LOA Received!

Great news! We received our Letter of Acceptance from China on November 17. This is the official document that we need to sign to accept Leo as our child. Our agency received it from China and overnighted it to us to be signed and returned.  They will then send it back to China which will prompt them to set up a travel approval for us. So, now we are awaiting our travel approval. The average time from LOA until travel is 11-15 weeks, so that's what we're looking at now. The LOA can take anywhere from a month to ninety days to receive and it's pretty unpredictable so we feel SO lucky to have received it in only three weeks!

Update!

So, I sent a care package to Leo a couple of weeks ago. It contained: A few disposable cameras, three pairs of shoes in three different sizes (he can walk now!), two sets of pajamas, an outfit, a couple little blankets, and a toy bear that lights up and talks. You have to stuff everything into a box that is about the same size as an average shoe box (because of customs). So, I crammed it all in, hoping it would get to him.

About two weeks after I sent it I received an email. It was an update! My heart skipped a beat when I saw the subject-"Hu Shi Jia Update," YES!! I opened the email to see Leo wearing his new sports pajamas that Charlie had picked out. And, he was holding a basketball. When I showed the picture to Charlie he said "Leo likes basketball? I didn't know Leo likes basketball." Anyone who knows Charlie knows he is obsessed with sports so this picture sealed the deal, if he wasn't sure before.   There were two pictures, and in the other one of the nannies was sitting next to him with a smile from ear to ear. Seriously, if I can't be holding my little boy myself at least I feel a little comfort in the fact that this smiling, happy woman is with him. It gives me a little reassurance in a time when I don't have too much to cling to....

They also gave a short personality and health update: he is walking, starting to talk, is extroverted, and they gave his measurements which are all great. And, as I have said before, the doctors say that the best indicator of how well a heart patient is doing are his growth and development rates. Go Leo! Go!

We went down to the 4800 block of Broadway on Monday morning to get our fingerprints done (again). As they process our immigration paperwork we are sent on little errands: go at 8:00am on December 5th and get fingerprinted. Honestly, I don't mind because at least when we are given these chores it lets me know that something is being processed and that my application isn't just sitting on someone's desk somewhere while we wait. And, I feel less helpless in this situation-I'll do whatever it takes!

So, we're still looking at February (earliest) to travel or March or even April. We're hoping that our first immigration form will be processed before Christmas. The second one shouldn't take long, I hope. At least twenty times a day I envision myself kissing Leo's cheeks, hugging him, and seeing Charlie and Leo shooting hoops together in my living room (yes, I have a basketball hoop in my living room).

In the meantime, I am packing up another shoebox size box. This one contains a little blanket, new socks, some disposable cameras, and two new outfits. In China it is important to ring in the new year with a new outfit-so play clothes are on the way Leo! 2012 is going to be a great one for all of us-I want  Leo to bring it the new year in style (ok, in style when you're 14 months means comfy sweats and a matching shirt, but that works, right?). Counting the days....

I800A Fingerprints!

We received our I800A fingerprint appointment yesterday! This means that they are processing our paperwork and is one of the last steps before approval!!! So, we are scheduled to get our fingerprints taken on December 5 at 8:00 in the morning. I love receiving any sort of paperwork because it just makes me feel like something is happening.  Anytime that we are given an "assignment" I do it immediately. I just can't stand it when things are out of my hands. Although I'm sure people are doing their jobs as they should I just know they don't have the sense of urgency that we have. After all, this is our son we are talking about.

We are also waiting for our Letter of Acceptance from China. Once we receive this letter, which should be any day now, it will be about 11-15 weeks until TRAVEL!! That day will be a big one!!

So, as for right now, we are happy to have some sort of sign that someone has been working on our file. We are one step closer to our little Leo!!

Our Journey to Leo

Leo's Referral Picture

                    “An Invisible Red Thread connects those who are destined to meet,

Regardless of time, place or circumstance.

The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break."

(Ancient Chinese Legend)

There he is!! 

I received a phone call on October 7, 2011. It was my agency asking if I wanted to review the file of a little boy named Hu (last name) Shi (world) Jia (excellent).  She described his personality a little and then added "Today is his first birthday." Less than five minutes later I was looking at this little face on my computer screen. 

Now, that's one handsome baby...don't you agree?  I mean, look at those cheeks!! He's delicious!!

I looked over his medical records (all in Chinese and they didn't really mean much to me. I would need a doctor to translate everything and explain). The background information was in English though. Developmentally he is on target. He was born on October 7, 2010. On October 29, 2010 he was found in front of a hospital. He was thin and his breathing was labored. He looked blue. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and received immediate care. Despite the fact that he has not had surgery yet and is not on meds he has proven to be a resilient, strong little boy. His height and weight are excellent, in the 85th percentile on a western growth chart. The doctors all say this is a great indicator of how well he is doing. Of course, it won't be until I get my little guy back here and have tests done here that we will know exactly what is going on. However, his growth is a reason to be positive and hopeful. He is learning how to walk and can walk himself around while holding onto furniture.  The nannies describe him as a mischief maker and I smiled as I read it. Sounds like he and a certain red head I know will have a little fun together....

HA HA HA! Is that the look of a "mischief maker" or what?  

That evening, October 7, the same day we received his referral Charlie and I went to Saint A's to light a candle for Leo. We walked into the big, dark, empty church and up to the front. As I lit the candle Charlie immediately started singing "Happy Birthday To You." That is why you light candles, right? Well,  it was Leo's birthday, after all. 

So, after sending his referral, all information we had, including medical records off to The University of Minnesota International Adoption Clinic and to another doctor in Chicago, Dr. Ochs, who specializes in Chinese adoptions we were given the a-ok to proceed. "Go ahead and adopt" were the exact words of the cardiologist. 

So, fast forward one month exactly. Everyone in the world knows about our little Leo. I show his picture to anyone who will look. If it isn't Mike or myself talking about him it's Charlie. He has gotten into this amazingly adorable habit of asking random strangers if they have a brother. Then, before they have a chance to answer he proudly says "I have a little brother. His name is Leo. He lives in China. We are going to get bunk beds."  

How I dream of the day I get to see my two boys playing and laughing together!! 

A couple weeks ago we requested an update. Our agency told us they would try but that it was highly unlikely. Then, just one week after we requested the information our wish was granted. We didn't get a lot of medical information but we did get some labs and they all looked great according to our doctors here. Leo's height and weight continue to progress. And, we even got a picture!! It was taken the same day that I received it, don't you just love technology? Look how big he is getting!!

Look at his hair! I just want to kiss those cheeks. Hang in there Leo, we'll be there soon!!

So, our immigration paperwork is being processed right now. When you have been in the process of adoption for four years you join a lot of online groups and get a lot of information from others who are in the same boat. So, according to other families in the process it seems that the wait for the I800A immigration approval is about 8 weeks. Then we have to get our last immigration approval, called the I800. This is supposed to take about 20 days. So, all in all I think we will most likely be traveling in March. Of course, I am hopeful that it will be sooner than that.  We have been waiting SO long but the wait has really become brutal now that we have a little face that we are looking forward to meeting and bringing home.  For now, we have to trust that our little Leo is in good hands. Every night I pray that he has warm blankets while he sleeps, enough nutritious food to eat, little friends to play with, caregivers who hug and kiss him, make him laugh, and treat him as we will treat him.