Care Package

With our adoption, we were given permission to send a care package to our daughter in China once we received our RA.  We spent a few days researching companies that send care packages for you, but decided we wanted to create our own box of goodies to send.  This proved to be a good deal of work and took longer than it should have because of a sick house!  (We didn't want to send any sick germs to China!) But,in the end, it was a break through time for me! 

You see, we received our first referral for another girl back in September.  I emotionally attached to this referral immediately, and when, after 2 weeks, we decided not to accept the referral, I was pretty distraught.  I loved her already and still do.  This time around, I have kept my emotions guarded.  Something in me has been scared to open my heart again, even after we said yes.  So, this process of writing letters, asking questions, thinking about our daughter's life in China, all of this has given my heart the chance to attach to her!!  It's coming slower than it did the first time around, but while putting this package together I bonded with her and began to really internalize that fact that she is my daughter!  Not just a picture, or a child, but my precious daughter!! 


Here is what we included in our care package, based on recommendations from other sites.

 



Care Package Includes:

 

1. Red Journal with questions about our daughter that we hope to have answered.

 

*I found a list of common questions to ask the orphanage caretakers HERE.  I tried to make it as easy as possible for the caretakers by translating the questions into Chinese (using google translator), printed the questions in English and Chinese, then cut and pasted the questions into the journal so that they know where to write the answers. (I pasted the English translation with each question for me!)   I also pasted a picture of our daughter in the front of the journal as well as Modge Podged the instructions for the journal on the outside cover.  I also Modge Podged her name to the outside cover (blacked out in the photo for privacy) so that there is no confusion over whose journal it is! I hope all of these translations and glued instructions help us find out more about out daughter's early life in China!

 

 

2. Disposable Camera

 

* I taped baby girl's name in Chinese to the bottom of the camera, in hope's that it won't get lost! I have read a couple of people's blogs that said that their cameras were returned to them unused.  Hoping to get better results, I also Modge Podged Chinese instructions for the camera onto the back of it. 

 

3. Nuts and Chocolates for the caregivers

 

4. Baby Blanket for Baby Girl!

 

5. Photo Album

*We took family pictures and individual photos for Baby Girl to get used to our faces! Beside each individual picture, everyone wrote a sweet note or drew a picture. 

 

 

6. Letter to the orphange

*We found sample form letters HERE as well. Again, we translated this letter into Chinese and included a copy in English as well.