WE HAVE FINALLY FOUND CHIANNA!!

Yes, its the long awaited post that I have waited over a year to make and held onto for the last 4 days, trying to find the right words! We have finally found our girl and she is waiting for us in Vietnam! We are overjoyed, so excited! My cheeks hurt from smiling because I am so happy!

In early June, we were told about this little girl in Ho Chi Minh City who is four years old and has some special needs. She has a mild case of Cerebral Palsy and is developmentally delayed. Myke and I discussed the possibility of changing our plan for a younger child and immediately felt excited about this new path. We just had the feeling like "this is it, we think she's the one". We gathered all the information we could get about her and we have spent the better part of the last month consulting with pediatricians, doctors and specialists about her condition. We spoke with our agency representative in Vietnam and emailed her many questions, which she graciously answered. We spent hours upon hours of researching, reading, talking with each other and our families and our friends. We wanted to learn and know everything we could before making the most important decision to bring her home. We carefully considered every last detail, wanting to make sure that we are making the right decision, making absolute certain that it is the best decision both for us and especially for her! Making certain that this is the right family for her, and that we will be able to take care of her every need. And of course, as you can see now, we have come to the conclusion that this little girl from Ho Chi Minh City will be our Chianna!

Thank you to everyone for your support in helping us make this most important decision!
You all know who you are!

All I know is that our Chianna will have so much love and support from our friends and family, it is truly amazing and unbelievable. Not to mention a mommy and daddy that will be loving her to pieces! We just can't wait to have her home!

Just imagining all the work and efforts that has gone into this so far, and all the plans and people waiting for her to come home, and HER, sitting there in Vietnam so unaware of what is happening, what is being planned half a world away! That is truly amazing!

I have been just so smitten with her pictures and her beautiful, happy smile. I have been staring at her picture every day and falling more in love every moment, even before we heard the final medical reports, I was certain she was our Chianna. Myke was the methodical and practical one, making sure that her medical records were all in order and that we had the most information possible to make the most educated decision possible. This is also a big "leap of faith", as I have learned that many adoptive parents of SN children call it; stepping into the unknown, and hoping that she will acclimate well and respond well to our love, attention, and therapy. Now that we have "made the leap", we never look back, only planning ahead now and getting ready to bring her home. Almost every moment spent thinking, planning, and dreaming; dreaming about hugging her and holding her for the first time and forever!

We are currently awaiting our official referral. Not sure how long that will take, I am guestimating 2 - 3 weeks. We are also working on getting a revised home study to include our age change and our change to special needs. Once we get our home study, one copy needs to be authenticated by the state of Florida and by the Vietnamese consulate in San Fransisco and then forwarded onto Vietnam. The other copy needs to go to INS and then we await a new i171h approval form. After that is all set and the official referral is received, we will apply for her i600, which is her Visa to come home.

Everyone keeps asking when we will travel and when she is coming home, and the answer is, after all that stuff is done! Or can be read, we're not sure yet - maybe 2 - 3 months? Maybe sooner, I will know more soon.

Her adorable picture will grace the blog as soon as our official referral is in! For now, here are the stats I have:

Her Vietnamese name means Jade, and Jade will be her middle name.
She has been in the orphanage since August 2004, but I don't know her birth date.
She weighs 26 pounds! Tiny, tiny!