New pictures, remembering God is in control and paperwork.

I should have posted this last week, but time always gives us a better perspective and a more positive outlook on things.  So, today I can write a more upbeat-typical-Jana post instead of a down-in-the-dumps-out-of-sorts post.

Last week we got an update on Ellie Kate from the care package we sent.

Monday morning started bright and early at 5:45am with an email from China with pictures and a video of our little girl. I was even actually able to get Kenny awake the first time I tried by telling him I had a video of his daughter!

April 24, 2013.  I am 18 months old!!
 

Sister needs a toy...doesn't know what to do with her hands!!

I was thrilled to see our baby girl's face again and to see her actually move in a video (although not walking, not completely sure if she is doing that on her own or not).  We also were able to ask a few questions about her routine, how she is communicating and her size.

It was the answers to those questions that really did me in.

I know her basic needs are being met, but I just have this mental image of her sitting in a crib all day, no one interacting with her because they don't know how since she can't hear them.  And she is currently losing weight/barely holding steady at her current weight (14 lbs and 27 inches, 1 lb less than her 15 lbs in November), which just adds to that Mommy worry.

I had a few days of emotional train-wreckage while I freaked out about all the different scenarios I was playing out in my head.  Plain and simple, I was worried about her.  It took me a few days to shake that and come back around to my senses, remember all the pep talks I've given other adoptive families when they are worried about development, weight gain, etc, and most of all remember that God is in control.  He knows what she needs and when she needs it.  He knows when it will be the perfect time for her to come home.  He knows every hair on that precious little head.  And He knows how to calm an overanxious Mommy separated from her baby.

It's hard knowing your child is without you and you can't do anything about it.  It's hard seeing a sad, pitiful video, void of anyone trying to interact with and talk to your child, when you know how far a little love and attention would go.  It's hard when you are 11,451 miles away and are trusting government agencies to process your paperwork in a timely manner.

(Side note:  I did a Google map search to see how many miles away we were.  It gave me turn by turn directions, including "Sail across the Pacific Ocean for 2,756 miles".  That made me smile.  We are going the airplane route instead of sailing though.  My name is not Christopher Columbus.  That's just nuts.)

But the good news that came out of last week...

• Our passports returned with Chinese visas securely affixed inside.  Technically I can go to China now.  So if I come up missing....you'll know where to look.


• We also received notice of our preliminary I800 approval on Saturday.  The boys came busting into the bathroom while I was taking a shower to tell me.  (I didn't mind being interrupted for that!)  It had actually been approved on Tuesday, April 30, but took that long for us to get notification.


• Which meant today I called the National Visa Center to check on the status of our cable letter.  The nice lady gave me a case number and said our file was being processed to call back in a day or two.  Which translates to me sending another email and calling again on Wednesday to see what kind of progress they've made!

What happens next?  We get that letter from NVC and it's cabled to the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China.  After that we are waiting on a letter called the Article 5 and after it is received by the CCCWA (China's Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption), we wait for Travel Approval.

I'm still crossing my fingers for travel the end of June.  So far all of our paperwork has beaten or been on the short end of what they gave us for timelines.  I'm just praying we continue to kick butt in the paperwork department and we can work on travel plans sooner rather than later!