Dossier Drama

An adoption dossier includes documents required by the US and the country from which one is adopting.  For us that is:

1. Inter-country adoption application letter

2. Birth certificate for Father

3. Birth certificate for Mother

4. Marital status certificate

5. Employment Verification for Father

6. Employment Verification for Mother

7. Financial status certificate

8. Physical examination certificate for Father

9. Physical examination certificate for Mother

10. Criminal/ Non-criminal record certificate for Father

11. Criminal/ Non-criminal record certificate for Mother

12. Home study report

13. USCIS Clearance (I-797)

 

We also included  Power of Attorney documents to go through the certification process just in case one of us isn't able to travel this time.

Our agency processed the dossier for us with our other adoptions.  Pat's file was specific to a different agency, so this time we got to take care of the certification and authentication of all of the documents ourselves.

The first step (for the state of Ohio) is to certify (at the county level) all of the notaries who signed our papers.  I was told that the notary is supposed to write the county in which they are actually commissioned.  Some notaries apparently misunderstood this and wrote the county in which they work.  This caused us so much trouble!

Not only did we manage to use notaries from ALL FOUR counties in our area, but I had to make numerous trips back and forth around the city when informed that the notaries wrote the wrong county on a total of SIX of our documents.  Whew... what a week!

After the county certifications, the state of Ohio had to certify that the county seat person was legit.  We also had documents from other states, so we needed state seals from four different states total.  The state seals were the easy ones.  I simply wrote a letter (and the check) addressed the envelopes, and handed them off to the Fed Ex guy!  Fed Ex is quickly becoming my new best friend.

Thursday was the really HARD day.  The bulk of our documents were sent to the courier along with copies of the original documents and copies of the county and state seals.  There were also forms for the Chinese authentication step.  It took a lot of concentration and attention to detail.  Or perhaps my brain was just on meltdown from the week's activities which made it seem harder than it actually was.

We've now reached the final step for our dossier preparation.  Three of the state seals are being certified at the Dept of State then they move on to the Embassy of China in Washington, D.C. for their authentication. The Ohio documents are in New York City to be delivered to the Chinese Consulate on Monday.  Here's hoping that everything checks out fine, and in another week or so our dossier authentication will be complete.

Once everything arrives back here, (and I make yet more copies of EVERYTHING again) it will be sent to our agency to add to our references and photos that are already waiting there.

So, the much asked question.... when will we travel? With our other adoptions we were in China  right about five months after the dossier submission.  It is a little trickier this time around since there are some very important things happening in our family that we will need to work around --think birth of a grand baby, a son's college graduation, and then this same son getting married!  We're trusting that the timing will work out to minimize the amount of time Pat waits for us, and so as not to miss any of these very important events.

Updated Monday morning:   I just got a call from the courier that we hired for the dossier documents going to the New York Chinese Consulate. Everything looks good. They have been dropped off (with much craziness since the Consulate was closed for Chinese National Day last week) and should be on their way back home next Monday.

True Story...

True story...  last night during family devotions we read about Esther. This particular book ended our reading with, "And so Esther the orphan became Esther the queen." Abigail got up and ran over to look at the picture, thrust her fist in the air and exclaimed, "Oh YEAH!"

Red Thread Photo Session

Chinese Proverb:

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle but will never break.

 We were blessed with a "Red Thread" photo session by Erin Hull Photography.  Erin specializes in birth and adoption photos.  After a long week of dossier drama, it was a pleasure to find the photos in my mailbox!  Share some happiness with us.  We'll catch up with the drama later...

 

Homestudy APPROVED!

Our homestudy has been approved by our placement agency.  Once we receive our notarized copy we will have it sealed at the county level then authenticated at the state level along with the other documents that originated in Ohio.  We're hot on the trail of our dossier now! 

We are unfortunately still holding on Ethan's record of birth.  Keep praying that it comes quickly!  This little guy has spent NINE YEARS in an orphanage and it is time for him to come home!

Pat is Nine

September 16, 2014 marked Pat's last birthday with the status of orphan.  We were able to send him a cake and treats so he could celebrate (a couple of weeks ago) with his friends.  He found out at that time that we would be coming to make him a part of our family.  I.CAN'T.WAIT! 

Our homestudy process was quick, so its been discouraging now as we just wait for the last two documents to arrive. Today the long awaited clearance came in so we are waiting on JUST Ethan's certificate of birth to be able to authenticate, seal and send this dossier to China.  Ethan was born to American citizens while they were on the mission field, so it isn't as easy as it sounds.  It gets a bit depressing as day after day goes by and the document doesn't appear in the mailbox.  There is no information to be had when inquiring about its status other than,  "It is in process."  We've been on track to be DTC by the end of the month, but the end of the month is quickly approaching.  We'd appreciate your prayers for some quick processing at the State Department to get this document done.

Mid Autumn Festival

One of the biggest festivals in China is that of the Mid Autumn Festival which is a harvest festival that traditionally gives thanks to the moon.  Some have likened it to be the Chinese version of Thanksgiving.

The ancient Chinese observed that the movement of the moon had a close correlation with the changes in seasons, thus they offered a sacrifice to the moon.  Romantically speaking, the festival is to commemorate Chang E, who in order to protect her beloved husband’s elixir, ate it herself and flew to the moon.  There are numerous other legends surrounding Mid Autumn Festival - the most well-known ones include Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine, Wu Gang Chopping Laurel Tree, and Zhu Yuanzhang and the Moon Cake Uprising. ( China Travel Guide) Our family's celebration is modified a bit.  Instead of giving thanks to the moon itself, we thanked the Creator of it.  

When asked what they wanted to eat this year, the girls all wanted the traditional mooncakes

And Isaac....well, he wanted SNAILS!

We also had fried rice, steamed buns, and dumplings.

We read the book Thanking the Moon after dinner

 and when it began to get dark the kids enjoyed playing with some glow sticks.

This year we had beautiful, clear skies and were able to see the moon really well through the trees in our backyard.

 

Who is a Football Lover Among Us?

UPDATE:  The auction has ended, but sadly with no bids.  Thanks for taking a peek!

A friend from our homeschool co-op asked if it would be ok for her to auction off some tickets this weekend as a fundraiser towards Pat's adoption. Oh YES!  It is VERY OK!   

If you are a football fan, especially of Ohio college ball, this may really interest you!  Here is her announcement:

ALL FUNDS RAISED go toward bringing Pat home to his family. 

FOUR tickets to 

Ohio State University vs Kent State University football. 

September 13, 2014

Columbus, Ohio

NOON KICKOFF

Face value is $360. 

There is nothing quite like a college football game in Ohio State's stadium - the horseshoe, the "shoe"!  If you are a fan, you already know this. If you have never been, it's an amazing experience you won't want to miss. 

These seats are on the home side (you see the band's performance right-side up), under cover (great in extreme heat or cold or rain), unobstructed by columns, you can see the whole field, has cushioned seats and seat backs, and has two aisle seats (on the correct side so that people going up and down the stairs do not block your view).  You will be near the end zone in the closed end of the stadium. 

Tickets can be transferred to you via email. You can either print at home OR get them sent to your smart phone!

I will sell to the highest bidder. Bidding ends Monday night, September 8, so the winner has enough time to make plans.  I will accept bids via email or Facebook post. 

Ginnyandkids@cinci.rr.com

FB - Ginny Baker Johnson

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. ANYONE CAN BID. 

Remember, this is for bringing this boy home to Ohio, all the way from China!  If that's not a worthy cause, I don't know what is. I love a good bargain, but some things are more important than a good discount. 

For more on this precious boy's story of adoption and to follow his family's progress toward  bringing  him home, visit their blog:  www.lanzadoption.com

Let's raise some money for the Lanz family's adoption fund!