Someone asked about our vaccines. I posted on facebook that we were shocked to have to pay $1225 for our vaccines and we still have to go back to get shots 2 and 3 of Hepatitis, which will be another $700. OUCH!! I had planned for about $600, so hopefully insurance we reimburse us some of the costs.
We had planned to get Hep A and B and update our Tetanus shots. However, after talking to the nurse, we decided to go by what the CDC recommends and take all the recommended vaccines to travel to China. Those who know us personally know that we tend to have weird situations happen to us (some might call it back luck) and you also know that I (Melissa) will catch anything. So we got Tetanus (Tdap, which includes Pertusis-whopping cough and Diptheria) MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), Polio, Hepatitis and we are taking oral Typhoid. Geez!! My arms hurt and I have a big warm spot where I got one of them, but basically I'm fine. David feels like he has a mild flu today and aches all over.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
800 approved, PDF rcvd
So where are we now? Well, that's hard to explain.
For the last couple weeks we have been working on the American side of things. We took the original immigration approval that we received to bring a child to the US and matched it up with our Letter of Approval to adopt Tu, Xue Hua. We got approval for her to become a citizen of the United States. Then we just finished this process..... to request her visa and now have a pdf that goes to the consulate in Guangzhou China for the final step. We have applied for our visas to travel to China. We have paid our orphanage donation due to our friends and family's generosity during our bracelet sale and auction. We have most of the money set aside for travel and are just tying up loose ends to make sure we have it all when needed. That will be a last minute purchase, just before we go.
In two weeks, on March 7, our agency rep in China will pick up our article 5. We have to have this and then we are in line for travel approval. The wait for travel approval takes 2-4 weeks. When they call with travel approval, we could leave within a week, at most 2 weeks. We could leave the last week of March or certainly in April. I don't see any reason we won't have Caitie in our arms in April.
So now we are finishing up the nursery. We are purchasing and putting together all the stuff we need to take with us, which is 4 sheets of legal paper, single spaced, including such oddities as scabies medication (you don't want to know), power bars, oatmeal packs, instant coffee and beef jerkey (there will be a lot of meals in the hotel room, which will not have regular refrigeration) and things you might need like duct tape, tweezers and metal tongs. I mean who would have thought!! And we have to keep the luggage to 44 pounds each suitcase. We are also hoping to carry some supplies with us to Eagles Wings, the wonderful foster home that Caitie has been in since December 10.
For those who have been asking if she is still in foster care, the answer is a jubilant YES!!! We can only say that God has intervened and the children at Eagles Wings are still in their foster homes. We have no idea why they have been so blessed to stay in their homes when other sweet children in wonderful, loving foster homes had to go back to the orphanages, but they are still there. We know that this could change at any time, but we feel blessed for each and every day she has remained in their care. Before we go get her, she will be transferred back to the orphanage as we can only get her from the orphanage, not from the foster home. Wish it were different, but that's the way it is. We hope she does not get sent back until just before we get her.
Now we are starting to make plans for being gone. David and I are both planning for work while we are gone and are trying to prepare the kids and animals. I have two big consignment sales in March where I hope to make a little more money to give us some spending money in China and I also hope to shop for some girly things. In the midst of all of that we are trying to wrap up doctor's appointments and vaccinations and we realized an immediate need for Connor to start braces. It's all good, but crazy right now.
We are so thankful for all our friends and family for helping us through this, through love, prayer, financial gifts, baby gifts, girly gifts, gifts of service to us and our children. We are just so blessed. We're going to get our baby girl soon!!! Can you even believe it?!?!?!
For the last couple weeks we have been working on the American side of things. We took the original immigration approval that we received to bring a child to the US and matched it up with our Letter of Approval to adopt Tu, Xue Hua. We got approval for her to become a citizen of the United States. Then we just finished this process..... to request her visa and now have a pdf that goes to the consulate in Guangzhou China for the final step. We have applied for our visas to travel to China. We have paid our orphanage donation due to our friends and family's generosity during our bracelet sale and auction. We have most of the money set aside for travel and are just tying up loose ends to make sure we have it all when needed. That will be a last minute purchase, just before we go.
In two weeks, on March 7, our agency rep in China will pick up our article 5. We have to have this and then we are in line for travel approval. The wait for travel approval takes 2-4 weeks. When they call with travel approval, we could leave within a week, at most 2 weeks. We could leave the last week of March or certainly in April. I don't see any reason we won't have Caitie in our arms in April.
So now we are finishing up the nursery. We are purchasing and putting together all the stuff we need to take with us, which is 4 sheets of legal paper, single spaced, including such oddities as scabies medication (you don't want to know), power bars, oatmeal packs, instant coffee and beef jerkey (there will be a lot of meals in the hotel room, which will not have regular refrigeration) and things you might need like duct tape, tweezers and metal tongs. I mean who would have thought!! And we have to keep the luggage to 44 pounds each suitcase. We are also hoping to carry some supplies with us to Eagles Wings, the wonderful foster home that Caitie has been in since December 10.
For those who have been asking if she is still in foster care, the answer is a jubilant YES!!! We can only say that God has intervened and the children at Eagles Wings are still in their foster homes. We have no idea why they have been so blessed to stay in their homes when other sweet children in wonderful, loving foster homes had to go back to the orphanages, but they are still there. We know that this could change at any time, but we feel blessed for each and every day she has remained in their care. Before we go get her, she will be transferred back to the orphanage as we can only get her from the orphanage, not from the foster home. Wish it were different, but that's the way it is. We hope she does not get sent back until just before we get her.
Now we are starting to make plans for being gone. David and I are both planning for work while we are gone and are trying to prepare the kids and animals. I have two big consignment sales in March where I hope to make a little more money to give us some spending money in China and I also hope to shop for some girly things. In the midst of all of that we are trying to wrap up doctor's appointments and vaccinations and we realized an immediate need for Connor to start braces. It's all good, but crazy right now.
We are so thankful for all our friends and family for helping us through this, through love, prayer, financial gifts, baby gifts, girly gifts, gifts of service to us and our children. We are just so blessed. We're going to get our baby girl soon!!! Can you even believe it?!?!?!
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