Adventures in the windy city...

I was in Chicago last week to get all of our documents authenticated by the Chinese Consulate.  I lived in Chicago for a number of years and was very excited to have an excuse to visit the windy city.  I had visions of spending 40 minutes or so in the consulate and the rest of the time taking in all of the beautiful architecture, food, and nice weather!  I had all 111 pages of the dossier ready for authentication (except for immigration approval), the shiny golden seals of the state of indiana visible on all of the documents, my debit card in hand, and I was ready to mark this milestone off.

Me on the phone prior to driving to Chicago: "Nín hǎo, do you take debit/credit cards or do I need to bring a money order or cashiers check"

Nice lady at the consulate:  Debit/credit cards are fine.

Me on the phone prior to driving to Chicago:  Great, Is there any paperwork I need to fill out ahead of time or do I simply need to bring the documents and my debit card.

Nice lady at the consulate:  Only other thing is a copy of the photo page in your passport.

Me on the phone prior to driving to Chicago:  ok great!  Thank you!

I drive 5 hours to Chicago and check into my hotel and found the walking directions on my iphone.  I arrived @ 12:15 only to find that the office is open from 9:30 - 12:00 and 1:00 - 2:30.  I patiently waited for 1:00 p.m. and my number to be called.  My number was called at 1:05 and I walked to the window with a smile and my documents.  The first thing the nice lady asked was if I had the application for authentication completed.  I reminded her that I called and was told there wasn't any additional documents required.  She handed me the application and told me to go to the back of the line.  I filled the application out and waited for my name to be called again.  

I walked to the window for a second time and before I could say anything, she asked if I had a money order for the authentication fee.  I let her know that I would be using my debit card.  I was then informed that the debit card could only be used if I was going to return in 4-5 days to pick the documents up in person.  This was not an option so I made the 3 block walk to the post office to get cash and a money order.  

Upon my return, 15 minutes before they closed, I was pleased to see that the lines were short.  Feeling more confident than ever, I returned to the window only to be asked "have you made copies of all of the documents because we need two sets".  I politely responded "no" and reminded her again that I was not made aware of, nor was it clear on their site, that an additional set of documents was needed.  She told me to come back when I had copies.

The next hour and a half was spent at FedEx making copies of documents with golden state seals that cannot be broken or bent without me having to start the process over with that particular document.  The next morning I decided that I should get their early given the challenges of the day before.  Upon arrival, I noticed the lines were much longer than the day before.  I pulled my number and the wait was on.  I walked to the window, sufficiently beaten, and she asked me if the copies were in order of the originals.  I told her no and quickly started to put them in order.  I was sent to the back of the line.  Luckily I had taken an additional number after 5 or 6 people came in, just in case I needed a quick return spot in the line.

Back at the window, I handed her my documents and she cracked her first smile.  She said "Oh!  This is for an adoption.  You should have told me and I would have given you more time at the counter."  Wow...  I was angry and relieved to be done.  I thanked her and took my time walking back to the hotel so I could take a few pictures and enjoy the architecture.  The paper chase is officially over for us.  We have a fingerprinting appointment for immigration approval on December the 9th.  Once we receive approval from the USCIS, we are simply a $6400 check and a return envelope away from dossier submissions!

Here are a few pictures from the two day trip.  Enjoy!

 

The waiting game...

We have been very busy with adoption stuff, soccer games, volunteering for our children's school, work, etc...  and unfortunately our blog updates have suffered as a result :-)  We have made great progress with the adoption!  OUR HOMESTUDY IS COMPLETE!  We are sending off for the I-800A approval tomorrow, getting the last of our documents notarized for the dossier next Tuesday, I will then take the notarized documents to Indy on Thursday and have them certified (where the state looks at all of the notarized documents and certifies that the people who notarized them are in fact official notaries).  Once they are certified, we will drive the certified documents to the Chinese Consulate to be authenticated...  I know...  very confusing...  Our goal is to have our dossier ready to submit is prior to end of November.

A complete dossier requires immigration approval (I-800A approval) however, we are submitting the dossier minus the approval to speed the process up.  Our dossier will be reviewed and pending approval of a successful I-800A.  Once we receive I-800A approval, which is taking on average 45-60 days, we send the approval and are eligible to be matched as soon as China logs our dossier!  :-)

So, minus a trip to Indy and Chicago, the next 60 days is a lot of waiting.  The paper chase is close to over!

Thank you for all of your support.  We will try to get some photos of the Chinese cultural festival we attended on the site this weekend.

Quote of the day

We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.
All children, including those who make their journey home across time & miles,
growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them,
are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us
by God's very own hands.
~Kristi Larson

Adoption Update

Our home study is complete with the exception of a couple of documents.  We are waiting on our personal references (4 of them) and CPS check.  Once we have these two items checked off the list it is a matter of waiting for our home study agency to finalize it and notarize it! Sheri and I have been very diligent and focused on gathering the required documents for the home study.  It has helped a lot that we live so close to the the county courthouse where a number of documents came from and that we have a notary of the public close :-)

We completed the 12 hours of Hague training over a single weekend (was well worth the time!  We learned so much more than we anticipated).  In addition over a two week period of time we wrote our autobiographies, gathered financial documents (bills, tax returns, bank statements, etc...), gathered birth certificates, marriage certificates, FBI fingerprints and background checks completed, local and county police checks, statement from our water company showing that we have public water, guardianship plans, insurance riders, and the list goes on!  The paper chase has been crazy but a great learning experience as well.

We have also been gathering documents for the dossier in parallel with completing the home study.  The list is comprehensive so I will not bore you with it.  Every document has to be notarized, state certified, and then hand delivered to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago for authentication.  There are some costs with gathering the dossier documents that we definitely did not anticipate.  Just so happens that the Consulate that serves our state will not accept mailed documents so we have to drive to Chicago and back (11 hours total) and either pay a $20 PER DOCUMENT to have them authenticated in "standard time" and drive back to Chicago to pick them up when they are ready or we can pay $50 PER DOCUMENT, drop them off before 11 a.m. wait and bring them back at 2 p.m.  Either way, the total out of pocket cost is nearly $1000 and not expected.

On a brighter note, we are making excellent progress with our dossier.  most of the required documents are either on hand or on their way.  The big hold up for the dossier will be receiving I-800A approval (we start that process as soon as the home study is complete).  The time for the I-800A process varies from 45 - 75 days.

The family and I attended the Indianapolis Chinese cultural festival today!  Stay tuned for pics and a write up on that experience!

- Brandon

paper work... and more paper work...

We are well into the home study process and we are working diligently on the Dossier as well. There have been some unexpected cost to the tune of nearly $500 in medical fees, fingerprint fees, hague training that was $50 more than expected, etc... but overall, things are going a expected. For the home study, we have to complete 12 hours of hague training, provide 4 reference letters, have a very thorough medical exam with blood work and other analysis for both of us, a letter of certification for the health of Casey, Conner, Braeton, and Hannah, copies of birth and marriage certificates, CPS checks, FBI background check with digital fingerprints, county background checks from every county we have ever lived in, financial statements, 3 years of tax returns, autobiography from birth to current times, and pictures. A number of these documents need to be notarized as well. This is just for the home study :-) The Dossier is an entirely different animal. Much of the same documentation but from a different office and requiring different types of certification. As an example, a marriage certificate for the home study needs to be a copy of an existing marriage certificate. The Dossier requires it to be an "authentic copy" from the source provider(vital records department of Indiana). Once it is authenticated, it must be notarized and certified by the Chinese Consolate as well. USCIS approval for the I800A immigration form is required for the Dossier as well. It ends up that the FBI fingerprinting stations that are used for county checks are not certified by the USCIS and therefore we have to get yet another set of FBI fingerprints from a different location. If any of these documents are older than 6 months at the time we complete the Dossier, they have to be redone. Needless to say, this is a lot to keep up with. Even with all of the paper chasing, the process is so rewarding. With every milestone, we know we are one step closer to bringing Jia home! Keep an eye out for additional updates this week! I will post a detailed list of the requirements and costs for the home study and dossier for reference.

Home study starts next week!

The first milestone in the adoption process starts next week.  We have chosen a hague certified adoption home study provider in Indiana.  A home study takes anywhere from 1 - 3 months to complete and is a fairly extensive process.  This process involves education and preparation as well as the gathering of information about the prospective parents.  We have to gather a number of financial documents, health certifications, criminal background checks, fingerprinting, references, family photos, (take a breath)... multiple in home visits, interviews, Hague training, and the list goes on...  The task seems daunting at first but we are going into this process with a very positive attitude.  I have already been pushed to take action on a number of household items that I have "been meaning to get around to" for a while now.


While I have a house full of children, they are not little anymore and I quickly realized that my house needs "child proofed".  Broken plastic ring on the play set, fixed.  Apparently little kids do not do well with big steps and require a gate to keep them safe...  Who knew!  <-- a joke of course...  I found use for the plastic electrical outlet protectors I have "been meaning to get rid of" for a while now :-)  While I was 'in the fixing mood" my wife took the opportunity to get a few items, not related to the home study, knocked off the list as well.  If I ever see another bag of landscaping rocks I might scream!


Keep posted!  

Jia's Room...

We couldn't resist getting started on Jia's room!  Here are a few photos:

And we're off...

I had a great meeting with the Madison Public Works Department!  Street closures for our 5K on October 22nd were approved!  Our local newspaper was intrigued by our story and will be writing a small piece and advertising our run for us as well.  We live in a very supportive community and we would like to thank everyone for their support!

Home study starts in less than two weeks!  I will keep everyone posted as we begin this phase of the process.  A lot of exciting updates will be added to the blog in the next few days (videos of our fireworks celebration kicking off the adoption, pictures of Jia's room, and much more!)



Stay tuned and thanks for following!

So... What exactly are you thinking?

 I suspect that this question will get asked a lot.  We are the Taylor's, a crazy family of six (7 if you count our loving one-eyed weimaraner Sam).  We have 4 amazing children ranging in age from 7 to 15.  We live in a small town in Southern Indiana.  We are in our mid 30's and sooooo close to freedom...  Just 11 more years and then the mysterious "no kids living at home" phase begins!  We love to travel and experience everything the world has to offer and being able to do that is so close that we can taste it!  With 4 children in private schools and as our oldest gets closer to graduation I see additional dollar signs dancing in my head...  The house!  Oh yeah the house... I can't keep it clean today because there are toys and video games everywhere but some day soon my children will bring their messy habits to a great university near you!

Yeah exactly!  What in the heck are you thinking! Ok...  drum roll please...  really, we love the chaos that our children bring to our lives.  That chaos is called "living".  We travel with our children, we dance with them, we cook with them and at the end of the day, we are excited for the journey our children are on.  We see the smiles on their faces, hear the excitement in their voices, and have decided that we want to share these joys with a little girl, that we will name Jia, who wouldn't have otherwise had the chance.  Go ahead and read that sentence again. I said it!  We want to adopt!

This blog will chronicle our journey through the highs and lows of international adoption and as we find useful resources, we will post them for others in hopes of educating someone else who might be traveling down the same path.  Adoption is expensive. We have committed to paying for a large piece of it out of our own pockets and we hope to raise some funds along the way.  Keep your eyes open for a great fund raising ideas and check back for a schedule of fund raising events we have under way!