This says it all...........
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
WE PASSED THE REVIEW ROOM!
Letter from Children's Hope International
Once the CCAA posted that they had completed reviewing all of the September dossiers, I had our Beijing staff visit the CCAA and inquire about all our CHI September 2005 dossiers to insure that everyone was reviewed and approved to be matched. I am happy to report that all our September 2005 families are approved to be matched and have left Department I. I don't like surprises when it comes to our CHI dossiers. I know that everyone is sad that the wait time for referrals has lengthened, but please take a moment to celebrate this little milestone. Ann Tollefson
Note: Our LID is 9/13/05. This is great news that we have passed the review room. What this means is all of our paper work is done correctly and they accept us for parents for a baby from China. Now we just sit back and wait to get our referral.
It is a good day for us... I want to celebrate this step... (it's a big one)!! YEA!!!
Colette
Once the CCAA posted that they had completed reviewing all of the September dossiers, I had our Beijing staff visit the CCAA and inquire about all our CHI September 2005 dossiers to insure that everyone was reviewed and approved to be matched. I am happy to report that all our September 2005 families are approved to be matched and have left Department I. I don't like surprises when it comes to our CHI dossiers. I know that everyone is sad that the wait time for referrals has lengthened, but please take a moment to celebrate this little milestone. Ann Tollefson
Note: Our LID is 9/13/05. This is great news that we have passed the review room. What this means is all of our paper work is done correctly and they accept us for parents for a baby from China. Now we just sit back and wait to get our referral.
It is a good day for us... I want to celebrate this step... (it's a big one)!! YEA!!!
Colette
Thursday, April 20, 2006
My Dear Child!
My dear child,
I know you've been struggling desperately to hold onto hope for quite some time now, and I'm sorry that lately you've grown weary of waiting.
It pains me to see you holding back tears, your smile intact, in the company of those whose blessings you live out only in dreams. You share their delight but yearn for a joy that's uniquely your own.
I ache when I hear your lonely cries at night, mourning the life you fear may never come. I share your sorrow; I feel your grief. If you could see the plan as I do, you would rest easier, knowing that it will all be worth the wait. My daughter, your day will come.
Until that time, be patient; trust in me. Know that my plan for you (as well as for all mankind) is at work every second of the day. Ultimately, your sorrow will pass, your pain will fade, and your reward will last forever.
Finally, may you find joy in your journey and pleasure in the process, as you watch my plan unfold. I care for you more than you can imagine and only want what's best for you. Commit your cares to me, and your comfort will be complete.
I love you! God
I know you've been struggling desperately to hold onto hope for quite some time now, and I'm sorry that lately you've grown weary of waiting.
It pains me to see you holding back tears, your smile intact, in the company of those whose blessings you live out only in dreams. You share their delight but yearn for a joy that's uniquely your own.
I ache when I hear your lonely cries at night, mourning the life you fear may never come. I share your sorrow; I feel your grief. If you could see the plan as I do, you would rest easier, knowing that it will all be worth the wait. My daughter, your day will come.
Until that time, be patient; trust in me. Know that my plan for you (as well as for all mankind) is at work every second of the day. Ultimately, your sorrow will pass, your pain will fade, and your reward will last forever.
Finally, may you find joy in your journey and pleasure in the process, as you watch my plan unfold. I care for you more than you can imagine and only want what's best for you. Commit your cares to me, and your comfort will be complete.
I love you! God
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Adoption Terms
In the process we call adoption, there are a lot of terms and abbreviations used. Here is a list to help you decipher what we and other adoptive families maybe talking about.
Dossier -- This is the paperwork that adoptive families spend months (and in our case over 8 months) gathering. Some of the documents include our marriage license, birth certificates, background checks, etc.
DTC (Dossier to China) -- This is the date that the dossier is sent to China by the agency. After this you wait for your LID. Our DTC was 08/04/2005.
LID (Log-in Date) -- This is the date that your dossier is logged in at the CCAA. This date officially begins your waiting period for referral. Our LID was 09/13/2005.
CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) -- This is the official government agency in Beijing, China that oversees China adoptions. They review our dossier and match us to our daughter and then send our referral.
Referral -- The referral is the paperwork that contains our daughters medical information, social history, and most of all her pictures. Once we have reviewed this information we send a LOI to say "yes" to the referral.
LOI (Letter of Intent) -- This is a letter we send to the CCAA saying that we accept the referral. The next wait is for TA.
TA (Travel Authorization) -- After the CCAA receives our LOI, they contact our daughter's SWI and start making the arrangements for us to become a forever family. They then send us the authroization to travel to China. The normal wait between the LOI and receiving TA is 4 weeks. You uaually travel 4 weeks latter.
SWI (Social Welfare Institute) -- This is the place where our daughter has been waiting for her forever family.
CA (Consulate Appointment) -- After receiving our daughter in China, we then go to the U.S. Consulate to get her visa. The CA is the date our paperwork is to be submitted. Once you have your appointment scheduled, our agency tells us the date we need to be in China.
Forever Family Day (sometimes called Gotcha Day) -- This is the day that we have our baby placed in our arms for the first time and we become forever family.
CHI (Children's Hope International) -- This is the agency licensed by the CCAA to translate dossiers and referrals into Chinese or English. They also make our travel arrangements while in China and provide us with an English translator and guide each day to walk us through the Chinese adoption process.
Dossier -- This is the paperwork that adoptive families spend months (and in our case over 8 months) gathering. Some of the documents include our marriage license, birth certificates, background checks, etc.
DTC (Dossier to China) -- This is the date that the dossier is sent to China by the agency. After this you wait for your LID. Our DTC was 08/04/2005.
LID (Log-in Date) -- This is the date that your dossier is logged in at the CCAA. This date officially begins your waiting period for referral. Our LID was 09/13/2005.
CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) -- This is the official government agency in Beijing, China that oversees China adoptions. They review our dossier and match us to our daughter and then send our referral.
Referral -- The referral is the paperwork that contains our daughters medical information, social history, and most of all her pictures. Once we have reviewed this information we send a LOI to say "yes" to the referral.
LOI (Letter of Intent) -- This is a letter we send to the CCAA saying that we accept the referral. The next wait is for TA.
TA (Travel Authorization) -- After the CCAA receives our LOI, they contact our daughter's SWI and start making the arrangements for us to become a forever family. They then send us the authroization to travel to China. The normal wait between the LOI and receiving TA is 4 weeks. You uaually travel 4 weeks latter.
SWI (Social Welfare Institute) -- This is the place where our daughter has been waiting for her forever family.
CA (Consulate Appointment) -- After receiving our daughter in China, we then go to the U.S. Consulate to get her visa. The CA is the date our paperwork is to be submitted. Once you have your appointment scheduled, our agency tells us the date we need to be in China.
Forever Family Day (sometimes called Gotcha Day) -- This is the day that we have our baby placed in our arms for the first time and we become forever family.
CHI (Children's Hope International) -- This is the agency licensed by the CCAA to translate dossiers and referrals into Chinese or English. They also make our travel arrangements while in China and provide us with an English translator and guide each day to walk us through the Chinese adoption process.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Chinese Orphanages
It is estimated that there are between 50,000 and 100,000 children in Chinese orphanages. 95% of these are girls, many discarded by government buildings or hospitals. Why girls? China greatly discourages population growth and heavily taxes couples for having more than one child. So, if the family wants to carry on its lineage and cannot afford more than one child, the girl will have to go.
So she is picked up and placed in a local orphanage. What's her fate? Illness? Death? Adoption? Human trafficking? Prostitution? You get the picture.
So she is picked up and placed in a local orphanage. What's her fate? Illness? Death? Adoption? Human trafficking? Prostitution? You get the picture.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Legacy of an Adopted Child
Once there were TWO WOMEN who never knew each other.
One you do not remeber, the other you call Mother.
Two different lives shaped to make you one.
One became your guiding STAR, The other became your SUN.
The first one gave you LIFE. And the second taught you to LIVE IT.
The first gave you a need for LOVE. The other was there to give it.
One gave you a NATIONALITY. The other gave you a NAME.
One gave you a TALENT. The other gave you AIM.
One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first SWEET SMILE. The other dried your tears.
One sought for you a HOME that she could not provide. The other prayed for a CHILD and her hope was not denied.
And now you ask me, through your tears, the age-old question unanswered through the years.
Heredity or Environment, which are you a product of? Neither, my darling, Neither.
Just two different kinds of Love.
One you do not remeber, the other you call Mother.
Two different lives shaped to make you one.
One became your guiding STAR, The other became your SUN.
The first one gave you LIFE. And the second taught you to LIVE IT.
The first gave you a need for LOVE. The other was there to give it.
One gave you a NATIONALITY. The other gave you a NAME.
One gave you a TALENT. The other gave you AIM.
One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first SWEET SMILE. The other dried your tears.
One sought for you a HOME that she could not provide. The other prayed for a CHILD and her hope was not denied.
And now you ask me, through your tears, the age-old question unanswered through the years.
Heredity or Environment, which are you a product of? Neither, my darling, Neither.
Just two different kinds of Love.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Paper Chase!
List of paperwork needed for our agency:
Letter of petition to adopt
Homestudy
I-171H
Birth certificates
Marriage certificate
Medical form for each parent
Financial statement
Employers letter
Non-employment letter
Criminal background check by StateDepartment
Finger prints for each parent
Passports (copies of picture and signature pages)
Photos of prospective parents, home, and family life
Reference letters, 2 from family members 3 from non-family
Letter of petition to adopt
Homestudy
I-171H
Birth certificates
Marriage certificate
Medical form for each parent
Financial statement
Employers letter
Non-employment letter
Criminal background check by StateDepartment
Finger prints for each parent
Passports (copies of picture and signature pages)
Photos of prospective parents, home, and family life
Reference letters, 2 from family members 3 from non-family
Friday, March 03, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
WAITING, WAITING, WAITING.......
I've been told when adopting you have to learn patience and this is something that is often hard for most Americans who want to be in control and want things right away. People have said when you are adopting you need to be patient. You have to be able to let go... to realize that some things will be out of your hands.
You have to put your trust and faith in God!
I've been told when adopting you have to learn patience and this is something that is often hard for most Americans who want to be in control and want things right away. People have said when you are adopting you need to be patient. You have to be able to let go... to realize that some things will be out of your hands.
You have to put your trust and faith in God!
Friday, February 03, 2006
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Journey to Adoption
JOURNEY to ADOPITON
My husband, Bob and I have been on the journey of our life. It started when we tried to conceive our second child. We started when Megan, our first child turned 3. We wanted them 4 years apart. We tried on our own for a year before going to a doctor. 6 months later she refereed us to an infertility doctor. This was July of 2000. We found out that Bob had a low sperm count and that I had some polyps that needed to be surgically removed. After this we tried artificial insemination. This is when they put the woman on a hormone to have you ovulate. I was put on clomide. After about 10 days on this you are given a trigger shot to release the eggs. Then they put the mans sperm inside of the woman. We only did this one time because of the cost. Insurance didn’t pay anything and you were only given a 20% chance. We continued to try on our own hoping.
At this time in our lives we didn’t consider adoption because of the cost. We just thought there was no way we could afford it. I thought maybe God only wanted us to have one child. I gave away some of Megan’s baby things to friends hoping I would become pregnant. No such luck.
Then in the fall of 2002 Bob came home from work and said that his medical insurance was going to cover 80% of infertility. We were both elated! I met with a fertility doctor in January 2003. This time around when Bob was tested we found out that not only did he have a low sperm count but that his sperm only lived an hour or so. A normal mans sperm lives 24 hours.
We tried artificial insemination 3 times. After that my doctor did a hystroscopy and a loporoscopy. She found out that I had endometrioses and removed it. A month later we tried artificial insemination. To our surprise I was pregnant! We were elated! My doctor had me start taking progesterone to help sustain the pregnancy. A week and a half latter I started cramping and bleeding. I had miscarried. We were broken hearted. I asked my doctor why this happened and she said most likely because of my age, I was 36. We tried another month of insemination with no luck.
Then in October/November of 2003 we did In-vitro Insemination. I became pregnant! We were so excited! I was due August 3rd, 2004. I loved being pregnant! We all wanted this baby so much.I went into premature labor at 22 3/4 weeks. I checked into the hospital, I was dilated to a 4 and was bulging. They tried to get things to go back up so they could put in a curcloge. They put in a catheder because I was unable to get out of bed. They had me on all kinds of drugs and in bed with my head lower then the rest of my body (real fun). They also gave me 2 steroid shots to help the babies’ lungs grow. A few days latter my water broke, so they were unable to put in the curcloge. I was devastated. They then put me flat & took out the catheder. They said as long as I didn’t get an infection I could put off delivering. I was told that I would be in the hospital until I delivered. I continued on magnesium to stop contractions. We were able to do this until late Saturday night. At 23 weeks 5 days, Rachel had dropped into my vagina and would have to come out. She was born at 1:40 a.m. Easter morning. The doctors gave her 20% of survival. This would stay at 20% until she was alive at least one month before they would up her percentage. She weighted 1 pound 2 ounces. Other then her size she was perfect. Nothing was wrong with her.
She did well the first week. She was such a fighter. Then things started getting worse. After the first week she was on the ventilator 100%. Then her body started shutting down, her liver then her heart. She died on Wednesday afternoon at 4:11 p.m. Bob & I arrived 5 minutes after she died. We did get a private room to spend time with her. We held her, talked to her, and kissed her. She was our beautiful baby daughter.
We attempted IVF in August 2004, we had to cancel it half way through because I didn’t produce enough eggs. Then we did IVF in November. I produced enough eggs this time and we went through the whole process, but it didn’t work. We then gave up on fertility treatments. Too much of a roller coaster ride and I needed to get off. We had decided if the fertility didn’t work this time we would look into adoption. This is Rachel’s gift to us. She made us realize how incomplete our family was without another child to share our life with.
We filled all of our paper work out with Catholic Charities for a domestic adoption then met with them in January of 2005. We decided to switch to international adoption after we found out the length of time before we would get a child. We chose China for the length of time and it was the perfect fit for our family. We met with a social worker and had our Home Study in February. We had to have background checks, medical exams, reference letters, finger printing and much more. We were done with all of this and turned in our dossier into China 8/4/05. Our dossier got log into China on 9/13/05. We had to sit back and wait.
I feel Rachel’s presence with me all the time. When I am feeling down as though the day will never come for us to go to China to get our daughter, I think of Rachel and I am given the strength to get through another day. I feel as though Rachel is watching over our daughter in China keeping her safe. Rachel is her special guardian angel.
Colette
Rachel’s proud mother
4/11/04 – 4/21/04
My husband, Bob and I have been on the journey of our life. It started when we tried to conceive our second child. We started when Megan, our first child turned 3. We wanted them 4 years apart. We tried on our own for a year before going to a doctor. 6 months later she refereed us to an infertility doctor. This was July of 2000. We found out that Bob had a low sperm count and that I had some polyps that needed to be surgically removed. After this we tried artificial insemination. This is when they put the woman on a hormone to have you ovulate. I was put on clomide. After about 10 days on this you are given a trigger shot to release the eggs. Then they put the mans sperm inside of the woman. We only did this one time because of the cost. Insurance didn’t pay anything and you were only given a 20% chance. We continued to try on our own hoping.
At this time in our lives we didn’t consider adoption because of the cost. We just thought there was no way we could afford it. I thought maybe God only wanted us to have one child. I gave away some of Megan’s baby things to friends hoping I would become pregnant. No such luck.
Then in the fall of 2002 Bob came home from work and said that his medical insurance was going to cover 80% of infertility. We were both elated! I met with a fertility doctor in January 2003. This time around when Bob was tested we found out that not only did he have a low sperm count but that his sperm only lived an hour or so. A normal mans sperm lives 24 hours.
We tried artificial insemination 3 times. After that my doctor did a hystroscopy and a loporoscopy. She found out that I had endometrioses and removed it. A month later we tried artificial insemination. To our surprise I was pregnant! We were elated! My doctor had me start taking progesterone to help sustain the pregnancy. A week and a half latter I started cramping and bleeding. I had miscarried. We were broken hearted. I asked my doctor why this happened and she said most likely because of my age, I was 36. We tried another month of insemination with no luck.
Then in October/November of 2003 we did In-vitro Insemination. I became pregnant! We were so excited! I was due August 3rd, 2004. I loved being pregnant! We all wanted this baby so much.I went into premature labor at 22 3/4 weeks. I checked into the hospital, I was dilated to a 4 and was bulging. They tried to get things to go back up so they could put in a curcloge. They put in a catheder because I was unable to get out of bed. They had me on all kinds of drugs and in bed with my head lower then the rest of my body (real fun). They also gave me 2 steroid shots to help the babies’ lungs grow. A few days latter my water broke, so they were unable to put in the curcloge. I was devastated. They then put me flat & took out the catheder. They said as long as I didn’t get an infection I could put off delivering. I was told that I would be in the hospital until I delivered. I continued on magnesium to stop contractions. We were able to do this until late Saturday night. At 23 weeks 5 days, Rachel had dropped into my vagina and would have to come out. She was born at 1:40 a.m. Easter morning. The doctors gave her 20% of survival. This would stay at 20% until she was alive at least one month before they would up her percentage. She weighted 1 pound 2 ounces. Other then her size she was perfect. Nothing was wrong with her.
She did well the first week. She was such a fighter. Then things started getting worse. After the first week she was on the ventilator 100%. Then her body started shutting down, her liver then her heart. She died on Wednesday afternoon at 4:11 p.m. Bob & I arrived 5 minutes after she died. We did get a private room to spend time with her. We held her, talked to her, and kissed her. She was our beautiful baby daughter.
We attempted IVF in August 2004, we had to cancel it half way through because I didn’t produce enough eggs. Then we did IVF in November. I produced enough eggs this time and we went through the whole process, but it didn’t work. We then gave up on fertility treatments. Too much of a roller coaster ride and I needed to get off. We had decided if the fertility didn’t work this time we would look into adoption. This is Rachel’s gift to us. She made us realize how incomplete our family was without another child to share our life with.
We filled all of our paper work out with Catholic Charities for a domestic adoption then met with them in January of 2005. We decided to switch to international adoption after we found out the length of time before we would get a child. We chose China for the length of time and it was the perfect fit for our family. We met with a social worker and had our Home Study in February. We had to have background checks, medical exams, reference letters, finger printing and much more. We were done with all of this and turned in our dossier into China 8/4/05. Our dossier got log into China on 9/13/05. We had to sit back and wait.
I feel Rachel’s presence with me all the time. When I am feeling down as though the day will never come for us to go to China to get our daughter, I think of Rachel and I am given the strength to get through another day. I feel as though Rachel is watching over our daughter in China keeping her safe. Rachel is her special guardian angel.
Colette
Rachel’s proud mother
4/11/04 – 4/21/04
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