An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break. - Chinese Proverb.

Shopping Ideas

China Cultural Products

China Sprout A shopping site where you can find just about anything China related - clothes books, artwork, etc. Very reputable!
Asian Ideas

Lifebooks

Sample Lifebook Outline

Life before Baby/Child
--type of work you do
--places you've lived
--hobbies
--pets
--what a typical weekend would be like "before baby"

Adoption Process
--story of how you decided to adopt (and why)
--how you chose country (if International)
--how long the process took - steps involved
--photos of homestudy and agency personnel
--description of talks with birthmother (pictures if possible)
--home study
--referral picture and docs that arrived with picture
--referral call, what you were doing when you got it

Legal Section
--place of birth
--places where the child has lived (foster families, orphanages, reasons for moves)
--birth certificate

The Name Game
--a description on how you arrived at baby's name
--what the name means
--a list of your top choices
--child's name written in their language

The Nursery
--photos of fixing up the nursery
--descriptions of why you purchased what you did
--what was the most popular theme at the time

Travel Section
--airplane ticket stubs
--money from the country
--maps
--a local newspaper from the birth town/country
--brochures from museums and theatres that were visited
--a little bit of the orphanage (a stone from outside, a small handful of dirt, etc.)
--their name written in their language
--pictures of orphanage, caretakers, homestay families, drivers, interpreters, judge, sightseeing, airport and everything else that happens on your Int'l journey.
--for domestic--pictures of the hospital, birthmom (if possible), hotel you stayed in, and everything else that was a part of the "travel" experience.
--what you were doing when you got the call saying it was time to travel

Baby Showers
--baby shower(s) invitation
--photos of baby shower(s)
--piece of gift paper and card for each baby gift (this could get big, so maybe a small collage)
--names of people who were in attendance

Arrival Section
--first family photo after joining the child
--photos of arrival (the plane)
--date, time, airlines and place of arrival
--description of travel with child
--photos of passport/visa
--photos of people meeting you at the airport
--pictures of your house if someone decorated it before you got home
--pictures of family/friends holding the baby with huge smiles
--short personal handwritten notes from family/friends welcoming the baby

Personal Section
--baby's favorite food, toy, book, etc.
--list sleep and nap patterns (incl. picture)
--describe how they like bathing (incl. picture)

Medical Section
--report of each physical including updated measurements at each doctor visit
--immunization record
--full physical, history and clearance for adoption
--hand and foot imprints
--pictures of the doctors at the orphanage, Embassy and home pediatrician

Political & Current Affairs Section
--who was in office
--anything that you find interesting about the current state of affairs
--International adoptions could include: political picture of country, people in office, economic picture and any state of affairs you find interesting about that country.
--International adoption can include flag of country
--list the current hot sports stars and teams
--list the current hot actors, actresses and movies
--what food was chic
--what restaurants
--what fashion was hot

Cost of things
--cost of movies
--price of diapers, formula, Big Mac, etc.
--average annual income for the nation
--average home price for your region

The Adoption Announcement
--include the adoption announcement
--describe why you picked that particular one

Customs/Holidays
--pictures of all the child's "first" holidays with your family
--describe the feelings of having your child present for these special occasions
--a list of holidays from the home country and a description of how they are celebrated

Christening/Dedication Ceremonies
--pictures of ceremonies
--copy of invitation to ceremony

Ceremonies
--naturalization/citizenship pictures and any documents received
--visa appointment
--readoption court appearance

Gotcha Day Celebration
--for International adoptees, pictures of the family celebrating gotcha day
--description for any particular reason you chose to celebrate the way you did

Poetry
--You can either have a section of adoption poems that you love or space favorite poems throughout the book. Perhaps put one at the beginning of each chapter?

Year 2, 3, 4 and so on
--Collage of photos with captions and momentos of the year. At the end of each section is a handwritten summary of the year's events.

Drawings by child, school work, stories, report cards


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