We Received Our PA!

Today we received our pre-approval from the CCAA. That was super fast!

A pre-approval is essentially the CCAA’s acknowledgement or confirmation that our Letter of Intent has been received, along with the basic family information and photos weprovided, and it represents the CCAA’s agreement to shift our file to the Waiting Child Program process.

So now we must wait for our LOA which is our Letter of Approval from the CCAA. It means that our file has been transferred to the matching room and we can apply for our visas.

Some Updated Pictures of Sydney

She is so cute! She looks like such a happy girl!

It is pretty cold in most areas of China right now. I am not sure if they have heat in her orphanage since she is still bundled in so many layers while inside.

We cannot wait to hold her in our arms and bring her home.

Introducing Teng FuXia "Sydney"

Soon to be a family of 6!

This is our beautiful daughter! She is currently residing in Wuzhou, Guangxi in the P.R. China.

We hope to travel in a few months to bring her home.

We are told that she loves to smile and has a lot of friends. She gets along well with others and is very active. She is sometimes stubborn but can be docile when the teacher explains what she did was wrong.

She loves to sing, dance, slide on the slide, ride her bike, look at picture books, and tell stories. It sounds like she will fit right in with our family.

We are so happy that they are going to let her hair grow out so that it will be a little longer when we pick her up! YAY!! Pigtails...I can't wait!

First Care Package

I sent Sydney's first care package to China a few days ago. I cannot wait for her to receive it! I hope she likes everything I bought her. What I love the most is that when she receives our package she will know that she is being adopted and will soon meet her new family.

I hope the next 4-5 months go by quickly.

LOI to China!!

Today our Letter of Intent to Adopt was sent to China. We spent most of Saturday writing letters, filling out paperwork, compiling photographs, having documents notarized, and running to FedEx. It was a flashback of preparing our original Dossier. Our LOI is a letter that we must write to the Chinese Government on why we want to adopt our child and how we are fit to adopt this specific child.

Now we must wait again, but at least we have a lot to keep us busy.

I have spent the weekend preparing a care package for her. I will mail it tomorrow and hopefully she will receive it in a week or so. It contains: A disposable camera, 2 pairs of PJ's, a cute outfit with matching watch, teddy bear, and a photo album that contains pictures of her new family, house, and pets. I was able to label everything in Chinese so hopefully she will recognize us when we meet her.

She will find out that she is being adopted by receiving our package! I will continue to send her packages and hopefully it will facilitate the attachment and adjustment process.

Miracles Can Happen

Several months back we made the decision to change our adoption request to an older child. We felt that a child a little older would be a better fit for our family despite any risks associated with adopting an older child. To be honest when I first began thinking of adoption several years back I pictured adopting a child and not a baby. We ultimately decided on a baby out of fear due to possible attachment and bonding issues. As time passed I realized that I never truly saw myself with a baby and that my heart longed for a child. My wonderful husband and family agreed that we should follow our hearts and we did.

So,we also put our name on our adoption agency's waiting child list for an older child, but were told that we would probably wait just as long on that list as on the traditional route we were currently on. We thought it was best to remain in both lines and that God would take care of the rest. So, we prepared for another year or so wait. We had a Jan. to Feb. 2009 referral date in mind and planned accordingly.

We planned summer vacations, camps, work schedules, and decided to put our daughter's room on hold for a while.

Miracles truly happen when you least expect it.

On January 14, 2008, we received our updated documentation form the U.S. government that we had been waiting for for quite some time. Then on January 15, 2008 we finally wrapped up a 5+ year court battle with my husband's ex-wife on a positive note. :)

Then on January 17, 2008 at 4:54pm we received a call from our agency. They had a little 5 1/2 year old girl that they thought was a perfect match for our family. She sent us an email with all of her information and pictures and the rest is history.

WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!!! She is adorable and we cannot wait to bring her home. As faith should have it we will probably travel in June which could not be a more perfect month for us to travel. All three kids will be out of school for the summer and there should not be any issues with travel . So, as a family we will travel to China to bring Sydney home.

Please pray for her and our family. Thank you God for you have truly blessed us.

I will post pictures as soon as I am able to. We must receive confirmation form China before we can posts pictures.

Stephanie

Playground Fun!

Having fun on the playground after Sunday school!

Hanging with a New Friend

Sydney and her friend -both adopted from China in 2008.