Fundraiser Updates

People who aren't my "friend" on Facebook have been having trouble claiming bracelets from the ApParent Project fundraiser.  I've moved the photos into a public album.  If you are looking for them, you'll find them here now: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.165087946979518.1073741826.140680712753575&type=3  If you don't do Facebook but would still like to see the bracelets, let me know and I will be happy to post or email some photos and details for you.

Our month to be a featured family on Owls for Orphans is nearly over.  If you'd like to order one of these sweet creatures to live in your house, check them out!  Click on the owl banner lower on this page and to the right.

We have gotten word of a MATCHING GRANT!  We are still trying to work out the details with the grant organization, so stay tuned! 

Where are we in the process?  Our Article 5 is scheduled to be picked up a week from today on March 26.  After that it should only be a couple of weeks until we are given our invitation to travel.  We will take the first available consulate appointment, but there is a huge trade fair and a couple of holidays going on in the city we are going to during the month of April.  We are still HOPING to travel in April, but each day that passes makes May a stronger possibility.  We are SO READY to bring our girls home!

So close!

I got an email from our case manager at the agency today.  She has received confirmation that our paperwork for the girls was dropped off at the consulate in Guangzhou, and pick up is scheduled for March 26.  This is the step where they declare that Jennifer and Abigail are our IMMEDIATE RELATIVES upon adoption!  Once the courier picks up our Article 5 on the 26th it is mailed to Beijing.  Our invitation to travel should be issued 2-3 weeks thereafter.  I'm reading 7-10 business days from some people!  We are close.  We are SO close!

Look what we got today! A box with 250 Apparent Project bracelets! If it is possible, they are even nicer than the ones we got last fall. If you missed out on those, or if you'd like another to update your spring wardrobe, I've begun listing them with photos. They are $10 if they need to be mailed, $8 if you are local. Half goes to Haiti and half will help to get us on that plane to go get our daughters in China. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151458785268190.1073741826.537343189&type=3

 If you aren't familiar with the Apparent Project, you can find out more about them here http://apparentproject.org/

Our last step with immigrations

At last!  We have received the pdf files from the National Visa Center and forwarded them to our agency.  When they get in on Monday (about midnight in China) they will forward them to their representative to hand carry to the American Consulate there, hopefully to arrive on Tuesday. 

They tell me it is "always" two weeks to the day that they are to pick up our Article 5.  We've heard of others in our online communities taking three or four weeks, and our documents have certainly not been moving at the customary pace lately.  We're really hoping that it is an uncomplicated process for this last step with immigrations.

Once our Article 5 is picked up our approval documents are all sent to the CCCWA who is in charge of the orphans.  They should issue an invitation to travel 2-3 weeks later.  Even though that will be during the big trade fair, we are still hoping to go get our princesses in late April.

On a Roller Coaster

It has been a roller coaster kind of week.  On Monday we received our written provisional approval on the I800s and were so excited to finally have that step done after four weeks!  This high point came crashing down about mid-week as we discovered that the National Visa Center didn't have any record of us or our approvals.  They seemed to be a bit concerned about that.  It has been an up and down ride throughout the day today, and to make a long story short, the NVC now has our information entered in their computer, and we are hoping for a speedy delivery of that all important pdf for our agency to email to their representative in China.  My excitement is somewhat subdued because our agency is closed all day on Friday for staff training.  It can't possibly get to their representative until Tuesday, no matter how quickly it comes tomorrow.  I have been told this immigrations step of the adoption process works "like clockwork" so apparently our clock has a low battery!

Some other high spots were getting new pictures of the little princesses -- this time with Jennifer's birthday cake, and the arrival of our passports with our visas to China! 

Happy Birthday to Jennifer!

Today is Jennifer's seventh birthday.  When Abigail had her birthday back in October, (click to see the post Abigail is six) we had to make due with having a cake at home in her absence.  This time, we are far enough along in the process that we were allowed to send a cake (from a bakery in her country) to the orphanage!

The cake pictured is the actual birthday cake!  I'm told (by someone who is now back in the states but used to work at the orphanage) that it is a pretty typical cake for China.  It is "sponge cake-like...very sweet...they don't use butter like we do, so theirs aren't as "rich" but super sweet."  She confirmed that it is a peach slice on the top in the middle not an egg yolk.  (After purchasing "moon cakes" last fall, we wondered!)  The only thing she found surprising was the absence of cherry tomatoes.  Apparently it is common to find them along with the other fruits.

We don't know if Jennifer has ever had her own birthday cake before.  It is rather doubtful.  We received photos of her blowing out tall, skinny candles and grinning her sweet little head off.  The cake was rather pricey, but that smile was PRICELESS!  So happy we were able to do this for her.  It may be her first birthday cake, but this is her LAST BIRTHDAY without a family!

Never a dull moment...

If you have been following our story, you know because of snowstorms in Kansas City, we waited an entire month for our I800 to be approved.  We were so happy to get the written copy of the provisional approvals in the mail on Monday.  At our agency's instruction, we then began a daily routine of emailing the National Visa Center.  Once the information is entered in their computer they "cable" it (in other words send it electronically) to China.  Then they issue a letter to us saying they have done so. One can shave a couple of weeks off the wait time by requesting a pdf in an email instead of waiting on this paper copy to arrive.

I called the NVC this afternoon after three days of receiving no response whatsoever to my emails.  It was disturbing to have them attempt to look up the girls' numbers, Ethan's information, even MY information in case someone had entered it wrong.  Nothing.  They have no record of us at all.  Since it has been an entire week from our approval, they seemed concerned and instructed me to call the Hague office to get tracking numbers. You may remember my month of frustration in calling and emailing that office.  Now as then, I left a voice mail and an email to our officer.  No response today at all.  Sigh. 

Our agency is involved this time and attempting to get the tracking numbers for us.  They assure us that if the NVC doesn't get our forms within a few days they will request that duplicates be overnight express mailed to the NVC. 

I guess the lesson here is to always expect the unexpected.  Once again, the "predictable" part of this process has been anything but predictable!