Your Name

Dear JJ,

Your Daddy and I picked out a name for you a year ago.

Your first name is Jasper. Jasper was one of the three wise kings who came from the east, bearing gifts for the Baby Jesus, who was born poor, to an unwed mother, and who born in a manger withe ox, cow, sheep and other farm animals. We thought how fitting it is that the name of a king, rich and wise, from the east, should bestow his name on a poor orphan. The gift of a name that has more meaning and irony in it than any other name that we could think of. And we hope that you will have bestowed on you the wisdom, charity, kindness and riches for a king.

Your second name is Joseph. You are named after your Daddy. Your Daddy is funny, fun, full of life, always wondering and questioning, smart and outgoing, caring and thoughtful, and I hope that you can be like him. Joseph was the name of a Carpenter. He was the father of Jesus, who took the Baby Jesus into his family and heart, even though Jesus was not his own son. He was patient, persistent, and worked very hard. He is also the patron saint of China (among other countries) and he prays for families, fathers, travellers, immigrants, craftsmen, and working people in general. I think this name is very fitting for you.

Your Chinese name is Zhong Cai, given to you by the orphanage when they received you. It means Talent or Wise.

Since you are 8 years old, we decided that it was important for you to keep something with you from China when you came to live with us. And the only thing left was your name. And memories of a life that may fade as you get older, and as new memories push out the old. When you are old enough, you can decide what name you want to use. I know lots of boys who have used different names at different places in their lives and finally settle on one name when they have finished school and settled into work.

Names are important to Koreans. And so, I hope we have given you names that will help and support you in your life and your future.

We love you,

Mama

Letter of Approval

Dear JJ,

We got a little brown envelope in the mail the other day. Daddy told me about it over the phone because Mama was in California for work. And when I got home, Daddy showed it to me.

When Daddy explained to me what was in it, I didn't believe it. A "notice" that had the top half in Chinese characters and the bottom half in English - I think that the English was the translation of the Chinese, and a mailing label and a customs declaration.

Hmmm.
That was it.
No explanation, no letter or note...

So we will wait for Meg the Social Worker to come back next week and she will be able to explain it in great detail.

The notice from China said:

" The Application of [your daddy] and [your mama] for the adoption of YUN ZHONG CAI from Beijing Children's Welfare Institute, Beijing of Beijing province that you submitted was received, It is hereby advised that with a review of the basic family situation and the Rehabilitation and Nurture Plan for the Child made by the family, the China Centre of Adoption Affairs agrees to handle and process the case as an adoption of the special-need child after the application file arrives (deadline September 15, 2009, that day inclusive).

China Centre of Adoptiona Affairs"

The application they approved was our Letter of Intent that outlined your doctors, tutors, special education teachers, etc. and you health insurance information. That was sent to them on June 10th.

Then on the 15th, the approval must of verbally come into our Agency because we were told that they were sending our Dossier - the application file they mention above - was sent on Tuesday, the 16th.

Hopefully, they will review and approve the dossier quickly so we can hear back that we can travel to get you.

Mama's passport also came back in record time. What typically takes 3-6 weeks, took only 2 weeks. Wow. Someone is watching out for us.

So, in the care package, we will definitely be sending you a Life is Good t-shirt, a Yankee baseball hat, maybe a bionical (because your cousin Luke is your age and loves to play with bionicals), and a few other things we can think of in addition to the photo album. We hope to send this to you in the next two weeks.

We are so excited. And every day, the excitement builds. I can't wait to see you.

Love,
Mama

Silence

JJ,

I am sitting here in the dining room. Mom is on a plane coming back from a business trip. The house is quiet, silence only broken by Boris meowing from time to time. I am listening to the walls. They are full of life and laughter. This is a house that was meant for a family. It was not meant to be silent.

Soon you will be here and the silence will be replaced with laughter and questioning and debates. You are just like me. You will ask mom so many questions she will tell you to go ask your father. I will answer them all. Sometimes with a question back to you. It will help you learn to think, reason and live deliberately. Mom will tell you more about living life this way. Yet I think she will also tell you that it is how daddy lives everyday.

I can't wait. Hang in there a little bit longer.

Care Package

Dear JJ:

You Daddy forwarded me the following message from the Agency to the families whose LOI (Letter of Intent) were recently approved. This approval also meant that our Dossier of paperwork was going to be sent to China for the final, more detailed review, which it was on Monday. The letter from the Agency said:

For the care package, please decide when is the good time to send it. If you are still early in the process, the wait can feel very long for some children. If you plan to send several packages during the wait time, it may be just fine to send it now.

If you can include a family album in the package, it will prepare the children for placement. Any items you want your kids to hang in with please feel free to send. Just remember, the mailing cost can be huge if you send too many stuff!

I am very excited for the children. Recently I had chance to talk to a boy. Hearing his voice was overwhelming and I lost my sleep that night feeling upset that all these kids started their life this sad. I am happy now they have parents love them.

Our staff will do anything everything to move along as fast as possible. Still it will be a long process. Please understand and help us, too, to reach our children.

Guess who that little boy was?

This means that you will be getting a package from us, your family. When Meg from the Agency comes back from her honeymoon next week, we will call her and ask what we have to do and what this really means.

I am so excited to be sending you pictures of us and your family of aunts and uncles and cousins and friends.

This means we are one step closer to bringing you home.

We love you and we miss you.
We can't wait to have you home with us.
Love,
Mama

I think we're approved

Dear JJ,

Here is the latest update.
On Tuesday, we were notified by the Agency that our paperwork was being sent to China. This is a large volume of paper called the Dossier that has about hundred different types of paperwork in it. It has been translated into Chinese and it is being sent to China. Once they get it there, they will read the translation, ensure that everything is valid, and then review in detail the information we submitted.

Once ths is done, and they find nothing wrong, they will send us a formal letter of approval.

The good news is that we only sent the Dossier when they have approved our formal letter of intent to adopt you. And that was sent last Wednesday. It's less than a week! So things are definitely chugging along.

Also, since I am in San Francisco for work, Daddy sent me an email telling me that my passport renewal has been returned with my old passport. And that was supposed to take 3-6 weeks. I think it only took a couple of weeks.

I hope this momentum continues.

I wanted to check in let you know where we are with things.

I can't stay and write for too long as I have people waiting in the hotel lobby for me.

I love you.

Mama

Things are Chugging Along

Dear JJ,

Well, the news is better day by day so I thought I would give you a brief update.
First, China has approved our application to adopt.
Yesterday, the agency sent to China our Letter of Intention, telling them that we wanted to adopt YOU. Haha!

Next they will send us an approval for you and our dossier will go to China.

Then we wil get a formal letter of approval from China for our signatures and we will mail to back to CCAA.

Then they will issue you us a Travel Approval.

Basically....we are full speed ahead!

The agency is rushing us through. No 6 month long process for us. They are trying to right a whole year of delays by pushing China to get everything done in record time. Meg says that we are a HUGE priority for them. And the longest any of this would take is about 6 months. But that is the LONGEST. Ours should take a shorter time than that. The only thing that could delay our travel is the H1N1 flu virus. It's really messing things up!

We have decided not to do anything to your room.
In fact, when you get here, you can decide which room you want.
And when we are in China we will take you shopping for all the things you want to bring back with you.
And when we get here, we will go shopping all over again to get you anything else you might need or want.

I have never felt so hurried. A whole year has gone by and I keep thinking, "What a waste. It's such a shame." But things happen for a reason. And what is meant to be will always be. We have to have faith and make the right decisions and things always work out for the best.

We are coming, JJ.
Hang on tight.

Love,
Mama

If you didn't have us at Ni Hao

It was all over when you said: Wo xihuan pao bu.

JJ,

You didn't know when you had the phone call from a friend in America that we were finalizing our approval. You spoke to a boy Niles. I hope you become good friends.

You can know we are doing everything we can to get you sooner.