Chinese New Year begins January 29 - February 12, 2006. Jon and I went out to dinner to celebrate.
Monday, January 30, 2006
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR
Chinese New Year begins January 29 - February 12, 2006. Jon and I went out to dinner to celebrate.
Friday, January 27, 2006
DELAYED!
Our referral has been delayed, and we do not know what happened. I am going to guess we were given the wrong log in date. Our agency is looking into what happened, as another family through our agency should have also received a referral today. Jon and I do not expect to find out what happened until after Chinese New Year, which ends on February 7. The offices at the CCAA are now closed for the holiday. I will update this website as soon as I know more. Currently, Jon and I do not expect to receive a referral until end of February or sometime in March.
Monday, January 23, 2006
WE HAVE OFFICALLY BEEN MATCHED WITH A CHILD OR CHILDREN!!!!
Here is the latest update and it is excellent news!!!!! We will be receiving information and pictures on our child or children this week. We expect to receive information on Thursday and I will update this website as we know more.
It has been 1 year, 7 months and eight days before hearing any news. Our documents were logged in on May 12 which is why our referral is included in this batch. The CCAA is the China Center of Adoption Affairs and all the referrals are being mailed through DHL to the adoption agencies. Referrals take approximately two days to receive. Our referral should arrive by latest this Friday.
The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office in June 2005.
The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before May 13, 2005.
It has been 1 year, 7 months and eight days before hearing any news. Our documents were logged in on May 12 which is why our referral is included in this batch. The CCAA is the China Center of Adoption Affairs and all the referrals are being mailed through DHL to the adoption agencies. Referrals take approximately two days to receive. Our referral should arrive by latest this Friday.
The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office in June 2005.
The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before May 13, 2005.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
FORECAST FOR TODAY
We were dry and warm yesterday and this morning this is what we saw. This is my first time using a snow blower.
TODAY'S RUMOR!
A large adoption agency in Spain is reporting referrals will be mailed out tomorrow and arrive here by next weekend. They are also reporting the cut off date for referrals will be May 12, 2005. If the information is accurate, Jon and I will finally receive our referral.
I will post information here as soon as we know more. I predict if the rumor about referrals being mailed out tomorrow is true, the CCAA will have the dates posted on their website. Spain has been very accurate when it comes to rumors. Let us hope.
I will post information here as soon as we know more. I predict if the rumor about referrals being mailed out tomorrow is true, the CCAA will have the dates posted on their website. Spain has been very accurate when it comes to rumors. Let us hope.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
RUMORS!!!
Today's rumor on the April DTC Group (Date paperwork went to China a.k.a Dossier to China) states families are currently being matched with children by the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) for the end of April and hopefully some May. We hope our referral will be in this batch. The referrals are expected to be mailed out this Friday, January 20th and arrive next week.
Several of my China groups state Meg Ryan is currently in China adopting.
Several of my China groups state Meg Ryan is currently in China adopting.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
KIMBA AND TIGGER AWAIT THEY'RE SISTERS
Tigger "Tiggy" a.k.a. Tigmon, "The Jester"
Kimba "Kimmy"
My Little Angel
The Devil Made Me Do It!
Monday, January 16, 2006
CHINA CENTER OF ADOPTION AFFAIRS
The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office in May 2005.
The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before April 25, 2005.
I had to post this link from the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) website as we are still waiting for our referral. Our log in date is May 12, 2005 and we have been waiting a long time!
THE FORTUNE COOKIE
Tonight we had chinese take out for dinner from Pei Wei, another fast food restaurant owned by PF Changs. We ordered chicken teryaki bowls which is one of my favorite meals. The best part of tonight's dinner was the fortune in the fortune cookie! In China they do not have fortune cookies, the fortune cookie was created in the United States.
Here is the fortune I received.
GOOD NEWS WILL COME TO YOU FROM FAR AWAY
LUCKY NUMBERS: 2, 10, 14, 15, 16 . 16
Jon and I hope to receive a referral before the end of this month or by latest February. Let us keep our fingers crossed this fortune is accurate.
A LITTLE JOY!
If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
- Chinese proverb
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
- Chinese proverb
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Monday, January 09, 2006
DURING THE WAIT
December, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
The holiday season has finally arrived. Where has the year gone? It seems as though the months have just flown by. Jon and I are doing quite well and the weather here is beginning to get cold. On November 27, we had our first snowfall of the season. What a beautiful sight!
Jon and I started our year off with a visit from my parents Rosie and Carlos. We celebrated my mother’s birthday tubing which was her one birthday request, that evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner out and of course plenty of cake! Jon and I took our passport photos a requirement for our adoption process. Rumor has it The China Center of Adoption Affairs Office (matching room) will place our passport photos on a computer screen and then match us up to babies they think have similar features to us. I am not really sure if this is accurate so I really wanted our passport photos to look great! They did not turn out too bad and Jon’s looks really good. He chose a beautiful blue sweater (my favorite) which really brought out the blue in his eyes. I wore a red sweater. The color red means luck or good fortune. So let us keep our fingers crossed.
The month of February was wonderful! We completed all of our required documents for our adoption and finally felt a sense of completion. We started the adoption process, June of 2004. Jon and I went out to celebrate by having a really nice dinner at the Melting pot, a fondue style restaurant. Do not go there hungry as it takes a long time to cook your meal. The month of March was really nice as we attended Matthew Resnick, one of Jon’s best friends sons Barmitzvah in California. This was my first attendance at a Barmitzvah and all I can say is I cannot remember when I have had that much fun! We had the opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and visit my family, visit with Jon’s mother Ruth and friends as well.
In April we submitted our dossier (compiled documents) to China. The process of gathering paperwork for the adoption has taken up all of my time and is at times very stressful. Jon and I took a trip to Las Vegas as he attended his annual RTNDA and NAB, Radio Television News Directors Association Conference. While Jon attended the convention I enjoyed shopping, visiting all the sites and just relaxing. Jon had free time after the convention so we spent the extra few days with my parents who drove to Las Vegas. We missed visiting with our close friend’s the Ross Family on this visit. At the end of April we almost lost our cat Kimba, a.k.a. “Kimmy”. He was diagnosed with Renal Disease. Fortunately, Kimmy is still with us and doing quite well. Kimmy seems to have surprised us all including his Doctor. We take advantage of all the love and pets we can share with him for as long as we can. It seems as though he may still have a few more lives in him.
During the month of May, Jon and I attended the Race for the Cure run/walk. We had a lot of fun. What an amazing site to see so many people out to support family and friends. After the event Jon took me out to a really nice brunch as it was also my birthday that day.
In June, we attended our first China Informational Meeting through our adoption agency. We met many other adoptive families in the process including one who will travel with us to China. We spent the summer attending several outdoor events and a few visits to the Snow Cone Shack. Jon and I had the opportunity to visit This is the Place Heritage Park, a historical location in Utah. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about Utahs first Mormon Pioneer settlers and the history of how they came to live in Utah. The historical homes were amazing to see. We will definitely return to see and learn much more in the future. Jon and I were amazed to find America's First Department Store located at Heritage Park. Jon knew I could not resist not making a purchase. I mean how could I go there and not find a little keepsake, its historical! My big purchase was a small sheep made of wood and wool. I love sheep! It sits on our shelf in our office as we collect things from all over the world during our travels.
July was filled with activities, in addition to a lot of time spent tending to my garden which I enjoy in the summer months. In return we had beautiful flowers this year that were eaten by deer that come down from the mountains looking for food. Fourth of July was a blast. We attended the “Hot Rockn Fourth Event” hosted by ABC4, Jon’s station. We had a wonderful day. We attended our first Stingers Baseball Game. Jon was offered VIP tickets in the Clear Channel Suite. What a nice way to enjoy the game as it was a very warm day not to mention have the suite to ourselves.
I went for a visit to California to visit my family and my brother Danny, who flew out from Michigan with his children Logan and Morgan. This was Logan and Morgan’s first visit to California since they are now old enough to remember the trip. I was able to visit with Ruth and spent the rest of my time going to Disneyland, Long Beach Aquarium, and attending family gatherings. It was really difficult to say goodbye. Jon and I had just enough time to spend a few hours together in California before I returned home. Jon had just arrived from Salt Lake as he stayed home to take care of our cat Kimmy. Kimmy requires a lot of care along with Sub Q fluid injections, which is similar to an IV.
Jon made a special guest appearance at an awards dinner honoring his close friend Legendary News Reporter Stan Chambers. Jon worked with Stan for 12 years at KTLA and they covered many notable news stories together. He thoroughly enjoyed his visit with some of his friends/and old co-workers. Jon was able to visit with his mother Ruth and visit with a few close friends.
The month of August came and went so quickly. Jon and I went to the annual Kimball Arts Festival held in Park City. We love to get out and enjoy the sun and see beautiful one of a kind pieces of art in a picturesque environment and listen to music. We had an evening out at the Hale Centre Theatre and saw an amazing performance of 42nd Street! All I have to say is our feet wanted to keep dancing as we left the theatre.
In September we gathered with our neighbors for our first block party and outdoor BBQ. We had a great time and enjoyed meeting our newest neighbors. Jon and I went to see Utah’s Healing Field. This was a beautiful memorial flag display where every flag is in memory of all the people who lost there lives on September 11 at the World Trade Center. This was a beautiful amazing and serene display. We were overcome by emotions that no words can possibly describe. Jon received excellent news that his News Department won three of the top Emmy Awards for Best Newscast, Best Team Coverage and Best Live Reporting. In addition to the station’s awards he was given yet another Emmy Award of his own to display on his Trophy shelf at home. This is his 12th to proudly display.
The month of October was filled with activities once again. Jon and I had Fall Portraits taken this year. I had a vision of vibrant red leaves, unfortunately on the day we took our photos it snowed in the mountains and our photos instead had yellow leaves and snow on the ground. Not quite what we had expected. I flew out to California for a short visit with family, my last trip of the year. We went to another China Informational Meeting, which covered our trip to China and what to expect. I decorated the entire house for Halloween and did more than usual this year. Jon and I spent time going to the Pumkin Patch and finding just the right pumkins. This year we had no snow on the ground and the weather was warmer than in the past, so there were more children Trick or Treating than usual. We almost ran out of candy, so Jon came to the rescue by going to the store to buy any candy he could find.
November is the beginning of our holiday season and we start the month off by attending another one of our monthly China Informational Meetings. Jon and I attended the MDA Toast To Life Black-tie event. It was a wonderful evening of beautiful music, a silent auction, various restaurant appetizers, fabulous drinks and excellent deserts. Jon’s favorite was the chocolate dipped strawberries. Jon has been so busy with work and rating sweeps he hasn’t done much else lately. Occasionally he has the opportunity to catch up on some quiet time by reading just for fun.
I had my first Cyber Baby Shower with friends I have met online through the various China groups. I have joined eleven China groups! I spend my time reading up on China and trying to learn Mandarin Chinese. I join my China groups daily to add support or learn from other adoptive parents in the process and those who have adopted before and try to prepare for our trip. I joined a Secret Pal gift exchange for a few months and finally found out who my secret pal was during our cyber shower. She lives in Minnesota. Many of the other adoptive mothers find waiting to hear from China about they’re daughters very difficult as there have been unexpected delays in this process. Notification and pictures of our daughters has seemed to slow down much more than we have all expected. Many of the other adoptive mothers do not have family or close friends in the state they live in, so we all got together to have a baby shower. What fun!
I spent a little time joining a small three dollar gift swap after the cyber shower with many of the other adoptive mothers. The theme was pink. The gift could be hand made or purchased but had to be pink and should cost no more than three dollars. This gift could be for mother or baby. I found this very challenging. Do you know what you can purchase for three dollars today?? I went a little over the three dollars and purchased pink metal bookmarks. We are all reading a lot these days so I thought this would come in handy. Every day I continue to receive small packages filled with beautifully crafted note cards and gifts.
The month ended with in Jon’s words as “the best Turkey he has eaten in years”. I am not sure what he meant by that as I changed my receipe this year slightly and I make turkey a couple of times a year. We had yet another excellent sit down Thanksgiving meal with a lot to be thankful for. For desert we went to the D’Antuono's house (Jon's boss) and had a wonderful evening. What a great way to spend Thanksgiving day.
We have so many other events took place this year we could not possibly fit into this letter. We had many gatherings with friends. Jon and I had several visits to the Chiropractor this year and are both doing excellent now. My badly injured sprained ankle from last year has finally just about healed. Today, Jon and I are off to a new start trying to eat a lot healthier and exercising. It is a good thing since we are about to start the Christmas Season. So many fun events are planned for this month. Jon is off to San Antonio, TX, and South Carolina for work. I will keep busy painting the house, completing my Christmas shopping and doing various crafts, and not to mention all the baking for my neighbors.
At this point, as you all are probably wondering, we have not heard anything about our adoptive children. We had hoped to be notified before Christmas but unfortunately The China Center of Adoption Affairs has slowed down on sending out referrals. We do not expect to be notified until sometime next year with travel expected no later than May. We will let you all know more as soon as we are notified.
Jon and I start the month off with Jon in San Antonio, TX just overnight and then on to a Wedding. We have plans to attend an event to benefit Primary Children’s Hospital a Christmas Homes Tour and our annual attendance to see the play A Christmas Carol. We have been so blessed and we have so much to be thankful for this year. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season. May you all be safe, healthy and prosperous in the New Year. We hope to see or hear from you all soon. We love and miss you all.
Love,
Jon and Diana
December 25, 2005
Christmas Day was very nice, Jon and I spent a quiet relaxing day with Kimba and Tigger. We had a very nice Christmas dinner.
December 29, 2005
My parents Carlos and Rosie came to visit for a week. We had a great New Year's Eve dinner at Sampan Chinese Restaurant and then went home to hang out and celebrate the New Year! Unfortunately I became very ill with the flu so Dad and Mom had several outings out alone.
January 7, 2006
Jon and I took Mom and Dad out to celebrate Mom's birthday at Spencer's Steakhouse and then home to have cake and ice cream.
January 8, 2006
We said goodbye to Dad and Mom as they flew home to California.
January 15, 2006
Jon and I attend the Auto Show. This is always really nice to get out and see what is new on the market.
Dear Family and Friends,
The holiday season has finally arrived. Where has the year gone? It seems as though the months have just flown by. Jon and I are doing quite well and the weather here is beginning to get cold. On November 27, we had our first snowfall of the season. What a beautiful sight!
Jon and I started our year off with a visit from my parents Rosie and Carlos. We celebrated my mother’s birthday tubing which was her one birthday request, that evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner out and of course plenty of cake! Jon and I took our passport photos a requirement for our adoption process. Rumor has it The China Center of Adoption Affairs Office (matching room) will place our passport photos on a computer screen and then match us up to babies they think have similar features to us. I am not really sure if this is accurate so I really wanted our passport photos to look great! They did not turn out too bad and Jon’s looks really good. He chose a beautiful blue sweater (my favorite) which really brought out the blue in his eyes. I wore a red sweater. The color red means luck or good fortune. So let us keep our fingers crossed.
The month of February was wonderful! We completed all of our required documents for our adoption and finally felt a sense of completion. We started the adoption process, June of 2004. Jon and I went out to celebrate by having a really nice dinner at the Melting pot, a fondue style restaurant. Do not go there hungry as it takes a long time to cook your meal. The month of March was really nice as we attended Matthew Resnick, one of Jon’s best friends sons Barmitzvah in California. This was my first attendance at a Barmitzvah and all I can say is I cannot remember when I have had that much fun! We had the opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and visit my family, visit with Jon’s mother Ruth and friends as well.
In April we submitted our dossier (compiled documents) to China. The process of gathering paperwork for the adoption has taken up all of my time and is at times very stressful. Jon and I took a trip to Las Vegas as he attended his annual RTNDA and NAB, Radio Television News Directors Association Conference. While Jon attended the convention I enjoyed shopping, visiting all the sites and just relaxing. Jon had free time after the convention so we spent the extra few days with my parents who drove to Las Vegas. We missed visiting with our close friend’s the Ross Family on this visit. At the end of April we almost lost our cat Kimba, a.k.a. “Kimmy”. He was diagnosed with Renal Disease. Fortunately, Kimmy is still with us and doing quite well. Kimmy seems to have surprised us all including his Doctor. We take advantage of all the love and pets we can share with him for as long as we can. It seems as though he may still have a few more lives in him.
During the month of May, Jon and I attended the Race for the Cure run/walk. We had a lot of fun. What an amazing site to see so many people out to support family and friends. After the event Jon took me out to a really nice brunch as it was also my birthday that day.
In June, we attended our first China Informational Meeting through our adoption agency. We met many other adoptive families in the process including one who will travel with us to China. We spent the summer attending several outdoor events and a few visits to the Snow Cone Shack. Jon and I had the opportunity to visit This is the Place Heritage Park, a historical location in Utah. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about Utahs first Mormon Pioneer settlers and the history of how they came to live in Utah. The historical homes were amazing to see. We will definitely return to see and learn much more in the future. Jon and I were amazed to find America's First Department Store located at Heritage Park. Jon knew I could not resist not making a purchase. I mean how could I go there and not find a little keepsake, its historical! My big purchase was a small sheep made of wood and wool. I love sheep! It sits on our shelf in our office as we collect things from all over the world during our travels.
July was filled with activities, in addition to a lot of time spent tending to my garden which I enjoy in the summer months. In return we had beautiful flowers this year that were eaten by deer that come down from the mountains looking for food. Fourth of July was a blast. We attended the “Hot Rockn Fourth Event” hosted by ABC4, Jon’s station. We had a wonderful day. We attended our first Stingers Baseball Game. Jon was offered VIP tickets in the Clear Channel Suite. What a nice way to enjoy the game as it was a very warm day not to mention have the suite to ourselves.
I went for a visit to California to visit my family and my brother Danny, who flew out from Michigan with his children Logan and Morgan. This was Logan and Morgan’s first visit to California since they are now old enough to remember the trip. I was able to visit with Ruth and spent the rest of my time going to Disneyland, Long Beach Aquarium, and attending family gatherings. It was really difficult to say goodbye. Jon and I had just enough time to spend a few hours together in California before I returned home. Jon had just arrived from Salt Lake as he stayed home to take care of our cat Kimmy. Kimmy requires a lot of care along with Sub Q fluid injections, which is similar to an IV.
Jon made a special guest appearance at an awards dinner honoring his close friend Legendary News Reporter Stan Chambers. Jon worked with Stan for 12 years at KTLA and they covered many notable news stories together. He thoroughly enjoyed his visit with some of his friends/and old co-workers. Jon was able to visit with his mother Ruth and visit with a few close friends.
The month of August came and went so quickly. Jon and I went to the annual Kimball Arts Festival held in Park City. We love to get out and enjoy the sun and see beautiful one of a kind pieces of art in a picturesque environment and listen to music. We had an evening out at the Hale Centre Theatre and saw an amazing performance of 42nd Street! All I have to say is our feet wanted to keep dancing as we left the theatre.
In September we gathered with our neighbors for our first block party and outdoor BBQ. We had a great time and enjoyed meeting our newest neighbors. Jon and I went to see Utah’s Healing Field. This was a beautiful memorial flag display where every flag is in memory of all the people who lost there lives on September 11 at the World Trade Center. This was a beautiful amazing and serene display. We were overcome by emotions that no words can possibly describe. Jon received excellent news that his News Department won three of the top Emmy Awards for Best Newscast, Best Team Coverage and Best Live Reporting. In addition to the station’s awards he was given yet another Emmy Award of his own to display on his Trophy shelf at home. This is his 12th to proudly display.
The month of October was filled with activities once again. Jon and I had Fall Portraits taken this year. I had a vision of vibrant red leaves, unfortunately on the day we took our photos it snowed in the mountains and our photos instead had yellow leaves and snow on the ground. Not quite what we had expected. I flew out to California for a short visit with family, my last trip of the year. We went to another China Informational Meeting, which covered our trip to China and what to expect. I decorated the entire house for Halloween and did more than usual this year. Jon and I spent time going to the Pumkin Patch and finding just the right pumkins. This year we had no snow on the ground and the weather was warmer than in the past, so there were more children Trick or Treating than usual. We almost ran out of candy, so Jon came to the rescue by going to the store to buy any candy he could find.
November is the beginning of our holiday season and we start the month off by attending another one of our monthly China Informational Meetings. Jon and I attended the MDA Toast To Life Black-tie event. It was a wonderful evening of beautiful music, a silent auction, various restaurant appetizers, fabulous drinks and excellent deserts. Jon’s favorite was the chocolate dipped strawberries. Jon has been so busy with work and rating sweeps he hasn’t done much else lately. Occasionally he has the opportunity to catch up on some quiet time by reading just for fun.
I had my first Cyber Baby Shower with friends I have met online through the various China groups. I have joined eleven China groups! I spend my time reading up on China and trying to learn Mandarin Chinese. I join my China groups daily to add support or learn from other adoptive parents in the process and those who have adopted before and try to prepare for our trip. I joined a Secret Pal gift exchange for a few months and finally found out who my secret pal was during our cyber shower. She lives in Minnesota. Many of the other adoptive mothers find waiting to hear from China about they’re daughters very difficult as there have been unexpected delays in this process. Notification and pictures of our daughters has seemed to slow down much more than we have all expected. Many of the other adoptive mothers do not have family or close friends in the state they live in, so we all got together to have a baby shower. What fun!
I spent a little time joining a small three dollar gift swap after the cyber shower with many of the other adoptive mothers. The theme was pink. The gift could be hand made or purchased but had to be pink and should cost no more than three dollars. This gift could be for mother or baby. I found this very challenging. Do you know what you can purchase for three dollars today?? I went a little over the three dollars and purchased pink metal bookmarks. We are all reading a lot these days so I thought this would come in handy. Every day I continue to receive small packages filled with beautifully crafted note cards and gifts.
The month ended with in Jon’s words as “the best Turkey he has eaten in years”. I am not sure what he meant by that as I changed my receipe this year slightly and I make turkey a couple of times a year. We had yet another excellent sit down Thanksgiving meal with a lot to be thankful for. For desert we went to the D’Antuono's house (Jon's boss) and had a wonderful evening. What a great way to spend Thanksgiving day.
We have so many other events took place this year we could not possibly fit into this letter. We had many gatherings with friends. Jon and I had several visits to the Chiropractor this year and are both doing excellent now. My badly injured sprained ankle from last year has finally just about healed. Today, Jon and I are off to a new start trying to eat a lot healthier and exercising. It is a good thing since we are about to start the Christmas Season. So many fun events are planned for this month. Jon is off to San Antonio, TX, and South Carolina for work. I will keep busy painting the house, completing my Christmas shopping and doing various crafts, and not to mention all the baking for my neighbors.
At this point, as you all are probably wondering, we have not heard anything about our adoptive children. We had hoped to be notified before Christmas but unfortunately The China Center of Adoption Affairs has slowed down on sending out referrals. We do not expect to be notified until sometime next year with travel expected no later than May. We will let you all know more as soon as we are notified.
Jon and I start the month off with Jon in San Antonio, TX just overnight and then on to a Wedding. We have plans to attend an event to benefit Primary Children’s Hospital a Christmas Homes Tour and our annual attendance to see the play A Christmas Carol. We have been so blessed and we have so much to be thankful for this year. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season. May you all be safe, healthy and prosperous in the New Year. We hope to see or hear from you all soon. We love and miss you all.
Love,
Jon and Diana
December 25, 2005
Christmas Day was very nice, Jon and I spent a quiet relaxing day with Kimba and Tigger. We had a very nice Christmas dinner.
December 29, 2005
My parents Carlos and Rosie came to visit for a week. We had a great New Year's Eve dinner at Sampan Chinese Restaurant and then went home to hang out and celebrate the New Year! Unfortunately I became very ill with the flu so Dad and Mom had several outings out alone.
January 7, 2006
Jon and I took Mom and Dad out to celebrate Mom's birthday at Spencer's Steakhouse and then home to have cake and ice cream.
January 8, 2006
We said goodbye to Dad and Mom as they flew home to California.
January 15, 2006
Jon and I attend the Auto Show. This is always really nice to get out and see what is new on the market.
ADOPTION TIMELINE
June 14, 2004 - Monday
Started placing calls to adoption agencies inquiring about international adoption.
June 17, 2004 - Thursday
Jon talked to Barbara Smith regarding recommendations for adoption agencies. Barb forwards an e-mail to Jon recommending Wasatch International Adoption. I begin to place phone calls on Wasatch International Adoptions with the Better Business Bureau, US Consulates Office, etc.
June 20, 2004 - Sunday
Wasatch International Adoption Agency came highly recommended. We are choosing WIA as our agency. I start researching all countries Wasatch (WIA) works with for international adoptions. Jon and I are considering China and Ukraine. I begin to research both countries online.
June 21, 2004 - Monday
I phoned our adoption agency regarding questions I had about the adoption process. Kathy Junk will mail out an adoption information packet. I inform Kathy, Jon and I will have a decision as to which country we will adopt from when we return from visiting our family in California.
June 22, 2004 - Tuesday
I received the Wasatch adoption packet. Jon and I are discussing our options and which country we feel is best for us at this time. I am 98% sure we will be choosing to adopt from Ukraine due to Jon's family history.
June 24, 2004 - Thursday
I received another e-mail from Kathy answering questions I had for the Ukrainian facilitator.
June 25, 2004 - Friday
Jon and I fly to California and we decide on the airplane we will adopt from Ukraine.
June 27, 2004 - Saturday
I receive another e-mail from Kathy regarding answers from the Ukrainian facilitator.
June 28, 2004 - Monday
I visit with one of my best friends Norma and she gives me many books on adoption and also includes an older copy of a Baby name book.
July 1, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I purchased a new updated baby name book in California to take with us on the airplane ride home. We try to create a list of names we both like.
July 7, 2004 - Wednesday
I filled out the adoption application as much as I could. I need additional information from Jon.
July 8, 2004 - Thursday
Completed adoption application with Jon as additional financial statements were required. Wrote a check for adoption application fee.
July 9, 2004 - Friday
I mailed adoption application to WIA.
July 18, 2004 - Sunday
I create a list of questions I have for our adoption agency regarding the home study documentation required.
July 21, 2004 - Wednesday
I went to the Bank and got a cashiers check. This check is for our Program Fee and Home Study Fee. The Bank teller issued three cashiers checks as he kept typing the name of the adoption agency wrong. Jon said he will handle making copies of Service Contract/Adoptive Parents Agreement Contract after we have it notarized. I phoned Fed Ex and set up an account for all transactions. Scheduled a pick up for tomorrow morning.
July 22, 2004 - Thursday
I went to Kinko’s to make copies of all contract agreements as Jon did not copy documents properly and part of the documents were missing. This flipped me out a bit as I thought I was having a nice morning taking it easy with my cup of coffee double checking documents to be mailed out. I had one sip of coffee and realized there was a problem. I quickly changed Fed Ex pick up to late afternoon and rushed to Kinko’s to make copies again. I went to Staples and purchased storage container to keep all adoption documents in one place. I went to Target and purchased more office supplies for adoption.
Reviewed and assembled documents and found a couple of boxes not marked on contract I quickly took care of this on all copies. This has taught me to triple check everything! Fed Ex came and picked up documents on time.
July 25, 2004 - Sunday
Jon and I go to lunch and decide to purchase more items for adoption. We went to Office Max and purchased a fax, copier and scanner all in one. Jon and I drive to Best Buy. Jon wants to purchase a new hard drive adding additional memory to our computer.
July 26, 2004 - Monday
I went online to print information out on California’s requirements for obtaining certified copies of birth certificates and Jon's divorce decree. I place a call to County Clerk's Office in California but no one answers they must have gone home for the day, I’ll try again tomorrow. I printe out information on how to obtain a certified copy of our Marriage Certificate from Las Vegas, Nevada online.
July 27, 2004 - Tuesday
This morning Jon is connecting our all in one fax, copier and scanner for me. I am ready to start copying documents required for Home Study. Jon mentioned there’s a problem with our laptop as there is not enough memory on the hard drive to fully install the machine. He can set it up temporarily for me to use. I suggest he purchase the new hard drive today online and have it delivered to us. He could not find the hard drive he wanted when we were at Best Buy on Sunday.
I phoned LA County Records Archive Department regarding requirements for copies of Jon’s divorce decree. I double check to see whose signature from adoption agency rep. accepted the Fed Ex package I mailed out on Thursday. Package was unable to be delivered overnight as agency was closed for Utah Pioneer Day (Holiday). When viewing Fed Ex info. I discovered Fed Ex charged Jon’s work for my package even though I crossed out all information and placed my own account numbers on label. They seem to track all labels. I place a call to Fed Ex to change make an address change on my personal account as there was a problem when they set up the account. I spoke to a Fed Ex Rep. who stated she could not change billing information to my account and that Jon’s work will have to be billed for my package and only then can his work call and ask that Jon and I be charged for this package.
Called Jon up and left a message informing on Fed Ex package and to speak to company rep. in Billing Dept. and have them notify him when they get charged for this.
August 1, 2004 - Monday
Phoned Dr.’s office to schedule an appointment to have medical certificates notarized and start vaccinations required for international travel. Phoned six different traveling notaries, left messages.
August 2, 2004 - Tuesday
I phoned a few more Notaries. I continue to read adoption training manuel.
August 3, 2004 - Wednesday
Two Notaries called back. I scheduled an appointment to meet with one Notary at Dr.’s office tomorrow.
August 4, 2004 - Thursday
I had a Dr.’s appointment to have four medical certificates notarized. Traveling Notary met me at the office.
August 5, 2004 - Friday
I faxed over notarized copies of medical certificate to WIA. I make extra copies of packing list requirements and continue to read the training manual.
I phone Fed Ex and schedule a pick up to mail out request for Jon’s certified copy of his divorce decree.
August 10, 2004 - Tuesday
Phoned Dianne Squires at Wasatch, I have questions regarding my medical certificate. I faxed over copies for Dianne to review. I had problems with the traveling notary. The Notary did not sign documents, smudged notary stamp and placed papers on water. I wrote my name in backwards on the documents. Per Dianne, the medical certificate needs to be redone. All 4 copies are inaccurate. I typed up a new medical certificate including notary jurat language and some minor changes Wasatch requested on form.
From here on out all our new Notary is Ida Anderson, a co-worker of Jons. Ida is so kind to help us out wtih all documents, she has been so helpful to us and has made our lives a lot easier.
I phoned Department of Health regarding Ukrainian vaccinations and left a message for someone to call me back.
August 26, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I have our first Home Study meeting with our social worker Donna.
August 27, 2004 - Friday
Today we have our first appointment at the Department of Health Travel Clinic for our first round of vaccinations. Jon gets five shots and I get three shots.
September 1, 2004 - Wednesday
Jon and I have our second Home Study meeting. Jon has his interview with Donna.
September 2, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I go to the Police Department to get manual fingerprints taken. We discover I have unique fingerprints. My prints are considered rare and are more round. I always knew I was different.
September 9, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I have our third Home Study meeting. I have my interview with Donna.
September 28, 2004 - Tuesday
Jon gets two shots from the travel clinic and I get two shots today.
October 11, 2004 - Monday
Jon and I have our fourth Home Study meeting.
October 29, 2004 - Friday
We received a letter from Wasatch re: changes taking place in Ukraine and two adoptive families coming home without children. Wasatch has asked adoptive families to seriously reconsider Ukraine program and choose another country. Jon and I are very saddened by the news although China was my first choice. I was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable with the way things were going in Ukraine. Some how I feel a relief from all of this. I had a talk with Jon 2 months ago and seriously had doubts about the Ukrainian program and that perhaps we should seriously reconsider continuing on with Ukraine.
Jon and I take the weekend to phone Dianne and talk with her about our decision. We immediately decide we will change countries to China and I’m anxious to start this as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, WIA is closed on the weekend. We wait till Monday morning.
CHINA
November 4, 2004 - Thursday
Today I receive the new China Training Manual along with China contracts to sign and return to Wasatch. I am overwhelmed when I realize after 4 months and 15 days into this process we have to start all over again with new documents. China was my first choice and I realize so many times adoptive parents have stated just as they started to make the decision to adopt their children were being born at the time they started the process.
November 9, 2004 - Tuesday
Jon and I signed China Adoptive Parents Contract and mail signed contract to Wasatch.
December 3, 2004 - Friday
I receive a phone call from Patricia at WIA and find out Jon’s FBI fingerprints have been denied. His prints were smudged and a new set has been mailed to FBI. My FBI Investigation has been approved after 3 months and is on its way to Wasatch. We do not know if Jon’s prints will take another three months or not. Hopefully not, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for good luck.
December 27, 2004 - Monday
Today I feel like I have made a little progress. I have been feeling very stressed out and have not had much time to focus on adoption paperwork with Christmas. Now that its all over I am starting over again. Today, I have made calls to the Travel Clinic to double check on any additional vaccinations that may be required for travel to China. I received a call back from Holly and there are no other vaccinations required.
I phoned our local Police Department re: Good conduct letters for Jon and myself. Drove to Police Department and received letters and notarization for free! I phoned my Dr.’s office re: third medical certificate to be completed, again. Due to change in countries she has to do the form one more time. My appointment is scheduled for January 3, 2004. I have typed up the personal application letter to the China Adoption Center and faxed to Kathy Kaiser to review before I have it notarized. I have typed up my Non-Employment letter to have it notarized.
I went to Staples and I have purchased more office supplies and plastic bins to separate China from Ukraine paperwork. What a mess I feel like I want to pull my hair out!
December 30, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I receive a phone call from our social worker Donna, she informs us Jon’s FBI Investigation and approval paperwork arrived. Yeah! What an accomplishment this feels like and were not even half way there yet.
Jon and I have our fifth Home Study meeting.
December 31, 2004 - Friday
I work on reorganizing paperwork. I feel so much better I am almost done having everything organized and in one file. I discovered the I-17H INS paperwork and fingerprints last round will take about 2 – 3 months to get back. I think I can get all documents authenticated by various States before doing the final step.
January 2, 2005 - Sunday
Today I work on more paperwork. I finish reorganizing all of the adoption files from Ukraine to China. I work on gathering all documentation required for home study and INS Immigration documentation.
January 11, 2005 - Tuesday
Jon and I have our last Home Study meeting.
January 21, 2005 - Friday
I Fed Ex’d marriage license and birth certificates to Kathy at Wasatch Int’l Adoptions.
January 22, 2005 - Saturday
Jon and I get current passport photos.
January 24, 2005 - Monday
Home Study is returned to us completed. Unfortunately, it needs to be revised.
January 25, 2005 - Tuesday
I picked up a passport renewal application form from post office today for Jon’s passport.
January 26, 2005 - Wednesday
I phoned Wasatch and left Kathy a message to call me back. I spent most of the day making good quality copies of Jon’s divorce decree. We received revised final Home Study from Donna.
January 27, 2005 - Thursday
I phoned Kathy at Wasatch re: Invoice dated Jan. 26, 2005. I wanted to know if marriage certificate was sent to Nevada and birth certificates for Jon and I mailed to California as invoice was typed showing birth certificates were mailed to Nevada. Kathy stated invoice was typed wrong but documents were mailed to the right place.
I asked if Jon’s divorce decree should be mailed for authentication. It does not. I just found out I have an old manual and a new updated version will be mailed to me. I found out Letters of Good Conduct from Police Department must be individual letters for Jon and myself. I have to go to the Police Department and have the letters done again. I asked Kathy if a copy of the Home Study can be mailed to USCIS and she stated it cannot and we need to mail an original. I told Kathy I will mail an original revised updated Home Study to Wasatch tomorrow along with the check for Invoice. Kathy will mail out new updated manual.
I should just plan on doing everything at least three or four times and I will be ok. I keep reminding myself I am getting closer to completing all of this paperwork. After all I have done, I have read two training manuals for two different countries what is one more with an updated version. This paperwork is driving me crazy!
January 28, 2005 - Friday
I mailed out USCIS application today.
February 2, 2005 - Wednesday
I received new revised China Manual from our adoption agency. I made copies for the Police Department letters of Good Conduct to be revised. Placed post-it notes all over new revised China Manual so that I can quickly look up sections in the manual easily. We received a letter from the United States Department of Homeland Security. Our documents have been logged and they processed our paperwork today.
February 3, 2005 - Thursday
I drove to the Police Department to get revised Letters of Good Conduct.
February 9, 2005 - Wednesday
I received notification from the United States Department of Homeland Security to go for final FBI fingerprints. Processing time is approximately 30 – 45 days from receipt of all paperwork.
February 12, 2005 - Saturday
We had our USCIS fingerprint appointment today. This is our last fingerprint appointment.
February 15, 2005 - Tuesday
I faxed all documentation to Kathy at Wasatch to check before submitting to State of Utah, in order to obtain State seals on all our paperwork for dossier. Jon printed out photos of our home and ourselves for our dossier.
February 16, 2005 - Wednesday
I reprinted our photos of our formal living room and formal dining room. Jon found a typo under our photos as he printed out explanations of what each room was. I went to the Bank to get a money order for “State of Utah”. This money order is to have our documents authenticated. Dianne at Wasatch phoned to say all of our documents are ok to submit to the State of Utah.
I noticed our Home Study and Application Letter to China did not state if we wanted healthy children or special needs. I re-typed our application letter to China. I reviewed all documents and I noticed my non-employment letter was wrong as year and the year the Notary signed does not match. Jon reprinted the non-employment letter again. I will get this document notarized tomorrow. I made a copy of money order I will give to the State for Authentication of all documents. I double checked all documents before I submit our documents to the State of Utah.
February 17, 2005 - Thursday
I made two copies of my non-employment letter after I had it notarized. I drove to the State of Utah Authentication's office to have all our documents authenticated. Spencer in the office of Fran Fish, State of Utah Authentication Office was very helpful and friendly not to mention quick! I drove all my documents with State seals to our adoptions agency. I am so happy as I only have one more document that need to be driven up to our agency and I am done with all paperwork and we can submit dossier to China. We are awaiting I-171H approving all background clearances from the FBI.
February 23, 2005 - Wednesday
Our documents are now at the China Embassy awaiting seals.
February 28, 2005 - Monday
Jon and I have our last round of shots at the travel clinic. Jon gets one shot and I get one shot. We are now officially done with shots. Today I feel one step closer to meeting our daughters.
March 9, 2005 - Wednesday
I received letter from USCIS stating we need to resubmit front and back of marriage certificate. It seems my original document was lost. I quickly grabbed one of our original marriage certificates and drove to the post office by 4:30 pm to Fed-Ex this to USCIS office. I had a whole five minutes to spare before Fed-Ex made the final pick up for the evening.
March 10, 2005 - Thursday
USCIS received our Fed-Ex envelope at 10:00 am.
March 31, 2005 - Thursday
Its finally arrived! We received the I-171H and this is our last document to get a Utah State Seal. We are finished submitting all documents for our dossier. What an exciting day! This day is one of our best days. It makes things seem so much closer to meeting our children. It has been 9 months and five days of doing paperwork.
April 1, 2005 - Friday
I go to the Bank and get a money order for State of Utah Authentication. I make a copy of the money order. Jon and I went to Authentication's office to get State seal on I-171H. Jon and I drive this last document to our adoption agency. We took some photos of our paperwork but we’ll drive back to WIAA once the I-171H comes back to the agency with all official seals. At 3:00 pm adoption agency Fed-Ex’d our document to Washington, D.C.
April 4, 2005 - Monday
I-171H is in Washington, D.C today.
April 5, 2005 - Tuesday
Our I-171H should be getting its state seal.
April 6, 2005 - Wednesday
I-171H should be at the China Embassy getting the state seal.
April 12, 2005 - Tuesday
I-171H returns to WIAA with all state seals. Jon and I drive to our adoption agency to take pictures of our completed dossier. This means all documents have been done and we can submit these documents to Sabrina Chang, WIAA office in California to translate a letter in Mandarin Chinese, then this letter and our entire dossier goes to China. What an exciting day! Jon and I go out to dinner at PF Changs to celebrate the official occasion.
April 13, 2005 - Wednesday
DTC (Dossier to China) Nine months and 18 days to complete dossier and submit paperwork to China.
April 16, 2005 - Saturday
Our dossier arrives in China today.
April 20, 2005 - Wednesday
Dossier takes 3 days to get to China by courier. Its official. Jon and I celebrate with my parents in Las Vegas by having dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The food is so good we never order desert. We were in Las Vegas for an annual convention Jon attends.
April 21, 2005 - Thursday
Jon and I receive an invitation to attend our adoption agency’s China Presentation from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. We attend and what a turn out. We had a presentation, got to know some families who will be traveling with us and talk to other adoptive parents at various stages in the adoption process. We had lunch and then the China Facilitator discussed preparations we need to make for our trip to China. Everyone had a great time. Approximately, fifty adoptive parents attended this meeting.
April 26, 2005 - Tuesday
Today is officially 10 days our documents have been in China waiting in the decontamination room.
May 12, 2005 - Thursday
China dossier logged in today. Yeah! We are finally logged in and the paperwork is finally in China. We have approximately seven more months to go before we get to see photos of our children.
June 20, 2005 - Monday
Today is officially one year from when Jon and I decided we were going to adopt using Wasatch as our adoption agency. I would never have imagined it would have taken so long processing papers just to get to this point.
August 22, 2005 - Monday
Jon and I go to the Post Office to mail out his passport for renewal.
September 24, 2005
Jon and I attend our adoption agencies China informational meeting on the trip to China and what to pack. We have a great meeting!
September 28, 2005 - Wednesday
Jon and I have a discussion about his passport and what happened to it. We do not remember who had kept the paperwork and I think I did but I do not know for sure. We seem to have misplaced this paperwork and receipt. Jon asks me if I received the certified mail card and I do not remember receiving it. Tomorrow morning I will go on the hunt for paperwork.
September 29, 2005 - Thursday
I go looking for Jon's passport receipts from the Post Office. I realize it is stamped received by some Bank. I go online and input Jon’s information into the government website system and it does not show being received. I call the passport office and discover there is a problem with them approving his passport but we do not know why as they will not give me the information. I am told to have Jon call their office and they will tell him over the telephone what he needs to do.
As I have mentioned before triple check everything. Maybe this sounds crazy to do this but I think excessively checking the documentation is probably a safe thing to do. If I had not called the passport office I would not have known there was a problem. They never sent us a letter. It is a good thing we were not in a hurry. I left Jon a message on his cell phone to call the passport center and handle this and I left him all the information he needs to do so. I send an e-mail request to the US Embassy in Guangzhou regarding our brown envelope.
Jon phoned National Passport Center regarding his passport. He discovered he did not sign the request. He will go to the post office obtain a second form sign it and mail it out as soon as possible.
Started placing calls to adoption agencies inquiring about international adoption.
June 17, 2004 - Thursday
Jon talked to Barbara Smith regarding recommendations for adoption agencies. Barb forwards an e-mail to Jon recommending Wasatch International Adoption. I begin to place phone calls on Wasatch International Adoptions with the Better Business Bureau, US Consulates Office, etc.
June 20, 2004 - Sunday
Wasatch International Adoption Agency came highly recommended. We are choosing WIA as our agency. I start researching all countries Wasatch (WIA) works with for international adoptions. Jon and I are considering China and Ukraine. I begin to research both countries online.
June 21, 2004 - Monday
I phoned our adoption agency regarding questions I had about the adoption process. Kathy Junk will mail out an adoption information packet. I inform Kathy, Jon and I will have a decision as to which country we will adopt from when we return from visiting our family in California.
June 22, 2004 - Tuesday
I received the Wasatch adoption packet. Jon and I are discussing our options and which country we feel is best for us at this time. I am 98% sure we will be choosing to adopt from Ukraine due to Jon's family history.
June 24, 2004 - Thursday
I received another e-mail from Kathy answering questions I had for the Ukrainian facilitator.
June 25, 2004 - Friday
Jon and I fly to California and we decide on the airplane we will adopt from Ukraine.
June 27, 2004 - Saturday
I receive another e-mail from Kathy regarding answers from the Ukrainian facilitator.
June 28, 2004 - Monday
I visit with one of my best friends Norma and she gives me many books on adoption and also includes an older copy of a Baby name book.
July 1, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I purchased a new updated baby name book in California to take with us on the airplane ride home. We try to create a list of names we both like.
July 7, 2004 - Wednesday
I filled out the adoption application as much as I could. I need additional information from Jon.
July 8, 2004 - Thursday
Completed adoption application with Jon as additional financial statements were required. Wrote a check for adoption application fee.
July 9, 2004 - Friday
I mailed adoption application to WIA.
July 18, 2004 - Sunday
I create a list of questions I have for our adoption agency regarding the home study documentation required.
July 21, 2004 - Wednesday
I went to the Bank and got a cashiers check. This check is for our Program Fee and Home Study Fee. The Bank teller issued three cashiers checks as he kept typing the name of the adoption agency wrong. Jon said he will handle making copies of Service Contract/Adoptive Parents Agreement Contract after we have it notarized. I phoned Fed Ex and set up an account for all transactions. Scheduled a pick up for tomorrow morning.
July 22, 2004 - Thursday
I went to Kinko’s to make copies of all contract agreements as Jon did not copy documents properly and part of the documents were missing. This flipped me out a bit as I thought I was having a nice morning taking it easy with my cup of coffee double checking documents to be mailed out. I had one sip of coffee and realized there was a problem. I quickly changed Fed Ex pick up to late afternoon and rushed to Kinko’s to make copies again. I went to Staples and purchased storage container to keep all adoption documents in one place. I went to Target and purchased more office supplies for adoption.
Reviewed and assembled documents and found a couple of boxes not marked on contract I quickly took care of this on all copies. This has taught me to triple check everything! Fed Ex came and picked up documents on time.
July 25, 2004 - Sunday
Jon and I go to lunch and decide to purchase more items for adoption. We went to Office Max and purchased a fax, copier and scanner all in one. Jon and I drive to Best Buy. Jon wants to purchase a new hard drive adding additional memory to our computer.
July 26, 2004 - Monday
I went online to print information out on California’s requirements for obtaining certified copies of birth certificates and Jon's divorce decree. I place a call to County Clerk's Office in California but no one answers they must have gone home for the day, I’ll try again tomorrow. I printe out information on how to obtain a certified copy of our Marriage Certificate from Las Vegas, Nevada online.
July 27, 2004 - Tuesday
This morning Jon is connecting our all in one fax, copier and scanner for me. I am ready to start copying documents required for Home Study. Jon mentioned there’s a problem with our laptop as there is not enough memory on the hard drive to fully install the machine. He can set it up temporarily for me to use. I suggest he purchase the new hard drive today online and have it delivered to us. He could not find the hard drive he wanted when we were at Best Buy on Sunday.
I phoned LA County Records Archive Department regarding requirements for copies of Jon’s divorce decree. I double check to see whose signature from adoption agency rep. accepted the Fed Ex package I mailed out on Thursday. Package was unable to be delivered overnight as agency was closed for Utah Pioneer Day (Holiday). When viewing Fed Ex info. I discovered Fed Ex charged Jon’s work for my package even though I crossed out all information and placed my own account numbers on label. They seem to track all labels. I place a call to Fed Ex to change make an address change on my personal account as there was a problem when they set up the account. I spoke to a Fed Ex Rep. who stated she could not change billing information to my account and that Jon’s work will have to be billed for my package and only then can his work call and ask that Jon and I be charged for this package.
Called Jon up and left a message informing on Fed Ex package and to speak to company rep. in Billing Dept. and have them notify him when they get charged for this.
August 1, 2004 - Monday
Phoned Dr.’s office to schedule an appointment to have medical certificates notarized and start vaccinations required for international travel. Phoned six different traveling notaries, left messages.
August 2, 2004 - Tuesday
I phoned a few more Notaries. I continue to read adoption training manuel.
August 3, 2004 - Wednesday
Two Notaries called back. I scheduled an appointment to meet with one Notary at Dr.’s office tomorrow.
August 4, 2004 - Thursday
I had a Dr.’s appointment to have four medical certificates notarized. Traveling Notary met me at the office.
August 5, 2004 - Friday
I faxed over notarized copies of medical certificate to WIA. I make extra copies of packing list requirements and continue to read the training manual.
I phone Fed Ex and schedule a pick up to mail out request for Jon’s certified copy of his divorce decree.
August 10, 2004 - Tuesday
Phoned Dianne Squires at Wasatch, I have questions regarding my medical certificate. I faxed over copies for Dianne to review. I had problems with the traveling notary. The Notary did not sign documents, smudged notary stamp and placed papers on water. I wrote my name in backwards on the documents. Per Dianne, the medical certificate needs to be redone. All 4 copies are inaccurate. I typed up a new medical certificate including notary jurat language and some minor changes Wasatch requested on form.
From here on out all our new Notary is Ida Anderson, a co-worker of Jons. Ida is so kind to help us out wtih all documents, she has been so helpful to us and has made our lives a lot easier.
I phoned Department of Health regarding Ukrainian vaccinations and left a message for someone to call me back.
August 26, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I have our first Home Study meeting with our social worker Donna.
August 27, 2004 - Friday
Today we have our first appointment at the Department of Health Travel Clinic for our first round of vaccinations. Jon gets five shots and I get three shots.
September 1, 2004 - Wednesday
Jon and I have our second Home Study meeting. Jon has his interview with Donna.
September 2, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I go to the Police Department to get manual fingerprints taken. We discover I have unique fingerprints. My prints are considered rare and are more round. I always knew I was different.
September 9, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I have our third Home Study meeting. I have my interview with Donna.
September 28, 2004 - Tuesday
Jon gets two shots from the travel clinic and I get two shots today.
October 11, 2004 - Monday
Jon and I have our fourth Home Study meeting.
October 29, 2004 - Friday
We received a letter from Wasatch re: changes taking place in Ukraine and two adoptive families coming home without children. Wasatch has asked adoptive families to seriously reconsider Ukraine program and choose another country. Jon and I are very saddened by the news although China was my first choice. I was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable with the way things were going in Ukraine. Some how I feel a relief from all of this. I had a talk with Jon 2 months ago and seriously had doubts about the Ukrainian program and that perhaps we should seriously reconsider continuing on with Ukraine.
Jon and I take the weekend to phone Dianne and talk with her about our decision. We immediately decide we will change countries to China and I’m anxious to start this as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, WIA is closed on the weekend. We wait till Monday morning.
CHINA
November 4, 2004 - Thursday
Today I receive the new China Training Manual along with China contracts to sign and return to Wasatch. I am overwhelmed when I realize after 4 months and 15 days into this process we have to start all over again with new documents. China was my first choice and I realize so many times adoptive parents have stated just as they started to make the decision to adopt their children were being born at the time they started the process.
November 9, 2004 - Tuesday
Jon and I signed China Adoptive Parents Contract and mail signed contract to Wasatch.
December 3, 2004 - Friday
I receive a phone call from Patricia at WIA and find out Jon’s FBI fingerprints have been denied. His prints were smudged and a new set has been mailed to FBI. My FBI Investigation has been approved after 3 months and is on its way to Wasatch. We do not know if Jon’s prints will take another three months or not. Hopefully not, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for good luck.
December 27, 2004 - Monday
Today I feel like I have made a little progress. I have been feeling very stressed out and have not had much time to focus on adoption paperwork with Christmas. Now that its all over I am starting over again. Today, I have made calls to the Travel Clinic to double check on any additional vaccinations that may be required for travel to China. I received a call back from Holly and there are no other vaccinations required.
I phoned our local Police Department re: Good conduct letters for Jon and myself. Drove to Police Department and received letters and notarization for free! I phoned my Dr.’s office re: third medical certificate to be completed, again. Due to change in countries she has to do the form one more time. My appointment is scheduled for January 3, 2004. I have typed up the personal application letter to the China Adoption Center and faxed to Kathy Kaiser to review before I have it notarized. I have typed up my Non-Employment letter to have it notarized.
I went to Staples and I have purchased more office supplies and plastic bins to separate China from Ukraine paperwork. What a mess I feel like I want to pull my hair out!
December 30, 2004 - Thursday
Jon and I receive a phone call from our social worker Donna, she informs us Jon’s FBI Investigation and approval paperwork arrived. Yeah! What an accomplishment this feels like and were not even half way there yet.
Jon and I have our fifth Home Study meeting.
December 31, 2004 - Friday
I work on reorganizing paperwork. I feel so much better I am almost done having everything organized and in one file. I discovered the I-17H INS paperwork and fingerprints last round will take about 2 – 3 months to get back. I think I can get all documents authenticated by various States before doing the final step.
January 2, 2005 - Sunday
Today I work on more paperwork. I finish reorganizing all of the adoption files from Ukraine to China. I work on gathering all documentation required for home study and INS Immigration documentation.
January 11, 2005 - Tuesday
Jon and I have our last Home Study meeting.
January 21, 2005 - Friday
I Fed Ex’d marriage license and birth certificates to Kathy at Wasatch Int’l Adoptions.
January 22, 2005 - Saturday
Jon and I get current passport photos.
January 24, 2005 - Monday
Home Study is returned to us completed. Unfortunately, it needs to be revised.
January 25, 2005 - Tuesday
I picked up a passport renewal application form from post office today for Jon’s passport.
January 26, 2005 - Wednesday
I phoned Wasatch and left Kathy a message to call me back. I spent most of the day making good quality copies of Jon’s divorce decree. We received revised final Home Study from Donna.
January 27, 2005 - Thursday
I phoned Kathy at Wasatch re: Invoice dated Jan. 26, 2005. I wanted to know if marriage certificate was sent to Nevada and birth certificates for Jon and I mailed to California as invoice was typed showing birth certificates were mailed to Nevada. Kathy stated invoice was typed wrong but documents were mailed to the right place.
I asked if Jon’s divorce decree should be mailed for authentication. It does not. I just found out I have an old manual and a new updated version will be mailed to me. I found out Letters of Good Conduct from Police Department must be individual letters for Jon and myself. I have to go to the Police Department and have the letters done again. I asked Kathy if a copy of the Home Study can be mailed to USCIS and she stated it cannot and we need to mail an original. I told Kathy I will mail an original revised updated Home Study to Wasatch tomorrow along with the check for Invoice. Kathy will mail out new updated manual.
I should just plan on doing everything at least three or four times and I will be ok. I keep reminding myself I am getting closer to completing all of this paperwork. After all I have done, I have read two training manuals for two different countries what is one more with an updated version. This paperwork is driving me crazy!
January 28, 2005 - Friday
I mailed out USCIS application today.
February 2, 2005 - Wednesday
I received new revised China Manual from our adoption agency. I made copies for the Police Department letters of Good Conduct to be revised. Placed post-it notes all over new revised China Manual so that I can quickly look up sections in the manual easily. We received a letter from the United States Department of Homeland Security. Our documents have been logged and they processed our paperwork today.
February 3, 2005 - Thursday
I drove to the Police Department to get revised Letters of Good Conduct.
February 9, 2005 - Wednesday
I received notification from the United States Department of Homeland Security to go for final FBI fingerprints. Processing time is approximately 30 – 45 days from receipt of all paperwork.
February 12, 2005 - Saturday
We had our USCIS fingerprint appointment today. This is our last fingerprint appointment.
February 15, 2005 - Tuesday
I faxed all documentation to Kathy at Wasatch to check before submitting to State of Utah, in order to obtain State seals on all our paperwork for dossier. Jon printed out photos of our home and ourselves for our dossier.
February 16, 2005 - Wednesday
I reprinted our photos of our formal living room and formal dining room. Jon found a typo under our photos as he printed out explanations of what each room was. I went to the Bank to get a money order for “State of Utah”. This money order is to have our documents authenticated. Dianne at Wasatch phoned to say all of our documents are ok to submit to the State of Utah.
I noticed our Home Study and Application Letter to China did not state if we wanted healthy children or special needs. I re-typed our application letter to China. I reviewed all documents and I noticed my non-employment letter was wrong as year and the year the Notary signed does not match. Jon reprinted the non-employment letter again. I will get this document notarized tomorrow. I made a copy of money order I will give to the State for Authentication of all documents. I double checked all documents before I submit our documents to the State of Utah.
February 17, 2005 - Thursday
I made two copies of my non-employment letter after I had it notarized. I drove to the State of Utah Authentication's office to have all our documents authenticated. Spencer in the office of Fran Fish, State of Utah Authentication Office was very helpful and friendly not to mention quick! I drove all my documents with State seals to our adoptions agency. I am so happy as I only have one more document that need to be driven up to our agency and I am done with all paperwork and we can submit dossier to China. We are awaiting I-171H approving all background clearances from the FBI.
February 23, 2005 - Wednesday
Our documents are now at the China Embassy awaiting seals.
February 28, 2005 - Monday
Jon and I have our last round of shots at the travel clinic. Jon gets one shot and I get one shot. We are now officially done with shots. Today I feel one step closer to meeting our daughters.
March 9, 2005 - Wednesday
I received letter from USCIS stating we need to resubmit front and back of marriage certificate. It seems my original document was lost. I quickly grabbed one of our original marriage certificates and drove to the post office by 4:30 pm to Fed-Ex this to USCIS office. I had a whole five minutes to spare before Fed-Ex made the final pick up for the evening.
March 10, 2005 - Thursday
USCIS received our Fed-Ex envelope at 10:00 am.
March 31, 2005 - Thursday
Its finally arrived! We received the I-171H and this is our last document to get a Utah State Seal. We are finished submitting all documents for our dossier. What an exciting day! This day is one of our best days. It makes things seem so much closer to meeting our children. It has been 9 months and five days of doing paperwork.
April 1, 2005 - Friday
I go to the Bank and get a money order for State of Utah Authentication. I make a copy of the money order. Jon and I went to Authentication's office to get State seal on I-171H. Jon and I drive this last document to our adoption agency. We took some photos of our paperwork but we’ll drive back to WIAA once the I-171H comes back to the agency with all official seals. At 3:00 pm adoption agency Fed-Ex’d our document to Washington, D.C.
April 4, 2005 - Monday
I-171H is in Washington, D.C today.
April 5, 2005 - Tuesday
Our I-171H should be getting its state seal.
April 6, 2005 - Wednesday
I-171H should be at the China Embassy getting the state seal.
April 12, 2005 - Tuesday
I-171H returns to WIAA with all state seals. Jon and I drive to our adoption agency to take pictures of our completed dossier. This means all documents have been done and we can submit these documents to Sabrina Chang, WIAA office in California to translate a letter in Mandarin Chinese, then this letter and our entire dossier goes to China. What an exciting day! Jon and I go out to dinner at PF Changs to celebrate the official occasion.
April 13, 2005 - Wednesday
DTC (Dossier to China) Nine months and 18 days to complete dossier and submit paperwork to China.
April 16, 2005 - Saturday
Our dossier arrives in China today.
April 20, 2005 - Wednesday
Dossier takes 3 days to get to China by courier. Its official. Jon and I celebrate with my parents in Las Vegas by having dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The food is so good we never order desert. We were in Las Vegas for an annual convention Jon attends.
April 21, 2005 - Thursday
Jon and I receive an invitation to attend our adoption agency’s China Presentation from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. We attend and what a turn out. We had a presentation, got to know some families who will be traveling with us and talk to other adoptive parents at various stages in the adoption process. We had lunch and then the China Facilitator discussed preparations we need to make for our trip to China. Everyone had a great time. Approximately, fifty adoptive parents attended this meeting.
April 26, 2005 - Tuesday
Today is officially 10 days our documents have been in China waiting in the decontamination room.
May 12, 2005 - Thursday
China dossier logged in today. Yeah! We are finally logged in and the paperwork is finally in China. We have approximately seven more months to go before we get to see photos of our children.
June 20, 2005 - Monday
Today is officially one year from when Jon and I decided we were going to adopt using Wasatch as our adoption agency. I would never have imagined it would have taken so long processing papers just to get to this point.
August 22, 2005 - Monday
Jon and I go to the Post Office to mail out his passport for renewal.
September 24, 2005
Jon and I attend our adoption agencies China informational meeting on the trip to China and what to pack. We have a great meeting!
September 28, 2005 - Wednesday
Jon and I have a discussion about his passport and what happened to it. We do not remember who had kept the paperwork and I think I did but I do not know for sure. We seem to have misplaced this paperwork and receipt. Jon asks me if I received the certified mail card and I do not remember receiving it. Tomorrow morning I will go on the hunt for paperwork.
September 29, 2005 - Thursday
I go looking for Jon's passport receipts from the Post Office. I realize it is stamped received by some Bank. I go online and input Jon’s information into the government website system and it does not show being received. I call the passport office and discover there is a problem with them approving his passport but we do not know why as they will not give me the information. I am told to have Jon call their office and they will tell him over the telephone what he needs to do.
As I have mentioned before triple check everything. Maybe this sounds crazy to do this but I think excessively checking the documentation is probably a safe thing to do. If I had not called the passport office I would not have known there was a problem. They never sent us a letter. It is a good thing we were not in a hurry. I left Jon a message on his cell phone to call the passport center and handle this and I left him all the information he needs to do so. I send an e-mail request to the US Embassy in Guangzhou regarding our brown envelope.
Jon phoned National Passport Center regarding his passport. He discovered he did not sign the request. He will go to the post office obtain a second form sign it and mail it out as soon as possible.
THE PAPERCHASE
Parents applying for international adoption must put together a "dossier," which is like an application containing all the information the country needs to assess your ability to be suitable parents for the child you wish to adopt. Each country has different requirements of what should be included in the dossier.
We had to get copies of our birth certificates, our marriage license, police criminal clearance forms and fingerprints, medical forms, employment verification forms, financial statements, a homestudy, and apply to immigration for permission to bring the child into the United States. If that is not complicated enough, almost all of these documents had to be notarized by a local notary who verifies that the documents are not forged. The documents must be sent to the State they came from to verify that the notary is really a notary. In our case our documents came from three states. Then the documents are sent to the Chinese Consulate so they can verify that the State official who verified the notary seal is authentic. Each of these documents must go through this process before you can send them on the the next step. Some documents you need before you can get other documents (for example, you need to have a copy of the homestudy before you can receive your immigration approval).
This paper chase takes a lot of coordinating and most of all patience. With every document there seems to require the need to have the document redone again and again. For example, Jon's medical certificate had to be redone twice and mine four times. We had to resubmit Jon's FBI fingerprints after waiting for three months as the first copy was smudged. The hardest part was waiting for our final piece of paper-- the approval from immigration. The wait for FBI Immigration took approximately (three and 1/2 months), since we did not live in the State of Utah for five years. Every state we lived in was researched.
After receiving our last piece of paper to complete our dossier we had this document notarized, drove to the State of Utah Authentication office to receive the official State Seal and then drove an hour away from home to our adoption agency to complete our dossier. This document was then sent by Fed Ex to Washington D.C. where it received another official seal and then was sent to the China Embassy to receive another official seal approving us to submit the document to China. We finished the rest of the steps necessary to complete our dossier, and drove to our adoption agency on March, 2004. On April 13, 2004 our agency mailed our dossier to China while we were in Las Vegas and this is our "DTC" (dossier-to-China) date. Once our dossier arrived in China it is placed in a decontamination room for approximately 7-10 days and then is taken out and logged in. Our LID (log-in-date), which is the date the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has logged-in our dossier and begins the review process is May 12, 2004. The DTC and LID dates are very important in determining where you are in the process and when your referral will come in. Your referral is the photo or photo's of your children. You will receive all medial information informing you of your child's name, age, date of birth, where they reside and miscellaneous information. This information will usually tell you if your child has teeth and how many or what there favorite toy is and if they can walk, etc. What an exciting day it is to receive your referral as that is the day you find out what your child looks like and where they live!
PHOTO OF CHINA & THE STORY OF THE RED THREAD
Southern Sichuan Provence, China
"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."
- An Ancient Chinese belief
ABOUT US
We are Jon and Diana and we live in Utah. We met while employed by American Broadcasting Company, Inc. in California. We have been together since our very first date, and have been happily married for over six years. When we met we knew we were meant to be together. Today our lives are filled with much love, laughter and happiness.
We began our adoption journey June, 2004. We changed countries in November, approximately five months into our adoption paperwork. The one part of our lives that seem to be missing is our daughters who are in China waiting for us to bring them home.
Jon is a Television Executive who has been in the business for over 30 years. He is extremely accomplished as a photographer and has one numerous awards for his work. He enjoys watching the History Channel and reading up on various subjects like cold fusion or counting the order of United States Presidents while in the shower first thing in the morning, just for fun! His passion is Television and Space Exploration. Jon's ultimate fantasy would be to go on a shuttle launch into space.
I am a certified Clinical Master Hypnotherapist. I currently stay at home and tend to the needs of my two cats Kimba and Tigger both males while preparing for our daughters arrival. I occupy my time learning Mandarin Chinese, catching up on the latest with my new friends on the Yahoo China group forums. I enjoy having a nice hot cup of coffee with my sister Theresa who lives in California every morning on the telephone. In addition, I spend my time gardening, scrapbooking, cooking, shopping and watching Soap Operas.
When Jon and I are together we like to spend our time doing various outdoor activities, attending social events, theatre, ballet, fine dining, going out to see the newest movies or just staying home and enjoying each other's company.
HELLO!
Welcome to our website about our journey to adopt our beautiful daughters from The People's Republic of China. This site was created to provide information to our family and friends, as well as to share our experience with our daughters when they are older.