Li'l Miss & Boots

I love this girl.

And her green-and-pink Scottie dog boots.

But mostly the way she wears her green-and-pink Scottie dog boots on the swings. 

So. Totally. my Li'l Miss.

More Progress!

After a long summer of waiting and not much adoption news, things have started happening!  We found out on Friday afternoon that our I-800 applications to adopt both our boys were approved.  This means that U.S. Immigration has given their okay for us to proceed with our adoption (half of Step 10 on the crazy chart below).  This approval and our file still need to be cabled to the U.S. Consulate in Ch*na.  (Then we'll be on to Step 11.)

It's so exciting to cross one more thing off the list!  Hopefully, we will be finished with Steps 10-14 by the second half of September.  At that point, we'll have TA (Travel Approval) from Ch*na, which basically means we're invited to come get our boys anytime within 90 days.  (It makes me smile just typing that last sentence. :)

On that note, I have a little travel update.  We are considering two possible travel dates: October 11-30 or November 8 - 27.  If our Travel Approval arrives by the week of September 25, either of these should be viable options.  However, as I mentioned last week, travel in October can be tricky because of the Trade Fair (and resulting price increase in hotels, guides, etc.).  My baby brother's wedding is right in between these dates (on November 3), so we can't split the difference and go in the middle.

I have to confess that this part of the process is making me seriously anxious.  I am a freakishly obsessive bit of a planner, and it is so hard not to have dates on the calendar so I can make plans for while we're gone and start looking at flights and hotels.  (Not that I'm not already looking at flights and hotels...)  I know that most adoptive families face this kind of uncertainty, but I'm having a tough time going with the flow right now.

If you feel led to, please pray for peace as we wait on the next few steps to come together.  Also pray for wisdom and provision as we make decisions about travel.  

Thank you, my rockin' bloggy friends.

Wednesday's Waiting Child: Jordy

This little boy melts. my. heart.

Meet "Jordy".  

He's two years old, and he's waiting for his mommy and daddy in an orphanage in Ch*na.  

This little guy snagged my love with his determined spirit.  Jordy has a clubfoot and a leg-length difference, but that does not slow him down at all.   He's agile and strong.  He knows how to crawl and climb, and he's actually taught himself to walk on his knees.

Want to see Jordy in action?  Click here.  (The video is about four minutes long.)

As I watched Jordy on video, I was amazed at how much he's accomplished without surgery, without braces, possibly even without appropriate physical therapy.  A Shriner's Hospital and a loving mommy and daddy could do incredible things for this little man.

Jordy's file says that he is smart and friendly.  He can draw lines, recite poems, identify some shapes, and count to ten.  He is extroverted and "very generous".

Watch this little guy on video.  You can see personality oozing out of him.  (I love the part where he tries to feed a younger child his/her bottle.)

Jordy is on our agency's assigned list for one month.  I believe his month is up very soon (possibly within the week).  If you're interested in more information about Jordy, please let me know ASAP.  You can commit to adopt this little guy even if you have never considered adoption or started any paperwork.  Also, if you are already working with an agency, I am almost positive that my agency would transfer Jordy's file if they don't have a committed family for him.  They've offered to do this in the past, and I truly believe they are committed to the children first.

If you'd like more information on Jordy, please email me at whatitmeans2beheld@gmail.com.  Feel free to share this post or Jordy's information with anyone who might be interested in bringing this sweet boy home.  Thank you!

Three Lovely Little Letters

A few friends have commented that it's been practically forever a while since I've posted an update on our adoption process.  (Actually, it's been practically forever since I've posted at all.  Sorry!)  I wish that I had some exotic excuse (like I've been hanging out on an island with no Wifi), but the real reason is mostly that I haven't had much to share.  For a L-O-N-G time, we've been waiting...and waiting...and waiting for our Letter of Approval (abbreviated to the three lovely little letters L-O-A) to arrive from Ch*na.  There isn't much to do adoption-wise during the LOA wait, so updates on the process aren't super thrilling.

Well...guess what?  After 74 days of waiting, LOAs for both our boys arrived on July 30!  Of course, we happened to be halfway across the country at a conference when they arrived.  Thankfully, our wonderful agency overnighted them to my parents' house in SoCal (just 1-1/2 hours from the conference), so we were able to get them signed and sent off to U.S. Immigration on August 1.

What does all this mean?  First and foremost, one really L-O-N-G stage of waiting is behind us.  (Can I get a woohoo?)  Second, I've been spending my free time researching hotels in Ch*na.  (How fun is that?)  Third, we are getting really C-L-O-S-E to hopping on a plane to go pick up our boys!

I found the awesome chart below to help explain what we've accomplished and what we have left to do before we travel to bring our li'l guys home.  (I take absolutely no credit for this lovely graphic; some way-cool adoptive mama created it.)
 

At this point, we've finished Steps 1-9.  We're waiting on U.S. Immigration to review our Form I-800 and complete Step 10.

What does all this mean in English?

We have five teeny, tiny steps left in our adoption process!  The last of these steps is for the Ch*nese adoption entity to send our TA (Travel Approval).  Based on other adoptive families' timelines, we should receive our Travel Approval sometime during the second half of September.

There is some bad news.  October is not the greatest month for traveling to Ch*na.  They have a festival the first week, so all government offices are closed.  (No government offices = no adoption appointments/paperwork.)  The last two weeks there is a gigantic trade fair in one of the provinces we have to visit.  This makes travel and hotels much more expensive.  Boo.  On top of that, two of us are in a wedding on November 3.

So...our agency is recommending that we leave the second week of November.  October sounds oh-so-much closer (and I haven't totally given up hope that we'll travel then), but either way, it's so exciting to get a glimpse of the end of this journey (and to spend endless hours on agoda.com).

Even though I haven't had much to say in a while, thanks for asking anyway.  It means a lot to know that people are following along with our journey and praying for us and our boys...who may or may not finally have names. ;-)

Pig Wrestling. Really.

Li'l Miss has been counting down the days until the county fair, pretty much since last year's fair.  We drive by the fairgrounds all the time, and she's always talking about the animals and wondering where they've gone off to for the 51 weeks of the year when they're not hanging out at the fairgrounds, just waiting for her to show up and love on them. 

So, earlier this week, Li'l Miss got all dressed up and hit the fairgrounds three times in 36 hours.  She watched the pigs, saw baby chicks hatching, and petted the horses.  (She had to settle for this since what she really wanted was to "sit on a horse while it's running".  Thinking that's not going to happen this year.)

This mama has to confess that the fair is slowly growing on me.  (Yes, that would be me, the very un-farmy California girl.)  This year I actually knew what people were talking about when they said they went to the "truck pull".  And I totally had a blast at the pig wrestling contest.  You would have loved it too.  Seriously.

Teams of four people started out in this giant mud pit.  (The fire department generously filled the pit before the competition...and stuck around to "rinse" the contestants after each round.  After all, we Midwesterners aren't going to let a little drought keep us from enjoying some good pig wrestling.)

Their task was to catch a pig and put him on top of the tire in the middle of the mud pit...in 60 seconds or less.  Sort of like this.

It was messy.  (Note the muddy waterfall coming out of this little lady's boot.)

R.E.A.L.L.Y. messy.

The pigs were not cooperative.

But the contestants were hardcore, and the victories were sweet.

All my California friends have no idea what they're missing. ;)

Surprise Pictures!

It's been a crazy Saturday, and I was totally not intending to blog tonight...

...BUT WE GOT NEW PICTURES!!!

I opened my email today to a surprise mini-update on our Li'l Man.  A sweet woman who visited his orphanage last month was able to meet him and give him a treat and some cuddles.  Here's what she wrote about him.

"Really cute little one.  Solidly built.  Came over to me took the cookies.  Cried and then went away.  Brought them back for me to open.  Sweet and cute as a little bear.  Very fast walker.  Cried when I picked up but the second I set down stopped.  Playful and engaged."  

She also sent three pictures, but they're pretty similar.  Here's the best one.

The first thing I thought when I opened these was, "He's growing so much!"  He really does look more grown up in these pictures, and he's getting chubby little cheeks.  His wardrobe still needs some work, but we're working on that.

Can't wait to hold this little man! 

 

Best Friends

You know that saying?  The one about dogs being man's best friend?

Well, when it comes to Li'l Miss and Li'l Pup, it's totally true.

They are best buds, no question about it.

They love to share hugs.

And...uuummmm...yougurt.

(Don't fall for that face; she's sooooo not innocent.)

I think, sometimes, one of these crazy girls forgets she's a human dog.

Yup, the saying is definitely true at our house: Li'l Miss + Li'l Pup = BFF.