One Joy Will Scatter 100 Griefs, last post before we leave

There is a Chinese proverb that says, "One joy will scatter 100 griefs". For those who have followed our journey to Ammon (rhymes with Jammin', Salmon, etc) you know that it seems like we have filled our 100 griefs trying to get him home. We had to fight UT Immigration for our visa for him, we sent our dossier the week the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) moved so that delayed our Travel Approval which was then further delayed when our dossier missed a signature in the CCAA Review Dept and has to be sent back and the rest of our travel group got theirs and left for China without us.

During this wait, we contacted a foundation to see if there was anything we could do to help while we were delayed, as we knew they were new to international adoption and from a poor, rural area. They found that our 3 year old son and his little friends needed a whole lot of help. They had no running water and were having to feed the children water from a ditch, basically. They had no fridge, no air conditioning, no cribs, no washer, no dryer, hardly anything but the dedication of the small staff to try to keep them alive. We were able to turn to the adoption community and raise funds within a matter of days to supply their needs, get 9 very sick babies to the hospital, dig an 80 meter well, start a nutrition program and begin a foster care program. So while this delay was painful for us as a family, it ended up opening the world to at least 36 children, their caregivers and now their foster families and in due time to their adoptive families. It was absolutely worth this waiting for so many children to be touched and assisted and feel it was part of a plan bigger than us. We continue to thank you for your incredible gift to the SWI in XiaoXian.

But now we are at the JOY part and all those struggles and frustrations are fading as we know that on Sunday evening US time zones, we will be meeting our son in person for the very first time. We have held him in our hearts since 2/28/06 but will now actually get to fold him in our arms. He may not like us one bit but we'll get used to us, we are pretty fun here at the Ellison household. His Daddy, Mama and 5 year old sister Lan will be making the trip to China and we leave tomorrow afternoon.

We invite all of you to follow along as we become his family. We will be posting updates and pictures at http://ammonsadventures.blogspot. com/ (remove the space before com)

We thank you for all your well wishes and we are hoping for a tolerable flight to and from China. We are NOT looking forward to that part AT ALL. But we just can't wait to meet our dear friends at Beijing Oriental International Travel (BOIT) and the CCAA in Beijing, Amy Eldridge from Love Without Boundaries in Hefei (can you believe we are actually going to be able to meet for the first time in person in Hefei on Sunday night? How fitting is that?!), our dear guides Connie and Jack in Guangzhou and our new friends that we will make in Hefei.

Please keep us in your thoughts for the next two weeks as we take the hand of our newest son and lead him into his new life with a family, his OWN family, OUR family.

--
Stefani Ellison
China Program Coordinator
Children's House International
http://www.childrenshouseinternational.com

Only 48 more hours to take off!!

And counting down each hour, minute and second. We are really almost on our way!

I must confess that as this phase of waiting, wondering, imagining, and longing ends that I'm feeling just a bit of, well sadness. This part of the process is like the anticipation of a much wanted Christmas and as tiring as that waiting becomes, its going to be missed when its over.

I know the REAL work is going to begin in just 5 days from now when we actually get to meet you and you realize that you are going to have to leave all you know behind and come with us. You will be scared, excited, overwhelmed and probably perplexed. We hate to think of you having to go through that but we also know that for your life plan, it will be one of the most important events in your life in determining how it will unfold.

We will allow you to cry, to grieve, to act incredibly silly or silent, whatever way you need to be able to process through this change. I hope you will be happy. Maybe not the first day, the first week or month, but that you will find your place and your joy.

KACHOW! KABOOM!! KAZAM!! TA has arrived!

FINALLY!! It is with profound relief that we announce the arrival of our official Travel Approval (TA) from the China Center of Adoption Affairs. We are just waiting to hear confirmation from the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China, as to the scheduling of our Consulate appointment to pick up Ammon's (rhymes with Salmon) US visa so that after adoption he can actually come home with us. We are hoping for a Consulate appointment of 12/11 so that we will leave by 11/30. We should be home by 12/15.

Thank you everyone who has been supportive of us during our wait and who has taken our son into your hearts and worried over him. We know that there are many of you waiting for your own TA's to arrive and we are hopeful that those will be coming shortly. Please know we are rooting for you too!!

Phew......we made it....... we were really starting to fall apart there.

Mama

Delayed....again..but not denied

Oh sweet boy. This has been a very hard week for us. One of my very dear friend lost her firstborn adult daughter. She was in the hospital, in a coma, for 5 days. She died on Saturday. During those 5 days we cared for her daughter's 3 year old son. Amidst the deep despair he was a ray of sunshine. How he brightened our very sad days!! He filled in just a tiny way the very big hole that is in our hearts because you are missing.

We were so anxious to get your TA on Monday. The CCAA told us it was coming, we knew the package had been mailed. We waited for the phone call from Xiaoli that the package had arrived. Well, she called as the package came with EVERYONE else's TA but ours. Oh, the shock!! The disappointment. Apparently a signature got missed somewhere and they had to send it back to be corrected. So, once again, we wait not knowing when we will be able to bring you home.

This afternoon I sat down at the computer, feeling depleted. Why has this been such a fight to get you home? We have fought US Immigration. We have hit the CCAA moving, going on vacation, having too much work to keep up and now an oversight that delays us again. As I felt sorry for myself and wondered if I had the energy to keep at this, I saw that I had new email in my box. I clicked it open and what should I see? YOUR AMAZING SMILE!!!! Oh, how I needed to see that today. Here you were looking at the camera like you were trying to say, "Hi Mama!! Its okay. I'm okay. I'll be alright until you get here. I'm okay"

As I let all my emotions brim and flow, another photo and then another and then another made it into my box. TEN photos of you getting toys from a foundation sponsoring your orphanage. You are holding a big red firetruck with such joy on your face that you can bet I'm going out tonight to buy you a firetruck.

In my sadness, these glimpses into your life and your happiness let me know that you are going to be fine and I just need to keep my eye looking towards you to keep me moving forward. I love you my little son. You must wonder why we still aren't there. Do you still believe we are coming? We are coming. We are coming.