Our social worker called me this morning to give us some exciting news! We have our official log-in date: July 15, 2008. This is the last thing we have been waiting for – now the LONG wait begins.
What this means is that our Dossier has made it to China and has been translated and logged in to the adoption system. Now we wait for our turn to get the referral to travel to China.
When will that happen? Right now, the wait time is 30 months. What that means is that the people that logged in 30 months ago are just now getting their referrals. This wait time could decrease or increase. Political and social changes can have major effects on the time between log-in and referral.
Right now, all eyes are on China because of the Olympics. We feel so blessed that our Dossier was translated and logged-in so quickly – and before the games began. This wait time that we are now faced with will be a very long time. I don't feel daunted by this waiting time yet, but I'm thinking it will get harder as we move along. So far, I've had little goals to accomplish and wait for a result. This time it will be just waiting – with a BIG result, just so far away. But everything has gone so smoothly and the timing has been so perfect thus far, that when this waiting gets hard, I pray to remember God's faithfulness and wonderful gifts through this journey.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Church Home
We have been blessed to have found a wonderful church. Somewhere that we feel welcome – and even as visitors really felt at home. It really found us. It was where that first information meeting about adopting was located. It was where we first knew that we would be adopting from China.
Besides it being a wonderful place to worship and learn, there are many families that have or are adopting. The whole church really has a heart for adoption. And many of those families have adopted from China. I heard laughter from one of those little girls last Sunday, and it warmed my heart.
I want to end with a few words from one of the songs we sang at church. The words are so strong and mean so much to me:
“after night...comes a Light... dawn is there...
We will never be the same!”
Besides it being a wonderful place to worship and learn, there are many families that have or are adopting. The whole church really has a heart for adoption. And many of those families have adopted from China. I heard laughter from one of those little girls last Sunday, and it warmed my heart.
I want to end with a few words from one of the songs we sang at church. The words are so strong and mean so much to me:
“after night...comes a Light... dawn is there...
We will never be the same!”
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
DTC!
This is the short, but oh so wonderful email that I got from our social worker today:
“You are DTC today!! We should have a LID (Log-In-Date) in about 4 weeks!”
These two terms DTC (Dossier to China) and LID are two of the main milestones when adopting from China.
DTC means that we have completed all the paperwork and official documents to be able to send our request to China. And LID is the date that the “countdown” actually begins. This will happen after our dossier is translated.
So in about 4 weeks, we will start the countdown (about 2 years) – to the next milestone. Our referral! When we get the notice that our baby is waiting for us!
“You are DTC today!! We should have a LID (Log-In-Date) in about 4 weeks!”
These two terms DTC (Dossier to China) and LID are two of the main milestones when adopting from China.
DTC means that we have completed all the paperwork and official documents to be able to send our request to China. And LID is the date that the “countdown” actually begins. This will happen after our dossier is translated.
So in about 4 weeks, we will start the countdown (about 2 years) – to the next milestone. Our referral! When we get the notice that our baby is waiting for us!
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Dossier is on the Way!
Last week, while we were in upstate New York on vacation, our dossier was on the move. It went first for county certification, then to state certification. Right now, it is in Houston at the Chinese Consulate for authentication. After it leaves there, it will be going to China! Then it will be translated and "logged in" - this is when our official waiting time begins. Right now it is estimated to be about 2 years. But with the Olympics this summer, we will have to wait and see how things change.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Dossier almost ready to go!
We finally got our approval from CIS. The actual form that goes in our Dossier. Well, it's just a sheet of paper from Homeland Security that approves us to bring one child into the country. But that's what we needed!
So I met with our social worker today to tie up loose ends. And we had a few more than we would have hoped. Last week the rules changed. China now requires all the dates on signed forms and certificates to be no older than 6 months. We would have had no problem with this, except that CIS approval took 4 and a half months – much longer than the expected 2-3 weeks. So we have to get a few things signed again. Just a little maneuvering, and we should be good to go! This has caused a little inconvenience for us. It has caused major problems for other families – like dossiers sent back! I am so grateful that we were delayed, so that our dossier can go out correct. Also, other families are still waiting to get their approval from CIS. Our social worker was very excited that we already got ours. People that filed a month or so before us are still waiting.
But even though we've had some unexpected waiting time, everything really is falling into place perfectly. And that is only one reason. God has His hand on every step, every paper, every person and even every penstroke. Each time we pass another hurdle, I can see how God has arranged for each step to occur in His time. I do sometimes have to remind myself that His hand is guiding us. The prayers, support and excitement that you ALL give to us is evident everyday. And today it was greatly needed.
So I met with our social worker today to tie up loose ends. And we had a few more than we would have hoped. Last week the rules changed. China now requires all the dates on signed forms and certificates to be no older than 6 months. We would have had no problem with this, except that CIS approval took 4 and a half months – much longer than the expected 2-3 weeks. So we have to get a few things signed again. Just a little maneuvering, and we should be good to go! This has caused a little inconvenience for us. It has caused major problems for other families – like dossiers sent back! I am so grateful that we were delayed, so that our dossier can go out correct. Also, other families are still waiting to get their approval from CIS. Our social worker was very excited that we already got ours. People that filed a month or so before us are still waiting.
But even though we've had some unexpected waiting time, everything really is falling into place perfectly. And that is only one reason. God has His hand on every step, every paper, every person and even every penstroke. Each time we pass another hurdle, I can see how God has arranged for each step to occur in His time. I do sometimes have to remind myself that His hand is guiding us. The prayers, support and excitement that you ALL give to us is evident everyday. And today it was greatly needed.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Approved!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Fingerprints!
We finally went to have our fingerprints done! It was a long wait (which should have been shorter) – but the timing was perfect. Busy days were over – and we both had the day off of work.
After hearing some stories about the very strict rules in the fingerprinting office, we didn't know what to expect. But we just followed the rules we were given: bring your ID and fingerprint form, no purses or cell phones. We were prepared. The security guard had us line up outside the door to check our id and paperwork. It felt a whole lot like airport security. There were about 10 of us outside the door at 8 am, and only about 4 people (us included) had “obeyed” the rules. I'm a stickler for the rules most all the time – and this time it really paid off. The guard was a little gruff with the “rule-breakers” - but was nice and friendly with me and Daniel, even joking around with us!
Getting the fingerprints was pretty interesting too. The technician just rolled each finger on a pad and it appeared up on the computer screen. And it would tell you if it was a good print or a “match failed” one. The technician also was joking around with us. She had both of our forms – which have our birthdays on them. And she and the other technician enjoyed laughing about how our birthdays are back to back, and how we should never forget! It was so relaxed and fun. I was laughing a lot. Not what I had expected from the stories that I had heard.
Thank you all for your prayers that this step would go smoothly. Our request now is that the fingerprints would be processed quickly and that CIS/Homeland Security would sent us the approval form that has to go into our dossier.
We are one more step closer to the actual countdown to China!
After hearing some stories about the very strict rules in the fingerprinting office, we didn't know what to expect. But we just followed the rules we were given: bring your ID and fingerprint form, no purses or cell phones. We were prepared. The security guard had us line up outside the door to check our id and paperwork. It felt a whole lot like airport security. There were about 10 of us outside the door at 8 am, and only about 4 people (us included) had “obeyed” the rules. I'm a stickler for the rules most all the time – and this time it really paid off. The guard was a little gruff with the “rule-breakers” - but was nice and friendly with me and Daniel, even joking around with us!
Getting the fingerprints was pretty interesting too. The technician just rolled each finger on a pad and it appeared up on the computer screen. And it would tell you if it was a good print or a “match failed” one. The technician also was joking around with us. She had both of our forms – which have our birthdays on them. And she and the other technician enjoyed laughing about how our birthdays are back to back, and how we should never forget! It was so relaxed and fun. I was laughing a lot. Not what I had expected from the stories that I had heard.
Thank you all for your prayers that this step would go smoothly. Our request now is that the fingerprints would be processed quickly and that CIS/Homeland Security would sent us the approval form that has to go into our dossier.
We are one more step closer to the actual countdown to China!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)