|
The Long Wait
|
“A
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~
Confucius
On
July 1, 2005, Kaylee and Madison mailed a VERY
important package—our initial application to adopt a
baby sister for them. On the way back to the car
that day, Kaylee said, “Oh, I can’t WAIT to get
another baby!” (At the time, we had no idea that it
would take two years. Thankfully, two years later,
she’s still saying that.
Over the next couple of weeks, Kaylee and Madison
(dressed as princesses) surprised everyone in our
families with the big announcement. |
|
Now keep in
mind that entire summer we had “coronations” in our living
room on a daily basis. The girls made pictures of
fireworks to hang up around the room, and we hung purple
streamers from our ceiling fan. They both dressed up in
their princess dresses, and then the real fun
began—including Kaylee standing up on a little table to
give a speech, then Kaylee and Madison dancing around the
room to Disney music at the end of the coronation
celebration.
Everyone in our family knew about the daily coronations,
so no one was particularly surprised when the girls put on
their dresses and wanted to do it again. No one knew,
however, that these next few times (for Nai Nai and
Grandad, for Grandma and Aunt Sissy and the cousins, for
Grandpa Bill and Nina, and for Aunt Den and all of the
other cousins), there was an added twist. Surprisingly, no
one seemed to notice, as the girls bounced out in their
sparkly dresses and beautiful crowns, that this time they
were each carrying something in their hands. This time
Kaylee came out carrying a royal scroll and Madison
carried a baby cradle with a stuffed animal ladybug
wearing a teeny tiny crown inside. Then she handed them
the scroll and said, “Read this. You have to say, 'Hear-Eeee
Hear-Eeee' ".
|
Royal Proclamation
Hear ye! Hear ye!
Her Royal “Highnessy”, Kaylee Elizabeth Xiaoxi
Beagle,
and Her Royal “Highnessy”, Madison Lin Chunming
Beagle,
hereby proclaim that you are about to become
grandparents again.
Princess Kaylee and Princess Madison
will be traveling to China in 2006 for the imperial
festivities,
and to accompany their sister, the future princess,
home to America .
The honor of your presence is requested,
as the youngest princess
becomes a regal member of the royal family.
We would be honored if you would accompany us for
The Royal Coronation of the Third and Final
Princess,
to be held next year, on the other side of the
world.
Let the celebration begin! |
Well, needless to say,
the look on everyone’s faces was priceless.
|
|
|
Over the next few months, we filled out many more forms
and had them notarized, certified, and authenticated. We
traveled to Jacksonville to get fingerprinted at the
Immigration Office again, and then again (for the 5th
time) 15 months later when they expired, and we still
hadn’t received our referral. Then we waited….and
waited…and waited some more. |
|
|
About Christmas-time, Kaylee decided she was ready to get
her baby. Our Christmas card had a picture of the girls
wrapped in red thread connecting to China, and told The
Legend of the Red Thread:
|
“An invisible
red thread connects those that are destined to meet,
regardless of time, place, or circumstance.
The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never
break.”
~ Ancient Chinese Legend |
As the waiting got longer
and more painful, we reminded ourselves that we were
blessed with Kaylee, two months after the September 11th
tragedies…and two years later we were blessed with
Madison, despite the SARS epidemic that halted all
adoptions from China and eventually all travel to China.
We were confident that God would once again pick out the
perfect baby for our family…and despite the reasons for
the slow-down, she would one day be home with us.
Every day since Christmas, Kaylee insisted that we
check the mailbox twice a day, to see if the nannies had
sent the picture of “our baby”. So every day on the way to
school (or the park or church or a birthday party) AND
every day on the way home, we checked the mail—even on
Sundays, “just in case”. :) As we drove into the mail
center each time, Kaylee would close her eyes and say,
“PLEASE let it be my baby’s letter…PLEASE let it be my
baby’s letter…PLEASE let it be my baby’s letter.” And
Madison would eagerly chime in, “Did Baby Mail come? Did
Baby Mail come?” It broke my heart to tell them every day,
“Not yet…” and see their eager little faces fall.
In February, Kaylee started writing letters to the nannies
every couple of weeks, trying to spur them on to send us a
picture. (That’s not at all the way the adoption process
in China works, but in the mind of a six-year-old, it’s
all up to the nannies in the orphanage.) Below is an
“email” that Kaylee typed, hoping that would get their
attention since they didn’t seem to be responding to the
letters she wrote. She even put our phone number and
address, in case the nannies had forgotten where we lived.
:)
Dear
naneys I wele hop that you send the lettr in the mail box
fum china. I wille wunt my baby fum china. Be cus I wunt
to play with hr. ples sid the pichr in the maillbox so i
kan git my pichr uv the baby in china. I hop that the
pichr will com.Im gowin to nam the baby sofey.Iam gowin to
china to git my baby.My nam is Kaylee.This is my fon numbr
4625732. And this is my ajres 11416 polmeto blrfod.
Alachou flordu 32615.
It says:
Dear Nannies,
I really hope that you send the letter in the mail box
from China. I really want my baby from China, because I
want to play with her. Please send the picture in the
mailbox so I can get my picture of the baby in China. I
hope that the picture will come. I’m going to name the
baby Sophie. I am going to China to get my baby. My name
is Kaylee. This is my phone number – 462-5732. And this is
my address 11416 Palmetto Blvd, Alachua, Florida 32615. |
|
“Like cold
water to a weary soul, is good news from a distant land.”
~ Proverbs 25:25
|
Finally, on May 2nd, we got the
phone call we’d been waiting for for 22 months. Kaylee, of
course, was thrilled that the nannies had finally
responded to her letters and emails. :) Kaylee and Madison
got out pom-poms and started jumping up and down and
cheering all over the living room, as we learned that
Jenna was 8 months old and waiting for us at the HuaiHua
Social Welfare Institute in Hunan Province. At the end of
the conversation, our agency emailed us Jenna’s picture.
Kaylee and Madison kissed and hugged the computer screen
so much it completely flattened out….and then they STILL
kept kissing and hugging her. It was one of the sweetest
memories I’ll ever have. (It reminded me of Kaylee, not
yet 3 years old, seeing Madison’s referral picture for the
first time. She, too, kissed the computer screen, and
said, “That’s my baby sister!” Priceless memories, for
sure.)
After we were done cheering and hugging and kissing and
celebrating, the girls once again donned those princess
dresses, so we could email a picture of our THREE
princesses to let everyone in our families know that the
third princess was almost on her way. |
|
Royal Proclamation ~ May 2, 2007
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Princess Kaylee and Princess Madison
would like to introduce their sister,
the newest princess in the royal family...
Huai Xin Ying, Princess of Hunan,
will officially become
Princess Jenna Alyssa Xinying Beagle
at the Coronation in Changsha in June 2007.
The youngest princess was born on September 2, 2006
and is currently residing at Huai Hua Castle
in the Kingdom of Hunan China.
The honor of your presence is requested
as we travel to the other side of the world
to finally accompany Princess Jenna home.
Let the royal celebration begin! |
|
Indeed, as Hans Christian Anderson
said,
“Life itself is the
most wonderful fairy tale.”
We are truly blessed.
|
|
Web site by
myadoptionwebsite.com
|
