What a GOOD FRIDAY in more than one way...

Well we successfully went to get our biometric fingerprints done. YIPPEE! It was in the weirdest strip mall without even a sign really. We went in and there was a guard and a woman behind a desk. She asked us to turn off any cell phones and asked for our paperwork. We handed her our forms and she was very friendly. She asked where we are adopting from and gave us one form to fill out. There were just a few other people there. We barely sat down before they called me back. The guy took a spray bottle and lightly sprinkled my fingers with water. Then he took each finger and rolled it from side to side on this small screen and then it would show up on the computer screen in front of us. And then it was Jason's turn. :)

We were in and out of there is probably 15 minutes. Too bad it is such a long drive but, we didnt waste being in a big city. We decided we should go check out strollers. Jason told me later that he felt way too old and out of place when we walked into Babies R Us. LOL!

And the BEST news of the day......we received PA today! What is PA?? Well PA stands for Pre-Approval. A (PA) is significant in the adoption process. This is when China has reviewed our file and approved us to adopt the specific child we requested (pending we follow through with certain conditions). When we sent in our LOI earlier this week, it was the first time China has looked at our documents and they approved us to adopt a sweet little girl in their care right now....Wu KeXia aka our Charlotte ! :) We are so thrilled!

So I will leave you with a sweet picture of our baby girl! :)  We have decided we want to use part of her Chinese name to honor her heritage and time in China.  So, now we are trying to decide what part to use.  For right now we are thinking her full American name will be: 

Charlotte Rose Kexia McCuistion

Much Love!

Kendra

Happy mail today! :)

Well the long awaited letters arrived today! YIPPEE! :)

The letters were from the Department of Homeland Security stating they want us to come be fingerprinted.  We will be going to the office in Nashville to be fingerprinted on Friday! 

Yes this is the 3rd time we have had to be fingerprinted: once for a local police check, once for TBI background check and this time it is for our visas to go to China.  It is biometric fingerprinting and will be saved to identify us coming in and out of the country.

The timing has worked out perfect.  Jason happens to be off on Friday and the kids are in school...how more perfect could it be?!?!?  Thank you God for working out another step in this adoption process.  We re one more step closer to our Charlotte.

Prayer need: please pray once we are fingerprinted that it will speed up our I-800a approval.  We are soooo ready to be DTC=Dossier to China and that is the NEXT STEP! :) 

Much Love!
Kendra

Whats happening??

Well things are happening around here.  Our documents for our dossier (except the I800a approval) are DONE and our agency is reviewing them to make sure there are no mistakes with the authentications. :) 

We used a courier for our dossier documents at the Washington DC China Consulate...Carol at Dependable ACS.  I really can't say enough good things bout her.  Would highly recommend her!  She kept us informed each step of the way which made me feel at ease.

Tomorrow our agency will send in our LOI for us.   A letter of intent (LOI) states why we want to adopt Charlotte (WuKexia) and asking permission from the Republic of China to adopt her.  They hopefully will give us a (PA) preapproval sometime within the next few days. :) YIPPEE!

Now we are waiting on I800a approval and our documents will be off to......CHINA! :)  At this point called Dossier to China (DTC), we can expect about 4 months until we will be in CHINA!  Papers and things start happening a bit more quickly after our paperwork gets to China and hopefully we will get a Letter of Acceptance super quickly. :) 

Thought this was funny:

The driving distance from west Tennessee to Wuwei, China is: 11,903 miles / 19,156 km

Keep praying for speedy paperwork....we are getting there! :)

Much Love!

Kendra

The most thoughtful gift I have EVER received!

Yesterday I received a surprise package in the mail...It is the nicest, most thoughtful gift I have EVER received! I thought what could this be?   I enjoy participating in quilt swaps on an online group called flickr.  Sometimes we swap quilt blocks, other times we swap mini quilts.  Well I had been looking forward to a special swap group (DQS10) since the fall and was so excited to sign up for it but, soon realized I was overwhelmed with adoption paperwork and that I needed to drop out of the swap. :( Back to the package.....I opened it to find this quilt that is a amazing work of art made by a online flickr friend (Angela -Twee) that I knew online but I have NEVER met in person. I just cried and cried when I read the card she enclosed saying how she had wanted to make this quilt for me even though I had to drop out of the swap....It is her special interpretation of our adoption journey.  An excerpt from her card: "This quilt is my humble interpretation of your adoption journey to bring home your sweet Charlotte Rose.  I am not sure if you know, but we really struggled for 6 years to conceive our daughter.  As a result, we are profoundly aware of the call to adopt.  We have  many close friends who have done international adoptions.  I am intimately aware of the hardships and intense joy that comes with the adoption process.  So I hope this quilt bring you a little joy and hope as you wait to finally hold your sweet girl." It is the most amazing thing I have EVER seen and it will always be treasured.   These pictures don't even do it justice....it is a amazing piece. I think it is going to have a special place on the wall in Charlottes room. :) Also from the card:  "The quilt is entitled "The Rescuers".  There are 3 sailor boys rescuing the little girl on the lily pad, all in a far away land.  The sailors represent your three sons off on an adventure to bring home their little sister."

(You can click on the pictures to make them larger)

Close up of the 3 sailors.  The boys immediately and unanimously claimed which sailor was who.  :)  Will is on the far left looking out, Drew is the one praying in the front and Ben is sitting down in the boat for safety.

A close up of Charlotte Rose...

A close up of China in the distance.

If you have a chance, please go and check out Angelas blog.  She is such an amazingly creative quilter and has had many of her ideas published in magazines.  http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com/   It has been such a treat getting to know Angela (who lives in Louisiana) as well as other quilters from literally all over the world through flickr. 

Angela, I really don't know how I can ever thank you adequately.  I am such a sentimental freak and this is just so very special to me.  You definitely gave me hope and joy that one day soon we will have Charlotte in our arms and she will hear the story of this very special quilt you created just for her.

Much Love! Kendra

Dossier Preparations...

Yesterday was another BIG day! I sent all of our dossier documents to a courier that we have hired to take them to the Chinese Consulate of Washington, D.C. to have them authenticated.  The only thing we are waiting on is our I800a approval and we will pay for expedited authentication of it and then we will be DTC =Dossier to China.  Then it is up to the CCWAA (China Center of Welfare and Adoption Affairs) to approve us. 

What is a dossier? The official definition is "a collection of papers containing detailed information about a particular person or subject (usually a person's record). In this case, the record is being compiled on the adoptive parents. In order to adopt a child from China, you will be required to collect a series of documents that tell the CCWAA about you, your family, your health, and your finances.

Our agency provided a workbook outlining the dossier process.  It was hard to get my head around the process because for us several states were involved.  I don't know what I would do without the China Adopt Talk adoption forum.  They have answered so many questions for me and helped me to understand the process.  So if you are in the process of adopting please check out this forum.  http://chinaadopttalk.com/forum/index.php

Things are beginning to happen around here more frequently so its so great to see us progressing towards getting our baby girl!   :)  We ask for your continued prayers for the paperwork to go smoothly and quickly and that Charlotte is being loved and well cared for.  All the waiting & paperwork is so hard, but I am trying to stay focused on that one day I will look back on this time as just a blink of an eye because we will have Charlotte in our arms and know she is ours forever.

Much Love!
Kendra

Our last family pictures without Charlotte

Our dear friend, Michelle, that is a photographer, came over to the house to take a few family pictures for our dossier.  We have to include 6 photos of us with our paperwork to China and I really didnt have any good recent pictures.  Michelle did such a good job!  And hopefully these are our last family photos without Charlotte in them.  :)

Kendra

P.S. Will got glasses a couple of weeks ago...you will notice this in the pictures. 

New pictures....I will post more later