Question answered

Question People ask or wonder about


Why is your adoption taking so long?

There is speculation that the child match process has slowed down this time due to the increasing popularity of Chinese adoptions. We don't know for sure. We do know that 100,000's of children are waiting in China for loving parents. Because of the nature of any international adoption, the timeframe may change, but we know that the China program is very strong and the safest international program.

What are the Qualifications To Adopt From China?

According to the Adoption Law of the People’s Republic of China, current Chinese government policies and practices, and U.S. immigration laws, you must meet the following guidelines to qualify for a China adoption:

1. Applicants must be a legally married heterosexual couple. At least one applicant must be a U.S. citizen.



2. Couples with no previous marriages must be married for at least two years at the time the dossier is logged in at the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). If either spouse has been previously married, the current marriage must be at least five years old at the time the dossier is logged in at the CCAA. No applicant may have had more than two divorces.



3. Applicants must be at least 30 years old and no older than 49 years old at the time their dossier is logged in at the CCAA . Applicants are qualified to adopt children based on their ages as specified below. When spouses have ages that fall into two categories, they must be open to the upper age limit of the child to be adopted.

o Applicants ages 30 - 44 qualify for a child with no known medical conditions up to 12 months of age.*

o Applicants ages 45 - 49 qualify for a child with no known medical conditions up to 24 months of age.*

* Currently, the youngest children coming out of China are about seven months old. All families are qualified for a child older than the above-mentioned age range, if desired.

4. All above applicants are qualified, if desired, for a child with medical conditions.



5. Families must have no more than four minor children living in the home, and the youngest child must be at least 12 months old at the time the dossier is logged in.



6. Families must document $10,000 of annual income per member in the household, including the to-be-adopted child. A minimum of $80,000 net worth is required.



7. Applicants must be in good physical and mental condition necessary to provide responsible care for an adopted child. Each applicant’s Body Mass Index (BMI) must be under 40. (BMI equals a person's weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. BMI=kg/m 2).




8. Applicants must have a minimum of high school education or equivalent.



9. Applicants must have no criminal record or history of domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, or substance abuse.



10. Families who have adopted from China previously may submit their next dossier to China once their previous adoption has been finalized for at least one year.

What does it cost to adopt from China?

The cost for a China adoption is among the lowest. The cost is between $15,000 to $17,000, (depending on how many people travel) and that includes everything including hotel, food, airplane, all paperwork,...everything included.

Why are there so many babies in China?

Millions of baby girls and boys are abandoned each year in China. The Chinese government allows parents to have only one child. If the mother is found pregnant, they are fined a year's wage. If the first child is a girl, they will abandon her in a safe place with hopes of having a boy in the future. Sometimes, the couple will keep the baby girl until they have a baby boy, then abandon the first child. It's very important to have a son to carry on the family name. It is the son who takes care of his parents when they are old and will carry on the family business or farming. Thousands (95 percent girls) live in orphanages and foster homes in China. If a family already has a boy and they are pregnant with the second, they are not allowed to keep that child. If they do, they will be fined. The child will not be "registered" and will not be able to attend school or get jobs as an adult. Because of the one child policy we are seeing more and more boys being refered to families as well.

Why China?

There are millions of children all over the world that need loving families. They need a family of their own. The first thing a family decides is where their child may be. Where is God calling you to adopt? Where is your child in this big world? God calls different families to different adoption options and I am so thankful for that. God put China on our heart and that is where He chose to place our baby.

Besides feeling lead to China, we also feel a China adoption is the easiest program in many ways. China tells you what paperwork they want, you gather up the paperwork, your agency mails it for you and then you wait. The Chinese Government logs in your dossier on a special day called Log In Date (LID). Our LID is March 4, 2008. Basically, it's kind of like taking a number and waiting in line for our turn. There is little room for surprises and much less room for a "rollercoaster ride". It's very fair and consistent. The adoption is final as soon as you wrap your arms around your baby. When you hit U.S. soil, your baby is a U.S. Citizen.

Almost 1 yr since our journey began!

It is hard to believe it has been amost a year since our journey to Lexi began. At this time a year ago we knew God had a daughter waiting for us in China. Our hearts were filled with love and joy for this child even though she was not even born yet. We contacted Great Wall China Adoption and submitted our application. Within a week we were celebrating the Chinese Moon Festival with a group of adoptive families here in Arizona and our Paper Chase began. We did our paper chase on our own... I give all credit to my wonderful husband for that. He did it all so effortlessly and we had a log in date 5 months later.
Now here we are waiting and waiting, wondering if she has been born, praying that her birth mom and she herself were not affected by the terrible earthquakes and now praying that she has not or will not be affected by the tainted baby formula that has already sickened as many as 50,000 babies in China. We continue to remember that God is in control. We continue to have faith that our baby girl is in the arms of the Maker and she will get here as soon as it is time. But as HUMANS.... we are still impatient and have to continually pray that we get better in that area for sure. Especially since we still have lots of waiting ahead of us!!
So for those of you who have been wondering what we're up to and what's the latest news on Lexi, there's your answer..... We're still waiting, waiting and waiting and we are still as excited as the day we sent in our paperwork! We are just chomping at the bit for the day that our angency will call us and inform us of the child they think is ours. Please pray that China would feel the same way we do and get those children moving out of the orphanages and into the arms of their forever families in a speedy fashion. We have not seen speed in 3 years! We love you all and appreciate the love and support and continued prayers for us!

God Bless America! (4 month LID Anniversary)

Today I Thank God for this great country and our privilege to be living here. Also, we remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, or are so humbly and selflessly serving now on our behalf.
I know this world is not perfect. I know we fail in many ways, but I still believe it is an honor to live here under freedom. And I believe history clearly shows it as one of the greatest nations in the history of the world, unusually blessed by God.

Today is also our 4 month LID (log in date) anniversary. Referrals are in the air and new parents should begin seeing their child's sweet face for the first time on Monday morning. Congrats to all of you! These families have waited 31 months! IKE

We just finished spending an awesome 16 days with our sweet 13 year old niece and today we are looking forward to celebrating the 4th with a dozen close friends. We pray that next year Lexi will be celebrating America with us! If it is Gods plan then it will hapen! Happy 4th to all!

Tragic Death of Sweet Angel, Maria Sue Chapman

Even in the wake of a family tragedy, Steven Curtis Chapman wants to help others and bring orphaned children to loving families, who are wanting to open their arms to a child in need. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any gifts be donated to the site in his daughter's name - Maria's Miracle Fund.
This story is so heartbreaking, the loss of a sweet 5-year-old girl, yet the Chapman family has a strong faith in God and I'm certain they will pull through and be stronger for it, albeit changed forever.
They are a family, although grieving, who are intent on helping others. For more information on Maria's Miracle Fund, click here. If you would simply like to leave a message of condolence to the Chapmans, you can do so here.

2 Month LID anniversary

2 months down!
Well, today marks 2 months we have been logged in with the CCAA. I know it is hardly a crumb compared to how much longer we will be waiting but it's a step and all steps count :) Another very small batch of referrals were issued this month. Looks like they referred people with LID's up to Jan. 12, 06. CRAZY!

New York trip

We are in New York with the girls Dance Company and haveing Sooooo much fun! I just thought I'd post a few silly photos just for fun.

LID! WE HAVE A LOG IN DATE

My agency had told me that our Dossier was hand delivered to China on March 3rd. (Bryan's 39th Birthday!!) They also sent us an email saying that the LID would be within 30 days but we may not hear from them for 60 days. Well On Friday March 15th I got an email saying we have a Log in Date!! Our LID is March 4th!! Can you believe it, One Day from handing it to them! Wow, finally something involving China adoption that moves faster than a 400 yr old turtle with 3 legs. We are THRILLED! Anyway, things from here will be very long and drawn out but I will continue to post regardless. Here is yesterday's email from our agency about the wait and what they are doing to change it.
The families from our last referral group who received their referral on March 3, 2008, experienced a 26 month referral timeframe (this means they waited 26 months from LID to get a referral (child). The CCAA continues to take steps to address the growing referral timeframe and are expanding their efforts now that they have returned from their Chinese New Year celebration. These efforts include: recruiting more orphanages to participate in international adoption; educating orphanage officials on how to fill out the necessary paperwork for a child to be considered paper ready for international adoption in a more timely manner; and providing impoverish orphanages with funds through the Blue Sky Plan to help pay for the necessary medical testing for a child to be considered paper ready for international adoption.
Rylee, Cassidy and I leave for New York early tomorrow morning!! Please pray for our health and safety throughout the week and we will post some fun pictures of the trip soon! The girls will dance 3 of the days, we will see 3 Broadway shows and do lots of sightseeing! Love to all! Mary

DTC

I received a call from the Adoption Agency this morning. Our Dossier was sent to China this morning so we are DTC 2-29-08. Now we wait for the Log In Date. I heard a rumor that China would stop all adoptions due to the Olympics begining after next months referrals and not resume them until 2009. At that time they are suppose to have a more efficiant referral process that may help get them out of this mess they've had going on for the last 2 years. We'll see?

All Done!

Over the past 3 months we have been doing what is called "The Paper Chase" What you collect through that time is called your Dossier. Yesterday our Dossier was sent off to Great Wall China Adoption Agency. They will translate it into Chinese and send it off to China. From there it will be logged in an we will have a LID or Log In Date. From there we can watch as referrals are sent out according to Log In Date. So what's in the "Dossier" your wondering? Well, we wrote a letter of intent to adopt telling all about ourselves and why we chose China, then we found a social worker and had a home study at our home for Bryan and I, then the kids individually, then Bryan alone at her office and then me alone at her office. Then we waited on 5 referrances to send the social worker their feelings on us and our parenting. Then our windows and doors, and gate had to be approved because of the pool and finally we had a completed home study. We sent out for TRUE copies of our Birth certificates and marriage liscense. We visited the doctors office for a full medical exam and then went to the lab for blood tests and so forth. We were fingerprinted and cleared by a US criminal background check and then we sent off our I600 and got fingerprinted again for immigration. Our accountant wrote up our income statements and financials and finally we recieved our I171-H saying we were cleared for international adoption. We took all these papers and had them notarized by a notary public, then we took them to the Secretary of State to be certified and then we sent them all to California to be Authenticated! We added our 10 lifestyle photos, pictures showing us, our family, our home and daily activities we enjoy. And THAT is our Dossier!
Heres a cute one for you.... The Chinese consulate will use those photos when we are in the "matching room". Yep they will look at the photos of Bryan and I and they will give us a child that looks like us :) Matching features and lifestyle. Now I guess I'll go for the lifestyle part, if your hobbies are reading and watching TV you get the sleepy not so active babies and if you enjoy hiking and skiing you get the active babies. But the looks one? That is just funny.

Our Dossier

Thank you!!

Our paperwork is currently all in California!! It is being Authenticated and will be overnighted back to us as soon as tomorrow. Sooo.. this means Tuesday (since Monday is a holiday) we will be sending everything off to our adoption agency Great Wall China Adoption.
Thank you Kristina for your call today! I spoke to my friend Kristina on the phone today, she lives in Alaska, brrrrrrrr... Kristina it was so nice hearing from you and I can not thank you enough for the incredibly uplifiting words and support you offered today as you learned about our adoption. You have no idea how much you Made My Day! Love you and your family. Always, Mary

Praise God!! Our I171-H is FINALLY here!

Well, after 3 months of waiting, it is finally here. This is the most important piece of the Dossier paperwork. There was a staff change some where in our paperworks journey and we were basically set aside and forgotten :( We do have it now, so we move forward in this journey to our Chinese Daughter. Thank you for coming along for the ride and Thank you again Scott Chasan, Natalie Flores, Suzy Navarro, Janice Ralston, Patrice Ricks, and Tammy Zollner for all of your precious kind words about our family. Nat, Nando's on me Sista'. Thank you to all our family and friends for supporting us, lifting us in prayer, and just being the incredible loved ones that you are as we begin this very long journey to Lexi. " I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palms of My Hands...." ~ Isaiah 49:15&16

Check out my Slide Show!

10 weeks and no I71H :(

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone, The New Year has come, the Super Bowl is in 11 days (and it's here in AZ) my baby boy will be 9 yrs old in just 9 days, but still.... NO I71H!!! It has been 10 weeks. I know I know God's timing not Mary's timing but man oh my, when I submitted to Gods calling I had no idea I was going to be OLD when we finally get this little angel. Oh well that's all for tonight.