We love...

Introducing... Apollo James

2011-01-18T22:34:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 12th, Rick and I received a phone call from our adoption agency telling us that a sweet birth mother had chosen our family for her baby. The next evening we were able to get to know her when we went out to dinner together. She is a beautiful, lady to whom we will always be grateful. She had her baby 5 days later and we were able to take baby boy Anderton home December 19th.

We feel so blessed, and Ivy, Luke, and Alyssa can't get enough of him.

It took us 10 days to name him, but we finally decided on Apollo James.

He is such a joy to our family!

Here is is the picture we used for the announcement:

Here are a few that didn't make the cut:)

Oh, the little angels!

2010-06-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

JULY 2010

4TH OF JULY

Ivy, Luke, and their friend, Kyler watching the show. Luke had his hands over his ears for most of the night.

Ivy and Luke doing sparklers

Ben, Mikal, Emily, and Annie behind the kids watching the fireworks

Emily with a sparkler, while Ben supervises. Luke with uncle Ryan and cousin Natalie.

Uncle Ryan with Natalie, Savannah, and Luke

Emily, Josh, and Parker

CARNIVAL IN PROVO

Rick with Ivy, Luke, and Alyssa on a ride

Luke on a trampoline with a harness. He was supposed to be able to jump really high, but he was a little too nervous to do much more than stand there.

FISHING WITH ANDERTON RELATIVES

Rick helping Ivy to cast

Rick at the picnic table and uncle Ryan helping Luke and cousins Spencer and Natalie

Grandma and aunt Ginger

Alyssa on the picnic blanket

PLAYING IN THE RAIN

Luke got the big umbrella

Alyssa got the blue umbrella

Ivy didn't get an umbrella, so she used her butterfly hairband, but that didn't work...

so she tried a paper towel, but that didn't work either...

she finally settled on Alyssa's swim floatie!

Lorien with nieces Spencer and Brooklyn, staying dry sitting on the car tailgate inside the garage

Rick and Lorien

JUNE 2010

OREM SUMMER FEST

Even though it was rainy and a little cold, because Lorien had fond memories of Summer Fest as a child, Rick agreed to pack up the family and ride a few rides. At least it was easy to find a parking space :).

MAD HATTERS PARTY AT THE LIBRARY

The Orem Library had a Mad Hatters Party. Everyone was invited to wear a hat and bring a snack while watching magicians and listen to story time. Ivy's hat didn't fit, Alyssa wouldn't wear her's, and Luke chose ski goggles instead of a hat. We also got to go with our neighbors Abigale and Garcie.

PETTING ZOO

Ivy and Luke petting the horses

Luke and Ivy got to help groom this horse. They were very excited for this job!

We ask ourselves this question every day :)

Standing next to the rabbit houses.

Watching the ducks

We were so excited to hear Alyssa say the word, 'duck' after seeing the ducks in the water. But as we continued around the petting zoo, she pointed to several animals calling them, 'duck'.

SWIM LESSONS

Luke and Ivy took swim lessons for two weeks. Alyssa stood on the balcony with me the whole time banging on the glass trying to get their attention. Yes, she is sucking on a squirt bottle. I use them when I iron clothes and do the girl's hair. She picked one up one day and started sucking the water out (I didn't even knew you could do that) and she now prefers her squirt bottle to her sippy cup.

My two cute little swimmers.

MAY 2010

BYU BASEBALL GAME

Alyssa was very scared of Cosmo the Cougar, but Luke and Ivy couldn't get enough of him. Luke kept say, "where's Costco?'

Luke was the most excited out of the kids to be at the game.

We got to sit next to uncle Josh, aunt Emily, and Parker!

PRINCESS BARBIE DANCE PARTY

Ivy came downstairs one day and invited Alyssa, Luke and me to a Princess Barbie Dance Party. We dressed up like princess, had a tea party, and danced.

This was Luke's exact sentiments towards this party, but he was a sport and participated for the most part.

Though this picture is very blurry, it is pretty good considering 3 year old Luke took it.

APRIL 2010

BACKYARD LANDSCAPING

Rick put 7 tons of gravel rocks in our back yard for landscaping.

Ivy and Luke were very excited the morning the rocks arrived. I didn't want them out in the driveway while the rocks were being dumped, so they had me get them a blanket so they could eat their Popsicle on the garage steps and take in the show.

IVY'S GREAT IDEA

One day Ivy asked me to put tape on her hands and her feet so she could walk up the wall to the ceiling.

She tried...

and tried...

and couldn't believe it didn't work.

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO COUSINS

In April, we had to say good bye to Landon and Brogan for the summer. They are living in Chicago while uncle Jason installs alarm systems. Can't wait to see them again in the fall!!

Ivy, Landon, Luke, and Brogan

Luke and Brogan

MARCH 2010

TRIP TO LAS VEGAS WITH FAMILY AND IVY'S BIRTHDAY

We got to go to Las Vegas for a few days during Ivy's birthday week. We went with Grandma and Grandpa Anderton, and met aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave, uncle Jason and aunt Mira, uncle James and aunt Joni, and our friends Dave and Caroline down there. So with friends and cousins, it turned into a nice party!

This was in the lobby of the hotel. Ivy with Luke, Alyssa, and cousin Jake opening presents.

Cutting her birthday cake

Ivy with Kaitlyn behind her, then Alli, Ethan, and Ella.

Ella and Ethan talking, while Alli eats cake.

Opening more presents.

Swimming at the hotel

Rick took Luke and Ivy fishing at the lake outside our hotel while Alyssa and I got to nap :).

Ivy fishing

Grandpa helping cousin Josh

Grandma, aunt Mira, and Ivy waiting to catch a fish

EASTER EGGS

Luke painting eggs

Ivy very excited!

Aunt Tiffany and cousins Brogan and Landon

Aunt Emily with Parker

FEBRUARY 2010

ALYSSA'S BIRTHDAY DINNER

In our family we celebrate birthdays all week long. So for Alyssa's birthday week, we went roller skating, out to dinner, and had her family birthday party. These pictures are of our family dinner at Cracker Barrel.

Jump On It

2010-02-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

We went to Jump On It in Lindon with Lorien's family because James and Joni were in town for Andrew's birthday. Weren't able to get very good pics, but here are a few videos:

Making Alyssa Laugh

2009-12-29T15:14:00.000-08:00

One of Ivy's favorite things to do is to try to make Alyssa laugh...

2009-12-26T22:02:00.000-08:00

Introducing Alyssa Marie

Our family received the most wonderful and amazing Christmas present this year. Her name is Alyssa Marie and she is 10 months old. We found out about Alyssa on the 16th, traveled to North Carolina on the 20th, and were able to return home with Alyssa on Christmas day.

She is so beautiful and sweet. We feel so blessed to have her in our family.

This was Christmas Eve. The kids are holding presents from uncle Russ and aunt Judi. They live about 4 hours away from Charlotte and drove all the way to be with us during the holidays and for this exciting week.

Aunt Judi brought a little Christmas tree with her when she came up, and the kids had a great time decorating it with bows and ribbons.

Alyssa loves to smile and laugh

Judi with Alyssa

Luke could not get enough of Russ' iPhone

We went to the mall in Charlotte 2 days before Christmas and got pictures taken with Santa. Ivy and Luke were both VERY excited, but Alyssa was a little unsure about the whole situation.

Ivy and Luke waiting in line to see Santa

Their reaction when they first saw Santa. When we pulled Ivy off Santa's lap, she was still talking as fast as she could, trying to get out all the things she wanted for Christmas.
This was the fist time we had ventured out with all three kids. Thanks goodness Judi was there to help :)!

2009-12-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

Bell Family Christmas Party

Joshua and Emily hosted the Bell Family Christmas Party this year. It was tons of fun, and a lot of DELICIOUS food.

This is Mikal's (Emily's sister) little daughter, Emily.

Luke's 3rd Birthday!!!

Myself and the kids were all pretty sick on Luke's birthday, but we really wanted to do more than just give him presents, so in the evening we went over to the Pirate restaurant for dinner. The kids loved it, and Uncle Mike won 150 tickets with 1 token. Amazing!!

Luke had just learned how to hold up 3 fingers to tell how old he was.

Coloring and Puzzles with cousin Lola

We got to babysit Ivy and Luke's cousin Ryan Lola the beginning of December. She has been so fun and sweet. We can't wait to get back and play with her some more!

One Year Ago Today...

2009-10-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

One year ago today (October 22nd, 2008) Rick, Ivy, and I left for China to pick up baby Luke. We can't imagine our lives without him.

Here is a cute video we took earlier this month of him dancing. He is getting so good on his foot! He had already been dancing for about 10 minutes before we starting making this, so he was getting tired by this point :).

In The Month of September...

2009-10-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Garage Time

When the weather is too cold to play outside, we move the car out of the garage and play with the bikes and sidewalk chalk in there.

CARNIVAL AT LANDON'S SCHOOL

Landon's elementary school had a fall carnival that we got to go to.
This is Landon throwing a basketball at the dunking booth.

Luke playing a game with daddy

Ivy getting a butterfly painted on her face.

Ivy and Luke with Captain Jack Sparrow on the pirate ship

FUN AT THE PETTING ZOO

Luke was a very interested in how the cows were milked. He couldn't look away the whole time.

Ivy found all the toy horses and lined them up in a row. She does this at toy stores and at homes, whenever she has a lot of horses, she loves to line them all up and just look at them.

This is Ivy's friend, Alli. Alli's two

brothers and mom came with us to

Ivy and Luke got to see some of the animals being fed on this day. Here is a picture of the baby cow being fed a bottle of milk.

GOOD-BYE TO MORE COUSINS...

Just when we were getting used to Uillame, Katie, and Rhyen moving out of state, James, Joni, Kaitlyn, Ella, and Andrew moved to Las Vegas the beginning of September. Ivy and Luke miss them so much! Rick keeps telling us we need to go down to Vegas and visit them, so hopefully we will see you guys again soon!

Lizzie is here!!!!!!

Little Lizzie (Elizabeth Sharon) was born in September 4th. She is such a beautiful baby! Luke and Ivy love seeing her when Kyndra and Mike come over during one of their walks in the evening.

This was the day Lizzie came home from the hospital with Kyndra. Ivy wore a mask so her "big girl" germs wouldn't get on her baby cousin.

Hogle Zoo

2009-08-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

We went to Hogle Zoo the weekend before Rick started school. The kids loved it (even though they are not smiling in any of the pics).

Sleeping Gorilla

Tiger in the back ground

Lazy bear

Rino

Turtles

Bye Bye Rhyen

2009-08-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

We love you Rhyen! We miss you and can't wait to see you again!

Ivy wants to be like Rhyen

2009-08-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Rhyen had a sleep-0ver with us before she moved to New Hampshire. Ivy started wishing she had long hair like Rhyen. So I twisted stockings like a braid and she wore it around all night. She was very proud of her new long hair that was just like Rhyen's.

You can see cute Kyndra in the back ground

2009-08-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

Velcro Wall and Trampolines

While the Michelle's family were still here, we all went to Jump On It. The kids LOVED it.

2009-08-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

Palisade State Park and Lake

Over the 24th of July weekend, we went to Palisade Lake (about 2 hours south of Orem) with [Uillame and Rhyen], [Mike and Kyndra], and [Clinton and Leesa]. [James and Andrew] and [Josh, Emily, and Parker] came up the next day. I am NOT a camper, but this place was very fun!

Ivy and Luke were a great help in putting up the tent!

Mike and Kyndra brought a canoe - it was a lot of fun on the lake

Here is the dock everyone was jumping off of...

Kyndra is amazing!! 8 months pregnant and out swimming and camping

Here is the story with the picture above and below...
Uillame brought Ramen for dinner, and wanted to save what he hadn't eaten, so we made a funnel out of a paper plate and poured it into a water bottle. Half of it got in, the other half landed on our toes.

Rhyen and Ivy eating s'mores

Spencer at BYU Cheer Camp

Family Reunion Week!!

2009-07-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Luke with cousin, Caden at a picnic at South Fork

This week was so much fun! We got to see family we haven't seen in months on both sides of the family.

More pics from the Picnic at South Fork. Emily, Joshua, and Parker came, as well as the Michelle's family.

Putting Parker's feet in the water

In Heber going on a moose hunt (just to see them)

Alpine slide

Riding the tram up to the slide

Every summer, Rick's parents hide coins in their sandbox so that the kids can go on a 'treasure hunt'. This year Ivy came away with over $14 :). Luke found about $2.

Grandma let each of the grand kids pick out a piece of jewlery made by her father, Great-Grandpa Hogge. Ivy chose this beautiful pair of clip-on earings.

Jumping on the tramp in Heber

Picnic after swiming at the Scera Pool in Orem

All the cousins playing in Grandma and Grandpa's cabin in Heber

4th of July at Joni and James's home

Those fireworks are too loud!

Ivy and her cousin, Andrew

Ivy and Luke at the big parade in Provo

Sooo Cute! Cousin Rhyen with Luke and Ivy on a play-date. Ivy had just got a stitch in her forehead the day before because she ran into the ironing board.

Ivy's Graduation

2009-05-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ivy had her Preschool graduation this evening. She was very cute and "posed" for all the pictures.

Ivy and her friend, Jordan.

Luke sitting in the back with a cookie and a bag of candy so he won't run up to the front and sit by Ivy.

2009-05-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

Luke's Surgery at Shriner's Hospital in Salt Lake

2009-02-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

Luke at the Shriner's Play Room the night before his surgery

Luke had his first appointment with Shriner's Hospital on Dec. 29, 2008 to see if they would be able to fit him for a prosthetic foot. They were absolutely wonderful. He got x-rays and it was discovered that the only surgery he would need before getting a prosthetic was one to amputate a few undeveloped ankle bones; both of his bones below his knee were fully developed - yeah!! (If they were not fully developed, he would most likely need to have an amputation right below his knee instead of just at his ankle).
We were told that it takes about 3 to 6 months to get in for a surgery, but then they came back in to the room and told us that they had a cancelation and would be able to get him in in a week!
so January 6th ath 1:30pm, we went to the hospital, and the next morning at 9am he went in to surgery.
It took 2 hours and he came back to his hospital room where I was waiting, in a blue cast.
He was such a trooper!
The middle of February he will go in (after he cast comes off and the swelling goes down) to get fitted for his first prosthetic. We can not wait for him to have this. He will be able to walk without a limp.

Luke with one of the nurses making him laugh while he took his blood pressure

This is the blue tedy bear they gave him right when he checked in. He loved to hug it and slept with it several nights once he was home again as well.

We went on a walk the morning of his surgery to make time pass before they came to take him away. He loved sitting in the wagon!

His cast after surgery

He was very grumpy after surgery, and the only things that would calm him down were popsicles, lots and lots of popsicles.

They day he checked out Ivy gave him a ride in the wagon again.

Ivy had Luke sit in the wagon to watch a movie on the TV while she sat in his bed. They were both very happy with the situation.

2008-12-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

This past month has been a lot of fun!!

Ivy and Luke got to see real reindeer outside of Thanksgiving Point. They were not that impressed

Then we went to the Primary Christmas Breakfast to meet Santa Clause

It went as well as could be expected :)

Ivy was very excited!!!

For Luke's birthday we went bowling with a few friends. Luke loved it!

After bowling, Luke's friends and cousins helped him blow out his birthday cake.

Mmmm... Birthday cake

Birthday at the Bell's the following Sunday

I walked into the kitchen at our house the other day and found all my small appliances on the floor outside the cupboard by the fridge. I opened the cupboard to put them all back in, and this is what I found:

I have now rearranged this cupboard, and it is permanently Luke's. Ivy decided she wanted one too, so her's is under the island.

SILLY STORY:
I was in the other room and heard Luke wining from the kitchen. When I walked in, I found that while he was eating his snack, he had put both legs up on the back of the chair and got himself stuck in that position. So, being the great mother that I am, I ran and got the camera before I helped him down. That is Ivy laughing in the background.

2008-12-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

One of the Young Women in our ward took these pictures at a baby shower they threw for Luke. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Luke's Language

2008-11-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

Luke Chinese words that we learned so we could understand what he was saying - some of these are real words in Chinese (probably not spelled correctly, though) and some of them are just his Chinese baby talk:

Ma: Help

Neow, Neow: go on the potty

Dzo: Go somewhere

Bao Bao: Hold Me

May O: 'I want' or 'I don't want'

He understands, but doesn't speak these himself:

Tsua: Sit

Gio Li: Come Here

Cher Fan: Eat

Since he has been in our family, he has learned in English:

No, No I E (I E is how he says, Ivy. He uses this phrase when she takes away a toy, or 'accidentally' sits on him)

Daddy

Na Na - I think this means Mommy, but it sounds a lot like 'Neow Neow' - to go potty, so the virdict is still out on this one.

The last two weeks

2008-11-18T19:35:00.001-08:00

We went to the Petting Zoo at Thanksgiving Point. Ivy loves going there because she gets to ride the horses. She has been going there to ride the horses since she was 4 months old. Needless to say, she does not let us hold on to her anymore, she rides all by herself. She also likes to show off that she can ride one handed, as you will see.

Luke's Chinese name is Huiyu, and his nick name is YuYu. He still responds to that, or course, but is also starting to respond to Luke as well.

Luke absolutely loved seeing all the animals. He just kept screaming with laughter, it was so cute!

Tomorrow we will have been home for two weeks. I am finally feeling like we are getting into a routine. For the the first week, we would fall asleep at 8pm, we would ALL wake up at about 11pm and not get back to sleep until 2am. Then wake up at 9 or 10am. Our schedule was so off!!
Thank goodness for wonderful friends and family who brought us dinners, and some frozen dinners I had bought before we left because I didn't get a chance to go shopping until this week. - and by "didn't get a chance" I mean, I was too afraid to venture out to the store with two kids all by myself. Rick worked from home for the first week we were back, and that helped me a lot.
Having two kids is not so much hard as it is busy, trying to help both children feel loved. With all the changes in both Luke's and Ivy's lives, there is a lot of insecurity right now.
Luke has adjusted pretty well, a lot better than Rick and I expected.
The first little while he didn't want us to leave the room, very anxious, I think, that we wouldn't come back. Now he doesn't like us to leave the house, but leaving the room is usually alright. He used to wake up 3 - 4 times each night crying. He would seem confused and disoriented. I'm sure he dreams he is back in China, so waking up to a new place is hard.
He is used to sleeping in the same bed as his foster parents, and absolutely insisted on doing the same with us. He would cling on to us and sob uncontrollably until we held him in our arms to go to sleep. He didn't want us out of his site at night. It has since gotten better. One or both of us will lay down with him, but he dosen't always insist on being held. And after a few minutes he is fine with us leaving the room, even if he isn't asleep. After we come back in the room to go to bed ourselves, we move him to his pack 'n play right next to our bed. He usually only wakes up once a night crying now. Poor little guy. He has gone through so much and he is being such a little trooper.
Ivy is struggling a bit as well. She is so used to having both of our undivided attention, and doesn't always appreciate sharing that now with Luke. She tries hard though, and we like to give her "special Ivy time", like staying up 15 minutes later than Luke. If they are having snack time, I put her in charge of the snacks and she is responsible for giving Luke some when he runs out. Luke doesn't care who gives him the food, so for right now this gives her a small feeling of taking care of her little brother (or a superiority complex - one or the other, either way, eating = not fighting, so I'm fine with it). I can see how this practice may eventually back fire on me as they both get older and he begins to want to have a turn 'being in charge'. I don't like to think too far in the future, though, mostly because I don't have time. :)
The biggest disagreements they have are about parents and toys. Whatever or whoever one has, the other one wants immediately as well. Lots of drama! Surprisingly I haven't lost it yet, or hit anyone, or screamed, or thrown anything. I pray more than once a day to be happy, and by happy, I mean to not have the desire to loose it, hit, scream, or throw things - I think God knows what I mean, even when I talk in code like that.
Luke is not having a problem adjusting to food. He pretty much eats anything we put in front of him, ANYTHING.

We're Home!!!

2008-11-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

Our friend, Allison, took some pics of us tonight. Our first official family pictures with Luke.
He's not smiling right now, but he really is a very happy little boy.

I haven't posted for a while, we have been getting over jet-lag, and adjusting to our new life with baby Luke. We are so happy, I can't believe we are a family of 4 now!!!

We're almost home!!

2008-11-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning we went to the memorial building of Sun Yat-Sen, the father of modern China
We also went to the Chen Clan Academy, which used to be a private residence, now a museum of different types of art.
Even though this looks like a painting, it is really a canvas of embroidery - amazing!

This is a group of High School boys surrounding Ivy, taking pictures of her with their cell phones.

At the museum

Ivy and Luke playing in front of statues on Shamian Island Monday before lunch

We can't wait to be home!
We just talked to United Airlines and are so excited because we found out the flight home is only 11 hours and 24 minutes!!! The flight coming was close to 14 hours, so 11 sounds like heaven to us.
We flew from Guangzhou to Beijing tonight (3 hours) - good trial run. The kids did alright, parents were a little frazzled.
We leave for the airport at 10am tomorrow morning (it is now about midnight here). Our flight leaves around 1pm Wednesday afternoon, and lands in San Fran at 9am Wednesday morning. We are all really excited to go back in time.
My next post should have a pictures of us all back in our own home - no more Hotels!!! We can't wait for Luke to meet all his new friends and cousins.

Rick's Post

2008-11-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

IVY and LUKE :OK, they don't make it 5 minutes before I step in, more like 5 seconds. Pinching, bitting, pushing, good stuff. GUANGZHOU: We are further south than the Bahamas, hot and humid, feels good. TWO KIDS: Wow, I now respect parents with two or more kids. Our stay in Lanzhou was a big city but with old customs. The Buddhist Temple Park was a modern Indiana Jones experience with loud chanting from the monks and people bowing in unison all around us to Buddha. Incense and large alter fire. COOL! We even saw people burning paper money to their ancestors on the curb in front of the hotel, live chickens being sold in the alley, Chinese Muslims with their white hats, all this is strange to see as Toyotas, Hundais and an occasional BMW drives down the street. Guanzhou on the other hand is like any US overgrown city with with a few less caucasions, ok no caucasions except adopting couples and random Europeans. But the Chinese look like Chinese Americans in their dress an haircuts. They stare at us less( a little less) and seem up to date. I guess I always thought of China as a place but realize even though their are common threads in different parts of China, it is many places with very different cultures. Although, it seems like you could simplify the cities as close to the coast and far form the coast, the futher from the coast and Hong Kong, the more old school and interesting it gets, more split botom baby pants, more old dignified men with fu man chu beards and less American influence. Although, eventhe very inland cities have adopted American shopping malls and know who the Utah Jazz are. SQUATERS: Ten minutes and lots of steps to take a child to the bathroom here. Shoes off, hold up the child from the very wet and dirty foor, pants off, undies off, shoes on, squat, shoes off, pants on, undies on, shoes on. All this while holding a child in small stall. (sorry forth the long post- more for me than you - thanks).

Luke using chop sticks

2008-11-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

One of the first nights we went to dinner with Luke, he picked up a pair of chop sticks, lined them up in his little hands, and started using them. He just used them as a spoon instead of opening and closing them, but it was very cute to see. He foster parents must have been teaching him how to use them.

Sunday - We got to go to church!

2008-11-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

Luke loves giving Ivy hugs (and then sometimes pulling her down with him and turning the hug into a wrestling match). Ivy is alright with it for about 5 minutes, then Rick has to step in and get Luke to wrestle with him instead.

We went to the Ghuangzhou 1st Branch on Sunday. A lot of the members were here with their families teaching English, or they were Chinese from Hong Kong. It was really nice attending church. We didn't get any pictures, though, because by the time the hour was up, we were too exhausted. Two kids in Sacrament Meeting is very hard. I'm sure we'll get used to it. :)
The rest of the day we just took it easy and went on a walk around the island. It was established by the French and British in the middle of the 1800s. So the streets we walk down remind me of European streets I would walk down on lay overs in France. The architecture is very European as well, we'll take pictures today.

Medical Exam - Saturday

2008-11-02T02:13:00.001-08:00

Examination Room for Adopted Children in Guangzhou Medical Clinic
We are staying on an island now. It is beautiful with lots of trees and very humid. We've been in 50 to 60 degree weather all week, and this is Mexico weather, so it's been a nice change.
This medical clinic is about 5 minutes walk from our hotel - the whole island is only about a mile long. For Luke's US Visa, he needed to have a physical, so we did this Saturday morning.

These two brothers and their adoptive family from California were waiting for their exam as well. They are around 9 and 11. They've been in an orphanage for three years. Their family died in a flood. Their family in California paid for a tutor to go to their orphanage for 3 months to give them private English lessons while they were waiting to travel. They could speak basic English. The were so cute and excited to have their new family.

Other adoptive parents waiting for their Chinese children to have their exams for their Visa

Luke with the doctor and Rick

The doctor was very nice and said he was a very healthy little boy!

Ivy charming the nurses

The White Pagoda - Friday

2008-10-31T22:27:00.000-07:00

This is a statue of a mother and her child. It is symbolic of the Yellow River being the mother of China and it's culture.

Behind us is the most famous bridge that crosses the Yellow River. We walked across it after coming down from the White Pagoda.

Friday we took a tram up to the White Pagoda, then walked down. It was beautiful to see, but there were a lot of stairs for the strollers. Way back when, a Lama was sent to Mongolia to Genghis Khan as a gift. The Lama died on it's way to Mongolia, in this city. So they built this Pagoda as a tribute to the Lama. Very Interesting.

Ivy feeding birds out of her hand in a city park while we were waiting for our ride to the airport.

The crowd that gathered around Ivy as she fed the birds.

In the middle of this city park was a large grassy field, beautifully manicured, with a little 1 foot fence all the way around the perimeter. Rick asked Michael why no one was playing on the grass. Michael said that in China, the grass in parks was just to look at and enjoy, but there were so many people that if they allowed them to walk on the grass, the grass would be ruined. Rick told him about the grass at home and how he has to mow it all the time. Michael said, "Oh yeah, I saw someone doing that on TV once."

Ivy and Luke asleep after getting off the airplane from Lanzhou to Guanzhou Friday night. Only 5 more days and we will be home!

Luke had a hard time on the airplane because he was so tired. He cried a lot, but finally fell asleep. Ivy fell asleep as well (it was a 3 hour flight) so when the plane landed, we took our time getting off because we had to carry 2 sleeping kids, plus the carry-on baggage and two strollers. When we finally got both kids in our arms, and the bags balanced precariously on our backs, climbed down those steep stairs they put at the door to planes sometimes, we saw the most crowded, long bus we had ever seen. It was about 50 yards away. We started walking towards it, my mouth literally hanging open. There was no way we were going to all fit in that bus, and get the strollers in as well, people were already practically hanging out the doors. Luckily, they decided the bus was too full for us, so they had a small van drive up to pick us up to take us to baggage claim. Yeah!!!

Touring Lanzhou - Thursday

2008-10-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

At least these construction workers were honest about their craftsmanship.

Grinding Corn

Michael, our guide, with Ivy

Luke playing with the camera

In front of a raft

Famous Water Wheel

Ancient Life and Natural History Museum

Thursday Michael took us to the Lanzhou Water Wheel. It was a tourist attraction to show how they used to grind corn into flour - Sort of like the Lehi Roller Mills :). These pictures aren't too exciting.
After see the wheels and taking a turn grinding some corn ourselves, we went to a museum about what life used to be like in this area hundreds of years ago. It could have passed for a museum about ancient life in South America. The huts, tools, and pots they made were all the same. The museum was a little difficult with children, though, because they didn't like anyone to make noise or touch anything. Our family didn't last very long in there.

Five Springs Park - Wednesday

2008-10-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Morning after breakfast, Michael took us to Five Springs Park. It was a little chilly at when we started out, but eventually became warmer. Five Springs Park is a famous Buddhist Temple. It is built on the side of a mountain and is impressively beautiful. As we walked through the gates, we really got some interested looks. We usually get these looks because Ivy is a foreign child, but now also because we are a white couple (well, Ivy says her and daddy are white, and Luke and Mommy are brown) with a Chinese baby. Michael said that in the countryside here, people have never heard of international adoption and so people keep stopping him and asking about our family. Because we are now an 'unusual' family, both Luke and Ivy get a lot of attention. There were crowds of people everywhere, and at one point they completely blocked our path in order to look at the children. They started playing with them in their strollers, and giving them fruit as gifts. It was really interesting to see, and very sweet.
The whole time we were there we could hear the Buddhist Monks singing and chanting. Michael said that many people come here to exercise because the temple grounds were so big. There were lots of stairs and hills, so we sure got a work out pushing and carrying the strollers everywhere. In the middle of the Park, there was a small zoo. The kids loved that part.

In the background of this pictures, way up on the mountain side, you can see more parts of the temple

Ivy and Luke with the tiger

There was a little train in the zoo that Rick, Luke, and Ivy rode on

Civil Offices - Tuesday

2008-10-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

Our family at the Civil Offices with City and Orphanage officials

Tuesday, the morning after we got Luke, Michael (our guide) took us to the Lanzhou City Civil Offices to register the adoption. We had to wake up earlier than usual to get there, so the kids were still very sleepy. Our first stop was to the photo shop to get Luke's picture taken for his passport - that will be ready for us on Friday, then we can leave Lanzhou and go to Guanzhou where the American Consulate is located, to get Luke's American Visa, then we get to come home!!!
After the photo shop, we got back in the car and drove to the Civil Offices.
We saw two other families there registering their adoption as well. One was the family who adopted Henry, they are the family who got him the same day we got Luke, and the other family was from Holland and they adopted a 16 month old they named Reuben. He has a cleft pallet and cleft lip. All of us are staying in the same hotel, so we see each other each morning at breakfast.
We were all in the same room together. A large room with a long, wooden desk in the middle, surrounded by chairs.
The orphanage and city workers start showing up about 30 minutes later, and the paper work began. It was a bit chaotic and overwhelming because there were so many people and we were still trying to get to know Luke and help him to become comfortable with us, while at the same time give Ivy enough attention. There was a lot of paper signing, fingerprints, and waiting. It probably lasted only 60 to 90 minutes, but it was exhausting (I'm getting nervous for Sacrament Meeting).

Sleepy Ivy on the way to the photo shop for Luke's passport

Sleepy Luke (and sleepy Rick)

Photo shop after his passport picture was taken

Luke and Ivy playing while we were waiting in the City Offices

Luke, with Reuben in the background

The long wooden table

City and Orphanage officials signing papers

Ivy being a good girl and coloring while waiting for the process to end

The Next Day - Tuesday

2008-10-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day
Luke and Ivy hugging at the Civil Office building

The next day we had to get up early so we could finish eating before we had to go to Lanzhou City Civil Offices to register the adoption. More later.

That night...(monday)

2008-10-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

I know I already posted this one, but this is the night Luke was having such a hard time. You can see all the toys Rick was using to entertain and finally calm him down.

Soon after he stopped crying

We got Luke about 2pm on Monday, and by 9pm, everyone was tired and ready for bed. This was the first time Luke started to notice that his 'MaMa' wasn't around. He ran to the door, opened it, and ran out into the hall sobbing. When he didn't see her, he fell down on the floor crying. It was heart breaking. We brought him back in the room and held him and rocked him. When Ivy saw how upset he was and that he wasn't calming down, she ran in the other room, hid behind the bed, and started crying herself. So for the next little while, Rick and I traded off holding one or the other sad little child. After about 45 minutes, Ivy was asleep, and Rick had consoled Luke by bring out every toy we had. Finally, he was able to put him in his crib, then Rick brought a chair right next to the crib, where he sat and stayed with Luke until they had both fallen asleep. I feel so lucky and blessed to have Rick as a husband and a father to my children. He is so amazing with them.
Luke has had a few times since where he all the sudden remembers his 'MaMa' and starts crying. He comes to me now, too, to be comforted. I know we are in for many days of tending to him as he goes through the mourning process, but we have been told that the harder it is for him now, then the more he will bond with us later. We love him so much and can't believe he is ours!

The day we met baby Luke - Monday

2008-10-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for all your comments, it has been so fun reading them!!
I just wanted to document what happened the day we first met Luke:
Monday afternoon after we got back from the market (and the peeing in the stairwell incident), came back to the hotel and waited for two hours until Michael, our Chinese guide and translator, knocked on our door to tell us they were waiting for us downstairs with Luke. During those two hours while we were waiting, we put Ivy down for a nap. I tried to take a nap with her, but my heart was beating so fast with excitement, I couldn't sleep at all. Rick busied himself with organizing the hotel room - which was spotless by the time he was done!
After Micheal told us they were ready downstairs, we got Ivy up - she was a bit grumpy because her nap was cut short, we ran to the elevator and took it from the 16th to the 2nd floor. We were all meeting in the dining room where we had eaten breakfast that morning. There was another family in the hotel we had met at breakfast, who was also getting their little boy that day as well. When we walked in, we saw a lot of the Chinese orphanage workers (about 5 or 6), and the other American family. They were already holding their little boy. He was crying and Cici, the mom, was bouncing him to try to calm him down. We found out later he had been in a foster home almost his entire life, just like Luke, and he was really having a hard time being away from familiar surroundings and people.

This is the other family who picked up their son, Henry, the same day we got Luke. You can see the mom, Cici, just to the right of Luke, but you can only see Henry's hat.

We just stood there, right inside the dining room, not sure where to go, or where Luke was, when all of the sudden, Rick said, 'Lorien, I think that's Luke!" I looked around, and here came this handsome, adorable little toddler, running down the only aisle in the room where there weren't tables. I had no idea he would be able to walk, much less run as well as he was doing. I just stared at him and held back tears. We all walked over to him and Rick and I explained to Ivy that this was baby Luke. She stopped being grumpy immediately, her eyes got big, and she kept saying, 'baby Luke, baby Luke'. We had told her about him for so long, I don't know if she really understood that she would actually meet him someday.
All of the sudden I realized that he was ours and that I was allowed to hold this cute little man. I picked him up for the first time. He is a big boy! We need to weight him to make sure, but he feels like he weighs as much as ivy, and he is almost 2 years younger. He has these cheeks that are so soft and squishy, Ivy just kept squeezing them, they were like toys.
Rick stepped away for a minute, then came back and said, "Lorien, that's Luke's foster mom." Before we left Utah, we had asked for permission to meet his foster parents, but were told that it would not happen. I turned around and saw this beautiful lady standing there, staring at us and Luke. I handed Luke to Rick and walked over to her. I tried not to cry as I gave her a big hug and kept saying, 'shei, shei' (I don't know how to spell it, but it means thank you, one of the only phrases I've learned in Chinese). I was wishing I could say so much more to her. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her for raising Luke, and how grateful I was for the sacrifice she was making by being a foster mother, raising him, and then giving him to us to adopt.
After a few minutes we all went back up to our hotel room (us, Luke, Michael, foster mom, and two orphanage directors). - Rick is such a great man for having cleaned that room!
For about 30 minutes we got to ask question about the foster family, what they were like, about Luke, his likes and dislikes, etc. and we got it all on video.
Ivy and Luke played the whole time everyone was talking, they were getting along great. Since then they have had a few disagreements about sippy cups and toys. For two kids that don't speak the same language, they can sure make themselves understood to each other, in arguments and play.
When everyone was leaving, Luke's foster mom (I don't know how to say or spell her name, but we have it documented on his papers) went over to Luke and gave him a big hug and kiss, and left immediately, crying. I know that Luke was loved so much by her and her husband.

Luke and Ivy playing and eating raisins - his favorite snack so far.

Baby Luke!!

2008-10-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

No time to write right now, but wanted to post these pics!!

We got to meet his foster mom that has raised him since he was one month old!!

Funny Story - Monday

2008-10-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

We have about 2 hours before Luke comes. While we are waiting, I have to write about an experience from this morning. After breakfast our guide took us to a shopping area to get a stroller and some toys for Luke. While we were there, Ivy had to use the restroom, so Rick took her. He is learning a little Chinese, so he asked a little man who worked there, where the restroom was. The man asked if it was for Rick or Ivy. Rick said for Ivy, so the little man motioned them to follow him. He led Rick to a staircase and pointed to the corner, meaning Rick could just let her go there. Rick just laughed and said, 'no, no', so the man led him to the real restrooms. Poor Ivy had to use the squatter type toilet, again (this is her forth time because she always has to use the restroom when we are out and about).

Disappointing News

2008-10-26T03:58:00.000-07:00

No pictures this time, just some frustrating news. We found out right before our flight took off from Beijing to Lanzhou to meet Luke, that we wouldn't be meeting Luke today. The director of the orphanage has to be present when Luke is brought to us, and he is out of town today, so we are scheduled to meet him here in the hotel tomorrow (Monday for us) at about 3pm. I don't know when I've been so disappointed. But it is only one more day, so I shouldn't complain too much. We'll post pictures as soon as we get any of us and Luke together.
On the upside, our hotel here in Lanzhou is amazing. Our agency signed us up for a two room suite and it is very nice. We met our guide, Michael, today. He will be with us the rest of the time we are in China. He has great English, and it has been nice having him with us as we order food and try to buy things. Ivy is still doing really good. She sleeps very well during the night and has been so easy going during this whole trip, though we are constantly reminding her to not lick things. She loves pretending she is a dog and insists on walking around on all fours (very dirty) then licking her hands and everything else she things is interesting (including people) - very embarrassing at times. We are working on it. My worst fear is that Luke will think she is funny and copy everything she does!

Tienanmen Square and the Great Wall of China

2008-10-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

If you look closely, you can see the Great Wall and some of the towers

Chairman Mao

Tienanmen Square

Complete stranger who got in our picture so his friend could take a picture of him with Ivy

Rick saw this gentleman doing Tai Chi in the park and thought it looked so cool he had to take a picture

We found this park on are walk to Tienanmen Square. It was so beautiful and looked just like a painting.

We made it to Tienanmen Square this morning. It was about a block away from our hotel. There was a big meeting going on (Seventh Asia Europe Conference) so we didn't get to go as close as we would like, but we did get to see the big picture of Chairman Mao.
In the afternoon, we checked into a hotel closer to the airport, so we would be able to get there faster in the morning.
After we were settled in, we took a taxi to the Great Wall of China. It was so amazing! Ivy loved it, even though it was a lot of climbing and walking. She did great. After we rode the tram up walked around, and took it back down, we saw others coming down by way of an Alpine Slide like thing. We wished we would have done that, but not enough to go back up again.
We ate dinner at a restaurant we found outside the hotel. It was called "hot pot" food. They put a couple of big Bunsen-like burners in front of us, with small pots of soup on top. When the soups started to boil, they gave us plates of raw beef and chicken, along with baskets of fresh veggies, to put into the soup. The meat was cut so thin that it cooked in about 1 minute. Then you would take the meat and veggies out of the soup with your chopsticks, dip it in sauce (which cooled it immediately) and eat it. It was really good.
We're turning in for the night, and tomorrow morning we will be flying to Gansu Province to meet LUKE!!!! We are so excited!

Rick's POST :

2008-10-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

Our Movie Star--------- So, we've seen about 10 toddlers total in the airport and the City of Beijing (really) and Ivy is the only American child so she is a novelty. People stop and point and take pictures everywhere we go. We got 1,000 Korean dollars for her picture from a Korean guy. Depending on exchange rates, I may be quitting loans.

Third World??---------- I wish I drove the car and had the cash a lot of the people living in Beijing. I read it was like Mexico, but it's far more modern and trendy than expected/ packed with cars, buses and mixed with scooters, mopeds and bikes and a few grungy streets. . The only negative experience was getting kicked out of the car by a taxi driver because we couldn't speak Chinese and driver didn't like my point and go method. Oh yeah, pedestrians do not have the right of way here, in fact there is no such thing as a right of way in China.

Forbidden City------- Cool Old Imperial Stuff- BIG

Jet Lag---------- you can actually feel like you should be getting up and going to bed at the same time, all the time. Glad we got here a few days early.

Airport and Wanfujing Shopping---- New, Upscale, Huge, and Expensive.

Luke----------- Can't wait- two more days!

Shopping

2008-10-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

People taking pictures with Ivy

From left to right - chicken heart, bugs, more bugs Shish Kabobs

Seahorses on a stick

Shopping Center that looked like Time Square

Ivy found her name inside the department store where we bought her stroller

Tonight, after coming home from the Forbidden City (and a 3 hour nap), we went out to the shopping district in Beijing. It looked a lot like Time Square in New York. We lost our stroller at the airport, so we bought a new one here. Rick left his phone charger at home, so we found a mobile store and went in to see if we could buy a new one. They had one he could use, but it was $90. We decided he didn't need one that bad, so we left. As we were leaving, the sales girl asked us how much we were willing to pay. We knew we would be bargaining in China, but we thought it would be at the outside venders, not inside regular stores. We left paying $30 for the charger. We were a little surprised, but happy!
There were a lot of very expensive stores, it was very touristy. There were a group of gentlemen from Korea who asked if they could take a picture with Ivy. After they took the picture, they gave Ivy some Korean money. That was a little awkward. Back at the hotel now, it's 10pm in China. I hope we don't wake up at 4am again.
Counting down the hours until Luke. Just one more full day.

Forbidden City

2008-10-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

This tree is 500 years old

Our tour guide, 'Vanilla'

People crowding around Ivy to look at her and take her picture

Ivy dancing for the other tourists. She did not mind, at all, the attention she was getting.

We woke up at 4am China time this morning and waited around until 6:30am when breakfast was served in our hotel.
After breakfast, we walked to the Forbidden City (which is 600 years old and is where the different Emperors lived until 1923). Before we came to China, Rick and I watched the movie, "The Last Emperor", so it was pretty fun seeing it all in real life. It was amazing to see this whole city that was hundreds of years old. But one of the most surprising things was the way all the Chinese people crowded around Ivy, taking pictures and video of her, constantly. It was so weird. I asked our guide why, and she said that it was probably because a lot of the people there were tourists from rural parts of China who had maybe not ever seen a foreign child. It was pretty funny. Tomorrow we are going to try to go to either the Great Wall or Tienanmen Square. We can't wait until Sunday, though!!!

We're Here!

2008-10-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

All packed up Wednesday morning 6am

San Francisco. Ivy by the plane we took to Beijing

Ivy finally off the plane

Beijing Airport. It was so huge, and empty.

We survived the plane ride. It really wasn't bad at all - just long. Ivy did fabulous, people even came up to us after the flight and commented on how great she did.
From the airport to our hotel, the taxi ride should have been about 30 minutes, but instead it took 2 hours because of traffic. By the time we got to bed, Ivy had been awake for 24 hours (though she did sleep for 2 hours on the plane). We are happy to be on the ground again. Now the waiting continues because we don't get to see Luke until Sunday.

Last Minute Craziness

2008-10-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we found out that a form we needed to have in order to bring Luke back into the US, was being held up because some of the information on our Home Study had not been updated. We found this out 3 weeks before we were supposed to leave. The whole process of what we would need to do in order to get this form in our hand was supposed to take about 3 weeks. So we knew things would be down to the wire and we were worried we would have to spend a lot of money to change our plane tickets, and the date when we would be able to get Luke would have to be postponed.
However, after spending two tank fulls of gasoline in as many days, driving up and down Utah and Salt Lake Counties hand delivering everything, and thanks to a very wonderful lady named Anderea, who works for the office that did our back ground checks, and Shawn from USCIS, we were able to get our paperwork back within one week instead of three!! What a miracle.

Tuesday the 14th I over-night-ed, through FedEx, a cashiers check to our adoption agency in Boise, ID, to pay for all our hotels and flights within China. Two days later our agency called and told us they had not received our check yet. I called FedEx and looked up the tracking number. It said the check had gone as far as Boise, ID, on the delivery truck on the way to the agency, but was never delivered. All day long yesterday we were on the phone to FedEx and our agency trying to find the check. I didn't take out insurance on the package, I just didn't think of it. So Rick and I were trying to figure out how we were going to come up with the money all over again (the amount was almost half of our total adoption - A LOT OF MONEY FOR US. Very stressful. Finally, FedEx told us to go ahead and cancel the cashiers check (apparently if it has not been cashed yet, you can cancel a cashiers check) and they would pay for all the fees it cost to have it canceled and re-issued ($145), reimburse us the $22 we paid to ship it over night in the first place and give us free shipping to over-night it again to our agency.
At least all this has kept us focused on other things besides simply counting down the days until we get to meet Luke.

2008-08-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Our China Time Line:

August 26, 2008 - We have found out that even though the American Consulate could have gotten us in by the end of September, Luke's Province (Gansu Province) will not let us travel to pick him up until after October 25th :(. So our 'Gotcha Day' (the day we get to pick up Luke) is Monday, October 27th, and our Consulate appointment to get Luke's Visa is Nov. 3rd. So we have 2months now to get everything packed up and ready to go. Tomorrow we are expecting to get all our travel arrangements finalized and to buy our airline tickets.
Also today we mailed in our application to extend our I-600A approval (form I-171H). Since the approval form we have right now expires September 28th, we are hoping to get this extension of our approval before we leave at the end of October.
August 21, 2008 - T. called today to let us know that we received our Invitation to Travel from China!! A whole week early!! We are so excited. Now the only thing we that needs to get done is to set an appointment with the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China. Tammy is trying to get that set before Sept. 28th when our Petition to bring an orphan into the US expires.
August 6, 2008 - T. from CASI (she took A.'s place last month) called today to tell us that they had FINALLY received the Letter Seeking Confirmation. She is over-night-ing it to us. We'll sign it and send it back to China. We should hear back from them in 3 weeks with our dates we are allowed to travel to China. I hope it really does take only 3 weeks!!
June 20, 2008 - Called and spoke with A. from CASI. She said that since it had been 3 weeks since that last email from China, she will email them again and ask for an update if we don't hear anything from them by this Friday, June 27.
June 9, 2008 - Rick FedEx new passport photos to CASI, and they overnighted-ed them to China
June 5, 2008 - A. from CASI called to tell us that China had lost Rick's passport pictures (they required us to send them 2 passport photos of each of us way back when we were turning in all our paperwork).
May 30, 2008 - A GLIMMER OF HOPE. A. from CASI called to say she had emailed China earlier this week. They emailed back saying (long story short) that we should receive our Letter Seeking Confirmation in the next few weeks. A. said that 3 weeks after we receive, sign, and mail back the letter, we should get our travel dates. Because the Olympics are in August, we will not be able to travel until September. Some of the paperwork we completed will expire September 28, so Arlene is going to try to get us there before then. She said that if we get this letter within the next 3 weeks, we will probably travel the first part of September. !!!
May 29, 2008 - Still have not heard anything from China regarding our Letter Seeking Confirmation, or about whether or not Luke was harmed in the earthquake, though we do not believe he was. Called CASI today, just to keep in contact; I know they would have called me immediately if they had heard anything regarding Luke. I left A, the director for the China adoptions, a message this morning.
May 13, 2008 - Magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Chengdu, China (about 400 miles South East of Luke's city.
April 2008 - Called CASI again, and CASI emailed China. I found out that ours was not the only family waiting more than 12 weeks for this letter, but that there are about 5 of us who should have received communication from China back in march. China emailed our agency back and said to 'be patient'.
Mar 2008 - The end of March was when we expected to receive our Letter Seeking Confirmation. After checking with our agency, we were told to wait and call back in a couple more weeks.
Jan 2, 2008 - Sent our Letter of Intent to China. 12 weeks after this is sent, adopting families receive a Letter Seeking Confirmation from China. Then 3 weeks after this is signed and mailed back, travel dates are received.
Dec 17, 2007 - Informed CASI that we wanted to adopt Luke!!
Dec 10 - Dec 17 - We sent Luke's medical records to a doctor in Washington state who is familiar with international medical records. He told us that he Luke appeared healthy physically, and was developmentally where he should be for his age . We also talked to Shriner's hospital (every medical facility we talked to about baby Luke's left foot, highly recommended Shriner's Hospital. Shriner's said that when we bring him back to Utah, they would have us fill out an application for treatment at their facility.

" Children up to age 18 are eligible for care at Shriners Hospitals for Children if, in the opinion of our physicians, there is a reasonable possibility they can benefit from the specialized services available. Acceptance is based solely on a child's medical needs. A family's income or insurance status is not criteria for acceptance as a patient."
Schreiner's is a no cost, non-profit hospital for children.

Dec 10, 2007 - We were emailed Luke's file which included more pictures and his medical records. Coincidentally, this is also Luke's BIRTHDAY!!
Nov 2007 - Our adoption agency, CASI, posted a list they had received from China with pictures and short bios of children with special needs. After much contemplation, we asked to be sent the file of a baby boy the agency had named, Calvin (**we later decided we would name him Luke once we brought him home). We were told that another family had already requested his file, and they had 2 week to decide whether or not they wanted to proceed with adopting Luke. After one week, our agency called to tell us the family looking at Luke's file had decided to not proceed with the adoption, and his file was available to be viewed by us.
June 27, 2007 - Log-In Date for China (this is when our packet was accepted by the Chinese Government)
May 2007 - Finally sent Dossier (all the paperwork) to China - moving a couple of times during 2006 and 2007 slowed filling out the paperwork a bit, this process would usually take around 6 months, we took 18 months.
Dec 2005 - Rick and I (Lorien) started filling out paper work through CASI Foundation for Children to adopt a child from China

Baby Luke at around 12 months - so handsome!!

Luke at about 8 months: