Well folks, I'm here and for those of you that can remember the O.J. Simpson commercial...(was if for hertz?) I spent my entire day running from plane to plane. My day started at 0600, I arrived at Chris's house at 0700 and the airport at 0800, funny thing is I had four hours to kill before my flyt. They cancelled the flyt 30 minutes prior to departure, which was the beginning of my cancelled flyt day. I ran to the earlier flyt that was just getting ready to depart, and begged them, (by the way, I no longer have a first born, ha!)...to let me on. They did and on to Detroit. I sat to a cool guy, he was an archeologist. I don't think I've ever met one of those. His name was Seth and he said he started out in Forensic anthropology, but the samples were not dead enough for him, so he decided on bones. That's funny.
I sprinted to my next flyt, only to find out I left my coat on the earlier flyt...yippie! Good thing they cancelled this flyt because that gave me time to go back and get my coat. It appears they didn't cancel that next flyt because the plane was gone with my coat. Consistent with my day.
They were gracious enough on the flyt to Tokyo to tell us before we got there that our flyt to Bejing was cancelled, "thanks!". Finally, after bartering off my last born child, I made it on a flyt to Bejing. 2 of the other families were also on the flyt.
We landed and off to the Hotel. It was cool the streets were lit up for New Years eve and people were everywhere. One of the families had a little girl 4 years old they adopted last year from China, she was cute, they were adopting a 2 year old this time. This was their 12th child, 10 of which were brought together by marriage, 6 from him, 4 from her and 2 adopted. Another couple was here for their 2nd time, having been here 3 years ago. A very nice lady, her husband and their 8 year old son, one of 3 were here to adopt a 3 year old and finally an older couple whom were here last year with their daughter who was adopting their 3rd grandchild, decided they were so taken they would adopt...imagine that!
Well, my phone is working (regular number, just dial as normal), as well as email, so drop a line, it will be nice to hear from you. I'm headed for the forbidden city and some shopping. I'll talk later!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
I leave on Saturday!!!
I am in a daze. It's hard to believe that I finally leave for China Saturday morning. I have packed and re-packed. I have moved things around so many times, I'm not sure where everything is! It's all in there though! All the suitcases weigh in at or under 40 pounds, so I'm doing well. The packing list has been tripple checked to be sure we don't forget something important. My brother will be taking me to the airport. Hang in there, Sophie, I'm coming soon!
There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says:An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break. Well, the red thread that binds our hearts with Sophie is about to get a lot shorter!
I plan on updating this blogspot while in China, provided I can access the internet. The connections can be slow, so I may not be able to respond to emails until I get home. Thank you for all your encouragement, thoughts and prayers. They mean so much! Check back here for new posts from China, and we'll see some of you at the airport on January 14th!
There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says:An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break. Well, the red thread that binds our hearts with Sophie is about to get a lot shorter!
I plan on updating this blogspot while in China, provided I can access the internet. The connections can be slow, so I may not be able to respond to emails until I get home. Thank you for all your encouragement, thoughts and prayers. They mean so much! Check back here for new posts from China, and we'll see some of you at the airport on January 14th!
Our Adoption Story Part 5.....
Our Next Steps
The waiting isn’t over yet. Having sent the LOI (letter of intent) to adopt Xi Xiao Yang, we must wait for China to match our dossier with Xi Xiao’s paperwork and approve us to adopt her. China will then send us a PA (pre-approval) to adopt. They will then send our TA (travel approval) next. The time from LOI to TA is generally around 60-90 days, but there are exceptions to that rule.
Once the adoption agency gets the TA, they arrange consulate appointments with the US Consulate in Guangzhou (near Hong Kong), start booking flights to and from China and planning the itinerary. The time from receiving TA to travel to China is usually about 2-3 weeks.
First, we will fly to Beijing (bay-jeeng) and spend a couple days there, sightseeing and getting used to the time difference. Next, we fly to Gansu province where we will be united with Xi Xiao and spend a week there getting used to being a family. Third we fly to Guangzhou (gwahn-joe) for a few days of paperwork, consulate appointments and such. Finally, somewhere around 10-15 days after we first land in Beijing, we will travel to Hong Kong and from there fly back home. I hope to travel with some other families, but because we are a SN family, we may find ourselves traveling all by our lonesomes. Don’t worry – I won’t be entirely on my own. The adoption agency has staff and works with travel guides in China and they will be with us every step of the way.
And so we wait. Check the site every once in a while for new posts. Hopefully one of the next entries will be news of our much-anticipated trip to China! Stay tuned!
Isaiah 43:5“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.”
The waiting isn’t over yet. Having sent the LOI (letter of intent) to adopt Xi Xiao Yang, we must wait for China to match our dossier with Xi Xiao’s paperwork and approve us to adopt her. China will then send us a PA (pre-approval) to adopt. They will then send our TA (travel approval) next. The time from LOI to TA is generally around 60-90 days, but there are exceptions to that rule.
Once the adoption agency gets the TA, they arrange consulate appointments with the US Consulate in Guangzhou (near Hong Kong), start booking flights to and from China and planning the itinerary. The time from receiving TA to travel to China is usually about 2-3 weeks.
First, we will fly to Beijing (bay-jeeng) and spend a couple days there, sightseeing and getting used to the time difference. Next, we fly to Gansu province where we will be united with Xi Xiao and spend a week there getting used to being a family. Third we fly to Guangzhou (gwahn-joe) for a few days of paperwork, consulate appointments and such. Finally, somewhere around 10-15 days after we first land in Beijing, we will travel to Hong Kong and from there fly back home. I hope to travel with some other families, but because we are a SN family, we may find ourselves traveling all by our lonesomes. Don’t worry – I won’t be entirely on my own. The adoption agency has staff and works with travel guides in China and they will be with us every step of the way.
And so we wait. Check the site every once in a while for new posts. Hopefully one of the next entries will be news of our much-anticipated trip to China! Stay tuned!
Isaiah 43:5“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.”
Our Adoption Story Part IIII-
Change of Heart
Any of you who had spoken to me early on, may have known I was undecided about where to adopt from, child age...etc. What happened to determine our direction? I had been talking with others and praying about being open to adopt a child with mild to moderate, correctable special needs. I looked at the lists of waiting children each month but no one stood out - until Xi Xiao. As soon as saw her, my heart melted and we knew we wanted this little girl to be in our family. She is none of the things we originally asked for, but she is everything we want.
When we found Xi Xiao on our adoption agency’s waiting children list, no one else had asked about her in 3 months. It was as if God had kept her just for us. The adoption agency sent us more paperwork to do in order to assess our preparedness and ability to care for a child with special needs. All our SN (special needs) paperwork was completed in April 2006 and our LOI (letter of intent) to adopt Xi Xiao was on its way to China the next day! Lord willing, she will officially be in our family in a few months.
About our little one:
Chinese Name: Xi Xiao Yang (Shee shee-ow Yung)
Meaning of her Chinese Name: Small Young Dragon
New Full Name: Sophie Grace Xiao Young
Born: 7 July 2004, 1.5 yrs. at referral
Height and Weight: 82 cm. (32”) tall & 11.5 kg. (20 lbs.) at 2 years old.
Personality: She is happy and energetic and loves music and toys.
Province: Gansu Province
1 Samuel 1:27“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him.”
Our adoption adventure continues in, “Our Next Steps”.
Any of you who had spoken to me early on, may have known I was undecided about where to adopt from, child age...etc. What happened to determine our direction? I had been talking with others and praying about being open to adopt a child with mild to moderate, correctable special needs. I looked at the lists of waiting children each month but no one stood out - until Xi Xiao. As soon as saw her, my heart melted and we knew we wanted this little girl to be in our family. She is none of the things we originally asked for, but she is everything we want.
When we found Xi Xiao on our adoption agency’s waiting children list, no one else had asked about her in 3 months. It was as if God had kept her just for us. The adoption agency sent us more paperwork to do in order to assess our preparedness and ability to care for a child with special needs. All our SN (special needs) paperwork was completed in April 2006 and our LOI (letter of intent) to adopt Xi Xiao was on its way to China the next day! Lord willing, she will officially be in our family in a few months.
About our little one:
Chinese Name: Xi Xiao Yang (Shee shee-ow Yung)
Meaning of her Chinese Name: Small Young Dragon
New Full Name: Sophie Grace Xiao Young
Born: 7 July 2004, 1.5 yrs. at referral
Height and Weight: 82 cm. (32”) tall & 11.5 kg. (20 lbs.) at 2 years old.
Personality: She is happy and energetic and loves music and toys.
Province: Gansu Province
1 Samuel 1:27“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him.”
Our adoption adventure continues in, “Our Next Steps”.
Our Adoption Story Part III-
A Child Waits
When China sends your adoption agency information on the child they have matched you with, this is a referral. A couple of months after accepting the referral, you will be on your way to China to get your child. Some families choose to go a slightly different route by selecting a waiting child. Waiting children are either older or have varying degrees of special needs (SN). Most families prefer healthy infants, so these special children wait. Because these children have already waited so long and because some of them need medical attention not readily available in China, families who choose them usually get to bring them home sooner than those who go the “traditional” route. After much prayer and discussion, we decided to choose a waiting child.
I found, Xi Xiao Yang (shee shee-ow Yung) on the adoption agency’s waiting children list. Xi Xiao was born July 7, 2004. She was diagnosed with bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate III degree. Her lip had been corrected. We will know more once we bring her home and our pediatrician examines her. From the limited medical information we have, her overall health is good and the doctor is optimistic about her recovery, but it will probably never be "normal". It's the first time in my life that I was ever thankful for my small sized lips.
Jeremiah 29:11“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
For more about our adoption adventure, look for our next post, “Change of Heart”.
When China sends your adoption agency information on the child they have matched you with, this is a referral. A couple of months after accepting the referral, you will be on your way to China to get your child. Some families choose to go a slightly different route by selecting a waiting child. Waiting children are either older or have varying degrees of special needs (SN). Most families prefer healthy infants, so these special children wait. Because these children have already waited so long and because some of them need medical attention not readily available in China, families who choose them usually get to bring them home sooner than those who go the “traditional” route. After much prayer and discussion, we decided to choose a waiting child.
I found, Xi Xiao Yang (shee shee-ow Yung) on the adoption agency’s waiting children list. Xi Xiao was born July 7, 2004. She was diagnosed with bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate III degree. Her lip had been corrected. We will know more once we bring her home and our pediatrician examines her. From the limited medical information we have, her overall health is good and the doctor is optimistic about her recovery, but it will probably never be "normal". It's the first time in my life that I was ever thankful for my small sized lips.
Jeremiah 29:11“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
For more about our adoption adventure, look for our next post, “Change of Heart”.
Our Adoption Story Part II-
The Paper Chase....
There is a lot of paperwork that comes with the decision to adopt. It is affectionately known as the paperchase in adoption circles. The following will give you a general idea of our adoption paperchase.
I registered for an adoption information seminar in the Winter of 2006, but that meeting got snowed out. The agency did not contact us at any point to tell us it was canceled and this cooled our enthusiasm to use their adoption services. I was beyond disappointed. A few weeks later, I was introduced to a woman from a local adoption agency in Cincinnati. We hit it off right away and she graciously answered my endless questions about adoption. A couple months later, in Feb 2006, I attended their adoption information seminar – the first step on our adoption journey.
The next big step came April 2006 when we had our first home visit and our home study paperwork began. Prospective adoptive families must have a social worker visit their home a number of times and write a report called a home study before the family can be approved to adopt. It sounds ominous, but it really wasn’t that bad. We had to have a total of 4 face-to-face visits for our home study. In addition to the home study process, we began gathering a multitude of documents required by our adoption agency, the US government and China. This was an adventure in and of itself, as we needed documents from all over the country. These documents then must be certified by the state of origin and then authenticated by the Chinese consulate or embassy. This process takes the average adopting family about 6 months or more to complete. We went a little faster than that. From the day we had our first home visit to the day our documents went to China was 4 months. We were DTC (dossier to China) on October 14, 2006. What can I say? My forth child was waiting for me and I didn’t want to dawdle over paperwork. Once our documents reached China, they were logged in their system. Our LID (log-in date) was September 1 2006.
Now we were officially enrolled in the University of Patience, Master’s Degree Program. The children and I began to study and research China and China adoption in earnest as we began our long, silent wait. Once your dossier gets to China, there is nothing for you to do to help the process along, and no updates from them as to where your paperwork is in the process. There are three main components of the process in China. The first is Translation – the dozens of documents in each dossier must be translated into Chinese. This takes a couple of months, as you might imagine. Second, documents go to Review. This is where China goes over every piece of paper in your dossier to make sure everything they want to see is there and is it correct. This is the longest part of the process. Finally, the third part of the process is called Matching – where China matches a child in their system to a family approved to adopt.
Psalm 139:9, 10“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Our adoption adventure continues in our next post, “A Child Waits”.
There is a lot of paperwork that comes with the decision to adopt. It is affectionately known as the paperchase in adoption circles. The following will give you a general idea of our adoption paperchase.
I registered for an adoption information seminar in the Winter of 2006, but that meeting got snowed out. The agency did not contact us at any point to tell us it was canceled and this cooled our enthusiasm to use their adoption services. I was beyond disappointed. A few weeks later, I was introduced to a woman from a local adoption agency in Cincinnati. We hit it off right away and she graciously answered my endless questions about adoption. A couple months later, in Feb 2006, I attended their adoption information seminar – the first step on our adoption journey.
The next big step came April 2006 when we had our first home visit and our home study paperwork began. Prospective adoptive families must have a social worker visit their home a number of times and write a report called a home study before the family can be approved to adopt. It sounds ominous, but it really wasn’t that bad. We had to have a total of 4 face-to-face visits for our home study. In addition to the home study process, we began gathering a multitude of documents required by our adoption agency, the US government and China. This was an adventure in and of itself, as we needed documents from all over the country. These documents then must be certified by the state of origin and then authenticated by the Chinese consulate or embassy. This process takes the average adopting family about 6 months or more to complete. We went a little faster than that. From the day we had our first home visit to the day our documents went to China was 4 months. We were DTC (dossier to China) on October 14, 2006. What can I say? My forth child was waiting for me and I didn’t want to dawdle over paperwork. Once our documents reached China, they were logged in their system. Our LID (log-in date) was September 1 2006.
Now we were officially enrolled in the University of Patience, Master’s Degree Program. The children and I began to study and research China and China adoption in earnest as we began our long, silent wait. Once your dossier gets to China, there is nothing for you to do to help the process along, and no updates from them as to where your paperwork is in the process. There are three main components of the process in China. The first is Translation – the dozens of documents in each dossier must be translated into Chinese. This takes a couple of months, as you might imagine. Second, documents go to Review. This is where China goes over every piece of paper in your dossier to make sure everything they want to see is there and is it correct. This is the longest part of the process. Finally, the third part of the process is called Matching – where China matches a child in their system to a family approved to adopt.
Psalm 139:9, 10“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Our adoption adventure continues in our next post, “A Child Waits”.
Adoption Story Part I -
This website has been a long time coming. We want all our family and friends to be able to follow us on our journey to adopt Sophie from China. If you haven’t been around from the beginning, or need a refresher, here is our adoption story. We’ll give it to you in parts over several days – it would be too much to post all at once.
In the beginning…
Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a little girl named Shelli who wanted nothing more than to be a mama someday. As she grew up she cultivated relationships with families of many children and learned as much as she could about being a good mama.
In 1995 Shelli brought her first child Shawn into the world, in 1998 Samuel, then finally in 2000 Sarah. God have definitely blessed her.
Several years later, Shelli met a very good friend and together they talked about adoption and how wonderful it would be to realize such a dream for both family and child. Later Shelli had the privilege of participating in a mission trip with her church. On this trip, they visited an orphanage, and they left wishing they could have brought some of those precious children home as their own. This made the decision to adopt that much more gratifying!
Time passed and talk continued about adoption, but the timing and finances were not right. Although it was still felt adoption was a path Shelli wanted to take to add another child to her family, and believed that child was somewhere overseas. Shelli's heart yearned to welcome an orphaned child into her families lives, and finally her desire and God’s timing and provision intersected. In the spring of 2006 she began to actively pursue an adoption in China.
Psalm 126:3“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”
For more on our adoption adventure, see our next post, “The Paperchase”.
In the beginning…
Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a little girl named Shelli who wanted nothing more than to be a mama someday. As she grew up she cultivated relationships with families of many children and learned as much as she could about being a good mama.
In 1995 Shelli brought her first child Shawn into the world, in 1998 Samuel, then finally in 2000 Sarah. God have definitely blessed her.
Several years later, Shelli met a very good friend and together they talked about adoption and how wonderful it would be to realize such a dream for both family and child. Later Shelli had the privilege of participating in a mission trip with her church. On this trip, they visited an orphanage, and they left wishing they could have brought some of those precious children home as their own. This made the decision to adopt that much more gratifying!
Time passed and talk continued about adoption, but the timing and finances were not right. Although it was still felt adoption was a path Shelli wanted to take to add another child to her family, and believed that child was somewhere overseas. Shelli's heart yearned to welcome an orphaned child into her families lives, and finally her desire and God’s timing and provision intersected. In the spring of 2006 she began to actively pursue an adoption in China.
Psalm 126:3“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”
For more on our adoption adventure, see our next post, “The Paperchase”.
hello all! Something wonderful is about to happen in our home! It is with much excitement that I write this letter, because I have just been accepted to adopt a little girl from China. This is the kind of adventure that I never imagined going on before now. Her name is Sophie and she is one and one half years old. I’ve enclosed a picture of this little cutie. Sophie is a special child - she has a cleft lip and palate which affects his ability to eat and drink. She’s a fighter, though, and is making excellent progress, but she needs to have surgery to correct these problems as soon as possible.
The one part of adopting that is most difficult, other than the waiting, is the expense of it all. Sophie’s adoption will cost approximately $18,500 when completed. This cost includes document preparation and translation, hiring of attorneys and other professionals in the U.S. and China, travel, hotels, passports and more. I am working diligently to save and I am excited to see how God will provide the remainder for us.
I feel truly blessed to be given such a worthwhile opportunity and I hope that you will share my enthusiasm and consider our situation in your giving so that Sophie can have a home for Christmas. There are two ways to do so:
Tax Deductible-
1) By check – made out to the non-profit organization “Kingdom Kids” NOTE** Please do not write our name on the check, due to IRS regulations and send to me in the enclosed envelope. Please include your full address with the check. This donation IS tax deductible and you will receive a document showing your donation. Kingdom Kids staff is available to you Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time.) Please contact them at (509) 465-3520 or email them at Ministry@KingdomKidsAdoption.org. Their website is http://www.kingdomkidsadoption.org/
NON-Tax Deductible-
1) Online with Credit Card through Paypal at http://www.paypal.com/. Account CentsforSophie@hotmail.com
2) By sending cash or check made out to Shelli Young in the enclosed addressed envelope. Please be sure to include your return address information.
3) At any area 5/3rd Bank on Behalf of Sophia Grace Young.
Thank you so muc
The one part of adopting that is most difficult, other than the waiting, is the expense of it all. Sophie’s adoption will cost approximately $18,500 when completed. This cost includes document preparation and translation, hiring of attorneys and other professionals in the U.S. and China, travel, hotels, passports and more. I am working diligently to save and I am excited to see how God will provide the remainder for us.
I feel truly blessed to be given such a worthwhile opportunity and I hope that you will share my enthusiasm and consider our situation in your giving so that Sophie can have a home for Christmas. There are two ways to do so:
Tax Deductible-
1) By check – made out to the non-profit organization “Kingdom Kids” NOTE** Please do not write our name on the check, due to IRS regulations and send to me in the enclosed envelope. Please include your full address with the check. This donation IS tax deductible and you will receive a document showing your donation. Kingdom Kids staff is available to you Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time.) Please contact them at (509) 465-3520 or email them at Ministry@KingdomKidsAdoption.org. Their website is http://www.kingdomkidsadoption.org/
NON-Tax Deductible-
1) Online with Credit Card through Paypal at http://www.paypal.com/. Account CentsforSophie@hotmail.com
2) By sending cash or check made out to Shelli Young in the enclosed addressed envelope. Please be sure to include your return address information.
3) At any area 5/3rd Bank on Behalf of Sophia Grace Young.
Thank you so muc
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