Our Official Acceptance of Jiliang Josephine Koeppe!

Scott and I were home to receive the official Letter Seeking Confirmation of Adoption. That is where the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) sends us the official letter and we check a box stating that we do or do not accept to adopt Jiliang. It reminds me of a boy my Sophomore year of high school that passed me a note in study hall asking, "Will you go with me? Check Yes or No?" Well, I put no on his, but yes on Jiliang's form. We signed the Letter of Acceptance from China, and will be sending it out tomorrow.
I saw the FedEx Van pull around the corner and said, "Scott, they're coming to bring Jiliang's package!"
T.J. excitedly asked, "They're bringing Jiliang?"
I responded, "No, but maybe the package has a new picture of her".
T.J. quipped, "Oh, pictures are SO boring."
Well, we didn't receive any additional pictures or information, but pray that China will take some photos during her final days at the orphanage. We can hope.
Jill :)

The Up Side to Paperwork and Well Wishes to All Waiting Families

Today, the paper-race begins! It is not fun or exciting, but necessary to get all of our new documents put in place. Scott had to get a Power of Attorney Letter notarized today so that I could act on his behalf for the adoption proceedings in China. We also just sent in the paperwork for Jiliang to be a Michigan Citizen. My little Chinese Michigander. :) Ni Hao UP'ers, here we come!

Because Scott is not traveling, it is going to cost the equivalant of airfare-to-China to finalize her adoption once I return to the states. There is more paperwork and fees because we are not both traveling. Scott refuses to fly and that is a mute issue. To have the Power of Attorney form Authenticated for China, it travels to my agency in Utah, to Lansing, to Chicago, The Chinese Consulate, back to my agency, back to me, and then to China with me when I fly over. That one little POA form is going to cost us at least $130 to have authenticated. I also just found out that I also need to fill out an authentication application just for that one little form too.

I have to get my travel Visa, and that requires hand-delivering everything in Chicago. We hire a courier for that. Otherwise, I'd be calling Mrs. Chevy up to arrange for a Girl's weekend in the Windy City. After that, there's more paperwork. I am honestly just taking it one day at a time. I used to stress about everything. It is stressful, but that is why I have an agency that walks me through the process. West Sands is a great agency, for any of you who are looking for a good place to begin your adoption process. Amy Coray at West Sands is awesome!
We were also blessed with an awesome adoption caseworker, Theresa Light, who brought a sense of humor and light-hearted approach to the grueling paperwork chase.

The paperwork and wait do seem endless, yet I would do it again in a heartbeat to be where I am today: getting Jiliang. I do feel fortunate to be nearing the end of this chapter in our lives, and to finally be getting our daughter, once referred fondly as "Kaityln", but now forever as Jiliang Josephine Koeppe.
Blessings to all of my blog readers, and sincere wish to all of my fellow adoptive families - may they have sweet, uneventful, swift waits as they journey to meet the children born in their hearts.
Jill :)

The Diner Specials

A special thanks to Caroline at The Diner in Tecumseh - The best around. They really know how to help out their customers! THANKS SO MUCH!
Jill :)

USCIS Hold up on Paperwork

Good news! The director of our Home Study Agency, Hands Across The Water, emailed the USCIS regarding the hold-up on our I-600A, requesting an Urgent Family Matter on our behalf. Hopefully, that will be resolved very soon. It was a mistake on the USCIS part, since we supplied a copy of the cashed check for our fingerprints.

Interesting Breakfast in Bed This Morning

No, not a romantic gesture from my husband. My son, T.J., made me a bowl of Cereal with Corn Flakes, Chow Mein Noodles, Peanut M&Ms, Special K Blueberry Cereal. No milk. It was pretty tasty. :) Here's to breakfast in bed!
Jill :)

We Are Officially Approved!!!!

We got our Letter of Approval (LOA) from China today. How nice. The originals are being faxed to Scott and I to sign stating we want to adopt Jiliang. Then, I will travel in approximately 6-8 weeks.
Unfortunately today, we also received a letter from USCIS stating that we did not include our fingerprint fee of $160, so that may hold things up. However, I was happy to dig out the cleared/cashed check by Detroit's USCIS office from July 14, 2009. How else would they have taken our fingerprints in August of 2009? I can only shake my head, and pray that this rat-race for paperwork and fees will come to and end very soon. It wouldn't be so bad if we had only gone through the USCIS and home study process one time, as adoptive families should. However, this is our third time applying and re-applying, due to the extended wait times. Every time around, something has gone wrong! In my opinion, it is all about perfect timing and God's Plan. I believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. Eventually, this will all be a distant memory. In the meantime, we are officially approved to be Jiliang's parents and that makes me so happy!!
I got the email at 9:40 p.m. and my early-bird husband was already in bed. :) Of course, I woke him up to tell him the good news first, but we'll see if he remembers it or not. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for smooth sailing from here on out.
God Bless!
Jill :)

Good Things Come In Small Packages

Our hamster, Jerry Mouse passed away today. She was a loving little pet to my son and brought many laughs, smiles and life lessons. T.J. packed her a letter to take to The Rainbow Bridge and made her a soft little bed for her last hours of life. I'm so proud of my little boy. He said goodbye to her and sang her a lullabye.
Jerry was a very special hamster, named after Jerry the Mouse, from the cartoon Tom and Jerry. Scott picked her out as a full-grown hamster in March of 2008. She quickly became known as the gentle hamster that would sit on my son's shoulder and watch cartoons with him. She became a 3 legged mouse in May of 2008 after a tragic incident. After that, we took extra special care of her, providing her with natural dried fruits, nuts, trail mix, veggies (lots of lettuce) and fruit (especially strawberries).
Despite her missing limb, Jerry's spirit never dwindled and she did everything that a 4 legged mouse could do. T.J. was proud to tell his family and friends that he had a special little "mouse". Everyone who entered our home was graced with her presence. She was special indeed. She would cuddle up to us, she would ride in my son's fire truck and John Deere Tractors, and go for four-wheeler rides outside. She would sleep in the crook of Scott's neck, eat out of our hands and climb up her cage when she wanted you to take her out. Whenever I was mad about something, Scott would give me a sideways grin and sneakily hand "Jer-Jer" to me. It always made me smile.
We knew that she was getting older, slower and grayer, so we asked Santa to treat her extra special this year. She got a mouse stocking full of fruits and nuts, which she readily accepted.
My husband was a little apprehensive about T.J. dealing with the death of his beloved pet, because we have had several family members' pets die within the last 2 months (all from old age), and we also had two family members whom T.J. was close to die over the last 6 months (My Grandmother and my Uncle). Little Jerry Mouse answered many questions that T.J. had about death that we were unable to answer ourselves. Animals have an amazing way of bringing joy to our lives, teaching us lifelong lessons, and bringing us peace and closure.
Cheers to Jerry Mouse! May Jerry Mouse "Play in Peace".
Jill :)

This Christmas and The Next...

I have to say that this Christmas was the best ever. Watching T.J. experience Christmas with us was so exciting. There is nothing better than being able to relive Christmas through the eyes of your child.
Next Christmas, we will have Jiliang here with us, so it will be even more special - our family will be complete. As I wait for our daughter, I see so many beautiful faces of children that need families, life-saving surgeries and more. Next Christmas, as we surpass the adoption hurdles and financial expenses associated, I would like to sponsor a child as a Christmas gift. There are so many beautiful children in need and I would love to give my children the gift of giving.
This has been a very, happy Christmas for our family, and I hope to pass it on and pay it forward in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Jill :)

This Six Year Old Waiting Child Is Adorable

I have been advocating for this little boy and hoping and praying that he will find a family. He has a $4000 Promise Grant to assist with his adoption expenses, due to his heart condition. If we weren't already adopting Jiliang, I would seriously consider him. You can check him out at the following website, although you will have to set up a free account through rainbowkids:

http://www.rainbowkids.com/ChildInfo1.aspx?id=4933

Keep him in your prayers. If you know of anyone interested, pass on his Rainbow Kids website.

Jill :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I am looking forward to the Christmas holiday, even though it snuck up too quick. Santa brought a Pink John Deere Stocking for Jiliang. I am praying that all is well with her in China this Christmas, and that she is healthy, safe and loved. It is hard to know her and not have her here this Christmas. Please keep her in your prayers this Christmas.
Thanks!
Jill

Christmas Card List Brings Tears and Joy

This Christmas, I considered not sending out cards as it snuck up so quickly with all of the adoption stuff, and because everything is so expensive. I changed my mind and decided to send out family Christmas cards. As I was going through my Christmas list, I was saddened to realize that 5 people on last year's Christmas card list have passed away. I also discovered that over 5 people on the list also changed due to family situations and/or loss of homes. This makes me sad for the loss of loved ones and for the pain that friends and family have endured this year.
However, I also feel great joy and thankfulness for the people in my life right now; as well as the joy and peace that we have been blessed with in finding our way to Jiliang and putting closure to a long, stressful adoption process.
This Christmas, I am trying to remember the true meaning of the season (The Birth of Christ), and be thankful for the special people in my life and the time that I can share with them. With the adoption going on, we have made concessions this year, but I feel more in the Christmas Spirit this year than I ever have. Wayne Harvey, Donna Krzyzaniak, Viola Harvey, Sheila Warren and Arlene Sheldon have all guided me to see that life is too short. So this Christmas, enjoy time with loved ones and take time to be thankful for the small moments. Merry Christmas everyone! May you all be blessed with the Spirit of Christmas this year.
Sincerely,
Jill :)

Adoption Fundraiser Benefitting the Gaoyou City Orphanage

Event: Adoption Fundraiser, Benefitting the Gaoyou City Children's Welfare Institution, China

Where: The Tecumseh Club in Downtown Tecumseh, conveniently located above Basil Boys

When: Saturday, January 9th, 2010, from 6 p.m. to Close

Who: Adults 21 and over

Entertainment: D.J. JIM HARVEY, dancing and snacks

Cash Bar - Drinks and Appetizers available for purchase. Homemade Cookies and snacks provided by Jill. :) Professional Wait Staff for all of your beverage needs.

Minimum Donation of $10 at the door. Food and Beverages available from the cash bar

We hope to see you there! Please come ready to party and dance the night away! Great sound system, great light show with Jim Harvey.

All fundraiser profits benefit the Gaoyou City Children's Welfare Institution, which provides better facilities and care to the ophans left behind. We are required to give her orphanage a donation as a part of our adoption process, and we are happy to do so, because donations from other adoptive parents helped to give Jiliang a life-saving heart procedure. You can directly benefit our daughter's orphanage by attending our fundraiser and enjoying the evening.

Special thanks to Jim Harvey for making this possible.

Sincerely,
Jill

Updates on Jiliang

We received some updates about Jiliang today. It was unexpected, but a very nice surprise.
Our daughter has grown 2 inches and gained 2 pounds since our referral information. It also said again that she is quiet and introverted. We thought it was funny that she likes to play ball and run around, and think she will get along great with her brother T.J. I also suppose that her current medical situation is under control if she is doing a lot of running (from both reports). :)
She likes bikes, dolls, and reading. T.J. loves books too, so that's neat little commonality. It also said that she likes meat, but not vegetables. We had to laugh, because T.J. loves vegetables and could take or leave meat. We figure, they can split a meal and we'll save money on our Lonestar dinners. Just kidding.
She seems pretty independent: she can dress and feed herself, and go up and down stairs. She also speaks well and can express her needs, so she is linguistically on track. I was fond to hear that she can say Grandni (Grandma). She can also say Mama and Baba (Dad).
I look forward to learning more about our little girl. This was a nice little Christmas surprise.

Estimated Travel Dates

Our agency is estimating my travel date to China in Early March 2010. Hopefully it will be before April. The wait is excruciating! :) As soon as I know, the official countdown will begin. I believe that I will find out sometime in January.
Jill ;)

Tax-Deductible Donations for Jiliang's Orphanage Donation

Some friends and family have asked how they have donate to Jiliang's oprhanage and get a tax-deductible receipt. If you are interested in donating towards Jiliang's orphanage donation, you can donate directly to our agency and receive a tax-deductible receipt. I checked with our agency and they are setting up an escrow account for us so friends and family can make tax-deductible donations. If you wish to donate, I would like YOU to get something out of it too.
If you are interested in doing that, you must attach a brief note stating that it is for Jill and Scott Koeppe's adoption. It must clearly say that you wish for the funds to go towards our daughter's CHINA ORPHANAGE DONATION, and you should specify the amount you are donating, in case it gets separated for any reason.
You can send it to:

West Sands Adoptions
Attn: Amy Coray, Re: Koeppe Family account
2265 Calanus Circle
St. George, Utah 84790

You can do whatever is easiest for you, and our Chip-In account is easy too, but it's not tax-deductible and it deducts a percentage. Just let me know if you have any questions. Either way, I appreciate all your support. As always, if you cannot donate, please offer your prayers. You have no idea how the prayers and support help us. Just let me know if you do send it, so I can be sure I thank you properly.
Thanks,
Jill :)

Updates on Fundraiser for Jiliang's Orphanage Donation

****Please note a few updates. The official date will be posted tomorrow! Thanks for looking.

Event: Adoption Fundraiser, Benefitting the Gaoyou City Children's Welfare Institution, China

Where: The Tecumseh Club in Downtown Tecumseh, conveniently located above Basil Boys

When: 6 p.m. to Midnight

Who: Adults 21 and over

Entertainment: D.J. JIM HARVEY, dancing and snacks

Cash Bar - Drinks and Appetizers available for purchase. Homemade Cookies and snacks provided by Jill. :) Professional Wait Staff for all of your beverage needs.

Minimum Donation of $10 at the door. Food and Beverages available from the cash bar

When: Tentatively, January 9th. We will keep you posted.

We hope to see you there! Please come ready to party and dance the night away! Great sound system, great light show with Jim Harvey.

All fundraiser profits benefit the Gaoyou City Children's Welfare Institution, which provides better facilities and care to the ophans left behind. We are required to give her orphanage a donation as a part of our adoption process, and we are happy to do so, because donations from other adoptive parents helped to give Jiliang a life-saving heart procedure. You can directly benefit our daughter's orphanage by attending our fundraiser and enjoying the evening.

Special thanks to Jim Harvey for making this possible.

Sincerely,
Jill

The World Is A Smaller Place Than We Think

I just met someone who adopted from Jiliang's orphanage years ago. She and her daughter will be traveling back to China in April to revisit the orphanage with the Our Daughter's Of China group. She has offered to check on Jiliang for me if she gets there before I do. :)

Orphanage Group

Modern technology amazes me!! I can now locate other parents who have adopted children from our daughter's orphanage. I am just astounded! I joined a group online devoted to children adopted from my daughter's orphanage. They have reunions and family albums too. Now, I will be able to meet other families who have adopted children that my daughter might know, or perhaps one of those parents will see my little girl when they meet their own child, or they may end up with pictures of their child with mine that we can share. It is also a great chance for me to study and learn about where she grew up.

Updates on Jiliang!

So far we have not received any updates on Jiliang from her orphanage. They refused to give updates on her without the CCAA telling them to do so. I would like to think that they are protecting her privacy, as she is currently in their care. From the information that China originally provided to us, we were able to have a surgeon at the U of M Pediatric Cardiology unit review her medical records. Based on his findings and his knowledge of her heart condition, Jiliang's prognosis is good. Even in severe cases, he advised us that her particular heart defect is complicated, but almost always repairable. That is excellent news to us. Thank you Dr. Rick Ohye, MD, from the bottom of our hearts. God Bless him for the peace that he has bestowed upon us. Please continue to keep our little one in your thoughts and prayers this Christmas as we wait for new news from China, and the day we get to hold her in our arms.

It's Official! We are having a Fundraiser in January! Come ready to party!

Event: Adoption Fundraiser

Where: The Tecumseh Club in Downtown Tecumseh, conveniently located above Basil Boys

Entertainment: D.J. JIM HARVEY, dancing and snacks

Cash Bar!!! Drinks and Appetizers available for purchase. Snacks provided by Jill. Professional Wait Staff for all of your beverage needs.

Minimum Donation of $10 at the door. Food and Beverages available from the cash bar

When: Tentatively, January 9th. We will keep you posted.

We hope to see you there! Please come ready to party and dance the night away! Great sound system, great light show with Jim Harvey.

All fundraiser profits benefit the Gaoyou City Children's Welare Institution, which provides better facilities and care to the ophans left behind. We are required to give her orphanage a donation as a part of our adoption process, and we are greatful that donations from other adoptive parents helped give Jiliang a life-saving heart procedure. You can directly benefit our daughter's orphanage by attending our fundraiser and enjoying the evening.

Special thanks to Jim Harvey for making this possible.

Sincerely,
Jill

I am thinking about doing a Bowling for a Cause Fundraiser. I'd love your input!

Update: Operation Bowling Cancelled! See latest update :)

I was thinking of doing of fundraiser to benefit our daughter's Orphanage. I was thinking of something along the lines of a Koeppe-palooza! I was going to check with Ten Pin Alley in Tecumseh or Colonial Lanes in Ann Arbor and see if they could offer a bowling, shoes, food deal for a nominal price. I would love your input. Who is interested? Any ideas to share?

Adoption Fundraiser: Soy Candles

In time for Christmas, I will be selling hand-made candles made by a family friend in Belleville, MI. They are made of soy and the wicks are lead-free. I have tried many of her candles and they are all wonderful! She will be making them especially for our adoption fundraiser with labels. I will deliver them directly to you. If you are out of state, I can arrange to ship it to you.

The scents will be:
Cinnamon Holly Berry
Grandma's Kitchen (sugar cookie smell)
Vanilla Pumpkin Log
Spiced Cranberry

They will be $10 each. You can purchase them through my PayPal Chip-In Donation Account if that is more convenient for you, or cash or check. If there is another scent you are dying to try, let me know and I will see if she can get it to me for this fundraiser. I will be taking orders for the next two weeks. Please contact me regarding orders at jillkoeppe@verizon.net
I will need to receive the payment in advance so I can have her make the candles.

Photos of Jiliang

Great news from China! Angel up above.

We heard from Amy at West Sands Adoptions today. The CCAA reviewed our special needs file and we were pre-approved for Jiliang. They are pulling our original (non-special needs) file that China logged in on 4/19/07 to review it. It has already been approved once by China, so it is just a protocol. They will make sure that everything is in order and then the CCAA will officially approve us and send my travel arrangements to go and pick her up. Whew! We are still waiting on the updates for her photos, medical, and etc., and we can expect to receive that within the week.
With the recent passing of my beloved Grandmother, this is great news. I'd like to think that Jiliang will have a heavenly presence watching over her in China.

Big Brother T.J.

On another positive note, T.J. has really turned a corner on being a big brother. He talks about Jiliang ever day, and plans all of the things that he is going to do with her and show her. He understands that she will speak Mandarin (Chinese), so his job is to tell her what things mean in English. He is excited about being a teacher and has been role-modeling it for me. He is also excited about having a playmate, and I pray that they will offer each other that. Just a few weeks ago, he suddenly realized that she was going to be a reality, and he was afraid of what that would mean for him. He was really nervous about sharing his mom and dad, but especially concerned about sharing his grandparents! That has changed drastically, and he has come to understand that he doesn't have to give any up the people he loves, or the special traditions, like camping with Papa Harvey or truck and tractor rides with Dad. He is pretty happy about not having to shop for girl things with Mom, but knows that we will still make cookies together and read Johnny Tractor books together. He has learned to spell "Jiliang", and is excited to learn about the Great Wall of China.
T.J. is aware that I was 5 years old when I got a little sister (Leah), and he likes to hear stories about my little sister - the naughty stories of how I was jealous of her when my Grandma Donna came to see my newborn sister and I poured water on her diaper; and the heartwarming stories of how my little sister and I curled up and waited for Santa Claus together on Christmas Eve, only to wake our parents at 5:00 a.m., begging to check our stockings and presents under the tree.
T.J.'s Kindergarten teacher agreed to celebrate his official "Big Brother" status at school when the adoption is official. The talk of the celebration initiated his positive 180 degrees on the whole adoption scene. I will be sending in Bugs On A Sunbutter Log or something that day. LOL :)

The Waiting Process

Yesterday was officially 3 weeks since we accepted Jiliang's file. We are still waiting to hear back from China. It feels like forever. We asked for updated pictures, clarification on her medical condition, and her complete medical file for a chosen Cardiatric Peds Surgeon to review it. It is a lot to have translated, so it may take a little longer, but we are hoping to hear something soon, so that we may officially call her our daughter. It will also be nice to finally plan for the trip to China. Currently, I have no idea when I might travel to China. That alone is a huge stressor for me and us as a family, financially, emotionally. We are working on getting her room completed. It is all a very positive thing for us, but a stressful change in our lives as far as planning and preparing for her arrival sooner than we had expected.
All in all, her homecoming will be a huge blessing and closure in our lives, bringing much peace to her very long, anticipated arrival. It is hard to fathom that in October we were on the brink of giving up hope of having her become a reality for our family. We were beginning to think that our adoption wait would be endless.
Fortunately, in spite of all of the anticipation, unforeseeable events, stressful paperwork chase, financial race and unanswered questions, the adoption is moving forward and it is a huge blessing in our lives. I thank God for this opportunity and impatiently await news on Jiliang Gao.

T.J. is getting excited about his little sister now!

This weekend, I sold a lot of Jiliang's infant clothes that I had purchased when we began the adoption process. T.J. made it a little easier for me to part with the cute little clothes as he helped me picked out a couple of sleeper pajamas for her: a kitty sleeper and an owl sleeper. He is starting to get excited about his little sister. He wants to teach her about backhoes and frontloaders, show her how to paint on his easel, and how to gently hold Jerry the Mouse. He also made it very clear that he no longer wants to go shopping with Mom - Jiliang can do that and he is going to stay home with Dad! He said, "Clothes shopping is B-O-R-ING!!!!"

Waiting for Updates

Of course we accepted her within the 48 hour timeframe, but we did ask for updates on her heart condition and other pertinent information as well. The CCAA is allowing us to extend the 48 hour window until we have had a chance to review her full medical background and her orphanage's responses to our questions about her. We have already committed to this child in our hearts, but we need to follow the protocols. Until then, Scott has asked me not to officially post our intents about her until we are officially accepted as her parents by the CCAA. You will mostly likely be reading this in a few weeks. It is so hard not to tell the whole world how much I love the idea of this little girl being a part of our family forever.

We feel very blessed to have her become a reality for us, as we did not expect to hear any good news like this until late 2010 at the earliest. We made the decision to adopt in August of 2005. Officially, we started the paperchase in April 2006. Our application was DTC (Date to China) in March of 2007, and our official Log-In-Date (LID) was April 19, 2007. This is the date that it was logged in China. We found out a few weeks ago, in a round-about way that we could switch to the Waiting Child list, and by some miracle, we are now looking at an adorable photo of a beautiful little Chinese girl that is soon to be ours.

However, we do feel the anxiety weighing on us, because our lives are shifting gears quickly. This means tight finances, planning a trip to China, LOTS of paperwork, getting a room ready for her, and getting T.J. prepared. These are all good things of course, just unexpected blessings. T.J. has been hearing us talk about "Little Sister" for most of his life. I think T.J. thought, "She not really coming. They've been talking about this forever." Now he is trying to understand what this really means.
Please keep our little Chinese angel in your hearts and prayers. I pray that China sends her home to us quickly. May God bless her and keep her safe.
Jill :)

Finding our Daughter

Well, we locked in a file for an adorable little girl on 11/06/09. Her name is Jiliang Gao and her name means "bright blessings". She is clever and sweet. She turned 3 years old on 8/26/06. We have 48 hours to review her file and decide if we can meet her needs. We are waiting on a medical translation and update from the CCAA.
If you look closely, her name looks similar to mine and my sister Leah's: Jilian with a 'g' on the end. :) I always thought that my adoptive daughter would have a middle name of Li. The actual spelling of her name is Gao, Ji Liang. It is like a combination of Jill and Leah (whom I called Le). A lot of people think Jill stands for Jillian, so I took her name as a good sign. We also reviewed her file on my lucky number date: 11/06 (1106 Murray Drive was the address in which I grew up). It has been my lucky number since 1990, and so far, nothing special has ever commenced on 11/06 until last night.
The translator stated that I pronounced her name well: "Gow, Gee Lang".
The funny thing is that I started buying 12 month little girl clothes when she was a year old, 18 month clothes when she was 18 months, and 2t/3t clothes this year, which is the size that she would have been this year. It is funny how that happens.
More updates to come!
Jill