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About the Adoptions |
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About the Adoptions |
Updates
[12/29/04]
Read the Second Chapter of
The Great Emma Adventure,
hot off the presses!
[12/28/04]
The First Chapter of
The Great Emma Adventure
is up for your enjoyment!
[12/25/04, Christmas Day]
Just a quick note, but we have arrived back home. Emma is slowly
adapting to her new surroundings, but still prefers to
be held most of the time right now. She's eating well and
sleeps comfortably in her new crib.
Paden is adapting to his new sister, although this may be
as difficult a change as Emma's is. He's a little out-of-sorts,
and having a sudden explosion of the Terrible Twos, but Lynne and
I are attributing it to Emma's arrival and the bits of
sibling jealousy that almost certainly arise in any family
with a new baby. We're sure Paden will come around soon.
Stay tuned for "The Great Emma Adventure"....
[12/14/04]
T-Minus 2 Days and Counting....
But it's day after tomorrow we leave! Woo-HOO!!!
[12/09/04]
T-Minus 7 Days and Counting....
[12/08/04]
T-Minus 8 Days and Counting....
We can't believe it. But we're also really curious how Paden will
react. We considered this the other night while he was in the tub;
he'll have company in a couple weeks. How will he adjust?
[12/07/04]
T-Minus 9 Days and Counting....
[12/06/04]
T-Minus 10 Days and Counting....
[12/05/04]
T-Minus 11 Days and Counting....
Adrenaline is starting up....
[12/04/04]
T-Minus 12 Days and Counting....
[12/03/04]
T-Minus 13 Days and Counting....
[12/02/04]
T-Minus 14 Days and Counting....
The clock has started. We will be heading for Taiwan on the 18th, and
picking Emma up on the 20th. Now we're at the point where we (again!)
suddenly had too much time before and not enough now! So much to
do!
[11/22/04]
HeartSent
sent us an email this morning that we received the Decree on November 11th.
This means that we could quite possibly (probably) be traveling to
Taiwan before the end of the year! What a great Christmas present!
We'll know more over the next week. We're just waiting for the
Second Decree, and then our appointment with AIT. Erin at
HeartSent
said that typically it takes four to six weeks between the
First Decree to the time travel can be done. So this would put
us right smack in the middle of Christmas week! Woo-HOO!!
Just like before, we've gone from "tick-tock
tick-tock" to "tick-tick-tick..."
[10/28/2004]
[10/25/2004]
[10/22/2004]
So this means that the date is getting closer. Now it really could be
anytime soon! Not to get too excited, but it could happen
next week. But it could also happen in four months. We hope it's the
former. After the Final Decree, we get our appointment scheduled at AIT,
and we're off to Taiwain to go bring Emma home!!
We also got a couple pics, we'll post them sometime this week.
It looks like Emma has two little bottom teeth, and she likes to
smile, a nice big smile!
In other news, Sunday was Emma's first birthday. We were a little
sad that we couldn't be with her on this most important day. However,
we did have HeartSent
send over a blanket and a little ladybug toy to
St. Lucy's
for Emma. At home, we got a picture cake from Baskin-Robbins
with Emma's picture on it, and Paden blew out the one
lone candle and sang Happy Birthday to his little sister.
It was adorable, and heart-breaking.
[10/05/2004]
Well, that's not quite true. We went wallpaper shopping
this last weekend. Emma's room is both different and the same
as Paden's room. While she will not have cartoon
space aliens and planets surrounding her, we did opt for
ladybugs, butterflies and cartoon bugs of various shapes and
colors. It took a bit to find the right wallpaper, and
what we originally had in mind could not be found. But
we found some wallpaper that is extremely cute, and we're
excited to put it up. Well, Kevin is; Lynne is not that
crazy about putting up wallpaper after the experience in
doing Paden's room, but the cost to have someone else do it
is so much that we could almost pay for the new furniture
that Paden is getting so that we can give the crib and changing
table to Emma.
So in a couple weeks, we'll start on Emma's room, and it'll
be all ready for her arrival. Actually, since we don't have to
peel off other wallpaper before we put up the new stuff
(as we did with Paden's room), it should be a bit more
enjoyable (and shorter!) experience.
[09/21/2004]
The local court can take anywhere from a couple months to five or six.
This is the court that we had so many problems with when it was
Paden's turn. The judge that we got stalled for almost five months, where
she could have passed it one in a much shorter time. The judges rotate,
and we joking refer to "The Good, The Medium, and The Bad Judge". We hope
we get the "Good Judge" so we can have Emma home by Christmas. Boy,
that would be NICE!!
[09/18/2004]
[09/14/2004]
Added some More Thoughts on Emma.
[08/26/2004]
[08/17/2004]
Added some More Thoughts on Emma.
[08/04/2004]
Added some More Thoughts on Emma.
[08/02/2004]
We've started the adoption of Emma. Our apologies for taking so long to
share this wonderful information, but there have been so many
changes in our family in the last year. Kevin has
a new job, and Paden has kept us SO busy!!!
So here's the story about Emma....
When Kevin got his job at Ask Jeeves,
he knew it was time to start thinking about a sister for Paden. It was
finances that had kept things at bay. Now, it looked like the finances were
no longer the major concern they were before.
So the first thing Kevin did was to
visit HeartSent at tell Val and
Erin that we were ready for Round Two.
Val told them that with the subtle change in politics with
St. Lucy's after
Carmela's passing,
many more of the adoptions were now domestic to Taiwan, preferring
that over international adoptions. Getting a baby girl from
St. Lucy's might be tougher than
before. So Lynne and Kevin decided to follow Val's advice and persue
an adoption from China instead.
But Fate stuck his shiny nose in for the second time in Kevin and Lynne's
parental life, and less than a month later
(about late April or so), Val called
Kevin to tell him that there was a baby girl available at
St. Lucy's and were they interested?
Duh! We hadn't even completed the preliminary paperwork for the INS yet
for China!
So the real paperwork began again....
Right now, we have completed the first round of paperwork. The
Home Study is complete, even with the same Social Worker that
did Paden's Home Study! Right now, the dossier is being
translated into Chinese and will be sent to Taiwan for processing!
We're waiting for the second round of stuff (INS approval, etc), and
then the waiting game begins anew.
We've picked a theme for Emma's room; no space aliens for
this little girl. She gets ladybugs and flowers. Paden gets a
new bed and dresser and Emma will get Paden's crib, dresser,
and changing table. We've been shopping Ikea and some other places,
and keeping an eye out for Ladybugs. We think we have the wallpaper all
picked out. Regrettably, the Mother-in-Law room's days are numbered....
The biggest question, of course, is when. The answer is: we don't know.
We expect to go to Taiwan to pick up Emma somewhere between
Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day (which would be an incredible coincidence
since Paden came homeon Valentine's Day!). It al depends upon which
judge we get in Taiwan. The one we got for Paden delayed his case for
months, almost five months to be exact. However, while we were
in Taipei, another
HeartSent family was able to
bring home their baby after only six months where we waited ten!
We hope we get that judge. But we have no control over when;
it will happen when it happens. Since we've done this
before, we're a bit better and more relaxed about that ambiguous
deadline.
I've also started the More Thoughts on Emma page.
[3/20/03]
Read at your own risk!
[3/04/03]
Thanks for reading, and please feel free to
write to me (Kevin)
to let us know what you think.
[3/04/03]
Almost home....
[3/02/03]
Gripping, isn't it?
[2/28/03]
Get it while it's hot!
[2/26/03]
Will the secrets of the Confucius Temple reveal themselves?
[2/25/03]
The flood gates of tears open!
[2/24/03]
Will our heros survive the upcoming Paden?
[2/22/03]
Tune in again in a couple days to see the next exciting chapter!
[2/17/03]
We're home. The trip was better that we could have hoped or dreamed. Paden
is such an angel, and the BEST baby in the world! He is *SO* good, it's
unbelievable!!
In the next few days, we'll add descriptions of our adventure. It was
very exciting and highly emotional. We met some great people along the
way, and everyone was so courteous and generous to us. In fact,
we would recommend Taiwan as a vacation destination, and we were
sorry that we didn't have more time to explore all that is there.
Check back in the next few days, and we'll have some more about
the Great Paden Adventure!
[2/08/03]
The next few days will hold much for us. In a short week,
we will experience something that is magical, and at the same time
the most human: the start of parenthood. We have planned, anguished, celebrated,
cried, laughed, hugged, and, most of all, dreamed. Many have taken
this same journey. Some of those journeys have been longer, some not
as long. Each journey holds the promise of love and happiness
that only a new family can provide.
We'll keep a record of our journey to share with you who have
come to visit and learn about Paden. Or perhaps you've come to
learn about adoption. We hope our story will help you and
enlighten your day as it has ours.
Au revoir. See you on the other side.
Kevin and Lynne.
[2/07/03]
Tonight, we're going
to go out on a date to see a movie
for the last time without having to worry about
a babysitter!
The local weather in Taipei is varying from partly cloudy
to outright rain, temps in the 70's. Tainan is a little bit
better, not as rainy. Pack the umbrellas!
[2/06/03]
As we were packing, we realized that a lot of the clothes we got for Paden are too small,
but we really don't know how big he is.
So we're playing it by ear. We have a few outfits that are
12 months in size, Kevin went ahead and bought him another Hawaiian
shirt (this makes two. Like Father, Like Son).
[2/05/03]
T-Minus 6 Days and Counting....
If we have not said it before too many times, we would like to thank
HeartSent for all the fantastic
work, and for helping us when we were stressed or frustrated. Even today,
we had a minor panic-attack about one of the needed documents.
But, as usual, they handled it with the usual confidence and grace. Val, Erin,
and all the others there are the greatest, and we look forward to
a long a happy friendship with all of them and newfound friends
who are Alumnus from
HeartSent that we will someday meet.
[2/04/03]
T-Minus 7 Days and Counting....
We've also noticed that our female Westie, Snootles, has been extremely
"sucky", that is, sucking up for attention. Even more than ususal (which
is a lot). Does she know what's up? We think she knows when we go on vacation because
she recognizes the suitcases. Their appearance means we'll be gone for
a longer while than just the afternoon or evening. So maybe she's hip to
the fact that we're going away for a while. Wouldn't surprise us;
our dogs have a tendency to be dumb when they're being told to do something,
and very smart when they want something....
Also, everyone wants to know when either a) they can come over to
see Paden, or b) when we will bring him by. Since it will take a
while for the three of us to get used to each other's looks,
not to mention being a family, we probably won't subject him
to a whole slurry of new and unknown faces for a couple months.
When he is used to us and feels a little more comfortable with
his new surroundings, we'll have a "coming home" party.
But feel free to let us know
that you'd like to come meet him!
[2/03/03]
T-Minus 8 Days and Counting....
There is a tension in the air of the house; it is not the tesion of
anxiety, but rather of excitement. While time is moving at a phenominal
pace, there is a duality that makes it seem as if time is yet still
crawling along. We have the date and time set, but it is inching along
at times and flying at others. The weekend evaporated, yet this morning
is space-normal. What an odd but pleasant feeling!
[2/02/03]
T-Minus 9 Days and Counting....
Yesterday, we went to a baby shower for our friends, whose baby is due later this month
(these are the ones we have the side bet with as to whose baby will
show first). It was a Hawaiian themed shower, complete with some shirts
provided by Kevin from his massive Hawaiian Shirt collection ("No one
gets in without a shirt!"). It was a lot of fun, and we're excited
for our friends.
Amazingly enough, because of the timing of Paden's Second Decree
and the day we're going to Taiwan, we're going to have some "tourist"
time in Taiwan, though not very much. We might have a bit of
time to actually walk around Taipei before we fly to Tainan to
go get Paden. Since Lynne has never been in a country in the
Orient before, it should be fun. This morning, Lynne was trying to
copy some Chinese characters down from the hotel's web page
to show the cab driver which hotel
to take us to. We'll probably wind up in a chicken farm....
[2/01/03, Chinese New Year (Year of the Goat)]
T-Minus 10 Days and Counting....
We send our thoughts and condolences to the families and friends
of the Space Shuttle Columbia's crew.
[1/31/03]
T-Minus 11 Days and Counting....
It also occured to both of us that the Judge with which we
had so many problems is now out of the picture. Paden is ours, we
just have to sign the Pink Slip (or Blue Slip, being that he's a boy!)
We only hope that we will not have this same judge when it is time to
bring Paden's future sister, Emma, home. We also hope that this Judge will
hurry to
approve the outstanding cases that are currently on her desk so that other
families will be finally joined. To wait this long for no discernable reason
is useless, and emotional torture. Both
HeartSent and
St. Lucy's
are trying their hardest to help these children find families.
It just seems such a waste to delay that joy.
Val at
HeartSent said that there's
a good chance that we will also get to meet Maan,
Carmela's daughter,
from St. Lucy's.
Maan has emailed us a couple of times with words of encouragement
and support. Although we've already thanked her with email,
we would like to meet her to say thanks in person for giving us
this wonderful gift. We know that she loves each and every child
at St. Lucy's as if
they were her own, and we know how difficult it is for her to say
goodbye to them. When we return in three years for Emma, she will get to see
how much Paden has grown.
[1/30/03]
T-Minus 12 Days and Counting....
It's also time to make sure all is ready at home. Anything under
two feet off the floor is suspect at this point. And, of course,
Threepio and Snootles have no idea what's coming....
Lynne and I have been practising calling each other "Mom" and
"Dad". While we have been joking about being Mom and Dad to the
dogs for years, this is more like practising for the Academy
Awards speech when you're the only nominee in your category.
Added some more thoughts.
[1/29/03]
Val called last night at 9:30pm to tell us that we had gotten it,
along with two other families, and that basically we could go over
almost any time. However, the timing is uncanny; Saturday is Chinese
New Years, and it would be next to impossible to get into
Taiwan for a week. And A.I.T. (the American Institute in
Taiwan, sort of like the embassy or consulate) where we need
to get all the documentation for Paden's immigration, will be closed
most likely for the next week. The earliest time we can get in there will
probably be the second week in February.
This is the best news we could have heard. After speaking to Val,
we talked about hearing the news and how we were feeling.
Mostly, it was a sort of numb feeling.
We have been trying to insulate ourselves to a certain extent
from getting too excited, yet it was so difficult not to walk into
Paden's room and feel a flood of different feelings. After the call,
the adrenaline rush was so strong that Kevin couldn't sleep (or maybe it
was the cold medicine he took)! In any event, it is now 5:50am as Kevin
types this.
Added some more thoughts. Duh!
[1/23/03]
While Kevin was there, there was another couple that we
had met during one of the orientation classes. They had
just brought their baby home right before Christmas. Although we,
of course, were wishing that Paden would be home before then as well,
it was nice to see a new family. It looked as if the new boy
was still trying to get used to the different surroundings
of his new home. Although he didn't display many more expressions beyond
a questioning look at everything, there were a couple times that he smiled,
the smile that only children can give. It was very heart-warming and
satisfying, even reassuring.
Added some more thoughts.
[1/08/03]
He also looks pretty big, by the picture of him standing.
We could be in trouble!!
Added some more thoughts.
[1/01/03, New Year's Day]
Added some more of Kevin's thoughts.
[12/25/02, Christmas Day]
This morning was a nice Christmas, filled with joy. At the same
time, we were a bit sad that we do not have Paden with us to
share this wonderful home just yet. We are a family that feels
as if it's missing something, and indeed we are missing Paden.
We love him and send our hugs and kisses.
Merry Christmas, little Paden. Come home soon! Mom and Dad
miss you.
[12/20/02]
We want to thank all the friends and family who have
sent us good wishes over the last week and a half.
Though it may not seem much, the comments and support
have meant a great deal to us. This has been a stuggle,
but one we have been able to endure, thanks to the help
from our friends and family.
[12/10/02, 7:00PM]
[12/10/02]
Literally minutes after the meeting yesterday where Val
announced to us that we had not gotten our approval yet, they
received an email stating that, in fact, the first decree (approval)
had been issued yesterday!!
What does this mean? It means the clock is now ticking.
We will be leaving for Taiwan sometime in mid-January.
The procedure requires ten business days (from yesterday)
that are manditory where nothing happens.
Then the documents return to
St. Lucy's for translation from
Chinese back into English, and then
they are Fed-Ex'd back here to the states where we take them
with us to Taiwan..
Lynne and I are so excited and relieved. A great weight has lifted,
and it feels as if we can now stand up straight and look at the sky for the first time
in a long time. Lynne, who took last night's news so hard, is now
so excited and happy; it shows in her voice and her being.
It's now gone from "... tick... tock... tick... tock..." to
"tick-tick-tick-tick".
*Whew!*
[12/09/02]
Although the meeting itself went well, it was
not a good meeting. Unfortunately, we were hoping that they would have the
actual news that we were going to Taiwan, that our first approval
had, indeed, been granted. But we could tell right as we walked in the door
that this was not to be the case. Val was not her usual bubbly and energetic self,
and she would not really meet our gaze. In fact, the actual guts of the meeting
were started by Erin, who outlined the details of the stuff we would need
and the forms we had to fill out. Then Val took over and announced to us
(and the three other couples at the meeting) that the judge had had all four
cases with all the needed supplemental information she requested three weeks ago
for well over a week and had not yet approved them.
Needless to say, this was a great disappointment. Although we know in our
hearts that Paden will come home to us, it was very hard to hear this
news. Lynne took it especially hard. We were both so frustrated at the judge
who holds the future of Paden in her hand, and yet has this seemingly
indifferent or lazy attitude. Of course, we do not know
the total circumstances of the delay, nor does Val. The explanation
that Val gave was that the judges are rotated, so it seems that almost every judge is
a "new" judge, not having been in that particular capacity long
enough to know the ins and outs or to expedite the cases.
So we will wait a little longer, and keep thinking of him in our dreams....
[11/28/02]
[11/26/02]
Anyways, she called to tell us that someone (from
St. Lucy's,
we think she said) went down to find out why our dossier
has sat for the judge's review for so long without being
looked at. The story is that there is one judge that
is reviewing the cases from
St. Lucy's, four (including
ours) in total.
The judge will now be reviewing
our case, but they need some more "procedural" information
on our case (and the three other cases, as well)
from
St. Lucy's.
This does not mean there is anything wrong with
our case (as Lynne, the Doom-and-Gloom Pessimist
would think!); it just means that the judge
just needs some more info to process the dossier and
approval. Erin assured us that Paden is just waiting
for us; he is ours, no doubt.
As soon as the judge gets this, they will
process our case immediately.
After our case is approved (the "final" approval),
the clock starts ticking (YEA!!!!!!).
The schedule at that point is that it is a manditory ten-day
(business days, i.e., two weeks of real time)
period for the case to go back to
St. Lucy's.
St. Lucy's
then translates the approved dossier to English and then
sends it back to Erin at
HeartSent.
This takes approximately another ten business days.
Erin then calls us (THE CALL) and we're ready to go!!
Woo-HOO!!!!
So it looks like we (unfortunately) will be waiting until
January to go to Taiwan. While this is a little bit
hard to swallow, we now see that things are moving along,
and we at least have a status and know somewhat where we are.
As a result of all this, it is approximately six weeks from
now that we will be in Taiwan. That is the first or second
week in January. Erin has scheduled our "travel" meeting
(like the one Kevin has already been to) for Lynne and
Kevin. Most likely, we will be travelling with the other
three families who's approvals are also on the judge's
desk. This also unfortunately means that we will not
be able to go with Val to Taiwan to the celebration
at
St. Lucy's
1,000th baby. Too bad, that sounded like a
LOT of fun! But at least we'll have some travelling
company.
The clock isn't ticking quite yet, but we're winding the
spring!
Not sure about the whole tax situation and whether we can
claim him as a dependent for this year, but that's
best left to the accountant! :-)
Also added a few thoughts.
[11/25/022]
[11/20/02]
[11/06/02]
So Kevin went to the class at the request of Val so that he
could prepare in advance. It was very exciting, and it made things
feel like they were, indeed, moving along. However, since Paden
has not received his first approval yet as they other families
have, it's still at least thirty days from the class that
we can expect to go over. We're now looking at the middle of December
for our trip. On one hand, it's hard to wait the additional time; it's
like being told at Thanksgiving that Christmas is being moved to
January or February
(see some of Kevin's thoughts
on this). On the other hand, we'll have something
a bit special under this year's Christmas tree!
Another bright possibility in the news is that Val and Erin
are going over to Taiwan in December to help the
St. Lucy's
Nursery and Carmella celebrate their one-thousandth baby!
There's going to be a big party and lots of cool things to do! So
maybe that's a good time to go over, when Val and Erin will
be there! So we'll see....
The Good News:
We got another
video!! Woo-HOO! This
one is also about 8Mb in size. He is definitely already
taking after his father, he looks like he's just had a big
meal and is ready for that couch nap!
He is about five months old, and looks great. We were so
excited to watch it, and obviously more excited to
bring him home!
[10/27/02]
[10/24/02]
[10/24/02]
Well, what does this mean? It means that there are three
other families who will be going to Taiwan before us, but
those families are leaving very soon. We got the
travel packet in the mail, and it has all the info we need
to know for the trip over. It looks like we'll be going in
the middle of the November.
Getting close....
[10/17/02]
[10/16/02]
However, Val was very positive about everything (she always
is!), and told us to just "hang in there". She is going over in
November, it would be great if things worked out so that we could go at
the same time! To have Val there when we get Paden would be great.
[10/07/02]
[10/06/02]
Also, our friends, Eric and Marie, finally received their newest
addition to their family, Adrienne.
Check
out Adrienne's arrival home! We're very happy for Eric and Marie and
their family, and of course, for Adrienne, who has a wonderful family
to be part of. We wish them all the best and hope that someday Adrienne
and Paden will meet and swap stories about their parents! :-)
[10/03/02]
[10/02/02]
It looks like he's starting to grow into
his ears! He's gotten a little chubbier, too!
[10/01/02]
"Schedule"?? Boy, we wish we actually had a schedule!
But we guess that means things are good. We're as excited as kids
at Christmas, so it's hard not to be even a little bit
disappointed at any news that isn't "Come over and pick
up your child, he's ready!".
....tick....tock....tick....tock....
[09/25/02]
[09/22/02]
[09/23/02]
Erin at HeartSent said that it will probably be in November that
we will go over to get Paden, about
four months since we had our referral sent in (end of July). Waiting
times of three months have happened, but the average is four. So it
looks like we'll miss Halloween, but Thanksgiving might have a special
meaning this year!
[09/13/02]
[09/07/02]
Added some more updates in the History section,
and added the link to Kevin's Thought page.
[09/04/02]
[08/28/02]
[08/15/02]
Check out the video (8Mb).
Warning: It's rather big. if you're on a dial-up, it
will take a loooooooong time to download. You will also need
an MPEG player, such as
Windows
Mediaplayer
to play it.
[08/10/02]
[07/26/02]
The "waiting" could be four weeks...or four months. We hope it'll
be soon!
[07/15/02]
[07/08/02]
Big suprise.
[03/28/02]
It's really happening....
[03/.../02]
November 2001
We met with the adoption attourney, but were not
happy with the way things could turn out.
There are too many variables, too many things that can
go wrong. We didn't feel safe with doing a domestic adoption
(for more details, check out the History
section).
And what a great Christmas it was.
Sorry that we haven't posted anything new in the last couple days.
Kevin has been occupied with the move of
Ask Jeeves' move of their headquarters
from Emeryville, California to Oakland, California. Lynne has
been busy getting things ready for our departure and Emma's
arrival. Paden has been busy running around.
Not much to report, but the tension is definitely visible with
unaided eyes. We're so excited!
It's really sinking in now....
We had our final Travel Meeting with Erin from
HeartSent
this evening. It's not
like we haven't been here before, but you could see the excitement
even in Erin's eyes. The final documents are coming together, and we
had our tradional hamburgers and french fries at Nation's Hamburgers
afterwards. When we were adopting Paden, that was the stop after whatever
meeting we had at
HeartSent, so it just seemed necessary....
Got the computer fixed! Whew! We may even get the Christmas cards
out before we leave!!
Christmas Shopping with Paden, even getting gifts for little Emma.
Since Kevin has to help with the Ask Jeeves move to it's new
offices, this is essentially the last weekend for getting things
done. Yet, true to form, Kevin had to spend it getting his computer
fixed; it had decided to die at the most unfortunate of times!
It's really hit us that we don't have a lot of time now. Unfortunately, Kevin's
comany, Ask Jeeves, is moving their offices
the week of the 13th, but he will be working before that to start
with the computer systems moves. So that weekend beforehand is unavailable
for Emma shopping or Christmas Shopping. Christmas celebrations may be
delayed this year, but the Christmas present will be a couple days early....
WE GOT THE SECOND DECREE!!! YIPPEE!!!!
WE GOT OUR FIRST DECREE!!!! WOO-HOO!!!!! This is THE CALL!!
More Thoughts on Emma (about my beard!).
More Thoughts on Emma.
We received an email yesterday from
HeartSent
that our case officially moved to the local court
in Tainan on September 30th. This is the second-to-last step from
getting the Final Decree! Woo-HOO!!!
Regrettably, no new updates yet. We're getting more and more excited about
Emma's impending arrival, but with nothing to do, there's
nothing to do.
We just learned from HeartSent
that our case went to the Superior Court in Taipei on
August 25th. Generally, cases take a month in Superior Court before
they move on to the next (and final) level of the local
court in Tainan. As such, it's pretty close that this should
happen any day now! Woo-Hoo!! Once it passes that level, we get
THE CALL.
We got an email from some friends who met Emma at
St. Lucy's. I've included
the details in
Thoughts on Emma.
No new news on the progress of our dossier. It should probably be
in Family Court by now, but we won't hear anything for a bit.
Added the Emma Pictures Page
We were informed by HeartSent
that our dossier has arrived in Taiwan! Woo-HOO!!!
Our hearts and prayers go out to Maan and her family. We have learned
that
Carmela's husband has passed away. Though we never got the
chance to meet Carmela and her husband, they helped to change our
lives in ways they will never know. Or maybe they did.
Here we go again.
[06/02/03]
We've (finally) updated the
The Paden Chronicles
with the end of Paden's first year. Sorry for the delay, and the
Year Two Chronicle will be forthcoming soon....
Kevin started writing
The Paden Chronicles.
It's the continuation (okay, a sequel) to
The Great Paden Adventure.
The
final chapter, Chapter Eight,
the Epilogue,
and the Acknowledgements of
The Great Paden Adventure
is available.
There nothing else like it, it's the
Seventh Chapter of
The Great Paden Adventure.
Available for your reading pleasure, the
Sixth Chapter of
The Great Paden Adventure.
Extra! Extra! The
Fifth Chapter of
The Great Paden Adventure is now available.
Read the astounding
Fourth Chapter in our story of our trip to Taiwan,
The Great Paden Adventure.
And now, the exciting
Third Chapter in our story of our trip to Taiwan,
The Great Paden Adventure.
Now available, the
Second Chapter in our story of our trip to Taiwan,
The Great Paden Adventure.
We've added the
First Chapter in our story of our trip to Taiwan,
The Great Paden Adventure.
Just a quick note, between diaper changes...
Well, this is the last entry we will be able to make before we leave. The real
journey is about to begin.
Not much else to do. We've gotten everything ready. Lynne is even all
"cleaned out".
Wow. It's getting close. The excitement is really building.
Everything is set. The documents are all ready, the reservations are made,
and the house-sitter is arranged, Amazingly, we're back to the waiting game!
But at least the days are moving like hours, the hours like minutes.
Seriously, we are starting to worry that we might forget something,
and that we won't have enough time to get it before the
trip! Talk about a turning of tables!
We received our final documentation from
HeartSent today, the First and
Second Decrees that the judge in Taiwan needed to issue. The tiny pieces
of paper that we have waited so long for. It was almost anti-climactic.
It seemed as though it should be some scroll or leather-bound book with
brass hinges and a giant lock. Nope, just a few pages, hardly enough
to compete against a high-school book report. Well, we're still
glad to have them.
Lynne has gone into BabyCon3. We were at Toys R Us and the
drug store yesterday, getting everything
we need for both the trip and Paden's arrival. We discovered that there
are approximately 3,811,673 different types of diapers. 18-26 pounds.
12-24 months. Blond or Brunette. Left- or right-handed. Sheesh! We
also got all the medication Paden will need right up through college.
We advise everyone to buy pharmaceutical stock today; the prices
should go up.
True to Kevin's predictions and expectations, Lynne has started
packing. In addition, the house is also being (in the words of
Arlo Guthrie) "inspected, injected, detected, infected, neglected,
and selected". She is busy organizing things for Paden's arrival
as only Lynne can. She has washed everything in the room that
can be put in a washing machine, and if she could put the actual room
in the washer, she would.
As we celebrate the Chinese New Year and
Paden's impending arrival, it is suddenly tempered
with the reality of the Columbia disaster, and forces us to acknowledge
the abruptness at which life can be shaken and changed forever in
the space of a nano-second.
We have gotten our flight and hotel reservations and bought our tickets. We are
now past the Fail-Safe point. As you have probably noticed, we've added
a "Countdown Timer" to this page. The countdown is set to
count down the time when we will actually meet Paden (that is, now that we
actually have a time!). This is approximately
10:00am on Tuesday morning, February 11th. We arrive in Tainan at about
9:30am, and assuming we go straight to
St. Lucy's
from the airport, we should arrive at that time.
As it hits us, we started to realize that we have a LOT
to do in the next week. Fortunately, Lynne loves to pack for trips
way in advance, so she'll have a great time doing that.
And we have started to make the reservations for the trip. Two seats
over, three seats back. Cool.
We got the Second Decree!!! Woo-HOO!!!!!!
Nothing really new to report. However, Kevin stopped by
HeartSent
last week to say hello to Val and Erin. While we know they
would call us at any time of the day or night if
they heard anything regarding the Second Decree, we still like
to stop by occasionally. They are always really nice and have such a
positive and supporting attitude.
Some new pictures arrived
in yesterday's mail. It looks like Paden has gotten his first
tooth! Woo-HOO!!!
A Happy and Joyous New Year's to all! This year promises
to be the best year ever!
Merry Christmas to all from the two of us.
Nothing really to add, but we're getting terribly
excited about the next month. We've started wandering the
house, looking at things that will have to be moved up
out of reach, or put away. We're not getting a new-born;
we're getting someone who most likely will be standing on his
own, and is probably able to move around tables and walls.
And in the worst case, maybe he is able to walk
around on his own!
Added some more thoughts, definitely
worthy topic material today.
We got THE CALL!!!!!
We went to
HeartSent
for our Travel Meeting. This is the meeting where they run over all the
things you need to know to for your trip to
Taiwan. Generally, they schedule this meeting with you when you're
getting close to being approved (first approval).
Added a few Thanksgiving thoughts.
Kevin spoke with Erin from
HeartSent
yesterday evening. Erin is our representative and has
done our leg work for getting our adoption going. She rocks!
We got some new pictures of Paden. They
were taken by Val at
HeartSent
on her recent trip to Taiwan. While we were hoping that she
would bring back news about when we could go over
to pick up Paden, these are still great to have, and
make us miss him all the more.
Added some more of
Kevin's thoughts.
Basically, it's possible that we may not get Paden until after the end of the year.
While this is extremely disappointing, it's not a sure thing yet
(Val from
HeartSent
is checking on it), and we're still hoping that we'll
be able to Join Val and Erin when they travel to
Taiwan for St. Lucy's
1,000th adoption celebration
in the middle of December.
The Not-So-Good news:
It looks like we won't be getting Paden until
sometime in December. Kevin went to a "travel class" at
HeartSent last week. The
class was mainly for families who will be traveling next,
i.e., the next three families on the list in front of us.
These are the families
that have had their first approval by the judges in Taiwan, and
will be getting the remaining approvals very soon. As such, they
can really plan their dates for their trips.
Added some more thoughts.
Added some more thoughts.
Lynne went to a class on Saturday (10/19/02) at
HeartSent,
and Val told her we're 4th on the list! Woo-Hoo!!
Added some more thoughts.
Kevin spoke with Val at
HeartSent
on Tuesday. It looks like it will be in November, possibly December
before we can go an get Paden.
Added some more thoughts.
Finally added
pictures from the Baby Shower. Lynne and I
are very grateful for all the wonderful gifts we received. Because
of all the generosity, we are ready to have Paden come home, and we have
everything we need (until he grows out of the clothes!). Thanks again!!!
Some more of Kevin's thoughts
added.
Spoke too soon!!! We got
some new pictures on Wednesday!!
Still no news. However, Kevin spoke (or emailed, rather) with a
fellow who is on the Board of Directors for
HeartSent this last
week. The fellow, who is also adopting a little girl from
Taiwan who is about the same age as Paden, had spoken with Val,
the Manager of the agency, specifically about
our adoption. Her response was that "things were on schedule".
Added some more of Kevin's thoughts.
Added some more of Kevin's thoughts.
Kevin stopped by HeartSent,
just to "check in", and to show them the pictures to the baby shower
(yes, we'll
post them soon) and of the
"Alien Nursery".
They were excited!!!
More pictures! Page 4
Also, more of
Kevin's thoughts.
No news yet. :-(
Added some more
info about Paden to this page, and links
to some
Adoption resources at the bottom.
Lynne had her baby shower today. It was wonderful, and
we are both grateful and thankful for all the wonderful things
we received (including Paden's Hawaiian Shirt!). A special
thanks to Kevin's Aunt Pam for hosting the event!
We received some more
pictures, Page 3 and a video!!
The blanket that he's wrapped in is a "Winnie-the-Pooh"
blanket that we sent over. He looks so cute!!
The furniture arrived! It's great. We got it from
Bellini in Walnut Creek,
and all thanks to Gail (Kevin's father's wife). It looks
GREAT!!!
Here's where we are: The documents
(application, Home Study, etc.)
have been finished being translated into
Chinese and sent to Taiwan for review. Now the waiting begins....
We got some pictures! See
Paden's Pictures, Page 1 and
Page 2. Besides the original
pictures we got with Paden's dossier, these are the only
views we have of him.
We started converting the bedroom down the hall into the
Nursery.
We've finished taking down the previous-owner's wallpaper and
putting up the new wallpaper in Paden's room.
Cartoon Space Aliens.
We start the process.
We meet with HeartSent to
have them represent us.
About Paden....
His original name is "Yin Ma Huang". His middle name, "Ma", is from the Chinese year he was born, the Year of the Horse ("Ma"). We will rename him when he comes home to us.
His adoptive name is Paden Allan Yin Freels. The name "Paden" is from the character in the movie "Silverado", played by Kevin Kline. The character Paden is the central character in the movie who must face some tough choices, and he learns about what it means to stand up for the right thing, even though he will be in danger himself.
So those of you who know Lynne and our Kevin are probably wondering, "Western? Why a western? Why not something like Spock or Scotty or something from Star Trek?" With dogs named "See Threepio" and "Sy Snootles", it's not hard to see that.
Honestly, we couldn't see naming our kid "Spock" (although we did consider it). We wanted a unique name, but with Lynne's Canadian (read: British) heritage, and Kevin's wild California upbringing, we were having a tough enough time finding a name that we both liked. Paden is a name that Kevin has always liked, and Lynne was agreeable to it. Besides, it's a way cool name! And besides, it's better than Kevin's original suggestions of "Wolfgang" and "Gunter", we're saving those names for the baby girl for later. :-)
The name "Allan" is from Lynne's Grandfather, whom Lynne has an incredible amount of respect for.
We kept his birth name of "Yin" so that he would always have ties to his heritage. We will always honor him in that way.
About Emma....
Emma's complete name is (will be) Emma Raquel Fen-Tzu Freels. As with Paden, her second middle name is her birth name which we gave to her to keep a link to her Taiwan heritage.
Emma's first name is from Lynne's Grandmother, Emma Doris Piper. Ironically, Grandmother Piper did not like the name Emma and chose to use Doris instead. Both Lynne and Kevin, however, think Emma is a wonderful name (Kevin thinks is much better than "Doris"!).
The first middle name is Raquel is from one of Kevin's idols, Raquel Welch. Okay, laugh. Get it out of your system. It is still a very pretty name, and, amazingly, it was Lynne who suggested it. So there!
Oh, by the way, Emma's a Libra. The original documents we received had her birthday listed as October 27th. That would have made her a Scorpio, yet another fire sign for Kevin to deal with. Fortunately, the error makes her a Libra, so Kevin only has to deal with Paden (Aries) and Lynne (Leo).
The History (of Why We Chose Adoption)....
Before you read any further, please understand that the opinions and choices expressed here are the best ones for us based on our feelings about children and families. While these choices that we have made are the best ones for us, they may not be the best ones for someone else. That being said....
We did some research with books and on the web, and decided to check out domestic adoption through an adoption attourney. So we met with an adoption attourney in San Francisco. She was very pleasant and frank about what to expect and how much it would cost to adopt a child domestically. Three hours and five hundred dollars later, we came out armed with a lot more information. It was expensive, but it also helped us make a decision, one that we feel was the right one for us.
We had heard from a friend of Kevin's father who had adopted Asian baby; he said that he did not want to deal with the problems that domestic adoption presented, and that foreign adoption was a much better choice as far as some of the legal concerns that would be presented. It seemed to us that this was a good argument, especially with some of the stories in the news of late.
Coincidentally, as we were turning towards the idea of foreign adoption, we were having pizza at Kevin's favorite pizza parlour (Freddie's Pizza in Lafayette, California. It ROCKS!!), and we ran into a caucasian couple who had a child who was Asian, obviously adopted. We discretely drew the mother aside and asked her where they had adopted their child. Although we do not know the couple's names, we have them to thank for the fantastic reference. They told us about a wonderful agency in Orinda, California named Heartsent (www.heartsent.com). They have adoptions for children of East European countries, but specialize in children from Asian countries (China, Taiwan, Korea, Viet Nam).
We called them and set up an appointment to meet with Valerie, the Agency manager. She herself had adopted several children, and knew what hoops families have to jump through for foreign adoptions. Although the meeting with Val was much shorter than the one with the attourney, both Lynne and Kevin felt very good about the experience. After discussing the meeting with each other afterwards, we felt it was the right choice for us.
The reasons we decided against domestic adoption were:
On the other hand, the health of the babies in the orphanage where Paden is currently is very good; they are monitored constantly and are given fantastic care. To look at the pictures of Paden, it would be apparent that he is in excellent health.
In addition, there may be financial assistance for the mother in the form of rent assistance or car-payments or such. We felt that this was something that could be abused (since it didn't really seem that it would be monitored) and there might be no limits to this. If the mother reclaims the child (see next item below) or if the adoption simply doesn't go through, none of this money or assistance can be reclaimed because it is legally considered "charity". While we definitely have nothing against charity and helping out when we can, it's a far different circumstance where you decide what to give versus what the situation decides for you.
However, this does not mean we want to keen Paden's birth circumstances a secret from him. How could we hide it, with him being Asian and us being Caucasian? We in no way would keep Paden from finding his heritage. In fact, we will help him in every way we can when that time has arrived.
Our arguments and reasons for persuing foreign adoption
over domestic adoption are not for everybody!
If you are a family looking to adopt, you must decide on
each of these issues yourself. We did a lot of thinking
about this and these issuses, but you must make you
own decisions. We recommend reading books first. Two that
really helped us were:
We also recommend www.adoption.com
as a good starting point for Adoption resources on the web
So we began the process in February of 2002. There were tons of forms to
fill out, and some had to be notarized multiple times. In fact, Kevin
even had to have his Human Resouces Manager sign the employment
verification letter in front of a notary! Then it was fingerprinting, more forms,
a full physical checkup... well, you get the idea.
We must say, though, that
HeartSent did a FABULOUS job
of organizing everything! That's what we love about them;
we were handed a binder full of everything we needed,
all in a sub-divided section as needed. It had a checklist
of what to do, when it was due, how many copies, what
had to be notarized! It was great! We thank them for
that. Lynne loved it because being that organized is
right up her alley!
The hardest part for Lynne was the Home Study, which is required for
all adoptions. This is where the Social Worker comes to interview you
two or three times to be sure that you're fit to be a parent.
This is a VERY invasive interview as they want to know
not only about you, but also about your family, your upbringing,
your views on child-rearing, etc. They get very personal, and
those who know Lynne knows she's a very private person. It was
difficult for her to be open. But she came through like a trooper
(or at least, a parent-to-be).
Kevin, on the other hand, had no problems with the Home Study; he
wears his heart on his sleeve and will tell just about anyone who'll
listen about anything. He didn't have too many problems with the
interviews, and rather enjoyed them. The hard part for Kevin
has been the waiting, but the waiting for kids at all.
One funny part of the whole adoption process
was when the INS refused to fingerprint
Lynne because she had a cut on her finger. Lynne
"Don't-Give-Her-Any-Sharp-Objects" Freels had indeed
cut her finger (probably the weekly blood-letting!),
and the wound was only a couple days old and right on
the end of her finger. They took one look and said,
"Come back in two weeks". Kevin had taken the
moring off from work to go do this, so it was a
bit irritating at first. But then it seemed funny;
Kevin had always warned Lynne about how her "use"
of knives would get her into trouble (or the hospital!).
By the way, Kevin will be the one to teach Paden how to
properly hold and use a knife. We actually returned
to the INS about a week later, and they overlooked the finger
this time, although it had almost completely healed by then.
We had actually considered adopting two babies at once.
Since the adoption from Taiwan would take five to ten
months, and an adoption from China would take ten to
eighteen months, we thought about adopting a boy from
Taiwan and a girl from China. Since the child from
China might arrive as much as a year later, we thought
we could handle that. However, we went to one of the classes
provided by
HeartSent that covered multiple adoptions,
and after listening to everything, we decided we
would do them one at a time. Unfortunately, this
means that we will have to re-do the Home Study for
the second adoption, where one would have sufficed if
both adoptions were being started at the same time.
This, of course, does not please Lynne, but she
thinks she will do better with the Home Study the
second time around. But we will probably adopt
a little girl when Paden is a couple or three
years old.
One thing we've begun to notice is all of the
other families and friends we know who are adopting,
especially from Asian countries. Kevin actually has
two workmates who are thinking of adopting, and
one of them even knows about
HeartSent from a
friend who is on their Board of Directors (he's
the one who took the second set of pictures and
the video!). It gives us a very heartwarming feeling.
We are looking forward to Paden's arrival with much
anticipation. We can't wait for him to fill our house
with love and carpet with crumbs. (Editor's note:
Paden has lived up to these promises, especially the one about
the crumbs!)
To read some more personal thoughts by Kevin on Paden's
and Emma's adoptions,
please visit the
"Kevin's Thoughts on Paden" and the
"Kevin's Thoughts on Emma" pages.
Paden and Emma now have their [an error occurred while processing this directive] new friend!
