Fingerprinting

Finally got our appt. notice today. We will be fingerprinted (AGAIN) on 11/30...then I800 approval....then dossier to China (DTC). Wouldn't it be nice if that all happenend in time for Christmas? Then, we'd hope to get to Junie before the end of the school year.

Accomplishments

Hi all,
Over the weekend, we received our dossier packet, asking for all of the documents that we will be sending to China. Included in this are: background checks from the PH police (done today), certified copies of our birth and marriage certificates (requested online Saturday), a letter from our social worker (mailed out today), letters from our employers (requested), medicals (done over the summer), copies of passports (done), family photos (done), a letter from us, stating among other things that we are not adopting this child for the purpose of servitude (done), financial statment (done).

Our WACAP China Team coordinator called today, and said that our I800 will be mailed out this afternoon. This is a good step. We hope that within 3-4 weeks we will be given an appointment for our second round of fingerprinting. When we have I800 approval, our dossier will go off to China : )

So, although I feel good about what I accomplished, it is difficult to accept how long this process will take, no matter how quickly we do our part.

Here's some info on Hunan, China to hold you over until we have any news on the process : )

Located in the south central part of the Chinese mainland, Hunan has long been known for its natural beauty. Hunan is surrounded by mountains on the east, west, and south, and by the Yangtze River on the north. Hunan's mixture of mountains and water makes it among the most beautiful provinces in China. For thousands of years, Hunan has been a major center of Chinese agriculture, growing rice, tea, and oranges.
When to go
Hunan has a humid, subtropical climate. The monsoon rain falls mostly in April, May, and June. July and August are uncomfortably hot and humid. The best time to visit is in the fall, when temperatures are cooler and the rainfall lighter. For persons who live in cold northern climate, traveling to Hunan in the winter can be pleasant. After all, any place that grows oranges can't be all that cold. Low temperatures in winter are usually above freezing, with daily highs around 10C. Annual rainfall is around 1,250 - 1,750 millimeters (49.2 to 68.9 inches). Northern Hunan has more climate extremes than southern Hunan. It can get colder in the winter and hotter in the summer.
What to see
The headspring of life, Dongting Lake, is frequently mist-covered in the early morning. It is the second largest lake in China. Yueyang City, located on the shore of Dongting Lake, is home to one of China's three famous towers. Yueyang Pavilion was originally built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The present pavilion is of recent reconstruction, built in the style of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
In 1982, China established its first national forest park. Zhangjaijie National Forest Park was established in a particular scenic area in northwest Hunan. The park is especially known for its quartz-sandstone rock formations, bare stone sculpted by nature and set among green trees and frequent clouds.
The high and steep Mt. Hengshan is frequently snow-capped in the winter, contrasting with the subtropical fields that one sees below it. It is one of the five most famous mountains in China. Known for its precarious cliffs, it is a holy mountain for both Taoists and Buddhists.
The region along the Yuanjiang River is especially well known for its serene beauty. It takes its name, the Peach Blossom Fountainhead, from a work of Chinese literature from the Jin Dynasty (265-420). Tao Yuanming wrote about an isolated Utopia-like paradise where generations of people had escaped from the difficulties that others had experienced. The Yuanjiang River region has been a travel destination since ancient times.
Historic Changsha, one of China's famous cultural centers, is the capital of Hunan Province. It is also a tourism center, offering its visitors many historical sites and other places of interest.
Highlights
Hunan's cuisine has its unique flavor. In Hunan, nearly every dish tastes hot, and delicious. The people of Hunan like eating peppery foods.
Hunan's products include Xiang embroidery, one of China's four famous embroideries. It has high artistic value. With 200 years of history behind them, the chrysanthemum stone carvings of Liuyang are vivid and exquisite. Liuyang City is known for its firecrackers, which are popular all over China.
Many great people have come from Hunan Province. In ancient times, Quyuan, a patriotic poet, committed suicide by throwing himself into the Miluo River. The story of his death and the search for his body started the tradition of Dragon Boat Festival. Chairman Mao, idol of the Chinese people, was born in Shaoshan. Zhu Rongji, one of the important leaders in the country, also comes from Hunan Province. Such famous people show that Hunan is a place that has cultivated talent as well as being a destination for tourists.
With abundant natural resources, Hunan covers 210,000 square kilometers (81,000 square miles). It is adjacent to Jiangxi Province in the east, Chongqing Municipality and Guizhou Province in the west, Guangdong Province and Guangxi Autonomous Region in the south, and Hubei Province in the north. Hunan has a total population of 64,400,700. It is multiethnic, with Maio, Dong, and Yao being the most numerous minorities. Their unique cultures and ethnic customs attract numerous tourists.

Update

Got a quick update on Junie today - she is about 30 inches tall, about 25 pounds, and cuter than ever : )

Here is what they said about her likes and dislikes in the SWI:

She likes to play games and see new things.
She is fearful of darkness and thunders.

She sleeps alone in her own bed.

Not much to go on, but we'll take it! We are hoping to hear from WACAP's China team in the next few days to hear about our I800 and anything else we might need to be doing now! Anyone out there who would like to teach me some Chinese?

New photo

October Update

Well, we are about 4 months into the adoption process already! Can't believe it.

The good news is that our homestudy has finally been submitted to our agency, WACAP. They asked for a couple of revisions from our social worker, and the final draft was mailed back out today. Our file now moves on within WACAP to the China team, who will handle everything from here on out. As our final homestudy is approved, our documents can move on to US immigration.

In other good news, we were able to submit a few questions about our little Junie, and hope to receieve an update and new photos in a couple of weeks - very exciting!!!

So, while we wish things were moving faster, at least they are moving. Today, Quinn said that when Junie comes, she will invite all of her "little" friends to come over and meet her sister. The girls find it so hard to wait - and there is still such a long way to go!

September and no update

That's about it, really. At this point, we are still delayed in waiting for our homestudy to be submitted to our adoption agency. We thought that this part of the process would be finished by this time, but things have been delayed...Our social worker indicated today that she is still waiting for our DCFS licensing (no idea when she submitted it, and no idea why I have to be a licensed foster parent in IL to complete an international adoption). Also, the SW asked me additonal questions which she had apparently not answered in our previous interviews. So, we are a bit frustrated...no new updates on Junie : ( We are all thinking of her and wishing that things would speed up.

After approval of our homestudy, should they ever receive it, our agency will submit our documents to US immigration for approval. Only after that can our docs be submitted to China. Sigh...

August update

Hi! I know I haven't posted here lately, but there really isn't too much to report. Things continue to move along slowly. We will finish our adoption education hours, necessary for finishing our homestudy, this Thursday. After that, our social worker makes one more visit to the house. She will come next week to measure the house, check the smoke detectors, etc. The things that no one checks when you just have a baby : ) The homestudy report should be completed and submitted to WACAP, our adoption agency, in September. After that, the paperwork is out of our hands. Our agency will translate all of our documents and then submit them to China. Then, we wait again.

Homestudy process

We are in the midst of our homestudy - so far we have been fingerprinted ( I had this archaic vision of rolling my fingers in ink - all computerized, of course) and had our first interview at home. We wrote our autobiographies - hah!- and everyone has physicals next week. So, things are rolling along. We have another interview at home in about 2 weeks. We have also completed about 1/2 of our adoption education classes - some of it is pretty interesting, some not. The rest has to be completed in person vs. online, so we have to schedule our remaining hours.

Think that's about all for now - we are thinking of June and wondering what she is doing, what she likes to play, what she likes to eat...

In other news, Quinn received her power chair today - it is fabulous!!! See it at her page - www.carepages.com - page name QuinnLyons.

Starting the Journey

Here she is - the newest member of the Lyons family - June Heng Ying Lyons. This is our little girl waiting in China; she has just turned 3 years old. Are you kidding, you ask? Nope! We have made the decision to adopt and complete our family with this little girl. And no, I did not have to cast a spell on Tom, hypnotize, or otherwise incapacitate him in order to make this decision. When we saw her little face, we knew she was ours! She is diagnosed as having dwarfism - not the same type as Quinn's and more on that later - and is described as "active, restless" and "enjoys mimicking". We can't believe how beautiful she is. The paperwork will be crazy, the wait will feel endless, and the joy of bringing her home will be wonderful.



For anyone not familiar with the adoption process - it is a long one! Most people decide to adopt, proceed with a homestudy, and then wait for a referral for a child. We worked with an agency to specifically look for a child with dwarfism. When June's file was released from China, our agency sent us her information. We secured "preapproval" from China and her file was locked for us as we go through this process. Because we did not have a homestudy completed first, we are in that process now. We have lots of paperwork to complete, autobiographies to write, physicals to have done, references to be checked, etc. There is a lot to do, and it will take a while. We will not be traveling to China until sometime next year.

It would be an understatement to say that Delaney, Riley, and Quinn are thrilled about their new sister : ) I don't know how they will survive the wait! (Don't know how Tom and I will either, but there is a lot to do for right now.)



Don't want to overwhelm in this first post, just wanted to get the news out there!!