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