Sunday, May 24, 2015

Getting close to DTC!!!!

The funny thing about adoption (international adoption, at least...I don't know anything about domestic adoption) is that so much of it is this weird cycle of hurry up and do 47 things in one day, and then wait for weeks and weeks for the next thing.  Then another hurry up and rush around getting everything done, and then wait again.  It exhausting, mentally and physically.  So much of the process is out of your hands.  You are relying on others to do their jobs and to do them quickly.  And sometimes they do.  Other times they don't. 
We were waiting for one last document to come in for our dossier to be ready to send to China - our I800a approval.  We finally received it last Tues, and received that hard copy on Thurs.  Our approval wait was 39 days, which wasn't bad at all, considering there were some people waiting 90 days.  I took it to have it notarized (three times, because, oh my goodness, the wording has to be PERFECT) and then to the Secretary of State's office to have it certified.  I was too late to send it out that night, so I FedEx overnighted it on Friday to the lady that is taking it to the Chinese consulate in Chicago to be authenticated.  She will take it in on Tues. and pick it up on Thursday.  Hopefully.  We paid for the express service at the Chinese consulate, so it should be done by then.  I'm emailing her an overnight label so she can send it to our adoption agency and they can have it by Friday.  They only send dossiers on Fridays, so I'm really hoping to make this next shipment! 
The dossier is essentially the most important part in this whole process. It's our entire lives on paper...home study, medical info, financial info, background checks, education records, info on our families, etc.  It's everything about us.  After receiving our dossier, the CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption) will send us an LID, or a log in date.  After we are logged in, we will get updates that our dossier is in and out of translation, being reviewed, being matched, and then we will receive our LOA or letter of approval.   This whole process currently is taking about 45-70 days. 
Whew! 
Once we are DTC (dossier to China), most of the paperwork is over.  We still have other immigration paperwork, visas, and other documents to get ironed out, but I've heard they are nothing compared to the paper chase that is the dossier! 
We are still hoping for a November family day, although it could still very well be in October!  Which is fine by us, the sooner, the better! 
We continue to trust God in His timing and for His provision.  His hand is guiding this, and no matter how fast or slow the government and the agency move, it will all work out in His timing.  And it will be perfect. 

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