Care Package #1

I've been asked about Meili's carepackages and the letter that we sent along with it. I've raved about her before but can't say enough how helpful, prompt and generally wonderful Ann at http://www.redthreadchina.org/ was to work with. As part of her packages, she will translate a letter for you. That in and of itself made the whole process worthwhile. As far as the letter goes, sometimes it helps to look at an example. In fact, I'm sure that the letter we ended up with was crafted from several others that I have peeked at over the years. Ours is below:

(Part of me hopes that the cake is actually average size and Meili is really, really petite but I'm sure that's just one freaking huge cake!)

Dear Fu Zhou Social Welfare Institute Director and/or Caregiver of Fu Yan Cong,

We are looking forward to visiting China and becoming parents to our little girl currently in your care. We have attached our Letter Seeking Confirmation showing our Daughter’s name and our desire to make her part of our family. We eagerly look forward to adopting Fu Yan Cong. Thank you for all the love and care you have given her. We are more grateful than can ever be expressed.

Fu Yan Cong not only has a mother and father waiting for her in the United States, but also three older brothers (ages 13, 8 and 5) and an older sister (age 11) who has been wishing for a baby sister since she was old enough to speak. Even though we have a large family by many standards, we have had room in our hearts for another child for many years. We feel blessed beyond measure to be given the opportunity to welcome Fu Yan Cong to our family.

We feel that children are a most precious gift and we take our role and responsibility as parents very seriously. Please know that we will love and care for Fu Yan Cong just as we do our other children. We also want you to know that as we welcome our new daughter into our family, we also welcome the opportunity to celebrate and honor the culture of her native country. We have been studying Chinese language and culture and have developed a love for China and its people. We hope to give our daughter many opportunities to learn about and explore the land of her birth throughout her life. It is our goal to return to China with our daughter one day when she is older and to be able to sit down with you and have a conversation without the need of a translator. We will do our best!

In the report that we have received about Fu Yan Cong, it states that she is fond of foods that are sweet. We hope that she enjoys the birthday cake that we have sent to her and is able to share it with some of her friends. We will be thinking of her on her special day and are saddened that we can’t be there to celebrate with her. Please give her a kiss on the cheek and a hug from us and tell her that we will be together soon.

We are enclosing a disposable camera in this package, hoping you might be able to take some photographs of Fu Yan Cong at the orphanage, with her caregivers and cribmate, (or with her foster family if she is in foster care) and anything that you feel may be important to us or her in the future. We will keep these pictures to share with her when she is older so we can tell her about her first home. They will mean so much to us.

Enclosed is a list of questions. We know that the answers to these questions will help us to make the transition easier for her. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to answer these questions.

Thank you for all you have done for Fu Yan Cong. We will forever be grateful. Please hug and care for her until we can be united with her.

Sincerely,
The Bouton Family
Mathew, Jennifer, Taylor, Audrey, Noah and Xander

Questions about Fu Yan Cong:
Does Fu Yan Cong’s name have any special meaning?
Who chose her name, and why was that name chosen?
Does she have a nickname/petname?
Please tell us about when, how and where she was found. Can you tell us who found her? How old do you think she was when she was found? What was she wearing?
Was there a note found with her, or any other memento? If there was a note/memento, could we have a copy of it?
Do you have her finding ad? Could we have a copy of her finding ad?
Has Fu Yan Cong been at FuZhou SWI since she was found? Has she been in other orphanages or in foster care?
Is she close to a particular caregiver? What is that caregivers’s name? What (if anything) does she call her caregiver?
Does she have a special friend or cribmate in the orphanage? (Or, if she is in foster care, does she have any foster siblings?) What is that child’s name? Has that child been adopted?
Is Fu Yan Cong accustomed to hearing Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese language? We have been studying Mandarin and hope that we have made a good choice!
How would you describe her personality?
What makes her happy? What makes her angry or upset?
What are the best ways to soothe her?
What are her favorite activities?
Has she had health problems or allergies? What kinds of medical treatments has she had?
What kind of food is she eating now? Does she have any particular likes or dislikes? What is her favorite food?
What else would you like to tell us about her?
Does the orphanage or caregivers need anything in particular?
Is there a telephone number or email address so we can contact you about the orphanages’ future needs or send updates about Fu Yan Cong as she grows?