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October 14, 2003: Well, we've been home a few weeks! I hardly know what to write here, because there is so much
I could say. The trip to China was an emotionally difficult one for so many reasons. We were very happy to get home. Maytal
adjusted to the time difference after just one night! Took a bit longer for Mommy! Speaking of Mommy, I am trying to get the
hang of being one. But one thing is for sure, I love my little Maytal and so does her Abba!
July 27, 2003: Today we got the translation of Maytal's original referral documents! We were excited to find out there
was a note left with her that gave her birthdate! We really hope we will receive the note so we can keep it for our daughter.
We want so much to give her all the history we can. Last week we received updated photo's and measurements. Maytal is now
almost 19 lbs, 27 inches tall and has 4 teeth!
July 12, 2003: Our pumpkin's Chinese name is Han Xia, which means rosy clouds or colors of the sunset. In her referral
documents it said her name was chosen to mean "We hope she will grow beautiful like a rosy cloud".
July 10, 2003: We got Maytal's pictures today!!! One of them is on the homepage! She is a precious jewel! In addition
to what is written below, we found out, at 7mos of age she had no teeth yet, she weighed 6.6 kg (that's about 14.5 pounds)
and was 65 cm tall (26 inches approx.). She was a deep sleeper, could sit up with assistance and seize toys nearby. She is
said to have a "ready smile". We are so in love!
REFERRAL!!!!! YES!!!! On July 8, 2003 at 6pm, I received the call that we have been matched with a baby girl!
The director of our adoption agency said, "Your a mommy!!!!" I will never forget those words! Our little Maytal is residing
in Tongling, Anhui Province. Her date of birth is 9/12/2002. She is described as introverted, quiet and shy. She likes music,
responds to adult's facial expressions, gets excited at food, likes toys. We haven't seen her picture yet but we were told
she has chubby cheeks and a little knot of hair on top of her head! Tomorrow we will see her pictures for the first time.
We'll post them soon! We are so happy! It's been a long journey (just about 20 months since we started the process) but we
finally got here. Thank you to all our friends and family who have been so supportive and loving!
Our daughter's Chinese name is Han Xia. We will keep this as her middle name. So, she will be called Maytal Han Xia.
July 7, 2003: The wait is getting very difficult. Since we know we are next, but don't know what day "the call" will
come telling us about our daughter, it's hard to do much but think about her! It could be this week or it could be three weeks
from now. This is the hardest part of the wait yet! On July 5, it was 13 months exactly since our paperwork went to China
and it's been about 20 months that we have been on this journey!
The baby's room is just about finished, only needs a toy box and a little cleaning up. We are so ready to finally bring Maytal
home! In the meantime, we are contemplating how to spell her name: Maytal, Maital, Meital. What do you think?
June 28, 2003: SARS is FINALLY under control and the CCAA has begun sending referrals once again. We are next in line
and could receive our referral in as little as 2-3 weeks. Our final decision on the baby's name: "Maytal". It means "dew
drops". We can't wait to finally see our little Maytal's face!!!!! We have registered at Babies R Us and you can access the
registry through Amazon.com, under Traci (Rivkah) Baurberg
Almost 9 months since we sent our dossier to China: Today is February 27, 2003. Yes, 15 months
ago, we started the homestudy and paperwork. Just about 9 months ago we had the joy of getting our dossier to China. Has the
time gone quickly? Surprisingly, yes! The good news is that the CCAA (Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs) has started
to send out referrals for two months at a time. Our month is June 2002. They just referred babies to people who's documents
arrived in December 2001 and January 2002. If this trend continues as expected...we will finally receive our referral in just
THREE MONTHS! We can hardly believe it! We will finally see our daughter's face...what a dream it is. So...
We'll keep you all updated as usual. Love and kisses to everyone!
Heading in to our 8th month: Well, it is January 20, 2003, the year we will bring our daughter
home! We still have not begun to work on the nursery, but have found the exact paint colors we will use. You can go to the
homepage and click on the link for the baby's room to see our ideas (a work still in progress!). We have also registered at
Babies R Us. I haven't finished selecting items for the registry yet, but when I do...I'll post the information on how to
access it.
I know it seems like the wait has been forever...and it has, in deed, been long. To think we started this journey 14
months ago!!!! Well, in some ways, time has flown by. There is a lot of preparation, mentally and physically...to get
ready for our precious Maytal!
Our official DTC date!: All of the required paperwork was officially logged in on June
5, 2002. It is now in the hands of the Chinese officials, waiting for that special day when they will open up our
file and match us with our daughter!
What's Been Happening since "The BIG News"?: Well, it is now July 9, 2002 and we are thinking of
our little girl everyday. Last month, we couldn't resist buying the Princess of China Barbie Doll! I will put it safely
away until our daughter can enjoy it. We have started to think about names, what color to paint the baby's room and all the
things we will need to buy to get ready for next summer when she will be here...God willing! I pray for the birthmother of
my daughter and wonder about her circumstances. I wish I could let her know how much love we have to give! I am also
in the process of creating a 100 Good Wishes Quilt. This is a quilt for my daughter made up of squares from family and friends.
If you would like to contribute, it would mean so much to us. Just send us 2, 7x7 inch squares of cotton fabric (a fabric
that you like, or that has some meaning to you). Along with these squares, include a card or special paper with a 1x1 inch
square of the same fabric pasted on it and a written or typed message, poem, letter, prayer, quote. I will make
a quilt with the squares and collect all the messages in a special book. We can't wait to give it to our daughter one day
and let her see how much love surrounded her even before she came to live with us! When I finish the quilt, we'll
put a picture of it on this site! In the meantime, I am working on my second crocheted baby blanket! Not bad,
huh? Love to All!
The BIG News (5/21/02): We got the call today from our adoption agency that our
dossier is now being sent to China!!!!! We are "paper pregnant"! FINALLY! We are filled with so much joy and anticipation
and hope you all will continue to keep us company along the way! For those of you who have written us letters and called to
give your support...thank you! The wait will seem long at times, but we know we can get through it with our friends and
family. Can you believe that our daughter will probably be here by next summer? Just a year away...maybe even sooner!
Keep visiting to see what we're up to, help us pick out a name and help us decide what colors to use for the baby's room!
And of course, this will be the place to read all about our referral when it comes and to see the first pictures of our sweet daughter!
The News (5/9/02): Today we talked to our dossier preparation service
(Legal-Eaze) and found out that there's only one more of our documents that needs to be authenticated and it will
be done by Monday, May 13! That means our dossier will go to our adoption agency next week and then off to China soon after!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!
The News (4/30/02): We received our INS approval on 4/27/02...a little less than
three weeks after we sent the last documents needed to complete our application! We are so incredibly happy! We also finished
our photo pages and on 4/30 we sent the pictures and the INS approval to our dossier preparation service (Legal-Eaze).
We are now done with the paperchase! It took us about 5 months. But we finally did it!
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WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR:
*Applied to our adoption agency, Brightside
*Completed our home study with the JCCA and received approval and the homestudy report (see homestudy
page for details!)
*Sent in all documents to the INS for our Orphan Petition (I-600A) and received our approval (I171H)
*Compiled all the documents for our dossier (the collection of documents that get sent to China) and
had them notarized
*Made photo pages for our dossier (5 pages)
*Sent all our documents and photos to the dossier preparation specialist "Legal-Eaze" and
had everything authenticated! Our dossier was then mailed to our adoption agency and is now being sent to China!
*We have received our DTC date (Dossier To China): June 5, 2002!
*We received our referral on July 8, 2003 and sent in our acceptance paper (Letter of Confirmation)overnight to our adoption
agency. This was sent to Beijing on July 14, 2003.
August 27, 2003: GOTCHA DAY!!!!, We finally adopted our sweetie in Hefei, China!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT WE STILL HAVE TO DO:
ENJOY HER and LOVE HER!!!!
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