We're DTC!!!

We just received the e-mail that our dossier was sent to China yesterday. Our official DTC date is 3/20/07. Our last step is to wait for the CCAA to log-in our dossier. It can take up to 4 weeks. Once this happens, we will receive our LID. THEN...WE BEGIN THE OFFICIAL WAIT FOR EMILY!
It's hard to believe that we started this process in December and we will not be "in line" until April. Here's hoping for a speedy LID!

Translation!

Our dossier has been sent to Colorado for translation!!! It is projected to be there on Saturday. CCAI has been translating quickly, so we hope to be DTC (dossier to China) sometime next week. This puts us one step closer to being "official."

Delay

Our certified and authenticated I-171H should have been ready to send to our agency on Friday. Just our luck...the consulate was closed on Friday, so it was delayed until today. However, I just received an e-mail that the Consulate was backed up because of being closed on Friday and our paperwork was NOT ready today. This means another day's delay. Hopefully it will be ready tomorrow and our agency will get it on Wednesday. It is so hard knowing that our dossier is still not in China.

Surprise!

On March 10th, my friend Katina and I had a surprise party for Lou and her boyfriend Ross. We actually managed to pull it off and they were shocked! The theme was comic books and when Lou and Ross entered the house, all of the guests were wearing Spiderman masks! It was great fun and we laughed the entire time. Enjoy the pictures!

Emily's Stuff

I'm dying to go shopping, but I'm trying not to buy too many things. Here are a few that I bought for Emily. Once we're LID, I'll be hitting the stores!

It's Here!!!!

Our coveted I-171H has arrived! We are so excited to receive this last piece of paper. I have just returned from FedEx where I have sent it to our dossier service to be authenticated and certified. Then it goes to our agency in Orlando and then off to Colorado to be translated. Finally, it is sent to China and that is when we will receive our DTC date. Approximately 4 weeks later, it will be logged in. THEN, we are officially "paper pregnant" and begin the LONG wait for the referral of Emily. Stay tuned to find out when we receive our official LID (Log-In Date.)

CCAI Open House

Today, we visited the new office of our agency. We are with CCAI (Chinese Children Adoption International.) It was a long drive to Altamonte Springs and Lou slept the entire way (what else is new?!) I met some "friends" that I have been communicating with through our Yahoo groups. It was so nice to be able to meet and talk with them in person. We may possibly be in the same travel group since we are all at about the same point in the process. There were lots of kids there including some who have been adopted from China. It really makes the whole thing seem real when we see the families that have adopted through our agency.

I'm checking the mailbox every day in the hopes of seeing our I-171H!