About Me
- Indigoraven
- Somewhere Between Here and There, United States
- I'm a busy mommy to TWO beautiful, witty, energetic little girls.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
WE HAVE OUR DATES ! ! ! !
DEC 5TH - DEC 17TH
We will be leaving Friday, December 5th out of Newark Int'l Airport at 12:15 pm arriving in Beijing Capital Airport on Saturday, December 6th at 3:00 pm. Our daughter, Morgan (4 ½) will be with us. Hopefully everyone will have had a good rest on the plane. I would like to sightsee a little and buy a few mementos.
Sunday December 7th we will fly out of Beijing Capital Airport at 2:35 pm arriving at the Nanking/Nanjing Airport at 4:30pm.
We will get to meet our beautiful little angel on Monday, December 8th. Our Consulate appointment is Monday, December 15th.
We will visit the orphanage where Liana was raised. She was brought there on day two of her life. Liana will be 16 months old on December 17th and as far as we know, the orphanage respected our wish and has not fixed her cleft lip and palate. However, we are fully aware that her lip could be fixed when we meet her. The orphanage is approximately 5 hours away. We will travel by van with our group.
We will leave Nanjing and drive to Guangzhou. I am unsure of the date as of right now. We will stay at the White Swan along with tons of other newly adoptive parents. It’s going to be quite an experience.
On Wednesday, December 17th at 9:00 am we will fly out of Guangzhou Baiyun Airport to Beijing Capital Airport and on to Newark Int’l Airport and will arrive at 5:00 pm.
We are truly excited and hope to share are experiences when we get back home. I will try to post when we get to the White Swan. If anyone with the same dates as ours sees us in our/their travels, please do not hesitate to come up and introduce yourself and your family. We would love to make lasting relationships out of this experience.
God Bless
Thursday, November 20, 2008
WE RECEIVED OUR TRAVEL NOTICE AND WE RECEIVED OUR I800 APPROVAL NOTICE ! !
WE ARE SOOOO CLOSE TO GET OUR ACTUAL TRAVEL DATES ! ! !
We received our travel notice from our agency today. We also RECEIVED our approved I-800 from the National Benefit Center (NBC) via e-mail!! . Our Approved Travel Notice will also be sent to the National Visa Center and then onto the American Consulate in China (Guangzhou). The Consulate Appointment determines the dates we can travel to China. LET'S HOPE THEY ACCEPT IT BY E-MAIL JUST TO GET THE CONSULATE APPOINTMENT SO WE CAN SET OUR TRAVEL DATES. . . PLEASE GOD LET'S GET LIANA HOME FOR HER FIRST AMERICAN CHRISTMAS!!
I will keep everyone posted. . .Right now I need to do some deep breathing exercises because I think I'm getting dizzy from all this excitement.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Hello All,
We just received updated pictures of our daughter!!!!
Latest Status: 15 Months
Height: 31 inches
Weight: 22 pounds
We requested she not have surgery on her Cleft Lip and Palate because we want the surgery done here in the United States.
We should receive our Travel Arrangements by Friday (November 21st)!!!
We just received updated pictures of our daughter!!!!
Latest Status: 15 Months
Height: 31 inches
Weight: 22 pounds
We requested she not have surgery on her Cleft Lip and Palate because we want the surgery done here in the United States.
We should receive our Travel Arrangements by Friday (November 21st)!!!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
We Received Our Letter Of Acceptance (After 65 days)! ! !
We will be traveling after Thanksgiving, but before Christmas (hopefully we will be home for Christmas). If not, we will be happy and together wherever we are!!
This is how it happened!
I’m on the PTA for M’s school and I’m also Room Parent (trying to keep busy). I’ve been running around setting up for the Spooktacular Halloween party for the kids. The Halloween party was on Thursday and Friday for about 200 children (half being hard to please 4 year olds). Christopher decided to take Friday off to volunteer in the morning and then go home to do some yard work and log into work to “check on things”. As the Halloween party was winding down and the volunteers just finished entertaining the last class and I finished up the pumpkin painting craft in M’s classroom, I saw Christopher back at school rushing up to me with my cell phone. He said that Lynn (our social worker) was trying to call and that she called the home phone and the cell phone several times. I was a little upset with him and said, “Why didn’t you answer it!!
He said, “If the news is that important, I want you to hear it first”. After I picked my mouth up off the floor and almost started to cry at my husband’s thoughtfulness, I proceeded to speed dial Lynn, expecting she would just tell me she received another update and some photos. (Earlier in the month I requested more pictures, and it usually takes a few weeks for the update to come (if at all). So, I thought she was calling for that! (Christopher didn’t know I requested an update)
I said, Hello, Lynn where you trying to call me? When she heard my voice “She immediately said, “Are you sitting down” I said, no. . .But I can be, and before I could sit down, she said I have your letter. I said, our Letter of Acceptance and she said, yes. The first thought that came to my mind is . . .Are you sure it’s ours!
I just came to terms with the wait being two more months (hence, leaving my cell phone at home and not freaking out about it!!). After school we all went to our agency to sign the paperwork. Our travel arrangements should come within the next few weeks!!
Happy Halloween!!!!
This is how it happened!
I’m on the PTA for M’s school and I’m also Room Parent (trying to keep busy). I’ve been running around setting up for the Spooktacular Halloween party for the kids. The Halloween party was on Thursday and Friday for about 200 children (half being hard to please 4 year olds). Christopher decided to take Friday off to volunteer in the morning and then go home to do some yard work and log into work to “check on things”. As the Halloween party was winding down and the volunteers just finished entertaining the last class and I finished up the pumpkin painting craft in M’s classroom, I saw Christopher back at school rushing up to me with my cell phone. He said that Lynn (our social worker) was trying to call and that she called the home phone and the cell phone several times. I was a little upset with him and said, “Why didn’t you answer it!!
He said, “If the news is that important, I want you to hear it first”. After I picked my mouth up off the floor and almost started to cry at my husband’s thoughtfulness, I proceeded to speed dial Lynn, expecting she would just tell me she received another update and some photos. (Earlier in the month I requested more pictures, and it usually takes a few weeks for the update to come (if at all). So, I thought she was calling for that! (Christopher didn’t know I requested an update)
I said, Hello, Lynn where you trying to call me? When she heard my voice “She immediately said, “Are you sitting down” I said, no. . .But I can be, and before I could sit down, she said I have your letter. I said, our Letter of Acceptance and she said, yes. The first thought that came to my mind is . . .Are you sure it’s ours!
I just came to terms with the wait being two more months (hence, leaving my cell phone at home and not freaking out about it!!). After school we all went to our agency to sign the paperwork. Our travel arrangements should come within the next few weeks!!
Happy Halloween!!!!
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Liana Katherine Grace Dickinson 8.17.07
Morgan Elizabeth Dickinson - Birth Date July 21, 2004
NEW NAME FOR A NEW BEGINING
Her first name will be Liana (Lee-ona).
Simply meaning "My God Has Answered"
Her middle name will be Katherine
After my younger sister who has since passed on to her next life.
My sister's death in 2006 is still a close memory and it will always be. I think about her everyday. She was an Angel On Earth. Even though I feel her presence around me often, I miss seeing her smiling face with her fruit flavored, super-glittery lip-gloss, seeing her bright red car racing around town, hearing her loud music (which she sang equally as loud), and eating her famous Oreo Dirt Cake (she was a no bake/no cook kinda girl), and most of all, I miss our private jokes that made us laugh until we cried (at the most inappropriate times).
The one thing my sister was absolutely sure of is she wanted to be a mother. She gave her life to try to have a child. I wanted to honor her by sharing her name with my daughter.
My sister's death in 2006 is still a close memory and it will always be. I think about her everyday. She was an Angel On Earth. Even though I feel her presence around me often, I miss seeing her smiling face with her fruit flavored, super-glittery lip-gloss, seeing her bright red car racing around town, hearing her loud music (which she sang equally as loud), and eating her famous Oreo Dirt Cake (she was a no bake/no cook kinda girl), and most of all, I miss our private jokes that made us laugh until we cried (at the most inappropriate times).
The one thing my sister was absolutely sure of is she wanted to be a mother. She gave her life to try to have a child. I wanted to honor her by sharing her name with my daughter.
Katherine
1978 - 2005
She will be named Grace
After my husband's grandmother who has passed on to her next life.
Nanny Grace just recently passing way in 2007. She was a strong, generous, warm, loving, creative, hardworking person who would have given the dress off her back. She was an awesome cook and superb baker. After her husband's untimely passing, she was left to raise four beautiful girls on her own. Even though I was her grand-daughter-in-law, I knew she loved me with all her heart because her big hugs and kisses told me so. I can honestly say no one has ever given me hugs and kisses like Nanny. She made me feel so warm and worry-free, as if, I were a child trying to fall asleep in her arms. I wanted to honor her also by sharing her name with my daughter.
Nanny Grace just recently passing way in 2007. She was a strong, generous, warm, loving, creative, hardworking person who would have given the dress off her back. She was an awesome cook and superb baker. After her husband's untimely passing, she was left to raise four beautiful girls on her own. Even though I was her grand-daughter-in-law, I knew she loved me with all her heart because her big hugs and kisses told me so. I can honestly say no one has ever given me hugs and kisses like Nanny. She made me feel so warm and worry-free, as if, I were a child trying to fall asleep in her arms. I wanted to honor her also by sharing her name with my daughter.
Nanny Grace
1919 - 2007
ON THE ROAD STRAIGHT TO YOU
Here is our "Adoption Journey" step-by-step.
07/18/07 – Went to a meeting at FCA for our first informational meeting about domestic and international adoption. Before our little girl’s 3rd birthday we were coming to terms that it was not safe for me to get pregnant again. Then we started to have a series of unforeseen medical issues with our daughter, so we put adoption on the back burner until we figured it out. Thank God the medical issue was something minor. We started talking about adoption again. I let my husband know the direction my heart was headed, and I would like him to think about how he felt. Approximately seven months later we began to research our options.
02/25/08 – Contacted JFS to start our Homestudy process
02/28/08 – JFS interview (me & husband at the office)
02/29/08 – Signed on with Adoption Ark (Kazakhstan)
03/06/08 – JFS interview (me & Morgan at the house)
03/11/08 – JFS interview (husband at their office)
03/17/08 – Kazakhstan Embassy shut down. A statement was released by the embassy stating there will be NO adoption paperwork processed at this time and they don’t know when it will reopen.
03/17/08 – We tried to switch to the Kyrgzstan program, but our agency was not taking any more applications for girls because there was a long "Waiting List".
03/18/08 – 03/23/08 – We used this week to regroup from the unforeseen closing of the Kazakhstan Embassy, and our agency (at the time) not taking any more application for girls for their Kyrgzstan program. Going into this adoption we initially were most interested in adopting from China, but for fears we would be rejected (medical reasons) and the wait for a girl was approaching two and half years, we thought it would be impossible. We just didn't want to set ourselves up for a broken heart, and in the process, lose anymore money.
03/24/08 – I was going to call FCA to talk to a social worker about adoption, and where do we go from here. I went to the FCA website to get a phone number and saw “Special Needs China Program”. I saw a Special Needs list and saw the first girl on the list. She had a cleft lip and palate to the III degree. I called FCA immediately and talked to a social worker (Lynn) and she said she had just put her on the list that Friday and she will send me the rest of her information. I got her medicals and started to go to work on the research. Lynn had asked us to go the Special Needs Seminar they were having at the office in Norwalk on Saturday. She said there would be a few kids there that she would like us to meet. They were from China with repaired Cleft Lip/Palate and Clubfoot.
03/25/08 – I looked at her paperwork and joined two yahoo groups (Adopt Cleft and Waiting Children China) to get more information about her "Special Need" and what are the steps (medically) that need to be taken to treat this issue. I talked to my husband about her special need and to see if he would go with me to FCA for the Special Needs Seminar. He was apprehensive, but he went because he knew it would make me happy.
03/29/08 – Went to the Special Needs Seminar where we met other gorgeous children with repaired cleft lip/palate and clubfoot. After this seminar my husband was not only on-board, but was very excited about the little girl on the list from FCA.
04/01/08 – Sent all Lian Zhong Hua’s medical information to Dr. Dana Johnson, International Adoption Doctor. I sent it at 12 noon and got it back by 10:22 pm the same day. I LOVE HIM!!!
04/02/08 – FCA gave us a few days to make our decision. We were ready to say yes after the seminar, but FCA wanted us to sit with our decision for a couple of days.
04/07/08 – As soon as Lynn got in the office I called her and told her WE WERE ON BOARD TO ADOPT LIAN ZHONG HUA. She sent an e-mail congratulating us on accepting to adopt Lian Zhong Hua.
04/10/08 – Letter of Intent was sent to CCAA electronically.
04/23/08 – Our Homestudy was completed and sent to the USCIS with our I-800A for approval. (Our anniversary date before we were married)
05/12/08 - Deadly Earthquake in China. SWI of Lianyangang is untouched.
05/16/08 – Got our YELLOW 5page letter from the USCIS stating what changes needed to be made (My Birthday)
06/03/08 – We were fingerprinted in New Rochelle, NY by the USCIS
06/05/08 – RECEIVED AN UPDATED PICTURE OF Lian Zhong Hua. She was much bigger than the others (Lynn said). I thought she was perfect. I just want to kiss and pinch her cheeks!
06/13/08 – Back and forth with corrections to the Homestudy
06/23/08 - Back and forth with corrections to the Homestudy (my younger sister birthday)
07/10/08 – Got a phone call from my officer from the USCIS stating our HOMESTUDY WAS APPROVED and our I-797C is in the mail. (My husband’s birthday)
07/21/08 – Still waiting for my letter. I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers at the USCIS, so I waited a week until I called again to let them know. . .I NEVER GOT MY LETTER!!!. . . They apologized and said they must have had the wrong zip code. . .Anyway. . .My officer e-mailed it to me promptly and I sent it off along with my Homestudy to get state authenticated. This was the last piece to my puzzle. This is my daughter’s birthday. . .This is getting too weird!!!
07/25/08 – I got my Homestudy and my I-797C back from the State.
07/28/08 – I dropped my Completed/Notarized/State Authenticated Dossier at FCA (with 2 copies).
08/14/08 – Dossier in China
08/17/08 - Lian Zhong Hua will celebrate her FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!
08/18/08 – Dossier delievered to CCAA
08/20/08 – Went to the meeting at FCA. My husband and I met other couples that have just gone to China and are back with there new bundles of joy and people who are going to China soon.
08/26/08 - Log In Date (Our Dossier was officially registered by CCAA.
10/31/08 - Received our Letter of Acceptance
(LOA - Dated 10/29/08)
11/09/08 Mailed I-800 Packet
11/12/08 National Benefit Center received I-800 Packet
11/16/08 Send Liana (and her caregivers and friends at the orphanage) a cake to celebrate her adoption. Also send a disposable camera (and a teddy bear). Hopefully they will send us pictures of the children with cake on their faces.
11/20/08 We received our Travel Notice and the National Benefit Center Approved I-800 Packet. . ."Whatta' Day"
11/21/08 National Benefit Center sent I-800 Packet to the National Visa Center12/06/08 Goal for Travel
12/6/08 -12/17/08 - Travel to China
12/8/08 - Meet Liana for the first time
12/9/08 - Officially making Liana our daughter
12/16/08 - Swearing In
07/18/07 – Went to a meeting at FCA for our first informational meeting about domestic and international adoption. Before our little girl’s 3rd birthday we were coming to terms that it was not safe for me to get pregnant again. Then we started to have a series of unforeseen medical issues with our daughter, so we put adoption on the back burner until we figured it out. Thank God the medical issue was something minor. We started talking about adoption again. I let my husband know the direction my heart was headed, and I would like him to think about how he felt. Approximately seven months later we began to research our options.
02/25/08 – Contacted JFS to start our Homestudy process
02/28/08 – JFS interview (me & husband at the office)
02/29/08 – Signed on with Adoption Ark (Kazakhstan)
03/06/08 – JFS interview (me & Morgan at the house)
03/11/08 – JFS interview (husband at their office)
03/17/08 – Kazakhstan Embassy shut down. A statement was released by the embassy stating there will be NO adoption paperwork processed at this time and they don’t know when it will reopen.
03/17/08 – We tried to switch to the Kyrgzstan program, but our agency was not taking any more applications for girls because there was a long "Waiting List".
03/18/08 – 03/23/08 – We used this week to regroup from the unforeseen closing of the Kazakhstan Embassy, and our agency (at the time) not taking any more application for girls for their Kyrgzstan program. Going into this adoption we initially were most interested in adopting from China, but for fears we would be rejected (medical reasons) and the wait for a girl was approaching two and half years, we thought it would be impossible. We just didn't want to set ourselves up for a broken heart, and in the process, lose anymore money.
03/24/08 – I was going to call FCA to talk to a social worker about adoption, and where do we go from here. I went to the FCA website to get a phone number and saw “Special Needs China Program”. I saw a Special Needs list and saw the first girl on the list. She had a cleft lip and palate to the III degree. I called FCA immediately and talked to a social worker (Lynn) and she said she had just put her on the list that Friday and she will send me the rest of her information. I got her medicals and started to go to work on the research. Lynn had asked us to go the Special Needs Seminar they were having at the office in Norwalk on Saturday. She said there would be a few kids there that she would like us to meet. They were from China with repaired Cleft Lip/Palate and Clubfoot.
03/25/08 – I looked at her paperwork and joined two yahoo groups (Adopt Cleft and Waiting Children China) to get more information about her "Special Need" and what are the steps (medically) that need to be taken to treat this issue. I talked to my husband about her special need and to see if he would go with me to FCA for the Special Needs Seminar. He was apprehensive, but he went because he knew it would make me happy.
03/29/08 – Went to the Special Needs Seminar where we met other gorgeous children with repaired cleft lip/palate and clubfoot. After this seminar my husband was not only on-board, but was very excited about the little girl on the list from FCA.
04/01/08 – Sent all Lian Zhong Hua’s medical information to Dr. Dana Johnson, International Adoption Doctor. I sent it at 12 noon and got it back by 10:22 pm the same day. I LOVE HIM!!!
04/02/08 – FCA gave us a few days to make our decision. We were ready to say yes after the seminar, but FCA wanted us to sit with our decision for a couple of days.
04/07/08 – As soon as Lynn got in the office I called her and told her WE WERE ON BOARD TO ADOPT LIAN ZHONG HUA. She sent an e-mail congratulating us on accepting to adopt Lian Zhong Hua.
04/10/08 – Letter of Intent was sent to CCAA electronically.
04/23/08 – Our Homestudy was completed and sent to the USCIS with our I-800A for approval. (Our anniversary date before we were married)
05/12/08 - Deadly Earthquake in China. SWI of Lianyangang is untouched.
05/16/08 – Got our YELLOW 5page letter from the USCIS stating what changes needed to be made (My Birthday)
06/03/08 – We were fingerprinted in New Rochelle, NY by the USCIS
06/05/08 – RECEIVED AN UPDATED PICTURE OF Lian Zhong Hua. She was much bigger than the others (Lynn said). I thought she was perfect. I just want to kiss and pinch her cheeks!
06/13/08 – Back and forth with corrections to the Homestudy
06/23/08 - Back and forth with corrections to the Homestudy (my younger sister birthday)
07/10/08 – Got a phone call from my officer from the USCIS stating our HOMESTUDY WAS APPROVED and our I-797C is in the mail. (My husband’s birthday)
07/21/08 – Still waiting for my letter. I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers at the USCIS, so I waited a week until I called again to let them know. . .I NEVER GOT MY LETTER!!!. . . They apologized and said they must have had the wrong zip code. . .Anyway. . .My officer e-mailed it to me promptly and I sent it off along with my Homestudy to get state authenticated. This was the last piece to my puzzle. This is my daughter’s birthday. . .This is getting too weird!!!
07/25/08 – I got my Homestudy and my I-797C back from the State.
07/28/08 – I dropped my Completed/Notarized/State Authenticated Dossier at FCA (with 2 copies).
08/14/08 – Dossier in China
08/17/08 - Lian Zhong Hua will celebrate her FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!
08/18/08 – Dossier delievered to CCAA
08/20/08 – Went to the meeting at FCA. My husband and I met other couples that have just gone to China and are back with there new bundles of joy and people who are going to China soon.
08/26/08 - Log In Date (Our Dossier was officially registered by CCAA.
10/31/08 - Received our Letter of Acceptance
(LOA - Dated 10/29/08)
11/09/08 Mailed I-800 Packet
11/12/08 National Benefit Center received I-800 Packet
11/16/08 Send Liana (and her caregivers and friends at the orphanage) a cake to celebrate her adoption. Also send a disposable camera (and a teddy bear). Hopefully they will send us pictures of the children with cake on their faces.
11/20/08 We received our Travel Notice and the National Benefit Center Approved I-800 Packet. . ."Whatta' Day"
11/21/08 National Benefit Center sent I-800 Packet to the National Visa Center12/06/08 Goal for Travel
12/6/08 -12/17/08 - Travel to China
12/8/08 - Meet Liana for the first time
12/9/08 - Officially making Liana our daughter
12/16/08 - Swearing In
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