MEASUREMENTS FINALLY!

Mei called this morning with the measurments! She still has to translate the rest of the report. We do know she doesn't have any teeth and likes to play with a dog (real or stuffed we don't know)! Her measurements and the doctor's comments are below. She is very small. Her head size is still a concern but we have a complete peace about her being part of our family. I did a little research and she's probably in a size 9 months clothes right now. I'll post more ASAP. Thanks for your prayers.


Height 66cm (26 in.)
Weight 7.5kg (16.5 pounds)
Head 42cm
Chest 43cm
Foot 11cm


Mrs. Wilkerson:

Assuming these are current measurements done at 11 mo's of age:

Lillie's growth shows a typical amount of slight lag in weight and height (wt is 3rd% now, and ht is just a hair below 3rd%). This is typical of living in an orphanage and is of no concern. Her head circumference is a little better but still below the 3rd% (but it is closer to the 3rd % than before). I don't see anything new in the photos to comment on other than that her face is filling out nicely!

Please keep me posted on your progress! I look forward to meeting you all at some point if that will be possible.

God Bless,
David Douglass, M.D. For the Children International Adoption Medical Services

Update

It's been a while since I've updated everyone on what's going on with the adoption. We are still waiting on new measurements. However, you can see from Lillie Mei's most recent picture she looks like she is quite healthy! Our case manager was out of town last week and thought they would come while she was gone. She is checking on this but still hasn't heard anything.

We have completed all of our paperwork (our dossier). I spent Monday in Raleigh with mom so we could get everything authenticated at the Secretary of State's office. The plan was to pick them up at 2:30, overnight them to Washington and then they would be in the Charleston office by May 29th. When I went to pick them up, 3 of them were notarized incorrectly so they had to be sent back on Tuesday. With Memorial Day on Monday it now looks like we should everything to Charleston office by June 1st.

As far as a timeline goes this is my best guess at this point. It is very similar to what I had predicted before.

Dossier to China (DTC) - June 6th
Log in Date (LID)- June 30th
Travel Approval (TA)- October 26th
Travel to China- November 30th
Home- December 14th

Time from DTC to LID could be as little as 1 week to 1 month. Current average for LID to TA is 116 days. Most people travel about 4-5 weeks after TA.

Pictures Finally!

I know you couldn't tell it from our posts but we did get pictures this past week! The problem was we were in California and I was checking e-mail on my TV. Anyway here is Lillie Mei's most recent picture--probably taken May 7th or 8th. She has grown so much! I can't believe how much she has changed. It made me very sad when I realized how much of her life we have already missed. Kirk reminded me that she is not technically ours yet, but she is mine in my heart, so I thought of her often on Mother's Day.

I just received an e-mail from our agency and it looks like it might be next week before we get the measurements. I may not know more until our case manager returns from vacation on May 21st. I'll post ASAP!

A Little Progress

We still have no news regarding Lillie Mei's medical. However, we do have some progress. Our home study has been written and sent into the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and our letter of intent (LOI) is being sent to CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs-I think) tomorrow. What does all of this mean? We should receive our pre-approval from the U.S. next week and prior approval from China in about 4-6 weeks. Everything is pretty much on schedule to travel by December (possibly as early as October).

We won't be able to post for a couple of days but will find a way to let everyone know if we get any news. Our case manager is out of the office the 10th-18th so I don't expect any news soon.

Harrison and Zeke at Easter.

What handsome big brothers Lillie Mei does have!

My Patience is Tested Once Again!

Well, we got not-so-great news today, but we know God is in control. Our case manager heard from her boss in China today. It seems the orphanage director did not get what we requested (don't ask me why we heard otherwise). Because of a holiday in China, all offices are closed this week so we cannot expect it anytime soon. Her e-mail even said, "if we can get it by the 10th then she could bring it when she comes to the U.S." which makes us think it could be more than another week.

At this point, Kirk and I are ready to follow our hearts and proceed with all paperwork. God has re-affirmed that this little girl is part of our family in so many ways. If we did get really, really bad news for some reason we could always stop the process, but I don't see that happening. She is already a part of us.

Please keep praying. I know God's timing is perfect, I just wish He would consult with me first! :) Thank you for all of your kind words and prayers for our little girl.

Still Waiting.....

This is the e-mail we received this morning at 9:30.

Good Morning Kirk and Cindy.
We are still waiting for the updated info of Yi Mei Fei. I just sent Jane another email to ask her info be faxed and photos be scanned and emailed to me ASAP. Jane may be on her way to Beijing; so I am anxiously waiting to hear from her. I will give you a ring as soon as I hear anything from her.

Mei


Yongmei (Mei) Bellack
China Case Manager

We'll post here as soon as we hear!

Waiting for new pictures and measurements

We talked to our case manager today. She said we could expect the new information by the end of the week. I think we will get it on Thursday. I check my e-mail about 100 times a day. I really want to see the new pictures and see where she is falling on the growth chart.

The boys and I talked Kirk into letting us go to Babies 'R' Us this weekend. They wanted to buy everything! We came out with a plastic baby photo album so Lillie Mei can learn everyone's name (Zeke's pick) and a pair of pajamas (Harrison's pick). I think I did quite well since they wanted to buy a stroller! I am sure there will be many more shopping trips. After all, we'll have to make up for all the time we didn't have her! I'll post here as soon as we get more information.

Thank you to everyone who is praying and asking others to pray!