Potpourri

(Did you know that's how you spell potpourri?  I don't think I've ever typed it before.  Anyway.)

This is going to be kind of a catch all post.  So here goes.

T-Shirt Fundraiser:
I decided to jump on board the t-shirt fundraiser bandwagon and do a fundraiser through Bonfire Funds.  It is a wonderful site that allows you to use their stock designs or upload one of your own, and then if you sell a certain number of shirts (in my case, 50) they handle collecting the money, printing, and shipping of the shirts.  And the shirts are really nice quality (I have a few, thanks to some other adoptive families!).  Here is the design I am using:

This design was created by my amazingly talented friend Candace, who also designed Ella's puzzle.  I wanted a design that encompassed multiple languages/cultures, not just Chinese.  There are many, many adoptive parents in my little circle of friends, and (shockingly, ha ha!) not all of their kids came from China.  I also wanted a shirt that wasn't just specific to Ella's adoption, but was a cool shirt that people would wear, no matter what.  I think Candace accomplished that.  Plus I really love the color and I think the design is just awesome.  So far, 22 shirts have been sold, so 28 more need to be sold for the sale to be considered "successful" and the shirts to be printed!  You do have to purchase them through this website, but you are not charged until the fund is successful.  About half of each shirt sold goes to Ella's adoption fund.  And of course, it's fine to sell over 50 shirts - that's just a bonus!  The money from this (and from other fundraisers, such as the envelope fundraiser) will go toward Ella's orphanage fee, fees for finalizing her adoption in China, and post-adoption service fees.  If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, click the link {here}.

Paperwork:

So I sort of skipped a celebration in my last post.  When I mentioned that my last two documents were on their way to China, I failed to celebrate the fact that one of those last two documents was my I-800a approval from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  That approval can take up to 90 days (that is how long they have to approve it); mine was approved on day 37 and I had the approval in hand on day 40.  This was a HUGE blessing.  My goal when starting my paperwork was to file that before February 28, and I had it filed February 26.  I was trying to leave 60 days for approval so I could have the entire month of May to get the sealing done; as it stands, it should be done before the end of April (Lord willing!).  I am incredibly thankful that the good folks at USCIS are moving more quickly (and that my really great, motivated social worker does not drag her feet).  I know there are paperwork steps to complete after my dossier is to China, but I don't really know MUCH about them yet, so I try not to get ahead of myself.  (Let's just say there are a lot more initials to learn!)

Preparing for Ella:

I didn't want to get ahead of myself in preparing Ella's room, but early on when looking at bedding I decided I didn't really like anything in the stores and I wanted to make her quilt myself.  So I set off to find some fabric that I liked in colors that I liked (I kind of followed this tutorial I found on Pinterest).  I made the quilt top in February/early March, but waited until Spring Break to finish it.  I used my dear friend's quilting machine and her seriously incredible quilting expertise to get it done.  I am really proud of how it turned out.  It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it turned out really well.  

On the machine!  The quilting is large interlocking circles, so it gives a flower pattern in the middle.  

The finished product.  I love it!

The quilt isn't what I would have thought I'd choose for my hypothetical child's room even six months or a year ago, but one thing I have found throughout this process is what you think you'd do and what you actually choose to do can be two very different things.  :)

SO, when do you think you'll travel?

This is the question I am most commonly asked.  Right now I am thinking sometime in September.  It could be early September, it could be late September.  It depends on how long the wait for my letter of approval (LOA) is.  Right now lots of people in the same situation as me (who have had pre-approval for several months) have been getting them in less than two months, but the LOA wait is not standard at all.  Some people get them in 40, some get them in 80+.  Right now I am just assuming September and remaining noncommittal.  Once the LOA comes, it give a more concrete wait time and I can answer with more confidence.  :)

I think that's it for now!  I am really enjoying the Spring weather - it makes it sink in a little more that this is actually happening and that I don't have too much longer before Ella arrives on the scene.  I am very excited!

Paper Chasing. Literally.

(Alternately titled:  How Governor Steve Beshear Became a Part of Ella's Adoption Story)

This is a story about my plan and reality.  So you know it's going to go perfectly smoothly, right? :)

My plan:
Took today off.  I was going to get up early, drive my last two documents to the County Clerk Notary Office, get them certified, pick up my friend Stephanie, drive to Frankfort to get my last two documents certified at the state level, come home, grab some lunch, make my copies, overnight my last two documents to the courier in DC, maybe take a nap, take my rental car back to the place, pick up my car, go to church, so on and so forth.

So what actually happened?

I woke up a little late, sat in traffic, got to the County Clerk Notary Office.  The lady seemed a bit unsure of what she was doing but people were helping her and in the end it seemed okay.  So I left, picked up Steph at McDonald's, and off we went.  We got to Frankfort, parked, and headed in.

I noticed some people walking out of the Capitol building but didn't notice who.  I hear Stephanie say, "Hi!"  I turned my head because it sounded like a familiar "Hi."

Yeah, we walked right past the Governor.  Later we lamented not getting our pictures taken with him, so we took a selfie right where we passed him.

We were so close.  Just pretend he's there.

We went in, went to the Secretary of State, and were out in no time.  Stephanie did pick up a sucker and added her date-stamped sticker so that Ella will have it someday.  :)  Not that Ella will get to eat that particular sucker, but you know.  It's a keepsake.  We wandered outside in the sunshine to take a couple of fun pictures of me with my fancy documents.  Did I mention they were the last two?  I am a bit excited about that.

SO OFFICIAL.  (Sense the foreboding.)

So I get home with my lunch and my documents, sit down to eat, and my sweet friend Laura calls.  She was in town for a conference with her husband and kids, and invited me to dinner with several other friends tonight.  YES!  Absolutely.  Let me just ask to be relieved from the church nursery.  (That was no issue, thanks to our amazing Preschool Director at church.)  

I sat down around 1:15 to start making copies.  My computer was out of ink, which was a minor issue.  I looked at the seals on my documents one more time and I am glad I did.  Because the County notary seal on my home study was wrong.  They misspelled the notary's name.  

I called my agency, who very quickly recommended to go ahead and get it fixed if I could.  I called the Notary office, and they checked and confirmed it was spelled wrong.  They said I could come on in and get it fixed, no worries.  Which would be fine and no problem, except of course it had already been certified by the State.  

(A side note.  Staples are a big deal when compiling an adoption dossier.  Once the State's seal has been stapled onto the document, you cannot remove them.  If you do, the Chinese Embassy will not accept the documents and you have to go through the whole process again with that document.  So I knew fixing the County seal would nullify the State seal.  But it had to be done.) 

So basically I repeated my trip back downtown and back to Frankfort in one day.  I nearly literally chased these documents up and down I-64.  

When you get the documents, you have to make copies to send to the Embassy (you also need a set to send to the agency and a set to keep).  So I had to find a copy place since my home printer wasn't working.  It worked out that there was a FedEx close to the Post Office close to where I was to meet my friends for dinner...this feels like a version of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  If I wasn't so tired, I would change this and make it so. :)

At any rate.  at 4:58 the Post Office accepted my documents, so they are back on track, my day off was certainly used well, and all's well that ends well.   I was blessed to have dinner with some very dear friends (some of whom I haven't seen in three years!) and enjoy some special conversations with people who are dear and special to me.  

So at the end of the long day, while I am certainly tired and spent more time driving than I intended, my original goals (minus picking up the car, but I worked that out to do tomorrow) were accomplished.  My LAST. TWO. DOCUMENTS.* are in the mail to the courier.  I got to spend the morning enjoying the sunshine and laughing with a good friend.  I ended the day with dinner with dear friends of mine.  It's been a great day.

And hey, my friend Stephanie said hi to the Governor.  So there's always that.

* - These are my last two dossier documents.  There will be other documents, but the big dossier document compiling is nearing its completion.  Which is exciting.  Hooray!

Ella's First 10 Books*

As most of you know, I am a teacher.  And as many of you know, I also love to read.  I have said many times (and said to my mom again last night) that if Ella ends up with an overabundance of anything, I want it to be books.  So from the beginning of this process, I have been picking up a book here and there for Ella's library.  I didn't want to go bananas, because I know she will receive some as gifts, but I had some that I specifically wanted to get for her myself.

Without further adieu, Ella's first 10 books (all links are from Amazon.com, and this is not a sponsored post, I just figured they were the easiest to link to!):

1.  On the Night You Were Born, by Nancy Tillman

I really, really love this book.  It is great for kids who have been adopted, as it is not a typical "the night I was born" story, and it is such a beautiful story about how special each child is and how the night they were born is magical.  (When I read it to my nephew I told him that he was born in the morning and it was just as magical, and he could just change the words.)

2.  Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You, by Nancy Tillman

Another really great book about loving your kid.  It's a sweet, whimsical story told in fun language and with great pictures.  Who doesn't love great pictures?

3. The Monster at the End of this Book, starring lovable, furry old Grover

In the interest of full disclosure, I bought this book a couple of years ago.  I can't remember why, but I think it was because maybe my nieces and nephew had never read it?  At any rate.  I decided to be nice and put it in Ella's pile.  It was one of my favorites when I was little.  I have a lot of memories of my mom reading this book to me.  She was (and I imagine still is) great at reading this book!

4. The Very Cranky Bear, by Nick Bland

I bought this book probably my first or second year of teaching from the Scholastic Book Fair at school.  It is my favorite fun kids' book.  And if I'm being honest, I really debated giving this to Ella.  Okay, not really.  But seriously.  It's the best book ever.  I keep saying I am going to be the Very Cranky Bear for Halloween one year.  Maybe this year...

5.  My First Chinese New Year, by Karen Katz

This is a great little book that helped me learn about Chinese New Year this year.  I know it will help me teach Ella in the future.  Plus, the pictures are really cute.  

6.  Ella Bella Ballerina and the Nutcracker, by James Mayhew

This book was on sale after Christmas, and it looked cute.  It's more young elementary than toddler, as far as number of words and the attention span it will require to get through it, but it is a sweet little story about a ballerina named Ella who enters the world of the Nutcracker.  And who doesn't love a book with their own name in it?

7.-9. Ella the Elegant Elephant, Ella Sets Sail, and Ella Sets the Stage, by Carmela and Steven D'Amico

These were gifts from my mom for Christmas.  I knew she wanted to do gifts for Ella, but I didn't really know what she might need yet, so I mentioned the first book, and my mom was able to find all three!  They are just really cute books about an elephant named Ella with an elegant hat, and all the adventures she has.  Apparently there is a Disney Junior TV show too.  Which hey, maybe that means there's birthday party themed materials?  :)

10.  Humpty Dumpty (Indestructibles book), by Jonas Sickler

This book is really cool.  It's a picture only book, but it is the story of Humpty Dumpty set on the Great Wall of China!  I thought it was neat to take a classic nursery rhyme and put a spin on it that includes Ella's home country.  This company makes a lot of really neat stories, and all of their nursery rhymes are set in other countries (Hickory Dickory Dock is set in London, England; Mary Had a Little Lamb is set in Africa).  I am excited about this book.  

So there you have it!  Ella's first ten books.  I hope she has many, many more to read soon!

*Not to be confused with Ella's Top 10 Books, because those may end up being completely different.

Happenings around Here

I think I've used this phrase before, but a lot of the adoption process is hurry up and wait.  I am gearing up to a hurry up phase, which will then lead to a relatively long wait phase.

On Thursday of last week, I received back all of the documents that I sent to the Embassy in Washington, D.C. two weeks prior.  They had seals from the U.S. State Department and the Chinese Embassy.  Definitely the most official looking documents I've ever held.

So I put those, along with some pictures and a few other documents in the mail yesterday, and at 10:34 this morning, Colorado time, they arrived at my agency.  Because it is an incomplete dossier, there is no guarantee that it will go through critical review (where it is read three times!), but I am hopeful it will.  Either way, when the other documents get there, it will go through critical review then off to China it goes!

So now I just wait, wait, wait for my I-800a approval.  That should come in the next couple of weeks.  After that, it is mad dash to get that authenticated!

I am getting so much closer to Ella.  Some days, it seems like it's SO close and I have to get things done NOW.  Some days, it seems like it couldn't possibly be farther away.  Today I am kind of in the middle.  Most days it just doesn't feel real.  But I am getting there, slowly but surely!  I'm ready to get this girl home!

So, what now?

Paperwork:

After a couple of slight twists and turns finalizing my home study, it is complete!  I am so thankful for my wonderful social worker who put in long hours and worked when she was very sick to get it done.  My I-800a application has been filed and received, and I should receive my fingerprint appointment date sometime this week!  Martha (my roommate) and I both have to be fingerprinted (any adult over 18 living in the house has to be), so we are hoping that the date and time are convenient to the teacher life.  But we will see.  My other documents are being sealed at the State Department and Embassy this week, and should be back next week!  So basically...I am done with paperwork and am now twiddling my thumbs.  (It's driving me crazy.  A friend warned me that this was a very unsettling feeling and she was right.)  Once the documents come back, they'll go to my agency for review and to wait for the other two documents (home study, I-800a approval).  Once those come and go through the certification/sealing process, then they go to my agency, and then everything goes to China.  {I feel like I've explained this before.  But that's where I am in the process.  After everything goes to China, I will get a log-in date (LID) and then will be waiting for my LOA (Letter of Approval).  That will likely take two to three months, and then it will be another two to three months to travel.  I am still thinking October is a good prediction of when I will travel, but it's tough to say.}

Fundraising/Financial Stuff:

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was the recipient of a very generous Rosalynn's Hope grant.  This was an incredible gift in that it covers my last two agency fees, as well as a fee to the Chinese government to process the adoption.  The end of the puzzle fundraiser, the knitting fundraiser from my sweet niece Jenna, and the beginning of the envelope fundraiser (as well as my savings, of course!) covered my home study and USCIS fee (for I-800a application fee and fingerprint fee).  So of course, that leaves the question "What's left?"

The biggest fee left is the orphanage fee, which will be paid at travel time to the orphanage where Ella  has been registered since she was a day old.  It is basically a childrearing fee, and it goes toward helping other babies who are still in the orphanage.   That is around $5700.  The other fees are for traveling in country (we will travel from Beijing to the capital of Ella's province to Guangzhou, where the U.S. Consulate is located), fees to finalize her adoption, and post-adoption services (follow ups with the social worker, and with the agency, which is required by China and is great for Ella and for me!).  They add up to about $8,000 (more or less).  My hope and prayer is that 200 Red Envelopes for Ella continues to do well!  It has been really wonderful so far, and I am hoping that it will continue to be a way for friends to support Ella's adoption.  I am also saving as much as possible and am applying for another big grant (the deadline is by the end of April).  I am hoping that I will qualify for that grant, which would make a big dent in what is left!

Also, the Photo Mini-Session Event held by Wild Honey Photography has been moved to April!  Because of our wintery winter, it was decided that holding off until it would probably be warmer was the best idea.  Contact information is still the same though, and is on the picture!

The biggest blessing of all is that every time something has been due or I've needed the money for a fee, it has been provided for.  It's kind of unexplainable.  But people will say, "Oh, the money just shows up!"  And it's true!

I'm so thankful for the generosity of friends (and strangers!) who have chosen to be a part of bringing Ella home.

Ella Update.

I repeat.  ELLA UPDATE!

So yesterday I got an email around lunchtime from my agency.  They had received a translation about Ella and wanted to pass it along.  It was a discharge summary from the hospital where she receives medical care.  Long story short, she had to have her shunt replaced.  It isn't a surprise - 50% of shunts fail within the first year.  I was hoping she would make it here before her shunt had to be replaced, but ultimately she is in excellent care and received exactly what she needed.  I'm so thankful.  That being said, if you remember her hair from the clapping video, it's gone. (No biggie.)  

But here is Ella - 14 months old!

I also got quite a bit of information about her!  Some of it I doubt is super accurate, but you know.  It's hard to tell.  When she was hospitalized for surgery she weighed 23 lbs.  That was a month ago.  The update now says she weighs 29 lbs.  While the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, I am guessing she didn't gain 7lbs in three weeks (she was hospitalized for a week).  It says she is trying to crawl, which is good news!  She is also standing supported for a minute or two at a time, according to the update.  I definitely hope all of this is accurate!  This would be wonderful news for her physical development.

According to the update, she says a few words and understands a lot.  When you say "touchdown," she will put her hands up in the air.  HOW CUTE?!  A little Cards fan in the making, huh?  

The update confirmed what I had assumed, which is that she is living with a foster family.  I am so grateful for this family and their loving care of Ella for the past year.  They have taken such good care of her and by the looks of things, she's gotten plenty of love and spoiling.  :)  This placement is likely due to her medical needs, as she requires monitoring by doctors at a particular medical center.  I don't know this for a fact, but I do know that she has received care in one part of China but is from another part.  Either way.  I am incredibly grateful for this family!

There were a couple funny facts in the update too.  First of all - just FYI - she still uses the diaper.  (I'm good with that.)  Also, she likes apple juice; she does not like boiled water.  :)  I am sure there is significance there, I just liked that detail!

Oh, but wait.  You don't care about that, right?  You care about this:

You're welcome. :)

 (I don't know when or if I will get another update, so enjoy this one as often as needed!)

Real live progress!

Today I found out what it actually means to get documents certified at the state and county level. (Civics lesson!)

So when you are adopting (and I guess for various other reasons), you have to get every single document notarized.  And after you get them notarized, you have to get them certified.  Kentucky has the pleasure of being one of the five (I think) states where your documents have to be certified at the county and state level.  So today I took a day off work (long story short it was supposed to be a flexible PD day but ended up being a snow make up day) and took a friend who has been through this part of the adoption process with me, and we headed out to the county and state governments!

First stop, the Jefferson County Clerk's main office downtown.  It took about 5 minutes to have 5 documents certified!  At this stop, they are certifying that the notary's seal and commission are true and valid.

Outside of the County Courthouse.  It was COLD.

Next, we headed to Frankfort.  One piece of the dossier, the State Police Check, had been notarized in Franklin County (where the capital is).  So we headed to the Franklin County Clerk and within minutes, that document was notarized too! (No pictures.)

Finally, we were off to the State Capitol.  So here is where things get sad, picture wise.  (Not really.)  I was going to take an awesome picture holding all the documents at the overlook for the Capitol or at least outside the building.  However, the GPS took us out of the area a different way and we bypassed the Capitol overlook.  So no picture.  Still.  Seven of nine documents are certified and ready!  At the state level they are certifying that the person who certified the notary is valid...you get the point.

Next, sometime later this week, I will send this first batch to a courier who will take them through the next steps in the sealing process.  After that, they'll be sent back to me and then on ahead to my agency.  (Out of my hands = hopefully better, I say.)  I am waiting for two more documents.  One is a document that I will be waiting on for probably 50 days now, which is an approval from the USCIS.  Once that comes back, those two documents will be expedited through the process, and then everything will be at the agency.  And then hopefully those three favorite letters in Chinese adoption...DTC!  I am still on track for the end of May, so that is exciting.

It was fun crossing off these steps!  There hasn't been much going on lately (other than finalizing my home study) so it's so nice to finally be in a phase where things are happening!  I'll update again soon!