The Gate

Hope is currently in the province of Hubei (often referred to as "China's oven", due to the heat and humidity).  So I thought I'd search the web for other adoption blogs from families whose children are also in, or were in, Hubei.  I found a link to another family's site, who had documented their journey to China, just as we will.  As I read through each entry in the the blog, to my surprise, not only was their daughter was found in Xiangfan City - the same city where Hope was found - but also at the exact same gate at the city's Civil Affairs Department!  (According to the blog, the gate is a common spot for children to be left in that city).  What really put a lump in my throat, though, was the accompanying picture of the gate, as well as a picture of a row of cribs taken in the same orphanage where Hope had lived.

After staring at the pictures for a while, I began to think about the day that she was left at that gate.  Was it dark?  Did the parents stay nearby and watch her to make sure that someone found her?  How long was she there?  How hard must it have been for them to leave her there?  She was only one month old.


Here's a picture of the gate:

Meet our new daughter!

After 4 1/2 years of waiting, we can finally introduce everyone to Hope, our (soon to be) new daughter!

We knew that our referral was coming - we follow the adoption blogs and knew that others were receiving referrals, but based on what happened last month, we were a bit nervous.  So Friday, Jen emailed her contact Stephanie at the adoption agency, who confirmed that our referral was coming, and told us that she would call us as soon as she had information.  Stephanie called at about 11:00 PM, and gave us a few details - Our soon to be daughter will be one year old on 7/18/2010, and is currently living with a foster family in the province of Hubei, in the city of Wuhan.  She is by all accounts healthy, and Stephanie described her as very cute!

But we still didn't have pictures!  They were still processing the actual referral, so we went to bed eager for the morning.  As soon as I woke up this morning, I checked the email, and there was the referral that we had been waiting for for so long.  I brought the laptop upstairs to Jen, and together we opened the referral and saw her face for the first time.  We think that she's adorable, and it appears that the foster family is taking good care of her.  I think I see a hint of a dimple, just like daddy!     

Along with the referral, which is mostly in Chinese, we received translated details about our new daughter.  She was found at 2 am on August 11th, 2009 at the gate of the civil affair department of the city of Xiang Fan, by a policeman.  She was taken to the Social Welfare Institute the same day, and was given the name Meiqi Fan.  Meiqi means "pretty as jade", and Fan is for the city in which she was found. 

In March 2010, she was placed with a foster family in Wuhan.  Her sleep pattern and appetite are described as good, and it says that she loves to play outside, and pick flowers in the grass in the yard!  When she sees a butterfly, it says, she will open her arms and try to fly.  Too cute!

So now we await our itinerary.  We know that we will first fly to Beijing, then Wuhan, then Guangzhou, but don't know the exact dates yet.  We will post the details when we have them.  Until then!

Nothing yet

Rumor has it that members of the CCAA traveled somewhere this month, which accounts for the delay in the process this month. Supposedly, they are in the process of matching now (matching families with children). I'm guessing that we will hear something next week. I can't recall seeing referrals go past the middle of the month.