Snapshot

The paperwork binder is growing by the day. Only those who have been down this crazy adoption road can imagine all of the paperwork. Here is a snap shot of the binder. I don't think the photo does it justice.

The contents are:
File of I800 A form and all supporting documents

Homestudy agency application and parent education coursework

Homestudy and supporting documents

S.C. Law Enforcement criminal records check

Adoption agency application (and lots of payment receipts)

Dossier Documents (birth certificates, marriage certificate, letters from employers, family financial profile, physical exams of all family members, passports, family photos and home photos and a letter to China asking their permission to adopt one of their orphans)

Applications and letters asking for loans/grants

We are actually coming to a close on all of the paperwork except for the financial parts. Somehow the inactivity is making the wait harder. I have never been a good waiter and I know God is teaching me something through this quiet period.
He does give small glimmers of hope just to keeps us going. Yesterday we received our fingerprinting appointment which was much sooner than we expected.

Quick Update

We have had a lot of thoughtful questions about how we are moving along with the process so I thought I would give a quick update.

Our homestudy is FINALLY completed.  We had a few issues with our social worker completing the write up of the homestudy by the end date we agreed upon.  This added some stress since I left at the end of June to take the kids to FL for all of July. We knew that we had to meet in Greenville to sign the homestudy before leaving for Fl and unfortunately the homestudy was not completed.  Thankfully, our social worker agreed to allow Brad to meet alone with her and I was able to sign the homestudy through fax.  This delay added a bit of stress but, in the end all worked out just fine. 
The best part of having the homestudy completed is we can now begin applying for grants and loans.  This is key because bills are adding up fast!

Once the homestudy was completed we were able to mail our I-800A form.  This is the form which determines our eligibility to adopt a child from a Hague country.  When that form is approved we will be fingerprinted to check our criminal history.  This is our last step before our dossier is sent to the US consulate and finally the moment we have been waiting for.....to CHINA!  At this point our paper work is finally done and we are at the mercy of government officials and our adoption agency to push the papers through as fast as possible.

After almost 4 months of paperwork we are truly antsy to see our daughter's face.  The end is in sight but, our referral day can't come soon enough.