STEFANIE'S COOL RIDE

Jon and I made an unexpected trip to California to visit family, and purchase my new car from Jon's brother Jeff. Jon drove us to Las Vegas, and we spent three days having fun! Jon went to his annual convention, while I visited with one of my best friends Jennifer and her family. We had a great time catching up.

I finally did it and caved in when Jon insisted I needed to drive the minivan to tow all of Stefanie's stuff! She will have a lot of room with loads of storage for all her toys and new friends. We purchased a Chrysler Town and Country, Limited Edition Mini-Van. I have to admit I really like it!

IN LOVING MEMORY OF KIMBA

Kimba
July, 1992 - April 12, 2006





Our loving sweet kitty Kimba "Kimmy" was diagnosed with chronic renal failure in October, 2004. In April, 2005, Jon started to give Kimmy sub Q fluids (like an IV injection) every three days. Kimmy's body started to get worse as he did his best to stay alive and surprised everyone. He had a few very close calls but he was determined to live. Unfortunately, Kimmy's body was too weak and he took a turn for the worse, as painful as it was, we had to do what was best for him. We had to put Kimmy to sleep. Jon and I were both with him when he passed peacefully and calmly. We gave him lots of love and we thank him for all the wonderful sweet memories and love he gave us and his brother Tigger. Kimmy will forever be missed, but will forever be in our hearts. Our daughter Stefanie will get to know Kimmy through the wonderful stories we will share with her about him and we are deeply saddened Kimmy is no longer with us, and our daughter will never meet Kimmy.

We will miss our Kimmy…..

On Wednesday April 12, 2006 we had to put our kitty Kimba to sleep. A year and a half ago Kimmy was diagnosed with renal failure and we were told that he only had a few weeks. But with the constant care Diana gave Kimmy he happily lived on for an extended period of time and surprised his doctors.

Pets like Kimmy have a way of becoming more than pets and become a part of the family. For us, since up to this point we have not had children, Kimmy and Tigger have been the kids in the house and Diana’s constant companions throughout our several moves. Kimmy would follow Diana from room to room always staying close, even getting mad if she went outside to work in the yard. Kimmy loved to sit in the window and sunbath or watch the birds. His favorite gifts at Christmas (yes they get presents too) was always the bow on any gift. He would love to lay under the Christmas tree and watch us from his secret hiding place. He was always ready to greet you at the door when you came home no matter what time of day you came back. Kimmy enjoyed seeing the world from a different prospective. He preferred to be held upside down and Diana would often dance a little jig while holding him. Kimba was always watching Diana just keeping an eye on her. It was his way of being close even from across the room. Diana could simply wiggle her eyebrows at him and Kimmy would give her a meow just to respond and say yep I see you. During the summer months Kimmy preferred his water with ice, well actually he just liked the ice. He was always ready to help you finish a meal or snack and would get very disappointed each time he was not included in your dinner plans. Many years ago Diana’s sister Theresa would cook kimmy chicken and he became accustom to getting his fill. He was a very gentle kitty preferring to cuddle whenever he could. Kimmy loved people and enjoyed meeting and getting pets from guests who came over to the house.

Kimmy was more than simply a pet….he was a confidant, a playmate, a best friend. He brought life into our home, provideded comfort and enjoyment each day…. We will miss our Kimmy.

STEFANIE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

Today is Stefanie's first birthday in China. Jon and I will be celebrating tonight with Chinese takeout from Sampan Restaurant and for desert a wonderful chocolate cake. Here is the birthday girl!

STEFANIE'S NAME CHANGE!!!!

Jon and I just made a decision to change Stefanie's name. Her new name will be:
Stefanie AiYing Fischer. We decided to leave out Nicole. Ying as previously thought, was not her middle name but actually part of her name. Ying is actually what separates her from other babies from her orphanage. It appears most of the babies names start with Ai and then the second part is different.

UPDATE ON STEFANIE

Stefanie's nickname is Ying Ying. Today, her medical file was evaluated by Dr. Dana Johnson at the International Adoption Clinic located in Minnesota. Ying Ying is considered to be healthy, with the exception she might be a bit short for her age. This was not really a surprise considering she is Chinese and most of the people tend to be a bit smaller. We have been told Ying Ying will receive a birthday cake this Saturday, April 8, and they will take a photo for us. YEAH!!!

Here is Stefanies latest update:

Height: 27.5 inches
Weight: 18 lbs
Head: 17.3 inches
Feet: 3.9 inches
Teeth: 2 upper and 2 lower

Dr. Johnson believes if our Ying Ying grows at the same rate, and her information is accurate then he thinks she may be a size 8-9 month by the time we travel in May.

Our agency is pushing for us to travel from May 19 - June 1. Everything will be up in the air until we receive our travel approval from China, (A letter inviting us to come to China to adopt Stefanie). After the travel approvel (TA) arrives, our agency can then take assigned numbers from the document and find out what consulate appointments are available at that time. After booking the consulate appointments, our agency can book our flights to travel. I will post the updated information as soon as we know more.

Jon and I are waiting to find out if we will receive any updated photos of Stefanie before we travel.

ALL ABOUT STEFANIE

This photo is Jon's favorite.

This week has been a very busy week. Things have happened so fast with Stefanie's photo arrival and there is a lot to do. We would like to say thank you to everyone again for all of your support, letters and telephone calls. I was so busy the first part of the week I did not have a chance to tell you more about Stefanie.

Personality: Gentle, Calm and Loveable
Favorite: Toys with Sound
As of January 11, 2006, Body Measurements: Height: 66.5 cm (26 1/2 inches)
Weight: 7.8 kg (17 lbs 2.5 oz)
Head Circumference: 42.5 cm (16 3/4 inches)
Chest Circumference: 43 cm (17 inches)
Foot Length: 10 cm (4 inches)
Teeth: 2

Stefanie arrived at the YiYang Children's Welfare Institute as of April 15, 2005. We have just discovered she is in a program provided by Half The Sky Foundation, The Infant Nurture Care Program. Half The Sky Foundation is here in the United States, and has raised donations to build a facility at the YiYang Children's Welfare Institute and YiYang Social Welfare Institute in June, 2005. Several families from my new Yahoo Group YiYang CWI and SWI, and many other people volunteered time and money to travel to China and help build this new facility. This basically means Stefanie has been in the equivilent of an American daycare. The families on my YiYang yahoo group have all adopted children from the CWI and SWI Orphanages. We are so very greatful to everyone who helped to donate money and time to care for our daughter.

The Infant Nuture Care Program has trained Nannies how to work and stimulate the children. The rooms colors have soft pastel colored walls, many toys, along with crawl mats and an assigned Nannie to interact with the children. Our daughter is taken to the room every day. We could not be more grateful to everyone who has shown our daughter such kindness and love. This explains why she is so healthy and able to do so many things.

Stefanie is a deep sleeper.

Motor Development: Holds her head up while lying on stomach, rolls over from her back by herself, grasps toy in hand, holds toys in both hands, tears paper, sits alone quite steadily, stands with her hands holding onto support, picks up small things like beans with her fingers, crawls on hands and knees.

Adaptability: Locates the direction of sound/voice. Visually follows moving toys, holds blocks in each hand at the same time, looks for the dropped toy, reach and grasp a toy beyond, transfers a block from one hand to the other.

Language and Sociality: Follows you by moving her head from one side to the other, laughs aloud, distinguishes between acquaintance and strangers, sounds directed at someone or something, knows her name and turns when called. Eats biscuit without help, imitates sounds.

Personality: Quiet, fond of imitating, fond of playing with toys, fond of listening to music. obstinate at times, closest to her caretaker.

Stefanie can wave goodbye and when she sees caretakers she is familiar with she will wave her hands with excitement like she is dancing. We can not wait to meet our little angel.

DINNER CELEBRATION, BECOMING PARENTS

Jon was leaving to go out of town on business this week, and the call came in about Stefanie. This was exactly what I predicted would happen. Some things are just out of our control. Since Jon and I were unable to go out and celebrate becoming parents on Monday night, we decided to do so last night Friday, March 30, 2006. We went to one of our favorite restaurants a Japanese Steakhouse Bonsai. Last nights dinner was the best we have ever had!

CCAA, MATCHING ROOMS

This photo is of the Matching room staff at the CCAA. One of these people in the photo probably matched us with our little Stefanie. Take a look at the crystal chandalier.

The photos shown are of the China Center of Adoption Affairs, Matching Rooms. This is where we were matched with Stefanie. It is amazing to think all the files you see are of adoptive families waiting to be matched or babies waiting to be referred to a family. I am sure there were a lot more files we did not see in the photos stored somewhere else. It looks like the files we did see are all being worked on. The CCAA works very hard to match a baby to the right family. These photos were obtained by Angel Covers.org, a non-profit organization.

REFERRAL PHOTO!!!

Jon and I are absolutely thrilled to finally introduce you to our beautiful daughter
Yi, Ai Ying. Yi is her last name. Ai means Love and Ying means a lovely green finch. This is rather interesting as my mother Rosie loves birds and use to have many finch as pets.

Our daughter will be named Stefanie Ai Ying . She was born on April 8, 2005 and currently resides at the YiYang Children's Social Welfare Institute, Hunan Province, China. Hunan province is located in the Southern part of China. Stefanie currently has two teeth, and is approximately 17lbs. In China, children are weighed with clothes on and wear layers of clothing to protect their skin. Jon and I would be considered good parents if we layer our daughter in China with at least three layers of clothing. We have no clue how many layers of clothes Stefanie is wearing but she must really be loved, so we do not exactly know how much she really weighs until we meet her. Looks like Stefanie is unable to bend her arms.

We would like to thank everyone for all your love, support and most importantly help during our two year process. We can not wait for our trip to finally bring our daughter home!

STORK ALERT, STORK ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once again rumors are flying. Rumor has it the Stork is off and will be landing sometime around Monday or Tuesday. I hope to know more late Sunday night. I will post as soon as it is offically confirmed by the CCAA.

GETTING TOGETHER WITH FAMILY

Lala, Kim's wife, and Kim, Jon's brother.
March 18, 2006



Visiting Jon's family at Lala's dress shop in West Hollywood, California.
Pictured from left to right: Lala, Kim, Ruth, Jon and Lloyd. Lloyd is Jon's best friend.
March 18, 2006




Breakfast with Diana's family in Glendale, California.
Pictured from left to right: Rosie, Carlos, Noel & Theresa. Noel is Theresa's boyfriend.
March 17, 2006

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Kimmy and Tiggers did not want to pose for photos on St. Patrick's Day.

ADOPTION UPDATE

I am sorry to say we are still waiting to hear some news. We hope to receive our referral the last week of March or the first week of April. We will update as soon as we know more.

IN MEMORY OF OUR DEAR FRIEND SAM

Last Sunday, March 5, 2006 We lost a good friend Sam Chu Lin. Sam became ill Sunday upon arriving at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank on a flight from Phoenix. He was on his way to work at KTTV TV Ch. 11. He was taken to St. Joseph’s hospital also in Burbank where he was pronounced dead, although the cause of death was still unknown. Jon will be flying out to L.A. Wednesday night to prepare for the service. Jon was asked by Judy Chu Lin, Sam’s wife to speak for the family and give the main eulogy. The service will take place at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills this Saturday March 18, 2006 at 12:30 PM. Jon had known Sam for more than 20 years and they covered many stories together. The most memorable was the last successful launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger and a subsequent trip to Epcot. Sam was always asking us when we were going to have kids. So when we decided to adopt of course we had to ask Sam an Judy to write one of our four reference letters. Sam took great pleasure in writing it for us. Diana said, Sam was always smiling when ever she saw him and that will be they way she will always remember him. We are sad that we will never get the chance to introduce Sam to our girls. We will miss him greatly, below is a brief biography and obituary from the Associated Press.

Sam Chu Lin is a reporter/news anchor/radio announcer who found that "informing and helping others is what makes journalism exciting." As one of the first Asian American network reporters in New York City (CBS News), he announced to the nation the fall of Saigon and helped Superman's creators win their pensions. He's interviewed presidents and world leaders and covered earthquakes and other major disaster. In China, he went on the air to report the government crackdown on the democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. He feels journalism can also be educational. "It's a chance to use your roots for a positive purpose." Sam recently convinced ABC's Nightline to do a program called "Asian American - When Your Neighbor Looks Like the Enemy" and helped book the guest, checked the script for accuracy, and found historical footage for the broadcast. He spent over a year talking with the executive producer about how Asian Americans have been unfairly stereotyped because of the campaign fundraising and spy scandals. The program was the highest rated show in its time slot beating out Jay Leno and David Letterman in the national ratings. He has been presented with many awards including the AP, UPI, Golden Mike, National Headliner Award for Best Documentary, Chi Lin is an Old American Name, and the 1998 Los Angeles Press Club Award for covering a neighborhood shoot-out. Based in Sunnyvale with his wife Judy, and their sons Mark and Christopher, he also pioneered in Silicon Valley, establishing the television news department for Hewlett-Packard. Sam is a media consultant, contributor to AsianWeek, Rafu Shimpo, San Francisco Examiner, and reports for KTTV Fox 11 News in Los Angeles.

FAMILY

On February 28, Jons cousin Michael and his wife Elaine from California came for a short vacation. Jon and I enjoyed our visit with Michael and Elaine and were very happy to see family. We had a wonderful time catching up with each other and had a nice lunch out. After lunch Michael and Elaine went to Jon's work and took a tour of the Television Station.

SALT LAKE MAGAZINE 2006 DINING AWARDS

Pictured from left to right: Regan, Nicea & Scott.



Carol, Karen & Gram



Pictured from left to right: Carol, Gram, & Barb







Randall Carlisle & Barbara Smith host the event.


We had a wonderful night at the Salt Lake Magazine 2006 Restaurant Dining Awards with friends and co-workers from Jon's work.

VALENTINE'S DAY

Tulips are my favorite flower in all colors.



Kimmy and some of his new toys.



Tigger could not wait to play with his toys.

This year we decided to spend a quiet Valentine's Day at home with Kimba and Tigger. Jon and I had grilled steak, lobster tails, salad and chocolate cake for desert. We had a very nice quiet evening together. Jon and I hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day.

CHINA UPDATE

I just received notice from our agency the China Center of Adoption Affairs has changed our log in date from May 12 to May 27. We have no explanation as to why or what happened other than the CCAA would like to group us with the next batch of referrals from our adoption agency. We do not know when then next batch of referrals will be mailed out so we are planning on receiving a referral sometime in March. We hope to travel in May and I will update when we know more.

PEKING INTO OUR FUTURE

Last night we went to see the Peking Acrobats at Kingsbury Hall, in Salt Lake City. What an incredible and amazing performance. If you have the opportunity to see a performance I highly recommend it.