Third Letter to Lily

I am using Ann from Red Thread to send another letter to Lily. Ann has a service that sends care packages or she can translate a letter  I am really hoping that now that we have our LOA they will give her an update for us.  We still only have the first picture that we received of her with the first measurements.  We also have a video, which is more than most people have, but it is the same day as the picture and I just want to see her again.

Here is our third letter to Lily:

Dear Xiao Huan,

How are you doing little one?  I hope that you are happy and healthy.  We think about you everyday and wonder what you are doing.  We hope that you are excited to meet your new family.  Your little sisters cannot wait until the day that they meet you.  We are working hard to get to you as soon as possible.

 We know that coming to the United States will be a big change for you.  You will see new places, eat new foods, and learn new things.  We know that these changes might be scary and at the same time exciting.  We will help you and will do everything that we can to make you feel comfortable.

 We know that you have a beautiful Chinese name.  Here in the United States it is a hard name to say, so we have chosen a beautiful American name for you, but we will also keep your beautiful Chinese name and you can tell us what you want to be called.  Here is the name we selected for you.  Lily is the first name and it is a beautiful flower.  We have chosen Noel for your middle name.  This means first Christmas.   Christmas is an important holiday all over the world just like your Chinese New Year.  You will love Christmas and we will teach you all about it.  xxxx is our family name or last name.  So your name will be Lily Noel Xiaohuan xxxx.  We hope you like it.

  We are getting your room ready for you.  Your sisters want to sleep in the same room with you if that is something you would want.  We are buying some clothes for you and I hope that they will fit you. 

We heard that you are learning to speak a little English.  Emma and Meilynn your little sisters are learning to speak a little Mandarin.  I know that you speak Cantonese.  I am sorry that we don’t know how to speak in Cantonese, but we will soon learn to understand each other.  I know that at first it might be frustrating that we cannot understand you, but we will do our best to know what you want by you showing us, or drawing pictures, or just using your hands to point at what you need.  A lot of other children from China have come to America and it won’t be long before you will understand us.

We are sending another camera so that you can take pictures of everything and everyone that you will want to remember.  Take pictures of your friends, where you sleep, where you eat, your Nanny’s, the outside of your SWI, anything that you want to take a picture of and we will make it to pictures when we see you.

We want you to know that we will always love you and take care of you.  Do not worry about anything.  We are patient and understanding parents that love our children and are so happy that you will now join our family and be one of our children.  Remember when you look up at the moon that we will be looking at that same moon all the way across the world thinking of you.

Love Daddy and Mommy

And our letter to the Orphanage:

December 7, 2009

Dear Director and Nannies,

We are the soon to be parents of Xiao Huan.  We just received notice from the CCAA that we have been granted permission to adopt Xiao Huan.  We hope to be in China by March.  This will all depend on when we are granted travel approval.  We were excited to hear that Xiao Huan is being taught some English.  We know that she will experience a lot of changes and just knowing a little may help her adjust better.  We thank you so much for doing this for her.  We thank you for the care that you have given her.  We are sending a camera so that she can take pictures of the things that are important to her.  We only have one picture of her taken in May with her best friend.  If there is anyway possible for you to send us some pictures and some updated measurements so that we can buy her the right size of clothes and shoes we would appreciate it.  We have a few questions that we would like to ask. 

What does her name, Xiao Huan mean and who named her?

Is she especially close to one of the Nannies?

What makes her laugh?

What are her favorite foods?

How does she feel about being adopted?

What comforts her when she is sad?

What are her favorite things to do?

What are her dislikes?

What is her usual schedule?

Does she have a favorite toy, book or TV. show?

Is there anything you feel that we need to know about her?

We appreciate how well you have taken care of Xiao Huan over the years.  Any answers to the above questions would really help us in getting to know her.

I got an e-mail from Ann saying that she had requested updates from the Orphanage.  Hopefully this time we will get something.

We are hoping to travel in February.  I didn't want them to tell her we were coming and then not be there when she expects us.  We don't even know if she will get these letters or if they will read them to her.  I hope that they are at least telling her that she is going to be adopted and explaining to her the process as best they can to a six year old.

We have sent for our Visas.  With the Holiday closures I was worried that I would be waiting for them so we sent for them the day after we sent our I800 off.  I should have them by next Thursday.

So for now we are preparing for her and also preparing Emma and Meilynn for Lily's homecoming.  We have already talked about her not being able to speak to them and that she may do things that they would get time-out for, but she will not until she learns the rules of our family.  They are very excited about teaching her things.  They constantly think of Lily and say when they are doing something, *We are going to teach Lily this".  We have many things to prepare them for and are taking it one step at a time.  We hope to visit the orphanage.  There will be much preparation for this if we take them on that part of the trip.  We are taking our oldest daughter, Kami and Emma and Meilynn.

The next thing we are waiting for is approval of our I800.