Monday, September 7, 2009

What we've been up to the past four years:

We think it makes sense to start this shebang by telling you how it has gone so far. This is our adoption story in a nutshell. (Believe you me, you're thankful we’re doing it in a nutshell!) :)


9/01/05: sign & mail our application to our agency
9/10/05: approval! We get to write our first check!
9/11/05: we begin the Paper Chase:
adoption petitions
mandatory adoption classes
physical exams
gathering birth/marriage certificates
financial statements & employment verification
police clearance reports
fingerprints
passports
letters of recommendation
social workers and home studies
consulate applications
notarizations
certifications (by state of document)
authentication (Chinese government)
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
lots of forms with multiple letters and numbers....
completing our dossier (that gets a !!!)
1/11/06: we are determined “favorable” to adopt! Good work, Department of Homeland Security!


And then WALLA! Just like that...


02/22/06: our dossier is received at our agency!
03/04/06: approval from the American Consulate General!
03/13/06: our now translated dossier is sent to China


And...Ta-Da!!!


03/27/06: we receive the ever-important Log-In-Date (LID)! we are officially approved by the Chinese government and we are IN LINE (along with 30,000 other families) waiting to adopt from China!


Now, if it weren’t for SARS, Earthquakes, Scandals, the Olympics, Floods, and most recently, H1N1, we’d probably have gone to China and back more than once, and we would be home with multiple growing children turning our hair gray. Instead, we have no good excuse for the gray, and we sit and wait patiently, knowing and trusting that we are, indeed, in the correct line. And so we stay.


Meanwhile, our paperwork expires. This has never happened in China adoption history. So, along with all those other folks (no, we are not alone)...more fingerprints, more home visits, more forms with letters and numbers, more notarization, and...


07/27/07: we are again determined “favorable” to adopt


rinse, repeat....expire


06/12/09: we are AGAIN determined “favorable” to adopt, we hope, for the final time


All along this journey (well, at least since we came clean about what we were up to) we have had much love and support from all of you. And now, four years later, as we stand at the VERY front of the line, looking at the tens of thousands of people stretching in line behind us, marveling at how very close we are, we are looking forward to sharing the next chapter of this experience with you all!

4 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh you two....I am so happy to be updated with what is going on! Mazal Tov for being at the FRONT of the line.....FINALLY! I am very happy for you and will continue to follow your journey. Thanks for posting! Diane

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  2. It's Jessica Archambault, and I'd love to 'follow' your new blog, but I'm not sure I can become a member of 'google' esp. if that requires me to register etc. I'll try it for you! For now, I am so very excited for you to take the next step in your life. Can not wait to hear more about it!!! Mazel Tov!!!

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  3. Peristence, Perseverance, Panache...You guys are rock stars!!! Can't wait to meet those lucky babies :)

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  4. Mazel Tov! The time has come with the New Year.
    You are always in my heart.
    Love&Shalom
    Frances

    ReplyDelete

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