The Boy and the Bulldog: Taking a Break to Visit My Friend Harry

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Taking a Break to Visit My Friend Harry

While we wait for our Letter of Commitment (otherwise known as the LOC or LOA) from China, which could be anywhere from 1-60 days away, Ian's blog will be mostly devoted to my status and opinion on the final installment of Harry Potter...The Deathly Hallows. I'm sad to see the series come to an end. It really is like seeing a good friend ride off into the sunset, knowing we'll never see eachother again. Universal Studios in Orlando has announced the opening of a Harry Potter themed park sometime in the future. I do find some comfort in that. We can take Ian to enjoy butter beers at The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley!

So... No news from CCAA, but I will be cracking the binding on HP 7 tonight, which will take my mind off the fact that Ian turns 16 months old this week... and is still thousands of miles away. If only there were a Platform 9 & 3/4 that would magically take us to him.

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Adoption Timeline

April 2006: Attended first informational meeting. At the time, we were convinced that we would adopt from Russia.
June 2006: Sent in application to agency. By now, we had done enough research on Russia to realize it wasn't for us. At this point, the China program looked to be the most stable and best payment schedule. We have always wanted to travel to China...here's our chance!
June to September 2006: Summer and lots of travel slowed down our roll. We decided to wait to start our homestudy process until we returned from vacation in Hawaii.
October 1, 2006: Attended our agency weekend seminar focusing on program specific information, bonding with an institutionalized child, and the adoption triad. It was a huge eye opener and the first time we realized what a big decision we were making.
November 17, 2006: Our one and only meeting at our home with our Social Worker. After the hijinks of Shawn and Polli throughout the day, she actually approved our homestudy!
December 29, 2006: Mailed I-600A form to USCIS. With the holidays and a week without power behind us, we finally realized that our plan to drag our feet was about to backfire. CCAA was firming up rule changes that would effect us.
January 4, 2007: Officially accepted into the China program for our agency. Confirmed that our I-600A was received in the USCIS office. Now our first real wait begins: The wait for our fingerprint appointments.
January 26th, 2007: Fingerprint appointments arrived! We are both scheduled for February 13th at 11am, which might as well be a century away with May 1 rule changes looming on the horizon.
February 13, 2007: Fingerprinting at Seattle USCIS office...It took almost 5 hours of waiting to get through this 5 minute process!
March 9th, 2007: I171-H received! The US Government thinks we're worthy...and we're not criminals! Woo hoo!
March 14, 2007: 48 hours after sending in our final documents, our dossier is on the way to China!
April 6, 2007: LID (Log In Date). This is when our paperwork is officially in the system in China and typically marks day 1 of the official wait. We actually got the call on April 18th, but I knew it was coming. People from several online communities with similar DTC dates were already receiving theirs. This is the last big milestone for us until we receive PA (pre or parental approval) for a special needs child.
May 11, 2007: Laid our eyes on Xiang Xuan for the first time.
May 22, 2007: Sent Letter of Intent. This is our official request to China for permission to adopt Xiang Xuan.
May 25, 2007: Agency received online confirmation of our LOI from CCAA already! We are given the go ahead to call Xiang Xuan our son. Let the annoucements & shopping begin!
July 3, 2007: CCAA asks for more info about my medical history! Yikes! We could be gonners!
July 26, 2007: Finally! My doctor produces a new letter!
July 30, 2007: Seriously! Only 2 business days after sending in my new doctor letter, our LOA is here! Get packing... Travel Approval is next!
August 17, 2007: Travel Approval arrived! We can finally put a date on when we'll leave to get Ian!
October 29, 2007: Take off for China! Beijing, then Hangzhou for Ian, and finally on to Guangzhou to make Ian an American Citizen!
November 6, 2007: Ian enters our lives forever. Today, we became a family of three!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Taking a Break to Visit My Friend Harry

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