My dream last night...

...was of course about Melia! I love it that she has started to enter my dreams. (By the way, this is Katie).

So, I was auditioning for a high school musical at St. Pat's High School (we are not catholic??). I was really excited because Hallie was getting to audition too and I thought it would be cool that we were both in a show together. Somehow I did not seem alarmed that she and I were both of the age that we could simultaneously audition for a high school production. At the end of the audition I said to Margie, my friend who was doing the auditions, that I needed to get home and hold my daughter, Melia. I remember feeling such an ache to hold her in my arms and an urgency to get to her fast.

Then, I woke up.

More Holt Connections

#1...A few weeks ago a delightful Asian woman approached me at church to say hello. Very quickly she asked if we were adopting from China using Holt. Come to find out...my good friend, Beth has this woman in her Sunday night bible study and it had come up in conversation that we were adopting from China using Holt and that this woman was adopted as a young girl from Korea with Holt! I am looking forward to sitting down with her and talking for a long time but in our brief Sunday morning discussion she mentioned that she was in one of the first groups of children brought over to the United States for adoption in the mid to late 50's!

#2...One of the doctors that I work with adopted a little girl from China about three years ago with the Child of Promise Program. We have had the opportunity to talk about his experience with Holt and the blessing his daughter has been to their family.

#3...One of the volunteers at the Holt Auction, who is of Asian descent, works in the childcare center at Lifetime Fitness where my kids spend time while I work-out.

#4...Did I mention that two of the gals I run with have both adopted two children with Holt International!

I am so thankful for the Holt community that we are becoming more a part of every day! I am also thankful that Melia will have an entire organization cheering her on and supporting her as she grows up in our trans-racial family.

Holt Auction

Last night Ryan and I attended the annual Holt Auction and Gala. Each year people gather to raise support for orphanages or programs sponsored by Holt International to help orphans around the world. This year, the money raised was being sent to Ilsan in South Korea. This is a special needs orphanage run by Mollie Holt. She is the daughter of Bertha and Harry Holt who founded Holt International and were instrumental in beginning International Adoptions in the 1950's.

This event was amazing. Several times tears sprang up in my eyes as stories were told about the love that so many have for hurting, lonely children around the world. Ryan and I really sensed the community of Holt adoptees and adoptive parents and were blessed by the abundant generosity of so many. Well over $100,000 was raised in one night by 350 people to support two group homes for special needs children in Korea and to help with renovations in the well- used existing homes.

As if the atmosphere of love and the out pouring of gifts was not enough, the organizers of the Gala were able to bring Mollie Holt to the event from her home in South Korea. Her humble, giving heart was evident in her demeanor and words throughout the evening.

What a blessing to find this agency! Anyone considering adoption should look in to using Holt to facilitate the process of bringing their child home. And, if you are not considering adoption but ever wanted to give your monetary support to a reputable, Christian-based organization that was fighting for the voiceless children in the world then Holt is a wonderfully amazing organization to give to.

The Timeline

Hi friends! This is Katie. International adoption is slow...just because we have not updated recently does not mean we are not moving forward but sometimes things seem to move along at an agonizingly slow pace.

We did get the approval from the USCIS to get our FBI fingerprints on April 8th! To do this we go down to the Department of Homeland Security by the airport and get our fingerprints taken.

I also went to a Holt seminar last night and the director of the China program was there to answer our questions and explain the process more completely. Here is the timeline as I see it for bringing home our precious, Melia.

April 8th fingerprints...1-7 weeks to have our fingerprints approved and receive our I-800A form...one week to gather the rest of our dossier material and have it notarized...one day to take it to Lincoln for State Authentication...send to Chinese Embassy in D.C. to get it doubly authenticated...wait 1-4 weeks to get our finalized dossier and then send to Holt to submit to China...at that point we can receive our referral, we should expect a referral in 1-6months from the Child of Promise Program...From referral acceptance to travel is 4-6months.

So, by my estimation the earliest Melia would come home is November of this year and the latest is April of 2012.

Most referrals of children are between the ages of 1 and 2 so that means our Melia is probably alive right now.

If you are reading this I would ask you to please send a prayer up to heaven for our daughter.

Our prayer requests:

~for her safety

~for healthy and enough food

~Christian caretakers to hold her, sing to her, talk to her

~Health. That she would stay free from colds and infections

~That God would prepare her heart and her eyes and her ears for her American family

~Peace in her mind and heart that surpasses understanding

~Attention from caregivers to help her learn attachment

Thank you for your prayer support of our daughter. We will keep you posted!