Musings of a Whimsical Realist

This is the 2nd blog post highlighting our adoption trip to China (summarized from Facebook posts made while we were in the country).  November 6, 2015 We are safely in Guangzhou.  We arrived, got all our luggage (yay!!!), and met our new guide. As soon as we stepped outside . . . BAM! Humidity! Our guide mentioned that it was "very good" weather for them, so we had high hopes that at least we could take Baby out without having to put a sweater on her or risk getting a stink-eye. We managed the 40-minute drive by playing the "Jelly Belly Guessing Game." That is where Baby fed Daddy and Mommy Jelly Belly's in the dark, and we guessed what we got. And had to eat it. Kinda like Russian Roulette, 2-year-old style. We arrived at a GORGEOUS hotel! And our suite gives us enough room to entertain a toddler for one more week away from home. The next set of flights will be taking us home in a week! Until then, more adventures in Guangzhou. November 7, 2015 After...

My last blog post was EIGHT MONTHS ago!  We were on the verge of heading to China, and I switched to Facebook for posting while we were there.  What is my excuse since we got back?  I am going to go with the golden oldie – parenting 4 children.  Having enough brain power to rub two thoughts together was a lacking commodity.  Summer vacation has FINALLY arrived, and so I will start with two blog posts (condensed from the original Facebook posts) highlighting our journey to China. October 31, 2015 (China Time) After 26 hours of travel, we've arrived safely in Nanchang!  We get our little girl in 16 1/2 HOURS! November 1, 2015 We got off the elevator and walked around to the lobby. I was scanning the clusters of seats for the other adoptive family (because, let's face it, white people are easy to spot around here). Instead, I saw HER! They were already here, and I saw Baby! Heart leaped! Breath stopped. The first couple of hours were amazing in their...

I've now written enough blogs about adopting that it's time to organize them for someone who may be new to my blog and wants to read the archives in order.  I've labeled the adoption blogs {#} as well as listed them below! Additionally, I have now labeled all adoption blogs under "Adoption."  If you click on that link at the bottom of this post, it will pull up all adoption blogs in newest to oldest order. Blog Post #1   -- A Journey of a Thousand Miles: The Single Step {#1} Blog Post #2   -- Stepping Further: Part One {#2} Blog Post #3   -- Stepping Further: Part Two {#3} Blog Post #4   -- Down the Road We Go! {#4} Blog Post #5   -- Tiptoe or Leap? {#5} Blog Post #6   -- Hurry Up and Wait {#6}  Blog Post #7   -- Where Did That Wall Come From? {#7}  Blog Post #8   -- The Crack in the Wall {#8} Blog Post #9 -- Fork in the Road {#9} Blog Post #10   -- Here We Stand {#10} Blog Post #11 ...

Our China Itinerary [Note: Other than departure/arrive home days, this is in China time, 16 hours in the "future."] October 30 : Hubby and I fly out in the morning.  We fly into the future!  October 31 : We arrive in Nanchang in the evening.  A guide will meet us at the airport and help us check into our hotel. November 1 : Gotcha Day!!!  We will meet Baby for the first time at our hotel at 4:30; if we understand correctly, they will be bringing her directly to our room.  We do not know if we will get to meet her foster mom.  We will have a short time with whoever brings her to us, and then they leave her with us.  Yes, just like that!  We will spend the rest of the day getting to know her and calming her and hoping that we all get some sleep that night. November 2 : The next morning, we will fill out the paperwork at the local civil office.  We will be getting our Adoption Certificate. November 3-5 : Free Time (waiting for Baby...

So we’ve had 5 weeks of fantastic things! September 11 : I woke up to a WONDERFUL email . . . our NVC (National Visa Center) letter had arrived.  That was the last piece of the puzzle for our Article 5 paperwork.  From that point, it was an estimated 4 weeks to TA (Travel Approval) and then ~2 weeks until we fly. September 16 : We were told that Article 5 pick-up would be on Monday the 21st.  It would go from the consulate to the CCCWA.  We were looking to be a little ahead of schedule! September 22 : We received our second grant award letter from Gift of Adoption !  [Our first grant was from Show Hope .] September 23 : We found out that our Article 5 pick-up had been delayed by a week.  It was a little ahead of schedule, and then it was a little behind.  Thus is the adoption process!  That put our estimated departure back to the last week of October. September 25 : WE’RE FULLY FUNDED!!!  We received a confirmation email that mornin...

Dear Family and Friends:                                                                            After so much preparing, hoping and waiting – our precious little one is almost home!  Because we know you care for our child and our family, we want to share with you some information that we hope will best equip everyone around her to assist us in laying the strongest and healthiest foundation – emotionally, physically and spiritually. As we have been preparing to bring Baby home, we have researched bonding and attachment in children, especially those coming home through adoption.  For many children raised thus far in institutions, a natural trust of their parents has never been established and wi...

We are on the edge of a series of adventures.   Our first international flight. Our first time off this continent. Our first adoption. Our first time flying (12 hours!) with a toddler. Our first time as a family of 6. Are we ever excited!  I mean, I have dreamed of this since I was 17 years old!  My first adoption blog talked about my dream in glowing color (purple, to be exact).  The wonder, the excitement, the joy of bringing home a little girl from China!  Those feelings are even more true today. And yet, a piece of my heart is absolutely, unequivocally terrified!  Deep-down, shaking-at-the-roots, want-to-sob terror.  Because in the last 17 months of research, planning, working, training, fundraising, dialoguing, networking, watching, learning, and waiting, I have been inundated with some harsh truths about adoption.  They all boil down to this simple formula: One of the best days of our life is going to be one of the worst of...

If all goes according to the usual time lines, we will be heading to China in ~6 weeks!  I awoke this morning to a fantastic surprise in my email box . . . our NVC (National Visa Center) letter!  This is the LAST piece of the puzzle stateside, and once it arrives in China, our Article 5 paperwork will be sent to the consulate there.  Once approved, it will be forwarded to the CCCWA (China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption).  They will issue our TA (Travel Approval).  It takes an estimated 4 weeks from Article 5 to TA and then we fly out about 2 weeks after that! On the funding front , we are an (estimated) $6,000 to fully funded!  More good news this week is that we moved on to the next stage of consideration for one of our grant applications and should find out in a couple of weeks.  Another grant should be denied or awarded by the end of the month.  That initial amount seems so daunting at the time, but where the Lord calls, He will pro...

This is horribly, terribly overdue!  I can’t believe how long it’s been since I blogged.  Over 2 months!  But enough of the lamenting . . . on to the good (and/or crazy) stuff! Part of the reason it has taken so long to get back to blogging is that my mom decided to shake things up in early July by taking a tumble 8-feet off of a ladder onto a concrete floor.  One ambulance ride, lots of bruises, a broken wrist, and two surgeries later, she is starting physical therapy and thankful it was “only” a wrist.  So I haven’t had the quiet of Nana and Grandpa Days to allow for blogging like usual . . . and this was NOT a case of only appreciating it when it was gone, so definitely glad she is on the mend!  On July 21st, we got our first grant ACCEPTANCE letter. $5,000!  Such a wonderful blessing and example of the Lord’s provision!  We are waiting to hear back on other grant applications, but we are ~$7,000 away from fully-funded! On July 22nd, we g...

1. The “Brilliant Negotiator”         Item A, listed at $50             B.N. “What is lowest price you will take?”          Me. “Make me an offer.”         B.N. “What’s your BOTTOM LINE?”         Me. “$45"         B.N. “Will you take $40?”         [Face Palm] 2. The “Car-Less Buyer”         Item B, listed for $5         C.B. “I LOVE this item, I really want it, but I don’t have a car.  I am trying to                  find a ride.”         Me. “Okay, let me know.”         C.B. “I can meet yo...

It has taken me longer than usual to get my energy back post-school-year.  I think the heat we’ve been dealing with (and some unusual humidity at times) has something to do with it.  But I am getting my feet back under me and heading into the busy July weeks! So, for a fun coincidence (and not the first!), the date of my last blog was May 14th.  Unknown to us at the time, May 14th is our Logged In Date (the day China officially received our dossier)!!!  So while I was updating everyone about our progress, even more progress was being made.  From there, the dossier headed into the translation room. Our dossier came out of the translation room a little over a week ago AND . . . China requested more paperwork regarding my medications.  Thanks to some amazing help from friends, that information is ready to submit and will be heading out (electronically AND via snail mail) tomorrow.  As far as we can tell, this is the last piece of the puzzle for LOA and on...

We are 2-and a-half-weeks away from Summer Break!  Which is absolutely critical because this mommy/homeschool teacher is just about done in!  I thought that LAST semester was crazy, but this one took home the gold. On the adoption front, we are learning how true all of the warnings were that nothing works on our schedule and definitely not quickly enough.  But we are making steady, tortoise-like progress.  April and May have continued to be intense on the fund-raising front.  Garage Sales #1 and #2 have occurred, bring in a combined $1,762.00.  Thank you again to everyone that has donated items to and shopped at the Online Sale/Garage Sales!   It has been a substantial blessing to us!  We have also submitted several grant applications with more to go. On April 29th, WE RECEIVED IMMIGRATION APPROVAL!  It only ended up being about 2 weeks earlier than I had estimated, but that one page of official paperwork was a beautiful thing!  We...

Somehow I feel like I lost a month . . . seriously, where did March go?  I realize that I haven’t blogged in forever.  I’ve barely posted on Facebook.  But blogging about our adoption journey is important for many reasons, including my wanting to remember this process and share it with Sibyl when she is home.  So time for some catch-up! January 2015 saw us waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the home study process to move along as well as finishing collecting our dossier documents.  On January 22, all of the original dossier documents were mailed to our agency!  You know that feeling you get when your tax return has been submitted (and you are getting money back)?  That feeling times 10!  We also got 3 precious new pictures of Sibyl on January 5th and the disc with the original pictures/video from August 2014 PLUS pictures and 1 minute of video that we hadn’t seen.  It is such a treat to get to see her sweet face! Original Dossier Doc...

[The following was an oral presentation at our fundraising event on February 28, 2015.] On January 7, 2013, I posted my first blog about adoption.  I shared about how I first heard of the plight of little girls in China during a high school presentation and how at that moment, I felt the calling to adopt a little girl from China someday.  In that first blog, I wrote: “The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’  This is my single step – my declaration that 2013 will see us doing mountains of paperwork and making life-changing decisions and trusting God for financial provision to bring our next daughter home.  She may already be waiting for us or she may yet to be born, but she will be known even in her birth mother’s womb before I have the privilege of knowing her and holding her close.”   Unknown to me at the time, Sibyl’s mother was 8 months pregnant with her, my next daughter. When Hubby and I started ...

When traveling in a new land, it helps to know the lingo.  As we have found ourselves immersed in the adoption culture, we have learned a new language of sorts.  A prime example is my posting of this picture of our original dossier documents ready to mail: On my timeline, I explained what it meant.  In my agency’s adoption group, I simply stated what it was.  And on my timeline, lots of congratulations!  In the group, it launched a full back-and-forth discussion full of lingo.  A cultural coming together.  One of my comments read: “ I love chatting with people who are in the adoption culture. It's like not having to explain a foreign language! ” One definite blessing of the internet during this process! For those of you who are traveling this road with me but occasionally feel like you are reading a foreign language, I want to explain what some of the "road signs" mean.  #1 - An alias.  You know our little girl as Sibyl, but that i...

As we have begun 2015, the year in which we will bring home our next daughter home from China, I find myself reflecting on the process thus far.  How far we've come since last spring !  I began tentatively looking into adoption agencies and soon found myself in the whirlwind of finding Sibyl and moving forward with our official paperwork.  So as I pause, here are some of the thoughts and blessings we experienced. 1. Finding Sibyl!   She was the 7th file that we tried to review and only the second file that we got to review.  We had to go through the pain of returning a file for another sweet little girl and trusting that we would be led to our next daughter.  This is a highly personal and individual process that all of our new adoptive friends on FB have also had to go through. 2. The blessings that have come in financially !  Several direct donations and quite a few "tips" on items that we have sold are all greatly appreciated!  We have se...

So I’ve managed a few fun blogs, but it’s been a while since I’ve updated on the adoption process.  One reason is the hustle and bustle of the holiday season (starting with Thanksgiving and continuing through the New Year).  And the other reason is that this part of the process isn’t very interesting.  Insane, busy, daunting, and detailed, but not particularly an exciting read. So where are we now that the dust is beginning to settle? The majority of the paperwork has had its t’s crossed and its i’s dotted.  Full physicals for me and Hubby; passports arrived; pretty much every aspect of our lives documented, signed, and notarized.  We are almost through the 12 online education hours (to complete by next weekend) . . . and then on Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th, we have our home study home visit!  That will be the last step of the home study process, and we are so excited to be at that point! Financially, our belts are tightening.  ...

I have a confession to make, a seasonal guilty pleasure . . . I love Christmas movies!  Classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street.”  And the not-so-classic made-for-TV cheeseball movies.  I consume them like a chocoholic chowing down a bag of Dove bars! Talking reindeer?  Awesome!  Sappy kissing under mistletoe?  Love it!  Glitter, glitz, lights, twinkling stars, snowy landscapes?  The best! So why the confession?  Because Christmas movies capture for me an essential quality of the holiday season.  The whimsy of a time when we take a pause to enjoy the magical, the memorable, the beautiful, the nostalgic, and the sacrificial. For someone like me, Christmas is a 2-sided coin.  There is the whimsical wonder of the more “commercial” or “traditional” side of the season.  Then there is the reality of God the Son coming to earth as a frail human baby, beginning His journey to the cross and salvation for...