Well, we're still awaiting our LOA (letter of acceptance from China); however we did receive our "assignment" packet via email this week. I'm still amazed as how organized our adoption agency is, in giving us just enough "things to do" to help pass the time until we can be united with our son.
This packet includes a visa application, in which we have to list his given name and any changes we plan to make to it! Yikes! Tony ordered two baby name books last week. We have them in; however, we now have a timeline to make that decision. Let's just say..It's a debate! :)
We have up to 30 days to return this packet, so we do have time. We're both highlighting names we like, and we'll meet in the middle I'm certain.
We're hopeful that our LOA will arrive within the 90 days that most do. After that point in time, we should be able to better estimate when we'll be heading to China.
God is good.
Judy
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
This is a personal post, but I feel compelled to write.
The next month marks four years since my dad and mother-in-law's passing. Tony and I have talked about them frequently, especially during this most joyous time in our lives. The loss has been brought back to the forefront.
A couple of Sunday's ago, Tony and I joked that his mother would have already equipped the entire baby's room by now! It was also during this time, when I was looking at crib bedding, that I ran across some that had World War II planes all over it, which was something my daddy loved. Again, it made me sad that he was not here to celebrate with us.
That night, I dreamed of him, which was something I hadn't done in over 3 years. As I conveyed to a friend of mine, it was like a brief snapshot, but he appeared in my dream, sitting in his easy chair. What he said to me was simple..."congratulations on your new baby." It was exactly what I needed to hear that night.
Yesterday, Tony and I finished watching the "Band of Brothers" series. I don't know how we each missed it, when it first came out, but we did. Again, during several aspects of this series, my thoughts turned to my dad. He was born in 1928, so he just missed WW II. We talked a bit about what those servicemen did/saw, and how it really helps give some clarifying perspective to the daily "stresses" of life today, which are so insignificant.
Last night, I dreamed of my dad again. I was back in my mom and dad's house, walking down the hallway, when I looked and saw my dad in a room. I walked in and said hello. I asked my daddy if he really knew about our baby. He said, "Yes. I see him everyday." I told him how much I loved and missed him, and he said the same to me. Again, it was like a brief snapshot, that really didn't feel like a dream.
I said to a friend recently, that even though the loss remains, the "rawness" of it does improve over time. As I sit here with tears running down my face, I am comforted that somehow, someway, my daddy does "know".
Judy
The next month marks four years since my dad and mother-in-law's passing. Tony and I have talked about them frequently, especially during this most joyous time in our lives. The loss has been brought back to the forefront.
A couple of Sunday's ago, Tony and I joked that his mother would have already equipped the entire baby's room by now! It was also during this time, when I was looking at crib bedding, that I ran across some that had World War II planes all over it, which was something my daddy loved. Again, it made me sad that he was not here to celebrate with us.
That night, I dreamed of him, which was something I hadn't done in over 3 years. As I conveyed to a friend of mine, it was like a brief snapshot, but he appeared in my dream, sitting in his easy chair. What he said to me was simple..."congratulations on your new baby." It was exactly what I needed to hear that night.
Yesterday, Tony and I finished watching the "Band of Brothers" series. I don't know how we each missed it, when it first came out, but we did. Again, during several aspects of this series, my thoughts turned to my dad. He was born in 1928, so he just missed WW II. We talked a bit about what those servicemen did/saw, and how it really helps give some clarifying perspective to the daily "stresses" of life today, which are so insignificant.
Last night, I dreamed of my dad again. I was back in my mom and dad's house, walking down the hallway, when I looked and saw my dad in a room. I walked in and said hello. I asked my daddy if he really knew about our baby. He said, "Yes. I see him everyday." I told him how much I loved and missed him, and he said the same to me. Again, it was like a brief snapshot, that really didn't feel like a dream.
I said to a friend recently, that even though the loss remains, the "rawness" of it does improve over time. As I sit here with tears running down my face, I am comforted that somehow, someway, my daddy does "know".
Judy
Sunday, January 22, 2012
A little over one year ago, Tony and I submitted our application to Holt International. As we enter into the next stages of our journey, we feel compelled to capture and share certain aspects of it with our family, friends, and colleagues.
On Tuesday, December 27th, after nearly a year of what we'll call "the paper chase", we received the phone call we had been waiting on! We had a second son: Wei Le Wen. From the moment we saw that first picture, he had melted our hearts. He was 10 1/2 months at the time of that phone call, with three teeth and a dimple on his left cheek!
I had made a comment to our pediatrician, the week before Christmas, as to how nice it would be to receive "the call" prior to our Christmas holiday. She was the one who pointed out the date/time stamp on his photos: 12/25/2011. In the end, we did get our Christmas baby after all!
These are his pictures, taken on Christmas Day, 2011:
On Tuesday, December 27th, after nearly a year of what we'll call "the paper chase", we received the phone call we had been waiting on! We had a second son: Wei Le Wen. From the moment we saw that first picture, he had melted our hearts. He was 10 1/2 months at the time of that phone call, with three teeth and a dimple on his left cheek!
I had made a comment to our pediatrician, the week before Christmas, as to how nice it would be to receive "the call" prior to our Christmas holiday. She was the one who pointed out the date/time stamp on his photos: 12/25/2011. In the end, we did get our Christmas baby after all!
These are his pictures, taken on Christmas Day, 2011:
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| I'm not quite sure what's in his bottle! |
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| Such a sweet smile! |
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| If you look close, you can see the dimple on his cheek! |
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| He's mobile! Lookout Tony! |
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| I just love his expression in this pic! |
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| He's so alert and curious about his surroundings.
We are currently awaiting our LOA (letter of acceptance) from China. The "average" wait time is around 90 days. Once we receive that, we can move into next steps of our journey. Best estimates, are that we'll be heading to China sometime in June 2012. This is certain to be a long and difficult wait.
Thanks for all the well wishes thus far! We sincerely appreciate it.
Judy
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