"The Paper Chase"

I'm getting lots of questions regarding the process we have to go through to adopt.  Right now we are at the very beginning and are working on our home study.  We found Emily by looking at pages and pages of photos of waiting children in China.  Once we reviewed her file and made the decision to move forward, we applied with an agency and submitted a LOI (Letter of Intent) to China to adopt her.  We then received our PA (Pre-Approval), our first piece of paperwork saying she is ours!!

age 2 1/2

We've had to apply for numerous clearances and be fingerprinted.  We have collected 3 binders full of paperwork including our birth certificates, marriage certificates, proof of medical, life, dental, home, and auto insurance, previous tax forms, completed financial forms, reference letters, etc.  This paperwork then needs to be notarized, then sent to the PA Secretary of State in Harrisburg to be certified, then to the Chinese Consulate in New York to be authenticated.  All of this paperwork becomes part of our dossier to China.  In the meantime, we are completing forms for US Immigration and Customs which will be submitted with our home study as soon as it is completed and reviewed by our agency.  This "paper chase" just takes lots and lots and lots of time.....and some patience waiting on approvals. 


Seth thinks someone is tickling her tummy!


We were able to send a birthday cake to Emily and ten photos of our family for her third birthday on March 31st.  We emailed our photos and English captions to a wonderful company called Red Thread who translated the captions into Chinese and placed them in a soft photo album for Emily.  They prepared a package including a stuffed panda and a letter from her new mommy and daddy. :)  We hope to get some pictures back of her birthday celebration and pray that her foster family is preparing her little heart for us.  It's an amazing feeling to love a little girl who is half way around the world!  We just can't wait to meet her and hold her! 

"Do not be afraid.  For I am with you; I will bring your children from the east

and gather you from the west."  Isaiah 43:5