Snow, Cookies, and LID

In the previous post, our Dossier was mailed to China.  CCCWA (or China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption) received our Dossier on Feb.8th and we received a LID (or Log-In Date) of Feb.15th.  We both finished our 12 hours of Parent Training a few days later. 

So what is next you ask?  Good question because we were a little unsure ourselves.  We are waiting on CCCWA to send us our LOA (or Letter of Acceptance), which will give us the official approval to adopt Nate.  After this form is signed and sent back to China, we can then send our I-800 to USCIS (or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services).  This form basically gives us approval to adopt Nate specifically now that we have the official go-ahead from CCCWA.  Confused yet?  I had to do some research to get all my letters and numbers right!  After our I-800 is approved, our file will be sent to NVC, we wait to get "cabled", and then we will receive our Article 5, so we can have our TA.  Now you are confused :) I will explain those letters and numbers in another email.  To sum things up a bit, we are hoping to travel sometime between June and August.

In the meantime, I will be spending next week decorating Nate's room, since Tyson's Mom will be in town to help me sew and be crafty.  The following week will be the first meeting with our new social worker so we can update our Home Study after the move.  Then we wait.

While we wait the kids and I are finding ways to stay busy by reading books together, playing board games, making cookies, and playing in the snow (or mud after the snow melts).

My two little Snow Angels :)

Oh no!  The Snowmen are melting!

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Dossier on its way to China!

The last three weeks have been super busy for the adoption and our lives in general.  On January 17th a packing company arrived at our doorstep and started putting all of our belongings into boxes.  That afternoon our USCIS approval that we had been praying would arrive before we moved, did in fact arrive!  We got into our car and made it to the bank just before it closed so we could have a copy of the approval letter notarized.  On January 18th, Tyson got up super early and drove to Tallahassee to have the forms certified.  While the packing company continued to pack our belongings into boxes, Tyson then drove to the local FedEx and overnighted this very valuable envelope to our courier in Houston, TX.  Our courier brought the package to the Chinese Consulate the day it arrived and we paid extra for the Consulate to expedite the authentication process.  Our courier then overnighted it back to us.  By this time we are living out of suitcases and staying with our dear friends the Millers.  The package did not arrive on Saturday like it was supposed to so Tyson drove to the local FedEx and asked the lady to double check the back mail room.  Praise God she was happy to help and did find our envelope!  We made the appropriate copies and mailed it off again to our agency.

We received the news today that our dossier was sent to China yesterday afternoon (Feb. 2nd).  Woohoo!!!  The pressure is on now to finish our Parent Training and update our Home Study.  We will be there soon my son!

I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
Isaiah 45:3

Long Overdue Update

We just returned from having our fingerprinting done in Jacksonville for USCIS.  Once processed, this will provide the final document needed to complete our dossier.  We are hopeful to have all of our official documents mailed to China by the end of January.

Now for the REALLY BIG NEWS!  We have been matched with a precious little boy!  We received a call on October 21st about a file for a little boy named Qian Geng Sheng who had just turned a year old.  I agreed to take a look at his file, but I waited (not so patiently) for Tyson to arrive home so we could look at it together.  We knew almost immediately that he was our son!  He has a malformed right ear and is probably deaf in that ear.  We submitted our LOI (Letter of Intent) to China on October 24th and on November 1st, China gave us the Pre-Approval to adopt our son!

Introducing Nathan "Nate" Sheng Sailer!

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2