We have been matched!!!

It has been a number of months since the last post and a lot has changed!  As of our last post, our dossier was submitted to China and we were waiting to receive LID.  LID stands for Log In Date, this is the date that China logs our dossier into their system and the date that we were eligible to be matched.  We received LID on 2-2-2012!

China releases an update to the shared list monthly, most often the update is on the 3rd Monday of the month.  The list is expected to be updated this Monday, 2-27-2012, so last week we were excited and patiently waiting for the updated list!  When we set out to adopt, we filled out a matching form that asked questions such as the desired age of the child we wanted, sex, and which special needs we would consider.  The needs we listed are considered "low needs" and given the age range and the fact that we are looking to adopt a girl, the timeframe for being matched was very much up-in-the-air because of the number of adopting families that fit into the same bucket we do.  

While we were waiting for the shared list release date to be announced, we received an unexpected email from our adoption agency with the subject line "File???".  I had just emailed Kerry, our case worker, scanned copies of some documents that she requested so I assumed, based on the subject line, I forgot to attach the documents when I sent her an email.  This was Thursday, 2-23-2012!  I opened the email and there was a referral for a 14 month old little girl that stole our hearts!  It is very rare for an "LID required" child to be released to the shared list outside of the standard release or update date.  Just so happened her name popped up and our case worker locked her for 72 hours for us!  There are hundreds of agencies watching the list and trying to lock so we feel so blessed to be matched with her!

We received a 3 page document outlining her growth statistics, medical needs, blood work results, measurements, and 2 photos!  We had to accept the referral within 72 hours or she would go back onto the shared list and be matched with another family.  Our international adoption doctor was on stand by and reviewed her file the same day.  After speaking with the doctor we felt comfortable moving forward and submitted our LOI (letter of intent) to adopt Taoying Hong!  We will call her Jia.  We are still debating over her middle name but we will update you once we decide!

We are proud to welcome Jia to the Taylor family!!!  Here is a picture of Jia (@ 7 months old) and an outline of what we know about her so far.  Jia has a cleft lip and palate, it is likely that her lip has been repaired already given that she is in a city orphanage.  My brother was born with the same need!

Welcome Jia Taylor!!!

- Jia was born on December 11, 2010.  It is rare to ever know the actual birth date of most orphaned children in China but she was found with a note pinned to her shirt!  The note contained only her birth date.

- Jia lives in the Nanchang Social Welfare Institute today.  Nanchang SWI is one of the better orphanages in China.  It is one of the few orphanages that has a school, consistent medical care, and rehab programs for children with special needs.  A sign that Jia is being well cared for is that her growth stats are within the spectrum of normal.  Even more unusual for a child with CL/CP in a chinese orphanage.  Here are couple of photos of the Nanchang SWI:

- Jia was found by the department of public security in Nanchang.  Like most orphans, she was found in a high traffic public place.

- Jia was put in intensive care 12 days after she was born because she couldn't feed and was very ill.

- At 3 months old, Jia loved to smile and babble.  She is a very happy girl and follows bright objects.

- At 4 months old she likes staying in caretaker’s arms and listens to them, she often joins two hands together and play them, sometimes she sucks her fingers after meals, giggles blissfully when she’s happy.

- At 5 months old she lifts her head up high and observes her surroundings while she lies on her stomach, call her name and she can turn around, she waves her arms and expects to be picked up, can sit alone and lean forward, sometimes she catches toys at hand and shakes the bell, when she hears the sound of the bells and she jumps for joy!

- At 7 months old her bight eyes are searching around the kids who are playing games and caretakers all the time, she can sit alone with hands support and hold bottle to drink milk, roll over to get the toys. Taoying can recognize the strangers and likes being held in arms, interested in playing the game “hide-and-seek”, communicates with adults with “ah-ah” when she’s excited, also likes whispering some words lowly on her own. Taoying is a happy lovely baby.

- Jia's favorite toys are musical toys.

This is all we know about Jia so far.  We hope to receive an update on what her life has been like for the most recent 7 months.  Our family is so excited and can't wait to bring Jia home.  While the wait is going to be difficult, we need the time to gather funds to bring Jia home.  We will start fundraising heavily within the next few weeks!  We are going to be raffling off some great items!  We have an IPAD 2, Kindle Fire, Jewelry and more!