Almost DTA (dossier to agency!!)

Our agency has in its hands most of our dossier! The I-797 (that's the immigration approval letter) is at the secretary of state getting sealed, then it will go to the Chinese consulate in Houston, and then it will go to our agency! Yay!! Then we will be DTA. That means we should be DTC (dossier to china) by mid-late July.  So here is where the papers will go the next few weeks after our agency gets them all. The dossier gets reviewed and sent to the Colorado office of our agency. They bind it, post our pictures on it, and so a summary translation into Chinese. They then mail it to the agency employee in Beijing who will hand deliver it to the Chinese adoption affairs office. They put our info into their computer, and that date is known as our Log in Date (LID). We are praying to get matched pretty quickly after that. From match to travel is anywhere from 4-9 months. Isn't that exciting?????? We could be home with our daughter in 5 months. Ok, I know, 8 months is more likely but I can hope, right?

We are also beginning our Both Hands Project. If you want to help or be on our team, let me know. I'm sending out the team email today and will happily add people to it. You don't even have to be local to help!

If you want more info on the Both Hands Project- check out the website
 http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bothHands.html 

The video is very good!

Over 13,000 miles

That's how far our paperwork will travel!! Right now it is on the way to the Chinese Consulate in Houston. When it comes back, we will send it to Atlanta. Then when we get the 797 approval letter (from US immigration) it will get notarized, certified by the county clerk, sent to the secretary of state, then to the Chinese consulate in houston, then it will join the papers in Atlanta. Then they go to Colorado to be bound and sent to China!!!!! Wahoooo!!!! I can't wait for that day. The paperwork travels further than we do. We will just go to China and back once.  I am hoping our paperwork will be in China by the end of July. That would be wonderful.

We went and got fingerprinted through USCIS on Thursday. Once they run the prints and find out we are not international child trafficking criminals, they will send us the 797 approval. Prayers that this would happen fast would be appreciated. The courier for the Chinese consulate is closed the week of july 4th. It would be wonderful to have it done before that- but that is pushing it.

I have also spent over $300 at my friendly UPS store in shipping (today the total was $148 to get those papers to houston and back!), $350 toward fees for sealing, and $150 to the courier for her fees. The shipping/sealing/courier fees for the 797 should be another $300, I think. Then another $100 or so for all of it to ship to Atlanta. We will also be writing a big check to Chinese government for our dossier fee, and our second set of agency fees are also due at that time.  The garage sale made us slightly more than half of what we need for all that- so have I mentioned the wonderful Tshirts we have???? A twenty dollar donation will get you one, including shipping! If you want more than one, I might can work out a deal.We have women's fitted in the pink in med and large (they are pretty much true to size- I can wear a medium), and we have unisex blue in med, large, and xl.

Also my friend Brandi is doing a yard sale for funds for her adoption next saturday- so if you have stuff to donate, let me know and I will get it to her!!!!  She will be traveling to China in 7-9 weeks to pick up their son.