Traveling without Lilly

This will be our 4th trip to China and the only one Lilly will not be with us. I am having very mixed emotions about this.  Lilly is a wonderful traveler! She is happy all the time, she doesn't complain, and she loves the adventure.  But Lilly is like this all the time.  When she is around me 90% of the time I feel relaxed and at peace.  Lil can help you see the good in anything.  Being away from all of my kids (even the one who doesn't live at home) is one of the hardest parts of this for me.  We have brought them with us before, when we traveled for Ollie San, Max and Lil went and when we traveled for Ted Ollie and Lil went. So why not this time? The cost. To add 3 extra travelers I guess would be at least an extra $6,000. And I can honestly say bonding.  I really feel we missed out on some special alone time with Ted by having the girls with us.  They were young enough to need our attention and it took time away from him and he wanted to be with them as much if not more then us. So just Ken and I will travel.  I am hoping for some quiet bonding time where we get to know her and she gets to know us.  I know from our first trip come day 8 I WILL want to come home. 

 

Next Year You will be here

I'm writing this post for Wei Kang Hong. Its Christmas day in China and you have no idea how much you are missed as we hang stockings and wait for Santa.  I was hoping for a new picture of you this week from Little Flowers but nothing.  Tomorrow will be our last family photo of 7.  This will be one of the photos we will include in your photo album we will send to you as soon as we have LOA.  That cant come any to quickly.  Merry Christmas Baby Girl we love you.

Happy Holidays!

Working on getting some pictures to send in an album Addie as soon as we have our LOA.  Cant wait to send that package!

Holidays

Well at least its a busy time of the year to help with the waiting.  Ollie and Teddy shared the news with their class last week. They have been so excited to do this.  I went in to help them with questions.  I find when we do something that has anything to do with China in the kids class it turns into questions about their adoption and why.  The class was so cute (4th Graders) and Ollie and Ted did a great job.  They could have asked questions for hours.  We are so busy around here with the production of "Clara's Cracked Christmas" that Ted and Lil are in and Im so far behind on shopping for Christmas which isn't like me.  Working 5 days a week has really worn me out and Im planning on cutting back when she comes home.  We have just started our wait for LOA so I don't even try and check our wait yet.  Id have to go back and check our agency email to even tell you how long we should expect. Not that I don't care I just don't want to obsess yet.  After the first of the year then Ill start checking daily, getting her clothes washed, checking hotels and flights.  That kind of nesting stuff! 

When something happens and you are helpless (I wrote this and didnt publish it at the time but here it is now)

So you read Blogs of waiting families and how excited they are, the updates they get and the excitements of new photos BUT what about the Blog where the child you are waiting for is sick. We knew when we excepted our referral that Hong had a cleft lip repaired and cleft palette, CHD and had had seizures.  Her lip repair had gone well and she was headed to foster care. I had mixed emotions about foster care because she has been in a wonderful facility called "Little Flowers".  Then we see new pictures of her from Little Flowers and she has a feeding tube.  After inquiring though our Agency we get this update:

1) She does eat well (Pediasure) and doesn't vomit unless she is in one of her throwing up periods.  These are completely irregular and unpredictable, she can go days or weeks without problems.  When she does have problems she becomes very dehydrated and weak and requires a feeding tube.

2) She had several massive seizures on the train on the way back to Taiyuan two days ago. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, given phenobarbital and released.  She also had a smaller seizure the day before that.

3) We do not know what plans the orphanage has for her regarding foster care.

4) Her current weight is 9.19 kg

5) It would be best to ask the orphanage to get video for you, we don’t have the capacity to email or upload large files.

 UMMMM what! Throwing up periods? MASSIVE SEIZURES?! On a train (why)?  So many question and no one to ask.  Feeling so helpless.

DTC

We are DTC (Dossier to China) today!!This was a pleasant surprise I was hoping for next week,   Im still not ready to start predicting when we will travel.  Id rather be surprised then disappointed.  We have seen new pictures of Addie and she is looking better. I will probably ask for an update next week to see if she is still on the meds for seizures and how her health has been.  It is so stressful the paperwork the waiting the not so great updates.  I bet you are wondering when you will get to see pictures?  Soon Im hoping. We need to wait for LOA from China then I will post one.

How are things moving along you ask?

Our I800A was mailed on 9-9-14 and the check was cashed today 9-15-14 so we know the USCIS got it.  Now how long will it take? It seems from what I see on time lines of adoptions sites most people are DTC about 2 months after they have mailed their I800A (Dossier to China (all that paperwork I complain about!)) Then we sit back and wait and play the guessing game of when will we travel.  BUT wait Im not going there yet!!!  We have had no updates on Hong but we did see some new pictures and she looks a little thinner but no feeding tube.  We will ask about an update next week.