Books! I loved reading when I was a kid...got burned out in grad school...but have gotten back into reading the further I get away from school. Adopting has driven me to reading, too; I'm trying to learn as much as I can. We also know there are numerous benefits to reading to our children, so I've divided up our books into two sections:Books for Adoptive Parents
Children's Books
Here are some great children's books we've purchased. I've divided them into categories: books that deal with adoption (though not necessarily Chinese specific), books about China (but not about adoption), general children's books, and religious children's books.
Children's Books about Adoption:
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born
(not Chinese specific)
My Family is Forever
(Chinese adoption specific)
The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption
(Chinese adoption specific)
Shaoey and Dot: Bug Meets Bundle
(Chinese adoption specific)
It's Okay To Be Different
(while not necessarily about adoption, it lists adoption as one of the things it's "okay to be different" about)
Children's Books about China:
My First Chinese New Year
The Story About Ping
(the story takes place in China, and was one of Amy's childhood favorites)
Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes
(great resource with projects to bake and make for the major Chinese festivals)
Round is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes
General Children's Books:
Sun Bread
I Knew You Could!
The Listening Walk (Miss Spider)
Dashing Through the Snow (Miss Spider)
Mr. Peabody's Apples
Belinda, the Ballerina
Old Blue Buggy
I'm Gonna Like Me (rpkg): Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem
Richard Scarry's Smokey's Fire Engine (Book, Toy and Puzzle)
Miss Honey's School Bus
Religous Children's Books:
The Biggest Bible Storybook
Lift-and-Learn New Testament Stories
God Gave Me: A Story Of God's Blessings
God Smiles When
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
Just In Case You Ever Wonder - Board Book
The Story of the Loaves and Fishes (Story Of...)
Bible for Me: 12 Favorite Stories
All About Jesus
All About Prayer
All About The Bible
: If I had known I could have learned this entire history in only 24 pages (half of them pictures), I could have saved myself a ton of work in grad school!
Children's Books about Adoption:Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born
(not Chinese specific)My Family is Forever
(Chinese adoption specific)The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption
(Chinese adoption specific)Shaoey and Dot: Bug Meets Bundle
(Chinese adoption specific)It's Okay To Be Different
(while not necessarily about adoption, it lists adoption as one of the things it's "okay to be different" about)
Children's Books about China:My First Chinese New Year
The Story About Ping
(the story takes place in China, and was one of Amy's childhood favorites)Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes
(great resource with projects to bake and make for the major Chinese festivals)Round is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes
General Children's Books:Sun Bread
I Knew You Could!
The Listening Walk (Miss Spider)
Dashing Through the Snow (Miss Spider)
Mr. Peabody's Apples
Belinda, the Ballerina
Old Blue Buggy
I'm Gonna Like Me (rpkg): Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem
Richard Scarry's Smokey's Fire Engine (Book, Toy and Puzzle)
Miss Honey's School Bus
Religous Children's Books:The Biggest Bible Storybook
Lift-and-Learn New Testament Stories
God Gave Me: A Story Of God's Blessings
God Smiles When
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
Just In Case You Ever Wonder - Board Book
The Story of the Loaves and Fishes (Story Of...)
Bible for Me: 12 Favorite Stories
All About Jesus
All About Prayer
All About The Bible
: If I had known I could have learned this entire history in only 24 pages (half of them pictures), I could have saved myself a ton of work in grad school!
It's good to read other folks' blogs; we've gathered lots of tips for our adoption from them. Plus, it gives you something to do while you're waiting: you can live vicariously through others who are already finshed!
Lily and Kate
Cherry Blossom Baby
Do They Have Salsa in China
(D)rivvel Supp
Liptacks and Ladybugs - DTC on July 14th just like us!
Brian Stuy's Essays on His Research of China's Orphanages
Checking Boxes
Chinese Starfish A South African woman, living in China, taking care of special needs orphaned children preparing to be adopted.
Jazzie and Tahlia
The Kid and I
The Center for Adoption Medicine--not a family blog but helpful information.
Shana & Michael's Family(they have a daughter from China and they are in the process of adopting a son from Guatamala)
Waiting for Sophie
Oliver Michael
3D's Adoption Journey - One of three Canadians I follow and hope to meet one day
Building a Ladder of Hope - Number two of the Canadians!
Catherine's Chatter - Waiting for Hannah - and number three!
Mad Race for Macey
My Blog - Amy's Roommate from College
2 Girls, 1 Read Thread - lives near us, and we help run our Waiting Families Group
Ladybugs and Dragonflies
Much Ado
Waiting for Chloe
Some Babies Come by Plane
Just for Jillian
Lily and Kate
Cherry Blossom Baby
Do They Have Salsa in China
(D)rivvel Supp
Liptacks and Ladybugs - DTC on July 14th just like us!
Brian Stuy's Essays on His Research of China's Orphanages
Checking Boxes
Chinese Starfish A South African woman, living in China, taking care of special needs orphaned children preparing to be adopted.
Jazzie and Tahlia
The Kid and I
The Center for Adoption Medicine--not a family blog but helpful information.
Shana & Michael's Family(they have a daughter from China and they are in the process of adopting a son from Guatamala)
Waiting for Sophie
Oliver Michael
3D's Adoption Journey - One of three Canadians I follow and hope to meet one day
Building a Ladder of Hope - Number two of the Canadians!
Catherine's Chatter - Waiting for Hannah - and number three!
Mad Race for Macey
My Blog - Amy's Roommate from College
2 Girls, 1 Read Thread - lives near us, and we help run our Waiting Families Group
Ladybugs and Dragonflies
Much Ado
Waiting for Chloe
Some Babies Come by Plane
Just for Jillian
Okay, so understanding exactly what to do and how to do it is an incredible task. This site is a gathering of things that can help you - tips, books, blogs, etc. Check it out and see if any of it helps you. Feel free to send us an email, too! We would be glad to help if we know the answer!
Here are some random tips for the paper chase. Some of these aren't essential, but it may help you as you prepare your documents.
Organizing Your Work: One of the most intimidating things about the paperchase is simply "figuring it all out." When we started, nothing seemed to make sense, and we never thought we would be able to figure out what to do, when to do it, and where to send it when it was done. However, our agency provided a tracking sheet for our dossier, and it simply allowed you to check off all the steps. Ask your agency if they have one, or make one in Excel. You can get an idea of what ours looked like by clicking here. (You'll feel so good when it's all filled in!)
Signatures on documents: From what we've learned, the CCAA is very big on being able to read a signature - even if it's not how someone normally signs their name. In other words, if they read the typed name "Dr. Jane Smith," they want to be able to read "Dr. Jane Smith" in her signature. Therefore, make sure you explain to everyone signing documents - doctor's forms, notaries, employment letters, etc - to sign their name legibly, even if it isn't how they normally sign their name.
Notaries: Make sure your notaries have an expiration date over a year away. This is a generous amount of time, but it will prevent you from having notaries expire while you're still gathering papers. Also, make sure they don't stamp over words on the documents. Try to provide a blank space for them to make their stamp. Finally, try to use as few different notaries as possible; the only reason for this is to save time at the Secretary of State's Office. Each different notary requires a different search and different paper print out to attach to your documents. When we visited, 6 of our 11 documents were from the same notary, so they were able to search for her once, print out six sheets, and quickly attach them to each of her documents. This isn't a crucial step, but it can save you some time if you're going in person. Mailing it in? Don't worry about it!
Authentication at the Chinese Consulate/Embassy: It's important to remember - and we didn't understand until late - that documents have to be authenticated at the Chinese Consulate or Embassy that has jurisdiction over the area where a document started. For example: most of our papers - employment letters, financial documents, home study, marriage license, etc - originated in Texas, so they had to go to the Chinese Consulate in Houston since it has Texas jurisdiction. However, our birth certificates are from Tennessee, so they had to go to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D. C. since it has jurisdiction over Tennessee.
Authentication Requirements for Consulates vs. Embassies: This is tricky, but there are differences between requirements for documents going to consulates as opposed to embassies. Documents that are going to a Chinese Consulate (as most of ours did in Houston), only require the State level of authentication which we got at the State Secretary of State's Office. However, documents going to the Chinese Embassy (as did our birth certificates) have to go to State Level (which Tennessee did when we ordered them), then to the U.S. Secretary of State's Office, then to the Chinese Embassy. So, for whatever reason, documents going to the Embassy have to have one more layer of authentication than those going to a Consulate; understanding that will help you as you plan your timeline.
Fed Ex: To help with shipping documents, set up a personal Fed Ex account. It's free to do so, and it's linked to your credit card. Then, to ship, all you have to do is write your account number on it and drop it off at any Fed Ex location or call for a pickup. Stop by a Fed Ex place (or set it up online), set up your account, then pick up several of the labels and envelopes - and possibly the small boxes. By the end, the stack was too big for the envelopes and you needed the boxes. Your own account number will save you time (don't stand in line again!) and you can orchestrate your pickups from home. (Plus, you can save extra money when you arrange your shipping online!) Also, if you want to get documents Fed Exed at the last minute, be sure to check for the late night pickup in your area. In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, for example, the airport has a Fed Ex office that allows drop-offs until 10pm, and they're delivered the next morning! Check it out...
At the Chinese Consulate: When we filed our papers in the Houston Consulate, they required an extra copy of the home study for their files. They had a copier for us to use, but it was 25 cents per copy. It would be cheaper to make a copy before hand and bring with you. Also, they needed a copy of the passport photo page for the person on the application. We had heard this before hand and brought it, but we would have been caught off-guard...not to mention five hours from home without our passport. So, just to be safe, throw in a copy of your passport and bring it with you!
In Houston, the room you go to looks similar to a bank: there is a long row of desks at a counter behind glass. Look for the Drop Off lines as opposed to the Pick Up lines. (Ha! Nice joke, huh?) Get in line at the Drop Off, tell them what you're needing, and they'll look over it, fill out a receipt, and give it to you. They'll tell you when to return, and when you do go to the Pick Up line. Show your receipt, pay your money (cash, cashier's check or money order only), and get your documents. Be sure to check over your documents to make sure you got them all. Save time in advance by filling out the form required - the G1 form. Download it here. There are spaces for five documents, so we used three of them since we had 11 documents. I filled one out and put it on top of the documents listed, and handed in three different packs in essence. I got one receipt and paid for them all at the same time when I returned. In Houston, you have to turn in documents by 11am for same day service. I don't know about other locations, so I would check in advance before you go if you need it same day.
Authenticating Documents: All at once or mail them in?: All along, we had waited for our 171 before we authenticated documents. In our thinking, we figured why send some in advance when we were still going to have to take another form later when the 171 arrived. So, we took all our documents to Austin in person at one time, and paid $100 to get them authenticated. (Texas has a $100 cap per adopted child so it doesn't save money to do it one way or the other; I don't know about other states). Then, we took them all to the Chinese Consulate in Houston to get them authenticated, and paid for same day service so we could make the weekly agency deadline to go to China. We wanted to pay more to get our documents to China quicker, so we forked over $50 per document for 11 documents. Looking back, we could have sent in the others through the mail and paid $20 each much earlier and then waited on the 171. Then, when it arrived, we could do same day service and only pay $50 for it, as opposed to all 11. Live and learn. If I were doing it again, you ask? I would mail everything to the State level and get it done, then mail to the Consulate and pay regular price. Then, when the 171 arrived, I would drive to Austin, get it authenticated, then drive it Houston and do same day service. It would save me $300 over what I did this time. (But really, at this point, what's another $300?)
Courier Service: When we realized that our birth certificates had to go to Washington, D. C. instead of Texas (see above) we wanted to do it quickly, and through the mail can take up to six weeks when you Fed Ex to the U.S. Secretary of State and then the Chinese Embassy. I'm sure that's worst case scenario, but it could take a while. We decided to use a courier service, and it was awesome! We used the Assistant Stork. We Fed Exed our birth certificates on July 3rd around 8pm, and they arrived on Wednesday morning (dang July 4th holiday!). Laura took them to the U.S. Secretary of State on Thursday and waited on them, then took them over to the Chinese Embassy for 24 hour turn around. She picked them up on Friday and Fed Exed them back. We had them back in our hands in 6 days (including a holiday) so it was worth her nominal fee. Check out her website if you have to send documents to Washington, D. C.
Photo Pages: Designing your photo pages is a pretty important step, and we have a few tips for you to consider as you prepare yours. First, I would use a graphic design program to make it on your computer. I used Corel Draw. It isn't essential, but I would be afraid that scrap book pages could come apart in all the shipping and moving of your papers. Plus...I'm not a scrapbooker. Our agency reminded us to use pictures from only the previous two years. (At first I thought "how would they know?" but then I realized my wife's hair has been numerous lengths...so they may wonder about her incredible shriking/stretching hair if I used pictures too old!) Except for our home photos, we were told either Amy or I had to be in each of the photos, so you may need to remember that on upcoming events! We had lots of pictures of other people, but couldn't use them because we weren't in it. We couldn't find one single picture of us and our parents from the previous two years! So, if you have a holiday or birthday coming up, be sure to take lots of photos and make sure you or your spouse is in each one. Then, make sure everyone is clearly labeled and that the CCAA can understand what is going on and who is in the photo. We are by now way experts, but you can check out our photo pages here.
Organizing Your Work: One of the most intimidating things about the paperchase is simply "figuring it all out." When we started, nothing seemed to make sense, and we never thought we would be able to figure out what to do, when to do it, and where to send it when it was done. However, our agency provided a tracking sheet for our dossier, and it simply allowed you to check off all the steps. Ask your agency if they have one, or make one in Excel. You can get an idea of what ours looked like by clicking here. (You'll feel so good when it's all filled in!)
Signatures on documents: From what we've learned, the CCAA is very big on being able to read a signature - even if it's not how someone normally signs their name. In other words, if they read the typed name "Dr. Jane Smith," they want to be able to read "Dr. Jane Smith" in her signature. Therefore, make sure you explain to everyone signing documents - doctor's forms, notaries, employment letters, etc - to sign their name legibly, even if it isn't how they normally sign their name.
Notaries: Make sure your notaries have an expiration date over a year away. This is a generous amount of time, but it will prevent you from having notaries expire while you're still gathering papers. Also, make sure they don't stamp over words on the documents. Try to provide a blank space for them to make their stamp. Finally, try to use as few different notaries as possible; the only reason for this is to save time at the Secretary of State's Office. Each different notary requires a different search and different paper print out to attach to your documents. When we visited, 6 of our 11 documents were from the same notary, so they were able to search for her once, print out six sheets, and quickly attach them to each of her documents. This isn't a crucial step, but it can save you some time if you're going in person. Mailing it in? Don't worry about it!
Authentication at the Chinese Consulate/Embassy: It's important to remember - and we didn't understand until late - that documents have to be authenticated at the Chinese Consulate or Embassy that has jurisdiction over the area where a document started. For example: most of our papers - employment letters, financial documents, home study, marriage license, etc - originated in Texas, so they had to go to the Chinese Consulate in Houston since it has Texas jurisdiction. However, our birth certificates are from Tennessee, so they had to go to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D. C. since it has jurisdiction over Tennessee.
Authentication Requirements for Consulates vs. Embassies: This is tricky, but there are differences between requirements for documents going to consulates as opposed to embassies. Documents that are going to a Chinese Consulate (as most of ours did in Houston), only require the State level of authentication which we got at the State Secretary of State's Office. However, documents going to the Chinese Embassy (as did our birth certificates) have to go to State Level (which Tennessee did when we ordered them), then to the U.S. Secretary of State's Office, then to the Chinese Embassy. So, for whatever reason, documents going to the Embassy have to have one more layer of authentication than those going to a Consulate; understanding that will help you as you plan your timeline.
Fed Ex: To help with shipping documents, set up a personal Fed Ex account. It's free to do so, and it's linked to your credit card. Then, to ship, all you have to do is write your account number on it and drop it off at any Fed Ex location or call for a pickup. Stop by a Fed Ex place (or set it up online), set up your account, then pick up several of the labels and envelopes - and possibly the small boxes. By the end, the stack was too big for the envelopes and you needed the boxes. Your own account number will save you time (don't stand in line again!) and you can orchestrate your pickups from home. (Plus, you can save extra money when you arrange your shipping online!) Also, if you want to get documents Fed Exed at the last minute, be sure to check for the late night pickup in your area. In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, for example, the airport has a Fed Ex office that allows drop-offs until 10pm, and they're delivered the next morning! Check it out...
At the Chinese Consulate: When we filed our papers in the Houston Consulate, they required an extra copy of the home study for their files. They had a copier for us to use, but it was 25 cents per copy. It would be cheaper to make a copy before hand and bring with you. Also, they needed a copy of the passport photo page for the person on the application. We had heard this before hand and brought it, but we would have been caught off-guard...not to mention five hours from home without our passport. So, just to be safe, throw in a copy of your passport and bring it with you!
In Houston, the room you go to looks similar to a bank: there is a long row of desks at a counter behind glass. Look for the Drop Off lines as opposed to the Pick Up lines. (Ha! Nice joke, huh?) Get in line at the Drop Off, tell them what you're needing, and they'll look over it, fill out a receipt, and give it to you. They'll tell you when to return, and when you do go to the Pick Up line. Show your receipt, pay your money (cash, cashier's check or money order only), and get your documents. Be sure to check over your documents to make sure you got them all. Save time in advance by filling out the form required - the G1 form. Download it here. There are spaces for five documents, so we used three of them since we had 11 documents. I filled one out and put it on top of the documents listed, and handed in three different packs in essence. I got one receipt and paid for them all at the same time when I returned. In Houston, you have to turn in documents by 11am for same day service. I don't know about other locations, so I would check in advance before you go if you need it same day.
Authenticating Documents: All at once or mail them in?: All along, we had waited for our 171 before we authenticated documents. In our thinking, we figured why send some in advance when we were still going to have to take another form later when the 171 arrived. So, we took all our documents to Austin in person at one time, and paid $100 to get them authenticated. (Texas has a $100 cap per adopted child so it doesn't save money to do it one way or the other; I don't know about other states). Then, we took them all to the Chinese Consulate in Houston to get them authenticated, and paid for same day service so we could make the weekly agency deadline to go to China. We wanted to pay more to get our documents to China quicker, so we forked over $50 per document for 11 documents. Looking back, we could have sent in the others through the mail and paid $20 each much earlier and then waited on the 171. Then, when it arrived, we could do same day service and only pay $50 for it, as opposed to all 11. Live and learn. If I were doing it again, you ask? I would mail everything to the State level and get it done, then mail to the Consulate and pay regular price. Then, when the 171 arrived, I would drive to Austin, get it authenticated, then drive it Houston and do same day service. It would save me $300 over what I did this time. (But really, at this point, what's another $300?)
Courier Service: When we realized that our birth certificates had to go to Washington, D. C. instead of Texas (see above) we wanted to do it quickly, and through the mail can take up to six weeks when you Fed Ex to the U.S. Secretary of State and then the Chinese Embassy. I'm sure that's worst case scenario, but it could take a while. We decided to use a courier service, and it was awesome! We used the Assistant Stork. We Fed Exed our birth certificates on July 3rd around 8pm, and they arrived on Wednesday morning (dang July 4th holiday!). Laura took them to the U.S. Secretary of State on Thursday and waited on them, then took them over to the Chinese Embassy for 24 hour turn around. She picked them up on Friday and Fed Exed them back. We had them back in our hands in 6 days (including a holiday) so it was worth her nominal fee. Check out her website if you have to send documents to Washington, D. C.
Photo Pages: Designing your photo pages is a pretty important step, and we have a few tips for you to consider as you prepare yours. First, I would use a graphic design program to make it on your computer. I used Corel Draw. It isn't essential, but I would be afraid that scrap book pages could come apart in all the shipping and moving of your papers. Plus...I'm not a scrapbooker. Our agency reminded us to use pictures from only the previous two years. (At first I thought "how would they know?" but then I realized my wife's hair has been numerous lengths...so they may wonder about her incredible shriking/stretching hair if I used pictures too old!) Except for our home photos, we were told either Amy or I had to be in each of the photos, so you may need to remember that on upcoming events! We had lots of pictures of other people, but couldn't use them because we weren't in it. We couldn't find one single picture of us and our parents from the previous two years! So, if you have a holiday or birthday coming up, be sure to take lots of photos and make sure you or your spouse is in each one. Then, make sure everyone is clearly labeled and that the CCAA can understand what is going on and who is in the photo. We are by now way experts, but you can check out our photo pages here.
Okay, so some of these are a little bizarre - DH, for instance - but these are the acronyms you'll see if you do much research into Chinese adoption. Read this and you won't be confused when you start reading blogs!
DTC - Dossier to China
LID - Log in Date
DOR - Date of Referral
DOT - Date of Travel
DH - Dear Husband
DW - Dear Wife
ACR - Age of Child Requested
SN - Special Needs
NSN - Non special needs
CN - Chinese name
TA - Travel Approval
SW - Social Worker
INS - Immigration & Naturalization Service
BCIS - Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services
CCAA - China Center for Adoption Affairs
BTDT - been there, done that
DTC - Dossier to China
LID - Log in Date
DOR - Date of Referral
DOT - Date of Travel
DH - Dear Husband
DW - Dear Wife
ACR - Age of Child Requested
SN - Special Needs
NSN - Non special needs
CN - Chinese name
TA - Travel Approval
SW - Social Worker
INS - Immigration & Naturalization Service
BCIS - Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services
CCAA - China Center for Adoption Affairs
BTDT - been there, done that
US Embassy Guangzhou
Chinese Embassy Houston
Processing Time for I600
Families with Children from China
Intercountry Adoption Procedures for China
China Adoption Forums
The G1 - The form for document authentication at the Chinese Consulate
Chinese Pod - online language course
A 4ever Family - A lot of good information on a variety of subjects
Chinese Embassy Houston
Processing Time for I600
Families with Children from China
Intercountry Adoption Procedures for China
China Adoption Forums
The G1 - The form for document authentication at the Chinese Consulate
Chinese Pod - online language course
A 4ever Family - A lot of good information on a variety of subjects
This book is really where it really began to take shape for us. It's extremely moving, and it gives a great look at political, social, and economic reasons that have resulted in the availability of little girls in China.
This book was very helpful, and it covers a variety of topics. Though it is over 350 pages long, it is clearly divided into different topics, so you can easily skip sections that don't apply. For example, since we're adopting a girl under the age of one, we could skip the sections on adopting older children. It has a lot of great information on bonding and attachment.
This book is very different than The Lost Daughters of China. Lost Daughters is written from more of an emotional standpoint, I would say; this book is much more academic. It's written by a researcher and focuses a lot on statistics and interviews with both adoptive families in China and families that gave up thier children. In my opinion, this book is a much heavier read, but very good. Reading both The Lost Daughters of China and Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son gives you two different views...you get both sides of the coin.
This really cute book is designed for kids, and it chronicles the story of a little girl from the day she was left to the day she flew to America. It would be great to help explain the process to brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. I've purchased another to donate to our church library.
A moving DVD from the beginning, Lisa Ling takes National Geographic Explorer to China, uncovering the customs and pressures that has led to the current situation for little girls. She follows a group of Americans who are traveling to adopt their daughters. If for no other reason, the scene where the parents pick up their daughters was worth the price of the DVD. (Have your kleenex handy!) The DVD was helpful in that it kind of gave us an idea of what to expect - because you can only get so much reading blogs!
This is such a fun DVD! It's all about Big Bird visiting China and trying to find the Monkey King, a popular character in Chinese literature. An adorable little girl shows Big Bird through temples, beautiful gardens, the Great Wall of China and more. We bought if for our future daughter, but we opened it and watched it as soon as it arrived!
This is such a fun DVD! It's all about Big Bird visiting China and trying to find the Monkey King, a popular character in Chinese literature. An adorable little girl shows Big Bird through temples, beautiful gardens, the Great Wall of China and more. We bought if for our future daughter, but we opened it and watched it as soon as it arrived!
This collection of lullabies from all over China and performed by the Beijing Angelic Choir is great. One day we look forward to playing it for a little girl, now we'll just have to suffice for playing it while we fill out dossier information.
