Journal - Step 2: The paper chase

Our Family Adoption Story

Journal - Step 2: The paper chase

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The paper chase begins.....

2/25/04

Today we officially started phase 2 of our adoption: The paper chase.

Cierra spent the night with a good friend so we could show up at BCIS (INS) 1st thing at 8:00. Dion was in uniform, so we didn't even have to go through metal detectors - just had to show his ID.

We were 1st in line & got through quickly. The people were so very nice. They gave me a phone number to call late Thursday/early Friday, to find out if Dion's prints cleared, or if they needed to reprint him. If so they will get him back in on Friday. What a relief.

After INS appointment, I went to our agency & signed China papers with Nancy. Then we went down the dossier list & I had everything she asked for. The only thing we don't have is the 2 new forms - but I we just have to sign them, & then go drop them off. Now we wait for INS 171, which gives us approval to bring an orphan into the states. It was weird to get our paper from INS that was labeled "Frymark Orphan". Nancy hopes that since they are pushing the prints through, that maybe they will get the 171 out fast also, instead of having to wait the usual 3-6 weeks for it to come in the mail. We will see.

Our birth certs & marriage licenses are being sent to their respective states for sec. of state certifications. Our Nebraska stuff has to wait on the 171. When everything is returned from all the sec. of states, then everything will be sent to the Chinese consulates for authentication. Then everything is returned to the agency again. At that point, everything is then sent to China to be logged in. So, as you can see, the paper chase is still going to be awhile. I figure best, best possible senario would be April - that is if they send us the 171 asap - of which there is no guarantee. Now we wait.

Got my 2nd Hep B shot today. Last one is in July.

2/26/04

I was asked what we turn in for the dossier. Read it & weep!

2 original/raised seal birth certs & 2 original/raised seal marriage licenses

Notary required:

2 orginal Application & Commitment Letter ( letter written to Chinese

governmnet explaining why we want to adopt & how we will

provide)

2 Homestudy

2 Statement of family status - lists your family members & ages

2 copies of passports

2 each physical forms signed/notarized

2 each Employment verification - signed by boss

2 financial statement - lists every debt & asset

2 each police clearance letters (don't even get me started on that

one)

2 Guardianship agreement for prospective parents (we name the

guardian)

2 Guardianship agreement from guardian

Interagency agreement (because we are using a sister agency)

171H -from INS

Letter of permission

2 each name statements (listing all names you have gone by)

4 passport photos each

Family photos - nicely presented & captioned

2 Appication for China Center of Adoption Affairs (actuall App for

China)

Medical Risks in International Adoption form

Post placement agreement (that we will finalize adoption & complete

f/u)

Statment of fees (what the program costs)

Consent for Program Mailing list (to give our names as references)

Oath for copies of tax returns

Oath for copies of 171H

There it is. And to think, just anyone can get pregnant without filling out a thing! LOL!

2/27/04

Called INS today. My prints cleared, but Dion's didn't come in. This is bad because Dion leaves Monday. If he needs to be re-printed he won't be here. This could set us back a month if we have to wait to re-print him. Dion, with his clearances, was proably flagged & passed on to whoever checks to see why it was flagged. So hopefully it just means someone is checking as to why he is in the FBI computer - not because the prints are no good. We can pray, right?

Turned in the last 2 new forms & copy of this year's tax return to Nancy at ALWW. Now we wait for the 171 - assuming Dion's prints are clear.

2/29/04

I got a neat package from my best friend Rena. She sent me 2 ladybug pens in ladybug cases & a homemade ladybug card. It sure brought a smile to my face - especially with the disapointment of not knowing whether Dion needs to be re-printed or not. Talk about perfect timing.

3/1/04

INS called this morn (right after base called to say Dion was leaving 2 hours earlier than scheduled) & said they would go ahead & reprint Dion if he could come in since they still hadn't heard anything. He had to scramble to get out to Millard, then make it out to the base. At INS they let him walk in & jumped him ahead of everyone. He said it was strange as everyone waiting to be printed was staring at him. But he made it in & was reprinted "just in case".

As I was ready to leave work for lunch, who walks in the door but Dion. The plane slipped 24 hours so now he leaves tomorrow. We had lunch together and he told me all about his INS adventure. The ladies there said they would call me to let me know when the prints went through.

3/2/04

Dion deployed today. We think he will be back by the end of the month, as he is scheduled to go TDY to San Antonio.

Tamara from INS called today to tell me that Dion's prints cleared. Now we just wait for them to finish our 171H & send approval to bring an orphan into the states. Then we can get paperwork moving through the state & government levels.

3/3/04

Received a call from Nancy at ALWW today. Our paperwork has gone through the 1st round of checks with California. My physical form has to be redone & we need a 2nd original on police clearances (of course) & our employment letters. I already had another employment letter for me. Won't be able to get a new one for Dion until he returns. Only thing keeping us from moving ahead on paperwork is my physical - which I will try to get fixed Friday. Can't say I didn't expect it - the notary's had really messed up the form. The doctor is not going to be happy about re-filling out the paperwork - he wasn't happy the 1st time.

Found out today that a friend is pregnant! I am so happy for them! They were really wanting another child - and he was just sent overseas. I thought they would have to wait until he got back, but not so! God is good! And think, now I have someone to talk baby with! LOL!

3/4/04

Left a message with my doctors office about having form redone. There was no return call. This could turn out to be worse than the police clearances. I'm debating going down to the clinic & trying to force the issue - but that doesn't usually work well with military doctors.

3/5/04

3 hours & 15 minutes. That is how long I waited in the waiting room for a signature & date. Good thing I brought a book - which will be added to the reading list very soon as I read almost the whole thing during that wait. But...it's done. Signed, dated & notarized correctly. Hand delivered to ALWW.

I have determined that you go through labor for all of your children. When you are pregnant, you have a long wait, then you have labor. When you adopt, you go into labor, then you have a long wait. Profound, huh?

Talked to Dion on IM today. He has reached his destination. He didn't seem thrilled about another trip to the police station for another set of clearances. Maybe I'll get it done for him before he gets back. Maybe.

3/10/04

Tried to get my 2nd Hep A shot. The base was all out. Waiting for that envelope from INS. Yesterday made 2 weeks from the 1st fingerprinting date - 3-6 is average.

3/11/04

Got a call from Nancy at ALWW today. Nebraska has finally returned to certifying all documents. This is good as we won't have to wait on CA now. This is bad because NE has generated a new form - Dion isn't here to sign it. But, the good news is that Dion left a message on the answering machine that they are already working on his replacement. Hopefully when he gets back he will have time to get another employment letter, 2 new police clearances & sign the new form before they ship him off to Texas. Never a dull moment.

3/14/04

Completed 2 internet classes on adoption: Attachment Course & Conspicuous Families. They are available online at www.adoptionlearningpartners.org They are free, so if you are interested, check them out. They say they take 2 hours but they don't.

3/16/04

Attended an adoption class out at the base today. Very disapointing - I ended up giving more military specific info than the people hosting it. It was really much more about recruiting people into the foster care system - with adoption the goal. After listening I'm glad that we are going international. Sure, it would be cheaper on 1 level to do foster adopting - after all the state pays for the whole thing - but there is a reason they are kept on medicaid - all the therapy bills. Sad. Not to mention all the failed attempts.

No envelope today. I was disapointed after having a long & not very good day.

Side note - a couple we went to church with in Iceland has just announced that they are in the process of trying to adopt 2 children from Russia! I'm so excited for them! They are currently wading through the paperwork nightmare also.

3/17/04

My friend Lisa dropped by today to give us a stroller & highchair that she found at Goodwill! They don't even look like they have been used. Made us wonder if they came from a Grandma's house. The 2 of us are awaiting garage sale season so we can get some baby shopping done - she's just hitting her 2nd trimester.

On the down side - still no envelope - just a dead ladybug in the mail. Hmmmm - what's that suposed to mean?????

It appears that someone on this end has dropped the ball & it is now questionable whether they will get a replacement out to Dion. If that wasn't enough to make a bad day - I had a dental appointment with the roughest cleaning tech I've ever seen! Ouch! Pass the pain reliever please! LOL!

At church each family is going to do an "adopt a missionary" project. We have alot of missionaries that we support - now we are trying to get at least 1 family that will write/email missionaries weekly or monthly as an encouragement to them. Guess which country I have picked???? We have 1 missionary we support in China - I can't wait to find out where in China they are. Wouldn't it be great if we got to see them when we travel?

3/19/04

Went to agency & picked up new forms we need to fill out. It looks like Dion might just barely make it back in time to make it to Texas, so I doubt he will have the time to go to ALWW. 2 forms each to be signed/notarized. Also got to see the final product of the homestudy which I hadn't seen yet. Nancy said she called INS yesterday; they told her our paperwork is "in the pile". She hopes we get it next week - will call them mid week if it isn't in yet. She is still hoping we can get our paperwork sent by 1st week in April. I don't know.

3/22/04

Well, the good news is that Dion should be home Thursday night. But he leaves again Sunday morning. Hey, it's long enough to get him to sign the new sheet & have it notarized. I don't know about getting the employment letter done & the police clearance.

Also, got a call from Nancy today. Seems my birth certificate came back not certified because it was done at a county level & not signed in pen. She made some calls & they are going to run it through again without charging me all over. Also, the Texas marriage cert came back. She made some more calls; it turns out all it really needs is to go to some other office, so that is handled also. Thankfully we went ahead & started on these while waiting on the INS paperwork. It won't hold us up any - all our other stuff still needs to go to the Nebraska Sec. of State once we get INS approval.

3/27/04

Dion made it home late Thursday night. Friday he spent the day trying to get his orders straightened out. He got a new employment letter - but it needs to be redone as the notary statement is messed up. That will have to wait until he gets back. He also picked up new police clearance letters - another $20 of course. Also signed new papers, so that is done. Will get this turned in probably on Monday - INS still hasn't sent us the 171H yet. It's now been a month.

Dion leaves tomorrow morning for San Antonio. Will be gone 2 weeks. He hopes to stop in Dallas & see baby Riley Sunday night.

3/29/04

This has been a really lonnnnnggggg month! I can't imagine what its going to be like to wait on the actual referral!

Spoke with Nancy today. She called INS; they have read our homestudy & it is in process. Don't know what that means, but it beats last weeks "it's in the pile" - I think. Time to kick up the prayers a notch.

4/1/04

Proof positive, once again, that prayer works. I wanted today to be the day that we got the 171H. I prayed. Hard. Came home at lunch...not only did we NOT get it in the mail - we didn't get anything. Sigh.

After picking up Cierra I checked the mail again - even though I knew the mail lady had come as she was making the rounds while I was home at lunch - still no letter. Darn.

We came inside after school- there was a message on the machine. "HI! This is Libby at INS. You are approved & your 171H is ready - call me if you want to come pick it up - we close at 4:00."

What time is it????? 3:38!!!!! Oh no! Quick call - I'm coming!!!!!! Grab Cierra - jump in car - make it to Millard in 18 minutes during traffic time! Lights off - place empty except for 2 security guards. Walked in & gave them my name & was escorted to the back. He wanted to know how many speed limits I broke to get there right at 3:59. I just smiled - Libby said: She came from work! She then presented me with our papers. They faxed a set to our agency. Then the security guard thanked me for shopping at INS & we left with big happy smiles on our faces.

Funny thing is - last night we had church so I turned my phone off. I forgot to turn it back on this morn. So, if I had turned it on, I would have gotten the call much earlier as they tried my cell too.

Mom & dad will be here this weekend. They are coming up to spend Spring Break with the kids. Can't wait to see them!

4/5/04

Got an email from my agency today letting me know that our documents were sent to the Sec. of State for Certification! Have I mentioned lately how much I love these guys???

4/13/04

I have been unable to get onto this site & post updates since last week. I have a few different things to report.

My parents were up for the week. I gave them the family adoption book I bought. It was a really great week!

Dion returned home Friday night. He was able to be with us for Easter so that was great.

All our documents made it through the Neb. Sec. of State. The Neb. documents also made it through the authentication (Neb. has an extra step) & everything was mailed to the Washington DC Chinese Consulate today. We might actually make it DTC in April after all!

Dion stopped & saw his niece Riley. He showed me how Riley & Lance's newborn pictures look so alike. Also, Dianna sent him home with lots of wonderful baby blankets (ssssoooo soft) & a portable crib. What a blessing!

Hoping to annouce our dossier being sent to California next week!!

Dion & I went out on a date yesterday. We tried a new restuarant called Back to Guangzhou. Guangzhou is the city where we will be for a week before coming home with baby. The furnishings are all from Guangzhou as was our waitress. We went early so at first we were the only ones there. She (Angel) did a tea ceremony for us & showed us pictures of Guangzhou. We also had a sampler of dim sum - was that ever good!!! We also had congee - which is a soup that the orphanages feed the babies if they are old enough for food. It was very good - need to learn how to make that!

4/16/04

Turned in Dion's last employer/wage verification. Nancy let me borrow 3 of her books since I have depleted the library's supply.

So here is the current story: We will be DTC May. We expect a referral in January. Travel should be in March.

This could change, but it is the current time line. We are not logged in to China yet. Our stuff, once returned from the consulate, is sent to California. They have it sent to China. Probably wont make an April date - even if we do it will be late enough to be grouped in with May - so this should be the way it works out.

4/26/04

Called Nancy at ALWW today as I thought I should have heard something by now. All our stuff from Nebraska that went to the D.C. Chinese Consulate has been returned. BUT. Of course there is a but... the Houston consulate rejected my Georgia birth certificate. So that was returned. It was sent back to Georgia to be redone again. It was sent back to ALWW. And now it has been resent to the Houston consulate. So we are still waiting. The good news is they still expect it to get to CA & be forwarded on to China by the 1st week of May. I am thinking at least 2nd week myself - but that still keeps us in the May batch.

4/28/04

No real news to update today. I believe Nancy is out of town at an adoption conference right now - so even if my birth certificate came in it wouldn't go anywhere until she gets back.

Did get a copy of the letter ALWW mailed to the company we applied for a grant from. They were so nice in their recommendations. What a nice letter. Dion picked up the letter from pastor tonight so I just need to get those in the mail. I don't really expect to get the grant, but we applied anyways. There is one more we can try also when this one does not come through. That one looks even harder to get.

Also, we got a card from my sister with a gift in it. That was a wonderful surprise. It sure made for a very nice day.

Today we became an uncle and aunt again. Baby Hope was born to Dion's brother Brad. She has heart problems and is in intensive care. Please keep her in your prayers.

5/4/04

Nothing new to report. I have not been notified of our paperwork being sent to China yet. I hope we don't end up being set back into another month.

Sent off everything needed for a grant. Will hear by August whether we recieve one or are rejected.

Also, started my photography & darkroom class last night. Thought I might like to really know how to use my camera before we go to China!

***evening****

Our dossier was sent to California for final inspection yesterday. We have our fingers crossed that it will actually make it into the mail on the way to China by the end of the week.

Also got our FCC (Families with Children from China) newsletter. There will be a picnic later this month. This should be fun - the kids & I loved the Chinese New Year event we went to.

Hopefully, the next time I update it will be with Journal Part 3 - Dossier to China!

5/12/04

Called & spoke with Kathleen at Adopt International in California. Our packet should be mailed to China no later than Monday. We should still make May DTC no problem. They are still predicting January referral & March travel.

We will be traveling with 1 other family. That family is from Nebraska also. I plan to contact them at some point & try to get to know them. They live a little over an hour away I think.

Current projects:

1. Photgraphy/Darkroom class is going well. I love it! Printed my 1st picture Monday. I should be able to take smashing photos by the time we go to China!

2. Scrapbook area is back up & running. Have a goal of getting caught up with my books before the baby gets here. Thats a tall order.

3. Brand new project: 100 good wishes quilt. This is a Chinese tradition that everyone will be getting a letter on. Just in case some people don't actually get theirs, I am posting a copy of the letter on the site here. Please join us on this project if you can even if a paper letter doesn't make it to you!

5/18/04

Today we begin the third part of our journey: DTC. Step 3!