Our NBC SIM# for NVC approval then GUZ#

This is common lingo for adoptive parents. It get a little ridiculous, but anyone adopting from China could read this and know exactly what I was talking about. Anyway, no Visa for us today. Amazing. Our NBC approval was supposed to be sent on 8/30 or 8/31, but instead went out 9/1. Do they not know that every day matters?! Could have made the difference in us getting our Visa to China Monday vs Thursday which bothers me. Oh well. Moving on.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

We have had a wave of new pictures come in of Collins. Our friends Sharon has gotten us some and then I found the doctors email address and started emailing him myself. I wasn't sure how he would like this, but he has been super nice and even sent us some more pictures today. They are so funny and random just like China. BTW, whatever format her sends them in I can't edit them so that's why some are sideways. Anyway, I love getting all these pictures and we are really so thankful for them because it is evident that her arm is worse than we thought.

From the video we got back in February, it seemed that really she had very little nerve damage and almost full use of her right arm. But these pictures show us something more. Nothing devistating at all, but just that it is less functional than we thought. You can tell in some of the pictures that it is underdeveloped and weak. She can use it for sure, but her right arm is just going to be a "helper" arm. Jerod said "Well, good. There's my lefty. That's where the money is." I thought that was great. So Jerod. Hopefully, with some therapy she can gain back some use of that arm. We'll see. But until then we just keep praying for that cute little girl on the motorcycle!

Waiting is the Devil

We got our I800 approval from Homeland Security on August 27th. Basically, that says that we have approval to adopt Collins. From there, they send our approval to the National Visa Center where they issue Collins her Visa to come to the US. This takes about a week. Then we wait for our Article 5 letter from China which I think just says that yes, Collins is still alive and adoptable....let's hope this is true. That takes about 2 weeks to get. Then you take that piece of paper to the Center for Chinese Adoption Affairs and they approve you for travel. That takes 3 weeks. Then you apply for an appointment at the Consulate in China. Usually you travel abotu 2 weeks after you get your travel approval. Soooooo, lets so some math. 1+2+3+2=8 weeks. Wow. Could we really be leaving in 8 weeks. That puts us at October 27th. Crud. I need to pack.

BFF

Here is Collins (middle) with her favorite little friend Shaylee who is heading home to Atlanta. Her family is in China now and was able to get us some pictures. We joke that we are just moving their playdates to The South!

(The man with them is the orphanage doctor.)

They Always Look the Same

I have never seen a picture of a child in a Chinese orphanage smiling. And even though I know that's the "norm," it still breaks my heart every time.

We got new pictures of Collins last night and while such a blessing to get them, they always make me sad. There is this very quiet, deep sadness in her face. I try and tell myself that maybe shes sad about the terrible boy haircut she has or the dindgy clothes or maybe she's never seen a camera before. But the loss she has experienced at just two years old shows in her eyes. The beautiful part though is that God is and will continue to redeem her tragic beginning. She has two parents that are already dedicated to her in every way, brothers and sisters that wait for her everyday, and a God that loves her more than she can imagine.

Mondays are Always the Same in Adoption

The weekend is a break from the OCD thinking of adoption. Friday means at least for a short while you can turn off your brain and stop way over analyzing everything. And maybe even the Yahoo group and adoption forum webpages get closed for the days too. Monday though, Monday the madness starts right back up again. Will I get this apporval, will this get rejected, will the world end and all this is for not. The good news is that Monday is full of hope that the God of adoption will somehow move foreign governents to find extra special favor on you and approve it all with one signature.

We found out on friday that the Homeland Security had approved our application to adopt Mingjiao Li aka Collins. Big hurdle, but also means we just move on to the next step of waiting for paperwork. Now we wait for Collins visa app to be approved. Apparently our visa center is not fun to wait on. That's ok. Gives me something else to obsess over and another government worker to call me all kinds of names.

We sent Collins a care package today. A doll, a new dress, some cute little pink squeaky shoes. REALLY hoping that we will get some update pictures and info back. Haven't seen a new picture of her since April. Weird.

Connor, Jennings and Jeb are settling into school finally. Jennings is little Miss Kindergarten which for some reason surprises me. All about following the rules, getting her work done and keeping tabs on who has to sign the Oops Pad. Connor hates the work, hates how long the day is but likes his friends and his teacher. I just keep telling him to get used to it....welcome to life. Just got to do things you don't want to do sometimes.

Uhhhhhh,

so since my first and only post we've moved houses AND found a new daughter. So long Mt Laurel hello farm living. Collins came to us on Feb 9th, 2010. Beautiful ittle girl in Putian City, Fujian Prov. Gut wrenching decision, tears, fears, smiles, anticipation, all that in one 24 hour period. In the end, we knew that she was ours, God made it clear. Unexplainable, but clear.

Everyone seems to have trasisitoned well to the new crib. Jeb had the hardest time. "Mommy, I want to go back to my old house. Why Jeb? Because I just don't know where I belong." Only Jeb. He quickly moved onl, but I got it.

Much lighter note, Connor is playing All Star baseball and stradling that great line of a still dependant little boy and learning his independance and self. Starting to have some harder discussions about life. Some harder peer pressure situations.

Jennings is just still Jennings, but a more grown up mature version. K4 with Mrs Branham has been great for her. Still my free-spirit fun filled child, but with some of the rough edges removed. I say she's going ot be every guys dream. SHe's all girl, but so not afraid to get dirty and play softball and such. Loves gymnastics too.

Jeb is growing up, too. Still the sweet one, but getting a little more agressive and opioniated. I think it's a good thing.

Jerod is out of town, so we're going to the baseball fields to watch the 7 yo playoffs. Wow. Really? I'm choosing to go WITHOUT Jerod???