Meet Suzie!

I will have to update this posted once our adoption is official and I can share full pictures!
For now, I can share just a few details of the amazing little girl who has stolen out hearts. We plan to call her Suzie Mei Mercer

She is 4¹⁄₂ years old and has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (aka Brittle Bone Disease), which is a genetic disorder that makes her bones break easily. She is currently wheelchair bound, but we are hopeful that with therapy she will gain strength and mobility. 

She is in an orphanage in Shanghai and has been there almost all of her short life. She is delayed as she seems to be pretty isolated due to her disease. She is always in either her crib or wheelchair, for her safety. She has such a joy about her & is described as having an easy smile, big round eyes with beautiful dark eyelashes and a sweet demeanor.  She eats slower when she's with a nanny that she likes and loves books and building blocks. She is behind academically as she is not able to go to preschool with her peers. We know with love and care kids can flourish and we're going to give this sweet child every opportunity we can to thrive and reach her full potential!

We have a nursery!

Preparing to welcome our daughter home has been tough. I want to be completely ready for her, but there are SO many unknowns! 

What we do know is that she is 4.5 years old and TINY. Her measurements might not be completely accurate, but if they are, she is only 25lbs and has feet the size of a 12 month old. I say they may not be accurate as her measurements have all been the same since she was 3 yrs old. Sure, she may not have grown at all, but I hope she has, so I'm hesitant to gather a bunch of stuff that may not even fit her. 

Also, she's currently in a wheelchair. We have no idea if this will be long-term or not. For travel purposes, we'll start with a jogging stroller and wait until she's home to determine if one is needed. Same goes for pretty much everything else I want to get. We'll wait until she's here & see what fits her. That wait is driving me crazy!!

We were, however, able to set up a "nursery." Thanks to some friends who graciously gave us a toddler bed & dresser, we have a spot set up in our room for her to sleep until she's comfortable enough to move into a room with Addie. Just having this area set up puts my heart at ease and I feel slightly ready to bring our little girl home!

Our Timeline

We filled out our medical checklist in January 2017 which put us in line to be matched with a child, but didn't get serious until March when we submitted our application and really got things rolling.

Here's how our timeline went:

Jan 26, 2017:     Medical Conditions Checklist completed
Mar 18, 2017:    Application approved
Mar 25, 2017:    CCAI Orientation
Jun 23, 2017:     Completed Home Study
Jul 3, 2017:        USCIS Second Filing information mailed to USCIS
Aug 21, 2017:    I-800A approval received
Oct 3, 2017:       Dossier received at CCAI for review & translation
Oct 6, 2017:       Dossier mailed to China
Oct 12, 2017:     Dossier Log-In-Date (LID Date)
Oct 20, 2017:     Child Match received
Oct 31, 2017:     Letter of Intent (LOI) to China, file locked
Nov 3, 2017:      Completed our required parent training (24 hrs)
Nov 17, 2017:    Dossier reviewed by CCCWA
Nov 28, 2017     Letter Seeking Confirmation of Adopter (LOA) received
Dec 15, 2017:    I-800 Provisional Approval received
Dec 19, 2017:    NVC letter received, DS-260 submitted
Dec 21, 2017:    DS-260 & Supporting Documents Delivered To US Consulate in Guangzhou

All that's left is
-Article 5 is issued (U.S. Central Authority’s Approval for Hague Adoption), express mailed to Beijing & delivered to the CCCWA...takes ~ 2 weeks after DS-260 is submitted, possibly 3 weeks due to the  holidays.  -update: issued 1/8/18

-Travel approval is received By CCAI...takes ~1.5-3 weeks after Article 5 is received by CCCWA  -update: issued 1/15/18

-We travel to China!  ...10-21 days after Travel Approval is received.

All this to say we are on track to travel in late January or early February!  We may be delayed as Chinese New Year is February 16th and the Consulate shuts down from 2/15-2/20, but our hope is that we can get in right before...fingers crossed & praying!!!

-Kassie

How much does it cost?

A LOT! 

Everyone is always curious about how much international adoption costs. The majority is adoption agency fees, but a lot also goes for compiling the dossier. Besides just obtaining certified copies of documents, every thing has to be notarized, then sent to the Secretary of State to be certified and then sent to a courier to deliver to a China Consulate to be authenticated. Each step has various costs, usually a per document fee. 

I tend to be over transparent, so I'm going to let you all know exactly what we've paid so far:

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CCAI Application fee	$256.25
Background check	$28
MN Child abuse check	$20
CA Child Abuse check	$15
Fingerprints - KLM	23
1st CCAI fee	4400
Fingerprints - BGM	7
CBI & FBI clearance	79
Birth certificate - BGM	62
Birth certificate - KLM	45
Marriage certificate	2.5
klm BC certification	5
bgm BC certification	20
klm passport	110
CO authentication (7 docs)	35
CO authentication - CBI forms	10
Chicago embassy authentication & courier	425
postage	30
Lutheran Family Services (homestudy)	170
US Dept of Homeland Security (I-800A)	945
SF China Consulate Authentication	31.2
postage	20.03
passport photos x 6 sets	91.07
CCCWA waiting child translation fee	80
2nd CCAI fee	3000
postage	30.9
Chicago embassy authentication & courier	85
CO authentication	10
Kids passports processing & photos	69.58
Kids passports US dept	160
CCCWA fee	1480
TBRI class at The Adoption Exchange	20
The Children's Hospital pre-adoption review	500
3rd CCAI fee	3100
post adoption deposit	450
BLAS translation fee	360
CO court deposit	200
shipping	6.65
Visa pictures	15
Visa and courier fees	700
postage	30.15
DS-260	325
Fedex to China	35
total	$17,487.33

Next we'll have our travel costs (~$12,000 for all 4 of us) and an orphanage fee of ~$6,000 and a few other misc fees while in China for the adoption registration, notarization, passport, physical, etc. 

That's it...phew!

How our Adoption Journey Started....

I thought I was done with this blog! I used to blog to remember my children's younger years, but as they grew older it was too time consuming and there was less change from day-to-day. We now have a new daughter joining our family soon (4 yr old coming from China in early 2018!!) & I feel the need to document this experience. 

So here we go!

Our Story:

Brian & I have always felt a desire to adopt. As the years went by we determined that we would adopt internationally and wait until Addie & Mason were old enough to be involved in the process. We've been fortunate to watch & help several families around us adopt and have learned from their experiences. For a while we became a foster home. We had friends introduce us to fostering & once we saw the need, we couldn't turn away. We looked at it as a way to meet a need until it was our turn to adopt. It was a very rewarding experience and we highly encourage those who can to open their homes to fostering. Good homes are needed. For those who cannot, please support those who are. Though at times it was a wonderful experience, it ended horribly. It ripped apart our hearts and left us battered and broken. We closed our home and spent the next few years mending our wounds, questioning our faith and focusing on our marriage and family. Over time, we healed. And slowly, the desire to expand our family returned. Our experience solidified our choice to adopt internationally. I had always thought that those who could adopt, should. I now realize that it is certainly not for everyone or every family, but we think it is a fit for us. Orphans in any situation need & deserve loving homes. We see being born in America as a luxury and a privilege. We have the ability to give that to someone who was not as lucky as us.  It seems the perfect metaphor for God's love for us. We don't deserve it and have no way to earn it, yet we are invited into his family, offered new life and redeemed. But we aren't God. We understand that this child does not need us and God doesn't need us to "rescue" this child. We just hope and pray that God will use this adoption for His glory - that we provide a wonderful life for our new daughter and that our family grows in ways we could never imagine. We are the lucky ones and we can't wait to meet this amazing little girl!


Why China?
We chose China for a few reasons. Some logical, some logistical and some heartfelt. 
-China has a stable international adoption program that has been in place for many years. In recent years many countries have closed their adoption programs, sometimes halting for delaying adoptions that are already in process, so stability is very important to us. 
-China has increased their requirements and is basically only open for children with special needs or over the age of 5. This is because there is a big push to encourage in-country adoptions for the young, healthy (most adoptable) children. We highly support keeping children in their home countries whenever possible. These regulations discourage fraud and corruption. 
-China is one of the worst countries for human trafficking and orphans are especially vulnerable.
-Drugs and alcohol are not a large problem in China, so children, though not without neglect and trauma, are not usually marred by substance abuse. 
-To adopt from China, only one trip is needed that lasts 2-3 weeks. Other countries require multiple trips, some for extended periods of time, which is not something we are able to do.
-We were drawn to Chinese culture as they are similar to us...small in stature, reserved, and traditional!
-Lastly, when adopting, adoption agency matters. We just happen to live in the same state as the largest & most respected Chinese adoption agency in the US: CCAI. They came highly recommended and we have several friends who have adopted with them and gave them glowing reviews.


These are just our reasons for going this route. We strongly support all varieties of adoption and love that each family has a different purpose and plan and it is all very beautiful and messy.