Hello,
My name is Russ W. and I am married to a wonderful southern gal named Lisa. We have been married to each other for nearly 17 years now and have no children. When we first got married we decided that we would wait 5 years before we had any children. Well, we stuck to that plan for about a year and then decided that if it is going to happen then we were not going to do anything to prevent it. After about 10 years of no success we started some low level treatment. That went on and off while I was in college. In the fall of 2004 I turned 40 years old and did some soul searching. I told Lisa that if we are going to have a child together than we need to get serious very soon. We started seeing a fertility doctor and jumped through all the hoops for about 1 year culminating in an unsuccessful IVF procedure. At this point we took a step back and made the decision to adopt rather than proceed with any further treatment.
Adoption was never out of the question for us and we had talked about it before. We just felt like we wanted to try everything possible to have a child of our own so that down the road 10-20 years from now we will not have any regrets. Well, we did everything we could and have moved on to an adoption.
The adoption process can basically be divided into 3 main steps:
1. The paper work
2. The homestudy and subsequent wait
3. The trip
As of today (January 22, 2006) we have completed the massive stack of paper work and are looking forward to starting the home study within the next couple of weeks. Once the homestudy is complete a dossier ( a collection of all your personal paperwork) is sent to China to be entered into the log. At this point the wait begins. As of this writing we are being told that the wait is approx. 8-10 months. That is very much like a real pregnancy. In fact, I have heard it described as the "paper pregnancy". We hope to have a Referal from the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) office by about August or September of 2006. At that point I should be able to add a picture of Alison Rose to this blog. So for now we will just have to leave it up to our imagination as to what she really looks like.
11 comments:
Wow, China.
Good luck and God bless you.
Awesome! The room looks great so far!
xoxo
craig and nic
Good going golf partner! I can't wait to meet Lisa and of course Alison Rose when she arrives.
Steph
Russ & Lisa,
You'r story is absolutely wonderful it brings tears our eyes and tuggs on our heart strings. We are so excited for the both of you. We try to keep our over abundance of anxiety and joy to a minimum. We don't want to give false hopes or see you both hurt the way we have seen in the past. We love you both and we think you will be outstanding parents to ALISON (with one L). We can not wait to meet our little angel, our new niece.
We love you,
Uncle Mike &
Aunt Michele (with one L)
Russ & Lisa
You'r story is absolutely wonderful, it bring tears to our eyes and tuggs at our heart strings. We have tried to keep our over abundance of anxiety and joy to a minimum. We have seen the struggles you have been through. Which by the way, will only make you stronger and your going to need it in those teenage years. (lol) Mike & I are behind you all the way. We think that you both will make oustanding parents to Alison (with one L). We can't wait to meet the little angel, our new niece.
We Love you both,
Uncle Mike &
Aunt Michele (with one L)
what a beautiful name she has already!
Russ & Lisa, Jenn & I want to wish you the best with this adoption. We hope you have a safe trip soon and bring back your new bundle of Rose. We have been thinking about you both lately. My phone crashed & lost your email so email me so we can keep in touch... you know we have to keep in touch with the matchmaker that got us together :) Dave & Jenn Hale
Hey, Lisa and Russ.
We are all very excited and can't wait to meet our long awaited niece and cousin, Alison Rose. Haley and Calvin are ready for a new cousin to show off and brag about. I am ready for my big sis to have a child that I can spoil as much as you too have spoiled my own. We love you.
Love, Your Lil Sis,
Stacy
i am so happy for you both .you and your hubby deservre all the happiness in the world and this bright and precious gift will fill your hearts to the top and over flowing . the very best to you all and the little angel till you are joined together in one home . god bless you hon and may god shine gis light into your life and on the new little bundle of yours. huggies
kathy
Dear Russel and Lisa,
I am so happy that you are going to achieve your dream and have a child. Lisa I have know for some three years, Russel I have not been lucky enough to meet but I know you are both going to make great parents and little Alison Rose is going to be blessed with very doting and loving parents. I wish you both losts of love.
Gwen aka Meloblue....yep Lisa, I pop up everywhere!!
Your Father and Mother are so looking forward to meeting our new grandaughter, Alison Rose.
She will be an absoulte joy to us
(and we can not wait to see her) We have been waiting for this day for years.
We can hardly wait for the day when we can babysit, and hold her in our arms,and proudly say this is our grandaughter Allison Rose Wulfekuhl.
Russell and Lisa we know what you have been through making this all happen, and God will Bless You ! The rewards will be awesome.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you now and always.
Love to you both
Dad and Mom
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