September 21, 2003 - The Lin family decides to adopt a little girl from China.
September 30, 2003 - Austin tracks down an old co-worker (hi Rob!) to pick his brain about Chinese adoptions.
October 28, 2003 - We select Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI) to be our adoption agency, and submit our application. (Application fee: $150)
October 29, 2003 - CCAI mails out questionaires to our 3 references.
November 5, 2003 - The last questionaire is returned and our application is approved.
November 1 thru 2:30am November 8 - We spend countless hours writing up autobiographies to turn in at the adoption orientation. We were told to expect to take about 4 hours to complete our autobiograhies. Yeah, right!
November 8, 2003 - We attended a 4 hour adoption orientation at CCAI. We learned about the history of the agency and got to meet the various employees, including our social worker. We also learned about the mountain of paperwork that lay before us for our dossier and home study. One interesting fact is that all documents requiring notarization can be "notarized as a copy". Rather than notarizing a signature, the notary simply makes a copy of a pre-signed document and then notarizes the copy. The point of such a process completely escapes us. We also made our first payment to the agency. (Cost: $2550 Expenses to Date: $2700)
November 13, 2003 - Learned that only 1 copy of each birth certificate and the marriage certificate needs to be certified and authenticated. Turned in health forms to pediatricians to be filled out. Mailed requests for copies of marriage license and Jenna's birth certificate. (Cost: $35 Expenses to Date $2735)
November 14, 2003 - Jenna got her physical and turned in her health form to be filled out. Mailed request for copies of Austin's birth certificate, and submitted requests for criminal background checks to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, and Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). (Cost: $590 Expenses to Date: $3325)
November 15, 2003 - Had our first interview with our social worker, Dawn. We had to answer lots of questions about how we would cope with our girl's loss and how we would parent our adopted child (values, discipline, etc.). Austin had a personal interview as well, mostly about past and present relationships with family, what stresses are in his life, and how he handles them.
November 17, 2003 - Found out that we need a CPA letter, notarized, certified, and authenticated, verifying our rental income. Jenna found a parent in Jessica's homeschool group who is willing to do it for a mere $30. Woohoo! (Expenses to Date: $3355)
November 21, 2003 - Received certified copies of our marriage license today. Got passport photos taken and then submitted passport applications for everyone at the Post Office. (Cost: ~$430 Expenses to Date: $3785)
November 23, 2003 - Had our second (and final) interview with Dawn. She interviewed Jenna and the kids. Jenna had to answer the same questions Austin did in his personal interview. The kids had to describe themselves and how they felt about the adoption, specifically about adopting a Chinese girl. Lastly, Dawn took a tour of our junky house.
November 24, 2003 - We received our CBI reports today. Jessica also had her physical so her health form could be filled out. (Cost: $20 Expenses to Date: $3805)
December 2, 2003 - Received our invitations from the FBI to get our fingerprints taken. Got our CBI reports notarized (as a copy) at CCAI.
December 6, 2003 - Received passports today. It was supposed to take 6 weeks for standard processing. Wow, that was fast!
December 8, 2003 - Received copies of Austin's birth certificate (wondering where Jenna's are).
December 10, 2003 - Jenna called Illinois Dept. of Health to find out what happened to her request for copies of her birth certificate. Had to order a copy of the cancelled check for DoH to track down the problem.
December 11, 2003 - Received copy of the cancelled check and found out her request was filed under her middle name, not her last name. Sheesh...
December 12, 2003 - Austin had his physical exam and turned in his health form to be filled out and notarized. Jenna submits financial records to CPA for income verification letter.
December 15, 2003 - Mailed off requests for state certification of Austin's birth certificate and our marriage license.
December 16, 2003 - Picked up Austin's health form.
February 10, 2004 - Obtained CPA letter for our financial statement.
March 2, 2004 - Went to INS to get fingerprinted for international adoption.
April 28, 2004 - Finally another update! We received our 171H form from the INS.
April 29, 2004 - Took all Colorado paperwork to the Secretary of State's office for certification. We should be getting them back in the mail tomorrow!
May 1, 2004 - Received certified documents
May 13, 2004 - Mailed off forms to Chinese consulate in Chicago for authentication
May 14, 2004 - Chinese consulate receives documents
May 25, 2004 - Jenna calls the Chinese consulate in Chicago to get a status update on our documents. A woman answers the phone, speaking in Chinese. Jenna asks if she speaks English, and the woman continues to speak in Chinese. So, Jenna tells the woman, in Chinese, "I don't speak Chinese, I only speak English", and the woman chuckles then asks IN ENGLISH, "What's your question?" I've got a question for you... How do you say "jerk" in Chinese? It turns out we received the authenticated documents this day, except Austin's California birth certificate needs to be sent to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. Doh! (Cost: ~$280 Expenses to Date: $3285)
May 26, 2004 - Turned in dossier, minus authenticated birth certificate. Paid $565 fee to Chinese government and second CCAI fee of $2350. Mailed Austin's birth certificate to Chinese consulate in San Francisco (Cost: ~$2930 Expenses to Date: $6215).
June 4, 2004 - We finally got the authenticated birth certificate and turned it in to the dossier department. Our dossier needs to be reviewed first before being sent to translation. There are nine families' applications ahead of us so it will be the middle of next week before ours is reviewed.
June 8, 2004 - Katie calls and lets us know dossier was sent to translation. She says it will be done in about a couple of weeks and she will email us when the dossier is sent to China.
June 29, 2004 - Yeah! Katie emails and says dossier was sent to China. About time!
July 2, 2004 - CCAI in China gets our dossier and takes it to China
Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). We receive our
DTC-packet (DTC stands for Date to China). Our DTC date is still unknown. It will take a
month before we know exactly when CCAA processed our paperwork.
July 21, 2004 - We received confirmation from the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China that BCIS (aka INS) has notified them of our approval to adopt an orphan overseas.
July 28, 2004 - We take a copy of letter from American Consulate to CCAI.
August 5, 2004 - We find out our DTC date is July 5, 2004. Then we wait for our match.
September, 2004 - We wait some more.
October, 2004 - Jenna goes to CCAI once each week or calls to see if
there is any word on the match. (someone is getting impatient!)
November 15, 2004 - After 4.5 months of waiting, we've finally received our letter from China! Our daughter's Chinese name is Li-Ting, born in Dian-Bai in the Guandong province. Li-Ting is 1 years old now and was born on November 1st; our wedding anniversary. She is a cutie, even though her pictures make her look like a boy. Slap a dress on her and put some bows in her hair, and she'll girlie up real nice. :) We can't wait to meet her, but we have no choice. We're currently waiting for permission from China to travel. The travel dept says it will be 6-9 weeks before we go, with it more likely being closer to 9 weeks. Jenna is going nuts!
November 16, 2004 - We submit our acceptance of China's child selection. As if anyone could say no!
November 17, 2004 - Jenna mails off 2 care packages to Li-Ting at her orphanage.
November 20, 2004 - We finally agree on a name for our little girl; Abigail Naomi.
November 22, 2004 - We get more paperwork to fill out: visa
applications, vaccination info, travel release forms, etc.
November 23, 2004 - Jenna gets a good bill of health for kids to travel
to China from the pediatrician and she turns in all necessary forms to CCAI.
November 26, 2004 - Jenna purchases gifts for the officials and the orphanage directors and nannies. She also mails off visa applications.
December 3, 2004 - To our amazement, we received our travel notice today! CCAI is requesting appointments with the US Consulate in Guangzhou during the last week in December. We should know in 1-7 business days whether or not these appointments have been confirmed.
December 6, 2004 - We receive updated information on Li-Ting, including recent pictures! She is small by American standards, but otherwise sounds like a very healthy baby.
December 8, 2004 - We make reservations through JC Travel to travel to China on December 14th and return on New Years Eve. The main group is leaving the US on the 16th, but we opted to take an extra 2 days to spend in Beijing to see the Great Wall, Tiennamen Square, and other sights we would otherwise miss out on. And how could we go all the way to China and not see these sights? To our surprise, the additional hotel & tour fees amount to $1735, yet do not add much to our total costs. I can only assume the original flights were a major ripoff, not that we're thrilled by how much everything is costing us now (Cost: $9600 Expenses to Date: $15815).
December 9, 2004 - We pay CCAI for our stay in Guangzhou plus various in-China travel fees. I am bummed that we are being forced to pay for 2 hotel rooms for our family, but I get the impression rooms are much smaller than what we're used to here in the States (Cost: $2835 Expenses to Date: $18650). This does not include the $6500 we are bringing with us to China, to pay for adoption fees, paperwork, food, and miscellaneous items. I'm trying not to dwell on how much this adoption is costing us, but it is way more than we were expecting. This baby had better love me! :)
December 12, 2004 - We still aren't ready for our trip. Jessica had an early birthday party this weekend. Fourteen 6th graders, including nine overnight guests, have left our house a train wreck.
December 14, 2004 - Our ride is picking us up in an hour, and we're still packing. Woohoo! Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers. We'll see you all in 2005. Abigail, here we come!!!
(December 14th Update) Our trip got off on the wrong foot... First, we sat at the gate for half an hour because a circuit breaker had popped on one of the hydraulic systems. Eventually, the captain came back on the PA system, saying "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not going to beat around the bush here. This plane is broken." Everybody had to disembark while they found a new plane for us. We ended up getting to San Francisco 2 hours late, after our connecting flight to Beijing had already departed. There were no other flights leaving for Beijing that day, so we had no choice but to spend a night in San Francisco. We will now miss the first day of our tours in Beijing, meaning we won't get to see Tiennamen Square or the Forbidden City. The payments for these tours are also non-refundable.
Because our delay was due to mechanical failure, United paid for our hotel stay and provided us meal vouchers to eat at the airport. It was like living out the movie "The Terminal", only we held onto our vouchers and didn't need to return carts for quarters. :) United put us up at the local Red Roof Inn. Not exactly posh accomodations, but at least they gave us 2 rooms for our family of 6. I just wanted to get a good night's sleep and get on with our trip. Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be...
December 15, 2004 - I am jolted alert at 2:00am by a sharp pain in my left hand when I slid it across the mattress. My hand is now bleeding from a 1.5" gash in my palm. It's in the middle of the night, so I wait until morning to investigate further. Needless to say, I lay awake most of the night, wondering what God is trying to tell me in all this. At 7:00am, Jenna and I discover the tip of a needle protruding from the mattress by about 1/2 an inch, angled just right to rip me open as I raked my hand across it. I speak to the front desk, and they send facilities to investigate. It turns out to be a sewing needle, about 2 inches long. At this point, I'm grateful it wasn't a hypodermic needle, but still unnerved by the whole incident and my mind is racing with conspiracy theories as to what lethal agents might be on the needle. I'm fairly certain the needle was intentionally put in place, as how else would the eye end of a needle embed 1 1/2 inches into a firm mattress? Red Roof Inn offered to let me see a doctor in San Francisco at their expense, but that would mean missing yet another flight and losing out on the second day of Beijing tours. I decline their offer, pray over my wounded hand, and saddle up to go the airport.
Unbelievably, the captain informs us that our plane has a failed auxilliary power supply. Fortunately, it is only a delay to get the power supply replaced, and we eventually take off for China.
December 16, 2004 - We are finally in China late Thursday night! JC Travel guide, "Shiny", meets us at the airport and brings us to our hotel. It doesn't take long for her to make a bad impression on me. When I had difficulty understanding her instructions on the use of phone cards, she laughed at me and said I must be tired because I couldn't follow what she was saying. Yeah, that's it. Blame the tired stupid American, not your flawed grasp of the English language. Sheesh...
December 17, 2004 - Our bodies are screwed up by the time change, so no one could sleep last night. Nevertheless, our tour of the Great Wall gets off to an early start. We meet 2 other adopting families who chose to come to Beijing early for 2-day tours. Only one of them actually made it for the first day. It is sadistically comforting to know that we aren't the only ones off to a crappy start.
Our travel guide continues to impress me with jokes contrasting lazy Americans who don't pay their bills and are up to their eyeballs in debt with the disciplined Chinese who amass great wealth. It somehow escapes her that these spendthrift Americans are paying her salary, and that maybe she should keep her low opinions of Americans to herself. Fortunately, her annoyances can't take away from our enjoyment of the Great Wall. What an amazing sight! The views are breathtaking and the wall itself is both an awe inspiring testament to what man can accomplish as well as a sobering sight when you consider the number of lives sacrificed to build it.
This is a shot of us on the wall. Behind us is the longer but less steep direction we took along the section of wall we went to. I shudder to think about what the steeper path was like, as I about died climbing the steps along this "easy" path. I only made it half way up before having to scoop my lungs off the floor and turn back.
Here's Andrew on the Great Wall. I just wanted everyone to see his cute pouty face.
December 18, 2004 - We check out early as instructed, and wait to be picked up from the hotel lobby at 7:00am to make our 8:55am flight to Guangzhou. Everyone is freaking out by the time 7:30 rolls around and we still haven't been picked up, as we know our bus has to drop by a second hotel to pick up the other families in our group. Our bus finally arrives 42 minutes late. It turns out our flight was delayed by 2 hours and JC Travel knew about this. You'd think they would have told us about it so we didn't panic to meet a phantom deadline. Are you getting the impression that I was not impressed by our travel company? Keep reading. Our seat assignments were such that no spouses were seated together. When families complained, Richard Kok of JC Travel told us not to worry because the plane would be empty and we could sit anywhere we liked. The plane was PACKED. Several passengers were kind enough to trade seats so my family could sit together in 2 rows. Others weren't so lucky.
This is 9 of the 11 families in our travel group at the Beijing airport. Two families made different travel arrangements and met us in Guangzhou.
Here's Andrew all happy in Jenna's seat on the plane. What you can't tell from this picture is that Mr. Hyde was screaming bloody murder in my arms just 10 minutes prior. Our flight landed safely, though with an interesting fishtail maneuver I've never experienced in a plane before.
This is our CCAI representative, Maggie, welcoming us to Guangzhou on the bus ride to the hotel. 40 minutes later, we were checking into the White Swan hotel which was to be our home for the next 12 days.
December 19, 2004 - Gotcha day!
At 10:00am, we had our first group meeting in the Swan Room pictured above. It is an ~1000 sqft play room furnished by Mattel with all kinds of toys, which also doubled nicely as our meeting room. At this meeting, we learned about what to expect this afternoon when we go to the Provincial Civil Affairs Office to receive our babies. Today we pay the $3000 child rearing fee to the orphanage and $58 public notice fee and get a chance to speak with the director of our orphanage to learn more about our child. Months of mind numbing paperwork and disappointments in recent days had taken its toll on my spirit to the point where I was just hurriedly and mechanically going through the motions required of the adoption process. This morning, I was overcome by a sense of peace and emotion that God's hand was on my family and that this was His perfect plan for us.
Here I am bawling like a baby when Abigail was placed in my arms. She's a short, pudgy cutie with large eyes, large cheeks, and a big head of hair that made all the other babies in the group look bald. Jenna and I are blubbering messes for the next several pictures, which I'll spare you all from seeing. The waterworks finally slowed down for the following shot:
Here Andrew hugs his new sister. He's such a sweetie when he's not screaming bloody murder.
We take Abigail back to our hotel room that afternoon and have a relatively uneventful first night. She cracks her first smile while taking a bath with Andrew. The two of them have a blast splashing around in the tub together. She is reasonably healthy, with a runny nose and a congested cough, but no fever or other more serious symptoms. Other families weren't so fortunate, having to deal with fevers and horrible diaper rash. (Cost: $3058 Expenses to Date: $21708)
December 20, 2004 - Monday morning at breakfast, we learn how Abigail got so plump. After watching us eating for a while, she decides that bottles and congee (rice gruel) aren't good enough for her either, and she reaches into our plates to chow down on dim sum, friend noodles, sausage patties, french toast, yogurt, and fruit. This girl can eat! Later that morning, we return to the Provincial Civil Affairs Office to complete adoption registration paperwork and pay the registration fee, registration and passport paperwork fee, child's passport fee, and child's notary fee. (Cost: $578 Expenses to Date: $22286)
This is a scan of the photo placed in our adoption registration certificate. A darn cute picture, if I do say so myself. As of today, Abigiail is officially adopted! While we wait for the other families to complete their paperwork, Jessica plays with Abby in a play room until it starts to smell really bad in there. Princess Poopy Pants dropped a nuclear bomb that ruined her entire outfit and we didn't think to pack an extra one. Fortunately for us, one of the other moms let us borrow an extra sleeper she had with her, and we were saved. Below is a shot of Abigail happily playing at ground zero.
We are surprised by how selfish Abigail is already when it comes to her new mommy. Any time Jenna is holding Andrew or any other baby, she starts crying and won't stop until she is picked up and the other child is put down. It's not good enough for Jenna to hold them both. If the other child is within her pudgy reach, she will try to push them away. She is also very bad about sharing. Abby routinely takes toys and markers right out of Andrew's hands and won't give anything back. It's hard to believe an orphan can be this spoiled.
That night, Abby's congested cough got worse and her coughing spasms began to induce vomiting. She barfed on our bed, on our floor, on us... our room smelled so gross. You got used to it after a while, but when walking into the room after having been out, the thick pukey air hits you square in the face. I hope no one is eating while reading this...
December 21, 2004 - Today is Jessica's 11th birthday. The group celebrated it with her at a group dinner party, but I had to stay in the hotel room with The Vominator for fear of a public performance. Sure enough, Old Faithful erupted soon after Jenna and the kids left for dinner.
Jessica wasn't very happy that I couldn't attend her party, and it shows in this picture. She eventually got over it though, and enjoyed her Chinese feast and birthday cake.
Happy birthday, Jessica!
December 22, 2004 -
On Wednesday, we went to a local photo shop to get visa photos taken. Unlike some of the other babies in the group, Abby was on her best behavior during the photo shoot.
Afterwards, we went to a local clinic for a medical exam. The exam was a bit of a joke, invoving nothing more than things most parents can do at home. As one father put it, "In Texas, we call that a shakedown." After getting back to the hotel, we celebrated the 1-year birthday of one of the girls, Josie. Happy birthday, Josie! (Cost: $65 Expenses to Date: $22351)
December 23-24, 2004 - Not much is going on these days. Andrew is getting sick too, so now we have 2 cranky babies to contend with. We are starting to get bored and tired of being cooped up in a hotel room. The Swan Room is a great outlet for the kids, but it is also booger central, and a breeding ground for viruses from all over China as adopting parents fly in from every province to see the US Consulate in Guangzhou for their baby visas. Everyone is longing to go home.
December 25, 2004 - On Christmas morning, the group has a gift exchange for both the babies as well as the parents.
Later that day, we take the kids to a nearby city park, where Abigail and Andrew have a blast going down the slides.
December 26, 2004 - One parent from each family fills out paperwork and pays for their baby's visa. (Cost: $335 Expenses to Date: $22686)
For the first time, I get to see a translated version of our daughter's abandonement letter. The translation reads:
This is to certify that Bai Li-Ting, female, born on November 1, 2003, was found abandoned at the left side of Xinhu Market of Shuidong Town, Dianbai County by Zhang Hui on November 2, 2003 and was sent to our welfare institution by the Guancoatian Police Station on November 2, 2003. Her biological parents and other relatives have not been found up to this day.
Never again, Abigail. As our Lord said to Joshua, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
December 27, 2004 - Maggie takes several families to the Baiyun Mountain Park. I use the term "mountain" loosely, as it stands a whopping 1200 feet high. The city views from the top were very pretty, but Abigail was more interested in mooching food:
The approach (note the bun tied to the woman's knapsack)
Whatcha got there?
Feed me!
At the top of the mountain is an aviary, complete with a bird show. Several different birds did cool tricks like riding a bicycle, flying through hoops, etc. The neatest trick by far was the bird that flew out into the crowd to collect money from people. The bird was pretty smart. One guy tried to use a 1 jiao bill (equivalent to about 1 US cent) and the bird wouldn't have anything to do with it.
Here's Jessica giving it a try. It looked like so much fun to Andrew, that he desperately tried to get the bird to come to him too. It came close, but Andrew kept waving his arm around and spooked it off. Sorry Andrew!
December 28, 2004 - Tuesday night, Maggie took us on a dinner cruise up and down the Pearl River.
We really enjoyed seeing the city lights at night as above, but most of the other passengers on board were interested in Andrew and Abigail.
December 29, 2004 - Another pretty boring day. All the families in the group are getting pretty tired of the hotel and are questioning why we had to stay as long as we did. It doesn't help when we bump into families that arrived after we did but are leaving before us. What's up with that?
December 30, 2004 - The US Consulate is just a 5 minute walk from the hotel, and the group makes the trek this morning to swear that all the visa paperwork we submitted is truthful and accurate. Afterwards, we receive our baby visas. The end is in sight and everyone is getting excited about coming home. We pack that afternoon and decide to buy another suitcase to carry the gifts and souveneirs we have purchased, along with a set of dresses we were asked to deliver to CCAI (we live 2 blocks away from the CCAI office). Jenna manages to buy a humongous roller suitcase for less than $10 US.
December 31, 2004 - We check out at 5:45 in preparation for 6:00am departure to the airport. A couple families are slow this morning, and we end up leaving the hotel 20 minutes late, but in time to check in at the airport and make our flight, which ends up being delayed 15 minutes, and Abby barfs all over Jenna and herself. The pressure is on, as we now only have 1 hour and 15 minutes in Beijing to collect our checked in luggage, go through security and customs, check in, and make our international connection. The airport officials kindly push us through diplomat-only lanes to get us through faster and we just make our flight. Once again, The Vominator strikes, but this time Jenna is prepared with an air sickness bag. In San Francisco, we go through immigrations where Abigail officially becomes a US citizen. Jenna snaps a picture of this momentous occasion, only to be told that photographs are not allowed. Fortunately, they don't make us erase the picture.
We have a more leisuirely 3 hour layover between flights, and everything runs smoothly. By 3:00pm, we're back in Denver with our new family member, and back home by 4:00 thanks to a friend in the neighborhood picking us up.
We are pleasantly surprised to see our house decorated by Jenna's sister for our return stateside. Our cats had a surprise waiting for us as well, though not anywhere near as pleasant. They apparently missed us terribly while we were away, and voiced their displeasure by turning our king sized bed into one humongous litter box. After flying almost non-stop for over 16 hours, nothing says "welcome home" quite like a bed full of doo doo. *sigh*
January 1, 2005 - Abigail is still barfing on us and Andrew has gotten much sicker. He now has an eye infection, an ear infection, and a fever of 102.1 F. We have much cleaning up to do around the house, including a ton of laundry thanks to our trip and the cats. On the up side, Andrew and Abigail are getting along much better nowadays. They share toys with each other, and Abby even feeds Andrew. She seems to get sweeter with each passing day.
January 2, 2005 - We are still trying to get our lives back in order. School starts up for the kids again tomorrow, as does work for me. Noone has gotten readjusted to Mountain time, and it seems like the babies are at their crankiest when Jenna and I are the most tired, leaving us both with very short fuses. Despite all the trials, I am thankful for my little bundle of barfing joy and I look forward to having another girl in my life to call me daddy. Thank you to all the friends and family who have been thinking about and praying for our adoption. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Our journey has just begun!
January 8, 2005 - Abby goes to church for the first time!
January 11, 2005 - We received our post-placement packet today. It contains info about how to obtain a SS card, list of symptoms of attachment disorder to look out for, and a list of paperwork from China needed by CCAI, including copies of the adoption registration certificate so they can send paperwork to the Adoption Alliance organization. There is also info about how to obtain a state birth certificate and other paperwork from Colorado state, and a list of pictures we need to turn in to China.
January 17, 2005 - Our adoption social worker dropped by today for the first post-placement visit. According to her, there's no worry of attachment disorder here!
February 3, 2005 - Our CCAI representative in China, Maggie, mailed us photos she received from the Abigail's orphanage of her abaondonment site and the crib she slept in.
February 7, 2005 - We receive Abigail's US citizenship certificate.
February 9, 2005 - Jenna applies for Abby's Social Security card.