Journey: David's Room

Taken from the hallway

 We worked on David's room this weekend since we were hosting Home Group- nothing like people coming over to get you in gear! Steve built the bookshelves and we had fun putting David's books and stuffed animals inside.
Above David's crib is one of my favorite quotes. It was really hard to put up and I hope it stays on the wall!


Love this quote, so excited to have it above his crib!

Some friends and family are working on Alphabet letters to hang above the dresser. I can't wait to have all the letters up- it's going to look great! I have a really great friend from school who cut out all the letters and had friends over to decorate some letters this week- pictures coming soon!
So, David's room is almost finished and now we just need to get to China to bring him home!

Taken from the bathroom

Journey: last mailer sent

Off to China!

We are officially out of the Referral Phase of our adoption~ 5 long years later!!! On Tuesday I once again waited for the mailman to come (5:30- yeesh!) so our I800 could be copied and put in with the other papers to be sent to GWCA. This is the last package we had to send to complete the adoption- hard to believe! Everything we've been working on is now sent to the US Consulate in Guangzhou and once things are checked off and approved it goes to the CCCWA.
So, on Friday everything was cabled to China. Next Tuesday, hopefully, our USCIS approvals and China approvals along with David's visa application will be taken to US Consulate. It's usually a 3 week turn around for the Article 5 to be approved, get to our agency and THEN we will officially be waiting on Travel Approval. I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to go really s-l-o-w-l-y. Luckily there are lots of things happening including Steve's birthday, my baby shower at school, and spring break!! You should see my list for spring break- it's crazy long!!
Below is a picture of David's room... it's coming along and we did some work in it today. Another post about that coming up!!

Do you see the Baylor Bear ready to welcome David?

One more step is complete!!!! We are closer and closer to traveling to China!! Our I800 was approved by the National Benefits Center, USCIS. This is the approval for us to adopt David. The next step is the approval to be sent to the National Visa Center who will send our approvals to China. On the handy dandy chart we've gotten to #9 and #10 should happen within the next week. #15 is travel, so we still have a few more steps. I can't remembe whose blog I got this chart off but I love it!!
I was hoping this Valentine's Day would include some pictures of David with his most recent care package but we will have to wait and pray that the package actually got to him.
I am very happy to remember that 11 years ago I had recently met this really awesome guy and we were going to see Sing the next night. On Valentine's day 2002 he came over with a giant stuffed Eeyore and made my night- Love you Steve!!!! 

Journey: another update

Beijing has been very cold this winter!

It seems that with each step and the closer we get to going to China the longer the time seems to take. Really, after waiting 5 years you would think I could handle these last couple of months!
David's room is coming along. It's a great shade of blue! We picked up his crib and we love it and hope he does too! It's a convertible one so he'll sleep in it till he leaves for college :)
One great thing that happens each month is that New Day sends out an update to David's sponsors. Although we can't sponsor him, New Day is super sweet and sends us the update. They also send a picture which always makes my day although in this month's picture he looks a bit sad- I'm hoping it's because he doesn't like cold weather. If that's the case he'll fit perfectly in Waco where the high today (in February, for goodness sakes) was 80 degrees!!
Dear Friends,
We hope this note finds you doing well, and that you enjoy reading this month's update.
David (Calvin) is 1 Year 5 Months Old.
David (Calvin)'s foster mom wrote this update:
David (Calvin) is growing taller and of course, smarter. He likes to learn new things and enjoys playing with the older children like a big boy. He loves to jump and to climb when playing. He will ask me to support him so he can stand on the chair. One of his favorite things to do is play with his toy phone. He likes to push the buttons and sing along with the songs that rhythm. At nighttime he likes to help me turn on the lights in the house and has learned to open and close the doors. He also likes to walk around the bedrooms looking at the different colors. For his safety, we have installed locks on most of the doors as we don’t want him to play alone in the rooms. It is our pleasure to take care of him until he is united with his forever family.
(This information is intended to provide a personality profile of the children, not a developmental/medical profile.)
If you ever have any questions, please let us know. Thank you for your continued support.
Blessings,
New Day Staff

Journey: 5 Years LID

Our I-800A approval

January 29, 2008 is our LID date in China. What is LID? LID stands for Log In Date which means from that date on we were approved to adopt from China according to China~ 5 years ago! I used to buy something each month on our LID anniversary but after a year it got depressing and soon when the date rolled around I could hardly pull myself together for the day. I know now, and I knew it then too but had a hard time seeing it, that God has perfect timing. He and He alone knows why we had to wait. He and He alone knew before David was born that he would be our son. He and He alone will continue to see us through this process. I've said before I don't know why we waited so long to move to the Waiting Child list but He knows why and His reasons are perfect!! Without the timing we wouldn't be getting David! Such an amazing thing to think about!!!
Today we are one step closer to traveling to China, one step closer to being a family, one step closer to holding our SON in our arms! Today we received our I-800A approval!!
What's that? The I-800A is the US Homeland Security approval for me and Steve to adopt from China! Yes, even though we were approved back in 2007 and 2009, laws have changed and so has the paperwork so we had to go through approval again. The paperwork this time around was MUCH more complicated!
What's the next step? The next step is the I-800 approval which is the approval for us to adopt David, specifically and bring him back to the US. I had the papers ready to send via FedEx, I was just waiting on the approval of us to send with it and we got that today- HALLELUJAH!!!! It should be delivered tomorrow via FedEx.
How much longer? Don't you know I wish it was tomorrow!!! The longest it will be is 16 weeks, I think ( Mid May), and the shortest it will be is late March. Chinese New Year brings a slight hold up but our paperwork may still be on the US side of things at that point.


www.china-adoption-online.com

The nifty chart comes to you via www.china-adoption-online.com which has been my lifeline! It and several facebook groups which help me really understand what's going on :) The facebook groups include many people who are in our same shoes and I LOVE "meeting" them!! We are now on the 7th step~Obtain I800 approval, that's the package I sent off today. So you can see we still have a few more to go!!
Thank you for your continued support and prayers!! Having friends and family who are so completely supportive is INCREDIBLE!!!
Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!!!

Journey: another care package

No news is good news, right?!? We continue to wait- 50 days, agh!!!!- on the next step to get David (the approval for us to adopt 'in general'). When that comes in we'll send the form to adopt David, specifically. I have the next FedEx package read to send- minus the one page from USCIS I need.
I have a new care package to send to our handsome little guy for Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year. I wrapped everything in red paper and hope that it will get there in time!
We ordered the bedding for his room and I cannot wait for it to come in!! Once we have it we'll pick out the paint which I've been waiting on. There's also a special nursery project that my friend Cookie is working on!! It's going to be fabulous!!



Journey: more about David

Love his giggling face!!

A few weeks ago we got an update on our little boy! We were encouraged to ask questions within certain topics. His foster mom answered the questions. It is awesome to find out more about our little boy! We will probably ask for another update closer to when we will leave. Our first question was about his heart condition but they haven't done a formal evaluation since his referral so no news on his heart.

How is his health in general?
His health is good and seldom gets sick.

What type of bed does he sleep in at night? Does he sleep in a crib?
Yes, he sleeps in his own crib.

Does he recognize his name? Is he on target for his age developmentally?
His mental development is good. He could distinguish familiar people and strangers. He is good at imitation and likes imitating adults action. He understands adults words well and always follow adults orders.

Is he crawling, pulling up, and walking?
Yes, he could crawl, stand up and walk freely. He likes kicking ball and could keep balance well.

Is he speaking? Can he name items in the room?
Yes, he could say some simple words like "come, dad, mom, brother, kick a ball". He could also understand adults orders, as "come here, sit down, and take the toy".

How is he at going into a new situation? Does he adjust quickly to meeting new people or going to new places?
His adaptability is good. When guests come to his foster family, he always feels happy and likes hugs from guests. When guests leave, he will wave hands and say "bye bye" to them.

What are his favorite things to eat? What is his eating schedule?
He is not picky on food. The schedule as follow: 7:30 milk 200ml; 9:00 breakfast: conjee, bread, egg, noodle; 11:00 milk; 12:40 lunch; 18:30 milk; 20:00 supper: noodle, wonton soup; 22:00 milk.

Is he potty trained? Does he wear diapers?
He wears diapers at night when sleep.

What is his sleep schedule? Does he take morning/afternoon naps? What time does he go to bed each night?
He gets up at 7:30, has nap from 13:30-14:50, and goes to bed 22:00.

What does he do when he is upset?
He will cry. Give him cuddle or toy will calm him down.

Daily life, personality, hobbies, and others-
He likes play with other children. He is an active boy and likes communicating with people.

Favorite toys and activities-
His favorite toy is ball. He likes kick ball very much.

Knowing more about our son makes the wait harder but it's 2013 and we'll get to hold and love on our son THIS YEAR (and hopefully within the next couple of months)! Thank you so much for your support and prayers throughout our journey!!