Long Overdue Update

Life around here has been very busy. Last week we received Travel Approval and a few days later our US Consulate appointment. The next day we contacted a travel agent and booked 2 seats to Hong Kong and 3 seats from Hong Kong! We are leaving on April 7. Most importantly 2 weeks from now we will be holding Lila in our arms. We will receive our Travel Itinerary in the next few days.

Our Girl!

Last week we sent Lila Chu Yan a package through Ann at Red Thread. When she called Suichuan WI to ask for an update on our girl they informed her that they had nothing new to share since the update they sent out last week. We had no idea who they had sent it to. Well, today we found out. It was our amazing agency.

We also received our Visas today, thanks to Denise at There's Always Hope!

We're coming Lila, as fast as we can!

A Thought for Your Easter Baskets

Jiayin Designs also sells handmade Niu Niu Dolls and Rabbits, which would make great gifts for Easter baskets.

They just connected with CCAI (our agency) to start donating to their foster program in ZhuZhou city. Their dolls and rabbits are made by a woman there so they are giving a portion of the profit back to support the orphans. They love that they are providing employment to Chinese people who otherwise don't have much or any, providing treasures to Chinese children and families, supporting Chinese nationals who are doing missions work there, and now donating to some awesome programs like the foster program and soon The Sparrow Fund which provides grants to adoptive families.

Shopping and Making A Friend

For those of you who know me well you will not be surprised that I did do some shopping this weekend. You might be surprised that it was only a little and I did not score a huge monetary bargain. You won't be surprised that while finding an amazing piece of jewerly I made a new friend. (I tend to make one everywhere I go- yes, I am my father's daughter). I ordered a necklace that will be made with Chu Yan's name on it! I have been waiting so long to order this. I ordered through my new friend's website: http://www.jiayindesigns.com/JiayinDesigns/Home.html
Please check them out.

I received this message from her this morning:
Hi Deanna, I emailed your order to Helen in Beijing and she just emailed back to tell me the meaning of your sweet little one's name! Together, Chu Yan actually means "a baby wild goose." She explained that this is a popular name in China because they believe the wild goose is strong and powerful.

How amazing is this!

Our Suichuan Daughters

I have posted a list of blogs that belong to the families of Lila Chu Yan's friends. We have all received referrals for little girls living at Suichuan Welfare Institute. We will be traveling together in approximately 5-7 weeks. We can't wait!

Where Chu Yan Lives

Chu Yan has been living at the Suichuan Welfare Institute. This is located in a rural area in the Province of Jiangxi. I have been researching the orphanage. A family who recently took their grown daughter back to her first home described their experience: "Suichuan County (pronounced “sway-chwahn”) is in the south of Jiangxi Province (“jiang-shee”) in southern China. It is considered a relatively small county of perhaps 400,000 to 500,000 people. For those who prefer to look no deeper than the surface, Suichuan is an unremarkable corner of a largely unremarkable province.

To get here, one must first take a plane or train from a major Chinese city to Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi. Once there, you must find a driver willing to take you on a four to five hour journey through the heart of Jiangxi – a land of rivers and rice fields, dotted by the occasional stand of pine trees covering the rolling hills.

Suichuan has not been immune from the contagion of new growth consuming China today. Yet Suichuan is still a largely rural county; its urban areas are dingy and gritty and dark at night, with far more bicycles and scooters than cars on the roads. This is not a place used to foreign faces such as ours."