One Hour to Go!!!

It's 8:30 AM on Monday, May 31st. We meet Jacob/Jingxin in an hour!!

So exciting!!!

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

It's 4:30 AM on Monday, May 31st. We get Jingxin today. I went to bed at 7 PM last night; Tom went even earlier. Five hours until we meet our little boy. It's so exciting and slightly nerve-wracking (for Tom at least; so far, my nerves are fine).

We had a wonderful lunch yesterday wit our guide, Michelle, and the other family in our group. We ate at a dumpling place and it was FABULOUS. Then we shopped for some essentials (bottled water, snacks), then back to the room to pack Jingxin's bag and unpack ours.

We have done a lot of walking and some sightseeing. On the agenda for today: At 9 AM, we meet in the lobby and head to the Civil Affairs office, where we will meet our son. We spend quite a bit of time there with the orphanage workers, so we can ask questions about his everyday life. Then we do some shopping for him, now that we know his size. Tomorrow, after Michelle does the paperwork with the civil affairs office, we visit the museum and Russian style church in the city. The next day we visit the zoo. The day after that, we get Jingxin's passport and fly to Guangzhou for the American part of the process.

Harbin City holds a snow and ice festival each year, which we of course miss because it's spring. The photos of it are amazing. If you want to see what it looks like up here in the winter, google Harbin Snow & Ice Festival images. This is a medium sized city by Chinese standards - about 9 million people.

I'm off to make sure I have all my questions for the orphanage personnel written down. More later...

Photos

Uploading to Blogger is almost impossible here in China, so I'm going to link to photobucket. Click here to see our photos.

We're having a nice time so far, although I had no idea that they smoke ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE here. We got our room in Harbin and we had to immediately ask for another one; I felt like we were sleeping in an ashtray; the entire room reeked. The new room is nice, but you still get the smell of smoke through the vents.

Tom is exhausted; he's hardly gotten any sleep over the past couple of days. He's sleeping right now (6 PM) and I'm trying to keep myself busy without making too much noise, since this might be our last chance to sleep for a while. We pick up Jingxin tomorrow and we can only hope that he adjusts well to us.

We're Here!!

We go in last night. We're exhausted from the flight. Tom is sleeping right now, but I can't.

Today, we tour the Great Wall, The Forbidden City and Tianamen Square. Got the camera all charged and raring to go.

I'll post some photos later.

Diane

I'm Leavin' On A Jetplane...

We leave today for China. It's raining out; hopefully it doesn't delay our flight.

Stay tuned for posts and pictures from China!!!

Two Days!!

We leave in TWO DAYS!!! I've been telling everyone that it still doesn't seem real yet. Maybe by the time we're on the plane it'll start sinking in.

I have the "gift" suitcase packed - all the stuff we're bringing to gift to the orphanage personnel, the local officials, the children at the orphanage and Jacob.
I still have to pack my clothes, do some laundry (now that the washing machine is fixed), take my mom to the doctor, take Spooky to the vet, clean a little, lots of stuff to do.

In 6 days we meet our boy.

Six Days & Counting!!!

We leave in SIX DAYS!!! It's hard to believe that, after all that waiting, we're leaving to meet our boy in less than a week!

I ran around like a nut today:

- Visited a day care center
- Went to the bank on another crisp money run
- Went to K-Mart and got a bunch of stuff to bring on the plane and to the orphanage
- Picked out paint for the bathroom remodels that are being done while we're gone
- Took mom to Wal-Mart and got more stuff to bring with us to China
- Typed up the list of items for the bathroom contractor
- Got the suitcases out of the basement
- Met the contractors to finalize bathroom plans
- Cleaned the house

I'm tired. I want to sit somewhere quiet, have a drink and be served.

This Just In...

We got an update on Jacob. Here's what the update says:

Height: 34.28 inches
Weight: 26.4 pounds
Head circumference: 18.52 inches
Chest circumference: 18.91 inches
Foot length: 5.52 inches
Teeth: 20

Now he is sleeping in his own crib and he loves to play cars,
slides and games with other children. He really is a lovely boy!

Here are his latest photos:

Official Travel Date Received!!!

It's official.

We leave for Beijing on May 27th.
Gotcha Day is May 31st in Harbin.
Consulate Appointment is June 9th in Guangzhou.
We come home June 11th with Jacob.

The bright shining light at the end of the very long tunnel is our son.

Travel Date Changed

We just heard from our agency. The original American Consulate appointment is not available, so it now looks like we're going to be leaving on May 27th, instead of May 20th and we have a June 9 Consulate Appointment, instead of June 2.

It's a double-edged sword. I'm happy to be able to get more done, especially losing a week in the hospital, but I want to go get my son now.

TA!!!

We got our "tentative" travel date today. We are due to leave on May 20th to pick up our son!!

Introducing....

Hello everyone!! I am proud to introduce our son, Dang JingXin, soon to be Jacob Thomas. Isn't that the most precious face you've ever seen???



He was born July 16, 2007 and currently lives in Ha'erbin City in the Heilongjiang Province in Northeastern China (near Russia).

We have forwarded our amended I-171H and our signed LSC (Letter Seeking Confirmation) back to our adoption agency, Great Wall China Adoption.

Now we wait - for TA (travel approval), itinerary, etc. We have a lot to do while we wait - visas, buy furniture, get his room ready, etc.

So exciting!!!

LSC RECEIVED TODAY!!!

I got a call from Stephanie from Great Wall tonight that our LSC (Letter Seeking Confirmation) was received by them from China today!!

She is overnighting it to me at work and I should have it Monday.

As soon as I have it in my hands, I should be able to post his information for all to see!!

Keep us in your prayers that USCIS (Immigration) moves fast on the I-171H revision and we travel soon.

Your mommy and daddy love you Jake!!

PA RECEIVED!!

We received our PA (Pre-Approval) today!! That means we're on our way to getting little man.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

After a lot of talk and soul searching, Tom and I decided to switch to the Special Needs (SN) Program through our agency, Great Wall. Once decided, there was a whirlwind of activity: lists to peruse, home study to update, new photos of us to take, research on the special needs we are comfortable with taking on, doctors to find to review files...

All that being said, we found a little man on the shared agency list, which means that anyone from any agency can lock in this little guy and then he wouldn't be available anymore. I saw his adorable picture and read his profile on 2/24/10 and wrote to Stephanie from Great Wall, requesting information about him. On 2/25/10, a new list came out and he wasn't on it. We were devastated. Something about this little guy just called out to us. He was meant to be ours.

Upset, I contacted Stephanie and she let me know that he was still available. I immediately requested his file and sent it off to Tiff's mom (she's a nurse), who gave her approval, then onto Dr. Rogu, an international adoption specialist, who I cannot say enough good things about. he called me Friday, Saturday and Sunday that week to go over everything, as he knew the urgency of the matter. Someone else could lock him in at any time.

We got a good report from Dr. Rogu, who will be seeing little man as soon as he gets here. I called Stephanie Saturday night and locked in the file (thanks for giving me your cell phone Stephanie!).

On March 8, 2010, our LOI (Letter of Intent) was sent to China. Now we wait for the PA (Pre-Approval) from China, which should come in about 2-4 weeks.

I can't give any details or post any pictures until it's official, so you'll all have to wait. :o)

Keep us in your prayers.

Diane

We're in Review

I got an email from Great Wall today. The May and June 2008 groups are in Review. Wow. I thought it would take a lot longer to get there.

Hopefully, this means things are speeding up over there.

Keeping my fingers crossed and say my prayers.

USCIS Rant

I sent all of the paperwork for the I171-H renewal to their office in NYC back in OCTOBER. I've gotten nothing back yet.

I gave them until January, then sent an email. No response - despite their automated reply to my email that says they'll get back to me within 3 business days.

I wait a week or so then send another email. No response.

So I send another email. No response. The same auto-reply gives an 800 number. I called the number - no one there can help with adoption. Surprise, surprise. There is no 212 number to call. So, I'm thinking I have to take a day off of work and trek into Manhattan on the off chance someone can help me.

Last week, I sent an email that had, as one of my coworkers says, "some stank on it." I basically stated that I can't understand what the holdup is, that we are now considering a waiting child and things could move very fast, but they are holding up the process, that it is unconscionable that they haven't even bothered to get back to me. I also wrote my senator and The Department of State Office of Intercountry Adoption, asking both to intercede on my behalf and find out what is going on.

Strangely enough, I get a reply in 20 minutes. They say that my file has been placed with an officer and they will get back to me as soon as they can. They supposedly had staff shortages. The email also contained a 212 phone number for me to call between some very specific hours if I don't receive a reply in a reasonable period of time.

Why must everything be so freakin' difficult?

UPDATE - 2.10.10:

Guess what came in the mail today? A notice of favorable determination from USCIS. Strange how it showed up right after I raised hell.

Going Gluten Free

I'm not sure how much you may know about Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. I was diagnosed about 4 years ago and have been trying to get it managed ever since. I've been to four different endocrinologists with no success. I also went to a holistic nutritionist. She put me on a severely restricted diet (I could basically drink water and eat cardboard). Now I'm seeing a naturopathic registered nurse. She has worked up a treatment plan that is working out decently so far.

Part of my Hashimoto's treatment is to be completely gluten free, which is not an easy thing to do. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE bread and giving it up sucks. What sucks even more is the taste of store-bought gluten free bread. It's also extremely pricey.

I decided that it would make more sense to buy a bread machine and make my own bread. So I bought the Breadman Pro. It arrived today and I'm looking forward to trying it out. Here's a pic...



I'm doing a lot of research on what flour mixtures will make the best bread and I've found some very interesting gluten free sites (which you will find under Gluten Free Blogs to the left).

Where Is My I171-H?

I sent everything they requested on October 5th. So, now I have to ask, where is my I171-H?

Why, oh why, do I have to chase down every single thing?

Bad Fingerprints! Bad, Bad Fingerprints!

We got a notice in the mail the other day that both my and my mother's prints were unreadable, so now we both have to get letters of good conduct for all jurisdictions that we've lived in for the past five years and sign an affidavit attesting to certain facts (we haven't been arrested, etc., etc.). This is no big deal for me, as I've been a Suffolk County resident for the past five years., but my mom has only been here for 3 years. Before that, she lived in Katy, TX. I got a letter of Good Conduct from them the last go around, and I'm waiting to hear back from USCIS/NYC Adoption to see if I need a new one, or will the old be acceptable.

I sent the requests and money to Suffolk County on Thursday. They're generally pretty fast. We have 60 days to turn this around.