Piper Limei Seltmann

Today, we finally got "the call". Just before noon, Dillon informed us that Piper's referral had arrived. After looking over the medical information we were provided, we were emailed our first photos of our daughter. Since then, we have spent lots of time on the phone with family and friends. This has been one the most wonderful days in our lives. We can't wait until we can meet her for the first time. We don't know much about her at this time other than the following summary:

Name: Wang Fangqiu (soon to be Piper Limei Seltmann)
Birthday: December 21, 2005
Weight: 11.4 lbs (as of April 9)
Height: 22.8 inches (as of April 9)
Location: Jiangxi Province, China

The care givers say she "sometimes makes coos unconsciously", "enjoys it when taken outdoors, and makes laughs when she is tickled". "She is quick to respond and very smart." "We all love her very much" "she is sensitive to sweet food" (sounds like daddy).

Thanks to family and friends for your love, support, and prayers through this long process. We're almost there!

An amazing week

With six months passing between entries prior to Tuesday's post about our 1 year anniversary, and only 3 days to this post, you can probably guess that something is happening at the Seltmann house. This has been an amazing week. With referral wait times lengthening, we have long believed we would get a referral around the end of July at the earliest. All rumors and trends pointed to this. That changed Monday morning, when for the first time, rumors of upcoming referrals included us. What happened the next few days sent us on an emotional roller coaster that we didn't expect at this point. By Monday night, additional rumors were starting to appear. Some of them agreed that we would get a referral soon, while others said it could still be months.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent with us constantly looking at the CCAA website for an update that referrals for June had finished and to see what days would be included. On Thursday morning at 2 am, Michael woke up and decided to check once again for any change. Finally, the website had updated. Not only was it updated, but it said that matches had been made for families with Log-in dates up to June 28, 2005. That was us, our LID was June 28. Could it be real! Was Piper's referral on its way to us! Finally, on Friday afternoon, we got confirmation from our agency. Indeed, referrals are on there way. This will be the last weekend we spend without knowing who Piper is.

What's next? Our agency estimates they will receive the referrals on Monday or Tuesday. We will then be contacted by our social worker to give us the news that we have been waiting so long for.

This blog is about to get much more active. There wasn't much to write while we waited, but now we will be making our final preparations to go to China. As we prepare to travel, we will keep everyone up to date with the latest news.

The next post will include what everyone has been looking for, more Piper information, and pictures.

One Year...

On June 20, 2005, our dossier was sent to China to be translated then logged in with CCAA. Eight days later, our dossier was logged in. Once logged-in, the only thing left to do was wait. Now, one year later, we continue to wait. I would like to say we have gotten to be good at waiting patiently, but we really haven't. Everyday, we spend time checking the latest rumors and speculation. We have recently started gathering items and packing Piper's suitcase. This along with finishing our educational requirements has helped to pass the time.

All indications are that our wait is getting close to an end. We hope to soon be matched with Piper, and anticipate this happening by the end of July. (WARNING: International Adoption is not an exact science, and all predictions are subject to change without warning.) Once this happens, we will have a picture and more information about Piper such as where she is at and what her birthday is.

Since we are getting closer to a referral, and since I don't update this as often as I should, I would like to spend some time talking about what happens after the referral is received so everyone knows what to expect. We will first formally accept the referral. Once everyone in our DTC group (us and 7 other families) formally accepts each referral, we will wait once again, this time for Travel Assignment (TA). Average time for
TA is about 4 weeks. This is approval from China to travel and be united Piper. Once TAs are received, our agency will set an appointment with the US consulate in Guangzhou, China. When the consulate appointment is set, we will be able to set our travel dates to correspond to this schedule. Total time from referral to travel varies from six to eleven weeks. As information on any of these items become
available, we will post it here.

Thanks for all of those who have been praying for us and providing support during this past year. I can't imagine how difficult this year would have been without you.