A Rose by Any Other Name...

...would smell as sweet, right? So, why is this whole name issue tying us up? We just got our adoption packet from Holt. For about 10 minutes I was gung-ho. I was going to attack that paperwork. Knock it out. Heck, it was going to be in the mail on its way to Oregon tomorrow. That is, until I came across this seemingly harmless form: the document processing information form. The first prompt under child's information? Chinese name. No problem. Well, small problem as it has already been spelled three different ways on various forms in the two months since the referral, but heck, at least it's a NAME. It does make me marginally concerned since the PRC can be something of a stickler for rules and consistency, but we dealt with this same concern with Aiden. Anyway. Second prompt? English name. Therein lies the rub. We are still nowhere near a concensus. What to do? We are encouraged to get these forms back, as everything in the adoption process is, asap. Remember, we hurry up and wait. What. To. Do? Seriously. I am stressing out. There are names we are both ok with, but that we don't "feel." There are names we each "feel," but the other, well, loathes. Now it's crunch time. I usually work well under pressure, but as it turns out, not this time. It appears I have a rare form of writer's block. I can't find the name to write on the form. H.E.L.P.!!!!

Hey, Hey! We Have PA!

Or, in normal-people-speak, we have provisional approval from the Chinese government. They downloaded our Letter of Intent (LOI) on February 22!! Now we can officially start our wait for our LOA, which, if you remember correctly, leads to TA and subsequent CA. Ha ha ha! I love doing that. Seriously, I think, out of necessity, the international adoption community is borderline crazy. Why else would we speak in acronyms and find it particularly funny. Ok. That last part might just be me! Ah well. What I'm trying to say is, we just checked off another step in a mind-numbingly lengthy list of steps. Woo hoo!! This made my day. Not even the blizzard raging outside is going to dampen my spirits....at least until Troy and I have to make the trek back into Sioux Falls through said dangerous mess. :) 'Cuz....hey, hey, hey...we have our PA!

Wonder of Wonders, Miracle! Miracle!

Ok. So if you're a Fiddler on the Roof fan, I've got THAT song stuck in your head now. You're welcome. :) Really, though, God has granted us yet another miracle in a long line of miracles. About a month back, we had requested a repeat echocardiogram. The first one we received for "Baby Bo" (as a friend dubbed him, and thus called for the duration of this blog so my dear Aunt Jeanne won't stroke-out with my constant usage of the name Tank) was from when he was about six months old. The doctors who reviewed his file were not overly concerned as it was termed MILD tricuspid regurgitation and appeared as though it was. My beautiful and generous-to-a-fault -- and fortunately for me, crazy-smart -- physician cousin went so far as to say, it could (emphasis on the could) be as simple as Baby Bo was crying when the echo was done. They all said they'd be more confident in a diagnosis / recommendation if they could see a new one. Today we received said repeat echo. It was performed....on my birthday! The results? NORMAL HEART FUNCTION!!!!! Doctor Cousin Jessica got back to me within a couple hours and said, "It's perfect - great!" God. Is. Good! It would appear that we are adopting a healthy baby boy. To cap today off, I was able to email five questions that we hope will be answered, sooner rather than later, by the orphanage and / or foster family. And, by five questions, I mean five questions with about 5 parts each. ;) I read the questions to Troy, and he said, "Um. You do realize that was actually, like, 12 questions, right?" Well. Yeah. But there's stuff a mama wants to know!! I was even so bold as to request a video. Brazen, I know. What's the worst they can do? Say no? As I wait, I will pray we get our information and give thanks for the healthy little boy awaiting us in China. Tonight, my heart is happy and full to overflowing!

Chang Bo Yong

Here are some more images of our sweet baby boy waiting for us over in China.

It is such a blessing that we received this many photos (and we actually have a few more!) when some people only get a couple. Anyway, nothing new to add, just wanted to share some more of our cutie pie! And, as a side note, he looks so much like one of the little boys adopted by one of the "Shaanxi Five" from our trip over to adopt Aiden that it makes me smile! Sigh. It has been a good day!

LID / LOI!!!

I JUST got the email from the fabulous Beth Smith! At 12:51, I was informed that our dossier has now officially been logged in with the CCCWA / China. Our LID is 2/14, and our Letter of Intent (LOI) was submitted today 2/16. Happy (one day early) birthday to me!!!!!!! So. Without further ado.....



We may now introduce Chang Bo Yong. He is now just over 16 months old and is in Changchun. This is our son!

Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of our little guy on my school computer, so for the time being, it will have to suffice. Buuuut, was I right about those cheeks?? :) Ahhh. They are BEGGING to be kissed! Anyway, let the countdown for our LOA, letter of acceptance, begin! We would sure appreciate prayers that the wait time is reducing. It had been around 90 days (over 100 for some, yuck), but I've heard rumors that it is diminishing. Some are getting it as early as day 70. :-O We would also appreciate prayers for our patience. ;) And, as always, prayers that our little guy is being loved and well-cared for in China.

Looks like a celebration tonight. Chinese food it is!

Aiden's Adoption Video

So, I just FINALLY got around to converting Aiden's adoption video and thought I'd post it on here...over a year later. :) It's over 18 minutes long. :/ I guess I'm not much of an editor. Anyway, for those interested, here ya go:

http://vimeo.com/36654135

One Step Closer

Today we are one step closer to our baby boy awaiting us in Changchun, China. I got the call at 5:21 PM our time that our (nothing less than fabulous) agency has officially sent off all of our paperwork. We are now, in adoption-ease speak, Dossier to China, or DTC. It is one small step in an excruciating marathon of steps, but a step nonetheless. (Actually, I feel like this whole process is more of a spritathon. We APs -- adoptive parents -- rush, rush, rush, and then sit and wait. My dad would liken it to the the military. Hurry up and wait!) Our contact at Holt said that we will have a log in date (LID) sometime next week so we can submit our LOI (Letter of Intent). As you can see, the adoption world has a language, riddled with acronyms, rivaled only by the military and government. Anyway, being DTC is our big news so far.

Now we get to fret and anxiously await China to hopefully approve us. I, being nothing if not neurotic and obsessive, have crunched numbers time and again to see when we might be traveling to get our dear son. Other adoptive parents would of course understand this fanatical guesstimating and attempted trend predicting. With a biological pregnancy, parents have a fairly concrete idea of when, ballpark, they are expecting. In our case, we are at the mercy of...GOVERNMENTS....heaven forbid! But I digress. If timelines remain consistent, and we hit no snags (fingers crossed, prayers offered up) we should expect to travel around July. Guangzhou will be a treat at that time. Sigh. Probably averaging 90 degrees and 90% humidity. Let me be clear, though. I will gladly travel to that sauna as opposed to having to wait until fall for some unforeseen reason. Any possible travel time, of course, is all dependent upon events entirely out of my control, though, as previously stated. Yay. Anybody who knows me knows how well I deal with that. I just have to remind myself that His timing is perfect. As difficult as it is to let go and trust, I have to take a deep breath and do just that. While we wait, we really appreciate prayers from those who do so. We pray that our little peanut (still Tank for those who are wondering) is being loved and cared for, that he is healthy and happy, that God wraps his loving arms around him and protects him. Ah, yes, and that his mom has peace and understanding that it will all happen in due time. And today, we took one more step on this journey. Thanks, everybody, for your love and support!

Oh yeah. A side note? Holt also told us today that our family picture is going to be the new picture for the China adoption guidebook in a couple of weeks. How fun is that?! :)