We've done all we can do - papers are sent!

Whew!  We have reached the place in our paper chase where we have done all we can do.  The home study is virtually done.  They are waiting only on criminal clearance from Iowa -- Ethan went to college there when he was a teenager.  Ancient history, for sure!  The local agency caseworker is still hopeful that they will get the home study out of their office and to the placement agency in Washington next week.

What is next?

I Fed Ex'd  the remaining documents for our dossier to China to the placement agency today.  They can now begin sending each document for the county and state verifications and authentication from the Department of State and the Chinese Consulate.

The certification of the home study will trigger a huge step.  Once it is received, the placement agency can then file our I800-A which is the "Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country."  And directly from china-adoption-online it says, "USCIS will evaluate whether not you are suitable to adopt a child from China. Worried about getting approval? Don't be. You would never have gotten past the home study process if you weren't qualified."  Still, makes us a little nervous!

When this is approved we will be given an appointment for our final fingerprinting, a caseworker will be assigned to review the home study and fingerprints, then they issue approval.  The current average approval time frame is around 60-80 days.  We then get the I-797C, Notice of Action: Approval Notice. When this step is done our dossier should be ready to go to China.

The all important document!  Dossier: The application to adopt an orphan. It includes a letter requesting permission to adopt a Chinese orphan, home study, police reports, immigration approval, reference letters, medical reports, marriage certificate, birth certificates, letters of employment, and photos of our family and house.   It is approximately five to eight months from dossier log in until travel. So, now we wait.

We have our first "sponsors" in the puzzle fundraiser, and began putting it together this evening.  Thank you Jacob and Hannah Linson for our first 30 pieces put together!  That was a great start to the "Great Wall."

The first thirty pieces have been put together on the Great Wall fundraiser!  The proceeds from this go towards the verification, authentication, and agency fees for processing the dossier, and for the immigration fees.

Back sides of puzzle.  Thanks Hannah and Jacob!

We thank you for helping bring Abigail home!

What's in a Name?

Wikipedia:  "A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context."

Expectant parents spend hours pouring over baby names to find just the right one.  Does the middle name "go with" the first and the last?  Is there a funky nickname that is going to haunt the child if you choose this  name?  I know we spent a ton of effort in giving our children names that were meaningful to us, and hopefully that they could live with.  The whole name thing has me reflecting today.

As we recognized that the time was indeed NOW if we were ever going to adopt a little girl from China, we  began the search not looking for that "perfect name" but for the child that we felt God wanted to be part of our family.  Well, God is a master at weaving our life stories.  Here is a bit of family history for you.

After giving birth to four daughters, we more or less assumed that #5 would be a girl, and she would be named Abigail which means "father's joy or gives joy."  Surprise!  JAMES would not have appreciated the name Abigail.

Nine years later we give birth to our fifth girl, and the name Abigail had stuck with us all of those years.  Those who knew us well figured, "They got their Abigail!"  One complication.  A close friend at the time (who we spent a lot of time with) had a service dog called Abby.  I couldn't get over the fact that every time we called our daughter I would think of this little dog.  With much disappointment, we searched and searched the baby name books for something else appropriate. 

 Fast forward yet another decade as we are praying for God to show us the little one that He has in mind.  My friends who have adopted kept telling me, "Don't worry.  You will know her when you see her."   Because we are going "Special Focus"  to adopt a child who is maybe a little harder to place, we had to actually choose the child THEN choose our agency.  Special Focus children are assigned to one specific agency.  What if I messed up and missed her?

So began the pouring over files with many agencies.  One agency sent me 1797 names with brief descriptions.  I literally cried.  The need is so great.  How could we possibly choose just one?  However, there WAS a way to make sure that our little girl's file was looked at.  There was one name in the entire world that guaranteed I would open and look HARD at that file.  I confess, I passed over a Sarah and a Hannah (we have one of those) but Abigail, she had to have a good look.

Funny thing about these names on the foreign adoptive files.  They aren't the child's actual name, (as they would be in the states) and no one expects you to call them by it when they get home.  The agency "randomly" assigns them an English name, probably because we have trouble pronouncing the Chinese names.   I later found out that the girl our agency randomly labeled as "Abigail" had an English name that they use in her school - Dawn.  Why didn't the agency use that name?

I think I fell in love with her the second I opened her file.  I kept trying to give others a chance, and did continue to prayerfully consider many, many other girls.  Abigail just wouldn't leave our heads and hearts!  Do you ever second guess yourself?  I won't go into the dozen other details and confirmations that solidified "Abigail" as "the one" but yeah, my friends were right.  We knew she was "ours" when we saw her.

Shared at Death by Great Wall

The oh-so-important dossier!

Our visit from the social worker went very well on Sunday.  She was impressed that we had all of our documents prepared thoroughly and all of the requirements  - including that the escape routes posted throughout the house - were done.  She indicated that she usually has to tell people to get that step done before she returns for the second visit.  Since the escape route posting is clearly on the list of requirements I have to wonder why it isn't done the first time?  In any case, she is to return tomorrow to finish up.  We are waiting on some references to get back to to the agency, and that is pretty much it.

With the homestudy quickly drawing to a close, that will trigger the beginning of the dossier processing.  A dossier (daw-syey) is defined as "a collection or file of documents on the same subject, especially a complete file containing detailed information about a person or topic."  In this case, as uncomfortable as it makes us, the file is on US.  Details, LOTS of details. 

The dossier is a set of specific, required documents that represent our family to the Chinese government.  Each document must be completed, signed, notarized (or certified in the case of birth and marriage certificates).  This step is completed on just about everything.  Then each document needs to be verified again at the county level; verified again at the state level, and finally authenticated at the appropriate Chinese Consulate or Embassy.  This requires many cover letters, couriers to each of those offices for each document, a fee from our agency to process the whole lot, etc. It is perhaps the most important set of documents we will ever complete.  The Chinese authorities will ultimately accept or reject us depending on this set of documents.  

We have had enough confirmations over the past several weeks to realize that this whole thing really wasn't OUR idea.  We are humbled and oh so excited that God is apparently intending for this adorable little person to be part of our family. 

We would like to invite you to be part of bringing Abigail Dawn home.  We are having a puzzle fund-raiser to help get our dossier processed and to China.  What is a puzzle fundraiser?  We have purchased a puzzle of the Great Wall (at times the fees can seem like a wall to overcome!) and are inviting you to sponsor a piece -or a few pieces!  For each $5 donation we will put the donor's name on the back of a puzzle piece and begin putting it together as we have sponsors to do so.  We will double glass frame the puzzle when it is complete so Abigail can see the back with the names of all those who graciously helped us get these documents moving. If you would care to participate, you may use the "Reece's Rainbow" donate button to make a tax deductible contribution.  It is found to the right on this page.  Thank you for your friendship, your concern for the orphans, and most of all for your continued prayers!

Our Great Wall puzzle

Do you believe in coincidences?

I continue to be amazed at the "coincidences" and "just so happens" that we are seeing regarding Abigail.  For instance, I was visiting with my favorite former neighbor in Indiana yesterday.  Of course I took along the photos of Abigail as any proud mama would do.  Christa was flipping through them, stopped, (eyes bugging out) looked again, and she exclaimed,

 "I know that girl!"

 Me: "Know WHAT girl?"

Christa:  "That one! (pointing) She goes to our church!"

The "girl"  attends *********** - when she is in the country, that is.  All Christa knew was she was in China working with children.  As you can imagine, I was pretty excited to think of a friend of a friend actually looking out for Abigail AT her orphanage's school.

I have noted over and over when watching Abigail in the videos that she seems so happy and loving.  I have a feeling that much of this may be due to this "girl's" obedience to the call to work in China.

I am so grateful for this lady and her fellow workers who are there loving on those children.  They are making a huge difference in their lives.  I am also grateful for the opportunity to peek inside the orphanage (via the newsletters) and see what daily life for Abigail looks like.  In one of the photos in the newsletter, I see her beautiful little face smiling straight into the camera.  That does my heart good!  Thank you, God, for these continued little glimpses that "just happen" to assure us that we are on the right path.

Progress

Since turning in the homestudy documents, I've been enjoying having only a FEW papers to complete and mail each day, instead of the usual day-long process of seemingly endless paper pushing. 

I collected the promised letter from my cardiologist on Monday.  He assured "whom it may concern" that the problem is insignificant and won't affect my expected natural life span.  Nice to have that potential roadblock put to rest!

We're in Lafayette on "vacation" (aka remodeling a bathroom) and received a call today.  The social worker  has our papers now and wants to come do our first home visit.  This is progress.  Bring it on!

Wow God!

I hand delivered our homestudy papers this morning at 9AM.  The office manager said she would work on them today, and on through the weekend, and hopefully hand them off to the social worker next week.  They are known for processing the homestudy documents pretty quickly, so we're hopeful that trend will hold true for us.

I also sent via FedEx another ten documents for our China dossier. That project is looking pretty manageable now.

Update on the doctor's report that gave too much detail of insignificant past health findings.  The cardiologist has written a note stating that the condition isn't expected to affect my normal life expectancy.  I can pick it up at their office on Monday.  Hopefully that will be the end of the matter.

While actually getting the homestudy paperwork completed has to take first place for BIG DEAL this week, a close second would be our trip to Chicago to visit our student from Purdue's International Friendship Program.  He was in the country just briefly to present at a conference.  It was amazing to see him again.  I hadn't told him about our adoption, so he was quite surprised.  I wasn't sure how he would react, not really knowing how the Chinese people feel about Americans adopting their children.  He actually teared up though, and had good things to say about it!

I have to stop right here and ask just WHY I am so amazed when God does something spectacular?  He IS GOD after all!  I am in total awe though as I think about the past few years and how He has orchestrated events and people into our lives.  One huge example of that is Jack.

We had been part of Purdue's International Friendship Program in 1982.  We were assigned a French couple that time.  We were in the program just that one year and didn't think about it much again until 2009.  WHY did we all of a sudden, after twenty-seven years, (when a daughter had just gotten married and we'd just moved into a house in Lafayette) decide we wanted to be in this program again?  We didn't pick the student or the country.  Purdue assigned him to us.

 We loved Jack.  He added so much to our family.  We totally enjoyed spending time with him and learning about his culture.  We loved watching him do things with our family, like cutting down and decorating a Christmas tree.  "I feel like in movie!" he told us as we sat around sipping hot chocolate and looking at the tree all beautiful with lights.  We were so sad when he had to return to his country sooner than expected.  We had him just ONE SEMESTER but formed a definite bond with this special young man.

We thought we would probably never see Jack again when he returned to China.  It is so far away.  Here we are three years later, when out of the blue he informs us he is returning to the states to present at a conference in Chicago.  What are the chances that we would make a Chinese friend, and he would return from half way around the world just as we are attempting to sort out files, photos, videos, and questions about Chinese culture?  Could we have planned this had we known?  I doubt it. 

Jack was easily able to translate the Chinese characters in the files and photos.  He was easily able to translate what was being said in the background talk in the first video we'd received of Abigail in China.  Want to know how concerned God is about this mother's heart and my wonderings about insignificant (to most people) details? Abigail is dancing and doing hand motions to a song in the agency's video.  I have said over and over, "I wish I knew what the song was saying!"  Guess what?  Jack easily told me what the song was about!  He helped us sort out our own confusion of how Chinese names "work" and what she would actually be called by her friends, and better yet, the most intimate family way of saying her name.  He said we should call her Qing Qing.  (Cheeng, Cheeng)  I am in awe that these little details that mean so much to ME as the mom, were sorted out by a trusted friend that we "JUST HAPPENED" to know. Talk about great timing!  Our lives were enriched just by knowing this young man. Then we had our own personal translator come from China!  Wow God!

 Here is a photo of us in the hotel lobby.  I had taken along a scrapbook and some photos to help him catch up on what our family has been doing since he left.

 Walking in Chicago to find some lunch.

 Jack wanted ANYTHING but Chinese food.  He loves trying new things, so especially wanted something different.  We went to this unusual Italian place that also served fried chicken and fish, and Indian Curry!  Go figure!  Jack ordered the curry, and to our amusement, it came with little packages of Chinese hot sauce!  Too funny!

 

Alas, our day ended waaaay too soon.  We hated to say goodbye again.  We stopped for a last picture in downtown Chicago.

 As I sit here looking at the photos of the day and thinking "Yay, God!"  I'm still amazed at how He plans things years in advance.  He gave us a love of the Chinese people and culture years ago.  He moved us to Ohio (and you know I came kicking and screaming - almost literally!) to where there is one of the few International Adoption Centers (medical) in the country, to a co-op that is VERY multicultural with internationally adopted children.  To a job that helps make international adoption just a little bit more do-able with funds allocated to assist with a portion of the expense.  To the place to where the talk of the last fifteen years comes together and turns into action.  I am amazed at His grace and goodness.

It has been a productive paper day!

Ethan's birth certificate arrived today, amazing!  We found out on August second that China wouldn't accept his certified copy that was issued two years ago.  I'm not sure what facts changed concerning his birth since then, but we needed a certified copy that was no older than six months since its issue date. They had told us it could take months for it to be issued, (the last one did)  and the caseworker expressed concern that it might hold up the process. The application was even rejected once because something was left out of the request.  Look at the date, folks!  It hasn't even been two weeks!  I'm super happy to have that one in our file!  What is the absolute safest way to send these documents to Seattle?  I would rather prefer to drive them there myself!

Our homestudy agency called, and they received the fingerprinting,  FBI and child abuse clearances.

We received all of our education certificates.

I called for the fire safety inspection really hoping to get that form in the file too, but I have to be patient just a little bit longer.  The inspector is scheduled to come at 1pm tomorrow.  There are four adorable little girls playing at my house today, so I hope they are feeling tidy!  I'd prefer to not have to clean the whole house again.  Really though, I'm thankful that Tikvah has a group of girls in the neighborhood to play with, so I won't complain TOO much if they make a little mess.

My project this afternoon is to write ANOTHER letter to the Chinese officials.   The first one that was sent for our pre-approval was just a short one limited to a couple of paragraphs that stuck strictly to the facts.  In this one for our dossier, we are required to explain WHY we want to adopt a child, and promise about a half a dozen things to them regarding her care.  I always wonder how those documents look translated from my words to Chinese.  It would be interesting to see sometime.

When Ethan gets home it will be time to hammer out a few more forms that we just haven't gotten to.  In theory we should be able to use information from some others we did a few weeks ago, so they shouldn't take too long.  The biggie is going to be him finishing his autobiography.  If you know my husband, you know he is a man of few words.  Writing something like that is difficult anyway, but I think for him it may be extra hard.

We are getting so close.  Our goal is to get everything for the homestudy and the dossier in before we go "on vacation" (to remodel a daughter's bathroom) at the end of the week. We're throwing in that trip to Chicago to see Jack on Wednesday, so I'm feeling a little pressure.

How can you pray?  Today there are two things that I would consider to be most urgent:

1. Ethan's employer to cough up the employment letter that he requested.

2. Its a really long story, but in a nutshell, my new physician here put in (old) extra information on my medical form.  She has agreed it requires no treatment and that I'm healthy and a good candidate to adopt.  However, she insists she needs to add these little notes as extra details. To my horror she even put notes in the margin with an arrow drawn down the page. The translation to Chinese is complicated, and they need the facts to stay simple.  This has the potential of really gumming up the works and requiring extra visits to a specialist in Indiana who dismissed me from treatment over two years ago.  THEN HE would have to submit a statement, have it notarized...you see the problem? 

Thanks for remembering us!

Changes in plans

So life throws us curve balls sometimes.  This is how last evening and today went. Since we planned to leave really early this morning for Chicago to visit our foreign student friend, Jack, we really hit the online classes HARD to get them hammered out before we left.  We had been studying about Chinese culture for probably four hours, when I decided to order a pizza.  It seemed to be taking a long time for it to arrive, when about 10:30 pm my cell phone rang.  I remarked to Ethan, "Good grief!  We aren't even a mile from the place and they got lost?"  because I expected it to be the pizza delivery person.  I answered my phone to hear a man with a very strong Chinese accent ask, "May I speak to Randi Lanz, please?"  Right then the doorbell rang, and Ethan and Tikvah ran off to get the pizza, leaving me with my mouth hanging open and wondering what had happened to Abigail to cause the Chinese authorities to call my cell phone instead of the agency! 

Yeah, it was Jack!  I hadn't heard his voice since Christmas of 2009, and just didn't recognize it.  He got in to New York from China to find that his flight to Chicago was cancelled.   He was on standby with no idea when he would get a flight.

This gave us a work day.  Our goal is to have all of our paperwork and documents in by the end of next week, so we really needed the day.  We were able to take our final test for what I call the "Monster Class."  This class was 19 sessions, each about an hour long, with one to three homework assignments per session.  Wow.  It was a hard one.  So we are DONE with our educational requirements!  The local agency required 40 credit hours (don't confuse that with actual hours, it took lots more!) and the placing agency required certain Hague Convention classes.  We are so, so happy to be through them.

Ethan spent the morning measuring rooms and learning a software to print out a diagram of our floor plan.  We have to post fire escape routes in each bedroom and on each level of the house before we get our fire safety inspection.  No, it still isn't done.

I spent the day cleaning, cleaning then cleaning some more.  We are required to take a photo of each room in the house, and of course I didn't want any photographic evidence that my house wasn't in order!  I cheated in one room  - our bedroom - where I hid two baskets of laundry waiting to be folded. Hey, I can't do EVERYTHING!   The rest is clean.  I'm pretty sure it isn't healthy to have a house this clean. (smile)

I got photos of every room upstairs, main floor and basement with the exception of Tikvah's room.  It isn't too bad, but not photo ready.  She has been happily playing with several neighborhood girls and then went next door to a birthday party.  I figure tomorrow will be soon enough on her room.

Ethan has gone to Lafayette to pick up James.  He is due back at Cedarville University by 8AM Monday morning, and we need to do things with him tomorrow to help him get ready.

And Jack?  Well, he got to Chicago but too late for us to visit today.  We are hoping to get away one day this next week.  It would really stink for him to be this close and not get to see him.  If you are wondering, Jack isn't his Chinese name.  We never could say his Chinese name, nor could anyone at Purdue apparently.  He told us to just call him Jack!

I feel like I was given a treasure today!

I joined a Yahoo group called "Shenzhen Kids" which is limited to people who have adopted from or are in the process of adopting from the orphanage district where Abigail lives.  I have been able to find out so much about where she is and what her life is probably like.  For instance, this particular orphanage seems to be one of the good ones.  The children are well cared for, clean, have toys, etc.  In fact, the orphanage is sponsored by WALMART, so they have the goods, like Mickey Mouse sheets and blankets and Hello Kitty on their head boards!  LOL!  I was super happy to see that (unlike so many that we've been told about) this orphanage is a colorful place.  It looks much like preschools in the states with animal cartoons, etc.

Abigail has been attending an English speaking preschool and actually understands English!  Fantastic!  We were able to find two more videos of her on the agency website of a new online friend.  In it she shows us that she DOES actually have the ability to speak.  We heard her singing - in English.  Granted, it isn't super clear speech, but is better than we were led to believe.  She loves to dance, and has the biggest, most beautiful smile!  At this point I am not allowed to post any photos online.  You'll have to trust me on this assessment, or stop by and I'll be happy to show you the pictures.

A mom from Pennsylvania who adopted her little girl in May of this year sent me a photo and asked if the girl sitting beside her own little girl was our Abigail.  Indeed it was!  It turns out that they were friends in the orphanage.  Abigail is called DAWN in her English speaking preschool.  Seems that we may have a middle name now!  Abigail Dawn works pretty well for us.

We were also able to get a few more photos of her from May of this year, and a BUNCH from December of 2011.  I picked up ONE HUNDRED pictures from Walgreens today!  So, if you DO stop in to see photos, plan to stay awhile!

What did we accomplish today?  We finished our monster class!  We do still have to take the test, but we've been at it for over five hours this evening, and our brains are mush.  It will be done by the time the weekend is over, anyway.

I got my check up papers in progress yesterday.  The Ohio papers are signed and in our folder.  The China papers are in the works.  I went and got a bunch of lab work done today.  The doctor will finish filling out the China form and have it notarized once the labs are in.  Ethan's check up is on Tuesday.

Tikvah and I did some grocery shopping today - at her request - at an Asian Market that we happened to drive by on the way to the lab.  We especially looked for things from the Guongdong Province in China.  Tikvah thought it was a lot of fun. 

I read in Abigail's records that she eats congee quite often.  I had wondered what in the world that was.  We found out today!  It is a sweet black rice and bean dish.  We had it for dinner, and it was actually pretty good. 

We are hoping to make it to Chicago tomorrow to visit "Jack."  He was our assigned student in the Purdue International Friendship Program.  We have lots of really good memories of the times we had with him.  He returned to China a couple of years ago, and we've missed him.  He was supposed to be flying in tonight, but his plane from New York to Chicago was cancelled.  He is on standby for another flight out, and we are waiting to hear.  If there is any way at all possible, we will get to Chicago to see him while he is there.

Keep praying for Ethan's birth certificate to arrive!

Passports, yay!

I found passports in our mailbox today!  Yay!  Keep praying about that birth certificate!

And it is back to the races...

Whew!  One fourth grade homeschool portfolio is completed.  It wasn't particularly "hard" but it did take all day.  Tomorrow we see the state certified teacher to go over the records and collect our "written narrative" from her to include with our fifth grade "Intent to Home School" form.   Our outline of intended curriculum and book list is complete, and all of our books are either sitting on the school shelf, or have been ordered.  We are as ready as you can get for the coming school year.

Now the race is back on to get our adoption paperwork in order.  We completed several more sections of the "Monster Class" last night, so are nearly half way through it.  The fire extinguisher (in a lovely red!) is mounted on the kitchen wall, and there are several more smoke detectors hung on ceilings throughout the house.  We never were able to find our fire escape ladder, so Ethan purchased a new one.  It may be just as well.  This one is very lightweight, and Tikvah should actually be able to handle it if she ever needs to.

I had thought we could call for the fire safety inspection today, but we are still missing a couple of elements.  We need to post WHEN we are going to have fire drills, and we need to post a diagram of the fire escape route in each bedroom.  I'm wishing that an art gifted friend would happen to stop in for coffee!

Good news on the physician issue.  Amanda recommended her doctor, who happens to have an office manager who is a notary.  Ethan and Ruth have appointments next week.  I see my local doctor on Thursday.  If she is not able to update my physical from a couple of months ago and notarize it all, I will snatch Ruth's appointment.  Since hers doesn't have to be notarized, we do still have the Urgent Care or Kroger walk in clinic options for her.  This should not only eliminate the need for two checkups, but also get it all done at least a week sooner than if we had to go to Lafayette.

No goodies in the mail today, so keep praying for Ethan's birth certificate to come!

Chasing different papers...

When I look at the list that sent me into such discouragement just a little over a week ago, and what we have managed to get accomplished in that week I am amazed!  So many of these things that looked really complicated, ok let's be real - WERE REALLY complicated - are done.  Our document folder is looking  pretty good.  Our Hague required classes are done.  We are still working on a required class for WACAP that is a doozy.  It claims 4 hours of credit, but is going to take so much more time than that to complete it.  There are 20+ homework assignments, videos to watch, activities to complete, yeah it won't be finished in the next day or two.

We worked like crazy and made so much progress, but alas, I don't feel ready for the fire safety inspection today.   There are still a few things that need to be accomplished, so we won't be calling for it until tomorrow or Wednesday. 

Want to hear a funny story about what happens when one gets busy and preoccupied? My big project over the weekend was to clean and reorganize the basement.  I have a work out room down there, and noticed that one of the big physio balls had kitty hair on it.  I decided the ball would benefit from a shower.  So, I hauled it up two flights of stairs, turned the water on hot, then went back to the basement with the intention of going back to retrieve the ball in a few minutes.  You see it coming, don't you?  Several HOURS later, Ethan asked me, "How long as the ball been in the shower?"  Oh boy.  It is clean, anyway.

Today I really must turn my attention to a different paper chase.  We are scheduled for our first ever homeschool portfolio review on Wednesday.  In Indiana these were not required.  In Ohio, you must file papers stating what you plan to accomplish, do it, then file papers proving you accomplished what you said you'd do.  I feel like we had a decent school year, but keeping a paper trail of these things is not one of my strong points.  Today I will be going back over the lesson plans from last year, documenting, printing reports and maybe some photos from field trips.  My friends here tell me it isn't really that big of a deal.  They usually know what they are talking about, so I'm not freaking out too badly.  It just needs to be done.

When the portfolio is put together it is time to write up the plan for the next school year. How can it be that school starts again in just a few weeks?  (And how can Tikvah possibly be going into the fifth grade??)  I know what we are doing, and have all but one of the books, so filing with the state shouldn't be as time consuming this time as it was last year.

So today, I'll be working on government papers for Tikvah until Ethan gets home from work.  Then its back to what should probably be called the "Monster Class" to go along with that "Monster Document" we turned in a few weeks ago. 

Several of you have asked how you can pray for us.  Here are our most pressing needs right now:

1. God's grace to keep it all in perspective.

2. Physicals for Ethan and Ruth.  This is complicated for Ethan because the physician's signature needs to be notarized for the China form.  We would prefer to not have to do the (no notary required) county check up at an Urgent Care (any docs out there who do FAST check up appointments?) and then turn around and have to do it all over again in Indiana for the China papers.  Our family physician there will work with us to document the way we need it.  BUT, we need the county check up done THIS WEEK, so we can't wait for our appointments in Indiana which aren't until the end of the month.  We'll do it twice  if we have to, but it takes a lot of extra time and funds to do the checkups twice.

3. Ethan's birth certificate to be sent quickly from the Dept. of State in Washington, D.C.  They tell me it usually takes several months.  We have a little girl growing up in an orphanage and don't have several months to wait on it!  God can make it happen, I know He can!

Thanks, friends!

Filling the File with Documents

The documents keep coming in and the file is getting large!  The mail brought my birth certificate and our marriage license.  I got the kitties to the vet and their papers are filed.  My autobiography is done, and Ethan's is getting there.  We have been getting a couple of our online classes completed each day, and those certificates are being added also.  Today we've gotten one class done already, and hope to pop off the three remaining Hague class requirements this evening.

If you aren't familiar with the Hague Convention, in a nutshell, "The process for adopting a child from another country (intercountry adoption) changed in some significant ways with the U.S. ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention). The Convention went into effect in the United States on April 1, 2008. The Convention is designed to protect the best interests of children and prevent the abduction, sale, and trafficking of children. In this country, the U.S. Department of State has overall responsibility for implementing the Hague Convention, although the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within the Department of Homeland Security also plays a significant role."  ( see: http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/hague.cfm)

One big need we have right now is for Ethan and Ruth to get a physical.  We are having trouble finding a doctor who can get them in quickly. To further complicate matters, the physician's signature has to be notarized on Ethan's form for China.  We do have a plan to accomplish this in Lafayette (if we have to) at the end of the month, but that delays things.  If anyone knows of a notary that we could hire to go to - Urgent Care perhaps? - for physicals, let me know.

In our "free time" today we are getting ready for the fire safety inspection that will hopefully happen on Monday.  One question... does anyone know where we put the fire safety ladder when we moved to Ohio???

We have our pre-approval from China!!!

We just got a phone call!  We have our pre-approval from China and are OFFICIAL!  Happy Anniversary to us!

We spent the morning in a CPR class, then getting BCI and FBI fingerprinting and clearances.  But now, we are assured that we are doing all of this FOR something and not just to amuse ourselves.  So thankful for this news today.

Paper chase and first official class

I continue to do the paper chase today.  The amount of paper work required is unbelievable.  Much of it needs to be notarized, of course.  Ethan has the next two days off work, so I'm also researching where to go to get things like background checks and FBI fingerprinting, clearances, etc.  He actually took the time off for our anniversary, but this seems to be a much better use of his "business hours" time off.

This evening we are scheduled to take our first required class, "Coming Home: Adopting the Older Child."  Here is where working with an agency on the west coast complicates life a little.  Our webinar is from 8:30 - 10:15 at night.  I guess it doesn't conflict with any other commitments, anyway!  LOL!