Lindy's first Easter

To many, Easter signifies new beginnings and new life. This year, it was impossible not to think about new life as we held our precious daughter in our arms. Although we did not give her physical life, we pray because we have brought her into our family that she will know Christ and have the gift of eternal life.

Lindy went to church for the very first time and was a good girl. She did get a little bit chatty, so Daddy took her out so she would not disturb everyone. For years I have reassured friends that people are forgiving when they hear babies make noise and not to feel too self-conscious about it...Well, as soon as Lindy started making noise, I felt like she was probably the noisiest kid ever. Now I know why my friends have looked at me like I'm crazy when I say, "Don't worry about it."

She met many new friends and looks forward to getting to know them better in the future.

Lindy took a few moments out of her busy schedule on Easter to have some photos taken. The chair is a gift from Aunt Michelle & Uncle Pat and her cousins in Arizona. I think cousin Brooke helped pick it out, because it is pink and purple!

Enjoy!



















Love,

Don, Lisa, & Lindy

We're home!

After more hours of travel time than I can calculate, we landed safely in San Antonio on Thursday, April 13th before 11:00 pm--7.5 hours later than anticipated. Due to mechanical problems in Hong Kong, we were delayed by 2 hours and subsequently missed our connecting flight in San Francisco. The best they could do for us was get us home late in the evening. This was very disappointing news for all of us, because we were so ready to be home.

Despite our very late arrival, several special friends and Grandma & Grandpa Caples were at the airport to greet Lindy with a warm reception and lots of red, white, and blue for one of America's newest citizens. (She officially became a U.S. citizen when we landed in San Francisco.) She was a little apprehensive about all the attention at first, but did warm up some despite being so weary and sleep-deprived. She certainly was a trooper, considering April 13th was the longest day in history for her, as her day had begun at 5:00 am (China time).

When we got home, the patriotic fairies (G & G Caples) had decorated lots of balloons and welcome home banners throughout the house. What a special homecoming for all of us. Thank you so much for all of you who were at the airport to welcome us home. I know several people had wanted to be there but weren't able to because of the delays, but believe me--we felt your love and support, nontheless!

Although we had a wonderful trip to China and an experience of a lifetime, we are thrilled to be back home. Now our goal is to try to get Lindy into a normal routine and to catch up with family and friends. Oh, and maybe try to catch up on a little sleep, too...

Thank you for every prayer, encouraging word, and kind deed! We are truly blessed by all of you.






Love,
Don, Lisa, and Lindy

On our way home

We've made it to Hong Kong and we're on our way home. Wish us luck on the long flight.

Red Couch photos at the White Swan

One of the traditions of staying at the White Swan is for the children to be photographed on the red couches near the song birds in the golden bird cages. Often, the children are dressed in traditional Chinese clothing of some sort.

Below are some pictures of Lindy and the girls in our travel group, as well as some internet friends I have made. As you can imagine, it is pretty hard to get them all happy and looking at the camera at once.

Enjoy!

A day in Lindy's life

Hello everyone,

I didn't resize any pictures today for posting so I'll try to upload a couple of days worth tomorrow.

Some of you have asked what our typical day is like so here is a summary. Our days here in Guangzhou are a lot more relaxed than they were in Beijing or Changsha. Breakfast is included in each place and it's western style so we don't dare miss it. It's usually our biggest meal of the day. Lindy loves everything but we usually only give her eggs, white bread, bananas, watermelon, ham, and cheerios. I think the rule of thumb is to wait until after 1 year old to feed them eggs but she has been eating them for a while so we aren't sweating it. She doesn't care much for a bottle but we're making her drink Chinese formula mixed with Rice cereal. That's what she was on so we decided not to rock the boat. She has been drinking more of a bottle each day with meals. She loves watermelon but, like I mentioned earlier, I limit it so she doesn't pee all day. We've been adding in some prunes occasionally since she gets a little backed up every couple of days. It's probably all the rice she eats. In Beijing, all meals were included and planned out. In Changsha, there was one additional meal included with the group and a tour scheduled each day. Here in Guangzhou were doing a tour about every other day with most trips out for shopping. The tours kind of upset Lindy's schedule a little with naps but it is good to get out of the hotel room and do something each day. Lindy is extremely social so she loves going out in the Baby Bjorn - facing out of course so she can look at everyone and wave to them. She is such a hit with both the Chinese and the Americans. Here in Guangzhou things are very relaxed. In fact, we don't have to do anything on Tuesday other than shop and eat dinner on a river cruise on the Pearl River. It's the last night our group will be together so we're going to celebrate one last time. Most of the shopping here is about 50 feet from the hotel so it is very convenient.

Lindy was awesome today. She only cried a few times during the day and usually because she was getting bored or we weren't feeding her fast enough. She wakes up at about 7:30 or 8 and plays in her crib for 30 minutes. Then we get her out, eat a bottle of formula and rice cereal, and then get dressed. We head to breakfast at about 8:30. She seems to want a map by 10:30 but only sleeps for 30-45 minutes. She's eating table food for all meals. She seems to want another nap at about 2-3 but tours have been interrupting that one. If she weren't so nosy she would fall asleep in the Baby Bjorn but she usually stays awake to watch everything all afternoon. If we ride around in the bus she will fall asleep for 15-20 minutes. We've been eating dinner at about 6pm and it usually lasts until 7:30. We take baths from 7:30 to 8 and then drink a bottle before bed. She usually goes to sleep by 8:30-8:45. The only hard part of the day is between bath and sleep. Today she finally went to sleep with no fuss. We then repeat each day.

She's really funny to watch and her personality is really coming out. Today, while Lisa was in the store, Lindy was in the Bjorn yelling at everyone. (She's going to interrupt church with that voice.) She loves birds, lights, elevator buttons, mirrors, and babies. She loves to look at herself in the mirror and waves to me when she sees me in the mirror. When I pull out my wallet to purchase things she want to look at my drivers license. I show it to her, she points to my picture, looks up at me, and then kisses my pictures. She's definitely a daddy's girl and I'm not doing anything to stop that!! Mommy will get her turn when I go back to work.

Well that's about all for now. We'll try to post 1 or 2 more times before we head home. Thanks again for all your prayers, emails, and comments (which I still can't read.) We'll enjoy them when we get home.



Love,
Don, Lisa, and Lindy

Killing time

We've completed one day at the White Swan. There were a lot of babies at the hotel in Changsha but this is unbelievable. There are babies everywhere. Lindy loves the breakfast buffet which features Western-style food. We're trying to get in fruits for breakfast since the other meals are usually light on fruits and veggies. She loves watermelon but Dad has to limit the intake unless he wants to change diapers all day.

Today we completed all the paperwork we need for tomorrow's medical exam, Tuesday's consulate appointment, and Wednesday's Oath ceremony. Lindy was happy all day - until the end of bath time. For some reason she just hates getting out of the bath, getting in her jammies, and getting ready for bed. She woke up playful and enjoyed playing with mommy all morning. In the afternoon we went to a local mall. It was six stories tall and seemed to have shop after shop. It was similar to putting a thousand Sam Moons into a mall. We topped off the evening with a Dim Sum dinner at Don's request.

Happy Birthday to my Dad.

Here are some pictures of Lindy today.

Love,

Don, Lisa, and Lindy

We made it to the White Swan

I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Guangzhou next to a guy from Sweden, sipping a cup of coffee, and blogging. I'm finally able to post pictures without waiting 10 minutes for a page to load and then erroring out. Lisa's in the room with Lindy who's sound asleep by now. The pages on this site are in Chinese so I'm trying to hit buttons and hyperlinks from memory. I can't remember which one is the spell check so my apologies for any mistakes on any of the postings.




We left Changsha today around 2pm. It was a little sad in that we aren't sure if we'll ever make it back to Lindy's hometown. On the other hand, leaving Changsha means the process is complete on the Chinese side and it's in the hands of the US Consulate.

We are staying at the famous White Swan Hotel. It is much, much nicer than I imagined. Lindy has only stayed in 5 star hotels so we'll have to work on lowering her expectations in the future. Shamian Island is beautiful, and seems like a quaint neighborhood in Charleston rather than a city in China with 12 million people. We don't have much to do until Monday when we go see the doctor for a mandated check. Until then, Lisa plans to help the local economy while outfitting Lindy with stuff and collecting trinkets to take home. I don't have pictures available today but I was able to add them to previous blogs.

I still can't view our blog or the comments but my some of the emails we've received I gather that there are a few. The weather is much warmer than any weatherman forecasted so I wear whatever is clean and best matches the day's temps. Lisa continues to "happen" to match outfits with Lindy. We tried to pack light so tomorrow we going to have some laundry done again. Reminds me of the "ancient Chinese secret" commercial of the 70s and 80s.

The food has been awesome and Lindy still has not not met a spoon of food that she doesn't like. On the way to the airport, we stopped by McDonalds and introduced her to french fries. They're just as popular here.

Thanks to everyone for the emails. We think of you often and are starting to get anxious to head home. We'll post more pictures each day with the improved connectivity.

Love,

Don, Lisa, and Lindy

Last day in Changsha

This is our last day in Changsha. Today it was amazing to see the changes in Lindy. She wakes up each morning, looks at us, and seems to say, "You're still here??" She still eats a ton of table food. She doesn't care for a bottle much and we heard that a lot of the babies in foster care are fed everything with a spoon so that seems to make sense. She won't drink water from a bottle or sippy cup but she will from a spoon or a glass. Maybe we'll try a straw soon. The Chinese give the babies here egg at every meal so we hope her cholesterol isn't through the roof by the time we get home. Today, we went to the Hunan Embroidery Institute. The Hunan people are famous for their embroidery and it was really amazing.

Our adoptions documents were ready this afternoon so now the adoption is official in China. We received her Chinese passport which will allow us to go to Guangzhou to process through US Immigration at the US Consulate. Our Consulate appointment is on Tuesday at 10:30. We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow afternoon. We finally were able to access email today but it isn't allowing replies. We're also still not able to upload pictures to the blog. Hopefully, Guangzhou will have much better connectivity. We'll post more pictures when we are able. I am posting really low res images so if you try to print them, they may not look too good. We'll make them all available when we get home.


Love,

Don, Lisa, and Lindy

Visit to the orphanage

Today our morning tour was to the Changsha #1 Social Welfare Institute. This is the orphanage where Lindy first lived. She was there for about 2 months before she went into foster care. It was surprising to us that it was about an hour out of town. The orphanage was responsible for her while in foster care so the foster family had to periodically drive all that distance. We saw two ox plaowing along the way and some interesting form of plaowing the rice fields.

We didn't get to see much of the orphanage but it was nice to be able to look around. Many of the doors had Disney characters on them which helps to explain Lindy's fascination with Mickey Mouse. Looks like we know where we will be headed on vacations. They wouldn't let us take pictures of the babies so we were unable to get early pictures of some future family's children. The nannys recognized one of the 3 year olds in our group but not the babies. Overall, it was a nice place and is considered a model SWI in China.

Lindy loves to ride around in the bus and usually falls asleep after taking everything in. Following an afternoon nap, we headed to Walmart. It was interesting to see the similarities and the differences. The greeters are about 50 years younger here than in the States. It was a 2 story store in the middle of a mall. We get quite a few stares walking around in the crowded places but Lindy usually just waves to everyone.

Today, Lindy started to be a little more pleasant to Mom. She has been warm to Dad since he carries her around quite a bit in the Baby Bjorn. She started giving kisses and we found her tickle spots.

The computer is not allowing us to upload pictures so we'll insert them as soon as we are able.

Love,
Don, Lisa, and Lindy

Getting the hang of it

We're starting to get the hang of this parent thing. Lindy is fun but also a lot of work. She sleeps well, eats like her father (very well), and loves to walk around in the Baby Bjorn. She loves to look around at people on the street. She also loves to look at babies - whether they are the other babies here or pictures of babies on her cereal box or clothing tags. She likes books and kisses the girl in the picture every time. In between the fun events, it's a little bit of a battle. She hates getting dressed or undressed, diaper changes, pre-bath, post-bath, etc... She definitely has the "Spicy" personality of a Hunan girl.

Today, we visited the Hunan Provincial Museum. They have the body of the minister's wife from 2100 years ago on display. They found her in the 1970s while excavating for new construction. There were a lot of well preserved items in her coffin along with her body. Some in our group called her the "2100 year old dead lady." Ahhh, what fun.









Love,

Don, Lisa, and Lindy

Adoption Day

Today we returned to the adoption center to make it official. We finalized the adoption, and our Fan Xiao Jia is now Lindy Li-Xiao Osborn. We promised we would take care of her and never abandon or abuse her. We signed several papers and had our first family photo taken.

We have spent the afternoon in our room playing with her (in between naps), and trying to get to know her and understand what makes her tick. She waves and plays peekaboo. She cries whenever one of us leaves her sight. Things are going as well as I think they can.

It is hard to believe we have been gone almost a week, and how much our lives have changed. We are enjoying China, getting as much rest as we can, and have stayed well.

We must sign off for now and go get some dinner. We don't know when we'll be able to post again, but will try as soon as we can.

Thanks for all the wonderful emails. They are a source of encouragement to us.

Love,
D, L, & L

Here she is

Well we finally had some success with a computer. Thanks to everyone who is checking this blog daily and patiently waiting. The Great Firewall is alive and well!!

On Monday morning we went to the provincial adoption center with the others in our group. We were supposed to get them at 9:30, but they were a little late. The waiting seemed endless. Finally, at around 10:00, they brought the girls in and the waiting was finally over. We received Lindy in an event that lasted less than five minutes, and a process that took almost two years. The crying started soon after as this was a very traumatizing event for them. Lindy looked as sweet as her pictures but cried for the next several hours. She was really tired, and finally went down for a nap. She seems to be a good sleeper and a good eater. It seems like she is recognizing us. We think she is teething, and believe she is constipated, but other than that she seems fine. We are a little overwhelmed as most first-time parents are. You know they really don't come with instructions, and the ones we got were in Chinese. :o)

Here are some pictures of our long-awaited arrival...

Sending our love,
Don, Lisa & Lindy

In Changsha

NiHao,

We've been busy sightseeing and have had no access to the hotel computer. We flew to Changsha (Lindy's hometown) on Sunday afternoon and are now at the Dolton Hotel. There was a chance that we would get Lindy today but that fell thru. We're bummed but will be able to get her on Monday morning at 9:30am. Hopefully in the next day or so we can add some backdated info and post some pictures. The hotel computer is 1 Yuan per minute (12 cents) and it takes about 2 minutes for a simple page to load. (Remember dial-up - it's worse!!) We can't view our blog which means we can't yet see the comments that you post. The best way to reach us right now is to send an email to our Yahoo address listed on our blog. Thanks for the encouraging emails you've sent. We'd like to respond to everyone but haven't been able to yet. Keep praying for us and for Lindy.

Love Don

We Made It to China

Hello everyone,
After a long, long, long day we finally made it to
Beijing. We've been here a day and found a computer
in our hotel. The hotel is very nice. They were full
at our reservation level so they upgraded us to a
suite. Very Sweet. Today, we went sightseeing with 2
other families in our group. We went to the Panda
House at the Beijing Zoo, the Summer Palace, and the
Hutong. The pandas were a little dirty sitting in the
dirt and mud. The Summer Palace is where the emperor
spent the summers a few hundred years ago during the
hot Beijing summers. The Hutong is the old-style
housing for a large number of people. It consists of
narrow alleys with quadrangle houses all viewed via a
rickshaw. We finished the day off with a Chinese
acrobat show. Breakfast was great, lunch was so-so,
and dinner was nice. Lisa had fun with the
squatty-potties today (unfortunately no pictures).
We're not yet able to add pictures to this blog or
view it so hopefully the text will be adequate for
now. We're doing fine and look forward to emails and
comments. Tomorrow, it's off to the Great Wall and
the Ming tombs.

Here's one of us on the Great Wall. It's steeper than it looks (that is if you think it looks flat).

The time has finally come...

Tomorrow marks another milestone. It is the day we leave for China. To some it may seem like our journey is nearing the end; however, it is really just beginning. I found a short poem that captures some of what we are feeling...

The Wait is Over

One last road to travel,
One last way to go.
One more day to forever,
Just to let you know.
The wait is finally over,
The journey is just beginning.
Now this comes to let you know,
Dreams really do come true.

-Author unknown

The bags are packed. We have checked our lists over and over--and it appears we are as ready as we'll ever be; however, who is really ever fully ready for parenthood?

It's quiet; yet, I know it won't be this quiet again for a long time. I am tired; yet, I know I'm about to undergo a tiredness like I've never ever experienced. For the most part, life is pretty easy; yet, I know it is about to become more complex. Why take a lovely even number of two, and turn it to an odd number of three? The answer is found in a four letter word--LOVE. Love is what has brought us to this place. Our love for each other, and our love for our chosen child who has grown in our hearts for years. Ready? Yes, I believe we are...

We will be thinking of you and missing you while we are away. Please keep us in your prayers.

Love,
Don & Lisa

Lasts and firsts

I have always been a person who observed "lasts." Call me sappy, but I always have. "Lasts" are often accompanied with some tears here and there. Whether it was the last time I walked down the halls at high school, or the last time I signed my maiden name, lasts have always been something I have been accutely aware of. Sometimes I would share my "lasts", other times I kept them to myself.

Well, I am at it again!

Yesterday was potentially my "last" uninterrupted peaceful church service (for a while). Today was my "last" day at work for 12 weeks. Tomorrow is my "last" day off by myself. Last week was our "last" outing with Jeff and Jennifer Hassmann without kids. The list goes on and on...

Well, I've been trying to think of things differently. Now I realize there are so many more "firsts" to look forward to: The "first" time I see Lindy (either on Sunday or Monday). The "first" time I hold her. The "first" time I hear her laugh a deep belly laugh. The "first" time she calls me mommy. The list goes on and on...

The lasts and the firsts make life special. I look forward to telling you about many of our "firsts" over the next few days.

Love,
Lisa

Lindy's 100 Good Wishes quilt is complete

Today my friend, Jean, made a very special delivery--Lindy's 100 Good Wishes quilt. Jean put so much effort into this very special keepsake, and we just can't thank her enough. In China, the birth of a baby is welcomed with a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes quilt. The quilt is traditionally made from scraps of clothing contributed by family and friends. This special project for Lindy began many months ago, and is now ready. Thank you for all who contributed, and Jean thank you for all you did.
It is quilted in red thread which has a special significance. There is an old Chinese legend which goes as follows:

"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break."

It is God's plan that Lindy join our family. Our red thread is getting shorter, and shorter and when Lindy comes home, she will have this beautiful quilt, filled with many stories, ready for her.

I look forward to the day when we tell her about each special contributor and the stories associated with several of the squares. Whether it is about the fuzzy pink square from cousin Brooke, or the piece of a yellow striped sheet that was evacuated from a New York City penthouse after 9/11, this quilt will "speak" for years. Right now, it says, "Welcome home, Lindy Li-Xiao Osborn."

Lao Lao's labor of love

Well, Lindy's room is almost complete, with the exception of adding some finishing touches to the walls that didn't quite get done, and of course Lindy in the crib. :o) Her nursery is nothing like I would have dreamt it would be. We started out thinking pale green and pink toile with white furniture. As you can see, it is not even close.

When we first started the adoption process, we referred to our daughter as our "China doll." One day I typed China doll in a search engine and found an adorable fabric named China Dolls. I fell in love with it, and had to have it. In HGTV talk, it became my inspiration piece. I continued to buy other coordinating fabrics and handed them over to my mom who had agreed to design and sew
the bedding and window treatments for Lindy's room. She spent many sleepless hours creating her designs, rather than counting sheep and labored for months making several pieces.


Today we received her crib quilt. It beautifully incorporates all the fabrics used in the room, and is even signed, "Made with love for Lindy by Grandma Caples. February 2006." It is wonderful.

I call this post "Lao Lao's labor of love," because Lao Lao is the name for maternal grandmother in Chinese. It truly has been a labor of love. Not just a grandmother's love for her granddaughter, but a mother's love for her daughter.

Thank you, Mom, for all your work. We love everything you did, and we love you!

Love,
Don & Lisa

We received our Travel Notice

Today we received our official approval from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) to travel to China.

We can't read Chinese, but we think it says, "Come on over." That's the best invite we've had in a long time, and we think we'll take them up on the offer.

Yes, if you're wondering, that little picture on the bottom of the document is Miss Lindy.

An anniversary of a lifechanging event

I know this blog is supposed to be more about Lindy, and not about us, but I feel compelled to write something about this, because I truly believe it is part of the journey.

Two years ago today, I was suddenly diagnosed with a very large benign brain tumor. I was immediately placed in ICU and had brain surgery less than two days later. Thankfully, the surgery was a success and my recovery was speedy.

During my recovery, I spent a lot of time thinking about what could have been, and how blessed I was to have a second chance. During that time, I knew I needed to make some changes in my life, work on being a better person, and pursue unfulfilled dreams.

The biggest unfulfilled dream in my life, was my desire to be a Mom. Don and I had been on the fence for so long about what to do about having a family. We had been trying for so long, without success. We had talked about adoption, but hadn't really pursued it. A dear friend, Megan Marchese, kept saying, "You could adopt a baby from China." She had told me that multiple times. First, when her older sister brought a baby home from China. Now, her younger sister was just starting the process. This time, when Meg said it, my eyes and ears were truly opened. There was a new clarity. The seed she had been planting for so long, took root. It wasn't long until it started to grow, and before I knew it, Don and I were talking and talking about it more.

Another dear friend, Jaime Bailey, gave us an ultimatum. On a road trip to Oklahoma City over the fourth of July, she told us to make up our minds and get our paperwork going by my birthday, August 6th. Well...with the seed that already had taken root, Jaime's ultimatum, and prayer, we finally hopped off the fence!

I believe God's timing is perfect, even when we don't think so. I believe I had to walk through the "valley of the shadow of death" before this journey to Lindy could begin. So, it is with joy that I celebrate the second anniversary of this lifechanging event!!!

Love,
Lisa

A thank you for a mystery gift

There's a mystery taking place right now that has put us in a bit of a quandary.

Last Tuesday, March 14th, an inter-office envelope appeared in my inbin at work. There was no sender listed. I opened it to find a gift card to Best Buy with my initials labeled on it; however, it wasn't signed. I opened the sleeve of the gift card for more clues, but there was no signature. I did, however, nearly fall out of my chair when I saw the amount of the card.

I am baffled. I have tried to find out who this generous sender is, so that I can give a proper thank you, but have not yet succeeded. It's a bit awkward doing that, and this is my first anonymous gift that I can recall.

There aren't enough words to adequately express our thanks. We just want you to know we are STUNNED & OVERWHELMED by your thoughtfulness and generosity. We are so undeserving. We also want to ASSURE you this gift will be put to good use.

One friend suggested I not worry about it, and "pay it forward." That's the best advice I have gotten about this. :o)

Whoever you are, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

Love,
Don & Lisa

China or bust

WOW, what a week!

On Monday, March 13th, we finally received word from our adoption agency that they had received our travel approval. This is notification of when we can travel to China. We had been waiting and waiting for this for so long. This notification was what we needed to get our visas and our appointment with the American Consulate in China.

On Tuesday we received our Consulate Appointment date of April 11th. We were disappointed to learn that it was a week later than we originally thought, and that we won't be traveling to China next week.

After spending all week on the phone with our travel agent, we finally have purchased our tickets to and from China. Talk about some serious sticker shock!

We leave on Wednesday, March 29th and arrive in Beijing on Thursday evening, March 30th. (Keep in mind China is 14 hours of us here in San Antonio.) We'll spend a couple days in Beijing doing some sightseeing. On Sunday, April 2nd, we'll fly down to Changsha, the city where Lindy lives.

Our "Gotcha Day" (Forever Family Day) should be Monday, April 3rd. This is the day we've been waiting for; the day we will finally meet Lindy and have her placed in our arms. Lindy will be with us from this point forward. We will spend the week in Changsha and then fly to Guangzhou on Friday, April 7th. After visiting the doctor and taking care of some other business, we'll go to the American Consulate on Tuesday, April 11th, for our final interview. On Thursday, April 13th we will leave out of Hong Kong and arrive back in San Antonio on United Airlines at 4:25pm.

Stay tuned for more information!

Our Gladney travel meeting was today

We had our travel meeting today. It was every bit of the three hours that were scheduled, and more. The meeting was via conference call and it was our first introduction to the rest of the group we'll be traveling with. Our girls are all from the Changsha #1 Social Welfare Institute, and several of them were born within days of each other. The meeting, although long, was very informative and a good reminder of some things we were already aware of but probably needed to hear again.

During our meeting we were hoping Mr. Wu, the director of the China program at Gladney, would surprise us with our travel authorization (TA), and Consulate Appointments (CA). Unfortunately, that was not the case. He didn't have them. He was told they should be mailed from Beijing today. Let the waiting continue. He discussed a tentative schedule that has us leaving March 22nd and getting our girls on March 27th. This is his goal. This would be in line with the dates other people who also got their referrals in January have. During the entire process Lisa's mom has had the date March 27th in her mind as something significant. Maybe it will be the day we meet Lindy for the first time. Wouldn't that be cool???

Signing off for now!

Love,
Don & Lisa

A lovely surprise--updated photos of Lindy

Today we got a wonderful treat--updated photos of Lindy. The week before we had been told as of February 7th (9 months old) she was 18.3 pounds and about 27 inches tall. Then to see these pictures taken last week was even more special.

We were surprised to see how our little ladybug had grown so much from her referral pictures (which we think are when she is almost 3 months old). It was kind of bittersweet. It was a little sad to see that she didn't look like a little baby. However, it was such a blessing and relief to see her look so healthy and to see her smiling. We were shocked to see her standing at 9 months, and that made us wonder if she is close to walking. Time will tell...

For now, we are thrilled to be able to see her sweet face and have a better picture of what she'll look like when she is placed in our arms.

We are completely in love!

Love,
Don & Lisa

No turning back...

Today we had a consultation via conference call with Dr. Susan Gillespie, a pediatrician with the International Adoption Clinic of the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, TX. Our agency recommended we consult with a doctor who specializes in international adoption before accepting the referral, so we followed their advice.

By the time of the call, we were both kind of wondering why we were spending the money for this consult. In our hearts we knew Lindy was ours, no matter what the doctor would tell us. Each day since the referral we have fallen more in love with our little Fan Xiao Jia. She's our precious Lindy.

However, we met with Dr. Gillespie. She had reviewed Lindy's pictures and the little bit of developmental and physical information from the referral. She did not express any concerns, and was happy to learn she has been in foster care since two months of age. In addition to reviewing the medical information, she spent a lot of time answering our questions and discussing how to care for babies. She was very patient, thorough, and practical. She didn't even shriek too much when Don asked at what point would we resort to ice baths to bring down a fever.

After the call wrapped up over 90 minutes later, we immediately signed our letter of acceptance for both our agency and the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs). We headed down to Kinkos and sent our packet via Fed Ex. No turning back now...


Now we wait. We wait for the Chinese government to give us a travel authorization to come to the country so we can have a visa issued. Typically, there is a 6-8 week wait between referral and travel. Fingers crossed, we'll be leaving mid-March.

That's all for now!

Love,
Don & Lisa

Special delivery

Today I rushed home to try to meet the Fed Ex man so I could get pictures of him as he "delivered" our referral. Unfortunately, I didn't make it...So, instead our special delivery was left on the porch.

We now have all the referral information in hand, and originals of Lindy's referral pictures.

What a precious package!!!

We got the call!!!

Today, at 11:06 am, I got "the call" at work. Don and I knew we were going to get the referral this week because we had seen the information change on the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) website. However, we weren't certain what day it would be. I had it in my mind that there would be a preliminary call from Gladney to determine who should be notified first, and what numbers to call. Well, there wasn't a preliminary call. When I saw a number coming in from New York City, and heard Andrea Yonai's voice on the other end, it was the real deal. I can't describe the feeling of hearing Andrea say, "Lisa, I have your referral. I am looking at a picture of a beautiful little girl."

Overall, I remained fairly calm and didn't cry too much. I was shaking like a leaf clinging to a tree. During the call, I asked many questions to learn as much as I could about the baby. However, the information Andrea had in English was very limited. Oh, how frustrating to want to know so much, but to walk away with so little. However, I had to remind myself there will always be questions--most that won't ever be answered. Anyway, Andrea told me she was brought to the social welfare institute at five days old, and that she has been in foster care since she was two months old. We will receive a translation of "her story" in a few days.

There was about a 90 minute lapse between when I got the call, and then saw Lindy's face for the first time. During our journey I have looked at so many referral pictures, so I wasn't really sure how I pictured her. Would she be chubby? Would she be petite? Would she have that crazy hair that sticks up everywhere? Would she be bald? I had wondered how I would react, and whether I would experience the amazing love at first sight so many women undergo when they see their child for the first time, no matter how they look.

When I first saw her picture, I was speechless. I just stared. I don't remember my thoughts because I was captivated by her big, beautiful eyes. Then I came out of my trance and kept thinking, "this is my daughter, this is my daughter, this is my daughter." Does love at first sight exist? Yes, yes it does.


"Like cold water to a weary soul,
So is good news from a distant land."

--Proverbs 25:25

It is with great joy that we proudly announce the long anticipated referral of our daughter

Fan Xiao Jia
"Joyful Dawn"

Soon to be known as Lindy (Middle name TBD) Osborn
Date of birth: 05/08/2005 (Mother's Day 2005)
Changsha, Hunan Province, China
We can't wait to bring her home!!!

Thank you for your love, support, and prayers.

Love,
Don & Lisa