Getting Closer!

Sara Lauren

I really feel one step closer to our trip to Ally. Our swim team hosted a huge meet today at our pool. It was a ton of work and I'm so tired! I would guess the temp on the pool deck was in the high 90's with high humidity and very little breeze. These pics were taken at the meet of Sara and Lauren during thier breaststroke races! Today was my last official job with the swim team board for a while. I was so happy that the meet was a success and even more happy to have it over with (and no bad weather)!

We leave for the beach tomorrow and will head to Mema's after church. We are taking this route because we are going to see Becca! How fun is that?

We met Katie's family (from our First Friday group) last night for ice cream at Sonic. She is just too cute! Lauren was the lucky one to win over Katie this time. As we were leaving, Lauren reminded me of how cute Katie is and said, "and she likes ME!" (See, Joan and Scott, you are on our blog!) Should have brought our camera!

So, to say the least, with all that we have going on, our trip will be here so quickly! I'm getting so excited (have I said that yet?). I just about lost my breath tonight when I tried to envision the moment when we first see Ally and her nannies hand her to me. I just can't believe she will finally be ours. It's still hard to believe that it's really happening. We were remembering our beach vacation last summer when we thought we would have her for sure by this summer. This is the next best thing - knowing that we will meet her in 2 weeks. Amazing.

Video Test (Doug's First Post)!

Here is a link to a video I shot of Lauren swimming at a recent swim meet. I am testing this so I know how to do it while in China. I want to be able to let everyone see the moment when we get ALLY.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEOlT9W7gpw

China - Here We Come!

Here are our airline tickets, passports, travel ID's, paperwork and "brown envelope". There was one form we had to complete and have notorized prior to travelling (it's done). Everything else has to be completed in China! I have a few extra things to pull out of our dossier, but we are close to being READY!

It will be here so quickly since we'll be out of town next week for the beach! I can't wait to meet that little girl!

Future Asburian

for Ally!

When the Girls are Bored!

They "dress" the cat! This is Sadie modeling the latest in Build-a-Bear attire!

19 Years Today!

We have been married 19 years! WOW - that is a long time! Yep, Ally will have old parents. I think we will try to have a "date" tomorrow night since the girls are going to be spending the night with friends. Nothing fancy and we don't typically do presents. Just thankful for our years together and looking forward to many more.

On to the events of the day... We booked our trip with Lotus Travel. I can't believe that Doug will get home from China and go to band camp the next day. He will really regret that, I'm afraid. Trying to figure out what we will do for child care as well. That is the tough one, since there are so many unknowns! Doug also did a little more shopping at Walmart today for the trip.

Our good friend Randi stopped by the house today to announce that she will take us to the airport and be there when we get home to pick us up! She is just such a sweetie! I really appreciate it.

We leave this Sunday for our beach week. Each of the girls is bringing a friend along this year. I think they will really enjoy that (and so will we). Also, on Sunday after church, we will be driving down to M'ville to visit my friend Angie and to meet her new daughter Becca ("Pace" link at the side). I can't wait to see Becca in person and see just how big (well, tiny, actually) she actually is! It will be neat to catch up with Angie and Victor and to visit with her parents. We were best friends in high school and did most everything together!

ALLY Update!

We also got some updated measurements for Ally. Here they are:

Qin Rui Yun “Ally”
Height: 75.5cm (29.7 inches)
Weight: 8.8kg (19.4 pounds)
Head size: 46.5cm (18.3 inches)
Chest size: 46cm (18 inches)
Length of feet: 12cm (4.7 inches)
No. of teeth: 16

Asbury Reunion

Our 20 year college reunion was this weekend in Kentucky and we had a BLAST! We proudly showed Ally's picture to everyone. The girls had a fun time too as we stayed in my old dorm with several other families that were my best girl friends from college. What special memories we shared. Not much sleep, but lots of laughs and tears as well!

The kids enjoyed seeing their moms (and some dads) acting silly and laughing a lot! The kids are Claire, Hannah, Andrew, Lauren, Sara, Logan, Josh.

Pictured are Sheri, Reggie, Tricia, Wendy, Lucy, Jenn, Kellie. We all lived in the same "unit", which is where we spent the weekend.

Ohio

We had such a great 1st vacation. We went to Ohio to visit Doug's mom and family. The first is a pic of all the kids/cousins!

T. A. (Travel Approval) - GOT IT!

This past Thursday, June 21, we got a call from our agency that they had received our TA. This means WE'RE GOING TO CHINA!!! We will be FINALLY meeting Ally on July 15th. We are leaving on July 11 (Atlanta - Newark - Beijing). We are planning to tour Beijing a few days before flying to Ally's province of Shaanxi. WOW - it's really happening.

Ally's Room - A Little Progress

Got the bedding made today! I still have to make a few throw pillows and the curtains. We will decide if we need the sliding bar once she is home! It is cute. Wish she was in there right now. Probably won't look so neat once she is here! That is fine with me.

Package #2 is on its way!

Yes, I know -- spoil this girl! I sent another package to Ally (and Frannie) today. I included a green blanket, single use camera, green beanie dog, soft photo album (2 pics of us, 4 of Sara and Lauren). I hope she gets it! And I really hope we get the cameras back. Those pics will be priceless.

A feeling of being overwhelmed came over me on Monday night after spending the day at WW. I am so thankful for Debbie and her good advice, but I felt like I should have taken notes! So much to remember and to do. We have a lot to "square away" and we are going out of town tomorrow. I'm not worried about shopping or decorating her room - those things will happen, whether it's before or after we go to China. I'm scared about her heart. I know we have 2 professional opinions that are very reassuring, but I still can't help but worry. Not crazy worry, but just in the forefront of my mind these days. We are praying for her to be strong and happy and her heart to be healthy and healed. We trust that God is protecting her and will continue to do so. It's just hard to know that she is there and we don't know when we will get her.

I talked to Melissa yesterday and she said that for the first time she was somewhat depressed with the wait. I so understand and told her that at times, it just seemed like all we did was talk about Ally and that we were never getting any closer to getting her. After a while I became numb to the whole thing. She agreed. I wish I knew how long they will have to wait. It still isn't speeding up. I wish we could have gone together - I really do. I know they are happy for us and will be excited to see Ally, but the hard part is not knowing. This is compounded by the fact that CCAA is processing so few days each month. Frustrating.

We leave for Ohio in the AM and we are driving straight through. Probably the last time we can do that! Staying thru next Wed and then going back through KY for our college reunion at Asbury. That should be a blast, as several of my best friends will be coming! It's fun to see everyone. Most of my buddies have kept in close contact over the years, but it's neat to see the ones that we only see at reunions. That is a big advantage to a small college! The girls are looking forward to it as well.

White Water

We joined Debbie, Ian and LiLi at White Water yesterday. Because it was overcast, we didn't have to worry too much about sunburn! Just took a few sprays of sunscreen and were good to go! Debbie is a wealth of info -- tons of tips and "dos and don'ts" for our trip. We are planning to go COO (carry on only) when we fly TO China (now on the way home, we may consider checking our bags, since we'll have Ally). They generously let us borrow their rolling backpacks that they took last summer.

Anyway, about our day. I have never been to WW without spending the entire day on water slides, but yesterday I didn't ride a single one! I spent the day asking my list of questions to Debbie and she kindly tolerated and shared from their experience! Wow -- I was really feeling overwhelmed (more on that later). Ian, Sara and Lauren went off with Doug a few times to ride slides, while Deb, LiLi and I walked in the mini-river. Lauren even passed on a few slides to float in the lazy river with LiLi riding in her lap. It was so cute because LiLi fell asleep on Lauren!

We ended the day with a great dinner prepared by Debbie "POW" Emeril! She used an apron and everything! I don't even own an apron. Doug just laughed because he knows that cooking just isn't my thing. It was fun to watch and delicious to eat! Dan shared several tips as well on our travel, expenses, etc. A great, fun day!

post from blackberry

Just seeing how hard it is to post from this!

Pretty slow!

A GREAT Phone Call!

We just got a call from Chrissy and Aisha from Hope for Children. They received our "Letter Seeking Confirmation" (aka LOA) today. We will go down to the offices to sign it this afternoon and they will return it to China. From here we will wait 1-3 weeks for our Travel Approval (TA)!!!!!!!! After that we wait 2-4 weeks to GO TO CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm shaking. I'm so excited that we may actually get our girl in JULY!!!!! This is amazing.

Glad we aren't in that LONG Line anymore!

The CCAA has apparently matched 6 more days. So, in the last 3 months they have done 2, 4 and 6 days. That is an average of 4 days a month! When we found Ally, we still had 87 days. So, if this average continues, I don't even want to think how long we would still have to wait! So glad we found our girl!

More about Ally "Gracie"

We were excited to hear a little more info about where Ally is and how much love she is receiving. It makes MY heart happy to hear these things and makes the fact that we must keep waiting so much easier. I have such a peace about it.

A wonderful lady named Sophie who lives in Australia emailed me some details about our girl. She used to work in the Hope Haven division of her orphanage. She is no longer there, but does remember "Gracie". It's amazing what info one can gain from a Yahoo group! We have heard so many wonderful things about the care these children receive in Hope Haven. Here is some of what Sophie emailed me:

"I can only tell you about Grace when she was in Hope Haven during my time. She was very much loved because she is very sweet. One of the Chinese colleagues wanted to adopt her. She works in the Health Department of the same organisation. Grace has been rather weak when she was a baby. Very often had chest infection. This chinese fell in love with her. I remember I told the chinese colleague that for the sake of Grace's future, it would be better off for her to be adopted overseas. I have seen all our children being so loved and treasured by the adopted families after they had gone abroad. A Chinese family in China is not able to offer the same opportunity that opens up for the child. I think I said it for selfish reason really hoping the best for Grace as I love her dearly. She is very very sweet and adorable, loved by everyone. Now I know God has reserved Grace for your family.

"On the adoption day, you will receive a report on the development and health of Grace from birth to her present. There is also a photo album with her photos from birth to present. You would have heard from other moms who have adopted children from Hope Haven these are the standard things you will get from the childcare centre. I prefer to call Hope Haven as a childcare centre. It is not like an orphanage that is lack of love and care. So, you can tell Grace as she grows up, she was brought up and cared for in a childcare centre with Christ love. Even though I have left Hope Haven, I think the staff will keep up the spirit of caring for our children. In my time all the staff are Christians. The children are happy there. They are well taught. I am sure you can share the experience with other moms who had children from Hope Haven."

Isn't that a miracle? I mean amazing! We are beyond thrilled! And in Communist China, our daughter is in a CHRISTIAN orphanage. LOVE IT!

On a different note: The girls have enjoyed going through some "hand me downs" that have been given to Ally - from my niece Susan and from my work buddy Tara. Also some toys from Shelbi Grace! When Susan's daughter was born a few years ago, we gave her the Fisher Price mansion and stuff, as well as the Little Tykes beauty shop (aka "Mildred's Beauty Shop") that S and L had outgrown. She returned those to us - the girls got a good laugh out of seeing that stuff again. We set up Ally's bed and re-painted the room (same lavendar color). I have to get busy on the sewing! We got some storage boxes that slide right under the bed. I'll post a pic or so once we get things straightened up. We need to find a dresser too. That is about it for what we need in the furniture dept for A. Seeing a crib (set up as a toddler bed) in that room sure does make things real!

Just realized that this is my 150th post!

I have studied that pic of Little Ally at 10 months. I'm glad she was dressed in one outfit and not layers like her "referral" pics. I'm glad to get a peek at her arms and legs. The book in the picture is written in English - I could make out "cock-a-doodle-doo". I can't wait to hold her and see a smile on that cute little face. We are praying daily for her heart to grow stronger. I just want her to fall in love with Sara and Lauren (and us too - that would be nice). It is possible that the package we sent arrived today! I hope she will be sleeping with her new blankie tonight!

A Picture of BABY Ally!

This afternoon has been one of those amazing internet days. I got an email from Ellen (who is adopting "Frannie" from the same orphanage). She found that the Special Needs children are in a division of the orphanage that is sponsored by a group called Hope Haven. From what I understand, this organization sends volunteers from USA, England and Australia to work with the children. From this we got really excited that there is a very good chance that Ally may have grown up hearing ENGLISH! How great would that be? I can hear it now -- our little China baby with a British accent saying "Hello, Mummy. What took you so long?" Anyway, Ellen got an email from a lady named Elisa who had been to the Hope Haven division of the Xianyang orphanage to adopt her son (sometime last year). She sent me this pic of Qin Rui Yun (called Gracie by her nannies) who is our Ally! I can't wait to see when this pic was taken! This is what Elise said about our little girl:

"Gracie is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. I was just struck by her. She has very delicate features, and was quietly sitting on the mat with her friends when we were there. I asked about her and they told me she was a heart baby. The parent to child ratio at Hope Haven is excellent. If memory serves me, it's about 4:1. They have many volunteers as well as paid employees. The nannies mainly appeared to be young women, maybe 18 or 20 yrs old. They live there during the week in a smallish dorm room and go home on the weekend (?) or monthly (?).

The fact that Frannie and Ally are together makes me smile. And the 4:1 ratio is better than we could have ever imagined. I am amazed how this is unfolding!

She now has her full name - Allyson "Ally" Gracie Harkness. I think that since she is refered to as "Gracie" by her care givers, it makes more sense to make that her middle name than the Chinese name they "assigned" her when she was admitted (Rui Yun).

Ally's SWI / Orphanage

Here is a picture of the Xianyang orphanage. Our girl is in this building somewhere!

More about Ally...

I realized that in all the "hub-ub" of actually knowing who our little Ally is and having her picture to look at everyday, that I never really shared the details of what was in her profile (except that she sunbathes twice daily!).

Born Aug 7, 2005 (estimated by her cord condition). She was admitted to the orphanage on Aug 21, 2005. It does not say where she was found.

These are her numbers when found:
Height: 42 cm (16.5 inches)
Weight: 2 kg (4.4 pounds)
Head Circum: 31 cm (12.2 inches)
Chest Circum: 28 cm (11 inches)
Foot Length: 7 cm (2.75 inches)

So, that is her size when she was 2 weeks old. I can't imagine how tiny a 4 pound baby is! What little fighters these girls must be. I hope we can get more details of where she was found. I would love for there to be a note from her birth mother, but since her b'day is estimated, it's doubtful there is anything.

The meds mentioned that she was underweight when found, but that she was alert and had a robust cry. There are some more details of her growth. It also says she is shy, loves to smile, sleeps soundly, has a good appetite, enjoys her bath, and playing with her roommates. It says she is a "lovely child." It does say that she is somewhat apprehensive around strangers.

It is still hard to believe that there is a little girl over in China that will be ours. But there is...

Tonight is our monthly get-together. We have gone since last August and in all that time, there has not been one family to come with new referral pictures. That alone reinforces how painfully slow China has gotten with this whole process. I'm so thankful that we found Ally and that we were selected as her family.

New I-979

We finally received our new 979 form (petition to adopt and international orphan) in today's mail. I also set our I-600A re-application in to the USCIS (Immigration), along with another check, copies of our Birth Certificates and Marraige Certificate, updated and ammended Home Studies. We have to go get more passport photos made of all of us that have to be sent to Hope (along with more $$) for our VISAs (not a credit card!).