An expensive mistake

I figured out AFTER I made my plane reservations that one of the many forms that I will carry to China with me needs to not just be notarized BUT state and Chinese consulate authenticated. I express mailed the paperwork to Indianapolis both ways but that didn't help with their 1 week turn-around-time. In a panic I was on the phone wheeling and dealing with driving to indy to pick up document and then overnighting to Chicago to have the courier walk thru before she took off for christmas vacation but in the end I couldn't handle the STRESS. I made the expensive decision to postpone my flights and the next consulate appt. I could get was for the 24th. Now I am leaving on the 14th of January. My GOTCHA day will be Jan 17th. I did get my state authentication before Christmas so I mailed it out first thing today. The Chinese consulate is open the week between Christmas and New Years but I'm not sure the 4 business day turn-around-time will include the 29th or the 31st so I promise not to panic till the 10th. I will be with 1 other family the whole time instead of alone 1 week and then with 3 other families the next week.----not sure how that translates into sharing expenses but hopefully they don't charge me more!!

My daughter doesn't speak CHINESE !!!!

What???? that's to say, she doesn't speak mandarin. You know that Chinese dialect that most of China speaks. Since she is from the south, she speaks Cantonese. All those years of practicing mandarin, the class I took, the dictionary I bought, the 37 Ni Hao Kai-lan's I taped, the story I wrote that I wanted to read to her in pin-yin. I guess it's back to sign language and pantomime.

Getting a referral at christmas time sounds romantic but what a pain in the ass !!!!!! I couldn't send off for a visa till I got back from my vacation to Mexico (yea 8 months ago, a vacation this time of year sounded like a fun thing to do) so I left everything at work to be mailed off first thing Monday. Did I mention I drove back Sunday night in a nice little snow storm?? So school was closed Monday and I got my huband to take off 1/2 day so I could go in and get it mailed. My courier service is off over the holidays but assures me she will have it in the mail and delivered by the 24th. I need to cut all my fingernails off now before I bite them to the quick. The American consulate in Guangzhou is closed till Jan 3rd but since the consulate appt. comes at day 10 of the trip I didn't understand why I couldn't leave as soon as my visa arrived (Dec 27th??) anyway they got me an appointment for the 11th so I am planning on leaving Jan 1st. I'm sure the plane will be very quiet and I hope the pilot doesn't have a hang over!!!!! I remembered to get some papers signed by my husband and notarized while we were both near the bank. Oh what's that in the fine print?? One of the documents needs to be notarized AND state authenticated AND chinese consulate authenticated. Wow, wish someone had mentioned that 6 weeks ago!! Since the post office will be closed for about 4 days I'm not sure I will be able to leave on the 1st. Good thing I haven't faxed in my travelers insurance yet. I'm gonna need that extended plan. So I'm doing what I can and not (externally) sweating what I can't. I hope to have some nice time off with the boys and my niece so I can get the tree up and looking a little like christmas. The big trauma will be getting Jesse moved out of JaLia's room and into my closet. Once I get the room dusted and fluffed I will feel so much better. I can almost feel the brass ring at the end of this carousel ride.

I have Travel Authority

Dated 11-22, 5 weeks earlier than projected timelines.

Nobody ever said why, but it was repeatedly suggested to me that I wait till I get back from Mexico to apply fro my visa. I am stressing the timeline. I would mail it the 13th of Dec. to the courier, it is suppose to take 4 business days to process but she mentioned getting it back the 22nd ?? and I would get it the 24th. USPS won't run the 24th so I can't possible take a flight out the 27th...I'm praying I can leave the 28th and my passport & visa will be here.

Letter of Acceptance

We signed and returned our Pre Approval on 10-29. China was suppose to review everything and get back with us in 4 weeks. Well.....it took 4 days and that included Saturday and Sunday!! Can you say "too good to believe?" I found a typo in the birth date on the Letter of Acceptance. My agency wasn't concerned about it so we zipped it back to China 11-3. Supposedly travel is 8 weeks away. Then China sent me a second LOA with the new birth date, we resigned it, sent it back and since there was a holiday we missed the cut off. It likly won't go back to China till 11-18. I'm keeping my fingers crossed they work with the first LOA date. Jesse is taking the week between Christmas and New Years off to watch the kids so it would be great if that was part of my 2 week trip.

We made it !!!!!!!!!

Finally after all the waiting, we have a referral. Our daughter was born around July 13th of 2008 so she is currently 27 months old. She is the size of an 18 month old and very quiet. She has a heart defect known as a VDS which is easily operable and we'll fix her right up to rumble tumble with her big brothers. Other than being a 22 lb peanut, she is healthy and developmentally on track. The referral came Oct 20th, our LOI went out the 22nd and we got Pre Approval the 28th. Projections for travel are late January but I would love to speed it up and leave before New Years !!

Well, I attemped to join the Special Needs line in May. There were more parenting workbooks to fill out, an application that had the same information as my annual homestudy update, a SN checklist to fill out (which my husband constatly said...I leave it up to you) and a Letter of Intent form which has all of 7-10 blocks and none of them could possibly be filled out until you had an actual child picked out but they want it now anyway.

I sent a follow up email in July and was told they weren't considering us yet cause I didn't have it ALL completed, oh and by the way, we need new passport photos and family photos.....it never stops. Put more information on the forms and sent them in again.

My homestudy gets renewed in Sept. so I need to add the consideration for all the Special Needs we would consider, update my home study info and then use the homestudy info to update my SN packet again. Are you enjoying the ride??

When I started checking around for girls on the SN lists, Jesse started back peddling on all my picks. Didn't I realize that a hearing impaired daughter wouldn't be able to hear the coondogs when he took her hunting?? no I hadn't thought of that. I guess that fact that our boys are hearing able but NEVER listen to us isn't the same thing. I guess the fact that a biological son turned homebody and will likely never go coon hunting is also beside the point. `haha

Back to sitting and waiting.............

When is the next blue moon??

We have now been logged in for 39 months. The bad news is that the wait has also lengthened. It moved from 44 months to 49months. Goodby birthday present...did I say 8's were lucky?? Maybe fate is making me wait till NEXT August, my 48th birthday.

Jesse has agreed to enter the Special Needs line and renew our paperwork 1 LAST TIME.Now if I can just get off my butt and get more paperwork filled out!!!!!!

here we go ....AGAIN

36 months seems so far away from zero. Have we really been waiting that long?? Of course 36 is so close to 44, which is what the wait was the last time I checked.

No reason to post if you've got no news to talk about. I'm getting real good at just putting it out of my mind..... till it's time to pay for that annual Home Study update, then I get an earful from the husband. I'm getting real good at putting the package together, I had everything done and sent off 5 weeks before it was due. Wouldn't you know it for the first time, the HS agency botched it up and I didn't get a copy back till 5 weeks after it was due. Then I misread the USCIS paperwork and didn't get it sent in for another 5 weeks. I freaked out....could I really go through all this and then lose out on a technicality?????? I decided to leave it up to fate. Did CIS really care about deadlines?? Yawn, no big deal...... they know I'm not going anywhere soon. Got renewed for another 15 months.......... Please God NO

Mostly the only time I really think about it is when I'm renewing my CD's.....do I buy the 6 month or the 9 month no penalty? Look at all the 12 month interest I've lost out on ~haha. So maybe the 44 month wait will hold (or shorted as many have predicted) and I'll hear something in August. Yes, that is month 43 but it's my BD month and the number 8 is considered lucky in China. 08-08-10 I will get a referral call, yea yea I know that's a Sunday.

It would be my dream to travel by late September, be back by the boys BD in October and take leave through the Fall.

That's my dream and I'm sticking to it.