The Drake Family Visits Indiana

This weekend, our godson Joe and his parents came to visit. Maya and Joe had a great time playing sharks and minnos, reading books,, playing flashlight games, and making cookies. Maya even got to watch her first swim meet which we attended on Saturday.

Kai's Care Package and Updated Measurements!

Since we received our LOA, we are now allowed to send a care package to Kai. There is a woman in China who is well known in the China adoption community for her ability to put care packages together and send them to the child's orphanage/foster home.

We decided to go this route, and Ann has been wonderful to work with. We sent Kai a Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) package that included a traditional chinese outfit, a stuffed panda, a fleece blanket, candies for his foster family and orphanage staff, a disposable camera, a picture of our family, and a translated letter that we wrote to his orphanage director and foster family.

Within 2 days of emailing back and fourth to Ann in China, she had already phoned Kai's orphanage and received his updated measurements. Our son is 20 months old, weighs 23.1 lbs, is 31.5 inches tall, and has 12 teeth. We were also told that his feet are 4.7 inches long.

Hang on Kai, we're coming soon!!!

We Received LOA!!!

Today is a great day. After waiting 153 days since our letter of intent was sent to China, we have finally received our LOA (letter of acceptance). What does this mean? It means that China has officially recognized us a Kai's parents, and we are one step closer to meeting our son.

We now wait for our TA (travel approval) which usually arrives between 2-4 weeks after LOA. Then we will be able to schedule a consulate appointment and finally travel to China.

Since we have official approval from China, I can now proudly post Kai's picture on our blog.

We think he's absolutely beautiful!