Home Study done

Well, our social worker emailed our completed home study to us today and it was long..I didnt know there was that much to know about us. There were actually things about Michael I learned through it. You see, Michael and I had individual interviews with the social worker. I will probably read it again later but will take my tim.

This week, I was given another patient from CHina. He was not even 2 and had only been in the country 2 weeks..This lady had used CCAI, our agency and raved about them. That was awesome. She made us realize something. When he came to the floor, she realized that the crib looked a lot like the crib he had in the orphanage so we quickly moved him to a bed..It was a great learning experience!

Last night, Michael and I sat down to watch National Geographic's Lost Daughters of China! HOly cow! If you didnt have tears pouring down your face, I am concerned. This video involved the journey of a few families going to China to get their daughters. Remember when we told you the story of meeting a wonderful family on our Disney Cruise who had 2 daughters? Well, their story was on this video. It was awesome. It made the whole thing feel more and more real..Please borrow our video or check it our at your library..It was awesome.

Also, please pray for me. The Dr just called and said I had a high white blood count..Not too hight, just a little bit and she was going to send me to a hematologist to see what was going on. She said she really wasnt worried to much, just wanted to rule things out..PLease pray its nothing..The idea of going to another dr just freaks me out..

Thats all..Michael isnt feeling well either so keep him in your prayers as well..
You guys rock!
Amy

We are waiting for financial means before we send out our I600A. That is the form needed for the fingerprinting. We need that in order to get the I171 which we need to complete the dossier.We will update when we can.

Hope you had a miraculous Christmas!
Amy

update

I read the new rules about the Chinese adoption and its okay. Our wait will be longer. I think I may be the only person looking forward to the wait. We will be celebrating when we get our I171 back (the last piece of paper we need) and when we are officially logged in.
I had my physical yesterday and my dr is going to work with me. Not sure how that works as I will be doing the work but whatever.

Thats it for now..Merry Christmas

I am so happy for the families who got their China babies this week! Maisie and Chloe are now with their forever families!!!!

Snoozing

So, I worked last night and slept on and off this morning as I am working tonight. I was awoken at 3:15 by our agency staff who I just love. Anyway, it turns out that if I can not lose the weight, we will be denied by China. I figured this out anyway. Dude, I lost 50 pounds one semester in college by going to the YMCA every morning. I know I can do this again!

Will update later..

Amy

Apologies to those I work with

Okay, so today was the day of my physical which meant nothing by mouth after midnight. I worked an extra shift last night from 11p-7a which meant nothing to eat or drink. If you know me, I drink a few Coke Zeros on my shift and usually a snack. Apparently I was not a nice person to work with last night. In fact, 2 staff members made me promise to never let my blood sugar drop at work again..

So, I left work, ready to go to my 920 appt at the dr. I got there, they pulled me aside and said the dr called in sick and they forgot to call me. Excuse me??? I and the people I work with suffered for nothing?

The worst part she can fit me in until after Christmas and that means my home study will not be complete and i wanted to have all of that done before hand. So I am a bit down but I know things could be worse so I am ok..I have been having some good talks with God lately, which is awesome!

THanks for the awesome emails and comments peoples!

If you would like to be a part of the prayer email list, shoot me an email over at amyschristopher@comcast.net

Prayers needed

Ok, so there is bad news and good news. I spoke to our agency this weekend via email and today by phone. I feel like we have one of the most reputable agencies around. They are just awesome and do not tell you anything unless confirmed by China!
That being said, things in China are changing May 2007. I am only going to post what affects Michael and I so if you are thinking about adoption, please email me and I will send you to other sites.

1)China fees are actually increasing January 1, 2006. Not too much, but enough for Michael and I to look at the budget again
2)Weight is a big issue now. Michael does not have to worry. It all has to do with the BMI or body mass index. It has to be a certain number. In order for me to reach that number, I need to lose 50 pounds. I have done this before, its not impossible.

If we can get logged in by May 1st or have our dossier (the whole paperwork thing) in China by May 1st, we will be okay. After that, the above applies. I do have a doctors appt this Wednesday to go over this. Its a blessing that our Dr is also adopting, because she knows what its like.

This is a bit of a stress but its not impossible and we are in no way giving up. Either
A) we get our paperwork really going which means finding extra money sooner to get our stuff done or
B)prepare to love weight quickly and find lots of support.
The good news is I have needed to lose weight for a while and regardless of when our dossier gets to China, I will use this as an extra incentive to lose the weight.

So that's what's going on, plus the wait time is increasing. They cant say how long but the sooner we get our stuff into China, the better. The last piece of our home study will be the drs notes and me finding Michaels employment letters. Then we apply for finger printing and then we get the governments permission to adopt from China and that takes about 3 months so we have lots to do.

More to come after I have had more sleep. Thanks for checking in!

Ok, well our agency sent an emal regarding dossier changes. I am ok with changes and I hope we are still approved. Apparently China is changing some of the rules and I worried for a minute. There will be a weight restraint so I need to get busy losing or whats the point..If they are going by your BMI, Michael has nothing to worry about!!!!

I have my drs appt on Wednesday and we will talk about weight stuff and immunizations for going overseas. Our biggest hurdle is money. Once we get what we need in, we can mail off for fingerprints and then our long wait form. The only thing the SW needs now is our medical forms and our financial statement. I will let you know when we hear what the actualy changes are. I hate to think we have spent this money to get started to have us turned away. We could use your prayers during this priocess.

Thanks
Amy

Our wonderful social worker just called to clarify what we still needed. She is almost done with her home study. Michael is going to the dr tomorrow and should get his form filled out and I have mine next week. Those are the last 2 hard forms to get. Once we get the home study down, then we start really paperchasing and finally getting our dossier together. WooHOo! I shall say this now. I would love to be logged into China by June 1st! We will see how close we get to that!!!

Amy

Steven Curtis Chapman-All I Really Want for Christmas

ANother adoption song..Hope you enjoy!

New Prayer Requests

1) That we will stay focused and motivated
2)That we will learn the heritage of our daughter during our waiting time
3)that all paperwork will be done in a timely manner by us and others
4)that all paperwork mailed will arrive at its destination and will not be lost
5)for our social worker and agency as they work on the paperwork
6)finances that we will have the money needed at the right times
7)the orphanages where the babies are-that they will be loved and cared for
8)China in general

next step

Well, more paperwork arrived today. My birth certificate and marriage license was mailed from the secretary of the state of Florida. Time to mail out the I-600A and get our fingerprints. Then we have just our doctor forms to fill out and we can apply for the last form and thats taking over 3 months to get back!

Wow, at least things are coming together!

Well, unfortunately our Friday gathering was cancelled but we are looking forward to the January gathering. Just wanted to let you know that the other song played is Third Day's Merry Christmas. Its an awesome cd and this song is great. Please be patient for the download and take a listen.

Amy

song

Eeyore Jeff told me tonight he could hear the song on this site. If you have time to wait to hear it upload, listen to the lyrics. Its Rascal Flatts and the song is called "My Wish" and I assume it is a letter from a parent to child

and so it goes

Not much to report today. I have been faxing copies of things to our SW so that she can finish our homestudy. Next up, filling out forms that will get us fingerprinted and get us an important form needed to send to China.

We are looking forward to Friday. We will be going to a couples home to have fellowship with other families who are either back from China or in the same boat we are. We have not been since September but we are vey excited to go. We may even see the couple we met on the cruise who introduced us to all of this!!!!!!

hmmmmm

Well, the social worker visits are done and she is just waiting for us to fax over copies of papers so that she can finish our homestudy. We are waiting for Maryland to have the Sec of State sign Michaels birth certificate and a few others..Once the home study is done, we will start waiting on more paperwork.

Our social worker recommended a lot of books for us to read and to my surprise, my MIchael has been ordering them from Amazon and they arrived this week. I am not sure how much we will be reading before Christmas, but we have a lot that we can do during our week.

God has been so good to us and has openend so many doors. I am meeting many families with Chinese children at work and I have loved learning about their experiences.

me

Michaels birth certificate arrived from Maryland today..That didnt take long. Now we have to send it to the secretary of state for authentication. Hope mine gets here soon!!!

etc

Well, the good news is that state of Florida has cashed my checks which means we are in the process of getting our marriage license and birth certificates. We mailed a letter to Maryland for that one.

The actualy homestudy is done. Now we have to give our social worker papers for her to be able to complete it. That includes our police reports, license, birth certificate, and all kinds of stuff. Not too bad.

I hope all of you are well. Apparently there were no referrals in October but quite a bit in early November. Congrats to all of the new families. The holiday season is quickly approaching and I wonder how many more we will have before we go to China. I am hoping 2007 will be our last Christmas with just Michael, Lucy and I.

I am trying to find a person/site to help with this blog and make it a bit more creative. If you know of someone who does this and has had success, please let me know!!!!!!!!

Last nights visit

So, would you like to know how it went? WE PASSED! She said she had no problems with us becoming parents and it would take her a few weeks to get her study together. That's ok, it will take a few weeks to get our paperwork together.

I got home at 9am yesterday and then I slept until noon. I got up and was quite motivated. Michael had already done a lot of work, but I spent 5 hours scrubbing bathrooms, cleaning our room, Making sure the downstairs looked clean and homey. Is that a word? Also, I just found the Swiffer? MY goodness, my I express my gratitude to the inventor. Its awesome! Lucy was over at doggie day care so I had freedom to do the whole house.

6pm Mary Poppins arrives. That's not her name, I just prefer to call her that. We say hello and take a tour of the house..I offer her a Coke Zero and we learn she likes this..Yippee! She likes the backyard and even the big green wall. This is good. The garage had been improved and she changed our water heater in hopes to save us some money. We will see. Saw the white room, which will be the baby room. The only safety issue she pointed out were the corners of the fireplace on the bottom..She recommended that we just soften the corners but we have time to do that!

After the walk around, we did our interviews. We had typed up our autobiographies and she went through those. I was up first and I really enjoyed it. She had given us a sheet with potential issues and we had to choose some to talk about. Most of it was parenting and adoption issues and how the public and friends and family will react. I loved this. Then it was MIchaels turn and I headed upstairs. I have no idea what they talked about, but he passed.

We ended the evening by saying she doesn't think we need another visit but that was up to me. We are meeting with a marriage counselor to talk and make sure we are ready. I am looking forward to this. Please don't think we are having issues. We are trying to prevent any issues from coming up.
Thanks for all of your prayers. This paperchase is crazy but I am loving it and I am looking forward to the long wait.

Amy and Michael

Awesome New Christmas CD with a powerful track at the end

Amy and I were driving home tyoday and listening to our new Third Day Christmas CD. Get a copy and listen to track 13. You'll find out why I was crying.




Third Day

Home Study/Paperchase

1.Paperwork has gone to Florida and Maryland to get certified copies of our birth certificates and marriage licenses..WooHOo

2.Our Home study that will include the walk around of the house is on Tuesday evening. Pray that we can get everything done..Thank God for doggy day care..I am serious..

Scroll down to vote!!!!

Chinese Holidays

Official Chinese Holidays
New Year's Day (January 1)
Not as much celebrated as it is in other parts of the world because it is overshadowed by the upcoming Chinese New Year somewhere a month away. However, employees will enjoy a paid day-off. And there will be parties everywhere, in parks, dancing halls and universities where students will leave for the winter vacation and won't be able to celebrete the Chinese New Year on campus.
International Women's Day (March 8)
Interestingly, women employees will get a whole or an half paid day-off on the day while the men are at the mercy of their employers.
Tree-Planting Day (Arbor Day) (April 1)
Highly promoted since the late 70's by the reformist government and yet to become established. It marks the begriming of a greening campaign all over the country during the month each year. There is no paid leave on this day.
International Labor Day (May 1)
No less celebrated than the New Year's Day. Prompted by economic development and commercialization, employees are granted five days paid leave so that they can tour the country and do their shopping. Parades and organized parties on this day have become history.
Youth Day (May 4)
A day in memory of the first mass student movement in 1919—a movement touched off by the then Chinese government that gave in to the Japanese government's attempt to colonize Shandong Province. It is also an anti-Confucius movement as well as one that promoted the western scientific and democratic ideas. Today, youth rallies are rare, but parties and picnic outings are gaining popularity.
Children's Day (June 1)
It is the most memorable day of Chinese children. Access to almost all entertainment and educational facilities such as cinemas, parks and children's museums is free to them. Elementary schools throw celebration parties while parents shower them with presents.
The CCP's Birthday (July 1)
It marked the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 in Shanghai. It is usually characterized by front page editorials from major government news pagers. Employees do not have a paid leave day.
Army's Day (August 1)
A communist-led nationalist army staged the first armed uprising in Chinese communist history against the Nationalists on August 1, 1927. It was regarded as the beginning of the Red Army (later the People's Liberation Army). Now the anniversary is often used to promote better relationships between the army and civilians, a tradition believed to have helped it beat the Nationalists during the civil war in 1949. It is not a paid-leave day.
Teacher's Day (September 1)
It was started in the early eighties as an effort to reverse the anti-intellectual sentiment nurtured by the "Cultural Revolution". It has become an established holiday. However, it is yet to become a paid-leave day for the teachers.
National Day (October 1)
It is the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 in the wake of routing the Nationalists who have since taken refuge in Taiwan. Celebrations of the day went through different phases in history. Before 1960s, there were regular parades during the day and firework shows during the night in major cities. Later, the celebration was reduced to mere organized parties in parks. Beginning from the 1980's two grand parade happened in Beijing, each in the Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin eras. Beginning from the late 1990s, Chinese employees have been given a week-long paid leave so that they can travel and spend to pump more money into the country's economic development. Both May 1 and October 1 weeks were called huangjinzhou, or "a week of gold." Fireworks and parties are integral part of the first day of the week of gold.

its Monday!

HI again. We missed the First Friday gathering this weekend again because I was working . I am a bit bummer out as I am not sure when we will be able to go. I hope all of you are doing well.

The good news is that there have been many referrals given to families this past week. How excited do you think they are? That means that many children from China have been matched with their forever families. The families received pictures and info about their little ones..I will try to link some websites when I can. I just want to make sure I am allowed to.

WE are finalizing another home visit with the Social worker. This will be the visit where we will be doing seperate interviews and she will be walking around the home and giving suggestions. I am pretty excited as this means we are working on completing a new step...Stay tuned for more information regarding China, which I will be posting later today!!!!

Last night

Its official. I am overwhelmed. Don't hate me. I told you guys this would be an honest look at this process.

Yesterday, Michael and I got our police reports. Mine took 5 minutes to print out, Michaels almost 15. Not to worry, both of ours said NO RECORD FOUND.
Then we came home and worked on the white room which will be the baby's room. This room has been full of boxes the past 2 years. I would say we are almost halfway done..Yeah that Lucy went to doggy day care..That helped.

Then we traveled to Starbucks for our first visit with the social worker. I must admit, Starbucks is a nice place to sit and chat..I had a pumpkin spice latte and Michael had coffee. No details here, but we had a nice visit with the assigned social worked and got way more detailed than I expected. Michael loved this visit. It was healthy but it opened our eyes to a lot of things. She gave us suggestions on resources we can be reading while we wait, and suggestions on how to communicate better. I left stressed, but then again, personal issues stress me out..I feel much better today.
I have a nasty cold which is making me tired and yet I have so much that I want to do! Nothing to stressful, I just want to stay busy.

Lets see what is stressing me out?????
1.Organizing the house- I am aware it doesn't have to be perfect. The fact that we don't have children, is actually a plus here. We aren't required to have the safety things in place just yet..But this is the biggest one.

2. My work schedule and Michaels. I am worried about this because with me working night shift, we don't have the time to talk and go over things, like other couples. This has been on my mind for a while

3.paperwork. As careful as I may be, I am afraid I will send the wrong thing somewhere or forget to sign something

4.Not getting things done on time. I am extremely laid back, but when I want to focus on something, I want to focus.

Thats that..Nothing negative, just worries which are natural..
More updates coming. Check out the name votes..Its getting close...

Cast your vote!!!!!!

What name do you like for our future daugter? Feel free to make suggestions
	Rebekah
	Elizabeth
	Katherine
	Sara
	Hope
	Rachel
	Abigail
	Margaret (to be called Meg or Maggie)
	Joy
	other..if you click here, you must offer a suggestion
Free polls from Pollhost.com

paperwork, paperwork

I am back from a wonderful weekend full of love and memories..I attended a wedding and visited friends and their chidren.

Michael and I went over a lot of paperwork. Our first social work visit in Thursday. We are meeting at a Starbucks just to talk. I am looking forward to it. This past week, we both got our employment verification letters and I will work on our adoption petition this week. We are also working on birth certificates and marriage licenses. The good thing about getting married in Florida is that is saves us a step. Yeah..We are still confused by a lot but taking it one step at a time.

We saw hubbys dad at lunch and we talked about names for a bit. MIchael and I have a long list and we are curious as to what people think of them. None of them are strange or anything, but we are curious. We may put a pole up of what girl names people like..
on that note, I am going to bed

Gotcha Day!

Most of you have not seen a video like this, but this family did a great job at putting the process together!

paperchase

Hello people and new readers! Life is good and paperchasing is kind of fun, because you are actually doing something regarding the process. I hope my attitude stays this good after we get a log in date, because then the long wait begins. The first social worker visit is next week and we are meeting at a starbucks. We set the next date and that is when she will come visit the house and talk to us individually! Michael and I will be headed over to the local police station to get proof we have to records and then we will be sending in more paperwork. I am waiting for my employee verification and then that will be behind us.

I appreciate all the emails and encouragment and love to hear from others who have gone this journey. If you know anyone, send them over..My email is amyschristopher@comcast.net

Mark Schultz -

Another video about the beautiful gift of adoption. Mark Schultz is an awesome singer/songwriter and I hope you enjoy the lyrics as much as we did!

whats going on

Today I got our reciepts in the mail..That was nice, as we get some reimbursement from my job. I have been typing various letters from work as I am working with another nurse tonight which has been helpful. SO, as soon as finances are available (next week), I am mailing out for our birth certificates and marriage certificate..Its not just normal copies but I will explain all of that later. I have found several interesting blogs from people who are waiting on a referral from China. I also heard last night that a night shift nurse just returned from China with her little girl. I can not wait to meet her..I will be posting more information regarding China and traditions on this site later..
Thanks for reading and praying..

Amy and Michael

When Love Takes You In - Steven Curtis Chapman

I thought I would share the video with you again since I have a few new readers. This is where my blog gets the name. It is at one of Stevens concert that adoption was placed in our hearts

Today I mailed out my letter to get a letter of verification from my job. As you read, Michael is one up on me. I am also going to call our assigned Social Worker and try to schedule our first home visit November 2nd...YIPEE!

Yeah, 2 out of 3 references have made it to our agency..I am sure the 3rd is on its way..Woohoo! Thanks guys!!!

Prayer requests

1) that we stay motivated and organized I dont think the motivation will be a problem

2)that the paperwork from different will not be lost and will arrive in a timely manner

3) that the waiting time will not increase anymore. Its now around 14 months from the time China logs us in until we get a referral

4)Pray for peace for the areas around China

Thanks!

Yes, I'm involved

I imagine a lot of you reading this blog have been wondering "where is this Michael that Amy keeps refering to?" Well, I'm here. I do the blog thing, but not with the intensity and dedication that Amy has.

As it is, I just wanted to say hello and mention that I will have limited computer access over the next two weeks as I will be traveling for work. I am a manager for the best restuarant chain in the South, Chick-fil-a, and we have a new store opening on Thursday in Madison, GA. I am part of the GO (Grand Opening) Team, and will be there from tonight through Thursday of next week. On these trips I am there to represent and model the standards and help train the new staff as well as be a face for corporate in an area new to the brand.

Regarding the adoption journey, I wish to announce that I was productive today as I secured 5 copies (may be extra) of my employment verification, which I basically typed up myself and than had my boss sign for me. :)

holy cow

Ok, the posts will be much more frequent now. I am officially overwhelmed. I have no idea where to start and the homestudy person comes in just 2 weeks. Michael is leaving for 2 weeks so I may take advantage of that and start working on the house. When I say work on the house, I dont' mean our house is trashed. I am actually proud of what we have accomplished lately. In our 4 bedroom house, we have the white room which eventually will become our nursery. Right now, it still has boxes from move in day. SO I need to find an organizational system to get rid of those boxes and that will empty that room and I will fill completely successful and then we have the office which needs a good cleaning but I can handle that as well.

It feels good to actually start this..I am more mentally there more than anything. I think that after we get back from the wedding at the end of October, things will be much more official.

I am also researching books and items for ourselves to read about adoption and more about the Chinese culture.

Adoption Orientation

Lets be honest. I was feeling good about the paperchase. Thats what they call it when you prepare to apply to adopt a child in China. Forget that. I am overwhelmed. I am happy that I am overwhelmed..Its awesome.
Lets beging at the beginning. Today was the orientation for the beginning of our process. We have to put together what is called the dossier. This dossier is what goes to the China. Once we have that put together, we beging the wait and apparently it keeps getting longer. I am okay with this.
Orientation rocked..They were honest, funny and and optimistic. We met the director and other staff members. Last night our social worked called and I think we are going to set up a time On Nov 2 to begin our home study. We will meet with her at least 2 times and one of those times will be in our home. Yes, we will have it cleaned by now.

The last few days we had to get paperwork together for this meeting and make copies of it. Michael and I took Samson and Delilah (our cats) to the vet yesterday to get updated shots and check ups. They were not happy. Other paperwork was needed but that wasnt difficult.

We both learned a lot in this meeting and were able to meet a family who came from China earlier this year with their daughter Sabrina. We also saw baby Amelia. Sabrina was dressed in her China gear and was so pretty.
It was totallly a positive experience and I am excited to get started. Working nights can either help or hinder the process. We will see how this goes.

First we need to start getting copies of everything and get police records done..
Pray I stay motivated for all of this.

I am sure I will post later now that we have officially started..

Amy

Apparently, the social worked we have been assigned to called and left a message. We need to make an appointment to meet her soon. Thats very exciting..Now, to get the house in better shape...

the process continues

We have made it home from Williamsburg and are going to the orientation on Saturday morning..

By Sat morning, we must a lot of things together including
2 copies of everything
pet shot (rabies records)
our autobiographies (apparently a lot of paperwork which I think will be fun)
a map to our home
a floor plan


I am off Thursday and Friday so those days are full now..

ADOPTION APPROVAL

OUR AGENCY APPROVED US TODAY!!! DETAILS TO FOLLOW AFTER VACATION..WOOHOO

another step

Hello again. After reading my yahoo groups, many referrals have been received today. that means that many families are going to be growing in the next 2-3 months. We completed another step today. I ran to the doctors office tot get a letter stating that Michael's health will not threaten his ability to parent. Now, we are waiting for our friends get their recommendations and send them in. After that, hopefully we will be approved and will be able to go to the next orientation!

Things are progressing

How about I mailed the application yesterday and the agency got it today? They just called.Yippee! For those on our reference list, you will be getting a letter from them shortly. PLease mail it in by OCtober 7th if possible. We also need a note saying Michaels diabetes wont affect his parenting and we will be approved. Once approved, we will get on the orientation date of October 14th... SWEET

Hows that for good news?
amy

Application sent

YIPPEEE! The application along with a money order was sent to our agency today..This means the process has started..I had it confirmed so that I will know when they get it..Its very exciting...I will write more later!
amy

Updates or not

Still not much going on. Sending the application out before we leave on the trip and will hopefully be accepted and then get an orientation date. Michael was motivated to start with the major house cleaning tonight and I am so proud of him. If you guys know of anyone who is adopting or planning on it, please send me their emails or website links.

I wish I had more to tell you.

Amy

Thursday 13

Thirteen Things I am scared about in the adoption process 1….It will become so overwhelming we will quit! 2. Finances.That we wont have the money at the right time 3.Paperwork will not arrive in time 4.That the house will not be ready in time 5.Friends will not be accepting of this 6.That my passion will for this will decrease 7.That I will do what I want and not listen to God. This one scares me most of all 8.That we aren't ready 9. That I will not keep in contact with the families I have met 10.That the wait time for referrals will continue to increase I really cant come up with 13 this week. These are fears. I have given them to God, but they still stay with me..I know that it will work out according to His will. Thanks for the encouragment and prayers! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Chinese adoption

WE are so excited to begin the process. What happens now is we turn in the full application, wait for approval and an invitation to the October orientation. We are then assigned a socal work and the fun starts. The paperwork is often called "paperchasing" and you will hear that a lot.
I am going to post some info on words, symbols and traditions you may hear in the chinese adoption world. Its very exciting and I am so glad we have all of the support




New to Chinese Adoption?...The Answers To Your Questions:
These answers are based on my personal research and opinions...* Why does it take so long? The paperwork required by China is extensive and it takes a long time to prepare because they want to ensure that their children are being adopted into loving homes. After the paperwork is submitted to the Chinese government, it waits its turn to be thoroughly reviewed. They also have to confirm that the children being placed for adoption are truly orphans. * Why are all the orphans girls? Most of the orphans are girls because in the Chinese culture, boys support their parents in their old age as there is no social security. Girls support their husband's parents. With the one child per family law, most families choose for their one child to be a boy out of necessity.* How old will she be? It seems that the youngest age at the time of adoption is about 8 months. Most of the babies are between that and about 20 months old, with the majority being around 12-14 months when they first meet their forever family.

Important Jargon and Traditions Found In The Chinese Adoption Community:
The Red Thread - "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

.Ladybugs - Believed to be good luck by most people, this is particularly true here. One spring while everyone waited for their referrals, there was a huge infiltration of ladybugs across the nation and immediately following these sightings a flood of referrals came. Or so the story goes.

100 Good Wishes Quilt - To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. (Wording borrowed from Original Quilts owner.) Waiting families often collect the wishes along with a sample of each fabric square into a scrapbook for their new child.DTC - Dossier to China. This is the milestone day when the Chinese government logs in the receipt of a dossier to adopt a child. This represents the end of the "paperchase" for the adoptive parents, and the beginning of "the wait" for a referral of a child by the Chinese government. Sometimes also referred to as your LID, or Log In Date.

Questions

Another great question received at work, was "Is it first come at the orphanage and how do you pick the one you want" followed by "If they get ugly, can you return them?"


uhm.....do I even bother???

First Friday

Where do I even start? I am hoping Michael will also post his feelings towards last night..SO we went to a doctors appt and then had Carrabas for dinner (early, and there was no line). Then we headed to the Chapmans for our first First Friday..First of all, we felt out of place when we got there..Why? The homes started at 700,000 up to 3 million..It was wacked..I will never be in this kind of neighborhood again.. So, we were the first to arrive..We met Susan and Dan and Mimi, their 4 year old petite daughter adopted from China..Loved it...

Then the people started arriving. They said it was a small crowd, I'm guessing 50-60 people..I thought it was huge. Many people brought their adopted daughters..Yes, there were people all in the process. One family leaves Sept 12 for Makayla Grace. The entire group prayed over them before the night was through. The family showed pictures and was totally excited about the trip..It was contagious. We met several couples. One couple has offered to sit with us if we want to visit First Baptist Woodstock. They have been on mission trips to the Chinese orphanages and thats how they decided to adopt..Its the coolest thing! We met a couple who is waiting on a specific piece of paper and its been a long wait and they were frustrated.Very nice people and the husband gave me lots of information...
We were able to meet Mr Diets, he's the president of the Atlanta chapter of the group we will be using. All in all, it was an awesome experience..The agency we chose is being used by most of the people there and we have no doubts about them at all. We will probably go to our orientation October 14th if we can get our application this week.

We mingled, ate cookies and checked out family pics for about an hour until question and answer time..

We can not go back until November, but I hope to be there! It was far better than I ever expected.. We left so motivated to get this started. Im still fearful about the financial situation but God has laid this on our hearts for a long time and I know He will provide. We met so many people. I felt like we immediately joined a family or a club that was opened to everyone. I think all of the future moms had tears in their eyes at least once sometime last nignt.


Stay tuned to whats going on in our hearts!!!!

Tonight

Well, tonight is our first Chinese adoption support group thingy. I am pretty excited as we are going to meet a lot of people and meet some children born in China. Its called First Friday and its held the first Friday of the month. This is the first time we have been able to go. It should be fun. A nurse that works with me tore out a piece of paper that had an adoption seminar this Thursday using the group we will be using. Im not sure I will be able to go, but its nice that people are looking out for me. I am getting more focused on getting the house organized. We may board Lucy for 2 weeks in October and if we do, that will be when we get most of the organization done. Ive learned that we need to show proof of shots for the cats, so we will need to get that done as well. I am also hoping we will see the couple we met on the cruise again..

There really is a lot of things to do, but it will get done, I am sure..Its nice to have something to motivate me..

Thursday 13

Thirteen names I have loved for little girls since I was a little girl!1! Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!1. Madison2.Abigail3.Sara4.Rachel5.Carson6.Rebekah7.Emily8.Delaney9.Mackenzie10.Annie11.Victoria12.Elizabeth13.KathrynUnfortunately, most of these are trendy and Michael and I are not into that many trendy names. That being said, these are names I like. This list should predict our future daughters name on it..Mind you, I wanted twins named Jackson and Madison for 10 years and thought I was the first one to come up with that. I was wrong..All of America had the same idea!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

uhm

Not sure whats going on with blogger or where the rest of my posts are, but I will figure it out!!!!!!

First Thursday 13

Thirteen Things about Amy and Michael 1…. We have been married almost 5 years 2.This is the first time I have done a Thursday thirteen but I think the idea is very cool 3.We have been thinking about adoption on and off for a few years. 4. We have lots to do to get our house ready for the home study 5. The whole idea scares the heck out of me but at the same time is exciting as anything 6.I can not wait to have a blog that says we are in China 7. When I am at work, I read peoples blogs and love to read stories of adoption 8.Although we have not talked about it, there are names I really like 9. I am scared half to death of the flight to China 10. I actually like to answer peoples questions regarding adoption, although I dont have all the answers 11. I think Michael will be rockin dad 12. I want to take my kids to Disney World for vacation 13. I cant wait to have the sound of children in my home Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

First Friday

Did I tell you guys about the couple we met on the cruise that adopted 2 girls from China? they introduced to a couple who hold a support group in their home once a month, "First Friday"! I have been trying to work every Friday for extra money but I am off next Friday! Guess what day it is, Sept!. I think we can go. I am very excited as there will be people who are in various stages of the adoption process, those who havent started, those whose paperwork is almost through, those waiting for a referral and those waiting to leave for China!. I am very excited that we can go and meet these people! Yippee!

Whats going on?

Whats going on with the Christopher family? Well, I learned how to add links to this site. It was not as easy as I expected but I figured it out.

My coworkers love me. When they assigned patients Wednesday night,they gave me a lovely 17yo post op patient. The reason they gave me this patient was that his parents recently got back from China after adopting baby Gracie. How sweet was she! Unfortunately, by the time I got back from my meeting, the patient had fallen asleep and I was unable to talk with them. I was quite disapointed..I am sure another one of those moments will come again.

We are heading to Florida for a few days. We have started cleaning and organizing the house, a little bit. Michael finished painting the bathroom upstairs and it just needs some touch ups. Some friends have given me ideas to help with that, but it is a bit overwhelming. We have gotten a fire extinguisher. We should have one anyway, but we are sure the homestudy people will want to see it. Thats about it.
I have totally enjoyed answering questions..I told someone we were adopting from China and there answer was 'Is that legal'? That was kind of funny. I am sure we will have more questions like that but that was great. More details to come as we set our orientation date and wait to get approved.. Thanks for all the kind emails.

Amy and Michael

When Love Takes You In - Steven Curtis Chapman

Finally, this is the video that led to the journey of adoption

its a God thing

Okay, another sign God is totally in this process. We went to a new doctor yesterday..Wonderful Christian lady who, get this, is in the process of adopting. She has 3 kids but is adopting 2 older ones this year and soon as she is matched..Anway, because of her history, she knew what labs we would need, what info the agency would need.


How cool is that?

anticipation

A lot of people were given a log in date today for China. How exciting for those families!!! Now they begin the wait for a referral for their child!
As I have had time to explore and research blogs, websites and talking to people who have adopted something has occurred tot me..i mean really occurred to me what a life changing proceses adoption will be. Just the idea of adding a person to your family is simply HUGE!! Those of you who have adopted and those who have biological children can share with me.

I remember getting married almost 5 years ago. That was a HUGE change. You cant be selfish anymore..I had my ways of doing things as did Michael. We still have our own ways of doing things but you have to be able to adjust to your spouses ideas..that was hard..I think it was 6 months into the wonderful marriage that it hit me. It was hard but you know what? It was also fun. I loved learning new things about my husband and i still do.

I seriously think about the day we get our daughter from China, and how not only will our lives be forever changed, but also hers. i pray for a smooth adjustment as we take her from a place she has never left to a new and exciting life..

I am sentimental person, although most people wouldnt know that. I am also very excitable. I cant wait for the day that they place our daughter in our homes and we take her home with us..

People

Sitting here at work, wondering when we will be mailing the application. Its pretty complete, we both answered our questions, thats pretty much it.

Apparently Michael met someone today who has used the agency we have chosen?

Someone asked me today "Why China, dont you like American kids"? Now, tell me, how in the heck is the proper response to that?



Ladybugs are cool!

questions

The strange questions have started. "why are you adopting"? Why China and not another country? Why would you spend that much money on a family?

Mind you, most of these people are just curious but it sometimes I think people are being ugly. I am not worried though.I do believe that our child will be loved and cherished by all of our family and friends..its actually exciting to think about it.

The formal application should be going out sometime next week and then we wait for the next step. We are working on getting the house ready for our homestudy, but with both of us working a lot of overtime, the process is slow. I can report the bookshelf is no longer in the kitchen which is pretty exciting.

No, we havent talked about names. i dont know why.Perhaps its the fact that we have a long wait ahead of us.
Michael has told me that Lucy will have to go to training school before we bring any child into the home. We got Lucy the bassett hound due to the laid back, lazy personalities they are know to have. Lucy seems to have a defect. Im just kidding. It is funny to watch her do laps in the back yard..


Until next time...

me and Michael

Nope. There really is nothing to report. I am getting so much info from people on the internet about China and our agency and everything, I am ready to meet some of these people. We are expecting the best...paperwork will not be that difficult, we will be approved, travel will be great, baby girl will bond and not grieve over her new environment.

I am very excited about the whole process,but the difficulty of the process is starting to hit me. Perhaps Michael and I can over the adoption packet in the car or while on the trip. I hope so. There is so much to talk about..

I am not worried.
I know we can do it.
Its just how to start.

amy

Its still July

I still can not believe how many online journals there are online. Thanks to those of you who sent us more. IN one day, I think I had 25 positive responses to the agency we have chosen. I think we have the chosen the right one. I have no interest in looking into other ones, I am just ready to get started.

I have spent hours reading posts from various yahoogroups on what we call "the paperchase". its actually a little intimidating with all the paperwork, where you have to get it signed, where you have to get it notarizedm should you mail it or drive it over? should you use a courier or use Fed Ex? How do you know when it gets there?

Once it gets there, how long until its approved and then the waiting..RIght now, its just over 12 months (thats 1 year folks) and then about 6 weeks before you fly to China. I need to get started but I also need 2 days off in a row. maybe on our trip this weekend, we can get the application mailed..That would be sooo cool..

Off to finish work for the night

the process