leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com
Our adoption story: The Beginning
http://leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com/2007/11/beginning.html
Two's a good number," we used to say. We were busy raising our two boys, not knowing that God had additional plans for us. Molly has always had a soft spot in her heart for kids. She at one point thought about foster care, but she didn’t want to get attached to the kids only to have them taken away. Molly and I had always thought it would be kind of cool to have a girl, and we’d joked over the years about adopting, but it seemed like we were pretty established with our two boys. We spoke a little about i...
leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com
Our adoption story: Why China?
http://leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-china.html
Because that's where our daughter is. As we explored adoption, we learned that China has about one fifth of the world’s population. One of the most common cultural mindsets is a gender preference of boys over girls. This, along with China’s one-child policy, has led to thousands of abandoned children, most of them girls or special needs children. We felt that there is such a need in China, and we ached for all the children who are born into a society in which they aren’t valued. God used these things to ...
leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com
Our adoption story: Seeking Counsel
http://leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com/2007/11/seeking-counsel.html
During this time, Molly sought the counsel of her closest friends. When she brought up the fact that we might be considering adoption, there was no one who seemed surprised. In fact, the reaction was more of, “Of course you're going to adopt. What are you waiting for? Both my parents and Molly’s mom and step-dad would be here for Luke’s birthday party on May 26, so we decided to call a family meeting after all the guests had left. Molly started with, “We have something to tell you….”. A Heap o Documents.
leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com
Our adoption story: The Adoption Timeline
http://leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com/2007/11/adoption-timeline.html
How long does it take? China adoptions are taking over two years from start to finish. Once the flurry of paperwork is completed and the dossier is off to China, the waiting begins. China logs in the dossier and then it sits for what is currently 18-24 months before a referral is made. Another good question, and we don’t know. Molly says, “Because they can.”. Here’s a rough breakdown of the timelines:. Initial application to the adoption agency: a week or two. Home study report: 1-3 months.
leahshomecoming.com
Bringing Leah Home: First week home
http://www.leahshomecoming.com/2008/07/first-week-home.html
Welcome to the story of our journey to bring Leah home. Check out the links on the right for our story, photos of Leah, and our Travel Journal. Please visit often, and please sign our guestbook. Post comments, or email. Leah's first week home was full of new things, and she did great. The kids seemed to recover quickly, but Molly and I pretty much felt awful from jet lag for a few days after we got home. She loves her room, and she loves girly things like shoes and clothes. She got her first pair of ...
leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com
Our adoption story: The Unfortunate Haircut
http://leahsadoptionstory.blogspot.com/2007/11/unfortunate-haircut.html
We started this process, not really knowing any differently, thinking that we would be getting an 18-24 month-old baby girl. This would mean that, once our dossier was done and off to China, life would essentially go on for about two years before we would receive a referral. We had filled out a special needs form a month or two into the adoption process, not really knowing much about what special needs entailed. When AGCI gets a batch of special needs files, they first attempt to match the kids with fami...
leahshomecoming.com
Bringing Leah Home: National Geographic article
http://www.leahshomecoming.com/2008/04/national-geographic-article.html
Welcome to the story of our journey to bring Leah home. Check out the links on the right for our story, photos of Leah, and our Travel Journal. Please visit often, and please sign our guestbook. Post comments, or email. Magazine’s May 2008 issue is devoted to China. Some of the facts from the article:. 1 China’s one-child policy created a generation of only children that numbers 90 million. 2 119 baby boys are born for every 100 girls. 10 Public protests rose by 50 percent last year. 14 Thirty-one percen...
traveltoleah.blogspot.com
Our Travel Journal: Oath Ceremony
http://traveltoleah.blogspot.com/2008/06/oath-ceremony.html
Thursday, June 26, 2008. We didn't have anything scheduled this morning, so we did a little bit of shopping and packing, and, of course, hit Starbucks. At 3:00, we met all of the other families and our coordinator in the lobby and took a bus to the U.S. Consulate. No cameras were allowed, so we don't have any pictures, unfortunately. The Consulate used to be located on Shamian Island, right near the White Swan Hotel. The officer was very personable, and he said that he had adopted from China twice himsel...
