The places we will go in China

We will be going to Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong while in China!

18 months since LID

Wow-it is amazing to know that we will have Maya in 24 days! Today marks the 18th month since our log in date with the CCAA.
We will be leaving for China in 20 days.

Jim and Jill celebrated their six month wedding anniversary today--I can't believe its been that long since our Disney Cruise for their wedding!
We love you Strakas and can't wait for your niece Maya to meet you at the airport. Thanks for being her fairy God-parents!

Maya says, "Come and get me!"

I love this picture! Maya looks like she is saying,"Mama and Daddy, please come get me!"

We are on our way sweetie.

21 days til we leave for Beijing!

CA date confirmed!

Our CA date was confirmed today for May 24th!
We will be leaving for Beijing on May 11th and returning on May 26th.

Maya Lily--here we come!!

Love Mama and Daddy!

Maya is 13 months old today

Wow-I can't believe that Maya is already 13 months old! Hopefully we will have her before she turns 14 months!
It looks like we will be leaving on May 11th and arrive in Beijing on May 12th--23 days from now!!
We will be in Guangzhou through May 26th--then we will be heading home. We have decided not to go to Hong Kong--we both agreed that we just want to bring Maya home as soon as possible!

Hang on sweetie--Mama and Daddy will be there soon!

Prayers for the families of Virginia Tech students and staff

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families from Virginia Tech who lost their lives yesterday. It is a tragic situation.

Tentative CA date!

Our agency has informed us that we may have a Consulate appointment on May 24th. We need to be in Beijing on May 12th--which means we will be leaving on May 11th!!

We are hoping to go to Hong Kong for a few days after our CA--so we would most likely return home on Memorial Day.

Thanks,
Aleisa and Patrick Dunn

FEDEX delivered TA today

Hey,
I received our TA from FEDEX today--wasn't expecting it until tomorrow--so this was a nice surprise!. I did not get to make this FEDEX person cry (see previous post when the referral was delivered!) because he just rang the bell and left the envelop on the porch. It reminded me of a game we used to play as kids called "Ding-Dong Ditch"

Now we have to wait for our confirmed Consulate appointment before we can call the travel agent to book our trip.

One step closer to Maya--and the best is yet to come!

Aleisa

TA arrived at our agency office today! Tentative travel plans

Happy to announce that we have confirmation of our travel authorization!! We should have the actual copy on Tuesday. Our agency has also faxed the consulate to request our appointment date--which we will know next week as well. It looks like we maybe traveling in two weeks--OH MY GOODNESS!!

We only have to book our flights to and from China--our in-country coordinator takes care of everything else--thank God!

Tentative plans include the following:
Orlando to LA
LA to Guangzhou
Guangzhou to Beijing

Tour Beijing for 3 to 4 days
Sightseeing includes: The Great Wall of China, Tiannamen Square, The Forbidden CIty, Summer Palace and a few other places.
Then we will fly from Beijing to Guangzhou

We will most likely be staying at the White Swan Hotel--so awesome!
Gotcha Day--TBA--at the Guangdong Province Adoption Affairs Office in Guangzhou
Shopping, sightseeing and appointments in Guangzhou

Consulate appointment--Maya's visa and passport to be able to come home and become a US Citizen

Fly from Guangzhou to Hong Kong
Hong Kong for 2 or 3 days
Sightseeing and Hong Kong Disney--we figured we would take her to Disney in her Chinese backyard before bringing her Disney in her Florida backyard!

Hong Kong to Guangzhou
Guangzhou to LA
Maya officially becomes a US Citizen

LA to Orlando--finally home--the Dunn Family of three!

Maya--Mama and Daddy are on their way!

Happy Birthday Eric

28 years ago I lost my status of being an only child! My brother Eric was born today--ironically it was also "Friday, the 13th" that year--only it was Good Friday.
I remember being at the playground when Walter (Eric's Dad) came to get me to bring me to the hospital to see the baby. He wouldn't say if Mom had a boy or a girl. I of course wanted a baby sister (sorry Erica-haha) but I was so happy when I saw Eric for the first time and got to hold him.

Happy Birthday Eric! I love you and am so proud of you. You are going to be an awesome uncle to Maya!

Love always,
Aleisa

TA is coming tomorrow! CA confirmation next week!

This is from our agency coordinator--which she emailed to us today!!

"Good news. We expect the travel approval letters in our office tomorrow. We will FedEx them to you upon arrival.

Once we have the TAs in our hands the US Consulate will allow us to fax the Consulate Appt request to them. So that will be done tomorrow. We should receive a reply from them by very early next week. When we get the date from the Consulate we will l let you know right away so you can make your flight arrangements.
One step closer!"

Bonnie (our coordinator at FHSA)

We could be leaving the first week of May.

We will keep you posted.

Date on our Visa-April 9th

Today is the date that is stamped on our Visa. It would be so great if we could leave in the next two weeks--however I think realistically we will not be leaving until the first week of May.
It is only a matter of time.

Today will also have been my cousin Matthew's 29th birthday. He was an amazing young boy. He died in 1991 from health complications. Matthew was and will always be a very special person in my life. I had the honor of spending three weeks with Matthew in the summer of 1988. I taught him how to "swim" that summer. It was awesome. I also introduced him to rap music--something his dad-my uncle Bob--did not appreciate!! Every night we'd watch "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy"--he'd win every time.

Matthew--you will always be in my heart.

Love,
Aleia

Happy Easter

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Hopefully we will receive our TA/CA this week. We'd really like to make our travel plans soon. We are both getting anxious to travel.

Love to all,
Aleisa and Patrick

Packing our bags

We've started packing our bags for the trip of a lifetime.
We have paired down what we thought we should take to only taking what we need. We know that we can buy things in China for us and Maya.

We are going to bring a suitcase for her--and one for each of us. We are planning on getting an extra suitcase over there for packing all of our purchased goods.

Happy packing!

No TA yet!

Our agency was closed today for the Easter holiday. It seems likely that we will receive our TA and CA next week. I am hoping, wishing and praying that we are in China on or before Mother's Day. I'd really like this Easter to be the last one without our baby.

Congratulations to all who received their referrals and TA/CA notices today--remember the best is yet to come!

We are happy to share that Al-my stepfather-is finally home from the hospital. He had surgery back in December and had some complications--however it is great to see him home where he belongs.

We also had a great visit with our cousins Tara, Drew and Alexandra who were visiting from NJ. We went to the Magic Kingdom with them today--it was a lot of fun. Alex and I rode the Teacups together--she was having a ball.

What we know about Maya so far

Maya entered the Lian Jiang City SWI on March 29, 2006. She weighed 5.29 lbs and was 20 inches long. They reported that she had big eyes and no belly cord. She was healthy and did not have her imbelical cord--so her birth date was estimated to be March 18, 2006. The name Lian Bao Yan was chosen by the staff.

The report indicates that she has developed well over the past 12 months. She has not been seriously ill since arriving to the SWI. She did have a cold once but recovered well after treatment. She has no known allergies.

Her daily routine is as follows:
Wakes up at 7:00 a.m.
Takes a nap at 11:30 a.m.
She takes a short nap for a half in hour in the afternoon
Goes to bed at 9:30 p.m.

Her feeding schedule is:
4:00 a.m. bottle
8:00 a.m. breakfast (porridge)
10:00 a.m. bottle
2:30 p.m. snack
5:00 p.m. dinner
9:00 p.m. bottle

They say she eats rice cereal, fruit juice, porridge, and milk 4 times a day.

Her favorite things are: playing outside, a bell and her caretaker

She has received all of her immunizations.

Her physical and intellectual development appears to be on target. At five months old she could roll over by herself, sit with help and knew what she wanted (that's my girl) She would also laugh when she was happy.
At seven months she started to crawl and say "Yaya" when she saw her caretaker. She is now standing up by holding herself up. She is a very fast crawler and if there is a struggle for a toy-she wins. Apparently she cries to be fed first--just like her uncle Jay and cousin Caroline. She is happy when she is fed and likes to be hugged.

Hopefully soon we will see for ourselves just how amazing this little girl truly is.

Four weeks since our referral arrived-no TA yet!

We received our referral four weeks ago--however--we have not yet received our travel authorization (TA). We are hoping it will arrive this week. Our agency will then schedule our consulate appointment (CA) which will then give us the ok to book our trip. We bought a book about Hong Kong--we plan on going there with Maya before heading home.

Maya's finding ad arrived today

The ad appeared in the Nanfang Farmer's Daily Newspaper on Oct. 28th 2006. We think she was around four or five months old when this photo was taken. It confirms that she was found on March 29th 2006.

The translated information states that Maya was found in a box, wearing a white tee-shirt. The box was found under a tree out side of the local hospital. She was described as having big eyes, no belly cord--so her birthday date was estimated to be 3/18/06. She weighed approximately 5.5 pounds and was 20 inches long.

This is such precious information. It is how Maya came to be and how she was eventually chosen to be our daughter. I truly belive God watched over her that day and knew she was meant to have a Mom and a Dad and to become a caring, loving person.


Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

Rumors about TA's are starting to pop up

Some of the boards have people stating they have received their travel authorization and could potentially be leaving for China by April 23!
I don't expect to hear anything until next week. Once we receive our TA we should then receive information regarding our Consulate Appointment (CA)-which tells us when we have to be in Guangzhou with Maya in order to process her immigration paper work!

We will update you as soon as we know for sure when we will be traveling.

Thanks,
Aleisa and Patrick

One year ago today-a miracle took place

On March 29, 2006, a miracle took place in Lian Jiang City, Guang Dong Province-China. An angel from God found our baby girl and brought her to a safe place. I will never know why Maya's birth parents did what they felt they had to do. We do not live in a perfect world and I am not going to judge their actions. However, I will forever be grateful for the gift they have given us.

I truly believe that God was called upon that day and stepped in. He knew this beautiful baby girl deserved a life of love and happiness. We have been chosen to be the ones to give her that love and more. Maya is a survivor!

I ache to hold her and tell her how much she is loved, how special she is and how honored I am to have been chosen to be her mother.

Patrick and I hope to travel in the next 35 days--so close!

We have truly been blessed.
Love,
Aleisa

Meet the newest member of our family!

This is our announcement that we have ordered to send out to family and friends.

Being a domestic goddess!

Yes, I have found my true calling-Martha Stewart watch out! I've managed to do laundry, dishes, change the sheets and complete four scrapbook pages for Maya's book all in one day. My friend Mandy kindly pointed out that I managed all of this because my little one is not here yet :) She's home with two little girls under the age of two!
I did thoroughly enjoy my first day home! Each day that goes by is one day closer to bringing Maya home.

Aleisa "DG" Dunn

My new job!

I have officially left my position with the Osceola County School District. It was bittersweet to say the least. I will miss my students and co-workers who have supported me over the past three years. However nothing compares to my new position--motherhood. This is a full-time position with the best benefits!

I have waited for what seems like forever for this moment and I am so excited to be able to have the next couple of weeks to get ready for our trip to China. I have a bunch of little projects I want to do around the house before Maya comes home. She will be running around here in no time!

Thanks again to all my PHS friends for being part of our journey. We couldn't have done it without you!

Love,
Aleisa

Welcome to the world Morgan DeRight

Our dear friends Matt and Mandy announced the arrival of their baby girl Morgan. Morgan finally arrived today at 5:20 p.m.
Matt reports that both Mandy and Morgan are doing well.

Morgan joins big sister Kelsey, who is 18 months old.

We can't wait until Maya comes home to meet her new friends and playmates.

Congratulations!

Two weeks ago today

It has been two weeks since we first saw our precious baby girl's face! We received our visas and hope to travel within the next six weeks.
Today is also our 17 months since LID. We did our traditional visit to the China pavillion at Epcot. This time when we watched Reflections of China and paid more attention--especially the part about southern China--it was so pretty.

Happy Spring to all of you!

Love,
Maya's mama and daddy

Happy 1st Birthday Maya

To our baby girl-
We wish we could be with you today to celebrate your first year of life. You are our precious gift from God and we cannot wait to bring you home.

We had a birthday party in your honor with family and friends. You are loved by so many people! You got some beautiful clothes, books and a giant stuffed animal from Caroline.
Katie made you a special book for Mama and Daddy to write in when we come to China.

We hope that you are being well cared for by your "Yaya" and know that we are coming very soon.

Love always,
Mama and Daddy

Lianjiang Social Welfare Institute-Maya's current home

Here is where Maya is currently living in Lianjiang City, Guangdong Province.

Introducing Maya Lily Lian Dunn

It is with great pride and honor that we share the news of our long awaited referral for Maya Lily.

Her Chinese name is: Lian Bao Yan--which translate to "Beautiful Pearl"

She is currently residing at the Lianjiang Welfare Institute in Lianjiang, Guangdong Province, The People's Republic of China!

Born: March 18, 2006--she is a Pisces!

Current ht/wght--as of Jan. 1, 2007--26 inches and 19 pounds--very healthy Buddah baby!!

She can crawl and hold herself up. She likes music and is very active!!

We are overjoyed and can't wait to bring our baby home!
Love,
Aleisa "Mama" and Patrick "Daddy" Dunn

Sitting pretty

Here is our sweet baby girl sitting pretty like a big girl--she is looking like she is full of personality--just like her mother!!

The first time ever I saw your face!

I first saw my beautiful baby's face while sitting at my dest at work. She is the perfect morph of Patrick and I.
She has her daddy's eyes and hair--my nose and lips--both our cheeks--my chin and hands!

It is uncanny how perfect she is and how amazing the CCAA matching room folks do at placing the right child with the right family. She is so meant to be our daughter!

Mama and the FEDEX man

Sharing tears of joy--the FEDEX man and me with our precious package!

The FEDEX Stork arrived today

I made the FEDEX man cry today!
My friend Jim and I were having lunch outside when the truck arrived. I ran in the house to grab the camera. The driver asked if I was Mrs. Dunn--I said yes. Then I asked him if he new what he was delivering--he said no--but that it must be important because it required a signature!
I told him that he was delivering my baby girl from China--I think I said he was the stork. At first he laughed and said he had never delivered a baby before. I then told him how precious this package was and that I would forever be grateful to him for bringing her to me. I then asked if I could give him a hug--I am bawling at this point--he said yes and then started to cry too! Jim of course was dying!! He managed to take a picture of the FEDEX man and me--which I will treasure forever!

The FEDEX Stork will arrive tomorrow

I can't post pictures yet because they are in PDF format--however the FEDEX delivery will arrive tomorrow and once I scan them I will post them.

Thanks again for all of the love and support you have given us.

She is precious.

Love Aleisa and Patrick

We have a girl

FHSA called again at 5 p.m.

We are the proud parents of Lian Bao Yan, born March 18, 2006 (almost 1 years old)
She is currently residing in the Guangdong Province.

Photos to be posted as soon as we receive them!!

Update from our agency

Karen from FHSA called today at 4:15 p.m. and confirmed that our referral will be received by their office on Wednesday.
She promised to scan a picture and send an email as soon as possible.
She also told us that we should receive our FEDEX package sometime on Thursday!!

Cut off date confirmed--10/24/05

So now we wait to hear from our coordinator Bonnie at FHSA. Apparently the agency did not receive their package from China today--hopefully they will receive it tomorrow.

Keeping our fingers crossed.

Aleisa and Patrick

Cut off date--rumored to be 10/24/05

That means we are in!

The rumors also indicate that the stork has landed in Europe--which means by later today or tomorrow our US agencies should have our referrals.

We are hopefully only days a way from seeing our little girl.

We are doing the happy dance!!

Rumors all over the place

The latest rumors indicate that families with LID's of 10/27 will not be included in this batch--however--no can say for sure what the cut off date is.

The other big rumor is that the CCAA mailed a package on 3/2 to a US agency--the rumor is that this package contains the most recent referrals--maybe even ours!!

I cried when I read both emails--this is such an emotional roller coaster.

I got to play "Mama" today with my dear friend Matt and Mandy's daughter Kelsey. She is 18 months old and about to become a big sister. Poor Mandy has been having contractions for two days straight--the new baby--a girl--should be here any time now.

Kelsey, Mandy and I spent the day walking around town. We went shopping and went out to lunch--it was perfect. I met some other Moms here in town--and was psyched to realize that I too was going to be a Mommy--very soon.

Will post again as soon as we hear anything!!
Love-Aleisa and Patrick

Beginning of our third year...

Today marks the beginning of our third year in the journey to Maya Lily. It is our sincere hope that we receive our referral within the next week. We have been so patient--but we are both ready to be Mama and Daddy!!
Hopefully we will have news for all of you this coming week.
Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

Cherokee wisdom

What a great story to pass on to our kids, friends, anyone!! A lesson to be learned by us all.

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:
"Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Ladybug on my arm

Today we went to church with my Mom in Brooksville. When I went outside after Mass I sat down for a minute--it was such a nice day out--Patrick came over and noticed a ladybug crawling on my arm.

I took it as a sign of good things to come!

The CCAA workers should be back to work today--Monday for us-and hopefully they are busy putting the referral packets together and start sending them out this week.

It is surreal to think that we will soon see our little one's face!!

We will update the site with pictures as soon as we get them.

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

Congratulations to the Palmieri Family

Gary and Kerry Palmieri of Franklin, MA welcomed their third son Jackson Ryan to the world on Saturday!
Jackson has two older brothers Owen 5 and Kyle 3.

Gary and I worked at Dorchester High back in 2001 and have been friends ever since. We got to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom with the Palmieri's a couple of weeks ago when they came to Disney World.

Hope to see you guys when we come up to Boston in a few weeks.

Congratulations!

Aleisa and Patrick

Referral update from FHSA!

I received this email from Bonnie--our coordinator--regarding the next batch of referrals.
I want so much to believe that this is really going to happen in just a few more days (11 to be exact!!)
Please keep praying and your fingers crossed that our referral will come in the next batch.

From Bonnie:
Happy New Year to you too!

We certainly expect the CCAA to cover your lid in the next batch. Generally
speaking, referrals are issued monthly, so hopefully it will not be too much
longer. But keep in mind they have been closed for the holiday as well.
There is nothing you need to do at this point besides wait for the referral
news. You are up to date on everything.

Hang in there. I hope we have news for you soon.

My best,
Bonnie

16 months tomorrow!

We are getting so close---here's the lastest number crunching:

We started this process 722 days ago (Feb. 28, 2005)
We were DTC 515 days ago (Sept. 23, 2005)
We were LID 487 days ago (Oct. 21, 2005)

We've been fingerprinted twice, been given an I-600A twice and an I-171H twice. We've had our homestudy addended.
and WE ARE STILL WAITING!!!

We could potentially receive our referral within the next 25 days (through March 17th)

We will update you all as soon as we hear anything.

Welcome baby Finn!

Today, my cousin, Annemarie and her husband Erik welcomed their son, Finn, into the world. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 2 oz. Anne had to have a c-section--know wonder--he was a pretty big baby!
Mom and baby seem to be doing fine. I just spoke to her on the phone and she was with the nurse getting ready to feed and change Finn.
We are so happy for them and cannot wait to meet him in a few weeks.
Congratulations Annemarie and Erik!

Gung Hay Fat Choy

Happy Chinese New Year! It is the year of the pig. I just hope it the year that we become a forever family.
We spent the day at Epcot and had eggrolls in China. It was great.
Wednesday will be 16 months since our LID. It is still looking like we will receive our referral in the early part of March--15 more days and we should know something.
Jim and Jill Straka have agreed to come to China with us. We are so blessed to have them as our friends. We are going to have a great time over there with them.

Congratulations to the McCard family

Our friends Jessica and Doug McCard are very close to being able to adopt their foster child. They have had Trinity since she was six months old--she will be three in June!
Hopefully we will be celebrating our finalized adoptions together.

Map of China

Somewhere in this vast country our daughter waits for her Daddy and her Mama. We pray that she is safe, healthy and loved.
We are so close to getting our referral--it feels like waiting for Christmas when you are a little kid--the excitment is overflowing.
For Valentine's Day--Patrick bought the her a cute dress with ladybugs on it. He is going to be the best Dad.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love is in the air...hopefully with referrals flying over from China!

It does not look like we will receive our referral before Chinese New Year--which is what I had expected--so I am not overly disappointed. We can realistically expect our referral the first week of March--which is less than 20 days from now.

To all of you who have been so supportive throughout this journey--we send you our love!

To my hubby, I love you very much!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Feb. 16th

This is the date that the adoption forecast site has predicted a referral for us for awhile now! That date is this Friday--wow!
My cousin Annemarie just emailed that this is the day she is schedule to give birth to her first child. So come on CCAA--let's get those referrals in the mail Monday morning--in time for the 16th--before the CNY holiday begins.

How cool would it be if we both received our babies on the same day?

This is going to be the longest week ever--I will do my best to get through one day at a time!!

Referral countdown

No referral yet!!!
Today is the day that the Adoption Forecast site predicted we could possibly receive our referral--their prediction goes up through St. Patrick's Day (3/17).

We have approximately 25 more days before we can realistically expect our referral.

Mere Mere

Yesterday, my aunt Karen's mother, Gladys Griffey, passed away. She was affectionately known as Mere Mere. She had been diagnosed with alzheimers a few years ago.
Our deepest sympathy goes out to the Griffey Family--especially to Papa Lou.

Birthdays

The first week of February is a busy one for our family--we have six birthdays in eight days!
So Happy Birthday to:
Sam--my cousin--who on the 3rd turned 37
Jo-Jo--my stepsister--who on the 5th turned 34
Mom-aka Nana Birdie--who on the 6th turned 56
Charles--my uncle--who on the 6th turned 76
Taylor Rose--my "niece"--who on the 7th turned 13
Paul--my stepbrother--who on the 8th turned 37

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

Surprise visit

Around 7 p.m. tonight I received a phone call from my cousin Kathleen--who said, "Guess where I am?"
She had just flown into Orlando from NY for the home builders convention--it was a last minute business trip and a nice surprise.
Patrick and I met her for dinner. We ate at Raglan Road--the Irish Pub at Downtown Disney. It was great to see her.

Way to go Raheem and the Colts!

Congratulations on your first of hopefully many Superbowl appearences!! We are so proud of you.

To my dear friends in Indiana--hope you have a blast celebrating the Colts first Superbowl win!

Forever a Pat's fan!

Aleisa

Our sonogram

Referral predictions go from 6 days to 43 days

Here is what the Adoption Forecast sites about our LID
"Our prediction for LID 2005-10-21"
"Our best guess - a weighted average of recent CCAA velocities, guessing that CCAA will perform about as well in the future as they are performing now, but might return to previous trends: 2007-02-16." 14 days from now!!!!!

"That's our best guess for when you might receive your referral. For completeness, we can also show the largest likely range for your referral, based on the CCAA either going as fast as it has ever gone, or as slow as it has ever gone. The CCAA probably won't do either of these things (go as fast or as slow as it has ever gone before, and stay at that speed), so your referral is very likely to come somewhere in between these dates: 2007-02-08 (6 days from now!!!) to 2007-03-17 (43 days from now!!!!)"

History of February referrals

Last February the CCAA posted on the 26th--after Chinese Year. The month before they posted on Jan. 26th--not that this means anything to how they might post this year--but thought it was worth a mention.

May February go by super fast!!

Waiting patiently for our little one,
Aleisa and Patrick

CCAA referrals now complete up through 10/13/05

WOW--the CCAA is finally in our month--this is so exciting!! Congratulations to all of the families who waited 473 days to finally see their babies faces.
They managed to do 16 days worth of referrals in this batch-they typically do about 14 days at a time.

We are at 468 days since LID. There are only 8 days worth of referrals until they reach our date!!!!
Which means WE ARE NEXT!!!!!!

Wishful thinking would have it so that the CCAA would post referrals again before 2/16/07 (just before Chinese New Year)
It is more likely that we will get our referral in early March--which is just four weeks a way. I really believe we will have our referral in 32 days--but who is counting!!!!

I am soooooooooooooo excited!!

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

Four months til school is out!

I realized today that in four months the school year will be over. We could be traveling to China then--or just getting back--either way--we will finally be parents!!
I am getting butterflies in my stomach! I've been dreaming about Maya a lot lately. I can see everything except her face. I picture her to be very little--healthy and happy.
I just can't wait to see her face!

Four months equals 20 weeks or 120 days give or take a day...we are so close!!!

Hopefully the CCAA will post the next batch of referrals before the end of this month--which could mean that they could post our batch before Chinese New Year (Feb. 18th) I am still holding onto the belief that we will receive our referral in the beginning of March.

The countdown continues...
The Dunns

Unreal-Pats lose 38-34

Better luck next year! However a big congratulations to Raheem Brock--#79 for the Colts. He is my best friend's nephew and I wish him all the best as he makes his first trip to the Superbowl.

Beat the Bears!

15 months today

We have been LID for 457 days...WOW!
There is a slight chance we may be in the next referral batch. I think we will most likely be in the early March batch based on the number of referrals that still need to be made for the end of September. We are so close and very excited.
We will celebrate today with family and friends watching the Patriots game and eating Chinese food.
The countdown continues...
Love,
The Dunns

Happy 10th Birthday Caroline

Today my cousin and God-child Caroline is 10 years old. I had the incredible honor of bringing Caroline home from China back in September 1998. She was 20 months old at the time. We bonded immediately and have been very close ever since. She started calling me "Ba" as soon as she started talking--which ironically means father in Chinese! It was during this trip to China that I met a little girl named Lili who was 4 at the time. She and her parents were in China to adopt their second daughter--who was from the same province as Caroline. Their new baby's name was Maya. I always loved the name Lily and liked how the two names sounded together--that is how we decided to name our baby Maya Lily!
It is my hope that our daughter will have a special relationship with her cousins--Caroline and Katie (also adopted from China).
Both girls cannot wait to meet the baby.

Happy 10th Birthday Sweet Caroline--we love you and miss you.

Love,
Ba and Pancake!

Patriots do it again!

Coming from a 3-14 behind--the New England Patriots proved once again why they are a three-peat Superbowl team!

They will now face the Colts in Indiana on Sunday. I predict a Patriots/Bears Superbowl--a repeat of 1986--however--this time the Pats will be doing the Superbowl Shuffle across the field for their fourth Superbowl win since 2000!

Go Pats!

Original I 171-H expires today

Wow-I remember when we received our original I 171-H back in 2005 and thought for sure we would not have to worry about re-doing any paperwork since it was valid for 18 months! Well 18 months has come and gone! We are truly hopeful that our referral will be here within the next two months. We could actually be traveling to China this May.

This has been quite a long journey--but very much worth the wait.
We have become very patient over the past few months--which will serve us well as new parents!

Stay tuned for more details...

The Dunns

CNN controversy and our opinion.

As former newspaper reporters, Patrick and I have seen, heard and read our fair share of poor journalism stories. Recently on the Paula Zahn CNN show there was a segment about Chinese adoptions and the new restrictions in place.
As an American I believe in the First-Amendment--Freedom of Speech--however, as a journalist, I would have appreciated a more balanced story. For instance, why did they not include families who have adopted from China--or families who are in the process of adopting from China. I honestly believe that adoption is a very personal decision. In our situation, I have the honor of having two cousins that were adopted from China--they are beautiful, they are smart--but more importantly--they are loved.
My advice is always to be a critical observer of the news being presented--there are three sides to every story--the he said/she said and the truth somewhere in the middle.

Sincerely,
Aleisa and Patrick Dunn

Latest update

This information is from a company that predicts when families might get their referrals based on the current track.
Families with LID's up through 9/27/05 have received their referrals--even though the CCAA has not updated their website recently.
Here is what the forecasters predict for us!!!
"Our prediction for LID 2005-10-2:

Our best guess - a weighted average of recent CCAA velocities, guessing that CCAA will perform about as well in the future as they are performing now, but might return to previous trends: 2007-02-16

That's our best guess for when you might receive your referral. For completeness, we can also show the largest likely range for your referral, based on the CCAA either going as fast as it has ever gone, or as slow as it has ever gone. The CCAA probably won't do either of these things (go as fast or as slow as it has ever gone before, and stay at that speed), so your referral is very likely to come somewhere in between these dates: 2007-01-24 to 2007-05-16.

Since China generally sends out referrals in a batch about once per month, your referral date could easily vary +/- one month depending on whether you just get included or just get missed in a particular batch."

Historical CCAA referral information:

It took 462 days for families with 9/27/05 LID's to get their referrals.

We have been logged in to the CCAA for 439 days--almost 15 months. We are getting close. Our coordinator Bonnie emailed to say she too thinks we will receive our referral at the end of February--let's hope these predictions come true.

We are becoming fairy god-parents!!

We are pleased to announce that our dear friends Kate and Paul are expecting their second child this July. Paul and I have been friends since 1975. We lived next door to each other in Hyde Park, MA and attended elementary school together.
Kate and Paul will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary this April and have a beautiful two-year-old daughter-Gianna Angelina.

We have asked Kate and Paul to be Maya's god-parents. Since we live in Florida with Disney in our backyard-we've offered to be the new baby's fairy god-parents! We told them that we would also be Gianna's fairy god-parents too!

We wish Kate a healthy pregnancy. I am personally rooting for a July 16th delivery--my birthday--but as long as the both the baby and Kate are safe--we'll be glad for any arrival date!

Love,
The Dunns

Happy New Year-Buon Anno!

We wish all you a very happy and healthy 2007.

We hope that 2007 will finally be the year that we become parents. We will continue to post updates on our journey.

We will be at 15 months on Jan. 21--let's hope there will be some insight as to when we will get our referral.

Love and blessing to all of you.

Aleisa and Patrick

Roma 2006

We enjoyed our 6th annual Christmas trip to Rome, Italy.
We went to Babbington's English Tea Room near the Spanish Steps-it is absolutely incredible.
We hope to continue this tradition with Maya.

Eating like the Romans

Here is just a sample of what we feasted on this week. With all of the walking we did-neither of gained more than a pound!!
Food in Rome is so good-we tend to eat our way through the city!
Manga!

Holy Roma!

These are just some of the beautiful religious sights from Roma. We've enjoyed spending our Christmas vacation there for the past six years. We lit candles and prayed in every single church we visited-hope God was listening :)

Merry Christmas

I cannot believe today is Christmas-this year has gone by so fast. We are leaving for Rome in just a few hours. I am so excited! We both asked Santa for our baby girl (ha-ha). We spent Christmas Eve with family and friends. It was a lot of fun. We opened some gifts for Maya-she got some really cute outfits, little socks and hair bows.
May 2007 bring us our little angel very soon.

Merry Christmas to all,
Love The Dunns

Do you believe in Heaven?

This was the question on tonight's 20/20 with Barbara Walters and one that I have often asked throughout my life.

My father, Mark, left on the day after my 4th birthday in 1977, never to be seen or heard from again. I immediately told my friends that he had gone to "heaven." I guess because I had been taught that Heaven was a place where people go and you don't see them anymore-until you die.
As the years went by and other people that I knew died, I would say that maybe they would know where my Dad was.

I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school for a good part of my elementary education. I went to church on Sunday every week and prayed each night before I went to bed. I learned from an early age that if you are good you will go to Heaven and if you are bad you will go to Hell. It was pretty cut and dry. I never questioned it.
When I was 13 my Nana was diagnosed with cancer. I remember praying with her and for her. My cousin Annemarie and I would have Mass in the living room for Nana when she could no longer leave the house to attend church. Two years later she died. I was so angry at God. I remember not wanting to go to the cemetary knowing she was buried there. I turned to my only known belief that she was not in the ground with her casket, but in Heaven with all those who had gone before her-including my dad. This gave me the comfort of knowing that no matter how long we would be apart-that Nana was in Heaven watching over me, guiding me and waiting until we meet again.

In the 17 years that my Nana has been gone-I have had several encounters with her. The first was only a few moments after she passed away. I had spent the earlier part of the day with her at the nursing home. She was very weak and tired-but managed to make me laugh and told me she loved me. I left to go home and a few hours later I felt this strange feeling in the middle of my chest--it wasn't painful-more like the wind being knocked out of me. I immediately picked up the phone and called the nursing home. The nurse asked if I was a relative and finally put my aunt on the phone. My aunt couldn't believe that I had just called--it was only minutes before that Nana had passed. I believe that what I felt was her soul traveling through me to Heaven. She needed to have me feel her presence one more time.

Several months later I was in a very serious accident and spent several months in the hospital. When the accident happend, I remember feeling like I was watching the whole scene from outside of myself. I felt like I was suspended between Heaven and Earth--it was incredible--I was not afraid-but I do remember hearing someone--maybe Nana--saying it was not my time.
I underwent several surgeries to repair my leg. The last one-the most complicated one-required two surgeries at the same time. I remember laying on the table in the operating room and the nurse placing a blanket on me. The doctor and the nurses stepped out of the room for a minute--not sure why--but I remember feeling a hand on my shoulder-I looked up and my Nana's image was there-she was telling me that everything was going to be ok.
I came through the surgery and recovery with flying colors. I can still cartwheel and tap dance all these years later!

Ok, back to the Heaven question: I do believe in Heaven. I believe that someday, when it is the right time, I will once again see my father, Nana, my cousin Matthew, Grandma, Papa, Danielle, Ernie, Gary, Todd, Uncle Tony, baby Kevin and baby Charlie, Nonnie and Papa Struzziery, Grandpa Fleming, Non and Grandpa Tom, and everyone else that I know who has passed away.

I believe and I pray that they are no longer suffering and are watching over those they have left behind and are waiting to be reunited with all of us someday.

Aleisa

I 171-H approval received today!

This was a very nice Christmas present from the USCIS--we have once again been approved to adopted a foreign born child. Hopefully we will not have to renew this again.

A big thank you to Ms. Maldonado at the Orlando USCIS office--it was so nice meeting you and I will certainly send you a picture of our daughter!

Now hopefully a referral will soon follow this approval letter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick Dunn

21 months today

Hello and Happy Holiday to all of you!

Today marks the 14th month since we've been logged into to the CCAA in China.
Those of you who know me know that I am not great at math--so I've allowed technology to assist me to keep track of how many days it has been since we were DTC (dossier to China)--which is 454 days. We were DTC on 9/23/05. We've been logged in for 426 days. If we want to get technical and count since we officially began our homestudy--which was February 28, 2005--then we have been on this journey for 661 days!

Now for some hopeful news...one agency has posted on their website that referrals have been coming in for those who are at 15 months-for us that would be Jan. 21, 2007--or 31 days from now!

However, the people who have been tracking referrals for quite sometime predict that based on the number of recent referrals and our LID--we should get our referral on Feb. 21, 2007--which is 62 days from now!

Either way-we are only one or two months away from finally seeing our baby girl's precious face. Patrick and I are so excited!

We ask that you continue to keep Maya in your thoughts and prayers during the holidays. As I've said before, I do believe that she may have been born this past summer---she may not know that it is Christmas time or that her Mommy and Daddy are coming for her very soon. We pray that she is being well cared for, is warm and loved.

Thank you for all of your love and support throughout our journey.
Love always,
Aleisa and Patrick

Referrals may be on the way

According to my favorite site--the rumor queen--referrals may be coming before Christmas. At least two agencies are reporting this. At the same time another agency is reporting that the referrals will come after Christmas and two more are saying no referrals until the beginning of the New Year--I guess it all depends on who you want to believe.
In my heart-I believe we will have a referral by the end of February and will travel to China at the beginning of May. I have nothing concrete to basis this on-except for a maternal instinct (ha-ha).

I met Ms. Maldonado at the USCIS office in Orlando today. I had mistakenly mailed them a check for our I-600A renewal application instead of giving them a money order. She was very kind and showed me the stack of families waiting for I-171H's--all of which were for China. She placed our packet on the top of the pile. She said that we had all of our documents necessary for approval--that made me very happy!!!!

Hopefully we can get through Christmas with a positive attitude and an open mind that 2007 will finally be the year that our family is complete.

Love always,
Aleisa and Patrick

Happy 15th Birthday Georgie

Happy 15th Birthday to my nephew George Williams.
I was a freshman in college when he was born. His mother, Jody, is my oldest girlfriend. She and I have been friends since 1977!
Georgie was the best baby. I remember spending my Christmas break from college with him. He had this little santa outfit for Christmas that year. I would hold him for hours, feed him his bottles, and yes, change his diapers.
George is now a freshman in high school--hard to believe! He will always be my first "baby".

Hope you had a great day!
Love always,
Auntie Aleisa and Uncle Patrick

Happy 1st Birthday Colin

Happy Birthday to our nephew Colin Matthew Dunn who today turns 1!

We love you and miss you.

Love Auntie Aleisa and Uncle Patrick

Couldn't help myself!

With Christmas just two weeks away--I couldn't help but buy some presents for Maya. She is certainly here in my heart and in spirit--I just cannot wait til the day she is here for real.

I came across this poem and thought it was very appropriate for where we are in this very long journey.

"Inside My Heart"
Somewhere far across the sea
Waits a little heart for me
Amazing though how it may seem
We both are sharing the same dream.
I long to tuck you in at night
And hold your tiny hand so tight
To kiss your tears and keep you near
To chase away your every fear.
No one knows the tears I've cried
The emptiness I've felt inside
Only God knew what to do
A red thread tied from me to you.
And now my love, it's almost time
When I'll be yours, and you'll be mine
Soon forever-never to part
My child I bore inside my heart.
-Author unknown-

We've been logged in for 416 days. According to the forecast site--best case scenario for a referral is Jan. 8, 2007. I still think we will not hear anything until at least February.

Love,
Aleisa

Happy 99th Birthday to my Nana

99 years ago today my Nana, Alice Catherine Daggett was born in South Boston, MA. She was the second child to George and Catherine (Pierce) Daggett. She lived in Southie until she was five years old. My great-grandfather built a house in Quincy, MA on Farrington Street. There she lived with her younger siblings, Laura, Eileen and the twins Wallace and Frank. Her older sister Mary died of whooping cough when she was two years old.
Nana attend Quincy Public Schools and graduated from North Quincy High School in 1924. She went on to become a nurse and worked throughout the city of Boston. We learned later on that she had been awarded a scholarship to attend Yale Medical School to become a doctor-which was not common in those days. She turned down the offer to be close to home to help care for her father-who was sick at the time.
She met my grandfather, Charles Fleming, in the late 30's. He was from Charlestown, MA and worked as a fireman. They married in September of 1938. Two years later they had their first son, Charles (Chip). They lived on Myrtle Bank Ave. in Dorchester, MA. Eventually my grandparents had three more sons, Michael (1942), Peter (1945) and Mark, my father, (1947). Since the family had grown, they moved to Adams Street. My grandfather died of cancer in 1964. Nana continued to live on Adams Street until 1973. She then returned to Quincy where she lived until she died in 1989.
She was the proud grandmother of Kathleen and Michael Fleming (Michael's two children) Annemarie Fleming-Stenfors (Chip's daughter) and me.

Growing up I had the honor of spending every weekend, school and summer vacation with Nana. We would take day trips into Boston and spend the day at the Public Gardens or the Boston Common. We would walk over to the North End, Quincy Market, Chinatown--you name it we saw it. We would spend hours at Castle Island in Southie at the beach or a Wollaston Beach.
Nana would take me to the ice skating rink in the winter for my lessons and spend four to five hours there watching me skate! She never complained about being cold or tired. I remember trying to get her to carry me to car because my feet hurt! She would attend all of my recitals for dance and gymnastics.

Nana taught me how to cook, how to sew, how to read, how to spell my name, how to tell time, how to pray and how to love!
She was my best friend. It has been almost 17 years since she has been gone-which is longer than the years we had together. However the memories we created will last a lifetime. I can only hope and pray that I can teach my daughter all that she taught me.

I know that Nana is watching over us. She and I had a song that we would sing together.. it was "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder. Over the years when significant events in my life have happend--like my graduation from college, my wedding day and moving to Florida--this song has come on without any warning--like a message from her to me to let me know that she is still with me.

So today I just wanted to "call to say I love you" on what would have been your 99th birthday. I miss you and love.
Love,
Aleisa

13.5 months today

Today marks our 13.5 months (411 days) since our LID. Our coordinator thought back in early October that we "might" receive our referral around this time... however--the CCAA has only matched up through Sept. 8th--there are a few families with dates of 9/11 through 9/14 that also received their referral--which means there are still more than 40 days worth of LIDs to be matched before they reach 10/21.

Today also would have been Nonnie's birthday. I know that she is watching over us.

The ladybugs are still "hanging out" on the front of the house--I guess they are trying to tell us something!

Love,
The Dunns

Referral forecast

Here is the latest on the referral wait time...

According to a website that tracks wait times and referrals stated that based on the current trend--we should expect our referral on Feb. 21, 2007--which is our 16 month anniversary!

The best case scenario would be a referral on Jan. 8, 2007--which is only one month away.

Either way--it is expected to be here within the next 12 weeks--yeah--we are really getting excited about this!

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

More Ladybugs on the house

I can't believe it--three more ladybugs on the house today!!!
We took pictures of them. I will download them later.

We are both getting really excited about this whole process and can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Have a great day!
Aleisa and Patrick

Ladybug sightings

Over the weekend we have had three ladybug sightings! Patrick found one in the mailbox on Friday. Then on Saturday we saw one next to the doorbell and another one above the front door.

Ladybugs are considered a sign of good luck in the Chinese Adoption world.

So if we "analyze" these sightings--it could mean that soon there will be a notice in the mail (Our updated I-171H)
The one at the doorbell could be the FedEx delivery person bringing our referra!!!! (Soon I hope)
The one over the front door could be that soon Maya will be carried through the front door as we welcome her home.

We've been logged in for 408 days as of today.

If the referrals continue as they have been--we could possibly have our referral in 40 days which would be on or around Jan. 13th--we would be at 15 months on Jan. 21st--so I am thinking it could be the end of the month when we would actually know. Ironically Jan. 13th is when our original I-171-H is set to expire. We sent in the updated application last week. The countdown continues--stay tuned as the details of this journey continue to twist and turn!!!

Have a great day!

Love,
The Dunns

Adding Chinese elements into our home

We've added several Chinese items in our house. I love the picture of the Temple of Heaven. Patrick bought it at a yard sale for $2! We really feel it is important to have Maya's culture reflected in our home. We've been celebrating Chinese New Year for the past five years. The dishes in the hutch were a gift from Jim and Jill at our baby shower. They are so beautiful. Someday we hope to give them to Maya when she is older.

The bathing suits and the Celebration onesie

Baby Clothes

We have Chinese dresses, a Red Sox dress, a Patriots dress (I am from Boston originally!!) A sweatshirt from Italy (Daddy is Italian) an Irish dress (We are both Irish) a lady bug bathing suit ( I couldn't resist) and of course a Nemo bathing suit. She has more clothes and shoes-I know we are probably going to need some smaller sizes--these are all 12-18 months. The USA outfit is the one I hope to bring her home in!
So far all of these outfits shown represent all of our cultures--kind of nice being a blended family. It will be interesting when she is old enough to go to school and she says "I am Chinese, Irish, Italian-American" and has a Boston accent--she'll be talkin like her Mutha!

Maya's nursery

Here are some photos of Maya's room.

CCAA Update

They have sent referrals to families up through Sept. 8, 2005. This means they managed to do 14 days worth of referrals since the previous update on Nov. 2nd.

Congratulations to all of you who made it into this batch. It looks like we could be two or three batches away!

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

13 months since LID

Here we go again! We are at 13 months today and still no official word on when we will receive our referral. I remember last year on Thanksgiving I said that I was looking forward to this Thanksgiving because the baby would be here--so much for that.
I am really trying to stay positive about all of this--but I feel like I am in a really bad dream. I sometimes think that someone is playing a really cruel joke on us--but like I said--I am really trying to stay positive!!!!

We are at 395 days since LID.

Please keep Maya in your thoughts-I truly believe she is already born and is waiting patiently for her Mommy and Daddy.

Love always,
The Dunns

National Adoption Day

Today is National Adoption Day!
To all of you who have adopted or are in the process of adopting--you are very special! There are so many children in the world who need a loving family to call their own.
We wlll be at 13 months since LID tomorrow--hopefully we are getting closer to receiving our referral date.

Congratulations Palmer family on getting your sweet baby JoLeigh today! We look forward to seeing pictures of her when you return from China.

Happy 7th Wedding Anniversary

To my dear husband Patrick-

Seven years ago I became Mrs. Patrick Dunn--I am honored to be your wife and best friend. We have shared so many wonderful times together and have created so many wonderful traditions. We have also faced many challenges--yet through it all we have grown stronger.

I love you more with each passing day and I am grateful for the love we share with one another.

You are going to be the best Dad for our little girl--just like you have been the best husband to me.

All my love,
Aleisa

The Paper Pregnancy

People often ask, "So how far along are you?" regarding our adoption process. It feels like we have been saying the same thing forever--we are still waiting for a referral. People will often ask if we will get the same child as before...which I then have to explain that since we have yet to receive a referral--we have not been matched with a child--so the answer is no, because there is no "same child as before."
I know this hasn't been easy for everyone to grasp. So I found something that refers to the adoption process as a "paper pregnancy."

Here's how it works:

1. Deciding on a country, submitting the USCIS I-600A form and completing the homestudy is similiar to attempting getting pregnant.

2. Receiving I-171H approval is similar to finding out that you are pregnant.

3. The Dossier being completed, sent and logged in is similar to the length of the pregnancy. However most pregnancies last between 35-40 weeks and we are currently at almost 13 months since being logged in--I guess this is now more like an elephant's pregnancy--which lasts 24 months :) lol.

4. The referral is like getting your first ultrasound--you can see the baby--even though they are not quite ready to come out.

5. Traveling to China is the labor part of the process--18 hours there and 18 hours back--this does not include travel time within the country--or the waiting period--which I can tell you is very laborous!!

6. Gotcha Day--is the delivery day--the moment we have all been waiting for!! It will be full of emotions that run from one extreme to the next. Any woman who has given birth can tell you this-same as anyone who has witnessed a birth.

So we are still at part three of the process. We hope to move through the next three sections quickly in order to celebrate!

Hope this helps explain the situation we are in.

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

This poem pretty much sums up how I have been feeling

I don't know who wrote this poem-but it certainly summarized how I have been feeling lately about the wait time and knowing that someday soon--we will have our daughter.

“I Wish Someone Had Told Me”

I wish someone had told me 

Just how it was going to be

To look at your sweet pictures

And see you looking at me

But not be able to hold you

Or hug you so very tight

To hear you call me Mama

Or watch you sleep at night

I wish someone had told me

I’d have to see you cry

But not be there to comfort you

Or to gently wipe your eye

I can’t pick you up and kiss you

On your cheek so wet with tears

I can’t calm you, say I love you

Chase away all of your fears

I wish someone had told me

IfI do all that I can do

I’ll still just be here waiting

And I’ll know you’re waiting too

I wish someone would tell you

That we are coming soon

You have a Mommy and Daddy

Who think you’re the sun and the moon

There is nothing we can do here

Only sit and wait…

But we promise you our darling

There will soon be a date

I hope that they will tell you

So that you will be prepared

To meet everyone who loves you so

And all this time have cared

We’ll pick you up and kiss you

We’ll hug away your fears

And when we meet, you’ll know it’s us
,
For we’ll both be wearing tears

-Author Unknown-

January LID's are out of the review room

I guess the CCAA will have to make some more room in the matching room...the website stated that all LID's up through Jan. 31st are out of the review room--which means they are now in the matching room with the remaining six days of August, all of September, all of October, all of November and all of December--it's getting pretty crowded in there!! Maybe things will start to pick up to make room for the January families.

Keeping our fingers crossed for a referral soon.

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

CCAA referrals now complete up through 8/25/05

We are two batches away from a referral!! I am overwhelmed with joy--and happy tears. It is being predicted that the next batch will go through Oct. 8th --sometime in December and the following batch will go through Oct. 24th--sometime in late January/early February.

The CCAA did 16 days worth of referrals in this current batch. There are still 57 days worth of LID's to be referred until our date is reached.

The CCAA would have to do atleast 44 days worth of LID's in the next batch in order of us to be referred in the batch after that one.
If they continue doing 16 days every 60 days--it will take 3.75 months--which from now is the end of February.

Congratulations to all of you have finally received your referrals--your babies are beautiful and are waiting for you to come to China.

Love, Aleisa and Patrick

Referral wait times update

Referral Wait
"The wait is about 15 months from log in date. We do expect a longer wait through 2006. The wait is hard but we have seen very long waits in the past. Time can seem to pass slowly and we will wait with you for that precious moment. We will let you know if we get any updated information regarding wait time."

This is from a China-only agency that we were planning on using if we still lived in Boston. I trust their information because they have an excellent relationship with the CCAA--I really like my agency in Florida--they just do not post this type of information on their site.

15 months for us is Jan. 21, 2007--so we will most definately have to update our I171-H by Jan. 13th. We could potentially be traveling late March/early April.

Stay tuned as things seem to change on a regular basis.

Love,
Aleisa and Patrick