Still Waiting on Travel Authorization

At the end of last week, the CCAA shut down for Chinese New Year. They are closed all of this week as well. So, we will not get our travel authorization until sometime next week (at least we hope we'll get it then).

Next week, Maddie will be 8 months old. Even though we have so much to do before we travel, it is hard to be here when she is there and turning another month older. While we don't know for sure, we estimate that we will probably travel around the first of March. About the time she gets placed in our arms, she will be almost 9 months old.

This part of the wait is getting more difficult by the day. Both Doug and I are having a difficult time sleeping or staying asleep. The other night both of us woke up at 2 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. Maddie is at the forefront of our thoughts every moment of every day. We are both blessed to be busy enough at work to have that as a distraction. That makes time go by a little faster. However, when I think of the fact that it will probably be another 4 weeks before we travel, it feels like time is almost standing still and I get just a little nutso.

Our friend Susan bought Maddie's first winter coat - a red wool cape. It is the most darling coat. Tuesday morning before going back to Atlanta (for work), Doug opened up her closet, took out the coat, and just stared at it for awhile. Then he said, "I can just see her wearing this to church with her dress and little white tights." Maddie isn't even here yet and she already has Daddy wrapped around her little finger!! Yes, our Dougie is a big old softie! :)

Maddie - we'll be there soon! Daddy and I are sending all our love on the wings of a prayer from half a world away.

Maddie's Foster Mother

Our adoption coordinator, Melissa, confirmed today that the lady holding Maddie in the photo below is her foster mother. It is highly unusual for Chinese orphanages to provide photos of foster parents. What a special blessing to be able to have that bit of Maddie's history to pass along to her as she grows up! The look of pride on foster mom's face tells me that she loves our little girl and I am at peace knowing that she is being so well cared for.

The closer we get to the end of this phase of our journey, the more difficult the wait becomes. Doug and I both agree that the four years wait was tough. However, now that we know her sweet face, it adds a whole new degree of difficulty.

Still no word on travel arrangements. After tomorrow, the CCAA shuts down for over a week to celebrate Chinese New Year (a.k.a. Spring Festival). So, if we don't hear by tomorrow, we will have to wait another week before any chance of knowing more about travel dates.

Thank you all for your good wishes, prayers, and comments here and on FaceBook. Maddie - you are already so loved and we just cannot wait to bring you home!

Updated Photos!!

We got updated photos of Madeline today. The timestamp on the photos shows that these were taken at 12:50 AM today – that is 1:50 PM in Maddie’s current world.

We also got updated measurements... she currently weighs 18 lbs and is 27.5 inches tall.

The second we get her home, we’re contacting Michelin to talk about a modeling contract – she can be the new Michelin Man!!

It is not uncommon for babies in China to be bundled in 6-7 layers of clothing. If you take them out – even in the summertime – with exposed skin other than their chubby little cheeks, some of the Chinese people will chide you and try to cover up the child. Hence, Maddie's outfit.

The lady holding Maddie - we're not sure if that is her foster mother or one of the nannies at the orphanage. In any event, it looks like Maddie is loved and well care for. I just can't wait to kiss those rosy cheeks!!

The Nursery Set Up... Now All We Need Is Maddie!

It's been a busy few weeks.... cleaning, organizing, and cleaning some more. I'm happy to report that the nursery is, for the most part, done. Thanks to Susan for the beautiful crib! She and I had a blast putting it together. Furniture assembly doesn't stress her nearly as much as it does Doug!! :)

There are a lot of great memories associated with some of the pieces in this nursery. My dad made the dresser in the corner for my mom just before I was born. As a kid, we stored anything and everything in it. I'm thrilled to be able to use it for Maddie. It holds a LOT of stuff! The glider was my grandmother's. She was my height and it fits me perfectly. I used to play with the little kid's chair at Grandpa Graber's house when I was a kid. We are looking forward to making many more beautiful memories with Maddie and hope that someday she can share some of them with her children.
Grandma Karen (Doug's mom) made the adorable quilt hanging on the front of the crib.

When we first started this journey, Amanda Gerard made these beautiful Chinese characters for us. The one on the left is "Safety" and the middle one is "Peace". We continue to pray for Maddie's peace and safety every day. We have waited four years to frame these. Thanks Amanda!!

Doug and I cannot wait to curl up with Maddie in this cozy corner and read lots of books.

To ease the transition once we get home, Maddie will sleep in our room for awhile. This crib also holds some sentimental value - my dad and his brothers and sisters slept in it when they were babies.

One Step Closer...

Today we got the call from Dr. Haimes's Office. Everything looks good on Madeline's medical report. As we suspected from the photos, she appears to be a healthy baby!

After we got the news, we shipped our referral acceptance packet to FTIA - our agency. On Friday, they will return the paperwork to China. Once China receives it, they will take the necessary steps to grant us travel approval. Once travel approval is issued, our agency will schedule an appointment for us with the Chinese Consulate. These are all the steps that will have to happen before we can leave for China. This process will take approximately 6-7 weeks.

We'll be there soon, Maddie! We can't wait to meet you in person.

Letter to Madeline

Dear Maddie ~

One week ago today I saw your sweet face for the very first time. The first moment that your photo opened on my monitor, a lightbulb turned on in my head and everything became clear, crystal clear. In that one tiny spec of time, I knew that God answered every prayer that your daddy and I have ever prayed for you - and many, many more that we didn't even know to ask for.

Your sweet face was the face I had been trying to picture for four years but couldn't quite see. However, the moment I saw you I felt as if I had known your face all my life. In less than an instant I recognized you, my daughter - there was no question, no doubt - we belong together, we are family. You are my daughter, born in my heart. You are the one that your daddy and I have loved so fiercely since long before you were born, the one that my arms ache for. In that instant I knew why we had to wait for four years... because you are part of God's perfect plan. In that instant, I fully understood the meaning of "God's perfect timing."

Sweet Baby Maddie, my heart aches for the great losses you have already suffered in your short life. Your daddy and I recognize that the events of the next two months will be another source of immense grief for you - as you are taken away from your familiar surroundings, from the foster family you have grown to love so much, from familiar sounds and smells. We will be there to comfort you and help you get through it. We promise to be patient and to give you the time you need to grieve those losses. We also recognize that when you are placed in our arms for the first time, we have had four years to get used to the idea of the three of us as a family. But, you will not have had the luxury of that time. Again, we will give you the time you need.

Your daddy and I promise to love and nurture you; to teach you about God's love, about faith, and the importance of prayer; and to protect you. We promise to love you enough to let you make mistakes sometimes, and we will teach you about making good choices. We promise to raise you to be proud of who you are, proud of your Chinese heritage. We promise to take time to celebrate life's golden nuggets as they are presented to us and we promise to address difficult issues.

As you are starting your day, dear Maddie, your daddy and I pray that you can feel our love from half a world away.

All our love,

Mommy (& Daddy)

Let the Nesting Begin!!

My head is still in the clouds but reality is starting to set in. We've got a lot to do in the next 8 weeks!

1. meet with the doctor to go through Maddie's referral paperwork
2. apply for travel visas (Thank goodness I can count on Doug for this and the rest of the paperwork!)
3. clean the house from top to bottom
4. buy a crib
5. set up the nursery
6. clean out the closets (OK, I may be getting just a little too ambitious with this whole nesting thing)
7. register at Target, Burlington Coat Factory, and Amazon
8. shop (diapers, formula, list is too long to go into here)
9. baby showers
10. get absolutely everything caught up at work so that I can be out for awhile
11. I could go on and on, but I'm freaking myself out seeing all of this in black and white!

Now that things have settled down, here are a few more details from the day we got the referral. Doug was in North Carolina visiting his dad when we got the call. Our adoption coordinator pulled us together in a phone conference to give us the news. While we would really have liked to have been together for the special event, it was nice that he got to share that moment with his dad. He does not get to see him very often.

By the time we received the email with the photos a few hours later, Doug was at the airport getting ready to fly back to Atlanta. We had agreed to wait to open the email until we could do so together - over the phone. I have never seen or heard my husband at a loss for words, but when we both saw those photos for the first time, I heard him gasp and then nothing... he was speechless!! He later told me that at that moment it hit him like a ton of bricks, "From now on, absolutely everything I do is for that little girl." He's going to be a wonderful daddy!

Of course, I was an emotional wreck. I was at work, in my office with the door shut, trying to be discreet. But my team informed me that they could hear me... crying, laughing, squealing, etc. etc. Needless to say, even though I was at work I didn't get any actual work done the rest of the day on Monday!

Here are a few more details that we learned when the stork (in the form of FedEx) dropped off our paperwork yesterday. Madeline's name, Yi Xiao Li means Morning Jasmine Flower. I suggested that maybe we should just name her Jasmine. But Doug and I both agreed that Jasmine Snow sounds too much like a stripper name... not gonna happen!! LOL

The Eliases and we were both matched with our daughters by the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) on Christmas Day!!! What a beautiful Christmas present! For the past four Christmases, Doug and I have agreed not to buy each other Christmas presents and instead save that money for our adoption fund. Never once did I imagine that it would play out like this.

We ask for continued prayers from you, our family and friends. Over the next few months Maddie will be going through immense grief. This article helped me to understand a little better what she will be experiencing: http://www.a4everfamily.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=120.

Madeline's BFF, Kya Jin Elias

Our friends Kris & Shawn have been paperchasing and working on their own journey right along with us. We submitted our dossiers to our agency at the same time, along with a request that, if possible, we'd like to receive our referrals from the same place. Our adoption coordinator added a note to our dossiers when she submitted them to China and they made it happen! Both of our daughters are in foster care but are being supervised by the same orphanage in Yiyang, Jiangxi, China. Kya is two months older than Madeline and we all agree that she is just precious.