PA and updated photos of Jia!

Wow!  We received update photos of Jia today.  We just requested the update on Friday and they were quick to send it!  She is progressing nicely, walking, loves to dance, and happy :-)  I will post more info as I receive it.  We also received our PA today! 

We have been matched!!!

It has been a number of months since the last post and a lot has changed!  As of our last post, our dossier was submitted to China and we were waiting to receive LID.  LID stands for Log In Date, this is the date that China logs our dossier into their system and the date that we were eligible to be matched.  We received LID on 2-2-2012!

China releases an update to the shared list monthly, most often the update is on the 3rd Monday of the month.  The list is expected to be updated this Monday, 2-27-2012, so last week we were excited and patiently waiting for the updated list!  When we set out to adopt, we filled out a matching form that asked questions such as the desired age of the child we wanted, sex, and which special needs we would consider.  The needs we listed are considered "low needs" and given the age range and the fact that we are looking to adopt a girl, the timeframe for being matched was very much up-in-the-air because of the number of adopting families that fit into the same bucket we do.  

While we were waiting for the shared list release date to be announced, we received an unexpected email from our adoption agency with the subject line "File???".  I had just emailed Kerry, our case worker, scanned copies of some documents that she requested so I assumed, based on the subject line, I forgot to attach the documents when I sent her an email.  This was Thursday, 2-23-2012!  I opened the email and there was a referral for a 14 month old little girl that stole our hearts!  It is very rare for an "LID required" child to be released to the shared list outside of the standard release or update date.  Just so happened her name popped up and our case worker locked her for 72 hours for us!  There are hundreds of agencies watching the list and trying to lock so we feel so blessed to be matched with her!

We received a 3 page document outlining her growth statistics, medical needs, blood work results, measurements, and 2 photos!  We had to accept the referral within 72 hours or she would go back onto the shared list and be matched with another family.  Our international adoption doctor was on stand by and reviewed her file the same day.  After speaking with the doctor we felt comfortable moving forward and submitted our LOI (letter of intent) to adopt Taoying Hong!  We will call her Jia.  We are still debating over her middle name but we will update you once we decide!

We are proud to welcome Jia to the Taylor family!!!  Here is a picture of Jia (@ 7 months old) and an outline of what we know about her so far.  Jia has a cleft lip and palate, it is likely that her lip has been repaired already given that she is in a city orphanage.  My brother was born with the same need!

Welcome Jia Taylor!!!

- Jia was born on December 11, 2010.  It is rare to ever know the actual birth date of most orphaned children in China but she was found with a note pinned to her shirt!  The note contained only her birth date.

- Jia lives in the Nanchang Social Welfare Institute today.  Nanchang SWI is one of the better orphanages in China.  It is one of the few orphanages that has a school, consistent medical care, and rehab programs for children with special needs.  A sign that Jia is being well cared for is that her growth stats are within the spectrum of normal.  Even more unusual for a child with CL/CP in a chinese orphanage.  Here are couple of photos of the Nanchang SWI:

- Jia was found by the department of public security in Nanchang.  Like most orphans, she was found in a high traffic public place.

- Jia was put in intensive care 12 days after she was born because she couldn't feed and was very ill.

- At 3 months old, Jia loved to smile and babble.  She is a very happy girl and follows bright objects.

- At 4 months old she likes staying in caretaker’s arms and listens to them, she often joins two hands together and play them, sometimes she sucks her fingers after meals, giggles blissfully when she’s happy.

- At 5 months old she lifts her head up high and observes her surroundings while she lies on her stomach, call her name and she can turn around, she waves her arms and expects to be picked up, can sit alone and lean forward, sometimes she catches toys at hand and shakes the bell, when she hears the sound of the bells and she jumps for joy!

- At 7 months old her bight eyes are searching around the kids who are playing games and caretakers all the time, she can sit alone with hands support and hold bottle to drink milk, roll over to get the toys. Taoying can recognize the strangers and likes being held in arms, interested in playing the game “hide-and-seek”, communicates with adults with “ah-ah” when she’s excited, also likes whispering some words lowly on her own. Taoying is a happy lovely baby.

- Jia's favorite toys are musical toys.

This is all we know about Jia so far.  We hope to receive an update on what her life has been like for the most recent 7 months.  Our family is so excited and can't wait to bring Jia home.  While the wait is going to be difficult, we need the time to gather funds to bring Jia home.  We will start fundraising heavily within the next few weeks!  We are going to be raffling off some great items!  We have an IPAD 2, Kindle Fire, Jewelry and more!

 

DTC!!!

Our dossier is officially in China!   We are so happy to be done with the paper chase.  Now the toughest part of the waiting game begins.  We will be eligible to be matched in about a week so the call could come at any time after that.  We will see if Jia is on the shared list in February!  

Here is an overview of how the process works from now until matching:

- In one week we will have an LID (log in date) which is simply the date that we are logged in to the CCCWA's system in China.  You can't be matched off of the shared list until you have an LID

- The shared list is posted for all hague accredited agencies to see and match children from every month.  The date that the list is updated varies from month to month.  Sometimes it is on the 13th or it could be the last day of the month or any day in between.

- We are first in line with our agency because we are the only family with an LID that hasn't been matched.  This is great for us and increases our odds of being matched off of the February list substantially. 

- The agency will be made aware of the list release date and time, 24 hours before it is released.  Our caseworker waits for the list to be released, which is usually very early in the morning, and searches for a child that matches our criteria.  If one is found, she will be "locked" for 72 hours and we will be sent her file for review and approval.

There have been a lot of people who have given their time and been so supportive through this process.  We appreciate you all and couldn't have done it without you.  

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