We attended our friends Ron and Christian's wedding in May. We had such a nice time. It was at a beautiful place. It reminded us of a New England Inn so it felt like we we're back home. After getting four other guests to switch tables with us we spent the night with our friends. We met this great group watching the Patriots at a bar on Sundays. They are such a fun group and most of them grew up in New England.

In May my Mom, Michelle, Matthew and Meagan visited us for a week. I loved spoiling and spending time with my niece and nephew. It was so nice to have my Mom and Sister here. I miss having them around me so much! Of course I cried for a day after they left. We did some sightseeing while they we're here. We visited D.C. and Annapolis. We spent alot of time hanging out, talking and playing with the kids. I wish they could be here everyday!!

It's been awhile since we have updated and so much has happened! We we're assigned a social worker and have already completed both homestudy appointments. Our home visits went really well and we're much easier than we thought they would be. Our social worker Pamela was so nice that we felt like we we're talking with a friend. She felt that we we're very informed and ready to care for a child of a different race. Pamela is hoping to have her report completed by Friday and handed into her director. We are now just waiting on FBI fingerprints to come back and our homestudy will be complete! Things have moved so fast that it feels like a whirlwind to us! We find ourselves saying "this is actually happening". It seems so unreal to us! Today we went to the Immigration office downtown to be fingerprinted for our I-600A form. This form allows us to bring Ava into the United States. When our homestudy is ready we will send it to Immigration to complete our application with INS. After they receive the results of our fingerprints they will send us a I-171H form which gives us approval to bring home Ava. We will then have everything certified, authenticated and sent to Great Wall. Once they approve everything it will be sent off to China and we will officially be waiting. Our social worker is hoping we can be logged into China by the end of July. With the wait getting longer and longer I'm keeping my fingers crossed that no problems come up and we get a July log in date.

Thanks so much to Angel, Michelle and Jen for writing your letters. You all wrote beautiful letters...they mean alot to us!! Last but not least here is Jen's letter.


Dear Sir or Madam, May 9, 2006

My husband and I have known Brian and Nichole Martus for about six years now. We met at a Friends house right before my wedding! I always joke with her and say if I had a little more time, I would have bought her the dress right then and there so she could be in my wedding party! I guess you can say I loved her like she was my sister right from the beginning. They are an outstanding couple, loving and caring. They put others feelings into consideration at all times. They have endured more trials and tribulations in life that no other couple that I know of could handle. They are sweet and kind people that have exceptional hearts!


I was so happy to hear that they were not giving up on having a little child of their very own. Yet, I was not surprised, Brian and Nichole are strong willed and very goal oriented. They have been working hard on completing various tasks that are given to them , they make sure they go through all of their paper work to make sure everything has been filled out and they even made an adorable website dedicated to the journey they are making through the whole adoption process! They are diligent and hard working and are very proud and excited to have this life experience!

I also believe that an adopted child or a foreign-born child would be gladly accepted into the community because Brian and Nichole are well respected and surround themselves with people that love them and greatly support them. I personally believe in my own heart, that they would make the best parents a child could ever ask for. Anything it takes, they’ll work hard at it to make this dream come true.


I have three little ones of my own now and when they get the chance, they come over and visit and get so excited to see the kids! The last time they were over, I remember Brian went over to our youngest son, who is also named Brian, and picking him up and holding and rocking him. I remember how happy he looked when he saw them and how sweet he looked into my baby’s eyes. I know Brian would be such a loving father. Nichole is always getting down on their level, playing and interacting with all three of them. She always compliments them as she makes one on one contact with them as well. I see her being a wonderful mother. Brian and Nichole are life long friends, I love them like family. They make an extraordinary impact upon the lives of whom they come in contact with, they are truly unforgettable!

Thank you for your time and attention to my letter, if you need anymore information, I’ll be glad to assist you further.


Truly,




Mrs. Jennifer Lynn

On May 5, 2006 we we're approved by Great Wall China Adoptions. We are now part of the Great Wall family. We signed our contract and paid our first installment. We can now start working on the rest of our Dossier. We have all of the documents except our Medical physicals which will be completed tomorrow.

We are required to write a letter to the China Center of Adoption Affairs stating our intention to adopt. We we're told by GWCA to be very respectful and avoid the topic of politics. There are statements that must be included in our letter. This letter is very important so we value your opinions good and bad.

To the Officials of the China Center of Adoption Affairs,


We are writing to you to express our intention to adopt a child from China. We respectfully request a healthy infant female between the ages of 3-12 months. We are overjoyed with the thought of having one of your wonderful children as part of our family.

After much research we feel that China is where our child is waiting for us. We are excited to learn more about Chinese culture and promise to keep this child's heritage as an important part of her life. We have met many people within our community who have adopted children from China. They have all expressed what wonderful experiences they have all had. We look at their children with fondness and admiration.

We have tried unsuccessfully for years to have a biological child. We are a happy, loving couple who have spent the last 15 years together. It has always been our dream to raise a family. We look forward to opening our arms and hearts to a child. We are excited to begin this new chapter in our lives. We promise to always provide a stable and happy home and will always show unconditional love. She will be given the same rights as a biological child. We promise to never abuse or abandon the this child. We will raise and educate the child to be a healthy adult.

We live in a beautiful community with many parks to enjoy. We live close to Washington D.C. and enjoy the museums and visiting the monuments. We enjoy spending time outdoors and traveling to visit family and our many friends.

We thank you for your time and consideration. We would be truly blessed to welcome one of our wonderful children into our lives. It will be such a pleasure to nurture her and watch her grow. We look forward to a lifetime of pleasant memories and love.

sincerely,

Michelle has also finished her letter so we'd like to share with everyone.

Dear Creative Adoptions,

I am writing this letter in reference of Nichole and Brian. I have known the two of them for 2 years and I think they are a wonderful couple. I work with Nichole and of course met Brian through her. I was very happy for the both of them when they decided that they we're going to adopt a child. I know that they have been trying to have children of their own but were unable to.

Nichole and Brian have had my children and niece over to their house on many occasions. Brian was giving my fifteen and sixteen year old guitar lessons, which they loved. Nichole and Brian have also attended an Orioles game with my children and me. We had a great time. My niece is two years old and I love to watch Nichole and Brian interact with her. I think they will make wonderful. Nichole is always talking about her niece and nephew and you can just see it in her eye's how much she loves them and I believe they will love their child just as much if not more.

When Nichole told me about the adoption and that they were going to be getting a baby from China I was happy for them. I do not think that the fact that this baby is foreign-born is going to make a difference in the amount of love and care that she will receive from Brian and Nichole. Nichole has already purchased a book to read to the baby about China. I think the community will welcome this baby like any other baby. I am currently pregnant myself and cannot wait for all the play dates that my son will have with their little girl.

sincerely,

Michelle

Angel has finished her reference letter and sent us a copy. We are so touched by her heartfelt letter and wanted to share with everyone.

Dear Social Services Supervisor:

I have known Nichole and Brian since 1998. I met Nichole through work. She has been
one of my best friends ever since. They have been my friends before and after my marriage, and remain as close as ever since I had my children.

Nichole and Brian have been with my son on many occasions. They have been babysitters for me when needed. I trust them completely with my son. When I leave him with them I have no fears or worries. They are such good people that I know that they would never let anything happen to him. My son and I traveled to Maryland to visit with them. Brian and Nichole spent hours outside kicking a ball and rolling around on the ground with him. Nichole and I have been on many walks with my son and she is always alert and watching for his safety. We have been in restaurants and amusement parks where Brian was very protective, making sure he did not wander too far. When he did fall, Nichole being the nurturing person that she is, ran to pick him up and comfort him, just as I would have done as his mother. Just recently I had another child who Nichole and Brian have met. She is very shy but had absolutely no hesitation to go to either of them. Babies sense love and react accordingly.

Nichole and Brian have shared their adoption plans many times. They speak excitedly about this new chapter in their life. They have done so much research and have kept their family and friends updated on every new event and milestone. I think this is a wonderful journey that they are about to embark upon. I know they feel honored and lucky that they have this opportunity to be able to have a child of their own. Someone once said to me that a person who adopts is someone who knew all their life they were meant to be a mommy or a daddy. Nichole and Brian have known all their lives that having a child is the most precious gift in the world.

Brian and Nichole are problem solvers. They don't just jump into decisions without thinking it through. They discuss things together and come up with an agreed-upon solution. I feel that they are more than ready to properly handle whatever comes their way.

I feel that an adopted child or foreign born child would be accepted in their community. Brian and Nichole are hard workers, great friends and they are a respected part of the community, which in turn would make their child just as accepted and loved.

Brian and Nichole are the type of people you fall in love with. They are genuine people. They give without expecting to receive. They are the love story that when you are done watching, you feel there really is hope for the world. I can't put into words how wonderful these two people are. Even when they were going through their hardest times not being able to conceive, they still found joy in their hearts for friends who were having babies and were able to support them. They are always thinking about others and their feelings. They make time for the important things in life: each other, family and friends. They will be wonderful parents. The baby they adopt will never be without love.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be able to express my thoughts and feelings with you. I hope you find this helpful in discovering what wonderful people you will come to know.

Angelique

We had our pre-homestudy appointment with Creative Adoptions yesterday. Our Social worker reviewed the entire homestudy process with us. When they receive our referral letters and our physical exam reports we can schedule our first home visit. We also applied to Great Wall China Adoptions on Friday. They are reviewing our application and will contact us within the next few days. GWCA is the agency that will place Ava with us . You can visit their website at http://gwca.org I thought I'd add a few pictures of Ava's new things. Brian's favorite is the Daddy's little Girl T-shirt. Most of the clothes are form Angel and the letters are from Andrea. Thanks again Guys!!

A few more pictures from the Volvo Ocean Race.

A couple of weeks ago the sailboats that are racing across the world in the Volvo Ocean Race came into Baltimore's Inner Harbor. When each sailboat came into port Brian cleared their crews. He loved the experience and really got to know Marcelo Ferreira a member of the Brazil 1 crew . So Sunday we decided to go to Inner Harbor to see the Boats and the races that we're being held that day. We met our friend Lauren there who is a big fan of sailboat racing considering she has raced sailboats for many years. She was a great tour guide and taught us a lot about the sport. When Brian cleared the crew of Brazil 1 he surprised her with a phone call from Marcello and got the crews autographs for her. While we we're standing by the boats on Sunday Brian spotted Marcelo. He invited us on the boat and gave us a tour. I couldn't believe that they have been on this 70 foot boat since November. When we went down below we couldn't even stand up straight. The small space is very confined with just a sink, cots and a small room with a toilet. While out in the ocean they eat MRE's and take 20 minute
naps because they are on duty 24 hours a day. Marcelo was the so nice and talked with us on the boat for about a half hour. We learned that he is a 3 time Olympic medalist along with other awards. We had a great time and hope to get to Annapolis this weekend for the restart. They will be heading to New York city and will then be off to Portsmouth, England.

We're officially paper pregnant!! We mailed in our application on April 17, 2006 and have begun our homestudy. I am already nervous. I'm just waiting for something to go wrong. That's what 7 years of infertility will do to a girl. Brian is as calm as can be. We ordered our birth certificates and marriage license from the Rhode Island Health department and received them in 1 week. We we're told it would be 4-6 weeks so that was a pleasant surprise. We are still waiting for our passports though. Today we each had 3 sets of fingerprints taken for our FBI and State criminal background checks and child abuse clearance. On Tuesday we have our first homestudy appointment with Creative Adoptions. They want to explain the entire homestudy process and give us the rest of our paperwork including information for our reference letters. So Jen, Angel and Michelle you guys better start writing!! :) We also ordered our driving records (Thank God Brian has a badge that gets him out of traffic stops because he'd have a lot of explaining to do). I also completed the application for the Health Department. We have gotten a lot done in the last week so the ball is definitely rolling!! We are so excited...It finally seems real :)

We decided to take a trip to Rhode Island last weekend. We had a great time with everyone. Saturday night Andrea and Matt invited everyone to their house for dinner. It was so nice to see all of our friends. We haven't seen most of them in almost a year. On Sunday a bunch of us went to one of our favorite places to eat...Wrights Farm. We ate way to much and played with little Lexie and Michael. We stayed with Bev and Dick and visited with my Dad and Marie. The best part of our trip was the mini shower for Ava...at least that's what it felt like. Angel gave us a ton of Lexie's clothes and some new clothes bought just for Ava. She also gave us a mobile for her crib and a boppy pillow. Andrea got us the cutest letters that spell out Ava's name for her room and Bev and Dick we're so nice to let us borrow their Pack and Play that Josh and Collin had used. Michael also drew a special picture for Ava and gave her 35 cents for her piggy bank. We have got to visit you guys more often :)

Ahh, Baseball in April! It felt like we we're at a football game due to the 39 degree, windy and wet weather. But it was worth being wet and VERY cold because the sox won. Bev and Dick came down from Rhode Island and our friend Lauren joined us from Virginia. It's so fun to see the Red Sox play the Orioles in Baltimore. The stands are filled with our fellow Red Sox Fans. We spent the day talking to other sox fans and sharing where we all we're from in New England.

We are finally working on some things for our adoption. We have both applied for our passports and should receive them in about 4 weeks. We have also downloaded a program to create a will. It seems strange to make preparations for a child that isn't ours yet but it is required for our homestudy. We decided that if anything we're to happen to us Ava's guardians will be Michelle and Dan and they graciously accepted. Tomorrow I need to take a trip to Walmart to buy 2 fire extinguishers (which we should probably already have). They are another requirement for our homestudy. We also need to get our life insurance.

I frequently visit a message board called Adoptions.com It is a great forum where I can talk to other girls who have completed adoptions from China or are currently in the process. I have learned so much from these girls about the adoption process. They keep on top of all the current information coming from their agencies. The new talk is that there has been a great increase in families adopting from China. This is somewhat due to families switching from the not so stable Russian program. There is also talk of the Guatemala program shutting down in 2007. The increase interest in the China program has resulted in more families being paper ready than the number of babies that are paper ready. China is also trying to promote domestic adoptions but with the current beliefs of Chinese people it will be years before domestic adoptions are widely accepted. The China Center of Adoption Affairs is responsible for processing international paperwork. They have a small office in comparison to the large number of applications they receive. The CCAA prefers to work very closely with International Adoption agencies and strives to keep the adoption process as personal as possible. Because of this it is very unlikely that the CCAA will increase it's office staff. All of these factors could result in a longer wait for Ava. The current wait once your paperwork is submitted to baby is 10 months. There is speculation that the wait could extend to 18 months. The thought of having to wait 18 months for Ava is heartbreaking but she is worth the wait. We really feel in our hearts that our daughter is waiting for us in China. So we will stick it out if the wait does extend to 18 months. China still remains the one of the most stable international programs and is not at risk of closing. Wait times have fluctuated in the past from 14 months to 8 months. We will just keep our fingers crossed for a shorter wait. If it turns out that we have to wait 18 LONG months I will keep myself busy by shopping for Ava :)

We've finally moved!! It is so nice to no longer be in an apartment. I was thinking about how far we have come since we moved to Maryland. We took a step backwards to come here and now it is paying off. We are now in the position to be able to adopt and bring home Ava. Brian has been doing a lot of overtime and now my hours are picking up again. We would love to be able to pay for her adoption without taking any loans so it will be easier to adopt #2 someday. For the last seven years we have been buying things for our baby. We have just stored everything in boxes and put it all away. When we moved into the townhouse we decided to take it all out and put it in her room. Her things are so nice for us to see...It keeps reminding us why we are working so hard. My friend Michelle gave us a bunch of baby girl clothes. They are all hanging in her closet on little pink hangers. Our little Ava also now has her own portable DVD player courtesy of her Daddy. Brian got a free DVD player, since he already has one he decided to put the new one away for Ava. Knowing Brian our 2 year old will be in the backseat of the car watching a DVD, listening to her IPOD, talking on her cell phone while using her PDA!! My friend Angel has also bought her clothes and a picture frame. We recently bought books, a Big bird in China DVD and a stuffed bunny for Easter. Something tells me Miss Ava is going to be one spoiled little baby girl!

Now that we are moved and settled we can start working on her adoption. On Thursday we are going to apply for our passports. We will need copies of them for our homestudy so we want to make sure we have them for the summer. We also have to decide which agency we will use for our homestudy. We are considering World Child Adoptions and Creative Adoptions. I've talked to people who have used both and so far it seems that Creative adoptions moves a bit slower. We just cant wait to begin.

A new opportunity has also come up for us. Now that Brian has 3 years at his job we are now eligible to take temporary duty assignments. We are now considering taking a position in Toronto, Canada (don't freak out Angel) for 2-4 years. We would do this after we bring Ava home. This would allow me to be a stay at home mom because our living expenses would be covered by Brian's job. They will cover up to $3600 a month for a mortgage and utilities. They will also pay for us to move there and if I decided at some point to work they would pay for Ava's daycare. We would also only pay federal income taxes... we would not have to pay state taxes. Brian looked into flights and found that there are direct flight's to and from Rhode Island and Orlando. It is also only about a 9 hour ride to R.I. After our 2-4 years are up we will give a wish list of where we would like to be transferred. Our list would be:

Orlando, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Savannah, GA
Boston, MA
Baltimore, MD

It is a great opportunity for us so we are really considering it. It would allow us to make great money, while I stay home with Ava. It's kinda hard to pass up!!

Hi everyone,

As you all know we have decided to adopt a baby girl from China. You can probably tell from the title that her name will be Ava (her full name will be Ava Joi). We wanted to create a place where you could all be up to date on our journey. Although we haven't started the process yet we already have a lot to think about and work on. We hope you will come and visit us often.

Why China??

We decided to adopt from China for a few different reasons. China is one of the most stable international adoption programs. They also keep the cost pretty low ($18K) with no hidden fee's. The children are usually healthy and have a low risk of HIV and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. China has a strict one child policy. Due to this, 95% of the children available for adoption are girls. The babies are as young as 7 months at the time of adoption.


The Adoption Process

We decided to start our adoption in Summer 2006. We first have to apply to our agency. In January we attended a seminar held by Great Wall China Adoptions. By the time we left the meeting we knew they we're the agency for us. They are a very well known and reputable agency. GWCA encourages their clients to bring family members with them on their trips to China while many other agencies discourage it. They are very accommodating and handle everything. Their main goal is for us to spend our time in China bonding with Ava.

After we are approved we will select an agency here in Maryland to handle our homestudy. We will meet with them at their offices and they will visit our home at least twice. They want to learn the story of us. Everything from our childhood, families, friends, interests and finances. Most importantly they want to know how we will raise Ava and what our goals are for her. They will analyze our strengths and weaknesses as future parents.

What is included in the homestudy?

Reason for adoption
Family background and history
Family and Marital relationships
Assessment of Finances
Physicals
Assessment of living conditions
The fire department and Health department will visit our house
Problem solving abilities
Thoughts about adoption


Documents needed

Birth Certificates
Marriage license
Police reports stating we do not have records
Financial statement
Reference letters
Medical report stating we are in good health


When we begin our homestudy we will need to file a I-600A form with USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services). This form is an application for advance processing of an orphan. This form will give us approval to obtain a Visa for Ava. We will need to fill out the form, send our birth certificates, marriage license and when complete our homestudy and a $685 fee. They will then contact us for a fingerprinting appointment. Once they receive our forms we have to sit back and wait for them to process everything. A rep. from our agency informed us that Baltimore USCIS is currently taking 2 months to process. When our application is approved we will receive a 171-H form from USCIS.

When our homestudy is complete and we have received our 171-H form we will send all of our documents to our agency. This paperwork will now be known as our Dossier. GWCA will review our Dossier to make sure everything is correct. They will then send our Dossier to China (DTC). The China Center of Adoption Affairs will then review our Dossier. If they feel it is complete and do not have any questions regarding our application they will Log in our Dossier (LID). We will now be fully approved and will begin the 10 month wait for a referral (also known as Ava). When they match Ava with us we will receive a picture of her and any information they have on her background. After we accept Ava we will have to wait 4-8 long weeks to travel to bring her home. We will then spend 2 weeks in China sightseeing, shopping, bonding with Ava and finishing the final paperwork that will make Ava ours!

We hope this gives you all an idea of what our next 1-2 years will consist of. We hope you will follow us along the way. We cant wait to introduce you to Ava!!