Big Week

So its been a while since I posted and though we are still "waiting," there are some new developments.  This week in general is the culmination of a lot of those developments.  Once we got our RA and we were officially accepted as JuneBug's parents we were also allowed to contact her.  I organized a care package to be sent from a woman in China to our new daughter with a letter and some gifts.  I also sent off our photo book with pictures of us and our home - I included a few pictures that Ballerina drew for her new big sister.  We asked our care package woman to check in with the SWI to see what name our daughter chose from a list of four that we selected.  This morning, after waiting with baited breath, I discovered that she liked them all fine, but left the final selection to us....I felt a little deflated.  I was hoping that she would reach out to one name and claim it as her own.  Instead, we know that we will have to work hard to make her feel a part of this family.  The staff at the SWI offered their favorite and as the name they liked was one of our top two, and its easy to say, we agreed that it was the perfect name for our JuneBug.  Of course if she is not ready to be called by her new American name we are happy to call her by her Chinese one.  Right now its hard to start using the American name anyway.  The girls are so used to referring to their big sister with her Chinese name.  I've been trying to use both so that the transition is easier....they keep forgetting!  Well, its only day one, we still need practice!
So that's development number one.  Number two is that tomorrow I get to skype (is that a new verb?) with a woman in the U.K. who visited JuneBug's SWI last April with International China Concern.  I received a bunch of new pictures from the SWI via our care package woman.  The first picture I opened featured our daughter and, surprise, a caucasian girl...?!  So I did some sleuthing when I found several more caucasian folk in the following pictures.  The names on the photos helped me out as they listed the city, date and ICC.  I did my research and determined that this ICC was a group that would have been on a missionary like trip to help out the kids in that SWI.  Their main offices appear to be in Australia and the U.K.  I joked with Dave that though our daughter might not know too many words in English she may know "G'Day!"  The incredible part of this research was that I've identified two people in the photos and tomorrow I get to chat with one of them half a world away about her time in the place our daughter has lived for over a decade.  Do people do the whole hair/makeup thing just to skype with a stranger?  I'm so excited and nervous about what I might learn about JuneBug tomorrow.  As she is nearing 12, there is so much we DON'T know about our daughter.  I'm steeling myself for a rough transition already.  I looked at some of the recent photos of our girl and my heart broke.  She looks unhappy, she looks like she's not ready to change her life so much - fear of the unknown, and not understanding why everything is going to change.  Her nanny has a smile in both photos where they are looking at the camera.  This is the same nanny that was in an earlier video I saw of her.  I think that she's been the one person in her life that's been a constant.  If she helps the nannies with the younger children, to JuneBug, this is her life, her family as she knows it.  This could be a very difficult transition.  I'm not sure how it will manifest itself but I pray that God gives me and Dave the right tools to handle the tough times.
Okay, now for the third big thing that is supposed to happen this week.  By weeks end I should have a bit of a "report" on JuneBug and her development in her years at the SWI.  There is only so much information that you can get from a child's initial profile.  There was a sentence, maybe two, for each year of her life.  When constructing JuneBug's time at the SWI, that's not a lot of information.  I contacted an organization that is phasing out the child reports, but agreed to take on the project.  I sent a bunch of questions to the organization and they have someone in China who is doing the interviewing, research.  I am, again, excited and nervous at what I will learn from this report.  I know that I will not TRULY know my new daughter by reading reports and asking someone questions from a week visit a year ago, but this will go a long way in getting a picture of her life to date.  I also know that the girl that we meet in (maybe) two months may not show us her true self right away.  She will most likely be scared of these new people who are embracing her into a family with words she doesn't understand and bring her to a new country where all she has known is half a world away.  She has much to learn - and we do too!  I hope that she finds her little sisters to be a comfort to her.  Ballerina and Songbird are so excited to welcome her home.  Ballerina is a little guarded as she has been through this process before (getting a new sister) and she has the party line down pat.  She tells Songbird, who enthuses that JuneBug will just hug and kiss her, that JuneBug may be upset and NOT hug right away because "she won't know us yet."  Ballerina is such a good sister, she wants to be ready for that kind of moment (she also remembers that Songbird pushed her away for a little bit in the beginning.)  She is enthusiastic about a big sister though, and often tells people proudly about JuneBug.  She is knowledgeable about all things JuneBug and has helped pick out several of her new clothes.  Ballerina actually chose many shirts for big sister that match shirts in Ballerina's closet!
So this is a big week of news for us.  We pray for JuneBug throughout all of this time.  She now knows she is going to be adopted.  She has probably received our photo book and has a glimpse into where we live and what we look like.  Of course, by now I wouldn't be surprised if she thought we were a bunch of smiling idiots.  We are smiling in every photo.  Only Songbird has some more serious photos - that's only because our family group shots often include Songbird looking away....that's okay, she's still beautiful!
I'm hugging my girls a little closer these days.  They've brought so much joy into my life. These days with just two little girls will change a whole lot by the end of the summer.  I know God is asking us to stretch and grow, and as these girls prove to me with their "high-water" pants and tight shoes - they are growing before my eyes.  I am trying to slow them down to no avail!  For now I will savor their beautiful little selves that are inquisitive, thoughtful, outgoing, joyful, musical and happy -and I look forward to seeing how they welcome their sister at their own & her own pace.  They will be ready when she is!

RA!!!

It has ARRIVED!  I'm not sure if I wrote this in my previous blog but the magical day I was counting on was St. Patrick's Day.  I used someone else's timeline to calculate when we should expect our Referral Approval.  Looking back, I actually miscounted 71 days, but either way, my magical day was March 17th.  Being an Irish Gal who celebrates St. Patrick's Day, I thought this was a good day to get a referral.  On Monday, March 15th we got the call.  Whoo Hoo!  I wasn't nervous about our paperwork at all, but if Wednesday had come and gone with no word, I would have started worrying.  Our family coordinator told me that she would mail the paperwork to us the following day and it would arrive on -you guessed it - St. Patrick's Day!  There is a quick turnaround on this kind of paperwork.  You need to sign & return quickly so that the agency can return it to China quickly.  We also have paperwork that we have to submit to USCIS so that our Consulate appointment may be scheduled and immigration paperwork can get underway.
What's great is that we can now reach out to her daughter- work out her new American name and send care packages to her.  Now is the time she will be prepared, by her caregivers, and by our packages, to make the transition to living in an orphanage to being a daughter in a family.  Up until now, the orphanage wasn't even notified of a potential family.  I can't wait to get her size information and pick out some new outfits for her for at least the time we are in China.  I would like to have her with me when we round out her wardrobe.
So, we have lots to do - paperwork, working out finances, getting together our travel stuff, sending packages, making countdowns for the girls, getting a "travel meeting" dinner for our little travel group set, organizing our away from home details.  Much to do, much excitement and we'll get it all together.  The week I will be a crazy woman will be the week before we leave.  Specifically the day before we leave.  Thankfully my honey has promised to start his time off the day before we go so that we can get ourselves in gear and he can help keep me on track.  And you better believe the girls will be in school that day!
So, with that said, I'm signing off to do some prep work.
We're closer to bringing home our JuneBug....YAY!