Leaving for China on a Jet Plane on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008.

We will be traveling to Hangzhou as all children who are adopted in China are brought to the capital of the province. Hangzhou is the capitol of the Zhejiang Province. George is from Ningbo City which is a Port City on the Ocean near Shanghai.

We leave Thursday, May 22nd from Chicago, IL at 10:32 am. We have a non stop flight from Chicago to Shanghai. Our flight is on United 835 and there will be about 400 people on our plane too. Our flight is about 14 hours and 32 minutes. We arrive in Shanghai at 1:55pm on Friday, May 23rd. We cross the International date line and so we actually spring ahead 13 hours. If we didn't cross so many time zones we would be arriving at 1am in the morning Chicago time.

We will be staying overnight in Shanghai and leave for Hangzhou on May 24th. We will have a day to rest up before we meet George on Sunday, May 25th. The Director of EnMei SWI where George has lived most of his life, will bring him to meet us at the hotel. George will then stay with us at the hotel and we will bring him to his notarial appointments that we have before we can officially be his legal parents. In Hangzhou, we will be staying at the Jin Jiang Hotel. We hope to be given permission to visit EnMei, SWI in Ningbo City on Wednesday May 28th to tour the Children's Home and to hopefully hear a little more of his story from him through the Interpreter, and hopefully meet some of his friends and caregivers if possible. It will also be neat to see the area where George grew up and to take some pictures to share with him as he grows up.

We will fly to Guangzhou (Guangdong Province) on Friday, May 30th. That week we will have our visa appointment, George's medical exam and our swearing-in ceremony at the United States Consulate. There we will be staying at the Victory Hotel. All adoptive families come to Guangzhou as the only U.S. Consulate is located there. We will also be meeting up with two other families adopting through All God's Children International like we are that coincidentally, all three of us are adopting sons.

We will then fly home on Thursday June 5th. First we fly from Guangzhou at 9:35a and arrive in Shanghai at 11:55a on a Domestic China Southern Airlines flight requiring each of us to only have one checked bag weighing 40 pounds or less. Then we board our International flight United 836 leaving at 3:55pm and head back to Chicago. Our flight home is about 13 hours and 23 minutes. Again we cross the International date line and lose 13 hours and arrive home on June 5th at 4;16pm. That would mean we had made the whole flight in only 45 minutes. Which if we were not crossing time zones would mean that we arrived home at about 4am in the morning.

Exit Interview scheduled

We have our exit interview scheduled for Tuesday June 3rd in Guangzhou. That means we can start planning the rest of our trip. We need to be in Hangzhou by Saturday May 24th so we can be at our hotel on Sunday when they will might be bringing George to meet us and start living with us as his parents. Hopefully our first meeting will go well but as I know from working with Children during my Career as a Specialized Foster Parent it is too much pressure on children that are stressed out from big changes in their routines to expect that it will go like clockwork so Jim and I prepared for whatever happens. George may be happy to see us. He may be mad that we are taking him away from his friends and favorite staff. He might be scared that we will mistreat him or that his new brothers and sisters won't like him or it all might go just fine. We would appreciate all prayers that whatever happens Jim and I will be able to handle it as well as possible in the circumstances. As with any of our other kids whether biological or adopted there are no guarentees that things will be smooth or easy and we are planning on that same attitude with George so I know we will take it one day at a time with the goal of being a happy family sometime in the future.

Travel Arrangements

We couldn't be more excited to have received our TA phone call on Friday May 2nd, 2008! All the worrying and waiting about when our Travel Approval might come, if it would ever come, if it wouldn't come for months and months etc. can now be converted into finishing up the boys room for George's arrival in IL the first week in June. And also for packing for our plane trip to Huangzhou, China on May 22nd, 2008. I am not sure how that will go since I have never been very good at traveling with a suitcase that didn't exceed most airline weight limits, and since this is an International flight around the time of the upcoming Summer Olympics, I am going to have to comply if it kills me or risk traveling all the way to China without my suitcase if it gets confiscated.

Po Po Joan has offered to come and stay with the kids while Jim and I travel. And Gong Gong Gary has graciously agreed to suffer at home for two weeks without his Sweetheart for the sake of the Grandkids. What once was an anxious time for us of worrying about what to do with the kids if we both left to bring George home in the most supportive manner for him, is quickly fading as the Ultimate Babysitter/Mary Poppins extraordinaire is coming to IL to save the day. If there was a Super Hero based on a Woman that is desperately loved by a family of 4 and soon to be 5 children that really need someone in their lives that treats them so consistently with enthusiasm and kindness, that Super Hero Gramma would look and act exactly like Joan! The kids can't stop raving about how much fun they are going to have with her and we can already tell there will be little to no worry about their being home without us. Jim and I couldn't be more greatful or thrilled that they won't miss us a bit.

TA/Travel Approval dated April 25th came today! Friday, May 2nd, 08

Hi Jim and Christina!

Congratulations on receiving your long awaited TA today!!!! Yeah!!! You are going to China!!! I was thrilled to get it in the mail. I can hardly believe your son will be with you in about three weeks! I look forward to helping bring him home! I will send you your 2 original Travel Approvals today 2 day UPS that you need to take with you to China and I have attached a copy for you to keep for your records.

Today I will be requesting an exit interview for you at the US embassy in Guangzhou with possible dates on June 2nd, 3rd, or 4th , the 2nd being our first choice and so forth, with the hope that you could leave three weeks from today, May 23rd. Please do not book any tickets until I call you with this confirmed date. It will probably be sometime in the next few business days, but it has taken up to a week before for me to get this date. At this point please begin to read over your travel packet and make sure the documents you need to take are in order, most importantly your passport and visa. Let me know if you have any questions! Have fun celebrating today!!!!!

Travel Group Information:

I would love for you to get to know the other 2 families you will be traveling with. You all will be in Guangzhou together for a week!

I hope to call you soon with your exit interview!

LOC to China on Monday, April 14th, 2008

Good Afternoon Jim and Christina!

I wanted to let you know that your LOC is being mailed to China today! Please mark on your calendar Monday, April 14, 2008 for the official submission date of your LOC. From there it will be 1-4 weeks for your Travel Approval. This is just an estimate. I will work to get your TA to you as quickly as possible. I look forward to calling you when it arrives! Have a wonderful week!

Blessings,

Tiffany

LOC/Letter of Confirmation dated March 28th, 2008 came today. We are one step closer.

Jim and Christina,

I was thrilled to receive your official Letter of Seeking Confirmation today! Please see the attachment so you can know what it looks like and print it off for your own records since the original goes back to China. I am mailing you the original today UPS to be delivered to you on Monday. Please try to have it back in my office by Tuesday. Please also make sure that your name, your child’s name, and their information is correct on this form. The LOC will only need to be signed and dated, and check the box that applies to you; it does not need to be notarized. I am hoping it will go to China by Tuesday afternoon with a hopeful submission date of Friday. I received 2 others today too!!! Once it is submitted to the CCAA it will be 1-4 weeks for your TA. We will work to get your travel approval as soon as possible. I will call you the moment I get your LOC back in the office. At this point please order your visas, instructions are in the travel packet.

Have a great day celebrating this wonderful document’s arrival!

Our Letter of Confirmation came it was dated March 28, 2008. I got this letter on May 4th letting us know that the CCAA had reveiwed our Dossier paperwork and they were allowing us to adopt Shen Yong (George) from EnMei SWI, Ningbo City in the Zhejiang Province of China. We signed the form and sent them back saying that we definitely were still interested in being his parents and were looking forward to traveling to China to bring him home as soon as we receive our TA or Travel Approval from them. Our official LOC date is April 14th, 2008.

Happy Leap Year! It is George's Birthday Today. February 29th, 2008

Happy Birthday to George.
Happy Birthday to George.
Happy Birthday Dear George.
Happy Birthday Dear George.

George turned 8 years old today. We sent him a Birthday cake with a Dragon on it and some candy treats for him, his friends and his caregivers.

We were hoping to have already had George home with us to celebrate his Birthday with us but God has his own timing and we will be patient.

We are encouraged to know that next year he will be home celebrating his 9th Birthday with us.

Recieved Official LID/Log In Date 1/21/08

We received the following email today. China CCAA/China Center of Adoption Affairs officially logged in our Dossier on 1/21/08. Now it should be 12-17 weeks before we here more.

The following is a part of the letter and also some suggestions for what to do with ourselves while we wait.....

Jim and Christina,

Great News!!! I received confirmation from Benjamin that your dossier was submitted to the CCAA, Monday, January 21, 2008. Currently it is taking an average of 12-17 weeks for China to review and approve your dossier and send your Letter of Seeking Confirmation (LOC), and the you will sign and send it back to China and then wait for your Travel Approval (TA) which should come about 2-4 weeks after the LOC is received in China. Remember that we have no control over when the CCAA will issue your LOC or your TA. The time frames we gave you are estimates and can change at any time. Your log in date will come to us next, which is when your dossier begins to be reviewed. Sometimes our special needs families do not receive log in dates and only the LOC and TA. It is important to note that it can take the CCAA on average up to four weeks to officially log it into their system (LID). China does send us this information snail mail, so I won't know your official LID for at least 6-8 weeks.

Many families call and ask how long the process is currently taking? It is important to note that adoptions will ebb and flow in China depending on how many dossiers were submitted in any particular month. Throughout the next several months I will only be able to give you an idea of how long it is currently taking to process other special need dossiers. I cannot tell you the exact time or day your invitation to travel will come. I can guarantee you that the minute it arrives I will notify you immediately.



The following is a rough outline of the process in which takes place during the following weeks you will wait to receive approval from the CCAA:



PROCESS IN CHINA:



· Documents stay warehoused until Department One is ready to review your file

· Documents are pulled and Department One begins reviewing dossiers

· Files are approved and forwarded to Department Two where the travel invitation are printed and sent

.

PLEASE NOTE THAT TIME FRAMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.



It is important to note that the above is just an approximate guideline. Documents can stay shorter or longer periods of time at any one given department. Benjamin will be checking on the progress of your dossier, however, he cannot go into the CCAA weekly to check where it is. The CCAA is very busy processing over 10,000 dossiers. Benjamin can only get updates as to the progress of your file if they are willing to take the time to track it down. Rest assured that as soon as I know something I will pass the information on to you.



Once we receive the TA inviting you to come to China to pick up your child, the time frame to travel will be an additional 2-4 weeks. This depends largely on how fast the US Embassy will get you an appointment for an Immigrant Visa. As soon as we get confirmation of this appointment you can book your travel immediately!



AGCI will keep you informed with all information as we receive it. Many times families will hear rumors that invitations have been sent out and then call to confirm that information with the office. Unfortunately, this type of information is often not accurate or doesn’t apply to your situation and therefore I ask that you wait to hear directly from our office as to any updates on your case.

Just to recap the following points:

Submitted families need to expect at least 12-17 weeks for your LOC after your submission date. These time frames can change.

I cannot tell you how long your entire adoption process will take, as it is dictated entirely by the China Center for Adoption Affairs.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this phase of your adoption. I will be calling you monthly to check in and also will be emailing out updates and movement happens in the program. I look forward to working with you to bring your child home!

Blessings,

Tiffany Williams

China Special Needs Case Manager


THE WAITING PROCESS

Although some people find the paperwork process challenging, the most difficult time for most families is the wait. For those of you who have already been through years of disappointment trying to bear a child I want to encourage you that the Lord knows your child by name and will lead you to him and/or her very soon. Most of you who have walked this path have a deep understanding of waiting and are in touch with this kind of grief. The physical strain and emotional turmoil is sometimes unbearable and you often have been stretched beyond what anyone should have to endure. My hope for you is that you can put your trust in this process and allow yourselves to rest. Although adoption can have its own set of challenges, there is a positive end result. You are finally in a process that will end with your child home in your arms. You will be parents!!

For families who have children, you may have not yet learned the fine art of waiting. The important thing to understand is that adoption, like infertility, does not provide a “due date.” Completing an adoption is a little like working with an obstetrician’s office, and although we do not have face to face visits with most families, we do provide monthly updates and information for you throughout your adoption process. In the past, your doctor has been able to give you a due date that is normally accurate within a few weeks time. In adoption, we do not know the exact date, week, or even the month. This lack of exact timing can be very frustrating for families who are used to planning the arrival of children into their homes. I encourage you to take this time to lean on the Lord because this process will stretch your faith and is a wonderful opportunity for growth.

Things to Do While You Wait

There are many things you can do to help keep you busy while you wait for your referral. One of our adoptive parents has compiled a great list of creative ideas that helped her while she was waiting for her child to home. We have shared it with you below:

1) Order the "From China with Love" calendar. Write down each step towards completing the dossier. When your baby comes home, the calendar is great for recording your baby's milestones. You can order it from Asia for Kids at 1-800-765-5885.

2) Speaking of Asia for Kids, they have a great catalogue. Get on their mailing list. They sell dolls, games, books, puzzles and more! They also have Chinese adoption announcements.

3) Take a Chinese cooking class. Check out cooking schools in your area. This will teach you a little more about the culture and prepare you for your trip.

4) Learn to speak Chinese. Contact your local university. Another way to learn

Chinese is to cultivate Chinese friends. We have had Chinese houseguests for several months at a time. See if your city has a Sister City in China or an International Visitors Center. Local universities have Friendship programs which pair up local families with international students.

5) Prepare the nursery.

6) Knit or crochet a baby blanket. Psalm 139:39 says "You knit me together in my Mother's womb." Our adoptive children may not have been knit together in our womb but they are certainly knit together in our hearts.

7) Subscribe to Adoptive Families magazine, 1-800-372-3300. Excellent articles about cultural diversity, waiting, traveling and parenting.

8) Make a quilt. Adoptive Families magazine had an excellent article on a unique quilt in their January/February 2002 issue. You can also contact a local quilt shop to take lessons.

9) Start a lifebook. Adoptive Families magazine had an excellent article on how to start a lifebook in their May/June 2002 issue. Our social services agency that did our home study also had a class on how to start a lifebook. You can also try a local scrapbook store. They often have classes.

10) Lists, Lists, Lists. Packing lists, shower guest lists, mailing lists of people to send announcements and anything else that just might slip your mind as the date approaches.

11) Freezer meals. Stock your freezer with at least a weeks worth of meals. Once you come home you will be so tired and dazed that preparing a meal will be the last thing on your mind at the end of a hard day. Collect crock pot, pressure cooker, and one skillet recipes, anything that can be prepared quickly and without any brain power.

12) Register for baby gifts. This can be done online or at local baby stores or department stores.

DTC/Dossier To China Today, January 15th, 2008

Our paperwork is finally DTC or "Dossier To China" today. It has been over 5 weeks since we sent it in to AGCI in December, so we certainly weren't expecting it would take this long for them to review it since there weren't any issues with our paperwork.

Sadly this domestic delay pushed our review time into future delays with the Chinese New Year when the CCAA shuts down for at least a week and also probably will interfere with the Guangzhou Trade Show in April when many things in China are out of sorts so AGCI doesn't like to have families traveling than either.

So there goes the hope that George will be in the US in time to register for school and have assessments and IEP reviews for the 2008-2009 school year in the Spring and be ready to go planfully in the Fall in his new school. If he doesn't get here until the end of May or Summer they can not and will not do a thing with planning for him for the Fall. And assessing and developing his ELL, Speech and any other Academic or Developmental services will take months at the beginning of the new school year to put together. Also if he doesn't have services in the Spring there is no way to get anything he might need in the Summer. Now he will have to do without.

To make matters even worse, I guess we will be traveling in May and disrupting the other kids in the familiy's end of school field trips, dance and music recitals and Nicole's Special Olympics activities. Fabulous! If it gets too tight because of the
5 weeks it took to review the Homestudy and the 5 weeks it took to get the Dossier Translated and Authenticated than we can even imagine that we are going to get caught in new rules enacted especially for the Summer Olympics dealing with Airline Security and Visas. Also flights will start to get outrageous in June, and July and August will be when everyone for miles around heads to Beijing by planes, trains and automobiles!

Don't get me wrong since we have been working on our Dossier for the last 7 months, I am still thrilled it is finally headed overseas. I have filled out papers, lost papers, found papers, answered interview questions and tried to figure out much greater issues than I normally am called to do while staying home with the kids.

But as of today I should be able to start forgetting about the pain. All of that mental effort for a stack of papers that fits into a legal size manilla envelope.

Oh well if George is a little closer to coming home to stay then it was worth the blood, sweat, tears and 7 months of this Mom's life.


From Tiffany......

"Good Afternoon Jim and Christina!

Great news!! I will be express mailing your completed dossier to China today with your original PA and my staff in Beijing will be receiving the package by Monday with a hopeful submission date of this coming Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. As soon as the dossier arrives they will match everything up with the translated documents and immediately submit your dossier to the CCAA. Once your dossier is submitted it will be approximately 12-17 weeks for your Letter of Seeking Confirmation (LOC) and then your Travel Approval (TA) will be here 2-4 weeks later, and then you will leave about 2-3 weeks later. Keep in mind that holidays, paperwork problems, etc could cause this timeframe to extend, this is just an estimate. I will be in touch once I receive word that your file was officially submitted. This can take up to week for me to get from our staff. If you have any questions in the mean time, please let me know! Have a blessed rest of your week!

With Joy,

Tiffany"