WE GOT IT--LID AS OF 7/27/10!!!!

We received the email at 9:45 this morning from our agency to say, OUR LID IS 7/27/10!!!!

What a blessing....we were DTC on 7/22 and 5 days later, we were LID!!!

NEXT STEP: LOA (Letter of Approval) 
Good news, we are already 2 weeks into the wait for the LOA!!

The LOA is the "official" document from China that states we have the permission from China to adopt Miao and confirmation that we still want to proceed with the adoption....DUH, absolutely we want to proceed with the adoption!  I can save them the hassle of the wait and tell them this very moment, YES, if it would help to bring Miao home sooner. 

LID UPDATE

Called Madison Adoption Agency today to ask about our LID, since we had been told we should hear something in 1-2 weeks.  Wasn't easy but I waited 2 weeks before calling.  Yes, today is the 2 week mark as to when our dossier went to China. 

I was told there are two other families also waiting and that Madison contacted their representative located in China, asking her to inquire on our behalf.  I was assured we will be contacted as soon as our LID is received and that it's (it as in our dossier) probably already logged-in but they've yet to relay the date to our agency.  Let's hope so!!!!

So.....we continue to wait......praying our next post, will be to share the news of our LID!!

3rd Care Package Response!

NEW PICTURES!!!

We have new pictures of our daughter!!!  We received a message from the care package service (Gifts To China With Love) saying they spoke with the orphanage director and confirmed that Miao received the items we sent, yesterday. 

The orphanage also said,  in place of ordering a cake for our daughter, the money we sent was used to allow her the opportunity to have spending money at an upcoming outing to the EXPO event, currently held in Shanghai, China.  We were thrilled our money was used to allow her extra fun!! 

The director gave Miao a choice and she chose spending money at the EXPO over a cake...yep, she already sounds like a teenager.  :-)  We are thrilled our daughter has this special opportunity and that we are able to play a part in her having spending money!

My understanding, she is back at the orphanage for summer break and will be returning to the boarding school when school starts. 

PS:  We were told our daughter will write us a letter, when she returns from the EXPO.  YEA-we are looking forward to that.

PSS: We were also told, our daughter ate all the sweets we sent her, in one day!  That tells me, yes, she enjoys sweets as any other child AND we need to send more sweets with each care package.

She is beautiful!!

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3rd Care Package Sent!

Sent via, "Gifts To China With Love"

We sent Miao her third care package, this weekend...in honor of her birthday! The package included a letter written by us to our daughter, a birthday cake package, a leather-like pink backpack and another photo album. Yes, it is a belated birthday but we didn't want to send the package prior to knowing she received our Children's Day gifts. We don't want to overwhelm the orphanage director sending 2 packages so close together and risk our daughter not receiving one of them.  We received confirmation with pictures of our daughter (see our post below, 7/8...a few days before our vacation!) holding the gifts AND A LETTER!!! Yes, we received our second letter!!

While we missed sending a package on her birthday, Gifts To China With Love was considerate and took it upon themselves to call the orphanage director (on Miao's birthday) and asked her to please tell Miao Happy Birthday, from her forever family!!



The 2nd care package was sent in June, in honor of Children's Day, (a national holiday in China) and the 1st care package was sent in May, in honor of us becoming a family. The orphanage (or rather boarding school) had a "Forever Family Celebration"  for Miao. 

The 1st care package was really cool because the orphanage didn't know she had a forever family/was being adopted, until we sent the care package.  Gifts To China With Love has a nice "Forever Family Celebration" care package that we sent in addition to extra sweets and clothing.  One of the best emails ever received was from that 1st care package.  It consisted of the conversation between the orphanage director and Katherine, as she informed the director that Miao is being adopted and now has a forever family living in the US!  The director was thrilled to learn the news and seems to be a loving and compassionate lady toward the children.

When adopting our son from China last year, we had the same experience.  The orphanage director had no idea he was being adopted until we sent a care package and requested a call to his orphanage with our questions.  To be a part of the orphanage director hearing news of the adoption...that's priceless!

Heck, all care packages that families send while waiting to bring their children home and in turn, receiving updated pictures, information and letters....that's priceless, too!!

PS:  Now that we are DTC, I was able to give Miao some sort of a status on her adoption by sharing that our paperwork was sent to China, on July 22!! Also shared with her that we don't know exactly when she is coming home but we sure hope it happnes by end of year!!!

DTC-TODAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!! 

And what a birthday it is!!!  We are DTC as of 11:30 this morning, when DHL sent over a notification via email from our agency to say our paperwork is in the process of shipping to China!!!! 

Unfortunately, daddy is in China and given the 13 hour time difference and the fact, daddy was sick with food poison yesterday, I don't have the heart to call and wake him.  (It's now in the middle of the night!)

I can't wait to share the glorious news with him.....think it's safe to speak on his behalf and say, DTC is the best birthday gift, he's ever received!!!

NEXT STEP: LID!!!  (Log-In Date)

LID is the day our dossier (mounds of paperwork) is logged into the China Center for Adoption Affairs computer system.  This will start the "real" countdown for bringing Miao home!!!

The typical time for the LID is about 2-4 weeks after DTC but with an older child, it has been known to come much quicker.  (yea!)

Several families I've met through the Yahoo China Adoption Networking group, who are also adopting older children from the same orphange, have received their LID (Log-In Date) within a couple of days.  Here's praying we are equally as blessed and will receive our LID in the next day or two. 

Our agency makes a habit of "flagging" the dossiers that are to adopt older children.  They flag it by placing a note as the top page, specifying the dossier is specific to an older child and to PLEASE EXPEDITE.  Since our daughter is 13 years old our dossier was flagged!!! 

When flagged dossiers arrive to China, the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) is suppose to keep the file separate and not add it to "the stack," with hundreds of other dossiers wiating their turn to be logged-in.  Flagged dossiers should be handled as an expedite and logged-in ahead of those waiting dossiers.  However, agency also said, no promises...what should happen and what normally happens..doesn't always happen.  SIGH! Let's pray it does happen.............

It would be such a blessing to have our LID by the time Earl returns home from his business trip in China!!

COME ON LID!!!!!!  COME ON LID!!!!!  COME ON LID!!!!!

I797C Received TODAY!!!!!!

This is the I800A APPROVAL!!

We are thrilled to share with our family and friends, that our I797C was received in the mail today!!!  Sterling and mom returned from the movies, went directly to the mailbox and THERE IT WAS!!!!

The agency is receiving a copy as well.  Once the agency notarizes, certifies and authenticates this document, we will be DTC!!! (Dossier to China)  The dossier is the mounds of paperwork Earl and I have been gathering since starting our journey to bring Miao home. 

Once we are DTC (Dossier to China) it is estimated to take 2 weeks for China to input the information and provide us with an LID.  (LID: date information was logged in)

The I797C is a big step toward bringing our sweet girl home!!!!

Next step.....DTC!!!

Received New Pictures!!

Our Care Package Service ROCKS!
GIFTS TO CHINA WITH LOVE

Our morning started out the best way possible, with new pictures of our daughter!!!
 
Our care package service seems to have a good relationship with our daughter's SWI and boarding school because we received new pictures, today.  (With 2 care packages sent, we've received pictures both times and a letter from her on one occasion)

If you'd like to send a care package to your child, their website is: http://www.giftstochinawithlove.com/


Below are the pictures we received.  She is holding a bag containing the items we sent her!  A stuffed mama & baby panda bear,  a pillow with a collage of family pictures & a personal letter from us.

She's such a cutie!!