Just Ten More Days...

It's been awhile since I took the time to truly reflect on where Troy and I are in this long, difficult journey of adoption. So, while I have some peace and quiet for at least a few minutes, I think I will. As I sit here typing, it is so hard to believe that we will leave for China in ten short days. I remember waiting for referrals to come in. Ten days then seemed like a lifetime to wait. Now, with it being so close to time to travel, ten days seems like hardly enough time to pack. How ironic life is! As we have been preparing over the last couple of weeks, I've often found myself wondering what life is like for Karsynn right now in China and praying that we can offer her a wonderful life here in the U.S. We've been anticipating her for so many months now, but the funny thing is she has NO idea that her life is about to change so dramatically. That makes me really sad. She isn't anticipating us. She's probably as content with her life as she can possibly be, because she knows nothing different. As joyful as we will be when they hand her to us for the first time, we have to remember that she will be traumatized for at least awhile. We will be taking her away from everything that she has known for that last 8 months of her life. Although we know we will be taking her away to a much better life, she will view it as the opposite. I know that this isn't anything that a lot of love and patience cannot fix, but it's still sad to think about. She will be experiencing people who look very different, sound different, smell different, act different, and people who want to love and kiss her all over and make everything all better. However, this will be hard for her to understand. I just hope that God blesses Troy and I, and especially our mothers (who are traveling with us), with the patience to understand what Karsynn will be going through. My heart will certainly break in two if she doesn't come to me and begin to bond quickly; however, I know that bonding is something that will have to be worked at. We don't have the luxury of having carried Karsynn for 9 months in the womb, but I have carried her for much longer in my heart, she just doesn't know that yet. I am consumed with love for this child. I have prayed for this child and God has answered my prayers. For so many months we wondered what she would look like and what her personality would be like. Now, in just a very few short days we'll finally know. All of our questions will be answered. I know that many of you have anticipated Karsynn for just as long and are VERY anxious to meet her. I do want to prepare you for how she might react at first and ask that you be patient with her and with us. As new parents, it will only be natural for us to want to calm her when she cries and hold her when she's scared. Please know that if we overreact or seem tense, it has nothing to do with you. In fact, adoption experts have said that it is best if she is securely bonded with us before she begins to interact with others. So, if we whisk her out of your arms when, and if, she begins to cry, then just try to understand. We've missed the first 8 months of Karsynn's life and that's time that we will never be able to get back. The time when natural bonding and attaching that takes place between a baby and its parents has been lost for us, so we'll have to work really hard to catch up. There will be other things that you can do for us during this crucial time, though. Here are some things that other adoptive parents have been offered by friends and family which really made their transition to a new life a whole lot easier:

• Offer to run errands or run to the grocery
• Come by with lunch or dinner
• Offer to wash and dry a load of laundry
• Take time to call before dropping by, as baby AND parents might be resting
• Offer to take pictures or video of the new family while visiting
• Come by to see the baby, but don't EXPECT to get to hold it immediately
• Offer the new parents and baby plenty of alone time to bond

As a new mommy, it is so difficult to try and explain these things to friends and family. You feel almost like you're being selfish, but I promise you, I'm not. Troy and I have had 24 credit hours of parent education classes before this adoption could take place, and much of what we learned dealt with attachment and bonding. The window of opportunity for bonding for adoptive parents is so small, so every moment is precious. I hope you will understand. We love you all and can't wait to share Karsynn with you.

Back to Reality!!!

Enough Said!


Whitney and I at Ocean Walk



A late afternoon storm...

Troy and I at Deck Down Under

Whitney Brooke

We arrived home around 9:00 from Daytona. We had such a relaxing time. I hated to see it end, but it does mean we are that much closer to bringing Karsynn home. I've posted some pics. The bathing beauty is my niece, Whitney. She's 12 going on 16. She keeps reminding me that she'll be driving soon. Yeah right! It about killed me to see all the boys gawking at her in Daytona. I thought I might have to beat a few of them off! LOL! Enjoy the pics.

Sammi

In Country Travel Arrangements are Here!!!!

Troy and I just received out travel agenda for China via email. This all seems so surreal to me right now. We've been waiting for so long for Karsynn, and the time is here, yet I'm sitting here in shock. We are going to be very busy while in China. I will post some specifics of our trip later, for the email was about 6 pages long. We will be united with Karsynn on July 30 in the afternoon. The day we've been waiting on is coming at the end of this month. Can you believe it? I cannot imagine what I'm going to do with myself until then, but I'm sure I can find something to keep me busy...LOL. I'll post more later. For now, I'm headed to the pool for some relaxation and sun. Daytona is lovely, but HOT!!!!!!

Travel Arrangements...FINALLY!!!!!

We have a Consulate Appt. in Guangzhou on Aug. 8th, so that means we will be home on Aug. 10th, not the 11th. We are in contact with Lawrence, the travel agent from Seattle, making plans for travel, as I type. I cannot believe this day has come! My heart is overfilled with joy.

Love and Prayers,
Sammi

Kailee and Lilianna's Referrals are Here!

Lily


Lilianna Saul


Kailee Hartnett

Karsynn and CJ officially have two other playmates. These are our friends' daughters. They just received a referral today. We are so excited to add more members to our adoption family!!!!

Both girls are in the same orphanage in Beihai SWI in Southern China. They are both about 16 mo. old.





The picture at the top is one of our other friends' baby girl. They will travel soon to bring her home. Her name is Lily and she has a beautiful sister from Ukraine named Ella.

Another Baby Shower!

While we were in Missouri, we were surprised with ANOTHER baby shower by Troy's family.

We got our Travel Acceptance Letter (TA)!!!

Oh my, good news comes again. We've been waiting on our travel letter and they came today!!!!!! AAAHHHHHH! Our travel coordinator has applied for a Consulate Appt. in Guangzhou for either Aug. 8 or 9th, so we will leave on July 26. It looks as if we'll return on Aug. 11th. We are so excited that I can't even tell you. This was a pleasant surprise to come home to today after a 10 hr. drive from visiting Troy's family in Missouri. It looks as if the next few weeks will be very busy!!! Stay tuned!

How Much Longer?

Ok, I've been asked a lot lately, "so, you have her pictures, now what?" So, I thought it was time to do another one of my prediction posts. So, here goes:

1. We received our referral on June 6th, 2007 (pictures, medical information, etc.)
2. We had our first pre-travel meeting on Monday, June 11th, at AHH in Lexington.

• There will be 8 families traveling with us to Chongqing (Chong-Ching) and 6 other Special Needs parents will do part of the trip with us, but will go to a different province to get their child.

3. All paperwork was due at AHH by Thursday, June 14th, by all families.

4. On Friday, June 15th, all acceptance letters were mailed to China and we now wait on our TA (Travel Approval Letter) which takes 30-40 days.

5. On Friday, the travel coordinator also sent all Passports, via Courier Service, to get our Chinese Visas.

6. After our TA arrives from China, we can then apply for a Consulate Appt. with the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou, China. Once we know our CA date, then we can back up two weeks from that date and decide the date we depart. Right now, if things go as hoped, it looks as if we will leave on Aug. 2nd and will return on Aug. 16th. We could leave a week earlier, if the paperwork we're waiting on arrives sooner, so please pray.

This is all we know right now. Once again, we're waiting, but we are SO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!

Recent Pictures from Karsynn's Orphanage

A lady on our Yahoo Group site just received updated pics of her SN child she's adopting. I'm posting a few that show some kids in Karsynn's orphanage. The little girl in pink has hair like Karsynn, but Troy and I think she's too big to be Karsynn. One family from our group does believe their little girl is in one of the pictures.

AHH Picnic with New and Old Friends

We had a blast today. I won't say much, but will post lots of pictures! Enjoy some snapshots of us and our adoption family.

It's Time for the AHH Picnic!

Well, it's time for the annual A Helping Hand picnic. This year will be different, though. Last year, Troy and I were "lurkers" who walked around watching all the families enjoy themselves and talking to others about their journey to China. This year, we don't have Karsynn, but we are closer. We have a referral. We had t-shirts made with Karsynn's referral picture on them and they say, "Karsynn's Mommy and Karsynn's Daddy." We figure, this way we won't be pulling her picture out to show her off. She'll be right there in plain view. Can you tell we're proud? I'll post pictures of the t-shirts and picnic later. There are no updates to tell you about yet. Our paperwork for a Chinese Visa has been sent to Washington, D.C. and we're waiting on Travel Acceptance Letters from China. As soon as we get those, we can apply for a Consulate Appointment date in Guangzhou, China, and then we'll schedule our travel. So, until then, we wait...the story of our lives for the past 19 months.

Happy Father's Day!!!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads and Dads-to-Be that are so special in my life! Enjoy your day! You all deserve it! To Karsynn's daddy, we love you very much and appreciate all that you do for us! Happy Father's Day!

Map of Chongqing Where Karsynn Is!

Karsynn is the city of Nanchuan, which is southeast of the largest city in her province, Chongqing. Click on the map to make it larger, so that you can see Nanchuan.

We had our 1st Travel Meeting

Yesterday was a day that we thought might never come. We had our first official travel meeting at AHH in Lexington. It appears there will be 14 families traveling with our group, eight that received referrals this June and 6 that are adopting Special Needs children. Our dates are tentative and apt to change, but right now it looks as if we may leave for China on August 2nd and return August 16th. These dates are very sketchy right now, as we are still waiting on a Travel Approval Letter from China and will need to apply for a Consulate Appt. in Guangzhou. Things have been so crazy since receiving Karsynn's referall, but hopefully they will calm down for a least a little while. Troy and I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their kind words of encouragement since we received her referral. My heart just flutters when I look at that beautiful face. So many of you brag about how beautiful Karsynn is (and she is) and that really makes my heart smile. I'm a proud Mama!!! We'll keep you posted on the next steps!

More Pics from Today

Here are some more pictures from our eventful day. Troy is pointing to Karsynn's province and Beijing, which will be two stops we'll make while in China. The two babies are Karsynn and CJ (Cynthia Jane), whose parents will travel with us and are from Ohio. We all met today at AHH to receive our referral information and pictures. What a day!!!!

We Got the Call!!!!

Karsynn's picture is HERE!!! Oh my gosh! We're on our way to Lexington to pick it up right now! We'll post later!!!!! YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Karsynn's Chinese Name: Nan Min Bao
She's 6 months and 24 days old today, June 6, 2007
She was born November 12, 2006, just two days before our anniversary.

Karsynn is from the Nanchuan Social Welfare Orphanage in the Chonquing Province

No Phone Call YET!

Ok, so I did manage a bit of sleep last night. However, I've been cleaning house like a crazy woman since I woke up this morning. I've done laundry, cleaned the bathroom, picked up around the rest of the house. I need this kind of excitement a little more often, it seems. I emailed our Family Advocate this a.m. and said, "I'm not going to ask, but her are some numbers for you to call in a specific order, just in case." His reply to me was "okie dokie," so he seemed to be in a good mood for some reason. I've sent Troy to Wal-Mart for video tapes and a broom (crack me up!). I told him not to be gone long, but we know how Troy is when he runs in to someone he knows. Lord help us all!!! Now, this is all for this post. As soon as I know more, then I'll update again. Will this be the day we finally see Karsynn's face...Stay Tuned!!!!!!

Is this REALLY happening?????

Oh my goodness! We just checked the Rumor Queen website, and she has already posted that our family is expecting a referral this month. It just doesn't seem real. I'm not sure how much sleep I'll manage tonight, but my schedule is clear tomorrow for "the call!!!!" When, and if, we get the call tomorrow, Troy and I will travel to Lexington to our adoption agency, A Helping Hand, to pick up Karsynn's birth information and pictures. We are planning a big celebration with a couple of friends who will travel to China with us. Here is a rough plan for our next steps:

• Get the call and travel to Lexington to get her pictures this week (hopefully tomorrow!)
• Take it all in, then make an appointment for a pediatrician in Lexington, who specializes in International Adoption, to look over Karsynn's birth information
• Accept our referral with A Helping Hand within a week
• Our Acceptance will be sent to China and we will receive a Travel Acceptance letter within weeks, hopefully
• Send a care package of goodies to Karsynn at her orphanage
• Wait for a Consulate Appointment in Guangzhou, China
• Begin making travel arrangements to China
• Hopefully leaving for China at the end of July or 1st of August
• "Gotcha Day" in China (the day we've been waiting for)

Someone pinch me...

Referrals are beginning to arrive on the West Coast!

Ok, so at least 4 people have posted that they've received "the call" from their agency that their referral has arrived. All of these were logged in on November 7, 2005, so that means we must be in. I'm not going to "jump the gun" here, because we have not received our call yet. Could it be that we'll see Karsynn's face tomorrow? Could her picture and birth information actually be here on U.S. soil right now as I type? OH MY GOSH!!! I am a "mess" right now. Troy had to go umpire tonight, but I made him promise to keep his cell phone turned on. I don't think we'll hear anything tonight, but tomorrow could be the day we've been dreaming of for so long. Tomorrow is June 6th, quite possibly the happiest day of our lives. I'll keep you posted.

No News Yet!

Well, it's Saturday evening (Sunday Morning) now, and no news whatsoever on Rumor Queen's website. It's eerily quiet. I'm hoping that maybe she'll start to hear some rumors tomorrow evening, which will be Monday morning in China. We did receive our final document from USCIS today in Louisville. We've been waiting for it since April 20th, so it took over a month to process it. This is the document that approves us for a child. A copy is also sent to the consulate in China. This is the 2nd time we've had to apply for this paper because the adoption process slowed down dramatically. Our fingerprints are good through 12/07, so let's HOPE we travel to China before then. If not, then just "put me out of my misery!" I'll keep you posted.