Finally a blog

Where do you start the story of the adoption?

It started out in 2000 with a visit in Richmond, VA. I picked up an application for foster care and foster-care adoption. It wasn't meant to be.

One of Doug's friends adopted two girls from Guatemala. I learned a little about the process then. A lot of money, a lot of paperwork, and a lot of insecurity.

One of our brothers adopted a baby from China through CCAI. I remember talking to a few family members about how nice it was to have a child through adoption.

Another one of our brothers started the adoption process.

A couple of years later in Michigan, I contacted foster care-adoption to see what options we might have. It would be 1-2 years. We again thought about it, but would be moving about the time that we would be ready to adopt.


Four months after we moved to Wisconsin, we found out that were pregnant with twins.... A year passed. We talked to Bethany about infant adoption. We talked to CCAI about international adoption. We read a lot on the internet, talked to friends. We contacted CCAI asking basic questions.

December 26, 2006...a door closed in our life and a new one opened. We started the adoption process. January 2007, we started the process in earnest as the rules were going to change soon...the rules of the game changed. Either we pursued adoption now. or another door would close...FOREVER.

Homestudy-the autobiography....Doug's infamous saying, "my wife thinks I skate through life". We learned about each other. We had to AGREE on how many things. Everybody had physicals. We had a homestudy visit in our partially renovated house.
We did the parent training. We submitted a Medical Care Checklist for a special needs adoption as well as NSN adoption.

We were fingerprinted on February 13. We received our I-171 at the end of February with our completed homestudy. We made various trips to prove that we were reasonable adults to have another child.

We told Doug's mother that we were adopting by putting an announcement in a Chinese food carryout box and putting red ribbon around it to tie it up. Well, our announcement was correct that we would adopted. Name, age, gender were WRONG.

We rushed down to Chicago in March to get our stuff Authenticated. A week later we picked it up. I can remember carrying the paperwork out of the Chinese consulate thinking-the paperwork is worth more than my car. And that all this paperwork stated that I might make a good parent.

Sitting at the purple stork, (fed ex counter) an expensive pound and a half of paperwork that might lead a child someday...

OUR DATES
dossier to China March 27, 2007
log in date April 13, 2007
referral September ---07
Hudson AKA Le Ping Ju from Jiangxi province currently living in Beijing at New Day Foster Home.
Letter of Intent September 25, 2007
First surgery September 28, 2007 in Beijing
Pre-approval October 8, 2007
Care package sent
Awaiting LOA, TA, CA, then travel....

Cheryl