Hoping For Hannah

This is a log of the events that took place during our painfully long journey to Hannah. We're recording just about everything that's happened along the way so we can look back some day and remember the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all. It is a difficult journey to be sure but very worth it. Our latest entries can be found toward the bottom of the page.

Total Time Waiting For Hannah: 3 years, 2 months, and 19 days.

1/04/2006	Jon went to the Cook County Clerk's Office in Markham to get copies of our marriage certificate just in case we want to start the adoption process soon. After months of praying and fretting over this decision, it seems we're leaning heavily towards taking the plunge in the near future.
1/21/2006	We went to an informational that FTIA hosted at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis to make sure that both international adoption and FTIA were right for us. They absolutely are! We submitted our application to Charlene Drake, a China adoption coordinator with FTIA, right there in the meeting room. While still at St. Luke's, we spoke with a Susie Herrmann from the Adoption Support Center (ASC) about doing our home study. We were so impressed we hired ASC on the spot. Susie immediately conducted the first of the three meetings required for the home study in the meeting room.. We drove home afterward dazed but very, very happy -- our journey to Hannah has begun.
1/24/2006	Charlene Drake from FTIA called to let us know that we were accepted into their China program and that she would be our coordinator. The paperchase has officially started. Paperwork aside, we couldn't be more excited!
1/27/2006	We got passport photos taken at Walgreens and applied for passports at the local post office. Jon's photo was so bad that the postal worker actually made fun of it.
2/01/2006	We went to Indianapolis for our second home study interview with Marllys Clements at ASC -- the individual interviews. We also submitted out "blue papers" to ASC; these are forms detailing various personal, medical, and financial information. Since we were in Indy, we went down town and got several "originals" of our birth certificates from the Indiana State Department of Health and also went to the State Police office to be fingerprinted for our home study.
2/06/2006	We went to the Riverside Fitness Center in Bourbonnais and had the physical exams required for the home study.
2/08/2006	We went to the police department to get the local criminal checks required for our dossier.
2/11/2006	We went to the Riverside Outpatient Center in Bourbonnais for blood tests related to our physicals.
2/13/2006	We received the results of our blood test. We'll submit them to ASC during the home visit.
2/15/2006	Susie Herrmann of ASC came to our house today for the third and final interview -- the dreaded home visit. All went very well. It turns out we cleaned and worried about this far too much. Susie couldn't have been more supportive. We're officially done with our part of the home study process.
2/17/2006	We express mailed our I-600A, supporting docs, and check for fees to the USCIS Chicago Office. The home study should follow in about two weeks.
2/21/2006	Charlene reviewed and approved the last of the docs we had to prepare for our dossier. Karen called USCIS Orphan Unit and confirmed that they had received the docs we sent on 2/17/2005. It took the Orphan Unit that long to get our package from the mailroom.
2/22/2006	We received the preliminary draft of our home study from ASC, reviewed it, and emailed a few minor changes to them. Once Charlene approves the home study, ASC will send the final draft to the USCIS.
2/23/2006	We express mailed dossier docs originating in Illinois (marriage certificate, health exams, and employment verification) to the IL Secretary of State's Office (SOS) to get them state certified/sealed.
2/27/2006	ASC express mailed our home study to the USCIS.
2/28/2006	Karen called the USCIS and confirmed that they received our home study. Now they have everything required to process our I-600A
3/01/2006	Jon called ASC today and confirmed that we're finished with them until after we get Hannah.
3/02/2006	We received certified docs back from the IL SOS. Karen called the Orphan Unit at the USCIS and found out that it'll take at least 6 weeks to process our docs once we're in their system . Unfortunately, we haven't even been entered into their system yet. Charlene emailed us to let us know that the referral wait is now up to 9 - 10 months.
3/03/2006	We received the final home study from ASC.
3/11/2006	We went to our first FTIA Waiting Families meeting in Indy.
3/16/2006	We finally received a letter from the USCIS that contained our filing date (3/3/2006). Also, Karen called the Orphan Unit and found out, however, that our home study is not in the system yet. The Passport Office emailed a notice to let us know that our passports were finally processed and being mailed.
3/18/2006	Our new passports came in the mail today.
3/23/2006	Karen called Orphan Unit today to check the status of our case. They acknowledge having all the required docs and tell us that we should have received our fingerprint notice already. They're currently reading 1/30/2006 home studies today.
3/25/2006	We finally received the fingerprint notice from the USCIS.
3/26/2006	Gail, Paul, and daughter Marissa leave for China today to get Kaitlin.
3/28/2006	We went to USCIS office in Hammond and got fingerprinted for our I-600A.
3/29/2006	Gail, Paul, and Marissa meet Kaitlin for the first time -- GOTCHA!
4/06/2006	Karen called USCIS Orphan Unit. They're reading 2/16/2006 home studies today. Ours is dated 2/28/2006.
4/13/2006	Karen called USCIS Orphan Unit. They're reading 2/18/2006 home studies today.
4/20/2006	Karen called USCIS Orphan Unit. They're reading 2/23/2006 home studies today.
4/27/2006	Karen called USCIS Orphan Unit. They're reading 3/3/2006 home studies today. Ours has been read and everything looks good. They're still waiting on results of our fingerprint checks.
4/29/2006	We completed and submitted our pre-adoption workbooks required by FTIA.
5/02/2006	USCIS confirmed that our I-171H was sent out on 4/28/2006. We got the affidavit for the I-171H notarized today.
5/08/2006	We finally received the I-171H. It will expire on 11/02/2007. We had to get a new affidavit notarized today because the our I-171H predated the original affidavit we had notarized.
5/09/2006	Jon drove to the Indiana Secretary of State's office today to have all our docs originating in Indiana certified/sealed. He also went to the bank to get the money order for the fees charged by the Chinese Consulate to authenticate all our docs.
5/10/2006	We went to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago to have our docs authenticated. We had to leave them there because same day service would have cost an additional $390. It's going to take about a week to get them back.
5/17/2006	We received the authenticated docs back from the Chinese Consulate today. We made the required copies of all the docs at Karen's office, assembled all the docs, and expressed mailed our completed dossier to FTIA for review. Our paperchase is finally over!
5/18/2006	A little after 10 a.m. Charlene lets us know they received our dossier and are starting to review it. Charlene called around 3 p.m. to let us know that everything looked perfect and that they'd be sending our dossier to China tomorrow. We are extremely happy!
5/19/2006	Our dossier is on its way to China. This is known as Dossier To China (DTC) in adoption lingo.
5/20/2006	We had a garage sale today in Hannah's honor. We were able to raise a little money to partially defray the cost of her adoption. Perhaps, more importantly, it helped us get rid of the junk we had stored in her room so we could start preparing it for her.
6/08/2006	Charlene told us that our Log In Date (LID) is 5/26/2006. The wait has officially begun.
7/22/2006	We went to our first FTIA Reunion today. It was wonderful seeing all the kids.
11/06/2006	We finally received our "brown envelope" containing our GUZ number from the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China.
1/31/2007	We received a notice from ASC that our home study needs the annual update per Indiana law. A mini-paperchase ensues.
3/01/2007	We sent the docs required for our home study update to ASC
4/26/2007	Charlene's last day at FTIA. She's moving to Oregon to pursue her dreams. We'll miss her. Jill Gallman is now our adoption coordinator.
6/04/2007	Gail and Paul get the LID (4/09/2007) for their 3rd daughter. We're very excited for them.
7/05/2007	The CCAA has finished reviewing dossiers through 5/31/2006. Jill confirmed that she received no questions about our dossier, so we have officially passed the review. Now we are really just waiting for Hannah's referral.
8/16/2007	After following the story of Sarah's (Yan's) adoption, we decide to increase our age range to 8 years old. To that end we filled out and submitted our Preferences Questionnaire to FTIA's Waiting Children program.
8/20/2007	We received word from FTIA that we have been accepted into the Waiting Children program. We are now eligible to adopt a healthy, little girl who is 5 to 13 years old inclusive.
9/14/2007	ASC sent our freshly updated home study to the USCIS -- Chicago today as part of the submission required to renew/extend our I-171H. The current I-171H expires on 11/02/2007.
9/17/2007	We express mailed our new I-600A and supporting documents to the USCIS office in Chicago in order to renew our I-171H.
10/01/2007	We received a letter from the USCIS that contained our filing date (9/21/2007) and fingerprint notices related to our I-171H renewal. This time the USCIS scheduled fingerprinting appointments for each of us at the Hammond office on 10/11/2007 at 9 a.m.
10/11/2007	Went to USCIS office in Hammond at 9 a.m. and got fingerprinted for our I-600A extension/I-171H renewal.
10/15/2007	Because of the ever-increasing wait in China (possibly 3 - 5 years now), we decided to unofficially enroll in FTIA's Vietnam program. The Vietnam coordinators are now keeping us in mind for any little girl who is 4 - 8 years old and was passed over by those parents officially in the program. Note: We're very seriously considering starting a separate Vietnam adoption concurrent with our China adoption in hopes of getting two daughters before we age out. We don't know yet if we'll use another adoption and/or home study agency for this.
10/22/2007	We received our new I-171H. It will expire on 4/16/2009. Let's hope we get Hannah before then! FTIA has temporarily closed its Vietnam program but will still enroll those looking for older children like us.
2/17/2008	We received notification today from ASC that our annual home study update is due. Much to our dismay, this year's update requires even more information and costs more as well. The thing that really upset us was the threat that ASC included in its cover letter: If we did not submit the updated materials in time, they would suspend our home study thereby causing the USCIS to revoke our current I-171H. Way to be our advocate in this process ASC!
2/25/2007	Took the cats to the vet today to have their vaccinations updated as required for our annual home study update. They were none too thrilled. I hope to get my hearing back before our physical exams.
2/27/2008	We went to the doctor to have new physical exams done for our annual home study update. The doctor would not sign the Physician Update Letter unless he saw us. Strangely enough, he found both our blood pressures to be a bit on the high side. In the end we proved ourselves to be fit enough for parenthood. We also got fingerprinted for the FBI National Criminal Check that's required for the home study update. Only adoption can make you feel like you've done something wrong when you're actually trying to do something wonderful.
2/28/2008	We received an email from FTIA today telling us they were downsizing due to the slow down in referrals and fewer new applications. As a result, our coordinator, Jill Gallman, has been let go. China's never-ending wait claims another victim. This is a sad day for us. We don't know who are 3rd coordinator is going to be.
2/29/2008	Went to the police station to get our Local Criminal History Checks for our annual home study update. The file clerk remembered us and told us she had our form stored on her computer. We're beginning to think we've been in this process far too long.
3/04/2008	Received word today that our new FTIA adoption coordinator is Melissa Haywood. Let's hope the third time really is the charm.
3/07/2008	Today was Jill's last day. We're going to miss her. We finished our annual home study of update for this year and sent it to ASC. Let's hope ASC can get the results of all 5 of our criminal background checks back before 4/12/08 or else they'll suspend our home study. Nobody told us adoption would be so suspenseful.
3/12/2008	Our 2008 annual home study update won't die! ASC informed us yesterday that we needed a TB test too. In the original update packet they clearly indicated we didn't need one. Apparently, ASC has since changed its mind. So we're off to Riverside's outpatient clinic to get tested today. We'll have to go back in 2 or 3 days to have the test read. ASC's approach to the annual update has grown very tiresome.
3/15/2008	We went to the outpatient clinic to have our TB tests read. As expected, we don't have TB. We'll try to get the doctor to sign the test results next week so we can submit them to ASC and be done with this year's home study update.
3/21/2008	Mailed the signed results of our TB tests to ASC today. Is this finally the end of our 2008 update?
4/10/2008	ASC strikes again. They called to find out when we intended to mail them the money order for the national background check. We kindly informed them that they had received it along with the rest of our update materials. Our bank confirmed the money order had already been cashed and that it was unlikely anybody other than the state police could have cashed it. When we enthusiastically passed that tidbit on to ASC, they admitted the error was probably theirs and cut a new check on our behalf.
4/12/2008	A new "brown envelope" from Guangzhou arrived in the mail today. Apparently our I-171H renewal last October generated this joyous event.
4/16/2008	Jon went to the county health department to start his Hepatitis B vaccination series. It turns out getting jabbed by a needle was a welcome diversion from the monotony of the never-ending wait.
5/21/2008	Jon went to the county health department and got his second Hepatitis B vaccination.
11/12/2008	Jon went to the county health department and got his last Hepatitis B vaccination ... good times!
11/14/2008	Mailed a request to be re-fingerprinted for our I-171H to the USCIS. We had to do this in case we travel before applying for a new I-171H next spring — yeah, right!
11/21/2008	As usual, we scanned the pics of the new CWC list (#28 in this case) in order to get some much needed motivation to continue the never-ending wait. This time, however, one little girl (YYZ-28) really caught our attention. She had the most heart-warming smile imaginable. It's hard to believe that such a beautiful girl does not have a family.
11/22/2008	We received our ASC Appointment Notice from USCIS today. We'll be fingerprinted on Wednesday, December 13th. This time, however, we have to drive to Michigan City because that's where the USCIS decided to move the Hammond ASC. Instead of driving 15 minutes to the application processing center, we now get to drive 50 minutes each way. Of course, the USCIS does not have driving directions to the Michigan City location. What a surprise!
12/03/2008	We went to the USCIS Application Support Center and got fingerprinted today. This will be the 6th time we've been fingerprinted for this adoption: 3 times for our I-600A/I-171H and 3 times for our home study. We found the new ASC facility without incident because Rep. Visclosky's office was able to convince the USCIS to divulge the location. For the record neither Mapquest, Google Maps, nor Bigbook were able to map the location of the Michigan City ASC at this time.
12/23/2008	After looking at the pics of YYZ-28 (Yuan Yuzhu) almost everyday for the last few weeks and reviewing her files, we finally decided to have Melissa Haywood at FTIA check to see if her file has been locked. We don't have much hope since Yuzhu is so beautiful.
12/24/2008	Melissa Haywood indicated that YYZ-28 (Yuan Yuzhu) is still available. We can certainly envision this child being our daughter.
12/25/2008	Merry Christmas to us! This is our 4th without our daughter.
12/30/2008	The more we think about Yuzhu, the more certain we are that she is our daughter. It's kind of hard to believe that we may have found our daughter after 3 years in the trenches. We are having FTIA check on Yuzhu's availability tonight.
12/31/2008	We received an email from Betty Betz (FTIA) that YYZ-28 (Yuan Yuzhu) is still available. We can't believe it! It looks like we have some hard thinking to do about this beautiful little girl.
1/04/2009	We are convinced that YYZ-28 is our daughter Even though we don't know if she is still available, we drafted both an LOI and a Family Summary and Treatment Plan today. We'll contact FTIA tomorrow and let them know of our intention to adopt Yuzhu. This all feels absolutely surreal.
1/05/2009	We contacted Maury Reising at FTIA and let her know that we wanted to adopt YYZ-28. We sent our LOI and Family Summary & Treatment Plan to Maury for review and spent the rest of the day doing revisions. We finally got everything in order by the end of the day. We also worked with Susie Herrmann and Nan Bloom at ASC to get our home study updated. Yuzhu's age was just beyond the age range listed in our home study. Fortunately for us, Susie had no concerns about increasing our age range. We were unable to have Dr. Keck at Riley's International Adoption Clinic review Yuzhu's files today. Since we can't proceed without Dr. Keck's review, we couldn't submit our LOI and Family Summary & Treatment plan, nor could we lock YYZ-28. Maury is going to have the Beijing office check on her availability tonight. It's going to be a looooooong night.
1/06/2009	We finally got in touch with Beth Anthony at Riley's International Adoption Clinic early this morning. We were able to get Dr. Keck to review Yuzhu's files. Dr. Keck called Karen around 1:45 p.m. to let her know that everything looked good. Yuzhu appears to be healthy and developing normally. Dr. Keck's only concern is that Yuzhu is mildly underweight for her height but even that is nothing to fret about. With Dr. Keck's information in hand, we completed the LOI and Family Summary & Treatment Plan. Maury will send these docs to the Beijing office tonight and have them place a hold on Yuzhu with the CCAA. Yet another long, sleepless night coming our way!
1/07/2009	Maury called today at about 8:10 a.m. to let us know that Yuzhu has been locked for us. WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!! WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!! To say we are totally blown away is a huge understatement. This is the moment we've been working toward for 3 years. I don't think we really believe it happened. There are no words that adequately describe how happy we are to be welcoming this beautiful girl into our family as our daughter. Now we have to wait 2 - 10 weeks to get the PA (pre-approval) from the CCAA. Since we have such an old LID, Maury thinks we may get the PA relatively soon — hopefully before the Chinese New Year. Now back to reality for a moment ... We mailed the signed copies of the LOI and Family Summary & Treatment Plan to FTIA. We also scheduled fingerprint appointments for 1/14/2009 at the local State Police Post. These fingerprints are for our annual home study update. We need to do the update early this year in case the USCIS wants a more recently updated home study in support of our forthcoming I-824 and I-600 submissions.
1/09/2009	Big paperwork day Assembled and mailed the I-824 submission to the USCIS. Signed and mailed the "Agreement to Switch from the China Program to the China Waiting Children Program " to FTIA. By signing this agreement we also agreed to complete the "Parenting a Child with Special Needs" and the "Adopting a Toddler/Older Child" sections of FTIA's Parent Education Workbook. Oh good, more paperwork. Received the new I-171H from the USCIS. This was generated as a result of being re-fingerprinted last month.
1/12/2009	Emailed a copy of our new I-171H to Maury so she could update our file with the new fingerprint expiration date. Also received confirmation from UPS that our I-824 submission had been successfully delivered to the USCIS. Now we hold our breath and hope that Officer Dominguez likes our updated home study. Otherwise, we go to battle with the dreaded Request for Evidence. We dove into the paperwork for our annual home study update in earnest today. This is a rather large and arduous undertaking that, among other things, requires 5 background checks. Nothing says "Congratulations on locking your daughter after 3 horrible years of waiting" quite like a mountain of paperwork and 5 background checks. This could only be considered normal in the wacky world of IA.
1/13/2009	Much to our surprise we received another I-171H in yesterday's mail. This is the same as its predecessor except it lists the number of children as 1 instead of 2. Since we did not request this change, we have no idea why the USCIS did this. Neither Nan nor Maury have an explanation either. The consensus is to go with it since it won't interfere with Hannah's adoption. Why can't the USCIS just be normal?!
1/16/2009	We got fingerprinted for our annual home study update today. This is the 7th time we've been fingerprinted for this adoption. It should be the last before we travel for Hannah. We also had the local criminal background checks done and took the cat to the vet for her annual vaccinations. These were also required for the annual home study update.
1/17/2009	We finished all the paper work related to the 5 criminal background checks required for our annual home study update and sent them to ASC. Even though all our background checks are current, we had to get them started early this year in case Officer Dominguez at the USCIS wanted more recent background checks for our I-824 submission. This process has gotten unbelievably dumb! The annual update is almost complete; we only have a few outstanding items. It will be a relief to have this done so we can concentrate on our beautiful daughter instead of paper work.
1/22/2009	Maury called today at 9:55 a.m. to let us know that we got our LOA for Hannah. WE OFFICIALLY HAVE A DAUGHTER!!! This was a complete surprise to us since we hadn't even received our PA. Maury thought this was a record turnaround time for FTIA. We actually verified 3 times with Maury that she meant LOA and not PA during this conversation. She estimated we'd travel in 8 - 10 weeks. We couldn't be more surprised if we woke up with our heads stapled to the carpet. We are completely overjoyed by this news. Thank you God!
1/25/2009	We wrote our first letter to Hannah today. It proved to be more difficult than anticipated. There is so much we want to tell her but we don't want to overwhelm her either . So the end product included a little info about us and where we live and a whole bunch of reassurances that she is loved, cherished, and will be cared for. We also ordered Hannah's adoption/referral announcement.
1/26/2009	We received Hannah's LOA, visa applications, and travel papers from FTIA today. We also hosted a referral/pre-adoption party in Hannah's honor. We used this opportunity to take photos of the family for the photo album we are sending to Hannah. I hope the pics of us and the family don't cause her to change her mind about being adopted.
1/27/2009	It was a big day today. We signed Hannah's LOA. This moves us one big step closer to officially being Hannah's parents. We couldn't be happier! In addition to signing Hannah's LOA, we completed her photo album and finished the 2009 home study update. We're making progress.
1/30/2009	Our package containing Yuzhu's LOA, letter, and photo album finally arrived at FTIA. It took an extra day to get there because of the snow storm that rolled through here a few days ago. The good news is that our package arrived early enough to make today's shipment to Beijing. Hannah should receive the letter and photo album within the next week or two. The wait for our TA begins today. According to Maury, we can expect to have the TA in about 4 to 5 weeks. We could be traveling 3 to 5 weeks after that. Unfortunately the USCIS could delay our travel if they won't expedite the processing of our I-600A — the 3rd one!
2/03/2009	Weird ... Very Weird ... FTIA received our PA today. This was the first time they have received a PA after the LOA. Since we've already signed and submitted our LOA, the PA really doesn't mean anything but it's nice to have anyway.
2/09/2009	We contacted the National Visa Center (NVC) to re-confirm the receipt of our I-824 from the USCIS. After a few anxious minutes of waiting while a supervisor searched for our stuff, we were told that our I-824 had been received from the USCIS on 1/26/2009 and was subsequently sent on to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China the same day. That's good news — we're back in China baby!
2/10/2009	We received our 2009 updated home study. We have been eagerly awaiting its arrival because we couldn't submit our I-600A renewal without it. We promptly visited our friends at the UPS store and expressed our 3rd I-600A submission to the USCIS. Let's hope they agree to expedite it as requested, otherwise we may have to delay our trip. It's ridiculous that a document we've faithfully kept current for 3 years could make us wait even longer to meet our daughter because we have to renew it (again) before we travel. Does that seem right to you?
2/11/2009	Our I-600A was delivered to the USCIS today. Let the games begin!
2/12/2009	Hannah was told about us and her pending adoption. Apparently she took the news well. Here's the exact message we received: Yuan Yu Zhu—2-12-09 2/12: Yuan Yu Zhu has received the album today. She’s very happy and looking forward her dad and mum coming to pick her up ASAP. She said she loves her parents. She likes the house and her bed very much. So far, so good.
2/13/2009	According to Yuzhu's orphanage director, she likes the name Hannah. So as of today our daughter's name is officially Hannah Yuzhu. We also found out that she knows about 30 to 40 words of English. Let's hope they're useful ones.
2/14/2009	We sent an email to Kevin, Debbi, and Sarah to find out if they would be willing to answer a few adoption-related questions for us. Since they adopted Sarah at age 13, their experience and knowledge would prove invaluable to us. It was their adoption story that convinced us to adopt an older child via the China Waiting Children program.
2/15/2009	Debbi has graciously agreed to answer our questions. She already sent some very useful tips about things we never even considered. Sarah has agreed to speak with Hannah should she need reassurance that all will be OK. We cannot thank them enough for their willingness to help us.
2/20/2009	We talked with Debbi for 2.5 hours about their experience adopting Sarah. We got a ton of very practical and sometimes surprising advice. We also had dinner with Paul and Gail and their friends to discuss their adoption experiences. Once again, very helpful. We feel a whole lot better prepared for our trip and for our adoption in general.
2/21/2009	We received a request for evidence from the USCIS. As usual, the RFE was so cryptic we have no idea what's wrong. They seem to be asking for paperwork that was included in the submission. What's especially curious is that the RFE is dated 2/18/2008, the very same day Rep. Visclosky's office contacted USCIS and requested expedited service for our I-600A. Let the games begin!
2/23/2009	We sent a care package to Hannah today. It consisted of t-shirts, candy, a Barbie with a change of clothes, a teddy bear, hair doodads, a Doodle Pro, fun little craft items, and a few other things. We also purchased 2 disposable cameras, a necklace, and a SASE envelope for Hannah through Red Thread. These items will be combined with the stuff we sent from here and then given to Hannah all at the same time. Most of the items we put in the care package were based on Sarah's recommendations. We're hoping these gifts will ease Hannah's wait and maybe even buy a little love.
2/24/2009	Today was Maury's last day at FTIA. We will miss her kind support and patience. Betty Betz will be our new coordinator and our 4th at FTIA. We're beginning to wonder if it's something we're doing that's driving them away. Anyway, an interesting thing about Betty is that her daughter is a Guangxi girl just like Hannah. Betty has promised to stay with us through the remainder of our adoption.
2/25/2009	We submitted our China Visa applications today. If the turnaround schedule is accurate, we should get our China visas on or a shortly after 3/10/2009.
2/26/2009	We got our TA today. If FTIA can schedule an appointment for us at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, we should be leaving for China on 3/18/2009. There is a chance we might get to travel with our friends. That would be great! Susan from Senator Lugar's office was able to get our I-600A processed. Apparently the request for evidence could be overlooked once a little logic and pressure were applied. Our new I-171H should arrive sometime next week. The unfortunate part about all this is that we really don't need a new I-171H. We'll probably be home 2 weeks before our current one expires. It figures. It just so happens that today is the 33 month anniversary of our LID. This is the last time we can celebrate a LID anniversary because we will have Hannah home before the next one. Praise the Lord!
2/27/2009	We're on a roll! Betty told us that she was able to schedule our consulate appointment. Since that was the last obstacle, we're leaving for China on March 18th and returning with our beautiful daughter on April 2nd. We will have the pleasure of traveling with our friends as hoped. We can't believe this is really happening. Let the travel planning begin!
2/28/2009	We received our new I-171H today. That was a 17 day turnaround even with the request for evidence. Shocking!
3/02/2009	Our care package arrived at Red Thread's office in Guangzhou, China on Monday. According to Ann, everything arrived in good shape except the tiara that came with Barbie. Apparently it was cracked. Our package was then combined with the items we purchased from Red Thread and mailed. (Click the teddy bear to see the whole thing.) Hannah should get it by the end of this week. We're just hoping she doesn't write us a letter because we'll probably be in China before it reaches us. We also received word from Denise of There's Always Hope that our China visa applications were submitted to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago today. If all goes well, we should get our passports with visa stamp back on 3/10. This is the only outstanding thing that could potentially delay our trip.
3/03/2009	Another very busy day preparing for our trip to China: Scheduled a limo to take us to and pick us up from O'Hare. We made sure to get a stretch limo for the ride home with Hannah. We thought it might be fun for her. Scheduled a physical exam for Hannah at the International Adoption Clinic at Riley Hospital for Children a few weeks after we return. We got our Hepatitis A shots in preparation for the trip. These were supposed to be done about 4 weeks before departure, but we didn't get that kind of time. We're hoping we'll still get some benefit anyway.
3/05/2009	The full itinerary for our trip was emailed to us today. Drum roll please. On the afternoon of Monday, March 23rd, we will go to the Civil Affairs Bureau of Guangxi Province to be united with Hannah! Put another way, 18 days from now we'll be wrapping our arms around our beautiful daughter for the first time. We are soooooooo unbelievably excited! On a comparatively mundane note, I contacted the bank today to confirm that they could get the crisp, new, uncirculated cash we are required to take to China to pay legal fees and the orphanage donation. Much to my surprise, I was told that the cash had already been ordered and was actually sitting in the bank waiting for us. Apparently our friends at the bank, who are aware of our adoption, we're so concerned about getting the money for us that they went ahead and got it early just to be safe. Bless their hearts. We also sent our check for the in-China travel expenses to FTIA. It should be delivered either tomorrow or Monday. It was a very busy day.
3/06/2009	We received our Final Travel Approval today! It's very pretty with red star and all. Oddly enough, there is a very faint, photocopied image of Yuzhu on the TA that doesn't look very much her at all. At least her name is correct. Betty informed us that not only did they receive our check for the in-China travel costs but also it was the first payment they received from our whole group. I think Betty is finally starting to believe we're highly motivated.
3/09/2009	Denise from There's Always hope informed us that our passports should arrive tomorrow. That would seem to indicate everything went smoothly at the Chinese Consulate. Anne from Red Thread confirmed that Hannah had received her care package "several days ago." We'll take that to mean she got it last Thursday or Friday. We're very happy the care package finally got to her. Let's hope she likes it!
3/10/2009	We received our passports with the China visa stamps today. This was the last bit of paperwork we needed to complete in order to go to China. It's nearly impossible for us to believe there's no more paperwork standing between us and Hannah — so weird we even had Betty at FTIA repeatedly confirm this fact. Barring an act of God, we're positively leaving next Wednesday to be united with our daughter.
3/12/2009	We had a phone conference with our travel group today. Topics discussed included itineraries, documents, packing lists, and, of course, luggage restrictions. It seems most of our group is facing the same problem we are: The packed luggage weighs far too much. This weekend we'll be doing some luggage liposuction. Everything will be fine for us once we have Hannah because we'll have another suitcase and carry-on to use. Until then, we'll pack our pockets and hope for the best at the airports in China.
3/13/2009	Today was our big day at the bank. We picked up the crisp, clean, uncirculated cash for our adoption fees. The tellers at the bank are very excited about our impending adoption. They've been the unlucky people who had to notarize all our adoption documents for the past three years.
3/14/2009	We went to Schoop's Hamburgers today to have our last 100% beef burger for quite some time. We've been going just about every Saturday during our adoption to commemorate the passing of another week of waiting for Hannah — that's a lot of burgers. It's hard for us to believe this ritual is coming to an end. Anyway, two of our regular waitresses, Amy and Carrie, surprised us with a 50th anniversary Barbie for Hannah. What a heartwarming and thoughtful gesture. Thanks you guys! She will be so excited. If you click the picture, you can see most of the fun stuff we're taking for Hannah. A lot of it was given to us by family and friends. We'd like to thank the Dykstras, Vrees, Karen's co-workers, and, of course, grandma and grandpa for these gifts. They're sure to put a smile on Hannah's face.
3/16/2009	We finished Hannah's room today. That only took 38 months. We're very happy with it. We hope Hannah will like it too.
3/23/2009	"GOTCHA!!! Today we held Hannah in our arms for the first time. Thank you God!

Our journal doesn't stop here. The Countdown Journal contains our thoughts as we prepared for our trip to China. You can also find details of our trip in the Travel Journal and post-adoption updates under the Updates menu item.