The Maron Family Blog

Another First

2010-10-08T18:01:00.000-05:00

When you adopt an older child you miss out on a lot of firsts. We missed Kassy's first time walking and her first words. I guess we can say we were around for her first English word (good morning). She has had a loose tooth for weeks but today it finally came out and she has another one that is loose.

First Day of School

2010-08-22T17:00:00.001-05:00

Wednesday was the first day of school for all 4 girls. This will be the first and last year that all 4 will be in public school. Kristy started kindergarten, Kassy started 1st grade, Kelly is a junior and Kourtney is a senior.

Kristy's 3rd Gotcha Day

2010-07-16T20:31:00.001-05:00

Three years ago today we met a 2 year old in Guangzhou, China for the first time. She has been spending the summer playing with her new sister Kassy, taking swim lessons at the "Y", going to VBS, fishing, and going to the beach at her Grandmama,s house. We went to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate. As you can see Kristy could eat her weight in shrimp. Kristy will start kindergarten next month.

Yang Starts School

2010-02-28T20:44:00.000-05:00

I will post a picture later but we wanted to let everyone to know that Yang starts kindergarten tomorrow. She is really excited to start. She went Friday to visit her class. She ate lunch with them and went to music. She has had an English explosion this week so the little girl that was scared to come to America because of her fear of being able to speak English is well on her way. First day of school pictures tomorrow.

Chinese New Year 2010 - Year of the Tiger

2010-02-23T06:22:00.002-05:00

Saturday was our FCC Chinese New Year celebration. We started the party by doing some art work and making dumplings. The dinner was take out and homemade Chinese food. The highlight was the dragon dance where the kids got to set off fireworks (stomping bubble wrap).

Xin Nian Kua Le! Happy Chinese New Year

2010-02-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

Today is both Valentines and Chinese New Year. We leaned more toward Valentines today and will celebrate Chinese New Year next Saturday with our Families With Chinese Children chapter. I'll post pictures next week. Yang had a great week. She is trying to speak English more and more and she is more comfortable with her new family. We have found that God brought he to our family to add laughter to our home. She loves to laugh and has an infectious giggle.

Yang had a number of firsts this week. She had some alone time with her mama this week as Kristy went back to school. She started naming colors in English. She finally took some medicine for a sinus infection and found it was not as bad as she thought. Chinese medicine tastes terrible so she was hesitant to try ours. The antibiotic knocked out the infection quickly so she is not coughing at night anymore. Yang went to her future school to visit. She went to her first birthday party (classmate of Kristy's) and tried pizza. She did not finish the whole slice. She did finish the entire piece of birthday cake. She also experienced her first snow in the U.S. She was not really impressed. Most importantly she had her first Sunday School today. Judy stayed in the classroom with her and said that even though she didn't understand because of the language but participated and was proud to show her Dad her work. We think she is going to fit right in when she goes to school in a couple of weeks.

I Am Daddy

2010-02-06T22:11:00.002-05:00

Yang Yang started playing and laughing hard for the first time since she has been home. She also started calling her older sisters by name. Kourtney was locked in her room and the younger two sisters were knocking on the door and Yang thought of a way to try to get in. She said in a deep voice "wo shi baba." This translates to I am daddy!

Home One Week

2010-02-06T19:49:00.005-05:00

We have been home for a week and it has been a very difficult transition. Yang Yang has been grieving her losses all week and we certainly understand. Our case worker helped by explaining to her that they were her foster family and we are her forever family. There were other calls to our friend Lucia in Florence to help her through her feelings. She has her attached herself to baba (Daddy in Chinese) big time. I cannot make a move without her following me. If I am at the computer she has to be in my lap. Monday night she slept with us with one arm around me at all times. The issue was that she did not want me to go to work again. When she realized that I was going to work she began to negotiate a time for me to be home. She started at 4 pm. She is slowly pulling out of it and at this writing is laughing and talking and playing. Today we went to Ringling Brothers Circus. What were we thinking when we bought those tickets. It takes 2 weeks to get over jet lag from China and we are half way through it. We all were a little groggy during the performance but had fun. The night before Yang Yang was desperately trying to tell us something. We finally had to call our friend in Florence to translate for us. She was trying to ask us what time she needed to get up to make it to the circus. Yang Yang was more alert at the end and was watching intently. Next week Kristy goes back to pre-school so it will be Judy and Yang Yang alone for part of the day. Attached are some circus pictures and a video of Kelly's circus debut.

Last Full Day In China

2010-01-28T06:07:00.000-05:00

Today was our last full day in China, not including the airport. We spent our last morning at the Guangzhou Zoo. Last time we went it was July and the Panda's were zonked out from the heat. This time we figured that since it was January and the temperature was in the 50's we would get a good view. Nope, they were repairing the cage. The zoo must have brought back some memories for Yang Yang because she was sad during most of it and cried a couple of times. She feel asleep on the way back to the hotel and woke up about 30 minutes later in a better mood. She started playing and laughing. She will have more sad days but we will help her through it. Tomorrow we have 18 hours of flying starting at 10 am. We should arrive, Lord willing, in Columbia at 8:30 pm. No my math is not wrong, we gain back that lost 13 hours when we came over. We are anxious to get back home and into a routine and to start fully transitioning Yang Yang into our family. She may look sad and be quiet when you meet her but wait till you see her full on Yang Yang. Her are a few pictures to give you an idea.

Swearing In Ceremony

2010-01-27T04:34:00.001-05:00

It was a low key day today, the only order of business was the swearing in ceremony at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. There were a total of 60 families bring their new sons or daughters to sign the final pieces of paperwork to complete the adoption. There were no cameras allowed inside so we have nothing to show you. Yang Yang's personality really came out today. She can produce the same volume as Kristy. Kristy loves to play rough and jump all over her Dad so Yang Yang decided to join in. That was a big step for her. Yang Yang and Kristy frequently grab each others hands as they walk down the street. Her are a few photos from yesterday's visit to the tea room.

Luihua Park

2010-01-26T21:23:00.000-05:00

Today's tour took us to Luihua Park. It is famous for its bonsai trees but has many more plant life within the park. After the park we went to a Chinese Tea Room to sample tea. Yang Yang had a much better day. Her personality came out big time today. She was laughing and playing and chasing us around. We are going to have our hands full when we get back home with two active little ones. She is also trying English more and more. She started counting and doing the alphabet in English. I also saw that she can read and write a little in Chinese. Tomorrow is the swearing in ceremony at the U.S. consulate and Thursday we pick up Yang's passport with her U.S. visa. We are starting to get anxious to go home and get back into a routine, especially with the new little one but we are not looking forward to the 18 hours of flying on Friday.

Pearl Market

2010-01-25T07:11:00.001-05:00

We also went to the Pearl market. We had to get Kassidy's pearl necklace for her wedding day like we did in 2007 for the other girls. And where did we eat for dinner? We come half way around the world in an ancient culture and we eat at McDonald's. We can tell our newest one is an experienced McDonald's eater.

Chinese Herb Market

2010-01-25T07:03:00.001-05:00

Today was a Chinese culture day. We went to the Chinese herb market in downtown Guangzhou. Yes those are live scorpions. The lizard skins can cure what ails you as well.

Cute Sister Picture of the Day

2010-01-25T06:58:00.001-05:00

This was taken at the park along the Pearl River.

Blog Comments

2010-01-25T01:13:00.001-05:00

Some of you faithful followers have been emailing me (chrsmaron@yahoo.com) that you can't leave comments on our blog. Sorry about that but there is nothing I can do to fix that while I am in China. Blogger is blocked in China. I am able to update the blog through email but cannot see it. If you want to send us a note or need to contact us just email us at my yahoo email address. By the way, we leave the country and the Saints make it to the Super Bowl.

TB Test Passed

2010-01-24T22:51:00.001-05:00

Yang Yang passed her TB test so she is medically cleared to enter the U.S.

Yuntai Gardens

2010-01-24T03:05:00.001-05:00

Today was a touring day. We went to the Yuntai Gardens in Guangzhou. It is really beautifully maintained even in the winter. We went to a noodle shop for lunch. Yang had a better day. She had a few meltdowns but nothing big. She is not ready to trust mama and baba just yet but we are wearing her down. It will take some time. Tomorrow we go to the medical clinic to have her TB skin test checked. If she does not pass we have to have a chest x-ray done. We will go to the walking street in downtown Guangzhou. In other words, major shopping. Here are some pictures from the gardens.

Roary in Jinan

2010-01-23T20:25:00.001-05:00

This is one for the New Providence Elementary School people. Because we missed our touring in Beijing Roary did not make it to the Great Wall or the Forbidden City.

First Full Day in Guangzhou

2010-01-23T20:22:00.001-05:00

Our first full day in Guangzhou was a little rough. Yang is feeling the changes and of course still grieving but it is all part of the process. We have the same super guide, Elvin, from our last trip so the familiarity is comforting. The White Swan hotel is the same first class place as last time as well. We are being spoiled by these breakfast bars. Yang has a rude awakening when she gets home and there aren't as many choices. The first appointment was the medical exam. She had a little skip in her step on the way there not knowing what awaited her. The exam part was fine as there were no problems but she had to have 4 inoculations to get her up to U.S. standards along with the TB skin test. This is a new regulation that we did not have to do with Kristy. She cried after the second vaccination, we didn't react any better. She was mad at us for a few hours afterwards. She ate a little lunch and we spent the day going to the hotel playroom, the local playground and shopping trying to keep her mind off of things. We went to the new Italian restaurant that is on Shamian Island. The pizza was amazingly good. Yang would not have anything to do with the spaghetti so we went and got her a Chinese soup but she refused so she went to bed hungry. I think a lot had to do with grieving. She woke up this morning and was eager to get to the breakfast bar where her hunger strike quickly ended. Here are a few pictures of the day.

We Are In Guangzhou

2010-01-22T09:53:00.001-05:00

We just checked into our hotel in Guangzhou. We have the same guide (Elvin) from last time so we are in safe hands to finish the process. Yang Yang had a very emotional time but soldiered through. We were fearful that she would refuse to go to the airport but she put on a brave face and went forward. She is in a very fragile emotional state so we have to be careful what we say and do. We have to do the medical exam tomorrow morning. This could shake her up as her immunizations have to be up to U.S. standards.If they are not she will need to get some shots. That won't help things at all. She will be required to take the TB test so there is no avoiding a little pain. No pictures today.

Some Pictures from Jinan Part 3 - Daming Lake & Yellow River

2010-01-21T18:27:00.001-05:00

Some more pictures from Daming Lake and the Yellow River. While we were at the Daming Lake park a very young couple wanted us to pose with them for pictures. Famous in China!

Some Jinan Pictures Part 2 - Baotu Spirings

2010-01-21T18:19:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from a very cold and rainy Baotu Springs.

Some Jinan Pictures Part 1

2010-01-21T18:09:00.000-05:00

I thought I would update with some pictures from our week in Jinan. One is Yang receiving a Teddy Bear that the teachers from Judy's school sent for her. There are also pictures of our two China girls painting and working a puzzle.

Our Meals In Jinan

2010-01-21T08:30:00.001-05:00

We have not been starving in Jinan. Our guide has made sure that we sample the best of everything in Jinan. We have all kinds of seafood (fish, crab, eel, squid, clams, etc.), pork, beef, soups, and vegetables. Yang likes the seafood since she is from a coastal city (Qingdao). The usual lunch and dinner routine is we go to a restaurant and sometimes are seated in a private room. Then the seemingly endless parade of food is brought to our table in large bowls in the middle of the table on a lazy susan. We take what we want, all with chop sticks of course. Yang has us all beat with her chop stick abilities. We always leave a lot of food behind because it is way too much even for the six of us.

Last Full Day in Jinan

2010-01-21T07:58:00.001-05:00

Today was our last full day in Jinan and it was extremely cold but at least we did not get any snow. We visited Daming Lake and the Yellow River. Daming Lake was nice and I am sure if we visited it in the spring it would have been beautiful but when it is -7C it isn't the same. There was a Merry Go Round at the lake so we let the little ones ride it. We visited the Yellow River for a brief time because Kristy and Yang got cold. By the way we have not made the transfer to Kassidy yet since she is dealing with so much loss right now. Her emotional state is very fragile so we are being careful. She has had great mornings but after the touring and lunch when we go back to the hotel she starts tearing up in the afternoon. We have to keep her busy to try to keep her mind off of what she is going through. She will get better but it will take some time. There is a little boy from Yang's orphange who Yang knows that is being adopted by a family from Spain. We knew them before coming here from a Yahoo group. We compare notes every morning and whatever Yang goes through is exactly what Wen Ti experiences. Tomorrow we pick up Yang's Chinese passport and then fly to Guangzhou in the late afternoon to finish the American portion (medical exams and U.S. visa). Guangzhou is in the southern most part of China. It as far south as Havana so the weaather will be much warmer. It will also offer some benefits for Yang as she will see other American families with Chinese children and there are numerous playrooms and playgrounds for children. We are the only U.S. family at the hotel and it looks like Jinan (13 million people) from what we can tell so Yang thinks she is going through this by herself. I'm not sure if I will be able to update tomorrow since it is a travel day. Enjoy the pictures.

A Very Challenging Day

2010-01-20T07:45:00.001-05:00

Today was a real rollercoaster. With all of the official business completed we started our tours of Jinan. Our first stop was the Baotou Springs. It would have been a really nice and interesting tour but it was raining and the temperature was above freezing. We cut the tour short and went to the Quancheng City Park. They have an underground shopping mall so we went there to find a few things for Yang. After another huge lunch at a great restaurant we walked out to find it snowing. That cancelled the tour of Danming Lake. It continued through the afternoon and also cancelled tomorrows tour of the Thousand Buddha Mountian. We will just take a van tour of the Yellow River tomorrow. Yang started the day well by finally eating better. She really started to eat normally at lunch. Since we did not tour during the afternoon we stayed in the hotel all afternoon. That gave her time to think about what was happening and she had several meltdowns. I was able to somewhat distract her by drawing pictures with her as we have discovered that she loves to draw. She asked me to draw some things and than strted joining in between tears. After an hour or two the big meltdown occured. She folded up the papers and wanted them put in an envelope to send to her foster family. Needless to say this understanding took a while to come to since our Mandarin and her English are not exactly in sync. Our guide helped us come to an understanding. She is now sullen and probably angry. This will be a long road. There is a little boy from Qingdao that she knows who is being adopted by a family from Spain and we have been told he is angry as well.

Here She Is

2010-01-19T07:08:00.001-05:00

And the moment you have been waiting for, a few pictures of Yang. She is really struggling with the language and missing her foster family but is one brave little girl. We have made slow progress today. There were only a few times where she teared up. It will take time but she will come around. She is not eating or drinking very well. We keep pointing to different foods and for the most part she shakes her head no. Tonight we tried to just put food on her plate and she ate a little more than yesterday. We finalized all of the adoption paperwork so in the eyes of the Chinese government she is in our family. We only have to wait for her Chinese passport on Friday morning and then we will fly to Guangzhou to finalize the U.S. portion of the adoption. Enjoy the pictures.

We Have Yang

2010-01-18T07:01:00.001-05:00

We have Yang and it has not been easy. She is a beautiful very introverted little girl. She is very scared and there has been a lot of crying. She is very scared of the language barrier and did not want to separate from our guide because she does not understand us. This just part of the process and will work out in time. She is very drawn to Kristy and they played alot this afternoon until Kristy fell asleep just before dinner. Thats when Yang really started to realize what was going on. We came up to the room and she picked a bed to sleep in with Kristy next to her. She fell asleep really fast. Your prayers are needed for this transition as this is day one of a very difficult transition. I cannot post pictures until the adoption is finalized tomorrow. I am having technical difficulties due to Chinese restrictions with certain internet access (I am in the middle of the "discussions" between China and Google) so I am updating the blog via yahoo mail. My email address is chrsmaron@yahoo.com if you need to contact us. Until tomorrow goodnight from Chris, Judy, Kourtney, Kelly, Kristy, and Yang (Kassidy).

We Are In Beijing

2010-01-17T15:53:00.002-05:00

Ni hao y'all. We got into Beijing around 4:30 pm Beijing time on Sunday after a very long 13 hour flight out of Chicago. When we got here we checked into our hotel and our guide took us to dinner then we went straight to bed. Our internal time clocks are already working against us as we were up at 3:30 am. We leave for the airport at 7:15 am to travel to Jinan where we will get Kassidy sometime in the afternoon. I'll post pictures later when we are settled in Jinan.

We Didn't Make it to Beijing

2010-01-15T18:50:00.002-05:00

Due to mechanical problems with the plane in Columbia we missed our Beijing connection. We are spending the night in Chicago and will make the 12:43 flight to Beijing. This will mean we will miss the Forbidden City and Great Wall. We saw them last time but it is still disappointing. Tienanmen Square is a few blocks from our hotel so I think we may take a quick trip there, we missed it last time.

We're On Our Way

2010-01-15T07:57:00.001-05:00

We are sitting in the Columbia airport waiting for our flight to Chicago where will get our 13 hour flight to Beijing. We have an hour and a half layover in Chicago. We arrive in Beijing at 4:30 pm Beijing time Saturday which is 3:30 am eastern US time. We will update sometime Saturday night from Beijing.

Zaijian y'all.
--
Chris Maron
122 Landing Drive
Lexington, SC 29072
cmaron@windstream.net
Home: 803-996-6359
Cell: 803-206-3757
Work: 803-939-2693
http://cmaronfamily.blogspot.com/

Travel Itinerary

2010-01-06T20:47:00.002-05:00

We finally have our travel itinerary.

January 16th: Arriving in Beijing by UA851 at 16:25.

Stay in Wang Fu Jing Grand Hotel

January 17th: Local sightseeing: Forbidden City and Great Wall

January 18th: Flying from Beijing to Jinan by SC1152 (09:40/10:30).

Stay in Zhonghao Grand Hotel

Meet the child in the afternoon.

January 19th: Adoption Finalized by Chinese Government

January 20th: Local sightseeing: Daming Lake (the Great Lake) and Baotu Spring

January 21st: Local sightseeing: Qianfu Mountain (Thousand Buddha Mountain).

January 22nd: Local sightseeing: the Yellow River

Flying from Jinan to Guangzhou (U.S. Consulate) by SC1171 (17:05/19:30).
Stay in White Swan Hotel

January 23rd: Paperwork and medical exam.

January 24th: Local sightseeing: Yuntai Garden (Cloud Terrace Garden)

January 25th: Local sightseeing: Walking Street

January 26th: Visa appointment at 9:00am

Local sightseeing: the Temple of Six Banyan Trees

January 27th: Swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Consulate

January 28th: Local sightseeing: Local Zoo

January 29th: Flying from Guangzhou to Beijing by CA1330 (10:00/12:50),
and then transfer UA 850 to Chicago then to Columbia, SC

Our Travel Approval Came!

2009-12-23T06:29:00.003-05:00

We finally received our travel approval and will be leaving on January 15th to get Kassidy. Our final itinerary has not been finalized but all 5 of us will be leaving Columbia on January 15th and 6 of us will be returning January 29th. We should be getting Kassidy on January 18th but will know the exact date later.

We'll Be Home for Christmas

2009-12-13T20:41:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time since we've updated so here it goes. Yes, the title of this update is accurate, we won't be going to China to pick up Kassidy over the holidays. Our final travel approval has not come back. The new regulations have made the process slower so our paperwork has been stuck at the US Immigration Service and the US Consulate in Guangzhou. It was cleared through all of that at the beginning of the month and still is in Beijing waiting for the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) to give the final approval. We feel certain we will get that before Christmas which means we will be traveling in January. We are disappointed since we will not have her home for Christmas and because we missed her 6th birthday on December 8th. We sent her a birthday package but it definitely is not the same as being there.
We have been busy with Christmas activities these last few weeks. Attached are some pictures of parades, concerts, musicals, and parties we have been attending or taking part in. The picture of all the little girls in the group picture was from the FCC (Families with Chinese Children) Christmas party. That picture was like trying to herd cats. I doubt there is one picture of all of them.

Christmas in China?

2009-10-23T17:28:00.000-05:00

We adopted pre-Hague in 2007 and now are adopting under Hague. We really did not see much difference until now, post LOA. The time and paperwork to get a TA is ridiculous. The time between our LOA in 2007 and TA was about 2 weeks. Now we have to send our I-800 and I-864 to USCIS before traveling. Well we send it to the Chicago lock box, then Mei sends a notice around saying that you now need to send it to a lock box in Lewisville, TX. Too late its on the way to Chicago. We thought that would be fine, it would be taken care of under some old process. We then find out that the process is to have someone at CIS take our paperwork and send it to the Hague office in Missouri. I was told that they do nothing to it at CIS, just send it to Missouri. Are you kidding me? Then I find out it takes 2 weeks to do that. It has been almost three weeks and I find out that it has not made it to Missouri. The call taker in Missouri said that they will send the paperwork from Chicago to Lewsville, TX and then send it to the Hague office in Missouri. She said it will take an extra week for that transfer. I believe they are still using pony express for shipping. After all of this gets completed Mei has to send the approved paperwork and our signed LOA to Guangzhou for the processing that usually got done while we were in Guangzhou. Mei says 2 to 3 weeks for that process. After that they send it to CCAA and they process our TA, then we travel. Looking at a calendar that puts us in China at….you guessed it…Christmas. Living in SC and knowing that our new daughter is in north China I guess we have a shot at a white Christmas.

The Difference Between Listening and Doing

2009-10-08T07:30:00.000-05:00

While taking Kristy to pre-school Tuesday she just blurted out that she was going to listen to the teacher today. As a little background she did not do much of what her dance teacher asked her to do last Tuesday during dance class so we have been working on that all this week. So I repeated to her that she was going to listen to the dance teacher today. She said, "and in school too." I was curious to know if she knew the difference between listening and doing so I asked her if she is going to do what the dance teacher asked her. She came right back with, "I don't know about that."

LOA!!

2009-09-30T19:56:00.001-05:00

After only 61 days (Kristy's took 78 days) we received our LOA! There is a bunch of new procedures (meaning paperwork) that has to be down before we get travel approval. Our best estimate is late November or early December. We went in July in 2007 last time. I believe we will be dressing different for northern China this time around. We will get to see Christmas decorations this time.

Day 60 of the LOA Wait

2009-09-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

We are officially at day number 60 of our wait for our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China. We waited 78 days for Kristy's so I expect we will have a similar wait. If we don't hear anything this week we will not hear anything until October 12th at the earliest. Next week is a week long national holiday in China which means all government offices will be closed.

Logged In One Month

2009-08-31T10:28:00.000-05:00

Today we have been logged into the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) with our paperwork one month. The wait could be as long as 90 days so we could possibly be waiting another 2 months. We are sending Yang (Kassidy) a second care package with an outfit, candy, coloring book, markers, a couple of toys, artwork from Kristy, and more pictures of her new family.

Package Delivered

2009-08-21T20:45:00.002-05:00

Your item was delivered in CHINA PEOPLES REP at 8:06 PM on August 17, 2009.

We sent a package of gifts to Kassidy at the beginning of August and it arrived this past Monday. We sent her an outfit some barretts (sp), crayons, a coloring book, some candy, and a photo album of her new family. This should start the process of getting her used to the idea of a new permanent family.

We Are DTC!

2009-07-22T17:27:00.003-05:00

That's Dossier to China for those outside the international adoption community. All of our paperwork is on its way to Beijing. We now wait for our LOA (Letter of Acceptance). For Kristy it took around 75 days. This could take longer but we won't know for sure when we will hear from China.

Family Day 2009

2009-07-16T20:13:00.004-05:00

Two years ago our little empress joined the family. She has grown from this quiet little girl who did not understand our language or what it was to have a family into a talkative, funny, active pre-schooler. Here are a few then and now pictures. Her jie jie's have grown up tremendously in two years as well.

Adoption Progress

2009-07-11T09:21:00.003-05:00

I did not realize that it has been so long between blogs. Kelly is on her way to her second camp in two weeks and Kourtney leaves for her camp next Saturday. We are very close to completing our adoption paperwork. The documents are at the Chinese Consulate in Washington, DC. They have told us that they will be sending the documents back to us in the middle of this coming week. From that point our agency will send them to Beijing for final approval. We expect a 90 day wait for that approval. If that is the case we will likely travel in November. Walking the Great Wall will be different in November than July!

Pre-Approval, Recital, Renovations, & Fingerprints

2009-05-17T14:00:00.004-05:00

This week we had a few events. The biggest one was that we received our PA (Pre-Approval) from CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) which means we can proceed with submitting our paperwork for Kassidy so they can make a final decision. We estimate that we should be done with our paperwork by the end of August. We could be traveling anywhere from October to December of this year. We cannot post any pictures or information on the web but if you ask us we'll show you the three pictures we have. We also received our appointment to get our fingerprints taken at Immigration/Homeland Security. We had them taken for Kristy's adoption as well but we have to do it again because, in case you don't know, they do change (eyes rolling).

In case you haven't been in our house we have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Right now Kelly has her own room and Kourtney and Kristy have bunk beds in the other room. Kourtney thought sharing a room with a 2 year old would be a good idea at the time. Kelly had more fore thought. So what do we do now that a fourth daughter will be moving in? Two teenagers with bunks in a room and two little ones in bunk beds in the other room? Well that's half right. Kristy and Kassidy will share one room in the bunk beds. The dining area we had with the two archway openings has been converted to a room now. One archway leading into the living room has been completely closed up and the other archway has been partially closed for a doorway. That will be Kourtney's room. Kristy will be by herself until Kassidy comes home.

This weekend was Kourtney and Kelly's dance recital. They did great! Kourtney was in two ballets and Kelly was in one of them. Kelly had a separate dance number (Eight Days a Week). Next year will even be busier as we will have 4 of them in dance. I know that was done for her father the Beatle fan! Video to be posted later.

Happy Mothers Day!

2009-05-10T17:28:00.002-05:00

After church we went to Firehouse Subs and then spent the afternoon at the zoo. It was hot but a great day. Yesterday we got adoption approval from SC DSS so the home study is with Immigration and Homeland Security. We are waiting on pre-approval from China to adopt Kassidy.

Daughter Number 4!

2009-05-04T22:22:00.003-05:00

We have officially identified our new daughter. Our LOI (Letter of Intent) will be sent to China tomorrow. Unfortunately the international adoption laws have become much stricter than when we adopted Kristy so we cannot post pictures or any information about her until the adoption is official. The adoption will be official when we go and get her. We expect to travel in the Fall. Our paper work is currently at US Immigration and Homeland Security. The girls are excited and Kristy finally has a face to put with her American name, Kassidy. I'll keep you posted on where we stand although it won't be too exciting without pictures.

Happy Birthday Kelly

2009-05-04T22:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Kelly's 15th birthday. Saturday she spent the day with her buddy Marissa, shopping and going to the movies. Sunday we went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner and home for presents and a cookie cake. Here are some pictures from the day.

Kristy's First Church Musical

2009-04-19T17:57:00.005-05:00

Kristy sang in her first church musical this morning. The video is a little shaky because I was also running the sound board.

Happy Chinese New Years

2009-01-25T17:00:00.003-05:00

We started the two week celebration of Chinese New Years Saturday at the Columbia Museum of Art as they had a little Chinese New Years festival. There were several arts and crafts for the children, some chinese food, a lion dance, and a dragon dance. A very nice Chinese national painted us a Happy New Years banner in Chinese characters. Later in the afternoon we went to the Chinese New Years celebration with other members of the Midlands FCC (Families with Chinese Children). We had arts and crafts for the children, a lot of chinese food, and had a lion dance for the kids with fire works. The fireworks was actually bubble wrap that the kids jumped on. They had a blast. There were about 30 adopted Chinese children in attendance. Here are some pictures of the days events.

Kristy's First Snow

2009-01-20T09:04:00.003-05:00

We had our a little snow in a long time and it was also Kristy's first ever. The picture of Kristy and Judy is of them plotting against Dad.

Going Back to China!

2009-01-19T20:22:00.003-05:00

The word is out enough to the families that I can now post it on our blog. We are in the beginning stages of another China adoption! Right now we are planning on adopting a little girl between the ages of 5 and 6. We have to complete our paperwork before we can look at the waiting child list. We are undecided about her American name. It has to of course start with a "K." Any suggestions?

The Maron Family Elves

2009-01-19T19:59:00.004-05:00

We got so busy this Christmas that we did not send out a Christmas photo of the girls for the first time so here is a substitute.

No School?!?!

2009-01-19T19:52:00.004-05:00

They are expecting maybe some dusting of snow on the grass tomorrow morning so what do the schools do? At around 6:15 pm they close for the day tomorrow. What a bunch of wimps! When I was in school it would have to be as deep as our behind to close. Yeah yeah I know there are no snow plows in Lexington, SC but come on. SOFT!!!!

Catching Up!

2009-01-04T19:05:00.002-05:00

OK, OK, I have been a terrible blogger since Kristy's birthday. Here is an attempt to catch everyone up on what has been going on.

Chris: I am still working at NCR and have survived a few RIF's. NCR has announced that they are moving the center from West Columbia to Peachtree City, Georgia in the Atlanta area. I will have to wait and see how it affects me. I have been taking bagpipe lessons since March 2008 and am enjoying it. You start learning the bagpipes with the practice chanter. I expect to begin on the bagpipes this summer. My instructor thinks it could be sooner but I doubt it. I have also taken a beginning Mandarin class. It is a very tough language and will take me a long time to be able to speak without embarrasing myself.

Judy: Judy is in her first year of teaching Spanish at New Providence Elementary School in Lexington. She really enjoys it. She is also involved with the Hispanic ministry at Mt. Horeb.

Kourtney: Kourtney turned 16 in October and we had a sweet 16 party at the church. I DJ'd the party and "rocked the house." She has been given permission by her uptight over protective Dad to get her learners permit. She is a 10th grader and is taking advanced classes, playing the violin, and dance classes. She is considering a career in medicine at this time.

Kelly: Kelly is a 9th grader and is also taking dance. She is our social butterfly and keeps the house lively. She has had to take some time off from dance because she broke her toe (pinky toe) in November. Kelly is also a clothes bargain hunter. She is thinking about youth ministry as a profession at this time.

Kristy: Kristy is a very active 3 year old who constantly makes us laugh from the thoughts that she verbalizes. She loves to color, dance (no classes yet), sing, and play her Dad and sisters in Wii.

We went to Pigeon Forge in August for a very nice vacation in August. We stayed in a very nice cabin and spent time in Splash Country and Dollywood and had a blast. We spent Thanksgiving in Hilton Head with family and Christmas in New Jersey where Kristy finally met some of her northern family members.

That's a quick summary of what has been happening in 2008. I will try to keep up better in 2009.

Happy Birthday Kristy

2008-04-10T20:18:00.004-05:00

Today is Kristy's third birthday. She had a fun day celebrating with her classmates at day care. Her oldest sister Kourtney made puppy cupcakes. She had more cake and ice cream at home and opened lots of presents. She didn't really understand the gift opening routine at Christmas but she has learned quickly. This weekend her South Carolina family will be coming to celebrate. Her are a few pictures from her day.

6 Months Since Gotcha Day

2008-01-16T20:22:00.000-05:00

during the past six months. She started with hand gestures and grunts to communicate with usIt has been six months today since Kristy joined our family. She has made a great deal of strides to words and sometimes simple sentences lately. She has had numerous firsts during these six months. From going to church, the beach, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, not to mention a Mommy, Daddy, 2 sisters, 4 cousins, 3 uncles, 3 aunts, 2 grandmothers, and a grandfather. She keeps us extremely busy but we wouldn't have it any other way. Below are two pictures one from Gotcha Day (July 16, 2007) and today (January 16, 2008).

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-19T18:56:00.001-05:00

We are busy getting ready for Christmas, Kristy's first, and enjoying all the activities. She doesn'treally know what is going on but I'm sure she will catch on soon.

Fall in Lexington

2007-11-17T17:41:00.000-05:00

Its been 4 months since Kristy joined the family. She is fitting in really well. She is extremely attached to her mother. She has had a lot of firsts since our last update. She enjoyed the Pumpkin Patch Festival at church. This is held every Halloween. Kristy was a fairy princess. Kourtney and a friend decorated the van for trunk or treat and took 3rd place. We all went to Judy's mothers church Fall Festival at Surfside. Kristy had a great time in the pumpkin patch. It was also Kristy's first time at the beach. She got to put her feet in the water and loved it. Kourtney had her 15th birthday on October 29th. She is ready to drive (legal in SC) but her parents are not ready for that just yet. We are headed to Hilton Head Island for Thanksgiving at Judy's older brothers house. Here are a few pictures from this month.

3 Months Since Gotcha Day

2007-10-21T19:43:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday October 16th we celebrated Kristy's 3rd month with the family. She is doing great and has fit into our family perfectly. Her English is becoming more and more clear. She is learning shapes, numbers, and letters. She loves to have books read to her and does not really care about TV. She loves to listen to music and will dance when she hears it. She also loves to go on walks with Mom and Dad around the neighborhood. She had a lot of firsts in the last month. Her firsts included a haircut, a trip to Riverbanks Zoo, orchestra concert (Kourtney's first high school orchestra concert). OK, she really didn't make it through the concert but we tried. She started daycare this week and seems to being doing good. She is glad to be picked up and wants constant attention when we get home. Today was her baptism at church. Her Uncle Neil assisted our ministers in the baptism. The entire Yongue family was able to make it so it was the first time all 7 cousins were together. Here are a few pictures from this past month.

Kristy's First Bike

2007-10-07T20:25:00.001-05:00

We don't have a long update this time. We just thought you would like to see Kristy on her first bike. We'll have a longer blog later.

September Update

2007-09-10T20:15:00.000-05:00

Our updates seem to be less and less frequent. Thats what happens when you have two teenagers and a 2 year old in the house. Kourtney began her freshman year at Lexington High School and says she loves it. Her class load is challenging and the dance class load is adding to the demand. She is dancing in the Moving South Dance Company this year. Kelly began the 8th grade at Lexington Middle School this year. She is also dancing at Moving South as well. Kristy is in the flow of things or we are just in her flow. She is learning new things everyday and we are working with her constantly to get her up to speed with American two year olds as quickly as possible. Her English improves everyday. She went for a physical this month and everything looks great. The ENT doctor thought that her cleft surgery was fine. He was surprised that she didn't have tubes in her ears yet as this is commonly done with cleft affected children. He said the first signs of ear trouble and we should have the tubes put in. Kristy has met almost all of her family and of course she is the center of attention at each gathering.
We have found a daycare in Lexington for Kristy when Judy goes back to school. We dread that day but she will probably be better with it then her mom and dad.

The Empress Has Taken Over

2007-08-19T16:11:00.000-05:00

Kristy has been with us 1 month (and a few days) and has been at home 3 weeks now. She has adapted very well to our family and her new home. Shortly after getting home we celebrated Judy's birthday and the empress has learned that cake and ice cream is a good thing. In fact, we have found very little that she will not eat. The only exception appears to be raw vegetables. We think that the texture is what is most objectionable. Her language skills are improving everyday. The orphanage worker that brought her to Guangzhou said she did not speak very much but that has all changed. She is still behind what a normal 2 year old says but she is learning new English words everyday. She has become really attached to her mother and since daddy is away at work all day mama has become number one now. She loves her two sisters and they cater to her every whim. We have pretty much stayed at home with her in order to help her attach and bond. She has been to some parks and her favorite thing are the swings. Her current record is 30 minutes. She did go with her mother and sisters to Surfside Beach to visit her Grandmama. She did not go to the beach because Daddy was not there and did not want to miss her first trip to the beach. She has been to our family doctor and the ENT. Both gave us a good report. The ENT said that the first sign of any ear problems would mean that he would have to put tubes in her ears. This is a common procedure with cleft affected children and we have expected that someday she would need them. In case you don't know we have lost Brittany. She had been in failing health before we left for China and it got worse after we left. Ironically we had to give the go ahead to put her down on the day we got Kristy. After 17 years it is difficult sometimes not to see her in the house. I will leave some pictures of the empress in her castle.

We Have Our Itinerary

2007-06-29T18:06:00.000-05:00

We have our trip itinerary. We leave July 13th and arrive in Beijing on July 14th. We will visit the Great Wall and Forbidden City on the 15th. July 16th is Gotcha Day. In adoption terms this is the day when we receive Kristy and she becomes part of our family. You can follow our trip from our travel blog. Just click the Trip to China to Bring Kristy Home link above. It has our full itinerary already posted.

We Have Travel Dates!!

2007-06-29T09:23:00.000-05:00

The girls passports arrived yesterday after about 50 calls to the state department and a little help from our US House Representative's office (Joe Wilson). All of our passports are now in New York to get our Chinese visas. Our travel dates are as follows:

July 13 - Columbia to Chicago
July 13 - Chicago to Beijing (we arrive at 3 pm July 14th Beijing time, 3 am US time)
July 27 - Hong Kong to Chicago (Kristy will be a US citizen after going through customs)
July 28 - Chicago to Columbia

Our agency is working on getting the complete travel schedule and appointments completed. I will update the blog when those dates are firmed up.

We Have Our Travel Approval

2007-06-25T16:32:00.000-05:00

We received our travel approval today. We don't have firm travel dates yet. Our case manager is trying to arrange it so that we can leave on July 14th but we will have to wait until we get our US consulate appointment in Guangzhou.

Kristy Got Our Package!

2007-06-23T07:47:00.000-05:00

We sent a care package to Kristy through USPS and she received it yesterday according to the tracking tool on USPS' website. It had a small purple care bear, two one use cameras, a package of fruit twizzlers to share with her friends, a photo album of us, and a letter (translated into Chinese by our good friend Lucia) telling the nannies about our family. The orphanage has a good reputation of preparing the children for their transition into their new families so the photo album will help. We are spending the weekend getting things ready in the house and preparing for our trip. We are still waiting for the girls passports. It has already been 14 weeks since we applied.

The China Stork Has Arrived!

2007-06-06T21:12:00.000-05:00

Our Letter of Acceptance arrived from China today. Our case manager has overnighted it to us and we will receive it tomorrow. We have to sign it saying we are accepting Shan Le Jiao for adoption (duh). Our agency will send it to China and 2 to 3 weeks later we will receive travel approval. Once we receive travel approval our agency will arrange our travel for 4 weeks after receiving the travel approval. This will put us in China in late July or early August. The picture is of the UPS man delivering our Letter of Acceptance.

Even More Photos

2007-05-29T20:06:00.000-05:00

We received more photos from the family that just adopted Kristy's best friend (this is according to the orphanage). Here is one of them. I have uploaded the rest to Kristy's Photo Log.

Happy Memorial Day - New Photos

2007-05-28T08:11:00.000-05:00

Today is day 70 of the wait for our Letter of Acceptance. We expect to receive it in late June or early July. The family that is now in China adopting Kristy's roommate sent us some pictures of Kristy. Here is one of them, the others I will be putting in Kristy's photo blog shortly.

New Expectations

2007-05-16T11:43:00.000-05:00

We learned yesterday that we should not necessarily expect a PA. This is actually good news as it appears we will be skipping over this step. Since we already have our dossier in China the CCAA will review our letter of intent and our supporting documents and issue our Letter of Acceptance (LOA). The LOA is a document that we must sign that indicates we are accepting the adoption. After we send the LOA back to China we will receive travel approval (TA). Now about timing. We will probably receive the LOA sometime in July and the TA 2 to 3 weeks after the LOA is returned. If this is the case we will be traveling to China in August which is their hottest time of the year.

8 Weeks and Still No PA!

2007-05-14T20:28:00.000-05:00

Sorry for more disappointing news but we are still waiting for our PA. Kristy's friend Le Hua (now Anna) was picked up by her family today. We are hoping they will get to visit the orphanage and get a picture or video of Kristy. The orphanage is really far from Guangzhou so we are not certain they will be able to visit.

Six Weeks and Still No PA!

2007-05-01T07:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was day number 42 and we are still waiting on the PA. This week is a national holiday in China so we don't expect to hear any news.

Home Study Amendment Has Arrived

2007-04-24T12:53:00.000-05:00

Our home study amendment has been returned from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC. This is just a statement specifically saying that we wish to adopt Shan Le Jiao. Our agency will send this to China to be included with our dossier that has been there since July of last year. We are still waiting on our PA!

5 Weeks and Still No PA!

2007-04-23T20:11:00.000-05:00

There's not much to report. Our PA has still not arrived. We are also still waiting for the home study amendment from the Chinese Embassy. All things will work out in God's time.

Fingerprint Appointment Error!

2007-04-20T07:32:00.000-05:00

I (Chris) finally got my re-fingerprint appointment. Apparently my appointment notice did not print as it was suppose to be on April 11th with Judy's. My new appointment is now May 4th.

Still No PA!

2007-04-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was four weeks since our Letter of Intent went out. We have not received our Pre-Approval. There is no concern that we won't get it we are just really anxious to get to this step. Meanwhile our home study amendment is being authenticated at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC. Hopefully that will be returned to us by the end of the week so our agency can send it onto China. This will be needed before we receive a Letter of Acceptance or our Travel Approval.

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

2007-04-09T21:41:00.000-05:00

April 10th, 2007 is Shan Le Jiao's 2nd birthday. We were not able to send her anything since we don't have our PA (per-approval) yet. We hope to have our PA in 1 to 3 weeks. We will send her a birthday package after we receive the PA.

New Photo Blog

2007-04-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

The blog was getting crowded with photos. I have added a link above for a photo blog of all the pictures we have received.

New Pictures

2007-04-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

We received new pictures of our little girl today. They are posted in the left side. One is a picture of her with her Ayi (we are assuming) from December of 2006. The one in the toy car is the most recent photo. The picture of her and another little girl is her friend who will be living in east Tenneessee.

Kristy on LWB Blog

2007-03-23T17:17:00.000-05:00

I found Kristy featured on a Love Without Boundaries blog. A member of their team visited the Shantou City SWI and saw Kristy. Here is the link. http://lwbchinablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/shantou-to-beijing-today-has-been-very.html

LOI Sent to CWA

2007-03-14T18:31:00.000-05:00

We received our Letter of Intent (LOI) yesterday. The letter of intent is a form we fill out to inform the CCAA that we wish to adopt Shan Le Jiao. We have completed the form and sent it next day to Christian World Adoption. CWA will translate the form and send it to China. We will than wait for the CCAA to give us pre-approval (PA). This should take 4 to 6 weeks.

Introducing Kristy

2007-03-12T17:17:00.000-05:00

On Thursday March 8th we received a call from our case manager Virginia about a little girl who was available for adoption. After much prayer and consideration we believe God has led us to this very special little girl. Shan Le Jiao is currently living in the Shantou City Social Welfare Institute in the Guangdong Province. She was found abandoned at the Jinyuan Restaurant on April 13, 2005 and after a search could not locate her parents she was admitted to the Shantou SWI. Her birthdate is estimated to be April 10, 2005. Her caretaker calls her Jiao Didi. I will add more details of the adoption as we progress but we expect to travel to China this summer.

Happy Chinese New Years

2007-02-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year to All! The Year of the Pig.

7 Months Since LID!!

2007-02-12T08:48:00.000-05:00

Today it has been 7 months since we were LID. There are all kinds of estimates as to how much longer we will have to wait. You could drive yourself crazy trying to guess but in the end only God knows when it will be time.

CCAA Referral Progress Updated

2007-02-02T08:49:00.000-05:00

I have updated the CCAA referral progress since they updated their web site last night. A big surprise is that they also updated the Review Room progress as well. It is now up to March 22nd, 2006. They completely ran through February and almost all of March! They have less than 4 months of dossiers to review before we know that we are clear from review and officially in the matching room.

Referrals Came Out Today!!

2007-02-01T20:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry, not ours. The referrals covered families with LID's through October 13, 2005. Our agency received 10 referrals. The wait is now at about 16 months. If the wait time continues at this rate we would get our referral in December 2007. I will update the CCAA Progress when they update their web site.

6 Months Since LID

2007-01-12T14:23:00.000-05:00

It has now been 6 months since we were LID. Estimates suggest that it could be between 10 and 18 months longer before we get our referral. It is all in God's timing and hands.

New Web Site

2007-01-09T18:50:00.000-05:00

We have switched to this web site because it will be much simpler to update, especially when we are in China. You can also add your comments. This web site is also private.