Day 50, but who's counting????

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!!

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Day 50, but who's counting????

We are still waiting on our LOA (Letter of Approval) for Shay. This is our formal document to adopt Shay and resume the process on the US side to get her visa issued so we can head to China and bring her home. The normal approval time can vary greatly from 40-100+ days, but has recently been around 70. We were given an update 2 days ago that our dossier is OOT (out of translation- not sure of the date) and is still in the Review room. However, our agency director, Xiaoqing, who is phenomenal, spoke to the man in the review room who confirmed that he hoped to have it done this week and forwarded to the Matching room which is the final step before our LOA is issued. For all of my non-adoption friends, this means we should have our LOA within the next 2 weeks.....and then the countdown begins!! It is then usually 8-10 weeks until travel. I have finally allowed myself to start looking at flights and dates and am praising God that we should have her home before Christmas!! Yay! In fact, we are now close to the same timeline that we had with Emily 2 years ago! We received her LOA on 9/24 and left for China 11/28.

We have had a really great summer camping with our friends, spending time with family,

and watching lots of baseball games. I want time to go faster to bring Shay home, yet want it to slow down to enjoy my family! Here's lots of pictures of our summer months since I've not been good about posting!

Where has the time gone?! I can't believe you are driving, Kyle! You have paved the way for your brother and sisters, and I'm so proud of the man you are becoming!