Christmas Stockings~

This year we hung an extra stocking with mommy's.  When you ask Connor whose stocking this is, he says "my baby sister's."

The Start of a Lifebook~

So far in our journey, we have been fortuante enough to come in contact with some really great people.  Peggy being one and also Dr. Seaton, the psychologist we visited. They both removed us from the paperwork mindset to thinking about our daughter's feelings as her world will be turned upside down.  Initally, attachment may be difficult for her.  Later, she may mourn.  To help her later with mourning, or to help answer any questions about her past, lifebooks are often made to give to the child.

A lifebook is just what the name says.  It is a compilation of any information about our daughter's life in China.  Letters from birthparents or cavegivers, pictures of her home city and orphanage, stories of her birth, medical documents and birth certificate.  Basically, anything we can get our hands on that will help her later in life to figure out her history.  Obviously, I will be able to gather this information the closer we are to getting her, but I have found the most beautiful paper to use in her Lifebook that I wanted to share~

Home Study Jitters~

The amount of paperwork and office visits we have had to make for our adoption and home study have been numerous!  This is a full time job getting everything taken care of, filled out, certified...wow! 

The part that I was most anxious about in this inital process was the home study.  Since All God's Children is located in Portland, we had to use another agency to complete the home study.  We chose International Child Foundation because it was Hague accredited for China.  Well, as it turned out, we got the BEST social worker I could have ever wished for.  Her name is Peggy, and she is known as "our good friend, Peggy" here in this house!  She was GREAT.  She and Connor really hit it off, too...so cute!

Talking to Peggy during our home study visists was like talking to an old friend.  It was that kind of a feeling.  Comfortable, warm, genuine.  She gave us tips on places to visit here in Phoenix~ LeeLee's Market, the Chinese Cultural Center.  She helped us to imagine what our little girl will want to see and smell once she gets here.  She encouraged us to get involved with cooking Chinese cuisine, to celebrate the major Chinese holidays, and to absorb the culture as best we can.  This will help us to raise a confident daughter, one that is in tune with her heritage.

One other valuable idea Peggy left me with was the idea of making ( or Mimi making ) a 100 Wishes Quilt, also known as Bai Jia Bei.  This is a quilt in which friends and family all donate a piece of material for the quilt.  Upon donating, they are to make a wish for our daughter.  I can't wait to see how this turns out.  Mimi has agreed to take on the project!  Visit this link to learn more about Bai Jia Bei

Lastly, I will leave you with a picture of our new pool fence.  The court had to see we fenced in our pool in order to move forward with the adoption. 

All in all, we realized there was really no reason for the home study jitters...everything went well!

The First Pictures Sent In To Begin the Paperwork~

Here are the very first photos we sent into the agency to begin our adoption~