Merry Christmas!!

Shay's Time Line:

12/11/13 Saw her picture for the first time and contacted agency
12/12/13 She is part of an orphanage partnership and does not have her file completed yet, but is 'on hold' for us!
1/27/13 Homestudy sent to agency for review
2/6/14 Homestudy approved by agency!
2/12/14 I800A receipt date
3/11/14 Fingerprinted for I800A
3/19/14 I800A approval! 35 days!
3/24/14 Received approval. Wrong address recorded!
3/26/14 Received corrected I800A aproval
4/2/14 Dossier documents completed- notarized, certified and authenticated at NY. Sent to agency
4/4/14 Agency realized wrong fees quoted previously. Have to resubmit prior to DTC which is only done on Fridays.
4/11/14 DTC!!!!!! Yay!
4/21/14 LID!!!
4/23/14 Our daughter's file is "completed at the orphanage level and is at the provincial level." Still waiting for it to be released to our agency and then to us.
6/25/14 CCCWA received Shay's file
7/9/14 BAAS received batch of files, but ours wasn't included.
7/18/14 LOI/PA Finally received Shay's file! Praise God!
8/4/14 Received word that we are OOT (Out of translation)
9/11/14 Our dossier is reviewed and forwarded to the Matching Room!
9/22/14 LOA!!!!
9/23/14 Sent our I800 application to USCIS
10/7/14 I800 Approval! (great birthday present for mom!)
10/10/14 Rec'd GUZ number
10/14/14 DS260 paperwork completed online
10/15/14 PDF/ NVC Cable
10/16/14 Article 5 Drop Off
10/30/14 Article 5 Pick Up
11/4/14 TA
11/5/14 CA scheduled for Dec 3!
11/18/14 Leave for China!!
12/5/14 HOME!!!

Emily's Time Line:

2/26/12 Submitted LOI (Letter of Intent to China)
3/1/12 Recieved PA!! (Pre-Approval from China to adopt Emily)
3/7/12 Started Homestudy
4/12/12 Final Homestudy visit
5/10/12 Homestudy sent to BAAS for approval
5/31/12 Homestudy notorized and I800A paperwork sent
6/18/12 Walked in for fingerprinting
7/16/12 I800A approval (approval from US to adopt)
7/27/12 DTC (Dossier to China)
8/2/12 LID (Log in date)
9/24/12 LOA!! (Final letter of approval from China giving us permission to adopt Emily)
10/5/12 I800 Approval (appproval from the US to specifically adopt Emily)
10/17/12 NVC
10/18/12 Article 5 Drop-off
11/01/12 Article 5 Pick-up
11/08/12 TA
11/09/12 CA
11/28/12 Leave for China!
12/3/12 Emily Day!!
12/13/12 HOME!!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas!!

It's hard to believe we have been home almost 2 weeks! Emily is doing very well and her adjustment to our family has been simply amazing! We had a wonderful Christmas yesterday and Emily enjoyed seeing her Grammy and ye ye Pa and ye ye Poppy (her great-grandpa). We're just so happy she is HERE!!!

We had a really busy last week. We made a trip out to Cincinnati to the International Adoption Clinic and Emily had a thorough 4 hour exam, 3 shots, 1 TB shot, blood work (11 tubes!!), and a chest x-ray. Poor girl!!! She was a trooper though, and did really well. Her big brother Seth went along, and made the trip much more bearable for her. To complicate things, as soon as we pulled into the parking garage and got out, my husband, John doubled over in pain! He managed to keep it together for the lengthy day and even insisted on driving home. It was a loonngg ride home though as he was in pain, and Emily was running a fever and throwing up...ugh!! His sweet brother and wife met us and took John to the ER where they determined he had kidney stones. OUCH!! We're happy to say that everyone is all better now!

On the car ride home, Emily was playing with my iPad and came across pictures of her foster parents. We held our breath as we waited for her reaction. To our amazement, she became very excited and yelled for Seth to look at the pictures with her!! She was so happy to see the photos, and now every other day or so, we look at them and wave. It's so sweet! I am constantly amazed at how well she processes everything. We are sooooo blessed!!!!

Well, I know you all have been waiting for more pictures, so here they are!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Love to you all!!