Johnson Family Journal

13 Months - Again!

2012-02-01T12:38:00.000-06:00

Thirteen months ago we were added to the waitlist for our adoption from Taiwan. We started out at number 9 and then moved up fairly quickly, averaging about one spot per month. When we hit #1 the first of October we figured the same progression would continue and we would have our referral soon. For some reason that hasn’t happened and we have now been #1 for 4 months. I guess it’s true that nothing is predictable when it comes to the adoption process. When we started out we were told to expect 9 to 18 months wait for our referral, so I guess we are still within that timeframe. When we started our first adoption from China we were told it would be a 6 month wait and it ended up being 13 months. So, here we are at month 13 again. Hopefully month 13 will be lucky for us again. We aren’t sure why this is taking so long, but we can only trust that the child God has chosen to be a part of our family just isn’t available yet and that God has a better plan in mind than we can imagine.

Overdue

2011-10-01T14:11:00.002-05:00

Well, this week will mark our 40th week since our paperwork was complete and we were added to the waitlist for our adoption from Taiwan. So, I guess you could say we will soon be past our “due” date so to speak. The problem is we don’t know if we’ll be days, weeks or even months “overdue”. The good news, however, is that we found out last night that we’re now #1 on the list! That means we’re next! Can't wait to finally find out who God has picked out to be part of our family. Then the final waiting period can begin.

Shocked!

2011-09-08T07:54:00.003-05:00

I had a shocking conversation with Maya as I was putting her to bed last night. There obviously was a little more to it than this, but here are the good parts.
Maya: I kissed a boy at school today.
Me: What?!?!
Maya: I kissed a boy at school today.
Me: On the lips??
Maya: Yes. (Giggle, Giggle.....)
Me: Why?
Maya: I want to marry him.
Me: What's he look like?
Maya: Well, . . . he had on this REALLY cool Spiderman shirt.
A few questions later:
Maya: I don't think he's going to wear it to the wedding though.
Me and Maya: LOL!!!!!!
Yikes! I think we may have our hands full with this one in the coming years.

First Day

2011-08-19T13:27:00.009-05:00

In Maya's own words her first day of Kindergarten was "Awesome"! She woke up yesterday to a rainbow in the sky to start out the day. It hadn't rained where we were, but there was a beautiful rainbow outside. I went in late to work so I could take her to school on her first day. I was in the other room and she came in all dressed and ready to go. Usually I am dressing her while she's still half asleep. We had an hour or so to kill before we had to go, so we played Clifford Uno, her favorite thing to do lately. When we got to school we were early so we went to the playground for a little while before the bell rang and everyone dashed for the doors. The teachers lined them up and walked them into their room. She was so excited! Around lunch time I got an email from her teacher saying that Maya was having a great day and that she is a joy to have in class. That was so nice and reassuring. I had a meeting in the afternoon so Maya took the bus home and stayed at the neighbor's house until Jeff got home. I asked the neighbor to text me to let me know she made it home okay. School was out at 2:15 and at 2:45 I hadn't heard anything. I waited and waited and waited. Finally at 3:00 I called and she had made it home okay, but the neighbor had forgotten to call me. I knew she was probably okay, but you never know for sure. When we had a chance to talk she said that her favorite parts of the day were recess and riding the bus. She really enjoyed her day and was excited to go back today!

Kindergarten!

2011-08-17T18:45:00.007-05:00

We have a Kindergartener! Yes, Maya is starting Kindergarten tomorrow. A couple of weeks ago we went out to buy her school supplies. I expected something like a Hello Kitty notebook and folder, but when we got to the store she saw a notebook that she just had to have. . . . . Justin Beiber! I don’t know how she even knows who he is, but apparently she does. I tried to change her mind by showing her the Hello Kitty ones, but it was to no avail. I was successful on the choice of folder however, so we ended up with a Justin Beiber notebook and a cute kitten folder. Last night was “Back to School Night”, where we got to go in and meet her teacher, see the classroom and take in all of her school supplies. Her teacher, Ms. Ferguson, seemed really nice. I thought I was fine with the whole Kindergarten thing, thinking it wouldn’t really be that much different than sending her to daycare every day. Then I read the poem that the teacher gave us:

The First Day

I gave you a little wink and smile

As you entered my room today.

For I know how hard it is to leave

And know your child must stay.

You've been with her for five years now

And have been a loving guide,

But now, alas, the time has come

To leave her at my side.

Just know that as you drive away

And tears down your cheeks may flow

I'll love her as I would my own

And help her learn and grow.

So please put your mind at ease

And cry those tears no more

For I will love her and take her in

When you leave her at my door.

Okay, that made my eyes tear up a little. So, this morning I dropped Maya off at Kool Kids Child Care for the last time. She has been there since I went back to work after we brought her back from China nearly 5 years ago. We made a little thank you card and flower for the two teachers she has had for the last two years, Ms. Deb and Ms. Becki. She gave Ms. Becki hers this morning and as they talked the tears started forming in my eyes again. I guess this might be harder than I thought. Maya is super excited though. She keeps saying she can’t believe she’s starting Kindergarten tomorrow! I bet she won't sleep much tonight.

Update - We Are Now:

2011-07-16T17:11:00.004-05:00

Adoption Update #3

2011-05-16T12:10:00.001-05:00

I know, I know what about update #2 you might ask. Well, as you know we got our first update the first part of February and after one month on the wait list we had already moved up 2 places from #9 to #7. Then update #2 came the first part of March and we hadn't moved at all. We didn't get an update in April, because the Taiwan case manager was in Taiwan and then on vacation. So I finally got our update call the first week of May and I was shocked to find out we are now #3! I had heard different things through the grapevine over the last month or so that made me think we were #5, but I was really surprised to learn that we were already at #3. So, I went home after work and told Jeff that I had gotten the call from Kate. I asked him and Maya to guess what number we were on the wait list. Jeff guessed that we had moved backwards somehow and were now at #9 again?? Then Maya thought about it a little and said #3. I said, "You're right!". Jeff was shocked and excited just like I was. Maya was excited too, although I'm not sure if it was excitement about being #3 or about guessing the right answer! Anyway, this means we have moved up 6 spaces in 4 months time. Let's just pray that this type of progress continues!

Adoption Update #1

2011-02-03T13:02:00.000-06:00

Since we are now on the waiting list we were told that we will be getting monthly phone calls from our agency to see how we’re doing and to update us on our place on the list. Since we have been on the list for one month now, I was expecting to get our first update call any day. However, my expectations were not very high. I was fully expecting to hear that we were still #9 on the list. Yesterday Maya’s daycare was closed due to the blizzard we were having, so I was at home with her when Kate from AGCI called with our first update. She informed me that there were two placements last month and we are now #7 on the list! Wow, was I surprised. Maya was the only one there to tell, so I told her, but I didn’t really think she cared or knew what I was really talking about. I decided that when Jeff got home I would ask him if he was expecting us to move up or still be #9 before I told him the news, because I’m pretty sure he thought we would still be #9 as well. So when he got home I told him that Kate had called with our update, but before I could say anything else, Maya blurted out “We’re #7!” Jeff looked at me in surprise and I shook my head yes. I guess Maya did know what I was talking about after all. I’m sure we can’t expect this kind of progress every month, but it was good to start off on a high note. For some reason #7 sounds so much better than #9. It is finally starting to feel real!

Number Nine

2010-12-31T10:42:00.001-06:00

We found out yesterday that our dossier was approved and we are officially on the wait list! We are currently family number 9 on the list. That may not sound like a lot, but this program is so small that it may take a while for that many babies to be born. We were told yesterday to expect a 9 to 18 month wait for a referral, which is a lot longer than we had expected. Morning Light Home sent out 165 letters this week to village leaders to try and get the word out about their programs to help pregnant women in need. In a country where there are more abortions each year than there are live births and up to 50% of all Taiwanese women have had an abortion this program truly is shining a light in the darkness. Please pray that these letters will reach the leaders and young women that need to hear this message so that many more lives can be saved. Also, that this new year will be filled with many referrals for the families that would love to welcome these babies into their families!

Waiting Again

2010-12-29T10:22:00.001-06:00

Well, after 6 months of never-ending paperwork, 4 homestudy visits with our social worker, 6 online education courses plus an education workbook, medical exams, fingerprinting for FBI background checks, and numerous delays, our dossier has finally been sent to our agency. We received our final homestudy in the mail as an early Christmas present on Thursday, December 23 and had everything notarized that same day. We then headed to Des Moines on Monday, December 27 to the Secretary of State’s office to have everything state certified. When we left there we went to lunch and did a little shopping. We stopped to have everything copied and mailed when I realized that one of the state certifications was done wrong. So, we had to go back to the office and have that one redone. Luckily I noticed it before we got out of town or had it sent in already. Then we stopped at the UPS store on the way home and had everything copied and put in the mail. This time we weren’t so lucky, however, because today I realized that the guy at the UPS store that made the copies forgot to copy the backside of the homestudy sheets, so all of the copies are missing several pages. The good news, however, is that I just heard back from our agency and they said they can make the copies for us there, so we won’t have to resend it. Once our agency receives our dossier it will be sent to Taiwan and we will be put on the waiting list. So, after 12 months of waiting for the program to open plus 6 months of paperwork, now the official waiting begins. We really have no idea what kind of time frame we are looking at to get a referral. We do know that once we receive our referral there is approximately a 4 to 6 month court process that needs to be completed before we can travel to bring our child home. So, originally we thought it would be sometime next year, but now we’re not so sure. It just depends upon how many families are on the waiting list in front of us, how soon that number of babies is born and how quickly our court process goes. It really would be nice to have a special Christmas present home with us next year though or even earlier than that if possible!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2010-10-15T11:47:00.001-05:00

Following are some funny conversations Maya and I have had lately.

A few weeks back we were driving to Humboldt. Maya was hungry and wanted to stop and get a snack. Me: There aren’t many places to stop between here and there, but maybe we can stop when we get to Webster City.
Maya: Are we at Website yet?

This morning I was wearing jeans and a casual fun shirt for work because it is Friday and we can dress down. As we were walking out the door this was our conversation:
Maya: Are those the kind of clothes you wear to work on Fridays?
Me: Yeah.
Maya: Why, because you want to look awesome on Fridays?
Me: (Laugh) Why? Don’t I look awesome all the other days?
Maya: No, you just look like a big old lady!

“Beihai Sisters” Reunion

2010-08-05T12:09:00.005-05:00

On October 16, 2006 we held our daughter, Maya, for the first time. We didn’t realize at the time that we not only gained a daughter on that day, but an entire extended family as well. The seven other families that received their daughters with us on that day have become like family to us. We spent two weeks together in China as we all adjusted to being new parents and we share many common memories of those days. We have a reunion every summer so that the girls can stay connected with each other. This year it was at Paris Landing State Park in Tennessee. They play, swim, laugh and just enjoy being with other girls that share a common background. I’m sure at this young age they don’t realize the incredible bond they share, but hopefully as they grow older they can stay connected and have each other to lean on and share their feelings about their adoption. The “Beihai Sisters”, as we call them, will have many memories of their annual reunions to share as well. At the top of the list, I’m sure, will be all the pictures they had to pose for over the years!

Following the Leader

2010-06-21T12:21:00.000-05:00

The idea of adopting again had been stirring in my heart for quite some time, but with the wait for another child from China estimated to be 5 to 8 years or more we weren’t sure what direction to go with it. So, I contacted our previous agency to see if they had any suggestions. One year ago yesterday we met with them and one of the first things out of the social worker’s mouth was “We just opened Taiwan!” Jeff and I looked at each other as if to say, okay, this is where the Lord is leading us. Well, it wasn’t as simple as it sounds. The agency sent us the information on the program the next week and everything looked like a perfect fit for us. Even though we were pretty sure we were going to move forward with it, we gave it a few weeks and then decided to fill out the pre-application. That’s when we found out that they had made a mistake and the program was only going to be open to families who would accept children with special needs. We were devastated. So Jeff suggested that we check into other agencies that might have Taiwan programs. That’s when I found All God’s Children. I stumbled upon their website and saw that they were starting a pilot birth mother program for healthy infants in Taiwan! I contacted them right away and was told that it was currently just a pilot program and the official program would be opening by the end of the year. We submitted our pre-application on September 16th and were pre-approved on September 22nd. Then in November I contacted them again and was told the program wouldn’t be opening until spring. On November 19th I got an email newsletter from them saying that they were looking for volunteers to go on a mission trip to Taiwan to help paint the birth mother home, which was also the current baby home. I thought it would be awesome to be able to go paint and prepare the home where our future son or daughter and his or her birthmother lived, but didn’t know how I would convince Jeff. Then there was a sign … within a couple of hours of finding out about this mission trip I received another email from AGCI that said “Dear Pam, Thank you for your interest in attending or leading an Embrace Missions trip with All God’s Children International. . . .” What? I didn’t tell anyone I was interested. . . .except God! Well, God opened many doors to lead us on that trip. Surprisingly, Jeff was on board as soon as I mentioned it to him. Originally it was only going to be open to groups, so I sort of dismissed the idea, but in the back of my mind I still wanted to go. Then on December 10th I found out they were opening the trip to individuals! Our application was in the mail a few weeks later and we left for Taiwan on May 5th. It was an amazing trip. As it turned out they got a building for the new Hannah’s Hope Home just a few days before we arrived and we ended up painting and preparing that home instead of the birth mothers home. I even got to design and draw all of the murals for the baby rooms! The rest of the team that went was made up of AGCI staff, so we got to know them and learn more about the program. We were told that we would probably be able to enter the pilot program as soon as we returned home, before the program is officially open! As soon as we got home I contacted them and they said we could start the process right away. We sent in our application on June 2nd, Jeff’s Birthday, and were approved on June 10th! On June 15th we had our orientation call with AGCI and found out that we are only the 22nd family to enter the pilot program. Four families have completed their adoptions and the others are all at different stages in the process. So, that brings us to where we are today. Let the paperwork begin!