Introducing Zhao Jingchu

It is with great honor excitement and God's blessing that I share with you the referral of my daughter to be Zhao Jingchu soon to be Annalise Jingchu.

She was born on July 24, 2006 and is currently 1 year 9 months and 28 days old residing in the Social Welfare Center of Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China, (next door to Hong Kong). Jingchu was found on September 1, 2006 with a note from her birth parents. This leads us to believe she was a wanted baby. But she was sick and needed surgery that they probably could not afford. After 24 days in the hospital she was released back to the Social Welfare Center in Shenzhen where she has been ever since with no further medical complications or medical needs.

She has blossomed in the care of this Welfare Center. At the age of 3-4 months she did not like to be in bed and wanted to be cuddled by her caregiver. At 7-8 months was crawling and started walking at 16 months. My favorite thing they shared is at 16months she can lift her hand to say yes when the caretakers call roll.

One of her developmental checklists has the date of December 25, 2007. She is just a little Christmas present to me. She is close to her Caretaker, she likes to listen to music, and is fond of playing games and will fit in great in this family. Other tidbits of information I received are that she gets along well with other, does not bully the other kids and is obedient, cute and very adorable.

On May 13, 2008 as I was just about out the door to work when my cell phone rang. I don’t have good coverage at home so I ran into Annalise’s room, where the reception is best. To my amazement it was my agency. The lady at my agency asked me if I was crying. Well yes I was. She proceeds to tell me I was a Mommy, then I really started to cry. I stepped out onto the deck to make sure I did not drop the call. I kept asking are you sure, are you sure? She then shared with me a few things about Jingchu. I was all alone and shaking so bad I could hardly open my email and there it was a referral! I had waited so long for this moment and there it was! With trembling hands I opened it up to see a beautiful little girl that I know I've seen before in my dreams. After 48 hours of hard labor, let me just say it was not easy to accept a SN referral in 48 hours, I submitted my Letter of Intent (LOI). Even after all the doctors’ input and research I had to take A leap of faith which is somthing we all must do when accepting an adoption referral. I know in my heart this is the little girl I have been praying for my Annalise.

I am so excited and over the moon in love with this little girl. It’s hard to express in words. I received my Pre Approval (PA) today May 22, 2008 and may travel in 2-3 months hopefully before Jingchu’s second birthday. Please keep us in your prayers as we do everything we can to prepare for her arrival and that Jingchu is healthy and happy until she is placed in my arms.