The Lost Months

If Cami had surgery in June and recovered well, then why did it take until December for her to become available for adoption?

Since I know little about the way the actual process works behind the scenes in China, I can only speculate that there is alot of paperwork that goes into preparing for a legal international adoption. There needs to be an accurate assessment of health and special needs. The orphanage must meet certain standards in order to be part of the international adoption program. There are probably as many steps in preparing the babies as there are in preparing the families on this side of the ocean!

However, I like to think that Cami's file arrived on the scene at the exact moment we were ready to move forward with adoption.....after a few months of talking about it, after deciding to chose a special needs program, after barely getting our feet wet and learning enough adoption jargon to be able to speak coherently with an agency.

Cami was first found by a morning worker at the gate of the Bureau of Civil Affairs.......she was later found by Love Without Boundaries and a family who wanted to help repair her lip.....and then, in God's perfect timing, she was found again, on the first Saturday in December 2006, by our family!

She was part of a brand new list of special needs babies available through Hawaii International Child. I saw her photo on Saturday and I called the agency on Monday. There was one family already reviewing her file and they had five days to decide. By December 12th we had our answer. The answer I knew already in my heart. Xiao Zhiyu would be coming home to our family.

We received two referral photos. I remember thinking that she had the most expressive face with eyebrows like little exclamations! She seemed to be just on the verge..... of something...laughing or crying. And I noticed that she must have scooted across the floor because she had left one little pink sandal behind. In these ways she showed us her spirit and her health, and she stole our hearts.