WE'RE IN CHINA

Our suite at the Victory

Had a wonderful flight from Tokyo to Gaungzhou on Japan Airlines. Flight was pretty much empty so we all had our own rows! Got to choose your own movie to watch. Our CCAI rep, Jocelyn, met our group at the airport. Since Detroit, there have been 5 couples (one with another agency) that we have been traveling with. Only one other is staying the entire two wks in GZ with us, the rest fly back out to their child's province's tomorrow for the next week then back to GZ for their last week with us. And talk about small worlds, one couple is from Zainesville and they are both D.O. physicians that went to OU-COM! They are also traveling with her mother and their adorable 3 year old that they adopted from China at 10 months. Our hotel is nice-furniture/carpet a bit old but now that Doug has fumigated the room with Lysol spray and wipes-we are set! No bed bugs coming home with us! We have a group dinner this evening at a Tai restaurant. To say that the weather is hot would be an understatement-I have never felt heat like this before. I am not even chilled in air conditioning!
More later. Psalm 119:117

FINALLY, BREE AND MYAH TOGETHER!!

Rina developed her disposable camera she had sent to the orphanage and there were tons of pictures of our daughters together. Hopefully, our camera will be the same. She also has pictures of our friend Vicki's daughter Emily with the girls. You will see her in the above collage slide show. She has served as a "big sister" to the girls.

WE'RE STILL NOT THERE!!

Girls here are pics of our rooms.


Good morning to you, good night to us! With the exception of about 2 hours, we have now been awake over 24 hours. We are currently in Tokyo at a hotel for the night as our flight segment from Tokyo to GZ was cancelled d/t mechanical issues (enough said!) The Lord decided to remind me early on that He was guiding this trip. We got to Detroit right on time thanks to U. Scott, then the obstacles appeared. Obstacle #1: HUGE line for the ticket counter. Seems like Tokyo was the place to be going on Thursday p.m. We traversed it in about an hour just to reach obstacle #2: flight segment cancelled. Thirty minutes later they had us rebooked on an Air Japan flight, but not leaving until Sat. a.m. Onto security and obstacle #3: Doug is a security hazard d/t hardware in ankle requiring him to be "man checked" and my suitcase is tagged for unidentifiable objects (which turned out to be my stethescope and otoscope- "sorry maam, we just don't see those items very often"). Finally we reached our gate where general boarding was already occurring and you guessed it, obstacle #4 we are all three in three different rows of the aircraft. This was easily fixed as fortunatetly all the people sitting next to us were single travelers and willing to move so we could be together. From then on it was smooth sailing. Watched 2 movies, ate three meals and tried to sleep. Once in Tokyo, Northwest took very good care of us. We have been put up for free in a very nice hotel (all single rooms-really cute) and free dinner and breakfast. We now fly out at 9:50am and arrive GZ 1:50ish pm. So hopefully we will straighten out our sleep schedule tonight with a good nights sleep. Brynn and Brooke-so glad we could talk to you today. We love you and miss you more than words could say. Three more days until we get Bree!!

THE INCREDIBLE BLESSINGS ON THIS JOURNEY

It has been 15 months since we began this journey to our daughter. We have allowed the Lord to guide our steps and feel that everything has occurred according to His time. He has been "driving the bus" and really hasn't taken any detours. We give thanks to Him for all His blessings. We also give thanks to our many friends and relatives who have supported us, prayed with us, laughed with us and held our hands (mainly mine) during this time. In two days we will board a flight that will take us to the end of this specific journey and allow us to begin another as a family of five-the greatest blessing of all.
God Speed

OUR ITINERARY

Our itinerary arrived today and is as follows:

8/14 Leave for Guangzhou, China

8/15 Arrive Guangzhou, China at 11p.m. (only 19 hours-yikes!)

8/16 and 8/17 Free Days (correct jet lag)

8/18 .....GOTCHA DAY!!!!..... We get Bree at the Provincial Civil Affairs Office

8/19 Adoption Registration and Notarization then shopping trip for Bree

8/20 Receive Bree's adoption registration certificate and apply for her passport

8/21 Bree's medical exam and visa photo (and our beautiful Brynn turns 9 today!)

8/22 -8/24 Free time in Guangzhou (local tours to temples, markets etc.)

8/25 Receive notary certificates

8/26 Receive Bree's passport/ prepare paperwork for U.S. Consulate appointment

8/27 Consulate appointment

8/28 Take oath at U.S. Consulate and receive Bree's Visa packet

8/29 Leave for home- arrive in Detroit 1:40pm

We will be staying at the beautiful hotel The Victory (www.vhotel.com/gdvhen/)
I won't post for awhile as we finish all the final paperwork, pack and prepare for our two week absence from Brynn and Brooke.
God Bless

OUR FLIGHTS ARE BOOKED!!!

We recieved our consulate appointment (CA) yesterday. So, as it stands we will fly out Thursday, August 14th from Detroit arriving in Guangzhou at 11p on Friday the 15th. We have a two hour layover in Tokyo. No word yet on when we will "get" Bree, but I imagine it will be Sunday the 17th. Our CA isn't until the 27th and our oath is the 28th. We fly back on Friday August 29th arriving Detroit at 1:45p. The girls don't have school that day for the holiday weekend, so they will be able to come to the airport to meet us. The pieces are falling into place. I will post our exact itinerary when it becomes available to me from our agency. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts!
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name, welcomes me." Matthew 18:15

WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!!!!

The phone call came today from our agencies travel department-we have gotten travel approval. Our agency has applied for our Consulate appointment (CA) and that takes from 1-6 business days. Tentative travel is from 8/15-8/30. We will fly directly into Guangzhou (GZ)where the American consulate is (as opposed to Hong Kong). We will stay there the entire trip since Bree is from a city in the same province as GZ. This will also shorten our trip a bit and save a little money. Unfortuately, we will miss the girls first day of school (which is 8/20) but they seem to be OK with that. Can't book our flights until after our CA is known, but they said Detroit had a flight straight to Toykyo and then onto GZ- its only 20 some hours!! Going will be fine-on return lets hope Bree has her fathers ability to fall asleep once the plane pulls away from the tarmac! We are so blessed that my mom is coming along with us-she hasn't missed any of my girls arrivals! Praise our Lord God in the Highest.

Weekly Update

We received new pictures and measurements on Bree today from our agency. Her feet have grown 2 cm since April! Good thing we have held out on buying her shoes! We learned that she can speak three word sentences and even knows how to say "I Love You" in English. That is a phrase she will hear plenty of times once we get her in our arms. They also stated she can take steps with support or by holding onto things. Her favorite food is yogurt!
Our friends from Florida adopting Myah from the same orphanage are leaving August 9th for China-they were able to secure a spot earlier due to a family backing out of their travel plans. We pray for them as they prepare to embark on this wonderful adventure.
God Bless Tracy

Weekly Update

Almost two weeks since LOA. If it weren't for the Olympics, we would be expecting TA in the next two weeks. But, with the uncertainty of China allowing us to travel during this time, we expect TA end of August. However, our agency hasn't been told that we cannot travel d/t the Olympics, so this could be construed as good news. In any event, we are trying to be prepared if we were to get "the call". I have pretty much packed for Bree, our agency gives us a detailed list which is helpful. I am sending out our VISA paperwork this week and should recieve them next week. Now comes the time to prepare for our absence where Brynn and Brooke are concerned. Fortunately, they will be in the very good hands of their Mema.
We have been trying to pack in fun for them before we leave. We did the American Girl extravaganza in Chicago last weekend. This weekend we did Cedar Point and Great Wolf Waterpark. Brooke was finally tall enough to ride some big rides! And, she learned to ride without training wheels this week. Bree will definitely have her share of hand me down trikes, bikes and scooters. Brynn continues to master swimming and exclaimed she is now "fearless" at waterparks. This week we will do an overnight at Sauder Farmpark and then I need a rest!!
God Bless Tracy

He is directing our journey

The last 24 hours have been exciting and frantic both. I downloaded another 19 page set of papers last pm which need to be completed in 5-7 days and of course all the pages need to be notarized! I waited most of the day at my office waiting for the FedEx man to appear with my LOA document. By one o'clock I became nervous and called my agency who got online for me and tracked the letter for me. It was still sitting at the FedEx facility three exits down the road from my office, but they wouldn't give me a local number to call (saying it was unpublished!) So, as my headache was turning into a migraine, and my prayers were coming by the dozens,my trustworthy PSC (Kim, who answers my phones for me)got on the horn and called the 1-800 FedEx number and worked her usual wonders to persuade them to radio the courrier (by now my letter was on a truck!)and notify him that this document was time-sensitive and needed to be sent back by 3pm (when we were to leave for Chicago) Whewwww-it arrived a little after 2p.m. During all this time, I secured the arrangement of documents to be emailed to me regarding our Chinese VISA's, faxed all my companion documents to my mother for her to complete, started filling out some of the 19 pages and oh yeah saw 15 patients! Now, I sit in a hotel in South Bend, IN typing this as the girls and Doug swim and as I continue to praise God for all he has done and shown us with this adoption. May God be Blessed Tracy

LOA IS FINALLY HERE!!!

Wow- The day finally came- we recieved notice from our agency today that we have been granted a Letter of Acceptance (LOA). Our emotions are all over-elation, fright and a little freaking out! Our agency is sending an overnight package that we must sign and FedEx immediately back. They are saying to expect travel in 4-8 weeks, however, because of the Olympics, other agencies are saying 4 weeks to get people in and out. We need to seriously start packing just in case.
And to add icing on the cake...we recieved 5 more pictures of Bree today. She definitely does not seem to appreciate having her picture taken (no smiles this round) but hopefully we will change that! My friend Rina and her family, whose daughter Myah is BFF with Bree, also got LOA today. How awesome it would be to travel at least some leg of the trip together, especially for Myah and Bree. Check out her blog http://www.shpiruk.blogspot.com.
Rina is the techno-wizard behind my blog. Basically, I post and she designs! Luv ya Rina.

Updated Photos

Immediately after posting yesterday I recieved 5 new pictures of Bree from China-Babies! We cannot believe how much more grown up she looks just in the last three months! We continue to fall deeper in love with her with each new picture-she is going to be so smothered in kisses and hugs!

65 Days and Counting!

Well, we are past the two month mark. Our agency has been quiet
with any LOA's or TA's for over two weeks now. We are all getting a bit ansy! We have been in contact with China-Babies, a company that will take updated pictures of Bree, but they are waiting to here back from her orphanage for permission. This company has been into her orphanage before for this purpose, so we are praying they will allow them in again. We just joined our local FCC group (Families with Children from China)-they organize many activities throughout the year-quite a few of the members are patients of mine so there is some familiarity. Hopefully, we will have a more exciting post in the near future!

Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your children from the East and gather you from the West. Isiah 43:5

53 days

Today is day 53. Average wait has been 90 days to get LOA, so I guess we are over half way there! Today is actually a holiday in China -Dragon Boat Festival. I learned that from couples in China currently. It also has been raining tons in Hong Kong with lots of flooding. It apparently is monsoon season from July-September.
I am sure many of you noticed the changes on this blog- it was tweaked by my friend Rina (who is adopting from the same orphanage) and I am so appreciative!! My computer abilities are limited!! Now I can check the live feed and actually kind of guess who has been on the blog. Thanks for following along. God Bless

Waiting

This part of our wait has been the most difficult. All we can do is look at Bree's beautiful pictures and pray for the day she will be in our arms. It is such a blessing to have Brynn and Brooke during this waiting period. Their "ideas" for how things will be once Bree is home with us are so precious. Brooke is so excited to have Bree share her room (she has even emptied out a drawer in the bathroom for her) and Brynn is convinced she will be doing all the "teaching" of English etc. to Bree. I have begun to start a packing list and pile.....still likely another month til LOA. Thank you to all who are praying for Bree and checking our progress on this blog. God Bless.

Mei Qiu Qi

The Chinese custom is to write their name with their last name or surname first. So, Mei is actually Bree's Chinese last name. Mei means "little sister" and she shares this surname with most of the girls in her orphanage. We assume because she was found in Meizhou City. Qiu, which is Bree's first name, means "Autumn" and she shares that name with most of the girls in her orphanage as well. Bree's middle name is Qi and it means "fine jade". We love the fact that Mei means little sister since that is exactly what she will be in our forever family!

The Road to China

This last week has been busy reading and assimilating all the documents being sent to us from our agency. They are preparing us well for our travel. Still not expecting LOA until end of June at the earliest. TA will follow about one month after that, then its down to the wire.
We are keeping in close contact with our new friends in Florida who are adopting Myah from the same orphanage. Bree and Myah are only four days apart in age, so they entered the orphanage within days of one another and reportedly are friends. It has been such a blessing to have this connection!

Care Package

Today our first care package to Bree was sent. We enlisted the help of a Chinese woman named Ann who owns Red Thread China. She personally shopped for us and sent Bree a summer dress, a stuffed panda bear, a picture album of 10 pictures I had taken of us and her new room etc. and a letter she translated for us. We also sent the caregivers candy and a disposable camera to take pictures of Bree. Usually, the orphanage will bring the camera and anything else you sent to you on Gotcha Day Ann said our package should arrive in two days, so I am hoping by Monday. Ann was also able to get us current measurements of Bree (which we had already gotten from our agency). Hard to know how much Bree understands about this adoption, but we just pray they show her our pictures so she has some familiarity with her new family.

Recent Headlines

Alot of people have called or asked about the horrific earthquake that China suffered two days ago. Fortunately, Bree is in the province of Guangdong which is southeast of the Sichuan province where the quake's epicenter occurred. I am sure the orphanage felt it since cities like Beijing, which are the same distance north, felt it. We are praying for the families who are adopting from the Sichuan province. We are assured through Psalm 91 that Bree is protected and that her orphanage is surrounded by a crown of thorns.

Tracy

Bree's actual medical condition

I thought I would explain more in detail just what exactly Bree's special needs are. We (myself and my local pediatric orthopedic friend) believe she was born with a condition called arthrogryposis. Basically, this is a condition that affects the joints in a baby's body due to insufficient movement during pregnancy. These children are born with contractures- meaning there joints are in a flexed position. There are many degrees of arthrogryposis, but we feel Bree has a "milder" type called distal arthrogryposis (DA), as only her distal extremities are affected ie: hands/wrists and feet/ankles. Of course we won't really know until she has been fully examined in the states and has xrays. The specialist feels we will be able to stretch and possibly splint her affected fingers and she will need casting and surgery on her feet. Surgery will be followed by lots of physical and occupational therapy so we can get her up and walking!! We pray daily for God's healing of Bree....and with his stripes we are healed Isaiah 53:5.

More Prayers answered!

Today we recieved an update on Bree!! Once we had sent in our letter of intent we were allowed to ask for an update. We asked for specific pictures, like one of her smiling, and some of her hands and feet to better assess her needs. The orphanage was wonderful and sent a picture for everything we had asked for. We also got current measurement: 11.5 kg, 78 cm ht, 48 cm head circ., 8cm feet and 20 teeth. They stated she was very healthy, outgoing and likes to play with other children. She also likes her bath! We are so over the moon in love with her. Now we can get together a care package to send to her with pictures of us so she can get to know her new forever family. We are so blessed.
Tracy

He is all knowing

Yesterday we were emailed from a family in Florida who are currently adopting from the same orphanage as Bree. They too have been matched with a 2 year old around the same time as we were matched with Bree. We are sure they must be playmates! It is comforting to progress through this journey with someone who is experiencing the same emotions as us.

God is so good!

This week has been amazing as we have had contact with other families that have adopted from the same orphanage as Bree. We are told only good things about Meizhou City Welfare Institute. As far as the timeline goes, we are now awaiting a LOA (letter of acceptance), which indicates that we may request travel to China to get Bree. Looking at the stats from an online waiting child group from my agency, our LOA could occur anytime in the next 2-3 months. After LOA comes TA (travel approval) with approximate travel to China being 5-8 weeks from LOA. So we are still looking at 4-6 months before "gotcha day". "Patience is a virtue", my father always said to me growing up and ...as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way....in understanding, patience and kindness ....2 Corinthians 3-6

p.s. the times on these posts are actually Hong Kong time which is exactly 12 hrs ahead of us. So while its actually 8p Thurs. here and we're readying for bed, it is 8a Fri. in China and Bree has already been up for 1.5 hours!
Tracy

wonderful news

I posted today on a yahoo website for families who have adopted from the same orphanage as Bree (there are only 19 members registered). We received an email back from a couple who adopted a son from there four years ago with club feet!! She sounds like she will be a wealth of information for us and a connection to Bree's only home she has known thus far. I cannot wait to hear back from her- now I will be checking my email hourly!

Pre-Approval is here!!

The girls called me at work to say they had signed onto the computer to play Webkinz and we had a message from CCAI. We received preapproval, which means the Chinese Adoption Affairs has recieved our letter of intent to adopt Bree and our file will now be moved onward! One step closer!

April 28th, 2008

They equate the waiting we are doing to pregnancy- I personally think its harder. At least with pregnancy, your child is with you always, feeling movements and gauging personality. Knowing that Bree is continents away and waiting for us is, at times, anguishing. PA (preapproval) is supposed to take a week to months (we are already at day 12) and then you recieve LOA (letter of approval). At this point our agency (CCAI- Chinese Children Adoption International) will begin obtaining a consulate appointment for us and then we can get travel approval.