Tuesday, April 15th we woke up hopeful that we would receive a call from our agency since a new "shared list" had just been released. The shared list is the list of eligible children for adoption that the Chinese government releases monthly. Adoption agencies can request to "reserve" children on that list that meet the criteria of the families waiting within their agency. It was getting later and later into the afternoon and I began to lose hope that our child would be on this list. I was sitting on Brooklyn's bed looking at my phone when it rang! I don't get many calls from Eugene, Oregon so I knew it had to be our agency.
"I want to talk to you about a little boy!", Marissa, our Holt social worker said. She had nothing but good things to say about this little boy who will soon be our son. He appears to be healthy except for the diagnosed ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) which may not need any medical intervention at all. He and Brooklyn will be 10 months apart in age. He is actually not from the shared list at all, but from an exclusive partnership our agency has with the orphanage. The not so good news was that his file had not been "officially" released yet so we'd have to wait until we could send our intent to adopt him to China.
Marissa also told us she would actually be at his orphanage the following week and would try to get some new photos and possibly even video of him for us!! Considering we cannot meet him for another several months, we covet any information we can get on him.
Marissa forwarded us his medical file and photos, which we reviewed with our medical team at Children's Medical Center's International Adoption Clinic. After looking over the file, they told us they really have no concerns and that he looks healthy and his development looks great. They recommended that we ask the orphanage a few follow up questions with updates on his current development which we received yesterday.
We submitted our LOI (Letter of Intent) to our agency a few days later which means we intend to move forward with adopting him. We were prepared to wait up to a month before his file was officially released, but we got a call yesterday - only two weeks later - that his file is ready and our LOI was submitted on our behalf to China!!
We are beyond excited! His orphanage is in a big city in China (the capital city of his province) and should provide more resources than smaller orphanages in more rural areas. The area he lives in looks beautiful and we cannot wait to see it and experience the culture.
We are now waiting for our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from China which will take a few months to receive. Once we receive their acceptance, we must file his official information with the U.S. government to get approval of his citizenship. We then send the U.S. approval to China and they will send us a TA (Travel Approval) which will allow us to make our travel reservations to finally go to China!! We believe this whole process will take about 6 months or so and therefore are hoping to be able to travel to China in November or December of 2014!
It is so so crazy to think about having a son on the other side of the world - to have a face and a name to put with our dream. We plan to name him Charlie :) and keep his given Chinese name as a middle name. We already love him and can't wait to bring him into our family. We look at the pictures of him and imagine what his personality is like and how he'll respond to us.
While we wait, we need prayers! Prayers that the process continues to go smoothly and that all our paperwork processes faster than we are expecting. Prayers that Charlie is being given love, good food and has good health. Prayers that we wait well, knowing God's timing is perfect. Prayers that our travel is safe. Prayers that Brooklyn somehow understands what's happening and adjusts well to a new sibling. Prayers that Charlie adjusts well to a new family, new culture and new environment.
We are amazed as we see God leading us through this journey and see his fingerprints on each step we take. We appreciate all your prayers and support and will keep updating you as we progress!
