I am certainly not a blogger, that much is obvious...
But, I do find this a nice easy way to let everyone know when and if something actually IS happening with the adoption process. So, I'm not sure if I can ever promise that the blog postings will be frequent. But, you never know....
So, here is where we stand right now on the adoption front:
Our home study was FINALLY completed with just a few hours to spare in order to make it to the mailbox to have one of our grant applications postmarked on the October 31 deadline. We will hear sometime after January 31 about whether we got any money from that particular grant. There are some other grants we are in the process of learning about and applying for. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about the prospect of receiving a grant as I am reading quite a bit of negative experiences of most grants beign denied, etc. We would appreciate prayers on that front.
With the completion of our home study, we were finally able to send in our I-800A application which is basically approval to get a visa for an orphan. When that approval comes to us, it will be in a form called an I-797. We are waiting on that form to complete our Dossier - a big packet of important papers that will go to China. Unfortunately, the I-800A approval process is running slowly right now (shocker!). This time last year, it was taking only around 30 days. We had been told to expect 6-8 weeks. Right now, it is running 70-80 days. So, we are looking at a timeline of 70-80 days from November 5 when our application was received. Apparently the slow down is due to a new computer system so I'm being optimistic that MAYBE that timeline could speed up once they adjust to the new system. I have no idea how "new" the system is, though, and how long they have already been "adjusting".
Once exciting thing is that half of our Dossier is currently being processed at the Chinese Consulate in New York City as I write (well, during buisness hours, of course!) We had to send some of our documents in ahead of receiving our I-797 because we got them done so long ago (back in June) that they would be expired if we waited until the end of December (or longer).
So, nine of our dossier documents (2 doctor physical forms, 2 birth certificates, 2 employer reference letters, 2 criminal background check letters, and a marriage certficate) took a trip with me to downtown Cincinnati to be County Sealed, then up to Columbus to be State Sealed, and now have been mailed to a courier in New York City. The courier took them to the Consulate to be sealed last Thursday where it will take 5 buisness days for them to be processed and then they will be mailed to our agency! This will be very exciting for me to have over half of our Dossier ready and waiting at our agency. When we get our I-797 back, we will follow the same process with that and 4 other documents - downtown for county seal, up to Columbus for State seal and couriered to New York for the Consulate Seal. Then, our entire dossier will be in the hands of our agency. There are several other documents that did not require seals which we have already sent to our agency. Once that final group of sealed documents make it there, our Dossier will be translated and sent to China!! This probably won't be until late in January, assuming things follow the timeline we are expecting.
Once our Dossier is in China and we are considered "Logged In", we should have a match the very first month. Right now, it looks like we may find out who our son is possibly in February. I had originally hoped to have our documents to China in early December and to maybe even have a match by Christmas but our homestudy took about 2 months longer than we had expected. Now, the next step is looking to take longer than expected, as well. As if I hadn't been warned of this by other adoptive parents... I am starting to notice a pattern here! :)
Still, now that that home study is finally behind us, I feel quite a bit less stress. I was getting to the point of feeling like I was going to strangle someone and it wasn't a good place for me to be. Even though we still have quite a bit of a wait ahead of us, it just feels good to be waiting for something new!
So far, we have paid a little over 1/4 of what the adoption will cost us. And, so far, we haven't touched any of the donation money. That is a good feeling. The next payment we make will be a big one and it will come close to taking all of the money we have had donated. Crazy as it sounds, though, it feels really good to make these payments. Feels like we're plugging along, putting this part behind us... Getting closer to the GOOD STUFF - like bringing a baby boy out of an orphanage where he might be one of twenty-something babies in a room with one nanny and bringing him home to a FAMILY.... We'll get there!
We are continuing to work on raising funds, right now primarily by attempting to sell or planning to sell every last little thing around here that we don't need, love, or use regularly! Other than some special momentos that we will hold on to, I have been busy, busy sorting and taking pictures of baby girl clothes to sell online. My materntiy clothes have already nearly all been sold. It is definitely quite bittersweet to see these things go but I know it is for good reason.
Also, on the topic of fundraising, a high school classmate of mine who is a Thirty-One consultant has generously offered to donate her commission (25% of all sales) that our supporters bring in until November 23rd. You can place an order by following this LINK.
Looking ahead, we are actually considering going the Garage Sale Fundraiser route one more time come spring. We found it to be so successful the first time around, it seems worth it to give it another try! We still have plenty of boxes to go through of our own in our basement and imagine we will be continuing to find things to sell. If your family is looking to clear out your house for the holidays and would like some help in that area, just let me know! We would be more than happy to come pick up anything that you are just looking to get rid of and would like to donate our way! We appreciate it so much! :)
So, that s really all there is new to share on the adoption front. Not much to share but it does feel like we are making some progress.
As always, thank your all for the encouragement and prayers!
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