Creeping up on the List

I couldn't sleep last night. I was kept awake by happy thoughts about our daughter. It finally felt real since we discovered our program received 2 (and possibly 3) girl referrals in February, which means we move up the list! We don't know our exact number on the list, but our best guess is somewhere between number 7 and 12. So, hopefully we will have a referral within the next 4-6 months. We are in program III. In this program, the babies remain in a baby hospital for the first three months of their lives and then are moved to a family who fosters them until all the court proceedings are complete at which time parents travel to Taiwan to escort their new baby home. Hurrah!! I can't wait for that moment. You can choose to foster your child yourself in Taiwan once you have received a referral. I only know of one family who was able to do this, a young couple who could work from anywhere and did not have any other children. I would LOVE to do that, but it doesn't seem possible. I would have to find a place for me and the boys to stay in Taiwan for 3-6 months and since Dan (bless his heart) has to work to pay for all the adoption expenses, our family would be apart. This is when I wish we were independently wealthy because if I could do it, I would probably be in Taiwan right now just waiting for the referral. Anyway, all feels good with the world today. I am sending blessings to our daughter's birthmother in appreciation of all she is doing for our family and in recognition that her painful loss is our joyous gain. We are beholden to her always and wish her all good things.

Another Link in the Chain

Today we received word from our agency that our photopages were approved! Thank goodness! Apparently the photopages are a critical component to the Taiwan dossier. The birthmother and/or birth family usually views the photos and the judge scrutinizes them as part of his/her adoption ruling. Our first set of pages was rejected which caused me no small amount of anxiety. I spent weeks rifling through seven years worth of photos and staging new pictures in order to complete the task. We ended up with a six page document, two pages of photos of our home inside and out and four pages of pictures of our family including friends and extended family. I am enormously relieved to check this off our list. I'll take books to read, reports to write and conferences to go to any day before having photo pages to complete. Hurrah! Celebration is in order. We are one step closer to our beautiful baby girl.

Check Out Our New Look!

We just had a makeover! Rebecca from Uptown Design Studio (formerly Artistree Blog Designs - see link on side bar) helped our blog go from blah to beautiful and all for a small donation 90% of which goes to Rebecca's international adoption fund with the other 10% going to help orphans in China. Thanks Rebecca! BTW Bao Bei (pronounced bough bay) is a term of endearment that Chinese parents use for their babies, indicating the child is SO cherished as to risk spoiling! It is a loving nickname as well as a tongue and cheek reminder not to dote too much : )

Happy Chinese New Year (Two days late)

Happy Year of the Earth Rat!! 2008 should be an auspicious year full of prosperity and good luck. We hope we can celebrate it next year with our new little Taiwanese treasure, probably a little rat. Here is some information about the rat personality:

The rat is remarkably easy to get along with, hard working and thrifty,(Dan will be thrilled!!) she will be generous only to those she is inordinately fond of, so if you get an expensive gift from her, you should certainly rate yourself high in her esteem. However, in spite of her penny-pinching ways, she will never be found wanting for admirers as she emits such fantastic appeal.

A child born in the year of the Rat will be sweet and loving. she may be shy, but inwardly she is fiercely competitive. Often, she resorts to crying to get more attention and usually clings to one or two people with whom she identifies. (clearly she will fit right in with her brothers!)Although she has a charming disposition, she is possessive of parents and friends and jealous of attention given to others.The vivacious Rat will be an avid reader. She will learn the importance of the written word easily and be able to express herself well. Many of the world's greatest writers and historians were born in the year of the Rat.

So that's the rat. Unless we get a referral MUCH sooner than we think that will be our baby. She is suppose to get along great with her Dragon Father and Snake Brother, Luke and I, the Sheep of the family, might have to work a little harder to win her affection, but with our charming personalities, I'm sure we will prevail!

Checking Things Off Our List!

Today we mailed off the 14 pages of answers to the JOH educational packet (Whew, glad to be done with that!) We thought the DVD's and readings were great! There was plenty of interesting thought provoking information as well as many moving inspirational stories. It is unfortunate, I think, that there is not an educational curriculum required for people who are choosing the biological route to build their families. I certainly could have used more guidance when we brought home our first two bundles of joy. Anyway, we are thankful for all we have completed in the last four months and hopefully we are getting closer everyday to our beautiful happy healthy baby girl. : )

We're "On the List" Hurrah!

So the big news today is that we are officially waiting!! We are very excited to be on the list at last. For anyone who is considering adopting from Taiwan, I just want to say that so far I have been very impressed with our placing agency Journeys of the Heart. As part of our training as adopted parents JOH requires a weekend seminar or a study packet in lieu of the seminar if you are out of State. They sent us the materials (readings and DVDs) and we were very impressed both with the breadth and depth of information covered and with the obvious compassion and sense of stewardship with which they run this program. This has been a very positive and educational experience.

Our Journey Begins

Our family of four waiting to become a family of five

What an adventure in so many ways! First time adoption, first time daughter and first time blogger. I've learned so much already. Our time line for this adoption began in early September 2007 when Dan and I decided to adopt a little girl from Taiwan. We have two awesome biological sons, ages 4 and 6, and I felt (and Dan eventually agreed) that a little girl would make our family complete. At that time we began our home study paperwork. We wrapped that up in about 10 days flat and waited for the Catholic Social Services social worker to come to our home. She came at the end of September and completed her report on October 30th. The report was then reviewed by our placing agency Journeys of the Heart, whose home office is located in Hillsboro Oregon. Their review took about three weeks. We were notified that we were "home study approved" on November 20th. You might think that we would be officially on "the list" (one of the many buzz words for parents adopting internationally). But no, there's more! We are currently waiting for the notarized copies of the home study to be sent to the Washington State offices in Shorline Washington where all the real action takes place for the Taiwan program. I am really hoping we will be on "the (infamous, yet seemingly elusive) list" by this week, but if not, it really should be the first week in December. Wish us luck! sbs