Kisses In the Wind

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.
Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
--- Unknown

Homestudy Complete!

The social worker left a message today, saying that she finished the homestudy, and she mailed it to the agency.  She said I should get my copy midweek next week.  I'm not sure why it'll take that long, since she lives 10 miles away.  She had finished it last week, but the agency had to review it for corrections, so I suppose this is the corrected and notarized version. I'm hoping the agency receives it tomorrow, and turns around and overnights it tomorrow, with the I-800a application that I sent them last week. We need to get this ball rolling faster! However, there may be something else they must do once they get it.  Please pray that these next few steps move quickly!

Here's a picture of Brett with the others from Mississippi College at Stonehenge.

Homestudy and I-800a

Yesterday, I mailed our I-800a application, the enormous fee, and copies of birth certificates and our marriage certificate to our agency. They'll review it, along with the homestudy, and overnight it all to USCIS.
The homestudy is complete.  They are just reviewing it to make sure everything is covered and correct. I'm anxious!  I'm trying to be patient, but I can't speed up everyone else, so I just have to wait.  Hopefully, the homestudy will be reviewed and notarized, and it'll get mailed very soon. Then, we wait on fingerprinting appointments and approval.  That could be 4-6 weeks.

On another note, Brett is having a great time in London!  We've seen lots of pictures. We've talked to him on the phone once and on skype. His classes look like they're really fun!  They follow the professors around on the streets of London and look at everything while they tell them all about it all. I'm sure they're not all like that, but what an experience!

Finding Ad

    In Ch*na, a finding ad is placed in the newspaper when an abandoned child is found before they can be adopted. It's my understanding that the ad runs in the newspaper for a month to see if anyone comes forward who has information about the child and the parents. The photo is usually the first one taken after the child is found, and the ad says where the child was found. Research-Ch*na.org has a list of provinces and municipalities for which they have newspapers with finding ads, and adoptive parents can order the ad for their child on that website. They will let you know if they have it by email before you send any money. We just received our daughter's ad. It's the earliest picture we've seen of her and the translation of the article says that she was found in a train car. From what other adoptive parents tell me, this picture and newspaper will be very important to her when she's older. I'm so happy that I was able to get it.
     Brett is now in London and having a great time!  I miss him, but I'm so excited for him to have this opportunity to study abroad!

Surgery Update!

We got a surgery update today! They said the surgery went well, and they will send us a picture next week to show us. They sent me the surgery report, but it is in Ch*nese. They also said that she weighs 22 pounds still, which concerns me.  She is 84.5 cm tall and her foot is 13 cm.  That is extremely tiny for a child who will be 4 in February.

Snow Days

Having moved here from South Mississippi, we are not accustomed to snow.  My boys had a great time playing in it.

Moving Right Along!

     Today, I got the vet letter saying that Katey's little dog won't pose a threat to a child.  After that, Katey and I went to the doctor because she is required to have a physical, too.  I hate putting her through that, but because she's here on weekends and her driver's license has our address, we have to get all the clearances and paperwork done for her, too. It was too late to change her address to her apartment address.
Anyway, for some reason, two of my children do not have good veins for drawing blood.  It's always an ordeal!  They stuck her hand 3 times today and did not succeed in getting a drop. We are going back tomorrow.  Brett is also getting checked out by the doctor, since he is leaving for London in a week. They told her to drink lots of water, and they're going to try running her hand under warm water.  They absolutely cannot find good ones in her arms.  Hopefully, they will succeed tomorrow without digging and sticking more than once.
     We have everything together for the homestudy to be completed now, except the reference letters and the Mississippi clearances and the physical form for Katey. Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Iowa, and Kentucky have all sent their clearances.  Once we get this physical done for Katey and those things arrive, hopefully, we'll be able to file for USCIS approval! When that arrives, we can send our dossier to China!  I'm anxious to get everything done!! I need to build a timeline of everything so that others can reference it.  I'll work on that in a day or two.
    Brett has several friends from college coming to visit for a few days. I'll be praying for their safety driving up here with this weather.

New Year and Lack of Surgery Update

I wish for everyone a very, blessed New Year and new decade!
I was thinking about the last decade last night and how fast it passed on by. Katey was a teenager when 2000 came in and now she is 24 and working on her Phd in Math. Brett and Cade have grown into teenagers and young men during the decade. Brett is 19 and majoring in Premed/Biology and about to head off to London for a semester. Cade is 15 and in high school at our new town. Although sometimes I miss them being little, I love who all three of them have become, and I look forward to seeing what the new decade will hold for each of them. I think they will be awesome role models for their little sister, Raeanna.  She will be a very loved little girl!
I haven't updated this week because we haven' heard anything else from Ch*na.
We got the email, saying they had received the package and that our daughter was " in the hospital awaiting operation."  I emailed them back and thanked them and told them that we are anxiously awaiting an update, but NOTHING!  We haven't heard anything at all from them! I thought that since they were so nice to let us know she was getting the operation and that they had gotten the package, surely they would let us know how she is after the operation!  It's possible they will only send that information with the official update to the agency.
In the meantime,  I'm busily trying to complete my paperwork and gather the rest. Hopefully, we'll get all the forms back and the reference letters this week, so our homestudy can be finished and we can apply for our I-800A!