It has been a wonderful Christmas at our house! Bobby received the new bike that he “just knew” he wasn’t going to get and Abby has kept her new kareoke machine HOT! Her daddy is also quite the kareoke singer–we have pics to prove it. We had a lovely time at home on Christmas day and then celebrated again with my sister, her family and our parents at Laura’s and John’s the next day. Laura and John announced that they will be adopting a little girl within the next couple of years–YEA, that’s what I like to hear!!
I was fortunate to meet Meredith and Mike’s little Tate this afternoon. I got to hold him and kiss him and only cried a little bit (he didn’t notice, he was asleep). What a cute little muffin he is. Congratulations Edmison Family!!
We are eagerly awaiting our BROWN ENVELOPE from the US Consulate in China. It will contain all of the necessary paperwork for when we actually go to receive Maisy. We are not suppose to lose it. I may sleep with it, but lose it? No chance.
Please continue to pray for Maisy, her birth mom, and all of the little children waiting for forever families–maybe you are one!
Love and a Happy New Year to All!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Just Put a LID on it…Please!
No, I’m not asking anyone to be quiet…LID stands for “Log in Date.” Our LID will be the day that our dossier is registered in China. Our DTC was December 14, 2007–very memorable. We are now in the referral stage of our adoption and will miss our sweet Diedra who knew just what to say when I was depressed or discouraged. She even called and let me bawl when I didn’t think we could make it through all the waiting and paperwork. We love you, Diedra!!
We look forward to meeting our referral specialist. As soon as our dossier is logged in it will go to translation with the entire kit and caboodle being translated into Mandarin. I’m told that this doesn’t take very long. From Translation everything goes to Review, which does take longer, but I believe will surely speed up in 2008. In Review all of the embassy stamps and authentication and certification seals are checked and the dossier is checked for all mandatory documents. I think this is where Great Wall stands heads and shoulders above the rest–we used the Dragon Plan for our dossier preparation and Diedra absolutely held our hand through the entire process. She thought that I needed an additional medical letter before mailing our dossier and so I got it and she sent it off. I am completely confident that there will be no need for additional info. when our dossier is being review because IT WAS DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. There is no way that Ben and I could have done all of those mailings for certifications and authentications without screwing it up. I recommend the Dragon Plan whole heartedly. Trust me it will save you time in the long run–it certainly did us!
From Review our dossier goes to Matching which is where the good old lifestyle pics. come into play. The Chinese folks believe that you can tell a lot about a person’s personality by their facial characteristics. So the specialist in the Matching Room will look at our pics and decide which little baby to match us with. They will also rely upon our Letter of Intent; stating the reasons we want to adopt from China and the kind of family and life that we want to give to our little Maisy. I just hope that my facial features don’t say “squirrely” and “slightly weird.”
After we are matched our dossier goes to Referral!!!!!!! Woo Hoo! Our referral will be mailed to Great Wall and then we will get THE CALL!!! Then we will accept our referral (Duh) and it’s off to China in about 4 to 6 weeks. I’m rapidly conquering (with the help of The Great I Am) my fear of flying. I am slowly understanding the science behind flying but more importantly I Know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that, which I have committed, unto Him against that day. With the Lord it’s all or nothing. He has yet to tell me to jump and then failed to catch me. Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have given me and my family!!
I know that there are many rumors flying around on the internet about the “wait time” in China. Well, my God holds time in his hand and he is not worried. I believe that we will recieve our referral in 2008–but whenever the time comes it will be God’s time.
Please pray for Maisy’s birth mother. I can never forget that our happiness comes at the expense of her broken heart. I pray that nobody will be cruel to her, that she will have enough to eat and that she will be warm enough. Mostly I pray that she will be introduced to Jesus and come to know Him as her Lord and Savior. Someday I want to introduce her, my sister, to our daughter in Heaven.
Ben and the kids go back to school on Monday (after an impromptu week off thanks to the ice storm.) I am planning to make cookies and candy during my vacation and hopefully (Meredith are you reading this) see the little Tater Tot and kiss his face off. I still have Christmas shopping to do. Please remember that there are thousands of children in the United States waiting for families. Consider adoption–it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
May God bless you and keep you, Amy.
We look forward to meeting our referral specialist. As soon as our dossier is logged in it will go to translation with the entire kit and caboodle being translated into Mandarin. I’m told that this doesn’t take very long. From Translation everything goes to Review, which does take longer, but I believe will surely speed up in 2008. In Review all of the embassy stamps and authentication and certification seals are checked and the dossier is checked for all mandatory documents. I think this is where Great Wall stands heads and shoulders above the rest–we used the Dragon Plan for our dossier preparation and Diedra absolutely held our hand through the entire process. She thought that I needed an additional medical letter before mailing our dossier and so I got it and she sent it off. I am completely confident that there will be no need for additional info. when our dossier is being review because IT WAS DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. There is no way that Ben and I could have done all of those mailings for certifications and authentications without screwing it up. I recommend the Dragon Plan whole heartedly. Trust me it will save you time in the long run–it certainly did us!
From Review our dossier goes to Matching which is where the good old lifestyle pics. come into play. The Chinese folks believe that you can tell a lot about a person’s personality by their facial characteristics. So the specialist in the Matching Room will look at our pics and decide which little baby to match us with. They will also rely upon our Letter of Intent; stating the reasons we want to adopt from China and the kind of family and life that we want to give to our little Maisy. I just hope that my facial features don’t say “squirrely” and “slightly weird.”
After we are matched our dossier goes to Referral!!!!!!! Woo Hoo! Our referral will be mailed to Great Wall and then we will get THE CALL!!! Then we will accept our referral (Duh) and it’s off to China in about 4 to 6 weeks. I’m rapidly conquering (with the help of The Great I Am) my fear of flying. I am slowly understanding the science behind flying but more importantly I Know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that, which I have committed, unto Him against that day. With the Lord it’s all or nothing. He has yet to tell me to jump and then failed to catch me. Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have given me and my family!!
I know that there are many rumors flying around on the internet about the “wait time” in China. Well, my God holds time in his hand and he is not worried. I believe that we will recieve our referral in 2008–but whenever the time comes it will be God’s time.
Please pray for Maisy’s birth mother. I can never forget that our happiness comes at the expense of her broken heart. I pray that nobody will be cruel to her, that she will have enough to eat and that she will be warm enough. Mostly I pray that she will be introduced to Jesus and come to know Him as her Lord and Savior. Someday I want to introduce her, my sister, to our daughter in Heaven.
Ben and the kids go back to school on Monday (after an impromptu week off thanks to the ice storm.) I am planning to make cookies and candy during my vacation and hopefully (Meredith are you reading this) see the little Tater Tot and kiss his face off. I still have Christmas shopping to do. Please remember that there are thousands of children in the United States waiting for families. Consider adoption–it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
May God bless you and keep you, Amy.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Jingle Bells, DTC, HO, HO, HO, HO, HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Here’s a little update for everyone! We heard from our wonderful dossier specialist, Diedra Connolly at Great Wall China Adoption and she had some wonderful news. Our I-171H and our home study have been certified by the Oklahoma Secretary of State and have been taken by courier through the consulate in Houston so, (prepare for all caps) ON DECEMBER 14TH OUR DOSSIER WILL GO TO CHINA!!! We will have that wonderful DTC very, very soon.
The kids are having parties and singing in programs and Ben and I are closing in on the completion of Christmas shopping.
Happy Holidays to my pal Meredith–Monday is the big day; she will be holding little Adrien Tate for the first time!!!!! And to Meredith’s friend Jocelyn–I’m praying for you and your baby girl–here’s to a speedy homecoming!
Love to All–Amy
The kids are having parties and singing in programs and Ben and I are closing in on the completion of Christmas shopping.
Happy Holidays to my pal Meredith–Monday is the big day; she will be holding little Adrien Tate for the first time!!!!! And to Meredith’s friend Jocelyn–I’m praying for you and your baby girl–here’s to a speedy homecoming!
Love to All–Amy
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