Let It Be

D-Day Finally Arrives

2009-06-14T19:51:00.004-04:00

I will let Sherri fill in all the details later, but I wanted to help her post photos since she is having computer issues.
Sherri is doing her best to keep everyone updated, but her time is obviously short. The girls are keeping her on her toes and of course there is also all the red tape to deal over the next few days. I am sure she will post very soon, but until then please know that she appreciates all the love and support she is receiving from you. Everyone is doing great, but as anyone that has done this knows, there are simply not enough hours in the day to post, parent or simply breathe.
Best wishes,
Kim C

The Hours....

2009-06-13T23:07:00.004-04:00

It is Sunday morning here in China. We were awake at 4am and the sun was shining by 5am. But I think we are feeling much less of the jet lag burn today.

Today is Delilah Day! Unbelievable! At 3pm we will meet her in a conference room here at the hotel. I wanted to write a little bit about how I feel in these final hours before our family is made richer by the spirit of Dang Nan.

I'm not nearly as stressed as I was when we adopted Cami. I remember waking up that morning feeling like I really didn't know how I would get through the day. I felt exhausted and unsure I was really the one for the job! On the day we met Cami we spent the morning at Walmart...... nothing like a morning at the five story Nanchang Walmart to make one feel strung out! When we traveld to Civil Affairs to meet Cami, she was sitting on a little bench, swinging her legs, looking so scared. I loved her at first sight. I think we all did.

What will be the same on this day? And what will be different. First of all, no Walmart! We will head down to breakfast as soon as the buffet opens. Then maybe we'll take Cami swimming this morning. Just a relaxing day.

I have matching backpacks that I'll pack with identical toys and let Cami give on to Delilah, so I need to work on that. I packed all the little items in nooks and crannies of the suitcases!

I'm sure as the hours pass and the time grows closer, the butterflies will start, but for now, I feel simply peace.

Last night we ate dinner at a local and authentic noodle house. This neighborhood restaurant is where all the local people eat and that is the best way to find good food. Our guide ordered a variety of food for us and it was all wonderful. We had pork and tofu stirfry, egg drop soup, noodles (the best I've ever had!), dumplings, spicy eggplant, tea, and the most amazing dessert, some kind of fried milk with sprinkles on top, which was served in the middle of the meal to the delight of children and adults alike. We did not partake of the sheep's head, but I couldn't resist taking a picture.

I feel more adventurous in trying new foods this time.....and I have not been disappointed. Our guide is just a delight! Cami and the guide's daughter have formed a fast friendship, along with the 5yo daughter of our travel partners. In spite of jet lag and not speaking the same language, these girls are such buddies and it warms my heart to watch, and my hope is that Delilah will enter into this sisterhood with ease.

I love this area of China. It is a different pace from Nanchang. The traffic is not insane, the sidewalks are wide and there are plenty of places to walk to. The people are beautiful and friendly. Many have amazing English in spite of never having left their country. Hohhot is like a lovely valley at the foot of the mountains and there is a simple, joyful pace of life that I hope to soak up and take home with me!

Enjoy the photos from yesterday. The next post will tell the story of meeting Delilah. She is likely waking up now, enjoying a bowl of congee, and getting ready to board the train that will bring her here.

Reaching Hohhot; Our First Day of Travel

2009-06-12T22:29:00.006-04:00

We had a great start to our trip. Lauren (dd 22yo) drove us to the airport
which was such a luxury compared to parking in the long term lot and dragging
our heavy luggage onto a shuttle.

First five minutes inside though, and I'm in trouble. When they say the bags
can weigh 50 pounds each at United, they mean EACH. They don't give you credit
for having one bag weigh 35 pounds and one weigh 55.

So there I am, in the middle of the airport check in desk trying to transfer
items to different bags to balance out the weight. Wouldn't you know it, the
first thing I pull out is my VS panties. (these things are legendary on
Facebook). Luckily they are all space bagged up so no one but me knows what
they are. Otherwise I'm switching around my jelly belly's since someone told me
they were heavy. The tough part was that the only bag with any real room in it
was the one we brought to donate in China to China Little Flower.....and I did
not want my panties going that direction. Note to self.....no matter what,
don't forget to get panties back.

On to a quick bagel breakfast and it's time to head to our gate.. Now things
start to get interesting. The main difference in this trip and the trip to
adopt Cami is that this time we have a three year old with us. Why did that
small detail fail to register with me. LOL! What is hard to endure as an
adult becomes the far reaches of hell for a child.

I'm going to explain our 24 hours of travel with numbers.......You can play
along and guess if you want. Some of you will know the answers.

How many minutes on the runway before the captain came on to say there was a
mechanical problem with the plane................57

How many mechanics banging around under our seats before the captain came back
to say everything was fine..............3

How many times on a twelve hour flight does the seatbelt have to come on due to
turbulence?.....................24

And how do I know that?

Because that's how often traveling 3yo has to go potty.....as soon as the
instructions are given to stay in our seats. By the end, the flight attendants
just looked right through me because they knew they couldn't stop me.

What are the chances that a single family could be assigned the very last seat
in the plane, the one by the bathroom, the one that doesn't recline, on every
single flight......................100% in our case, though I'm not complaining
about the bathroom being near.

In 24 hours of traveling, how many hours do you think our dear 3yo
slept?........about 3 and not in one stretch. And yes, she is sleeping now,
probably actually better on China time than I am. I keep wondering why it's
dark at noon~

I wish I had taken a picture of the government workers who came into the
airplane to take everyone's temperature. But I couldn't get to my camera
because Cami was climbing onto my head, screaming in terror, because of the
person dressed in nuclear whites waving a ray gun at her head. Her
non-cooperation was slowing down the whole plane and everyone knew it. I was
trying to just hold her in range of the ray gun lady. I think I forgot to tell
her what was going to happen. I didn't realized the people would be masked and
have head gear.

We were a little lost in the Beijing airport (biggest airport in the world now
with their addition made to prepare for the US Olympics) We had to go through
three checkpoints where we showed our passports and passed by some medical tents
and had our bodies scanned for fever. I also read in the China Daily that the
Swine Flu has been officially named a pandemic. If this is true, it will only
get harder to get in here.

We also had to lug our luggage up and down stairs a few times, trying to check
in for our domestic flight onto Inner Mongolia. It was .....um.....trying......
so how many Chinese men do you think stopped and stared and pointed when Cami
had a meltdown and refused to move from the middle of the concourse. They would
look at her and then look at us and then talk to each other. Would love to know
what they were saying! We finally just picked Cammi up, along with our other
hundreds of pounds of luggage and traveled on down the road. We were rewarded
with a hot mutton biscuit when we finally got on the plane.

That biscuit came right after I spilt my water bottle all over the nice Chinese
man sitting beside me. By bottle kind of bounced a few times and sprayed water
on his pants, his paper, his phone. he didn't know it was me. He kept looking
up at the vent thinking the plane was leaking. I hid my water bottle and ate my
mutton.

Arriving in Hohhot, we met our guide, Susan Long who has her mother and 3yo
daughter with her. The interesting thing is that beautiful little Yeng Yeng was
adopted from GuangDong. I love that! We also met the couple from ASIA that are
from NC and adopting a little boy from Inner Mongolia with cleft lip and palate. They also
have a 5 year old daughter, so just the bus ride to the hotel was little girl
play land!!!! What a different sort of trip this is going to be!

We have a beautiful room in a 5 star hotel. All the special touches China is
known for, like the glass walled bathroom!!!! I'm enjoying a cup of boiled
water coffee and Nestle 2 + 3, or something like that.

A few pics from our day of travel and arrival in Hohhot....

Cami leaving home with apple in hand

anxiously awaiting to get on the plane

Cami and her travel buddy

Hohhot

another view

Relaxing in the hotel room

3 More Sleeps

2009-06-08T20:59:00.002-04:00

Today was important because it was the last day I planned to do errands.
I started at Old Navy where I found great new markdowns on clothes to take to Serena
at China Little Flower.

Being the mom of a micro preemie, I'm glad to have found this way to support those
who are caring for the youngest and smallest babies in China.
I have a huge duffel bag ready to go to them.
Someone from the organization is meeting us outside customs in Beijing
and we will hand over the big wheeled suitcase full of toys, diapers, and medicines.

My second and final stop was Walgreens.
I found some good deals on Fish Oil capsules and Multi-vitamins
which seem to be the gift of choice these days.

I spent way too much money and time engaged in the gift buying.
People say not to worry. I don't know why I can't help myself.
I keep thinking of something more
or better.
Is this Traveler's OCD?

The rest of the day was spent repacking a suitcase
and not really accomplishing much else.
I'm afraid the next two days will be equally as lame.
But I have all my children home
and sometimes running interference
with a house full of teenagers/young adults
and a three year old who is very sensitive to mood changes
is enough to fill a day!

So another day done.
Before I know it, I'll be counting in hours, not days.

Cami is sleeping with pigtails in her hair tonight
because.......
she says that is what Delilah does.

So we shall see.......

2009-06-06T17:45:00.002-04:00

Seems like time is moving so fast these days.  Hope it still feels this way when we get on that long, long flight to China!

Today was a good day.  The girls' suitcase is completely packed and zipped up, ready to go.  My suitcase is about half ready.  The rest of the packing should be easy.  The hard part of deciding what to take has been done.

I need to spend a few hours tomorrow going over the paperwork and making sure we have copies of everything we might need while in China.  I'll try to organize the documents so they are easy to find and light to carry.  They have to go with us everywhere, if my memory is correct.

Delilah has moved away from her foster parents home.  She is required to spend seven days in the orphanage who has outlined her care while her adoption paperwork is processed.  I'm so sorry she had to leave the family that obviously loved her very much.  I'm sad for them, wondering if they have seen her for the last time.  I hope we will be able to continue a relationship and stay in touch.  It's hard at such a great distance, but I will do whatever I can to help Delilah retain this hugely important life history.

Four days until we leave.  Our travel clothes are hanging in anticipation.  Tomorrow there will be more jobs and more moments of panic when I think I've forgotten something important.  But this day is complete and I'm tired and looking forward to Hibachi steak for dinner and an early night in bed reading "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb.  This is a such a large book.....not something I can take on the trip.  So I'm trying to finish it this week.

Less Than a Week

2009-06-05T20:15:00.006-04:00

Today is Friday, less than a week until we board the plane for China.
I'm trying to stay focused, to keep life as normal as possible here,
and try to also accomplish lots of errands and packing everyday.

A couple friends sent packages of dresses for "my girls" and I got some shots of Cami trying a few on. I had to bribe her with a pack of gum though, so enjoy the modeling....LOL.

Today I found out that now there will be three families from our agency meeting up in Guanghzhou. That is really exciting for us since we traveled alone for Cami.

I also received updated measurements for Delilah.
If they are to be believed,
Cami will be getting a BIG sister,
not a little sister.
According to the information,
Delilah weighs 39 pounds and she is 38 inches tall.
And she isn't yet three years old.
I'm hoping these are old numbers, her weight in a winter coat, perhaps?
And I only care because I don't want to take a suitcase of clothes that are too small.
I guess that is just one of the joyful surprises we will experience.
I remember the first time I held Cami and thought,
"She's so tiny, but so heavy".

2009-06-03T07:05:00.006-04:00

My plan to update daily was a good plan. But somehow I lost a few days since my last update. Time is traveling at warp speed.

On Sunday I packed the large duffle bag of donations we are taking. This bag will be picked up in Beijing by someone from China Little Flower. This group has a home in Beijing where they care for babies born prematurely or with club feet. They also serve as a hospice home for terminally ill babies. My family had donated many packs of preemie size diapers at Christmas and I think I've found the perfect home for them!

Yesterday I took Cami for a haircut. I love her new style.

Today I'm heading out for what I hope is the last shopping venture before our trip. I need to buy a few more gifts, snacks, and I have a list of other little things, such as a hairbrush, shampoo, gum, duct tap...... Seriously, if we let it..... the list could continue to grow and never be completed. But come what may, we will board a plane in eight more days. We will find our daughter, Delilah, at our destination. And we will be forever changed.

We were happy to learn that we will be traveling with another family. They have a five year old daughter and I think they are adopting a two year old little boy. It will be so nice to share the experience with another family this time!

12 Days Til China

2009-05-29T20:12:00.005-04:00

Happy Waiting Sister!

We are another day closer to meeting Delilah.

Last night I stayed up later than usual reading "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb. Then Cami woke up about 3:30 and said she couldn't sleep and she was thirsty. She was awake for about an hour. I still popped out of bed close to 6am, but I'm feeling tired and I'm reminded how important it will continue to be for me to get all the sleep I can in order to be a happy and energetic mom!

Cami slept in and Jillian was home with her so I could head out alone to do a few errands in the morning. I picked up our passports at the post office. We used a wonderful visa and document courier! Denise Hope of There's Always Hope came highly recommended and I couldn't have been more pleased with her service. She answered my questions quickly and everything on her end was like clockwork. If you are going to be needing your visas soon, you should contact Denise. She has an unbeatable deal for adopting families! You can also call Denise at (815)-690-7035.

After the post office, I had to visit two banks. Then I stopped at our salon to pick up the shampoo I had paid for and left sitting on the counter! Yes, I am slightly distracted these days. After that side trip, I trekked down to the public library and returned all our (overdue) library books and did not check anymore out!

While at the post office I purchased some of the new Simpson's stamps to add to the gift bags we are making up for the foster family, nannies, notary, etc. in China. I continued my run with a trip to Old Navy where I found matching swimsuits for the little girls. I also found two pairs of pants for myself so I have everything I need for packing my clothes.

This day passed quickly. I accomplish a few little things. There is still much to do.

2009-05-28T09:14:00.004-04:00

I can hardly believe we will leave for China in 13 days.
Mark says we could leave tomorrow and be fine.
I say we have a thousand things still to be done!!!!

Yesterday I got my China hair cut.
I shopped for gifts for the orphanage director, foster family, and other people we will meet along the way.

I bought cute little assortment boxes of Jelly Belly Beans from Target. For the notary, I bought sticky notes, white out pens, and a smaller bag of jelly beans. I also bought a bag of Thor-Lo socks that will be tucked into the gift bags. They are made locally and my friends from China rave about them so maybe they don't have such comfortable socks in China.....? I still want to order some American Ginseng to add to gift bags.

Our visas and passports are being returned today. I think that is the last of the document work we need to do.

13 days. Every one of them will be busy. We have several more appointments on the calendar. And poor Mark is working long hours everyday, trying to get everything wrapped up so he can be gone for two weeks.

I wish I could just spend my days shopping for cute dresses like the ones below. The flowers are hair clips! I can't wait to take the picture again with two girls inside the dresses.

One is Missing

2009-05-12T20:03:00.003-04:00

Our oldest daughter graduated from college this weekend. I treasure the rare photos we have of the entire family all together. We had hoped Delilah would be with us for the graduation. I remember thinking that it might be our first big outing. But she was missing and she was missed. Here is the whole big family waiting to bring Delilah home for good!

TRAVEL APPROVAL

2009-05-12T19:19:00.006-04:00

It has been a long wait
but the days are suddenly fewer than I need
to make all the arrangements to travel.

Of course, you won't hear me complaining about that!
Our Travel Approval arrived on Friday, May 8th.

We had heard that with the pandemic threat of the Swine Flu
China might not be sending travel approvals out for a month or two.
Then when ours arrived
we had to wait and see if Inner Mongolia
would allow us in (again because of the flu)

As of this afternoon,
Inner Mongolia granted us entrance,

It is Written

Counting Down the Days

2009-04-21T13:59:00.005-04:00

How many days to follow?

We are waiting for our travel approval to be sent from China.
When that happens, we can request a consulate appointment.
From the confirmed date of our consulate appointment,
we will count back two weeks and that will be our departure date.

There is still so much to do that I get overwhelmed by thinking about it all.
I'm trying to break it up into manageable groups.

This week
we will mail our application for Entry Visas into China
and read the stack of important papers from our agency
and begin to put together the notebook of important documents that
will travel with us.

For fun
and a reward after paperwork,
I'm collecting identical items to put in backpacks for the girls.
Here is my plan:
We have two Dora the Explorer backpacks
(the backpacks I posted a picture of earlier are too big)
Cami's backpack will be initially packed with travel toys,
paper, pencils, crayons, small animals, etc.

Delilah's backpack will travel empty, in the suitcase.
On the day we meet Delilah,
I will pack both the backpacks with new items
Cami hasn't see before.
We will take these backpacks with us
and Cami's job will be to give one of them to her new sister!
They will be filled with identical toys.....
light up ball, sunglasses, candy, animal crackers, etc

Hope this is a good ice-breaker and that is helps
Cami to feel connected to Delilah,
and Delilah to all of us.

LOA on Day 146

2009-04-02T12:46:00.006-04:00

It finally happened!
After 146 days
Our LOA came!!!!!!

This document from China,
which is more correctly called
"Letter of Seeking Confirmation"
asks for our signature
on a statement
declaring
that after all this time and effort
we do indeed
still want to adopt
Our Sweet Delilah.

The LOA has been
signed, sealed,
and delivered
back.

It should be winging it's way
back to China
today.

And now,
again we wait,
one last time,
for TA,
which means Travel Approval.

So I still can't say
when we will travel.
But what I can say,
is that in the eyes of China,
Delilah belongs to us,
officially and forever more.
And we remain
honored and thankful
for the trust
extended to us.

2009-03-30T07:34:00.004-04:00

As I have written, the time we have been waiting for our Letter of Acceptance from China has grown long and we are weary of waiting. I have had many emotional responses to the seeming unfairness of our long wait and I've even stooped so low as to wonder if this delay will continue forever and that Delilah was just a dream that will never be realized in our family.

Ah, me of little faith! Let me tell you a story, weave a tale of impossibilities, that has convinced me that God laughs when we start to think WE are in charge.

Just after Christmas I went shopping at the winter sale at Old Navy. A friend of mine in Florida was planning to go on a mission trip to China. She has started a Shoe Mission for children in orphanages who often do not have properly fitting shoes, or even shoes at all.

I purchased some shoes and socks to send her, along with a few items of clothing. One item specifically stayed in my memory because it was so cute that I bought one to send to China an done to keep for Cami to wear.

This was a yellow and gray fleece lined long top with a hood. I bought a 2T and and 4T, meaning to keep the 4T for Cami. I "accidentally" sent the larger top off to my friend and so the one I had for Cami was really too small.

As my friend made her final preparations for her trip, I was interested that she would be visiting the China Care office in Beijing. China Care is the organization that provided funds for Delilah's surgery last year. They work in Inner Mongolia, but their main office is in Beijing. There is at least 700 miles between there offices and they care for hundreds of children, if not thousands.

My friend has been home less than two weeks now. As my agency has continued to unravel the puzzle of our long wait for our LOA, they requested an health update and the orphanage sent some photos for me.

When I opened the photos I was amazed that Delilah was wearing a shirt like Cami had in her closet. There aren't any Old Navy stores in China. Mostly I was just thrilled as always to see her shining happy face.

But something tugged at my memory. I kept going back in my mind to try and remember when and where I had sent the matching shirt I had bought.(During the winter I sent several care packages to organizations in China) When I remembered that I had mailed it to Beth, I emailed her and asked if she could possibly remember if this shirt had been donated to China Care. (She had visited several orphanages and organizations on her trip).

I sent her the picture and she wrote me back to tell me that she was certain that shirt had been left at China Care because the shiny new shoes Delilah was wearing were sent to her by a woman in Iowa and they were in the same bundle of donations.

So I bought a shirt in NC, sent it to a friend in FL, who flew to China and dropped it off at a charity,nearly 700 miles from where Delilah lives and the next week I receive a photo of my own daughter and she is wearing the shirt!!!!!

This is one of those things that I have to keep thinking about because it's almost more than my brain can accept. It's much to big to be a coincidence. I call these God Winks. What do you call it?

To Learn More about Beth's Shoe Mission in China, visit Destiny's House by clicking on the name.

Photos from a Friend

2009-03-19T07:45:00.007-04:00

I received new pictures of Delilah from an unnamed source this week.
I am so excited to meet this little girl and
I can't wait to kiss those soft cheeks.
We are going to have so much fun!

Hi/Lo Thursday

2009-03-19T07:31:00.006-04:00

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and get your link on their site.

This is my first time participating in Hi-Lo Thursday. The idea is to get people sharing the best and the worst of their weeks as we celebrate and comfort one another.

My low for this Thursday is that we are still waiting on our Letter of Acceptance to arrive. For 135 days our adoption of Delilah has been at a stand still that we can do nothing about. I don't know what happen with our paperwork. But such a long wait is the exception, not the rule right now. So we continue to wait. And we hope we will be able to travel at the end of May if there isn't to much longer of a delay.

The High news to report for this Thursday is that Mark and Kegan celebrated their birthdays this week. We are all healthy and happy, and our hearts are prepared to bring home a new sister and daughter.

February Family Donation

2009-02-08T12:43:00.005-05:00

For the month of February, we were able to send a donation of $40 to Annabelle's Wish . I feel an affinity to this organization because it was started by a family following the adoption of their daughter. I think about the children left behind in China everyday. So many of them will not have a chance for a family of their own. I am constantly looking for ways to help eliminate the suffering of children who are hungry or cold, or who need medical care.

Annabelle's Wish has several different programs and a variety of opportunities for offering care to the children in China. You can sponsor a child in foster care. For just $25 a month, a child will be given housing, clothing, education and medical care.

Other specific ways you can help are to sponsor a baby for cleft lip repair surgery. There are educational sponsorships for orphan children who can have a chance at a future if they learn a skill or trade before leaving the orphanage.

The newest program at Annabelle's Wish is providing clean drinking water for the orphanage. For only $10, a child can have clean water to drink for an entire year!

Let this be my challenge to you! If you are reading this post and feel your heart is heavy when you think of the children waiting in China, please go right now and donate $10 for clean drinking water! I can't think of anything more amazing that can be done for $10!

www.annabelleswish.info
www.annabelleswish.blogspot.com

Annabelle's Wish, Inc
PO Box 210003
Nashville TN 37221

Of course this is a 501c3 organization and your donation is tax deductible.

I hope you will visit the website, take a look around, and find a way you think you can help.

And please, if you donate $10 for clean water, or anything else....leave me a COMMENT and let me know!!!! I'd love to hear from you.

Passing the Time

2009-01-29T15:55:00.006-05:00

Along with many other waiting families, we were hoping to receive word of the arrival of our Letter of Seeking Confirmation (LOSC aka LOA) before the Chinese Spring Festival or New Year of the Ox celebrations began because
the Chinese Adoption government office (CCAA) closes for a week or two during this time.

We watched. We waited. But no news came. Now I suddenly find that soon the CCAA will be back at work and we can begin again waiting for that magical letter to arrive, and it should be soon for us. You can view our counter in the right hand column to see how many days we've been waiting since our dossier was logged.

Meanwhile, I have found a unique way to pass the time and to actually enter into a time warp so as to bypass the disappointment of not receiving our LOA before CNY. I've been quite under the weather with fever and infection. Not feeling up to much at all. After trying several medications, I finally ended up in the hospital and they had some tricks up their sleeves, which finally have me on the way to recovery.

Poof! A couple weeks have passed. What is this waiting people complain about! LOL! The same thing happened to me during our wait for Cami. It must be my "labor". A friend who was adopting at the same time commented that I never seemed to be bothered by the wait. I confessed that being sick has a way of putting me into survival mode and time moves differently.

I'm sure someone out there understands what I'm talking about. Today I'm happy to be healthy and looking forward, into the days of Delilah dancing into our home. Good health is such a gift and I will spend my life helping it be the birthright of as many children as possible. I hate to think of anyone suffering ongoing pain and sickness if there is something that can be done to help them. I know there are limits to how many children I can help by finding funding for surgery or nutritional formula, but I will do as much as I can, and for someone, I hope, it will make a difference.

On What I'm Doing Here......

2009-01-12T08:53:00.009-05:00

Joseph Campbell wrote, in "The Power of Myth", the following:

I even have a superstition that has grown on me
as the result of invisible hands
coming all the time..

Namely, that if you follow your bliss
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while,
waiting for you.

And the life that you ought to be living,
is the one you ARE living.

When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.

I say, Follow Your Bliss
and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be!
----- joseph campbell

The Backpacks Came!

2009-01-08T10:37:00.003-05:00

I ordered matching backpacks from
Hanna Andersson
for Cami and Delilah to have in China.
They turned out to be even nicer than I imagined.
The fabric is soft and slick.
It appears to be waterproof and easy to wipe clean.
Lots of room inside too.
Cami is taking her job as big sister seriously here.
She arranged the backpacks on the floor for the photograph.
I also found these cute dotted velour hoodies
at Hanna Andersson.
You can see from the sizes that I'm still counting on
Delilah being just a wee bit smaller than Cami.

Donation January ~ Altrusa

2009-01-02T14:33:00.005-05:00

This month's collection of coins and change yielded $40. It was a good month. I think with the holiday shopping being done, there was more change laying around my house. My husband has gotten a good habit going of bringing his change from work straight to the collection box.

I decided to send the money to Dr. Peggy Gurrad and Altrusa Foundation. This group works with orphanages in Jiangxi and that is the province Cami is from.

Here is a snippet from their website. I'm really interested in learning more about the Hugging Grannies. We asked that our donation be used for formula, or whatever need was the most pressing.

You can read more at www.altrusa.ws

"Currently, efforts are being focused on 24 orphanages in the Jiangxi province. Altrusa contributors are sponsoring 180 school tuitions for orphans, 279 children in foster care. We've brought our staff of Hugging Grannies up to a total of 53, to provide additional nurturing care for infants and pre-school activities for the children who remain in the orphanages.

Another major focus of our organization is to bring life-saving surgeries, physical rehabilitation equipment, badly needed medical aid, vitamins, warm clothes, bedding, equipment, toys and learning materials to the children in these orphanages."

Joy and Sweetness

2009-01-01T21:37:00.000-05:00

Red Thread China Care Package

2009-01-01T08:49:00.006-05:00

The day after Christmas, I began to plan a care package for Delilah. I contacted my friend Ann, at Red Thread China (www.redthreadchina.com)and asked if she could put together a pajama package for Delilah. (My family will laugh because I practically live in pajamas! What else would I send? LOL)

Ann works quickly and is great about communicating every step of the way. She called the orphanage and asked for updated size information. As it turns out, Delilah might not be the "little" sister! She is almost as big as Cami, and Cami a healthy girl!

As a result of the phone call, Ann received new pictures of Delilah to share with me. I was so excited. I really wasn't expecting such a surprise.

The package I ordered from Ann at Red Thread China was very reasonably priced. It included, as you can see below, an adorable pair of pajamas, a warm blanket, a little doll, candy for the foster family, a disposable camera, a photo album with pictures of us labeled in Chinese, and a translated letter. All this, along with the shopping, packing and shipping.

Ann is an angel! I hope to meet her when we are in China this time.

Soon We'll Be Found...Out

2008-12-26T20:52:00.007-05:00

Christmas Eve
My Parents House
Luckily, Cami had so much Christmas on her mind,
she had not thought to mention
her sister.
Waiting still in China.

The holiday passed without our secret
being told,
but we were not alone.
It is in the unexplainable that sometimes
we find the most important truth.
The spirit of our missing Delilah
was with us on this day.

As I reached into the bag that would be my last present to open,
I found a beautiful and fragile ornament
wrapped in tissue.
I opened it and admired it only for a second,
before my mother exclaimed,
"What are you doing with that"?
"Why do you have that ornament"?

Quickly my brother caught on and pointed out
that I was holding a "New Baby" ornament.
He joked, "Well, do you have something you aren't telling us"?
"Is there a baby in your future"?

I was confused,
for a few reasons.
Because I actually collect this particular type of ornament,
as does my mother apparently.
And because
yes,
there is a new child in our future.

But the ornament was not for me.
It was from my mother's tree
and it had "accidentally" fallen off the tree
and into my gift bag.
And now I was across the room holding it in my hand.
She did not intend for it to be part of my gift.
Coincidence?
Miracle?
God Winking?

A beautiful moment for us to remember
the coming of Delilah.
Seriously....
what are the chances?

Happy Holidays

2008-12-22T19:44:00.002-05:00

What Can You Do?

2008-12-21T13:10:00.006-05:00

There are many great organizations helping children in China! I have spent hours viewing websites and crying through videos on YouTube. I always want to help in some way, usually in some way much bigger than I have the finances for.

So I developed a plan. My idea actually came from Moving Mountains and I want to be sure they get the credit they deserve. At this website, they had a form to print that I wrapped around an empty breadcrumbs container. Of course any container will do. Sometimes decorating it, or letting your children decorate it can be inspiring.

Into the container goes all my loose change! The coins I find in pockets before pants go into the washing machine, and the coins that I miss and I find in the dryer. Also, the loose change from my husband's pocket at the end of the day. I also try to put some paper money in too when I get change for a larger bill.

Then...... about every two weeks I take the container to my grocery store because it has one of the CoinStar coin counter machines. Immediately after I find out how much money I have saved, I go to Customer Service and ask for a money order. Then I put it in the mail to my "Charity of the Month". (any leftover money goes back in the container)

What I think I'll do on my blog is to let my readers know a little about the different groups I'm sending gifts to and I would love to hear if any of you think this is a good idea and decide to do it yourself.

I have a growing stack of groups I can't wait to collect money for! My container is filling up quickly. I think I'll be ready to make another donation right after Christmas.

My first donation went to Moving Mountains . I'm not able to completely sponsor a student for a school year yet, but maybe my donation will help a girl buy books or paper she needs.

Here is a snippet from their website:

"What if you could promote gender equality in China? What if you could help alleviate poverty for generations to come? What if you could take a female honor student off her farm or out of a factory and put her back in school? Not just any school, but the best high school in her county. What if that girl became your pen pal - a role model for your children, writing about the importance of education and sharing stories about daily life in China?

Moving Mountains provides scholarships to exceptionally bright young women in rural China. These girls understand the importance of education. Despite challenging circumstances, they have proven themselves with top scores on the rigorous entrance exams and they have been accepted into the best high school in their county. They’ve done the work and they have what it takes to succeed, but there is one last hurdle:

Their average family income is $266 a year.

The cost of high school tuition is $300 a year*.

To these girls, the cost of tuition is a monumental obstacle.

Together, we can move mountains!

109 scholarships provided and counting!

Moving Mountains' mission is to reduce poverty and promote gender equality through education by creating an opportunity for sponsors to make a direct impact on the future of a deserving student.

www.movingmountainschina.org

So that's what I am able to do in 2009 to make a small difference in the world.

What Can You Do?

2008-12-19T21:58:00.000-05:00

This Child

2008-12-19T17:25:00.003-05:00

Oh, how I look forward
to unraveling the mystery of Delilah!
Will she have an quick laugh?
Does she like baby games?
Is she active or thoughtful?
She grows in my heart,
a flower not yet unfurled.
I hold her protectively already,
and I can't wait to show her our world.

Our Past and Future China

2008-12-12T20:24:00.007-05:00

Our red thread to China began
before we could have
started to imagine
the places and people
who surround us today.

A week ago
I discovered a
hand stitched
bread cloth
my Appalachian
great-grandmother had sewn,
with a traditional Chinese woman
appliqued in bold colors.

My cultural studies in college
included a class presentation
on the Lives
of Modern Chinese Women.

Now my daughter,
a university senior
is applying for a position
through her school
to teach English
in a coastal China town.

Our red thread is not tangled,
but woven into a tapestry
of lives,
a humming hive of moments,
each one
set in motion
long before we came to know them.

How lucky I feel to be here!
How honored I am to travel
this story!

Items Collected for China Care

2008-12-09T18:29:00.004-05:00

Last weekend my family held our annual
Christmas Party.
We have to have it early in the season
because we all have other branches
of the family tree
to swing on!

This group is fun because
not only are there mamas
and mama's mamas,
there are my cousins,
the ones I grew up playing with,
and all their children
who now play with all my children,
and we pretend to figure out how we are all
related
but we know in the end
it really doesn't matter.
We are family because we are,
and because we continue to make the choice to be.
We have opened our doors and our hearts
to more inlaws and outlaws
than I can even count.
So mostly I just count myself blessed
to be one of us.

We buy gifts for the children,
but the adults have stopped giving each other presents.
Instead we put our heads and hearts together
and give something
somewhere that it is needed.

This year I requested that we support
China Care
This wonderful organization provides
medical care,
foster care,
and more
to special needs orphaned children
in China.

Delilah has fortunately
been part of the China Care program
since she was a young infant.
They provided for her specialized surgery
and foster care.

My family and I
decided to collect items for the
China Care Medical Program.
They have a specific list
on the website of things they need
as they provide ongoing medical care
in several areas of China.

We collected:
9 packs of Preemie Pampers
8 baby bottles
7 packs of replacement bottle nipples
6 Infant Tylenol
5 Children's Motrin
4 tubes of Neosporin
3 tubes of Balmex Diaper Rash Cream
2 bottles of Poly Vi Sol Infant Vitamins
and
One Digital Thermometer with Celsius Setting

(better than a partridge in a pear tree anyday!)

How Do You Measure Success?

2008-12-02T19:02:00.004-05:00

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded."
Words of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Christmas Card 2008

2008-11-30T19:01:00.005-05:00

From left to right,
Delilah's Siblings
Kegan: 18
Jillian: 14
Cami: 3
Lauren: 22

Turning a Corner

2008-11-29T14:40:00.006-05:00

Last winter Delilah stayed warm in this fluffy green snowsuit.
How much of winter will she spend without us this year??

Time is moving forward.
We are inching toward China.
The holidays pass time in warp speed.
How can Thanksgiving already be over?

We are close to thirty days since our log in.
We are thinking in new ways.

We had flu shots yesterday.
I don't usually get the vaccine
and I don't usually get the flu.
But I want to do all I can to ensure I am healthy
when China calls our name.

I sort through clothes and Delilah has a pile.
She has shoes.
Cami sometimes saves a cookie for her sister in a bag,
and she is willing to save ALL her beans.
But we aren't that close yet I tell her.
So eat the beans.......

Aside from you,
you who have found my blog here in space,
the secret is ours.
We will tell our families after Christmas.
We've held onto this secret so long,
it will be hard to let it go.

We don't keep the secret to hurt anyone,
and I hope we will not be misunderstood.
We want Delilah to come into the family
in her own special time.
She deserves a moment that is hers.
As she steps
into
a place that we have prepared for her.

Today I wonder if we are near or far,
in this process where anything can happen.
I wait contentedly
while I dream Delilah home.

We Have a Log In Date

2008-11-18T20:39:00.003-05:00

I can finally say
the real wait is upon us.
Our dossier was officially logged in
at the
CCAA
on November 4th, 2008.

Now we wait
for words
and good news.
We wait our turn
to be called forth
to travel.

Our family beats with an extra heart
and we dance in secret
and smile at strangers.

How odd
that we live leaning forward
toward our little Lilah
who doesn't yet know
she's waiting for us.

Girls in Hats

2008-11-13T10:22:00.008-05:00

Oh, the fun we will have!
A special angel sent me the top two photos
of Delilah
trying on different hats!
The bottom photo is Cami in her Easter hat.

The more I learn,
the closer our journey brings us
to Delilah,
the more certain I am.....

that she was chosen,
not by us,
but for us.
There is something much larger than me
at work here.

I continue to be humbled by the power
and the glory
of each new discovery,
each new comfort,
each new promise.

I am not worthy,
but I am willing,
and I guess that goes a long way
sometimes.

Dear Delilah,
our dress up trunk is overflowing.
There are hats and scarves
jewels and clickity clack shoes
plenty enough
for two little girls.
Dear Delilah,
We wait for you.

Care Package Photos

2008-10-28T11:57:00.004-04:00

According to the guidelines
of our agency,
we are allowed to send
a care package to Delilah
as soon as our dossier is logged in
with CCAA.

This weekend we visited a park
and took a few pictures
to include in the care package
to help Delilah get to know her new family.

The first one we will probably send her.
The second one is just precious to us.
I would like to send it to Cami's ayis
so they can see how she has
"embraced adoption".

Dossier to China

2008-10-25T20:06:00.003-04:00

DTC!!!!

Our dossier went to China on October 23, 2008!

This means the paperchase has ended in the West.
The US government has deemed us good students
of adoption.

In the middle of gathering documents
and waiting on forms to arrive
and multiple trips to the notary,
it seemed the work would never be complete.

Now already
I've forgotten the frustrations.
I've forgotten my impatience.

My dossier is winging it's way to China.
And I think God is winking.

The Joy of New Pictures!

2008-10-18T14:35:00.004-04:00

Nothing makes the waiting both easier and harder than pictures, glorious new pictures!!!

These two pictures were part of an update we received
earlier in the week.

What do you think?
Is she going to be FUN or what!!!
The update stated that Delilah
walks and runs on strong legs,
and she is a TomBoy!

Cami is very anxious for Delilah to come home,
though she just today began to process
the detail
of me being also Delilah's mommy.
She actually said she thought Delilah would be
bringing her own mom with her.

"No honey, but she will be carrying a gun..."
LOL!

Gathering

2008-10-03T21:40:00.003-04:00

Soon there will be two little girls
with brown eyes laughing,
two shiny heads
that smell like cinnamon
and tumble among us,
drawing from our lips
the songs
of life.

I can't do much now. Our agency told us we could send Delilah a care
package after our dossier was sent to China.
That will happen soon.

For now
I gather trinkets for two girls
who will have two matching backpacks
and for two sister girls who will share snacks and secrets.

Won't you Please Join Us?

2008-10-03T10:53:00.002-04:00

I don't know if many people read this blog yet. We are still early in our journey back to China, and to Delilah in Inner Mongolia. But if you would like to follow us, please sign up in the column on the right. And if you have the same widget on your blog, I would like to follow you! I look forward to meeting friends I don't yet know!

Goldfish Street Bike Vendor in China

2008-09-25T19:26:00.006-04:00

"Call the loneliest person you know. Go flirt with the oldest person at the bookstore. Fill up a box with really cool clothes that you haven't worn in a year, and take it to a thrift shop. Take gray water outside and water whatever is growing on your deck. This is not a bad metaphor to live by. I think it is why we are here. Drink more fluids. And take very gentle care of yourself and the people you most love: We need you now more than ever. " From a Call to

Arms, Anne Lamott

On the Wings of Angels

2008-09-23T20:39:00.002-04:00

Unbelieveably
the police clearance letters I put in
a Fedex box at 5pm
in North Carolina
arrived
in Oregon
15 hours later.
They were immediately
sent out again
to the Secretary of State
for Authentication.
The process can now continue!

China From The Sky

2008-09-23T09:51:00.001-04:00

Update on the Delay

2008-09-23T09:35:00.002-04:00

I think it is all good now! Yesterday I took the documents to the police department and they did everything they could think of to make them officially notarized in the way the Secretary of State requested.

I picked the papers up at 4:30 and dropped them in the Fed-ex box. Now they must go back to Oregon and then return to the Secretary of State in NC. This mistake will cost us a week's delay and getting our Dossier to China.

I suppose in the big scheme of things that is not alot of time. I could not have imagined meeting Cami at a better time, though if I had my choice I would have traveled sooner. But come to find out she probably had chicken pox earlier in the summer. That would have made our first meeting less pleasant for her.

These connections are so big. They have a way of working out exactly as they are intended. It is only me, in my limited earthly form, that grows anxious and discouraged, when really I know that time is moving exactly as it should for a series of events that could not be played out in any other way. By becoming a willing participate, I gave over control to the One who knows the story of all my days.

We said yes without knowing what all we were saying yes to. God knows our hearts. And the beauty of it is that all we really have to do is to be willing. The details will be provided! It's a perfect formula in my opinion.

So I try to handled the rough patches with grace. They are there for a reason. Today I am thankful for the cooperation of the local police department and the timing of the Fed Ex pickup and I will wait for news of progress.

2008-09-20T12:42:00.003-04:00

Someone who has known Delilah since she was a month old wrote to me saying, "She is cute and very photogenic. She is a happy little girl. I can only imagine the attention you will receive when you go out with your two daughters".

I cling to these few words. They are a small connection to Delilah and a large comfort to me to know she is happy and being cared for. I am thankful for every person who has touched her life. So many angels along the way......

We have a Delay

2008-09-20T11:41:00.003-04:00

I shouldn't be surprised. I knew going in that most adoptions have complications in the paperwork or some kind of slowdown somewhere along the way. Our paperchase was so smooth and simple. I thought we were finished when we sent the last document to our agency.

Then came the phone call.

You see, once all the documents have been filled out and approved by the agency, they must be authenticated at the State level, and then the National level. Our dossier got as far as the Secretary of State for authentication. Someone there didn't like the way our local police station had notarized our clearance letter saying we had no criminal record in the town where we live.

So this letter was returned to me, along with instructions on how it needed to be notarized. On Monday I will take these papers to the police department. I will smile and be really nice, and hope they won't mind taking time out of their busy day to correct this little problem for me.

Once that is done, the police clearance letters will be sent, fast as lightening, to re-join all our other documents on the desk of the Secretary of State. Even with this slight delay, I am hoping we can send our Dossier to China by mid-October!

2008-09-06T08:53:00.001-04:00

Every call has a beginning
A quiet moment when God
whispers a promise to a mother’s heart
A holy place where a father bows and faithfully accepts
the journey set before him.
A miraculous morning that unexpectedly dawns…
Casting its first light on a chosen threshold.
A gentle knock..a closed door opens.
A sacred invitation sent by the Father..
Leads to the other side of the world.
Where lonely hearts stare out orphanage windows
Praying for someone to care..
And then one morning,
On an ordinary day
An orphan’s life changes...
God sends them a second chance...Through you..

--author unknown

Please Pause the Music Player to Watch Video

2008-08-27T10:12:00.001-04:00

Harmony in a Single Step

2008-08-26T17:23:00.006-04:00

I like to think we are about halfway through the time frame of this adoption. Already I'm forgetting details from the beginning so I need to write as much as I can before it leaves me and becomes replaced with more pressing matters.

Anyone who has adopted knows there is something highly spiritual about this process of bringing a child into your family from the other side of the world. It's mind boggling to think of all the details that have to fall into place in order for the new families to be formed. Not only are all the necessary connections made, and not only are we given the precious gift of a child to care for, but somehow we find that the child is perfect for our family, even in ways we could not have imagined.

It is my experience that this special magic happens when I am in complete agreement with my destiny. As I give up my feeble attempts to control my life, and give over to the flow of holiness in the universe, all my perceptions are altered slightly and I see and understand in ways that are only possible during the times I'm willing to cooperate completely with God.

There are many things I could do better, and many things I'm sure I leave undone everyday, but I am convinced that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I may not be doing it well all the time, but a small, still voice reminds me I'm on the right track. Knowing this, however, does not eliminate an occasional trembling terror. I'm not always sure I can follow this road. I'm not always sure I'm up to the journey. I'm not always sure I'm worthy.

My older children still need me and I want to be there whenever they need me and in whatever capacity they need. But as soon as I start to worry about this, I remember how adopting Cami multiplied the love in our family. Her sweet presence brought us together in a special way. The older ones see themselves in her toddler antics and they get to see, as if in an old movie, the tireless patience and snuggling love I have for them too, even if they aren't so comfortable with the snuggling anymore. Seeing my six foot son fixing breakfast for Cami or my daughter home from college, not only painting Cami's toe nails pink, but then giving her the bottle to practice painting big sister's toe, are the kind of Hallmark moments we've seen alot more of this year!

Then sometimes is seems so small....... wiping sticky hands, cutting up apples into bite size pieces, picking up toys, waking up and putting to sleep, and all these little jobs are repeated day after day. It doesn't seem like much, but every once in a while I catch a glimpse of how much these simple things DO matter in the lives of little people. And there is peace in the harmony of a purposeful life, no matter how small my purpose, I'm connected with a greater plan.

And so we began. (We were home half a year in March.) Not to adopt exactly. But to prepare. Cami has had a wonderful year. She had her palate surgery in March and she's ready for her 3rd birthday and to start going to pre-school a couple mornings a week. She's learned English at lightening speed and surprises us daily with the connections she makes.

April brought many changes to International Adoption with new regulations under the Hague Agreement. To begin with, it changed the process of requesting permission to bring a child into the United States. During the last week in March, we made the decision to apply with the immigration department under the old rules while we still had the chance. We filed the petition with our government This was our first commitment to another adoption and it went flawlessly.

In April we were fingerprinted and we started working with our social worker on our homestudy. Even though nothing of significance had changed we had to prepare new documents and present proof once more that we are who we claim to be.

In May I followed the story of a little girl in foster care who had a form of spina bifida. She was so full of life and when I heard she might be available for adoption I tried to find her. Later I realized that while I wasn't supposed to adopt this child, she certainly was a teacher for me. Because of her, I began researching some of the types of spinal birth defects.

The rules for China Special Needs adoption changed. Many children were being listed on a large list shared by many agencies. It was puzzling to understand exactly how to proceed. We had instinctively, or by divine guidance, started out doing the most important assignments. It looked like China was expecting families to be paper ready before allowing them to commit to a child.

Our first plan was to finish our homestudy and sign on with one of the large, reputable Chinese agencies and wait to be matched with a child by their special needs department. This was our plan, but something kept me from completely following through with it. We filled out the paperwork, but we hesitated committing to them further.. I was put off by the answers I was given to the few questions I had.

The shared list rules kept changing. First you had to already have your dossier in China to petition for a child. Then you had to have it close to being ready. They gave some children a 3 month window and some only one month. We kept watching and waiting. We never actually saw the shared list, nor did we ever review a file from the shared list.

The second week in July I saw an email to a group I'm a member of announcing that an agency called ASIA had received their very own list of waiting/special needs children. Now since the shared listing began, lists of children specific to one agency were rare. This is the way we were matched with Cami and it felt very comfortable to me. But I waited two days before contacting ASIA.

When I wrote to them, I received a list of the children who were available. The list had no photos. It was date of birth and special need only. I emailed and asked if I could review the file of the little girl with tethered cord syndrome. About an hour later, I was sent the medical file on Dang Nan, and two pictures of a baby girl smiling.

I knew this was our daughter. I knew we had been led to this moment, to this place, because we were willing to be led. And I knew that everything would work out. Mark worked until midnight that night so I got up early the next morning to show him the pictures and the information. I think he knew her as a daughter quickly too, but he was worried about working out the financial details. It was about this time that I told him of a great quote I had heard. "Sometimes you have to jump and build your wings on the way down". He said this wasn't one of the smartest ideas he had ever heard. But...... we did it anyway.

And our wings have been built for us.

First, we had our International Adoption Pediatrician take a look at the files and paperwork. He had some questions and concerns for us. Ironically, not the obvious ones. In general he felt this child would have minimal complications from her birth defect. We requested an update and received it quickly. We also received the current photographs which show a laughing and healthy little girl.

Even as we are saying yes to the agency and scrambling to provide the first set of documents, our leap of faith was being rewarded. Mark received an offer unlike any he'd had before in his work. Within two days of our committing to adopt Dang Nan, Mark was contracted for enough work next year to help him feel confident that we could move forward.

During the first week of August our homestudy was approved by ASIA and we sent our Letter of Intent to China. Two weeks later we had our answer. China approved us to adopt Dang Nan. The first part of the miraculous story had come together. Something had shifted, in the world, and in our family, and in our hearts. And now we are working everyday to bring Delilah Dang Nan home.

2008-08-22T18:08:00.000-04:00

Please Welcome
Delilah DangNan McInnis
into our family and into your heart.

Dang Nan was born July 18, 2006.
She is eleven months younger than Cami.
She is currently living in foster care
in Inner Mongolia.
The reports we received describe her as a lovely
and smart little girl. She knows her colors and
can make herself understood among children and adults.
The report says,
"the child grows more and more beautiful with two pigtails in her hair now".

I think we knew,
even while in China with Cami,
that we would return.
We didn't know when, or how, or for whom,
but when we were given a chance to review
Dang Nan's file,
we felt comfortable with her and drawn to her,
even before seeing her pictures.

And so already we start to love her,
and to make a space for her,
a special place in our family
in the shape of Delilah.