My family's adopting and it's getting finalized in one hour :D

Dajia hao! IN about an hour, I meet my sister that my family is adopting. Right now, her name is Hui Yun, but her English name is going to be Mary Theresa and we're going to call her Mia. She's almost 3 years old, but she's tiny. It's to be expected that 3-year-old Asian girls are going to be pretty small, but she was only 17 pounds at the age of about 2 and a half. To give you an idea, that's about the average size of a baby a full year younger than her. She has a heart condition that basically amounts to a hole in her heart, but the prognosis is good. We've talked to several cardiologists in the US and in China and they've all said that she'll live well into her 60's and she might not even need surgery, but if she does it will be a one-time thing and fairly routine as far as heart surgery goes. We've been waiting for almost five years, and if mom and dad weren't open to a special-needs child we would've been waiting longer.
 
In China, there is a policy that states that government employees (which is basically everyone since the government runs a huge chunk of the industry) can only legally have one child. So many of the second children, and the girls, get put in crowded, understaffed, and underfunded orphanages. Mia's head is shaved to prevent lice, and her first meal of the day is sugar water. Even though she's almost three, she's still in diapers. Her caretakers are doing everything they can, and they know enough about her to put together a personality profile that includes things like "she likes to snuggle" and "she's a bit of a couch potato," but they have very little money to work with and they're spread very thin over many children.
 
All the waiting has given me ample time to worry. We look  different, sound different, and smell different. My dad, brother , and I are all about 5'11 and 170 punds, compared to her smaller-sized, female caretakers. How is she going to react to 17 hours of flying and a 13-hour time zone shift? Her days and nights will be almost perfectly reversed. That can't be easy for a baby to deal with. I'm the only person in my family who speaks any Chinese at all, and even then it's not much. Will our food make her sick? What if the 5-year-old gets jealous of her, or is too affectionate? I'd imagine that everything will iron itself out eventually, but it's gonna be hard before she's fully integrated into our society.
 
So yeah, I'm nervous, but it's basically the most exciting thing ever \^o^/

Dajia hao! IN about an hour, I meet my sister that my family is adopting. Right now, her name is Hui Yun, but her English name is going to be Mary Theresa and we're going to call her Mia. She's almost 3 years old, but she's tiny. It's to be expected that 3-year-old Asian girls are going to be pretty small, but she was only 17 pounds at the age of about 2 and a half. To give you an idea, that's about the average size of a baby a full year younger than her. She has a heart condition that basically amounts to a hole in her heart, but the prognosis is good. We've talked to several cardiologists in the US and in China and they've all said that she'll live well into her 60's and she might not even need surgery, but if she does it will be a one-time thing and fairly routine as far as heart surgery goes. We've been waiting for almost five years, and if mom and dad weren't open to a special-needs child we would've been waiting longer.
 
In China, there is a policy that states that government employees (which is basically everyone since the government runs a huge chunk of the industry) can only legally have one child. So many of the second children, and the girls, get put in crowded, understaffed, and underfunded orphanages. Mia's head is shaved to prevent lice, and her first meal of the day is sugar water. Even though she's almost three, she's still in diapers. Her caretakers are doing everything they can, and they know enough about her to put together a personality profile that includes things like "she likes to snuggle" and "she's a bit of a couch potato," but they have very little money to work with and they're spread very thin over many children.
 
All the waiting has given me ample time to worry. We look  different, sound different, and smell different. My dad, brother , and I are all about 5'11 and 170 punds, compared to her smaller-sized, female caretakers. How is she going to react to 17 hours of flying and a 13-hour time zone shift? Her days and nights will be almost perfectly reversed. That can't be easy for a baby to deal with. I'm the only person in my family who speaks any Chinese at all, and even then it's not much. Will our food make her sick? What if the 5-year-old gets jealous of her, or is too affectionate? I'd imagine that everything will iron itself out eventually, but it's gonna be hard before she's fully integrated into our society.
 
So yeah, I'm nervous, but it's basically the most exciting thing ever \^o^/

Sounds like your doing a pretty great thing for Mia. I hope it all works out for you, and try not to worry about it too much.  
 
Obviously you're going to have to condition her to an American diet though. Quarter pounders on day one my friend, gotta make sure she can handle every day life. 

Hui Yun, Mary, Mia. Pick a name, any name.

Gay. No serious good on you guys, best of luck and the first week will be the hardest.

" Hui Yun, Mary, Mia. Pick a name, any name. "

Ah good for you! its great that people are helping children in need!

Wow...thats... commendable. Well done :)

" Sounds like your doing a pretty great thing for Mia. I hope it all works out for you, and try not to worry about it too much.   Obviously you're going to have to condition her to an American diet though. Quarter pounders on day one my friend, gotta make sure she can handle every day life.  "

Wow, that sound really excited about this. Must be a pretty special moment to have in your family. 
 
I wonder why they take so long to adopt a child from China. I mean, there's literally thousands of baby girls abandoned in the country. You might as well put them with a family as soon as possible than use money on orphanages. 
 
Also why do you want to name her Mary but call her Mia? Wouldn't it be better if her english name was the same as what you would call her?

Sounds awesome. Congratulations.

I almost never agree with you on anything, but this is beautiful. 
 
I wish the best of luck to you, and Mia.

Aww, thanks for wishing us luck, everyone!
  
To clarify,
 @Cube: 
Hui Yun is her name in Mandarin and we won't be calling her that except until she understands that her new name is something different. We're a very Catholic family, and Mary is a very Catholic name, but we like the way Mia rolls off the tongue so it's going to be her full-time nickname, but we're still giving her the option in case she wants to go by her legal name.
 
I'm leaving, like, right now, but I'll keep you posted!

Thats actually really cool duder.  Congratulations!

I think Mia is a really cute name. :)

Best post all month.

I guess that's neat. You say that you're the only one in your family that speaks Chinese at all, so I can't tell what your family's like: are you all of Chinese origin, or are you the only one studying Chinese? 
 
If you're an American in an American-born family, why the hell are you adopting Chinese kids? There are plenty of orphanages in the US. If not, my point is moot and I apologize.

May happiness be in her's and your family's life.

Well not only do you sound excited, but very understanding and caring at the same time. So assuming the rest of your family is like you then I think I'm more excited for her lol.  
 
Congrats to you and your family good sir!

I didn't know you could import children...You can be like that Pokemon trainer, Angelina Jolie - adopting kids from every country!
Uh.. I mean, that's really sweet. Hope all goes well with the kid. Mia's a nice name.

Well, that was fast. You'd think that saying "Oh, this girl? She's ours now" would take a little longer, but we went to this odd concrete building with a bunch of other people who were also adopting. We got in and got out in about half an hour. We got her sleep schedule, her meal schedule, and presented some thank-you gifts to the caretakers and now we're back at the hotel. My parents are filling out paperwork and Mia's sleeping. She had a 2-and-a-half hour bus ride from her orphanage to the concrete building and we, a bunch of strangers, have been holding her and impotently trying to comfort her, so she's extremely tired.
 
Turns out that she's bonded with my dad and my brother Kyle really well, which is sort of odd because they're tall, muscular white guys with deep voices but who's complaining? Right now, she needs all the reassuring she can get.
 
  @CH3BURASHKA: I understand, that's a question we get a lot. We were all born and raised in the US. But there's more of a need over there than here. I mean, here everyone gets 12 years of free schooling and a social system that will pretty much allow anyone to succeed if they have any sort of mentor. But in China, it's much harder for orphans to get ahead.
 
  @Apathylad: You laugh now, but they're actually looking at Ethiopia after this if this goes well. We'll be a tri-racial family.

" You can be like that Pokemon trainer, Angelina Jolie - adopting kids from every country! "

Make sure when she gets older she doesnt steal your shit. 

Chun Li?

Right now, her name is Hui Yun, but her English name is going to be Mary Theresa and we're going to call her Mia.

" Make sure when she gets older she doesnt steal your shit.  "

" Best post all month. "

Why are you going to make her English name Mary when you are going to call her Mia?

Wow you are doing something amazing for that girl.  
This is also your chance to give her an awesome middle name like Mia Danger *last name*.

" Why are you going to make her English name Mary when you are going to call her Mia? "

Momma Mia, here we go again Mary!! Who's Mary?
 
Good luck and best of wishes to you and your new sister.

Fairly routine, for heart surgery 

It's great what you're doing, but by naming her Mary Theresa your parents are guaranteeing that she'll be extra-rebellious during her teenage years.

Awesome duder!

You're getting a baby? Aren't those meant to be mistakes? But you're actually volunteering to clean up someones shit and listen to it cry all day. Yeah enjoy, while I smoke pot and play xbox

Ewwwwww, used goods.

" You're getting a baby? Aren't those meant to be mistakes? But you're actually volunteering to clean up someones shit and listen to it cry all day. Yeah enjoy, while I smoke pot and play xbox "

Reminds me of my mum's stories about being adopted.

Enjoy your new sibling!

Don't drop knives/a frozen turkey on her.