Behold, children are a gift of the Lord... Psalm 127:3a
About us.......
We are Travis, Tina, Tia, TaraKate and Tabi! A complete family of 5!
We started our first paperchase in 1999 after a failed domestic adoption. A very sad time in our lives, but also a very exciting time! We had no idea what God had in store for us and are so thankful that He controls our paths and not we ourselves. We are so thankful that our social worker on that very sad day, mentioned International Adoption, a path we had not even considered. Within a months time God tugged at our hearts that our child was in China!
Our first paperchase took us about 4 months. We received our referral of our oldest daughter, Tia in February of 2000. She was just under 6 months at referral and the most beautiful little thing we had ever seen! Due to a few changes in Consulate appointments we had to wait 10 weeks to leave. Those few weeks did fly by as we prepared to leave the country for the first time. We had a wonderful quick trip - only 9 days! We did not see much of China as we traveled straight to Guangdong where she was born and then returned home. We really had no idea the site seeing we missed. We stayed at the White Swan our entire trip!
We met our Tia at the White Swan Hotel lobby -- a moment I will never forget! We immediately recognized her as our coordinator carried her into the hotel. She never did cry, but did have a very serious look. She was so precious! She bonded with us both very quickly and immediately had us wrapped around that little finger! And still does :o) We returned home the day before Mother's Day! Couldn't have ask for a better 1st Mother's Day!
Tia seemed to grow up so fast. It didn't take long before we decided she must have a sister to share her life with, someone to talk to, to play with and someone to love forever. I have shared so many precious memories with my sister and can't imagine not giving my children the same opportunity.
We paperchased again, this time only having to update our homestudy, which made it take only around 3 months. The wait had increased greatly though to around 14 and some even had waited 15 months, also the SARS delay period. The CCAA did make many adjustments and tried their hardest to get the waiting times down. We ended up waiting 11 months. Seemed like a lifetime at the moment, but now only a memory. It was worth every minute we waited to see our TaraKate's referral! We all fell in love with that little face from Hubei!
Our travel arrangements went much quicker this time around and our agency, FTIA had us on a plane in 6 weeks. This time we traveled with the group for site seeing first! An amazing experience! We did so many things so fast, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Acrobatic Show, The Summer Palace and The Great Wall! How do you cram all that in just a few days! We had a blast but must admit we were all ready for the big day -- Gotcha Day!! We met our little TaraKate at The White Rose Hotel. Another beautiful memory, even if it wasn't picture perfect!
Tia carried by our coordinator, Jennifer (Red Shirt)!
Tia at The White Swan at 8 months
Meeting TaraKate for the first time!
Our TaraKate did not respond to us as well as Tia. Instead she screamed for the first 3 hours. Finally daddy suggested a bath which changed her whole mood. She loved the bath and we started becoming friends. It didn't take long for her to realize how much we loved her! By the time we returned home it was if she had always been with us!
Happy TaraKate at The White Rose Hotel, Hubei
We documented our Journey To TaraKate through The Story Of You, our personal website at that time, which many of you followed. There were so many that followed, so many prayers and emails that just a few months after our return, The Story Of You began as a business. We thought everyone should be able to share their journey with their loved ones at home!
Wow, what an awesome God! Through watching as I hosted all the beautiful journeys God directed us to return again. Our hearts again were melted......
On Christmas Eve, my husband gave me the perfect gift, a small wristlet filled with $200 to begin the paperchase again. Our whole family was excited!
We sent our application to FTIA on January 3, 2005. It was hard to believe that the paperchase had begun again!! Our dossier was sent to China on May 27, 2005, Log In Date of June 9, 2005. At the time of our DTC and LID referrals were running at a smooth pace of 6 months! Wow, what a breeze, we thought...... Unfortunately the slow down pace began and we waited almost exactly 12 months from our DTC! We received the wonderful call on May 25, 2006! We gathered around one another at the FTIA office and viewed our little Tabi for the first time! Love at first again for Mommy and Daddy! Big sisters were very excited!!
We thank you for your prayers, thoughts and all those who have used The Story Of You to document your journey! We treasure you!!
This was our prayer for each of our daughters....
And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold.... When Love Takes You In, by Steven Curtis Chapman
