LOA!

We have LOA (letter of acceptance).  It's the letter I've been waiting for. China's final agreement that I can adopt my little girl. From here on out the timeline will go fast. 2 weeks for this, a week for that, five days for that. Only a few more things left to file then I'll be on a plane to pick her up. I'm trying to take it all in, it seems so surreal. I've been dreaming lately of the plane ride and the day they hand me my daughter. Most likely because I'm starting to get some anxiety about flying 13+ hours to a foreign country I know little about and leaving my 3 year old son at home for the first time. Thank God for travel groups and guides that help navigate this crazy system. Hopefully I'll be posting a lot more happy news as things start coming together. I've sent my last update request to my daughter's orphanage, so I'm hoping to receive new pictures and measurements this week. Other then my update, I'm  not expecting any news this week. I have a few papers to prepare and send to my agency, so I better get on it. No delays....

The official waiting has begun

Adopting a child half way around the world is so surreal. Sometimes I can't even wrap my head around the pictures I have of her, the information that's been shared, or the advice and friendships that have formed from social networking with other adoptive parents. It's just crazy. What's even crazier is that I found out my daughter's orphanage/ group foster home has their own website and Facebook page. I've been able to gather pictures and information about her through the people who've cared for her since she was abandoned. Just tonight, I was able to connect with the foster home director. In China. Yes, China.  Knowing the well being of my daughter is at my very fingertips, if I can type fast enough.   There is a language barrier, so sometimes my questions might take a couple days to answer, when a translator is available. This connection will also allow my daughter to stay connected with her past, her history, her country, China. It's really invaluable. 

So where am I in the process you ask. I'm in the acronym stage. Just kidding. That's not a stage, but it is at the point where adoptive families throw around all sorts of abbreviations that mean stuff and acronyms for certain milestones you achieve. So here it goes. I'll explain it for those not familiar with adoption terms.  My paperwork called a dossier was completed and sent to my agency to be reviewed. A dossier includes all paperwork necessary to say you can  and are able to adopt, you've passed your screenings, interviews, and completed trainings. It's really a bunch of paperwork that took me six months to complete. My agency received my dossier 1/21/2015 and began reviewing it. An agency review is basically making sure everything is there. That everything is spelled right, worded correctly and in the right order. Once deemed acceptable, my agency translates a few things to Chinese and places it nicely into a binder of some sort. They then send it express to China. My agency sent it to China on 1/29/2015 and the CCCWA ( another acronym that stands for China Centers for Children's welfare and adoptions. Basically equivalent to DCS here) received it 1/31/2015. Once the dossier has reached China it goes through a process. It has to be logged in (LID), accepted for your specific child (LOA), and then granted travel approval (TA). Each step takes months to complete. My dossier was logged in quite quickly, surprising me. My LID is 2/3/2015. So now I'm waiting on my LOA. LOA or letter of acceptance is the Chinese approval that gives me permission to adopt my specially chosen child. Even though I have received pre approval for my daughter, LOA is the official approval and has to be given and signed. This wait is probably the longest. The current wait time is around 70 days, but some families are getting them a bit faster. You can only hope and prayer you are one of them. The main thing I've heard about these wait times is that there is no rhyme or reason to why some are faster then others and it comes when it comes. Waiting is the hardest. So here it is. Current LOA wait time 3/70 days. Happy waiting with me :).