Through the test of time it won’t break or sever
She’ll be part of us forever and ever.

With oceans between us, the distance is spanned
By a love that is greater than man could have planned.
For God in His mercy loved her and us
And decided our family would be a great plus.

So for now we’ll just love her and pray every day
That God keeps her and loves her for us till we may
Travel to, that land of great past,
To the side of our daughter, to hold her at last.

Max and I just wanted to share this entire red thread poem with you today!

2006-02-18T04:05:00.000-08:00

An Overview of Chinese Adoption

Adoption of children from China to the United States began in 1992 when the Chinese government passed a law ratifying international adoption. In 2003 Americans adopted 6,859 children from China, the largest number of any country. China adoption is noteworthy for its orderly adoption process—all aspects of Chinese adoption (including costs and the referral process) are regulated by the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) in Beijing. There is no independent adoption from China; American adopters work through a U.S. adoption agency approved by the CCAA.

The average age of children adopted from China is 11 months. Over 95% are girls freed for adoption because of China's population control policies. One child adopted from China was found with a note that read: "In our countryside, the thought that man is more important than woman is very popular. I myself don't have the strength to overthrow it."

Fast Facts:
Number of Adoptions from China:
2003: 6,859
2002: 5,053

Age/Gender of Children Adopted From China in 2003
Source: INS Immigration Statistics
95% Female
49% under 1 year of age
48% 1 – 4 years of age

Profile of Children: Over 95% girls; Half under the age of 1 at the time of adoption (2003); all children eligible for adoption must be legally resident in one of China’s children welfare institutes. Some use of foster care.
Parent Ages: Both spouses must be at least 30 yrs. old and one parent must be no older than 55 at the time of adoption; parents over 45 may be referred toddlers and those over 50, school-age children. Singles must be under 50 to adopt a non-special-needs child.
Family Status: Married. Prior divorces permitted. Limited number of singles may adopt. Family must have no more than 4 children at home when they apply.
Travel: At least one parent must travel to China to adopt. Average stay is 10-14 days. U.S. visa issued at consulate in Guangzhou.

(From Adoptive Families Magazine)

2006-02-18T03:55:00.000-08:00

China's One Child Policy

China only allows 1 child per family, in rare cases families can have 2 children if they pay a fine and request permission. Yet at the same time they are not allowed to put children up for adoption like we do here in the US. Abandonment of children in China is also illegal and punishible by jail time.

Why are the girls abandoned?? In China partially due to necessity and partially due to culture boys are favored. Boys are needed to do labor in the rural areas and are also traditionally the ones who care for their parents in their old age. The grade schools now are 75% boys and 25% girls. Many sociologists worry about what will happen when these children are of age to marry.

Because abandonment of children is illegal the baby girls are abandoned in public places under cover of darkness. They are left in places like parks, outside police stations and in markets. Nearly every night babies are also left outside the gates of the orphanages and are found in the morning by the guards. It is believed that the mothers wait in the shadows until they see that their baby has been found. The girls are then taken to oprphanages and given names off of a list and an estimate is made and a birth date is assigned. Some girls are found with notes attached that have their birth date on them, but this is rarely the case.

The girls that are in orphanages and are adopted truly are lucky girls. Many baby girls are killed by abortions done once gender is determined, killed after delivery, or left in places where they will not be found and subsequently die. China only allows 10% of the children in it's orphanages to be adopted each year. It is estimated that 500,000 baby girls are abandoned each year. Those who are not adopted live in institutions until they are 16 when they are released, many into a life of prostitution.

When a baby is taken in by an orphanage, the orphanage then runs a "finding ad" for 3 weeks with a picture of the child and a description of where they were found. If no one claims the child they then can, if they are chosen by the orphanage director, be placed for adoption.

2006-02-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share this Chinese belief with you today!
An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet... regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.
This is so beautiful. Our family is destined to be united with MacKinsey.

February 10, 2006
I called the Memphis BCIS office yesterday and left them a message. I just wanted to see where they were with the I-171h processing. I was wondering if someone could tell us about when to expect our approval. I didn't know if anyone would call back or not. On Friday morning, I got a call back from Memphis! The officer was wonderful. She checked our file. Our social worker mailed our home study to them on 12/21 which was the day we got fingerprinted, but Memphis did not "check it" in until 1/3. I am sure this is due to the holiday. She said to expect our approval letter in the mail the week of February 20th-February 24th. Max's birthday is February 23rd-- that would be a wonderful birthday present! At least now we know a time frame. Of course, if it doesn't come that week... it will be hard.

Journey to Kinsey

2006-02-07T06:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our Journey to Kinsey Blog!

About our family:
I would like to introduce you to our family. My name is Kim and my husband is Max. We have three sons: Tyler (6), Colby (3), and Nicholas (2). We are in the process of adopting a baby girl from China. Our family has been blessed through adoption three times! All of our boys were adopted domestically. We created this site to share with others our journey to adopt another child. We will share our good news, struggles, and timeline.
Her name will be MacKinsey and we are going to call her Kinsey. Welcome to our China adoption journey.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is a homestudy?
The home study is a 6-10 page written report that tells about you and your family. The document includes sections on each member of the family, marriage, medical, employment, financial, description of the home, arrest record (if any), religion, attitudes towards children, discipline, and counseling for adoption. Typically, two visits in the home are required and each visit is about 2-3 hours in duration. Your Social Worker may recommend that you attend workshops, support groups, and read articles/books on adoption to better prepare you for the journey of adoption.

What is Immigration (CIS) approval?
Citizen and Immigration Services (CIS) will give you approval to bring an orphan into the United States. You will be fingerprinted and then you will be issued a I-171h approval letter from CIS. You will need to mail copies of your birth certificates, marriage license, and divorce decrees (if any) before a fingerprint appointment will be set up. This step can be done while in the Home Study process. It typically takes 3-4 months for CIS to grant an approval of your application.

What is a dossier?
The documents required by each country vary, but will include documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificate, physicians letters, reference letters, police clearance letters, and CIS approval. These documents will be filed in court or presented to government officials in the country your child resides in. They will be used to process your adoption.
Our dossier includes:
Kim's birth certificate
Max's birth certificate
Marriage License
Kim's Employment Varification Letter
Max's Employment Varification Letter
Kim's Physical Form
Max's Physical Form
Kim's police clearance letter
Max's police clearance letter
Adoption Petition
Financial Statement
Home Study Report
CIS approval letter (I-171h form)
10 family photos

What is a referal?
In consultation with your Social Worker, you will receive a referral of a child, which usually includes a picture, a medical report, and sometimes a video. If you accept this match, the Chinese government will issue a travel approval (TA) for you to come to China about 4 weeks after referral.

How long will you be in China?
Most trips to China to adopt are 10-15 days. We will arrive in China a few days before we are placed with MacKinsey. These days are for you to adjust to being in China and for you to learn about the country of your child's birth. We will be going with a group from our agency and there will be guides with us every step. The guides make sure you get all paperwork completed, get to court appointment on time, and help you with everything! You will be notified when you need to travel to the country and enter your petition to adopt in court, bring your child home after finalization, or when you child is being escorted to you. As soon as the legal work is complete, you are the child's legal parent, and you complete your immigration visa work with the U.S. Embassy in that country and return to the United States.

Will the adoption be final in China?
Yes. The adoption will be final in China and Kinsey will be a United States citizen the moment we arrive on US soil.

China Timeline:

October 22, 2005
We got online and requested packets of information from China Children Adoption International (CCAI), European Adoption Consultants (EAC), Great Wall of China Adoptions (GWCA), and Heaven Sent Children (HSC). We have to choose an adoption agency and a homestudy agency. Our best friends used CCAI and we have heard great things about them during our research.

October 26, 2005
We got all packets in the mail! Max and I have been doing research on adoption and China adoption for years. We are ready to get started!

November 10, 2005
We have decided on Chinese Children Adoption Internatioal (CCAI) in Denver, Colorado for our China adoption agency. We have also decided on our home study agency Heaven Sent Children (HSC) in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Max and I started filling out both applications.

November 12, 2005
We mailed both applications today!! We are really starting.

November 14, 2005
WOW! We got an e-mail from both HSC and CCAI today.
Kim called and set up our physical appointments for December 16th. Our social worker from HSC is Stephanie. She called and set up our first home visit for Noember 28th at 5:00 p.m.
Kim ordered her birth certificate from Tennessee and Max's birth certificate from Kentucy from VitalCheck. These are the first documents for our dossier.

November 16, 2005
Max requested his employment varification letter for our dossier today. He recieved it actually the same day from the HR Department!
Kim made copies of her driver's license, passports for both of us, insurance cards, marriage license, and all 5 of our birth certificates to give to our social worker at the first home study visit.
Max made copies of his driver's license, insurance cards and the last 3 years of our taxes.
Kim requested her employment varification letter from employeer and online ordered official copies of our marriage license.

November 17, 2005
We worked on our autobiographies. We each have to write an autobiography which incudes details of our childhood, marriage, families, and parenting styles. Kim finished and it is 5 pages! Max is almost done.
We got our I-600A paperwork in the mail from our social worker at HSC. This is the paperwork that we have to send to the Office of Immigration. Once we get our fingerprints taken and they are cleared- we get a letter stating that we can bring an orphan in the United States! This is usually the last bit of paperwork that comes to complete the dossier.
We heard from CCAI today. We will be approved to adopt a healthy Chinese baby girl up to 12 months old! The only thing they need to approve us is a letter from Kim's doctor explaining about my blood pressure medication and that it is "under control". Kim called the doctor and he is out of town unitl November 28th! Here it is -- we hit our first road block!

November 18, 2005
We recieved Kim's birth certificate in the mail.

November 19, 2005
We recieved Max's birth certificate and our marriage license in the mail.

November 21, 2005
Max finished his autobiography. We mailed the I-600A form and payment today to the Memphis Immigration Office.

November 28, 2005
Home study visit with Stephanie from 5:00-8:00. Stephanie has also adopted a daughter from China and used CCAI also! She is wonderful and wants to help us complete everything quickly! Stephanie actually volunteered at the Colorado CCAI office when she lived in Denver. We got so much complete at our home study visit. She toured the house, met all three of our boys, interviewed Max, interviewed Kim, and intervied us together.

November 30, 2005
Dr. Allen finally is back and typed the letter to CCAI about Kim's blood pressure medicine. I faxed the letter to CCAI and waited for the approval phone call. They finally called and we are ready to get going!! CCAI sent us the Orientation Packet via e-mail we downloaded it.
Kim went to the police department and got fingerprinted for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) and got her police clearance letter. We have to be fingerprinted for the FBI and for the State of Tennessee for this adoption.

December 1, 2005
We notarized our agreement with CCAI and mailed the fee.
Our middle son Colby went for his physical with his doctor.
Max went to the police station and got his fingerprints and letter.

December 5, 2005
We got to download the 33 page dossier guide from CCAI tonight!! This is a big step.
Kim got 6 passport size pictures taken at Kroger and made color copies of our passports for CCAI.

December 6, 2005
Kim searched through all of our photo albums and went to Kroger to print some pictures for the dossier. For our dossier, we have to send 3 pictures of us as a couple and 7 family life pictures. We printed off a bunch of recent family pictures to send. For our homestudy, we also have to send in pictures of our house inside and outside!! Max took those photos today and we printed them also.
Tyler and Nicholas went for their physicals today.

December 7, 2005
We worked on and finished our adoption petition and financial statement. Kim faxed them to HSC fand CCAI or approval. The financial statement was perfect. The adoption petition needed one sentence added and it was approved by Stephanie also!!

December 10, 2005
Max got his 6 passport size pictures taken at Kroger.

December 16, 2005
Kim and Max both get physicals and lab work.

December 19, 2005
Kim faxed over our employment varification letters to CCAI. Kim's was approved, but Max had to get his company to add a sentence about his future employment before it was approved.
Stephanie faxed over our completed home study today to CCAI for review!

December 20, 2005
Kim faxed over our police clearance letters to CCAI for approval.
Max got a new employment letter and faxed it to CCAI for review.
Max' s employment letter was approved.
Our police clearance letter were not approved. We got them done on different days and they looked different. The letters must match for our dossier.

December 21, 2005
BIG DAY TODAY!!
We met with Stephanie and got a copy of our homestudy! It has been approved by CCAI. We have to take a copy with us to get fingerprinted.
Kim and Max got fingerprinted for the INS approval. It is taking the Memphis Immigration office 8-10 weeks after fingerprinting to get approval. The approval is mailed to you and is the I-171h approval letter.
We went to the police station and got our new police clearance letters from our county police station. They also had to be notarized-- so I will pick them up tomorrow.

December 22, 2005
Kim picked up the new police clearance letters and faxed them to CCAI for reivew. They were approved!
**Each of our dossier documents has to have 5 seals. These include: notary, county seal, State of Tennessee seal, United States seal, and the Chinese Consulate seal. This way the Chinese government knows that these doucments are orininal and approved.
Stephanie mailed Max's birth certificate to Kentucky for a state seal. Kim's birth certificate and our marriage license was sent to the State of Tennessee for a seal. Stephanie took all of our other docuements that had been approved by CCAI to the County Clerk's office for seals. They will be processed while she is on Christmas break!

January 6, 2006
Stephanie e-mailed and our documents are back from the County and are ready to be sent to the State of Tennessee for another seal! These seals tell the Chinese government that these are legal and certified documents.

January 17, 2006
All documents are back from the State of Tennessee with seals!! Now Stephanie is sending them to the Assistant Stork who helps get the seals on the documents in Washington D.C. The Assistant Stork will take all of our documents in Washington D.C. to get United States seals and then onto the Chinese Consulate for the Chinese seals! It will take a few weeks to get it all back.

January 29, 2005
Happy Chinese New Year!! 2006 is the Year of the Dog.

February 6, 2006
All of our dossier documents are back from Washington D.C. with seals!!
Stephanie made four copies of all of our documents with the seals. One copy for CCAI along with the originals to send to China, one copy for HSC, and two copies for us to take with us when we travel to China. Stephanie mailed everything to CCAI

February 8, 2006
Still no word about our I-171h approval - Immigration approval to adopt an orphan and bring them into the country. It has been 7 weeks today. This is our only document left before we can send everything to China. When we get it in the mail -- it still has to have all of the seals. I have called Memphis several times to check on our I-171h. This time I got news that there was something "wrong" with the wording of the homestudy. It was in the section on abuse. Memphis said that they were so behind that it would be several weeks before they could contact our homestudy agency. WHAT? SO, I called our social worker and she was wonderful and faxed Officer Williams from Memphis. She didn't hear back, but she made some changes and mailed the updated homestudy to them that day!

April 1, 2006
We check the mail AGAIN for the wonderful I-171h and there is an envelope in our mailbox from Memphis. It is a denial! The denial is from our previous 2003 I-600A application! It is not even from our new one. We were so upset. They must have our old application (2003- and we didn't complete it because we got the news that we could adopt our son Nicholas) and our new one mixed-up.

April 3, 2006
I call, fax, and e-mail 2 Congressmen and both of our agencies about the I-171h problems. Our social worker calls, e-mails, and faxes Memphis and the Congressmen too! When will this be over?

April 5, 2006 We got the I-171h today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 14, 2006 CCAI recieved our last document- the sealed I-171h. Our dossier is now in critical review!

April 27, 2006 We passed critical review! Our dossier looks great and is on its way to translation!

May 9, 2006
Our dossier finally goes to China! This is our DTC date. It was mailed from CCAI late in the afternoon.

May 12, 2006
Our dossier arrived safely in China! We should have a Log-In-Date in a few weeks and then we can start the countdown.

May 17, 2006
Log-in-Date- the countdown begins!!!!!