Once again at a standstill...

We were moving right along and the Chinese government made some changes right as our papers hit China. So, we are at a standstill once again!! We are thankful for our liaison at our adoption agency, she has been great! She is putting in a special request on our behalf today to see where everything stands with our paperwork.

We continue to walk by faith and trust in God's perfect plan for our family!

Waiting for an updated I-797

Since we will be traveling sometime this Spring and our I-797 expires in March, we had to file an extension. In addition, since we have been matched to a 6 yr old with special needs, we had to also submit Supplement 3 paperwork. This process all started in November and we thought that we were finally on the right track when an envelope appeared in our mailbox this past Saturday. Much to our disappointment, it was our updated I-797, however, not all the dates had been updated, ugh! (You see, as soon as one receives their updated I-797, one can send in their I-800.) Once we have submitted our I-800, the travel date is anywhere from 2.5-3 months. Fortunately I have our USCIS officer's email address, therefore, I shot her a short email after noticing the discrepancy. First thing Monday morning, she made the correction and sent out a corrected copy. We now wait to receive this copy so that we may submit our I-800. The paperwork involved is incredible, but will one day be a blurrrrr...
We also found out that our little girl goes by the name of ZhenZhen, so cute! I sent her the first care package with our picture book, a stuffed Rabbit with her name embroidered on her dress, and a disposable camera. We are not sure if she has been moved into the orphanage or not, however, we know that our Lord is mighty and her protector.

It's Official!!

She is ours!!!! Now, we must deal with immigration services here in the US. I'll be on the phone today trying to get some things straight. We are now looking to travel in Feb or March. We're thrilled and overwhelmed at the same time. So much to do!! Her name is Lydia Xiaozhen Scheele.

Pre-Approved

We were pre-approved in 1 week! The usual time is 2-4 wks. We now wait 60-100 days for the official referral. We, too, are hoping and praying for it to be closer to 60 days!

News to Share

After taking a little break from blogging, we are back with exciting news to share! In September, Rob and I filled out the application for a special needs child also referred to as a "Waiting Child". Periodically, our adoption agency sends out a list of these children for us to view. On one particular day, 3 special children stood out to me from the long list. I forwarded those children to Rob at work. He, too, was interested in finding out more information on one particular child. We talked about it further that night and contacted the adoption agency the next morning. We received her file that afternoon. Since then, we have seen and spoken to many specialists, our social worker, our adoption agency, and the orphanage/foster home. This Wednesday, after much prayer, our family chose to send a "Letter of Intent" to China asking to adopt this 6 yr old little girl. We now wait for China to pull our file and approve the match. This usually takes anywhere from 2-4 wks. If all goes well, we will be traveling to China in the next 5-8 months. We have so much to do...

LID 030309

Hallelujah - we have a Log In Date - March 3, 2009!!!

We just returned home from our annual skiing trip to NM. We had a great time with friends. Above is a picture of the guys skiing Taos - beautiful!

Paperwork China Bound

Our paperwork is officially scheduled to be sent overnight to China this Friday, February 20th. Our adoption agency, Great Wall, has a branch in Beijing, China. It will be delivered to the CCAA within days. It usually takes 30-45 days before it is officially registered with the CCAA. The day it is registered will be our Log in Date. This is the beginning of our referral process and where the "really" long wait begins.
We can now apply through our agency for the "Waiting Child Program". We feel certain that we will go this route. We ask for prayers as we consider which type of special need's child the Lord wishes for our family. We know that our thoughts and the Lord's are not always in sync. Therefore, we pray that we will have peace when we receive our referral. We have no doubt that the Lord has chosen our child. He has already softened our hearts towards adopting a child with special needs and for this we are thankful!