HUGE BLESSING!

I received a huge blessing this week that is priceless!  A friend from Beijing found information on Kaylee from her beginning in Foster care including 11 pictures and documentation of her progress!  I've included a little for you here.

"Hey Guys!  I'm new here!  What's up?"  

"How much?  That's not very much!  I think you better give me a cookie!"  

"Don't ya think you should do something' about this hair, People?"  

"Not exactly what I hard in mind for the new hairdo!  Sheesh, gotta look for a new stylist!"  

Some of the highlights in her notes were:

4 Months Old

"Feng yumei is 3 months old, she has changed a lot. Anyone will feel she is thin and small at first glance.. But that’s wrong, because she was even more small when she first arrived. She eats well. She behaves well, and she can smile now.  Her eyes were almost closed by the eye secretion, only 3 or 5 minutes after cleaning secretion will overflow again. Even the eyes specialist said the eyes can not be cured, she was almost sure to be blind. But her nanny has never give up, and Yumei worked at it too! Finally, her eyes can open and can see. It’s really a miracle!"

- I will FOREVER be grateful that God placed my little Kaylee Yumei in the care of someone so determined and who shows such love for her!    I pray I get to meet her and thank her personally when I get there!

5 Months Old

"Feng Yu Mei has always been rather slim, but she is very agile, and her arms and legs seem to have lots of power when moving."

7 Months Old

"Feng Yumei has remained to be one of the strongest girls. Her progress surprises everyone around her. Her action speaks that she is a smart kid. Now she can hold a creamer and drink milk herself."

- That's my girl!!!

9 Months Old

"The first challenge she met is to learn how to turn over. At first we were perplexed for a while by how to make her to obtain this skill. But it does not take much time as we thought. She can do it from this month and she is so into it. She keeps practicing it."

10 Months Old

"Feng Yumei has a surprising development this month. She just learned to turn over last month, but she is able to sit when her mother feeds her. Although she can only sit for a lunch time, we are very proud of what she has achieved."

11 Months Old

" Yumei is a pretty girl who looks like a baby doll. She can sit for a long time to play toys in hands. She is a smart girl."

- Well of course she is!  :)

1 Year old

"Feng Yumei is smart, quick-witted, but a little bit arbitrary. Her limb activity is coordinated and dexterous. She is bright enough to react quickly, and she can get a solution finally when facing problems."

Well, she wouldn't be mine if she weren't a little "arbitrary"!  That arbitrary nature is what has made her work with her wonderful nannies to defy the odds! (Remind me of this when she's home and pitching a fit because she wants dessert before dinner!)  

Apparently after a year they moved her from the Foster Parent floor o the orphanage floor.  I'm hearing great things about this orphanage an based on these files, I believe it.  I'm am even more eager than before to get my little angel home, now that I know more of her spunky personality.  She's a little "Defy the odds fighter" and I'm so proud of her and honored to be her mommy!  And I'm incredibly grateful to the God that has been watching over her and ordering her steps from the very beginning.  I'm coming for you soon, Baby Doll!

Article 5 Pickup is Thursday!  Then we go to the Travel Approval wait.  The Adoption Affairs offices have been reorganizing which has slowed everything down drastically.  I pray that doesn't affect me.  There is the  "Tomb Sweeping Day" holiday the 2-4 of April.  Ugh!  Would be so nice if they'd get mine done before that!  

I got Cabled!!!

Another important step today! I got the cable from the National Visa Center for Kaylee's Visa! Now I enter the 2 week wait for the Article 5. This time frame is a definite 2 weeks. After Pick Up I am officially waiting for Travel Approval! Getting so close now!

We sent little Kaylee a birthday care package yesterday. Shell be getting a cake, a couple of warm outfits, hair bows OF COURSE, and a soft little Dollie. We also sent some "Dum Dum" lollipops for the other children and some socks to help keep their feet warm.

I'm praying the orphanage takes birthday pictures which they often do!

I800 Approval!

Another milestone today!  I got my verbal I-800 Approval from USCIS today!  They will 2 day express it to the National Visa Center in Houston as well as send a copy to me.  When I get my copy, it's sent to Dillon who sends it to China via email.  All of this is working up to the event of me being "Cabled"!  Cabled means that your documents are in Guangzhou, China at the American Consulate.  This takes exactly 2 weeks, no more, no less.  It's the most predictable part of the process.  It is taken by courier and picked up the same way.  After my Cable is picked up, then I wait for Travel Approval.  So, ALMOST THERE!

I'm beginning to gather things to pack, gifts for the orphanage workers and government officials, etc.  Amazing how you wait and wait, then you are on the fast track all of a sudden!  Not that I'm complaining AT ALL!  But I am in full preparation mode now!

Off to get my 5 vaccinations tomorrow.  Now THAT should be fun!  But worth it of course.

Will blog again when I am Cabled!

New picture!

I was so blessed last week to get a surprise email from Dillon containing a new picture of Kaylee!  Her orphanage had it taken for her passport photo!  Oh wow, that's so exciting to say!  Her passport photo!  That means we are truly SO close!  Little girl's gettin' some hair!  Oh boy can I picture little pigtails all over that head...with bows, yep, LOTS of bows!  

I'll be calling on Thursday to find out the status of my I-800 approval from USCIS.  Once it's approved, it is sent by 2 Day Air to the National Visa Center in Houston.  They in turn will take 1-3 business days to give final approval for Kaylee's journey here and email the American consulate in Guangzhou, China.  After that, the materials Dillon sends will be couriered over to Guangzhou as well.  2 weeks later the Article 5 will be picked up by the courier and returned to the CCAA (China Center For Adoption Affairs) in Beijing.  Then we only await TA (TRAVEL APPROVAL)!  The wait for Travel Approval has drastically decreased as of late.  No one knows why but quite a few families got theirs last week after only a 10 day wait.  I pray this trend continues.  If so, we would be looking at leaving around May 1.  Mother's Day is May 13th....JUST SAYIN'!  :)  Please pray I will have her in my arms by that date.  The only real variable in this part of the wait is the I-800 and the TA.  If those go according to current trends, I should have no problem having her by then.  

A trend we can pray will NOT continue is the rise of gas prices.  UGH!  We all feel it at the pump, but we will definitely be feeling it as we look at purchasing international flights.  The good news is that it shouldn't affect our in country flights within China.  But of course that's not the bulk of the cost.  

We will be sending Kaylee a care package from "Mama, Mimi, and Pop Pop" this week!  A disposable camera will be included in hopes that we'll end up getting it back and can have the pictures developed.  We will also send a birthday cake for her on her birthday.  There are wonderful companies who do this on a regular basis.  

It's so difficult to know I'll barely be missing her birthday by about 1 month.  But then again, she'll be 2 and probably not have a great understanding about birthdays anyway.  I'm more sad for myself than anything.  But God's timing is perfect and all the longing for her and missing the "firsts" will soon be in the past.  

The other GREAT news I received last week came from an adoptive mom who picked up her little girl in Hohhot last year at the same orphanage.  She said the orphanage was very nice!  She said it was very clean and the nannies were caring with the children.  She also said her little one was not only on target developmentally and intellectually but actually ahead of the average child her age.  The mom is a teacher, so she knew what she was talking about.  This was the best news ever...that Kaylee's in a clean nice place with people who care!  I'm so grateful!  

I'm trying to learn several Chinese phrases during this wait time.  Chinese of course has a lot riding on inflection....the tonal pattern (rise and fall) of how you say words.  You can literally be saying 3 completely different words by using the same letters but changing the tone!  So, I want to be careful.  I want to make sure for instance that I'm saying, "Mommy loves you" and not something like "Mommy's stinky!"  That would be embarrassing!  :D  

Thank you again for your prayers and support!  I'll post again when I hear I have I-800 approval for Kaylee's citizenship from USCIS.  That's the specific prayer request right now, that it would be expedient!