Earlier today I was thinking I should probably post something to let you all know that we haven't had any updates from the agency or from China this week. Well, I just got an email from our adoption agency family coordinator letting us know that they had checked on the birthdate of our little guy. Sure enough, he was born in 2007, not 2006. So, he'll be 2 on April 26. I sure hope we can have him by then. I'd love to be able to celebrate his birthday with him.
Last night I was awake from 1:30 - about 2:30. While I was "trying" to go back to sleep I kept thinking about Little G's birthday party! We'll invite people from the church, the college, the neighbors ... and of course family, though everyone is so far away. I'll make him a big dump truck cake and let him dig into it...like most people let their kids do on their first birthday. Gotta do it, since this will be his first birthday as a Gonzalez!! :) I hope it doesn't overwhelm the little guy!! No date for the party yet, since we haven't received any word on when we will go to China. But, know that YOU are invited to the party!! :)
OK, back to working on taxes. Yippee, yeah! Joy, joy!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
a few pictures
Here is a picture of our "congratulations" packet with the "Letter Seeking Confirmation from Adopter". This was the form we had to sign and get back to China so they would know that we really DO want to adopt San WenLian.
And here is a picture of Little G's room. Since we aren't sure whether he'll be sleeping in a crib or a big bed, we have both. That way, too, when he does outgrow the crib the big bed will be there waiting for him. (More comfortable for Mom & Dad to lie down next to him while he's falling asleep.)
And, finally, this is the first truck we bought for him. We bought it the day we received his referral. We had a few toys for a girl, but figure he needs BOY toys! ;) The truck goes nicely with the border in his room, don't ya think? Back in November I had thought about picking off that border and painting the room for a guest room. Sure am glad I didn't go ahead with that plan!
And here is a picture of Little G's room. Since we aren't sure whether he'll be sleeping in a crib or a big bed, we have both. That way, too, when he does outgrow the crib the big bed will be there waiting for him. (More comfortable for Mom & Dad to lie down next to him while he's falling asleep.)
And, finally, this is the first truck we bought for him. We bought it the day we received his referral. We had a few toys for a girl, but figure he needs BOY toys! ;) The truck goes nicely with the border in his room, don't ya think? Back in November I had thought about picking off that border and painting the room for a guest room. Sure am glad I didn't go ahead with that plan!
2 weeks later....
I guess one thing about being sick for 2 weeks is that time really flew by. Well, in a way it flew by and in a way it dragged on and on! Sometime that first week I filled out forms that had to be mailed back to the agency by Friday. That was the paper that China sent to us asking if WE accept the referral on our little guy. Of course we accepted!! Duh! There was a bit of a question as that form has Little G's birthdate as April 26, 2006! That would make him almost 3 instead of 2. Well, we aren't going to reject him if he's a year older than what we think. We had noticed on the medical info that was sent to us early on in the process that one date had the 2006 date of birth, but everywhere else in that document had it as 2007. So, that's being checked on and hopefully it doesn't create any delays.
More paperwork that was filled out and mailed in during the past 2 weeks is our application for our visa to travel to China. We also filled out preferences for travel, taking the "Beijing" option. We decided that for the price difference we would go ahead and take the couple of days in Beijing before going to pick up Little G. We'll see the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, etc. All that while adjusting to the time change before flying to southern China to spend the last week in Guangzhou with our son! (Wow, our SON!--I like that!! :)
Here's an interesting fact about our son:
His Chinese name is San Wen Lian.
-->San is the number "3".
-->Wen has several meanings but "culture", "gentle" are some of them.
-->And Lian means to join, to ally.
So... his name means Join Three Cultures. How's that for joining a family of a Mom who is American, Dad is hispanic and little G is Chinese! Pretty cool, huh?!
I'm going to try to get some pictures taken and posted on here so you can see his room, some of the documents, etc. Sorry it has been a while between posts, but whatever I had really wiped me out! Sleep was gooooooood!! :)
More paperwork that was filled out and mailed in during the past 2 weeks is our application for our visa to travel to China. We also filled out preferences for travel, taking the "Beijing" option. We decided that for the price difference we would go ahead and take the couple of days in Beijing before going to pick up Little G. We'll see the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, etc. All that while adjusting to the time change before flying to southern China to spend the last week in Guangzhou with our son! (Wow, our SON!--I like that!! :)
Here's an interesting fact about our son:
His Chinese name is San Wen Lian.
-->San is the number "3".
-->Wen has several meanings but "culture", "gentle" are some of them.
-->And Lian means to join, to ally.
So... his name means Join Three Cultures. How's that for joining a family of a Mom who is American, Dad is hispanic and little G is Chinese! Pretty cool, huh?!
I'm going to try to get some pictures taken and posted on here so you can see his room, some of the documents, etc. Sorry it has been a while between posts, but whatever I had really wiped me out! Sleep was gooooooood!! :)
Monday, March 9, 2009
11:03 ..... YIPEEEEEEEE!!!
I stayed home today because my head, chest, and ears are congested; I'm coughing from my toes and I'm freeeeeeezing! Well, even with all that, there is GREAT NEWS!! (If I hadn't been feeling so miserable I would have missed the call!)
At 11:03 the phone rang and woke me up. It was our adoption coordinator. She was telling me that WE HAVE RECEIVED REFERRAL ACCEPTANCE FROM THE CCAA! YEAAAAAAAAHHHH! And, that means...
For those of you who I've been waiting to tell, but haven't been able to because of the referral acceptance, We're getting a little boy from China!!! Here are his pictures! Isn't he the cutest???!!!!
Also, here is the email that I sent to our parents and siblings back in January when we first learned about our little guy. I'm so pleased to say that those "Shhh" clauses are no longer in effect! I can tell the world!!!
"Hey Everybody! January 7, 2009
Meet the newest Gonzalez!! OK, so he's not "official" yet so this email is NOT TO BE PASSED ON YET, but we couldn't stand waiting any longer!! (PASS IT ON, PASS IT ON!! He's ours!)
I know, we were all expecting a little girl, but sometimes God has a plan that is different than ours. When we signed on for adoption the agency we signed up with did not have a "waiting children program" and we pretty much thought that "special needs" meant someone who would need care very long term. We found out later that it might just be a little person with a "defect" in some people's eyes. So when our agency merged with a larger agency that does have a waiting children program, we prayed about signing up for that (since it looks like waiting for a healthy little girl could mean waiting until late 2012!) When we got back from Florida we filled out the application. We expected to be contacted by mid-January to let us know if we were accepted into that program.
Yesterday afternoon (January 6) at 2:53 we got a phone call from our adoption coordinator. I thought it was basically to talk about our case. Well, that it was!! She said they had reviewed our application for the waiting children program and immediately had a match for us, IF we were interested. So, we accepted the information, talked to Jim about his cleft lip and cleft palate, called her back for more information. We prayed a lot about this last night and did a bit of research. We both were instantly attached.
So, the process that is to come: We continue filling out paperwork, the agency electronically sends it to China, they review it (which should be fairly quick since they already have our dossier), and then China sends us a Referral Acceptance, then we apply for our travel visa, and wait some more. Our little guy could be home with us in anywhere from 1 - 4 months!!
At 11:03 the phone rang and woke me up. It was our adoption coordinator. She was telling me that WE HAVE RECEIVED REFERRAL ACCEPTANCE FROM THE CCAA! YEAAAAAAAAHHHH! And, that means...
LITTLE ONE IS OURS!!!
For those of you who I've been waiting to tell, but haven't been able to because of the referral acceptance, We're getting a little boy from China!!! Here are his pictures! Isn't he the cutest???!!!!
Also, here is the email that I sent to our parents and siblings back in January when we first learned about our little guy. I'm so pleased to say that those "Shhh" clauses are no longer in effect! I can tell the world!!!
"Hey Everybody! January 7, 2009
Meet the newest Gonzalez!! OK, so he's not "official" yet so this email is NOT TO BE PASSED ON YET, but we couldn't stand waiting any longer!! (PASS IT ON, PASS IT ON!! He's ours!)
I know, we were all expecting a little girl, but sometimes God has a plan that is different than ours. When we signed on for adoption the agency we signed up with did not have a "waiting children program" and we pretty much thought that "special needs" meant someone who would need care very long term. We found out later that it might just be a little person with a "defect" in some people's eyes. So when our agency merged with a larger agency that does have a waiting children program, we prayed about signing up for that (since it looks like waiting for a healthy little girl could mean waiting until late 2012!) When we got back from Florida we filled out the application. We expected to be contacted by mid-January to let us know if we were accepted into that program.
Yesterday afternoon (January 6) at 2:53 we got a phone call from our adoption coordinator. I thought it was basically to talk about our case. Well, that it was!! She said they had reviewed our application for the waiting children program and immediately had a match for us, IF we were interested. So, we accepted the information, talked to Jim about his cleft lip and cleft palate, called her back for more information. We prayed a lot about this last night and did a bit of research. We both were instantly attached.
So, the process that is to come: We continue filling out paperwork, the agency electronically sends it to China, they review it (which should be fairly quick since they already have our dossier), and then China sends us a Referral Acceptance, then we apply for our travel visa, and wait some more. Our little guy could be home with us in anywhere from 1 - 4 months!!
(These details were as of September 2008)
OK: Details: Current name: San Wenlian
DOB: April 26, 2007
Height (at birth) 46 cm Now 73 cm
Weight (at birth) 2.5 kg Now 8.3 kg (about 18 lbs)
6 teeth (not at birth!)
Of course, we aren't going to call him Gennai. We're in the process of picking names. Now that we have his picture we can see what name goes with him. We are definitely excited and wish we could send this out to everyone on our contact lists. BUT, there is always a slight chance that China might not give the referral acceptance, so it's not 100% certain that this is the newest Gonzalez, but it looks like it probably is!!! :)
OK, I'll let you go now. We'll talk to you all sometime soon.
Love, Joan, Guillermo, & Little G"
OK: Details: Current name: San Wenlian
DOB: April 26, 2007
Height (at birth) 46 cm Now 73 cm
Weight (at birth) 2.5 kg Now 8.3 kg (about 18 lbs)
6 teeth (not at birth!)
Of course, we aren't going to call him Gennai. We're in the process of picking names. Now that we have his picture we can see what name goes with him. We are definitely excited and wish we could send this out to everyone on our contact lists. BUT, there is always a slight chance that China might not give the referral acceptance, so it's not 100% certain that this is the newest Gonzalez, but it looks like it probably is!!! :)
OK, I'll let you go now. We'll talk to you all sometime soon.
Love, Joan, Guillermo, & Little G"
Now we wait for Travel Approval, our visas, etc. We are hoping to travel in April. Hopefully we'll have Little G home for his birthday! Wouldn't that be great?!!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Where in China is Little G?
I've been trying to avoid the "he's" or "she's" because we don't have our Referral Acceptance yet. But, I think everyone who is following my blog at this point knows about Little G. If you don't, well, now you do. HE's a HE! And a cute little HE he is! OK, I need to stop at that for now or I'll end up writing more than I'm supposed to.
Anyway, check out the map to find out where Little G is waiting for us. I sure hope that RA comes soooooooooon!!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I'm tired of waiting!! But I'll keep it up.
I don't want to wait anymore! I'm tired of waiting! Our little one needs us! We need our little one. I don't understand what's holding things up. I know, once we sent in our letter of intent to adopt THIS little one, it has only been 2 months. I know that it could be a lot longer, but I don't want it to be. (Yep, maybe I AM whining a bit!) In a way I wish our agency hadn't said that our process should go fairly quickly since the CCAA had already received and approved our dossier. I guess that makes me want everything to go really fast...and it isn't.
Today amongst the emails was the second email from our agency saying that Referral Acceptances had been received and all families whose referral acceptances had arrived had been contacted. Well, once again, we were not contacted. And yes, I cried! I am very happy for those who received their acceptances and hope their travel arrangements are made quickly. I'm happy that they will be with their little ones soon. But, I still want our little guy!!!
I have to admit that the last round of referral acceptances drew a bit of jealousy within me. One of the families who got their RA had a LID (paperwork officially logged into the CCAAs books) of 2 years and a couple of weeks AFTER our LID. (Remember our LID is 11/15/2006) After fighting that bit of jealousy I am happy for them and for their little child.
Anyway, we pray for Little G daily, several times a day. We pray for safety, health, the caretakers. We pray that our Little G will have a tender heart and a caring spirit, that LG will come to know Jesus early in life and will serve the King of Kings!
I'm still praying that we'll be able to go to China for MY birthday and be home for Little one's birthday. It's still possible... but those acceptances and travel arrangements are going to have to come soon.
Sorry this post was a bit on the down side. Maybe I'll delete it later, but for now I just needed to get this out. Thanks for following our journey. Hopefully soon we can let you know more positive news.
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