A little frustration and disappointment today, but keeping at the top of our mind that GOD's timing is PERFECT and guess what...it isn't our time yet!
You may be wondering...what is a Waiting Child Places Everyone report?
Well, each and every month on the 15th, all families who are in the process of adopting a Waiting Child receive a Waiting Child Places Everyone report that gives an update from the China Center of Adoption Affairs on where in the process their Dossier is at whether their Dossier is Pending Review by an official, or in Review, or Pending LSC (Letter Seeking Confirmation), or Pending TA (Travel Approval). Of course, one would hope to move through a new step each month to see progress and instill hope that things are moving forward in bringing home their child. This is the only piece of information throughout each month that gives the family any insight into how their adoption is progressing. At any other time throughout the month, there is no communication with the CCAA.
Since September, we have been in "Pending Review" on the Places Everyone reports and today was no different! We were so hoping to have moved into Review. This was a huge disappointment to us and to our referral counselor at our adoption agency. What makes it even more frustrating is that their are others who started after us who have now moved beyond us in the process. Our counselor is going to put a call into their office in Beijing to see if they can advocate for us to speed things along a little bit, but there is really not a whole lot they can do for us. We just have to wait and try to be patient. Right...now that's really going to happen isn't it!? NOT! We want our daughter!!
We are now on Day 81 of the average 100 day wait and just praying that we actually become one of the averages and not beyond! If we get our LSC by November 30th we could still plan to travel by Christmas, but anything after that is probably going to put us traveling after the 1st of the year and we will miss her 2nd birthday--Oh how we wanted to have her by then! We will keep you updated and please pray for our Dossier to progress quickly!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Those wonderful adoption acronyms!
Well, like I mentioned we've got to progress through several different acronyms before we can travel to bring our Jaida home and I will try to explain them to you briefly here.
In order, we need a PA and then an LOA which is now referred to as an LSC, then we will wait for the TA. Once we receive the TA, we can schedule the CA. Once we have the CA then we can set the travel dates and begin making all of our travel reservations! Oh my goodness, that sounds like a mouth full!
PA=Pre Approval. This is what the adoptive family receives from China after the CCAA has reviewed the Letter of Intent (LOI) from the adoptive family. It means they give the family pre-approval to adopt a specific child before the family's Dossier (the set of documents that represents the adoptive family) is officially reviewed by an official. We received our PA on September 6, 2007!
LSC=Letter Seeking Confirmation. This is what we are currently awaiting and it is said to take an average of 100 days to receive the LSC from the LOI date. As of today, November 6th, we are on Day 72 and each day there is no letter is like torture and this is how I feel! The LSC is a letter that represents that our Dossier has been reviewed by an offical and has been approved and they are seeking confirmation that we still want to adopt Jaida. Shon and I both have to sign the letter and then overnight it to our agency, so they can overnight it to China. Duh, of course we still want to adopt this little girl...hurry up already! Sorry for the outburst-this is one of those labor pains I was referring to earlier!
TA=Travel Approval. Once China receives our signed LSC, about 2 to 4 weeks later they will issue our TA. This is permission to travel to China to adopt Jaida. Once we receive the TA, our adoption agency will request a CA.
CA=Consulate Appointment. This is the appointment at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China that will take place towards the end of our 12 day trip to China. At this appointment, Jaida will receive her Visa and there is a "swearing in" ceremony for all the adoptive families and this completes our adoption of Jaida. After this, we can head home with our little girl and as soon as she lands on American soil, she is officially an American citizen! Yea!
So, once we receive the CA our adoption agency can work 12 days in reverse to schedule all of our flights, hotels, translation guides, etc!
Well, in a nutshell, this is the process we are enduring right now and we hope this explanation helps you follow along with us a little easier!
In order, we need a PA and then an LOA which is now referred to as an LSC, then we will wait for the TA. Once we receive the TA, we can schedule the CA. Once we have the CA then we can set the travel dates and begin making all of our travel reservations! Oh my goodness, that sounds like a mouth full!
PA=Pre Approval. This is what the adoptive family receives from China after the CCAA has reviewed the Letter of Intent (LOI) from the adoptive family. It means they give the family pre-approval to adopt a specific child before the family's Dossier (the set of documents that represents the adoptive family) is officially reviewed by an official. We received our PA on September 6, 2007!
LSC=Letter Seeking Confirmation. This is what we are currently awaiting and it is said to take an average of 100 days to receive the LSC from the LOI date. As of today, November 6th, we are on Day 72 and each day there is no letter is like torture and this is how I feel! The LSC is a letter that represents that our Dossier has been reviewed by an offical and has been approved and they are seeking confirmation that we still want to adopt Jaida. Shon and I both have to sign the letter and then overnight it to our agency, so they can overnight it to China. Duh, of course we still want to adopt this little girl...hurry up already! Sorry for the outburst-this is one of those labor pains I was referring to earlier!
TA=Travel Approval. Once China receives our signed LSC, about 2 to 4 weeks later they will issue our TA. This is permission to travel to China to adopt Jaida. Once we receive the TA, our adoption agency will request a CA.
CA=Consulate Appointment. This is the appointment at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China that will take place towards the end of our 12 day trip to China. At this appointment, Jaida will receive her Visa and there is a "swearing in" ceremony for all the adoptive families and this completes our adoption of Jaida. After this, we can head home with our little girl and as soon as she lands on American soil, she is officially an American citizen! Yea!
So, once we receive the CA our adoption agency can work 12 days in reverse to schedule all of our flights, hotels, translation guides, etc!
Well, in a nutshell, this is the process we are enduring right now and we hope this explanation helps you follow along with us a little easier!
All About Jaida!
Jaida is estimated to have been born on January 3, 2006 in the Anhui Province of China. She was found abandoned, as many little girls do in China due to the strict "one child" policy that was instituted in the early 1980s to limit the exploding chinese population. She was found by a citizen on January 22, 2006 in front of the Anhui Affiliated Hospital. There were no belongings with her and the parents were not found. She was taken by the police to the Hefei Children's Welfare Institute.
When she was brought to the institute, they named her Lu Na Qun. Lu is her last name and it is the common surname given to all the children in this specific institute. Na is her first name and means beautiful and Qun is her middle name which stands for social. The nannies of the institute wish for her to be a gentle and social girl in the future.
On her initial medical checkup at 19 days of age, she weighed 7.26 pounds and her height was 20.29 inches. Her estimated date of birth was January 3, 2006. Jaida was born with cleft lip and cleft palate, but as you can see from the pictures, this need has definitely not slowed down her growth.
According to her growth report, she has always been right on target developmentally and started walking on her own around 12 months of age.
On November 2, 2006, Jaida received help from the wonderful charity organization named "Love Without Boundaries" and underwent cleft lip repair surgery in the Anhui Children's Hospital. She received special care following her surgery from the staff at the Children's Welfare Institute to facilitate her recovery and she recovered very well. As you can see from her pictures, the surgeon did an excellent job in repairing her lip and the scar is barely noticeable. Her cleft palate has not been repaired yet as far as we know and we will have it repaired by our Cleft Team here in Wichita a couple of months after we have her home.
On March 27, 2007, Jaida entered "Sunshine Village," which is a foster family style apartment living and gives many of the children at the orphanage the opportunity to live in a family-type environment with other orphaned foster brothers and sisters with a foster mom and dad. This program began on this orphanage campus in November 2001 and has been very successful. We are so glad that Jaida has been blessed to be a part of this program. It is just one more way that God has always been with our Jaida to take care of her until we bring her home to her forever family.
Jaida is described as active, smart, and lovely. She likes to listen to music, play games, and go outside. She is a good eater and a sound sleeper.
At this time, this is all the information we have on her. We just can't wait to bring her home and put a smile on her face-we know she has one in there somewhere. We think she is saving it for us when we finally become her family. We know Jaida is going to be a huge blessing to our family!
When she was brought to the institute, they named her Lu Na Qun. Lu is her last name and it is the common surname given to all the children in this specific institute. Na is her first name and means beautiful and Qun is her middle name which stands for social. The nannies of the institute wish for her to be a gentle and social girl in the future.
On her initial medical checkup at 19 days of age, she weighed 7.26 pounds and her height was 20.29 inches. Her estimated date of birth was January 3, 2006. Jaida was born with cleft lip and cleft palate, but as you can see from the pictures, this need has definitely not slowed down her growth.
According to her growth report, she has always been right on target developmentally and started walking on her own around 12 months of age.
On November 2, 2006, Jaida received help from the wonderful charity organization named "Love Without Boundaries" and underwent cleft lip repair surgery in the Anhui Children's Hospital. She received special care following her surgery from the staff at the Children's Welfare Institute to facilitate her recovery and she recovered very well. As you can see from her pictures, the surgeon did an excellent job in repairing her lip and the scar is barely noticeable. Her cleft palate has not been repaired yet as far as we know and we will have it repaired by our Cleft Team here in Wichita a couple of months after we have her home.
On March 27, 2007, Jaida entered "Sunshine Village," which is a foster family style apartment living and gives many of the children at the orphanage the opportunity to live in a family-type environment with other orphaned foster brothers and sisters with a foster mom and dad. This program began on this orphanage campus in November 2001 and has been very successful. We are so glad that Jaida has been blessed to be a part of this program. It is just one more way that God has always been with our Jaida to take care of her until we bring her home to her forever family.
Jaida is described as active, smart, and lovely. She likes to listen to music, play games, and go outside. She is a good eater and a sound sleeper.
At this time, this is all the information we have on her. We just can't wait to bring her home and put a smile on her face-we know she has one in there somewhere. We think she is saving it for us when we finally become her family. We know Jaida is going to be a huge blessing to our family!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
It's A...Baby Girl!
Yes, I know you are wondering...No, we are not pregnant, yes we are still adopting Jaida...and yes, she is nearly two years old! So, why the "baby girl" announcement??
Well, through an internet adoption friend of mine, I came across the name of a man who started an organization called Research-China. Research-China is an organization that can provide information on many of the orphanages in China and........most important to our family......can get finding ads!
What is a finding ad, you ask? Orphanages in China are required to run advertisements in local newspapers for children who are found after being abandoned and who are brought to their facility. These ads must run for 60 days......in an attempt to find the child's birth family....before the child can officially be made available for adoption. Finding ads contain information about where and when the child was found and what belongings---if any---were found with the child. Finding ads also include a photo of the child!!
So, I requested Jaida's finding ad from Research-China and didn't hear anything for two weeks, so I resent an e-mail with all of Jaida's information and I got a response back from Brian yesterday, that he has found our daughter's finding ad. He will be sending me a high-quality scan of her ad, as well as a photograph of the front page of the newspaper her ad appeared in. I have also ordered a copy of the actual newspaper page her ad appears on. It will come with a certificate of authenticity and her ad will be translated for us into English. We just can't tell you how excited we are to have this little piece of history for Jaida when she grows up!
The photo on the finding ad will be the first photo ever taken of Jaida---A BABY PICTURE!!! That is so EXCITING!!!! We don't have any baby pictures of Jaida yet and this one would have been taken before she had surgery for her cleft lip. Can't wait to see it! As soon as I receive it I will be posting it here for you all to see our BABY!
Well, through an internet adoption friend of mine, I came across the name of a man who started an organization called Research-China. Research-China is an organization that can provide information on many of the orphanages in China and........most important to our family......can get finding ads!
What is a finding ad, you ask? Orphanages in China are required to run advertisements in local newspapers for children who are found after being abandoned and who are brought to their facility. These ads must run for 60 days......in an attempt to find the child's birth family....before the child can officially be made available for adoption. Finding ads contain information about where and when the child was found and what belongings---if any---were found with the child. Finding ads also include a photo of the child!!
So, I requested Jaida's finding ad from Research-China and didn't hear anything for two weeks, so I resent an e-mail with all of Jaida's information and I got a response back from Brian yesterday, that he has found our daughter's finding ad. He will be sending me a high-quality scan of her ad, as well as a photograph of the front page of the newspaper her ad appeared in. I have also ordered a copy of the actual newspaper page her ad appears on. It will come with a certificate of authenticity and her ad will be translated for us into English. We just can't tell you how excited we are to have this little piece of history for Jaida when she grows up!
The photo on the finding ad will be the first photo ever taken of Jaida---A BABY PICTURE!!! That is so EXCITING!!!! We don't have any baby pictures of Jaida yet and this one would have been taken before she had surgery for her cleft lip. Can't wait to see it! As soon as I receive it I will be posting it here for you all to see our BABY!
Part 2: God's Perfect Plan Continues...
We have truly experienced what it means to be walking in total faith in God's will during this amazing journey, as witnessed by the events that happen next...As a Christian, we know these events to be a small part of God's ultimate plans..
In China it is known as the "Red Thread." This ancient Chinese belief states: "An invisible Red Thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." Well, our "Red Thread" is about to reveal to us a very special little girl who we are destined to meet...Please read on...
During our 2-month long paperchase, we began to feel that God was leading us down the path of considering a special needs adoption and as we began to research more about the "Waiting Child" process, our hearts were truly tugged towards these children. We felt that our family has an enormous amount of love and resources and that our relationship was mature enough to handle the responsibilities that may go along with the adoption of a waiting child. More than this, we believe that God didn't just call us to adopt a "perfect" child, but rather all children deserve the love of a forever family! You may be wondering...What is a Waiting Child?
A “Waiting Child” has been defined as a child who has a minor correctible medical need or a child who is older.
In May 2007, we applied to view the files of 3 different waiting children on our adoption agency's listing. May 21st came and went with no call from our agency...Our family was not selected to view any of these files...Our hearts were saddened, but we knew that those 3 children were destined to be a part of someone else's family. We will wait for the next list in August and apply again.
On August 8, 2007, we sent in our Waiting Child application to our agency.
On August 20, 2007, we received the call from our adoption agency that has changed our lives forever…
Here is a shortened version of the conversation:”Trish…this is Sarah from Great Wall…I wanted to let you know that we have matched your waiting child application with a 19 month old little girl…her name is Lu Na Qun, her special need is cleft lip and cleft palate of which her cleft lip has been repaired…would you and Shon be interested in looking at her file and pictures to see if you would like to proceed with the adoption of her?”
"Do I want to see her file and pictures? Of course!!" Her medical files, growth reports, and pictures arrived in my e-mail Inbox within 5 minutes of our phone call ending, but it seemed like an eternity. I immediately went to the picture file and downloaded her pictures…oh my goodness, all I could say was…This is my daughter…
This is the child we were destined to adopt! Of course, this needed to be verified with Shon as well, so...
I ran to the phone, dialed three different phone numbers to finally get in contact with Shon at work, and gave him the news. Of course he didn't believe me so I sent him a copy of her records and pictures. It seemed like it took forever for him to receive the e-mail, but when he did and he opened her pictures, there are no words to describe the amazing feelings that we both had for this little girl. Shon was in agreement...she is definitely our daughter!
We immediately sent her medical records to the University of Minnesota to have them reviewed by a group of experienced international adoption doctors and after their immensely positive evaluation of her, our Letter of Intent to adopt Lu Na Qun was sent off to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) on August 27, 2007.
What happens next and when will we bring our Jaida home?
Read the next page to see all of those acronyms we need to progress through to bring our Jaida home...
Part 1: God's Perfect Plan
God, working through members of our church, led us to Great Wall China Adoption in Austin, TX , our international adoption agency who approved our adoption application on March 26, 2007.
We began the “Paperchase” phase of our adoption which included a home study done by a social worker, birth certificates, marriage certificates, physical exams, background checks, police reports, employment letters, financial statements, reference letters, fingerprinting, passports, and the most important of all was approval from immigration to adopt an orphan.
It was easy to see from the very beginning that adoption is definitely not for the faint of heart and it was going to take a lot of faith, perseverance, and patience. We have also discovered that adoption is definitely not the easy way of being “pregnant!” For those couples, who have adoption as their only way to create a family...God bless you! There are definitely labor pains in the adoption method of family building!
Once all of the paperwork was gathered, it then had to go through a three-step process of notarization, state certification, and a final authentication by the Chinese Consulate in Chicago .
We pushed as quickly as we could to get our paperwork done and our Dossier was delivered to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) and logged into their system on June 20, 2007.
Now, the wait truly begins and at this time our agency informs us that the approximate time to receive a non-special needs referral of an infant from China has been steadily increasing from about 9 months (2 to 3 years ago) to about 2 years right now and increasing to an unknown timeframe in the future. As of May 2007, new requirements were instituted by the CCAA to limit the number of families who can apply to hopefully decrease this referral time. Oh my goodness, how will we pass the time of the next 2-3 years????
For the answer, please read Part 2: God's Perfect Plan continues!
We began the “Paperchase” phase of our adoption which included a home study done by a social worker, birth certificates, marriage certificates, physical exams, background checks, police reports, employment letters, financial statements, reference letters, fingerprinting, passports, and the most important of all was approval from immigration to adopt an orphan.
It was easy to see from the very beginning that adoption is definitely not for the faint of heart and it was going to take a lot of faith, perseverance, and patience. We have also discovered that adoption is definitely not the easy way of being “pregnant!” For those couples, who have adoption as their only way to create a family...God bless you! There are definitely labor pains in the adoption method of family building!
Once all of the paperwork was gathered, it then had to go through a three-step process of notarization, state certification, and a final authentication by the Chinese Consulate in Chicago .
We pushed as quickly as we could to get our paperwork done and our Dossier was delivered to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) and logged into their system on June 20, 2007.
Now, the wait truly begins and at this time our agency informs us that the approximate time to receive a non-special needs referral of an infant from China has been steadily increasing from about 9 months (2 to 3 years ago) to about 2 years right now and increasing to an unknown timeframe in the future. As of May 2007, new requirements were instituted by the CCAA to limit the number of families who can apply to hopefully decrease this referral time. Oh my goodness, how will we pass the time of the next 2-3 years????
For the answer, please read Part 2: God's Perfect Plan continues!
US?...ADOPT?...NOW?...OKAY!
Well, many of you may be wondering how our lives have taken this sudden change called ADOPTION?! Sometimes, we look back in amazement as well as we recall that just a year ago Shon and I were visiting about the future and the entire conversation was focused on our coming freedom…our three children growing up quickly, 4 years until the twins graduate from high school, 4 years from Shon’s retirement from the military, plans for travel, and a move in 4 years to a new location and new employment for Shon…
…and then Saturday, March 3, 2007 came and changed our lives forever…
The night of March 3rd, Shon and I took our three children to a Christian concert. During a break, Shaohannah, an adopted daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, invited the audience to reach out and financially support orphaned children around the world. Shon and I left this concert knowing that God had spoken into our hearts, “I have one (an orphan) for you” and we knew that it wasn’t merely to give financial aid, but rather to adopt an orphan and make her a part of our family forever. So we began in faith, the journey of adoption.
We did a total 180 degree turn and rather than thinking about “freedom,” we began to think about what life is truly about and for us that became plainly clear that God wanted us to bring another daughter into our family through adoption…and the funny thing is…when God planted this dream in our hearts on that night in March…we have never ever questioned or doubted this newfound plan for our lives and our 3 wonderful homegrown children are totally on board with us and are so excited about adding a new sister to the Gerber clan!
We have allowed God to guide us through this entire adoption journey and we are amazed at where we are right now…how did we get here? See Part 1: God's Perfect Plan!
…and then Saturday, March 3, 2007 came and changed our lives forever…
The night of March 3rd, Shon and I took our three children to a Christian concert. During a break, Shaohannah, an adopted daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, invited the audience to reach out and financially support orphaned children around the world. Shon and I left this concert knowing that God had spoken into our hearts, “I have one (an orphan) for you” and we knew that it wasn’t merely to give financial aid, but rather to adopt an orphan and make her a part of our family forever. So we began in faith, the journey of adoption.
We did a total 180 degree turn and rather than thinking about “freedom,” we began to think about what life is truly about and for us that became plainly clear that God wanted us to bring another daughter into our family through adoption…and the funny thing is…when God planted this dream in our hearts on that night in March…we have never ever questioned or doubted this newfound plan for our lives and our 3 wonderful homegrown children are totally on board with us and are so excited about adding a new sister to the Gerber clan!
We have allowed God to guide us through this entire adoption journey and we are amazed at where we are right now…how did we get here? See Part 1: God's Perfect Plan!
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