Ally's Package is on its WAY!

I met with Ellen (Frannie's mom) today for us to "assemble" our package to the girls. Her new daughter (Frannie) and Ally are in the same orphanage. We are hopeful that we will travel with them to get the girls. I'm excited that Ally will HOPEFULLY be seeing our pictures soon. I hope so much that the package makes it to her! I really want the camera I enclosed to be used and returned. Most likely we will get it when we get her! I just can't believe it sometimes.

We are now in full gear on her room. Doug got the big base boards painted and installed tonight. We need to touch up the paint. Then we will set up her bed and I'll make the bedding and curtains. I've had the fabric since last summer! We also need to get a dresser for her.

The girls and I went to White Water today for a fun-in-the-haze day. Not much sun, just a smoky smell of the fires burning in south GA. WW is north of Atlanta and it was pretty bad most of the day. I'm sure there was some advisory about being outside. No sunburn today. We only stayed a little over 3 hours (nice to have a season pass!) and headed to meet up with Ellen.

Super Mable!

We had such a fun Memorial Day on Lake Lanier with our friends Randi and Joel. We spent the whole day enjoying the sun and water and time with good friends. Doug got in on the fun by riding their new float "Super Mable". The water was a little too cold for me, so I enjoyed the boat!

A few pics are of the girls (Britani, Sara, Shelbi Grace and Lauren) on the boat and posing on Super Mable (when asked if she would like to ride, Shelbi Grace replied, "Not today.")

Even though the pic of Britani, Lauren and Doug is a tad bit blurry, I had to include it because it was shot right before Doug went flying off the float!

We are currently reapplying for our I-600A form. We got our updated home study today, as well as a video with details of our trip to CHINA!!! The girls and I watched it. Lauren went back and watched it again and took notes! She wrote down 2 pages of notes for us to make sure we take care of. It was just so cute.

"It's Hard to Be You"

I hurt my foot somehow. Not sure. Anyway, I was on the sofa for most of the afternoon. Lauren brought me an ice bag and I took a short nap. Since it's the end of school, Doug is at graduation tonight. Thus, the girls were in charge. They did a great job with dinner. Sara made a salad and Lauren made Campbell's soup. They cleaned up the kitchen and brought me lemonade and advil. After they finished, Sara came in and plopped down on the sofa next to me and said, "It's hard to be you. I'm tired!" I just smiled.

It is amazing how they "rise to the occasion" when I'm "out of commission." I don't get sick very often, but I am occasionally out of town with work. Doug says they just take over and get things done! Where are these girls on a daily basis? Anyway, it was a cute moment. And they seem to get along with each other so well - no arguing or fussing!

This morning the girls and I went to a few yard sales in search of some little toys for Ally. We found a bead toy, 3 animals whose legs move and squeak and a ladybug Halloween costume. It is a fuzzy body suit with a hood. I hope it won't scare her!

Welcome Baby Gabriel!

Our friends, Jennifer and Greg, received their referral for their baby boy yesterday. He is only 13 days old! He is waiting for them in Guatemala! Their dossier was sent a few weeks ago - a little different process than China. They get a referral very quickly and wait with a picture. We wait without a picture! Hopefully, Little G will be home by the time Santa comes! You can see his pics by clicking on the link to the right!

Welcome Summer!

Sara and Lauren are so excited. Their daddy is thrilled and so am I! Glad to say hello to SUMMER!

Here is a picture of the girls with the package we are putting together to send to Ally. We did a little photo album of all of us and one of our cats!

Swim team has started and soccer is over.

We got notification that the CCAA had received our LOI for Ally - it was translated and sent to them earlier this week. That is good -- waiting on a form from USCIS (Immigration Dept fingerprints).

3 Bikinis

Since Ally will soon be a part of our family (yeah!), we felt it only fitting that she have several bikinis to fit in with her sisters. Since we have a pool, we all have several swimmies!

The first bikini is a pink polka dot one from Gymboree. I met Debbie, Ian and LiLi for lunch last week. She surprised me with the nicest gifts! A beautiful Vera Bradley backpak, a yellow sundress and some wonderfully smelling lotions for Ally. What fun! We always have tons to talk about when we get together. After presents and pizza, we headed to Gymboree (you know that Debbie had to twist my arm)! That is where bikini #1 (among a few other treats) was purchased!

#2 bikini is a white eyelet one from Old Navy. Lauren had a soccer tourney this weekend south of Atlanta. Since there was a chance she would have an 8 AM game this morning, we decided to spend the night. We had saved the gift cards for Target and Walmart that we got last year at the band banquet, so that we could shop for Ally once we knew about what size she would be! Well, now we know! So, the girls had so much fun picking out toys, outfits and basics!

Target is where we found bikini #3. It's like an American flag! So cute! Sara and Lauren both had one similar to this one and I loved them!

She Sure is Pretty

I think so more and more each time I look at her. She looks a little sad and somber, or maybe concerned. I hope to see a smile and hear a laugh soon. I wonder how much she can say and if she will talk to us, expecting us to understand. I can't imagine how scared these little people must be and how brave they have to be. I can't wait to see how it feels to pick her up. Lauren prayed tonight that Ally will like us. I know that part might be hard on Sara and Lauren. We have tried all along to prepare them for the possibility (or liklihood) that she won't LIKE us at first; that she will be scared and worried. Who knows? But I just want to see those little eyes "light up."

Can't wait to meet you, Ally!

Sinking In

The reality that this is happening is sinking in. Doug continues to shop ebay for Gymboree bargains (he bought several outfits tonight)! We got confirmation that our LOI was received in China. It is being translated and will then be sent on to CCAA. From there, it's up to them how soon we will hear something. I have had SO much fun sharing her cute little pics with everyone I see that I know! It is so nice to finally be able to know what her face looks like. Sara and Lauren have each taken her pics to school. We also got the address for her orphanage and we are putting together a little package to send her.

I'm also excited to meet the other family who's little girl is in the same orphanage. They live in Lilburn - about 30 minutes from us! Isn't that an amazing thing? Two little girls about 3 months apart in age, that live on the other side of this world (most likely in the same little group of children) will move to the same county in Georgia at the same time? Cool! We are hoping to meet her mommy tomorrow at the Hope 3rd Friday get-together!

BTW, Thanks Jennifer for getting Ally's pic at the top. It sure makes me smile to see her little face at the top each time I open it!

The package --- right now we have a little soft pink blanket that we have been sleeping with for the last week, a beanie baby bunny, stickers and a groovy girl doll (the $$ store version). Lauren wants to send her some crayons, but I'm not sure that is a good idea. We are also planning to send a couple of disposable cameras (with return postage) to hopefully get more pics of her with her friends and nannies at the orphanage. I would LOVE to get some pics -- any pics! Once it's done, I'll put up a picture.

We got the CUTEST gift yesterday from my friend Tara. I was home with Lauren (slight fever) when the mail carrier rang the doorbell. He left a box. I thought it was one of Doug's ebay Gymboree packages, but it was a box with Chinese writing on the side. They were custom fortune cookies. They were dipped in white chocolate with sprinkles and had the sweetest message from Tara, congratulating us on Ally's "pending" adoption. I'll try to get a picture! I had seen these a few months ago on the Food Network. They are just the CUTEST thing -- and how appropriate!!!! They would make cute wedding favors!

My Girls, 1 Daddy & Happy Mommy's Day

Sara is our oldest daughter. When she was little she had these big blonde curls and a sweet smile. The curls are gone, but the smile remains. She has a pink bunny named Tiffany that is her favorite. She is a sensitive 13 year old that is level-headed, consciencious and respectful, most of the time. She tends to "mommy" her little sister sometimes. What most don't see in Sara is her creative, humorous side. For being so young, she has an amazing wit about her and usually "gets" sarcastic humor; and she can dish it out, too. She is a "best friend" to many of her friends and has a busy calendar with her buddies. She is not competitive by nature, but is driven to do her best in many areas. She works hard in school and it pays off. She can keep a secret, even a big one! I'm proud of her every day. I pray that she continues to make good decisions, even as the decisions with which she is faced become more challenging every day.

Our middle (I can say that now) daughter is Lauren, who is 10 and really coming into hear own lately. She is so pretty and funny. She sleeps with her favorite strawberry blanket and Joey the polar bear every night. There is rarely any question about what is going on in her head; she will tell you her opinion, even if you don't want to hear it. She is quick to speak her mind, yet she is concerned about other's opinions. Lauren is smart and catches onto things quickly. She has made us laugh for years and continues to most days. She is competitive at everything she does. Simply put, she wants to be the best. She is easily excited and easily frustrated. Despite what she may say, she is crazy for her big sister. She is a hugger. Friends are becoming more important to Lauren as she gets a little older. I'm proud of her for realizing the importance of choosing friends wisely. As a "little girl", she has amazing insight into personalities.

These two girls are going to make amazing big sisters (well, Sara already is one, but you know...). They are so excited and this process has taken so long, especially in their time-frames.

And then there is Ally, our youngest daughter. We don't know much about her yet. She likes to "sunbathe" and she is tiny and her heart isn't perfect. But we have prayed for her by name for the last 21 months -- since she was just 2 days old!!! We have prayed for her to be healthy and happy; for her to have someone who will hold her and love her; for her to have someone to help her learn; for her birth mother to know that the baby she couldn't keep will be very loved by her new family. I hope Ally will read this journal one day and know that from the time she was born in China, that she was already in her mommy's & daddy's hearts.
(In case you are wondering, I'm crying as I write this)

These girls are fortunate to have an amazing daddy. A few weeks ago, we were at a meeting of adoptive families when one of the men said that he was nervous about how he would feel the first time he held his newly adopted daughter. I smiled to myself. I have no doubt that Doug will be perfect. He is patient and easy-going. I know that he already loves Ally. For now it's a different love than he feels for Sara and Lauren, but I know that as soon as he meets Ally and plays with her and tickles her, he will be immediately comfortable. He has been supportive of my emotional swings through out this whole process. I know he is getting excited that it is finally happening. Just today, he found, bid, and "won" a Gymboree ladybug outfit (jumper, sweater, socks and blanket) on ebay for Ally. He is so proud of his girls and loves them so much. One of my favorite things is seeing them together. We have been married almost 19 years and I love him more than I ever thought possible. We are best friends and I think we compliment each other pretty well.

I saw this saying on the Yahoo home page today -

"Love happens when you least expect it..."

What a Mother's Day it has been.

Phone Calls & Conversations

This picture of Lauren holding the big pic of Ally was taken right after we told her the big news!

As I mentioned earlier, we got the call on Thursday around noon. I immediately got in the car to drive down to Hope.

I called Randi, but had to leave a message. How could she work at a time like this? Anyway, we connected later that day. This family has been such a tremendous source of strength and advice and fun through all of this.

I called Jennifer - soon to be Gabriel's mommy from Guatemala. I think the way I told her was the best. She had no idea that we were considering this little girl. So, I called her, told her to go to the Hope site, and scroll down to #8 on the list and click on her name. Then her pic came up -- she said "she's so cute, who is she?" My reply was, "That's our daughter!" She paused for a moment and then just screamed!!! I think there were some tears!

Debbie knew that we were being considered and had seen her pic. She also knew we were hoping to get our call on Thursday. She was very excited! I had talked to her earlier in the day too!

My favorite reaction came from Lauren's (and Sara's) 4th grade teacher, Suzanne. She has become such a good friend over the years. She is so funny - she had a dream in January that Ally had pig tails and had on a little red dress. I didn't call her, but on Friday morning, I went into school with Lauren. She had the pics that we printed for her to take to school to show her friends and teachers. When we walked into the classroom, she greeted us as usual. I said that Lauren wanted to show her something and Lauren gave her the pictures. She looked at them and said, "Who's this?" Lauren said, in her usual loud and excited voice, "It's ALLY!" Well, Suzanne almost immediately started shaking and crying! She hugged me and looked and cried. There were several kids already in the room, and they just looked a little puzzled. Why was Lauren's mom making their teacher cry? She reminded me of the dream and that she knew we would get our good news in an "M" month!

There was one call that would be hard to make -- the ONLY drawback in us getting this little girl. The call to Chad and Melissa - our very good friends with whom we shared an LID. Our dossiers went to China on the same day, with the same agency, in the same Fed Ex Package. We have been friends with them longer than anyone since we have been married. Our daughters would have likely been from the same province and even the same orphanage. We hoped they would already be friends. Melissa and I even joked that we might get twins - one each - or maybe sisters. Crazy things happen. They were very instrumental in us finally making the decision to adopt in the first place. Our kids are all friends and were so excited about taking this big trip together. We were excited about it too. We knew it would be so much easier on Sara, Josh, Lauren, Abby and Noah to have each other during this life/family changing adventure. So, last night Doug said, "we have to call them." I knew how we would react if the tables were turned -- sad that we wouldn't travel together, but happy for them that they found their daughter, and maybe a little envious (that's just how I think I'd react). Doug called and talked to Chad (Melissa wasn't home) - I knew I would cry (maybe I'm a chicken). He said "we've got some news..." and Chad said, "You found a Waiting Child." Doug went on to explain. I was almost in tears. This part of it makes me very sad - heartbroken that we can't share this. That is the only hard part. In fact, we cannot express how thankful we are that they were the ones to decide first. Neither of us had ever had the conversation with each other about our desire to adopt from China (see post from "May 9, 2006 - How it all started - Part 2" in our Archives) - not sure why it hadn't come up in some conversation. We are even more convinced that God placed them in our lives for yet another reason -- to give us the courage to go through with the adoption. For that, we will always be grateful to these dear friends. One day, we hope that these two daughters of China will be great friends and share a special bond.

A Perfect Match

Lin's Bistro is our favorite local Chinese restaurant. We practice our two Chinese words there --"hello" and "thank you". Last night we went for dinner and took Ally's info and pictures. Maybe they can help us with the pronunciation of Ally's Chinese name. It is written as Qin Rui Yun. If I'm remembering correctly, it is said (oh forgive me!) "Cheen Rue Yin". Her "name" was given to her at the orphanage. The paperwork says it means "lucky cloud", but the ladies at Lin's weren't so sure... She is in the Shaanxi Province, which is in central China.

After dinner we ran to Kohls. The girls wanted to buy something for Ally now that we know who she is and about what size she will wear. "Sure," I said, "Sounds fun." Up until now, I would just look and rarely buy anything. Most of what I had bought had been 2T or 3T and an occasional 4T. Because we requested up to 3 years, we didn't know. I figured most of what I had bought would be too big, but hey, she will grow into it! Well, what happened at Kohls caught me by surprise. We were looking at 18 month clothes in the real BABY dept. I had only looked at toddler stuff -- not even thinking BABY!!! Sara and Lauren were "ooing" over the cute little outfits and I could barely breathe. "What's wrong, Mommy?" asked Lauren. Wow -- I'm so serious - I felt somewhat sick. I don't know what hit me -- could it possibly be the fact that this is REALLY HAPPENING????

Here is what the paperwork says about our little ALLY (still can't believe we have a face and a little person on the other side of the world that is either getting ready for bed right now or already asleep).

Her medical exam and pics were done on Nov 8, 2006 (she was 15 months old). She weighed 8 kg (about 17 pounds) and was 70 cm tall (about 27.5 inches). We did get about 8 pages of info on her (mostly her heart) - 6 teeth on top and 5 on bottom, what she eats, when she naps, etc.

But here is my favorite paragraph:

At 5:30 p.m. each day, Qin Rui Yun enjoys playing in the bath, and at 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. she goes outdoors to play or sunbathe. She has a gentle, introverted, quiet, shy demeanor. She loves to smile. She appears to be apprehensive around strangers. Qin Rui Yun enjoys playing with her roommates and is a lovely child.

Isn't that THE CUTEST THING? We laughed so much at this. We can just picture it. Each day at 4:30, Rui Yun (soon to be Ally) puts on her pink bikini (humor me, people!), gathers up her towel, sunscreen, water bottle, sunglasses and her favorite board books and heads outside to sunbathe! I'm sure that something was lost in the translation! So, she enjoys playing in the bath and sunbathing - see, she is the perfect match for our family!!!!

Presenting ... ALLY!

It is true. Let me explain (breathe, breathe). Our agency posted a new list of Waiting Children on Monday, April 30th. We got an email from Sue (with our agency) letting us know that the new list was posted. I hesitated, because we had considered this path before and were disappointed. There were 10 kids (all with some sort of "special need") and we decided to take a look. When we got down to #8 and there she was. We tried not to look at her little pic, because we knew that her health issues were more important than a cute face. We did a little novice research on-line and saw that her condition was not likely as serious as it sounded. (More on that later) Things sounded promising, so we emailed our agency that night, requesting her medical info. I was not letting myself get excited or involved. Trying hard - really hard not to.

So, the next day her meds were emailed to us. (They were also sent to one other family.) And I was off -- on a mission. I realized quickly that all of the numbers and measurements were way out of my league. Since her "special need" involved her heart, I was very apprehensive, despite what I had read online. So, on Wed, May 2, I forwarded her med info to a link I found on Boston Children's Hospital site. "Why not try?". Doug faxed it to our pediatrician that same day. Still approaching this with a very guarded heart... We had 7 business days to decide... 7 DAYS to decide who our daughter is!!!

The next day, Thursday, May 3, as I was walking to the elem school to pick up Lauren, I got a reply from BCH on my cell phone ...

Lucy,

This baby has a minor form of "congenital heart disease". She has a PDA which is a very common and minor condition . This is an abnormal connection between the aorta and pulmonary arteries. It is present in babies before birth, but disappears soon after birth in most children. When is doesn't it should be closed. This can be done using a catheter in many cases. In those that require surgery it is a "minor" operation requiring 1-2 days in the hospital. There is no information here to suggest that she will have any long term disability, nor is there any reason not to adopt her. All the heart numbers are normal.

Best of Luck, Frank A. Pigula, MD

Clinical Director Cardiac Surgery

Boston Children's Hospital

WOW - Instant tears - for just a moment. "Guard your heart, Lucy" was all I could think. "Don't go there ... yet." There was still the other family...

I couldn't believe the dr's candor - he sounded so positive. But it still wasn't enough. It was about this time that I noticed her estimated birthday - August 7, 2005. It hit me - this little girl was born 2 days before we decided to start this adoption!!! She was 2 days old, and still with her birth parents on the day we decided to begin!!!! I initially felt like she was already born at that point, but as the wait continued to lengthen, I gave up on that thought because it was just to hard.

The next morning, I called our pediatrician's office and talked to one of the nurses. She said that our doctor had sent her profile to the Sibley Heart Center at Egleston Hospital in Atlanta. OK -- sounds impressive, but what will we hear? Will he answer us in time? Well, he did, and his diagnosis was almost identical to the one from BCH. OK -- what now?

Lots of prayers, that's what. I was still torn, "do I want to risk the disappointment of not being chosen?"

This was still a big secret. Sara had an idea, but Lauren knew nothing. No idea... So, last Friday, we went to the monthly First Friday gathering. Again, I didn't say anything (well, I did tell Sharon as we were about to leave). I showed her the pics.

I don't even know when we sent "our letter" to Hope - Friday or Monday (It was actually Thursday)? I really don't know. But that was it - we were officially putting our names in the "hat". Stepping out on a limb and taking a risk. "Guard your heart." By this point, I was not even looking at her pictures. I just couldn't. Doug was a little concerned. I sat in SS just thinking about the possibility of how a week can change everything.

Anyway, the committe was to meet on Wednesday, May 9 and would give us a decision within 24 hours. Time just crept as Wed approached. We thought that we might hear something that day, but no call. I was trying not to read into this. I did actually sleep Wed PM. Then Thursday AM -- 7 days.

I had intentially not scheduled any outside appts for work that day. Still not looking at her picture, I had to get out. Ran out to the pool store for chemicals. My cell phone battery was dying... and then the phone rang. Sure enough, it was Chrissy from Hope. She said that the committee had a few more questions and needed to have Doug and me on a conference call. Well, that is no easy task -- getting Doug to a phone during the school day. So, after a little help from the school secretary, he called in to Hope. The house phone rang again. What did they want? ..... What could they possibly not know about us? Read our home study -- it's ALL in there. Everything!

So, here we both are on the phone, when Chrissy says that we may need to forgive her for not being completely honest, she had no questions, but was calling with good news! Really? Could this possibly be real? I don't think I said anything. I heard Doug say, "thank you so much." Yes, I heard it right... We were selected!!!! What now? More paperwork, of course.

Stunned - in shock, I think. This was YESTERDAY - May 10, 2007 that Qin Rui Yun became Ally Harkness. I hopped in the car and drove down to Hope to get her REAL pictures and her Meds. We had to write another letter (Letter of Intent) to be sent to China. We don't know the process from here out.

I didn't even cry. I just couldn't believe it. After all these months of tearing up so easily, I didn't even cry. Well maybe a little mist. Still shock. It takes a lot to leave me speechless, but this phone call did it!

WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!! We don't know when we will go (a common thread of this whole process!), but it will be this year (I certainly hope!). She will be here for Christmas -- that makes me beyond happy!

Doug picked up Lauren from school with her buddy Amelia. When they got home, Doug told her that we had some big news about China. We showed her a HUGE picture that one of the teacher's had printed with "Ally Harkness" written across the bottom. She looked at the picture, and looked at me. I nodded and smiled. She started screaming and running around the house. She just couldn't stop smiling! Like I said earlier, she had no idea that we were even considering a waiting child! It was so cute. Lauren had brought in some beautiful roses and handed them to me saying "Happy Mother's Day." Doug had stopped by on his way home!

Next, came Sara, who had an idea of what was going on. She came in from car pool and Lauren ran up to the door and shoved the picture in her face and was, again, screaming "we got her! This is ALLY!!!" Sara looked at me in disbelief, "Are you serious?" When she saw my smile, she knew! She just laughed, somewhat in disbelief as well. Shock...

Two minutes later, my mom walked in (we were expecting her). She too had no idea. Lauren was all over her and handed her the envelope with the pictures. When mom looked at the pictures, she just looked at me, kinda puzzled. Lauren said (or should I say, shouted?), "It's Ally, Mema, it's ALLY!" Mom just smiled and said how precious she is. I was most concerned about telling her about Ally's heart condition, but it didn't seem to upset her. She just said that as long as the doctors felt it was minor, that it was OK!!! Huge relief to me!

We called some close friends and went to my sisters for dinner. We showed Amy the pics and she said, "She's a cute little girl; who is she?" Lauren, again, "It's ALLY!" Similar reaction -- no words!

Jumping, Smores, Bathing Beauties

We have enjoyed a few WARM days recently, so the girls took advantage and decided to get some sun. Two of the kitties joined them (Sabo - 16 sitting; Snoopie - 3, walking away). We also enjoyed some smores on the deck after the girls jumped on the tramp (with water!)...

CCAA Update and Paperclip Ceremony!

The "unofficial" news is that the CCAA processed 6 days of dossiers and sent out referrals thru Nov 1, 2005. (I say unofficial because they didn't update their site before going on a week vacation) Some say this is good news, others aren't so sure. Anyway, we will remove 6 paperclips from our chain of 93, leaving us with 87 days. Who knows what those 87 days represent. The line for the "roller coaster" is slowly inching forward. We have no idea how many people are in front of us in line, but we are sure there are thousands in the line behind us. A very long line. Hoping to see pics of recent referrals soon! That is the most fun thing! Hey, at least it is better than 2 days!

This day also marks our 1 year anniversary of BLOGGING!!! Wish I had started earlier; oh well!