Today is day 91 of our wait for our Letter Seeking Confirmation. Our good friends (and travel-mates from our 2007 China trip for Claire) who sent in their LOI a week ahead of us got the call TODAY that their LSC is in. Such wonderful news! I am so happy for them, and am feeling optimistic that our LSC should arrive somewhat soon too (though who knows whether the week that we are behind them in terms of our paperwork will amount to a week in waiting time - probably not.) At the moment, I'm not too stressed: just revelling in our friends' good news.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Christmas in review
Today is day 91 of our wait for our Letter Seeking Confirmation. Our good friends (and travel-mates from our 2007 China trip for Claire) who sent in their LOI a week ahead of us got the call TODAY that their LSC is in. Such wonderful news! I am so happy for them, and am feeling optimistic that our LSC should arrive somewhat soon too (though who knows whether the week that we are behind them in terms of our paperwork will amount to a week in waiting time - probably not.) At the moment, I'm not too stressed: just revelling in our friends' good news.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
In the review room
I talked to CCAA this Monday, I was told that your file is still in the reviewing room. It will take some time to pass to the office who will issue the Letter Seeking Confirmation.
Based on that, I'm guessing the earliest we could get our letter is a month from now, with travel in March. And that's the earliest. Darn. I have to keep reminding myself that we knew our window was probably anywhere between February and May.
I guess this just gives us more opportunities to send care packages to Ren. I'm gathing his next one now. His orphanage is in the process of moving and they aren't sure of their new mailing address but apparently, waiting families can use the 'old' address and their mail will be forwarded. I'll post a photo of the package when it's ready.
Friday, December 19, 2008
The tradition continues
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Here in spirit
As Christmas cards come in from friends and family, it is wonderful to see so many of them addressed to "Paul, Monica, Claire and Ren". Clearly, Ren is already viewed as part of our family - by ourselves of course but also by others. When our friend Marianne invited Claire and I over to decorate a gingerbread house last weekend, I was delighted to see five little figures representing our family: Daddy, Mama (with curly hair!), Claire, Kitsya and of course, little Ren. Here's a 'family photo' (Ren is just right of centre):
Today is day 78 of our wait for the Letter Seeking Confirmation. I have my heart set on a February travel date but I'm afraid if our letter doesn't arrive soon, March will be the earliest month we can travel. I know things will unfold the way they are meant to and that we will be together very soon regardless but an extra month at this point seems like a long time to wait.Thursday, December 11, 2008
Nesting, with help from our parents
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Two more pics of the celebration
Pictures of Ren's birthday celebration
I am so incredibly thrilled to say that Adele at Blessed Kids was able to get us some information about Ren's birthday celebration!
Get this: his caregivers took him to KFC for his birthday celebration and "he had a great time"! I love it! I can just picture him enjoying some finger-licking-good chicken! The funny thing is that we were thisclose to ordering KFC for us on Ren's birthday! I have no idea why we considered KFC (other than because Paul loves it) but it was between that and Chinese; in the end, we thought "Well, there's no KFC connection to Ren so let's get Chinese food". But there was a connection after all! This KFC birthday celebration may have to become a yearly tradition.
Adele was able to get us something else equally precious and priceless: new measurements and pictures of Ren! Adele's father who lives in China contacted the orphanage before sending the package to confirm that the address was correct. While they were speaking, he mentioned to the orphanage staff member that it would be great if they were able to take some digital photos of Ren and take new measurements, which of course he and Adele could pass on to us for a small fee. As a result of his and Adele's wonderful entreprenurial spirit, we now have the pictures you see above.
Ren's measurements for height and weight are the same as the ones we received in November through our coordinator but we also received head, chest and foot measurements this time. Yahoo, let the shoe-shopping commence!
We are so comforted to know that our little boy was treated to a celebration on his birthday. I'm really surprised (but elated) by the fact that the orphanage caregivers took him (and obviously some other kids) out to a restaurant. I also love how a caregiver in one picture has her arm draped around his shoulder while she is feeding him. Seeing our little one receive attention and care like this definitely helps with the wait.
This Mama's heart is happy.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Ren got the cake!
I feel so fortunate that Blessed Kids provides this service (and many other amazing services). Check out their web site at www.blessedkids.com.
I also learned from Adele that the orphanage hasn't moved yet. I'm waiting to hear back from her about whether they were informed of the exact date for the move.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Happy Birthday, sweet boy
Ren, we love you and will be there soon.
Mama, Daddy and big sister Claire
xoxoxo
Monday, November 24, 2008
As Ren's birthday approaches ...
Paul and I had just spent an amazing weekend in Jasper. We went there to celebrate Paul's birthday but it turned into a different sort of celebration when, on the drive there, we received the call we'd been waiting nearly two years for: we had been matched with a baby girl in China! Claire Caiwen entered our reality that day - December 1, 2006 - and life has never been the same.
What we didn't know at the time is that we actually became parents twice over that weekend. As we revelled in the joy of seeing Claire's face for the first time, the boy who would become our second child was born into the world. In hindsight, it's no wonder our joy was so great and the weekend so magical to us.
And yet I can't help but consider that at the same time we were preparing to accept our beautiful little Claire into our lives, Ren's birth family was faced with the opposite situation. How strange that our two children's lives were changing enormously at the same time in nearly opposite ways, unbeknownst to them.
Ever since we received Claire's proposal on December 1, I've thought of early December as a magical time where our family became a reality. That still holds true, especially now that we know our son was born that same weekend. But now I also think of another family - Ren's birth family - who experienced a great loss at the same that our family was forming. They will always be in our thoughts.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The countdown continues while Paul's head swells ...
In other news, Paul's head continues to swell as comments come in that Ren is so very handsome, and oh, doesn't he look like Paul?! Paul has of course inferred that y'all think HE is stupendously handsome. What a guy.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Zhuhai City Social Welfare Institute
The SWI playground:
This is a photo board outside the SWI. I'm not sure if all kids who live at the orphanage have their photos there, or if only kids who have been adopted are featured on the board. If any of my Zhuhai friends know, I'd love to hear! I can't help but wonder if Ren is currently pictured on the board ...
The orphanage is moving in December to a different location so it's unlikely we'll ever be able to tour this place - Ren's home for the first two years of his life. Knowing this makes having these pictures all the more special.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Recent photos of Ren thanks to FOI!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
For the boy who was 'almost' Pablo
Monday, November 3, 2008
Two more photos of Ren, thanks to Tracy and Kate!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ren's finding ad
We received Ren's finding ad today from a fellow in the States who locates them for a small fee. It was published in the "Yangcheng Evening News" on May 18, 2007. We're not sure exactly how old Ren is in the photo but he can't be more than 6 months old - our earliest photo of Ren so far!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Our family is complete!
Paul couldn't resist photoshopping Ren into our latest family pic:
Friday, October 24, 2008
A new (old) photo of Ren!
How long until we have our Letter Seeking Confirmation?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
A baby book of sorts
You can probably tell that I'm a fairly frequent blogger. I like it. It's quick, it makes me feel connected to our little guy on the other side of the world, and it keeps family and friends up to date on the adoption. But most of all, I do it for Ren. As with Claire's blog, I intend to turn Ren's blog into books for him. I used to do traditional scrapbooking but I just haven't been able to find the time to get out all my tools, get the photos printed, crop them, choose pretty papers, etc. This is a much faster way for me to capture our thoughts and memories leading up to meeting him and his life with us for the first year or two.
Very shortly after I ceased posting to e-Claire, I "slurped" it using a company called Blurb. Basically, the free software from that company just takes all your text and pictures and drops it into a book which you can then play with until you're happy with the format of your text and pictures. I now have two hardcover volumes of e-Claire for our little girl - at about $60 a piece - and an additional copy of each volume for Paul and me.
I still haven't begun Claire's lifebook (either the toddler or the older child version) because I'm waiting for her history report from China Babies. Once I finally begin, I think I'll probably do those books electronically too.
I hope Claire and Ren enjoy perusing their books when they're older. At the very least, I think they'll be able to tell how much we treasure each and every moment with them!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
This, that, and oh yeah, the shopping!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
More about Ren
Anyway, the boxes checked off for Ren are:
Active□√
Restless□√
Fond of listening to music□√
Fond of playing with toys□√
Having a ready smile□√
Getting along with others well□√
Fond of playing games □√
Obstinate sometimes□√
He is described as being closest to his caretaker and most fond of playing with peers and toys (particularly toy cars).
I just wish we knew more! I can't wait to see firsthand what his personality is like and how he interacts with his new family, particularly Claire. I'm sure that once we meet him, we'll have many and more descriptive adjectives for our little man.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
The day we saw our son's face
Right after we showed Claire Ren's pictures, Paul began explaining to Claire how she, as the big sister, could teach her little brother things, such as what a sheep looks like and what sounds various animals make. Claire's face took on a very serious look and suddenly she blurted out, "Mama Daddy help me too!" At that, we realized she thought it was her sole responsibility! Poor kid. We quickly assured her it was Mommy and Daddy's jobs to teach Ren everything but she could help if she would like. That seemed much more agreeable to her!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Ren Li Walter W.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
It's a boy!
Our son's Chinese name in Mandarin is Zhu Zheng Ren (Zhu being his surname). We've been told his nickname is Renren. His name in Cantonese (the more common language where he lives) is actually a fair bit different and it is likely that it is the Cantonese pronunciation of his name that he is familiar with. The main difference in the names is that instead of "Ren" it is "Jan" (pronounced something like "Yun") in Cantonese. Anyway, we won't know for certain what his caregivers call him until we're actually there but we're quite certain that it's Yunyun.
As for what we'll call him, we're still floating around various ideas. Once we decide, I'll be changing the address of this blog. If you don't receive an email from me about the new address, contact me and I'll send it to you.
Other details about our boy:
- he was born on December 3, 2006 which makes him 8 months younger than Claire;
- he currently resides in the Zhuhai Social Welfare Institute in Guangdong Province (southern China);
- the last measurements we have of him were at 18 months but he sounds like a good-sized lunker if they are at all accurate: 25 lbs and 81 cm tall (yes, heavier and taller than his big sister, Claire); and
- he is described as an active kid, with a ready smile who likes others to tease him for fun. He often shows his caregivers a "brilliant smile" in order for them to take him out to play.
Claire is really excited about her new younger brother (notice how I say "younger brother" rather than "little" brother ). Yesterday morning when we showed her his pictures, she let out a gentle little "awww" with each photograph. I know she'll be a loving big sis.
I should note that we already think of this child as our son but he is not officially "ours" yet. The process for adopting a Waiting Child is different from the one we experienced with Claire. Instead of the Chinese government matching us like they did with Claire, our coordinator matched us with him. The Chinese government still has to approve us as a family for him. We'll know he's ours when we receive a Letter Seeking Confirmation from them, in the next 4-6 months. Although there is always a very, very small chance they may not approve us for him, I'm not holding back. He's our son and we're already crazy about him!
We expect to travel to China anywhere between February and May of 2009.