Hits and Misses

Misses
A very literal take:  our flight from Hong Kong to Chicago.  We sat on the tarmac in China for an hour and then made it into Hong Kong about 5 minutes before that flight was departing.  Long story short, it was a fiasco.  20 people or so missed the flight, most of them people with young children.  They were able to get our luggage off the original plane and reroute it to our new destinations but refused to hold the plane for the 20 or so minutes it would have taken us to get on board.  We got vouchers for lunch and were told we would be informed at 1:00 how we would get home.  At 1:30, people started getting antsy as no one from the airline had said anything.  People started going up to the ticket desk and noticing the paperwork that was lying around.  Someone realized that they were booked on a flight that left at 2.  Mind you, it is 1:30 and they have not be instructed about what gate to be at or anything. Ten minutes pass and the ticketing officials take a small group off to meet the 2:00 flight.  D and I were left with two other people from the original group, two men who were flying together.  Mr. Salmon was dressed in salmon, hence the name, and was hot from the get go.  He continued to be a jerk pretty much the entire rest of the time and actually ripped up his boarding pass because they reticketed him in a seat that was not an aisle seat.  We flew out of Hong Kong at 4 to Los Angeles.  Mr. Salmon ended up on our flight, in the bulkhead with lots of leg room, in an aisle seat.  Our 3 tickets were not together at all and no one wanted to really fix it (not the ticket counter or the gate personal) so we had to have the stewardess try to find us seats together.  The flight was not full but no one wanted to give up their seats because the only available seats were middle seats so all we could manage was 2 seats together with Zeke on our laps.  For about 12 hours.  Fun times.  We flew the rest of the way LA to Denver then into Omaha and arrived at a bit after midnight.  We ended up having to do security 4 times.  More fun times.  None of our flights had us sitting together so every flight we had to ask at the gate then ask a stewardess to try to put us together.  And the last fight had Zeke in an exit row with me which was a no go. 

Hits
Thank heavens our luggage all made it to where it was supposed to be, including our stroller which we really needed at LA and Denver.  We had checked it in China because we were afraid if we gate checked it, it would slow us down when we got off the plane in Hong Kong if we had to wait for it.  We knew we had a tight connection and didn't want the stroller to slow us down.  Our plan was to pick it back up in Chicago when we picked up our other checked baggage at customs but then keep the stroller with us for the other flights.  When we arrived in LA and claimed our checked baggage, our stroller was no where to be found.  The attendant basically told us we were going to have to wait until we arrived back in Omaha to file a claim.  Not what I wanted to hear, espcially since we had been rerouted.  But just as he was saying that, it showed up.  Praise the Lord because we had to get to the United Terminal in LA which was basically as far as way as possible from customs.  No stroller would have been awful.

Zeke really did pretty good considering that he didn't get a lot of sleep and that it was a crazy day.  We were not "those people" with the crying, screaming, poopy baby.

A few people (really very few) looked at us with a two year old and were extra kind.  Like the man who let me cut in front of him in the pretty long bathroom line on the international flight.  And someone else who let us board ahead of him instead of us going to the end of another long line.  Most people, especially on the international flight, were just very worried about themselves.  And the flight attendents were not all that worried about us.

Loved flying into Denver and seeing Cinch jeans and cowboy boots.  Definitely a Midwest crowd with Midwest smiles and personalities.

When we originally left, we had planned for several friends from church, my mom, my aunt, my cousins, my kids, and friends whom were babysitting our car to be at the airport.  When our flights got rerouted, I didn't think anyone would be there to meet us nor did I expect it.  When I called my mom from LA, I was overjoyed to find out that she and my grandma and cousin were planning to be there.  (They had dropped my brother off for a flight to Chicago earlier that night so they were already in Omha.)  And when I talked to my friend, Heather, who was in charge of calling my "change of plans" list, she said our church friends were planning to come as well since they were going to be in Gretna watching their grandkids.  And my friend, Beth, who was babysitting our vehicle at her house in Omaha, was also there with her husband.  While I didn't "need" their presence, I really did "need" their presence.

Getting home at 2 a.m. was not high on my list but I loved coming home to a full house as my aunt and cousins had stayed at home to watch my kids.  I peeked in on my sleeping kids and showed Zeke the kids but didn't wake them.  But Conleigh woke up to voices around 2:30 and stumbled out.  And Kenson woke up around 4 when he heard me fumbling with my laptop because I couldn't sleep.  Love seeing their faces and being home with them.  And I loved waking up (after a brief two hour nap) to a full house, even if it was chaotic.

MINE!

If you are familiar with two year olds, you know that they firmly believe that what's theirs is theirs, what's yours is theirs, and anything you have yet to see is also theirs.  For a two year old who has lost pretty much everything he has every known, the concept of mine becomes a bit of a battle cry. Who knows what might happen to those few precious pieces of your previous life?

 "Do not take my jacket off!  It is mine!" 

"Do not take my shoes off!  They are mine!" 

"Those few toys I brought from where I was living?  Mine!" 

"And no I do not want to wear or play with anything you have because it is not mine!" 

So yes, Zeke is sleeping in his shoes.  And yes, Zeke has been wearing his coat like a shirt day in and day out.  (Although somehow in these photos it is not on.)  And yes, he has some beloved toys that he refuses to let out of his sight. 

Qiun Ling Park and Monestary

Thursday we took in Quin Ling Park which butts right up to a Buddhist monestary.  Quin Ling Park is again probably not what most people think of when they think of China.  It features a lake with paddle boats and several small shops (all done in pagoda style architecture) and a winding road which leads up into the mountain.  The road is steep with trees and mountaineous terrain on either side.  Our guide had our driver drive us most of the way to the top and let us walk maybe an eighth of the way.  The eighth of the way was a lot of work; most of the Chinese people visiting the park walked the entire way and showed no signs of straining to do do.  What makes Quin Ling Park unique are its monkeys.  Wild monkeys live in the park and can be seen just about everywhere.

And yes, I did keep thinking this might turn into a scene from America's Funniest Home Videos where the monkey does something outrageous.  Our guide told us to leave anything extra in the car (water, our bags, food, etc.) to prevent one of those moments.  Later we found the monkeys camped out on someone's car.  The car they are sitting on had an antennea that the monkeys thought was pretty interesting but they did not break it as one might think.  Apparently there is a monkey park in Taiwan  where the monkeys have learned to throw rocks so visitors must wear a helmet.  (As relayed to us by our Chinese guide.)
 

 

Right next to the car is the monestary.  I'm not sure if monestary is the right word or if temple would be a better description.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside but inside were three separate rooms for three different Buddhas.  Each Buddha represented a branch of the religion, one developed in India, one that was old Buddhism and one that was newer.  There was also a fourth room set aside for a Buddhist goddess.  (Not sure if she actually was considered a Buddha or not.)  The goddess is considered the goddess of mercy and believers pray to her to fulfill their wishes especially regarding fertility (but for anything one desires).  There were many Chinese people inside lighting incense and kneeling on the cushions in front of each Buddha.  I tried to get a feel for how often people might come here, like if the people we saw were sightseeing or frequent worshippers.  What I was told was that most people in China only come to a place like this occasionally and often only if they are wanting to ask for help with something.  He said there are more devout followers but that this does not represent China as a whole. 

 

I could not help but wonder how many people worshipping there had even heard the name of Jesus.  I fully realize that many people would cast Christianity in the same light, as a superstition, people praying to an imaginary God or people desparate for favor from a God.  But I think what sets Christianity apart from Buddhism (and so many other religions) is grace. 

 

A central theme to Buddhism is the idea of enlightenment, of doing enough good things (good works, meditation, sacrifice, etc.) to become a better person so that the gods will look on you with favor and move you forward on the path of enlightment.  Each person lives over and over again, repeating the cycle of living, dying, and suffering; if you are lucky enough to have won favor, your next life will be closer to an enlightened one. 

 

 For me, it's the sadness of a never ending cycle where you are always wondering if you were good enough.  While I know there are many Christians who struggle with the same idea of measuring up, that struggle is not a Biblical one.  The love of God which compelled Him to send his son as the ransoming hero is a once and done thing. 

 

Once for all. 

No condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. 

His grace is sufficient. 

Jesus, friend of sinners. 

 

Wall just inside the monestary, features dragons bathing a Buddha

 

Before we headed back to the hotel, we stopped at the base of the park for a chance to walk around on a plaza.  A lake framed by mountains was on one side while some small shops were on the other.

I have no idea what was actually in the building on the other side.  The architecture is interesting.  Guiyang is a very large city so we have not seen all there is to see but we have seen very little traditional Chinese architecture. 

While we were on the plaza, we saw some pigeons.  We've used an Android app called Sound Touch as something to entertain Zeke.  Because of that, we knew he really likes animals, especially birds.  (Sound Touch has pictures of all sorts of things from animals to household objects to vehicles.  So one page will show all animals.  If you touch the picture of a cat, it will bring up another picture of the cat, say the name, and make the animal sound.  In our case, we set it to say the names of the items in Mandarin.  Zeke has liked it and has especially been fond of the bird pictures.)  We have seen him try to whistle like a bird by puckering up his lips so I thought I'd try to get him to do that while we looked at the pigeons.  Of course, if I was trying to capture it, he wouldn't do it.  The minute I put the camera down, then he be making his funny little bird sounds.  I think I finally managed to get it.  However, the sound is drowned out...too bad.  It's kind of a slurping little noise; you can definitely see his lips moving.  (And ignore the blue tinged lips, a blue sucker is to blame.)

We also visited the Wax Printing Cultural Museum in Guiyang.  It's not very big but it houses a nice display of ancient Chinese history and minority group cultural artifacts (masks, jewelry, and clothing).  China is a country populated by many different people groups.  Often, we as Americans, think all Chinese are the same but they are not.  That is one of the reasons Chinese history is the way it is.  For hundreds of years, China was an area full of different ethnic groups ruled by different warlords (for lack of a better term).  Each little area of China was a faction with each own customs and distinct facial features.  Often these groups disliked each other and fought wars with each other land, livestock, etc..  When Chiang Kai Chek came into power in the 20th century, he managed to create a loose confederation of Chinese states and he tried to unify China under a central government.  General Mao continued this and the centralized government has grown and gained strength so that the divisions between the different ethnic groups are not as strong.  Specific groups no longer live soley in one area but there are still pockets of minorities.  While in China, you will see some Chinese who look very similar to Native Americans or the Guatemalan students I see back home.  Others look traditionally Chinese (Han). 

Given that Guizhou is home to many minority groups, we assumed Zeke is probably not Han Chinese.  We actually asked but were told he was Han.  After reading more at the museum and thinking a bit, I am wondering if he is Buoyei or Zhaung.  There's no real way to tell (other than maybe genetic testing) but those are two of the largest minority groups in Anshun.  Zeke is also a big kid, very long torso that makes him tall.  He easily fits into 2T clothes as a 27 month old which is really not normal for many of the Chinese babies who are adopted.  I don't know if that is a real indicator of being a minority or not but it's worth asking.  Yao Ming (who for some reason reminds me a bit of Zeke in facial features) is has some Zhaung in his bloodline.  Anyway, I'm glad we visited.  It also had a very nice gift shop.

More Exciting News...I800 Cabled

Adoption Timeline for Zeke 
(Waiting child from an agency specific list)

Submit LOI (Letter of Intent) to China that identifies a child you'd like to adopt.  (Submitted LOI December 20)

Wait 1-4 weeks for Pre Approval/PA (Received January 3)

Complete homestudy and start assembling dossier (3-4 months)

*Complete homestudy (started mid December, homestudy completed by homestudy agency March 1)

*Send in I800a paperwork (can't apply for the I800a until you have your completed homestudy, application received by USCIS March 8)

*Be fingerprinted  (Received original fingerprint date of April 17, walked in to Omaha USCIS office to be fingerprinted April 5)

*Receive I800a approval  (Received verbal approval April 12, will hopefully have it in hand at the beginning of next week)

*Authenticate documents at the secretary of state's office  (All are done)
*Send documents to the US Department of State and then the Chinese Consulate  (Have to have the I800a approval authenticated by the secretary of state before we can send our documents)

Send dossier to China on May 11 (DTC)

Wait for LID (log in date) which is China acknowledging that your dossier has been received (LID of May 23)

Wait for LOA (Letter of Approval) which is China formally approving you as parents for your child-July 18

File I800, I864 (US immigration paperwork).  Wait for I800 approval (USCIS received our I800 7/23 and we received our approval letter back on 8/4)

Have I800 approval cabled to US Consulate in China (August 13)

Wait for Article 5 (2-3 weeks)

Wait for travel approval (TA), 2-4 weeks

It's shaping up to be an October homecoming.  Late September is maybe even possible.  Guess we'll just wait and see.  (And yes, one of the dates is Zeke's in our process is Zeke's birthday which I love.  Kenson shares my birthday, Conleigh came home on her birthday, and Zeke's USCIS paperwork was received by USCIS on his birthday.)

I800 Approval (14 days)

Adoption Timeline for Zeke 
(Waiting child from an agency specific list)

Submit LOI (Letter of Intent) to China that identifies a child you'd like to adopt.  (Submitted LOI December 20)

Wait 1-4 weeks for Pre Approval/PA (Received January 3)

Complete homestudy and start assembling dossier (3-4 months)

*Complete homestudy (started mid December, homestudy completed by homestudy agency March 1)

*Send in I800a paperwork (can't apply for the I800a until you have your completed homestudy, application received by USCIS March 8)

*Be fingerprinted  (Received original fingerprint date of April 17, walked in to Omaha USCIS office to be fingerprinted April 5)

*Receive I800a approval  (Received verbal approval April 12, will hopefully have it in hand at the beginning of next week)

*Authenticate documents at the secretary of state's office  (All are done)
*Send documents to the US Department of State and then the Chinese Consulate  (Have to have the I800a approval authenticated by the secretary of state before we can send our documents)

Send dossier to China on May 11 (DTC)

Wait for LID (log in date) which is China acknowledging that your dossier has been received (LID of May 23)

Wait for LOA (Letter of Approval) which is China formally approving you as parents for your child-July 18

File I800, I864 (US immigration paperwork).  Wait for I800 approval (USCIS received our I800 7/23 and we received our approval letter back on 8/4)

Have I800 approval cabled to US Consulate in China (2 weeks)

Wait for Article 5 (2-3 weeks)

Wait for travel approval (TA), 2-4 weeks

It's shaping up to be an October homecoming.  Late September is maybe even possible.  Guess we'll just wait and see.  (And yes, one of the dates is Zeke's in our process is Zeke's birthday which I love.  Kenson shares my birthday, Conleigh came home on her birthday, and Zeke's USCIS paperwork was received by USCIS on his birthday.)

LOA after 56 days

Adoption Timeline for Zeke 
(Waiting child from an agency specific list)

Submit LOI (Letter of Intent) to China that identifies a child you'd like to adopt.  (Submitted LOI December 20)

Wait 1-4 weeks for Pre Approval/PA (Received January 3)

Complete homestudy and start assembling dossier (3-4 months)

*Complete homestudy (started mid December, homestudy completed by homestudy agency March 1)

*Send in I800a paperwork (can't apply for the I800a until you have your completed homestudy, application received by USCIS March 8)

*Be fingerprinted  (Received original fingerprint date of April 17, walked in to Omaha USCIS office to be fingerprinted April 5)

*Receive I800a approval  (Received verbal approval April 12, will hopefully have it in hand at the beginning of next week)

*Authenticate documents at the secretary of state's office  (All are done)
*Send documents to the US Department of State and then the Chinese Consulate  (Have to have the I800a approval authenticated by the secretary of state before we can send our documents)

Send dossier to China on May 11 (DTC)  

Wait for LID (log in date) which is China acknowledging that your dossier has been received (LID of May 23)

Wait for LOA (Letter of Approval) which is China formally approving you as parents for your child-July 18

File I800, I864 (US immigration paperwork)

Wait for I800 approval (3 weeks)

Have I800 approval cabled to US Consulate in China (2 weeks)

Wait for Article 5 (2-3 weeks)

Wait for travel approval (TA), 2-4 weeks

Time frame to homecoming...definitely easier to predict than Haiti.  But there is still some wiggle room in all of this.  Our agency says 5 1/2 months.  Also when I first made my list, 52 days for LOA was being touted in several places as the average wait.  It seems like now the average is a bit longer more in the 60-90 day range.  I've been thinking December at the latest just to try to cushion the wait so I'm hopefully traveling sooner than expected.  5 1/2 months would put us at traveling the beginning of November.  A 60 day LOA wait would be right on track with that.  I would really like to avoid traveling around the holidays simply because the airfare is crazy high.  (And flying to China is already expensive.)

Zeke Update-We have a Log in Date

Adoption Timeline for Zeke 
(Waiting child from an agency specific list)

Submit LOI (Letter of Intent) to China that identifies a child you'd like to adopt.  (Submitted LOI December 20)

Wait 1-4 weeks for Pre Approval/PA (Received January 3)

Complete homestudy and start assembling dossier (3-4 months)

*Complete homestudy (started mid December, homestudy completed by homestudy agency March 1)

*Send in I800a paperwork (can't apply for the I800a until you have your completed homestudy, application received by USCIS March 8)

*Be fingerprinted  (Received original fingerprint date of April 17, walked in to Omaha USCIS office to be fingerprinted April 5)

*Receive I800a approval  (Received verbal approval April 12, will hopefully have it in hand at the beginning of next week)

*Authenticate documents at the secretary of state's office  (All are done)
*Send documents to the US Department of State and then the Chinese Consulate  (Have to have the I800a approval authenticated by the secretary of state before we can send our documents)

Send dossier to China on May 11 (DTC)  

Wait for LID (log in date) which is China acknowledging that your dossier has been received (LID of May 23)

Wait for LOA (Letter of Approval) which is China formally approving you as parents for your child-52 days is average wait

File I800, I864 (US immigration paperwork)

Wait for I800 approval (3 weeks)

Have I800 approval cabled to US Consulate in China (2 weeks)

Wait for Article 5 (2-3 weeks)

Wait for travel approval (TA), 2-4 weeks

Time frame to homecoming...definitely easier to predict than Haiti.  But there is still some wiggle room in all of this.  Our agency says 5 1/2 months.  Also when I first made my list, 52 days for LOA was being touted in several places as the average wait.  It seems like now the average is a bit longer more in the 60-90 day range.  I've been thinking December at the latest just to try to cushion the wait so I'm hopefully traveling sooner than expected.  5 1/2 months would put us at traveling the beginning of November.  A 60 day LOA wait would be right on track with that.  I would really like to avoid traveling around the holidays simply because the airfare is crazy high.  (And flying to China is already expensive.)

Zeke Update...Dossier is almost ready to go!

Adoption Timeline for Zeke 
(Waiting child from an agency specific list)

Submit LOI (Letter of Intent) to China that identifies a child you'd like to adopt.  (Submitted LOI December 20)

Wait 1-4 weeks for Pre Approval/PA (Received January 3)

Complete homestudy and start assembling dossier (3-4 months)

*Complete homestudy (started mid December, homestudy completed by homestudy agency March 1)

*Send in I800a paperwork (can't apply for the I800a until you have your completed homestudy, application received by USCIS March 8)

*Be fingerprinted  (Received original fingerprint date of April 17, walked in to Omaha USCIS office to be fingerprinted April 5)

*Receive I800a approval  (Received verbal approval April 12, will hopefully have it in hand at the beginning of next week)

*Authenticate documents at the secretary of state's office  (All are done except the I800a approval)
*Send documents to the US Department of State and then the Chinese Consulate  (Have to have the I800a approval authenticated by the secretary of state before we can send our documents)

Send dossier to China (DTC)

Wait for LID (log in date) which is China acknowledging that your dossier has been received (1-4 weeks)

Wait for LOA (Letter of Approval) which is China formally approving you as parents for your child-52 days is average wait

File I800, I864 (US immigration paperwork)

Wait for I800 approval (3 weeks)

Have I800 approval cabled to US Consulate in China (2 weeks)

Wait for Article 5 (2-3 weeks)

Wait for travel approval (TA), 2-4 weeks

Success...Sort Of

Oh how I would love to post the China adoption timeline and say we have crossed something off of the list.  But silly me!  I lumped all dossier preparation together and my rigid self won't let me change the steps to divide up the dossier preparation into steps like complete homestudy, file I800A form, receive I800A approval, authenticate documents, etc..

Anyway, China is a Hague compliant country so you have to file I800A immigration paperwork.  And you must have your homestudy before you can send your I800A application in.  And then you must wait for your application to be received to get a fingerprint appointment.  And then attend the appointment and wait for your application to be approved.  And then send that approval with your dossier.

Essentially, our dossier has been ready to go for probably 6 weeks now but we are stuck waiting on immigration.  We recieved our fingerprint appointment date last week but it was not scheduled until April 17.  So today, since D had no school, we went to Omaha, hoping we could just walk in to USCIS and get our fingerprints done.  I was a little worried because some locations accept walk ins and some don't.  Anyway, we had no trouble walking in.  In fact, we were in and out in maybe 20 minutes.  So now we are just left waiting for USCIS to approve our application and then we can finally get the last of our dossier finished so we can send it to China.   The China coordinator for our agency is actually in China until April 17 so I am pretty sure we will not get our dossier sent to China any sooner than that.  (And that all hinges on getting our USCIS approval.  It could take much longer.)

Why China?

Why China?  How did we get to China?  I mean, really it's out of left field for us.  China?  Really?  Trust me when I say that there are times that I am not sure exactly how this all came to be or if I really understand that at some point in time I am going to be getting on a plane and going to China.

I love Haiti in so many ways.  And I tried really hard to make our next adoption a Haitian one.  (I don't want Haiti to just be a "sending place."  I want it to be a part of our lives.  And adding another country into the mix concerned me.  How would we keep meaningful connections in more than one foreign country?)  But door after door kept shutting.  We aren't old enough.  And as of last spring when we first started thinking about another adoption, most places in Haiti weren't taking anyone who wasn't 35.  I did find one agency who was advocating for a little boy who was HIV positive but there was a lot of  upfront expense for something that involved a fair amount of risk.  (The adoption not the HIV part.  We are pretty sure we are up for HIV but that's another story.)  So we looked at other options (other countries/domestic) but never settled on anything.  Then D's grandma got sick and passed away.  Then my dad got sick.  We looked at a couple of other options in Haiti, people who felt confident they could get us approved for a special needs child.  (They had 3 kiddos who we were really interested in.)  Then that "yes" quickly turned into "no" as the orphanage changed their minds on accepting us due to our ages.  So back to the drawing board.  Then my dad died and we really weren't in a place to make any decisions despite having a very reputable agency/orphanage in Haiti say they would work with us.

I've always liked to peruse the online photolistings like Rainbow Kids and Reece's Rainbow.  That has been especially true since this spring as we were fairly certain we would be looking at a child with special needs.  I generally ignored pretty much everything related to Asia on those sites as I just didn't think we would ever go there.  (I wasn't even sure we qualified for China based on their income requirements and many of the other Asian countries are pretty expensive.)  And then, in the middle of November, there was a little girl who was missing an arm on Rainbow Kids.  I'm not sure why but I was interested.  D agreed to ask for more info which we did.  She was placed with another family a few days later but it really got our toes in the water in terms of Chinese adoption.  The more we started looking, the more it seemed like a good fit.  The timeline was right.  The cost was right.  And after talking with the staff from the situation that piqued our interest, we learned that we did qualify.  While we were looking at the file of this little girl, I happened to get online to check out reviews of the agency who had her file and was contacted by a woman who encouraged me to join another online group devoted to advocating for China's waiting children.  I did and was amazed.  There were hundreds of photos and a forum full of current information on the process.  That pretty much sealed the deal.

Zeke was not actually among their waiting child photos.  But through this advocacy site, I started connecting to other advocacy sites including those managed by different agencies.  Zeke was being advocated for by his agencies, BAAS.

It's been an exciting last few days.   We hope you'll continue to pray for us and Zeke as we wait.  We have always prayed that God would bind the hearts of our kids to our hearts while we wait.  I'm not sure how often we will get pictures or updates and we know for certain that we will not be visiting him before the adoption is final.  Those little things work magic on a Mama heart.  Would you pray that even without those things he would grow in our hearts?  And that his heart would be healed from the grief and trauma which may have marked his early years and will most definitely mark his transition home?  Would you pray for our finances?  Adoption is not an inexpensive proposition.  We have money set aside but we would like to not drain our savings account.  Even doing that, I think we would still be short.  And would you pray for our kids?  Pray that they would be ready to love Zeke, that God would again press hearts together and grow relationships.

Believing that God is already at work...

The Question of the Hour

Lots of inquiring  minds have asked "So what the due date for this new little guy?"  I'm still feeling out Chinese adoptions so I could have a lot of things wrong but we are hoping this will be a smooth, pain free process without a lot of hiccups.  Compared to Haiti which is infamous for its every changing ways, China seems to be fairly efficient and predictable.  (Things Haiti was not.)  It's actually a bit opposite from Haiti in that a lot of the paperwork that must be done to ensure the child is in need of a family is done before you are even matched.  And the dossier assembly will take longer than Haiti because you have to have a form approved by immigration before you can submit your dossier to China but once your dossier is to China it's very straight forward with each step sticking to a fairly basic timeline.  We are optimistic that we will be traveling 9-12 months from now.  (Which sounds like an absolute dream given the length of our last two adoptions.)    It is possible that it could be even sooner than that depending on how long it takes to get our dossier together but we'll go with 9-12 months.

Here's the process and estimates on timelines:

Submit LOI (Letter of Intent) to China that identifies a child you'd like to adopt.  

Wait 1-4 weeks for Pre Approval (PA)

Complete homestudy and start assembling dossier (3-4 months)

Send dossier to China
Wait for LID (log in date) which is China acknowledging that your dossier has been received (1-4 weeks)

Wait for LOA (Letter of Approval) which is China formally approving you as parents for your child-52 days is average wait

File I800, I864 (US immigration paperwork)

Wait for I800 approval (3 weeks)

Have I800 approval cabled to US Consulate in China (2 weeks)

Wait for Article 5 (2-3 weeks)

Wait for travel approval (TA), 2-4 weeks

The orange parts we have already done.  And the blue items we were working on at the same time as the orange items so we are actually already started on doing those things.  We just had our last homestudy visit Tuesday night and have been working on getting items in for the dossier.  So hopefully it won't take us 3-4 months to get our dossier finished; hopefully it will be sooner.  That leaves all the steps in black which are about 6 months on the long side.