We're SOMEBODY now!

That's right... we're Group 142! We received a big travel orientation packet from our agency last week. It's always exciting to get something from them in the mail (it's the little things that keep us going). Anyway, included was a letter with our group number and a list of our travel mates w/ e-mail addresses and phone numbers... so now we can start getting to know one another. We haven't had time to go through everything else in our folder, but it sure looks like a lot of good information.

We are still waiting to hear what our LID (Log In Date) is. We're pretty sure we've already been logged in, it just seems to take a while for them to inform us of when it was.

A photo gallery is still in the works for the blog... so y'all come back now, ya hear!

Thank You

We just wanted to take this opportunity to say a big, heartfelt "Thank You" to everyone for your comments, e-mails, asking how thing are going, and so on. Knowing we have your support means a lot!

This is such a long process with many ups and downs... and even though we aren't too far into it, the support we've had has really helped. One piece of advice we were given when we began our homestudy was to celebrate all the "little" milestones along the way, and we've tried to do that so far as we completed certain phases of our paperchase (yeah, yeah... any excuse for ice cream is a good one). These mini celebrations have helped to keep our spirits lifted as the time passes, but what has helped the most is all of you and the support you've shown.

We still have quite a journey before us, but we just wanted to get this "thank you" out now to let you all know how grateful we are to have you and how much your being there means to us.



xie xie (Thank you)

It's official... we are DTC!!

We found out yesterday that we're finally DTC (Dossier to China)!!! This is an important milestone as it signifies the end of the long "paper chase", and the beginning of the next phase of our journey. We are so happy knowing that our dossier is now on its way to China! And what better way to celebrate than to go out for some Chinese food (we're getting pretty good w/ the chopsticks) and Andy's Frozen Custard.

We should be getting a packet with more information soon, but our consultant was able to tell us yesterday that there were 6 families in our group. Now we'll wait for our LID, which stands for Log In Date. As soon as we're logged in we can begin the countdown to when we receive the referral of our daughter and see a picture of her for the first time. Currently the time from LID to referral is about 12 months, but this could increase or decrease at any time.

So everyone knows... just because we're entering this time of waiting doesn't mean we'll stop posting messages for you guys. Please keep checking in on us as we plan to continue adding to the blog, including a "photo gallery" that should be coming soon.

Take care,
Greg & Laura

This picture was taken outside a restaurant in K.C. when we went up for fingerprinting. Thought it was kind of funny.

We've been AUTHENTICATED...

Michelle, our consultant from AAI, called this morning saying she had just received our dossier from the consulate in Chicago! She said this was a pretty quick turnaround time considering the consulate probably didn't begin working on it until July 30. AAI had just sent a group of dossiers to China on August 1... we missed this by only a few days. Looks like our dossier will go out in the next batch, which they plan to send mid-August. So, we're hoping to be DTC (Dossier To China) on or around August 15!

Once AAI sends our dossier they will call to let us know. Shortly after, we will get a letter informing us of our group number and "introducing" us to the others in the group. After we receive this information, we can contact each other and use this waiting time to get acquainted before we travel. Doing so will make it a little less like traveling with "strangers".

The next time you hear from us, it should be to say we're DTC! Stay tuned...