We are having problems accessing our blog while here in China. We have set up a different site for family and friends to follow our journey to Ellie. Please go to:
http://journeytome.com/journal_view.cfm?journalid=2193
That should take you to a page with Ellie's referral picture and you should see a table of contents at the bottom. You can click on the date of any of the entries and follow our trip that way.
If for some reason the link doesn't work for you, go to www.journeytome.com. Click on Adoption Stories and search on Ellie. You will want to choose the journal whose agency is listed as All God's Children International.
Thanks for the many kind emails and prayers that are lifted on our behalf!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
We Have Arrived
We left our home Friday morning at 8 am and arrived at our hotel in Guangzhou at 10:30 am on Sunday...somewhere we lost 12 hours, our bodies are still trying to figure that one out. We used a variety of planes, trains and automobiles to transport us but we are now safely tucked away in Shamian Hotel on Shamian Island. It is clean, has a shower and a bed...that's about all we are wanting right now.
The big news...we get Ellie at 4 pm tomorrow (Monday). She is coming from her orphanage which is 4 hours away. We are exactly 12 hours ahead of home time so be sure to check the site sometime on Monday morning and, if all goes well with the internet connection, there should be pictures!
The big news...we get Ellie at 4 pm tomorrow (Monday). She is coming from her orphanage which is 4 hours away. We are exactly 12 hours ahead of home time so be sure to check the site sometime on Monday morning and, if all goes well with the internet connection, there should be pictures!
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Nursery
The nursery is complete and pictures are hung on the walls. We now just need Ellie to complete the picture!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Travel Plans
The final appointment has been set and tickets were purchased today!
We fly direct from Chicago to Hong Kong on April 18th. We fly back home with Miss Ellie on April 30th, arriving at O'Hare at 2:20 pm.
It is with great relief that we have plans finalized and can now begin working on schedules for our boys that will be staying home. You may want to say an extra prayer for both sets of grandparents and one aunt that are all doing a sort of "tag team" child sitting/taxi driving service!
We fly direct from Chicago to Hong Kong on April 18th. We fly back home with Miss Ellie on April 30th, arriving at O'Hare at 2:20 pm.
It is with great relief that we have plans finalized and can now begin working on schedules for our boys that will be staying home. You may want to say an extra prayer for both sets of grandparents and one aunt that are all doing a sort of "tag team" child sitting/taxi driving service!
Monday, March 31, 2008
We have a date!
The final elusive piece of paperwork came back from China today! It appears we will meet our little girl on Sunday, April 20th. We will get our finalized dates tomorrow, but we think we will fly out on April 16th and get back home on April 29th.
The countdown has begun!
The countdown has begun!
Friday, March 28, 2008
And Still Waiting.....
We were really hoping to see our Travel Approval this week from China.....it didn't come. Our agency also expected it would come but told us we are still very much in the time range of "normal" even with it coming this next week. I was hoping not to be "normal"!
Today was a hard day realizing that Ellie is turning 7 months old on Sunday and we still are in total limbo of knowing when we will be able to hold her in our arms. Once again, I had to give myself a pep talk and realize that God is in control. My cousin and dear friend, Bev, sent me a quote today that helped put things back in the right perspective: "Anxiety...thinking that we have God's job description...but realizing that we don't have God's power." Nothing is accomplished by worrying over our Travel Approval. God will allow it to come in His perfect time, not ours. In the meantime, He will hold Ellie in His arms in our absence.
Our prayer right now is for Ellie's health and security....that she will feel love and comfort from her caregivers. We also are praying for travel plans to be established this week and come together quickly.
Today was a hard day realizing that Ellie is turning 7 months old on Sunday and we still are in total limbo of knowing when we will be able to hold her in our arms. Once again, I had to give myself a pep talk and realize that God is in control. My cousin and dear friend, Bev, sent me a quote today that helped put things back in the right perspective: "Anxiety...thinking that we have God's job description...but realizing that we don't have God's power." Nothing is accomplished by worrying over our Travel Approval. God will allow it to come in His perfect time, not ours. In the meantime, He will hold Ellie in His arms in our absence.
Our prayer right now is for Ellie's health and security....that she will feel love and comfort from her caregivers. We also are praying for travel plans to be established this week and come together quickly.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Still Waiting......and Nesting!
We are now waiting for China to issue us our Travel Approval. Basically this means they contact Ellie's orphanage to verify she is still eligible for adoption and there have been no significant health changes. Once they get word back from the orphanage, they will contact our agency with our Travel Approval. Typically this process takes anywhere from 2-4 weeks. Our paperwork has been back in China for just over one week now.
We have an advantage that we are travelling by ourselves and do not need to wait for any others to receive their Travel Approval. As soon as we receive our TA, our agency can set up our consulate appointments and we can purchase our airline tickets. I would love to hear something back from China this week still. Recently, they have been getting TAs out in a very timely fashion.....some in actually less than 2 weeks.
I have to admit the Nesting Bug has begun to bite! I cleaned the whole house (even under furniture) on Saturday. It has been awhile since I have tackled that job. Ellie's room is coming together nicely. It is so much fun to decorate a girly room after 2 boys! I also did some shopping last week......bottles, diapers, onesies, jammies, bibs and on and on. It has been almost 10 years since I have had to buy any of that stuff and never in PINK! I did keep myself under control but it sure was fun!
I'll attempt to post pictures of the nursery once the furniture is set up.....hopefully by this time next week.
We have an advantage that we are travelling by ourselves and do not need to wait for any others to receive their Travel Approval. As soon as we receive our TA, our agency can set up our consulate appointments and we can purchase our airline tickets. I would love to hear something back from China this week still. Recently, they have been getting TAs out in a very timely fashion.....some in actually less than 2 weeks.
I have to admit the Nesting Bug has begun to bite! I cleaned the whole house (even under furniture) on Saturday. It has been awhile since I have tackled that job. Ellie's room is coming together nicely. It is so much fun to decorate a girly room after 2 boys! I also did some shopping last week......bottles, diapers, onesies, jammies, bibs and on and on. It has been almost 10 years since I have had to buy any of that stuff and never in PINK! I did keep myself under control but it sure was fun!
I'll attempt to post pictures of the nursery once the furniture is set up.....hopefully by this time next week.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Introducing Ellie Renae Morris.....
We just got the call from our agency! She was born on August 30, 2007.....just over 6 months old! We are thrilled and can't wait to coax some smiles out of those chubby cheeks! I'm sure her daddy and big brothers will have her giggling in no time!
UPDATE:
I just received some additional information that says Ellie is 14 pounds and 24 inches long. Obviously much of the bulk we see in the pictures is extra layers of clothing! They also said she is a deep sleeper, laughs out loud and has a ready smile. Her personality was described as active, restless and quick in reaction.....not sure what to make of all of that!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Almost There!
The rumors are flying through the adoption circles that the cut off for this month is January 4th.....that means we are in! Now we wait for "the call" from our agency saying they have our referral. There are no rumors yet that referrals have left China yet, so most likely we will be waiting until Monday or Tuesday before hearing anything.
The thought that we actually have been matched with our little girl is amazing. God knew who she was from the start of her little life, but knowing that her paperwork has been matched with ours is awesome. Hang on, sweet Ellie, we are almost there!
The thought that we actually have been matched with our little girl is amazing. God knew who she was from the start of her little life, but knowing that her paperwork has been matched with ours is awesome. Hang on, sweet Ellie, we are almost there!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to our online journal of our journey to find our daughter, Ellie, in China. We are excited about the opportunity to become parents again and know that God has perfectly picked Ellie for our family, just as He knit together our boys.
How It Works:
Currently China has matched (referred) families that were "logged in" to China's system through the date of December 27, 2005. In other words, if all the paperwork (dossier) was turned in and processed through China's International Adoption system by 12/27/05, a referral has happened. Our Log In Date (LID) is January 4, 2006. Speculations within the adoption circles say that we could possibly be in the next batch that is given a referral!
China does referrals once per month, typically at the end of each month; however, sometimes this does drag into the beginning of the next month. We are hoping and praying that we will see our referral with the batch that is processed the end of February!
Once a referral has happenened, we will be given a picture of our baby, any medical history that is known, the reason that she is an orphan, and any other pertinent information. At that time we sign some additional paperwork stating that we will accept this referral and send it back to our agency who then overnights it to China. We then wait anywhere from 2-5 weeks for our Travel Approval from China. Once this is obtained, our agency can set up all consulate appointments. After appointments are set, we will be able to purchase tickets and go get our girl! We expect to travel around 4-6 weeks after receiving our referral.
When we started this process in July of 2005, the wait from the LID to referral was around 7 months. We have just passed the 25 month marker. There are many ideas and speculations as to why the wait has increased so dramatically. All of these thoughts are truly educated guesses. One of the more prominent thoughts is in regard to the Summer Olympics being in Beijing this year. The belief is China is wanting to slow down the number of foreigners coming into their country while the entire world's attention is focused on them. Like I said, these are only guesses.
We can rest in the thought that God has His arms of protection and safety around Ellie while she waits for her mommy and daddy and big brothers. We continue to be amazed at how He has provided us this opportunity to become parents again!
How It Works:
Currently China has matched (referred) families that were "logged in" to China's system through the date of December 27, 2005. In other words, if all the paperwork (dossier) was turned in and processed through China's International Adoption system by 12/27/05, a referral has happened. Our Log In Date (LID) is January 4, 2006. Speculations within the adoption circles say that we could possibly be in the next batch that is given a referral!
China does referrals once per month, typically at the end of each month; however, sometimes this does drag into the beginning of the next month. We are hoping and praying that we will see our referral with the batch that is processed the end of February!
Once a referral has happenened, we will be given a picture of our baby, any medical history that is known, the reason that she is an orphan, and any other pertinent information. At that time we sign some additional paperwork stating that we will accept this referral and send it back to our agency who then overnights it to China. We then wait anywhere from 2-5 weeks for our Travel Approval from China. Once this is obtained, our agency can set up all consulate appointments. After appointments are set, we will be able to purchase tickets and go get our girl! We expect to travel around 4-6 weeks after receiving our referral.
When we started this process in July of 2005, the wait from the LID to referral was around 7 months. We have just passed the 25 month marker. There are many ideas and speculations as to why the wait has increased so dramatically. All of these thoughts are truly educated guesses. One of the more prominent thoughts is in regard to the Summer Olympics being in Beijing this year. The belief is China is wanting to slow down the number of foreigners coming into their country while the entire world's attention is focused on them. Like I said, these are only guesses.
We can rest in the thought that God has His arms of protection and safety around Ellie while she waits for her mommy and daddy and big brothers. We continue to be amazed at how He has provided us this opportunity to become parents again!
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