Settling In

Hi All! Well, we have been home over 3 weeks and things are going really well. Mae is a delight. She is blossoming into a happy little girl who usually has a big smile on her face. She is crawling everywhere and loves to get into everything. She is SO curious and never misses a trick. She will be keeping us on our toes! Charlie and she are just starting to pay attention to one another and it is such fun to see them interact. Henry is a terrrific big brother, entertaining the babies every moment he is home. They don't take their eyes off of him! He has started back to kindergarten today and is very happy to be back among his peers.

We are so lucky to have such great friends and family. We have appreciated all of the emails and well-wishes. We had no idea so many people were watching our journey to Mae! Several people have asked similar questions about our adoption process and we thought we would answer them here.

First, our agency was CCAI, based in Centennial, CO. They are one of the largest adoption agencies placing children from China. We cannot say enough good things about them. The median age of the parents who adopt from China is 44. We were among the younger couples in our travel group. There were couples in their forties and fifties. We met 2 families while in China that were "starting over". They had children in their late twenties at home.

The average wait from the application to travel is about 12 months. It can be done in 9-10 months. The first part of the process revolves around the gathering of the paperwork. It can be done in 2-3 months if it is given top priority. Once the paperwork is sent to China, the wait to referral (picture of your baby) is about 6 months. Travel follows 5-7 weeks later.

The babies are abandoned in China due to the "one-child per couple policy". A baby boy will grow up and ensure that the parents are taken care of in their old age, while a baby girl is expected to take care of her future husband's family. This is just one of many issues facing mothers in China. Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son, by Kay Ann Johnson is the best book to read if you want a good understanding of what is going on in China to result in the hundreds of thousands of girls who are in need of a family.

We are very open to any questions anyone may have. Even though my journey to Mae truly began when I was twelve years old and our neighbors adopted a little girl from Korea, it began anew when I sat in front of my computer in January of 2004. I read my very first blog written by a family in China bringing home their daughter. When Rich found me an hour later, I was in a pool of tears, balled-up kleenex strewn across the floor, and I was certain that OUR daughter was also in China. A few blogs, and a couple of months later, Rich was certain she was there as well. And she was!

We are going to update the blog every month or so, at least for a while. Thanks again for your kindness. We can't wait until all of you can meet Mae in person!

Love,
Melissa