Facts and Figures

Dear Vivi,
  I haven't had the privilege of writing to you yet, but I'm so excited to become your Dad!  As we continue to wait patiently, some of us are concerned about some parts of bringing you home, and others of us are concerned about other parts.  There are many things we are trying to do make sure we get you as soon (and as securely) as possible.  Part of what I've been concerned with has been all of the funding it will take to get you here.  I haven't been worried, but it takes many dollars and many steps to get you here.  As we have let people know about you, and as they have shown such amazing love for our family, we have been blessed beyond measure. . .except part of it has to be measured!
  Our calling to bring you into our family has been strong.  We have trusted that God would provide what we needed to make this happen, because we believed very deeply that we were supposed to search for you and find you and make you part of our family.  The journey has been nothing short of amazing, and we are so humbled by the generosity of so many that we know and love, and even many others that we do not know.  So, here's some of what we've done to get you here. . . and the part so many have played in getting you to your forever family.

As of today, July 26th, 2013, here's the latest on our progress and all that has come together so far:

Expenses:
 Adoption Agency fees for our agency, CCAI (Chinese Children Adoption International):  $8476
 CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption):  $900
 Clearances/Fees/Documents:  $1724
 Postage/Courier Services:  $415
 Total Spent so far:  $11,515

Blessings:
 Open Donations:  $5145
 Yard Sale #1:  $1320
 Yard Sale #2:  $1075
 Yard Sale #3:  $430
 Puzzle and Associated Donations:  $6140
 Total Given so far:  $14,110

So, the amazing gift to us is that God has provided each step of the way.  We have put some of our own money into this process and yet, we have not had to borrow anything.  So many different people have joined this process and we continue to be overwhelmed.

But there is still more.  We still have a long way to go, including our travel to get you, payments to various agencies in China, getting you adopted, out of China and on a plane back home.  Those are the big things, and then we will be able to help you join our family and all of the daily blessings we get to experience each day right where we are.  Here's what we estimate is still in store for us.

(promotional consideration given to Airtran, who by the way, does not fly to China)

Expenses Yet To Come
   Our Visas to enter China: $400
   Airfare: $4000, including your ticket home
   Travel and Accommodations in China:  $3800
   Adoption Registration and Notarization:  $800
   Your Passport:  $150
   Orphanage fee:  $5700 (cost of caring for you your whole life so far)
   Food in China:  $800
   Your Physical and Photo:  $120
   Your U.S. Entry Visa:  $230
   Your birth certificate:  $20
   Court validation fee in Hillsborough County: ???? (varies by county)
   Total yet to go:  $15,810

While these estimates are on the high end, that's still a lot of money.  However, we have lots of help and hope to get some grants and assistance through several options available to us.  Besides, people just keep giving!  It is truly amazing!  In the end, you are worth every bit of it.

Here's one more number to consider: 712,000.  That's the number of orphaned children in China alone who need a family.  Because of a calling from God and the incredible generosity of people, we are thrilled to say that there is now one less child who needs a family.

While you are just one, we know that our life together will be so incredible.  We have been so moved by your pictures, the stories of your progress, and the many gifts that you possess.  We are ready to get on a plane now and come get you.  As soon as the paperwork is ready, we will do exactly that.  We have so many others who are waiting to meet you and enter your life when you are ready.  We are also praying for you and for the wonderful joys we have come to know every day. 

The "bottom line" is that we are thrilled to be welcoming you and we simply cannot wait to meet you!

Love,
Daddy and Mommy

Scrumptious

Dear Vivi -

It seems as though the update floodgates have opened... and we hope they never close!!  We now have an address to send the book about our family to so we know that it will get to you, and we have another picture:

Daddy says we can't bring home your little friend. :(

And here's a quote from the director of the medical foundation that has provided for your medical care: "An Xin Ran is absolutely scrumptious and doing well."

Good night, our scrumptious little girl!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

An UPDATE!!!

Dear Vivi -

It has been six l-o-n-g months since we've seen a picture of you and gotten an update about how you're doing.  We had almost given up on knowing anything more about you until we actually meet you in China when today, out of the blue, it's you - there you are!  In all of your 19-month-old glory!

We have never wanted to be able to reach through a picture and touch someone more than we had when we saw this picture.
Along with three gorgeous pictures, we got an incredible written update as well.  Here's what we know about you now:

• You love the iPad and all things technical.  You will get along with your brothers just fine.
• You are in a house where they speak three languages - Chinese, English, and Spanish.  You know several clear words in English, "pretty" and "milk" in Spanish, and "mama" and "papa" in English. (Wow - we have a lot to learn!)
• Ironically, your foster family says that hearing three languages leaves you confused because you talk all day and they don't understand a lot of what you're saying!! (Maybe we're safe after all!)
• You're learning your colors.
• You sleep 11 hours at night and take a two hour nap every day.  Ah, another sleeper. 
• Your foster family calls you "Sharon" or "Xinran".
• The family says that you are "not the crying type", and that you have a beautiful smile.  We agree!
  
  

• You're still learning to walk on your own but love to cruise the furniture, especially when you're bribed with an electronic toy when you get where you're going.
• You're happy and easygoing and have a great personality.
• An eater.  You're an eater.  You're 27 pounds and you love cheese, tofu, chicken, potatoes, yogurt, and all kinds of vegetables.

Those are all wonderful things and believe me when I say that we covet every little teeny nugget of information that we can get about you.  But here are the most important things:

• You are healthy.  You have 12 teeth, weigh 27 pounds, and are 32 inches tall.  You had your last ETV surgery, which drained fluid from your head, in October, and not only did you totally recover in a week, but you haven't needed any additional procedures since then.
• You are clearly happy.  We can see it in the pictures, in your smile.
• You are loved.  That we know from what your foster family says about you and even how they say it.

And they're not the only ones that love you.  We love you too. So much.  We're praying for you, thanking God that you're in a great family now, and wishing away the days until you are part of ours.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy   

Louder than Words

Dear Vivi -

One of the barriers we know that we will face when you first join our family is the language barrier.  You will have heard mostly Mandarin growing up, of which we will be lucky to know a few basic words.  We will speak words of love to you in English, and we will hope that our tone will speak better than the words you will not understand.

But sometimes pictures speak louder than words, and this one overwhelms us.

It has been eight days since we started our puzzle fundraiser to help bring you home, and 258 pieces have already been sponsored!!  That means that we are more than 1/4 of the way to having every piece sponsored and meeting our fundraising goal.

Thank you seems inadequate, and yet sometimes the simplest form of expression fits the best.  So we say thank you.  258 times.

So many different people have contributed.  So far, 26 different families have contributed, representing people from all different times in our lives.  It has been beyond touching to see so many donate to give you a new life with us.

The people that have donated will be etched forever, not just on the backs of these puzzle pieces, but in our hearts as well.  We promise you will know them, and they will be a familiar part of your story.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

If you would like to donate, please go to www.youcaring.com/bringingvivihome to participate.

The Only Piece Missing Is You

This is a different kind of post.

We're not going to write  a letter to Vivi on this one, but instead reach out to those who have expressed an interest in helping to bring our daughter home.

Many people have been following our journey to adopt.  Now that our paperwork has been formally logged-in in China, we are getting so close to being able to get on the plane and go to get our daughter.  But as we've mentioned before, adoption is very expensive and we're looking to raise some additional funds we need with your help.

We have created a unique opportunity for you to be a part of Vivi's journey home.  With the help of a fantastic puzzle site called Venus Puzzle, we have created a 1,000 piece puzzle and are looking for people to sponsor one (or more!) pieces.  Each piece can be sponsored for $5, so we're hoping to raise $5,000 through this puzzle. Your name or your family's name will be written on the back of the puzzle piece(s) you sponsor, therefore creating a record of all of our friends and family who helped to bring our girl home.

You can read more about the puzzle fundraiser here. Thanks to Venus Puzzle, who graciously donated our puzzle, 100% of the proceeds will go towards Vivi's adoption.  We hope that you'll consider donating, and maybe posting a link on your blog or Facebook feed to encourage others as well. You can use the link https://www.youcaring.com/bringingvivihome.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and your prayers and love for our family.  We're getting close to raising the funds we need to bring Vivi home to her forever family.  The only piece missing is you.

With love and gratitude,
Kelly and Tim

Logged In!!

Dear Vivi -

We got the big news yesterday: according to the CCCWA, we are LID!!  (This is code-speak for the Chinese government saying that they have received our dossier, processed it, and accepted it.)

But what it really means to us is that we are one huge step closer to you officially being our daughter and no longer an orphan.

We know that there are still many more steps to come.  We need to get our Letter of Acceptance from China, we need to get your Visa, we need to get Travel Approval, we need to fill out more paperwork, etc.  It only took one week for us to get the log-in date, something we were told would take 3-4 weeks.  It's our hope that the remaining steps take less time than predicted as well.

December 1.  That has been our goal all along - to have you back with your family by your 2nd birthday.  It's still a real possibility, and we're not afraid to pray that God will help this to happen.

Not getting any updates on you, despite two requests being sent, has been really hard.  We are desperately wanting to know what the doctors say about you and see how you've changed in the last five months, so this news is a welcome ray of light in an otherwise dark time of communication.

We hope our first care package arrived, and are sending another one soon.  It's a book of pictures of your family so that you'll know us when we finally meet.  We're sending it with lots of love and hope and faith that we will soon be real people to you, and not just pictures on a page.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Holding Out Hope

Dear Vivi -

When is a non-update actually an update?  When you have so many things to say and no reason to say them!

That's where we are now, wishing and hoping for you.  We have had no update since we were sent your file for our consideration.  You did indeed have an awesome file - up-to-date, lots of pictures, test results galore, etc. - but maybe that set the bar too high.  Maybe it left us wanting more of you that we cannot yet have.

But we don't want you to think that we have forgotten about you during the days that you are not with us.  We talk about you all the time.  When we celebrated Mother's Day a few weeks ago, Daddy got Mommy this:

It's a beautiful collage of our children.  And see who's right there in the midst of her brothers?  You.

Mommy took this picture on your bed, in your room.  The stuffed giraffe was made by Uncle Matt's girlfriend Katie.  You're going to love them.  Mommy made the book to send to you so that you would know what we looked like when we finally finally come to get you. We didn't forget about you.

We just got back from a family vacation, hopefully the last one we will have without you.  But we missed you.  Mum-Mum and Pop-Pop bought you a dress, and we talked about what it will be like next year when there are four children, not three.  We didn't forget about you.

Mommy devoured a book on adoption while we were away, reading all about the joys and challenges we may face when you come home, things that we need to prepare for to make your entrance into our family go the smoothest that it possibly can.  We're reading all kinds of things so that we can be ready to take care of you, and to meet your needs.  We didn't forget about you.

We sent the last of our paperwork out to get authenticated by the Chinese Consulate in Houston.  Once we get those two precious documents back, hopefully this week, we will send them to the agency, and the agency will send everything to China.  One step closer to you.

Vivi, we know that one day, probably about a year from now, we will laugh together as a family of five about how long this process took and how it seemed like FOREVER until we could come get you.  When that time comes, we won't remember the pain of not having you, only the joy of having you.

In the meantime, we wait.  Some days we're patient, some days we're not.  (Well, Daddy is always patient.  Mommy?  Not so much. But you'll learn that too.)  We know we keep coming back to faith, but it's the only thing we have right now.  We have faith that God is watching out for you while we can't. We have faith that he is providing for your needs when we can't.  We have faith that his hand has been and will continue to be in each and every step of this process.

So while we wait, we do lots of things.  We pray. We hope. We trust. We love.  But we do not ever forget about you.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy