Monday, September 25, 2006
On August 23, 2006 we received the call that we have been waiting for since April. Our Dossier (paperwork) was complete and was ready to be picked up. We we're so excited that we both left work and drove to Columbia, Maryland to pick it up. We took pictures of our Dossier and went to Kinko's to make copies, one for our agency in Texas and one for us. We spent over an hour in Kinko's making 177 copies. We could not unstaple any packet so it was very time consuming. When we we're done we went straight to Fed Ex to have it overnighted to Texas. Great Wall surprised us with a phone call to let us know that our Dossier was being sent to China on August 25, 2006. We we're extremely happy because we did not think it would be sent until September 1, 2006. With the wait times as long as it is right now even a week is a big deal. We went to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate the end of our paperchase and the start of our official wait for Ava. We are now waiting for the China Center of Adoption Affairs to inform our agency of the date our Dossier was logged in (this is known as our LID). Today the CCAA posted to their website that they have matched children with families with log in dates up to August 9, 2005. This basically means that we will have about a 13-14 month wait before we will receive our referral for Ava. There is always the possibility though that the CCAA can speed up or slow down.
We are trying to document our entire adoption process for Ava. We wanted to take pictures of the original copy of our Dossier because it is the copy that is sent to China. Brian thought I was crazy as I was taking pictures of the Kinko's where we made copies. Like I said I'm documenting everything. He drew the line though when I tried to take pictures of the Fed Ex we sent it from. I think he was afraid all the drivers would think we we're nuts!!
We are trying to learn as much about Ava's culture as we can. October 6Th is a major holiday in Chinese culture, it is called the Moon Festival. We are planning to celebrate all Chinese holidays with Ava so we decided we would start this year. We are planning on going to Chinatown in Washington D.C. on 10/06/06 to celebrate. If our wait for Ava is about 13 months her birth mother is probably pregnant with her right now. It's comforting to us just knowing that Ava and her birth mother will most likely be celebrating also that day. Here is a bit of info about the Moon Festival if you are interested. We hope you will all look at the moon on 10/06/06 and think of Ava!!!
In China and throughout many Asian countries people celebrate the Harvest Moon on the 15Th day of the eighth month of their lunar calendar. The date in the Western calendar changes yearly. This year, it falls on October 6.
The Harvest Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) is a day of family reunions much like a Western Thanksgiving. Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the roundest and brightest signaling a time of completeness and abundance. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, children are delighted to stay up past midnight, parading multi-colored lanterns into the wee hours as families take to the streets or city parks to moon-gaze.
It is also a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on hilltops, riverbanks and park benches, captivated by the brightest moon of the year.
The festival dates back to the Tang dynasty in 618 A.D., and as with many celebrations in China there are ancient legends closely associated with it.
In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, it's sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival, (not to be confused with a similar celebration during the Chinese New Year), but whatever name it goes by, the centuries-old festival remains a beloved annual ritual celebrating an abundance of food and family.
Traditional foods for a Chinese Mid-Autumn feast are red — for good luck. Lobster and salmon are particular favorites along with apples, pomegranates, roasted peanuts, pomelo, chestnuts, fatt koh (sponge cakes) and moon cakes.
One of the stories told to children during Moon Festival is of the fairy living in a crystal palace. She comes out to dance on the shadowed surface of the moon. Legend says the "lady living in the moon" dates back to ancient times when ten suns appeared in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous but mean archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill of immortality. But his wife, wishing to save people from his bad disposition, took the pill herself. She has been banished to the moon ever since. They say her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon Festival.
In China and throughout many Asian countries people celebrate the Harvest Moon on the 15Th day of the eighth month of their lunar calendar. The date in the Western calendar changes yearly. This year, it falls on October 6.
The Harvest Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) is a day of family reunions much like a Western Thanksgiving. Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the roundest and brightest signaling a time of completeness and abundance. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, children are delighted to stay up past midnight, parading multi-colored lanterns into the wee hours as families take to the streets or city parks to moon-gaze.
It is also a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on hilltops, riverbanks and park benches, captivated by the brightest moon of the year.
The festival dates back to the Tang dynasty in 618 A.D., and as with many celebrations in China there are ancient legends closely associated with it.
In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, it's sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival, (not to be confused with a similar celebration during the Chinese New Year), but whatever name it goes by, the centuries-old festival remains a beloved annual ritual celebrating an abundance of food and family.
Traditional foods for a Chinese Mid-Autumn feast are red — for good luck. Lobster and salmon are particular favorites along with apples, pomegranates, roasted peanuts, pomelo, chestnuts, fatt koh (sponge cakes) and moon cakes.
One of the stories told to children during Moon Festival is of the fairy living in a crystal palace. She comes out to dance on the shadowed surface of the moon. Legend says the "lady living in the moon" dates back to ancient times when ten suns appeared in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous but mean archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill of immortality. But his wife, wishing to save people from his bad disposition, took the pill herself. She has been banished to the moon ever since. They say her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon Festival.
For the past 5 or 6 years I have been emailing a wonderful friend that I met online. We met while we we're both going thru Infertility treatments. Jen and her husband Chris we're blessed with a beautiful set of twins, Connor and Emily. Even though Jen lives in California and we have never met we have remained close. She always sends pictures of her kids and cards. Jen has been so excited and supportive since she found out about Ava. She has sent us so many outfits for Ava and toys. We plan to meet someday hopefully after we bring Ava home. Here is a pictures of just a few of the cute things she has sent us!
Last week our friend Derek offered us free second row tickets to an O's/ Red sox game. We had a great time and a great view. Our friend Lora and I we're pulled up on the dugout to dance with the O's bird. We spent the night talking to the people behind us. When the game was over one man gave us his business card and told us to look him up next time we we're in Boston. He owns the bar Cheers from the t.v. show. Definitely a good night!!
Friday, August 04, 2006
Last Thursday we received Brian's fingerprints. I sent them by Fed-ex to our agency. The next day I received a phone call from them letting us know that they had sent all of our paperwork to Immigration in Baltimore. We figured it would be a couple of weeks before we received our last form from Immigration. Yesterday I checked the mail and there was our I-171H form from Immigration!! It took them 6 days to process our paperwork!!! This form allows us to bring Ava into the U.S. Now our paperwork will be Authenticated and sent to China!! Hopefully we will have our paperwork in China within the next couple of weeks. Then the long wait to be matched with Ava will begin.
Laura and her friend Melissa are visiting us this week. It's to bad that the picked such a miserable week. It's been about 114 degrees most of the week so they haven't been able to do to much. We did visit Virginia Beach for 2 days. While we we're there we decided to go para sailing. Here's some pics!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
On Friday I decided to call CJIS to see if they could give me any information on Brian' s prints. I figured the worst they could say is no. I was so happy to hear that they received Brian's prints from the FBI and that they are good! We should receive our copy in about 2 weeks. When we receive that document we will be able to send our completed home study to USCIS in Baltimore. When it is approved they will send us our I-171H (this gives us approval to bring Ava into the U.S.) I have been told that USCIS turn-around time is about 2 weeks. All of our paperwork will then be authenticated, sent to our agency, translated and sent to China. We are hoping that our dossier will be sent to China in September. Keep your fingers crossed!
While I was visiting some adoption blogs the other day I found a link to a video clip of an orphanage in China. It broke my heart to see these poor babies (47 in one room) in cribs without a mattress or soft place to sleep. Instead of mattresses their cribs are lined with wooden boards. It just made me so sad to think of Ava living in such a place someday. I know they give the best care that they can in orphanages but it's heartbreaking. Hopefully she will be lucky enough to get a foster Mom and live in someones home while she is waiting for us. Since we started this process we have been supported by our family and friends. But we have learned that not everyone understands or accepts why we are adopting internationally. I told a patient at work that we we're adopting a baby girl from China...his reply was "why would you want one of those babies". He's lucky I was at work and couldn't say what I wanted to. Another patient felt the need to make sure that I knew she will be "Chinese". Like that would have just slipped past us!! I think the worst was a conversation I had with a new employee at work. When she found out that we we're adopting from China she decided to give me her opinion. She cant understand why we would adopt internationally when there are plenty of children who need homes in the U.S. I explained to her that adopting internationally is our personal decision. That the wait for a infant in the U.S. is long and that you must compete with many other couples to be selected. She then suggested the foster care system. This may sound selfish but we do not want to get attached to a child and then have DCYF give him/her back to their drug addicted parent. She did not accept our reasons and continued to plead her case as if she was determined to change my mind. At this point I became angry and explained how these poor children are abandoned in the streets, sent to live in orphanages with little chances of being adopted by a Chinese family. If it wasn't for international adoption these poor girls would live in an orphanage until they are of age with very little love or education. I understand that many people agree with her point of view because she is not the first person that we have heard it from. I'd like to show all of them this clip and ask them why these poor little girls don't deserve a good home just as much as an American child does?
http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=97713&cdate=20060517&ctime=002610
While I was visiting some adoption blogs the other day I found a link to a video clip of an orphanage in China. It broke my heart to see these poor babies (47 in one room) in cribs without a mattress or soft place to sleep. Instead of mattresses their cribs are lined with wooden boards. It just made me so sad to think of Ava living in such a place someday. I know they give the best care that they can in orphanages but it's heartbreaking. Hopefully she will be lucky enough to get a foster Mom and live in someones home while she is waiting for us. Since we started this process we have been supported by our family and friends. But we have learned that not everyone understands or accepts why we are adopting internationally. I told a patient at work that we we're adopting a baby girl from China...his reply was "why would you want one of those babies". He's lucky I was at work and couldn't say what I wanted to. Another patient felt the need to make sure that I knew she will be "Chinese". Like that would have just slipped past us!! I think the worst was a conversation I had with a new employee at work. When she found out that we we're adopting from China she decided to give me her opinion. She cant understand why we would adopt internationally when there are plenty of children who need homes in the U.S. I explained to her that adopting internationally is our personal decision. That the wait for a infant in the U.S. is long and that you must compete with many other couples to be selected. She then suggested the foster care system. This may sound selfish but we do not want to get attached to a child and then have DCYF give him/her back to their drug addicted parent. She did not accept our reasons and continued to plead her case as if she was determined to change my mind. At this point I became angry and explained how these poor children are abandoned in the streets, sent to live in orphanages with little chances of being adopted by a Chinese family. If it wasn't for international adoption these poor girls would live in an orphanage until they are of age with very little love or education. I understand that many people agree with her point of view because she is not the first person that we have heard it from. I'd like to show all of them this clip and ask them why these poor little girls don't deserve a good home just as much as an American child does?
http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=97713&cdate=20060517&ctime=002610
On the fourth of July we had a small cookout with our neighbor Lora, my friend Michelle, her baby Bryce and her stepdaughter Amber. We have decided that Ava and Bryce will be playmates and will eventually marry someday. We enjoy teasing Brian with our little arranged marriage because he insists Ava will not date...EVER! We spent the day eating, playing baseball, swimming and watching fireworks.
In June I had to go to Virginia for 3 days for a business trip/training. I was thrilled when I found out that my hotel was literally across the street from our friend Lauren's house. She lives in this adorable historic farmhouse. She cooked my friend Nancy and I a great dinner on the night we arrived. The following night Lauren and I met at a restaurant and drank Frozen Margarita's until the manager threw us out at closing. I had a great time Lauren, Miss you!! We stayed at the Hyatt while we we're there. They had these great shops attached to our Hotel. I have become obsessed with anything that has a ladybug on it so I had to have this Hooded towel/washcloth set. As far as the business meeting is concerned I learned that one of my company's core values is fun. So after they filled us up with alcohol one night they got me up on stage (along with 20 other people) with a purple feather boa and made me sing and dance to Bon Jovi's "you give love a bad name".
Since we have lived in Maryland we have wanted to take a trip to Ocean City, MD. So 4Th of July weekend we decided to take a day trip. It was nice but not for us. It kinda reminded us of Atlantic City without Casino's. We spent the day walking the boardwalk checking out tons of shops. When we walked into one store I found 2 bibs every baby girl should have in her collection!! You all know we could not pass these up! 
Thursday, July 13, 2006
We haven't left a message in awhile due to the fact that we are at a stand still. The last month has just dragged along. We have all of our paperwork completed and ready to go. My FBI fingerprints and clearance arrived on June 28Th. We have checked the mailbox everyday for Brian's and they still have not come in. We cannot move forward with anything until we receive this piece of paper. If his fingerprints are rejected again it will take another 12 weeks for this one document. I received an email today from our Social worker regarding the hold up:
Hi Nichole:
I’m not sure if this will make you feel better or worse, but all of the other dossier docs HAVE been certified up to the state level. CJIS (the folks sending us the FBI prints) are really, really backed up at the moment. They owe me all kinds of clearances that should have come in weeks ago. They are switching computer systems, they tell me, and are quite backlogged.
If you would like to do something, you may call the FBI and ask about the status of the clearance through CJIS. However, this will only tell you if FBI sent it back to CJIS. It still may be stuck between CJIS and us. Again, it is not necessary for you to call. I have spoken with CJIS several times about Brian’s prints. However, I recognize that sometimes it feels better to do something rather than just wait.
Cara
So that's our not so great new's. Things we're going really smoothly up until this point so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky. We we're hoping to have our dossier sent to China in September but if things dont speed up that might not happen. If we are able to get a log in date in September we still wont get Ava home until November 2007. So please keep your fingers crossed that CJIS gets moving!
Hi Nichole:
I’m not sure if this will make you feel better or worse, but all of the other dossier docs HAVE been certified up to the state level. CJIS (the folks sending us the FBI prints) are really, really backed up at the moment. They owe me all kinds of clearances that should have come in weeks ago. They are switching computer systems, they tell me, and are quite backlogged.
If you would like to do something, you may call the FBI and ask about the status of the clearance through CJIS. However, this will only tell you if FBI sent it back to CJIS. It still may be stuck between CJIS and us. Again, it is not necessary for you to call. I have spoken with CJIS several times about Brian’s prints. However, I recognize that sometimes it feels better to do something rather than just wait.
Cara
So that's our not so great new's. Things we're going really smoothly up until this point so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky. We we're hoping to have our dossier sent to China in September but if things dont speed up that might not happen. If we are able to get a log in date in September we still wont get Ava home until November 2007. So please keep your fingers crossed that CJIS gets moving!
Monday, June 05, 2006
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!!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
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.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
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
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
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