my favorite adoption story

Dossier

We just got home from a river trip, and I rushed to my email as quickly as possible, knowing that my Dossier guide was there. It was!! 48 pages of pretty specific instruction to get our dossier together and ready to send to China. I don't know why, it scares the pants off of me to think about all that I have ahead of me paperwork-wise. And they are so specific about every little thing. Most things need to be notarized at the city, county, state, and country level before then being sent to the Chinese Embassy for more authentication, then it's ready. Utah has a 6th place that we have to send it all to, as well. Yay, Utah. I've read through it all, my head is spinning, now, I need to get to work!! Heaven help me, I'm going to need it.

Moving On

We had a week of indecision. The next round of paperwork had to be coupled with a significant check. One of us was having a little bit of a hard time deciding if this was really where we are going. I understand completely! It's a huge decision to almost double the number of kids we have, and bring special needs into the mix. I'm so positive that this is what we are supposed to be doing right now, I just had to be patient. Not that easy. I'm not good at being patient, at all. 8 whole days later, we're moving on!! He got the answer he needed, and I got 20 pages of filled out notarized papers sent off!! Yay! When those get ok'd, we start getting our dossier ready. My girls start school next week, and I get to do adoption full time. I don't know if it's even possible, but I want to get my dossier to China in 4 months. They're telling me 5 to 6 months to gather dossier paperwork, way too long no? I feel so excited and at total peace with this, anxious as ever to get my girls.

Waiting Children

Accepted!

Step one, we've been accepted to adopt. Wahoo!! With that acceptance came a (i'm not kidding) 43 page document of stuff I need to know, do, fill out, etc. etc., in order to complete a foreign adoption. Oh my, and that's just for the first 1 to 2 weeks. When I finish this stuff, I get more, and more and more. We've heard that it's a full 6 months of paperwork. I have to admit I'm totally overwhelmed, and nervous about how much there is to do. I have to hurry, I'm trying to be on the fast track here. I don't think it really exists, but if I'm given 1 to 2 weeks, I want to finish it in 1. We're going out of town next week, and I want this stuff finished by then. I'll get it.

Application to Adopt

Today I sent off our application to adopt from China. I spoke for about an hour to our adoption agency. She told me that we have a great chance of getting two girls!! I feel drawn, and pulled, and even urgent to get to China, and get my girls. The journey began on the 4th of July. One of my great friend's brother, had just completed the adoption of two little girls from China. It hit me like a ton of bricks, it was time for me to adopt, now! I've been looking into adoption for a couple of years, but it wasn't the time. The time is now. I feel it so strongly, and I'm so excited.

We have decided to go through the Waiting Children Program, and adopt special needs girls. Filling out the mcc was difficult. I spent hours and hours and hours researching so many special needs, talking to as many people as I could find, and consulting our pediatrician. We decided to accept cleft lip/cleft palate, club foot, and minor heart defect. I have spent hours every day researching this adoption, and today, it all went into the mail. I'm going to have so much to do to complete my dossier. I'm a little bit freaked out that I'm going through with it! I cannot deny that it is what we are supposed to be doing at this time. I can't wait.

I sent a request for information on a little orphan that I found at True Children's Home. Her name is Hei Fan. She has a cleft palate, and she's beautiful. She hasn't been matched to a family yet, and I'll be praying that if I am supposed to be her mother, it will work out. I got great advice from my friend's SIL. She said "Heavenly Father has more control in adoptions than anyone else." It's so true. I need to pray to find my girls.

I'm going to use this blog to chronicle our adoption time line, and hopefully next fall, we'll be bringing home two little Chinese beauties. My goal is to have our dossier in China by Thanksgiving time. I'm sure we can do it.