November update

Well it is between the holidays now and I have to admit this time of year makes me sentimental so I find myself thinking of China and our little girl many times throughout the day. There is a new song by Third Day called "Merry Christmas" that is about a little girl in China waiting for her parents and I cry every time I hear it. This is such a long process and at times I think, wow we have been in the process for 10 months already (since Feb), and other times I dwell on the 10 - 20 months we may have to wait yet. However, from all that I hear it is definitely worth the wait. Thankfully my kids keep me busy. I thank God everyday that we are blessed with this wonderful opportunity and I know Lia will be a loved and welcomed addition to our home.

On November 30th referrals were received for those who had their dossiers Logged In by Sept. 8th, 2005. Only 260 more Log In dates before they get to ours! (but who's counting)

Thank you all for joining us on this journey. We appreciate all your love, prayers, and support. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Update on referrals

On November 2nd, the CCAA updated their website to report that babies are matched for those who had LID's up to August 25th, 2005. This seems to be a little bit of an increase this month so hopefully we will start to see an increase in referrals and our wait will decrease a little. If you remember our LID is June 26, 2006.

September Referrals

Well, just checked the CCAA website and they have updated that the next cutoff for referrals is August 9th, 2005. They actually matched 18 days this time so hopefully this means they are speeding up their referrals a bit. (Last month they only matched 9 days). Congratulations to all the new families who will finally see their babies face this week!

OUR TIMELINE

Not much new these days. On August 28th, Bethany received referrals for those who were logged in at the CCAA up through July 22nd, 2005. At this rate it looks like it will be at least a year before we get our referral.

We are using this time to read books about adoption and getting Alyssa's room ready for the baby. Please keep our family in your prayers.

In case you are curious - here is our timeline in the adoption process.

2-17-06 Sent in our Formal Application to Bethany Christian Services
3-1-06 Began Homestudy
4-24-06 Sent finished Homestudy to USCIS (Govt. agency that issues the I-171H)
5-17-06 Fingerprinted for I-171H (Form from the US Govt. that allows us to bring an orphaned child to the US for adoption)
6-1-06 Received I-171H - HAPPY DAY!!
6-2-06 Took State Sealed documents to Grand Rapids Bethany Offices
6-20-06 DTC (Dossier was sent to China)
6-26-06 LID (Login Date) This is the most important date. After China gives referrals to everyone who is logged in before us than we will get our referral. Right now the wait is approximately 14 months, with travel about 6 weeks after referral. There is no real way to know when we are going except to watch referral dates each month. China gives out referrals about every 4 weeks (give or take a few days).

WELCOME

Welcome to our Blog. We will use this as a communication to everyone throughout our adoption process. Right now we are waiting, and we will be for quite a while. I will post periodically so you all know where China is at giving out referrals.