Journey To Our Daughter.

China here we come!!!!!

2006-10-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

What to pack, what to pack, what to pack!!!
We have been busy trying to get everything in our suit cases but keep it under 40#! We are allowed only one suitcase a person at no more the 40# and a carry on. Everybody knows how hard air travel is now a days! We leave in 2 weeks from now! Our first stop will be Japan as Rick's mom has always wanted to go there and we had a lay over anyway. So we will leave a couple of days early and go shopping and tour Japan. Then we will leave for Beijing China a day early as we found out we were only there for 1 day and we had so much we wanted to see. On the second day our travel group with Great Wall Adoption Agency will join us. There are 5 of us adopting from the Chuzhou orphanage. There is 1 boy and 4 girls being adopted I think. We will leave for Hefei on Oct 29. We will then get to see Alana for the first time on the 30 of Oct. A day I am sure we will remember forever! We have waited so long for this moment! Keep us in your prayers. We hope the transition is an easy one for Alana. We will then leave for Guangzhou and the Famous White Swan Hotel on Nov 3rd. We will go to the American Consulate to finish up paper work and Alana will see a doctor before she is allowed to fly home on the 8th. Thanks to all who have taken this journey with us! It truly is a journey of a life time and for us it is just beginning! One of our friends will be house setting and baby sitting our furry baby's for us until we get back. A BIG thanks to everybody who has joined us on our journey and has helped us with the process

NOW WERE COOKING!!!

2006-09-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

It is official!!
Today Great Wall got our TA. We will be leaving at the end of Oct. when China opens back up after their trade show! Soon our Alana will be home! Safe and sound!!! Such a long journey but one well worth taking!!!

NOW EVERYBODYS HOME!

2006-09-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

So with everybody back from their vacations our agent called China and was told our TA will be in the next batch (in about 2 weeks). We are praying for it to go a little faster as that will put us in China in the first of Oct and China does not allow adopters to go during that time as it is one of their biggest holidays. So if it happens that way once again we will have to set and wait until the end of the months to go get Alana. Maybe even the first of Nov. I am so tired of waiting so I am praying it will happen quicker so we can go before China closes down. Anyway at least we have good news.
WE ARE CHINA BOUND!!!

Your not going to believe this!!

2006-09-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

The person in China who is working on our file went on vacation for 2 weeks. He was suppose to be back and we were to finally find out what was going on with our TA on Thursday last week, the only day our agency is allowed to contact the CCAA. On that Wed before, Rick got an email from our adoption agent to let us know she was going on vacation the next day (you got it) THURSDAY!!!! So we didn't hear anything last week as to what was going on with our TA. We are guessing we will hear this Thursday and hope this wait is finally over for us!! I don't think there is anybody left that hasn't taken a vacation that is involved in our paperwork. We are hoping this is a good sign. But let me tell you...." WE SHOULD BE THE ONES TAKING THE VACATION"!!! :-)

I NEED A VACATION TOO !!!

2006-08-19T09:20:00.001-07:00

We heard from our agency Thursday and were told that the people who are working on our file our now on vacation for 2 weeks! So we won't be getting our TA for at least 2 more weeks. But on the up side, the head of our agency did call the head of the TA department in China and talked to them about our file so they would be aware of who we are and what is going on. So our agency doesn't think this will go past this months.They think it will probably come to a head when the people come back from vacation. I sure hope they have a good time and are relaxed and in a very good mood and just stamp our TA when they get back!!! But as all of you who have done an adoption from China know,China closes it's doors in Oct. as it is one of their biggest holidays. So adoptions stop for the month of Oct. If we don't get our TA soon and our Travel Approval date to go before then we will have to wait to get her in Nov. She will be 2 years old on November 4. We wanted so much to get her home before then. Well there still is time so keep those prayers coming!
We are at day 114 in our wait for Travel Approval. My friend got hers 3 weeks after she got her referral and traveled 8 days later. We got our referral in April. We were told by our agency that there are 4 families at 140 days! UG!!!!

Nobodys Home in China!!!

2006-08-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Or at least it is starting to feel that way! Still no TA. Our agency will call the CCAA on Thursday to try to get them to move along with it. Keep us in your prayers! We are at day 95 and counting!We were told to expect 2 to 8 weeks. The stress is starting to really get to both of us! I had a request for pictures but we have no new pictures. But I finished Alana's birth information cross stitch. I started it the day we started the adoption process. December 2004. It took almost 2 years! I am not a cross stitcher at all. I also finished Alana's 100 good wishes quilt. Not good at that either. I am going to have someone sew a nice one with the rest of the squares for Alana someday!
That's all for now. We should know something at the end of this week.
(We've all heard that before haven't we :-)

THE WAIT

2006-07-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Still waiting and waiting and waiting.....
Yesterday we had a baby shower it was wonderful. Alana got so many wonderful things! Thanks everyone for all your love, support and gifts! We hope we will hear from our agency this week as we have now been waiting 80 days as of today, from the day our letter of intent was sent off to China. Sooooooooo we hope good things will come this week! Keep your fingers crossed and prayers coming.
Debby

Still waiting for our TA!

2006-07-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

No TA yet! Waiting, waiting and waiting......
There is still 2 people in front of us from Feb waiting for their TA's. Then us. But CCAA is not going in order so who knows when we will get it. Others behind us are getting theirs then someone is still waiting from Feb. who can guess. We are planning on going on Aug. 17 and are hoping we will have our TA by then!

Debby

Still waiting!

2006-05-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

Still waiting to get our TA (travel approval) from China. We are thinking next week or the next at the latest! Rick, mom and I are all working to get all we will need for the trip a little at a time. Rick is working a lot of extra jobs to finish getting all the money we will need for the trip. Mom had a very nice man in Austin who owned the Dollar store donate a lot of teddy bears for the children in the orphanage in China. That was so sweet and we are very thankful! We have been busy helping our daughter-in-law-to-be move into PA school in Dallas. Sean my son is also moving into a new apartment in Lubbock Texas at Texas Tech where he is working on his law degree. He was happy to annouce that he finished his master in just one year!His room mate from last year graduated so he is moving. So we are busy trying to find fruniture for him. My daughter Miranda in DC getting her law degree is busy working for a Judge up there for the summer as is her husband Andy. My youngest Christopher is work on his degree in medical research. So we are very busy here with kids and the adoption! We will keep you updated! Also I am adding a couple of pictures of Alana and her Nanny who has taken care of her since she came to the orphanage. We will always be so grateful for the love and kindness she has been shown by everyone at the orphanage!

We did it again!!

2006-05-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

We had another family who took their 9 year old daughter back to Alana's orphanage in March of 2004 and they posted pictures on the Chuzhou Orphanage yahoo site and I was looking at them and notice that the little girl Lian was always holding the same baby. Then I got a close up picture of only that baby and notice she looked alot like our 17 months old daughter so I track this person down and ask question and found out it was my daughter at 6 months!!! We are so happy we now have pictures of Alana as a baby. We are told this is rare and we have now got two sets! Most people never get to know what their child looked like as a baby! We are very excited and thankful! I will post the new pictures!
Debby
PS: And yes Kayla I am doing a new post!! :-)

We Can't Believe It!

2006-04-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

At about 6 months.
We have found some families who have adopted from the same orphanage who have already received their child who have pictures of Alana(Chuanle). Some at a much younger age than we have pictures of! We are so blessed by these people. We have more pictures being sent to us in the mail! I can't wait to get them!!

At about 1 year

We Have Our REFERRAL!!!!

2006-04-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome home Alana Danielle Dawn Chuanle. She is from the Anhui province in China. She was found at 2 days old near the Wende bridge vegetable market of Chuzhou covered with mosquito bites but ok. The birth mother left no information.She was named Chaunle after the town she was found in and Le meaning happy as she was such a happy baby!! She is now at the Chuzhou CWI Welfare Home waiting for us. She was born November 4, 2004. She weighted 7.15 pounds and was 18.12" in height. She is 17 months now and has 7 teeth. She weights 17.6 lbs and is 27.19 in height. We are in the process of getting our application moved over to the waiting child program. It will take about 4 to 6 weeks to go through the review room again and then we go stright to travel!! So we will be going to China around July to get her. Ricks mother and aunt Ann and their friend Lois will be going with us! So we will have a lot of help on the trip. Also Kayla's family who is also adopting from China is moving to the waiting child program and trying to get another little girl who is on the list with Chuanle and will be listed tomorrow! That would be so great for our girls to some day be told this wonderful story of how they came home! We are not going to tell the story yet as we don't know she is their's but some day soon we will tell it if they get her.

Yes Kayla you are right!!!

2006-04-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone what Kayla is so excited about is WE GOT OUR REFERRAL!!!!! So baby Alana is on her way home. We will go to China in about 8 to 12 weeks to pick her up!!
(Is that better Kayla??)

2006-04-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We have good news. The CCAA emailed our agency and said that they would know if we passed through the review room ok by Monday after Easter. At the time we will move on up to the matching room if we are ok'ed! Another step forward!
Debby

Alanas Nursery

2006-04-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

Alana's New Family

2006-04-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Rick's Moms side of the family.

Rick's Dad's side of the family.

The furry Kids.

Daddy&Mommy Waiting!!!

Hello Everyone!!

2006-04-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

Alana's Journey Home

2006-04-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

April 14, 2006
This is the place where we will keep everyone updated while we are in China getting our daughter. This has been such a long, soul draining and emotional journey. We are so glad we are nearing the end!!
Thank you everyone who has walked in front of us as we completed our journey for clearing the obstacles in our path and those who have walked beside us for being our strength when we had none left and speaking words of encouragement when we didn't think we could go on. And thank you to those who walked behind us in case we fell or lost courage and turned back, for making sure we pressed always onwards. This journey of adoption is your journey as well as ours! This story is
your story. And you have played such an important part in the making of it.You are a hero in this story, changing the course for a tiny little baby girl half way around the world. One who was small, alone and afraid, maybe cold and hungry at times. Now those times are at a end and she has a brand new beginning! It has been such a long journey for us, as well as for this small child, but joy is on the horizon. The story is about to continue on. Soon we will be China bound!!
I will have a place in my heart always for the little children who live the life of an orphan.What ever country they are in! It is a hard, sad, lonely world for one so small. The lives that I can't change, the hurting hearts I can't comfort will always make me sad! But I am so grateful to God for allowing us the honor of helping make one of his little lost ones, feel forever loved. Alana Danielle Dawn we will forever be honored and blessed by having you in our lives. You are one of life's most greatest gifts, and we are in awe at being chosen by God to be your family, your parents, your future!!
We will work hard at being the best parents you could ask for. As we come to the end of this part of our adoption journey we are so excited at the beginning of the next part "The trip to you"! Our adoption is a journey that will last a lifetime. As family always does. With so much before us! So much to look forward to! So many firsts! But for now I long for the day we see your sweet face for the FIRST TIME! The first time we get to give you all the hugs and kisses we have been saving! We have a lot of lost time to make up for. All the long days we have missed you! But the first that I am so longing for, is the first time we see you smile and hear your beautiful laughter. This is a sound my soul have been craving. It is the sound I hear in my dreams only to wake and find it already slipping away into the shadows of my heart. This is the first I so eagerly wait for. So until then my sweet child be loved and may God keep you safe and send angels to watch over you until we have you in our arms.
Again thanks to all who have shared this journey. We will keep you updated with all the news while we are in China and lots of pictures if we can. I am told it is hard to post anything while in China. Others have had good luck with this site so that is why we are here.
Debby