I-800 Approval

One more step done!!  We received our I-800 approval.  This is an approval from US Immigration that is the first step in getting Ava's US entry Visa.  Now we are waiting on the National Visa Center to do the final approval.  At the same time, Holt is forwarding our Hague Documents to the US Consulate in China.  Once the National Visa Center approves Ava for a Visa, they will also forward on the necessary documents to the US Consulate to China.  We are being told that the average travel time is 10 weeks from now.  That estimate is still on track for our January 25 or February 15th travel date...We are getting close!!!

In the meantime Matt, mom, and I are working on our entry Visas into China.  We are working with Lotus Travel (recommended by Holt) to get our Visas done.  This process has been somewhat complicated with lots of steps, but I was able to talk directly with someone last night from Lotus Travel and think we are back on track.  We should be able to have our Visa applications in the mail in the next week.  Luckily, it should only take 2 weeks to get our Visa approvals so we should have our Visas in plenty of time.

We are getting so excited!!!  Our darling Ava, we are coming.  Can't wait to meet you and hold you.

    

~LOA~

We received our Letter Of Acceptance (LOA) on 10/31!!!  I couldn't believe it when I got the call.  I had just been in a meeting at work and people were asking if we knew anything new.  I said something like unfortunately no, we were hoping to have our LOA by the end of October.  So now that we haven't received it we probably won't be traveling until March.  Well, guess what my friends...Holt says we will either travel on January 25th or February 15th (assuming all goes smoothly)!!!!!  I cannot even explain how happy we are~we're far beyond excited and can't believe how close we're getting.  We are coming baby girl!!

Since our LOA, we have done another round of paperwork.  We immediately signed our LOA and got it back in the mail to Holt.  The other paperwork we have been doing is for the I800, this is to start finalizing Ava's adoption.  We are really working fast through this paperwork 1. because we can't wait to meet Ava!! 2. we are hoping to get past the US paperwork before the holidays which could slow down the process.  The I800 went in the mail today.  I refuse to be the holdup in getting to our baby girl faster :)  

Preparations

This week will mark 2 months since we first saw Ava's picture!  In many ways the time has gone by fast but in many others the time cannot pass fast enough.  We have been busy preparing to meet our little lady.  Last week we finally decided and ordered her room decor.  Our final choice is perfect, but it makes me laugh when I think about it.  I have always said, "I don't need monkeys and animals all over the walls" and guess what we picked...yep animals  :)  But I love it!!  I love that the animals are just on the comforter and the trim is funky animal prints with bright pinks and greens.  Now we have to decide what color to paint.  I think that will be the goal of this coming week.

We have also started organizing, cleaning out closets, and we have even visited out first daycare option.  Both of us have been super concerned about finding a place that we feel comfortable with that doesn't cost a fortune.  Our first tour/visit went fantastic!  In all honesty it is going to take a lot for any other choice to knock it out of first place.  It is a daycare center and they do some school curriculum, field trips, outside play area, and they teach the kids spanish.  They seem to be very flexible as well, which has been a huge concern of mine.  We are feeling so much more confident that we will be able to make a good decision regarding daycare.

We received updated information and pictures of Ava this last week.  She is beautiful and getting so big!!  Obviously she is eating really well...good job Ava!!  Ava is standing and taking steps.  We definitely need to "baby proof" our house before she gets home because she is going to be mobile right away.  This mom and dad are going to need to be fast movers from the very beginning.  Good thing we're in good shape!!  :)

Matt and I find ourselves talking about her all the time.  Wondering what she's doing right now, talking about the future, and our nearing trip to China.  It's definitely true that this beautiful little girl has already changed our lives.  

An Ava Sized Hole

We are almost at the month mark since we first saw Ava's picture.  In many ways the last month has sped by but on the other hand I wish anything that we could speed up time to get to our baby girl.  I CANNOT wait to get my hands on our sweet baby girl!!

We are still so excited and happy and anxious but all with a sense of "something's missing"...Ava.  The only way I can explain it is I miss her.  Matt's mom said it best, our hearts were instantly filled when we saw her picture and got to know her by reading her information and now that we have to wait to get to see her we are left with an Ava sized whole in our hearts.  The great part is though, we now know who is waiting for us at the end of this journey.  And we know who will be able to fill that whole...only Ava.

In the meantime, we are busy getting ready for our little girl to come home.  We have been cleaning out her room and organizing all the gifts we've received so far.  And believe me, I have been shopping ;)  

Blessed & Humbled

Wow!!  I can't even put into words how touched we are with all the outpouring of love and support from our family and friends since learning about Ava.  And honestly through this entire process of adoption.  

My first shopping trip for Ava...the night we first saw her picture.

My first day back to work after being matched with Ava, I was so overwhelmed by the generosity of my coworkers and friends.  I came into work with gifts already waiting for me on my desk, Panera bagels for breakfast, and lots of hugs and excitement.  It seemed like every time I came back to my desk there was  something new waiting for me or Ava.  In the afternoon, we also had a giant Eileen's cookie with the saying "it's a girl" written on it.  I felt like the luckiest mama ever!!!  I have to be honest, I haven't gotten a lot of actual work done this last week~I've just been simply too busy telling everyone about Ava and showing off her picture.  And when I am at my desk I find myself just staring at her picture I have at my desk and wondering what she might be doing in that moment.  :)

All our gifts from my co-workers.

This weekend was our first KState football game of the year and that means lots of family time in Manhattan.  Matt's side of the family was in Vegas this weekend so luckily we get to see some of them next weekend.  We were able to spend all day Saturday with my parents and brother.  Ava received some goodies and lots of Wildcat Purple this weekend from her Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle.  We HAVE TO make sure she's dressed appropriately when she comes home!! ;)  The boys even smoked their celebratory cigars!

Opening gifts from my family.  Below was our loot from the day :)

The guys with their celebration cigars!

Ava has no idea how much love she has waiting for her when she gets home.  Matt and I are overwhelmed by how much we love her already.  She has grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, extended family, and lots of friends who are anxiously awaiting her arrival.

More gifts keep coming all the time.  We are so blessed. 

The part of this whole experience that has me the most overwhelmed and humbled is how many lives our sweet Ava has touched already...and we haven't even met her yet.  So many people who haven't had any personal contact with adoption have learned about adoption by listening to our story and now her story.  People have heard her story and are amazed by the strength of our little girl.  I've talked with some of my friends who didn't even know where Shanghai is until hearing about Ava.  Hoping that conversation opened some eyes to the fact that there is a big world out there beyond our borders.  I have a feeling that our sweet Ava has much more to teach us in the coming years.

I can't believe we have known about our daughter for over a week now.  Matt and I want to sincerely say "Thank You" to everyone of you for your hugs, phone calls, gifts, prayers, and support.  We are truly blessed by your love.          

   

Match Day Has Finally Come

Matt and I have been flying on a cloud since Tuesday around 2pm.  It was at that time that we received the call...there is a baby girl in China waiting for us!!!

I happened to have the day off work, so I was home.  Bonnie, our social worker, called and told me that we had been matched with a baby girl...that's right, a GIRL!!!  I couldn't believe it since we had been thinking since we started the process with China that we were getting a boy.  Bonnie told me a little bit about the baby girl and asked if we wanted her to email us on her file.  "Heck Yes!!"  At that time I called Matt and told him to get home immediately.  He was at work that day and I swear that was the longest 25 minutes waiting for him to get home.

Once Matt was home we opened the file and started reading about our little girl, Jiang Jiao Tian.  We received her information both in Chinese and the English translation as well as several pictures.  Her estimated birthday is July 2, 2011.  We learned that she had been abandoned at approximately 3 weeks old.  She was found within half a day and taken straight to the hospital due to frequent vomiting.  Once at the hospital she was diagnosed with an intestinal atresia.  She was then transferred to another hospital where she underwent surgical repair of her atresia.  Since that time she has not had another further problems with vomiting or trouble going to the bathroom.  She has been at an orphanage in Shanghai, China since August 2011.

She is currently almost 14 months old and she is beautiful!!  She has big dark eyes and pouty little pink lips.  She is still very small, but growing every month.  Her diet consists of milk, milk cakes and porridge, fruit, and something called fish mud.

The orphanage looks very clean and Matt and I learned that it is a staple orphanage in China-one that helps set standards for all other orphanages in China.  She gets a bath every morning.  And from there it looks like she spends a good deal of her time playing, sleeping, and eating.  At the end of her report from the orphanage it states, "she is a lovely girl, we all like her."

We were really impressed with the amount of information we received on our girl.  We have discharge summaries from both hospitals, growth and development measurements and information, as well as a report from the orphanage.  The only other notable medical issue is that she does still have an open foramen ovale (hole in her heart).  We have a recent echocardiogram report and the hole is quite small and states that the hole is closing.

After we looked at her pictures and reviewed her information for about 2 hours, we went ahead and sent in out letter of intent.  We knew right away that this was our girl.  We loved her from the moment we heard about her.  Since that time we also had a physician review her medical information.

We have decided to name our baby girl Ava.  At this time we are not sure about a middle name, we want her to have a Chinese middle name.  Matt and I have talked about her middle name being Tian which means "heaven", but we found out from Holt that she most likely doesn't go by any of her given names and probably has a nickname.  So we will wait to decide on a middle name.

To our sweet Ava, we have never experienced a love like this.  We can't believe how much we love you already from a picture.  We are so thankful that God has kept you safe and provided the medical attention you needed.  We are thankful that your mom left you in a place where you would be found quickly so that you could receive the care you needed.  We are so thankful that you live in an orphanage with caretakers who also love you and are taking good care of you until we can be with you.  We CANNOT wait to hold you in our arms and love you all the days of your life.  We will continue to pray that God will protect you and keep you until that day; it is coming baby girl.  We are on our way.
Love, mom and dad  

    

Glacier National Park~Vacay Summer 2012

Matt and I were blessed with being able to take 2 weeks of vacation this year.  It is a very special year because we were celebrating 10 years of marriage!!  I still can't believe how quickly time has passed and just how different our life is 10 years after marriage than I had planned.  What a journey it has been with many highs and lows, but it is so exciting to be able to say that Matt and I are happier, more content, and more excited for the future with each passing day.  I am so thankful for a guy who stands besideme, who has helped carry me through some difficult days, and challenges me to see the world differently on a daily basis.  We are definitely not the same people we were the day we married and I am very grateful that we have grown together.  We definitely don't see eye to eye on everything, but I think that is how we continue to grow as a couple~challenging each other's perspectives and respecting each other's opinions. 

When we first start talking about where we wanted to celebrate our 10th anniversary we talked about another trip to Alaska and Peru, but in the end we decided we were so hopeful that a trip to China was coming soon that we wanted to save our money for that trip; so Glacier National Park seemed to fit the bill.  We'd been told by people who have been there that it was as close to Alaska as you'd get in the lower 48.  Let me tell you, we were not the least bit disappointed with Glacier.  I recommend it to anyone I meet: gorgeous scenary, lots of wildlife, and miles of hiking. 

Our first stop was Grand Teton NP.  We spent a couple of days there to break up the long drive to Glacier.  We had been to Teton several summers ago, but we only spent a couple of days there after Yellowstone and felt that it wasn't near enough time.  We love the Tetons.

7,000 feet straight up from the valley.  They are very impressive looking mountains.  I can't help but see a very creative God when I see these.

Hanging out at Teton Marina.  We spent all of our evenings here.

We spent my 31st birthday swimming through Firehole Canyon in Yellowstone NP.

We picked up Bobby about 10 days into our trip.  He spent 3 days in the park with us and then helped us drive back.  We made the most of those 3 days in Glacier: 2 12 mile+ days and kayaking.

Our first glimpse of the Many Glacier area: our favorite spot and home for 6 days.

On one of the many trails.  Matt and I counted that we hiked approximately 80 miles on this trip.  It's a lot, but it's awesome to think that we are getting to see places that very few others see.

A mama black bear and 3 cubs!!  We have never seen so many bears and never 3 cubs!!!  Bear watching was definitely a highlight.  We never did see bears on the trail only safely from the road.

A hungry black bear eating berries. :)

We went to Canada for a day.  This is us at Waterton Lake.

Big bull moose at Cracker Lake.  The only people at this lake were us and one other couple.

Hike to hidden lake.  This was as far as we could get on the trail.  The park service had closed it passed this point because of lots of bear activity on the lake due to trout spawning.

Ptarmigin Tunnel trail.  From the lake we hiked up the trail you can faintly see in the background: 3 switchbacks that lead to the tunnel through the mountain to the interior.

Funny story: on this day we were the only people in this hanging valley.  We had seen some signs of bears but hadn't seen an actually bear. Most of the trail was in the open, but there were parts taking us through thick brush taller than us.  At one point, we started to go through the brush calling for bears to let them know we were coming-the last thing you want to do is surprise a bear.  Just as Matt pushed through the front bush we heard a growl.  All 3 of us in unison starting walking backwards thinking there was a bear on the other side when all the sudden we realized what we were hearing was a helicopter who had just come over the ridge you seen in the picture!!  Talk about bad timing.  It certainly got our hearts racing though. 

Dressed for our 10 anniversary dinner at Many Glacier Lodge.  This was after 3 days of hiking and camping.  Meaning 3 nights of no shower!!  I think we clean up pretty good in spite of that.

Grinnell Glacier hike on our 10th anniversary.  Absolutely gorgeous!!

Kayaking on swiftcurrent lake.