Dossier to China... TODAY!!!!!

hOORAH!!!!! I just received an email from our family coordinator sharing the good news that our dossier is officially approved to send off to China. In addition, I found out that because Ri is considered "special needs" due to his heart condition, we will be logged in immediately. I thought it would take a month before we had a log in date. That means that things will be even quicker then we thought. The time frame begins at the date of log in. So... the 2-4 months before we receive travel approval begins, quite possibly, on Monday. So, we could be traveling to China as early as March. More realistically, I beleive it will be April or May.

Dossier to China... this week?

Yippee!!! The paperwork from the Consulate arrived in our mailbox yesterday afternoon! We have been praying all last week for it to come in time to make it to FTIA by Wednesday. The Consulate indicated to expect 20 business days processing time. I mailed our paperwork to them, regular mail... not expedited, and they did not receive it until 2 weeks ago exactly! What an answered prayer! It's when God does this kind of thing that I almost feel like He is reminding me that this little boy is His plan for our life. Sometimes I struggle wondering if I just love this little one and want him as a son, or is this God's plan for our family. Not that loving him and wanting him as a son is a bad thing, but ultimately, the only thing that matters is God's plan. I've walked long enough with God to realize that when God is the one who has made the plan, not me... it will be fine. When I am the one making the plan, it usually isn't the best thing!

Anyways, I have overnighted the dossier to our agency. They will review it completely and if it is all ok, they will send it to China on Friday. In adoption terms, that means we are DTC! Our DTC will, hopefully, be 12/22/06. The Log in Date is the crucial date. That is the date that China will log us in. It is the date that the next timeframe begins. From the LID (log in date), it will take 2-4 months for us to get our TA (travel approval). Once we get the TA, it will be 1-6 weeks until we travel. It usually takes about 3-4 weeks to have a LID. So, I figure that the earliest we will travel will be April. I am guessing that we might travel in May, but really possibly June. Hard to think of waiting 6 months to hold our son. But... God is in control and His timing is perfect. Whenever I doubt that, I just look into our sweet Elizabeth's eyes and am reminded of perfect Gods' timing truly is!

Making a Quilt for Ri

Mark asked me the other day if I was going to make a quilt for Ri. I said, probably not (thinking about my time and energy these days).... and to my surprise, he seemed sad. All he said was "poor Ri". I guess that is all he needed to say, because now I am going to make a quilt for the little guy. Elizabeth really likes hers, though they are not the one she is attached to, but she knows they are hers and she wants them on her bed.

So.. if anyone would like to be a part of his quilt, we would love for you to send us some material. The size ends up being a 7x7, but it might be easier for you if you just sent a quarter of a yard. Along with the material, please send a note with it written to Ri. I will put it in a scrap book (probably a digital one... I am so much better at digital pictures then scrapbooking in an album. It does not need to be fancy, I may even type what you wrote onto a photograph of the piece of material... so don't worry about what it looks like. I think I will make the deadline February 1st. That way I have some time to put it all together.

Let me know if you are interested and have questions!

It is with great joy that we introduce to you, our son, Liu Ri Chen. We have officially received notification that China has preapproved us to adopt this little guy. He is waiting for us in the Fuijian Province, in Xiamen. He will turn 2 on January 3rd.

Now it is another period of waiting. Our family coordinator called us on November 28th to tell us that China had approved us. On the 29th, Elizabeth and I went to Columbus to have our paperwork state certified. On the 30th, we sent the final paperwork to the Chinese Consulate in New York City. We are told it takes 20 days to get that paperwork back. I can't remember how long it took for Elizabeth.

But... we just found out that the fees will be increased $130.00 if our dossier does not reach China by January 1st. That means that our dossier needs to be into our agency by December 20th. Once again, we are relying on God to work out the details. Either that our paperwork gets here in time or that He provides the finances needed. Humanly speaking.... I am really hoping He chooses the paperwork :)

THis is a map of China. I have circled the provinces that the kids are from. Elizabeth in from Chongqing, it is more centrally located. Ri is from Fujian Province which is more southeast.



I know that when I first started into the adoptiong process, I had no idea about China or about the many provinces. It was always interesting for me to compare when kids came from. This map is showing where Ri is waiting for us. I just zoomed in on Fujian Province so you could see.

Introducing Liu Ri Chen.....
This precious picture was taken on November 29th. He weighs 22.2 pounds and is 31.5 inches tall. He is 22 months old, almost 23 months.

This is a picture of our little man back in August, when we first began praying about adopting him. He is 19 months old.





This is Ri in March, 2006. He was just 14 months old.