ON OUR WAY TO CHINA

We are not able to post on this website while in China so to follow our journey please visit our China Travel website for daily posts and pictures at:

www.journeytome.com
username: ying
password: ying

TRAVEL UPDATE

Jon and I will be leaving on May 14 (Mother's Day) and returning June 2. I will post all travel details on the new website. It has been over two years and does not seem real, at least not yet. We have been so busy trying to get everything in order we have not had much time to think about all of this. This week I am going to the day spa two days and what a nice way to relax. Jon was nice enough to buy me a spa certificate as he knew I would be stressed out. My parents will be arriving on Thursday, May 11.

I will be setting up a new website for anyone who would like to follow us along, as this blog will probably not work in China. I will post our China website as soon as I finish setting it up. We are so excited to finally meet Stefanie and we cannot wait for everyone to meet her.

CHARLIE SHOWING HIS FEMININE SIDE

Charlie decided he needed some one on one time with Mom today, so here is what we did.


Charlie thinks pink is just not his color and red is too flashy, he chose clear polish.


His nails really needed some extra work.


Almost done.


Oh no! Please don't tell anyone about this.


We were watching the Modern Girls Guide to Life.

CHINA TRAVEL GROUP DINNER

Pictured from left to right: Erin Henrie, Circe & Scott Dopp

Tonight Jon and I met with two other families who live in Utah and will be traveling with us to China. The Dopp & Henrie families. We had a great dinner at P.F. Changs. Unfortunately, we missed John Henrie who is a Doctor and was called to work.

DAD,THE ROCKER AND CHARLIE

"Jon, I think you should wait for me to help you".



"I think I can handle this on my own Charlie".



"I think your putting that on wrong".



"This is going to take a while so I'll be right here".



"This is nice, I think I'll just take a little nap".



"snorrrrrrrrrrrrr"



"Jon, your taking too long!"



"I'm sorry".



"How about I watch you from here?"



"This is taking longer than I expected".



"Say Cheese!"



"I am almost done".



I like my new rocking chair. Stefanie will love her new book and family photo album, gifts from Uncle Danny and cousins Logan & Morgan. Thank you for the great gifts.



"Jon took so long I think I should see what's on".



"This looks really good".



"My favorite show".



"Don't you even think about taking over the remote, its every man for himself!"



"Now you know whose King of the Remote".

From this day on Charlie lived happily ever after.

SHOPPING

This is not Stefanie's room, just her bedding.

Jon and I finally purchased crib bedding for Stefanie. I had a hard time as I could not make a decision on Stefanie's bedding. My parents will be painting Stefanie's bedroom while Jon and I are in China. My father really wanted to be able to paint Stefanie's bedroom. How wonderful for her to know Grandpa Carlos and Grandma Rosie painted her bedroom. By the way, Stefanie's bedroom will be painted for the third time. We could not decide on a color. I meant to say I could not decide on a color. Jon did not care what color I chose.

A NEW LOVE

Tigger meeting Charlie for the first time.




Charlie in the plants

We are deeply saddened Kimmy is no longer with us and we miss him very much. Tigger grew up with Kimmy by his side and did not know what to do without him. Jon and I decided it was best to try and adopt another brother for Tigger. We know there is no other kitty who could replace Kimmy, but Tigger needs another close brother/friend to share his life with. We are so happy to introduce you all to our newest love and family member Charlie! Charlie is also known as "Charlie Brown" and he is eight months old.

Charlie is loving, sweet and wants attention more than playing with all his new toys. Charlie was rescued and desperately needed a home. We are so happy to open our hearts and home to Charlie. He definitely surprises me on a daily basis, as I forgot what it was like to have a kitten in the home again. Tigger and Charlie are fast becoming close brothers and friends.

STEFANIE'S FINDING AD

Our little darling has quite a lot of hair at just seven days old.

When babies or children are abandoned in China it is required a local ad be placed showing the babies picture, with a description of who found the baby and where the children are found. These photos are the earliest photo we will ever have of Stefanie and this is why it is so important to us. It took approximately three weeks to receive Stefanie's ad.

Jon and I payed a company, Research China.Org to find Stefanie's ad. Bryan Stuy who has two adopted daughter's from China, started this company when he went looking for his daughter's finding ads. We are so greatful to him for obtaining this photo.

A BUSY WEEK

Travel Approval invites us to China to adopt Stefanie. For safety reasons I covered up most of the information on the document, although most of it is in Chinese. If you double click on any of the photos you can see them up close.

Jon and I returned home from our trip and found our Travel Approval waiting for us. The next morning we received our Chinese Visas and Passports back, Stefanie's Finding Ad (First photo we have of Stefanie at approximately 7 days old). We received some darling summer outfits from one of Jon's co-workers Heidi and her family. We recieved a darling tote bag for Stefanie from our new friends Karin, Maya and Bill Brown, who live in Virginia.

At last one of the days we have waited for we have our Travel Itinerary! We are almost on our way to China and have so much more to do. We cannot wait to finally hold Stefanie in our arms.

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.