He shall be called ...Drew

We have been struggling with an American name for Zhong Fu. We know that they gave him the English name of Harrison. We thought if he likes this name we could keep it, and he does. However, we got an email from Tammy, a volunteer, and we found out that Zhong Fu is his given birth name. The orphanage only changed his surname from Gao to Sun. So, Zhong Fu is important and we will keep that as his middle name. They also told us that a teacher at the orphanage picked the name Harrison and that he doesn't know a good American name from a bad one. They both suggested we pick a name that we like and give it to him and they will start calling him that. (We were also debating about selecting 3-4 names and letting him choose.) We also learned that it is common in China for them to choose an American name and then change it when they find one they like better. They didn't think it would be hard for him to adjust to a new name. We all agree that we like Drew, and looking at his picture I think this fits. We all will have to get used to it, but I hope Zhong Fu likes it. Overall, we don't really care what he is called as long as we can bring him home into our family soon.

One Step Closer

On Monday, March 9th, we received our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from China. This is the last document that we need to sign before we receive our travel invitation. We expect to hear within the month as to when we can travel. It was a little frustrating as we were supposed to get the letter on Friday, and we waited all day and Saturday too. We were a little worried, but all is well. Bill and I left work for lunch, met at home and signed the papers. I went and made a copy and took it directly to Fed. Ex. I also resent the package to Zhong Fu that came back to us from China. We hope he gets our package this week. I am sure he is anxious to see what his new family looks like.

Still Waiting

We called our agency pressing for any news. We were told today that our paperwork has gone through review, but it will be a "few" more weeks. We don't know what "few" means, but we know that it isn't what we wanted to hear. We are trying to be more patient. I guess I won't be anxious for the phone to ring all day long.

We did hear that Zhong Fu received our letter. His teacher read it to him and she said he jumped up and was very happy. I am glad he is excited about us too. I hope the wait doesn't seem as unbearable to him as it has been for us. He hasn't received our pictures and toys yet, but hopefully he will soon.

Happy Birthday, again

I found out on Friday, Feb. 13th, that Sun Zhong fu was given the birthday cake that we sent. He was told that it was from his new American family. He helped light the candles and cut the cake. He shared it with the children in his class at school. This is exciting for us as we know he knows that we exist out there. We don't know yet what he all knows about us, but we did send a letter with the cake. We hope to get travel dates soon.

Happy Birthday

Today we received pictures that were taken at Zhongfu's birthday party. His birthday is not until Feb. 14th, but I guess they celebrate birthdays just once during the month. Also, his birthday is on a Saturday so they would not celebrate it then since he wouldn't be in class. As you can see from the pictures, he seemed very happy. It was nice to finally see him with a smile on his face.

We also learned that the name Sun Zhong fu was given to him by the orphanage.

Enjoy the pictures as much as we have!

Shenzhen Children’s Welfare Institute

I was looking online and I found a government website with information about the orphanage. I am not sure how recent it has been updated. It said that this orphanage was established in September of 1992. It is seven stories tall and holds about 200 children of all ages. It says that each floor contains rooms for the children, an activity room for playing, and a washroom where each child has his/her own household goods. In the building their is a very large playroom on the first floor, a reading room and an exercise room. It says that the learning center is on the 3rd floor. There is a observation room, clinic with doctors and nurses on the 4th floor. I am adding a couple pictures to the left. (I was told that Zhongfu lives on the 5th floor.)

We are Getting Closer

We got permission today from our agency, and China, to send pictures of our family to Zhongfu. We are also going to send him a birthday cake as his birthday is on February 14th. They also said they are going to start preparing him for being adopted. While we don't have our travel dates yet, I feel it is going to be very soon. They also sent us his name in Chinese. 孙仲富

Hopefully I will be posting the travel dates soon.