Our Journey to Maddison: Introducing Dang Wen Jia (Maddison)

INTRODUCING......

Dang Wen Jia

Well, it has been extremely hard not to say anything about our little girl! During our visit to CCAI and participating in the Chinese New Year's celebration, the gals from the match department surprised us with our little girl. We had been touring the facilities on Friday, the 20th, when they took us to the conference room to answer any questions we had. Robin and I didn't have any real questions, but asked a few to be polite. It seemed strange at the time, 3 of the gals (2 from the dossier department and 1 from the waiting child department) were in the room with us. As we were about done, they asked us if we would like to see an example file of a child. This would be what we would get when we were presented with a potential child. We said yes, who wouldn't want to see! They opened the file and there were some pictures of a child. We weren't sure if it was a boy or girl (orphanages cut their hair short, so its hard to tell). Robin was brave and said, "Isn't she a beautiful girl!". The three gals started crying and said - this is your little girl! We were stunned!!! We didn't know what to say, just flipped through pictures and her file. She was born on November 15, 2010. We were told she has a unilateral cleft lip and cleft palate. Her cleft lip has been repaired, but will need her palate repaired when she gets home.

Here's a little background from her file:

"This female infant was abandoned on November 20, 2010 in Hebi, Shancheng District, in the worker’s village at the Tanghe Bridge Wu mine. After some warm-hearted people discovered her, they alerted the police. The Hebi City Public Security Bureau Hongqi Police Station conducted a thorough search, and as they could not find her parents or other relatives, she was confirmed an abandoned infant. That day, she was delivered to the Hebi City Social Welfare Institute. Our institute’s generational character for 2010 was Wen, and so we named her Wen Jia.

Little Wen Jia is especially calm. When someone calls for her or teases her, she will squint, smile, and look at them. While playing with a toy, as soon as you call her name, she will turn her head and look at you, waiting for you to come play with her. She looks like an obedient little girl, and her heart is full of warmth. We hope that Wen Jia can develop even healthier and sturdier from here on out, and soon go home to a family to give her warmth.

Currently, Dang Wen Jia is developing healthily and happily. We hope that she can become an even cuter and livelier little girl. We wait for Wen Jia’s family to soon come be at her side, and give her warmth and joy!"

Here are a few pictures of the gals who surprised us at CCAI. Once we got over the shock, 3 additional girls from the office came into the conference room. Apparently, they were all in on this surprise! We were told they usually have to call adoptive parents on the phone and send them an email with file. We were only the third couple (out of almost 10,000 adoptions) that they had been able to present their child in person. We feel extremely blessed. Between Robin and the gals, I think they went through a hold box of tissues!

Location of Maddison's Orphanage (Hebi, China)

Once we finished up at CCAI and got over the initial shock, we headed back to the hotel. On the way, we ran by the church where the Chinese New Year's celebration would be on Saturday so we would know where to go. We parked in the parking lot and called our parents and shared with them our news. I think everyone was stunned, but extremely excited. When we got back to the hotel, we sent everyone the files on Maddison.

Before we left CCAI, they told us we could have a week to review her file and make our decision about Maddison. We had talked to Uncle Bob and a retired pediatrician from our church about reviewing her file when we got it. We sent the file to Uncle Bob that Friday and heard back Friday night. He thought it looked good. After we got back into Idaho Falls, we talked to Dr. Leachelt on Monday. He reviewed the pictures and blood work paperwork. He thought she looked very healthy and didn't see any "Red Flags". We had lunch with Doug and Suzie Daley on Monday. They returned last January from China with a little boy who had a cleft lip and cleft palate. They thought she looked adorable and her condition and report from China was very similar to Seth's. We had been talking to them about treatments and where they had Seth's palate repaired. They have become very dear friends and we appreciate their insight and advice. On Tuesday, I contacted our HR department and once again verified that our insurance would cover her medical condition. We had such a peaceful feeling about adoption this little girl. Thanks to the Lord for that confirmation. Everything looked good so Robin and I contacted CCAI during lunch on Tuesday and said she was ours!!!!

Wouldn't you know it, more PAPERWORK! They sent us a file with directions on what is needed to "lock" our girl in. We had to write a Letter of Intent (LOI) saying we want Wen Jia, include another family picture, and passport photos of Robin and I. Since it was the week of Chinese New Year, we had till Friday to get everything emailed back to CCAI so it could get translated and entered into the system once Chinese New Year celebration was over and everyone was back to work. Our paperwork was submitted on 1/30/12. We now had to wait for Pre-Approval (PA) from the Chinese government before we could officially say she is our girl. Well, today we got that approval! We received an email from CCAI with a copy of our PA. Now we wait some more!!! Our paperwork will now be translated in China and then they will approve us for adopting Maddison. This is taking anywhere from 2 - 4 months. Then its back to immigration for our countries approval. I'm estimating we will probably travel in late May or June. Pray that our paperwork moves quicker and we can get Maddison home sooner.

Robin was out on the web looking for information on Maddison's orphanage in Hebi. Our adoption agency supports many orphanages in China and donates a lot of supplies that are needed to help care for these precious children. Last October, they had donated bouncy chairs to her orphanage. Wouldn't you know it, there was Maddison in the pictures (in pink). There are two pictures, one with her in a bouncy chair, and one where she is missing! Apparently, she has crawled off - we may have our hands full!!! Here are the pictures along with a photo of her orphanage.