DTA (Dossier to Agency)

What an ice storm on the way to Chicago... what a foggy night on the way home... first person at Chinese consulate told me they did not like the paperwork, I need to go back to Iowa and find the notary and have them redo... went back to different person and they said it was fine.  Picked it up @ 2 and headed home through the fog, arriving in the evening after the possibility of overnight envelopes, but got the dossier out this morning to our agency in Virginia.  They will send it on to Beijing on Friday.  Will breathe a massive sigh of relief when we get LID.  Then 5-6 month wait, according to our family coordinator, before we can travel to get our boys.  Was hoping for the spring, but looks like July to August at this point. Still, just happy to have the dossier done and on its way.

Meet Zach

These are Zach's feet.  They entered the world in the same city as Ethan's, but in December 2003.  They're smaller than Ethan's, at a mere 16cm long, or 6and5/16".  The rest of Zach is on the smaller side as well.  He's 112cm tall (44and7/64"), and weighs 19.3kg (42lb,8oz).  To put this into perspective, Stefi is 43 inches tall and weighs 41 lb.  Her birthday is in December too, just 8 days before Zach's.  She'll be turning 6 this year, while Zach turns 9.  And they're an inch and a half, and a pound and a half apart.  Oh my!

Zach has some amazing talents one would never expect, most notably his ability to speak four languages - the local Chinese dialect, Belgian, Dutch and English.  Yes, English!  So we'll have the gift of communication right from the start!  How exciting!  Also he has been "homeschooled," (really!) along with his 13 foster brothers and sisters.  It seems the foster parents are from Holland and take care of 14 kids from the local orphanage as well as their 2 bio sons.  What a noisy house that must be!

Meet Ethan

These are Ethan's feet - aren't they cute?  They're 19.5cm in length, according to his paperwork, and 7and11/16" according to metric-conversions.org.   They entered the world back in January 2005, along with the rest of his sweet tiny self, in south central China.  He now stands 120cm (47and1/4") and weighs 20kg (44lb).  He eats mostly noodles, rice and fruit.  His paperwork definitively states he is "not choosy to food and do not eat the pepper."  Don't you just love Chinglish?  Anyway, we don't eat the pepper either, so we're good there.  I dashed out and bought a rice cooker, and we've always had plenty of noodles and fruit at our house -  it seems the basics of his diet are covered.   He apparently sleeps well and can finish his homework on time (that would put him ahead of our girls ...).  He is described as active, restless and extroverted, and he likes balls, running and outdoor activities.  Maybe he'll be able to keep up with Stefani!

The Six of Us

The Six of Us

We started the adoption process up again July 1st of this year after rediscovering Ethan on our agency's waiting list.  We had picked him out of the line-up in spring 2011 and started renovating the house as there certainly wasn't room for any more bodies at that time.  We couldn't commit to the adorable 6 year-old just yet, so waited and watched and renovated.  Then he dropped off the list.  In our disappointment, rather than rushing to the next child, we decided to table the idea.  We completed our house addition in the spring of 2012 and breathed awhile.  Summer rolled around and we checked the list again, just to see, and to our amazement, there was little Ethan, another year older and still waiting.  We knew it was time to act!

You know how one thing leads to another?  In our case pursuing Ethan led to us concurrently pursuing Zach,a handsome young man who lives in the same city in China, has the same special need and is just one year older. The boys have never met but are soon to be brothers.  We can't wait to make them family!

The above picture was drawn by Stefani.  That's Shannon on the left and me on the right. I'm holding a remote control, not a potato.  :)    Stefani, who also has quick access to a remote, is reading a book to Kati.  And Ethan and Zach are jumping on the couch because "boys are hyper."  Don't we all look happy?

Home at Last!

Well, we made it home Saturday morning with no more hitches and our luggage magically arrived ahead of us on the "cancelled" flight . My first impressions of Iowa after being gone 2 weeks (seems much, much longer) - Iowa is really, really green and there's nobody here!

I believe its Sunday night now - don't know where Saturday went! We're all a bit jetlagged to say the least. Still doing laundry, putting stuff away and trying to toddler-proof the house.

Thank you to everyone who made this adoption and travel possible. We're eternally grateful.

Jill

The Long Journey Home

We got up on Friday at 4 a.m. and finished packing when the porter arrived at our door. Actually, we weren't quite finished and it was all pretty hectic from there on out. We just managed to get on the plane in Guangzhou, again something we would never had navigated without the indispensable Nelson. In Beijing we were happily able to upgrade to Economy Plus and since the flight wasn't full, got a free seat for Stefani as well. That made the long flight far more comfortable.

In Chicago, clearing customs and immigration was about a 2 hour process. The girls were starving and it looked like we had just enough time for a happy meal before heading to our gate. As it turned, we had LOTS of time. Our flight was delayed 5 times and then at 10:00 pm. Chicago time, that's 11:00 a.m. Saturday Beijing time and about 31 hours of travel, they canceled our flight. Papa Al and Shannon headed off to customer service and came back with a hotel courtesy of the airline. At least we had a bed to sleep in, but wow! was Air China ever a superior airline! Everything went smooth as silk, their planes have a lot more leg room (go figure) and the flight attendants are far more courteous. Ok, now I'm just complaining.

Anyway, here we are still in Chicago. We'll be heading back to the airport in an hour. Hopefully we'll be home by noon. Don't know when our luggage will arrive though, since it was checked through to DSM. Yep, that's right. I've got one remaining diaper and we all slept in our clothes. It's been a loooooong journey home.

Jill

Last Day in Guangzhou

This morning we visited the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall and a nearby park, which I again do not recall the name of.  I personally remember it as the "Park with so many stairs leading to the Five Goats statue."  There's always a lot of stairs at the park, so remember it having a lot of stairs, well, if you've been there, you know what I'm talking about.  :)

This afternoon we got the traditional photos of everyone on the red couch, then set ourselves to last minute shopping and plenty of packing.  I always have a hard time packing, but now I'm really challenged.  What are we going to need with us on the many flights?  And the Chinese rules about carrying on liquids are different - everything has to be checked.   We've bought so many "souvenirs." gifts and lots of Chinese things for the girls.  I think we'll be leaving a lot of nonessentials with the White Swan ...    I sent Shannon back out to buy another suitcase in hopes of actually getting everything in a bag.   See you soon!