Application Approved!

One tiny milestone, but very exciting... we mailed in our application to the agency on Tuesday, and the document package arrived today! I feel like it is the adoption equivalent to a positive pregnancy test. The paperchase officially begins! Hurrah!!!

Trish, one of my oldest and bestest friends, came over tonight to hang out and watch movies, and she brought me a gift: the book "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes". As I'm told, it's a must-have and I can't wait to read it for the first of what I know will be millions of times. We're very excited to have June's book collection already under way! Thank you Trish!!

Trying on the names "Nana, Grandpop and Grandmom"

Well, we have officially made the adoption announcement to our families. I wrote a little speech, which I read to my mom, sister and brother-in-law, and Mike's parents on Christmas Eve. We weren't sure how they would react... after all, the idea of adoption from China had become a regular part of our thoughts and discussions, but it was brand new to them - and we were ready for shock and maybe even a little disappointment that we're not going the old-fashioned way.

Shocked, I think they were... but the outpouring of joy, love and support was more than we could have hoped for! Lots of tears when we revealed her name, and I think that moment has bonded our families forever. For the rest of the night, you could hear the name "June" being spoken periodically... along with discussions like "I think I want to be called 'Nanny... but maybe I like Nana better!" Grandparent names were quickly snatched up, followed by a tidal wave of baby-related topics that had been pent up for years. Meeting at the airport after our arrival back, crib selections, babysitting schedules. Whoa, Nellie! We should probably get our homestudy approved before we start picking out patterns, you think?? But, we feel strongly that all will end well with little June in our arms, and feel there is no harm in letting our parents daydream the way we have for many weeks now. The more the merrier.

Tomorrow we hand in the application to La Vida... hopefully next week we will begin the formal process!

Saying goodbye

Mike's grandfather passed away this week. It was a sad day for the whole family, but not altogether unexpected. Pop Pop was 86 and lived a long, interesting life. As we've been spending some extra time with family, we keep hearing more stories - the kind people don't think to share under normal circumstances but now are reminded of little things that paint more of a picture of his life. One nice thing that the funeral director is doing is asking everyone who attends the funeral to write a note about their favorite memory of Pop Pop. These will all eventually be sent to the family. Too quickly I think we forget some of these stories, so it will be nice to preserve them.

I've been invited to sing at the service tomorrow. I need to brush up a little bit, but am very honored that they've asked me to be a part of this. Will do my best.

Over the past week we have kind of wished that Mike's parents knew about the adoption plans, that it might cheer them up a little bit to know that even though one generation of the family has gone, another one will be coming soon. But we agree that hearing the news on Christmas morning will probably make for a brighter holiday for them. We've written a little speech. I'll try to remember to post it after we share it with them.

Our journey begins

Hello!

This is my first post to our adoption blog. Mike and I have been discussing international adoption, off and on, for over a year, and more recently we have decided that this is the path we want to take to build our family. After reading several books on the topic, talking endlessly about it, and visiting two agencies that specialize in adoptions from China, we've decided that we will begin the process in early January and hopefully, about a year later, we'll be on our way to China to meet our child.

We are very excited about the experience that awaits us. Some people have asked us why we aren't pursuing a baby the old fashioned way. In short, we both feel that we could love a baby in the same way no matter how he or she comes to us. From the few first months we were dating, we talked about how we both liked the idea of giving a child a chance to grow up in a family instead of an orphanage. Plus, even though my health risks are not that scary, I want to do what is best for my health so that I can be an active mom, not a sick one. And finally, we are both fascinated with life in other countries and welcome the chance to learn more about a culture we currently know little about.

Since we are adopting from China, we will be getting a girl. 95% of the babies available for adoption are girls. More on the story of the baby girls in need of homes later.

Her name will be June Nicole. A little about her name: Mike's father Dale lost his dad in WWII. His dad was also named Dale, specifically Dale Junior. In September, we went to a WWII presentation where the letters from Dale Junior were read. Every letter was signed "June". This name always stuck with me as a way to honor the memory of Dale Junior, and when I suggested it to Mike, he liked the idea too. Her middle name, Nicole, is in memory of my dad, Nick.

So that's about it for now. There's much more to say but I'll try not to blather on too much in any given entry. Thanks for reading and I look forward to sharing the journey to our daughter June with those who are interested in following along. :-)