Article 5

We just received news that CCAA was sent the article 5 letter for BingHui!! Whoo hoo. We should receive the invitation to travel very, very soon. But, of course, we have to wait for the I-800 and article 5 for FengHong too, and that could be a couple more months. At least we know we're not forgotten.

Not Quite

Well, the package from China wasn't our invitation to travel. It was a package from Cheng's family (for Christmas). Drats. We did receive our referral packet for FengHong from WACAP though, and two more letters of confirmation. We had already signed two letters of confirmation for BingHui, and now we have another letter of confirmation for BingHui, and one for FengHong. We don't ask questions anymore; we just sign the forms and send them back. Of course we also make a copy of everything we sign, just in case. We still think we'll receive our invitation to travel any day now. Actually, we're waiting for another I-800 approval for FengHong, and then we should (hopefully) receive our invitation to travel (and article 5 letter) a few weeks after that. According to the wait time we experienced with BingHui, we should receive our I-800 approval for FengHong at the end of next week. Three weeks after that, most people receive their article 5 letter from the consulate. If that is the case, we might be able to travel the beginning of January or early Feb. The middle of Feb. is Chinese New Year holiday, and all the government offices are closed. So, it's either early Feb. or March. We're just taking one day at a time.

Almost there!

We are in NYC this weekend to watch Austin run the Jesuit Championship race, but our adoption journey continues. Victor went to check on our house and said a big envelope arrived from WACAP. That would be our referral packet for FengHong. Then he told us another envelope arrived from Guangzhou. This COULD be it! This could be the travel notice! If it is the travel notice, then we can finally make arrangements to fly to China!! We are still in NYC for Austin's meet, and I can't wait to get home to open our mail. It's funny how mail has become important to me this year. I used to have David get the mail on his way home from work, but since completing our adoption application a year ago, I've run to the mailbox everyday, much like a young child might. I anxiously scan the letters, hoping against hope that there is something from WACAP or the Dept. of Homeland Security. Now, while we're out of town, it looks like we might have received important mailings. If it is our notice to travel for BingHui, we have to find out if we can proceed, or if we need to wait for a second notice to travel for FengHong. Speaking of FengHong, David and I have talked of nothing else lately but his name. We spent hours talking about how to, and if we should, change FengHong's name. We pour over baby name lists trying to come up with a name similar to FengHong that sounds kind of American. No success at this point. We are wondering if he has already taken an English name; sometimes the children take American names for their English class. We want to know how FengHong will feel about an American name. We grapple with this everyday, while we wait to travel.

Letter of confirmation

We received a call last night that WACAP has received our letter of confirmation for FengHong! WACAP will put together our referral packet now, and we can sign all the official paperwork. Then it will all get sent to US immigration so that they can issue the I800 approval for FengHong. What it boils down to is that we MIGHT get to travel in approximately 3 months. This is good news because we've been trying to get an idea of WHEN, and it's been vague ever since we decided to adopt FengHong too. It's been hard to plan our holidays, wondering if we might travel in December, and now we know that it is more likely to be Feb. or March. Moving forward, we are starting to tell people about FengHong. As expected, people think we're nuts for adopting two children. They are especially shocked that we would agree to adopt a teenager. Teens are tough under the best of circumstances, and we are taking a big risk adopting a 13 year old. Oh well. We can't live our lives trying to please other people. We need to do what we are called to do and just trust the Lord. We feel that FengHong belongs in our family and we will address the problems as they arise.

CCAA pre pre-approval

The Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs gave a verbal ok for us to adopt two children this trip, and we can begin the preapproval process to adopt FengHong!! I'm just waiting for the medical report (the ok) from the pediatrician. FengHong appears to be a healthy child, but it's best to have a Dr. read and interpret the lab results etc. We haven't told the kids yet that we are going to pursue adopting yet another child, but we have shown them the videos of FengHong jump roping. It looks amazing, really. After we receive the ok from the Dr., we'll break the news to them. Austin's only concern seems to be that our adoption might have an impact on his schooling. Austin loves McQuaid, and he wants to make certain that we can continue to afford his tuition. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, we just want to bring our sons home safe and sound.

Video

We received the video of the boy, FengHong, who is 13 and going to "age out" in May. He's darling, and I am happy to say he IS quite athletic, which is a good fit for our family. On the video he jumps rope (all double jumps) and cross overs! We submitted the medical records and video to our adoption Dr., and we're waiting for her to look over everything. FengHong also needs a small corrective surgery, but we don't think that it will be a big problem. Once the Dr. gives the ok., then we have to ask the kids if they are willing to adopt two children, instead of one. We especially have to get Austin to be "on board." Austin tends to be negative, and we want to make certain he's going to be happy with the adoptions too. FengHong is only 6 months younger than Austin, and I'm hoping they will be great friends and brothers.

Lots to report

Ok--I got really bored reporting that we received this form, or that form, or whatever. Unless you know what an I-800A approval is (versus the I-800) and how a letter of confirmation works, it's all boring to read. But recently, we've had some interesting stuff happen. Dare I say drama? We had a conference call last week, with five other families who should be traveling soon. It was basically to warn us that our children might not even KNOW they are up for adoption, and they might not WANT to go with us etc. etc. We knew most of it already, although we were surprised to find out that some of the kids will be upset by a "western toilet" even. Some of the children have never left the orphanage, therefore, even Wal-Mart might be scary. Anyway, on this conference call, we chatted with a man (his wife wasn't available for the call) who has already adopted 8 Chinese children. The oldest is now 13, I think. He is going to China in November to adopt two more, ages 9 and 13. Well, I was shocked. We asked, very early in the adoption process, if we could adopt two children(unrelated) at the same time. We were told NO. Our homestudy approved us for two children, ages 2-13, but we were told by the agency that China did not allow dual adoptions. Now, during the conference call, I found out that it IS possible, and actually practical. After a dozen emails with the family who has already done this (8 times!! Adopting 9 and 10 this trip!) I decided to push a little. Our homestudy was approved for two children, as was our I-800A. So I pushed. Last year, I started looking at a boy who I thought would fit in well with our family. His name is FengHong. He has the most beautiful smile, and he's quite handsome. The agency describes him as athletic and "all boy," which will fit in great with our kids. I called WACAP and told them we wanted to adopt FengHong also. What a ruckus. They were not happy and quite discouraging. I was on the phone with several people from the adoption agency, and they all tried to talk me out of the idea. Then, I called the US Center for Immigration, and spoke with a person there. She said it was not a big deal on their part, since we have been approved for two children already. Why were we told last year that this wasn't feasible?? Hmmm. According to the family who is adopting two children in November, the agency doesn't like dual adoptions because they don't get their fee twice. If we adopt BingHui now, and then go back and adopt FengHong later, the agency makes twice as much money. So, now we are scrambling to do paperwork. Our pediatrician is reviewing medical records, we are hastily filling out forms, etc. etc. We are trying to do what we did in a year, for BingHui, in only a few months. We want to adopt FengHong on this same trip to China,which is supposed to be in a few months! I'm not even telling our children yet, just in case we are told no. In a few days, we'll receive a video of FengHong, and by then we might know if the CCAA will approve our dual adoption. If the Chinese government gives the ok, we'll then tell the kids that we are adopting two children now, not one. On a more positive note, as usual, it's the night before a school vacation, and we have six boys (ages 16-11) here overnight. Our 3, plus a couple of friends. They are playing pool, watching movies, and I've even relaxed my computer games rules (as long as it's Age of Empires--which is very educational). They are having a blast!! A houseful of boys is a ton of fun!