We bought our tickets and pretty much everything is set as far as our itinerary.
We leave here on Wednesday 9/14, but really it is Tuesday because it is a red-eye flight. We fly via Hong Kong to Tianjin, CHINA. We are going to have the privilege of spending a couple of days with our dear dear friends there before going to Changsha to meet Lily. I have to tell you about our friends. This is a wonderful family - the Changs. Lorden and Sophia have 5 children. We met them when Dave was doing his residency at UCSD. I only had Matthew at that time, and Sophia only had her two oldest children then - Caleb and Jeremy.
We had just moved into an apartment complex near campus called Whispering Pines. We had an upstairs unit that was the farthest from the parking lot and laundry machines. Not very convenient with a baby! Anyway, one day after unloading Matthew and other stuff from the car, we had returned to our apartment. I heard a knock at the door. It was a lovely woman with a baby blanket in her hand, asking us, "Is this yours? I think it fell on the ground in the parking lot." It was Matthew's baby blanket (he was 4 months old at the time), and that woman was Sophia. From that day a deep friendship began. We had only been in San Diego for a few weeks - and I remember when I moved there that I asked the Lord for a friend. This was His answer to my prayer. It is a reminder to me of the Lord's faithfulness, and how kind He is to me.
Sophia and Lorden and their family have been such a blessing to our family. They are Chinese-American, but live in China. They have an adopted daughter. They are such a loving and faith-filled family. We love them dearly, and look forward to spending a little time with them in their home and seeing their life there.
From Tianjin, we will fly on the 18th to Changsha, Hunan. We meet Lily on the 19th!!!!! On the 23rd, we fly to Guangzhou where the American consulate is.
We fly home on the 27th.
It will be a big trip.
I am packing and getting ready!
Many things left to do =).
Thank you for praying for us. We truly need your prayers and depend on them. We wait upon the Lord, and are excited to see how He will bring us through this journey to Lily!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!!
This has to be short. . .
But I had to share - our T.A. arrived at our adoption agency on Tuesday, 8/24!
Our confirmed day that we meet LIly Claire is 9/19!
We are still awaiting our consulate appointment. It was originally scheduled for 9/28 - but Xiaoqing is trying to move it to 8/26 if possible.
We are perusing flight options!
Getting very very excited, but also nervous and a bit stressed!
Thank You, Lord!
But I had to share - our T.A. arrived at our adoption agency on Tuesday, 8/24!
Our confirmed day that we meet LIly Claire is 9/19!
We are still awaiting our consulate appointment. It was originally scheduled for 9/28 - but Xiaoqing is trying to move it to 8/26 if possible.
We are perusing flight options!
Getting very very excited, but also nervous and a bit stressed!
Thank You, Lord!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
In Which I Finally Chronicle Phil's Eye Saga In Pictures
Scary globe of carnage (this is the day of surgery in front of the vet's office). Ugh, I shudder just looking at it!
Phil must have been in so. much. pain. Poor thing.
When I picked him up that day! Stitches, bruising, only one eye left. And that black band on his leg is where his IV was.
Getting his stitches removed!
Recovered! Still cute! Much MUCH better!
Phil must have been in so. much. pain. Poor thing.
When I picked him up that day! Stitches, bruising, only one eye left. And that black band on his leg is where his IV was.
Getting his stitches removed!
Recovered! Still cute! Much MUCH better!
Our Care Package to Lily Claire
Finally I am posting the photos that Ann of The Red Thread sent me. This is the care package we sent to Lily Claire about a month ago that came with the updated photos. Pretty, huh? I would love to see our little lamb in that dress :-).
Sigh - still not much to report. Waiting. . . waiting. . .
I trust that our Article 5 was picked up last Friday (8/5/11) and now the wait for TA!
Xiaoqing will pick up our visas on Friday from the consulate in San Fransisco.
Sigh - still not much to report. Waiting. . . waiting. . .
I trust that our Article 5 was picked up last Friday (8/5/11) and now the wait for TA!
Xiaoqing will pick up our visas on Friday from the consulate in San Fransisco.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Closer. . .
We are getting so close to our TA (travel approval)!
Our Article 5 was dropped off two days ago. It takes two weeks for that to be approved before it can be picked up again. After that we wait for TA.
I sent off our visa applications and our passports to Xiaoqing via FedEx on Friday.
We have appointments at the travel clinic next week for vaccinations (Nathan and Aaron got their Hep A shots last week already, but we will check to see if there is anything else advisable for a trip to Asia).
Our Article 5 was dropped off two days ago. It takes two weeks for that to be approved before it can be picked up again. After that we wait for TA.
I sent off our visa applications and our passports to Xiaoqing via FedEx on Friday.
We have appointments at the travel clinic next week for vaccinations (Nathan and Aaron got their Hep A shots last week already, but we will check to see if there is anything else advisable for a trip to Asia).
Thursday, July 14, 2011
New photos and I-800 Approval! Yippee!
Couple of big adoption related things. . .
First off, I found out that our I-800 and our Supplement 3 were approved last Friday! We got the hard copies today in the mail, which I immediately scanned and forwarded to Xiaoqing as we were instructed. Now we have to wait for a letter from the National Visa Center.
And. . . I sent another care package to Lily :-). This time, it was a silk baby Chinese baby outfit, some hair clips, and some cookies for her foster family. I also wrote a letter which Ann from the Red Thread translated for me. Here's my letter:
Dear Orphanage Director or Foster Family,
Thank you again for caring for our daughter, Jiang Manling. Please tell Manling that her Mama, Baba, and three older brothers cannot wait to meet and hold her! We are hurrying just as fast as we can to complete the last part of the adoption process. Manling is always in our thoughts and prayers. All of us love her already. We cannot wait to play with her, read to her, take care of her, and give her lots and lots of hugs and kisses.
We are already looking ahead to making medical appointments to repair her cleft palate and hernia. Her Baba is a physician and has been asking around for recommendations for excellent craniofacial doctors and surgeons.
Can we trouble you with a few more questions about our baby girl? Is she staying with a foster family, or is she living at the SWI? Who is she closest to? What is her favorite food? How many naps is she taking during the day? If you have any any other information that you feel would help us as we prepare for her to join our family, we would appreciate that. And lastly, may we please trouble you for another photo of Manling? We all loved the photos that you sent us with our last care package. It is wonderful to see that Manling is growing up, but also a bit sad for us because we wish that we could be with her even now. We miss her so much.
Please tell Manling that Mama and Baba love her! We eagerly look forward to bringing her home. She is our precious treasure.
Sincerely,
David Peng (Baba)
Chenning Peng (Mama)
Anyway, yesterday we got an answer to our letter and updated pictures!
Here is the reply to our letter:
Jiang Man Ling has been living with her foster family all the time ,she has her own child bed .
Her favorite people are her foster mom and foster mom`s grandson .
She likes to eat soft food such as bread and cake .
she takes nap one/day,12-14:00,sleeps at 20:00 gets up at 7:00
Her personality is very gentle ,loving ,she is not scared of strangers ,she is very happy to live with her foster family .
And updated photos!!!
Oh, sweet baby girl - we love to see your smile! And you are wearing shoes! I wonder if that means you are walking. Also, so nice to know that she has been living with her foster family this whole time. And she has kind of a foster "brother" which is her foster mom's grandson. Hope this means she is used to playing with boys :-).
I am hoping that we will have travel approval within the next month.
First off, I found out that our I-800 and our Supplement 3 were approved last Friday! We got the hard copies today in the mail, which I immediately scanned and forwarded to Xiaoqing as we were instructed. Now we have to wait for a letter from the National Visa Center.
And. . . I sent another care package to Lily :-). This time, it was a silk baby Chinese baby outfit, some hair clips, and some cookies for her foster family. I also wrote a letter which Ann from the Red Thread translated for me. Here's my letter:
Dear Orphanage Director or Foster Family,
Thank you again for caring for our daughter, Jiang Manling. Please tell Manling that her Mama, Baba, and three older brothers cannot wait to meet and hold her! We are hurrying just as fast as we can to complete the last part of the adoption process. Manling is always in our thoughts and prayers. All of us love her already. We cannot wait to play with her, read to her, take care of her, and give her lots and lots of hugs and kisses.
We are already looking ahead to making medical appointments to repair her cleft palate and hernia. Her Baba is a physician and has been asking around for recommendations for excellent craniofacial doctors and surgeons.
Can we trouble you with a few more questions about our baby girl? Is she staying with a foster family, or is she living at the SWI? Who is she closest to? What is her favorite food? How many naps is she taking during the day? If you have any any other information that you feel would help us as we prepare for her to join our family, we would appreciate that. And lastly, may we please trouble you for another photo of Manling? We all loved the photos that you sent us with our last care package. It is wonderful to see that Manling is growing up, but also a bit sad for us because we wish that we could be with her even now. We miss her so much.
Please tell Manling that Mama and Baba love her! We eagerly look forward to bringing her home. She is our precious treasure.
Sincerely,
David Peng (Baba)
Chenning Peng (Mama)
Anyway, yesterday we got an answer to our letter and updated pictures!
Here is the reply to our letter:
Jiang Man Ling has been living with her foster family all the time ,she has her own child bed .
Her favorite people are her foster mom and foster mom`s grandson .
She likes to eat soft food such as bread and cake .
she takes nap one/day,12-14:00,sleeps at 20:00 gets up at 7:00
Her personality is very gentle ,loving ,she is not scared of strangers ,she is very happy to live with her foster family .
And updated photos!!!
Oh, sweet baby girl - we love to see your smile! And you are wearing shoes! I wonder if that means you are walking. Also, so nice to know that she has been living with her foster family this whole time. And she has kind of a foster "brother" which is her foster mom's grandson. Hope this means she is used to playing with boys :-).
I am hoping that we will have travel approval within the next month.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Alphabet Soup and When Indeed?
People keep asking us when we expect to travel to China. The short answer is I am not sure. Here is an estimate, though, using data gathered on an adoption website (all of the adoptions from China). Of course, we hope that things will go faster - but the truth is they could go slower than the average. Below is also an explanation of all of the steps (well, most of them anyway) we are still awaiting including a few that we more recently have completed.
DTC = Dossier To China. This is the date that we sent our huge packet of documents to China. Done on 12/10/10
LID = Log In Date. This is the date that the CCCWA (China Centre for Children’s Welfare and Adoption) officially logs our dossier into the China side of the process. Until a dossier is logged in, it will not proceed in the process. Done on 12/21/10
LOI = Letter of Intent. This is a letter we write to China asking their permission to adopt Lily. Done on 03/29/11
PA = Preliminary Approval. This is a letter from China to our Agency giving their preliminary approval for the adoption. At this point we consider Lily OURS! Done on 03/30/11
LOA = Letter Of Acceptance. This is a document that China sends for us to sign stating we still want to adopt Lily. We received this on 05/23/11. We wanted to send it write back in, but had to wait for our homestudy amendment which was 06/15/11. Then I returned it on 06/17/11.
I800= This is the process that approves Lily to enter the USA. There is more paperwork that we need to do and send to the USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services). Sent off on 06/17/11. Waiting for approval. Our ETA for this is 07/05/11.
The NVC (National Visa Center) sends a cable to China to let them know the I800 is approved. ETA 07/15/11
Article 5 is part of the Visa Process for adoption under Hague. It tells China that the US is processing the Visa application. The applications for Article 5 are only received on Mon or Thurs and the Article 5 can only be picked up on Monday or Thursday. Once this is picked up the CCCWA can issue our Travel Approval. ETA 08/04/11
TA = Travel Approval – The official notification from China inviting us to travel and complete our adoption of Lily. ETA 08/29/11
FFD= Forever Family Day. The day we finally received Lily. ETB sometime in late September, right before our Consulate Appointment.
CA = Consulate Appointment in Guangzhou, China at the US Consulate. Here the paperwork is filed for Lily to become a US citizen. Once this is finished we can bring Lily home! ETB 09/28/11
Sigh. So sometimes maybe it isn't so good to estimate. I cannot believe that it will be the end of September before I get to hold her in my arms!!! The bright side of this is that I can read more about adoption in the meantime and save some for travel and our orphanage fees. We have been paying little (and not so little) chunks all along the way, and at the end they are large sums that are paid at once. More time also to prepare for travel for our family of 5. It will be the mother of all trips thus far in our family! Pray for us?
DTC = Dossier To China. This is the date that we sent our huge packet of documents to China. Done on 12/10/10
LID = Log In Date. This is the date that the CCCWA (China Centre for Children’s Welfare and Adoption) officially logs our dossier into the China side of the process. Until a dossier is logged in, it will not proceed in the process. Done on 12/21/10
LOI = Letter of Intent. This is a letter we write to China asking their permission to adopt Lily. Done on 03/29/11
PA = Preliminary Approval. This is a letter from China to our Agency giving their preliminary approval for the adoption. At this point we consider Lily OURS! Done on 03/30/11
LOA = Letter Of Acceptance. This is a document that China sends for us to sign stating we still want to adopt Lily. We received this on 05/23/11. We wanted to send it write back in, but had to wait for our homestudy amendment which was 06/15/11. Then I returned it on 06/17/11.
I800= This is the process that approves Lily to enter the USA. There is more paperwork that we need to do and send to the USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services). Sent off on 06/17/11. Waiting for approval. Our ETA for this is 07/05/11.
The NVC (National Visa Center) sends a cable to China to let them know the I800 is approved. ETA 07/15/11
Article 5 is part of the Visa Process for adoption under Hague. It tells China that the US is processing the Visa application. The applications for Article 5 are only received on Mon or Thurs and the Article 5 can only be picked up on Monday or Thursday. Once this is picked up the CCCWA can issue our Travel Approval. ETA 08/04/11
TA = Travel Approval – The official notification from China inviting us to travel and complete our adoption of Lily. ETA 08/29/11
FFD= Forever Family Day. The day we finally received Lily. ETB sometime in late September, right before our Consulate Appointment.
CA = Consulate Appointment in Guangzhou, China at the US Consulate. Here the paperwork is filed for Lily to become a US citizen. Once this is finished we can bring Lily home! ETB 09/28/11
Sigh. So sometimes maybe it isn't so good to estimate. I cannot believe that it will be the end of September before I get to hold her in my arms!!! The bright side of this is that I can read more about adoption in the meantime and save some for travel and our orphanage fees. We have been paying little (and not so little) chunks all along the way, and at the end they are large sums that are paid at once. More time also to prepare for travel for our family of 5. It will be the mother of all trips thus far in our family! Pray for us?
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