Pre-Approval Received

We received a fabulous email today that our Pre-approval has been received! Okay, I guess I should let everyone know what that means. We sent our pre-approval request last month to China letting them know that we want to adopt SiEn. They have received that letter and have pre-approved us for the adoption. Now we have to send them our dossier so that they can officially match us with SiEn. We would have even better news if we could say that our dossier is ready to go, but unfortunately it is not.

The dossier consists of a letter of intent (a letter promising that we will provide for SiEn and not abuse or abandon him), certified copies of our birth certificates and marriage license, a financial statement, letters from our physician stating we are in good health, letters from our employers saying that we really do work and get paid, letters from our local police department stating we have no criminal record (I know that is pretty humorous), pictures of us and our home, our home study, and approval from our government to bring an orphan into the country. Piece of cake, right? We are now on first name basis with our doctor's nurse (Debbie) and have every shot we could imagine asking for (some more than once). Dr. Lilly got our forms filled out (one for each of us for the home study agency and then another for China) and I had them in my hand on Monday, but then I had to point out that we needed a letter too (for each of us) because we have had the pleasure of having surgeries in our lifetimes. So now we are waiting for the doctor to give us a letter that says that missing tonsils, one missing appendix, and a crooked finger will not hinder us from parenting. That is the last form that we have control of, once we get that completed we are only waiting on our home study to be completed before the next step.

Our home study consists of four visits with our case worker Marilyn. Marilyn is a sweet lady who we have completed 3 visits with at her office. Tuesday 11/20 is when our final home study visit is scheduled for. Marilyn will be coming to our home for that visit. She then will compile her report to send to our adoption agency to review and make any revision recommendations. Once our adoption agency gives the home study their blessing it gets finalized. When we recieve the finalized home study we can apply with the government to get pre-approval to bring an orphan into the country. That process can take anywhere from 5-8 weeks and includes a trip to Kansas City to get fingerprinted. Once we recieve that approval our dossier is complete and can go to China!!!! We are hoping to get this completed before the end of January, but we are depending on things to go smoothly and swiftly.

We have been watching the time frame that other adoptions are running with our agency. For the past year it seems that from the time the dossier goes to China (DTC in adoption lingo) until travel occurs is running approximately 4 months. So if we can get our DTC the end of January or beginning of February we could be traveling in May. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that we can make this happen.

We both appreciate all the support we have received from family and friends. It is amazing that everyone seems as excited as we are. We are currently working on names. The first name has been decided, but we are still negoiating a middle name. Carter King will be our newest addition's name.

Our adventure begins!

After over a year or more of saying we are going to do it, we decided the time is right. Right after we came to that conclusion we immediately said "Now where do we even begin." First came Google searching (as with everything), then came books and the research was well on the way. As we researched and realized this is what we want to do we came to a major crossroad, a Traditional Chinese Adoption or a Waiting Child Adoption. The traditional Chinese adoption process is when you pick your agency, do your paperwork, wait, wait, wait, receive a placement with limited information, then travel. The average age of a child at the time of travel in this program is 10-18 months; the average wait from time paperwork is submitted and placement is around 2 years. The majority of these children are girls. The Waiting Child program is children available for adoption with specical needs that the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) have made available. Many of these children have correctable or minor special needs. Some have more serious medical problems. One advantage of the Waiting Child program is these children's medical files and pictures are available before the adoption process begins. As with any way you add a child to the family there are no guarantees, but the thought of knowing more about the potential family member was an option we thought we should be open to. We started looking at the different agencies and their postings of their Waiting Children lists. Oh the adorable pictures we have seen and the stories that just break your heart. Anyway that is how we found our boy.

We first saw Si En on the Waiting Child list of Associated Services for International Adoption (ASIA). I have to admit that a girl is what I was sure I would want to bring home, but there was something about this little boy that seemed right. This little boy that seemed so right is currently known as Si En, he was born 6/4/2005. We were able to receive his file immediately after we expressed interest with ASIA and had the opportunity to review his medical informaiton. Si En was diagnosed with Congenital Imperforate Anus, post surgery. What does that mean to those of us not medically inclined? Si En had no anus at birth and had to have surgery when he was three days old. His surgery incision healed well appears normal now. His foster family describes his personality as mellow and loves people. He has a good appetite, is not picky and likes different kinds of food. Not sure if I can get used to that, the only non-picky eater amoung us.

Hunter is excited to have a little brother, but was concerned that if he had a brother who was less than 3 he would be asked by his brother to wipe brother's bottom. We had to assure him that he would have no bottom wiping to do and with that he was on board. He asked if his Mommy and Daddy would have to go to China to get his brother and if so can his grandparents be the ones to babysit him. I think he was ready to pack our bags and send us out the door that night, but we had to explain to him that we have a lot of paperwork and waiting to do. Hunter also wanted to know what his brother's name would be and gave us a list of letters he knows how to write. Apparently he thinks we should pick a name using only those letters, which limits our choices to something OAHXPT. Hmmm, I think we will be practicing more letters.

We will continue to make posts to keep everyone up to date on where we are at in the process. The big question with Todd and I is will be going to China before or after Alaska. At this point we honestly don't know, but will cross that bridge when we can.

Meet Si En!

At 20 months Si En weighed 24 pounds and was 32 inches tall. His favorite activities are to play and chase chickens and ducks. His favorite toys are ones that makes noise, cars, and toy guns.

At 16 months he hardly fell when he ran. Te could flip through a book, but not for long.

At 14-15 months he could walk, turn on the TV, and dance with the music.

Where is he now?

Si En was born in the city of Hangzhou and has been with a foster family there since he was 3 months old. Before that he was in an orphanage.


Shanghaiholiday.net -

The history of Hangzhou is inextricably linked with that of Zhejiang Province. It was established as a major commercial city in China from the establishment of the southern end of the Grand Canal there during the Sui Dynasty (581-618).

Recently a national-level nature reserve has been created near Hangzhou, at West Tianmu Mountain. Because of the diversity of plant species it has been called a "natural botanical garden". Here you can find the gingko tree, a living fossil that has survived in China since the time of the dinosaurs. Animal species found in the nature reserve include the cloud leopard and the black muntjac.

Fokelore is that Hangzhou is the home of the most beautiful women in China.

The Process

We are becoming buried in paperwork. It helps to stay motivated with Si En's picture while we fill out forms and write autobiographies (which will not be published). It is almost overwhelming as we keep getting sent more forms to fill out, we know it is all worthwhile though.

First we send a letter of intent to CCAA asking that we be officially matched with this child.

Receive pre-approval from CCAA.

Prepare a dossier which contains anything and everything about us; finanical statements, home study completed by a social worker, criminal history, and more.

Apply to US Citizenship and Immigration Service for approval to bring an orphan into the United States -- must travel to Kansas City for fingerprinting and a stay at the King bed and breakfast.

Have all dossier documents notarized, then authenticated by the Secretary of State of the state where the document originated, then sent to the Chinese Consulate for further authentication.

Send authenticated dossier documents to agency for translation and submission to the CCAA -- also known as DTC (dossier to China).

Receive log-in date (LID) -- date on which dossier was received by the CCAA.

Receive Letter of Acceptance (LOA) -- request from CCAA for final verification that all documents are accurate and that we still want to adopt this child.

Receive Travel Approval (TA) -- invitation from CCAA to travel to China and complete the adoption.Apply to US Consulate in Guangzhou, China for date of appointment to receive visa for adopted child. This will determine travel dates because the visa appointment is the last stop of the trip.

Apply to US Consulate in Guangzhou, China for date of appointment to receive visa for adopted child. This will determine travel dates because the visa appointment is the last stop of the trip.

Go to China!!!!