This is the new and improved "Ladybug Room". As I stated in my last post my wonderful friends from church give me a surprise baby shower. They set me up with a new crib & changing table which matches the white furniture already in the room. (They had heard me whinning about the light oak crib I had that did not match) They gave me bedding for both the twin bed and the crib and a cute ladybug lamp to match. They also showered me with other thoughtful gifts & lots of quilt squares. Words cannot express how much I appreciate their thoughtfulness. They were so attentive to my heart's desires. I love you guys!

Yesterday was a big day!!!! We received our Consulate Appointment for 12/17, this is the final step before returning home. We also received an update on Faith. They have pictures & medical reports they will send with her. She also received the package we sent. YEAH!!! We bought our plane tickets and expect our Passport/Visa delivered today.

The biggest surprise was last night my Ladies Small Group surprised me with a baby shower. I was overwhelmed with love! They basically gave me my dream room for Faith. I will post pictures later.

So, we will leave next Thursday 12/6, gotcha day 12/10, return home 12/19. We don't have our itinerary yet. We will have our final travel meeting on Monday.

We received TA today!!! They are trying to get us a Consulate Appointment for December 17th. Tentative date for departure is next week December 6th. Which means we could have Faith in our arms on December 10th. I will update when we get more info.

Update on Faith

We received an update from the orphanage today. The slide pictures above are from today's update. Faith weighs 20.7 pounds and is 30 inches tall. I don't know how accurate the weight is I can't believe she gained 4.5 pounds in 4 months. If you notice in the pictures she has on several layers of clothes. She has 6 teeth. We still do not know if her palate has been repaired. Our agency is going to ask again. God Is Good, she is growing and thriving and we are grateful.

Finding Ad

Today we received the finding ad that was placed in the Jaingxi Business Newspaper. When a baby is found abandoned they place an ad in the local Province paper to try to locate the parents. While we were disappointed that the picture was not clear we are so fortunate to have this information regarding her finding spot.

Translation: Xing Fu Xiang, Female, She was born on March 20, 2006, On March 22, 2006 She was found under the Xingcun Stockade Village in the County. She has a round face, single eyelids, thick black hair, and has a cleft top palate and top lip.

We used Brian Stuy with Research-China.org to get our finding ad. We were very happy with his service here is the link to his site. Research-China.org

Update From Home

We are glad to be home. We missed Miranda & Ethan more than I could put into words. I think today we are finally getting over the jetlag. Faith is still on China time but is coming around. Last night she was only up for 2 hours in the middle of the night. Faith is adjusting well. She is finally allowing Darren to pick her up which has been a big help for me. She is still a little hestitant around Miranda and Ethan.

I had to take Faith to the doctor yesterday because she continued to have a yucky nose and congestion. I am glad I did. When we had the visa physical in China they checked her ears and said they looked good. Well, when we took her to the doctor yesterday she said there was so much ear wax she could not see in her ear. After the doctor cleaned her ears out she said she had a bad infection in both ears. There is no telling how long her ears have been infected or how many infections she has had. Chinese doctors are far different than our western doctors. Now, everyday I praise God we live in the United States.

The kids are waking up from their naps so I have to go. Here is a picture from our airport reunion.

Day 12 - December 18

Today we had our Oath Ceramony, if you can call it a ceramony. We basically went into a waiting room(government building waiting room) not a nicely decorated room. We stood up raised our right hand and repeated something(I can't remember what)with a group of about 55 other families and that was it. As uneventful as that sounds I still got emotional.

The rest of the day was spent packing and hanging out with friends. Here is a picture of our travel group.


We will be getting up at 4:30a.m. to come home. Our plane leaves at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday China time and we should arrive in Lexington at 4:30p.m. on Wednesday US time. Can't wait to see everyone and introduce you to Faith Fu Xiang Maas.

Day 11- December 17

Today was our consulate appointment. We did not have to attend our guide went for us and everything went well. We should get her passport with visa tomorrow at the Oath Cermony.

I did finally get my massage. Wow, did that hurt! My neck is much better but I had to suffer through a painful 30 minutes. Unfortunately, Darren had to suffer also. He watched Faith which I went for the massage. He said she cried to entire time but when I went to pick her up she stopped immediately. We did some more shopping this afternoon.

Tonight we did a river boat cruise down the Pearl River. It was very beautiful. All the buildings along the river were lit up. Faith fell asleep half was though the cruise.

Update on Faith:
She is becoming more congested and stuffy everyday and we are seeing more & more food coming out of her nose. Her lip looks fantastic but it is obvious she will still need some work inside her mouth.

Day 10 - December 16

Sorry but the internet was not working so I am posting a day late. Today we did more shopping! We attempted to go to church but Faith was not cooperative. Darren went in with the rest of the group while Faith & I walked around. It was a very relaxed day.

Sometime yesterday I hurt my neck and have a big knot. I can barely turn my head so I decided to get a massage to try to work it out. The hotel sent me to a place around the corner. When I arrived their we ladies standing out front in formal gowns with fur wraps. The entrance was dark except for rope lights & black lights. There was a spiral staircase which led downstairs where you get the massage. After talking to them a few minutes I decided that was not quite what I was looking for. It was a 90 minute full body massage which required you to take a shower and change into an "outfit".

Update on Faith:
She is doing well and seems to be adjusted to Darren & I. She is still attached to me and will not let anyone else pick her up. She is still getting hives and their seems to be no obvious trigger.

Day 9 - December 15

This morning we went to have the kids physicals. Faith did not like it at all. In fact she protested the entire time. She officially weights 18.7 pounds a few pounds less than the orphanage had reported. After the physicals we completed all the paperwork for our consulate appointments. The rest of the day we had free to roam the city. We journeyed over to Guangzhou City and visited a local shopping district. We were the only non-Asian people around but we still felt quite comfortable. The Chinese people are very welcoming. We also did some souvenir shopping on Shiaman Island where we are staying. The shops here cater to adoptive families. We found a few things but are still looking for those perfect souvenirs.

How was Faith today?? To sum it up in 2 words VERY GRUMPY! She cried through breakfast, bathtime, diaper change, medicine, physical, and every time she did not get what she wanted. She is in bed now and has woke up twice crying. I don't know if she is finally grieving or just having a hard day.

Day 7 - December 13

Today the sun came out for the first time since being in China. It was nice to feel the sun on my face. We had a busy day of touring today. In the morning we went to the countryside to see how the local farmers live. We have some great pictures. I am unable to post them today hopefully I can tomorrow. In the afternoon we went to a Chinese resturant and the Tengwang Pavillion. Today is our last day in Nanchang, tomorrow we travel to Guangzhou. I am excited to get to Guangzhou so I can finally do some shopping. Due to the weight limit on in country luggage I have not been able to do much shopping.

Update on Faith: She continues to have hives at least once a day. After contacting our doctor we think it is not food but an nervous reaction. We did get confirmation today that her mouth in not completly repaired as she had chocolate coming out of her nose this afternoon. We were excited today to finally receive a picture of Faith before her lip repair.

Day 6 - December 12

We did not do much today. We stayed around the hotel this morning and this evening went out to shopping mall and Pizza Hut. Yes, we are still in China. The mall was actually nicer than our local mall in Lexington.

Please continue to be in prayer for Faith. She continues to get hives about twice a day. We are not sure if it is a food or due to stress. She seems to be able to tell when they start because she will start scratching and showing me where it itches and sure enough about 1/2hour to an hour later she has hives. Other than the hives she is doing great and continues to get stronger every day. She is still attached to me but is beginning to let others get close to her and play. YEAH! This gives me a little break. That's all for now. I did update the Photobucket so enjoy the pictures.

Day 5 - December 11

Today was a quite day. We had breakfast with friends and then went to the People's Park. Of course it is winter but it was still beautiful. I can only imagine how beautiful it is in the summer. There were many people out in the park. It is very common to hear about older ladies coming up telling you that your child does not have enough clothes on, I was prepared for that. I was not prepared when they told me that I should not carry my baby in a carrier with her legs wrapped around me because it will make her off balance and bowlegged. Oh well, sometimes you can't win! This evening we made a trip to a shopping district to walk around and eat at McDonalds.

Faith has really attached to me and will not let anyone else hold her. I am glad she has attached to me so well but it would be nice to have a break. She is very thin. Her arms are about the size of a newborn. She is unable to push herself up when she falls down. She even has trouble holding her bottle to feed herself. She is able to walk and is getting faster every day. We can't tell much about her palate but it does look like the hole is gone. Her mouth is a mess though. Her teeth are way out of line and grind together when she eats. I see a lot of dental work in our future. She is really coming out of her shell. Today well heard a lot of laughing and she is trying to mimic everything we do. We could not love her more! She is absolutely beautiful and we can't wait for you to meet her. Enjoy the pictures from today.

Day 4 - December 10

We have been amazed as to how well Faith has adjusted to us. She slept well last night, I actually had to wake her this morning. Today was busy! We ventured to Walmart to buy a few supplies. After lunch we had to complete our paperwork to make the adoption final. As of around 4:30 today Faith is officially our daughter. Tomorrow we will visit People's Park, park where locals hang out in the morning for exercise and socializing. The rest of the day is free. Please keep Darren & Faith in your prayers. Darren was beginning to get a cold when we left the US and it is finally hitting him. Faith broke out in hives this evening and we are not sure what caused it. Other than those minor annoyances we are having a great time in China. Sorry, no pictures today hopefully I will catch up tomorrow.

Day 3 - December 9

GOTCHA DAY!!

Around 4:30 p.m. China time we received Faith Fu Xiang Maas. Although we were elated to see her she was not as happy. She cried in the adoption office and did not want us to pick her up. She did play with us and shared her candy. On the bus ride to the hotel she began to warm up to us. She really came out of her shell when daddy started playing with her. She smiled for the first time and started talking although we have no idea what she is saying. She is walking although a bit wabbly. She is very weak and has difficulty bending down to pick things up and holding her bottle. She is healthy! She was exhausted and feel asleep in my arms as I was exchanging money and the front desk. Even with all the noise, she is a heavy sleeper! I am also exhausted so I am off to bed. Tomorrow I will have more time to write. God bless you.

Day 2 - December 8

Today was a big sightseeing day. In the past families have had one and a half days for touring but we only have one day. Our guide, Susan, was kind enough to send the entire day with us so we could see all the main tourist sights. We started at 7:30 in the morning with Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. Then we traveled to the Great Wall. Darren & I both made it to the top section. It was absolutely beautiful! Next we had an authentic Chinese meal & toured the Cloisonne factory. We finished our day with the Summer Palace. We were so exhausted we went to bed without eating dinner.

Day 1 - December 7

We traveled 22 hours from Lexington, Ky to Beijing China. It was a long flight but uneventful. We met up with two other families with AHH, one from Richmond, KY and the other from Maryland. We will stay in Beijing until Sunday morning when we fly to Nanchang to meet Faith. Thank you for all your prayers God has blessed us with wonderful family and friends.

LOA HAS ARRIVED

Today we received our Letter of Acceptance from China. One more step closer to going to get our little girl. The LOA will be mailed back to China tomorrow. The next step is to wait for TA(travel approval). The current waiting time is 2-4 weeks. Once we receive our TA we can go! We will start making travel plans while we wait for TA and make final plans once it arrives. Here are some pictures of us officially signing LOA saying, "Yes, we want Xing Fu Xiang to be our daughter".

I don't have any update information, we continue to wait for our LOA. As time passes it looks less likely that we will be able to travel before Christmas. I have been doing a little research about Faith's province while we wait. Faith is from the Xingcun Village in Xinfeng County which is in GanZhou City in Jiangxi Province. I have yet to find any information about the location of her village. Xinfeng County is located in the southern part of Jiangxi Province where it borders with Guangdong Province. Xinfeng County is known for their naval oranges. Here is a website for Xinfeng Orange

Here are some pictures of her orphanage I found from my yahoo group.

We have been so blessed by God with such wonderful friends. Below is a picture of the blanket and diaper bag a dear friend of mine embroidered. I'm sure the picture does not do it justice, it is absolutely gorgeous.



If you would like information on her business you can contact her by email, Embroidered Keepsakes by Shannon Dunn, sdunn14@hotmail.com.

Little More About Faith

幸 Xing 褔 Fu 祥 Xiang
These are the Chinese characters which make up Faith's given Chinese name. They mean good fortune, promising success.

Faith's growth report at 16 months of age states that she can crawl fast, walk with two hands held, and hold her own bottle. She can also wave bye-bye and clap her hands. From reading her report and talking with some OT friends it sounds like Faith is at a 9-12 month old development range. Based on her measurements at 16 months she is the size of a 6-9 month old in the USA. Granted, Asian females tend to be smaller is statue then US females. Of course, the information we receive is not always accurate so she could be farther behind or more ahead than we think. There are so many unknowns it has been hard to prepare for her coming.

It looks like her daily routine is similar to ours so hopefully after adjusting to the time difference she will fit right in.

Stay tuned for more updates.

We continue to wait for LOA. After we receive this approval all that is left is our travel approval. In the meantime, we have been working on Faith's ladybug room. Darren made ladybugs for her room. Here is a slideshow of what we have done so far.

THANK YOU

I just wanted to write a note of thanks to everyone who has sent messages of prayer and good wishes. Our family has been blessed by each and every person who has sent us a message. We will continue to keep your families in our prayers as you continue on your journey. God is Good and Faithful.

GOD is FAITHFUL even when we doubt

We mailed our dossier to China in February 2006. At that time, the estimated wait to be matched with a child was between six and nine months. One day in March 2006 I was standing in the kitchen, I think I was fixing lunch. I got cold chills and God said, “Your daughter was born today”. Well, I thought that was really cool and starting counting the days of how old she would be when we got our referral. As the wait got longer and longer I began to think that day in March was just wishful thinking. If she was born on that day she would be two or older before we finally got her and we had specifically requested a child younger than nine months of age. OK, skip forward to September 2007. We had decided several months ago that we felt God leading us to apply for a child with a special medical need. We had already applied for two children but were not matched with them. Of course we were very discouraged because we really felt we were following God’s lead. A new list of waiting children was released on September 11, 2007. I immediately scanned the list and found two children that fit into our age range and the type of medical need we were approved for. I printed their information out to review it with Darren but I still wasn’t content. I kept going back and looking at the picture of “Angela”. She was much older than what were had originally said we would adopt, but she kept tugging at my heart. I had to print her papers out. We did apply for three girls, including “Angela”. I couldn’t sleep at night without dreaming about her. Finally, on October 4, 2007 we got THE CALL from our adoption agency. We had been matched with “Angela”. I just fell to my knees and cried like a baby. At the time I did not make the connection back to that day in March 2006. A few days later we were on our way home from church and suddenly it all clicked. “Angela” was born on March 20, 2006. She was the little girl God told me was born in China that day in March 2006. WOW!!! I am humbled beyond words. We have given her the name Faith Xing Fu Xiang Maas.

Today we turned in our LOI to the adoption agency and it will be mailed to the CCAA in China on Friday. Next, we wait for our LOA from China. OK, the LOI is the Letter of Intent to Adopt which is basically us asking the Chinese Government permission to adopt Faith. Then they in return will send us the LOA, Letter of Acceptance saying YES you may adopt Faith. So, how long does that take. On average it is taking from 30-90 days, however, it has taken anywhere from 15-140 days. Of course we are praying for sooner than later. After we receive the LOA we can start planning to travel while we wait for our TA, travel approval from China. Wouldn't it be great if we could get her home for Christmas??

Here are a few more swatches for Faith's quilt,
so keep them coming.

Of course Mommy and Granny cannot stop shopping
so here are the latest additions.

Please, Please fly home soon!!!!

About Faith Xing Fu Xiang

As of July 9th 2007 her physical states that she has a cleft lip repaired and a cleft palate unrepaired. Faith was also diagnosed with rickets at this physical. She was 28 inches long and weighted 16 pounds. She is a tiny little girl.

The report describes her as stubborn, she will fit right in with the family. Here is a quote, "If adults pat her on purpose, she showed like being hurt or sad, even turn her head and ignore." It says she likes outdoors and playing with dolls. I think she and Miranda will have great fun playing dolls.

REFERRAL DAY

On September 11th at 3:40 p.m. our agency posted a new Waiting Child list. Darren & I had already agreed to apply for all the children that had the SN were we approved for. There were three girls on the list that met our pre-approved SN. We did apply for all three girls but God placed one particular little girl on my heart, Xing Fu Xiang, an 18 month old girl with a CL/CP.

Guess What??? Today at 3:15 p.m. I received a call from Dana at AHH(our adoption agency). Dana said "Rebecca, this is Dana with AHH I called to say congratulations." That was all she had to say I broke down sobbing and could not stop. After I recovered she told me that Xing Fu Xiang had been referred to us.

I was expecting Darren home around 4:00 so I printed out a picture of Xing Fu Xiang and got the video camera ready. When Darren got home I had him and the kids sit down on the couch and told them that mommy had a surprise. I told them about the phone call I received and showed them the picture. Darren was speechless and after it soaked in Miranda starting jumping up and down. Needless to say I have been on the phone or sending emails since I found out. I have a feeling I will be up all night.

We received our first swatch of material for Faith's Bai Jia Bei quilt. Thank you Aunt Maria! I am anxious to get started so get busy and send me those pieces. I have posted our ONE swatch of material and a picture of some things I have picked up for Faith. Granny bought the ladybug pillow, Thank you Granny. Her room is decorated in Ladybugs but I can't help and buy panda stuff too.

Well, Granny says Faith will be coming soon! She received a phone call the other day and the person was looking for someone named Faith. How crazy is that! Granny says that's a sign and she is coming. I hope she is right!

There are no updates on the adoption. We continue to pray for God's guidance as we consider applying for a Special Needs child.

I will keep you posted.

Panda with Cleft Lip

I can't sleep and now I am watching Operation Smile on TV and can't stop crying. The picture to the left is a baby panda that was born with a cleft lip. Unfortunately the baby panda only lived a few days. But isn't he cute.

We recently decided to get satellite but have the family plan so we don't have many stations but we do get CCTV which is a Chinese/English TV station out of Beijing, China. I saw a documentary on this baby panda a few weeks ago.

There is not much happening on the adoption front. We continue to wait and rely on God's faithfulness.

Our Long Journey!!

I thought I would write a little adoption background. We began the adoption process in November 2005. I was super fast getting the paperwork completed and had our dossier(paperwork) to China in early February. Yeah Me!!! Of course it did not help since referrals slowed down almost immediately after I filed our papers. When we began the process we were quoted 6-9 months after China received our papers we should get a referral. (Getting a referral means we get matched with a child and they send us pictures and a medical report.) While I’m not going to discuss all the rumors but for some reason the referrals slowed down. China makes all the rules and of course they do not share much information with us. As of Sept 7th we will have been waiting for 18 months for our Faith.

There have been some emotional moments along the way. Sometimes we questioned should we continue on this path???? But God always gave us a resounding YES! So, we have had to renew our paperwork, some expired at twelve months, fifteen months, and eighteen months. We have had to renew family education credits which expire every 12 months, including child/infant CPR. Our agency has also had some ups and downs along the way. We have gone through one social worker, two family advocates, a special needs coordinator, and a travel coordinator. There are currently no remaining members of the AHH staff, with which we had direct contact with, from when we started in 2005.

During this long process we have reconsidered the option of adopting a child with a special need. There are so many families waiting for healthy children we began to feel that maybe we should consider adopting a child with a special need. Many of the children which are considered special needs are easily treated in the USA and do not have any further complications. China sends certain agencies a Waiting Children list (our agency happens to be one of them)which list children who have special health needs. Our agency allows anyone to apply for a child and then they review the applications and place the child with the most qualified family. Darren & I reviewed the most recent list and applied for two different children but neither child was placed with our family. The Special Needs application process has been difficult and emotional. We continue to rely on God to help us make the right decision for our family. We are currently waiting for the next list of Waiting Children to be released. We are approved to apply for a child with a congenital heart disease or a cleft lip and/or palette. Again we will review the list and pray for God’s direction on whether to apply for another child.

While we continue to consider the option of adopting a Special Needs child we remain on the regular waiting list in China for a healthy child. At this time the current projection for a referral is probably next spring or summer. Of course there is a chance that China will continue to slow down the referral process or even speed up which would change our projected referral time. We will keep you posted on our progress.

100 Good Wishes Quilt

Dear Family & Friends,
We are still on the path we began almost two years ago to adopt a daughter from China. Along the way there have been a few bumps and turns but we remain steadfast. During this process God has continued to refine us and prepare us for our daughter. Since beginning the adoption process it has been laid upon our hearts to consider adopting a Special Needs Child. Currently, we are approved to adopt a female with a congenital heart disease and/or a cleft lip and palette.
While we are waiting for the arrival of our daughter, Faith, we are working on a project that we REALLY need your help with. We are creating something called a "100 Good Wishes Quilt." There is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. When a child is born, friends and family are invited to contribute a scrap of old clothing along with a special wish which is to made into a quilt by the child's mother. It is said that the quilt 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.
Parents adopting from China have taken on this tradition by creating One Hundred Good Wishes quilts for their children. With each fabric piece that is given to the new parents, a wish for the child is also sent, written on paper so that the child will always know the wishes made just for them.
We are asking you to please participate in this project. We love the idea of welcoming Faith into our arms with a warm blanket filled with love from all our family and friends.
Here is what we would like you to do:
1. Choose ANY 100% cotton fabric that you like. It can be from clothing or from a fabric store. It just needs to be a design and color that you like.
2. Cut two (2) 7" squares from the fabric OR one (1) 7” by 14” piece of fabric.
3. Include your "good wish note" to be placed in a scrapbook that will be given to Faith someday. This can be written on a note card or index card.