Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Letter of Confirmation!

I woke up this morning to an amazing email from Tiffany...our Letter of Confirmation from the CCCWA was mailed!  Yay!!  This letter could take up to 3 months from being locked to our daughter...but it was only about 10 days.  Thank goodness, as now we travel to China to bring our Sophie home in about 3 short months ;)  Relief, say it with me, RELIEF!

Some important dates to note, as of 2013....

April 16,2013- Updated Home Study with Peggy
July 29,2013- Updated Finger Prints at Immigration
September 25, 2013- Got Sophie's profile
September 26, 2013- Accepted Sophie as our daughter AND it was her 1st Birthday
January 4, 2014- Sophie officially posted to the CCCWA database and we were locked together!
January 5, 2014- CCCWA issued our Pre-Approval
January 13,2014- CCCWA mailed our Letter of Confirmation


Monday, January 6, 2014

Christmas Shoot at the Chinese Cultural Center~

This year for our family Christmas photo shoot, we decided to go to the Chinese Cultural Center in downtown Phoenix.  We thought, if Sophie can't be with us, we will incorporate her heritage into our pictures.  I think they turned out great!  Next year, this family of four will be a party of five!









Our Little Love!

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted.  We have our little girl!! Not physically, yet...but she's coming and we can look at her face and dream of the day we get to kiss her all over ;)

It was Hayden's 3rd birthday, ( Wednesday ) September 25, 2013.  Tiffany had sent over her profile for us to look at that morning.  I logged off the computer for work, and read it over.  She was the one, I just knew it.  I looked at her pictures, and studied her profile, all her medical reports and daily activities.  This was a miracle, truly a miracle!  It was such a calming feeling, I remember.  I called Scott, and he told me not to get attached yet~ like that was even possible!

Over the next 24 hours, I consulted with 3 physicians.  First, I sent the file over to Michelle.  She was so excited, as she, too, knew this was our Sophie.  She said, " Em, I think this is your daughter! "  Next was Dr. Nemivant, our pediatrician.  He saw no reason why not to accept her, and gave us a referral for a cardiologist at Phoenix Children's Hospital.  Lastly, Dr. Ochs, our international physician, called us that next evening ( Thursday, September 26 ).  He said she checks out beautifully.  Ahh, what a relief to have 3 physicians, all with the same conclusion~ she is THE one!  One September 26, 2013 * Sophie's 1st Birthday * I called Tiffany and we said, " Yes!  She's our daughter! "

At this point, Sophie was a soft referral, as she had not officially posted to the database as of yet, but was assigned to our agency thru the 1 to 1 partnership with the Xiamen Welfare Institute, in Xiamen, China.  So, we knew she would post to us, but the question was when??  It took just over 3 long months, agonizing months, for her to post.  I was constantly in contact with Tiffany, poor girl.  I was asking for updates, for pictures, for any piece of information I could get.  She had Rocky in Beijing checking with the CCCWA for when she would post...it was an awful 3 months.  We want her here with us, as soon as possible. Period.

Finally, on January 4th, 2014, Sophie officially posted to the database as adoptable.  Tiffany quickly locked us together and uploaded all of our translated paperwork to the CCCWA.  Within hours, we got our pre-approval, which usually can take up to 2 weeks!  She was officially OURS.  Amen.  I cried, as it was such a huge relief.

So, at this point, we are able to send her a care package. We are busy putting this together~ the blanket Mimi made, some clothes, pajamas, a super soft jellycat bunny, hair bows, a Fisher Price purse with keys, toy cell phone, bracelets, Gerber puffs and yogurt melts, and a picture book of our family, as well as a disposable camera to hopefully get some more pictures of her before we get her.

We are over the moon excited for her!  We are prepping her room, had a baby shower, buying girlie stuff...all to fill the time before she is here home with us!