October already!!

Wow!

I cannot believe that October is here and it is already getting cool out. We have had some beautiful sunny fall days. Unfortunately I am not feeling as sunny as the weather outside.  With every week there is renewed hope for our next step closer to bringing home Aric to be achieved -but when nothing is coming it is depressing!!    

We are on Day 76 of the wait and there are others out there that have waited longer and there are many, many things we have to be thankful for!!  Knowing who our little guy is and not being able to hold him and get to  know him and love him and protect him and do all the things that families do - well that for me is what makes it harder.  Today has just been a particularly funky day for me and I will snap out of it.

Alex has been asking to go get Aric - he says he wants to play cars and trains with him.  That is sooooo sweet to hear.

September

September is my favorite month!! Of course it is my birthday month - but I think even if it weren't I would still love it. The weather here in KY has been gorgeous and my Mommy (it doesn't matter that I am 38 - she is still and forever Mommy!!) surprised me with a visit from NC for my birthday!!

I cannot believe that they - My husband, my kiddos and my Mom actually were able to pull it off. And I think I am a bit dissappointed that the girls didn't spill.  LOL  Monday I was putting Alex down for his nap and the door to the bedroom opens and in she walks!!   My husband said the look on my face was worth it. Of course I cried!!!

It has been a great week - we got to visit and just hang out for the last few days. Alex has gotten to know his Granny and his Pop Pop as he calls him and he keeps saying that he wants to go to Granny's house!! 

Of course the bad/sad part is that she had to go home. :(    The good news is we will be going there for Fall Break in a couple of weeks and my 20th class reunion. (has it really been 20 years????)

She did get to experience some fun things with us for sure...... Today Alex got his Thomas the Tank stuck so tightly in his hair that it had to be cut out!!  

The absolute perfect week would have been to receive our LOA today.   I guess we have one more day this week. Hey - a girl can dream!!  It will actually probably be a couple more weeks as things have been progressing slower in LOA land!

We did get some pictures from other families that have traveled which is awesome to see him - but one Mom did say that after picking up her daughter that he was sad because her daughter had left and that was his crib mate and that he understands what a Mama & Baba (Mom & Dad)  are......   I am sad and happy to learn this.  Happy that may indicate he might be less likely to grieve because he is anticipating us coming and possibly looking forward to this as his friends in his room were being adopted.  Sad because I want to hold him and soothe him as he grieves for the loss of his friends.  Hold on baby  we are coming!!!

A little bit at a time...

This past week - Ash and Aus applied for their passports.  It was fun. We got out of school just a few minutes early and went to the post office here. The same place Alex and Nick had theirs done.

Nicks arrived exactly one week after applying - Alexs' we had to provide more documentation but then it came within the next week.  Hoping that is the case with the twins.

Alex's birthday was yesterday - he is now 3 years old.  I will post pictures soon.

We are on Day 44 of our wait for LOA............

Much more to do of course. 

Sunday

Not a lot new to post specifically about Aric.  We have been working on completing our Adoption Education requirements.  And applied for Alex and Nick's passports for our trip.

On Friday the twins made the decision that they too want to go with us to China. We are very excited that they wish to go too - this should make it even more memorable.   We meet with the older kids principal tomorrow. He will need to approve this time out of school and arrangements made for missed work.  This will definitely require effort on the kids parts and the last thing we want is for them to get behind because of the trip.  I really think that if the school and teachers will work with us we can make this happen!!

Dave got his immunizations updated on Thursday - his Hep A & started his Hep B series.  All the rest of us have already had the Hep B series and the kids are up to date on their Tetanus shots.  I on the other hand will need a Tetanus mine will expire soon..... and  we will all need an influenza immunization but of course those won't be available for another month at least.  Then there is the recomendation by the CDC for a Typhus vaccine - we will see about that one possibly too.

We (me) have gotten some shirts and shorts, a pair of water shoes and a small toy together for a care package we want to send to Aric.  I got the shoes in a size that hopefully he can wear and I bought those because I have heard that the orphanage likes Robeez the soft shoes for the younger kids and thought this my be a comparative for the older kiddos. If they don't fit our guy I am sure they will use for someone.

We are also trying to find someone locally that can help us learn to speak with Aric in Mandarin. 

Have a great week!! (Day 37 of the wait for LOA!!)

LID!!

We received our Logged In Date (LID) which means - I believe this is correct - that are Dossier is now officially Logged In to the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs and that our case will start being reviewed - hopefully for Approval.

From what I have seen & heard this starts our "wait" until travel. The wait has been running about 60-90 days.... of course hoping for the 60 day mark. :)

Then we will hopefully receive LOA - Letter Of Acceptance and a few weeks later our Travel Appointment and Consulate Appointment and then we travel!!

We also got a video of him and hopefully I will figure out how to post.  It is incredibly short (if it were a few hours I would say that too:) he  doesn't speak and it is set to some sad music. Or maybe I just hear it as sad.  He is INCREDIBLY cuter in action and I cannot wait to kiss those chubby little cheeks!!!

Can't possibly forget to add our updated STATS!! I love adding the initials - it feels like we are progressing....

LOI  3/14/08

PA   4/14/08

USCIS Approval 6/12/08

DTC  7/03/08

LID  7/18/08

Aric Referral Pics

Isn't he gorgeous???

Aric's Care Package

Also - she translated 2 letters for us. 1 to Aric and 1 to his caregivers

Care Package

About a month or so ago - we ordered a Care package for Aric and his friends and Nannies.

We weren't quite sure exactly what to send. The service we used has a great website and offers a lot at a fraction of the cost of others.

We sent a picture album filled with pictures of all of us - holding a picture of Aric.  Then Angela (ladybugsnlove owner) labels them in Chinese for us. We hope that his nannies will share this with him at some point before we go for pick up.  Also we ordered a Camera - they will hopefully take pictures of him during his daily routine and we will get that at pick up.  We got Aric a stuffed Panda Bear and ordered double on the sweet treats. Hoping that will be enough for all.....

Guessing it doesn't hurt to send gifts to the ladies that are caring for your son. :)

DTC 7/3/08

Duh???!!  So sorry I forgot to blog this.

We are Officially DTC (Dossier To China) as of 7/3/08!!!!!!!!

There really is SO VERY much that goes into the Dossier.  For example - Birth Certificates - mine and Dave's - not just a copy of the one we have - oh no! It must be a "live signature" copy and not older than 6 months.  Well Dave's is from Wi and then it has to be certified. What does that mean exactly - well the person that signed his copy - we must get that signature certified at the State level by WI.  Then this must be state level has to be certified at the federal level and at the Chinese Embassy. That is a total of 4 pieces of paper right there.  BC went to Chicago - and we have to pay a courier fee for a person to take the docs there have the seals and signatures administered (that cost is separate) and then mail them back to us.

 Now his birth certificate was the only one that we had to send to a different Embassy.  The rest of our documents - mostly KY with the exception of my Birth Certificate - all went to DC. As in Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and then to the embassy. All other docs were a total of 5 pieces of paper.

Guess you get the idea that it is a lot of paperwork!!  And it can be a very frustrating and tiresome process - I guess not much different than labor. This was our paperwork pregnancy - and not unlike a "regular" labor - I did most of the work.  Dave said that this part really drove him nutz and he doesn't really get all that we have to do.  Being the supportive, wonderful hubby that he is - he was an excellent "Coach"

Now we wait to find out our official Logged In Date -- or LID.  From this date begins our countdown.  The average wait for LOA right now is 60 - 90 days & we get to count every day not just work days. LOL  This is not anything the agency gives us - just what I learn from a China Adoption message board.

So far our stats are:

LOI (letter of intent to adopt) 3/14/08

PA (Pre-Approval)  4/14/08

USCIS Approval 6/12/08

DTC   7/3/08

LID  ???

LOA ???

Mandarin Chinese Word for the Day - Tuesday

Very Important Phrase:

How much is it?

Duoshao qian?

Dwoh-shao  chee-ahn

Mandarin Chinese Word for the Day - Monday

No  ---- bu  ------  pronounced boo

Mandarin Chinese Word for the Day

Please qing Cheeng

Wednesday

No adoption news today - which I HOPE is a good sign.

We are going to Ruth & Dave's for the 4th (D's Parents) they have a wonderful home on the lake.

This will be totally relaxing when we get there. The kids have such a great time.

Alex LOVES the beach and we can't wait for him to get to spend some time with Ruth & Dave and they get to see how much he has changed and how funny he can be.  It will be great for all the kids to get to see them!!

Looking forward to next year when Aric can enjoy it with us all.  

Document...

Just got and email from our agency and the Document has been received!!

PTL!!

God Willing we are going to send our Dossier To China this Thursday!!! 

YEA!!   :)

Mandarin Chinese Word for the Day

Good Night --- Wan an --- wahn ahn

Monday

No new information. :(

I did call our coordinator today and left a voicemail - just wondering if they received Dave's BC back from Chicago.

Hope to hear something tomorrow!!!

I did talk with a Mom that will be traveling on the 6th of July to pick up her child.  Our children are in the same orphanage and she has offered to take pictures (try to) and check up on Aric.  That is great news!!!

Dossier Completion??

After receiving our USCIS approval -  Monday, 6/16 Austin, Alex and I drove to our agency A Helping Hand ( in Lexington KY) to pick up the documents that needed the additional certifications.  A few we had to take to Fayette County Clerk of Court - then on to Frankfort, KY to the Secretary of State's office and get the State Certifications from them.

Then back to Lexington and A Helping Hand - we met with Dana to discuss what we need to send and where.  The documents have to go on to the Chinese Embassy.  I thought they would all go to the same one and that is one reason we waited to send them all at once.  You use a courier service to take the documents to the Embassy and in our case they go to Washington and also on to the Secretary of State office there.  Other states send to different locations - the courier charges a set amount for the documents - $135.  Well it seems that since Dave's Birth Certificate is from Wisconsin - this document must go to Chicago Consulate.   Bummer!  An additional courier fee.

A Helping Hand mails out correspondence to China once a week on Friday's  - so if everything were to have gone as planned our Dossier would have been sent to China on 6/27 - BUT the document from Chicago did not get back as expected?!

We REALLY HOPE our Dossier will be able to be sent out on Thursday - 7/3 - it is a Thursday this week cause of the 4th of July holiday falling on Friday.  

After we are DTC (Dossier To China) we will wait to receive our Logged In Date or LID. This is the date that begins our official wait. :)  

The dates - subject to change at any given second - most recently families have been waiting and average of 60-70 days for their Letter Of Acceptance.  From my understanding this is the document!! This will mean we have officially been approved for his adoption.  With the Olympics thrown in there in the middle - who knows what type of backlog that could possibly create.  Families that received their LOA's (Letters Of Acceptance) back on 5/1 -- will be traveling on July 17th and the travel dates are being squeezed in prior to the Olympics.

So - right now we will just concentrate on our DTC date. :)

Praying that Aric is safe, healthy, and loved.

We Have USCIS APPROVAL!!

Sorry it has been soooo long since I have written!

We did receive USCIS approval - we received it on Saturday, June 14th!  Funny thing is this is not a day we were even home.  Of Course!! No running to the mailbox as soon as the mail arrives to see if this is the day???   

We were out of town working and got back in late.  Dave had brought the mail in and he knew but didn't say anything, I think he knew it wouldn't take me long.  I zero'd in on the mail 2 minutes after I walked in the door and THERE IT WAS!! It is a most beautiful piece of paper. :)

So only 1 month 2 weeks and 1 day to get. Not too bad considering I had been hearing 3 months!!!

Guess the next step is to change the Poll!!

Home Study -- 5/02/08

FINALLY!!! Our home study was submitted to USCIS in Louisville for approval.

I have tried to get an idea of how long they are currently taking.  I have seen one as little as 2 weeks up to 60 days and also heard it is taking 3 months!!!  I truly HOPE that it does not take 3 months for approval.  That would be excruciating.

We also sent the majority of our paperwork to  A Helping Hand (our placement agency) for review. I still have to have the home study notary - county certified and then I can send that  in.

We will be in Owensboro tomorrow - so I am planning on picking it up - the County Certification that is - while we are there.

We still need to get our family pictures taken to submit with our dossier.  Professional pictures are not required so you think this would be an easy task.  Not!! It is so hard lately to gather everyone at the same time for a picture.  I have asked for this for Mother's Day!!

We are working  (Repicci's Italian Ice) the BBQ festival this weekend in Owensboro.

So if you are close, come by and see us. :)

Pre Approval

YEA!! YEA!!

We have PA from the People's Republic of China!!

We received this on 4/23/08 - it was actually approved on 4/14/08.  

This means that we have been ok'd to pursue Aric's adoption.  Any ok from China is a WIN. 

It also means that we can send a Care Package to Aric.  This is in the works...

There are different online sites where you can pick out certain items to send to him. They also will translate a letter to him for you. Which is awesome.  The one we are going with is www.ladybugsnlove.com 

This form of care package is a bit different than what we got to do for Alex. We picked out all the stuff and sent with another family. It is nice to have this option.

Right now we are planning to send pictures of the family - and they will label them for us in Chinese as well, the letter, a Panda bear, some candy and nuts - which is for the other kiddos and nannies, a camera and maybe one more thing!!

It is really hard not to just open up the wallet and send everything they offer.  We are afraid that may be a bit overwhelming to do though.

Oh!! We are part of a Yahoo group for Chongqing Parents - this is for parents that have adopted and are currently adopting.  It is really neat to be able to see the place where Aric lives. There are a ton of pictures which we have scoured looking to see if they could possibly be Aric.  Some are from at least 2 years ago, so sadly I cannot be 100% certain any of them are Aric.  There are some real cuties in the pictures though!!  Anyway, there is an adoptive Mom that is picking up her child this week and offered to check on Aric. She has said she will send pictures.  That would be the ABSOLUTE BEST!!!

Very excited to get to do this!