7/20/06 - We're DTC (dossier to China). Our agency sent it today!
4/20/06 - We're well into the "first trimester" of our adoption -- the paperwork phase. We've had two of the four meetings with our social worker for our homestudy, and the paperchase is in full-swing. We've generated all the documents we have to generate ourselves -- petition to adopt, financial statements, etc. -- and will have those notarized next week. Our birth certificates and marriage certificate are at various stages in the sealing process. Merle's BC seems to be the holdout -- we have yet to receive it from VA, but expect it any day now. We've also filed our initial paperwork with US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and will be going in to be fingerprinted as soon as all our paperwork is together.
4/8/06 -- Today we attended the orientation meeting at our adoption agency. There were probably about 30-40 couples there, most of whom already had kids at home, and a few of whom were back for a second adoption from China. The meeting was mostly about the process -- how to compile the dossier, how to apply for immigration approval, and what to expect from the homestudy. But at the end, they brought in a family who has adopted two girls from China, one just a month ago. They told their story, and of course it made me cry. Every time I look at pictures of people in China adopting their child, or hear people's adoption story, it makes me cry! It still seems hard to believe that someday, we'll be doing it too.
3/13/06 -- We submitted our application to Chinese Children Adoption International today. It felt like a very important moment! We were given preliminary approval, but won't be formally approved until they hear from all three of our references.
