LID and Care Package!

On July 22, our dossier was logged in to the Chin@ Adoption Aff@irs, which means it's being translated and reviewed. Now we wait for our LOA, which is truly a LSC, a letter seeking confirmation. This is the last long/big step we wait for. It's taking an average of 2 months after LID. I'm hoping to get it mid September. Some folks get LOA in as early as 40 days, some it takes 100 days. That's a wide variety, but I'm hoping for the average 2 months if not before.

When we get our LSC, we sign it and send it back to our agency. From there, the remaining steps are short ones, 1-3 weeks per step. There are many of them, and on average they all together take 8-12 weeks. There is still a chance we could travel the beginning of December and be home by Christmas. That's my hope of all hopes!

On a different note, I've collected a care package to send to our sweet girl. I'm waiting on the address of the China coordinator, and then can get it into the mail. We are sending our package, plus emailing a letter to Tessa, and ten questions for her orphanage/foster home. That all gets translated and delivered with her package.

We are also ordering through the care package company- a camera and two rolls of film. We should hopefully get that film back when we get Tessa in China. I hope it shows part of her life in her foster family.

The final thing that goes with her care package is an "Adoption Celebration" cake. The company I'm using contacts the orphanage, and delivers it on a day when Tessa's foster family can bring her in to the orphanage. They will email me pictures of her with her cake, and hopefully the answers to our ten questions. And also: MEASUREMENTS!!!! That's huge, b/c then I'll be able to shop.

I'm thinking about 3 weeks. One week for everything to get to China, and they say 5-10 business days for the pics and info. And her being in a foster home can lengthen the process a little as well.

I will take some pictures of her goodies we are sending, and share that soon!

WE WERE DTC TODAY!!!!!!!!!!

That is, Dossier to China! The last months of paperwork have all been sent across the world, and now we wait about two months for the official approval from China. Travel ranges 4-6 months from sending the dossier over. I'm praying for 4!

So the last time I posted, I had just been told (via phone) that our immigration application was approved. It took a few days to get here, and I sent it off to NC to be authenticated. Well, they still (after a week) hadn't sent it back. That was quite unusual. I called, and they told me they'd sent it back b/c I failed to send in a check (for $10) with it. I never got that back, so I went and got another copy notorized, and mailed it to NC. Then, two days apart, both arrived back here. And both were authenticated. Go figure, b/c I never sent in payment for the first one.

I then needed to send it to DC to our courier, and wouldn't you know she was on a rare vacation the week I finally had it back and ready to send to her. So Eric had his secretary send it, and she sent it via UPS instead of Fed Ex. Not normally an issue, but our courier picks up the super expedited stuff at a strictly FedEx office. So it got sent back here. Actually, it got sent back to the Staples store Eric's secretary shipped it from. So, Saturday Eric finally got it from Staples. His only job was to go to Fed Ex and overnight it, for a Monday arrival.

On Saturday afternoon, I got called into work, and his wallet was in his car, that I had driven. So he had no money. So, now, a MONTH after we planned to be DTC (dossier to China), we will finally be DTC. And that's assuming there are no snags this week in DC. And, with the way things have gone for this one little document, I expect a snag.

So there you have it. A bunch of run on sentences to tell you about the craziness of one little document, and the last month. I will be sure to update if we are actually DTC this Friday:-)