Selah's Story

Summary of 2008

2009-06-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

I’m not sure if many people realize that the last full update I did on this blog site was on February 18, 2008. The very next day, February 19th, Nick collapsed playing tag with Cody, was airlifted to UIC hospital, was cared for in the Pediatric ICU for two days and passed away early in the morning on the third day. Needless to say, my focus was wrenched away from sharing my thoughts on this website and I was forced to expend the full extent of my energy on merely surviving the next 15 months.

I’d like to back up now, however, and see if I can’t give you a brief overview of how last year went and share some photos of how the kids grew and we managed to live through the days that came and went whether we liked it or not. Looking back I see a beauty in many of the days that I missed while I was in them and so I’m glad I kept the camera close at hand. I feel as if I’m being given the chance to review, remember and relive what I might have missed along the way.

To start, immediately after Nick passed, I began to record some of my thoughts and those can be found on another blog site (at right: Andi’s thoughts on Nick) titled Mental Meanderings. All I can remember of myself during those first few weeks was that I typed a lot – either on the couch or sitting in the rocking chair in Selah’s room waiting for her to fall asleep. But somewhere along the way I thought that I should try to take some pictures and endure the pain since it was never going to go away anyways.

First we tried to fill the hole Nick left with things that reminded us of him

Then there was Easter…

And next came Nick’s first birthday in heaven. Unfortunately, I could only photograph the events on earth…

In May, Lifetime Fitness hosted a 5K run through Brookfield Zoo. Tony, Alana, my dad, and Jenni Keating all ran it in honor of Nick. Then we stayed for the day and enjoyed the animals with the kids.

In June we decided to still take the camping trip we had planned with the boys. We knew after coming home from China we’d have very little funds for a vacation. So, we planned a camping trip in Wisconsin that would end up at Grandma’s house in Door County. All the pictures and full account of the trip is at: http://www.moricecamping.blogspot.com/.

Many of you may be aware of a compassionate High School teenager who was “found” by Nick, but throughout the year last year became a source of healing and friendship for Cody. As early as Easter he could be found hanging around our house acting as a surrogate brother for Cody. As the summer heated up, Cody enjoyed time with Brendan in the pool and out in the football field regularly.

Summer held days of baseball, the Nazarene block party, the Arlington Million, Cody’s big birthday bash at Chuck E. Cheese and finished off with football before school started again!

For Halloween last year we took a trip up to Door County, Wisconsin and spent the weekend with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Alana. We had a fantastic time and plan to do that yearly from now on.

In November, exactly one year after we first held Selah, we had her dedicated to the Lord and many friends and family members came by the house later that day. We were so blessed to share the day with Alana who had a monumentous day herself getting baptized!! Yea, Alana! Praise God!

Here's Alana's Testimony at her baptism. It was spectacular and a major blessing to all!!

We also have video evidence of Pastor Jim playing catch with Cody!!

Finally came snow and Christmas – and even with the pain, as you can see, we survived it all!

Thanks for following along with us and praying for us. The support of many faithful friends and family members has been the most precious gift from God that has helped carry us through this most difficult time. Please, continue to be patient with us as I am told that years two and three are often just as painful, and often more so, than the first and I'm learning to believe those who have walked this path before me.

Thank you again - and may God richly bless each and every one of you!

The Morice Family

2009-06-05T18:48:00.001-07:00

From Brother & Sister

Cody "becoming" a big brother

2009-06-04T20:30:00.001-07:00

Camping 2008

2008-06-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

We are off to our first camping trip! If you'd like to follow along and see some more recent photos of Selah go to: www.moricecamping.blogspot.com

Photos of Nick - (service audio to right)

2008-03-27T15:47:00.001-07:00

Click on play button twice - then wait patiently - to start slideshow

Nicholas A. Morice
also know as
"Nick" or "Ironman"
Born April 27, 1999
Home Feb. 22, 2008

"You may have heard that I am dead.
Don't believe it for a minute.
I am more alive than ever before."

Home Update - Finally!

2008-02-18T19:28:00.000-08:00

People keep asking me, “so when are you going to update Selah’s website?”. Well, I guess that answer would be – “now!”

We arrived home on December 1st right when the first Chicago snow was starting to fall. It turned into a blizzard that challenged Tony’s already exhausted eyes on the drive home. Every plane after ours had landed was either delayed or rerouted to another airport. Praise God for letting us land!!!!

When we saw the boys we realized more completely how much we truly missed them.

The Careys were there to greet us and gave Selah a “Welcome Home” gift with a balloon attached. The balloon was her favorite part!

My parents were there with the boys, but they came in separate cars so that we could go home immediately from the airport and try to unwind a bit. This was the most exhausting trip physically, emotionally, mentally and all while we were sleep deprived. It was quite an experience!

Once outside the terminal we realized how much Selah hates wind and snow and cold. She can’t even stand a stray puff wind in her face. The poor girl is going to be miserable for the next few months! Thank God we had a coat with a large hood she can pull down over her face (and neck and nearly down to her belly button!)

Life at home was much harder and more complicated than in China. In China she had a regular sleeping schedule and I could type while she slept. At home, she would only sleep for two hours at a time and then be up for eight. There was no schedule, no consistency, and no quantity to her sleeping. I can never completely convey my gratitude to those who took the time to bring over meals for my family those first two weeks. I was barely surviving as it was and those meals really kept my head above water!

Then came Christmas! What an experience for her!

The first gift she received was at Tony’s parent’s house and she wasn’t even sure what to do with it.
But then we exchanged gifts at home the next day and went to my parents’ house after that. By the third time around, she definitely had the hang of things and was enjoying ripping paper off of all the presents – whether they were hers or not!

On Christmas night she slept for 7 hours straight and – I’m sorry everyone – but that was the best present of all! I hate to minimize all the thoughtful gifts I received, but I hope you all understand. That was the first stretch of sleep for us that lasted more than 2 or 3 hours since we arrived home.

During our struggles for a night’s sleep, we discovered that she had no interest in sleeping in her beautifully decorated bedroom that I killed myself to get ready for her before we left (together with Jill Nichols).
(photo of her bedroom)
I guess I should have assumed that after sleeping for two years in a room full of kids she wouldn’t be interested in being in a room alone. So, we tried letting her sleep in her brothers’ room. She’s madly in love with her brothers and always wants to be with them whenever they’re home. Now their room has become the only place she will sleep.
(Photo of her sleeping with boys)
Naptime, however, is always in mom’s bed. At first she hated blankets, but once she realized how cold it is around here at night, she was happy to bundle up!

Initially, she was terrified of our dog Dixie for at least three weeks. That was horrible. I had to carry her AT ALL TIMES because she was sure if I put her down that Dixie would appear and eat her. Every day she’d tolerate a little more until one day when we came home from dropping the boys at school and she called out her named, very concerned that Dixie had not come to meet us at the door. She’s gotten very good at yelling “no” when Dixie tries to lick her...

and she will even give her gentle pat every once in awhile.

Until Christmas we noticed we had a problem - we had no “girl” toys! But she soon had no problem playing with the boys’ things!

Now life is finally settling down to normal. We have a nice daily schedule – which she really needs. She loves to be able to predict what comes next. She jumps up each morning and starts yelling at Nick to wake up (he’s on the top bunk and she can’t see him until he’s up – her yelling wakes up anyone who’s still resting). Then she runs to the potty and exits to the kitchen saying, “saw-seh? (sausage – means she wants eggs and sausage for breakfast). Every afternoon when she finishes up lunch, she jumps down from her chair and says, “nigh, nigh time?” and quickly climbs the stairs to the bedroom for her naptime. At night when she gets her pajamas on, she begins to make the rounds giving hugs and kisses and saying, “nigh, nigh. Luv oo”. She even lets me walk out of the bedroom now and do a little work while she falls asleep. I don’t have to sit with her until she’s fully asleep anymore.

I can hardly believe we’ve only been home for 2 months (less actually!) with how much she has progressed. She is a very independent girl and loves to learn and explore and works so hard to speak new words. She’ll stare at my mouth and try and try and try to repeat a word over and over until she gets it right. She’s very determined!

Thank you so much to all of you who prayed and supported us in so many ways. Please, don’t stop now! We’ll need your love and support now more than ever! We are so blessed to have so many great friends and family members. I can’t wait to share with you each step of our journey over each and every year!

God Bless you All!!
Andi (and family!)

Days Fifteen & Sixteen

2007-12-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

We're going home!!!

By to our new friends...

Then off to wait for our flight...

And eating our last meal before we land...

Day Fourteen - U.S. Consulate

2007-12-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

We went to the consulate today to get all the imigration paperwork. We'll need to have it processed when we land in the states and the moment thye stamp her passport she'll be a US Citizen! How Exciting!

Also, we went across the street to see the largest manmade waterfall in China!

Then we all went out to eat together for the last time - we go home tomorrow!

Day Thirteen - Shopping

2007-12-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

Day Thirteen - shopping

We had a free day today. So, I took some of those photos I've been meaning to...
Like Lucy's...

and items in the White Swan...

and some of the stores...

(They had such small entrances, you'd never guess how big they are inside!)

Then we had some time to play at the park at night.

She really loves the park. I guess you'll see us playing in the snow going down the slides this winter!

Then we took an evening stroll along the river. This bridge you always see over us when we're at the park is the private entrance to the White Swan. They had so many visitors they were clogging up the streets, so they made them their own entrance ramp.

But that was all. Nothing exciting today

Day Twelve - Botanical Garden

2007-11-28T04:57:00.000-08:00

Day Twelve - Botanical Garden

Selah was bored with today's activities save two things. She LOVES water so she was very insistant about getting up close to each and every fountain, stream, or fish tank. Also, she lovesw kids. Today was apprently field trip day for the local school children because there were dozens of groups of school kids around. She would just stand and watch them and I'm sure she'd continue for hours if I didn't insist that we move on.

Day Eleven - The Zoo

2007-11-27T03:59:00.001-08:00

Day Eleven - The Zoo - DADDY'S DAY!!!!!

Boy, oh Boy did Selah ever fall in love with dad today. She smiled at him, played with him, called out to him -loudly, cried if he walked too far away, begged for him to pick her up, etc....This has to be the best day ever!

Bill had to do some paperwork so we were on our own all day. Because we had Bing to guide us, we took the subway across town to the city zoo. Did you know that Pomeranians rank as zoo animals in China?

Enjoy this beautiful photos of our little girl.....

Day Ten - Museum

2007-11-27T03:58:00.001-08:00

Day Ten – Museum

This morning Tony had to meet with Bill to do the Visa paperwork for Selah. It was an hour and a half of the most mind-numbing work. I’m glad Selah is more comfortable with me so that I could get out of it! So, Selah and I went to the park. Boy does she love the park. I had hoped to take photos, but a young man came up to me and asked if he could practice his English. Of course I said yes and then spent the next 45 minutes talking about work, school, my family and mostly the NBA – which is amazing since I know nothing about the NBA. This young man’s dream is to come to America to play in the NBA and to play in street ball games. Very interesting.

Then Bill took us touring to see a nearby temple

and the Chen Family Academy. It seems that this rich family built a school many hundreds of years ago and now they’ve turned it into a museum. I started taking pictures, but there were way too many amazing things. I just gave up eventually.

Selah is opening up more and more each day. She tries almost any word. She loves to talk and point things out. She has her own morning routine now, too. She slides out of bed, puts her shoes on, wait for me to dress her – which she thinks is very funny – then we take her shoes back off, put on her socks and let her put her shoes back on herself. She really has something about shoes. She won’t let her bare feet every touch the floor. Even straight out of the bath she’ll try to put her shoes on and only stops if I show her that I’m going to carry her to the bed. Funny girl.

Tomorrow we hope to go to the Zoo! Maybe I can get some cute Selah pictures there.

Day Nine - Guangzhou

2007-11-25T04:16:00.000-08:00

Day Nine – Back to Guangzhou

Nothing exciting to talk about to day. Bill took us on a brief side trip to see a new museum being built next to the sea. Not too long ago they found a sunken ship that was 800 years old and they are building this museum to house the ship and all of its treasure.

Then we made a stop at a harbor and headed home to Guanzhou.

Once home, we had dinner at Lucy’s (still have to get a picture…) and then did some clothes shopping for Selah and the boys. Also, found a store that did laundry – I have never been so happy to have my clothes cleaned in all my life. We’ve actually been looking forward this for that two days.

Day Eight - The beach

2007-11-25T04:15:00.000-08:00

Day eight – Visiting Yanjiang

Today Selah really started opening up. She would try to say almost any single word that we worked on: “more drink”, “up” and “down” were the most common. She’s eating very well with a spoon on her own and actually prefers it. Then when she’s done, which is always long before the rest of the group, she slides down and walks around the room exploring. I guess because we have a larger group, almost every restaurant gives us a private room. That’s very nice for changing the girls and letting them stretch their legs.

Emily’s orphanage was very nice. Quite clean. Bill said every time he’s visited there it’s always been clean and neat. Paul brought candy the kids almost knocked him over trying to get it!

Emily did not cry like Selah. Most of the kids in her orphanage were special needs and Bing and Paul think maybe she was not given a lot of attention there because she didn’t need a lot of care. She smiled a little, but was more than happy to leave with her parents when it was time.

On the way home we stopped at a local fruit stand because Selah has fallen in love with these small tangerine type oranges and we saw them as we were speeding by. Talk about being the center of attention again! I don’t think these locals have ever seen a Westerner in their life!

Then it was time to play at the beach.

Selah did not like the sand on her feet so we were confined to a small hotel blanket on a huge beach. Many couple kept coming up and saying how cute she is and the asking to take our photo. (Here’s Selah paying with the beach toys that the Watsons bought her!)

Tony and Bill were the only ones who played in the surf. It was quite strong. I stepped in up to my ankles and was almost knocked over!

Dinner was the most amazing eating experience yet and I didn’t bring the camera along! They had many fish tanks full of fish, shrimp, snails, turtles and some other indescribable marine life. Bill pointed to a tank, they pulled out the fish, boiled it right there and put it on the table. I do not believe I will ever have such fresh shrimp in my life. Selah would not eat shrimp before, but this time when she saw it with the head and legs and tail attached she was very anxious for it. I guess that’s the way she’s use to seeing it. She better get “un”use to it in a hurry. I don’t think the boys will eat right out of a fish tank at home!

We walked back to the hotel about 8pm at night and the girls came alive. They were chattering, walking, pointing, smiling….and really enjoying themselves. They certainly love the night life! Selah was even getting naughty pulling me and wanting to go places she couldn’t and touch things she shouldn’t. She is really use to having things her way. The more she lightens up and becomes more herself the more I see what problems we are going to have! She is definitely strong willed!

Day Seven - Orphanage

2007-11-25T04:14:00.000-08:00

Day Seven – Visiting the Orphanage

Today Selah got up early with me so me so we went downstairs and walked around the hotel. It was very beautiful with a pond full of fish and walkways over the water and the entire first floor was lined with shops like a mall.

She has loosened up so much I don’t want today’s trip to ruin our progress. As we walked along, she was saying so many Chinese words to me and looking at me intently expecting me to get it. She must really think I’m dumb. She keeps pointing very specifically at all men, either those walking by or those on the TV, and saying “da”. Not sure what that means, but she’s very emphatic about it. Bing says she can’t help because the girls’ dialect is so different, she doesn’t have any idea what they are saying.

Then we went to a local shopping mall to buy toys and candy for the kids in the orphanage. We intended to go to Wal-Mart but it was not open yet. While we were in the store Selah fell in love with one of balls we bought. Tony thought he’d try throwing it to her and see what happened…..SHE SMILED!! The entire store was starring at us – that’s not rude here – because it was such a remote area and they never see westerners. Also, the were all commenting that our baby was so happy! Everyone in the store – at it was a large store with lots of shelves – it was definitely Wal-Mart size – at they all crowed around to watch them play ball. She doesn’t really get the idea of catching, but since she was in the cart, the handle kind of caught the ball for her.

Then it was off to the orphanage. I was really dreading this part. I wonder how upset she’ll be?

Well, our driver got lost. He was asking many local people for directions, but the locals had a different dialect of Cantonese and therefore could not understand him. So, he switched to Mandarine – no luck there either. Then he got on the phone – I realize now he must have been calling the orphanage, because a few minutes later “gee gee” jumped in the van and started directing him.

OH My – Selah catapulted herself out of my arms and clung to Gee Gee for dear life.
Then we were arrived both her friends were there to great her with candy in there hands. Apparently, they know her well!

For the next hour and a half, woman after woman came and picked her up or took her right out of the arms of the person holding her. They talked and talked and Selah cried again for every person who touched her. There were probably 20 women she cried and reached out for. The only way you can truly experience the magnitude of this event is to watch the video. But here are some photos.

We were shown her room, the play room and the court yard where everyone plays.

Then she played on the slide,

ate congee in her room, and shared some.

Do you remember the picture from yesterday of her standing in the 11th floor hotel room window looking down? I now know why she likes that. They would always hold her leaning over the wall to call down to the court yard below. That was one of her favorite things to do. I think Tony almost threw up when they did it.

And now I know why she’s so desperate for me to understand her – holy cow does she talk! She talks and talks, and directs the nannies and the babies and calls down to people below and appears to tell whole stories to each new person who holds her. She appeared to be bossing everyone around. She even got them to feed her a bowl of congee while she was there. I was happy for this because I learned that she is very capable of feeding herself and prefers it. (Since then I’ve let her feed herself each meal and she’s much happier)

Then it was time to go. I was prepared for the worst. She was obviously much loved here, very spoiled and, apparently, the “mother” of the other kids in her room. I’m sure she’s not only sad that she’s leaving the caretakers, but I bet she’s worried about the children she’s use to caring for. So, there was screaming and kicking again as we all expected. But what we didn’t expect was that twisted around to let me hold her against my chest and she hugged me and laid her head on my shoulder. No one thought she would accept any type of comfort at this point and especially not from the people who “stole” her. Then she cried herself to sleep in about 20 minutes – the most sorrowful, mournful and heartbreaking cry you will ever experience – and then she was done. That was amazing. That was a God-thing. That says volumes about how she’s going to adjust and attach to us. That is a blessing that is immeasurable.

Quick funny story -- when we stopped for lunch, a bunch of ladies kept talking excitedly to Bill and pointing at us. We’ve become really good at knowing when people are talking about us even when we can’t understand them. He said they were asking how Tony and I could be married and have a Chinese baby come out. How do you put two westerners together and get Chinese? Very funny.

Then we were off to Yangjiang, the town where Emily’s orphanage is. It’s right on the South China Sea and our hotel is 100 meters from the water. Conversion anyone? I don’t know the exact conversion – but it’s close….

Since its winter here, it’s the off-season. There is literally no one here. When we went walking after Sundown and looked back at the hotel, there were 3 room lights on and the entire rest of the hotel was vacant. Tony said it seemed like the beginning of a horror movie. “You can check in – but you’ll never check out!” They also turned off the A/C system to save money, so we only have the fan running. WE ARE SWEATING! It’s only about 65 at night, but with no windows that open and no A/C, it’s very stuffy.

After visiting Emily’s orphanage tomorrow, hopefully, we’ll walk on the beach and get some pictures of the sea for you!

Day Six - To Zhanjiang

2007-11-25T04:12:00.000-08:00

Day Six –Traveling to Zhanjiang

We’re beginning to realize that Selah is capable of much more than she initial let on. First, I was too far from the door to close it so I said, “close the door” as I motioned, but I didn’t expect her to understand. She turned right around, moved the slippers out of the way that were on the floor and closed the door. Then, yesterday morning she was sitting on the bed because she had just woken up (I let her wake up slowly so that I don’t scare her). I guess I didn’t move quickly enough for her so she slid off the bed, walked around until she found her shoes and plopped down and put them on herself – correct feet at all! So, this morning I got a picture of her doing that!

Then we were off for our 7 hours of travel. Had to get one photo of dad in the van…

And mom and Selah…

There was really interesting things on the way. First of all, you can’t go to China and not get photos of the fields…

Second, Bill pointed out something very tragic to us. He said that the bridge we were about to over had a parallel bridge running along side it just a few feet to the side. It was one of the best bridges and won all these awards, but a shipped ran into it and a section of it collapse. This happened only three months ago. It was early morning so not many cars were on it, but about 7 cars did fall into the river below.

Of course, there are TONS of water buffalo in China. I tried to get a few photos, but we were moving so quickly they were had to photograph. I was amazed to see that the buffalo are allowed to just roam in the fields. They were walking on crops, eating, even laying down and crushing some. But I guess it’s simpler than having them caged and growing food just for them and having to bring it to them, etc.. This way man and beast work together, eat together, rest together. Apparently, it all works out.

Besides, I think they couldn’t afford to land to cage them. Every square inch is used. Even the house are build up – not one beside another. That would waste too much land. It’s funny to be way out in the country with fields all around and then to have a tall building sticking out, but I guess you need that when you have so many mouths to feed.

We drove into Yangjiang first which is Emily’s town. It was between Guangzhou and Zhanjiang. I was amazed to see so many mopeds. When I asked Bill he said that this is how every town in China is. We didn’t see them in Guangzhou because just a few months ago there was a law passed banning motorcycles of any kind in that town. “Why” you ask (well even if you didn’t, I did)? Because so many people migrate to Guangzhou for work from all areas of the country that many do not find work and begin to use desperate measures to find money. One common theft technique was to drive by on motorcycle and snatch a necklace or purse and drive into small alleys and streets where the police could not chase you. So, no more motorcycles.

Since, Yangjiang was halfway, we stopped for lunch. WOW! Did we ever have lunch!! Bill really know how to pick the restaurants!

I wish Tony had had someone stand next to these shark fins so that you could get a feel for how big they are. Maybe if you look at the light switch to the left you’ll get an idea. I wonder how large the shark was that was attached to these!

If you go to a seafood restaurant, they usually have their “menu” swimming around right at the front door as you walk in. They like to show off their fresh food.

Then back on the van and time for a nap!

As we got close to Zhanjiang, the landscape because to change a lot. There were groves of fruit trees just like in Florida, it was very mountainous, lots of sand, many rivers and the crops definitely changed.

Also, the city is very polluted and has heavy smog. Bill said that this town is known for that. Not sure if this will help with Tony’s congestion.

Finally, we arrived at the hotel. Again, Bill really knows how to pick ‘em.

We relaxed in our rooms for about an hour and then it was time for dinner……and THEY HAD TURKEY and stuffing and cranberry sauce and apple sauce…no pumpkin pie, though. So, I had that and Tony had sushi for his Thanksgiving dinner.

I took a photo of the Dragon Fruit for Paul Davidson. It's red with a black and white inside. It was on top of our Thanksgiving desert.

I have to tell you a story for which I have no photos and it was the most important part of the trip so far. We were watching the news and kind of “Zoning out” before dinner because of the long trip. Well, I guess Selah didn’t like that and wanted to have some more interaction. So, she came beside me, stared at the remote for awhile and then turned off the TV. When I looked down at her she squinted her eyes and turned up the corners of her mouth into the beginnings of a smile! She was really proud of herself.

Then, when we went down for dinner I was too cold and went back for my sweatshirt. Of course Selah had to come up with me. When we were leaving the room, she decided she didn’t want to walk anymore and stood infront of me with her arms up. I have been speaking very clearly to her and encouraging her to speak this whole time so again I leanded over and said and very exaggerated “up”. She looked at me for a long time and said, “ahhhhhh –p”. Of course my reaction was very excited and so she gave me the biggest grin and hugged my neck. SHE SMILED!!!!!! And no one was there to even see it! Now Tony’s mad because Paul said she smiled at him yesterday, Bill said she smiled at him at lunch today (which everyone saw but Tony and I) and now she smiled at me. But, I think I’m so excited that she’s being responsive that I don’t care who it’s for.

More tomorrow………

Days Six through Nine

2007-11-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

Just a warning...we are leaving to visit Selah and Emily's orphanages today. It will be a 7 hour van trip. We will probably not have internet connection and possibly no phone service. I'll post if I can, but we may have a "black out" period. I'll keep typing, though, and post it all when we get back to Guangzhou.

If you want to find us on a map...Emily's SWI is 4 hours south in Yinjiang and Selah's is about 3 more hours south of that in Zhanjiang.

Signing off!

Day Five - Market and Selah's Passport

2007-11-21T13:41:00.002-08:00

Day Five – Market and Selah’s Passport

Because Selah has been so unhappy and because it doesn’t take much to set her off, I have not given her a bath yet. But since it’s going on day three, I decided we had to try. So, I ran the shower for awhile to warm up the bathroom (you have no idea how freezing these rooms are and you can’t completely turn off the a/c). Then I brought her in and turned on the faucet and wiggled my fingers in the water. I dropped a few drops on her hand and she didn’t cry so I kept going. I sat on the edge of the tub with one leg in and one leg out and played in the water splashing and filling cups and dumping them out. Then I finally put her in and she was very intrigued. She patted the water, played with cups and began her own game of filling the cups and throwing the water to the other side of the tub.

Then came shampoo time – I was nervous. I slowly began sprinkling water on her back and worked my way slowly up to her head. She kept playing and had no problem with it! Then I rubbed in the shampoo, still no problem. The I laid her head back on my thigh so it would be back far enough to rinse and looked up at me, waited for me to rinse and went back to playing. Success!!!

Tony’s not feeling well. He says he feels like there are cats somewhere around. He’s pretty congested and uncomfortable breathing. I think it’s because of the poor air quality. He’s really uncomfortable. Please pray for him.

Then Bill said we didn’t have to go to the police station for passports until 2:30 so he would take us to the market. That was definitely an experience.

First there was the world famous spice market…

These scorpions are suppose to cure cancer…

They sedate them with liquor and then swallow them whole and alive! I guess the definition of "cure" is to die of something else instead of cancer!

Pet shop in the street (yes, pet shop – not grocery store)…

Then we came around behind those buildings and saw the main mall with clothes, cell phones, eatery, entertainment, etc….

We got some important souvenirs here, but I’m keeping those a secret. (Nick and Cody, we don’t have yours yet. Today we only found “girly” stuff.)

By the time we got here, I had been carrying Selah in the backpack all this time, and I could not hold her anymore. I’m sure due to everyone’s prayers, my back is completely fine, but my thighs were worn out! She’s a big girl! So, we tried putting her in the stroller. Today’s first crying episode. I took her out and she nearly ran from it when her feet hit the floor.

Bill said, “Pick her up, put her back in and start moving right away. Will walk Emily beside her and she’ll see that it’s fun.” I figured I could try it because it was such a busy place, if she did cry, no one could even hear her anyways. So, we did it Bill’s way and the initial reaction was the same, but after 3 minutes, she looked over at Emily, took a swig of her water and she’s love it ever since. Bill to the rescue once again.

Then we moved to the indoor part of the mall. We thought Orland was impressive -- This mall has five floors and is several blocks long. We never got to the other side so I don't know how long it actually is.

Then we had lunch in a very local restaurant. We’re getting to experience very authentic stuff because our group is small and two in our group speak Chinese – it’s quite and experience!

(Nick, I bet you're really, REALLY glad you didn't come to China now!)

Then we had to hurry home and get our belongings to head to the Police station.

It was a completely painless process. Just came in, handed the policemen our passports, they took and photo of Selah and they handed us the paperwork. Done. We’ll get her visa later in this week or next week.

When we got back to the hotel, Bill took Tony for a walk to the local pharmacy to find some Benedryl. He took the medicine, but doesn’t feel any better. I’m a little stuffed, but not bad at all. I only have to blow my nose a lot when I wake up in the morning, but the rest of the day I’m fine. Tony’s eyes are all red and he just looks miserable. I feel so bad for him.

Then we walked around the town on our own, had dinner at Lucy’s again. I’ll have to get a picture of Lucy’s because that’s where we eat most often. There’s a variety of Chinese and American food and Selah love’s their beef fried rice. Tony wanted to stay out in the air as much as possible. I thought it was the air that was bothering him, but I guess the fresh air brings him some relief.

Then we found another Starbuck’s in our travels so I had cheese cake and Tony had tiramisu and coffee while we sat outside. Selah crashed in the stroller. When we got back to the room, I picked her up, changed her pants, put on her pajamas and she still didn’t wake up. So, that was 6 pm – I wonder what time she’ll wake up tomorrow….

Day Four - Adoption processing

2007-11-20T14:40:00.000-08:00

Day Four – Adoption processing

Today started VERY early. I woke up at 1:00am and could not fall back asleep. I laid there until Tony woke up at 3:00am. Jet lag is certainly setting in because those times don’t make sense in either time zone – 3:00 am China is 1:00pm in America – so this trip has got us all mixed up. Selah woke up with a screaming start at 4:00am. Her nannies said she usually sleeps until 6:00 – I’m not surprised today was different.

We changed her, played a bit and then she…and dad…fell back asleep. Unfortunately, they could only sleep a short while because we have to go to processing today and need to get an early start.

Today was a good day all things considered. We headed back to the same building that we were at yesterday.

We were really dreading this. We sat in the same room where her nannies left her yesterday. What was she thinking? Was she looking for them?

She wouldn’t get down from my lap. Even when I tried to set her down, she’d lean back into my chest – but all the staff who were there the day before came up to us at one time or another and said, “Much better than yesterday – no crying”. Yes, there was no crying, but I wonder if she was feeling any better. I doubt it.

We got a family photo taken and were interviewed about our “satisfaction” with our child and took an oath to never abandon her. They have the processing and notary the day after placement to allow parents the opportunity to “change their minds” if something unexpected comes up in the less-than-24 hours between placement and registration. The thought of someone actually exercising that option literally made me sick.

Then we had lunch and naptime! Mom and dad were definitely more interested in napping than baby. She refused to go in the bed – and by refused I mean she cried the most pathetic, mournful sounding “gee gee” – which was her name for one of her closest nannies. So, we brought her in bed with us and she crashed for only 20 minutes. The she laid there picking the tag on my shirt for an hour. The orphanage is right, she is a very “peaceful” child, but I suspect she has a million thoughts going on in that mind of hers. I can’t wait for her to let me in on them.

Then it was time to see the doctor in the afternoon. We were anxious to see the doctor because she has a nasty cough. She did great in there!

I think all the people attending to her and speaking Chinese and touching her really gave her comfort. Bing, the other mother in our group, is Chinese – I think I need to ask her to speak to Selah more. Everything check out fine and the doctor was not worried about her cough. I still am.

Then we came back to the room. We had food in the room to feed her for dinner. Tony and I were not hungry so we just fed her and ate some light snacks ourselves. I know were suppose to eat even if we don’t feel hungry, but I figured since I was only going to sleep it would be OK to break the rules. We’ll have a big breakfast in the morning.

We found out that Selah does not like to “teased”. She was playing with blocks and we put a ball on top and knocked the ball back off thinking she would enjoy seeing it roll. Every kid likes to knock things over, right? Wrong. First crying of the day. I can’t distract her verbally or try to attract her attention elsewhere because she has no idea what I’m saying. The typical techniques of child distraction are useless here. It’s like Superman not being able to fly or Spiderman having no webs. So, we turned to the only thing that does distract – TV- lots of Chinese TV or English TV with babies. It helps her lose focus on crying for awhile. Sorry, mom. I know you don’t like kids watching TV, but these are desperate times and desperate times…..well, you know.

Then we thought at 8pm we’d take a little nap because our eyes were no longer negotiating with us anyways. There was a coupe and our bodies took over our minds saying we must sleep. There was no “sleep or else….” It was "sleep now" – end of story. I was dreding what that would do to all of our schedules, but here I am up at 5:30am typing away and dad and Selah are sound asleep. So, I guess all is well.

Day Three - Placement

2007-11-19T15:07:00.000-08:00

Day Three –

We woke up very refreshed today. I think the excitement and anticipation is holding the Jetlag feeling at bay. We met Bill (our guide, translator, official process organizer extraordinaire!) for breakfast this morning at 8:30 am. He went over all of the details of the paperwork, donations, gifts, etc…that we’d need for placement today. I can still hardly believe that after 17 months of waiting we’ll finally get to meet her today!

Thought I'd take a picture out our hotel room window for you all!

Placement isn’t until 4 pm so after breakfast, Bill took us on a walking tour around the neighborhood our hotel is in.

First we visited the famous White Swan hotel. It is more like a museum or art gallery in the lobby than a hotel. We’ll go back another day to take pictures for you all. Then we went to the public park ...

and took a stroll along the Pearl River.

You’ll be amazed what you see people doing there…

Dancing…

Singing…

Doing Tae Chi…

Fishing…

Playing Hacky-sac…

I was most amazed that everyone of every age plays this game…

I was also amazed that there were so many people in the park in the middle of the day on a Monday. Bill told us that they are all either retired or housewives with children in school. Then we looked back and saw that he was right…there were no young men around.

As we walked on, we came upon a photo studio that specialized in wedding photos. They take bus loads of brides and grooms all around to various scenic places for photo shoots.

Then Tony and I had lunch at a local restaurant.

While walking home Tony had to take a photo of the bamboo scaffolding for his father. It’s all bamboo held together with what looks like long blades of grass.

We made one stop at a local store and then it was time to get ready to go meet our daughter! We all piled into a van and took a 30 minute drive to the Agency for Adoption Affairs.

(Nervouse laughter in the elevator)

First the couple we were traveling with met their daughter. Her name is Emily and she is three. Bing, her new mommy, is Chinese and was able to talk with her and appeared to make her very comfortable.

Then Bill came and told us to get ready that our daughter was on the way. I think my heart stopped just then. When she came around the corner I had to hold my breath. She was so perfect. I cannot find the words to describe how it feels to see your child for the first time. Her nannies were smiling and encouraging her to walk and wave. (Most of this even is on video which I'll attempt to upload later, but here are the few photos we have)

But then they came too close to us for her comfort. She became glued to the inside thigh of the nearest nanny. She wanted nothing to do with the toys we brought, but she did stick her hand out long enough to tack the snack from my hand – but then quickly withdrew it once she had her reward.

After much wooing, we had to just move in and take her. That was hard. We knew it would be this way, but it’s hard to see your child so scared and upset. She was brought to us by her two favorite nannies so watching them walk away was agony for her. She screamed and threw herself around – she is very strong – until she finally passed out in the car. Thankfully, the other family’s daughter was quite happy so there wasn’t complete chaos!

When we brought her back to the hotel, she did hold on to me while we were walking, but when we arrived in the room she refused to look at either of us. She would lean forward as far as she could and look at the floor or her belly so as to not make any eye contact.

Tony had to leave to complete paperwork that was not able to be completed at the adoption agency because of her hysterics so we were left alone to some one-on-one girl talk. We put “Big Bird goes to China” on the TV and that peeked her interest enough so that she picked her head up. Then we brought out toys and crackers and drinks and she began to tolerate me. When Tony came back into the room so was back to staring at the floor, but this photo is proof that after about an hour she was willing to sit beside him and play.

So far she is most comfortable with the toys we sent her a month or so ago. They let her sleep with them and her blanket and Zebra are her current security items. Out of the toys we brought she seems most interested in the radio, stacking blocks, and nesting cups.

By 8:00pm she began to nod off – literally – so we placed her in the crib and she was out in less than a minute. I was happy that the first bedtime ritual was so easy. Not much else was easy today so I’m thankful for that!

Day Two - The Great Wall

2007-11-19T04:46:00.001-08:00

In the morning we had a breakfast buffet that had American and Chinese food. We had a fruit plate and one piece of fruit was white with black seeds. It was very interesting looking and tasted like a kiwi.

From there, we went to the Great Wall right away at 7:30 in the morning.

It was FREEZING!! There was a vendor that nearly accosted us the moment we got out of the car putting hats on us and . They tried to sell us things all the way up and down the wall, but this was the one thing we were very happy to buy!!

It was a beautiful day, sun shining and Chicago style intense wind!! The grade was often VERY steep and it was very funny to watch people walking…

I promise you, Tony is not trying to be funny. This is how you had to walk in order to not fall backward!

Also, to keep you from falling to your death over the 3 foot fence they had provided a railing for you to hold. Too bad it only came up to our shins...

When we came down, we made a stop to get a warm drink at ….Starbucks! Yes, there was Starbucks at the Wall!

Then we had to rush to the airport again to fly to Guangzhou. We were suppose to have the whole day to tour and then fly the next day, but our appointment for placement was moved up a day. We were now scheduled to meet Selah Monday night instead of Tuesday morning.

On the way we passed by the stadium for the Olympics, which our driver told us was built to look like a bird's nest.

And, yes, they have tolls in China - just prettier ones!

Day One - traveling to Beijing

2007-11-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I’m having tons of trouble getting photos posted, so, for now, I’m going to abort that idea and just let you all in on what’s been going on!

Day One –

We left our house at 9am on Friday and made it to the airport in record time with no traffic issues at all.

That new section of I-355 was really great! I’m so glad that God chose to open that for the first time this week. It feels like it was just for us!

Once got to the airport, it was smooth sailing there, too. Right through check in and no problems with security.

Once we made it to the gate, we had a while to wait – But, while we were there Tony told me that he noticed that United Airlines moved our seats for the way home. They are still in economy, but instead on being in the middle of a row of 5 people, they moved us to the window with only 3 seats! Yea! Now Selah won’t be able to bother people – right?

Just before take-off, however, we were called to the front desk. Oh no! What did we do? Is something wrong with our passports? Come on! We haven’t even started yet and we’re already hitting snags………What?!

Well, they actually called us up because they wanted to move our seats up TO BUSINESS CLASS! You all must have been praying all at the same time last Friday! No traffic, no problems at check-in and now we’re in business class!

The seats were like Lazy-boys! They reclined to a full bed. Tony stretched his legs out as far as he could and he couldn’t reach the seat in front of him! You have no idea how much easier this made our 14 hour flight for Tony.

Also, they had individual video monitors for each seat. They had rotating movies so I got to watch Hairspray. But most of the time I left it on “map” so that I could keep track of how far into the trip we were. It was also interesting to see what route we took.

Once I noticed we were over the North pole I had to take photos…

As we finally flew into Beijing…

The pilot told us to look out our window in order to see the Great Wall. Of course, God’s still throwing in good gifts just ‘cuz He can and the wall was right out our window!... (I did feel sorry for the people on the other side of the plane.)

Once we landed, we went straight to the hotel. We had planned to take a taxi to The Forbidden City and walk around even though it was late at night – but we were so tired we passed out and slept for 9 hours instead!

2007-11-14T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of Cody reciting the 23rd Psalm:

Article on Chinese Adoption

2007-11-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Click here for a very interesting (and quite lengthy)article on Chinese adoption

Here's some excerpts if you don't have time to read the whole thing:

“In June 2004 at a hotel in Changsha, a caretaker from the Hengshan County Children’s Welfare Institute handed my wife and me a 17-month-old girl the orphanage had named She Mei Chun. We stayed in China for another week or so after that, filling out forms, going to appointments, and getting to know our new daughter. In case of trouble while we traipsed around Changsha and Guangzhou, we had a note in Chinese, supplied by the U.S. adoption agency that had brought us and 18 other couples to China, informing suspicious bystanders that we were adopting Mei, not kidnapping her. It wasn’t necessary. China sends thousands of baby girls abroad every year, and people in the places we visited were accustomed to seeing Americans and other foreigners walking around with children to whom they clearly are not biologically related….”

“In 2006 about 6,500 Chinese girls were adopted by Americans. Roughly the same number were adopted by people in other Western countries, including Canada, Spain, Germany, France, and the U.K. But these 13,000 girls were just a fraction of China’s abandoned children, the vast majority of whom are female. The Chinese government has estimated there are 160,000 orphans in China at any given time; in her 2000 adoption memoir The Lost Daughters of China, California journalist Karin Evans notes that human rights activists say the number of orphans “is undoubtedly far higher—perhaps ten times the official count, or more.” Between a government that is not known for its openness and outside observers who are forced to guesstimate (and who may have their own reasons for exaggerating), the relevant figures are maddeningly hard to pin down…”

“The Hunan orphanage encouraged visits, and my wife, Michele, went there along with several other parents. She found it to be clean though spartan, and better staffed than she had imagined, with two caretakers per room, each of which contained eight single-occupancy cribs. More important, the caretakers, who cried upon relinquishing their charges at the hotel in Changsha, clearly were very attached to the girls, and vice versa. (Further testimony to the strength of this relationship: Mei, who evidently did not understand the note that said we were not kidnapping her, screamed for hours before I was able to distract her with toys, and she refused to let Michele hold her until after we returned to the U.S.) The Guangdong orphanage, by contrast, did not allow visits, which probably is not a good sign…”

“Chinese officials may even be having second thoughts about international adoptions, which account for a small portion of abandoned girls but contribute (slightly) to the gender imbalance and could be seen as indirectly encouraging over-quota births. The number of Chinese babies adopted by Americans peaked at nearly 8,000 in 2005, falling to 6,500 last year…According to The New York Times, “The restrictions are in response to an enormous spike in applications by foreigners, which has far exceeded the number of available babies.” Since the number of Chinese children who need parents at any given time ranges somewhere between 160,000 (per the government) and 1.6 million (per human rights groups), it seems the demand exceeds the supply only because the government has arbitrarily decided that a small fraction of the children are “available.”

“Something else I didn’t anticipate was how wrenching the experience of taking Mei from her caretaker would be. Our first daughter, also adopted and now 14, was born in Brooklyn and came to live with us when she was 3; she spoke English and had already gotten to know us. In Mei’s case, I did not give sufficient thought to what a terrifying trauma it is for a 17-month-old to be taken from the only home she’s ever known, separated from the women who have been raising her, and peremptorily handed over to complete strangers who look, smell, and sound different from anything to which she’s accustomed. Although we were anxious about the first meeting, we thought of it as a happy occasion, because that’s what everyone else seemed to expect. Instead, it was a heart-breaking scene: 10 families crammed into a conference room with 10 screaming toddlers who had no means of preparing for this baffling betrayal.

Mei cried for hours and remained subdued for weeks. One exception occurred when she saw She Mei Yi, who had slept in the crib next to hers at the orphanage, in a hotel restaurant a day or two after the handoff. Both girls’ faces lit up as they lunged for each other, as if to say, “I thought I’d never see you again!” Then they began enthusiastically biting and slapping each other—their way of expressing affection.

During a recent trip to Boston, where Mei Yi now lives, Mei was again reunited with her former crib neighbor. Although they were soon playing happily together and looking forward to future visits, the meeting was much less dramatic than the encounter at the hotel in Changsha. The two girls, now 4 years old, did not remember their early connection as much as their parents’ stories about it, and they were no longer desperate to see a familiar face. But I don’t want to forget the joyful relief of that first reunion, which reflected the misery caused by government policies that break up families and disrupt young lives. As grateful as I am for the opportunity to see Mei every day and watch her grow up, I realize that in a better world we never would have met.”

2007-11-10T13:19:00.001-08:00

Nick and Cody Trick-or-Treating

2007-10-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

Photos of Selah's home town-Click Here!

China Itinerary

2007-10-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

TA Mailed!!!

2007-10-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

They mailed it!!! CCAA mailed our TA This morning and we should have it in a few days!

THEY MAILED IT! THEY MAILED IT! THEY MAILED IT!!

Current Photo, new niece and LOA!!!!

2007-10-05T12:52:00.001-07:00

WE GOT OUR LETTER OF CONFIRMATION!!! Now we can post her photo....and, not only that, but we received an updated photo from May of 2007!! I'm so excited to share it with you all! I have been waiting so long for this day! (You can look to the right for the earlier photo of her as well as photos of my brand new niece. My sister allowed me to witness her birth - born Oct. 4, 2007 at 4:01 am weighing 6lbs 15oz and 19 inches long!!)

Timeline

2007-09-17T20:20:00.001-07:00

UPDATE!!!!

2007-08-31T09:22:00.001-07:00

We received an update about Selah!! Unfortunately it didn't come with any new photos, but at least we have an idea of how big she is. She is 31.5 lbs and 35.4" tall! I'm so glad she's strong and healthy and well-cared for! What a blessing!

Just thought you'd like to know!

Andi

Donations

2007-07-20T11:55:00.001-07:00

If you'd like to donate to bring Selah home, you can click the "Make a Donation" button on the right or you can write a check to Morice Adoption Fund and mail it to:

Tony Morice
c/o Calvary Church
1375 State St.
Lemont, IL 60439

Thank you for your generosity and support!~

Andi

Our Journey so far!

2007-07-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

How did we come to the decision to adopt? That’s the questions I get most often. Most believe that adoption is only necessary when you can’t have biological children and when they look at our family they’re confused by our decision. So, let me take you on an extremely abbreviated version of how we came to be on this journey to bring Selah MingFu Morice into our family!

The first inkling

The journey began in 2003 when my youngest son was 2. The Lord placed the idea of having another child in my head, I believed, because my first two were two years apart so now was the time to start thinking about another child. But for anyone who knows the history of my back troubles, another pregnancy was not a good idea for me – possible, but not advisable. We had so many families around us that had adopted that I began to toy with the idea. At the time, Tony was not ready for such a conversation, so we dropped the issue – but I could never put it out of my head completely!

Let’s get started!

Fast forward to 2006 - we received a few flyers in the mail alerting us to various adoption information meetings in the area. Tony said we could go and listen, but he wasn’t saying we were going to do anything about it at that time. The last one we went to was at Sunny Ridge Family Center in Bolingbrook, Illinois and the DVD they showed about one family’s adoption experience happened to highlight a family we knew. By the end of the DVD my husband was in tears. I imagine it was because he saw the darling little girl he knew from church who gave him great bear hugs in an over-crowed orphanage without the usual smile we are so use to seeing on her. He could not imagine our friend’s little darling being there. He then realized that there was someone else in those orphanages who could be waiting for us – so he gave me the “OK” to start the paperwork.

Where do we begin?

Now we had to decide with which “version” of adoption we would be comfortable. International? Domestic? Foster Care? Older Child? Infant? You would think deciding to say “yes” to adoption would the hard question, but really the decision of how to travel the road is much more difficult.

So, how did we choose? My oldest son has a limb length difference that requires braces and routine doctor visits. When I was a child, I had to be braced for scoliosis and had routine doctor visits as well. During one of our waiting room times, I was telling my son how it was when I was little and waiting for the doctor in my underpants and hospital gown in an attempt to make him not feel so embarrassed. It was at that moment that I realized we could offer the unique gift of normalcy to a special needs child! Going to doctors’ visits, taking x-rays, wearing braces, etc… was normal in our family and we could empathize with anyone in that situation. I knew right then and there that Special Needs was our route!

Why China?

Then one day I read on-line about Waiting International Children – children who are on a waiting list to be adopted either because of there advanced age or medical needs. A line on the page said that some parents where horrified when they realized that their children where born “imperfect” and that children in the orphanages had “limb length differences or were missing a toe or finger”. That sentence began to sear itself into my brain. My son whom I love with all my heart has both those things and I couldn’t love him more! To think that someone would have any emotion other than intense love for their child regardless of physical appearance was unimaginable to me. Then I knew – we needed to hunt down a child with limb length differences that we could embrace and love without hesitation.

So, we began to hunt until one day our agency called to let us know that they had a little girl in China who needed our love and had length issues with one arm and one leg. I told them to send the information, but I was scared. I had seen so many horrible special needs stories that I was afraid of what I might be getting myself into. When her medical history came, I opened it slowly and read through it. To my delight, it was not scary at all. And she was beautiful! It literally was love at first site. And for the first time I was able to see the plan that God had began long ago….

God’ Plan

God had given us a son with a very minor medical need so that we’d be familiar and comfortable with those issues. However, He knew if it was too profound, we would become wrapped up in him and never think that we had the time for another. Also, he began working in my heart and my husband’s heart separately and specifically. He knew that I would be on board more quickly, so He purposefully and quietly worked together with my husband and the various agencies we went to in order to calm his fears and bring him confidence.

Then when all the plans were laid, He must have taken great delight in revealing Ming Fu to us. I can just imagine Him watching the mail travel through the system with excitement knowing that once we opened the envelope the ground work He laid would ensure that we would love her completely!

God is so good!

What does Selah mean?

Then came the joy of naming her. It was hard at first to think of an American name that would blend well with Ming Fu. I’m a musician and a name must have a certain “ring” to it and a pleasant rhythm. We came up with a few different names just on sound alone, but then I found one that not only sounded gorgeous, but melded with Ming Fu seamlessly.

“Selah” is a Hebrew word that many have found difficult to define. I found a man on-line who studied it within the Bible and other Jewish writings in order to determine its meaning. It has two parts – the first part means to search for something. Some have translated it “contemplate” which is not inaccurate, but it’s more of a “seeking” or “searching out” which can be mentally – as in contemplate – or also physically and active. The second part emphases that the search is after something of great value or worth or weight.

Could there be a better explanation of our journey for our little girl? “Selah” – to search after something of immeasurable worth together with “Ming Fu” which means beautiful?

May I introduce to you Selah MingFu Morice!

Paper Chase

2007-07-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

It's been over year since we started this process and it finally seems like it may come to completion soon. I can hardly believe that we may actually be able to hold our daughter soon. The ache is becoming more intense than I thought I could tolerate, but the Lord has been faithful to give us mercy when we need it.

For those of you familiar with the adoption process, you know that the first few months are entirely comprised of tracking down the various papers that comprise your life story from birth to present. The initial paperwork is just the simple application to the agency stating that you would like to begin the adoption process. I think they make this fairly unintimidating so that you don't suspect what's coming.

The next twelve months involve writing reports on books and classes, collecting bank statements, check stubs, mortgage information, criminal background checks, fingerprinting, birth certificates, marriage certificates, proof of employment, letters of recommendation, police clearance, medical forms, passports, homestudies, US citizen and immigration paperwork, etc... And you'll be surprised to know that the reward for all the hard work that it takes to round-up and copy all these important documents is that even more paperwork is mailed to you. However, those in the process know that each single slip of paper that comes in the mail is anxiously awaited and completely priceless!

So that you can know where in the process we are... Letter of intent sent February 8, 2007 ; Home study completed May 15, 2007 ; Pre-approal received April 6, 2007 ; Dossier to China June 19, 2007. (I had to forgo the "short-hand" so that more people could understand!)

Thank you for checking in on our journey and please feel free to stop back anytime!