Meet Elizabeth

This entire process has been a test of patience, resiliency and strength. An odd aspect of parenting through international adoption is the inability to share photos of your little one, let alone a sonogram. Usually adoption agencies ask that you wait until you have been officially matched by the country from which you are adopting.
Originally, I was told this could take about 3 months. I am happy to announce and introduce, after only 34 days, my little Elizabeth. One step closer to home my little one!

I am surrounded by amazing people

Today was one of the first major fundraisers in our effort to bring my little one home. In short, the entire affair was humbling and enlightening. Family and friends from across the country joined us at Muse Paintbar in South Norwalk to sip some wine and (attempt to) paint a scenic mountain landscape. We also offered 10 different raffle prizes along with snacks and good company. The day was rainy and cool- perfect for enjoying the company of other indoors. In total, we raised almost $900 towards the orphanage donation for Taiyuan SWI. This is a huge weight off my shoulders for many reasons; Not only is this less of a financial burden, but I consider myself extremely lucky knowing that I have the support of so many amazing people in my life.
Here are a few pictures of our general awesomeness:

Serious concentration

All of us showing off our masterpieces!

The staff at Muse were wonderfully accommodating and the company was astounding. :)
Following our painting, everyone signed a fortune that will be added to Elizabeth's lifebook. I am so happy knowing that she has so many people looking forward to her journey home.

Our fortunes from the day, signed by everyone.

Needless to say, the wait for our Letter of Action (LOA in adoption-speak) is much easier knowing I have so many amazing people waiting right along with me. :)

The wait begins...

Last week a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders: my dossier was sent to China. (For those of us using "adoption speak"- DTC!)
Now the real wait begins. A little insight into the process that lies ahead:

• My dossier will be delivered to Bejing, then sent to the CCCWA (Chinese Center of Children's Welfare and Adoption.
• My dossier will be "Logged In" (LID) within 4-14 business days.
• The dossier will be processed, translated and officially matched with my daughter (about 45-60 days)
• I will then receive a Letter of Action (LOA) stating that my little one has been officially matched to me, if I still want her (seriously). At this point I sign the LOA and send some more docs to USCIS (the I-800, to US Immigration). 
• Then I sit back and wait for the US and Chinese governments to shuffle some documents back and forth and wait for my Travel Approval (TA). 

This entire process, from DTC to TA, usually takes anywhere from 12-16+ weeks. Realistically, this would have me hopefully traveling either the last few weeks of May, or the first few weeks of June at best. 

Meanwhile, I am hopeful that some updates on my little one will land in my inbox. It has been almost 4 months since I have received any new photos or information, and it gets harder every day. While I wait, we will continue with our fundraising efforts and learning as much about China travel as possible!

One dollar at a time :)

There is no denying the financial burden that adoption imposes upon a hopeful family. There are fees associated with just about every stage in the process:
USCIS (Immigration) approval; Agency Fees; China Fees; Background Checks and Fingerprinting; the mandatory orphanage "donation"; and travel costs.
These fees are necessary to ensure that the adoption is conducted in a way that meets the national guidelines for both countries involved, allows agencies to maintain their licensure, accreditation, and quality staffers, and provide automatic citizenship for children once the adoption is approved.
Most families that adopt internationally will participate in some type of fundraising. Not only do fundraisers assist offsetting adoption financial obligations, but they are an enormous source of strength and support from your family, friends and community (I speak from personal experience here!!).

To give you an idea of the creative lengths PAP's (Potential Adoptive Parents) go to raise funds, here are just a few of the fundraisers I am in the process of working on:

1) My Adopttogether.org page. All proceeds from this "crowdfunding" site go directly to assist with adoption-related costs. This page is comprised of all adoptive families and is similar to a "go fund me" page.

2) My Paint and Sip for a Cause fundraiser. There are many "Paint and Wine" places popping up all over the country and many are happy to hold fundraisers. We are hoping to fill the space with 48 painters, along with some raffle prizes and libations it promises to be a Saturday afternoon not-to-be-missed!!!

3) The brain child of my crafty friend Erica and her mom, we are selling holiday-themed chocolate lollipops. In a short 4 hours one afternoon we were able to crank out over 450 of these yummy Valentine's treats. We hope to repeat this fundraiser for every holiday leading up to my travel day. What a afternoon full of laughs and piles of chocolate- it doesn't get much better than that!

Erica unmolding the pops

Our stash about half-way through the afternoon

My mom (front left) finishing up the red chocolate, Jan (rear, Erica's mom) using her ribbon curling skills, and Stephanie finishing up a mold of bite-sized candies. 

                 

Me, trying not to burn my fingers

Our finished stash- 416 pops, ready for sale!

4) General donations made directly to Cradle of Hope Adoption Center. These have been made even more effective given the fact that many of my friends work for companies that match charitable donations- doubling the amount and helping even more AND getting a tax benefit, as Cradle of Hope is a non-profit organization. Be sure to specify that your donation is For Benefit Of: Zhang Guan Ning.


I have more FUNdraisers to planned over the coming months and please leave any additional ideas in the comment section!!

Hosting children

One of the many ways a child can find a home is through hosting. Older children, usually those diagnosed with a correctable/manageable medical condition as a young child, are identified through agencies. These children are then brought to the US or other countries and stay with a host family for a few weeks at a time. This can often result in a child being adopted by the host family who may have wanted to explore the option of adding an older child to their family. Other times, the child will be available for other potential parents to meet or to better understand the full extent of medical issues, if any. In other instances a child's host family will serve as an advocate to assist in finding a family that may in be interested in the adoption of the child. At minimum, advocates and agencies can learn more about the child's personality or health issues to better match the child with a potential adoptive family.
At any rate, there are an amazing bunch of kids visiting the US through the Bridge of Hope program coordinated by Cradle of Hope Adoption Center. If you or anyone else you know may be interested in adoption, please forward this information along. Most kids that are hosted can have their timelines expedited in order to bring them back to their new US home as quickly as possible.

Available Children

#ILikeAdoption

After a long and relaxing weekend spent with family and some intense brainstorming of fundraising ideas, I needed one more smile to end my weekend. 

#ILikeAdoption

Pictures and Painting.... :)

Every passing day gets me closer to my LO ("Little One" if I keep up with the adoption acronyms!). To get her home as quickly as possible, we will be holding regular fundraisers to aid in offsetting the fees and "mandatory donation" required as part of the adoption process. In addition to a tag sale (being held in early May- save your stuff!), a bottle and can drive (stay tuned!) and change drive, we will be having a Paint and Sip for a Cause on March 14th at noon at Muse Paint Bar in South Norwalk. The event will also feature raffles and prizes- the more the merrier! Click here to sign up- seats are limited so sign-up early! Special thanks to Muse Paintbar for helping to bring Beth home!

In a pathetic attempt to keep my "artistic" theme of this post, check out this amazing info-graphic portraying the often confusing procedure that is international adoption.