On Monday February 23, 2015 we received in the mail our hard copy LOA. This piece of paper is what China issues when they have reviewed and approved a family for adoption of a specific child. On this form is a section that we as the adoptive parents have to check that we either accept or decline this referral. Of course we accepted!!! We signed and that beautiful piece of paper is currently winging it's way back to our agency who will forward it to China and they will officially know we are coming for that sweet boy as fast as possible.
We are a week into our immigration wait and it will probably be another week before we hear anything on that front. This weekend we will go ahead and get his paperwork together so that we can apply for his visa to enter the US. Things are moving along. We are getting the boys room ready and sorting clothes. We still don't know if we will make travel at the beginning of April or if it will be the second week of May, but we are placing it in God's hands b/c He knows the exact right moment to join our family with this precious little boy. Stay tuned. Exciting things are happening!
Friday, February 27, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Hard Copy LOA!!!
It's official, today (day 103 since submitting LOI), our agency received out hard copy LOA from China. It was issued on 2/11/15. They emailed us a copy so we were able to submit our immigration paperwork today! This step will take about 2 weeks. It's about to get crazy, b/c everything will start to go really fast now. We should be traveling in 6-10 weeks!!!!! It is so real now. It seems like an eternity to us, but I know the next few weeks are going to go very quickly. We are working on getting the boys room together and doing some toddler proofing around the house. Hold on everyone, here we go!!!
Friday, February 13, 2015
LOA! LOA! LOA! LOA!
Ok so it has been a long crazy week! Let's start with the best news ever....we got our LOA on Wed.(day 96)!!!!! At least the computer system is showing that our LOA has been issued and it should be winging it's way to the good ol USA as I type. I was starting to worry that it wouldn't get here before the Chinese government shuts down for Chinese New Year so this is a huge blessing. My other concern, since it was taking so long, was that with Owen's new injury they were going to get picky about our paperwork since the original LOI (letter of intent to adopt) did not mention burns. Thankfully that does not seem be the case and we should be getting that beautiful piece of paper in hand early next week. The LOA is the official approval to adopt. It means our paperwork has been translated, reviewed and we meet all the criteria to adopt this very special little boy. I just can't even tell you the relief we felt getting this particular call. I could physically feel the tension leave my body. Up until you get LOA there is still a chance they will say "No, sorry you don't qualify." I mean, we knew we met criteria, but anything could happen. Next we have to apply to immigration to have Owen classified as an immediate relative (this takes 2-3 weeks), then our paperwork will go to the US Embassy in China to have a Visa issued for him, then everything goes back to China and they say "come get your boy!!" We are hoping to squeak in for travel at the beginning of April, but realistically we are looking at the beginning of May for travel. We can't travel the last two week of April b/c there is a Trade Fair in Guangzhou (that is where we will be the entire trip) and all hotels, food, etc....skyrocket in price and frankly we just can't afford the added expense. For now though things are progressing and we are moving along to the next step.
There has been some discussion as to if we are going to be able to medically expedite Owen's adoption due to his new burns. When we first found out and saw the pictures we absolutely were pushing for an expedite. However, the newest information we have shows that his Foster Family truly is doing everything they can for him, he is healing well and honestly there is no medical need to expedite his adoption. The Mama in me wants him home this very minute so I can be the one in charge of his care and make sure he has absolutely every advantage for a good outcome. The Nurse in me realizes that his Foster Family truly cares for him and is doing everything they can to ensure his health. The video we received showed that he is moving his arm freely with no apparent pain. The massage and therapy regimen they have him on are appropriate and truly there is no urgent medical need to expedite his adoption. Another aspect to consider is that when you ask to expedite an adoption they are moving your paperwork to the front of the pile. That means other children are still waiting b/c of your expedite. Deciding to expedite means you have to be absolutely certain that your child's health will greatly suffer without immediate intervention and in Owen's case there is just nothing to support the idea that his health is compromised. In fact he has gained height (29 inches) and weight (17 lbs) and appears to be healthy otherwise. The long and short is that we have decided not to push for an expedite. We have talked to several families whose children have fostered with this family and they all comment about the wonderful care their child received. We are continuing to pray for Owen daily. Prayers for health and healing and preparation for his little heart as we get closer to bringing him home.
The other amazing news we received on Tuesday was that we were chosen to receive a matching grant from the Brittney's Hope Foundation!!!!! This is such a huge blessing for our family. The way it works is that we fundraise half of the grant amount and they match dollar for dollar up to the allotted amount. WAIT, it gets better......between our online auction that closed last week and our puzzle fundraiser (that is now closed thanks to some truly amazing friends) our matching grant is FULLY FUNDED!!!!! I will tell you that when this moment happened Mark found me just crying at the computer. It is obvious how much we want this little guy home right now, but it is truly humbling to see the sheer number of people that are praying this little boy home. If you ever doubt the work of God just watch an adoption story unfold. It's not always pretty, but it is truly a thing of beauty to watch how God touches the hearts and minds of people near and far. There will never be enough words, but Thank You to everyone who is following our journey. We appreciate every single one of you.
There has been some discussion as to if we are going to be able to medically expedite Owen's adoption due to his new burns. When we first found out and saw the pictures we absolutely were pushing for an expedite. However, the newest information we have shows that his Foster Family truly is doing everything they can for him, he is healing well and honestly there is no medical need to expedite his adoption. The Mama in me wants him home this very minute so I can be the one in charge of his care and make sure he has absolutely every advantage for a good outcome. The Nurse in me realizes that his Foster Family truly cares for him and is doing everything they can to ensure his health. The video we received showed that he is moving his arm freely with no apparent pain. The massage and therapy regimen they have him on are appropriate and truly there is no urgent medical need to expedite his adoption. Another aspect to consider is that when you ask to expedite an adoption they are moving your paperwork to the front of the pile. That means other children are still waiting b/c of your expedite. Deciding to expedite means you have to be absolutely certain that your child's health will greatly suffer without immediate intervention and in Owen's case there is just nothing to support the idea that his health is compromised. In fact he has gained height (29 inches) and weight (17 lbs) and appears to be healthy otherwise. The long and short is that we have decided not to push for an expedite. We have talked to several families whose children have fostered with this family and they all comment about the wonderful care their child received. We are continuing to pray for Owen daily. Prayers for health and healing and preparation for his little heart as we get closer to bringing him home.
The other amazing news we received on Tuesday was that we were chosen to receive a matching grant from the Brittney's Hope Foundation!!!!! This is such a huge blessing for our family. The way it works is that we fundraise half of the grant amount and they match dollar for dollar up to the allotted amount. WAIT, it gets better......between our online auction that closed last week and our puzzle fundraiser (that is now closed thanks to some truly amazing friends) our matching grant is FULLY FUNDED!!!!! I will tell you that when this moment happened Mark found me just crying at the computer. It is obvious how much we want this little guy home right now, but it is truly humbling to see the sheer number of people that are praying this little boy home. If you ever doubt the work of God just watch an adoption story unfold. It's not always pretty, but it is truly a thing of beauty to watch how God touches the hearts and minds of people near and far. There will never be enough words, but Thank You to everyone who is following our journey. We appreciate every single one of you.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Healing
Sorry for the delay, but it has been a LOOOOONG week. We got an email at the beginning of the week with new pictures of Owen's burns and a video. It was in an unusual format so it took our agency 2 days to open it. Essentially, his burn is healing well. The pictures look really good so now all we can do is pray they continue follow up massage and physical therapy to keep the scar tissue as loose as possible. He does not appear to be in any pain so we are thankful for that information. The video was just to much people!!! 2 full minutes of him crawling around being absolutely adorable!!!! I mean seriously he is so stinkin cute!!! I just can't wait to kiss those little cheeks.
Monday night our online auction ended. It was a HUGE success. Thank You seems insufficient, but THANK YOU to everyone who donated, bid and spread the word. We made enough to cover about 80% of our hotel costs in China which is a huge blessing (try living in a hotel for 2 weeks, it gets pricey!). I still have a few things to mail out, but this fundraiser is almost complete.
The bad news is we still don't have our LOA : ( Today is day 93 of the LOA wait. At this point in Konnor's adoption process we were just a few weeks away from traveling to bring him home. I am just heartbroken right now with how long this is taking. Our agency is appalled and they are constantly requesting updates on our status. Unfortunately there is a real possibility we won't travel to bring Owen home until May (I am sick just typing that sentence). The problem is that Chinese New Year is coming up and the government shuts down over there for a couple weeks to celebrate. We will also run into to the Trade Fair in April that starts 4/15? During that time hotel prices skyrocket and we just can't afford the additional money to travel during those two weeks. I am still crossing fingers that if our approval comes this week we might be able to squeak in at the beginning of April to travel, but I am trying not to get my hopes up about that.
So right now we are just waiting. I will keep you posted as soon as we find something out (I am sure you will all hear me screaming when we get LOA). Don't forget to check out our essential oils fundraiser!
http://www.selahessentialoils.com/?ref=54a3408826d23
Monday night our online auction ended. It was a HUGE success. Thank You seems insufficient, but THANK YOU to everyone who donated, bid and spread the word. We made enough to cover about 80% of our hotel costs in China which is a huge blessing (try living in a hotel for 2 weeks, it gets pricey!). I still have a few things to mail out, but this fundraiser is almost complete.
The bad news is we still don't have our LOA : ( Today is day 93 of the LOA wait. At this point in Konnor's adoption process we were just a few weeks away from traveling to bring him home. I am just heartbroken right now with how long this is taking. Our agency is appalled and they are constantly requesting updates on our status. Unfortunately there is a real possibility we won't travel to bring Owen home until May (I am sick just typing that sentence). The problem is that Chinese New Year is coming up and the government shuts down over there for a couple weeks to celebrate. We will also run into to the Trade Fair in April that starts 4/15? During that time hotel prices skyrocket and we just can't afford the additional money to travel during those two weeks. I am still crossing fingers that if our approval comes this week we might be able to squeak in at the beginning of April to travel, but I am trying not to get my hopes up about that.
So right now we are just waiting. I will keep you posted as soon as we find something out (I am sure you will all hear me screaming when we get LOA). Don't forget to check out our essential oils fundraiser!
http://www.selahessentialoils.com/?ref=54a3408826d23
Monday, February 2, 2015
Progress!!!
Hallelujah!!! Keep praying everyone! Today we found out that whatever computer glitch made our paperwork disappear after the upgrade has been fixed and our paperwork is officially being reviewed. Our in China representative has forwarded Owen's hospital discharge information along with photos of his burns asking that our LOA be expedited. I have been listening non-stop to the Chris Tomlin song "Our God" and he nails it "and if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us, and if our God is with us, then what could stand against." We are coming Owen!
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Emotions
It has taken me a few days to find the will to write this post. For those that follow us on Facebook you know what is going on, but for everyone else let me fill you in on the events of our week.
Thursday morning we received a call from our agency. I of course grabbed my phone and ran to the break room at work anticipating that our caseworker was calling with the much awaited LOA news. Unfortunately the first words our of her mouth were, "Ashley I'm not calling about your LOA." It was her tone of voice that tipped me off that whatever was about to come was not good. My stomach hit the floor as I pushed out the words "what's wrong." I came to find out that our son Owen sustained a burn injury on December 11. It was a hot water burn injury sustained at the foster family's home. It was an accident. An accident that could have happened to any of us on any day in our own homes. It wasn't malicious and the foster family got immediate treatment for him.
Of course we were horrified. On so many different levels that it has taken me awhile to actually sort out my feelings on this issue. I have gone through every level of emotions in the last 4 days, fear, worry, anger, confusion, sadness, anxiety, the list could go on and on. At first I was just physically sick with worry for Owen. I have had just minor household burns and they are extremely painful. The idea of my 14 month old Son dealing with pain even worse than what minor burns I had experienced is beyond me. Then the Mama Nurse set in...is his pain controlled, did he get an infection, are they keeping it moist, are they doing dressing changes correctly, is he doing PT, let's just say my Nurse brain went into overdrive. Amidst all of this all I could think was "we need to get him home right now." That is easier said than done in the adoption world. We received a report that was basically his discharge summary from the hospital. After having read through it and having some other's review it I felt a lot better. It did sound severe, but the report sounded as if the actual area involved was fairly small. At this point all we knew was that the majority of the burn was on the right arm. Our agency requested pictures, but we knew it would be a day or more before we got them to help give some clarity to the situation.
This is the point where my anger sets in. Owen's injury happened on December 11 and our agency was not notified until January 29. He was in the hospital for over a month and the orphanage never considered to notify our agency even though they knew he had a family pursuing his adoption. Do I know realistically I wouldn't have been able to physically do anything for him?? Yes, I know that, but we could have been praying about this specifically, we could have expedited his adoption immediately and been traveling now to get him instead of the complete standstill we are now experiencing. I know that in their minds we have no rights to this child yet, but how do they not notify us?!?! This is not a minor thing. This will require life long care in addition to his other medical needs. I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen Mark so angry, and for those that know my husband you know that "Mr. Levelheaded" doesn't get angry all that often. I just have no words for this part of the story, b/c honestly there is still a part of me that wants to scream at the people who made the decision not to tell us. That is my baby. I may not have held him yet, but I have all the love, hope, fears and dreams for him that anyone expecting a child would develop.
Friday morning we woke up to pictures from our agency's in China coordinator. Thankfully we had been corresponding with him regarding a care package so he knew we where in process to adopt Owen and sent the pictures directly to me. Unfortunately they were in a format I couldn't open so I sent them on the agency with an Urgent message to get them open so I could start showing them to providers and we could get a plan together. I went about my day stopping by the Pediatricians with all the information I had on Owen to date. While walking back to my car the Director of our agency called. "Ashley, it's bad." She was sending me the pictures, but wanted me to be prepared for what I was going to see. The report we had gotten was more than a little bit misleading and his burn is significant. I sobbed. There is no other word for it. I cried harder than I have in my entire life. His burns encompass 80% of his right forearm, part of his hand and extend above his elbow. This is not a small area that will heal and barely be noticeable. This is a life long scar that will forevermore be apart of his life story. My heart aches just thinking about what he must have gone through. I spend my work days caring for patients, and frankly I micromanage my children's healthcare so to see these pictures and to not have any control over when/how, etc... is harder than I would like to admit. To make matters even worse there was more bad news coming. Our agency had been requesting updates for 3 1/2 weeks as to the status of our LOA (Letter of Acceptance). This is the piece of paper from China that says "he's yours, finish your paperwork and get over here." They had been told repeatedly that our paperwork was "on it's way." Well on Friday they received notice that our LOA was not on it's way, but in fact when the computers were upgraded at the end of December our paperwork was lost. LOST! I just can't even....
All I can really say on the situation right now is that our agency is doing absolutely everything they can to help. They are committed to getting Owen any and all care he needs until we can bring him home and are pulling all strings to get this paperwork issue fixed. We love our agency. They truly love these kids as much their families love them. Neurotic Nurse Mama is already all over the burn care aspect. I have reached out to other families that have adopted children with burns, I have sent our information on to our current plastic surgeon (who we found out does have experience with burn victims) and we are trying to reach someone as Shriner's in Cincinnati to have them consult on Owen's case. I am researching creams, essential oils, soaps and anything else I can think of to help him heal and have optimal use of that arm. He will need long term Physical Therapy. We are looking for books on burns that are directed at siblings for Konnor. Ideally we will try to expedite Owen's adoption from this point on, but realistically until our paperwork issue is resolved there is really nothing we can do at this point. So for now we just ask for your continued prayers. Prayers for healing for Owen, for compassion and wisdom for his caretakers and guidance with our paperwork.
Thank You
Thursday morning we received a call from our agency. I of course grabbed my phone and ran to the break room at work anticipating that our caseworker was calling with the much awaited LOA news. Unfortunately the first words our of her mouth were, "Ashley I'm not calling about your LOA." It was her tone of voice that tipped me off that whatever was about to come was not good. My stomach hit the floor as I pushed out the words "what's wrong." I came to find out that our son Owen sustained a burn injury on December 11. It was a hot water burn injury sustained at the foster family's home. It was an accident. An accident that could have happened to any of us on any day in our own homes. It wasn't malicious and the foster family got immediate treatment for him.
Of course we were horrified. On so many different levels that it has taken me awhile to actually sort out my feelings on this issue. I have gone through every level of emotions in the last 4 days, fear, worry, anger, confusion, sadness, anxiety, the list could go on and on. At first I was just physically sick with worry for Owen. I have had just minor household burns and they are extremely painful. The idea of my 14 month old Son dealing with pain even worse than what minor burns I had experienced is beyond me. Then the Mama Nurse set in...is his pain controlled, did he get an infection, are they keeping it moist, are they doing dressing changes correctly, is he doing PT, let's just say my Nurse brain went into overdrive. Amidst all of this all I could think was "we need to get him home right now." That is easier said than done in the adoption world. We received a report that was basically his discharge summary from the hospital. After having read through it and having some other's review it I felt a lot better. It did sound severe, but the report sounded as if the actual area involved was fairly small. At this point all we knew was that the majority of the burn was on the right arm. Our agency requested pictures, but we knew it would be a day or more before we got them to help give some clarity to the situation.
This is the point where my anger sets in. Owen's injury happened on December 11 and our agency was not notified until January 29. He was in the hospital for over a month and the orphanage never considered to notify our agency even though they knew he had a family pursuing his adoption. Do I know realistically I wouldn't have been able to physically do anything for him?? Yes, I know that, but we could have been praying about this specifically, we could have expedited his adoption immediately and been traveling now to get him instead of the complete standstill we are now experiencing. I know that in their minds we have no rights to this child yet, but how do they not notify us?!?! This is not a minor thing. This will require life long care in addition to his other medical needs. I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen Mark so angry, and for those that know my husband you know that "Mr. Levelheaded" doesn't get angry all that often. I just have no words for this part of the story, b/c honestly there is still a part of me that wants to scream at the people who made the decision not to tell us. That is my baby. I may not have held him yet, but I have all the love, hope, fears and dreams for him that anyone expecting a child would develop.
Friday morning we woke up to pictures from our agency's in China coordinator. Thankfully we had been corresponding with him regarding a care package so he knew we where in process to adopt Owen and sent the pictures directly to me. Unfortunately they were in a format I couldn't open so I sent them on the agency with an Urgent message to get them open so I could start showing them to providers and we could get a plan together. I went about my day stopping by the Pediatricians with all the information I had on Owen to date. While walking back to my car the Director of our agency called. "Ashley, it's bad." She was sending me the pictures, but wanted me to be prepared for what I was going to see. The report we had gotten was more than a little bit misleading and his burn is significant. I sobbed. There is no other word for it. I cried harder than I have in my entire life. His burns encompass 80% of his right forearm, part of his hand and extend above his elbow. This is not a small area that will heal and barely be noticeable. This is a life long scar that will forevermore be apart of his life story. My heart aches just thinking about what he must have gone through. I spend my work days caring for patients, and frankly I micromanage my children's healthcare so to see these pictures and to not have any control over when/how, etc... is harder than I would like to admit. To make matters even worse there was more bad news coming. Our agency had been requesting updates for 3 1/2 weeks as to the status of our LOA (Letter of Acceptance). This is the piece of paper from China that says "he's yours, finish your paperwork and get over here." They had been told repeatedly that our paperwork was "on it's way." Well on Friday they received notice that our LOA was not on it's way, but in fact when the computers were upgraded at the end of December our paperwork was lost. LOST! I just can't even....
All I can really say on the situation right now is that our agency is doing absolutely everything they can to help. They are committed to getting Owen any and all care he needs until we can bring him home and are pulling all strings to get this paperwork issue fixed. We love our agency. They truly love these kids as much their families love them. Neurotic Nurse Mama is already all over the burn care aspect. I have reached out to other families that have adopted children with burns, I have sent our information on to our current plastic surgeon (who we found out does have experience with burn victims) and we are trying to reach someone as Shriner's in Cincinnati to have them consult on Owen's case. I am researching creams, essential oils, soaps and anything else I can think of to help him heal and have optimal use of that arm. He will need long term Physical Therapy. We are looking for books on burns that are directed at siblings for Konnor. Ideally we will try to expedite Owen's adoption from this point on, but realistically until our paperwork issue is resolved there is really nothing we can do at this point. So for now we just ask for your continued prayers. Prayers for healing for Owen, for compassion and wisdom for his caretakers and guidance with our paperwork.
Thank You
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