Finally DTC!!!

Our Dossier was sent to China today which is a huge milestone in the adoption process.  After months of delays that were out of our control, we finally finished the "paper-chase" phase of the process.

 Now we wait for our official Log In Date (LID) which should be one day next week.  The next hurdle is receiving our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China.  This can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 months.  The average right now is around 50-60 days but I am praying for anything under 50.  We will have a better idea of when we might travel once we get our LOA.  So please pray that we receive a super fast LOA.

New Pictures of Lily!

She is now 50 inches tall, so about 2 1/2 inches taller than Sydney.  Sydney knows this but reminds me that she is older by 2 weeks so that makes them "even" in her book.

This made my week!

She is beautiful and I love her dimples.

More Gifts Should Arrive in Chongqing soon!

 A pillow with our family picture for Lily, a camera, and a letter from us

 Backpacks for the children

 School supplies for the children

We had Angela with Ladybugs and Love send a large package to Lily's orphanage.  She called the orphanage and found out what they needed and then shopped in China for the gifts.  I hope Lily and her friends enjoy these gifts!

Care Packages Off To Chongqing!

We sent Lily's orphanage 2 big boxes of gifts.  We sent 10 sweatshirts, 20 t-shirts, several packages of socks, 10 pairs of gloves, 2 balls, 5 puzzles, 2 Mr. Potato head dolls, hair bands, cameras, English learning materials, several pictures of our family, a picture Sydney drew for Lily, and candy.

The orphanage asked us to keep in mind when sending care packages that they have over 600 children in which many will never find a forever family.  So we have decided to primarily send gifts that all the children can use.

USCIS...Sigh

We rushed to finish all of our paperwork in record time.  I had everything for my Dossier and our homestudy complete on October 15th...just a month and a half after our LOI. 

Then the bad news came when I found out that my agency went to China for 3 weeks and could not approve our homestudy until after the returned.  Well after 5 weeks of waiting, my agency finally approved our homestudy and our 1800a application was sent on November 16th. 

Now, we are STILL waiting for our approval from USCIS!!  I have tried to be patient...very patient but now I am growing weary and just want to bring my daughter home now. 

I am still hoping something will go quick for us in this process.