This is a photo of our Letter of Intent package that was mailed to our agency on Saturday, March 10, 2006, our two year adoption day anniversary for Elise (RED THREAD). It was completed on March 9th, GOTCHA DAY for Elise (RED THREAD) This information had been translated into Chinese and will be mailed to China on Monday, March 19, 2006. We will get a FEDEX tracking number and I will have an "official" day to start counting from. We are beyond excited! We hope to travel sometime in July or August...the hottest time of the year in China, but who cares!!!! We will be bringing our daughter home!
This is a copy of our LOI. I have removed certain information that I am not at liberty to share with anyone YET!
To the Officials of The Peoples Republic of China:
We respectfully request to adopt and have the privilege of having as our daughter Amelia, (information removed) . She is reported to have daily therapy for her condition but is otherwise reported to be healthy and normal.
We have been married for 9 ½ years. We have three children and they all live at home. Our first son is Matthew. He is 16 years old, very active in the school orchestra and a very good student. He wants to be a doctor. Our second son is Tucker. He is 14 years old, almost an Eagle Scout and an exceptional wrestler. Tucker is an excellent student and he is striving to attend West Point Military Academy. Elise is our youngest child and our daughter. She was adopted from FoGang Social Welfare Institute, Guangdong Province, The Peoples Republic of China on March 10, 2005. She is a happy, active and inquisitive three year old. All of our children are blessings and very special in their own ways. They are all very excited about having another sister, especially Elise since she will finally be a big sister. The older boys love playing with Elise and look forward to having another little girl to love and look after.
We have consulted with specialists at Shriners Children’s Hospital (SCH) in Lexington, Kentucky. SCH specializes in medical care for children with. Dr. Chester Tylkowski, Chief of Staff at SHC, responded to our request for a medical opinion stating that Amelia will need an orthopedic and possibly a neurological consultation. Orthopedic procedures will be needed, but the type depends on the examination and other studies. SCH has the necessary resources to treat Amelia and an appropriate treatment plan can be recommended after Amelia is evaluated.
We also consulted with Kristie Webster, Physical Therapist, at ABC Pediatric Therapy in West Chester. She stated that physical therapy would be necessary for Amelia for an unspecified amount of time. Amelia's initial therapy for this condition will consist of weigh bearing activities and getting the muscles to reactivate since muscles tend to “shut down” during any type of surgery or injury. Therapy at the facility would occur once a week for an hour with instructions and exercises to be completed at home between office sessions. The duration of therapy will depend on the severity of the surgery etc.
Dr. Marsha Strasser is our pediatrician and she also reviewed Amelia's medical information. Based on the medical information provided and not knowing what kind of surgery Amelia may have undergone, her opinion is that she will probably still require physical therapy and possibly more surgery. It appears that Amelia other development skills are on target.
We are fortunate to live within 10 miles of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital a top five Children’s Hospital in the United States. We are more than confident that we can provide Amelia with the best medical care available. Amelia will be covered by our health carrier as soon as the adoption is completed.
We can assure you that we will never abandon or abuse Amelia. She will have all the inheritance rights and privileges as our other three children and any other children that we may have in the future.
Education is an important aspect of our children’s lives. We live in an excellent school district that provides our children with a wonderful education. We understand the value of a college education and strongly encourage all of our children to continue their education and obtain a college degree.
We are fortunate to have an adequate income that will enable us to care for Amelia. We also live in a culturally diverse community where we experience various cultures daily. We believe that this community teaches us to respect others from different countries and cultures. Our family is very close and enjoys spending time together. Although our interests are different, we take time to encourage and support each other in the things we enjoy. We are very active and athletic and enjoy being outdoors. Amelia enjoys an active environment and she will definitely need to be active to help her recover from any surgery that she has had or may have. We believe that Amelia will love the activity level of our home and will this help her to become an active part of our family.
We live in an area with a very culturally rich Chinese community. We celebrate all the holidays that are honored by the Peoples Republic of China and look forward to teaching those traditions to Amelia. The Peoples Republic of China enjoys the riches and oldest culture in the world and we will enjoy teaching Amelia all about her wonderful country. When Amelia is older, we plan to return to The Peoples Republic of China and tour the country of her birth.
Thank you for considering our request to adopt Amelia.
Steven & Kimberly
We have a log in date of September 26, 2006
As you can see, this is not a short letter. I had a difficult time keeping this to under two pages. But my first draft was a "go" and I didn't have to change anything.
Although it is not entirely appropriate, I am reminded of the story of the Prodigal son....
...."But while she was a long way off, her father/mother saw her and felt compassion for her, and ran and embrace her and kissed her." Luke 15:20
She is so far off, but we see her sweet face in a photo and we kiss it and love it until we can do it in person. We pray for God to hold her in his hands and keep her safe until we can get there to do it ourselves. We are already in love with her....she is our daughter...our child! No matter what, she is ours!
Blessings,
Kim
